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The cardinal was accused of complicity and of notable silence during that sad period of time that consumed tens of thousands of Argentinian lives. The rabbis of the Talmud wryly remarked that leaders of the community always have a whiff of scandal in their past. With political and temporal leaders this is often viewed as being natural if not even necessary for successful governance.
However, when one seeks to be viewed as being the moral force of humankind, which is the role that the latter popes have ascribed to themselves, a troubled past weakens any moral message in the future. The last pope, Joseph Ratzinger, was always haunted by his membership, as a young man, in Hitler’s Nazi Youth organization.
Eugenuo Pacelli, the World War II pope, had previously in the 1930’s negotiated a Concordat with Hitler, accepting his rule, cruelty and murder in turn for the promised protection of Catholic institutions and assets in Germany. Such a person could hardly be expected to later take any strong stand against the extermination of millions of Jews. In fact, he remained silent about it during the entire war. That can hardly be construed as moral leadership or as justifying one’s posing as the conscience of human values.
But let us be fair to this new pope and give him all benefits of doubt. The world certainly needs a moral voice as Western civilization continues to wallow in a quagmire of hedonism, lust and moral equivalency. This new pope is reputed to have been a champion of the rights of the poor in Argentina.
I have always felt that the greatest of the rights of the poor is the right to no longer be poor. Education and social equality are steps that raise people from poverty. In the past, the Church has not been an exemplary leader in these areas. Perhaps it will be more forthcoming on these issues under the leadership of its new pope.
Questions of continuing priestly celibacy, the treatment of women, the confronting of Islamic terrorism, clergy pedophilia and significant financial impropriety plague the Church. Can or will the new pope truly and realistically address these problems is the question that will define his papacy. The previous pope was unable or unwilling to do so and quit.
It is a daunting task that faces the new pope, if he is prepared to undertake it. Of course the Church cannot be reformed overnight. I once read that it takes an aircraft carrier forty-five miles of sea travel to turn itself around. An institution as ponderous as the Church will require time and distance to turn itself around. Yet a beginning must be made if the papacy is to have true moral influence in human society.
The Jews are and always have been a special problem for the Church. The renewal of Jewish life after World War II and the establishment and success of the State of Israel have posed both opportunities and difficulties for the Church. The fact that the Vatican and Israel have normal diplomatic relations with each other represents an enormous sea change in Catholic theology and Vatican diplomacy.
The Jews should, as much as possible, cultivate good relations with the Vatican. After all, it represents over one billion people in the world that we also live in. Yet its past relations with us are so sordid and bloody that more must be done by the Church to combat the current anti-Semitism prevalent in so many Catholic countries.
Strong and continuing pressure and public statements from the pope are necessary to change religious stereotypes as well as previous Church doctrines and teachings. The Church is anything but naïve and it certainly realizes that anti-Israel pronouncements only fuel the anti-Semitism that is, unfortunately, still so prevalent in the Catholic world.
The Church can help bring about a settlement of issues in our part of the world but it can only do so if it is truly neutral and discards its past prejudicial attitude against Judaism, Jews and Jewish rights regarding the Land of Israel. We will have to wait and see if the new pope deals with this matter at all during his tenure.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
