18th century pope saw Polish Jews as total enemies

As unpleasant as it is to acknowledge, here is evidence of serious anti-Jewishness at the top level of the Catholic Church only 250 years ago, an encyclical of Pope Benedict XIV in 1751 directed to the bishops of Poland, and entitled “On Jews and Christians Living in the Same Place.” The encyclical presents an almost cartoonish picture of Poland in which Jews are completely in charge and oppressing Christians. There are no nuances, no gradations here at all; the Jews are seen simply as enemies, indeed as The Enemy. The only point where the pope lets up is in his admonition that the Jews should not be slaughtered or physically driven out, but left alive as reminders of the suffering of Christ. To which I’m sure the Jews of the time said, thanks a lot. Reading this document, you realize how important was Vatican II’s expression of tolerance toward the Jews as “elder brothers” of the Church rather than as its eternal foes.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at April 30, 2005 02:10 AM | Send