Rabbi to Pope: Please Don't Wear Cross at the Western Wall

The Rabbi of the Western Wall has indicated that it would be inappropriate for Pope Benedict to wear a cross during his scheduled visit to the area in May. During his 2000 visit, Pope John Paul II wore his.

WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) - In May, Pope Benedict XVI will visit the Holy Land and one of his stops in Jerusalem is the Western Wall. According to Shmuel Rabinovitch, Rabbi in charge of the Western Wall, it is not proper coming to the site wearing a cross and he has requested that the Holy Father honor that custom.

During his May 12 visit to the area, the Pope is scheduled to meet with Rabinovitch and later, with Israel's two chief rabbi's, Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar.

In a telephone interview with The Jerusalem Post on Monday, Rabinovitch, who is in charge of decorum for the site, stated, "My position is that it is not fitting to enter the Western Wall area with religious symbols, including a cross. I feel the same way about a Jew putting on a tallit and phylacteries and going into a church."

The Rabbi has successfully refused admission to other Christian leaders who were wearing their crosses. In May, 2008 bishops from Catholic and Protestant churches were denied entry. However, pictures of Pope John-Paul II, during his visit in 2000, show him at the site wearing his.

Initial reports are that the pontiff would not remove his cross.

The media coordinator for the pope's visit to the Holy Land, Wadie Abunassar, told the Post, "I cannot imagine the Holy Father removing his cross. In coming days I intend to discuss the issue with the pope's people."

Rabbi Rabinovitch is also contesting plans by Israeli security to close the area of the wall to others beginning the evening before the Pope's visit.

"For the past 42 years," he told the Post, "no one has ever been prevented from praying at the Western Wall and, God willing, no one ever will. A solution needs to be reached that provides adequate security for the pope without infringing on the right of everyone to pray. The Western Wall belongs to everyone."

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