MOSCOW, April 3 (RIA Novosti, Olga Lipich) - Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar (the Federation of Russia's Jewish Communities) offered condolences to Russian Catholics in connection with the death of Pope John Paul II on behalf of the Jewish community. According to the rabbi, we mourn for the Pope who made "a great contribution to the development of inter-religious dialogue."
"We regard John Paul II as the first Catholic leader who asked for forgiveness for Christian believers' failure to prevent Holocaust," Berl Lazar emphasized.
According to him, Karol Wojtyla "was the first to open a real dialogue with the Jewish community, thus providing for new prospects of inter-religious cooperation."
Berl Lazar believes that John Paul II's death is "a great loss for all believers."
