Pope to visit New York synagogue during U.S. trip

By David Alexander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pope Benedict will meet Jewish leaders in Washington and visit a synagogue in New York in acknowledgment of the Passover festival, which begins during his U.S. tour this month, U.S. bishops said on Thursday.

The pope, who visits Washington and New York April 15-20, will meet with 200 leaders of other religions on April 17 and will speak separately with Jewish leaders afterward, the U.S. Conference of Bishops said in a statement.

The meeting is "to present to them a message of his cordial greetings for the imminent feast of Passover," said Monsignor David Malloy, the general secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The pontiff, on his first trip to the United States since being elected leader of the Roman Catholic Church in 2005, will visit Park East Synagogue in New York City for 20 minutes on April 18, the bishops said.

It would be only the second time he has visited a synagogue and only the third time a modern pope has entered a Jewish place of worship.

"By this personal and informal visit, which is not part of his official program, His Holiness wishes to express his good will toward the local Jewish community as they prepare for Passover," Malloy said.

Pope Benedict visited a synagogue in Cologne, Germany, in 2005 to pay tribute to Jews from the city who died during the Holocaust. His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, visited a synagogue in Rome in 1986.

The Passover festival, which begins April 19 this year, commemorates the Jews' escape from slavery from the pharaoh in ancient Egypt.