Jewish leaders got up-front seats at Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration Mass. An American rabbi there and other representatives saw that as a hopeful sign for an upswing of Catholic-Jewish relations under the first U.S.-born pontiff, after a strained relationship with his predecessor.
With growing antisemitic rhetoric and attacks in various countries, as well as mounting international criticism of Israel's conduct in its war with Hamas, the moral voice of the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics can make a real difference, they said.
