The Vatican, trying to allay Jewish concern over Pope Benedict's meeting with a radical Polish priest accused of making anti-Semitic remarks, said on Thursday its stance toward Jews had not changed.The brief statement followed a meeting on Sunday between the Pope and Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, who publicly apologized in late July after accusing a "Jewish lobby" of trying to extract millions from the Polish state.
Jewish rights groups condemned the meeting and called on the Pope to denounce Rydzyk and his Radio Maryja, which they accuse of spreading xenophobic, anti-Semitic statements.
The Vatican did not address those demands in its one-line statement, saying only that Rydzyk's widely reported kiss of the German-born Pontiff's hand had no broader implications.
"In reference to requests for clarification related to (Father) Tadeusz Rydzyk's 'kiss' ... the matter does not imply any change in the Holy See's well-known position on relations between Catholics and Jews," the Vatican said.
Poland had the biggest Jewish population in Europe until World War Two, but the murder of millions in the Holocaust under German occupation and an anti-Semitic campaign by post-war communist authorities left only a few thousand in the country.
The European Jewish Congress welcomed the Vatican's reassurance on Catholic-Jewish ties but said it wanted more.
"We welcome the statement issued by the Vatican today ... Nevertheless, we hope to see the Vatican strongly condemn the anti-Semitism that is still spread today by Radio Maryja," said Richard Prasquier, EJC vice president.
Israel's ambassador to Warsaw urged Poland and the Catholic Church last month to act against Radio Maryja for spreading anti-Semitism and repeatedly insulting Jews and their culture.
Jewish groups said the Pope's meeting with Rydzyk appeared to do the opposite by giving him added legitimacy.
"You have unfortunately lent him the priceless credibility of your office and integrity in the eyes of the world," Abraham Foxman, who leads the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League, said in a letter to the Pope on Wednesday.
Some Jewish leaders criticized the Pope's recent decision to revive a Latin-language rite that includes a prayer for the conversion of the Jews.
The Pope's number two suggested the controversial prayer could be dropped, a proposal welcomed by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre.
Pope Benedict visited the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz last year. He called himself "a son of Germany" and asked why God was silent when 1.5 million victims died there.
Next month he is due to visit a monument for Holocaust victims during a trip to Austria.
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