Italy's Jews divided over Pope's synagogue visit

Italy's Jewish community was divided yesterday over an impending visit by Pope Benedict XVI to Rome's main synagogue after he angered many by moving World War II-era pope Pius XII closer to sainthood.

Possibly adding fuel to the fire, the pontiff yesterday urged Vatican doctrinal experts to speed rapprochement with a Catholic fraternity that includes a Holocaust-denying bishop, Richard Williamson.

The President of Italy's assembly of rabbis, Giuseppe Laras, has already announced that he will shun the synagogue visit tomorrow.

"I'm afraid it will not have a positive effect on Jewish-Catholic dialogue," said the former chief rabbi of Milan.

Three days after the Pope sparked anger among Jewish groups by bestowing the title "venerable" on the wartime pope, a necessary step towards beatification and eventual sainthood, the Vatican said the honour concerned Pius XII's piety and not his historical role.

Mr Laras said he felt the explanation came up short and failed to show an "understanding of the feelings of the Jewish community."

However, Rome's Grand Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni sought to calm the waters, saying the visit was a sign that Pope Benedict wanted to "continue the dialogue".

Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, was also conciliatory, saying: "I have full understanding for the sensitivity of the survivors of the Holocaust, and we must respect this sensitivity."

He said the 82-year-old Pope's synagogue visit would be aimed at seeking common ground, adding: "We have a new atmosphere with Judaism even if there are difficulties."

Renzo Gattegna, who heads the Union of Communities of Italian Jews, agreed that the visit should go forward despite the "protests and criticism."

But he added: "Still, it cannot be denied that some decisions taken by the current Pope in 2009 led to moments of tension and concern on the Jewish side."

Mr Gattegna listed the Pius XII and Williamson affairs as well as Pope Benedict's decision to rehabilitate the Latin version of the Catholic Church's Good Friday Mass, which contains a prayer for the conversion of the Jews.

Ordinary Jews were also divided on the visit. "My father-in-law died in a concentration camp. On Sunday I'm going to the club to watch the game," Angelo Sermoneta, 62, told the daily La Repubblica.

"Nothing ever changes between the Catholic Church and the Jews: with us they make one step forward and three steps back," he added.