Benedict: shun?

So apparently a lot of Jews are unhappy with the speech Pope Benedict XVI gave at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem this week. Apparently he was not contrite enough, not specific enough, nor did he say anything about Nazis or Germany or Auschwitz, or whether the German-born pontiff used to sing "Deutschland Uber Alles" in school every morning before Latin class. With his every move examined under a microscope during his Mideast swing, the Pope seemingly can't get much love from Israel, Israelis or Jews.

Here's what I say: Give it a rest. Since the beginning of Benedict's papacy, we have known he was no John Paul II, that he had not the same affinity for Jews or Judaism as his predecessor, and that Jewish-Catholic relations were not likely to gallop ahead under Benedict. But after all, this is the Catholic Church, which until only a few decades ago could not in any way be considered a friend of the Jewish people. Zero out John Paul's long and tolerant reign and we have little to cling to vis-a-vis interfaith relations. Benedict is an old school Vatican conservative, a former member of the Hitler Youth: What  can we realistically expect from him other than some version of the famous physician's dictum, "Primum non nocere" -- "First, do no harm."

Mostly, I know how Jewish leaders would feel if their every word was turned over, under, sideways down. Nobody likes to be told what to say or how to say it. I think the world Jewish community should seek to build on the foundation laid by John Paul -- one which Benedict says he wants to build on -- and nurture the friendship between the Jewish and Catholic communities. Perpetuating a feud and shunning the Pope does not help. Nor does the hissy fit over the speech this week.

Do I like this guy? Not especially, and for many reasons beyond his seemingly tepid desire to improve Jewish-Catholic relations. But the Pope is largely a symbol, a symbol of an institution that for some time has been committed to making amends to a Jewish community it had once wronged so badly. Let's focus on the positive and not dwell on the micro-details on one speech.

By the way, I hear Benedict likes Dijon mustard.

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