Pope Benedict XVI and Judaism

"[2] Shortly after his election the Pontiff visited the Cologne synagogue where, speaking to Jewish leaders, he condemned Nazi ideology as "insane" and committed to strengthening ties of "friendship" between the Catholic Church and Jews.

Rabbi Bretton-Granatoor wrote that the facts on the ground are all that's needed to show that the improvement of relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Jews—begun 40 years ago with the Second Vatican Council and a major legacy of Pope John Paul II—would continue during the tenure of the new pontiff.

Despite deteriorating relations the Vatican claimed it was still dedicated to dialogue with the Jewish faith, and in what was called an "unprecedented outreach effort"[10] Benedict visited Park East Synagogue in New York City, the United States, on the eve of Passover 2008.

[12][13] Despite Jewish opposition Benedict maintained support for Pius XII, saying that the wartime pontiff "acted in a secret and silent way because, given the realities of that complex historical moment, he realised that it was only in this way that he could avoid the worst and save the greatest possible number of Jews.

The Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said that "the condemnation of statements that deny the Holocaust could not have been clearer[20] and that the pope had made his position crystal clear in the past, e.g. in Cologne[3] and Auschwitz.

[5][6] The British newspaper The Guardian reported in February 2009 that as a result of the events surrounding Williamson, Pope Benedict's judgment and ability were now being called into question by numerous voices both within and outside the Roman Catholic Church.

"[25] As the coverage of the controversy escalated the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reaffirmed that Pope Benedict XVI deplored all forms of anti-Semitism and that he called upon all Roman Catholics to follow suit.

[27] Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev said: “When the highest moral authority of the Church states that Holocaust denial is unacceptable, that is a vital message for the entire world”.

[29][30] The decree allowed for wider use of the Tridentine Mass which includes a Good Friday prayer: The Anti-Defamation league described Benedict's decision as "a body blow to Catholic-Jewish relations".

[32] Some Jewish leaders "feared revival of the prayer would undo four decades of progress following Nostra aetate, the 1965 document that absolved the Jews of the killing of Jesus and marked a new period of Jewish-Catholic relations.

However, amid claims that the Pope was ruining Jewish-Catholic relations,[34] the Israeli ambassador to the Holy See stated that "the climate is good" and said he believed there was "a lot of potential for the cooperation" between the Vatican and Israel.

The speech expressed "deep compassion" for the "millions of Jews killed," but did not implicate any Catholic guilt for the Holocaust, nor use the words "German", "Nazi", or "murder", nor did he discuss his own personal wartime experience in which he was "registered in the Hitler Youth".

[40] According to journalist Richard Boudreaux, Benedict's farewell remarks from the tarmac at Tel Aviv's airport pleased both Israelis and Palestinians, many of whom had initially viewed him with skepticism.