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JERUSALEM - One of Israel's two chief rabbis urged the pope Thursday to publicly reaffirm that Jews are not to blame for the death of Jesus, saying he fears Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ could revive such beliefs.
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger said he is sending a letter to Pope John Paul II asking him to reiterate a Roman Catholic Church decision in the 1960s that reversed the centuries-old doctrine that Jews were behind the Crucifixion.
"The Vatican and the pope must explain today ... that the Jewish nation, the Jewish people didn't kill Jesus," Metzger said.
Vatican officials responded by saying the church's opposition to anti-Semitism is clear, as expressed by its 1965 document on the matter. They added that the pope has on many occasions reiterated this view, notably when he visited Israel in 2000 and when he went to Rome's synagogue in 1986.
The Passion, a bloody depiction of Christ's final 12 hours and his death, opened in American theaters on Wednesday.
Gibson maintains the film is a faithful biblical narrative meant to make viewers realize the extent of Christ's sacrifice. In an interview this month for ABC's Primetime, he said the movie was not anti-Semitic, but about "faith, hope, love and forgiveness."
"To be anti-Semitic is a sin," the actor-director told Diane Sawyer.
Still, Jewish leaders fear the movie will fuel anti-Semitism. The belief that Jews were behind the Crucifixion has generated anti-Semitism for centuries.
This month, the Anti-Defamation League also asked the Vatican to restate its view on the Crucifixion. A Vatican official said no such statement was planned.
Gibson is a member of a schismatic movement that rejects the reforms made at the Second Vatican Council.