The inauguration ceremony of Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV – this time with the participation of Israeli President Isaac Herzog – marks an act of closure and farewell to his predecessor, Pope Francis, for whom today marks one month since his passing.
The election of Francis as the 266th pope was met with optimism and satisfaction in the Jewish world, accompanied by hope for deepening the unique relationship between the Church and the Jewish people.
This relationship has evolved since the adoption of the Nostra Aetate declaration during the Second Vatican Council in October 1965, a document that marked a revolutionary shift in the Church’s approach and relations with the Jewish people.
In his previous role in Buenos Aires, Francis maintained warm ties with the Jewish community and consistently spoke out against antisemitism. Among his close friends were Jews with whom he remained in contact throughout his papacy.
The sense of optimism was reinforced by his decision to include Israel among the first international visits he made in May 2014, as well as by his visits and statements at the Great Synagogue of Rome and at Auschwitz in 2016.
However, there was a marked gap between these expectations and the sense of puzzlement and disappointment felt by many Jews worldwide in response to the Church’s feeble reaction – and the increasing criticism expressed by Pope Francis – following the October 7 massacre, the second-largest catastrophe experienced by Jews since the Holocaust.
Coming nearly 80 years after the end of World War II and the controversial conduct of Pope Pius XII at that time, the response was even more distressing to those who had previously encountered Francis’s warm and friendly demeanor personally.
Looking back, rather worrisome aspects of Francis’s approach could already be detected early in his tenure. This was evident in his decision to sign, on June 26, 2015, a foundational agreement between the Holy See recognizing the “State of Palestine,” which included recognition of its borders within the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem.
Earlier, during his visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority in May 2014, Francis took a controversial step by praying beside the separation barrier near Bethlehem.
Additionally, he developed a close and ongoing personal relationship with PA President Mahmoud Abbas, whom he even referred to as an “Angel of peace” during a meeting at the Vatican in May 2015 – a term that could be perceived as echoing the biblical title “Prince of Peace” traditionally associated with Jesus and originating in the Book of Isaiah.
Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis placed increasing emphasis on rapprochement and deeper dialogue with Islam, which has been gaining a foothold in the heart of the Christian world. Noteworthy in this context was his warm relationship with the Sunni Imam of al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb – who has made on occasion antisemitic remarks in the past – with whom he signed the “Document on Human Fraternity” in Abu Dhabi in February 2019.
In March 2021, during his visit to Iraq, he flew specifically to Najaf to meet with the Shi’ite Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
Pope Francis reached out to the Jews as well
Separately, the Vatican continued its dialogue with Judaism, including with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, and Francis maintained meetings with Jewish delegations and organizational representatives.
Pope Francis’s Jesuit worldview incorporated elements, fundamentally dividing the world into two camps: the poor, oppressed, and suffering on one side, and the affluent Western world on the other – a camp from which he did not withhold harsh criticism.
This worldview did not work in Israel’s favor, casting the Palestinians as the “oppressed” and predisposed to side with them. His aversion to war as a means of conflict resolution, which he emphasized increasingly as the war in Gaza dragged on and civilian casualties mounted, also did not help Israel’s case.
More than any of his predecessors, Pope Francis – the first pope since the eighth century to be born outside of Europe – gave expression to the demographic shift the Church has undergone, as most of its followers now live outside the Western world.
In a speech before the European Parliament in November 2014, he compared Europe to “a grandmother who is no longer fertile,” a statement that drew criticism, including from then-German chancellor Angela Merkel.
Staying true to this perspective, he appointed many cardinals from the developing world, most of whom naturally had less familiarity with or connection to the Jewish-Christian relationship and its various dimensions.
On several occasions, Pope Francis expressed a traditional and critical view of the Pharisees of the Second Temple period – regarded as the spiritual forebears of contemporary rabbinic Judaism – characterizing them as rigid, overly attached to the written word, and fomenting strife.
He maintained this stance even after a special international conference on the topic, held at the Pontifical Gregorian University in February 2019, concluded that among all the religious groups of Jesus’s time, he appeared closest to the Pharisees.
On August 11, 2021, Francis commented regarding the commandments that “the laws of the Torah do not give life,” sparking anger and a protest letter from Israel’s Chief Rabbinate.
Despite all of the above, from a broad perspective and in considering the complex legacy of Pope Francis, it is appropriate to acknowledge the positive aspects.
These include his commitment to fighting antisemitism, including his repeated declarations that “a Christian cannot be an antisemite, for that would be a contradiction in terms, given our shared [Jewish] roots.”
Furthermore, even as his criticism of Israel increased after October 7, he met several times with the families of hostages and called for their release.
Noteworthy as well was his resounding call, “Where are you, man?” (“Adam, ayekah?”) during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in May 2014, and his symbolic gesture of ascending Mount Herzl to lay a wreath on the grave of Benjamin Ze’ev (Theodor) Herzl, the visionary of the Jewish state.
In doing so, Pope Francis closed a painful historical circle that began with the jarring 1904 meeting between Herzl and Pope Pius X, during which the latter harshly and unequivocally rejected the Zionist idea.
It is unfortunate that in his twilight years, the more disputable aspects of his views and conduct came increasingly to the fore, overshadowing gestures of goodwill and rights.
The writer was Israel’s ambassador to The Holy See, 2016-2021.