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Vatican, Chief Rabbinate slam assault on Armenian Patriarch

By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent

The Holy See and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel this week issued a joint condemnation of an assault on the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, when he was spat at by a yeshiva student in the Old City.

In a joint statement released Tuesday in Rome, the Vatican and the Chief Rabbinate called on religious authorities to publicly protest when actions of disrespect towards religious persons, symbols and Holy Sites are committed.

The statement gave as an example “the desecration of cemeteries and the recent assault on the Armenian Patriarch.”

The statement also calls on “all relevant authorities” to respect the “sacred character of Jerusalem and to prevent overt and immodest actions which offend the sensibilities of religious communities that reside in Jerusalem and hold her dear.”

The common declaration came at the conclusion of a three-day meeting of Catholic and Jewish officials in Grottaferrata, south of Rome, constituting the fourth dialogue session since June 2002 between the Holy See and the Chief Rabbinate.

The discussions this time were focused on Judeo-Christian beliefs regarding social justice and ethical behavior. Previous sessions have concentrated on the dignity of Man, the value of human life and the family, and the importance of Scripture for contemporary society.

The Vatican delegation to the meetings this week was headed by Cardinal Jorge Meija, the former Vatican archivist. The Israeli delegation was lead by Sh?ar Yishuv Cohen, the chief rabbi of Haifa, and its members included Rabbi David Rosen, from the American Jewish Committee, and chief rabbis of several other Israeli cities.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of a Vatican commission for the relations with Judaism by Pope Paul VI, the head of the commission, Cardinal Walter Kasper, and Cardinal Meija will visit Rome Synagogue for the Shabbat services.

Also this week, Cardinal Kasper and Riccardo di Segni, the chief rabbi of Rome, will open a seminar at one of the Vatican universities, which will focus on Jewish-Catholic relations of the past few decades.

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