Testimonials from Our Friends | Pave the Way Foundation

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

“I am happy to meet with you at the conclusion of the important symposium organized by the Pave the Way Foundation. I know that many eminent scholars have participated in this reflection on the numerous works of my beloved predecessor – the Servant of God Pope Pius XII – accomplished during the difficult period around the time of the second world war. I warmly welcome each of you especially Mr Gary Krupp, President of the Foundation, whom I thank for the kind words expressed on your behalf. I am grateful to him for informing me how your work has been undertaken during the symposium. You have analyzed without bias the events of history and concerned yourselves only with seeking the truth. I also greet those accompanying you on this visit, as well as your family members and loved ones at home.”

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZED BY THE “PAVE THE WAY FOUNDATION”. Hall of the Swiss, Castel Gandolfo Thursday, 19 September 2008

As the first Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See for Israel, I am keenly aware of the importance that the relations between Israel and the Holy See be strengthened. As many of the individual items you are working on may seem difficult, I encourage you to persevere in your efforts. The notion of arranging cultural exchanges as the exhibits you hope to launch here in Israel and the return of religious property to the Church, will most assuredly promote gestures of good will between the religions.
– H.E. Ambassador Shmuel Hadas – First Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See.

I am sending you this letter of support to express my deep appreciation for your remarkable work to promote good relations and cooperation between the Holy See and the State of Israel. In particular your efforts to galvanize Israeli compliance with its commitments made in the Fundamental Agreement and to demonstrate gestures of good will to the Vatican are of enormous importance, both for the bilateral relations themselves and for Catholic- Jewish relations around the world.
– Rabbi David Rosen – Signatory to the Alexandria Declaration and International Director of the American Jewish Committee

Once more I feel impelled by events- this time happily positive developments-to express my profound gratitude and appreciation for the unique contribution you have been making with the Pave the Way Foundation, to securing onward progress in building up the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish People. There are, of course, many organizations devoted to advancing Catholic Jewish dialogue and friendship. None, however, has equally grasped the indispensable requirement of a healthy relationship between the Church and the State of Israel.
– The Reverend Dr. David-Maria A. Jaeger, OFM, official spokesperson for the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land

I am particularly pleased with regard to your correspondence with Fr. Farina, the prefect of the Vatican Library, and especially with the generous responses of the Maimonides Institute. News of any undertaking, which advances Interreligious relations must certainly be enthusiastically, be received. I pray that God may continue to bless you and these efforts.
– H.Em Edmund Cardinal Szoka- President of the Pontifical Council for the Vatican City State

I am happy to hear that you are weighing in on the Visa problem.
– H.Em William Cardinal Keeler – Archbishop of Baltimore

As former Archbishop of Canterbury, initiator of the Alexandria Declaration and religious advisor to the World Economic Forum, and as a member of the Forum, appreciated you support for the Alexandria Declaration and will remain actively interested as you push forward with your endeavor.
– Lord George Carey – Former Archbishop of Canterbury

Gary is a committed individual with a kind heart. He has utilized his unique position within the Catholic Church and commitment to his own heritage, Judaism, as a springboard for dialogue between the two faiths. May God continue to give Gary the strength and resolve to pursue his dream in the world of interfaith relations.
– H.E. Ambassador Alon Pinkas, former Consul General to New York for the State of Israel

It is my pleasure to send you this letter congratulating you on the important initiative to produce a documentary program on the Alexandria Summit and its Declaration, as well as the ongoing effort to ensure that religion is a force for peace in the Middle East and in our world, rather than a tool for violence and destruction. This message and this initiative are of urgent and crucial importance and I am grateful to you and for your commitment to bring them to as wide an audience as possible.
– Rabbi David Rosen – Signatory to the Alexandria Declaration and International director and Chief Rabbi of the American Jewish Committee

And he’s a soldier of peace [Gary Krupp]. Ambassador Oded Ben-Hur-Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See Rome
I think he is one of the greatest people I have met in my life and I am 80. He has me 100 percent convinced he will succeed.
– Dott. Rolando Clementoni – Senior Papal Chamberlain – Protocol Officer of the Apostolic Palace – Vatican

Please keep up the good work of Pave the Way Foundation in your quest to end the use of religion for justifying acts of violence.
– Rabbi Shlomo Riskin- Chief Rabbi of Efrat, Israel

It is Mr. Krupp’s conviction that if a good will gesture from one religion to another was initiated and completed; the gesture would open the opportunity to deliver the message of benevolence through the international media. This was accomplished with his initiating the largest Jewish audience in history to meet and thank the late Pope John Paul I1 for all he had done for relations with the Jewish people. Conversely, he initiated the first loan of Jewish manuscripts from the Vatican Library to the State of Israel.
– Archbishop Celestino Migliore – Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, MK Sylvan Shalom acknowledge your effort in paving the way for better relations between Jews and Christians, and the Minister and the entire Ministry of Foreign Affairs attribute great importance to such an important mission. We wish you success in your activity.
– Hillel Newman – Ministry of Foreign Affairs- Foreign Ministers Bureau State of Israel

Fostering the cooperation between the Vatican and Israel, as well as Jewish and Catholic communities at large, is an important undertaking and I commend you for your efforts.
– Ambassador Arye Mekel – Consul General – Consulate General of Israel in New York

We are grateful to the Pave the Way Foundation for its assistance in introducing our project to the Vatican library and in helping to initiate our loan request of the Vatican Library.
– James S. Snyder – Director of the Israel Museum

The efforts of tonight’s honorees are a tribute to the Pave the Way Foundation’s mission to unify people of all religions and improve the quality of life in communities throughout the world.
– Michael R. Bloomberg- Mayor of the City of New York

Mr. and Mrs. Krupp formed Pave the Way Foundation to effect his vision of the commonality that exists between the world’s religions. They use the common message of the true benevolence of each faith, to affect the overall goal that the religions, universally, must act to remove incorrect use as a tool of religious dogma and the intentional misinterpretations of holy text, to justify acts of violence, hatred and bigotry, within each religion. This, Mr. Krupp believes, is the cause of every major conflict on earth. How can such a monumental task be accomplished? Well sometimes the easiest and the simplest way will accomplish great things. Gary has proven this and, if his methodology becomes a format for dealing with the world’s problems, I’m convinced that solutions, to some of the international problems, would be achieved. We the members of the Islamic Center of Long Island have directly benefited from Gary’s groundbreaking interfaith outreach. He invited the ICLI community to participate in the Pope John Paul II Memorial Concert held at the Saint Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Center, New York on Sunday Oct 16, 2005. It was clear that Gary was one of the main and driving force behind this unique and commemorative event. A Jewish man arranges for the Muslims to participate in a concert honoring the late John Paul II and held in a Cathedral – only in America. This in itself speaks volumes regarding Gary’s vision, contacts and outreach.
– Dr. Faroque Khan – Chairman of the Board of Trustees Islamic Center of Long Island

His vision [Gary Krupp] extends far beyond himself and his personal interests, recognizing the value of cultural and religious differences and collaboration in achieving goals which bespeak the common good of all religions. Undaunted by history or improbability, Mr. Krupp pursues challenge with dialogue, personal conviction and sensitivity. The Vatican Library is noted for its collections which stem from all parts of the world and thus hold a history common to all of humanity. Mr. Krupp has been tireless in his efforts-to assist the Library in making these precious collections available, by means of photographic and facsimile reproductions, to a much larger population than those who would be able to consult the actual documents on the premises of the Library. Among other efforts, one of his most successful and advantageous for both the Library and for scholars in other parts of the world is the connection with and funding for the services of a company with is providing the exceptional photographic equipment and expertise to make photographic reproductions of the Vatican Library manuscripts collections. This effort was inaugurated with the reproduction of four Hebrew manuscripts, which are presently on exhibition in Jerusalem, also thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Mr. Gary Krupp. This is only one of many of Mr. Krupp’s efforts, and successes in prompting relationships between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people. He is indeed to be commended.
– Fr. Raffaele Farina, SBD – Prefect of the Vatican Library

Mr. Krupp is an unassuming and extremely effective person who realized that his Position as Jewish man of talent, good will, and openness could give an impetus to the mutual understanding and cooperation between religions. His vision goes beyond Catholic-Jewish dialogue. Last July Mr. Krupp was invested into the Anglican Order of St. John for his efforts in being a conduit with the Protestant churches. Gary and his wife Meredith formed the Pave the Way Foundation to facilitate the common message of benevolence of each faith to remove the misuse of religion to justify acts of violence, hatred and bigotry within each religion. According to Mr. Krupp, this is the cause of every major conflict on earth. One of Mr. Krupp’s first goals was to cooperate in removing any possible obstacles or, breaches of relations between Israel and the Holy See. He vigorously supported negotiations when necessary, while lobbying international support for this effort. It is Mr., Krupp’s conviction that if a good will gesture from one religion to another was initiated and completed; the gesture would open the opportunity to deliver the message of benevolence through the international media. This was accomplished with his initiating the largest Jewish audience in history to meet and thank the late Pope John Paul II for all he had done for relations with the Jewish people. Conversely, he initiated the first loan of Jewish manuscripts from the Vatican Library to the State of Israel.
– Archbishop Celestino Migliore – Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer for the Holy See to the United Nations

Mr. Krupp’s work is unique in a number of ways. One of its important aspects is that he has encouraged not only human relations between Catholics and Jews, but also has done much to advance the cause of shared scholarship and to help this scholarship to bring about greater interreligious understanding and education. I have seen the importance of this kind of work through my own teaching and research on the Dead Sea Scrolls. These documents, because of their importance for early history of Judaism and for the background of Christianity, have fostered a level of interreligious study that has crossed boundaries and has done much for Jewish Christian understanding.
– Professor Lawrence Schiffman – Chair of the Skirball Department New York University

It is with sincere appreciation that I acknowledge your interest in my work on Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church. In particular, I thank you wholeheartedly for your letter to the board of directors of Yad Vashem, date June 7, 2006, in an effort to correct the misrepresentation of the contribution of this Pontiff toward saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust.
– Sister Margherita Marchione, Ph.D.

Mr. Krupp, an American Jew, characterized by an evident profound attachment to the Jewish People and at the same time by a remarkable relationship with the Catholic Church (resulting in high Papal honors) as well as boundless energy and optimism, took it upon himself to work very hard , relentlessly, to bring about the renewal of the dialogue, the resumption of the talks. It was then that he started his ongoing effort to sensitize Israeli and other Jewish leadership to the crucial importance for the future of the Jewish Community of friendship with the Catholic Church.
– The Reverend Dr. David-Maria A. Jaeger, OFM Legal Representative for the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land

I wish to write to you and to thank the Pave the Way Foundation and you personally, for your efforts in helping to defend religious freedom in the State of Israel as well as elsewhere around the world. In light of the many religious leaders and organizations, who have supported our efforts, Pave the Way Foundation and your personal action has distinguished yourselves as true movers and defenders of religious freedom through sincere committed action.
– Theophilos III – Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem

Without organizations like yours our world would be far worse than it is, and religious intolerance would be so rampant. I only pray that G-d gives you the strength to continue this important work.
– Rabbi Carlos C. Huerta- Chaplain (Major) United States Military Academy at West Point

Compliments for your many and valuable works in order to pave the way to a new and a better society, where everybody is accepted and respected for what he is! It is a spiritual fight that should keep busy as many as possible.
– Archbishop Eugenio Sbarbaro – Apostolic Nuncio to Serbia

The Lord works in mysterious ways and “Holy mysteries” are often reflections of people who are deeply contemplative about spiritual realities. Often, when I think of Gary, the concepts flow through my mind. One of his great gifts is to engage people of very different predispositions to recognize their mutual interdependence. This very same quality most certainly has inspired many people to discoveries about the possibilities for progress through tangible expressions of mutual respect. In the Holy Land, where even hope for reconciliation often is abandoned out of exhaustion and despair, Gary is relentless in his optimism and spiritual energy.
– John R. Drexel IV – United States Prior of the Venerable Order of St. John

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His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI