The Bible Commission of the Vatican is ready to alter the passage in the Vulgate which speaks of a God of revenge, if the Jews of the world would officially apply for such a correction. This was the statement made by Cardinal Gasquet to the Budapest Jewish Bible scholar, Donath, after the Catholic Bible Commission realized that Donath’s interpretation of the passage was the correct one.
However, Donath’s efforts during the past half-year to induce Jewish religious leaders to take such an attitude have been without avail, due to obstacles which cannot be overcome, says a report in the “Neue Freie Presse,” as a result of which Donath began negotiations in leading Catholic and Protestant circles.
Both Christian sects were ready to help make the corrections in the Vulgate, for they felt that the rejection of the idea of a God of revenge would also relieve Christianity of criticism which has been directed against it, as well as against Judaism, for containing this notion. As a condition for such revision they demanded, however, that Donath should become baptized into Christianity, which would have been a tragedy for science as well as for Donath personally, according to the “Neue Freie Presse.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
