PARIS (EJP)---Pope Benedict XVI condemned all forms of anti-Semitism and called for the strengthening of relations between Christians and Jews, at a meeting Friday with French Jewish leaders in Paris.
The Pope, who is on a four-day state visit to France, met the representatives of the French Jewish community at the apostolic nunciature.
During the meeting, he quoted the words of Pope Pius XI: "Spiritually, we are Semites. The Church therefore is opposed to every form of anti-Semitism, which can never be theologically justified."
He mentioned French theologian Henri de Lubac who said that "to be anti-Semitic also signifies being anti-Christian."
Benedict XVI stressed that Christians and Jews "share a relationship that should be strengthened and lived."
"We know that these fraternal bonds constitute a continual invitation to know and respect one another better."
The Pope noted that the meeting took place just before Shabbat, "a day which from time immemorial has occupied a significant position in the religious and cultural life of the people of Israel," he said.
Richard Prasquier, head of CRIF, the umbrella group of French Jewish institutions, said the Pope’s remarks were clearly in line with the reconciliation work started by Pope John Paul II with the Jews.
In his address, Prasquier called the meetings between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people an example for humanity. He also evoked the memory of the Holocaust.
The pontiff thanked the Jewish community for its contribution to French society’s spiritual, political, cultural and artistic patrimony.
Before leaving the meeting, Benedict XVI told the Jewish leaders: “Shabbat Shalom!”
France is home of 600,000 Jews, the largest Jewish population in western Europe.