http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=57598

Vatican will repudiate "proselytizing," Jєωιѕн leader says  

Rome, Apr. 3, 2008 (CWNews.com) - A Vatican statement clarifying the meaning of an amended Good Friday prayer for the Jєωιѕн people will be released within a week, according to a Jєωιѕн leader involved in discussions with the Holy See.

Rabbi David Rosen, the chairman of the International Jєωιѕн Committee on Inter-religious Consultations, has told reporters that Cardinal Tarciscio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, will sign the statement, which has been approved by Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news). The Vatican itself has not commented on the latest reports.

The clarifying statement will respond to concerns raised by Jєωιѕн leaders after Pope Benedict issued a new version of the traditional prayer for Jєωs in the 1961 Roman Missal. The revised text-- used only in Latin, in the few churches where the extraordinary form of the liturgy is used during the Easter Triduum-- preserves the traditional prayer that the Jєωιѕн people might come to recognize Jesus as their Redeemer. Some Jєωιѕн leaders protested that wording, claiming that it was a setback for inter-religious dialogue since it expresses a desire to convert Jєωs to the Christian faith.

Rabbi Rosen, who said that he has seen a draft of the clarifying statement, said that reassurance on that point would repair any problems in Catholic-Jєωιѕн relations. It should be understood, he said, that the Good Friday prayer "certainly in no way compromises the Church's total opposition to proselytizing."