Story Highlights
- historical event:
- It is not allowed to depict the Jews as rejected or cursed by God. It is also forbidden to hold the Jews guilty for the events described in the New Testament.
One of the most important events for the reconciliation of the Catholic Church and the Jews took place on this day. Namely, the Jews were finally absolved of collective guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The document by which this decision was enacted was the Nosta Aetate (Lat. “In our Age”) declaration, issued at the time of the Second Vatican Council (pictured).
This declaration was promulgated by Pope Paul VI. It states that, although some Jewish organizations demanded that Jesus be executed, one cannot blame all the Jews who were alive at that time. Thus, it is not allowed to depict the Jews as rejected or cursed by God. It is also forbidden to hold the Jews guilty for the events described in the New Testament. This marked the Church’s final rejection of antisemitism.
