If you haven’t seen it yet, drop by my Beliefnet blog neighbor Rabbi Shumley and read his account of meeting Pope Benedict:

Gary introduced me to the Pope warmly with my formal titles. I gave the Pope a special gift we had gotten for him. It was a beautiful dual-time Phillip Stein watch. The Pope lit up when he saw it and said, “Look, it has two faces on it,” which, as it happened, was the perfect introduction for me to share the issues I had prepared. I said, “Pope Benedict, it’s an honor to meet you. This watch has the times of Rome and Jerusalem on it, signifying the eternal friendship between our two faiths. I also hope that when you wear it the future of the Jew people will always be on your mind, as Israel struggles with existential threats, like Iran, who threaten to wipe it off the map. You’re voice against these threats is essential, your holiness.”

He said ‘Yes,’ nodding his head in agreement, and I continued.

“In addition, Your holiness, the dual clock face is a symbol of my request that you please join us in establishing a global family dinner night which we call, ‘Turn Friday Night into Family Night.’ It involves what we call the triple two. Two hours of uninterrupted time that parents give their kids, inviting two guests, just as I am your guest today, and discussing two important subjects.”

While I said this Pope Benedict again nodded.

I concluded, ‘Your holiness, it’s so important that our two religions work together on this.’ He said warmly, ‘We will work together. We will work together.’ He held my hand while we spoke. The watch we gave the Pope as a gift has special resonance because the owner, Will Stein, is an orthodox German who converted to Judaism.

Read the rest at the link.