A leading Vatican official plans to attend Shabbat services at Rome’s main synagogue on Friday. Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Vatican’s Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, will attend to mark the 30th anniversary of the Commission’s establishment. Other commission members will also be present. The Commission, the Vatican’s body for formal inter-religious relations with Jews, was founded by Pope Paul VI in 1974. In advance of the anniversary, the Commission held meetings this week focusing on common Judeo-Christian beliefs regarding social justice and ethical behavior. The Vatican delegation was headed by Cardinal Jorge Meija, the former Vatican archivist, and the Jewish side was led by Shar Yishuv Cohen, the chief rabbi of Haifa.
