Fear of Muslim anger put off Pope synagogue trip: officials
VATICAN CITY, April 22: Fears of repercussions in the Muslim world or attacks against Christians played a major role in Pope John Paul's decision to decline an invitation to visit Rome's Synagogue again
, Catholic sources said on Thursday.
The Vatican announced on Tuesday night that the 83-year-old pope, who was officially invited to visit the Jewish temple on May 23 for the 100th anniversary of the building, would send two senior cardinals to represent him instead.
A statement gave no official reason why the pope declined the invitation, which would have been a return visit following his historic speech there in 1986. Sources said that while the Vatican wanted the 1986 visit to remain unique and memorable because it was the first by a pope to a synagogue, the international situation made a second visit now risky on many fronts.
"A visit to the synagogue at this time, even if strictly religious in nature, could have been interpreted in parts of the Islamic world as taking of sides," one of the sources said.
They also said the current situation in the Middle East, particularly the heightened state of tension between Israelis and Palestinians and the invasion of Iraq convinced papal aides to advise against a visit.
The decision was also made amid a backdrop of increasingly difficult relations between the Vatican and Israel. The Vatican has deplored the barrier Israel is building in the West Bank and the assassination of Hamas's spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
ANTI-CHRISTIAN BACKLASH: "If all things had been equal and if the world situation was not what is oday, I'm sure he would have gone," another well-placed source said.
Both sources said that in the current international climate a papal visit to a Jewish temple could have sparked violence against Christians in the Muslim world or against Christian sites in the West.
Italy, which has troops in Iraq, has been on high alert in recent weeks for fear of a possible attack by militants. The Vatican opposed the invasion of Iraq, in part because it feared the conflict would drive a wedge between the Christian and Muslim worlds, something which a number of Vatican officials say has come about.
It has also been working hard to limit the fallout on Catholics and other Christians in Muslim countries and urging the international community to end the Iraq conflict. The sources said a papal visit could have further worsened Christian-Muslim relations and hurt the three-way dialogue between Christians, Muslims and Jews which the Vatican feels is essential for a lasting Middle East peace.
The pope's health was not a factor in the decision, the sources said. His overall condition has improved in recent months - so much so that he made a day trip to the mountains east of Rome shortly after Easter. -Reuters
