Spanish bishops express solidarity with Pope in response to recent criticism

Madrid, Spain, Feb 13, 2009 / 13:41 pm

The Bishops’ Conference of Spain said on Thursday it had sent a letter of support to Pope Benedict XVI in which the bishops “express their sentiments of communion and affection in response to those who have cast doubt on his love for the Jewish people.”

According to a press release, in their letter to the Holy Father the Spanish bishops wrote, “We know well the interest Your Holiness has shown for many years, and in particular in the exercise of the Petrine ministry,” in dialoging with the Jewish people, “and that you have strived to make their history and their current situation rightly known and appreciated in the Church.  Few understand as Your Holiness that, as the Second Vatican Council teaches, they are a people very much loved by God.”

The bishops expressed sorrow that the Pope’s efforts to show benevolence and kindness towards the Lefebrvists bishops to help strengthen the unity of the Church “have been misinterpreted and even taken as an excuse to raise false testimony and to negatively prejudice public opinion.”

The bishops assured the Holy Father of their prayers and those of the Catholic people, that the Lord would comfort and enlighten him in his governance of the Church, “which needs and is thankful for your ministry at the service of the truth of the Gospel and unity in charity.”