Pope John Paul II's visit in Jerusalem included an interreligious meeting to promote harmony among Jews, Christians and Muslims that ended after a Jewish rabbi and a Muslim cleric angered each other and the cleric left abruptly. This meeting was to be an expression of brotherhood and goodwill. Sheikh Tatzir Tamini, head of the Palestinian Authority religious courts, condemned Israel for a long list of offenses. Never referring to Israel by name, Tamini called on "the Occupier" to stop "strangling Jerusalem and oppressing its residents.
"The establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Yasser Arafat as its president and Jerusalem as its capital - this will stop the strife between the religions," Tamini said, and skipped the rest of the performance. Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein took the microphone and reprimanded the sheikh. "Put aside our political differences and look at what unites us," he said. Mufti Sheikh Akram Sabri, who boycotted the ceremony because he feared it would recognize Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem. Lau's speech was more reserved and quoted verses about the lion laying down with the lamb and nations no longer lifting swords against nations, the rabbi also embarrassed the Vatican by thanking the pope for his "recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's united eternal capital." The Vatican had made no such pronouncement.
The pope stuck to a prepared speech
in which he quoted verses from the Bible and the Koran and called
for interfaith dialogue to bring peace to the Holy Land. "Religion
must not become an excuse for violence, particularly when religious
identity coincides with cultural and ethnic identity. Religion
and peace go together." They agreed that the sheikh "did
a disservice to Islam." (30)
For a pope to recognize Israel is more revolutionary than joining NATO would be for Fidel Castro, Amotz Aza-El reminisced and he went on about his school years remembering a school teacher who merely hypnotize the young students with his memory of a rabbi's refusal to convert led to the gradual amputation of his limbs, in the hope that after each additional loss of a finger, an arm, or a leg he would finally "kiss the cross." When the teacher described the rabbi's moment of death - in the very waning minutes of Yom Kippur, in synagogue, after his freshly written prayer had been prayed for the first time - the recess bell finally rang, but our classroom of 40 hyperactive boys remained glued to our seats.
Until today, every Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur when we say that prayer's mesmerizing lines - including "who will live and who will die, who by water and who by fire, who by the sword and who by beast, who by hunger and who by thirst" - I, recall Rabbi Amnon and his Christian tormentors, whose most compelling philosophical argument was a butcher's knife. After every Pessah, I remember Yossi Melamed's horrifying tales of blood libels, whereby Jews were blamed for the disappearance of Christian kids whose blood was ostensibly used for ritual purposes. The Church's legacy of intolerance, blasphemy, and bloodshed the Jews will never be able to forget, wrote Amotz Aza-El.
For the pontiff to visit a synagogue and to say there of the Jews that they are his flock's "elder brothers," as John Paul did in 1987, is as mind-boggling as, say, Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin attending a hassidic tish at a West Bank settlement. (31)
We went along with the Pope on the Dish with Catholic programming.
The narrator stated: "The End of the Pope's pilgrimage may
be just the beginning" - The beginning of what? "We
are not trying to convert one another. What we are trying to
do is recognize God's work in each of us," said Rev. Michael
Cooper. All the disbelief and doubt was swept away, his message
was public not hidden from Catholics. It was clear promotion
of interfaith unity and peace. Catholics will not have the excuse
that the message was hidden agenda. 
The editor of the article in the Tampa Tribune affirms the pope
linking him to Peter, the disciple chosen by Christ to lead the
church, which is not true. See research by James G. McCarthy
and others.
Pope John Paul II made a powerful impression once again on many who were not his supporters. Pope John Paul II went to Israel to absolve the Jews of the murder of Jesus Christ according to the Catholic reports and smooth out deep ideological differences. "The visual image of the Holy Father showing his sorrow, after a career of expressing sentiments of remorse and shame at the tragic events in the past and Christianity's failure to prevent them and its centuries of complicity in teaching contempt for Judaism and the Jews, can never be forgotten," said the author of the book "Unholy Trinity" which details the Vatican's role in smuggling top Nazis out of Europe at the end of World War II.
"The pope's visit to the Holy Land left almost everyone happy," says Khalid Turaani, executive director of the Washington-based American Muslims for Jerusalem, "and I can't think of a single world figure who could pull that off, especially in these times." The pope has created an atmosphere that is conducive to interfaith dialogue, more than any time in modern history, was the conversation. Here is Tampa invitations went out to Christians to attend the synagogues to foster new friendships. (25)
The papal Mass was at Manger Square in Bethlehem. A Prayer of Faith was given to Mary intercede and to raise their prayer to the needs of the world. There were 18,000 security people on hand to protect the pontiff. The Jews were very worried about having something happen to the Pope on their soil. Bethlehem used to be 80% Christian and 20% Muslim but now the figures have been reversed. It is sad to say but it is 80% Muslim.
Although the pope has some Muslim support it was not confirmed in Jerusalem, in fact the pope had to bow to the Muslim tradition in Jerusalem. The Mass was read in Arabic for Syrians. The choir was Muslims and Christians with Muslim conductor. Salvation was accomplished by Abraham, John the Baptist and the Ten Commandments. The rhetoric was reconciliation ending with the symbol of Jubilee of profound conversion to the gospel of tolerance, respect for cultures of the human race and God: you willed the diversity..
The pope's attire was changing regularly. When he was among Muslims he wore the Pallium decorated with six black crosses, Maltese crosses (origin unknown?), which is a symbol of power according to Catholic Encyclopedia. While the pope was celebrating Mass inside the basilica, the muezzin began calling Muslims to prayer so loud over a loudspeaker at a mosque nearby that the pope had to stop the Mass and remain silent until the call ended. It was eerie to say the least. The mosque had an Islamic Crescent high above. The prayer call is routine 5 times a day. There are 3.4 million Jews, 2.8 million Muslims and 160,000 Christians in Israel.
There were Muslims and Christians of all denominations in the Mass. Some Muslims in the crowd responded by shouting, "Allahu Akbar" - God is great - and whistling loudly. The newspaper said that this activity did not disrupt the Mass when in fact it did. Muslims were told to stay calm and quiet during the pope's stay. Another incident of several extremely important incidences was not mentioned was that a Muslim leader who had been invited to speak stood up the pope. (26) The excitement among Palestinians was great, because Arafat insists that Peter is Palestinian and the Pope does not correct those comments.
There was another private Mass in Upper Room, which was all in Latin. They broke bread and were told to sell their properties and goods with exultant and sincere hearts winning the people. Christ has risen. The Eucharist is both banquet of communion the sacrifice.. I pronounce the unity, which has the Holy Spirit at its origin. (43) The pope obviously speaks with a forked tongue. In private speaking to his membership he claims the unity which is rooted in the Holy Spirit and when he is with Muslims and Jews, he claims unity with Allah and Judaism. Which is it?
The Catholic channel on the Dish followed the Pope throughout his journey and narrated what was going on from a Catholic position. They had a hard time explaining certain spots to their membership. For instance: the fact that Muslims were part of the choir. A letter was read questioning the presence of all the different churches and their comment was that all the churches worship God, baptizes, hold communion and do what Catholics do. Why is there a difference between them? They are all God's family.
We believe in the same personal God as Muslims because Ishmael is Abraham's son too. Another caller: "Why is the Pope doing this?" Their answer was: "Like Jesus walked everywhere bringing truth and life for all faiths to come together. He is the Vicar of Christ." They used Pope Paul and Peter interchangeably to make sure Catholics don't lose sight of the fact that he is elected by God to do what he is doing. "He is God's messenger."
Another caller wanted to know appropriately why the head covering on the Pope and Cardinals which is unscriptural. The reply was that it is comparable to Moses taking his shoes of on Holy Ground. It means respect to God and his 3 monotheistic religions: Jews, Islam and Christians. Another caller confessed that he was a Jew and filled with love for the Pope. I love this blessed man with tears locked in a unity in Jerusalem. I underscore the universality of the church. Let us be who we are whatever religion. Three religions are religion of peace.
Below is the Grotto
The Grotto of the Nativity is kept up by a number of different Christians. Armenium Diversity of Faith takes care of the Grotto of St. Jerome. The Bible was supposed to have been translated from Greek and Hebrew to Latin Vulgate 386 - 404 and they said that Catholics gave us the Bible. What was shocking to me, when Pope John Paul II kneeled in front of the manger the narrator said that there was a skull and bones seal on the manger. In their explanation they said it reflects the universal death Adam became responsible for. That was as far from the truth as heaven is from hell.
In Masonry this symbol is used in their ritual and seen on Hiram's coffin. The history of the skull and crossbones goes back to 1307 and the overthrow of the Knights Templar by King Philip and Pope Clement V. When they arrested the Templars they found a large silver bust in shape of a womans' head. and inside were two head bones wrapped in a white and red cloth. She was a small woman and evidently the object of worship as well as the famous Shroud of Turin. The shroud was in possession of the Templars between 1201 and 1307.
If you have ever seen an image of the shroud you know that not only the face of Jesus but also the body impressions are on this shroud. That being the case, it could not be Jesus's burial clothes because the Bible states in John 20:4-7 "So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulcher. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself." These verses clearly state that Jesus' head had been covered with a different piece of material than the rest of His body.
According to J.R. Church in his book "Guardians of the Grail", the crossed bones under the skull which were supposedly Mary Magdelene's remains belonged to another young woman who was exhumed some time after her death. The templars worshipped those skeletal remains as those of Mary Magdalene. According to their beliefs, Jesus was supposed to have married both Mary (who eventually became associated with the title, Magdalene) and her sister, Martha. When the remains were found a voice was supposed to have said: "Guard it well, for it will be the giver of all good things." It became a protective talisman. The talisman eventually passed into the possession of the Knights Templar and it is held that the name of the owner of the bones is Isis, which then became associated with Mary Magdalene.
If there were any truth to these innuendoes even aired on A&E programs which is supposedly historical facts that Mary Magdalene might have been married to Jesus, the Bible would not have had the following Scriptures when Mary Magdalene called Jesus "Rabboni" in shock of seeing Him alive after He resurrected. That expression does not relate to a personal relationship.
J.R. Church writes: "A few years ago a booklet was published in France entitled LE SERPENT ROUGE (The Red Serpent). It contained 13 prose poems, each corresponding with a sign of the zodiac.. Under the astrological sign Leo was this paragraph:
"From she whom I desire to liberate, there wafts toward me the fragrance of the perfume which impregnates the sepulchre. Formerly, some named her: Isis queen of all sources, benevolent. Come unto me all ye who suffer and are afflicted, and I shall give ye rest. To others, she is Magdalene, of the celebrated vase, filled with healing balm. The initiated know her true name: Notre Dame des Cross." The implication of this paragraph are linking Mary Magdalene with the Egyptian goddess of fertility, Isis, who Babylonian name was Ishtar. In the paragraph she is also affiliated with the words "Notre Dame," a French term meaning "our lady," which down through the centuries was considered to be Mary, the mother of Christ. It is speculated that the Cathedral of Notre Dame was built in honor of Mary Magdalene who according to the guardians of the Grail, became the so-called wife of Jesus Christ.
J.R. Church continues: "I have concluded that Mary Magdalene had nothing to do with lengendary bit of blasphemy that she became one of the wives of Jesus. Furthermore, there is no place in our Bible that states that she was a harlot. All we know of Mary Magdalene is that our Savior cast seven devils out of her and reasons of where they came from is not given. ((58)
The symbol of the skull and crossbones is wide spread in Europe. (42) In tracing this symbol in Europe, I read German literature that it was used in the early centuries as a symbol of priesthood. In Masonic books I found it used in connection with Hirum Abiff on his coffin and in the rituals. The symbol was a favorite of Hitler.
At Notre Dame Institute in Jerusalem Pope John Paul II conducted his interreligious meeting with Rabbis and Muslims. The world religions should play a dominant role in seeking peace for Jerusalem. They opened the meeting with the Koran. Then a welcome in the name of the Lord to three religions for the common cause of peace. The chief Rabbi of Israel goes back 37 generations to rebuild Israel. It was related that Isaiah in Hebrew prophecy in the last days a mountain shall be established and people shall stream to it, the House of Jacob. We will walk the walk of the Lord forever in peace, friendship, in spite of all differences.. Israel means Peace.. Addressing the Pope, he said: "the wolf shall dwell with the lamb."
The Muslim spoke in Arabic: Allah of the Philistine and its political position is not dictating.. we have to have justice to get peace. The Muslim was reprimanded for his inflammatory language. We should follow the path of God and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. That is what this meeting is about. Again reading from the Koran: "Oh Allah, thou art peace and peace comes from thee." A song was dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi. Another quote from the Koran, "give praise to the Lord.. " (41)
We followed most of the events but the most revealing was on the Mount of Beatitudes that we did not witness. In gathering information from various websites we came to a shocking picture which we had trouble believing. A Catholic in our email group came unglued when she saw it and accused us of being of the devil and fudging the picture somehow. We don't blame her, we had a hard time digesting the implications ourselves. That is one of the reasons for the delay in the newsletter. We were just not motivated to print this information. It is just too far out.
The Holy Spirit led us to three verifiable sources to see it again and again. It wasn't concocted. The last one was taken by ABC and is available to people to verify on a video. The Internet address will be listed.
Pope John Paul II delivered his own Sermon on the Mount on a Friday. He preached Christ's message against evil and hate before a multitude of 100,000 pilgrims from all over the world. "To be good Christians may seem beyond your strength in today's world. But Jesus does not stand by and leave you alone in the face of challenge," he said. Near the pope's altar for Friday's Mass is the spot where, Matthew's Gospel recounts, Christ recited the Beatitudes. The pope, in ivory-and-gold robes, directed his modern sermon to thousands of young people.
Politics did creep
in. Palestinians held up banners demanding they be allowed to
return to their village in Israel. The pope visited a church
built upon a rock where Christ is said to have chosen the apostle
Peter to lead his church. The pope kissed the stone. He stopped
at what is supposed to be Peter's house just centuries earlier
and sat on a white throne. After praying, he was joined by 10
prelates in his entourage and they sang together a hymn in Latin:
"You are Peter."
The Associated Press states that John Paul is the successor to Peter, considered the first pope. (27) When Pope John Paul arrived in Jerusalem the Jews as appropriate for his visits gave him a gift. I have pictures of the pope kissing the Koran, the Muslim Bible. When a Rabbi handed him the beautiful white and gold Hebrew Bible, I expected him to do the same, but he did not kiss it.
Israelis expected him to take responsibility for the church and apologize for the past, which he didn't do either. With thousands dead from another war and from decades of terrorism against Israel, the Pope did not acknowledge that the Catholic Church was responsible of negligence but blamed some Catholics who individually did these deeds in the name of the church.
The Vatican refused to recognize Israel until 1994. It rejects Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. John Paul held his ninth meeting, no less, with Yasser Arafat and asserted "the Holy See's solidarity with the Palestinian people." (28)
We were told from the Catholic narrators about the pilgrimage to Rome or the Holy Land that members are expected to make and the plenary conditions to receive Holy Communion and confession 8 days plus or minus of each other for indulgences of all temple punishments due to sin for themselves and their deceased.
They also commented that the Pope used the Rosary to bring the Berlin Wall down. "You see Christ, when you look at the Pope and Mother Teresa.. Muslims, Jews and Christians are looking forward to the Second Coming.. a great Sacrament of Baptism. The whole church is on a pilgrimage of conversion." Lie upon lie upon lie.
Before the visit ended the Pope stopped at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem and laid a wreath. Deeply bent over, identifying with King David, he said: "The words of the ancient psalm rise from our hearts: `I have become like a broken vessel. I hear the whispering of many - terror on every side! As they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life. But I trust in you, O Lord, I say You are my God.'
Silence in which to remember. Silence in which to try to make some sense of the memories, which come flooding back. Silence because no words strong enough to deplore the terrible tragedy of the Shoah. My own personal memories are of all that happened when the Nazi occupied Poland during the war. I remember my Jewish friends and neighbors, some of whom perished, while others survived.
I have come to Yad Vashem to pay homage to the millions of Jewish people who, stripped of everything, especially of their human dignity, were murdered in the Holocaust. More than half a century has passed, but the memories remain. Here, as at Auschwitz and at many others in Europe, we are overcome by the echo of the hear-rendering laments of so many. Men, women, children cry out to us from the depths of the horror that they knew. How can we fail to heed their cry? No one can forget or ignore what happened. No one can diminish its scale. We wish to remember. But we with to remember for a purpose, namely to ensure that never again will evil prevail as it did for the millions of innocent victims of Nazism.. Only a godless ideology could plan and carry out the extermination of a whole people.
The pope was then honored for the "just gentile" who acted heroically to save Jews, sometimes to the point of giving their own lives, is a recognition that not even in the darkest hour is every light extinguished.. As the Bishop of Rome and successor of the Apostle Peter, I assure the Jewish people that the Catholic Church, motivated by the Gospel law of truth and love and by no political consideration, is deeply saddened by the hatred.. against Jews by Christians at any time.. Let's build a new future, in which there will be no more anti-Jewish feeling among Christians or anti-Christian feeling among Jews,.. Look to Abraham as our common father in faith. (32)
Pope John Paul II ended an emotional journey through the Holy Land on Sunday with a dramatic act of contrition at Judaism's most sacred site, the Western Wall, and with tributes to all three faiths that share this troubled region. He deposited a signed plea for God's forgiveness for centuries of Catholic torment of the Jewish people. For many Israelis it signaled a new era in Jewish-Christian relations. On the final day it concluded with a Mass at the traditional site where Christians believe Jesus was resurrected and a visit to the hilltop mosque where Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven. (29)
The Jerusalem Post featured a public statement by a group of organizations. On the eve of this visit, the Pope planet a "land mine" on our doorstep in the form of an agreement between the Holy See and the PLO. The agreement advocated - in diplomatic terms - the establishment of Palestinian Sovereignty, the dwarfing of Israel into the 1947 boundaries, the return of the Arab refugees and the internationalization of Jerusalem. This agreement also terms Israel's actions in Jerusalem as "unacceptable from a moral and legal standpoint." We declare that the Pope could not have been oblivious to the fact that by concluding such an agreement, he was grievously wounding the State, which is hosting him. We would remind him of a history of immense suffering sustained by the Jews at the hands of the Catholic Church. We express our disappointment that Pope John Paul II not only missed an opportunity to rectify this historic injustice, but also compounded the evil, by acting hand in glove with our enemies to rob us of Jerusalem. He wishes to implant in the Holy Land a foreign political entity whose creation signifies our destruction.
We note in shock the Pope's eagerness to recognize the Palestinian State before it has even arisen (and it is doubtful that it ever will), and we recall for his attention, the eagerness of another Pope who recognized the Nazi regime four months after it was established.
We feel a profound sorrow over the fact that Pope John Paul II, in demanding the internationalization of Jerusalem, is essentially following in the footsteps of Pope Pius XII. The pope whose resounding silence when confronting the Holocaust will never be forgotten or forgiven. The pope demanded immediately the establishment of the State of Israel and the internationalization of Jerusalem. Pope Paul II seeks to beatify this "Holocaust Pope."
We express our amazement, that the government of Israel contented itself with a polite diplomatic protest "for form's sake". He made costly and arduous efforts to turn the Pope's visit into a success, while as a result of his agreement with the PLO. This visit will mark instead a success for our enemies and a severe debacle for us. We warn that the conclusion of the agreement between the Vatican and the PLO, as well as the Pope's statement in the Dehaishe refugee camp, constitute important moves in the battle for Jerusalem and a threat to the survival of the State of Israel. Many states will view this agreement as an example and a prototype to pressure Israel and undermine her existence.
We demand from our government and personages involved in the Pope's visit that they express indignation to the injury and insult against our land and our capital Jerusalem, so that our silence should not be misconstrued as admission. (Gamla Shall Not Fall Again, Women in Green, Youn Generation of Tesha, Zo Artzeino, Rabbi's Organization "Pikuach Nefesh", Matot Arim, Jewish Strength to Israel (H"IL")) (33)
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