The World Jewish Congress on Monday urged Pope Benedict XVI to crack down on a Polish priest accused of broadcasting anti-Semitic views on his radio station.
”Anti-Semitic statements by the Polish priest Tadeusz Rydzyj … should not be tolerated any more,” the congress’s new president, Ronald Lauder, told the pope during an audience, the group said in a statement.
”He called on the pontiff to take action against those in the church who wanted to do damage to the close and positive relationship between Christians and Jews,” the statement said.
Benedict in August met Rydzyk, the controversial director of Radio Maryja whom he had reprimanded last year.
In response to expressions of alarm over the meeting by Jewish groups, the Vatican issued an unusual clarification, saying it ”implies no change in the well-known position of the Holy See on relations between Catholics and Jews”.
Last year, Rydzyk fell foul of the Vatican over what were considered anti-Semitic broadcasts. Rome ordered Poland’s bishops to set up a watchdog body for the radio, but it apparently has had little impact and the church has faced criticism for failing to bring Rydzyk under control.
During Monday’s audience the pope also ”recognised the question of Iran as an issue of big concern for him”, said congress vice-secretary general Maram Stern, part of the delegation along with secretary general Michael Schneider.
Benedict pledged ”to find how the message can be made, through education, to avoid the hatred of the Iranian leadership towards the Jews and Israel”, Stern said.
”He expressed his concern over the rise in anti-Semitism. The Holy Father said he was very aware of it [and wants to] find a way to make it less prominent through education,” Stern said.
The pontiff said ”cooperation between the Jewish people and the church is a matter that is close to his heart”, Stern added, describing the meeting as ”interesting and cordial”.
Iran’s government vehemently denies charges of anti-Semitism, pointing to the peaceful existence in Iran of a 20 000-strong Jewish community, the largest in the Middle East outside Israel.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad provoked an international outcry shortly after his election in 2005 when he called for Israel to be ”wiped from the map” and described the Holocaust as a ”myth”.
He has since toned down his rhetoric, but last week he reaffirmed his deeply controversial questioning of the mass slaughter of Jews during World War II and his suggestion that Israel could be moved to arctic North America.
Lauder said the pope had agreed in principle to host a ”joint event” with him when Benedict visits New York next year. — Sapa-AFP