Pope plans Rome synagogue visit

(September 18, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI has sent greetings to Rome's Jewish community for the High Holidays and said he plans to visit the city's main synagogue soon. In a message released on Thursday both by the Vatican as well as the chief rabbi's office, the Pope said that the synagogue visit is motivated by his desire to show his “personal nearness and that of the whole Catholic church” to the Jewish community. In his message the pope invoked "abundant blessings" and "constant encouragement in the deep commitment to promote justice, harmony and peace." The Vatican said the visit is expected to take place before the end of the year. Pope John Paul II made a groundbreaking visit to the Rome synagogue in 1986. Pope Benedict has visited Jewish houses of worship in Cologne, Germany, and New York. The High Holidays begin on Friday with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, followed later by Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement, and Sukkoth that commemorates the passage of Israelites through the wilderness before reaching the Promised Land.