Pope Francis likened the fraternal relationship between Christian and Jewish communities to the Chain Bridge connecting the two shores of Budapest and called for unity against antisemitism at a meeting with representatives of the Ecumenical Council of Hungarian Churches and Jewish communities in the Hungarian capital on Sunday.
Pope Francis stressed that the commitment of Jews and Christians has led to the dismantling of past partitions.
„Jews and Christians no longer want to see the stranger, but the friend, not the adversary, but the brother”
— said the Pope, echoing the words of Chief Rabbi Zoltán Radnóti, who spoke before him.
He also noted that the meeting was taking place just between the Jewish New Year and the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.
The Pope cited the Chain Bridge connecting the two parts of the capital as an example, as it “does not melt into one, but connects” the shores.
He stressed that this should be the relationship between Christians and Jews: “Whenever someone wanted to absorb the other, it was not constructive but destructive, like one who wanted to exclude the other instead of embracing him. How many times has this happened in history! (..) We must guard against this and pray that this never happens again.”
We need to work together so that “waves of hatred can no longer sweep away good relations (..) I think of the danger of antisemitism that is still lurking here in Europe and elsewhere (..), this fuse must be put out”
— he added.
The pope explained that instead of isolation and partial interests, people and communities building bridges of unity are needed while respecting everyone’s religious freedom.
Pope Francis read his speech in Italian while sitting in the Marble Hall of the Museum of Fine Arts. He quoted Miklós Radnóti and his lines from the Bor Notebook, [Ed. note: His last collection of poems], as well as Rainer Maria Rilke. The Pope stated that we must help our contemporaries “accept and love one another (..), the world will only believe in us if we become the roots of peace and the seeds of unity.”
The message of the Neolog Chief Rabbi Róbert Frölich, who was hospitalized a few days ago, was also conveyed by Neolog Chief Rabbi Zoltán Radnóti.
„The common religious heritage and sacred traditions of Judaism and Christianity, despite their conflict-laden past, illuminates the present and serves as a beacon for the common future of humanity”
— wrote the Neolog chief rabbi.
As he said: Jews and Christians both know what it is like to be a stranger, what it means to be persecuted for their faith, to be put to death for their beliefs.
„At the same time, we also know that we have experienced countless times throughout our history that those who have God’s love and fear in their hearts see the divine spark in the other; they honor man and the image of God and turn to their fellow man with true love”
— he said.
In his view, in recent decades, Jews and Christians have done much to break down the walls that separate them, walls burdened with a disastrous past, to see each other as not their stranger, but their future friend and brother
— added Rabbi Frölich.
Pope Francis was presented with a silver Torah pointer by Hungary’s Jewish organizations, represented by András Heisler, president of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities; Zoltán Radnóti, Neolog chief rabbi; and Gergő Guba and Gábor Kálmán on behalf of the Reform communities.
Our paper was informed that Rabbi Shlomo Köves of EMIH was absent from the event due to an unexpected illness.
Dennis Prager to Neokohn: Eastern Europe will save Western Civilization – Neokohn