Tag Archive for Vatican

The Vatican and Rome’s Jewish community host Menorah exhibition

 

The artifacts depicting Judaism’s sacred seven branched candelabra used in the Temple in Jerusalem, are being loaned by nearly 20 museums around the world, including Paris’ Louvre & London’s National Gallery.

By AFP

 

The Vatican and Rome’s Jewish community on Monday presented an ambitious exhibition on the menorah which will bring together 130 works featuring the iconic Jewish candelabrum, an ancient symbol of the faith.

The show on the seven-candle Hebrew lamp will run simultaneously from May 15 to July 23 at the Vatican museums and the synagogue complex in a city which once housed one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Continue Reading »

ISIS Attacks on Vatican & Israeli Embassy in Rome Foiled by Italian Security Forces

 

Italian authorities successfully thwarted an ISIS attack on the Israeli Embassy in Rome & the Vatican, but 2 members of the cell have left Italy & entered ISIS controlled territory.

By Associated Press

 

Arrest warrants were issued for six people affiliated with ISIS on Thursday evening, four of which planned to attack the Israeli Embassy in Rome and the Vatican.

Two of the Muslim terrorists who planned to carry out an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Rome – Photo: EPA

Milan prosecutor Maurizio Romanelli told reporters that investigators intercepted communications from within ISIS held territory ordering attacks in Italy, “with particular attention to the city of Rome” and focusing on the Holy Year pilgrimage now underway. Continue Reading »

“State of Palestine” recognition ratified by Vatican

 

Much like Israel and the Oslo accords, the Vatican signed a treaty recognizing the ‘State of Palestine’ last June as a sign of supporting the 2-state solution, in hopes the move would protect the Palestinian Christians as Pope Francis is eager to have a greater diplomatic role in the Middle East.

By Reuters & Israel Hayom Staff

 

An agreement signed last year making official the Vatican’s de facto 2012 recognition of “Palestine,” has come into effect, the Holy See said on Saturday.

Pope Francis (right) embraces Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas May 17, 2015. – Photo: Reuters

The Vatican signed its first treaty with the “State of Palestine” last June when it called for moves to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and backed a two-state solution. Continue Reading »

Vatican releases landmark document: Catholics should not endeavor to convert Jews

 

 

Catholics should not try and convert Jews and should work with them to fight anti-Semitism, the Vatican said Thursday in a major new document that drew the Church further from the strained relations with Judaism of the past.

Pope Francis talks as he leads the weekly audience in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican. – Photo: REUTERS

The document, “A Reflection on Theological Questions Pertaining to Catholic-Jewish Relations,” was issued by the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, and approved by Pope Francis. Continue Reading »

Pope Francis: “Outright attack on the State of Israel is also anti-Semitism.”

 

By JTA,  SAM SOKOL

 

Jewish leaders met with Pope Francis in Rome on the 50th anniversary of the Nostra Aetate, the declaration promulgated by Pope Paul VI that led to improved relations between Jews and Catholics.

Pope Francis meets with World Jewish Congress leaders at the Vatican. – Photo: WORLD JEWISH CONGRESS

“Yes to the rediscovery of the Jewish roots of Christianity. No to anti-Semitism,” the pope said Wednesday morning during the public audience on St. Continue Reading »

Prosor: UN should wave white flag in surrender of principle, not Palestinian flag

 

By HERB KEINON

 

The UN – with some EU countries in tow – would pass a resolution stating that the world is flat were such a resolution brought by the Palestinians, Israel’s UN ambassador Ron Prosor said Thursday night.

Prosor’s remarks came after the world body approved a resolution calling for the Palestinian flag to be hoisted along with the banners of the other nations that make up the world body. Continue Reading »

Vatican Refuses to be Exploited by Palestinians at United Nations

 

Refusing to be involved in Palestinian initiative at the UN, the Vatican requested that the Palestinians remove all references to them from PA draft resolution asking the General Assembly to add flags of Palestine and the Holy See at the U.N.

By Reuters and Israel Hayom Staf

 

The Vatican on Tuesday asked the Palestinian U.N. mission to remove all references to it from a draft resolution the Palestinians have prepared for the General Assembly calling for the flags of Palestine and the Holy See to fly at the U.N.

The Palestinian draft resolution, which was seen by Reuters, says that the flags of nonmember observer states “shall be raised at the United Nations Headquarters and Offices following the flags of the member states of the United Nations.” Continue Reading »

Vatican signs historic treaty with ‘State of Palestine’

Israel’s Foreign Ministry says Vatican’s historic agreement fails to consider any of Israel’s interests.

BY AFP

 

The Vatican on Friday signed a historic first accord with Palestine, two years after officially recognizing it as a state.

Pope Francis with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas – Photo: Reuters

The accord, a treaty covering the life and activity of the Church in Palestine, was the first since the Vatican recognized the Palestinian state in February 2013.

The treaty, which took 15 years of negotiations to complete, was agreed in principle last month and bitterly condemned by Israel as a setback for the peace process. Continue Reading »

Pope Francis praises Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as “Angel of Peace”

Abbas meets with Pope Francis on trip to canonize 2 Palestinians Nuns as Saints, just days after Vatican announced it will sign treaty that recognizes State of Palestine, adding that Abbas is an ‘angel of peace.’

By AFP & The Associated Press

 

Pope Francis met Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas during a private audience early on Saturday, days after the Vatican said it was preparing to sign its first accord with Palestine, drawing Israeli anger.

Pope Francis and President Abbas. – Photo: EPA

Pope Francis praised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as an “angel of peace” during the meeting at the Vatican. Continue Reading »

Israel ‘disappointed’ at Vatican’s appeasement in officially recognizing State of Palestine

Vatican treaty, soon to be signed, upgrades existing diplomatic relations from Palestinian Liberation Organization to ‘State of Palestine.’

By The Associated Press

 

The Vatican officially recognized the state of Palestine in a new treaty finalized Wednesday, immediately sparking Israeli ire and accusations that the move hurt peace prospects.

Abbas & PopePope Francis & Mahmoud Abbas talk at the Vatican, October 17, 2013. – Photo: AP/Maurizio Brambatti, Pool

The treaty, which concerns the activities of the Catholic Church in Palestinian territory, makes clear that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic recognition from the Palestine Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine.

The Vatican had welcomed the decision by the UN General Assembly in 2012 to recognize a Palestinian state. Continue Reading »

Church’s past restraint was dē factō authorization of ongoing Islamic killings of Christian

In new era where Christians & Jews have a common enemy in the actions of radical Islam, Israel’s leaders should see the potential of an alliance with the new direction taken by the Catholic Church.

By Yossi Shain

 

Across the Middle East, in Africa and Asia, Christians are exposed to violence and terror by radical Islamic groups. The mass murder of Christians and the abduction of Christian girls by Boko Haram in Nigeria, the massacre of Christians and the enslavement of the daughters in Syria and Iraq, as well as the shocking murder of Christian students on a campus in eastern Kenya – following a brutal selection between them and those identified as Muslims – are only part of the Christian minorities’ hardships in the world. Continue Reading »

Rabbi Claims Only Jewish Prayers Kept King David’s Tomb From Becoming Church

Rabbis urge for all Jews that visit & pray at the Western Wall to also visit the nearby Tomb of David, to keep it from falling into Vatican hands.

By Israel Today Staff

 

King David’s Tomb on Mount Zion was the focus of major controversy last summer when it was reported that, under pressure from the Vatican, Israel was preparing to hand over or sell control of the holy site to the Catholic Church.

The site is also holy to Christians, as the second floor of the compound is home to a more modern representation of the “Upper Room.”

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In March an Italian newspaper reported that the Israeli government had in fact reached an agreement whereby the Vatican would take control of the Upper Room, while the building itself, and therefore King David’s Tomb, would remain still be owned by the Jewish state. Continue Reading »

Vatican pledges $125,000 for Auschwitz preservation & upkeep

 

The Vatican’s Secretary of State says, “Given our limited resources, the amount is small, but it is an expression of our full support.”
• More than 100 million euros from 31 countries was pledged to Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation for the preservation & upkeep of former Nazi death camp.

By News Agencies & Israel Hayom Staff

 

The Vatican has pledged a 100,000 euro ($125,000) donation to the preservation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum, located at the former Nazi death camp in southern Poland.

This undated file image shows the main gate of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz I, near Oswiecim, Poland – Photo: AP

“Given our limited resources, the amount is small,” Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said.

Continue Reading »

Radical Jews fight for status quo at holy Jerusalem site

 

Likud MK Feiglin, along with some 30 religious Jews, came to pray at the Cenacle or ‘Upper Room’ over David’s Tomb on Mount Zion, where they caused a furor.

By AFP

 

Several dozen radical Jews gathered Monday at the Jerusalem site known as the Cenacle to protest against Christian pilgrims praying there for Pentecost, a police spokeswoman said.

Photo: AFP

“Around 30 Jewish faithful gathered to pray in the presence of (rightwing Likud) MK Moshe Feiglin,” Luba Samri told AFP.

The Cenacle, or Upper Room, on Mount Zion is in a two-storey building considered holy to both Christians and Jews, who regard it as the place where the biblical figure David was buried. Continue Reading »

Live feed: Peres meets the Pope at the Vatican to pray for peace along with Abbas

 

Vatican plays down any expectations or that the meeting will lead to any immediate breakthrough in the ailing peace process.


The prayer meeting is being billed as a ‘pause from politics.’

By Reuters

 

Israeli and Palestinian presidents were to meet in an unprecedented prayer meeting with Pope Francis on Sunday, a gesture he hopes will “re-create a desire, a possibility” of relaunching the Middle East’s stalled peace process.

Peres and the Pope - CTV screenshot

Peres and the Pope – CTV screenshot

The Vatican has played down any expectations that the Sunday evening meeting between Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas – billed as a “pause from politics” – will lead to any immediate breakthroughs in the region’s tortuous problems and says it is not meddling in regional issues. Continue Reading »