Rome, Italy, Jan 19, 2010 / 19:32 pm
Since Pope Benedict's visit to the Synagogue of Rome on Sunday, media outlets have produced countless stories on the state of relations between the two religions. Despite the climax of the encounter, dialogue between the two continues to be a work in progress and important talks have immediately followed the occasion.
Representatives from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews have been holding talks since the afternoon visit between the Pope and the Chief Rabbi of Rome.
Meetings between the delegations began after the Sunday synagogue visit and ended on Tuesday afternoon after seven sessions promoting Catholic-Jewish dialogue. The sessions closed with a lecture by the French priest and expert in Judaism Father Patrick Debois, who spoke on the Holocaust.
The meetings were developed around the theme "Catholic and Jewish teaching on Creation and the Environment. The challenges of human intervention in the natural order."