United Press International
Rome, Jul 19, 2007 (UPI via COMTEX) — Jewish leaders in Italy praised the Vatican Thursday for contemplating the removal of a Latin mass prayer that calls for the conversion of Jews.
The praise from the nation’s Jewish community comes after Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the secretary of state for the Vatican, said Wednesday that the prayer could be removed soon from the reintroduced mass, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.
The Latin mass was reintroduced by Pope Benedict XVI earlier this year and immediately prompted a religious furor over its controversial stance on Judaism.
While the pope introduced a modernized version of the controversial prayer that eliminated harsher language, the context of the religious text remained the same, ANSA said.
Therefore Jewish leaders throughout Italy said they were happy at hearing this week’s announcement from Bertone.
“The declarations made by Cardinal Bertone clear away the fears that we and others expressed in recent days,” Union of Italian Jewish Communities head Renzo Gattegna told ANSA.
Copyright 2007 United Press International