Papal preacher clarifies his reference to Holocaust
(April 5, 2010) The preacher of Pope Benedict XVI Benedict has expressed regret if
Jewish sensibilities were offended by his Good Friday sermon delivered in the presence
of the Pontiff. During the liturgy of the Lord’s Passion, Father Raniero Cantalamessa,
whose is the official preacher of the Pontifical Household, read a passage from a
letter he had received from a Jewish friend, which stated that he saw in recent media
attacks of the Pope over the handling of priestly child sex abuse scandal in the Church
as something reminiscent of the “more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism,” that culminated
in the Holocaust. Afterward, some press reports of Father Cantalamessa’s remarks
stirred up fierce criticism from the Jewish world over the comparison. In response
to the criticism Father Cantalamessa said: “If, against any intention of mine, I offended
the sensibility of Jews and the victims of pedophilia, I sincerely regret it and ask
forgiveness, reaffirming my solidarity with both.” Father Cantalamessa further clarified
that neither the Pope nor any one else had previously heard or ask to check the text
of his sermon prior to its delivery. The Capuchin Friar explained to the Italian
newspaper “Corriere della Sera” that he inserted the letter from his Jewish friend
only because it seemed to him a witness of solidarity with the Pope so harshly attacked
in recent weeks. Later on Good Friday, the director of the Vatican press office,
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, clarified that “it is not the line of the Holy See
to compare the attacks on the Pope over the pedophilia scandal to anti-Semitism.”
“Father Cantalamessa’s intention,” the Jesuit added, “was merely to disclose the solidarity
with the Pope that a Jew has expressed in light of the particular experience of suffering
that his people have had. But it was a citation that could have given rise to misunderstandings.”