Florida Catholic | Local Jewish Leaders Meet With Pope

Local Jewish leaders meet with pope

Bernardo Benes: “The first piece of matzo I ate for this Passover was served by the pope.”

DENISE O’TOOLE KELLY | FLORIDA CATHOLIC STAFF

Published: 04.18.08

Two Floridians whose life’s work has been to build relationships between the Jewish and Catholic communities said they welcomed the opportunity to be among 150 Americans from five non-Christian traditions in the audience for Pope Benedict XVI’s April 17 speech on interreligious cooperation in public life.

But for Rabbi James Rudin and Bernardo Benes – both of whom were invited to the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., to represent the Jewish people at the interfaith gathering – the evening became even more meaningful after that meeting adjourned. Because the solemn observance of Passover was to begin in a couple of days, at sunset April 19, Pope Benedict invited the Jewish contingent to join him afterward for a special message and blessing.

“The first piece of matzo I ate for this Passover was served by the pope,” said Benes, president and CEO of Our Elder Brothers and Sisters, a Miami-based foundation dedicated to grassroots efforts to encourage better Jewish-Christian relations, speaking by phone the next day. “I’m going to tell my children ... I ate matzo at the John Paul II Cultural Center with fellow Jews and leaders of other religions.”

Rabbi Rudin, a Sarasota resident and visiting professor at the Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at Saint Leo University in St. Leo, north of Tampa, said he was honored to be chosen, along with U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Director Sara Bloomfield, to personally accept the pope’s good wishes.

“I walked up to him and I was literally eyeball to eyeball. I said, ‘Thank you for the warm Pesah (Passover) greetings and I receive them on behalf of the whole Jewish community. We look forward to continue working on strengthening mutual respect and unity between our faiths,” Rabbi Rudin told the Florida Catholic April 18. “Then I gave him a blessing – popes usually give other people blessings – ‘Be strong and of good courage.’ … He also said to me in direct conversation that he wants very much to strengthen dialogue right now.”

Pope Benedict expressed a similar sentiment in his earlier remarks to the larger interfaith group, comprising Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and followers of the Jain tradition.

“Dear friends, let our sincere dialogue and cooperation inspire all people to ponder the deeper questions of their origin and destiny. May the followers of all religions stand together in defending and promoting life and religious freedom everywhere,” he said. “By giving ourselves generously in this sacred task – through dialogue and countless small acts of love, understanding and compassion – we can be instruments of peace for the whole human family.”

Benes, who fled Cuba in 1960 at age 25 and went on to a career in banking, real estate development and other endeavors in south Florida, wholeheartedly agreed with Pope Benedict’s suggestion that religious dialogue must be accompanied by action.

“I feel that he’s doing an excellent, excellent job in calling the world for peace,” Benes said. “Too many kids are being hurt not only in the war in the Iraq, but also in the streets of America and everyplace in the world. Religious communities of all religions should take a much more aggressive stand.”

In the area of interreligious relations, Catholic–Jewish relations in particular, Pope Benedict’s predecessor is widely considered to be a tough act to follow. In fact, Benes and his colleagues started their foundation as a legacy to John Paul II and his advocacy for reconciliation between Catholics and Jews.

Rabbi Rudin, who as a leader of the American Jewish Committee met with John Paul II 10 times, said many were concerned about the future of the effort when John Paul died. Rabbi Rudin said he is confident progress will continue under Pope Benedict’s leadership, “but it will be different because time moves on with different people, a different pope.” However, for those who still have doubts, Pope Benedict’s decision to meet with the interfaith leaders on his U.S. visit, and to make additional time for the subsequent Passover greeting and a visit April 18 to a New York City synagogue, is helping to assuage those concerns, the rabbi said.

“From our perspective, in Catholic-Jewish relations, yesterday was a building block. He got to know us better and we got to know him better,” he said.

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