• Letter of condolence received from The Shaar Hashamayim Congregation, Sudbury

The following is a letter of condolence, addressed to their Excellencies, Jean-Louis Plouffe and Robert Harris, by the members of the Shaar Hashamayim Congregation, Sudbury, Ontario dated April 2, 2005:

The Shaar Hashomayim congregation of Sudbury expresses its deep sorrow at the passing of Pope John Paul II. His accomplishments were many. But his relationship with the Jewish people was special. He was the first Pope in history to visit a synagogue when he did so in Rome in 1986 and referred to the Jewish people as "our elder brothers".

The Jewish people and indeed the entire world lost today a great champion of reconciliation and brotherhood between the faiths. Through his public and religious work, he promoted inter-faith understanding and dialogue, with a willingness to address the past, and a profound determination to build a future of understanding and brotherhood between all faiths.

The Pope took up the spirit of Nostra Aetate, the historic 1965 document issued under Pope John XXIII affirming the eternity of the Divine Covenant with the Jewish people, and turned it into a program for personal action and interfaith reconciliation.

In a visit to Israel in 2000, he prayed at the Western Wall, inserting in its crack a type written note asking forgiveness for those who throughout history have caused Jewish suffering and committing Catholics to "genuine brotherhood with the People of the Covenant."

We extend our condolences to the Catholic Church and the flock of Pope John Paul II, as well to the Catholic people in the diocese of Sault Ste. Marie.

We would also like to add a more personal note about what the life and ministry of John Paul II came to mean to the entire human family.

He has been an advocate of hope, not despair; of generosity, not rancor or bitterness; of acceptance and tolerance, not violence.

He challenged the youth of the world and every one of us also to be engaged, and more, he also challenged us to reject indifference as an option. Indifference always helps the aggressor, never his victims. He taught us to experience the needs and sufferings of others beyond our usual five senses: More than sight, insight; more than hearing, listening; more than judgment, compassion; more than touch, feeling and sensitivity.

His frail body was finally released from pain and suffering. He answered the call of his Master, the Lord of Hosts. May his pure soul be bound in the bonds of eternal life, and may the bereaved be comforted with all the other mourners in Zion and Jerusalem.

On Behalf of the Jewish community of Sudbury,

Judy Cartman, President of the Shaar Hashomayim Congregation

Jacques Abourbih, Vice-President of the Shaar Hashomayim Congregation