Family Life

03.03.11 | Sarah Harnisch

 Exerpts of a new book out by the Pope were released Wednesday. In the book, Benedict the 16th tackled one of the most controversial issues in Christianity: were Jewish people responsible for Jesus's death? In a clip from his book "Jesus of Nazareth," the pope uses biblical and theological analysis to exonerate all Jews for the death of Christ. He says based on history, it was actually the temple aristocracy and a few supporters of the figure Barrabbas who were responsible, not the entire Jewish population at the time. Dictators like Hitler have used Christ's death as a reason for Jewish slaughter, and Jewish scholars say the Pope's statements are significant-- and will help fight anti-semitism today. Others argue the courtyard was full of Jewish people shouting to free Barrabas-- and signifiying that the Romans and just a handful of Jewish leaders were responsible is misleading. The Pope's book comes out in 1 week, on March 10th.