Singer: "New Pope Benedict XVI was the architect of Vatican's better relations with Jews"

German-born Joseph Ratzinger was chosen by his fellow cardinals in Rome yesterday as the new pontiff of the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XVI, as he will be called now, was his predecessor John Paul's mastermind for Catholic doctrine, but also for the reconciliation process with the Jews. Rabbi Israel Singer, chairman of the World Jewish Congress, called Pope Benedict XVI "the architect of the policy full relations with Israel.” He added that Ratzinger had "provided the theological underpinning for many of the major advances in Jewish-Catholic relations in the past quarter century. We look forward to continuing our dialogue with Pope Benedict XVI." Benedict XVI succeeds John Paul, who died on 2 April 2005. The 78-year-old is considered a conservative. But in 2002, he authorized the publication of a report that stated that “the Jewish messianic wait is not in vain.” That document also expressed regret that certain passages in the Christian New Testament, condemning individual Jews, have been used to justify anti-Semitism.