By ILAN MOR   MAY 24, 2025 05:00

THE WRITER addresses a conference in Zagreb, which he initiated as ambassador in 2019, marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the State of Israel. (photo credit: Ilan Mor)
THE WRITER addresses a conference in Zagreb, which he initiated as ambassador in 2019, marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the State of Israel. (photo credit: Ilan Mor)

The new pope is aiming to bolster relations between the Catholic Church and Jerusalem. 

On May 8, just days after his election, Pope Leo XIV sent a remarkable signal to the Jewish world: In a personal letter to Rabbi Noam Marans, director of Interreligious Affairs at the American Jewish Committee (AJC), he reaffirmed his “commitment to continue and strengthen the Church’s dialogue and cooperation with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council’s 1965 declaration Nostra Aetate. This message, sent even before his formal inauguration, was more than diplomatic protocol; it was a deliberate gesture of outreach at a time of strained relations.

This letter stands in the tradition of a historic turning point that began with the Nostra Aetate. In this landmark document, the Catholic Church for the first time explicitly rejected the doctrine of collective Jewish guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus. It also emphasized Christianity’s deep spiritual roots in Judaism and called for respectful dialogue, becoming a watershed in the relationship between the two religions. This reevaluation was not only theological but also a moral response to the Holocaust and the need to confront historical guilt, setting the stage for decades of rapprochement.