More Mexicans start questioning Catholic doctrine and the concept of the Trinity

In Mexico at last more people start questioning Catholic doctrine and the concept of the Trinity — three Gods in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit — as opposed to one God in the unitarian Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

In 1970, Catholics comprised 96.7 percent of Mexico’s population. By 2010, that number had fallen to 82.7 percent, according to the Pew Research Center. Most of this change is attributed to growth in other Christian denominations. Evangelicals, Protestants and Jehovah’s Witnesses now account for 8 percent of Mexicans who identify with a religion.

But we may also find several Mexicans who could not find themselves at ease with the Christians who do not believe in the Trinity, though they say it was that trinity that bothered them. So why did many Catholics not find non-trinitarian Christians but can they at last find enough places in the Bible to prove there is no such thing as a three-une God. what was it that attracted them to convert and to seek spiritual salvation in Islam?
Pew estimates Mexico will be home to 126,000 Muslims by 2030, up from 111,000 in 2010.

Map showing the relative proportion of Christianity (red) and Islam (green) in each country. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 Pat Dollard looks into the cause in ‘I Realized It’s A Beautiful Religion’ – Mexican Catholics Leaving ‘Dios’ For ‘Allah’

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Inculturation today calling for a different attitude

This January the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church told the press he is aware of the fact that the problem of formation today is not easy to deal with:

“Daily culture is much richer and conflictual than that which we experienced in our day, years ago. Ourculture was simpler and more ordered.

Inculturation today calls for a different attitude. For example: problems are not solved simply by forbidding doing this or that.

Dialog as well as confrontation are needed.

To avoid problems, in some houses of formation, young people grit their teeth, try not to make mistakes, follow the rules smiling a lot, just waiting for the day when they are told: ‘Good. You have finished formation.’

In Rio the Pope identified already clericalism as one of the causes of the

 “lack of maturity and Christian freedom” in the People of God.

It follows that:

 “If the seminary is too large, it ought to be divided into smaller communities with formators who are equipped really to accompany those in their charge.

Dialogue must be serious, without fear, sincere. It is important to recall that the language of young people information today is different from that in the past: we are living through an epochal change. Formation is a work of art, not a police action. We must form their hearts. Otherwise we are creating little monsters. And then these little monsters mold the People of God.”

The Pope then insisted on the fact that formation should not be oriented only toward personal growth but also in view of its final goal: the People of God.

It is important to think about the people to whom these persons will be sent while forming hem:

“We must always think of the faithful, of the faithful People of God. Persons must be formed who are witness of the resurrection of Jesus. The formator should keep in mind that the person in formation will be called to care for the People of God.

We always must think of the People of God in all of this. Just think of religious who have hearts that are as sour as vinegar: they are not made for the people. In the end we must not form administrators, managers, but fathers, brothers, travelling companions. ”

Finally, Pope Francis wanted to highlight a further risk:

 “accepting a young man in a seminary who has been asked to leave a religious institute because of problems with formation and for serious reasons is a huge problem.

The pope was not just speaking about people who recognize that they are sinners:

 we are all sinners, but we are not all corrupt.

Sinners are accepted, but not people who are corrupt.”

Nobody can escape temptation except God Who can not be temted. Jesus was tempted more than once but did not go into the temptation and managed to stay clear of sin.

The present pope is not afraid to go away from difficult questions concerning the may priest who had young children in their care, but misused their power. Pope Francis I recalled Benedict XVI’s important decision in dealing with cases of abuse:

“this should be a lesson to us to have the courage to approach personal formation as a serious challenge, always keeping in mind the People of God.”

Religious should be witnesses of the humanizing power of the Gospel through a life of brotherhood.

The present pope does know the problems, but he also knows that the bishops are not always acquainted with the charisms and works of religious. Qe also should ask the question if the local headquarters are willing to inform the higher hierarchy of what is going wrong in their coutnry.

The Belgian Jesuit Jan Berchmans (1599 -1621) knew already very well this problem. True to his favorite mottos: Age quod agis (Do what you are doing well) and Maximi facere minima (Do the most with the least), he succeeded in accomplishing ordinary things in an extraordinary way and became the patron saint of community life.

To come to a healthy community everybody should be honest and open to each other. No secrets should go around. Once matter do have to be covered up, like we have seen the last few years, there is not only something going really wrong, but it also

"creates a pressure cooker that will eventually explode. A life without conflicts is not life.”

It becomes high time that 'bishops' and all those who are to take care of the flock need to understand that consecrated persons are not functionaries but gifts that enrich dioceses.

"The involvement of religious communities in dioceses is important. Dialogue between the bishop and religious must be rescued so that, due to a lack of understanding of their charisms, bishops do not view religious simply as useful instruments.” 

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Continuation of Church has to grow through witness, not by proselytism

From the "Wake up the world" press conference January 2014

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  Recently you wrote about your annual general body meeting where you decided your goal for the next one year. I do not see it in the content posted regularly on the blog. Instead you seem to be scattering your energies on anything and everything that seems to be going wrong with the administration of the church according to your personal or anyone’s viewpoint. I understand you want to promote freedom of expression so you publish a wide range of topics. However this approach has its drawbacks.
  What is happening is that you are passing judgements and making condemnations in areas which are perhaps not your expertise . e. g. inculturation. As a convert from Hinduism who has respect for the Indian culture inspite of being strictly faithful to the teachings of the catholic church , I personally know how difficult it is for people of non-christian faith to appreciate the Christian faith due to its foreign garb . As Catholics we all have a hierarchy of truths which are expressed in the ‘I Believe’. These are central to the faith whereas ‘kneeling’ or ‘standing’ while receiving Holy Communion is not central to the faith.
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Vision blurred by cumulative burden of divisions

"Our vision is often blurred by the cumulative burden of our divisions and our will is not always free of that human ambition which can accompany even our desire to preach the Gospel as the Lord commanded."

said pope Francis I when he recently met the Archbishop of Canterbury in Rome for the second time since they were installed as leaders of their churches last year.

You may wonder if it are ecumenical talks the pope would like to see more, having the denominations growing closer to each other or like I would prefer it to see having the different denominations respecting each other for their own choices and teachings, loving them as being part of the Body of Christ and sharing with them the brotherly love Jesus preached.

Naturally the Roman Catholic Church may not expect the followers of Christ who prefer to the same God of Jesus, the God of Abraham, to "celebrate the Eucharist together and the Eucharist ... like the ‘burning bush’ in which the Trinity humbly dwells and communicates itself". He may think

"this is why the Church has placed the feast of the Body of the Lord after that of the Trinity.”

there are enough real Christians who only want to worship One True God, the Divine Creator of heaven and earth, of Whom no pictures or graven images may be made and certainly may not be bowded down for or prayed in front off.

For the Holy Father the Divine love of the Trinity is the “origin and goal of the universe and of every creature.”

But according to the Torah we do find in the Bereshit (the Genesis) that Jehovah God is the Divine Creator of everything. He alone is the Holy One Who is eternal, having no beginning and no end, no birth and no death.



As long as the pope considers the Trinity acting as a model of the Church where Christians are called to love with the perfect, sacrificial love of Jesus, it would be difficult to get trinitarian Christians to accept that there are also non-trinitarian Christians and also other believers in God who shall be able to be saved by the grace of God and be able to enter the Kingdom of God.

As long as the Catholic Church and several protestant churches keep up that distorted vision of the Trinity as sole possibility for people to come under God, Jews, non-trinitarian Christians and Muslims will find it difficutl to find honesty in the trials of that Church which says it is for unity and for peace between the monotheistic religions and other people living in this world.

Pope Francis also spoke emphatically of the impossibility of hatred for a Christian.

“It is a contradiction to think of Christians who hate. It’s a contradiction!”

Though I can assure you the letters (and other things), I and my church, often get in our mailbox because we are Christians not believing in the Holy Trinity, does not show much of that love.

The pope his saying:

“distinctive of Christianity, as Jesus has told us: ‘By this they will know that you are my disciples: if you love one another.’”

is often forgotten by his flock, though we must say most controversy and hate is brought to us by different protestant denominations.

Lots of Christians should come to open their eyes to see their is much variety in Christendom and that in those different denominations there are certain belief-points which may be far from each other. Unity should be felt under the choice made "Accepting Jesus as the Messiah". The way how to follow him as a master teacher is too different to bring them fast under one 'tag'.

"True love is boundless, but knows its limits in order to meet others, and respect others' freedom. " (Pope Francis I)

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Church has to grow through witness, not by proselytism

In January pope Francis I spoke about Benedict XVI who said that the Church grows through witness, not by proselytism.

Pope Benedict XVI in Portugal (Photo credit: Catholic Church (England and Wales))

Jesus gave the order to his disciples and to all who wanted to follow him, to go out in the world to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.  Evry person calling himself a Christian, should know that this should mean to be a follower of Christ, should also follow those teachings and orders of that person.

The witness that can really attract is that associated with attitudes which are uncommon:

the pope said and named them:

generosity, detachment, sacrifice, self-forgetfulness in order to care for others. This is the witness, the “martyrdom” of religious life. It “sounds an alarm” for people.

When people are religious those people should make a life for themselves filled with with thinkings which are not always of this world. Looking at this world, we can not escape living in it but should be careful not to become 'of it'.

 “religious life ought to promote growth in the Church by way of attraction."

continued the pope.

“The Church,” therefore, “ must be attractive. Wake up the world! Be witnesses of a different way of doing things, of acting, of living! It is possible to live differently in this world. We are speaking of an eschatological outlook, of the values of the Kingdom incarnated here, on this earth. It is a question of leaving everything to follow the Lord. 

The pope did not want to say “radical.”

Evangelical radicalness is not only for religious: it is demanded of all. But religious follow the Lord in a special way, in a prophetic way. It is this witness that I expect of you. Religious should be men and women who are able to wake the world up.”

 Pope Francis has returned in a circular fashion to concepts that he has already touched on, exploring them more deeply. In fact he continued:

“You should be real witnesses of a way of doing and acting differently. But in life it is difficult for everything to be clear, precise, outlined neatly. Life is complicated; it consists of grace and sin. He who does not sin is not human. We all make mistakes and we need to recognize our weakness. A religious who recognizes himself as weak and a sinner does not negate the witness that he is called to give, rather he reinforces it, and this is good for everyone. What I expect of you therefore is to give witness.

The pope wants this special witness from religious people and warns them to look out not to restrict themselves to dogmatic teachings endangering them to go into fundamentalism.

From the "Wake up the world" press conference January 2014

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  Some things he said in the interview are a frankly a little shocking. He told the interviewer, Eugenio Scalfari, “Proselytism is solemn nonsense.” That’s a rather dismissive way to treat millennia of Christian apologetics. The pope’s views on conscience were also odd, from a Christian perspective. “Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them,” the pope said. “That would be enough to make the world a better place.” With respect, “do what you think is right” is not the Christian view of conscience. That sounds more like Anthony Kennedy than St. Paul. And would the world really be a better place if everyone did what he thought was right? How about jihadis?
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  the Church would “never go beyond its task of expressing and disseminating its values, at least as long as I’m here.” What the Pope seems to mean is that the Church as an institution should avoid getting involved in the workings of government and political parties, but that its prophetic role remains.
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  Christianity is a proselytizing faith that seeks to win over converts.  No other major religion—including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism—except Islam itself has this missionary aspect (these faiths tend to be coterminous with their respective ethnicities: Buddhists, Asians; Judaism, Jews; Hinduism, Hindus).    Thus because Christianity is the only religion that is actively confronting Muslims with the truths of its own message, not only is it the primary religion to be accused of proselytizing but, by publicly uttering teachings that contradict Muhammad’s, Christians are accused of blaspheming as well.  Similarly, this proselytizing element is behind the fact that most Muslims who apostatize to other religions overwhelmingly convert to Christianity.  Finally, if indigenous Christians are many in the Middle East, because that is the cradle of Christianity, in other regions with large Muslim populations, such as sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia, Christian missionaries have won over millions of converts to the faith—many of whom are now targeted and persecuted according to Islam’s anti-apostasy law, which often calls for the death penalty.
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  Christianity is the quintessential religion of martyrdom.  From its inception—beginning with Jesus followed by his disciples and the early Church—many Christians have accepted martyrdom rather than recant their faith, in ancient times at the hands of Romans, in Medieval and modern times at the hands of pious Muslims and others.  Few other religions encourage their adherents to embrace death rather than recant, as captured by Christ’s own words: “But whoever denies me before men, I will deny him before my Father in heaven” (Matt 10:33; see also Luke 14:33).”   Conversely, Islam teaches Muslims to openly renounce their faith (taqiyya)—not just when their lives are threatened, but even as a stratagem of war—as long as they remain Muslim in their hearts.  Other religions and sects also approve of dissimulation to preserve their adherents’ lives.  Back in the 1800s, for instance, Samuel M. Zwemer, a Christian missionary, observed that in Iran “Bahaism enjoys taqiyya (concealment of faith) as a duty, but Christianity demands public profession; and hence in Persia it is far easier to become a Bahai than to become a Christian.”

Some christians do have problems with the Christian connection with Jews

Mainly American Christians do show their disgust with Judaism. Doing so they forget that Jeshua, Jesus Christ, the man who they are supposed to follow was a very devout Jew, belonging to the Jewish sect of the Essenes.

Many Americans say the Jews killed Jesus, but it would be the same as Europeans saying the Americans killed our compatriots in World War II or they killed the Afghanistan and the Iraqis and the Iranians and the Vietnamese and the Koreans and so on. It were some Jews and other people present in Jerusalem at that time who were agitated by the Pharisees and certain Jewish leaders, but not by all the Jews, who also saw in Jesus one of their own.

Also the new Pope is aware it would be better if more Christians started to investigate the Jewish roots of Christianity and the Christian flowering of Judaism.
Francis said.

 “I understand it is a challenge, a hot potato, but it is possible to live as brothers.”

Francis’ statement seems to go further than his predecessor, St. John Paul II, who made headlines in 1986 as the first pope to visit Rome’s main synagogue and declared Jews to be the “elder brothers” of the Christian faith.

“Every day, I pray with the Psalms of David. My prayer is Jewish, then I have the Eucharist, which is Christian,”

the Argentine pontiff added.

Too many Christians do not use the Old Testament, but it was the main part of Jesus his teaching. At that time there was only the Old Testament which was brought to the beleivers in the One God, which was the Divine Creator, God of Adam, God of Abraham and the God of Israel, God His people.

Those Jews are still God His people, we may never forget that.

Certain  right-wing Christians in their denial of the Jewish connection even go so far to deny the Christians would not have killed many of those people of God. A denial of the Holocaust the pope criticizes as “madness.”

Deutsch: Pius XII., Glückwunschschreiben zum 100. Jubiläum des Pilger in Speyer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Francis I also defended the record of Pope Pius XII, who led the Roman Catholic Church during World War II. Francis will soon have to decide whether to advance the sainthood cause for the controversial wartime pope, who is accused of failing to speak out publicly against the mass murder of Jews. For years, Jewish leaders and Nazi hunters have demanded the Vatican open up its secret wartime files.


Some Jews have accused Pius, who ruled from 1939 to 1958, of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust. The controversy has put a strain on Catholic-Jewish relations for decades.


Francis said he was concerned about

 “everything which has been thrown at poor Pius XII,”

while stressing that he sheltered Jews in the convents of Rome and other Italian cities, as well as the popes’ summer residence in Castel Gadolfo. Strange though that the Catholic Church did not come sooner with proof of such actions. We do know about nuns and priests who took all possibilities to bring Jews in safety. Many also told lies to the German soldiers to protect others. Their concious may have got very harsh times. but how was the concious of pope Pius XII?

The Vatican says Pius worked behind the scenes to save thousands of Jews and did not speak out more forcefully for fear that his words could have led to more deaths of both Jews and Christians at the hands of the Nazis


Pope Francis warns us to be careful, all being able to make mistakes.

"I don't want to say that Pius XII did not make any mistakes - I myself make many - but he has to be seen in the context of that era. For example, was it better for him not to speak out so that more Jews were not killed, or that he speak out?"

he said and added that Pius XII ordered the Church to hide many Jews in the convents of Rome and other Italian cities, that he sheltered Jews in the papal summer residence south of Rome and that 42 children of Jews and other refugees were born in his apartments there.



Francis added that he breaks out in an “existential rash” when he hears people speak against Pius and the church’s wartime record while ignoring inaction by the Allies fighting against Nazi Germany or forgetting the responsibility of the great wartime powers.

“Did you know that they knew perfectly well the rail network used by the Nazis to take the Jews to the concentration camps? They had photographs,”

 “But they did not bomb these rail lines. Why? It would be nice if we spoke a little bit about everything.”

Already in the 1930ies English and Americans did know about certain plans of the Germans, but they did not find it appropriate to react then, when there was still time to prtect further escalation.


Last month, Francis visited the Yad Vashem memorial to Holocaust victims in Jerusalem. The Yad Vashem's website, addressing the issue of the allies' activity during the war, says:

 "In practice, no military initiatives were taken to prevent or delay the extermination."

While some historians have argued those train lines should have been bombed, other historians note the allies were losing planes and airmen at such a high rate, and the lasting effects of the bombing of those train lines would have been so slight, that bombing them made no military or humanitarian sense.


Jewish groups have asked Francis and his predecessors to freeze the process that could lead to sainthood for Pius until the all the World War Two era archives are opened to historians, saying Catholic-Jewish relations could be harmed if the process moved ahead.

Speaking to reporters on the plane returning from Jerusalem last month, Francis said the sainthood cause for Pius was stalled because he had not been credited with performing a miracle, which Church rules require, suggesting it was not stalled because of any outside pressure.

Francis also used that interview to condemn anti-Semitism. He reportedly said it is a continuing problem that was primarily seen in right-wing European political parties which still continue to try to bring a screen in front of the people by ignoring the facts of history like the holocaust.

Francis confirmed that he intends to open the Vatican archives wartime collection.

"They will shed a lot of light,"

 the Pope said.


During Friday’s interview with the Barcelona daily, Francis was also asked about his own security, saying he refused to travel in a bulletproof “sardine can” vehicle because he wants to mingle with ordinary people.

“It is true that anything can happen, but let’s face it, at my age I have nothing to lose,”

the 77-year-old pontiff said. The way he can  now be in contact with young and old is much more important. Such a personal contact can do the Catholic Church some good to reboost it again.

Related articles

• Pope To Open Vatican WW2 Archives, Insists Wartime Pope Did Not Ignore Plight Of Jews (failedmessiah.typepad.com)
  "was it better for him not to speak out so that more Jews were not killed, or that he speak out?" Francis reportedly said, adding that the wartime pope’s critics "have dumped all kinds of things on poor Pius XII.”
  +The current Pope needs to read John Cornwell's book "Hitler's Pope." The book was written as part of an exercise to determine WHETHER Pius ignored the plight of the Jews. In conclusion the Pope was not so much an anti-Semite as "a deeply flawed man" who ignored the plight of Jews and Catholics. Professor Cornwell studied at Jesus College (not YU, BMG or Gush). Later, with the pressure on him, the author retracted.
  +
  
  Pius XI (according to David Kertzer's new book) spent most of his papacy collaborating with Mussolini, who agreed to restore much Papal power that had been stripped by the democratization of Italy (including antisemitic laws... up to what Church law had permitted before.) Both, though for very different reasons, loathed Communism and both had contempt for democracy. Only towards the end of his papacy did Pius XI realize his error in getting in bed with Mussolini; he tried to reverse course but faced opposition in the Vatican, which was heavily penetrated by Mussolini's agents and sympathizers.
  So Pius XII, by inclination and training, a diplomat, had about four years in office (in a divided and antisemitic Vatican) before the Nazis took over Northern Italy and installed their own racial laws.
  The "Hitler's Pope" meme may have originated, and at any rate was spread, as part of a Communist disinformation campaign.
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  reading Gershom Gorenberg’s fantastic account of the Pope’s visit, something doesn’t sit right. At Yad Vashem, Pope Francis kissed the hands of elderly survivors. He was gracious. He said many things one might expect a religious leader to say in that place on that occasion.  His comments would have been pitch-perfect, had he been visiting (say) Gandhi’s tomb far to the east.  But that wasn’t where he was….
  What he did not do was to acknowledge his special responsibilities as the leader of the Catholic Church. He was not there—could not be there– as an individual righteous pilgrim offering comfort and good will to both sides in a tragic dispute. He was visiting in his capacity as the leader of an institution with a complicated and troubled history to precisely the events mourned at that memorial.
  
• The Things This Man Will Do For Publicity (sbyvl.wordpress.com)
  I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again.  Roman Catholicism and Talmudic Judaism do not share common roots.  Talmudic Judaism is a man-made religion, and the sworn enemy of Holy Mother Church.  It has sought for 2,000 years to destroy her, and after centuries of conspiring, they all but succeeded in the wake of the Second Vatican Council.  To recognize this fact is not Antisemitic.  It is interesting, however, that Francis has never spoken about Muslims who are actually Anti-Semitic (i.e. willing to kill someone simply because he is a Jew).
• Sainthood of two kosher Popes (rehmat1.com)
  The organized Jewry couldn’t hide its joy over the announcement that Pope Francis is formally conducting the canonization ceremony for two Crypto-Jewish Popes, John XXIII and John Paul II on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom Hashoah), April 27, 2014.
  The Vatican’s selection of these two popes to be declared ‘Saint of Roman Catholic’ church, is not based on what they did for 1.1 billion Catholic sheep, but for embedding respect for Jews and Talmudism in official Catholic beliefs.
  “These two popes transformed not just the Church, but made bigger impact on the outside world – and on us. As a Jew, my life, and the safety and security of Jews, have been improved by the actions of these two individuals,” said Rabbi Garry Bretton-Granatoor, vice-president of the World Union of Progressive Judaism.
  
• Pope Francis Stands Up against False Historians Who Slander The Catholic Church, And Shows The Truth As To How The Catholic Church Saved Jews (shoebat.com)
  Pope Francis stood up against false historians who continuously slander Pope Pius XII, and showed how Pius XII saved Jews from Nazi persecution.
  +
  I have written several articles critical of Francis, but I do not do so out of hatred, but discernment and love. In this case Francis is doing very well in pointing out the historical inaccuracies that commonly are used to libel and tarnish the reputation of one of the greatest heroes for God and His people in history.
  We have written an article documenting what feats of heroism Pope Pius XII did to save hundreds of thousands of Jews. Click here to read it
  Just as Pope Pius XII saved Jews during the Holocaust, so must we save Christians who are currently being persecuted by the Muslims.
• Sainthood may be the only way to end Pius XII controversy; also, an interview with Vatican's "sexy bombshell" (bostonglobe.com)
  From a purely political point of view, however, there’s a strong case for a highly counterintuitive conclusion: the best thing for Catholic-Jewish ties would be to canonize Pius XII tomorrow.
  Perhaps no Catholic figure of the 20th century has been the object of more heated debate than Eugenio Pacelli, the given name of the pontiff who reigned from 1939 to 1958. The vast literature makes up what wags call the “Pius Wars,” referring to polemical exchanges between the pope’s critics and his defenders.
  The former argue that Pius stayed silent because he preferred to protect the Church’s institutional interests. Defenders say the pope was discreet in public in order not to make things worse, but behind the scenes he saved scores of Jewish lives.
  A sainthood cause for Pius began shortly after his death. In the meantime, three pontiffs who came later have leapfrogged past him: John XXIII and John Paul II are now saints, and Paul VI will be beatified in October.
  
• Pope slams Allies over WWII actions (warhistoryonline.com)
  Pope Francis has criticised Allied forces for failing to bomb the railway lines that led to concentration camps in World War II. He also defended pope Pius XII, who has long been accused of remaining silent in the face of the Nazi Holocaust and the mass murder of millions of Jews. ‘I don’t know why everyone picks on Pius XII and the Church, but no one talks about the Allied Forces,’ Francis said in a wide-ranging interview published on Friday in the Barcelona-based daily La Vanguardia.
• Should the Pope push through the canonisation of Pius XII? (catholicherald.co.uk)
  Fr Rutler’s book is keenly relevant on this subject – not least because of an article written on June 14 by the veteran Vatican-watcher and journalist, John L Allen, of the Boston Globe. In it he suggests that “the best thing for Catholic Jewish ties right now might be to canonise Pius XII tomorrow and get it over with.” As is well known, the cause for Pius’s canonisation has been bogged down for years over the controversy surrounding his wartime record: could he or could he not have done more to help the plight of the Jews in Europe who were being at first persecuted and finally exterminated by the Nazis?
  +
  If Pius XII had spoken more frankly and showed less “self-restraint” it might have helped his later legacy – but it would certainly have also occasioned more savage reprisals by the Nazis. Rutler’s book brings together some additional proofs, if they are needed, and from Jewish sources, of the very real “charitable, financial and moral assistance” of the wartime pope. Perhaps, as John Allen suggests, there is now a case for simply getting on with the process of his canonisation.
• Becoming saints: Two popes who revolutionized Jewish-Catholic relations (jta.org)
  These two post-Holocaust pontiffs revolutionized relations between Catholics and Jews, fostering interfaith dialogue and embedding respect for Jews and Judaism in official Catholic dogma.
  “These two popes transformed not just the church, but made a bigger impact on the outside world — and on us,” said Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor, a vice president of the World Union of Progressive Judaism and longtime participant in Jewish-Catholic dialogue. “As a Jew, my life, and the safety and security of Jews, have been improved by the actions of these two individuals.”
  
• Pope Francis leads Catholic Church in pro-Jewish direction (theuglytruth.wordpress.com)
  
  
  

  

  I strongly disagree with Caroline Glick’s conclusion in her May 27 article that Pope Francis “is leading the Catholic Church in a distressingly anti-Jewish direction.” I can understand Caroline’s distress at some of the pope’s actions and words but it is important to have balance and not draw wrong conclusions.

  Pope Francis is totally committed to reconciliation between the Church and Israel. I would like to demonstrate this under five headings: 1. State of Israel Pope Francis in his first Encyclical in November 2013 affirmed God’s everlasting covenant with the Jews: “We hold the Jewish people in special regard because their covenant with God has never been revoked, for ‘the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable’ (Rom 11:29).”