Benedict Honors Jewish Holocaust Victims
Pope Benedict XVI Honors Jewish Holocaust Victims on First Day of Austria Trip
Pope Benedict XVI waves to the pilgrims during a liturgical opening ceremony at the 'Am Hof' square in downtown Vienna, Austria, on Friday Sept. 7, 2007. The pontiff spends a three-day-visit to Austria. Person at left is not identified. (AP Photo/Robert Jaeger, Pool)
ABC News - 2 hours, 17 minutes ago
By VICTOR L. SIMPSON Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria Sep 7, 2007 (AP)
Share Pope Benedict XVI paid solemn tribute to Holocaust victims Friday, extending his "sadness, repentance and friendship" to the Jewish people as he began a three-day pilgrimage to Austria.
Under pelting rain, the German-born pontiff joined Vienna's chief rabbi, Paul Chaim Eisenberg, in quiet prayer before an austere stone memorial honoring the 65,000 Viennese Jews who perished in Nazi death camps and others burned at the stake in the 1400s after refusing to convert.
Earlier Friday, Benedict told reporters on his flight to Austria that the poignant and highly symbolic stop at Vienna's Judenplatz, or Jewish Square, was intended to show "our sadness, our repentance and our friendship to the Jewish people."
In 1938, the city's Jewish community was one of the world's largest and most vibrant with 185,000 members. Today, there are fewer than 7,000.
more...
posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 1:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home