Pope Exonerates Jews From Jesus’ Death

Pope Benedict XVI exonerated Jewish people from the death of Jesus Christ in a new book.

In “Jesus of Nazareth”, the Pope appeals to biblical and theological analysis to explain why the affirmation that says that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus has no basis.

Jewish scholars say that the argument developed by the German Pope was significant and helpfull to combat anti-Semitism.

“There’s a natural human tendency to take things for granted, and very often this tends to lead to a lapse in awareness and consciousness” about the risk of anti-Semitism, said Rabbi David Rosen, head of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee and a longtime leader in Vatican-Jewish dialogue.

“It may be an obvious thing for Jews to present texts with commentaries, but normally with church magisterium, they present a document,” he said. “This is a pedagogical tool that he’s providing, so people will be able to interpret the text in keeping with orthodox Vatican teaching.”

Source: AP, The Washington Post