Papacy

Gregory I
During his years as the Pope from 590 to 604, Gregory I complained of Jews being stubborn and described them as “preachers of Antichrist”. He considered Judaism as Jewish superstition, depravity, and faithlessness. Gregory opposed Jews having ownership of Christian slaves.

Stephen III
Pope Stephen III in the eighth century described Jews as “enemies of God”. He complained of Jews owning land in a letter to the archbishop of Narbonne: “The Jewish people, ever rebellious against God and derogatory of our rites ... own hereditary estates, as if they were Christian residents; for they are the Lord's enemies ... liars ... miserable dogs. [They must have no such benefit] in vengeance for the crucified Savior.”

Leo VII
In the mid-tenth century, Pope Leo VII urged the archbishop of Mainz to expel Jews that refuse to convert to Christianity.

Benedict VIII
Pope Benedict VIII in the early 11th century executed a number of Jews for alleged blasphemy against Jesus Christ.

Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII in 1078 decreed that Jews could not hold office or be superiors to Christians. He referred to Jews as “enemies of Christ”.

Alexander III
In 1179, Pope Alexander III presided and over 290 bishops attended the Third Council of the Lateran. Canon 26, a law that was a result of the council, banned Jews from employing Christian servants.

Innocent III
Statement by Pope Innocent III in 1205: “... the Jews, by their own guilt, are consigned to perpetual servitude because they crucified the Lord ... As slaves rejected by God, in whose death they wickedly conspired, they shall by the effect of this very action, recognize themselves as the slaves of those whom Christ's death set free ... .”

The Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 was gathered by Pope Innocent III. Some laws or canons resulting from the council were aimed at the Jews. Canon 68 forced Jews to wear a Jewish badge and hat, Canon 69 disqualified Jews from holding public offices, and Canon 70 forbade Jews that converted to Christianity from returning to Judaism.

Honorius III
Pope Honorius III's bull “In generali concilio”, issued in 1218 and addressed to the archbishop of Toledo, demanded the enforcement of the decision of the Fourth Lateran Council that Jews wear distinguishable clothing from Christians; also that Jews be made to pay the tithe to local churches.

Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX incorporated the doctrine of perpetual servitude of the Jews (perpetua servitus iudaeorum) into canonical law in 1234. He ordered for all copies of the Talmud to be confiscated with the bull “Si vera sunt” in 1239. Gregory also renewed the Fourth Lateran Council's badge requirement for Jews.

Innocent IV
The bull “Impia gens” by Pope Innocent IV in 1244 ordered for the Talmud to be burned. In the same year, he also issued the papal bull “Impia iudaeorum perfidia” (The impious perfidy of the Jews) calling Jews deceitful and repeating his condemnation of the Talmud.

Clement IV
The Council of Breslau in 1266 ordered for Poland the prohibition of Jews from living next to Christians, the requirement of Jews to wear a distinctive hat, and that Jews were not to have more than one synagogue in a town.

Statement by the papal legate of Pope Clement IV at the Council of Breslau: “Since the Poles are a new plantation on the soil of Christendom, we must continually be on our guard lest the Christian population here, where the Christian religion has not yet taken deep root in the hearts of believers, succumb to the influence of the counterfeit faith and the evil habits of the Jews living in their midst.”

The bull “Turbato corde” issued by Clement IV in 1267 ordered that Christians that converted to Judaism be treated as heretics.

Nicholas III
Pope Nicholas III in 1278 issued the bull “Vineam sorce,” ordering the attendance of Jews at conversion sermons.

John XXII
Pope John XXII ordered Jews to wear a badge on their breast in 1317. He expelled Jews from his domain of Avignon in 1322 and issued the bull “Ex parte vestra”, which refused the right of asylum in churches to Jews that converted to Christianity that are suspected of relapse, and ordered the inquisitors to pursue Jews even into their places of refuge. John also ordered for the Talmud to be burned.

Eugenius IV
In 1442, Pope Eugenius IV ordered the Jews to be prohibited from building synagogues, money-lending for interest, holding public office, and testifying against Christians. He also renewed the Fourth Lateran Council's badge requirement for Jews.

Statement by Eugenius in his decree: “We decree and order that from now on, and for all time, Christians shall not eat or drink with Jews; nor admit them to feasts, nor cohabit with them, nor bathe with them. Christians shall not allow Jews to hold civil honors over Christians, or to exercise public offices in the State. Jews cannot be merchants, Tax Collectors, or agents in the buying and selling of the produce and goods of Christians, nor their procurators, computers or lawyers in matrimonial matters, nor obstetricians; nor can they have association or partnership with Christians. No Christian can leave or bequeath anything in his last will and testament to Jews or their congregations. Jews are prohibited from erecting new synagogues. They are obliged to pay annually a tenth part of their goods and holdings. Against them Christians can testify, but the testimony of Jews against Christians in no case is of any value. All and every single Jew, of whatever sex and age, must everywhere wear the distinct dress and known marks by which they can be evidently distinguished from Christians. They cannot live among Christians, but in a certain street, separated and segregated from Christians, and outside which they cannot under any pretext have houses.”

Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V adopted many restrictions on Jews from his predecessor Pope Eugenius IV. Nicholas in 1451 barred Jews from all “honorable walks of life.”

Julius III
In a decree in 1553, Pope Julius III ordered for all copies of the Talmud to be confiscated and burned.

Paul IV
Pope Paul IV’s 1555 bull, “Cum nimis absurdum”, placed more restrictions on the Jewish people. Its name comes from the bull's first words: “Since it is absurd and utterly inconvenient that the Jews, who through their own fault were condemned by God to eternal slavery ... .” The bull renewed many prior canonical restrictions against the Jews. Among the bull's orders includes restricting Jews in their commercial conduct, forbidding them to have only one synagogue in any city, enforcing the wearing of the Jewish hat, forbidding Jews to be titled “signor”, and ordering Jews to live in a ghetto. Paul had ordered over twenty Marranos (Spanish Jews that converted to Christianity that were secretly practicing Judaism) to be burned at the stake in Ancona. In 1559, the pope placed the Talmud on the list of banned books.

Pius V
Pope Pius V renewed the anti-Jewish edicts of Pope Paul IV in the bull “Romanus Pontifex” in 1566. The bull “Hebraeorum gens” by Pius issued in 1569 ordered the removal of the Jews from his territory in 90 days.

Statement by Pius: “The Jewish people fell from the heights because of their faithlessness and condemned their redeemer to a shameful death. Their godlessness has assumed such forms that, for the salvation of our own people, it becomes necessary to prevent their disease.

Besides usury, through which Jews everywhere have sucked dry the property of impoverished Christians, they are accomplices of thieves and robbers; and the most damaging aspect of the matter is that they allure the unsuspecting through magical incantations, superstition, and witchcraft to the synagogue of Satan and boast of being able to predict the future. We have carefully investigated how this revolting sect abuses the name of Christ and how harmful they are to those whose life is threatened by their deceit.

On account of these and other serious matters, and because of the gravity of their crimes which increase day to day more and more, We order that, within 90 days, all Jews in our entire earthly realm of justice - in all towns, districts, and places - must depart these regions.

After this time limit shall all at the present or in the future, who dwell or wander into that city or other already mentioned, be affected, their property confiscated and handed over to the Siscus, and they shall become slaves of the Roman Church, live in perpetual servitude and the Roman Church shall have the same rights over them as the remaining [worldly] lords over slaves and property.”

Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII in 1581 issued the bull “Antiqua iudaeorum improbitas,” giving jurisdiction of the Jews of Rome to the Inquisition over cases of blasphemy and offense to the church. In the same year, he issued the bull “Alias piae memoriae” prohibiting Jewish physicians from attending to Christians. His other bull “Sancta mater ecclesia” issued in 1584 ordered Jews to listen to conversionist sermons weekly.

Clement VIII
In 1592, Pope Clement VIII issued the bull “Cum saepe accidere” that forbade the Jewish community of the Comtat Venaissin of Avignon to sell new commodities. He expelled Jews from most of the Papal States in 1593 with the bull “Caeca et obdurata”. With the issuing of the bull “Cum hebraeorum malitia” he put a ban on the Talmud.

Statement by Clement: “All the world suffers from the usury of the Jews, their monopolies and deceit. They have brought many unfortunate people into a state of poverty, especially the farmers, working class people, and the very poor.”

Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII ordered the Jewish community to pay Leonardo Masserano, a convert to Christianity, annually for five years until 1634. He also had two Roman Jewish boys forcefully baptized into Christianity in 1639 and increased Jewish taxes in 1641.

Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV wrote in support of antisemitic blood libels in his 1755 bull, “Beatus Andreas”:

“... The Blessed Andreas from the region of the village of Rinn in the Diocese of Brixen, was butchered in the cruelest fashion before the completion of the third year of life in the year 1462 by Jews out of hatred toward the Christian faith.

... From the Bollandists for the date 24 March, we are told -- aside from what has been mentioned concerning the blessed boy Simon of Trent -- that in the Diocese of Cologne, a boy Johannchen is venerated, who was killed by the Hebrews out of hatred against the [Christian] faith.

Baillet reports for the same 24th of March, that in Paris a certain boy Richard is venerated as a martyr.

And likewise, in England another boy with the name William is honored. This boy was murdered by the Jews out of hatred against the [Christian] faith.

In the 18th volume of the work of Father Theophile Raynaud, and in particular in the work that is entitled De Martyrio per pestem, in Part 2, Chapter 2, Nr. 7, one reads that in the time of King Ferdinand in Spain a three-year-old boy was killed by Jews out of hatred against Christ in the district of Guardia near Toledo, that veneration is shown him and that he is called the innocent child of Guardia for obvious reasons.

And the same is attested of two other two-year-old twin boys in Sardinia, who bore the names Cessilius and Camerinus.

And further, in the aforementioned apologetic treatise concerning the martyrdom of the Blessed Simon of Trent, there is mentioned on page 242, a little three-year-old girl by the name of Ursula who was murdered in the cruelest manner by Jews out of hatred of Christ, approximately in the year 1442 in Lienz, a small but old town in the County of Tyrol, located in the Pustertal [Puster Valley] toward Kärnten. In the year 1609, an older monument at the church of this place was replaced by a new one. This was chiseled after the older one and one can read, inscribed on the same, the story of that horrible atrocity.

And on page 264, etc., is mentioned a boy Laurentius, whom the Jews killed in 1485 when he was 5 years of age, out of hatred toward the [Christian] faith, and this boy has been regarded and venerated as a martyr since his martyrdom and up to the present day in Marostica in the region of Vicenza and in areas not far from there. ...”

Pius VI
Pope Pius VI issued an anti-Jewish proclamation restoring anti-Jewish legislation in 1775 called “Editto sopra gli ebrei” (Edict over the Hebrew). Some of the 24 clauses in the legislation are that Jews are condemned to death if they spend the night outside a ghetto, Jews are to wear yellow badges, and studying the Talmud is forbidden.

Pius VII
After Napoleon's rule ended and Pope Pius VII was restored to power in the mid-1810s, the pope reinstated the Roman ghetto for the confinement of Jews. He also demanded the removal of Jews from public offices.

Leo XII
In 1823, Pope Leo XII ordered the Jews of Rome to live in Rome's ghetto. He also forced Jews to attend and pay for Christian sermons.

Pius IX
After the fall of the Roman Republic of 1849 and the pope being restored to power, Pope Pius IX forced the Jewish people of Rome into the ghetto in 1850. After the Papal States were annexed by the Kingdom of Italy in 1870, and the ghetto was dismantled, he described Jews as dogs that were “barking up and down Rome's street”.

The Papal State police in 1858 forcibly took a six old boy from his Jewish parents after a Christian servant girl reportedly baptized the boy named Edgardo Mortara. This made the child legally a Christian convert, and the Papal State law prohibited Christians from being raised by Jews. The pope took custody of Edgardo Mortara and refused to return him to his parents and had the child brought up as a Christian. In 1864, another Jewish child, Giuseppe Coen, was forcibly taken from his parents in Rome's ghetto and baptized under the pope.