Pope Benedict's Holocaust Speech to Israel Deemed Inadequate
Pontiff criticized for not apologizing for Catholic church's conduct during war, at the beginning of pilgrimage to Holy Land
Pope Benedict XVI was publicly criticised today for not going far enough in his condemnation of the Holocaust, on his arrival in Israel for a week's pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Within moments of attending a remembrance service at Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial, he came under fire for not apologizing for the Catholic church's wartime conduct.
After landing in Tel Aviv, Benedict delivered a speech calling for the creation of a Palestinian "homeland", but also speaking out against antisemitism, saying its continuance across the world was "totally unacceptable" and should be combated.
"It is right and fitting that, during my stay in Israel, I will have the opportunity to honor the memory of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Shoah," he said, using the Hebrew word for the Holocaust, "and to pray that humanity will never again witness a crime of such magnitude."
His comments seemed intended to repair damage done this year when he lifted the excommunication of four bishops, including the Briton Richard Williamson, who denied the existence of the Nazi gas chambers. The Holocaust is an issue that has long divided Israel and the Vatican, notably over the actions, or inactions, of the second world war pope, Pius XII.
an interfaith meeting the pope was attending was interrupted by a Muslim cleric, Taysir Tamimi, who is also the Palestinian chief justice. He gave an angry, 10-minute speech in Arabic criticizing Israel and the "oppression of the Israeli occupation". Some in the crowd tried to walk out, others applauded.
Tamimi had not been due to speak at the meeting at the Notre Dame centre in Jerusalem. The pope sat through the speech and left shortly afterwards.
The papal spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, described the intervention as "a direct negation of what a dialog should be".
"We hope that such an incident will not damage the mission of the pope aiming at promoting peace and also inter-religious dialog, as he has clearly affirmed in many occasions during this pilgrimage," Lombardi said.
Earlier in the day, after meeting Shimon Peres, Israel's president, the pope visited Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. He did not see the museum, where a photo caption criticizes Pius XII for not speaking out against the Holocaust. But he did attend a service at the hall of remembrance, rekindling the eternal flame. He laid a wreath of yellow and white [the papal colors] flowers, and prayed over a stone slab beneath which are buried the ashes of Holocaust victims.
Moments after the pope had left, Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, chairman of the Yad Vashem council, told Israeli TV he was disappointed by the speech. "There certainly was no apology expressed here," he said.
Lau criticized the pope for not specifically saying 6 million were killed, though Benedict did use the figure in his earlier speech. The rabbi had made the same criticism of Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, who spoke at Yad Vashem in 2000.
Benedict, 82, is only the third pope to visit the Holy Land, and the Vatican only officially recognised Israel in 1993; an agreement between the two sides on property rights and hugely valuable tax exemptions has still not been implemented.
On arrival Benedict called for a "just and lasting" solution in talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Within moments of attending a remembrance service at Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial, he came under fire for not apologizing for the Catholic church's wartime conduct.
After landing in Tel Aviv, Benedict delivered a speech calling for the creation of a Palestinian "homeland", but also speaking out against antisemitism, saying its continuance across the world was "totally unacceptable" and should be combated.
"It is right and fitting that, during my stay in Israel, I will have the opportunity to honor the memory of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Shoah," he said, using the Hebrew word for the Holocaust, "and to pray that humanity will never again witness a crime of such magnitude."
His comments seemed intended to repair damage done this year when he lifted the excommunication of four bishops, including the Briton Richard Williamson, who denied the existence of the Nazi gas chambers. The Holocaust is an issue that has long divided Israel and the Vatican, notably over the actions, or inactions, of the second world war pope, Pius XII.
an interfaith meeting the pope was attending was interrupted by a Muslim cleric, Taysir Tamimi, who is also the Palestinian chief justice. He gave an angry, 10-minute speech in Arabic criticizing Israel and the "oppression of the Israeli occupation". Some in the crowd tried to walk out, others applauded.
Tamimi had not been due to speak at the meeting at the Notre Dame centre in Jerusalem. The pope sat through the speech and left shortly afterwards.
The papal spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, described the intervention as "a direct negation of what a dialog should be".
"We hope that such an incident will not damage the mission of the pope aiming at promoting peace and also inter-religious dialog, as he has clearly affirmed in many occasions during this pilgrimage," Lombardi said.
Earlier in the day, after meeting Shimon Peres, Israel's president, the pope visited Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. He did not see the museum, where a photo caption criticizes Pius XII for not speaking out against the Holocaust. But he did attend a service at the hall of remembrance, rekindling the eternal flame. He laid a wreath of yellow and white [the papal colors] flowers, and prayed over a stone slab beneath which are buried the ashes of Holocaust victims.
Moments after the pope had left, Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, chairman of the Yad Vashem council, told Israeli TV he was disappointed by the speech. "There certainly was no apology expressed here," he said.
Lau criticized the pope for not specifically saying 6 million were killed, though Benedict did use the figure in his earlier speech. The rabbi had made the same criticism of Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, who spoke at Yad Vashem in 2000.
Benedict, 82, is only the third pope to visit the Holy Land, and the Vatican only officially recognised Israel in 1993; an agreement between the two sides on property rights and hugely valuable tax exemptions has still not been implemented.
On arrival Benedict called for a "just and lasting" solution in talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
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