(17 Sep 09 - RV) Pope Benedict XVI will visit the Synagogue of Rome in the autumn,
an event his says he is greatly looking forward to. The Pope’s words were contained
in a telegram sent to the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Riccardo Di Segni, on the occasion
of the Jewish New Year, Yom Kippur. The Pope, in the
message to Romes’ Jewish community, writes “While I express my best wishes that the
holidays are an occasion for shared joy, I invoke God’s abundant blessings on all
Jews as well as His constant encouragement in all efforts to promote justice, harmony
and peace”. Pope Benedict will travel South of the Tiber in autumn to mark the
23rd anniversary of the historic visit of John Paul II to the synagogue
on April 13, 1986. The date of the visit is yet to be decided. The Chief Rabbi
of Rome, on his part has expressed gratitude for the meaningful and important message.
This is the third synagogue that Benedict XVI will visit, after those in Cologne,
Germany, in August 2005, and Park East in New York in April 2008.