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Pope Francis meets with his longtime fellow Buenos Aires friends Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Muslim leader Omar Abboudan at Jerusalem's wailing wall on May 26, 2014. / Credit: Vatican Media
ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 26, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).
With both bold gestures and strong words, Pope Francis laid out a path of fraternity that consistently challenged religious and geopolitical boundaries, often within the context of the severe tensions that surround ongoing international conflicts.
In 2021, for example, during his apostolic trip to Slovakia, the Holy Father met with the Jewish community there and referred to the "madness of hatred" that led to the murder of more than 100,000 Slovak Jews during World War II. "We are united in condemning all violence, all forms of antisemitism, and in striving to ensure that the image of God in the human person is not profaned," he said.
In November 2023, a few weeks after the war between Hamas and Israel began, Pope Francis received the Conference of European Rabbis, a meeting in which he expressed concern and condemned "the spread of antisemitic manifestations."
Drawing on the words of St. John Paul II, he addressed the Jewish community with the words "dear brothers" and "elder brothers."
The dialogue between Jews and Christians, Pope Francis declared, "is more than an interreligious dialogue; it is a family dialogue" whose members are bound "to one another before the one God."
His closeness to the Jewish community and his priority for interreligious dialogue did not begin with his pontificate but date back to his time in Argentina.
In 1994, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires when the attack against the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA, by its Spanish acronym) was perpetrated, leaving 85 dead. There are 11 fugitives in the case still at large with active national and international arrest warrants.
The Supreme Court of Argentina found that Iran-backed Hezbollah mercenaries were responsible for the deadly bombing.
In 2005, as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio was the first signatory of the manifesto "AMIA, 85 lives, 85 signatures," a document based on the demand for "a country without impunity, with a better justice system, with education and health care for all, without discrimination or exclusion, and that we may preserve the memory of the things that were done wrong so as not to repeat them," according to La Nación.
Creation of Institute for Interreligious Dialogue
As cardinal primate of Argentina, he promoted the creation of the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue, whose co-presidents are Rabbi Daniel Goldman, the Islamic leader Omar Abboud, and the priest Guillermo Marcó.
In an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, Goldman and Marcó emphasized the importance of Pope Francis in building bridges between both faith communities.
For Goldman, the success of interreligious dialogue lies not so much in institutional actions but in personal relationships that generate profound changes. He therefore believes that "the spaces of affection developed jointly by Guillermo [Marcó], Omar Abboud, and Jorge Bergoglio have been essential in bearing witness to how, despite our differences, there are so many similarities that allow us to discover in each of us what the other's religious tradition contains in our own lives."
In this regard, he emphasized that working together has allowed us to overcome the concept of "tolerance" and move first toward "coexistence" and then toward truly "living together in harmony," an attitude of mutual support where "I cannot live without the other person [also] living."
Argentina, an example of interreligious harmony
Marcó recalled that when Bergoglio first arrived in Buenos Aires, interreligious dialogue was not a priority on his agenda. However, after the attack on the Israeli Embassy In 1992 before he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires and the 1994 attack on the AMIA, he became actively involved with the Jewish and Muslim communities, marking milestones such as his visit to the Islamic Center and officials from AMIA and the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations, a gesture that became a tradition for those who succeeded him as archbishop of Buenos Aires.
"The interesting thing about the format we developed in Argentina, which he later brought to the Holy See, is that at the institute, we proposed not to emphasize the things that divide us but rather the things that unite us," the priest noted.
Both Goldman and Marcó agree that Argentina is an example of interreligious harmony. "I can attest to that. Over the last 25 years, we have built this institute of dialogue, and I couldn't think of anything in my life without a sense of the deep friendship and brotherhood I have developed with Guillermo and Omar," the Jewish leader emphasized.
Marcó cited for example initiatives such as the interreligious dialogue training course, the Day for Interreligious Dialogue, and the Night of the Temples, events that demonstrate a path in the area that is "unthinkable" in other parts of the world.
During the Night of the Temples people visit the houses of worship of different religions, an opportunity to experience "the religious, historical, cultural, gastronomic, and architectural heritage" of different faith communities.
As the key to achieving this, Marcó emphasized "that respect for others, without it weakening your own identity. No one hides anything just so others don't feel uncomfortable."
However, for Goldman, there is a debt in Argentina that still pains the Jewish community and society as a whole: justice for the attacks that occurred in the 1990s. "The demand for justice regarding the AMIA bombings, regarding the Israeli Embassy, ??are issues that are very dear to us, significant, and we hopefully expect that at some point this can be resolved, but the delay in justice transforms into injustice," he lamented.
Despite his efforts to maintain closeness and dialogue, the global context presented challenges for the Holy Father. For Marcó, the pope's relations with the Jewish world were affected by the war in the Middle East, with gestures such as his calls to the pastor of the only Catholic church in Gaza, the Argentine priest Gabriel Romanelli, although he believes it was a "way of showing that he is keeping an eye on what is happening there."
He acknowledged that relations might have been "a bit tense," although he emphasized that Francis condemned terrorism and at the same time expressed his concern for the humanitarian crisis in the region. "The pope always repeated that war is a failure," he pointed out.
For his part, the rabbi pointed out that "there are certain terms that are painful for Jews, such as the word genocide."
"We can have our differences. If everyone thought like me, they would all be Jews, and if everyone thought like the pope, they would all be Christians," he summarized, urging people to "know how to accept disagreement as part of the conversation."
Despite these obstacles, both agree that Pope Francis left an indelible mark on the path of interreligious dialogue and marked "milestones, from which it is difficult to go back," Marcó said.
"We can't be satisfied with where we are; we have to keep moving forward," Goldman concluded.
In a world where algorithms "tend to radicalize positions," Marcó said, "the interesting thing about dialogue, about pluralistic thinking, is that when we dialogue with someone, we have to be willing for something to change. You have to come out changed."
Pope Francis and Rabbi Skorka
The path of dialogue with Judaism led to a friendship between Pope Francis and Rabbi Abraham Skorka, with whom he wrote the book "On Heaven and Earth" and also shared a television program.
It was Skorka who, along with the Islamic leader Omar Abboud, shared an iconic embrace with the Holy Father in front of the Western Wall.
When Cardinal Bergoglio was elected pope, Skorka described him as "a man of integrity, a man of very deep faith, a man who, I would even say, abhors superficiality. A man of sincere simplicity, a man who constantly seeks God."
On that occasion, the rabbi told CNA that strengthening interreligious dialogue would be one of the key focuses of his pontificate.
In May 2023, Rabbi Skorka received an honorary doctorate from the University of Trnava's theology department in Slovakia for his contribution to advancing interreligious dialogue.
For the occasion, Pope Francis sent him a congratulatory letter for his commitment and for his positive influence on "two generations of rabbis, as well as Catholic and Protestant theologians."
"I too have experienced your gift of friendship and wisdom, for which I thank the Lord," the Holy Father said.
"You have rightly sought to show that people of faith can and must defend human rights in all of life's situations," he concluded.
On July 18, 2024, marking the 30th anniversary of the AMIA bombing, Pope Francis sent a letter that was read at the commemorative event in which he stated: "The memory of those who died in that dark tragedy remains alive in our prayers and in our ongoing commitment to justice."
"Memory can be our guide. It teaches us that remembering is not only looking back but also projecting ourselves with hope toward a future where such reprehensible acts of violence will not be repeated," he expressed.
The pontiff also encouraged people to continue fighting for "a justice that does not seek revenge or retaliation but rather truth and reparation. A justice that is essential not only for the affected families but also for the cohesion of the nation's social fabric."
A message of hope to the Jewish people
On Jan. 26, the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Pope Francis dedicated a message to the Jewish people, saying: "May the anniversary of the unspeakable cruelty that humanity learned of 75 years ago serve as a summons to pause, to be still, and to remember. We need to do this, lest we become indifferent."
In this context, he condemned "the horror of the extermination of millions of Jews" and renewed the call to "eradicate the scourge of antisemitism, along with all forms of religious discrimination and persecution."
"Let us build together a more fraternal, more just world, educating young people to have hearts open to all, in the spirit of fraternity, forgiveness, and peace," which was his fervent desire.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin presides over the solemn Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2025, held in St. Peter's Square, highlighting the need for the Church to follow in Pope Francis' footsteps as "instruments of mercy for humanity" in the world today. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/Vatican Media
