Papa

Benedict's visit to the Holy Land was and probably will remain the most complicated and sensitive trip of his pontificate.  Even before he arrived there was a sense in the air that "anything that can be misinterpreted will be." Now that the dust has settled, it is fair to say that the trip generated very mixed feelings. 

On March 9, 2009, the Central Committee of German Catholics released a heretical document entitled Nein zur Judenmission - Ja zum Dialog zwischen Juden und Christen ("No to Jewish mission - Yes to dialogue between Jews and Christians").  This document claims: "We emphasize, with the Church of the Second Vatican Council, that God's covenant with the Jewish people represents a way of salvation to God - also without recognition of Jesus Christ and without the sacrament of Baptism". German philosoper Robert Spaemann responds to the document's claims (in German).

An organization researching the history of Pius XII's relationship with the Jews says that a series of documents recently uncovered show a pattern of direct actions by Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli (the future Pope) that culminated in the establishment of the modern State of Israel.

Pope Benedict XVI said any minimization of the Holocaust was unacceptable, especially for a priest, as he met with Jewish leaders in hopes of ending the rancor over a bishop who denied 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis.

"Like Moses, We Too Have Been Called by Name." Here is the text of the discourse Benedict XVI gave on May 9, 2009 when he visited the Basilica of the Moses Memorial at Mount Nebo. Tradition holds that at this spot, God showed Moses the Promised Land.

"Here the History of Humanity Was Decisively Changed."Here is the text of the address Benedict XVI gave during his visit to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

"May the Names of These Victims Never Perish." Here is the text of the address Benedict XVI gave on May 11, 2009 at the Yad Vashem memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

Benedict XVI calls the Shoah "a Crime Against God and Against Humanity" and reaffirms that "the Church draws its sustenance from the root of that good olive tree, the people of Israel, onto which have been grafted the wild olive branches of the Gentiles (cf. Rom 11: 17-24)."

"Sadly, anti-Semitism continues to rear its ugly head in many parts of the world. This is totally unacceptable." The following is the speech delivered by Pope Benedict XVI at Ben Gurion airport upon his arrival in Israel on May 11, 2009.

"We meet as brothers, brothers who at times in our history have had a tense relationship, but now are firmly committed to building bridges of lasting friendship." Here is the text of the farewell address Benedict XVI gave at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion international airport, before boarding a plane to return to Rome.

KRAKOW, Poland, MAY 28, 2006 - Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered when visiting the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, the last stage of his apostolic trip to Poland.

"Strengthen Our Common Hope in God in the Midst of an Increasingly Secularized Society." Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered on September 22, 2011 to a gathering of representatives of the Jewish community at Berlin's Reichstag Building.

"Our Two Communities Are Challenged to Engage People of Good Will at the Level of Reason." Here is the text of Benedict XVI's address during a courtesy visit to the "Hechal Shlomo" center, seat of the Grand Rabbinate, after he visited the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

God has never stopped believing in the alliance made with Israel and that, through the terrible trials of these past centuries, the Jews have kept their faith in God. And for this, we will never be grateful enough to them, as the Church, but also as humanity at large.

View videos showing the highlights of Pope Benedict's visit in Israel.

Do you sometimes feel like there is something missing to your faith? Do you have a desire of becoming a part of the Church that Jesus originally founded? What does it mean to be "Catholic"? What does the Catholic Church have to offer that cannot be found in any other denomination? What are ten (plus one) good reasons for being or becoming a Catholic?