Shalom in the Catholic Home: Shmuley Urges Pope To Have Shabbat Dinners

By Josh Tapper May 3, 2010

If doling out advice — from parenting to relationships to spirituality — to American Jews and Gentiles wasn’t enough, celebrity rabbi Shmuley Boteach has gone for the big score: the Bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope.

By consulting with Rabbi Shmuley, the Pope joins the ranks of Michael Jackson and Oprah, both of whom have looked to the host of TLC’s “Shalom in the Home” for guidance. In a meeting last week, Rabbi Shmuley encouraged Pope Benedict XVI, who’s currently embroiled in yet another round of hullabaloo surrounding the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal, to hop on board with his “Turn Friday Night Into Family Night” initiative.

By putting Friday focus on the family, “America’s Rabbi” contends the Catholic Church can clean up its tanking image and shift its opponents’ criticism away from same-sex marriage and abortion. In promoting a Shabbat-style dinner, Rabbi Shmuley educated His Holiness on his concept of the “triple two.” The dinner can be accomplished by inviting two guests, discussing two different subjects and giving one’s children undivided attention for two hours.

Call it Shalom in the Catholic Home.

Read Rabbi Shmuley’s account in its entirety here.

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