Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV has pledged to reinforce the Roman Catholic Church’s commitment to dialogue and cooperation with the global Jewish community, signaling continuity in interfaith relations despite recent tensions between the Vatican and Israel over the war in Gaza.
In a letter addressed to Rabbi Noam Marans, Director of Interreligious Affairs at the American Jewish Committee, the newly elected pope expressed his dedication to nurturing ties with the Jewish people. Rabbi Marans shared the letter on the social platform X late Monday.
“Trusting in the assistance of the almighty, I pledge to continue and strengthen the Church’s dialogue and cooperation with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration Nostra Aetate,” Pope Leo wrote.
The landmark Nostra Aetate declaration, adopted during the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), marked a historic turning point in Catholic-Jewish relations. It rejected the idea of collective Jewish guilt for the death of Jesus and called for mutual understanding between Christians and followers of other religions. The document laid the groundwork for the Church’s modern approach to interfaith engagement, which culminated in Pope John Paul II’s historic 1986 visit to Rome’s Great Synagogue, where he referred to Jews as “our beloved elder brothers.”
Relations between the Vatican and Israel, while historically fraught, improved with the signing of the “Fundamental Agreement” in 1993, followed by the exchange of full ambassadors in 1994. However, diplomatic ties have come under strain in the wake of the ongoing war in Gaza, which began in October 2023.
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A Vatican source confirmed that Rabbi Marans is expected to attend Pope Leo’s inaugural Mass on Sunday, along with more than a dozen other Jewish leaders from around the world. It remains unclear whether any officials from the Israeli government will be present.
Tensions escalated under the papacy of the late Pope Francis, who frequently condemned antisemitism but also voiced sharp criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants launched a large-scale attack on Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages into Gaza. Since then, according to Palestinian authorities, over 52,000 Palestinians have been killed, and significant portions of Gaza have been reduced to rubble.
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Pope Francis, who visited the Holy Land in 2014, stirred controversy in November 2023 when he suggested the international community should examine whether Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide—remarks that contributed to a visible chill in Vatican-Israel relations. At Pope Francis’ funeral last month, Israel was represented by Ambassador Yaron Sideman, a delegation seen by some as deliberately low-level in protest of Francis’ comments.
As Pope Leo XIV begins his papacy—the first U.S.-born leader of the Catholic Church—his commitment to interfaith dialogue may signal a renewed effort to restore trust and foster understanding between religious communities during a period of geopolitical and humanitarian crisis.
