Traditioninaction Org HotTopics John Paul II Visit To Synagogue

Consequences of Vatican II
Analysis of the Visit of JPII to the Synagogue of Rome
Is the Catholic Church Becoming

a Branch of the Synagogue?
Atila Sinke Guimares
This analysis of John Paul IIs visit to the synagogue of Rome on April 13, 1986 is taken
from the non-published volume III of my 11-volume collection on Vatican II, Eli Eli,
Lamma Sabacthani?. Given that Benedict XVI will visit the synagogue of Cologne this
August, it seemed to me that these considerations on the 1986 visit could provide my
readers with some general lines that will probably also apply to the 2005 visit.
1. The symbolic-theological character of the visit

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John Paul IIs visit to the Jewsih synagogue of Rome had a character that was
substantially theological and should not be viewed as a merely "pastoral" act, as some
would like to present it in order to attenuate its gravity. Fr. Giuseppe de Rosa, S.J.,
affirmed its theological importance in an article in La Civilt Cattolica commenting on
the event:
The Popes meeting with the Hebrew community of Rome which in
some way represented all the Hebrew communities in the world, at
least symbolically has not only a human content but also an
actual theological one. It was the recognition or better, the
confirmation, 20 years after Vatican II of the turnaround worked by
the Council regarding the Churchs theological approach to
Judaism. (1)
With the symbolic theological visit, John Paul II clearly broke the tradition of the Holy
Church on treatment toward the Jewish religion. Quoting the Pontiffs speech delivered
in the Hebrew temple, a commentator of La Civilt Cattolica said exactly this:
As for the 'historical
character of the event, it lies
in the fact that this gesture
definitively closes an era in
the relations between
Christians and Jews and
opens a new one. What is
its real meaning? The
Pontiff himself said it when
he declared that 'following
the pontificate of John XXIII
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and Vatican Council II, this

meeting upon which we
must not stop reflecting so
that it may provide us with
opportune teachings
brings to an end, in some
Inside the synagogue, JPII bows his head to hear the words of rabbi
way, a long period. The
ToaffLe Monde des Religions, November-December 2005
long period to which the
Pope refers covers the centuries of reciprocal aversion between Jews and Christians
.... The long period of Christian anti-Semitism .... was closed with the pontificate of
John XXIII and Vatican Council II. (2)
On the day of the visit, the Italian newspaper Il Giornale also emphasized the
importance of the event:
No trip of this pilgrim Pope to any continent was so long as the one he
made today; the short distance between the Vatican palace and the
synagogue of Rome took two thousand years to cover. (3)
Fr. Giovanni Caprile, S.J., a well-known chronicler of Vatican II, wrote:
It was a truly historic event, the first and so far the only such visit in the life of
the Church and the Hebrew community since the time of St. Peter. (4)
In Israel, the pontifical gesture was seen as "an unprecedented opening. (5)
Also, the rabbis who greeted John Paul II did not hide their satisfaction at seeing the
Pontiff abandon the 2,000-year-old doctrinal position of the Church. On behalf of the
Jews, rabbi Giacomo Saban was the first to express his satisfaction at seeing a
Roman Pontiff cross the threshold of a synagogue for the first time. (6)
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Elio Toaff, chief rabbi of the Israelites of Rome, manifested a similar joy:
As chief rabbi of this community .... I want to express my intense
satisfaction with the gesture that you longed for and today made a reality by
coming for the first time in the History of the Church to visit a synagogue, a
gesture that will be recorded in History. (7),
Therefore, the general opinion was that the gesture of John Paul II characterized a
symbolic rejection of the former position of the Church, which, based on profound
historical-theological reasons, always viewed the Jewish religion as an enemy of the
Catholic Faith.
2. Outright condemnation of the Churchs previous conduct

John Paul II did not stop, however, at the symbolic rejection of Catholic tradition. He
also severely condemned previous attitudes of the Holy Church, deliberately ignoring
the doctrinal reasons that gave rise to them. Doing this, he acted as if religious
opposition between Catholics and Jews were nothing more than an emotional
phenomenon. This is what he solemnly and emphatically declared, raising the
resounding applause of the Jews (8) in attendance:
An evaluation of the centuries-old cultural conditions could not, however,
prevent us from recognizing that the acts of discrimination, unjustified
restrictions on religious liberty, and oppression against the Hebrews in the
sphere of civil liberty were objectively gravely deplorable things. Yes, once
again, in my person, the Church, in the words of the well-known Decree
Nostra aetate (n. 4), deplores the hatred, persecutions and all
manifestations of anti-Semitism directed against the Hebrews at all
times and by whomsoever. I repeat: by whomsoever. (9)
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Who does John Paul IIs outright condemnation ultimately include?

First, it takes in the innumerable Popes who justly condemned the Jews, as well as the
numerous Councils that did the same. Then, in their footsteps, it includes the great
number of Fathers, Doctors, and Saints who combated Judaism or left behind writings
condemning its errors. Finally, it also encompasses all Catholics in History who, in
defense of the Faith, fought against Judaism. Therefore, John Paul IIs anathema
encompasses the whole Church whomsoever in over 2,000 years of History at
all times.
A. Popes condemned by John Paul II

Over the centuries, the Church has never changed her firm, wise stance on the Jewish
question. On the one hand, she prevented the Jews from being mistreated and she
allowed their religion to be practiced in private. On the other hand, however, faced with
the impossibility of converting them, she rebuked them for the crime of Deicide,
exhorted them to repent, and isolated them in order to prevent them from perverting
Catholics.
Thus, regarding Judaism, numerous Popes taught, condemned, and prescribed the
following:
* St. Gregory the Great (590-604), in Epistulae (VIII, XXV, cf. IX, LV), wrote that
unrestricted liberty should not be granted to the Jews because of the frequent offenses
they made against the Faith. (10)
In a letter to the Frankish Kings, Theodoricus and Theodebertus, and to Queen
Bruhilda, the Saint reminded them that Christians, members of the Body of Christ,
should never be trampled upon by Jews, enemies of Christ. (11)
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* Honorius I (625-638) urged the VI Council of Toledo, held in 638, to act forcefully
regarding the danger the Jews represented for the Catholic Faith. (12)
* Leo VII (936-939)
authorized Archbishop
Frederic of Moguncia,
Germany, to expel the Jews
from the city, given the
constant attacks they
launched against the
Catholics. (13)
* In a letter of January 17,
1208 addressed to the
Count of Nevers, France,
(14) Innocent III (11981216) lamented that feudal
lords were employing Jews
as ministers of their
extortions because they
exploited Christians through
Cardinal Ratzinger in a friendly pose with rabbi Sirat at the International
the practice of usury. (15)
Jewish-Christian Conference at Jerusalem in 1994 30 Dias, February 1994
* In 1239, after receiving a report compiled by Nicolas Donin, a converted Jew from La
Rochelle, that showed 35 articles in the Talmud insulting the Catholic Faith, Gregory IX
(1227-1241) wrote to the Western Bishops and Sovereigns ordering all copies of the
Jewish book to be confiscated. He appointed William of Auvergne, Bishop of Paris, to
make an investigation on the matter. Once examined, the Talmud was condemned and
copies of it were burnt publicly in Paris in 1242. At the request of the Jews, the book
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copies of it were burnt publicly in Paris in 1242. At the request of the Jews, the book
was examined again in 1248 and definitively condemned by William of Auvergne and
the masters of theology from Paris, among them St. Albert the Great. (16) In the work
Excerpta talmudica [Excerpts from the Talmud], written to justify the condemnation, one
reads:
By a secret design of Divine Providence, the errors, blasphemies, and outrages
contained in the Talmud had hitherto escaped the attention of the Doctors of the
Church. The wall has finally been removed, and now one can clearly see the reptiles, the
abominable idols that the house of Israel adores. (17)
* Innocent IV (1243-1254) ordered the Talmud to be burned because it was filled with
errors and blasphemies. (18) In the Bull Sicut tua nobis of July 23, 1254, he authorized
the Archbishop of Vienna to expel the Jews from his Diocese on account of their
actions against the Catholic Faith and their disobedience of Church statutes. (19)
* In the Bull Damnabili perfdia of July 15, 1267, Clement IV (1265-1268) also
condemned the Talmud. (20)
* In the Bull Nimis in partibus anglicanis of November 18, 1285, Honorius IV (12851287) took the same attitude as his predecessors regarding the Talmud. (21)
* John XXII (1316-1334) again condemned the errors of the Talmud in the Bull Dudum
felicis recordationis of September 4, 1320. (22)
* In the Bull Dudum ad nostram of August 8, 1442, Eugene IV (1431-1447) prohibited
the Jews not only from living with Christians, as the Third Lateran Council had already
established (Decree V, VI, 5), but also from living among Christians, given the
continuous blasphemies and attacks of the Jews against the Catholic Faith. (23)
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* Nicholas V (1447-1455), Calixtus III (1455-1458), and Paul II (1464-1471)

reenacted or renewed the decisions of their predecessors. (24)
* In the Bull Intenta semper salutis, of May 31, 1484, Sixtus IV (1471-1484) ordered
that Jews and Muslins in Spanish lands should live separate from Christians, should
wear different clothing, and should not have Christian maids or servants in their houses,
in addition to other measures aimed at protecting the faithful from dangers to the Faith
resulting from living with Jews. (25)
* During his pontificate, Leo
X (1513-1521) was known
for his goodness toward the
Jews, which, incidentally, is
recognized by Hebrew
historians. He was,
nevertheless, obliged several
times to take action against
abuses practiced by them.
When he learned that the
Jews had published a book
against the Catholic Faith in
Venice, he acted in a
particularly severe fashion in
his Brief of May 25, 1518,
addressed to the Nuncio of
Venice. (26)
* Julius III (1550-1555)
approved the confiscation
and burning of talmudic
Statements from the Talmud

The Talmud is considered one of the most important books of the
Jewish religion. It wields a great influence on Jews, surpassed only
by that of the Torah, the work that contains the principal books of
the Old Testament. The Talmud contains the doctrines, laws, and
commentaries on Judaism made by the most expressive rabbis
throughout History.
The following are some of the statements contained in the Talmud:
1. The souls of Jews have the privilege of being part of God
himself. The souls of the other peoples of the earth come from the
devil and are similar to those of animals ....
5. As they await the coming of the Messiah, Jews live in a state of
continuous war with the other peoples. When the victory is
definitive, the peoples will accept the Jewish faith, but it is only the
Christians who will not participate in this grace. On the contrary,
they will be completely annihilated, because they descend from the
devil ....
8. Only the Jews are men; the other peoples are no more than
types of animals. The dog is worth more than the non-Jews. The
non-Jews are not only dogs, but asses. The souls of the non-Jews
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and burning of talmudic

books by the Inquisition. He
also authorized the edict of
the Inquisition of September
12, 1553 ordering Princes,
Bishops, and Inquisitors to
do the same. In the Bull Cum
sicut nupe, of May 29, l554,
the Pope ordered the Jews
to hand over all their books
containing blasphemies or
insults against Our Lord
Jesus Christ. (27)
* Paul IV (1555-1559)
enacted severe measures to
defend the integrity of the
Faith and prevent the Jews
from dominating Catholics. In
the Bull Cum nimis
absurdum of July 14, 1555,
the Pope ordered the
Israelites of Rome and other
cities in the Pontifical States
to live separate from
Christians in their own
neighborhood. He also
established that there should
be only one synagogue per
city and that Jews could not
come from the impure spirit and the souls of Israel come from the
spirit of God.
9. The non-Jews were only created to serve the Jews day and
night, without deviating from their service.
10. It is prohibited for the Jew to praise the learning or virtue of a
Christian.
11. It is not just to use mercy toward enemies ....
14. The Jews can be hypocritical with the non-Jew ....
16. God granted all power over the goods and the blood of other
peoples to the Jews.
17. A non-Jew who robs a Jew, even should it be an alms, should
be killed. On the contrary, it is permitted for Jews to do evil to nonJews. To despoil a pagan [that is, a non-Jew] is allowed ....
19. You can deceive an outsider and practice usury against him
....
21. Whoever loves a Christian would hate his own creator ....
23. Annihilate the best of the non-Jews. Take the life of the most
honest of the idolaters.
24. If a pagan falls into a pit, we should cover the pit with a stone
and try to prevent any measure that he might employ to get out.
When we see him fall into a river or in danger of death, we should
not save him. Maimonides counsels giving death wounds to every
non-Jew when this lies within our powers. It is just to exterminate
every heretic [that is, non-Jew] with your own hand; whoever sheds
the blood of the impious offers a sacrifice to God ....
Those who deny the teaching of Israel, particularly the followers of
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have Catholic servants, work

in public on Catholic feast
days, write dishonest
contracts, etc. (28)
Those who deny the teaching of Israel, particularly the followers of

the Nazarene, should be killed and it is always a good work to
execute them; if this is not possible, we should try to cause their
deaths. But whoever kills a soul of Israel will be judged as if he had
killed the entire world .... (apud H. Delassus, La conjuration
antichrtienne, vol. 3, pp. 1125-1128)
The Jews attempted to bribe Paul IV by offering him 40,000 escudos to annul the Bull.
(29) Along with other measures, the Pontiff ordered the destruction of the talmudic and
anti-Catholic books of the Jews. (30)
* Pius IV (1560-1565) in 1564 placed the Talmud on the Index librorum prohibitorum
[Index of forbidden books] and prohibited books interpreting, commenting or
expounding on it. (31)
* In the Bull Hebraeorum gens of February 26, 1569, St. Pius V (1566-1572) expressly
condemned the Jews who dedicated themselves to the practice of divination, sortilege,
sorcery and witchcraft. (32) In that bull St. Pius V also accused the Jews of other
crimes such as usury, theft, receiving stolen goods, and soliciting for prostitution. He
closes his bull with these words:
Finally, we consider as known and proven how offensively this perverse
generation [the Jews] offends the name of Christ, how hostile it is to those
who carry the name of Christians, even making attempts against their lives.
(33)
By a decree of February 26, 1569, St. Pius V expelled the Jews from the Pontifical
States, since, in addition to the mentioned crimes, the Jews spied for the Muslims and
supported their plans of conquest that endangered all Christendom. (34) In this Brief, he
said:
We know that this most perverse people have always been the
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cause and seed-bag of almost all the heresies. (35)

To this vigilant energy against the Jewish perfidy, St. Pius V added his zealous desire
for their conversion. One of the most remarkable conversions he achieved was that of
the chief-rabbi of Rome, Elias, followed by the conversions of his three sons and one
grandson. On June 4, 1566, they solemnly received Baptism at St. Peters Basilica in
the presence of the Sacred College of Cardinals and a multitude of the faithful. (36)
* In the Brief of May 27, 1581, Gregory XIII (1572-1585) warned the faithful and
religious authorities against the false conversions of Jews as a means to infiltrate the
Catholic Church. (37) In the Bull Antiqua Judeorum improbitas of June 1, 1581, the
Pontiff established these conditions for when Jews must be submitted to the vigilance
of the Inquisition:
a. when they attack Catholic dogmas;
b. when they invoke devils or offer sacrifices to them;
c. when they teach Catholics to do the same;
d. when they speak blasphemies against Our Lord and Our Lady;
e. when they try to induce Catholics to abandon their Faith;
f. when they forbid a Jew or an infidel to convert;
g. when they consciously favor heretics;
h. when they disseminate heretical books;
i. when, in disdain for Our Lord, they crucify a lamb principally on GoodFriday and then spit on it and spew it with insults.
j. when they oblige Catholic wet-nurses to pour their milk into the toilettes
and sewers after they have received the Eucharist. (38)
In the Brief of February 28, 1581, the Pope reaffirmed the prohibition against Jewish
physicians tending to Catholic patients. (39)
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* In the Bull Cum Hebraeorum of February 28, 1593, (40) Clement VIII (1592-1605)
proscribed talmudic and cabalistic books, as well as works written in Hebrew
containing errors. (41) The prohibition contained in this bull was included as a norm in
the Index, published on March 27, 1596.
In 1592 Clement VIII re-established the preaching of sermons aimed at the conversion
of the Jews and, at the same time, in the Bull Caeca et obdurata of January 25, 1593,
reiterated the decrees of Paul IV and St. Pius V expelling them from the States of the
Church, with the exception of the cities of Rome, Ancona, and Avignon. (42)
* Urban VIII (1623-1644) sent a Brief to the King of Spain on January 15, 1628
opposing the crime of usury practiced by the Jews of Portugal. (43)
* On September 15, 1751, Benedict XIV (1740-1758) signed and promulgated a
document reaffirming the cautionary measures regarding the Talmud taken by the
Popes since Innocent IV. (44)
* In October 1775 (45) and January 1793 (46), Pius VI (1775-1799) published two
edicts confirming the directives of Benedict XIV regarding the Jews.
* Through a letter by his Secretary of State, Cardinal Merry del Val, St. Pius X (19031914) warmly praised the classic work of Msgr. Henri Delassus, La conjuration
antichrtinne [The anti-Christian Conspiracy], which exposes the conspiracy of
Judaism and Freemasonry against the Catholic Church and Christian Civilization. (47)
Other Bulls and Decrees
B. Councils
condemned by John
There are still many other Bulls of Popes and Decrees of Roman
Congregations regarding the Jews, published in various collections
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Paul II
The following councils were
also included in the radical
anathema that John Paul II
issued at the Roman
synagogue:
* The Council of Elvira
(302), held at the end of
Diocletians persecution
against the Christians,
issued a canon that forbade
Christians from giving their
daughters in marriage to
Jews; another canon
prohibited Christians from
sitting at the table with
Hebrews. (48)
* These prohibitions were
confirmed and renewed by
the Councils of Laodicea
(4th century); Vannes (465);
Agda (506); Epaona (517)
and by the three Councils of
Orleans (530, 533, and
541). (49)
Congregations regarding the Jews, published in various collections

and monographs, which number in the hundreds. In Juifs et
chrtiens (cols. 1735-1736), F. Vernet presents copious
documentation on this topic, transcribed here for readers who may
be interested in learning more on the matter.
* Corpus juris canonici, Decretal. V. 6; Sextus Decretal., V, 13;
Decret. Gratiani, I, XLV, 3, 5, LIV, 12-18; II, XIV, VI, 2, XXVIII, I, 1015, 17; IIIq, IV, 93, 94, 98 and Septiumus Decretal., V, 1; A.
Guerra, Pontificiarum constitutionum epitome, Venice, 1772, vol. I,
pp. 191196 (summarizes 38 Bulls published in the Bullarium
Romanum, Bullarium magnum, and other works);
* L. Ferraris, Prompta bibliotheca canonica, Venice, 1782, vol. IV,
pp. 208-37 (summarizes a large number of Constitutions by Popes
and the Roman Congregations);
* E. Rodocanachi, Le Saint Sige et les Juifs, Paris, 1891, pp.
322-29 (gives an overall picture of the main Bulls relating to the
Jews);
* F. Vernet, Le Pape Martin V et les Juifs, in Rvue des Questions
Historiques, Paris, 1892, vol. 51, pp. 410-423 (analyzes 84
documents), and Papes et Juifs au XIe. sicle, in LUniversit
Catholique, Lyon, 1896, vol. 21, pp. 73-86 (analyzes documents
from the Formularium of Marin dEboli regarding the Jews);
* M. Stern, Urk undliche Beitrge ber die Stellung der Ppste zu
den Juden, Kiel, 1893-1895, 2 volumes. The first volume contains
the documents by Martin V and his successors; the second covers
documents from Innocent III to Innocent IV;
K. Eubel, Zu dem Verhalten der Ppste gegen die Juden, in
Rmische Quartalschrift, Rome, 1899, vol. 13, pp. 29-43 (about the
Popes who preceded Martin V);
* Constant, Les Juifs devant lEglise et lHistoire, Paris, undated,
2nd ed., pp. 267-323, includes 16 Bulls on the topic;
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In a canon repeated in the

Decree of Gratian, (III, D.IV,
93), the above-mentioned
Council of Agda set down a
series of precautions to be
taken before baptizing Jews,
whose perfidy often makes
them return to their vomit.
(50)
* The Council of Mcon
(581) enjoined Jews from
holding posts allowing them
to impose penalties on
Christians. (51)
* In canon 14, the Council of
Toledo (589) barred Jews
from taking Christian women
as wives. (52)
2nd ed., pp. 267-323, includes 16 Bulls on the topic;

* Gregoire des Rives, Epitome canonum conciliorum, Lyon, 1663,
pp. 264-68;
* A. Geiger, Das Verhalten der Kirche gegen das Judenthum, in
Das Judenthum und seine Geschichte, Breslau, 1870, vol. 2, F.
Frank, Dir Kirche und die Juden, Regensburg, 1893.
About the Church and the Jews in the Pontifical States, see:
F. Gregorovius, Le ghetto et les Juifs de Rome, in Promenades en
Italie, Paris, 1894, pp. 1-60; E. Natali, Il ghetto di Roma, Rome,
1887, vol. 1; E. Rodocanachi, Le Saint Sige et les Juifs - Le
ghetto Rome, Paris, 1891; A. Berliner, Geschichte der Juden in
Rom, Frankfurt, 1893, 3 vols.; H. Vogelstaein - P. Rieger,
Geschichte der Juden in Rom, Berlin, 1895-96, 2 vols.
On the Church and the Jews of Avignon, see: L. Bardinet,
Condition civile des Juifs du Comptat-Venaissin pendant le sjour
des Papes Avignon, in Rvue Historique, Paris, 1880, vol. 12, pp.
1-47; R. de Maulde, Les Juifs dans les Etats franais du SaintSige au Moyen ge, Paris, 1886, as well as numerous articles in
Rvue des tudes Juives.
* The Council of Paris (614) sustained the prohibition against giving Jews public
posts, whether civil or military. (53)
* The Fourth Council of Toledo (633), canon 59, stated that the sons of Jews who
had falsely converted and then returned to Judaism should be educated in Catholic
monasteries; it also ratified the measures adopted by King Sisenando regarding the
Jews. (54)
* The Sixth Council of Toledo (638), canon 3, issued
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* The Sixth Council of Toledo (638), canon 3, issued

stern words against the Jews. (55)
* The Seventeenth Council of Toledo (694) was held
to analyze a plot aiming to install a kind of Judaism in
Spain under the appearance of the Catholic Religion.
(56)
* Other Councils also forbade Catholics from hiring
Jewish physicians, servants, and nursemaids. According
to some Catholic moralists of the 18th century, depending
on the circumstances, to violate these prescriptions could
constitute a mortal sin. (57)
* The Second Ecumenical Council of Nicea (787)
denounced the false conversions of Jews. (58)
* The Council of Metz (888), reaffirming former
proscriptions in canon 7, prohibited Christians from
taking meals with Jews. (59)
* The Third Ecumenical Council of Lateran (1179)
forbade wealthy Hebrews to take Christian nursemaids
and slaves into their service. (60) It also anathematized
those who, preferring Jews to Christians, received
testimonies of Jews against Christians and not of
Christians against Jews. (61)
The Jews record a long string of false

messiahs. It is another evidence of
Our Lord Jesus Christ's unique
mission.
Above, Jacob Frank, a sham messiah.
Below, Sabbatai Zevi, another one.
30 Giorni, December 2001
* The Fourth Council of Avignon (1209) forbade

Christians from dealing with Jews in financial matters;
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canons 3 and 4 impose the threat of excommunication for

such dealings. (62)
* The Fourth Ecumenical Lateran Council (1215),
canon 67, condemned usurious Jewish money-lenders
and prohibited Christians from engaging in commerce
with them. Canon 68 ordered Jews to wear clothing that
would distinguish them from Catholics, and also forbade
them from appearing in public on Good Friday to prevent
them from mocking the Christians with their festive dress.
Canon 69 reaffirmed the prohibition of the Council of
Toledo regarding Jews holding public posts. Finally,
canon 70 condemned the Jews who, albeit claiming to
have converted to the Catholic Faith, continued to
practice rites of the Hebrew religion. (63)
* The Council of Narbonne (1227) established that
Jews should wear a distinguishing mark in the shape of a
small circle. According to J. Levi in an article in the
Rvue des tudes Juives, (64) the circle symbolized the
Host, habitually profaned by Jews. This emblem was
adopted to be worn by the Jews everywhere except
Spain. The Popes proposed such a symbol in order to
distinguish Jews from Christians, since,
favored by confusion, the Jews have infiltrated
Catholic ranks and committed crimes that would
have been difficult or impossible to carry out if there
had been a suspicion or it was clearly known that
they were Jews. (65)
Above, Menachen Schneerson from

Brooklin, NY, a contemporary
"messiah" who died June 12, 1994
without fullfilling his supposed
mission
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Corriere della Sera, July 3, 1992
* The Ecumenical Council of Basel (1434), among

other measures, required the Jews to listen to Christian preachers and prohibited
Catholics from participating in Jewish feasts. (66)
C. Fathers, Doctors, Saints, and Catholic writers condemned by

John Paul II
The following authors a list including Doctors of the Church criticized the Jewish
onslaught against the Catholic Faith. They are also included in John Paul IIs
anathema:
* From the Origin of Christianity to the Edict of Milan (313)
St. Justin, Dialogus cum Tryphone; Tertullian, Adversus Judaeos; St. Cyprian,
Testimonia ad Quirinus; Pseudo-Cyprian, De montibus Sina et Sion and Adversus
Judaeos; Novaciano, De cibis Judaicis; Celsus, Ad Vigilium Episcopum de Judaica
incredulitate; De solemnitatibus sabbatis et neomeniis. Also St. Irenaeus, Origen,
Commodian, Ariston de Pella; Mistiades, St. Serarius of Antioch, Theodotus of Ancyra,
Zephirus, Artapanus [a converted Jew]. (67)
* From 313 to 1100
In the East: Eusebius; St. Gregory of Nissa, St. John Crysostom; St. Basil of Seleucia;
St. Anastasius of Sinai; St. Ephrem, St. Isidore of Pelusa; Theodore Abucara; Eusebius
of Emesa; St. Cyril of Alexandria; Theodoretus of Cyrus; Jerome of Jerusalem; Leontius
of Naples in Cyprus; Stephan of Bostra.
In the West: St. Leo the Great; Evagrius, Altercatio Simionis Judaei et Theophili
Christiani; St. Sidonius Apollinarius, De altercatione Ecclesiae et synagogae
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dialogus; St. Jerome; St. Ambrose; St. Augustine, De Fide Catholica ex Veteri et
Novo Testamento contra Judaeos and Adversus quinque haereses; Severus of
Minorca; St. Maximus of Turin; Cassiodore; St. Gregory the Great; St. Bruno of
Wrzburg; St. Isidore of Seville, De Fide Catholica contra Judaeos; St. Ildefonso of
Toledo; St. Julian of Toledo; Paulo Alvares de Cordoba; St. Agobard of Lyon, De
Judaicis superstitionibus, X; De insolentia Judaeorum, IV; Amolon of Lyon, Contra
Judaeos; Rabano Mauro; Fulbert de Chartres; St. Peter Damian.
* From 1100 to 1500
Odon of Cambray; Gilbert Crispin; Guibert de Nogent; Rupert de Deutz; Peter the
Venerable, Adversus Judaeorum inveteratam duritiam; Richard de Saint-Victor, De
Emmanuele, Book II; Inguetto Contard; Gautier de Chatillon and Baudoin de
Valenciennes; Alain de Lille, De Fide Catholica; William of Auvergne; St. Albert the
Great; St. Thomas Aquinas, De regimine Judaeorum ad ducissam Brabantiae;
Summa Theologiae, III, q.47, a.5-6; Raymond Martin, Pugio Fidei adversus Mauros et
Judaeos; Victor Porchetto de Selvatici; Nicolas de Lire; Lauterio de Batineis; Bernard
Oliver; Jean de Baconthorpe; Paul of Venice; Stephan Bodiker, Bishop of
Brandenburg; Juan de Torquemada; Peter George Schwartz; St. Antonin of Florence,
Dialogus discipulorum Emauntinorum cum Peregrino; Paulo Morosini, De aeterna
temporalique Christi generatione; Pedro de Brutis, Victoriae adversus Judaeos; etc.
Several Jewish writers who
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Several Jewish writers who

converted to the Catholic
Faith have also pointed out
the errors of the Synagogue:
R. Samuel de Fez, De
adventu Messiae (PL 149,
337-368); Pedro Alfonso,
Dialogi (PL 1.157, 535572); Hermann (Judas of
Colon), De sua
conversione (PL 1.170,
805-836); Guillaume de
Bourges, Paul Christiani
and Jerome de Santa Fe,
Tractatus contra
Judaeorum perfidiam; Paul
de Bonnefoy, Liber Fidei;
On March 22, 1984, a smiling John Paul II received representatives of the
Jewish organization B'nai B'rith of New York. "It is a meeting of brothers,"
Paulo de Burges or de
he told them.
Santa Maria, Scrutinium
Scripturarum; Alphonso de Spina, Fortalitium Fidei; Pedro de la Caballeria, Zelus
Christi; etc.
* From 1500 to our days
I cite below only a few of the most consequential works from the vast number of writings
attesting to the Jewish perfidy against the Church:
J. L. Vives, De veritate Fidei Christianae; P. Du Plessis-Mornay, Trait de la verit de
la Religion Chrtienne; P. Charron, Les trois vrits contre tous les athes, idoltres,
Juifs...; H. Grotius, De veritate Religione Christianae; Bossuet, Discours sur lHistoire
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Universelle; J. Bartolocci, Bibliotheca magna rabbinica; P. L. B. Drach, Lettres dun

rabin converti aux Isralites ses frres; J. M. Bauer, Le Judasme comme preuve du
Christianisme; P. Loewengard, La splendeur Catholique du Judasme lEglise.
(68)
D. The previous Canon Law was also condemned by John Paul II

The prescriptions set out in past Canon Law about the Jews, which John Paul II would
have also included in his "anathema," can be summarized as follow:
1. Jews may neither have Catholic
slaves nor employ Catholic maids for
their houses or families. Catholics
are forbidden to accept permanent
paid employment in Jewish homes;
2. Catholic women are particularly
forbidden from accepting
employment as breast-feeding
nursemaids in Jewish homes;
3. In case of illness, Catholics are
forbidden to go to Jewish doctors
and use medicines prepared by
Jewish hands;
4. Catholics are forbidden, under
pain of excommunication, to live with
Jews.
"Fall to your knees before the Jews"

This is the imperative order Cardinal Carlo Martini
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5. Jews should be barred from

holding public posts that would give
them authority over Catholics;
This is the imperative order Cardinal Carlo Martini

of Milan issued to Catholics. An attitude diametrically
opposed to the 2,000-year-old teaching of the Catholic
Church - La Repubblica, September 24, 1997
6. Catholics are forbidden to attend Jewish weddings and take part in their
feasts;
7. Catholics may not invite Jews for meals nor accept invitations from them.
(69)
E. Conclusion
These countless Popes, Councils, Fathers, Doctors, and Saints of the Catholic Church,
as well as the ensemble of her past Canon Law dealing with the Jews, were all
supposed to be 'excommunicated' by John Paul II when he affirmed that whomsoever
had combated the Jews at all times would be at fault.
As he cast his anathema in his Allocution, John Paul II invoked a very recent tradition,
as he himself noted, that of Vatican Council II with its Declaration Nostra aetate, and the
example of John XXIII. Regarding the latter, John Paul II asserted:
The inheritance that I now want to have recourse to is precisely that of Pope
John, who passing by here [the synagogue] one time .... stopped his car in
order to bless the throng of Jews who were leaving this very Temple. (70)
Now then, the 22-year-old tradition of the Council and the single example of Pope
John XXIII hardly carries the weight to bring into question the 2,000-year-old tradition of
Catholic teaching. Rather, its deliberate opposition to the Magisterium of the Church
would seem to define a rupture in that teaching.
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In this case, John Paul II clearly appeared to break with a tradition of the Ordinary
Pontifical Magisterium. Facing this patent contradiction, a faithful Catholic is obliged to
ask: Who is right? Is it the Church, which for serious reasons of a theological nature was
vigilant for 2,000 years against the enmity of the synagogue? Or is it John Paul II who,
ignoring that wise rationale, went to the synagogue and, without even alluding to the
ancient errors of the Jews, began to defend them and condemn the prior conduct and
constant teaching of the Church on the matter?
3. Analysis of John Paul IIs allocution to the Jews

To analyze the profound meaning of the Pontiffs visit to the synagogue, one must look
closely at the Allocution he delivered there.
Here is the nucleus of the papal speech:
Todays visit is intended to make a decisive contribution to the
restructuring of good relations between our two communities, following the
examples given by so many men and women from both parties who were
and still are earnestly committed to overcome the old prejudices and
allow for the ever fuller recognition of that bond and common spiritual
heritage existing between Jews and Christians.
This is the wish already expressed in the fourth paragraph of the conciliar
Declaration Nostra aetate, (71) which I just referred to, about relations
between the Church and non-Christian religions. The decisive turnaround
in relations between the Catholic Church and Judaism, and with Jews
individually, took place with this brief but incisive paragraph.
We all are aware that three points stand out especially among the many
riches of this n. 4 of Nostra aetate. I would like to emphasize them here
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before you, in these truly unique circumstances.

The first is that the Church of Christ discovers her link with Judaism
by sounding the depths of her own mystery. (72) The Hebrew
religion is not extrinsic to us, but is somehow intrinsic to our
religion. We have, therefore, relations with it that we do not have with
any other religion. You are our beloved brothers and in a certain way
one could say, our older brothers.
The second point stressed by the Council is that no atavistic or collective
guilt can be attributed to the Jews as a people for that which was
done in the Passion of Jesus (73) to neither the Jews of that time,
nor those who came later, nor those of today. Therefore, the
pretended theological justification of discriminatory or persecutory
measures is inconsistent. The Lord will judge each one - whether he be
Jews or Christians - according to his own works (Rom. 2:6).
The third point in the conciliar Declaration that I want to underscore is a
consequence of the second: it is not licit to say .... that the Jews are
reprobates or accursed, as though this were taught by or could be
deduced from Sacred Scriptures (74) and the Old or New
Testaments. This was already stated in the same passage of Nostra
aetate and also in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium (n. 6)....
Upon these convictions we support our present relations. On the
occasion of this visit to your synagogue, I want to reaffirm and
proclaim their perennial value. This is, therefore, the meaning that
should be attributed to my visit to you, Jews of Rome. (74)
Let me analyze the main statements of John Paul II, emphasized above in bold.
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A. Decisive contribution to overcome the old prejudices

What did John Paul II mean by old prejudices when he said that he was following the
example of those who were committed to overcome the old prejudices? To better
understand the underlying thinking of the Pontiff, I will begin by looking at the various
possible meanings of this expression.
a. Racial prejudice?
He certainly did not intend to liken
the Churchs previous anti-Jewish
condemnations to the spurious
Nazi theories of racial prejudice.
The elevated religious motivation
upon which the Church of Our Lord
based her opposition to the
followers of Anas and Caiphas
simply does not permit any kind of
analogy with Nazi racism. Even
those enthused with that papal visit
have discarded such an absurd
hypothesis. For example in an
article in La Civilt Cattolica, Fr. de
Rosa said:
This long period of
On April 7, 1994, John Paul II promoted an outdoor concert of
Christian anti-Semitism
Jewish singers at St. Peter's Square. The pretext was to remember
which was based primarily on the victims of the Nazi persecution. On one side of the Pope was
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the victims of the Nazi persecution. On one side of the Pope was
chief-rabbi Toaff in a place of honor symetrical to Italian
president Scalfaro. - Corriere della Sera, April 8, 1994
religious motives and should

not be confounded with
modern anti-Semitism which, having culminated in the holocaust,(75) was
caused by economic, nationalist, and racist motives rather than religious
ones, even if it may have taken advantage of the latter ended with the
pontificate of John XXIII and Vatican Council II. (76)
b. Temperamental or emotional prejudices?

Having discarded out of hand the hypothesis that the old prejudices had a racial
character, one could ask whether John Paul II was referring to some temperamental or
emotional prejudice in the Catholic Church against the Jews, unconnected to matters of
Faith?
History has objectively recorded the facts that took place in the relations between the
Catholic Church and the Synagogue. And even though such facts may displease the
progressivist current, this does not change their essence. Historia vero testis
temporum, lux veritatis, vita memoriae, magistra vitae, nuntia vetustatis. [History is
the witness of all times, the light of truth, the life of memory, the mistress of life, the
messenger of antiquity.] (77)
Analyzing the facts of History, one finds more old prejudices of Jews against Catholics
rather than the contrary. The constant hatred of Jews for Catholics generated direct and
indirect persecutions of Jews against Catholics. Let me set out some facts recorded by
History of persecutions of both types.
* Direct persecutions of the Jews against Catholics

* The Jews never ceased to plot against the Catholic Faith since the crime of Deicide. It
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was they who instigated the first persecution against the Church in Jerusalem by
arresting St. Peter (Acts 12:3), stoning to death St. Stephen (Acts 7:54-58), and
beheading St. James the Greater (Acts 12:1-2). They ordered the Apostles to be
whipped (Acts 5:40) and stirred up Saul against the disciples (Acts 8:3). After the
conversion of St. Paul, they persecuted him with calumnies and instigated revolts
against him (Acts 13:50; 17:5). In the year 65 in Jerusalem, they dragged him out of the
city in order to kill him. The Apostle of the Gentiles was saved by the pagan tribune
Lysias, who, to rescue him from the hands of the infuriated Jews at Jerusalem, ordered
him flogged and sent him under a guard to Caesarea (Acts 24:7).
* St. Paul himself bears witness to this radical hatred directed against him when he
wrote that the Jews never ceased to combat the Church of Jesus Christ (I Thes. 2:14).
* As soon as the nascent Church had begun to rise up in Rome, the local Jews tried to
drown her in the blood of the first Christians. Rome was burned in the year 64 AD. The
mystery over whether it was Jews or pagans who ordered the burning of Rome during
the reign of Nero is debated even to this day. But those who profited were mainly the
Jews who held sway over the Emperor. (78) The fire served as a pretext to set off the
bloody persecutions of the pagan Emperors against the first Christians. (79)
* Since the year 70 AD, with the fall of Jerusalem to the troops of Vespasian and Titus,
the writings of the rabbis became more and more violent and hostile toward Christians.
(80)
* In the years 132-135,
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* In the years 132-135,

during the insurrection of the
Jews of Jerusalem led by
Simon Barcochba against
the Roman power, the
Christians were brutally
tormented by the henchmen
of this false messiah. (81)
Throughout the Empire the
synagogues became focal
points of the persecution.
This fact is expressed in the
famous saying of Tertullian:
Synagogae Judaeorum
fontes persecutionum [The
synagogue of the Jews is
the source of the
persecutions]. (82)
* In the era of the Church of
the Martyrs, the Jews were
almost always among those
who incited massacres of
Christians. According to the
Letter of the Church of
Smyrna (chapters 12 and
13), a chronicle of the
martyrdom of St. Polycarp
written by the faithful, the
Jews played an important
A woodcraft from the Diocesan Museum of Trent representing a group of

Jews inflicting tortures on St. Simonino Unverdorben, or St. Simon of
Trent.
According to reliable historic documents, Simonino, a child of 30 months,
was kidnapped and murdered in Trent by seven Jews in a religious ritual
during their Pesah in 1475. The mutilated body of the child was found in a
sewer, and transported to the Church of St. Peter where it still remains.
Similar ritual killings of children by Jews occured in Cologne, Moguncia,
Trever, Lublin, and Lincoln.
In 1584 St. Simonino was introduced into the Roman martyrology. In 1588
Pope Sixtus V allowed a special Divine Office and Mass in honor of St.
Simonino. In 1965 Paul VI removed St. Simonino from the list of Saints.
the HTML to PDF API the cult of the little saint continues to be very popular in
open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out Notwithstanding,
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Notwithstanding, the cult of the little saint continues to be very popular in

role in bringing about the
Trent. - Historia, October 1991
execution of St. Polycarp,
(83) carried out on February 23, 155, the day of the great Sabbath. When the Bishopmartyr was condemned to be burned, the unruly rabble hastened to gather the wood for
the fire, and as was their custom, the Jews were the ones who showed the greatest
eagerness in this task. (84)
* During the persecution by Decius in 250, also in Smyrna, St. Pionius and his
companions Sabina and Asclepiades were sent before the judge on the anniversary of
the martyrdom of St. Polycarp. A large number of Jews came to demand the death of
the Christians who refused to apostatize. These people have already lived too long!
they shouted. (85)
* St. Calixtus, Pope from 217 to 222, was another illustrious victim of Jewish hatred in
the early years of the Church. A former slave, St. Calixtus had made some unsuccessful
business deals on behalf of his master and sought the help of his creditors, among
them, some Jews. The latter denounced him as a Christian to the pagan authority. The
prefect had him scourged and condemned him to forced labor in the mines of Sardinia.
(86)
* In his work Contra Celsum (VI, XXVII), Origen confidently stated that the Jews gave
rise to the calumnies that were so ominously fateful to Christians. According to him, the
Jews were the ones who spread the rumor that Christians ate beheaded children in
their nightly meetings in the Catacombs. (87)
* Julian the Apostate found his best allies in the Jews during his war against Our Lord
Jesus Christ. St. Gregory Nazianzen said that the Jews centuries-old hatred for
Christians was what motivated them to assist the tyrant. (88)
* Eusebius related how Emperor Constantine the Great, in a letter about the celebration
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* Eusebius related how Emperor Constantine the Great, in a letter about the celebration
of Easter, recalled the implacable persecutions of the Jews against Christians. He
advised: Let there be nothing in common between us and the most inimical rabble of
the Jews. (89)
* Jewish hatred for Christians was also present in the East. King Sapors persecution of
Christians in Persia in the mid-fourth century was instigated by the Jews, these
perpetual enemies of Christians who are always found in turbulent times, constant in
their implacable hatred and unhesitating in making any calumnious accusation,
according to the Acts of St. Simeon-bar-Sabae, Patriarch of Seleutia, who died in 341.
(90)
* At the beginning of the 5th century, the Jews in Alexandria fueled an eruption of
violence against the Christians. (91)
* In North Africa during the 5th and 6th
centuries, Ethiopian Christians who had
settled in Nedjran and Saphar were the
victims of the anti-Christian fury of the
Jews. A symptomatic event took place in
the year 523, when Dhu-Nowas, chief of
the Himarytes, Jewish by religion, stirred
up the whole region and took over Saphar,
massacred the Catholic clergy and
soldiers of the local garrison, and
transformed the church into a synagogue.
He then lay siege to Nedjran, where he
accepted the surrender of the inhabitants.
Then, violating his promises, he ordered all
the Christians to be slain. (92)
A clipping from a Brazilian newspaper reported that the

first issue (July 1997) of the Jewish bi-monthly Galileo
magazine, published in Jerusalem, printed a picture of
the Virgin Mary with a head of cow superimposed over
hers.
When the editor, Stephen Svtiski, was asked for an
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When the editor, Stephen Svtiski, was asked for an

explanation, he sarcastically replied that was just a
study of a cloning technique between humans and
animals.
Fr. Elias Audi, in Nazareth, commented that "the episode
reflects the mentality of the Jews that they are the elect
people and others do not deserve any respect." - Estado
* In the year 608, the Jews in Antioch

taking advantage of the invasion of Syria
by the troops of Bonosius attacked the
Christians, killed a large number of them
and burned their corpses. According to
de Sao Paulo, July 5, 1997
Graetz, they tortured the Patriarch, St.
Anastasius with sophisticated cruelty, dragging him through the streets of the city before
murdering him. (93)
* Around the middle of the 7th century, the Jews persuaded the caliph Omar, who ruled
Jerusalem, to tear down all the crosses in the city, especially the one on the Mount of
Olives. (94)
* On the Iberian Peninsula, the Jews collaborated with the Muslims in the conquest of
Visigothic Spain. (95)
* In 723 in Syria, an edict of Caliph Yezid ordered the destruction of all images be they
in temples, churches or homes. From a report by Monk John to the Second Council of
Nicea, Patriarch Nicephorus stated that it was a Jew from Tiberiad who suggested that
Yezid take that measure, promising him a long reign if he did so. Notwithstanding that
prophecy, Caliph Yezid died one year after issuing this edict. (96)
* Early in the 11th century, the Jews of Orleans, France, sent a letter to Sultan Hakem,
then in possession of the Holy Places, informing him that Christian armies would soon
be sent to re-conquer Jerusalem. This false story caused the Sultan to destroy the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher and break the accord allowing Catholic pilgrims to visit
the Holy Land. (97)
News of this insidious Jewish intrigue and the consequent profanations in the Holy Land
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News of this insidious Jewish intrigue and the consequent profanations in the Holy Land
by the Moors understandably gave rise to a surge of religious indignation throughout
Europe. Were there exaggerations in that reaction against Moors and Jews? Probably.
But the first ones to blame for possible excesses were the authors of that crime of
profanation the Muslims and their Jewish informers, rather than to point the finger
only at those seeking to redress the rights of their insulted Faith. To attribute such a
religious reaction to a temperamental or emotional phobia would be a gross
simplification.
Here I will close this sampling of Jewish hatred against the Holy Church expressed
through direct persecutions in the first eleven centuries of the History of the Church.
History has also recorded indirect persecutions instigated by Jews against Catholics.
Some of the more noteworthy of these will be presented next.
* Indirect persecutions waged by

Jews against Catholics or
Doctrinal hostilities
In addition to combating the Holy Church
directly, the Jews have infiltrated Catholic
circles to distort faith in Jesus Christ and
the Most Holy Trinity, and thereby promote
heresy. This is attested in the luminous text
of Bossuet, in his comments on the
Apocalypse.
Since the origin of Christianity, falsely
converted Jews have mixed among the
faithful striving to cultivate in their midst a
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hidden leaven of Judaism, principally by

the rejection of the mysteries of the Trinity
and Incarnation. Such were a certain
Cerintho and Ebion, who denied the
divinity of Jesus Christ and would only
recognize one person in God .... From time
to time, these things [the Jewish
propaganda] would ascend from hell,
where the [arguments of the] Gospel of St.
John appeared to have imprisoned them.
Characteristic Jewish arrogance against Catholics is
Around the end of the second century
expressed today in the blatant rupture of Jerusalem's
international
juridical status as a neutral religious city.
[196], a sect called the Alogeans [Greek
for no-word] (98) rose up, without a known Despising the rights of Catholics and Muslims, the Jews
took the city by force and declared it their capital.
founder. Its followers were called this name
Inside the Vatican, October 2001
because they did not admit the Divine
Word. Out of hatred for the Word,
whom St. John had announced,
they rejected his Gospel and even
his Apocalypse, where Jesus
Christ is also called the Word of
God ....
Another sect, which
originated from this one, so
strongly diminished Jesus
Christ as to place Him below
Melchizedek. (99) It repeated
the Jewish theories that
reduced the Trinity to mere
names. The same was
Cardinal Lustiger tte--tte with the chief rabbi of France.
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Cardinal Lustiger tte--tte with the chief rabbi of France.
affirmed at this time by

He told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency: "The decision to become
Christian did not present itself to me as a negation
Praxeas, whom Tertullian
of my Jewish identity." Inside the Vatican, December 1997
wrote against. Noetus also
followed this error, which was later taken up by Sabellius, who made many
disciples not only in Mesopotamia but also in Rome ....
One sees clearly that these heresies were a remnant of this Jewish leaven
.... and that the Christians who adopted them were, under the Christian
name, Pharisees and Jews, as St. Epiphanius and other Fathers called
them. (100)
But it was never so obvious that these opinions came from the Jews as at
the time of Paul of Samosata, Bishop of Antioch. When Arthemon took up
the heresy of Cerinth and Theodatus, which reduced Jesus Christ to a mere
man, Paul adhered to it along with Zenobia, the Queen of Palmyra, who was
linked to the Jewish religion. (101) The Jews, therefore, were in fact authors
of that impiety, and they incite this Queen to adopt it ....
The consequences of this error for the Church were terrible, for it was
accepted not only by Photinus, Bishop of Sirmium, but also by the Arians,
the Nestorians, and all the other sects that later attacked the Divinity or the
Incarnation of the Son of God, all of them being nothing more than offshoots
of this Jewish heresy.
The Church suffered for a long time, therefore, a kind of persecution by the
Jews through the spreading of these pharisaic doctrines. (102)
Many documents exist
demonstrating that the two types of
Jewish persecutions a bloody
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one against the Catholics and a

bloodless one against the doctrine
and customs of the Church were
carried out not only through the first
thousand years of the Christian era,
but also have continued all the way
to modern and contemporary times.
The testimony of Bernard Lazare, a
French Jew himself, provides one
example of this. (103) Lazare
showed the significant role played In 1967, Chilean Cardinal Silva Henriquez visited a synagogue in
Santiago ICI, October 15, 1967
by his Jewish colleagues in the
revolutionary process against Christian civilization and the Catholic Church. (104)
Here is what Bernard Lazare stated regarding the Jewish revolutionary role in History:
From the 10th to 15th century, these Jewish rationalists and philosophers
were collaborators to which can be called the general Revolution of
humanity....
The majority of Averroists were unbelievers, who more or less assailed the
Christian religion. They were the direct ancestors of the men of the
Renaissance. It is owing to them that the spirit of doubt .... worked itself out.
The Florentine Platonists, the Italian Aristotelians, the German Humanists
came from them. Thanks to them, Pomponazzo composed the treatises
against the immortality of the soul; thanks to them, too, Theism, which
corresponded to the decadence of Catholicism, sprang up among the
thinkers of the 16th century. (105)
Lazare went on to point out the role played by Jews in Protestantism:
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The Reformation in Germany as well as in England was one of those

movements when Christianity acquired new force in Jewish sources. The
Jewish spirit triumphed with Protestantism.
Against Catholicism the Jews equipped them with the formidable exegesis
which the rabbis had cultivated and built up during centuries: the freeexamination that Protestantism would make good use of. (106)
Jewish influence was also felt in the French Revolution. Bernard Lazare pointed this out,
providing the names of the chief collaborators and their functions:
The Jews were implicated in all revolutionary movements, for they took an
active part in all revolutions, as we shall see when we study their role during
all periods of trouble and change. ...
The Jewish spirit is essentially a revolutionary spirit, and consciously or
otherwise, the Jew is a revolutionary. ...
During the Revolution the Jews did not remain inactive, considering how
few their numbers were in Paris. The position they occupied as district
electors, officers of legion, and associate judges, was important. (107)
Confirming Lazares statements about the role of
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Confirming Lazares statements about the role of

Jews in the French Revolution, a document titled
"The Agony of the Roman Universe," published in
the Hebrew journal Haschophet toward the end of
19th century, asserted that the French Revolution
was a work identifiable with Judaism:
To no avail does the triple-crown [the
papacy] fight against the scepter of the
Jewish Revolution of 1793; in vain would it
[the triple-crown] seek to free itself from the
iron grip of the Semitic giant that clutches it;
all of its efforts are useless. The danger is
imminent, and Catholicism is dying to the
degree that Judaism penetrates the layers
of society. (108)
JPII and Toaff embraced three times during the

visit to the synagogue Avvenire, January 9, 1993
To the same effect, the English review The

Mouth, in its October 1896 issue, substantiated the words of the Haschophet column:
The Jews do not even try to disguise the fact that they, in their eternal
hatred of Christianity, aided by the chiefs of Freemasonry, were the authors
of the [French] Revolution. (109)
Bernard Lazare also said that Jews worked ardently in the communist and socialist
revolutionary upheavals of the 19th century:
During the second revolutionary period, which began in 1830, they
displayed even greater ardour than during the first .... In labouring for the
triumph of Liberalism, they were looking out for their own good. It is beyond
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a doubt that the Jews, through their wealth, energy and talents, supported
and furthered the progress of the European revolution. In the second
revolutionary period that starts in 1830, they showed even more ardor than
in the first .... It is beyond doubt that with their gold, energy and capabilities,
they sustained and helped the European revolution .... Their contribution to
present-day Socialism was, as is well known, and still is very great . (110)
Another fact should be added to the documents attesting to the persecutions stimulated
by Jews against Catholics, and that is their doctrinal hostility and participation in the
revolutionary process that has been destroying Christendom. The precepts of the
Talmud, which manifest a great hatred of the Church and Catholics, seek to give
religious foundation to the Israelite loathing for Christianity. (111) This hatred was
reinforced after the Talmud first came into force, that is, the 2nd century, when its
foundations were laid by Barchochbas, Akiba and Aquila, until today. Bernard Lazare
noted:
The tanaim [early teachers] wanted to preserve the faithful from Christian
contamination; for this purpose the Gospels were likened to books on
witchcraft, and Samuel Junior, by order of the patriarch Gamaliel, inserted in
the daily prayers a curse against the Christians, Birkat Haminim, which has
furnished the foundation for the charge that the Jews curse Jesus thrice a
day. (111)
Even if other documents were lacking, the Talmud canons highlighted in the box above right - would constitute proof of the permanent hatred of the Jews for the Catholic
Religion. (112)
Considering what has been expounded thus far, I find that the hatred of the Jews
against Catholics throughout History is so visceral and unrelenting that one could say it
fulfills the revelation God made to Isaiah, saying:
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For all that this people speaketh, is a conspiracy (Is. 8:12).

One could also say that this other warning of Isaiah applies to the historic role of the
Jews against the Catholic Church in History:
They have conceived labor (that is, hurting their neighbor) and brought forth
iniquity.
They have broken the eggs of asps, and have woven the webs of spiders:
he that shall eat of their eggs, shall die; and that which is brought out, shall
be hatched into a basilisk ....
The work of iniquity is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and make haste
to shed innocent blood (Is. 59:4-7).
*
Clearly, if there has ever been an emotional "old prejudice" in Church-Synagogue
relations, it was not on the part of the Catholics, who suffered the effects of the Jewish
conspiracy. Rather, it was held by the Jews, who took the initiative in the religious
struggle.
Incidentally, shortly before the theories on National-Socialism came to light with their
pagan and absurd ethnic pretensions, the conniving character of Judaism against the
Church and its anti-Catholic hatred was widely evident and generally acknowledged
among Catholics. From a certain point of view, the Nazi and Fascist persecutions
against the Jews became very good tools to save Judaism from those well-merited
accusations.
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* The constant goodness of the Church toward persecuted Jews

In face of this bad treatment, the Church never ceased to charitably invite the Jews to
convert and to receive them with open arms when they so deserved it. The Holy
Catholic Church went even further than this. She always emphatically forbade the
persecutions that were often waged by the people as a reaction to the constant hatred
of the synagogue against the Church.
An official testimony of this stance can be found in a speech delivered at the Great
Sanhedrin meeting in Paris on October 30, 1806 at the time of Napoleon. At that
session, the Jews of France and Italy applauded the address delivered by rabbi Isaac
Samuel Avigdor in which he recognized, and invited the Sanhedrin to acknowledge, the
constant and unceasing benignity of the Catholic Church toward Jews. He began by
calling to mind that the most celebrated Catholic moralists prohibited persecutions,
professed tolerance, and preached fraternal charity. Here are some relevant excerpts
from that text:
St. Athanasius says: It is an execrable
heresy to try to oblige by force, blows, or
prison those who cannot be convinced
through reason (Book I).
'Nothing is more opposed to Religion,'
states St. Justin Martyr, 'than coercion in
matters of Faith' (Book V).
'Shall we persecute,' asks St. Augustine,
'those whom God tolerates?'
Above, Catholic nuns pose with the Jewish children

they saved during World War II. Below, Hebrews
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In this regard, Lactance says: Force-fed

religion is not Religion. It is necessary to
persuade rather than to force. Religion
cannot be imposed (Book V).
they saved during World War II. Below, Hebrews

whom Pius XII hosted in his Castel Gandolfo residence
to escape the Nazi persecutions.
St. Bernard says: Counsel, and force ye

not. ....
These sublime virtues of humanity and
justice were often practiced by truly wellinstructed Christians and, above all, by the
worthy ministers of this pure morality that
calms passions and instills virtues.
As a consequence of these sacred
principles of morality, at different times the
- Top photo, Inside the Vatican, February 2005;
bottom, 30 Giorni, October 2001
Pontiffs protected and welcomed in their
States the persecuted Jews expelled from several parts of Europe, and churchmen
from all countries often defended them in many States in that part of the world.
Around the middle of the 7th century, St. Gregory defended and protected the Jews
throughout the whole Christian world.
In the 10th century, the Bishops of Spain most energetically opposed the people who
wanted to massacre them. Pontiff Alexander II wrote those Bishops a letter of
congratulations for the prudent conduct they showed in this regard.
In the 11th century, the Jews, quite numerous in
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In the 11th century, the Jews, quite numerous in

the Dioceses of Uzs and Clermont, were
vigorously protected by the Bishops.
` In the 12th century, St. Bernard defended them
from the furor of the Crusaders.
Innocence II and Alexander III likewise protected
them.
In the 13th century, Gregory IX protected them in
England, France, and Spain from great calamities
that threatened them; he forbade, under pain of
excommunication, to coerce their consciences ....
Clement VI granted them asylum in Avignon ....
Rabbi Israel Zolli converted to Catholicism in

1945. He changed his name to Eugenio in
honor of Pope Pius XII, Eugenio Pacelli
In the middle of the same century, the Bishop of

Inside of the Vatican, February 1999
Spira [Speyer] prohibited people who owed
money to Jews from reneging on their obligation by asserting the oft-used excuse of
usury.
The following century, Nicholas II wrote the Inquisition to proscribe coercing Jews to
embrace Christianity. ....
It would be easy to cite an unlimited number of other charitable actions toward the
Israelites, in numerous epochs, practiced by churchmen well-instructed in the duties of
man and their Religion. ....
The people of Israel .... has
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never had the means or the

occasion to manifest their
recognition for so many
benefits; a recognition made
all the sweeter inasmuch as
it is owed to disinterested
and highly respectable men.
On the Inquisition
Someone could object that the Inquisition persecuted the Jews,
and that ipso facto the Church is responsible for such treatment. I
answer, saying:
1. The Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition, established to defend the
integrity of the Catholic Faith, was not concerned about the Jewish
religion as such, nor did it prevent the Jews from professing their
false beliefs, so long as they did not propagate their convictions
among Catholics. The Tribunal dealt only with those who
hypocritically converted to Catholicism and entered the fold of the
Church or those who, having sincerely converted, later relapsed
into their old errors (Joseph de Maistre, Cartas sobre a Inquisio
Espanhola, Niteroi: Leituras Catlicas, 1949, p. 27).
For eighteen centuries, this

circumstance in which we
now find ourselves is the only
one that has arisen for us to
display the sentiments
In the 16th century, the Jews were abusing the freedom that the
imbued in our hearts.
Kings of the Iberian Peninsula gave them by means of constant
This great and fortunate
circumstance, which we owe
to our august and immortal
Emperor, presents us with
the most opportune, excellent
and glorious opportunity to
express .... especially to the
churchmen, our full gratitude
toward them and their
predecessors.
Let us, therefore, gentlemen,
hasten to take advantage of
this memorable occasion to
pay the just tribute of
blasphemies and attacks against the Catholic Faith. During this

period, there were also large numbers who made false conversions
to Catholicism. For these two reasons, the Jews came to pose a
serious danger for the Faith in the Kingdoms of Portugal and Spain
(Ernest Lavisse - Alfred Rambaud, Histoire Gnrale du IVe sicle
nos jours, Paris: Armand Colin, 1984, vol. 4, p. 332). Moreover,
they endangered the political stability of those States (Juan
Baptista Weiss, Histria Universal, vol. 8, p. 304).
Then, in legitimate defense of the Faith and exercise of their
position of temporal rulers, the Catholic Monarchs decreed that the
Jews should choose either to leave the Iberian territories at the
expense of the royal powers, or to remain as upright Catholics or
as Jews without disseminating their false convictions. In the latter
case, the Jews - and especially the converts - would be subject to
the vigilance of the Inquisition insofar as matters of Faith were
concerned. These were the measures the Spanish Inquisition took.
It is necessary to emphasize, however, that such measures were
adopted by the temporal powers of Spain and Portugal and not by
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pay the just tribute of

recognition that we owe
them; let this room resound
with the expression of our
gratitude; let us solemnly
bear witness to our sincere
recognition for the
uninterrupted benefits that
they have let fall upon the
generations that preceded
us. (113)
The Jewish assembly
applauded this speech,
voted to accept it, and
inserted it in the proceedings
of February 5, 1807. It later
approved the following
amendment: The
representatives of the
Hebrew Synod in the Empire
of France and the Kingdom
of Italy .... are filled with
gratitude for the successive
benefits received from the
Christian clergy for the
Israelites in the various
States of Europe in the past
centuries;
the Church, and, therefore, they should not be attributed to her.

2. The tribunals of the Inquisition were mixed tribunals, composed
partly of churchmen and partly of representatives of the temporal
power. The churchmen judged crimes against the Faith and their
sentences were restricted to the spiritual sphere. The
representatives of the temporal power, in turn, executed the
sentences which, in each State and in diverse and independent
ways, corresponded to those spiritual sentences. A zealous
defender of the autonomy between the spiritual and temporal
powers with their different roles, the Church did not take part in the
execution of civil sentences, with the obvious exception of providing
spiritual comfort to those who were condemned (J. de Maistre,
Cartas sobre a Inquisio Espanhola, pp. 17-18.; E. Vacandard,
entry Inquisition, Dictionnaire de Thologie Catholique, vol. 7-2,
col. 2065; Henri Hello, A verdade sobre a Inquisio, Petropolis:
Vozes, 1936, p. 11; W. Devivier, Curso de Apologtica Christ,
So Paulo: Melhoramentos, 1924, pp. 457-9).
Therefore, the Church cannot be accused of direct responsibility for
the promulgation and execution of civil sentences issued by
Inquisition tribunals in the several countries where it existed. Nor
can she be held accountable for possible injustices committed by
the temporal heads of the Inquisition.
3. The Roman Inquisition was a characteristic example of the Holy
Churchs justice and equanimity in her judgments on matters of
Faith. It was the only Church tribunal that had both temporal and
spiritual functions. Since its establishment by Pope Paul III in
1542, it has always depended on the Sovereign Pontiffs. The
Roman Inquisition was a celebrated model of an elevated juridical
system and was recognized everywhere for its prudence and
serenity in the distribution of temporal justice. It introduced various
improvements in legal provisions favoring the defendant, placing it
in the forefront of the most renowned legislations of the time, a fact
acknowledged by impartial commentators even today (John
Tedeschi, A outra face da Inquisio, O Estado de So Paulo,
March 16, 1986, Cultural Supplement, pp. 1-4).
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Fully acknowledge the

welcome that several Pontiffs
and many other ecclesiastics
gave at different times to the
Israelites from diverse
countries ....
March 16, 1986, Cultural Supplement, pp. 1-4).

The goodness of Roman Inquisition under the papal aegis became
proverbial. This is indirectly recognized by a testimony of the Great
Jewish Sanhedrin, transcribed below. For this reason, one can
repeat, without exaggeration, the words of Joseph de Maistre that
Rome was the paradise of the Jews (Cartas sobre a Inquisio
Espanhola, p. 13). Also applicable is the popular German adage
about those who lived under the temporal power of the Princes of
the Church: How good it is to live under the shadow of the crosier!
(R. Aubenas, Hrtiques et sorciers, Fliche-Martin, Histoire de
lEglise, vol. 15, pp. 385-6.).
Do here decree that the

expression of these
sentiments be recorded in
Thus, no injustices or persecutions of the Jews can be attributed to
todays proceedings as a
the Church when she exercised her temporal duties.
permanent and authentic
testimony of the gratitude of Therefore, the objection is erroneous in its foundation the
Inquisition persecuted the Jews and in its consequence that
the Israelites of this
the Church also did the same.
assembly for the benefits
received by the generations
that preceded them from churchmen of the various countries of Europe. (114)
This unique manifestation of gratitude on the part of the Great Sanhedrin assembled in
France stands as testimony to the benefits bestowed by the Church through the ages. It,
along with the material presented above on the persecutions instigated by the Jews
against the Catholic Religion, clearly show that that the Holy Church never had a
temperamental or emotional bias that could serve as foundation for the statement by
John Paul II that her history includes old prejudices" against the Jews.
c. Theological prejudices?
In the absence, therefore, of an adequate historical foundation to uphold that the
expression old prejudices," employed by John Paul II, refers to racial or emotional
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prejudices against the Jews, one must ask whether the Pontiff was referring to doctrinal
matters.
Was John Paul II referring to theological prejudices? To accept such a hypothesis,
however, it would have to be asked if the very serious theological questions that
separate the Catholic Church from the Synagogue are prejudices? For example,
would it be a prejudice to affirm the Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ or to profess the
dogma of the Most Holy Trinity? Or to proclaim the articles of Faith that derive from
that?
These are questions that John Paul II did not answer. Instead he left the Catholics who
followed the news of his visit to the synagogue of Rome in a state of perplexity,
bewildered by the impression of a Pope who appeared to abandon the mentioned
dogmas of our Faith in order to favor the Jewish religion.
B. A decisive turnaround in the relations of the Catholic Church

with Judaism
Svolta decisiva was the Italian expression chosen by the Pontiff to describe the new
relations of the Catholic Church with Judaism. Svolta means a complete change of
direction on a road. (115) A svolta decisiva is, therefore, a decisive turnaround.
According to John Paul II, the Declaration Nostra aetate triggered a crucial turnaround
in Church relations with Judaism. A turnaround to which, as seen, he wanted to offer a
decisive contribution. He could hardly have been more categorical in expressing a
desire to abandon the previous doctrinal position of the Holy Church regarding
Judaism.
C. The Church of Christ discovers her link with Judaism

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sounding the depths of her own mystery

This statement by John Paul II is quite
remarkable. I just listed the numerous
Popes, Councils, Doctors, and Saints
who combated Judaism as a doctrinal
evil. From the historical and doctrinal
perspectives, it can be said that there
is no greater and more continuous
opposition between two religions than
what exists between the Catholic
Church and Judaism. So, if someone
pretends to annul such an antagonism,
he must employ strong arguments. It is
the least we could expect. What
argument does John Paul II use to
annul this bi-millenary antagonism?
None. Not even one. He merely
appeals to a vague notion of mystery.
Catholics should change their attitude
toward Jews because the Church
discovered her link with Judaism
sounding the depths of her own
mystery. What does the mentioned
mystery mean? No one can explain
for sure.
On December 1, 2003, rabbi Marvin Hier gives John Paul II a
menorah to reward his support for the Jewish religion
Based on this enigma, without any

America, December 15, 2003
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further clarification, he goes on to assume the more radical doctrinal consequences:

Catholics should thrust aside their entire past and adhere to the new conciliar proJudaism position.
In practical terms, this use of mystery seems to be a way to shroud something that John
Paul II does not want to reveal to the general public. What would it be? It would probably
signify that the Conciliar Church and Judaism are becoming increasingly linked and
closer to each other.
D. The Hebrew religion is not extrinsic to us,

but is somehow intrinsic to our religion
This statement also appears to confirm that Judaism is a model for the Conciliar
Church. The final goal of Progressivism would be to transform the Church into a branch
of Judaism.
E. You are our beloved brothers .... our older brothers

Commenting on this statement of John Paul II, Fr. de Rosa noted in La Civilt Cattolica:
One could not more forcefully express the links that exist between Christians and Jews.
In Christian terminology, brother implies a community of faith. By calling Christians and
Hebrews brothers, the Pope refers particularly to this [community of faith], even though
the Jews do not believe, as Christians do, in Jesus Christ or in the Trinitarian mystery.
(116)
These few lines by the
Jesuit commentator seem
to point to a contradiction
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made by John Paul II. The

true meaning of the word
brother is, as Fr. de Rosa
rightfully observes, that of
brother in the faith. How is it
possible, then, to have a
communion of Faith with
those who deny its most
profound foundations, such
as the Holy Trinity and the
divinity of Jesus Christ?
Various American Protestant sects have become ardent supporters of
Therefore, besides
Judaism.
Above, a demonstration by Evangelicals in Jerusalem "lobbying"
employing the expression
for the coming of the Jewish messiah... Is the Conciliar Church walking on
dear Hebrew friends and
the same path? - Le Monde des Religions, November-December 2003
brothers in his opening
statement of his Allocution at the synagogue, (117) John Paul II further calls the followers
of Caiphas beloved brothers and older brothers. With this, one sees that the Pontiff
not only affirms a unity with them in the same religious profession, but also acts as if
they have some predilection and first-born rights independent of the truths of the
Catholic Faith.
How would it be possible for the Jews to enjoy the same predilection of Catholics if,
as Scriptures clearly states, without the Faith it is impossible to please God? (Hebr.
11:6)
John Paul IIs mention of older brothers also appears to suppose a right of the firstborn that present-day Jews would have over Catholics.
Now then, the ancient and true right of the first-born
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Now then, the ancient and true right of the first-born

among the Jews, which was established in anticipation of
the coming of Our Lord, presupposed the Faith. Without
it, there would have been neither the promise nor the Old
Covenant. This is what St. Paul states when writing
specifically to the Jews:
Now faith is the substance of things to be hoped
for, the evidence of things that appear not ....
By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice exceeding
that of Cain .... By faith Henoch was translated, that
he should not see death .... By faith Noah, having
received an answer concerning those things which
as yet were not seen, moved with fear, framed the
ark for the saving of his house, by which he
Fr. Bruno Hussar, founder of the
Catholic-Hebrew Church Neve
condemned the world; and was instituted heir of the
Shalom, which pretends to unify the
justice, which is by faith.
two creeds. He drafted what Nostra
aetate says regarding the Jews.
Domenica del Corriere, July 7, 1984

By faith he that is called Abraham, obeyed to go
out into a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out,
not knowing whither he went. By faith he abode in the land .... By faith also
Sarah herself, being barren, received strength to conceive ....
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered Isaac .... By faith also of
things to come, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob dying,
blessed each of the sons of Joseph .... By faith [Moses] left Egypt .... By faith
he celebrated pasch .... By faith the walls of Jericho fell ....
And what shall I yet say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon,
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Barac, Samson, Jephthe, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith
conquered kingdoms, wrought justice, obtained promises, stopped the
mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the
sword, recovered strength from weakness, became valiant in battle, put to
flight the armies of foreigners ....
And all these being approved [by God] by the testimony of faith, received
not the promise [immediately]; God providing some better thing for us, that
they should not be perfected without us (Heb. 11).
Further on, the Apostle makes it clear that the faith of the ancient Patriarchs was the
faith in Jesus Christ:
Remember your prelates who have spoken the word of God to you; whose
faith follow, considering the end of their conversation, Jesus Christ
yesterday and today; and the same forever. (Hebr. 13:7-8.)
Faith was, therefore, the
reason for the promise; and
the promise was made in
the prevision of Christ. With
Our Lord, the promise was
fulfilled and the Old
Covenant, therefore,
finished. Our Lord
established the New
Covenant, which replaced
the Old Covenant:
Now in saying a new
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[covenant], he [God] has

made the former old. And
that which decayeth and
groweth old, is near its end.
(Hebr. 8:13)
Thus, both as the substance
of the continuity of the Old
Covenant and as the
foundation of the New, faith
in Our Lord Jesus Christ is
the basis of any predilection
and the only grounds for the
right of first-born.
Therefore, to speak of the
predilection of the Jews in
our day and attribute to
The alliance of God with Abraham was based on an act of faith.
them some religious right of
The alliance relies entirely, therefore, on fidelity to that same faith.
first-born vis--vis
Abraham's descendents are spiritual rather than racial.
Catholics, completely
setting aside the question of Faith, is not acceptable. It seems either a clear denial of
the Catholic dogmas and their base in Scriptures or a nonsensical declaration of the
supremacy of the Jewish race over the others.
This analysis of the Pontiffs words gives rise, in the mind of a Catholic faithful, to an
appalling question: Could John Paul II make such statements without abandoning the
Catholic Faith?
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F. No atavistic or collective guilt can be attributed to the Jews as a

people for that which was done in the Passion of Jesus. (NA, n. 4)
.... Therefore, the pretended theological justification of
discriminatory or persecutory measures is inconsistent
The first objectionable thing that calls ones attention in this reasoning is the inversion of
the most elementary rules of logic. John Paul II takes as a premise the conclusion, and
draws as a conclusion the abolition of premises.
Indeed, it is elementary in theological thinking that the obligatory premises are the data
of Revelation coming from Sacred Scriptures and Tradition. If John Paul II intended to
exempt the Jews from the guilt of the crime of Deicide, he should have based himself
on passages from Holy Scripture that would permit him to make such a defense. Or, in
the absence of such foundations, he should have based himself on elements provided
by Tradition. Now then, to buttress this unprecedented absolution of the Jews, the
Pontiff fails to present any basis from the sources of Revelation.
To make this extremely serious dogmatic judgment, he invokes only two points that do
not constitute per se a solid basis for an argumentation: the notion of mystery and the
conciliar Declaration Nostra aetate (n. 4). The notion of mystery is unclear, as the very
word indicates, and does not allow a conclusion of this gravity. The text of Nostra aetate
is likewise inadequate, since it also fails to present data from Sacred Scripture or
Tradition to justify the absolution of the Jews. Therefore, for all practical purposes, to
cite the conciliar Declaration has the value of a petition of principle (118), which
amounts to saying that it is devoid of value.
Thus, John Paul II took as a premise what should have been the conclusion of his
argument.
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From this defective premise, he draws, as a conclusion, the disconcerting affirmation

that therefore, the pretended theological justification of discriminatory or persecutory
measures is inconsistent. What does John Paul II really mean by this conclusion? What
is in the inconsistent justification he is speaking about? Is he perchance referring to
the excerpts from Sacred Scriptures that clearly speak about the crime of Deicide as
having been committed by the whole people and thereby justify considering the Jews
guilty? (119) If so, are we witnessing the revocation of Sacred Scriptures? Would a
Pope have the power to contradict Revelation?
Further, why would he consider everything that the Popes, Councils, Fathers, Doctors,
and Saints of the Church have taught throughout the centuries about the guilt of the
whole Jewish people for the crime of Deicide as inconsistent theological
justifications? Would such an assertion be a revoking of the centuries-old teaching of
the Church? Again I ask: Does a Pope have such a power?
Given the bizarre probative method used by the Pontiff, a serious analysis of his
statement would lead one to conclude that John Paul IIs act was just an abuse of
authority lacking any theological foundation. It should simply be accepted as a despotic
act by a Pope who justifies his position by saying: you have to accept it because I am
the stronger, quia nominor leo... (120)
If this hypothesis is correct, such an act would be a tyrannical imposition of the interreligious dialogue with Jews taken to such a paroxysm that it annuls the very
foundations of the Catholic Faith. Oddly enough, this inter-religious dialogue was first
presented as an overflowing of the mercy of the Church. This curious mercy toward the
Jews would thus have led the Progressivist Church to anathematize the whole past of
the Catholic Church. Thus do the steps of dialogue go from dialogue to anathema...
(121) What a curious paradox!
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G. It is not licit to say .... that the Jews are reprobates or accursed
Here, the imperative nature of John Paul IIs aims appears unequivocally. Non licet... It
is not licit... An unjustified prohibition is the consequence of the previous illogical and
despotic anathema.
It would have been very useful for the Pontiff to have explained to Catholics how his
statement could harmonize with St. Pauls words about the Jews:
But Israel, by following after the law of justice, is not come unto the law of
justice. Why so? Because they sought it not by faith, but as [if] it were
[possible] of works. For they stumbled at the stumbling stone, as it is written:
Behold I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of scandal (Rom. 9:3133).
In contradiction to John Paul IIs anathema,
St. Paul then explains why Israel was
rejected:
That which Israel sought he hath not
obtained; but the election [by God]
hath obtained it; and the rest have
been blinded [by their malice], as it is
written: God hath given them the
spirit of insensibility; eyes that they
should not see; and ears that they
should not hear, until this present
day.
And David saith: Let their table be
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made a snare, and a trap, and a

stumbling block, and a recompense
unto them. Let their eyes be
darkened, that they may not see; and
bow down their back always [under
the weight of the law] (Rom. 11:710).
St. Paul is also clear when he speaks
about the Jews who left the Church after
having converted:
Paul VI wears the symbol of the Hebrew high priest, the

rational of the judgment, the small square pendant
hanging from his stole. It is inlaid with 12 precious
stones that represent the 12 tribes of Israel.
For if we sin willfully after having the

knowledge of the truth, there is now
30 Dias, May 1994
left no sacrifice for sins, but a certain
dreadful expectation of judgment, and the rage of a fire which shall consume
the adversaries [of God]. A man making void the law of Moses [by
becoming an idol-worshiper] dieth without any mercy under two or three
witnesses; how much more do you think he deserveth worse punishments,
who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath esteemed the blood of
the testament unclean, by which he was sanctified, and hath offered an
affront to the Spirit of grace?
For we know him that hath said: Vengeance belongeth to me, and I will
repay. And again: The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God. (Hebr. 10:26-31)
The following excerpt from the Epistle to the Hebrews also opposes the desire to
exempt the Jews from Gods curse:
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For it is impossible for those who were once illuminated, have tasted also
the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, have
moreover tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to
come, and [afterward] are fallen away; [it is impossible for them] to be
renewed again to penance, crucifying again to themselves the Son of God,
and making him a mockery. For the earth that drinketh in the rain which
cometh often upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is
tilled, receiveth blessing from God. But that which bringeth forth thorns and
briars, is reprobate, and very near unto a curse, whose end is to be burnt.
(Hebr. 6:4-8)
The anathema by John Paul II clearly clashes with these and many other passages of
Holy Scriptures.
The Pontiff closed the core of his Allocution emphasizing the points I have just analyzed
and announcing that his anathema against the previous teaching of the Church has a
perennial character:
On the occasion of this visit to your synagogue, I want to reaffirm and
proclaim their [the above analyzed phrases] perennial value. This is,
therefore, the meaning that should be attributed to my visit to you, Jews of
Rome. (122)
4. The Jews reaffirm their false convictions

However bewildered these words of John Paul II may leave the mind of a Catholic, they
nevertheless express only part of the reality: the desire of the Pontiff to abandon the
2,000-year-old position of the Catholic Church toward the errors of the Jewish religion.
Another facet of the reality is the ceremony the hymns and psalms with which the
rabbis received John Paul II, as well as the speeches by Jewish representatives. Let
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me now analyze these symbolic acts.
A. Passages from Scriptures, hymns, and psalms

sung by the Jews at the reception of John Paul II (123)
Since this was the first time in History that a Pope visited a synagogue, the ceremonies
made by both parties are particularly symbolic. This is especially so if we bear in mind
that the Hebrew people, by character, are prone to express their thoughts and feelings
much more through metaphors and symbols than discursive and systematic
expositions. Moreover, since the greatest clash between religious convictions the world
has ever seen is the struggle between the Faith of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the false
faith of the Jews, it seems indispensable to analyze the ceremonies held during the visit
of John Paul II to the synagogue of Rome in order to realize what Jewish intentions are
toward Holy Mother Church. (124)
After the Pope was seated in the place of greatest
prominence in the synagogue, on equal footing with Elio
Toaff, the chief rabbi of the Roman Jews, another rabbi
began to recite a passage from Genesis (15:1-7) alluding
to Gods promise to Abraham:
After these facts the word of the Lord was directed
to Abraham in a vision, in these terms: Do not be
afraid Abraham, I am your shield; the reward you
will receive will be very large.
And Abraham said: Lord God, what will You give
to me? I am alone; the inheritor of my house is
Eliasar from Damasco. He added: Thou did not
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give me a descendant, my domestic servant will be

my heir.
Cover of the booklet distributed to

the Jews in the synagogue for John
Paul II's visit. It is written in Italian
and Hebrew.
The Lord answer him immediately: Your heir will

not be him, but one who will come from your body.
He led him outside and said: Look at the sky and count the stars, if you
can. And added: As numerous as they will be your descendents.
He had faith in the Lord who increased his merit. Thus the Lord said to him:
I am the Lord who took you from Ur-Casdim to give you this land. (125)
This excerpt clearly manifests that the
present-day Jews see themselves as heirs
to the promise made to Abraham. Now
then, as St. Paul taught in passages
inspired by the Holy Ghost, (126) the
promise made to the Patriarch was fulfilled
by Our Lord Jesus Christ. His spiritual
offspring is the Holy Church and the
inheritance of the elect relies upon grace.
Notwithstanding, reading the mentioned
text of Genesis, the Jews insisted that the
promise is racial and not spiritual, and not
based on supernatural grace.
TOASTS
Rabbi della Rocca immediately went on to Above, on December 30, 1993, representatives from the
Vatican and Israel toast after official diplomatic relations
read the text of Micheas (4:1-5) that ends were established. In practical terms, this means that the
with this passage, which the Jews apply to
Holy See recognizes Israel as a legitimate State.
themselves:
Below, commemorating the occasion, rabbi Henry Sobel

kisses Cardinal Arns in Sao Paulo.
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For the peoples will walk every one in the

name of his god; but we will walk in the
name of the Lord our God forever and
ever (Mic. 4:5).
kisses Cardinal Arns in Sao Paulo.
Reciting this excerpt in the presence of

John Paul II, the visible head of the
Catholic Church, is to strongly insinuate
that Catholics a "people other than the
Jews do not worship the true God; rather,
the Jews do. Again, the intention here
appears to be to insult Jesus Christ and
the dogma of the Trinity whose Persons
for the Jews are false gods and to
Below, the first Vatican ambassador to Israel, Msgr.
reaffirm their ancient errors.
What did John Paul II do after this insult
Montezemolo, presents his diplomatic credentials to

Israeli president Weizman
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What did John Paul II do after this insult

and the speeches which will be analyzed
below? He recited Psalm 133 (132 of the
Vulgate) exalting the joy of brothers who
live together in unity.
Responding to this anodyne joy of John
Paul II, the chief rabbi read Psalm 124
(123 of Vulgata) which reveals Jewish
resentments: Catholics are implicitly
viewed as enemies of God, unjust and
bestial persecutors of the Israelites, who
are the true faithful protected by the Lord.
The Jewish booklet reads:
If the Lord were not for us, let Israel now
say; if the Lord were not for us, when men
Photos from Estado de Sao Paulo, December 31, 1993; January 1,
rose up against us, probably they would
1994; August 17, 1994
have swallowed us up alive. When their
fury was enkindled against us, then the waters [of calamity] would have drowned us; a
torrent would have passed over us; the impetuous waters would have passed over us.
Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us to be a prey to their teeth. Our persons have
been delivered as a sparrow out of the snare of the fowlers. The snare is broken, and
we are delivered. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Such allusions to alleged Catholic persecutions of the Jews, besides insulting, are
unfounded, as was demonstrated above.
Having ended this violent metaphoric allusion with Psalm 124, implicitly blaming the
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Catholics for the persecutions they suffered, all the Jews present about 1,500 stood
up to sing the hymn Ani Maamin (I believe), (127) their equivalent of a profession of
faith.
With this, the offense to the honor of the Holy Church reached its apex. True Faith in
Jesus Christ was implicitly denied by a Vicar of Christ, present in the synagogue to
assist at a profession of the false faith of those who are heirs to the Deicide and whose
relentless design is to destroy Holy Mother Church.
After chanting the Ani Maamin which the Jews are said to have sung as they were
led to Nazi extermination camps (128) those present observed one minute of silence
for the victims of Auschwitz. The timing of this act casts an even less favorable shadow
on the alleged persecutions by Catholics. Indeed, it would seem that the organizers of
the ceremony were trying to blame the Holy Church for the Nazi massacres, or at least
liken the persecutions waged by the neo-pagan National-Socialism to those allegedly
carried out by Catholics.
Underlying this ceremony, one again notes a desire to offend the Church. This was
followed by the singing of psalm 16 (15 of the Vulgate), which reads:
Their sorrows were multiplied, those who follow strange gods. I will not
share the blood of their offerings, nor will I pronounce their names with my
lips (Ps. 16:4).
Since the Jews deny the divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Most Holy Trinity,
such affirmations by rabbis and Jews were certainly meant for Catholics those who
follow strange gods. After this affront, each one repeated: Nor will I pronounce their
names with my lips. Therefore, the recognition of Jesus Christ and the Holy Trinity, as
well as the possibility of conversion are out of the question. Incidentally, the Jews made
sure to avoid the least mention of Our Lords name throughout the ceremony.
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They continued with the psalm by alluding to the false idea that the inheritance of the
present-day Jews is the true inheritance of God:
The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup; it is thou that holds
in thy hand my part (Ps. 15:5).
The psalm ended with a text applying to the errors of the synagogue signifying that the
latter follow the true ways of the Lord leading to eternal happiness. This would indirectly
amount to intoning victory over the Church, the sole means to attain life eternal:
Thou hast made known to me the ways of [immortal] life; thou shalt fill me
with joy with thy countenance; at thy right hand are delights even to the end
(Ps. 15:11).
Thus, in this last psalm
chanted during John Paul
IIs visit to the synagogue of
Rome, one can see the
clear intention of offending
Catholics, followers of false
gods, and the reaffirmation
of ancient Jewish errors.
As the chanting of Psalm 16
(15 of Vulgate) drew to an
end, John Paul II and the
chief rabbi embraced each
other once again, and then
left for a private meeting.
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The newspapers and

magazines covering the
event did not report what
might have taken place on
this occasion.
In January 2005, in his library at the Vatican, JPII receives a reward from
Israeli rabbis for his constant support for the Jewish religion
National Catholic Reporter, January 30, 2005
During the ceremony, John Paul II received a copy of the Torah, a sacred book of the
Jews, and a menorah, a seven-branch candelabrum.
The ceremony ended, according to booklet distributed in the synagogue, with the text of
a brief profession of faith that the Jews chanted together. I think it was a simplified
formula of a longer profession of faith, the above-mentioned Ani Maamin that had
already been sung. Here are the words of the canticle, as recorded in the Jewish
booklet, chanted by the Hebrew choir as John Paul II was leaving the synagogue:
I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah!
And even if he takes a long time coming, I will wait every day until he
comes!
The insult to Our Lord Jesus Christ is blatant. By chanting this at the end of the
ceremony, the Jews categorically denied that Christ is God and the Messiah, and
reaffirmed the old errors of their religion. If they thus affront the Word Incarnate, one can
only imagine how scornfully they look on the Pope, the Vicar of Christ.
After leaving the synagogue, John Paul II embraced the chief rabbi for a third time.
In brief, the consequences of these psalms and hyms said in the synagogue in the
presence of the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church were:
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* The implicit reaffirmation, by the Jews, of their doctrinal errors, namely the
negation of the divinity of Jesus Christ and the Most Holy Trinity.
* The symbolic reaffirmation that they are the only true followers of God.
* The actual affirmation of numerous, thinly-veiled insults cunningly made
against the Holy Church and Catholics: that Catholics follow false gods,
foster a torrential furor against Jews, are beasts whose teeth grind the Jews
as their prey, were accomplices of the Nazi persecutions, and so on.
Finally, as an aggravating factor it should be noted that following customary Vatican
procedures, this ceremony must have been prepared beforehand and agreed upon by
competent organs of the Holy See. That is, the Vatican and probably also the Pope
knew beforehand that these affronts would be made and approved them.
B. The speeches of the rabbis

The opening greeting to John Paul II by the representative of the Hebrew community of
Rome, rabbi Giacomo Saban, also had an arrogant tone with veiled slights and
offenses. The following points should be noted:
* In passing, the rabbi pejoratively called the Christian era the vulgar era:
Soon after the end of the first millennium of the Vulgar Era .... a son of this
community in Rome .... wrote the lArukh, the first compendium of norms of
the Hebrews in the Diaspora. (129)
* He claimed that Vatican II drew the Catholic Church closer to the faith of Israel,
although he refused to call the Catholic Faith by its name, referring to it instead as the
faith of the world:
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Nostra aetate, one of the Councils documents, the one that most closely
has to do with us, introduces a different relationship between the faith
of Israel and that of the world which surrounds us, restoring to us not
only what was denied us through the centuries, but also the dignity to which
we have always been entitled. (130)
* He made the recognition of the State of Israel by the Holy See a condition for taking
the next step in the fraternal dialogue proposed by Nostra aetate:
I believe I should manifest the hope that some hesitation regarding the
State of Israel be dropped. The land of Israel, emotionally and spiritually,
has a central place in the heart of every Jew, and a change of attitude in this
matter would please not only those present here, but the whole Judaic world
as well .... This would be, therefore, a further step in the 'fraternal dialogue'
of which Nostra aetate speaks. .... I do not hesitate to believe that this will
be done. (131)
As is known, for the Jews
the State of Israel
represents a messianic
aspiration linked to the
long-awaited domination
of Israel over the whole
world. (132) Thus, the
rabbis request that the
Holy See recognize Israel
should be viewed in light
of their religious
conviction of world
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hegemony.
On March 12, 2000, Cardinal Ratzinger lights a seven-branch candelabra to

ask forgiveness for the past "sin" of Catholic militancy. This included the
Catholic combat against the Jewish religious errors.
Inside the Vatican, January 2001
In a later speech by chief

rabbi Elio Toaff, the
following reaffirmations of
the false Jewish faith and
more insults to the Holy
Church and the Catholic
Faith should be pointed
out:
* He called the Churchs
2,000 year-old policy
toward the Jewish errors an inadmissible teaching of scorn":

We find ourselves, therefore, facing a true and authentic turnaround in the
policy of the Church, which already looks to Jews with feelings of esteem and
respect, abandoning that [former] teaching of scorn, the inadmissibility of which
Jules Isaac .... called to the attention of Pope John. (133)
* He affirmed the unshakable fidelity of the Jewish people to their false faith throughout
History, which supposedly would make them the last surviving people of the Ancient
World. It is noteworthy that this self-praise of Judaism as a religion, expressed
immediately after the insolent criticism of the conduct of Holy Church toward Jews,
transcribed above, clearly implies that the Jewish martyrs were victims of the Churchs
teaching of scorn. He said:
In the historic moment in which we are living, my thoughts turn with
admiration, recognition, and sorrow to the infinite number of Jewish martyrs
who serenely faced death for the sanctification of the Name of God. To them
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is owed the merit for the fact that our faith has never wavered and that
fidelity to the Lord and to His Law never diminished as centuries
passed. Due to this merit, the Jewish people still lives, unique among
all the peoples of antiquity. (134)
* He proposed spreading the Jewish errors as a way to achieve the pacifist and interconfessional longings of John Paul II:
We propose to disseminate Israels idea of moral and spiritual
monotheism in order to unite men and the universe in love. (135)
* He also made veiled mention of the gnostic Jewish doctrine of the Eternal Feminine
[click here]:
At the same time, we reaffirm the universal paternity of God over all men,
drawing our inspiration from the prophets who taught that this filial love
unites all living beings in the maternal bosom of the infinite as in its
natural matrix. (136)
* Again, he insisted that the State of Israel be recognized, thus proclaiming the
religious-messianic-hegemonic role that the Jews attribute to it:
The return of the Hebrew people to their land must be recognized as
a good and irrevocable victory for the world, for this is a prelude ....
to that epoch of universal fraternity to which we all aspire, and to that
redeeming peace whose firm promise is found in the Bible. The
recognition of this unique function of Israel in the plan of final
redemption promised by God cannot be denied. (137)
So, the speeches of the rabbis in the presence of John Paul II constituted a categorical
reaffirmation of their old errors, aspirations, and insults against the Church.
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5. Conclusion of this analysis

The conclusion to the analysis of this visit, in my view, is clear and painful. John Paul II
went to the synagogue of Rome for these purposes:
* to try to annul the foundation in Revelation for the crime of Deicide;
* to condemn the wise 2,000-year-old conduct of Holy Mother Church in
relation to the Jews;
* to praise their false faith and anathematize whomsoever should criticize or
censure the followers of Caiphas from the religious standpoint.
In contrast, the rabbis, explicitly in their speeches and symbolically in their recitation of
psalms and passages from the Bible, made this arrogant retribution:
*they insistently reaffirmed their false faith;
* they condemned the historic attitude of the Church;
* they insulted the honor of the Church and Catholics;
* they proclaimed the need for Jewish hegemony over the whole world,
* they demanded that the Holy See recognize their State, to which they
attributed a messianic destiny.
This is what was accomplished during the visit of John Paul II to the synagogue of
Rome. Qui habet aurem, audiat... [He that hath an ear, let him hear, Apoc. 2:7]
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1. Giuseppe De Rosa, Ebrei e cristiani fratelli nel fratelo Ges, La Civilt Cattolica, May 3, 1986, p. 261.
2. Ibid., p. 260.
3. Il Giornale, April 13, 1986, apud Giovanni Caprile, Il Papa al tempio ebraic o di Rome, La Civilt Cattolica, May 3, 1986, p.
267.
4. Ibid., p. 264.
5. Broadc ast of Israeli Radio, apud G. Caprile, ibid., p. 265.
6. Giacomo Saban, Opening Speech, LOsservatore Romano, April 14-15, 1986, p. 5.
7. Elio Toaff, Speec h addressed to John Paul II, LOsservatore Romano, April 14-15, 1986, p. 5.
8. John Paul II rec eived a standing ovation when he alluded to the supposed guilt the Church would have for her attitude
toward Judaism throughout the c ourse of History. Carlo de Lucia, Cari amici e fratelli ebrei e cristiani..., LOsservatore
Romano, April 14-15, 1986, p. 5.
9. John Paul II, Alloc ution at the synagogue of Rome, LOsservatore Romano, April 14-15, 1986, p. 4.
10. Dictionnaire Apologetique de la Foi Catholique (DAFC), col. 1726. 11. See also Epistulae IX, CIX, CX, cf. III, XXXVIII, apud
ibid., col. 1744.
12. Ren Aigrain, LEspagne chrtienne, Fliche & Martin, Histoire de lEglise despuis les origins jusqu nos jours, Paris:
Bloud & Gay, 1946-1960, vol. 5, p. 246
13. Auguste Dumas, Le sentiment religieux et ses aberrations, ibid., vol. 7, p. 463.
14 See also the letters of Jan. 16, 1205 to the King of Franc e and of Jan. 10, 1208 to the Bishop of Auxerre
15. A. Flic he, La rforme de lEglise, Fliche & Martin, Histoire de lEglise, vol. 10, p. 142.
16. F. Vernet, Juifs et Chrtiens, DAFC, col. 1691; Christine Thouzellier, Lenseignement et les universits, Fliche & Martin,
Histoire de lEglise, vol 10, pp. 379-380.
17. F. Vernet, Juifs et crtiens, ibid.
18. Registres dInnocent IV, vol. 1, n. 682, Potthast, 11376, Chartularium, n. 131, ibid. vol. 1, nn. 173, 178; Saint Louis et
Innocent IV, pp. 302-6, apud C. Thouzellier, Lenseignement et les universits, p. 380.
19. F. Vernet, Juifs et Chrtiens, col. 1739.
20. Ibid., col. 1692.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
23. Ibid., col. 1740.
24. Ibid., col. 1728.
25. Bernardino Llorc a, Bulario Pontificio de la Inquisicin Espaola, Rome: Pontific ia Universit Gregoriana, 1949, pp. 106-8.
26. Arm. XXXIX, vol. 31, 1518, n. 48, and to the Doge, Arm. XL, vol. 3, n. 331, Vatic ans Secret Archives, apud Ludovic Pastor,
Historia de los Papas, vol. 8, p. 350.
27. Bull. VI, pp. 482-3, apud L. Pastor, Historia de los Papas, vol. 13, p. 208.
28. Bull. VI, p. 498, apud ibid., vol. 14, pp. 234-5.
29. See a report on this topic in Rvue des tudes Juives, XX, 68, Masio, Letters, 515, Berliner, II, 2, 7; Rodocanachi, 40-2.;
see also Letters of Saint Ignatius, V, pp. 288-9, apud L. Pastor, Historia de los Papas, vol. 14, p. 236.
30. Caracc iolo, Vita, 4, 11; Erler, Arquivo de Direito Cannico, L III, 49; Reusc h, I, 48; Vogelstein-Rieger, II, 156-7; Berliner, II,
2, 8-9; see also same author, Censura y confisco de los libros judios en los Estados da la Iglesia, Frankfurt, 1891, apud L.
Pastor, Historia de los Papas, vol. 14, p. 239.
32. Bull. Rom. VII, p. 740, apud L. Pastor, Historia de los Papas, vol. 17, p. 301.
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32. Bull. Rom. VII, p. 740, apud L. Pastor, Historia de los Papas, vol. 17, p. 301.
34. Brief of May 3, 1569, apud Laderchi, 1569, n. 187.
35. Apud L. Pastor, Historia de los Papas, vol. 17, p. 306.
36. Ibid., vol. 17, pp. 306-7.
37. Ibid., vol. 19, p. 281.
39. L. Pastor, Historia de los Papas, vol. 19, p. 282.
40. Reusc h, I, 50, 333, 339, 534.
41. See in Sixtus of Siena (a converted Jew), Bibliotheca sancta, Paris, 1610, pp. 310-1; see the list of books that he destroyed
in Cremona; F. Vernet, Juifs et Chrtiens, c ol. 1738.
42. L. Pastor, Historia de los Papas, vol. 24, pp. 111-2.; F. Vernet, Juifs et Chrtiens, col. 1731.
43. Epist. V, Vatic ans Sec ret Arc hive, L. Pastor, Historia de los Papas, vol. 28, p. 285.
45. Analecta juris pontificii, Rome, 1860, pp. 1422-3.
47. Henri Delassus, La conjuration antichrtienne, Lille: Descle de Brouwer, 1910, vol. 1, p. V.
48. H. Delassus, La conjuration antichrtinne, vol. 3, p. 1157.
49. Ibid.
52. R. Aigrain, LEspagne Chrtienne, Fliche & Martin, Histoire de lEglise, vol. 5 p. 238.
53. H. Delassus, La conjuration antichrtinne, vol. 3, pp. 1157-8.
54. R. Aigrain, LEspagne Chrtienne, Fliche & Martin, Histoire de lEglise, vol. 5, p. 241.
55. Ibid., pp. 245-6.
56. Ibid., p. 259.
58. Terminus, canon 8, in Conciliorum Oecumenicorum Decreta, Rome: Herder, 1962, pp. 121-2.
59. Mansi, vol. 28, c ol. 79, apud A. Dumas, Le sentiment religieux et ses aberrations, Fliche & Martin, Histoire de lEglise,
vol. 7, p. 463.
60. Jean Rousset de Pina, La politique italienne dAlexandre III et la fin du schisme, ibid, vol. 9/2, p. 167.
61. Decret. II, XX, 21; F. Vernet, Juifs et Chrtiens, c ol. 1744.
62. A. Flic he, La rforme de lEglise, Fliche & Martin, Histoire de lEglise, vol. 10, p. 174.
63. Conciliorum Oecumenicorum Decreta, pp. 241-3.
64. 1892, 1.XXIV.
66. Session XIX, Decretum de Iudaeis et neophytis, Conciliorum Oecumenicorum Decreta, pp. 459-50.
67. F. Vernet, Juifs et chrtiens, DAFC, col. 1749.
68. Ibid., col. 1751-2.
69. Apud H. Delassus, La conjuration antichrtinne, vol. 3, pp. 1161-1162.
70. John Paul II, Alloc ution in the Synagogue of Rome, LOsservatore Romano, April, 14-15, 1986, p. 4.
71. John Paul II appears to refer to the middle of chapter IV of Nostra aetate, which reads:
True, authorities of the Jews and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ (cf. John 19:6), but what
happened in His passion c annot be blamed upon all the Jews then living, without distinc tion, nor upon the Jews of today.
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happened in His passion c annot be blamed upon all the Jews then living, without distinc tion, nor upon the Jews of today.
Although the Churc h is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as repudiated or cursed by God, as if such
views followed from the Holy Scriptures. ....
Indeed, the Churc h repudiates all persec utions against any man. Moreover, mindful of her common patrimony with the Jews,
and motivated by the Gospels spiritual love and by no politic al c onsiderations, she deplores the hatred, persecutions, and
displays of anti-Semitism direc ted against the Jews at any time and from any source (NA, 4f-g).
72. Ibid.
73. Ibid.
74. John Paul II, Alloc ution in the Synagogue, LOsservatore Romano, April 14-15, 1986, p. 4.
75. The word holoc aust" is often used, above all by progressivists and the media, to designate the barbarous slaughter of Jews
c arried out by the Nazi regime during World War II. It bec ame a c harac teristic talisman-word, employed to create a climate of
c ompassion and sympathy for the Jews, inappropriately comparing them to the first martyrs of the Church. The impropriety of
this usage lies in the fact that the latter were martyred on behalf of the one true Catholic Faith, whereas the Jews practice a
false religion. Further, the Nazi persecution waged against the Jews was of a racist character, whereas the one unleashed
against the martyrs was c learly religious.
76. G. De Rosa, Ebrei e cristiani fratelli nel fratello Ges, La Civilt Cattolica, May 3, 1986, p. 261.
77. Cic ero, De Orat. book II, Chap. 9:36.
78. Neros favorite lover, Sabina Popea, was known to be sympathetic toward the Jews (Cf. Flavius Josephus, Vita, 3,
Antiquitates iudaicae, XVIII-XX; Tac ito, Hist., I, 22, apud J. Zeiller, Les premires perscutions. La lgislation impriale relative
aux Chrtiens, Fliche & Martin, Histoire de lEglise, vol. 1, p. 290).
The Jews who frequented Neros palace, protected by Popea, are thought to have denounced the Christians as authors of the
c riminal fire. They spread the calumny that the minds of the Christians were filled with ideas of heavenly vengeance, universal
c onflagration, and the destruction of the world (Duruy, Histoire des Romains, Paris, 1882, vol. 4, p. 507, apud J. Zeiller, Les
premires perscutions. La lgislation impriale relative aux Chrtiens, ibid.).
79. In his Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Cornelius A Lapide asserts: The first persecution waged by the pagans [against
the Christians] was provoked by the Jews and through the Jews, who stirred up the pagans against the Christians (in Apocalypsim
II, 9).
80. J. Klausner, Jsus de Nazareth, pp. 54-5., apud J. Lebreton, Saint Jacques et Saint Jean, Fliche & Martin, Histoire de
lEglise, vol. 1, p. 243.
81. In his first Apology (1:31), St. Justin states: Barc ochba ordered that the Christians and only the Christians undergo the
most terrible tortures if they did not renege Jesus Christ and blaspheme against him (XXXI, 6, apud J. Zeiller, La persecution
sous les Flaviens et Antonins, Fliche & Martin, Histoire de lEglise, vol. 1, p. 310).
82. Tertullian, Adversus Gnosticos Scorpiace, PL 2, 166.
83. J. B. Pereira, Epstolas dos Apstolos e Apocalypse, p. 638.
84. Martyrium S. Polycarpi, XII, XIII, XVII, XVIII, apud F. Vernet, Juifs et Chrtiens, col. 1658.
85. Passio S. Pionii, III-IV, XIII-XIV, ibid., col. 1658. See also Jacques Zeiller, Les grandes persecutions du milieu du IIIe. sicle
et la priode de paix religieuse de 260 302, Flic he & Martin, Histoire de lEglise , vol. 2, p. 149.
86. J. Zeiller, Le sige romain, Fliche & Martin, Histoire de lEglise , vol. 2, p. 405. 87. F. Vernet, Juifs et Chrtiens , cols.
1658-9.
88. St. Gregory Nazianzene, Oratio, v. 3, apud H. Delassus, La conjuration antichrtienne, vol. 2, p. 683.
89. Eusebius, De vita Constantini, III, XVIII, apud F. Vernet, Juifs et Chrtiens , c ols. 1744, 1762.
90. Ibid., col. 1665.
91. G. Bardy, Atticus de Constantinople et Cyrille dAlexandrie, Flic he & Martin, Histoire de lEglise, vol. 4, p. 157.
92. G. Bardy & L. Brhier, Lexpansion Chrtienne aux Ve. et VIe. sicles, Fliche & Martin, Histoire de lEglise, vol. 4, pp. 526-
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92. G. Bardy & L. Brhier, Lexpansion Chrtienne aux Ve. et VIe. sicles, Fliche & Martin, Histoire de lEglise, vol. 4, pp. 5267. See also Rohrbacher, Histoire Universelle de lEglise Catholique, vol. 5, pp. 24-6, narrating the massacre of Christians in
Nedjran and transc ribing the letter sent by Dhu Nowas (or Dunaan) to the Arab sheik Almondar boasting of having killed 280
Catholic priests and inviting him to do the same in his territories.
93. F. Vernet, Juifs et Chrtiens, col. 1665; L. Brhier, Les rapports entre Rome et Constantinople..., Fliche & Martin, Histoire
de lEglise, vol. 4, pp. 73-75.
94. L. Brhier, LEkthesis, la fin du Rgne et la succession dHraclius (638-641), ibid., vol. 5, p. 141.
95. R. Aigrain, LEspagne Chrtienne, ibid., vol. 5, pp. 260 and 266.
96. L. Brohier, La querelle des images jusquau Concile iconoclaste de 754, ibid., vol. 5, p. 446.
97. Raul Glaber, a medieval chronic ler, notes that the devil had dec ided to employ his favorite nation to turn the poison of his
wic kedness against the servants of the true Religion (Historiae, III, VII). See also Adhemar de Chabannes, Chronicon, III, XLVIILII, apud A. Dumas, Le sentiment religieux et ses aberrations, ibid., vol. 7, p. 464.
98. Epiphanius, Haer., 51.
99. Ibid., 55, 57, 62.
100. Ibid., 65-69.
101. Athanasius, Ep. ad Solit. Theodor., 1.lib. II, Haer. Fabul. in Paul Sam.
102. Bossuet, Oeuvres Compltes - Explication de lApocalypse, Paris: Berche & Tralin, 1885, vol. 1, pp. 298-300.
103. Bernard Lazare (1865-1903), a French writer and journalist, was born in Nimes and died in Paris. In collaboration with his
c ousin, he published the poem La fiance de Corinthe and later, with other writers, Entrtiens politiques et littraires. Holding
largely anarchist and c lass struggle views, he wrote for the Mercure de France, Journal, Figaro, and other publications. In 1894
he published L'Antismitisme, son histoire et ses causes, (Anti-Semitism, Its History and Causes); in it he described the Jewish
role in the fostering of anti-Semitism.
With the outbreak of the Dreyfus affair in 1894, he entered the fight on behalf of Captain Dreyfus (Enciclopedia Universal
Ilustrada, Espasa-Calpe). He bec ame one of the main characters of the famous Dreyfus affair, which resulted in the
demoralization of the Army and monarchist circles in France. As a sign of gratitude, the republican government erected a
statue in his honor (H. Delassus, La conjuration antichrtienne, vol. 2, p. 684).
104. For more on the revolutionary proc ess, see Plinio Corra de Oliveira, Revoluo e Contra-Revoluo, So Paulo:
Chevalerie, 1993, Part I, Chap. III.
105. Bernard Lazare, LAntisemitisme, son histoire, ses causes, apud H. Delassus, La conjuration antichrtienne, vol. 2, pp. 6845.
106. H. Delassus, La conjuration antichrtienne, vol. 2, p. 685.
107. Ibid, p. 686.
108. Ibid.
109. Ibid.
110. Ibid., pp. 686-7.
111. B. Lazare, Antisemitism, its history and causes, New York: The International Library Publishing Co., 1903; repr. London:
Britons Publishing Co., 1967, c hap. 3. 112. See box
113. Procs-verbal des sances de lassemble des dputs francais professant la religion juive, p. 169, etc., apud H.
Delassus, La conjuration antichrtienne, vol. 3, pp. 1164-1167.
114. H. Delassus, La conjuration antichrtienne, vol. 3, pp. 1167-1168.
115. Everton Florenzano, Dicionario Italiano-Portugues: Svolta - turn, turnaround, c hange, transformation; Nicola Zingarelli, Il
Nuovo Zingarelli Vocabulario della Lingua Italiana: Svolta - 1. action of turning oneself around .... 3. figurative: important
c hange: That disc overy bec kons a svolta in the history of science.
116. G. De Rosa, Ebrei e c ristiani fratelli nel fratelo Ges,' La Civilt Cattolica, May 3, 1986, p. 262.
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116. G. De Rosa, Ebrei e c ristiani fratelli nel fratelo Ges,' La Civilt Cattolica, May 3, 1986, p. 262.
117. LOsservatore Romano, April 14-15, 1986, p. 4.
118. Petition of princ iple, or tautologic al argument, is a proposition that pretends to be an explication or proof of something but
only repeats in identic al or equivalent terms what was intended to be proved. Ex: Nostra aetate absolved the Jews of the crime
of Deic ide bec ause it said it absolved them from such a c rime.
119. See the next item.
120. Bec ause I am the lion, is a referenc e to an Aesops fable in which the lion obliges the other animals to obey him for no
reason exc ept by forc e. In other words, 'this is so bec ause I want it to be and have the power to impose my will.'
121. The book by Roger Garaudy, From Anathema to Dialogue, was c onsidered a milestone in the dialogue between the
Vatic an and Communism. Garaudy, a known Frenc h c ommunist writer, praised conc iliar Vatican policy for having left off the
c ondemnations in order to open up to the modern world - as well as to the communists. Now, one sees the reverse side of the
c oin of the c onc iliar policy, whic h shows its draconian face.
122. LOsservatore Romano, April 14-15, 1986, p. 4.
123. I analyze here only five of the seven Jewish rituals made during the visit of John Paul II to the synagogue of Rome.
Excluded were Psalms 118 (117 in the Vulgata) and 150 (150 in the Vulgata), whose texts are anodyne.
Sinc e I c ould not find a c lear ac count of exac tly which psalms were sung in the Catholic sources that I read LOsservatore
Romano (April 14-15, 1986, p. 5), La Civilt Cattolica (n. 3261, p. 273), and La Documentation Catholique (n. 1917, p. 433) I
entered into c ontac t with the Synagogue of Rome, which provided me a c opy of the bi-lingual booklet the Jews used in the
c eremony. I am quoting, therefore, straight from this booklet. The following texts are my translations from the Italian.
124. Criterium of analysis: I do not intend here to take univoc ally the symbolic meaning of the ceremonies held by the Jews
on the oc casion of John Paul IIs visit to the synagogue of Rome as a doc trinal manifestation. As in any ceremony, the Jewish
c hants and psalms performed there reflec t primarily the state of mind of those who arranged and carried out the program. In
order to detec t their state of mind toward Catholics, who were represented by John Paul II, a bit of a sense of propriety should
suffice. With this, one can gauge the succ essive affronts made by the Jews to Catholics, as well as the reaffirmation of their
errors. Therefore, the analysis to be made here of the doc trinal meaning underlying the symbolism of the ceremony is not
intended to go beyond this c riterium of c ommon sense.
Possibility of conv ersion: Someone could object that I fail to c ontemplate the possibility that John Paul II was preparing a
sagacious maneuver to c onvert the Jews, whic h is why he went to the synagogue. The answer is simple. Since the end does not
justify the means, it is not possible for any Catholic, above all a Pope, to c onvey the impression that he is abandoning the Faith
in order to ac hieve a hypothetic al c onversion of the Israelites. Further, John Paul II did not make the least mention that the
Jews should renounc e their false faith, nor did the Jews show the least propensity toward this. Therefore, in both the moral
sphere and ac tual realm of fac ts, the objec tion lac ks any foundation.
125. In ocassione della visita del Pontefice Giovanni Paolo II, Communit Israelitica di Roma, Templo Maggiore, 1896, p.2.
126. Hebrews 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11; Romans 2:25-29; 3:27-30, especially the exc erpt: For not through the law was the promise to
Abraham, or to his seed, that he should be heir of the world; but through the justice of faith. For if they who are of the law be
heirs, faith is made void, the promise is made of no effect (Rom. 4:13-14);
Further on, in another passage St. Paul says: For all are not (true) Israelites (heirs to the promises) that are of Israel. .... That is to
say, not they that are the c hildren of the flesh are the children of God; but they that are the children of the promise (Rom. 9:68). Many other passages c ould be cited that affirm the same.
127. C. de Luc ia, "Cari amic i e fratelli ebrei e cristiani. . .," LOsservatore Romano, April 14-15, 1986, p. 5. 128. Ibid.
129. Greeting by the President of Romes Israelite Community, LOsservatore Romano, April 14-15, 1986, p. 5.
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129.
130.
131.
131.
132.
133.
134.
135.
136.
137.
Greeting by the President of Romes Israelite Community, LOsservatore Romano, April 14-15, 1986, p. 5.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
H. Delassus, La conjuration antichrtienne, vol. 3, Sionnisme, pp. 1233-48.
LOsservatore Romano, April 14-15, 1986, p. 5.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Posted August 12, 2005
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Consequences of Vatican II

Analysis of the Visit of JPII to the Synagogue of Rome

Is the Catholic Church Becoming

1. The symbolic-theological character of the visit

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and Vatican Council II, this

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2. Outright condemnation of the Churchs previous conduct

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Who does John Paul IIs outright condemnation ultimately include?

A. Popes condemned by John Paul II

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* Nicholas V (1447-1455), Calixtus III (1455-1458), and Paul II (1464-1471)

Statements from the Talmud

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and burning of talmudic

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have Catholic servants, work

Those who deny the teaching of Israel, particularly the followers of

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cause and seed-bag of almost all the heresies. (35)

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Other Bulls and Decrees

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Congregations regarding the Jews, published in various collections

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In a canon repeated in the

2nd ed., pp. 267-323, includes 16 Bulls on the topic;

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* The Sixth Council of Toledo (638), canon 3, issued

The Jews record a long string of false

* The Fourth Council of Avignon (1209) forbade

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canons 3 and 4 impose the threat of excommunication for

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Above, Menachen Schneerson from

Corriere della Sera, July 3, 1992

* The Ecumenical Council of Basel (1434), among

C. Fathers, Doctors, Saints, and Catholic writers condemned by

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open in browser PRO version

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Several Jewish writers who

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Universelle; J. Bartolocci, Bibliotheca magna rabbinica; P. L. B. Drach, Lettres dun

D. The previous Canon Law was also condemned by John Paul II

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"Fall to your knees before the Jews"

5. Jews should be barred from

This is the imperative order Cardinal Carlo Martini

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3. Analysis of John Paul IIs allocution to the Jews

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before you, in these truly unique circumstances.

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A. Decisive contribution to overcome the old prejudices

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religious motives and should

b. Temperamental or emotional prejudices?

* Direct persecutions of the Jews against Catholics

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