Benedict XVI vows to pursue dialogue with Jews

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2005

VATICAN CITY (AFP) — Pope Benedict XVI has vowed to pursue better relations with Jews, following a path set by popes Paul VI and John Paul II.

"My predecessors Pope Paul VI and, in a particular way, Pope John Paul II, took significant steps towards improving relations with the Jewish people," Pope Benedict said in a meeting with a high-level Jewish delegation.

"It is my intention to continue on this path," the pontiff said, according to a copy of his remarks released by the Vatican.

The German-born pope said "remembrance of the past remains for both communities a moral imperative."

"This imperative must include a continued reflection on the profound historical, moral and theological questions presented by the experience of the Shoah," he said....