Pope Benedict XVI hopes his planned visit to Jerusalem’s Western Wall next month will be taken as a gesture of reconciliation in the long-troubled relationship between Judaism and the Catholic Church. But at least one influential rabbi will take offense — unless the pontiff removes or conceals the golden cross he wears on a chain around his neck, “out of respect” for the Jews. Explaining his demand that Benedict hide the very symbol of the Catholicism he represents, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the spiritual authority responsible for overseeing Judaism’s most sacred site, told TIME, “I wouldn’t go into a church wearing Jewish symbols, out of respect for the place, and I would expect that the Pope would act the same here.” Quoting King Solomon, the rabbi says that the Temple in Jerusalem was “a house of prayer for all people, not just Jews.” He added: “We welcome this Pope.
