Building Bridges

Manhattan synagogue welcomes the pope with joy

The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Park East Synagogue in Manhattan was more than a moment of interfaith outreach. It touched the hearts of the pope and those he met, and it left behind a renewed sense of brotherhood, hope and common purpose.

Rabbi Arthur Schneier, the senior rabbi at the synagogue who invited the pope to visit, told CNY later that all in the synagogue were filled with "awe and gratitude"-from the children in the choir, who sang for the pope, to the adults in the pews. But he added, "The pope's message resonated throughout the globe."

"It was a clear message that we have come a long way since 'Nostra Aetate,' " he said. "This was in the spirit of Vatican II, and we can build on this to reach a new plateau of understanding and cooperation."

"Nostra Aetate" is the Vatican II document that opened a new era of understanding in Catholic-Jewish relations.

The visit was the first by a pope to a synagogue in the United States, and only the third papal visit to a synagogue, following those by Pope Benedict in Cologne, Germany, in 2005, and Pope John Paul II in Rome in 1986.

Rabbi Schneier told Pope Benedict from the pulpit of Park East, "Your Holiness, a heartfelt Shalom! The sun is shining, the heavens are rejoicing on this day." Quoting Psalm 133, he continued, "How good and how pleasant it is when brothers come together in peace."

The pope told the congregation, "Shalom! It is with joy that I come here, just a few hours before the celebration of your Pesach, to express my respect and esteem for the Jewish community in New York City."

Among those present was former New York City Mayor Edward I. Koch.

The pope said, "I know that the Jewish community makes a valuable contribution to the life of the city, and I encourage all of you to continue building bridges of friendship with all the many different ethnic and religious groups present in your neighborhood."

The pope also took note of Christianity's roots in Judaism.

"I find it moving," he said, "to recall that Jesus as a young boy heard the words of Scripture and prayed in a place such as this."

Rabbi Schneier, the leader of the congregation since 1962, told CNY that it was particularly significant that the visit took place in the United States, "where millions of people came to liberate themselves from the clutches of persecution and oppression."

"Both the Catholic and Jewish communities have flourished on American soil," he said. "How far they have come in this land of freedom, liberty and opportunity."

Rabbi Schneier saw his synagogue in Vienna, Austria, burned in the pogroms of Kristallnacht in 1938. He fled to Budapest, Hungary, with his widowed mother and narrowly escaped death under the Nazis. He lost two grandparents at Auschwitz and another in the Terezin camp. He came to the United States in 1947.

Pope Benedict was a boy when the Nazis came to power and was forced to join the Hitler Youth. Rabbi Schneier said that he told Pope Benedict in German, "I thank God that he has kept us alive," and in the pope's reaction, "you could see the emotion, of course."

Rabbi Schneier is the founder of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, which works for religious freedom and human rights worldwide. He noted that one of the pope's titles is "Pontifex Maximus"-"bridge-builder."

"It's gratifying for the two of us, who have seen the ravages of war, hunger, pain and suffering, to be building bridges in dialogue and mutual understanding," he said. —Claudia McDonnell

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