Pope Benedict XVI: Don’t blames Jews for Christ’s crucifixion. In his news book Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week (the follow-up to his 2007 bestseller Jesus of Nazareth) the pontiff explores the details of the final week of Jesus’ earthly life – as the subtitle states From the Entrance Into Jerusalem to the Resurrection. In excerpts released yesterday (March 2), he dismantles the anti-Semitic notion that the Jewish people are to be held responsible for the death of Jesus.
 

From Religion News Service:

Noting that Jesus and all his original followers were Jews, Benedict
writes that the term refers in this case specifically to the
“aristocracy of the temple,” or the leading priests who called for
Jesus’ death.

Benedict also explains the statement, “may his blood be on us and on
our children,” attributed to the Jews in the Gospel of Matthew, is not a
curse but actually a kind of blessing.

“The Christian will remember that the blood of Christ … is not
spilled against anyone but … for many, for all,” Benedict writes.
“Read from the point of view of the faith, this means that we all need
the purifying force of love, and that force is his blood. These words
are not a curse, but redemption, salvation.”

Beautifully put.

The report also notes that Benedict’s view is consistent with the Second Vatican Council in the 1960’s which declared that Jesus’ crucifixion “cannot be charged against all the Jews,
without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today.”

Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, calls the Pope’s news book an “important and historic moment for Catholic-Jewish relations” that will help communicate longstanding church teaching “down to the pews.”

Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week (published by Ignatius Press) is set for release next Thursday (March 10).

U.S. Bishops give the Bible a language makeover. From USA Today: “We needed a new translation because English is a living language,” says
retired auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee Richard Sklba, part of the review
and editing team.

Parents Television Council makes financial case against Skins to Viacom shareholders. The group says MTV’s sexually-charged teen drama (which features underage actors and which the PTC likens to child pornography) is shedding viewers fast (now down to under a million) and has “has become radioactive to the advertising community.”  In an email sent out to 200,000 of it 1.3 million members, the PTC argues that “In allowing one of its properties, MTV, to continue to air a program
that is losing the company money, Viacom is in breach of its fiduciary
responsibility to its shareholders.”

South Park‘s Matt Stone says Mormon’s actually like The Book of Mormon. We’re talking about the irreverent Broadway musical comedy he created with his South Park writing partner Trey Parker and Avenue Q’s Robert Lopez, not the actual Book of Mormon which I assume Mormons like. Without having seen the play myself or talked to Mormons about it, I can’t help but wonder how representative of all followers of the faith Stone’s anecdotal report really is.

Was this week’s episode of ABC’s Castle anti-Christian? Again, haven’t seen it myself — but there is a debate which you can read about at Big Hollywood.