Pope Leo says Middle East conflicts strain Jewish-Christian relations

VATICAN CITY, Sept ‌16 (Reuters) - Pope Leo ​said ​on Wednesday that recent conflicts in the Middle East had tested relations between Jews ‌and Christians, adding that differing views of the ⁠ongoing violence had strained dialogue but not broken it.

In a ‌new decree to mark the ‌Catholic Church's last 60 years of efforts at inter-religious dialogue, the pope also reiterated the Church's condemnations of ​both antisemitism and Islamophobia.

"The conflicts that have erupted in the Middle East in recent years have ... ⁠left their mark on Jewish-Christian dialogue," said the decree, developed by three ​top Vatican offices and approved by Leo.

"Many channels of communication have been strained," it said. "Nevertheless, ​the pillars of dialogue among ‌believers, built over 60 years of common effort, have remained firm. Upon these foundations, it ⁠is both possible and necessary to continue building."

The decree, issued to mark the anniversary of a 1965 Church document widely ⁠credited with improving centuries of acrimony between Jews and Christians, ​did not mention any specific Middle East conflicts.

Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, has previously criticised the Iran war, drawing the ire ‌of President Donald Trump on social media.

Wednesday's decree described fighting antisemitism as a "shared struggle" ‌for Jews and Christians. It also said attitudes of ⁠Islamophobia "fail to distinguish" between ‌cases of extremist ​violence and the everyday lives of the world's Muslims.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Alexandra ‌Hudson)

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