The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool, Patrick Kelly, said he would rethink his view of Jewish-Christian relations after an address in the city on Monday from a senior Vatican official.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, who oversees the church's relations with Jews, said at Liverpool Hope University: "Cutting itself off from its Jewish roots for centuries weakened the church, a weakness that became evident in the altogether too feeble resistance against the persecution of the Jews."

But without the church, Israel was "in danger of becoming too particularistic and reclusive", he stated.

Archbishop Kelly said the address "prompted in me personally, a change in heart and mind. It demanded a new way of thinking and so, of acting… This is a highly significant contribution to that most delicate of responsibilities, to developing Jewish-Christian relations."

Cardinal Kasper said that Jewish-Christian relations had advanced further than anyone could have imagined 45 years ago.