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 WASHINGTON-Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York called on everyone "concerned about the tragedy of abortion" to recommit to a "vision of life and love, a vision that excludes no one" on January 14. His statement marks the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Cardinal Dolan chairs the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"Most Americans oppose a policy allowing legal abortion for virtually any reason - though many still do not realize that this is what the Supreme Court gave us," wrote Cardinal Dolan. "Most want to protect unborn children at later stages of pregnancy, to regulate or limit the practice of abortion, and to stop the use of taxpayer dollars for the destruction of unborn children. Yet many who support important goals of the pro-life movement do not identify as 'pro-life,' a fact which should lead us to examine how we present our pro-life vision to others."

"Even as Americans remain troubled by abortion," wrote Cardinal Dolan, a powerful and well-funded lobby holds "that abortion must be celebrated as a positive good for women and society, and those who cannot in conscience provide it are to be condemned for practicing substandard medicine and waging a 'war on women'." He said this trend was seen recently when President Obama and other Democratic leaders prevented passage of the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act, "a modest measure to provide for effective enforcement" of conscience laws.

"While this is disturbing," said Cardinal Dolan, "it is also an opportunity." Pro-life Americans should reach out to "the great majority of Americans" who are "open to hearing a message of reverence for life." He added that "we who present the pro-life message must always strive to be better messengers. A cause that teaches the inexpressibly great value of each and every human being cannot show disdain or disrespect for any fellow human being." He encouraged Catholics to take part, through prayer and action, in the upcoming "9 Days for Life" campaign, January 16-24. More information on the campaign is available online: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxJwfcefUiU

He also cited the Year of Mercy called by Pope Francis as a time for women and men to find healing through the Church's Project Rachel post-abortion ministry.

The full text of Cardinal Dolan's message is available online.
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Keywords: Roe v. Wade, anniversary, Pro-Life, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, 9 Days for Life, USCCB, U.S. bishops, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Year of Mercy, Project Rachel, Pope Francis
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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday became the third pope to visit Rome's synagogue in a sign of continuing Catholic-Jewish friendship.

During the visit that featured welcome speeches by prominent members of Rome's Jewish community and a speech by the Pope, Francis greeted a number of people including including several Holocaust survivors. 

Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni: 

Pope Francis recalled the tragedy of the Holocaust and  paid  tribute to the over  2000 Jews who were deported by the Nazis in Rome in October 1943.

He said the past must serve as a lesson for the present and for the future and said that the Holocaust teaches us that utmost vigilance is always needed to be able to take prompt action in defense of human dignity and peace.

The visit, which follows on from that of Pope Benedict XVI in January 2010 and the historic encounter of Pope Saint John Paul II with former Rabbi Elio Toaff there in 1986.

It also comes on the heels of the publication, last December of an important new document from the Vatican’s Commission for religious relations with Jews, exploring the theological developments during the past half century of dialogue between Catholics and Jews.

During his speech to those present Pope Francis highlighted how Catholic – Jewish  relations are very close to his heart and he spoke of how a spiritual bond has been created between the two communities favouring the growth of a genuine friendship and giving life to a shared commitment.

He said we share a unique and special bond thanks to the Jewish roots of Christianity and that we must therefore feel as brothers, united by the same God and by a rich common spiritual patrimony upon which to build the future.

Pope Francis referred to the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration “Nostra Aetate” which made possible the systematic dialogue between the Catholic Church and Judaism and which set the ground for Jewish Catholic dialogue, and he encouraged all those involved in this dialogue to continue in this direction, with discernment and perseverance. 

The Pope also said that along with theological issues, we must not lose sight of the big challenges facing the world today and he said that Christians and Jews can and must offer humanity the message of the Bible regarding the care of creation as well as always promote and defend human life. 

We must pray with insistence to help us put into practice the logic of peace, of reconciliation, of forgiveness, of life, in Europe, in the Holy Land, in the Middle East, in Africa and elsewhere in the world. And – he concluded – we have to be thankful for all that has been realized in the last fifty years of Catholic Jewish dialogue because between us mutual understanding, mutual trust and friendship have grown and deepened.

Please find below Vatican Radio’s translation of the Pope’s address:

I'm happy to be here today with you in this Synagogue. I thank Dr. Di Segni, Mrs  Durighello and Mr Gattegna for their kind words. And  I thank you all for your warm welcome, thank you! Tada Toda Rabba, thank you!

During my first visit to this synagogue as Bishop of Rome, I wish to express to you and to extend to all Jewish communities, the fraternal greetings of peace of the whole Catholic Church.

Our relations are very close to my heart. When in Buenos Aires I used to go to the synagogues and meet the communities gathered there, I used to follow Jewish festivities and commemorations and give thanks to the Lord who gives us life and accompanies us on the path of history. Over time, a spiritual bond has been created which has favoured the birth of a genuine friendship and given life to a shared commitment. In interreligious dialogue it is essential that we meet as brothers and sisters before our Creator and to Him give praise, that we respect and appreciate each other and try to collaborate. In Jewish-Christian dialogue there is a unique and special bond thanks to the Jewish roots of Christianity: Jews and Christians must therefore feel as brothers, united by the same God and by a rich common spiritual patrimony (cf. Declaration. Nostra Aetate, 4 ), upon which to build the future.

With this visit I follow in the footsteps of my predecessors. Pope John Paul II came here thirty years ago, on 13 April 1986; and Pope Benedict XVI was amongt you six years ago. On that occasion John Paul II coined the beautiful description "elder brothers", and in fact you are our brothers and sisters in the faith. We all belong to one family, the family of God, who accompanies and protects us, His people. Together, as Jews and as Catholics, we are called to take on our responsibilities towards this city, giving first of all a spiritual contribution, and favouring the resolution of various current problems. It is my hope that closeness, mutual understanding and respect between our two  communities continue to grow. Thus, it is significant that I have come among you today, on January 17, the day when the Italian Episcopal Conference celebrates the "Day of dialogue between Catholics and Jews."

We have just commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration “Nostra Aetate” which made possible the systematic dialogue between the Catholic Church and Judaism. On 28 October last, in St. Peter's Square, I was able to greet a large number of Jewish representatives to whom I said “Deserving of special gratitude to God is the veritable transformation of Christian-Jewish relations in these 50 years. Indifference and opposition have changed into cooperation and benevolence. From enemies and strangers we have become friends and brothers. The Council, with the Declaration Nostra Aetate, has indicated the way: “yes” to rediscovering Christianity’s Jewish roots; “no” to every form of anti-Semitism and blame for every wrong, discrimination and persecution deriving from it.” Nostra Aetate explicitly defined theologically for the first time the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism. Of course it did not solve all the theological issues that affect us, but we it provided an important stimulus for further necessary reflections. In this regard, on 10 December 2015, the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews published a new document that addresses theological issues that have emerged in recent decades since the promulgation of “Nostra Aetate”. In fact, the theological dimension of Jewish-Catholic dialogue deserves to be more thorough, and I wish to encourage all those involved in this dialogue to continue in this direction, with discernment and perseverance. From a theological point of view, it is clear there is an inseparable bond between Christians and Jews. Christians, to be able to understand themselves, cannot not refer to their Jewish roots, and the Church, while professing salvation through faith in Christ, recognizes the irrevocability of the Covenant and God’s constant and faithful love for Israel .

Along with theological issues, we must not lose sight of the big challenges facing the world today.  That of an integral ecology is now a priority, and us Christians and Jews can and must offer humanity the message of the Bible regarding the care of creation. Conflicts, wars, violence and injustices open deep wounds in humanity and call us to strengthen a commitment for peace and justice. Violence by man against man is in contradiction with any religion worthy of that name, and in particular with the three great monotheistic religions. Life is sacred, a gift of God. The fifth commandment of the Decalogue says: "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13). God is the God of life, and always wants to promote and defend it; and we, created in his image and likeness, are called upon to do the same. Every human being, as a creature of God, is our brother, regardless of his or her origin or religious affiliation. Each person must be viewed with favour, just as God does, who offers his merciful hand to all, regardless of their faith and of their belonging, and who cares for those who most need him: the poor, the sick, the marginalized , the helpless. Where life is in danger, we are called even more to protect it. Neither violence nor death will have the last word before God,  the God of love and life. We must pray with insistence to help us put into practice the logic of peace, of reconciliation, of forgiveness, of life, in Europe, in the Holy Land, in the Middle East, in Africa and elsewhere in the world.

In its history, the Jewish people has had to experience violence and persecution, to the point of  extermination of European Jews during the Holocaust. Six million people, just because they belonged to the Jewish people, were victims of the most inhumane barbarity perpetrated in the name of an ideology that wanted to replace God with man. On October 16, 1943, over a thousand men, women and children Rome’s Jewish community were deported to Auschwitz. Today I wish to remember them in a special way: their suffering, their fear, their tears must never be forgotten. And the past must serve as a lesson for the present and for the future. The Holocaust teaches us that utmost vigilance is always needed to be able to take prompt action in defense of human dignity and peace. I would like to express my closeness to every witness of the Holocaust who is still living; and I address a special greeting to those who are present here today.

Dear brothers, we really have to be thankful for all that has been realized in the last fifty years, because between us mutual understanding, mutual trust and friendship have grown and deepened. Let us pray together to the Lord, to lead the way to a better future. God has plans of salvation for us, as the prophet Jeremiah says: "I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the Lord - plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope" (Jer 29 , 11). “The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!  (cf. 6.24 to 26 Nm). Shalom Alechem!

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IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring

By Cindy Wooden

ROME (CNS) -- While the Catholic Church affirms that salvation comes through Jesus, it also recognizes that God is faithful and has not revoked his covenant with the Jewish people, Pope Francis said.

Interrupted repeatedly with applause at Rome's main synagogue Jan. 17, the pope said the church "recognizes the irrevocability of the Old Covenant and the constant and faithful love of God for Israel."

The statement, which he already had made in his 2013 exhortation, "The Joy of the Gospel," was repeated in a recent document by the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews. The document reaffirmed Pope Benedict XVI's teaching that the church "neither conducts nor supports" any institutional missionary initiative directed toward Jews.

While frigid winter temperatures finally arrived in Rome, Pope Francis received the warmest of welcomes at the synagogue.

The visit featured an exchange of standing ovations. Members of the Jewish community greeted the pope on their feet applauding and bid him farewell the same way; he stood and applauded with the congregation when honor was paid to the handful of survivors of the Nazi Holocaust who were present for the event.

"Their sufferings, anguish and tears must never be forgotten," the pope said. "And the past must be a lesson to us for the present and the future. The Shoah teaches us that maximum vigilance is always needed in order to intervene quickly in defense of human dignity and peace."

Pope Francis was the third pope to visit the Rome synagogue and Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, the chief rabbi of Rome, said that in Jewish tradition "an act repeated three times becomes 'chazaqa,' a fixed tradition."

The pope, the rabbi, the president of the Rome Jewish community and the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities all recalled the visits of St. John Paul II in 1986 and of Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. And they all spoke of the "new era" in Catholic-Jewish relations that began with the Second Vatican Council and its declaration "Nostra Aetate" on relations with non-Christian religions.

But continued violence in the Middle East and the specter of terrorism also were on the hearts and minds of all the speakers.

"Conflicts, wars, violence and injustice open profound wounds in humanity and call us to reinforce our commitment to peace and justice," the pope said.

"The violence of man against man is in contradiction with every religion worthy of the name and, particularly, with the three monotheistic religions" of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Human life is a sacred gift of God, Pope Francis said. "God is the God of life and always wants to promote and defend it; and we, created in his image and likeness, are obliged to do the same."

Catholics and Jews must pray intensely that God would help bring peace, reconciliation, forgiveness and life to the Holy Land, the Middle East and all places where conflict and terrorism are sowing death and destruction.

Interreligious dialogue, he said, must be based on a recognition that all people are children of the same God, who calls them to praise him and to work together for the good of all.

However, he said, the relationship between Christians and Jews is unique because of Christianity's Jewish roots. "Therefore, Christians and Jews must see themselves as brothers and sisters united by the same God and by a rich, common spiritual heritage."

In his speech, Rabbi Di Segni said the Rome Jewish community was welcoming the pope "to reaffirm that religious differences, which should be maintained and respected, must not however be a justification for hatred and violence."

"The Near East, Europe and many other parts of the world are besieged by wars and terrorism," the rabbi said. After decades in which Nazism, communism and other totalitarian ideologies led to such suffering, now "violence has come back and it is fed and justified by fanatic visions inspired by religion."

Dialogue and respect are the answer, he said, and the pope's visit to the synagogue is a sign of that.

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