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The Vatican and its Friends Are Not Your Friendsby Shelomo Alfassa
Published by Israel National News 24 February 05
Published by Israel Insider 4 April 05
Earlier this month, the Vatican blamed Israel for not protecting Christians in violence which took place in a Galilee village, in which members of the Muslim Druze community attacked Christians. The Vatican demanded that Israel place a permanent police force in the village to protect the Christian citizens—however—when Israel places a police force in towns to protect Jews from Palestinian attacks, the Israelis are labeled as occupiers. This type of double standard has become par for the course when dealing with the Vatican.The Vatican knows about terrorism, about Palestinian Arabs attacking Jews, but when Israel decided to make a defensive move by constructing a security fence, Israel was criticized by the Church. The Pope’s spokesman, Cardinal Etchegaray said the Israeli fence, “inevitably creates a geography of apartheid, which provokes rather than controls violence...it lacerates the human fabric.”
We really need to wake up and reexamine if the Vatican is our friend. Last week the world newspapers ran stories and photos of 160 Jews “blessing the Pope.” The Pave the Way Foundation which organized the meeting in Rome said “we have traveled here with the blessings of millions of our faith in order to thank you.” Well, with all due respect to that group, I doubt millions of Jews were sending blessings to Vatican City. Halacha was no where to be found at that event. In the presence of the chief rabbis of Italy—the Pope was praised, Catholic saints were spoken of and the Jews presented him with a cross! The media reported 160 “world Jewish leaders” which immediately begged the question—what Jewish leaders? They were not political leaders of Israel, nor were they top American politicians that happen to be Jewish. Who they were were mostly businessmen, from New York, none which wore a kippah, but all who shook hands with the Pope calling him “Your Holiness.” For a Jew, what is holy about the Pope?
Website photos show the founder of Pave the Way Foundation posing with monks, nuns and members of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem. The latter is the Church led by Irineos I, the very man who said last year that Jews were “descendants of the crucifiers of our Lord,” the same man caught trying to smuggle a pistol into Ramallah to meet Arafat, a loyal friend of his. Irineos’ spokesman, Atallah Hana, caused controversy for the Greek Orthodox Church after statements he made in favor of suicide attacks. In 2004, Israeli Police detained and questioned him regarding his pro-terrorism statements, his illegal travels to Syria and Lebanon, his meeting with the head of the Hizbullah and his remarks of support for “martyrdom by Palestinian men and women.”
The Jews operating the Pave the Way Foundation desire to have part of the Kever David HaMelech (traditional tomb of King David) on Mt. Zion handed over to the Vatican. Currently, the building belongs to the State of Israel, but this group feels it should be taken away from the Jews and given to the Vatican. This is the very building where until the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967, people migrated to pray as it was the closest location to the Western Wall. Ben Gurion planted trees in its ancient courtyard, Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatszeira (the Baba Sali) made a pilgrimage there and the place remains holy to Jews—yet—this husband and wife team which run their organization from Long Island, New York are working to convince the Israeli government to transfer this building to the Vatican. As the husband has been knighted by the Pope, he can represent him to the Israeli authorities, some of which he has met with previously such as Chaim Silberstein the chief of staff of the Minister of Tourism and Director of Religious affairs Gadi Golan.
The Pave the Way Foundation, representing itself as leaders of the Jewish world, have said the Pope has made it a “sin to be anti-Semitic” and that he has “been a friend to the Jewish people and has tried to bridge the ancient gap.” These statements are baseless, made by tikkun olam pagans in their self-fulfilling desire to play quasi-ambassador of the Jews. Note, the Papacy they are talking about, is the same one currently considering making a “saint” of Isabella of Castile, the 15th century queen of Spain who initiated the Inquisition. The Vatican already has taken a step forward towards this, officially granting Isabella the title “Servant of God.” Where is the outrage of the Jewish community? This scenario would be like Gerhard Schroder, Chancellor of Germany taking steps to make Adolf Hitler a saint! As revisionists and the Vatican turn Isabella into a saint, this same Pope plans to canonize Pope Pius XII, who was largely silent about the Nazi genocide against the Jews when he reigned during World War II. On his sick bed just two weeks ago, the Pope stated “I will not die before I canonize Pope Pius XII.”
The Church has a precedent for making Isabella a saint. In the 15th century the Vatican canonized Vincent Ferrer. Vincent was a man who was responsible for inciting furious mobs which burned Jewish shops and homes and murdered Jews throughout Spain starting in 1391. When order was restored one year later, it was estimated that 100,000 Jews had been killed, another 100,000 had converted to Christianity, and another 100,000 had survived by going into hiding or fleeing to Muslim lands. Today, schools named Saint Vincent Ferrer are dotted across the globe, everyone seeming to have forgotten who he was. The Catholic Encyclopedia praises Ferrer saying “multitudes were won over by his preaching.”
Many in the Jewish community forget there is a well crafted, strategically minded and highly funded crusade to convert the Jewish people, and the Vatican is conspiring in this cause. There is a secretive group called the Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism which was founded in association with American preacher Billy Graham. The Vatican has participated in this conference which strategizes on how to target the Jewish people for conversion. One of their Lausanne Occasional Papers stated that God has forsaken the Jews for not believing in the Christian scriptures and Jesus. Their statement is purely anti-Semitic, for what type of greater anti-Semitism exists than telling Jews that their God has forsaken them, that it is only through Jesus that you can be “saved.”
In 2001 the Vatican initiated a meeting between Christians that call themselves Messianic Jews. These people are part of the Presbyterian funded proselytization movement known as Messianic Judaism which is growing tremendously in Israel and remains problematic across the globe. Shockingly, Israel just issued the world’s largest messianic proselytizing group Jews for Jesus an amutah, official non-profit recognition from the government to operate in Israel. When The Passion of the Christ was released, it was met with criticism from orthodox Jewish leaders in Israel around the world. But even in the face of criticism, the Vatican thought differently. They released a statement saying the film portrayed the death of Jesus as accurate, “it is as it was.”
The Vatican consider themselves supreme rulers of the world, superior to all common people, kings, prime ministers and presidents. All that is missing is a title of power, and the Pope almost had that. Only a few years ago the Catholic leader sought the ultimate authority, he was going to announce himself as the Holy Roman Emperor, reigning from the Urals to the Atlantic.
Just last month the Vatican “graciously” opened its “secret archives” which contains a large amount confiscated Jewish property. The repository will “loan” to Israel papers of Maimonides, which they have held captive since the 12th century. For hundreds of years Jews have wanted these documents, among other items, but the Vatican has denied access to them. If the Vatican was intrinsically good, if they really wanted to make a gesture towards peace, they would hand over all of the Jewish material to the Jewish people. These games of “letting us borrow” our own materials, preposterous and juvenile.
Planning the conversion of the Jews; working with non-Israelis to obtain Jewish holy places and give them to the Vatican; holding priceless historical materials of the Jews hostage; and making people like Isabella of Spain a saint, how much more absurdity can we stand! Some keep denying the fact the Vatican is not a friend of the Jews, how can they remain so foolish. If the Vatican truly wants to develop strong ties with the Jewish people they must make many changes.
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Responses from the public:
Thank you for your important article. I think that centuries of persecution have robbed much of the Jewish People of self-worth. This is leading to many of the troublesome positions taken by the Israeli government and many Jewish organizations. May we learn to be proud Torah Jews once again. --Rabbi Naftoli Melamed
I take note that the article is both timely and important. Bravo to Israel National News for running this article, and thank you to the author for bringing it to the attention of the world. The Vatican is indeed not the friend of Israel. The whole saint thing is bizarre. --Menahem Hasson
As an ex-Catholic..for which I am eternally grateful.... I am glad to read the truth. --Mary Hogan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Responses from the Pave the Way Foundation:
The Catholic Church does not support the conversion of Jews as the Protestant do...The Church has apologized to the Jewish people and does not believe encouraging the conversion of Jews...This Pope has done more to advance relations with Jews than anyone in history...The Vatican has been the only entity which has spoken out continuously against Islamic and European Anti-Semitism. It is a sin, in the Catholic Church to be anti-Semetic...--Gary Krupp
Note from Mr. Alfassa: Mr. Krupp is a man "knighted by the Pope" and thus represents the vested interest of the Vatican in Israel. When Mr. Krupp gets the Vatican to halt the idea of canonizing Isabella, when they revoke "saint" status from Vincent Ferrer, and to stop honoring the name of the Nazi Pope, then we will be interested in listening. Mr. Krupp said that the Pope's visit to Israel in March of 2000, “immortalised in the hearts and minds of the Jewish people around the world." To this we say - not! The Pope's visit was not welcomed from Jews around the world. Link to photos the media did not want you to see.Furthermore: We remind people that after the bombing of the Istanbul synagogues, the Pope utilized the occasion of the murder of 27 people to make a political statement which furthered his goals. The near-death shadow of a man reached out his window in Vatican Square and said: "In fact, the Holy Land does not need walls but bridges." Easy for him to say, he's not getting shot at and bombed on a daily basis from his neighbors! Instead of just making an outright statement of condemnation, he tagged on some statements which slammed Israel for wanting to protect itself. He added that the new security wall which separates Arab occupied Israeli cities from non-Arab occupied Israeli cities is an "obstacle in the face of peace." What the Church chief does not understand is it is not an obstacle to peace, but an obstacle from being blown to pieces! The extrinsic nature of the friendship between the Jews and the Church in modern times is once again demonstrated by the Pope's statements. Though he called for an "end to violence and terrorism spawned by religious intolerance" I want to remind the gentle reader that it was the Church and its own "religious intolerance" and "terrorism" which drove the Jews to Turkey in the first place. Hypocrites, the Roman Catholic Church and its leaders should take a long look at itself before putting it's own foot in it's mouth.
If secular anti-religious organizations want to support the Church under the guise of "friendship" so be it, but these groups should not insult our intelligence.
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