Page 76 - October 7 - Teresa Pirola

synod and issue a statement condemning the Hamas massacre in the strongest possible terms and acknowledging the traumatic memory of Nazi pogroms.
‘Then he could have made the 10-minute journey to Rome’s Great Synagogue and expressed his condolences to the Chief Rabbi, standing shoulder-to-shoulder before the cameras. It would have been beamed around the world like the iconic photograph of Pope John Paul II at the Western Wall in 2000 and it would have given the lead to Catholic bishops to do the same. It would have modelled the synod’s theme, which was all about “walking together”.
‘But he didn’t do that. He missed that critical moment to use his words and papal body language to make a powerful statement against antisemitism and its most horrific manifestation since the Holocaust. It could have been a history- making moment, dramatically confronting the Catholic faithful with their post-Holocaust commitment and duty of care owed to the Jewish people. That failure in leadership has affected everything since.
‘I have always been a great supporter of Pope Francis’ pastoral approach’, adds Pirola. ‘But in the Israel-Hamas conflict the Catholic response has missed the mark badly, at terrible cost to the Jewish people and to the Church’s moral c r e d i b i l i t y ’.
Pirola, who has a doctorate in theology from the Sydney College of Divinity, is a Sydney-based freelance writer and faith educator with a special interest in Jewish-Christian relations. She has many years of experience working in Catholic schools and diocese forums.
‘I believe there is concern in the Catholic world at what is happening, not only for Palestinians but for the Jewish community’, she says, ‘but despite years of education and
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