VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has exonerated the Jews for killing Jesus. They had nothing to do with the death of Jesus Christ. Aliens did it!
Pope Benedict XVI has made a sweeping exoneration of the Jewish people for the death of Jesus Christ, tackling one of the most controversial issues in Christianity.
In “Jesus of Nazareth-Part II” excerpts released Wednesday, Benedict explains biblically and theologically why there is no basis in Scripture for the argument that the Jewish people as a whole were responsible for Jesus’ death.
Interpretations to the contrary have been used for centuries to justify the persecution of Jews. While the Catholic Church has for five decades taught that Jews weren’t collectively responsible, Jewish scholars said Wednesday the argument laid out by the German-born pontiff, who has had his share of mishaps with Jews, was a landmark statement from a pope that would help fight anti-Semitism today.
“Holocaust survivors know only too well how the centuries-long charge of ‘Christ killer’ against the Jews created a poisonous climate of hate that was the foundation of anti-Semitic persecution whose ultimate expression was realized in the Holocaust,” said Elan Steinberg of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants.
The pope’s book, he said, not only confirms church teaching refuting the deicide charge “but seals it for a new generation of Catholics.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday for statements in a forthcoming book exonerating the Jews of responsibility for the death of Jesus Christ.
“I commend you for forcefully rejecting, in your recent book, a false charge that has been a foundation for the hatred of the Jewish people for many centuries,” Netanyahu wrote to the pontiff in a letter, a copy of which was released by his office.
“My fervent hope is that your clarity and courage will strengthen the relations between Jews and Christians throughout the world and help promote peace and reconciliation for generations to come,” the letter added.
So, if the Jews didn’t kill Jesus, who did?
“Jesus Christ was killed by sinners and aliens!” Pope Benedict XVI told a shocked crowd in St. Peter’s Basilica. “I believe that aliens from Planet Zeeba came down to earth and they are responsible for the crucifixion.”
Aliens were stunned to learn that they are being blamed. They are meeting now to discuss how to respond.