On his visit to West Germany earlier this year, the Pope pronounced the beatification of Sister Teresia Benedicta, a Carmelite nun murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz.
Sister Benedicta had been born a Jewess, Edith Stein. Thousands of Catholics rejoiced at the ceremony, and welcomed the pronouncement as a sign of reconciliation between Catholics and Jews. But many Jews were indignant. In their eyes not only had Edith Stein betrayed her faith by converting to Christianity, but she died because she was Jewish, not as a Christian martyr. For them, the attempt at reconciliation failed.
Why are relations between Catholics and Jews so difficult and sensitive, and what hopes are there that a better understanding can be achieved?