Grand Rabbi Jacob Kaplan of Paris declared today in a message that all believers felt deep sorrow at the news of the death yesterday of Pope John XXIII. Rabbi Kaplan said the Pope’s passing “prematurely ends a promising pontificate, his last encyclical having created great hope within all of mankind.” Dr. Kaplan particularly praised the late Pontiff for his action in ordering the elimination from the Good Friday service of the phrase “perfidious Jew” and the Pope’s desire to put an end to anti-Jewish teachings in Catholicism.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.