Analysis Of Pope John Paul II At Israel's Holocaust Memorial

Pope John Paul II at Israel's Holocaust Memorial Pope John Paul II, a vocal advocate for human rights, in his speech given in front of Israel's Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem; implies that both people of Jewish and Christian belief should actively strive towards a better relationship between the two religious groups. He begins to develop this implication by stating that the Christian people shall never dare to forget the tragic horrors that the Jewish people endured. The Pope then claims that the Catholic church never accepted the Nazi’s racial ideals, and concludes his speech by suggesting that both religious groups should cease their feelings of dislike towards the other group in order for peace to occur. Paul’s purpose of the memorial
speech was to pay respect towards the Jewish victims lost and the had to suffer during the events of the Holocaust in order to build Jewish- Christian relations. Paul begins by claiming that the Christian people shall never forget the horrors of the Holocaust.
The Pope strongly believed that “no one forget or ignore what happened [and] no one can diminish its scale”. In this beginning portion, Paul supports his subclaim with evidence from the Bible that relates to his verbal beliefs in order to show credibility while supporting his assertions. Paul, in his first sentence, recites the Biblical quote: “I have become like a broken vessel. I hear the whispering of many -- terror on every side -- as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life. But I trust in you, O Lord: I say, 'you are my God.’ (Psalms 31:13-15)” to show the religious seriousness of his context. Throughout the starting section of the speech, Paul uses imagery in phrases such as: “we are overcome by the echo of the heart-rending laments of so many... cry out to us from the depths of the horror that they knew”, in order to depict the horrors of the Holocaust vidily. This specific strategy goes to support Paul's subclaim implying that because the Holocaust was so horrendous, the Christian people would never dare to forget the
events. Building off the strategies he uses to begin his speech, Paul claims that not only will the Christian people never forget the Holocaust, the Catholic church never even approved of the Nazi’s ideals and practices.
Paul states that “the church rejects racism in any form as a denial of the image of the Creator inherent in every human being” in order to prove that the Catholic church were opposed to the Nazi exploitation of the Jewish people. In order to confidently state his claim, Paul proves his credibility by saying that he is a “ bishop of Rome and successor of the Apostle Peter, [he assures] the Jewish people that the Catholic Church, motivated by the Gospel law of truth and love... is deeply saddened by the hatred, acts of persecution and displays of anti-Semitism directed against the Jews by Christians”. Within the middle portion of his memorial speech, Paul heavily uses rhetorical questions, such as: “How can we fail to heed their cry?” and “How could man have such utter contempt for man?”, to stress his abomination of the Nazi actions during the Holocaust. By using rhetorical questions to show his disapproval, Paul proves that the Catholic church never approved of the Nazi actions of the
time.
To conclude his speech, Paul claims that because of the Church’s disapproval of the Nazi’s actions during the Holocaust, both Jewish and Christian groups should strive towards a better relationship. Paul claims that there should be “no more anti-Jewish feeling among Christians or anti-Christian feeling among Jews, but rather the mutual respect required of those who adore the one Creator and Lord”. Within this final part of the speech, Paul switches his tone from a somber one to a rather hopeful tone. The sentence: “I fervently pray that our sorrow for the tragedy which the Jewish people suffered in the 20th century will lead to a new relationship between Christians and Jews”, is an example of the sudden tone shift Paul uses to focus on future goals between the two religious groups. Paul also uses an explanation then action structure in his final thoughts. He claims that because the Holocaust was a horrendous event, Christian and Jewish alike should strive to strengthen their relationship in order to move on. This explanation then action structure supports Paul's subclaim by giving a reason for the Jewish and Christian people to strengthen their relationship.
Pope John Paul II implied through his speech in front of Yad Vashem, that both the Jewish and Christian people should strive to strengthen their relationship. Throughout the speech Paul used textual strategies, such as rhetorical questions and imagery, to show why the advancement in the relationship between Christians and the Jewish people should take place. Paul combines beliefs, strategies, and a respectful tone to develop his position on how the Christian and Jewish people should move on peacefully from the horrendous events of the Holocaust.