Pope at Synagogue Regarding Church's Failings: "May These Wounds Be Healed Forever!"

Visiting the Rome synagogue this afternoon (January 17, 2010), Pope Benedict XVI strongly reaffirmed the church's commitment to dialogue with the Jews and its modern teachings against anti-Semitism, according to the Catholic News website.

He also recalled the church's request for forgiveness for the failings of Christians and for all they may have done to contribute to the scourge of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism. "May these wounds be healed forever!" the pope said to applause in the packed synagogue.

Without mentioning Pope Pius XII by name, Pope Benedict responded gently to criticism of the wartime pope, saying that "the Apostolic See itself provided assistance, often in a hidden and discreet way" to Jews in Rome who sought to escape Nazi persecution.

A few minutes earlier -- in a welcoming speech -- Riccardo Pacifici, president of Rome's Jewish community, said the "silence" of Pope Pius was still painful for the Jewish community. Many Jews believe that Pope Pius XII -- who served as pope during World War II -- did not do enough to oppose Germany's Nazism under Adolf Hitler and the holocaust, which resulted in the deaths of more than six million innocent Jews. Ironically, Pope Benedict XVI, who is of German background, served in Hitler's army during World War II.