The Weight of Words: A Historical Overview of the Good Friday Prayer for the Jews

The paper proposes a historical overview of the Good Friday prayer for the Jews, which reinforced negative stereotypes. The prayers and the accompanying gestures (or the lack thereof) point to the problematic way in which the Catholic Church understood Jews and Judaism. The long road to reconciliation led to closure only after Vatican II. The new form of the supplication acknowledged God’s covenant with Abraham as foundation for Israel’s salvation, moved away from a supersessionist theology which emphasised the blindness and stubbornness of the Jews and their rejection of Jesus, offered a more positive view of Judaism and acknowledged its intrinsic value. However, certain expressions of the prayer still expressed a Christocentric perspective. A new controversy arose after Pope Benedict XVI modified the prayer (2008). The essay asks whether the changes in the Good Friday prayer reflect indeed a theological evolution in the Church’s understanding of Judaism, or whether these changes are merely superficial. The historical overview of the supplication for the Jews is important because liturgy both expresses and shapes faith.