‘Pope Benedict XVI has told the Israeli ambassador to the Vatican he intends to visit the main synagogue in Cologne, Germany, in August, becoming the second pontiff in history to visit a Jewish place of worship.

Ambassador Oded Ben-Hur said the pope told him of the planned visit after an audience with the diplomatic corps assigned to the Vatican on Thursday.

Benedict’s predecessor, John Paul II, made a groundbreaking visit to Rome’s synagogue in 1986. The new pope has said he intends to continue John Paul’s work toward improving relations between Roman Catholics and Jews.

“We’re very happy, and this is a gesture that goes in line with the latest declarations” from the pope, Ben-Hur told The Associated Press by telephone Friday.’

Read more at Pope Intends to Visit German Synagogue

Recent Entries

• Papal center’s spiral costly
• Pope to visit Britain next year
• John Paul’s sainthood centers on young nun
• Priest probes possible miracle in John Paul II saint case
• Pope Benedict chooses 15 new cardinals, and two are from U.S.
• Pope to name new Cardinals soon
• Pope urges caution on new converts to French Catholic group
• Ex-Vatican priest returns to Canada to face child sex charges
• Vatican Calls Turkey Trip a Critical Test
• First Lady Discusses Terrorism With Pope

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 14th, 2005 at 5:47 pm and is filed under Pope Benedict XVI. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.