Exhibit Honors John Paul II's Efforts Toward Jews

Exhibit Honors John Paul II's Efforts Toward Jews

NewsMax.com Wires
Thursday, May 19, 2005

CINCINNATI -- The late Pope John Paul II once said it was necessary for Christians and Jews to be "first a blessing to one another," and many credit the pontiff with bringing followers of each faith closer.

Jewish leaders who praised the way John Paul reached out to them during his papacy have joined with a Jesuit university for a historical tribute of his life.

Story Continues Below

"A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II & the Jewish People" includes hundreds of photos, murals, videos and artifacts starting with the childhood in Poland of Karol Wojtyla, who extended papal recognition to Israel and prayed for reconciliation at the Wailing Wall.

Sponsors hope it will tour Roman Catholic and Jewish universities and other venues in the United States before heading to Europe, and later becoming a permanent display in Israel.

The interactive exhibit was scheduled to open Thursday at Xavier University, then move in midsummer to the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington.

"In some sense, you have a feeling that his spirit pervades this whole thing," said Rabbi Jack Bemporad, of Secaucus, N.J., director of the Center for Interreligious Understanding.

"It's almost better than an audience with him," said Bemporad, who met with John Paul several times. "It's almost like you get into his soul."

The exhibit was planned as a celebration of what would have been the pope's 85th birthday on Wednesday. John Paul died April 2.

Bemporad last saw the pontiff in January, when he introduced him to a group of rabbis and cantors.

"He was so loving and so caring ... he opened his arms to embrace everyone there," Bemporad said. "He really pulled himself together to be able to speak and to say how important this group of rabbis and cantors and Jewish leaders were to him."

The exhibit traces John Paul's life from his boyhood in Wadowice, Poland, through World War II, his ascent in the Roman Catholic Church and his outreach to Jews. Many of his personal effects, including the cane and monogrammed skull cap used on his visit to Israel in 2000, are on loan from museums and private collections.

The title comes from an April 1993 speech on the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, in which John Paul called reconciliation "the common task awaiting us."

"It is therefore necessary for us, Christians and Jews, to be first a blessing to one another," he said.

Retired Cardinal Edward Cassidy came from Australia for the exhibit's unveiling.

"As I went through, it was hard to keep the tears from flowing," he said.

Editor's note:
The Pope's New Book Is Shocking Europe – Read It! FREE OFFER – Click Here Now
Pope Benedict XVI – Find Out What He Really Believes – Click Here Now

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
The Popes Passing