Pope Benedictus 16
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Will pope reintroduce anti-Semitic mass?
Turmoil in Catholic Church: Pope Benedict XVI plans to publish new version of 400-year-old prayer which calls Jews 'perfidious'. Church officials fear reintroduction of prayer could harm church's relations with Jews, Muslims
Pope Benedict XVI's intention to reintroduce a controversial Latin Mass with anti-Semitic references has launched turmoil in the Catholic church, according to a report in the Independent.
The 16th-century Tridentine Mass, which refers to Jews as "perfidious", was replaced in 1969. In the words of the original, penned in 1570, Jews live in "blindness" and "darkness"; it pleads that "the Lord our God may take the veil from their hearts and that they also may acknowledge our Lord Jesus Christ".
High-ranking bishops and cardinals in the Catholic Church have expressed severe opposition to the reintroduction of the prayer, out of concern that it will harm the church's relations with Jews and Muslims.
Leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, sent the pope a letter to voice his opposition to the changes to the mass.
However, Pope Benedict announced Thursday that he intended to publish next week an amended version of the prayer.
A spokesman for the Church in Britain said Friday, "It is standard practice to follow Rome, but we don't know yet what the (statement) will say. When we have the document, bishops and cardinals will consider it."
The mass was translated and edited in the 60s from Latin to local languages to make it more accessible to the layman. Celebration of the original Latin Mass now requires permission from the local bishop and the Roman Catholic Church in Britain. The changes were approved by the Second Vatican Council, which sat between 1962 and 1965.
The pope's move to reintroduce the controversial mass is seen by many as an attempt to reach out to the Society of St Pius X, an ultra- traditionalist group, to bring it back into the Vatican fold.
