Vatican City, Jun 8, 2005 / 22:00 pm
During his first audience with Jewish leaders, Pope Benedict XVI assured on Thursday that the Catholic Church remained fully committed to continued dialogue with the Jewish community and to fighting anti-Semitism.
This morning ,Pope Benedict welcomed a high-level delegation of the International Jewish Committee on Inter-religious Consultations (IJCIC), noting that the meeting "takes place during this year which marks the fortieth anniversary of the Declaration 'Nostra Aetate' of the Second Vatican Council, whose teaching has served as the basis of the Church's relationship with the Jewish people since then."
He remarked that "the Council affirmed the Church's conviction that ... the beginnings of her faith are already to be found in Abraham, Moses and the prophets" and it "called for greater mutual understanding and esteem between Christians and Jews and deplored all manifestations of hatred, persecution and anti-Semitism".
"At the very beginning of my pontificate, “he added, “I wish to assure you that the Church remains firmly committed, in her catechesis and in every aspect of her life, to implementing this decisive teaching."