"TODAY I, AN ELDER BROTHER, FEEL LIKE WOJTYLA'S SON"

ROME, MAR 28 (ZENIT.org).- "I am a Jew, but over the last weeks, I wish I had been a Christian. To have such a religious father, so majestic in his simplicity, so powerful in his humility, so wise in his strength to combat and overcome, with the gentleness and enormous force of faith, the resistances that he met within his 'circle' to the petition to 'forgive us,' first made to himself, then to his faithful, and finally to the entire world, and to his sublime words of strength and charity spoken in Palestine." So begins an article in Sunday's edition of the Italian newspaper "Avvenire," by Paolo Alazraki.

Alazraki emphasizes that all this happened in Israel, land of Canaan, land of the Patriarchs and also land "of our deepest self, in the ancient roads of the salt and silk caravans, the birthplace of extraordinary civilizations."

"Those who forgive are not weak; those who ask forgiveness are strong. My Rabbis and a great part of Israeli Judaism have acted wrongly in not understanding, not interpreting, not rejoicing over this immense gesture of reconciliation which opens new, extraordinary possibilities in favor of mutual respect among peoples and, therefore, a better life for them and among themselves, and also greater economic development because it will allow, especially in the Middle East, but not only there, the freeing of those creative, mercantile and intellectual forces that for dozens of centuries have characterized the mind of Jews and Arabs."

All of the foregoing has "positive influences also for Europe," according to the Jewish writer.

"This young, shaky but serene old man, who is conscious of the importance of his actions and the steps he is taking, reflected in his face, has sublimated, gone beyond, made the suspicious, uncomfortable postures of the Rabbis and Muftis, probably pressured by political authorities, look almost ridiculous. What did they want with the condemnation of Pius XII, the humiliation of their 'younger brothers'?"

Instead, the writer congratulates the Jewish people and Prime Minister Barak, "an angel of peace with a good face who has given the Holy Sepulcher as a 'present' to the Vatican."

Behind this news, were 5 years of struggles and mutual recriminations over the administration of the Holy Places. "Praised be the Lord, whoever he is and wherever he is. Praised be this Pope," the writer states, overwhelmed with gratitude to the Holy Father, and not knowing how to thank him.

"Perhaps, giving him, but only for this Jubilee year, something of my religious being, which is what matters most to me in the world. This year, with my Jewish friends, I myself will try to meet Christians again, as they did during the first 3 centuries of this era, when they prayed together in the same synagogues and only after Constantine's reign, sadly, went on different roads."

"Dear Wojtyla, this is my gift for a year. And the promise to become a promoter of a huge forest of new trees, right there, on the border (which I hope will soon disappear forever) between Gaza and Israel, in your name, with our names, but also our hearts, engraved. What you have done for all is immense. Like faith, like love. Extraordinary things that are often lost, re-found, and lost again." The writer ends his article: "This is my present for the Jubilee. I have no debts and no credits. Therefore, I can celebrate it worthily, in my deepest interior and with all Jews and Christians who have understood your gesture. So be it! So be it!" ZE00032701

ZEN - Zenith