As Pope Benedict arrives in Israel as part of his Middle East visit, Ed Kessler argues in the Guardian that he must pay attention to theological questions if he wants deepen relations with Jews:
On the theological level, while pledging support for the teachings of Vatican II, Benedict has not contributed anything constructive to the development of a new theological understanding of the church’s relationship with the Jewish people. His new Good Friday prayer in fact moves the theology of the Christian-Jewish relationship some steps backwards, as did the decision to bring back a Holocaust-denying bishop into the bosom of the church. Perhaps the best we can hope for is no further backward steps.
The central problem for Pope Benedict resides in his vision of the Catholic church. He sees it as a totally completed institution that does not need to learn anything new theologically from dialogue with other Christians or other religious groups. Consequently, interfaith relations are reduced to symbolic conversation rather than genuine dialogue.
The impact of John Paul’s papacy lay in his combination of powerful symbolism with substantive theological development. If Benedict is to contribute significantly to Catholic-Jewish reconciliation, his meetings with Jewish leaders in Israel should not only be positive in tone but should also address substantive questions. He should seek to reinvigorate Catholic-Jewish relations at a senior level where momentum has ground to a halt. Reducing dialogue to the occasional photo-opportunity may offer symbolic value but it lacks substance.
Read his full commentary here.