Jews and Catholics together for respecting human rights
On May 12, 2011, Benedict XVI received around twenty members of the Jewish organization B’nai B’rith International at the Vatican. The Holy Father affirmed “the desire of Catholics and Jews to stand together in meeting the immense challenges” that these two communities face “in a rapidly changing world”. The pope added that Jews and Catholic, significantly, had a “shared religious duty to combat poverty, injustice, discrimination and the denial of universal human rights”. In his brief, English-language address, the pope assured the audience that there were many ways in which Jews and Christians could cooperate to improve the world, in accordance with the will of God “for the good of mankind”. “One of the most important things that we can do together,” the Supreme Pontiff explained, “is bear common witness to our deeply-held belief that every man and woman is created in the divine image.”
B’nai B’rith is the oldest and largest Jewish organization in the world, according to its website. Founded in 1843 in the United States, it is made up of almost a half a million members in 57 countries; it is present, in its capacity as a non-governmental organization, in different international institutions, such as the U.N., UNESCO and the European Parliament. The name “B’nai B’rith” means, in Hebrew, “Sons of the Covenant”. (Sources : apic/imedia – DICI no. 235 dated May 28, 2011)
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