http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/adl-francis-vatican-pope/2013/03/13/id/494587ADL Applauds Choice of New Pope
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 06:18 PM
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the election of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina as the next Pope Francis I, applauding his close relationship with the Jєωιѕн community.
"We congratulate the new Pope and wish him well in his important new responsibility. We believe that the election of Francis I is a significant moment in the history of the Church. We look forward to working with him to continue to foster Catholic-Jєωιѕн relations as we have with his predecessors. There is much in his record that reassures us about the future," Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director said in a statement.
"Under his leadership in Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergogolio made important strides in maintaining positive Catholic-Jєωιѕн relations following the transformational papacies of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI - pontiffs who launched historic reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Jєωιѕн people.
"Cardinal Bergoglio maintained a close relationship with the Jєωιѕн community in Argentina. He has celebrated various Jєωιѕн holidays with the Argentinian Jєωιѕн community, including Chanukah where he lit a candle on the menorah, attended a Buenos Aires ѕуηαgσgυє for Slichot, a pre-Rosh Hashana service, the Jєωιѕн New Year, as well as a commemoration of Kristallnacht, the wave of violent nαzι attacks against Jєωs before World War II.
"In 2010, during a commemoration of the 1994 bombing, Cardinal Bergogolio called it 'a house of solidarity' and added 'God bless them and help them accomplish their work,' which showed his dedication and support in standing up against extremism.
"In 2010, he together with Argentinian Rabbi Abraham Skorka, published the book “On Heaven and Earth” addressing issues of interfaith dialogue. The new Pope’s sensitivity to the Jєωs emerges from this work in his comments on the Church’s approach to the Jєωιѕн people since Vatican II, the h0Ɩ0cαųst and the Arab-Israeli conflict."
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.