In fact, the Pope was calling in clear powerful language for two things. First he called on Catholics to integrate fully into their lives Catholicism and its values, warning that religion cannot be relegated to Sundays, to mass, to church. As the Pope asked in this speech:

"Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday, and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs? Is it consistent for practicing Catholics to ignore or exploit the poor and the marginalized, to promote sexual behavior contrary to Catholic moral teaching, or to adopt positions that contradict the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death? Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted. Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel."

This integration is something to which Jews can relate. Judaism has been form its inception a way of life, not a set of rituals reserve for the synagogue. Among the traditional commandments, there are blessings Jews traditionally say from the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed, blessings on seeing a rainbow or escaping danger or ill-health; there are rules regarding the way we run our businesses, treat our families, and interact with our neighbors. In every aspect of life, we are admonished: “Da lifne mi ata omeid, know before Whom you stand.” The Pope’s call has great resonance for us.

Secondly, the Pope called on Catholics and the church to address the great moral issues of our day as reflected in the call above to care for the poor, the marginalized, sexual ethics, and the right to life. It was heard as well in his powerful call to open our nation and hearts to immigrants, which press reports said he raised not only in this speech but directly with President Bush.

"Brother Bishops, I want to encourage you and your communities to continue to welcome the immigrants who join your ranks today, to share their joys and hopes, to support them in their sorrows and trials, and to help them flourish in their new home. This, indeed, is what your fellow countrymen have done for generations. From the beginning, they have opened their doors to the tired, the poor, the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free" …. These are the people whom America has made her own. "

This too resonates strongly with the Jewish prophetic tradition and its central call to justice.

If the Jewish community was disappointed, it was by what the Pope did not say. In his two encounters with the Jewish community, many of us wished that he had used these meetings as a chance to clarify that his decision on the Good Friday Tridentine prayer, reinserting a call for the conversion of the Jews, did not reflect a significant change from Vatican II. The Vatican had already clarified that this call did not alter Nostre Aetate, which changed the history of Catholic-Jewish relations by affirming the eternal validity of the Jewish people’s covenant with God. Jews had understood this to affirm that from a Catholic perspective the covenant between God and the Jewish people was also a path to salvation. If the validity of the covenant has not changed, why then the call for conversion? Perhaps Pope Benedict was making a theoretical point, but suggesting that this matter should be left in God's hands; or it was intended as a call for such activity at the end of times. If on the other hand, this is intended to signal an actual call for a new program of Catholic conversionary efforts aimed at the Jews, it would mark an alarming and major set-back in Catholic Jewish relations. The Pope’s statement and the partial clarifications since have left us in limbo and there was regret that a part of these encounters could not be a clarification of this essential aspect of our relations.

I hope that someday soon he provides just such a reassurance about our relationship.