Jewish Community Invites Pope To Help Observe Historic Event During Philly Visit
By Mark Abrams
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- When Pope Francis comes to Philadelphia in September, members of the Jewish community are hoping he'll join them in celebrating the anniversary of a historic event for both faiths.
Naomi Adler, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, says Pope Francis has been invited to take part in a September 27 program at the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations at St. Joseph's University.
"Yes, there has been an official invitation," Adler says. "We, of course, won't know until much closer whether or not there's going to be any response."
The event will mark the 50th anniversary of a document titled "Nostra aetate," a Latin phrase translated "In our time."
It was 1965 when the Roman Catholic Church reached out in word and deed to normalize relations with the worldwide Jewish community. The Second Vatican Council and Pope Paul VI declared all Jews could not be held responsible for the death of Jesus.
The forum and the invite to the pope, she says, just fell into place.
"We thought what a great synergy it might be to have this program at the same time," Adler says, "whether or not the pope was going to actually appear."
Adler says Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Argentina, a close personal friend of Pope Francis since his days as archbishop in Buenos Aires, is planning to attend the St. Joe's event.
Skorka's presence might attract the pope, she hopes, even if it's just a brief stop on his way to Sunday Mass on the Ben Franklin Parkway.
