The Pope Francis Effect and Catholic-Jewish Relations The_Pope_Francis_Effect | Page 14

war-time pope’s record has been misunderstood. 25 However
this historical debate plays out, it will be a challenge for
Catholic-Jewish relations.

But the promise of Francis’ pontificate remains most
alluring. There has long been concern that the advances in
Catholic-Jewish relations taken for granted in Europe and
even more so in the United States may be harder to achieve
elsewhere, especially where there are few Jews. A pope
whose background is so different from his predecessors and
speaks Spanish as his mother tongue might have the ability
to reach more broadly with the message of Nostra Aetate
and expand this golden age of Catholic-Jewish relations.

When an AJC delegation met with Pope Francis at
the Vatican in February 2014, we presented him with a copy
of the Jewish Museum exhibit book inside an artistic and
inscribed gift box. We showed him page 105 of the
exquisite volume, where a print of White Crucifixion is
included. Francis was moved by our recognition of his
emotional connection to the painting and responded with
a joyous smile.

With Pope Francis, Catholic-Jewish relations have
entered a new stage, normalization. It is all very natural,
without premeditation. It is therefore most appropriate
that the fiftieth anniversary of Nostra Aetate will be
commemorated and celebrated during Francis’ pontificate,
emblematic of the maturity of this cherished interreligious
relationship between sibling faiths. ■
25. “Pope Francis defends Pius XII’s wartime record,” JTA: News Brief,
(June 13, 2014), http://www.jta.org/2014/06/13/news-opinion/world/pope-
francis-defends-pius-xiis-wartime-record, accessed March 5, 2015.
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