Pope changes prayer to appease Jews

ROME, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI changed a Good Friday prayer that called for the conversion of Jews by removing references to the "blindness" in their hearts.

Only the traditional Latin mass used the Good Friday prayer and it fell into obscurity amid concerns by Jewish groups over certain language considered derogatory, the Italian news agency ANSA said Wednesday.

The new translated text of the prayer removes mention of "blindness," a "veil" or "darkness" when referring to those of the Jewish faith.

ANSA supplied a partial unofficial translation: ''Let us pray also for the Jews that the Lord our God may illuminate their hearts and that they also may acknowledge Our Lord Jesus Christ."

The relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and those of the Jewish faith soured over the status of Catholic sites in Israel and other issues surrounding the Holocaust. Pope John Paul II had worked to improve those relations.