ENI – The Vatican says it respects and esteems Judaism, despite tension over a Good Friday prayer revived by the pontiff which some Jews say demeans their religion.
“The Holy See wishes to reassure that the new formulation of the prayer in no way intends to indicate a change in the Catholic Church's regard for the Jews,” said an April statement from the Vatican press office.
Pope Benedict XVI announced in 2007 that the church would permit wider use of the traditional Latin Mass which includes Good Friday prayer language that refers to the “blindness” of Jews in not acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah. In February, the Vatican revised the prayer, but it includes a reference to the need for Jews to acknowledge “Jesus Christ as the saviour”.
Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, says this is “two steps forward and three steps backward” regarding the church's intentions for improved inter-religious relations.
