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Last update - 16:47 18/01/2008
Italian paper: Pope to change controversial prayer on Jews
By Reuters
Tags: Easter, Pope, prayer 

Pope Benedict has decided to modify a controversial prayer for the conversion of Jews, an Italian newspaper reported on Friday.

Il Giornale newspaper said this would involve at least the removal of a reference to Jewish "blindness" over Christ but the changes could be more extensive.

A Vatican source said he expected changes to be announced before Good Friday on March 21 this year, but had no details.
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Good Friday is the day Christians commemorate Christ's death.

The Vatican had no official comment on the report.

Controversy arose last year when the Pope issued a decree allowing a wider use of the old-style Latin Mass and a missal, or prayer book, that was phased out after the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, which met from 1962 to 1965.

The Good Friday prayer in Latin asks that God remove the "veil" from Jewish hearts so that they would recognize Jesus Christ and speaks of the "blindness" of the Jewish people.

Jews have called for a change in the Latin prayer which, if left as stands, would be used by several hundred thousand traditionalists who follow the old-style Latin rite.

The overwhelming number of the world's some 1.1 billion Catholics would use a post Second Vatican Council missal, which includes a Good Friday prayer for Jews but makes no reference to Jewish "blindness" over Christ.

The strongest criticism to the Pope's decree has come from U.S. Jewish communities and there have been fears controversy could come up during the Pope's U.S. visit in late April.

Benedict's decree, issued on July 7, authorized wider use of the old Latin missal, a move which traditionalist Catholics had demanded for decades but which Jews and other Christian groups said could set back inter-religious dialogue.

Implementation of the decree has been difficult. The Pope's number two, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said recently the Vatican was preparing a document on how it should be introduced around the world.

Before the Second Vatican Council, Catholic mass and prayers were full of elaborate ritual led in Latin by a priest with his back to the congregation.

Many traditionalists missed the Latin rite's sense of mystery and the centuries-old Gregorian chant that went with it.

Some denounced Council reforms that included a repudiation of the notion of collective Jewish guilt for Christ's death and urged dialogue with all other faiths.

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      1.   Catholic seems 1st step on ladder fm paganism to Christianity 16:39  |  1st step is hardest 18/01/08
      2.   OutreachJudaism.Org 16:58  |  Dror 18/01/08
      3.   old style Catholicism 17:31  |  peter 18/01/08
      4.   Jews should not get involved in any Church liturgical issues... 17:42  |  bat yam 18/01/08
      5.   How kind of him 17:42  |  JEW 18/01/08
      6.   WHAT KIND OF RELIGIONS IS THIS? CHURCH MAKES THEN CHANGE RULES 17:58  |  Coocoo 18/01/08
      7.   Has Catholic Church Asked G-D`s Forigiveness for 18:00  |  Linda Rivera 18/01/08
      8.   Catholics can pray for raining 18:22  |  Ofer Maimon 18/01/08
      9.   # 6, COOCOO 18:34  |  indrajaya 18/01/08
      10.   Why is this news? 18:35  |  Matt 18/01/08
      11.   Let`s just pray God will open the pope`s eyes 18:56  |  Henry in Canada 18/01/08
      12.   Alleged luturgical good friday prayers change 19:18  |  H.H.M 18/01/08
      13.   And while you`re at it... 19:19  |  MarkC 18/01/08
      14.   More Jewish self criticism needed 19:40  |  Michael O`Brian 18/01/08
      15.   catholicism in decline 19:44  |  Dror 18/01/08
      16.   #12 Michael O`brian 20:09  |  Judith 18/01/08
      17.   Michael - there`s a difference between prayer and commentary 20:19  |  Not the mad Hannah 18/01/08
      18.   #2 Dror : Read Israel Shahak ... link is here ... 20:21  |  American 18/01/08
      19.   While we are on the subject ....and Michael O`Brian 20:22  |  David 18/01/08
      20.   Alenu 20:26  |  Al 18/01/08
      21.   #11 Let Pope convert and deny Jesus Christ ? 20:26  |  American 18/01/08
      22.   Catholics 20:28  |  paul 18/01/08
      23.   Christian hate 20:31  |  paul 18/01/08
      24.   New Testament 20:33  |  paul 18/01/08
      25.   Wait a second... 20:39  |  Avi 18/01/08
      26.   Michael O`Brian - Do not murder 20:56  |  Michael Jacobs 18/01/08
      27.   #9 Indrajaya 20:58  |  Franco 18/01/08
      28.   dror re catholicism 21:22  |  realism 18/01/08
      29.   What will be the outcome if a blind suddenly maintains 21:23  |  Karl 18/01/08
      30.   # 7 the catholic church will never 21:33  |  Kris 18/01/08
      31.   Strange 21:43  |  MR 18/01/08
      32.   Dror - Why all the hate? You`re going to get a heart attach 21:44  |  ME 18/01/08
      33.   There`s no need to change old traditions 21:46  |  Shlomo from Tel-Aviv 18/01/08
      34.   #14 you are right 21:47  |  Philippe 18/01/08
      35.   Good job Pope Benedict 22:11  |  Jason 18/01/08
      36.   15 Dror, c`mon. Calm down now... 22:15  |  bat yam 18/01/08
      37.   DONT BLAME THE VATICAN! 22:24  |  abe 18/01/08
      38.   kris 18 22:28  |  realism 18/01/08
      39.   #15 dror response 22:30  |  bri 18/01/08
      40.   #14 To Michael O`Brian 22:36  |  Amir 18/01/08
      41.   Who cares? 22:37  |  Petra 18/01/08
      42.   Linda Rivera 22:41  |  gearoid 18/01/08
      43.   geez Kris 22:48  |  Jesus`s cousin 18/01/08
      44.   Maimonides was reflecting the situation of his times 22:49  |  Jews 18/01/08
      45.   Avi 22:52  |  Jew 18/01/08
      46.   As an Indian I am offended by some of the posts 23:18  |  Indian IT Guy 18/01/08
      47.   # 7. Linda Rivera......Why must they.? 23:30  |  Stephen. 18/01/08
      48.   Please amend the Talmud also 23:31  |  Lou Medel 18/01/08
      49.   Jews should remove all Torah references about Gentiles 23:46  |  jewy Jew 18/01/08
      50.   Stephen : You are partly right and wrong 23:59  |  Gospel Man 18/01/08
      51.   catholicism is crumbling 00:06  |  Dror 19/01/08
      52.   For a people who decry anti-semitism 00:17  |  Thor 19/01/08
      53.   to american #18 00:30  |  Dror 19/01/08
      54.   This is stupid 00:38  |  B. 19/01/08
      55.   Dror you`re whinny voice!- There are far more Jews 01:08  |  Drar! 19/01/08
      56.   Dror- By the way, 01:10  |  Secular Jew 19/01/08
      57.   Dror- did a Catholic Aryan piss on you once? 01:20  |  BOB 19/01/08
      58.   To Linda 01:23  |  Dee 19/01/08
      59.   To Paul 01:27  |  Dee 19/01/08
      60.   to Dror 01:49  |  MR 19/01/08
      61.   Respond To Indian 01:54  |  TOBIA 19/01/08
      62.   GLAD TO SEE CHANGE 01:58  |  TOBIA 19/01/08
      63.   THE MESSAGE FROM THE POPE 02:04  |  indrajaya 19/01/08
      64.   #1 Things are not what they seem to be 02:09  |  Edith 19/01/08
      65.   WHAT A NEW PRAYER ON MUSLIMS 02:09  |  indrajaya 19/01/08
      66.   Pope is in dire straits 02:20  |  Edith 19/01/08
      67.   Number 52 02:24  |  phil 19/01/08
      68.   #4 when your rights are violated... 02:28  |  Edith 19/01/08
      69.   Jewish "blindness" 02:34  |  C. Adams 19/01/08
      70.   #21 Is the denial of Jesus necessary? 02:50  |  Edith 19/01/08
      71.   Gregorian chants and other Catholic traditions 03:21  |  Yaakov Sullivan 19/01/08
      72.   RESPOND TO THOR 03:40  |  TOBIA 19/01/08