ON JEWS AND CHRISTIANS LIVING IN THE SAME PLACE
A Quo PrimumEncyclical of Pope Benedict XIV promulgated on June 14, 1751.
To the Primate, Archbishops and Bishops, of the Kingdom of Poland.
Venerable Brothers, We give you Greeting and Our Apostolic Blessing.
God in his goodness allowed Catholicism to take root in Poland at the end of
the tenth century during the reign of Our predecessor Leo VIII. At the time, the
efforts of King Mieszko and his Christian consort Dobrava (Dlugosz, Annalium
vestrorum Scriptorum, 2, 94) encouraged the spread of Christianity. Since
then pious and devout Poles have continued the faithful practice of their new
religion. During this time various sects have attempted to establish themselves
in Poland and to spread the seeds of their errors, heresies, and evil opinions.
But the faithful Polish people have strongly withstood their efforts.
2. In regard to the matter of the Jews We must express our concern, which
causes Us to cry aloud: "the best color has been changed." Our credible experts
in Polish affairs and the citizens of Poland itself who communicated with Us
have informed Us that the number of Jews in that country has greatly increased.
In fact, some cities and towns which had been predominantly Christian are now
practically devoid of Christians.
The Jews have so replaced the Christians that some parishes are about to lose
their ministers because their revenue has dwindled so drastically. Because the
Jews control businesses selling liquor and even wine, they are therefore allowed
to supervise the collection of public revenues. They have also gained control of
inns, bankrupt estates, villages and public land by means of which they have
subjugated poor Christian farmers. The Jews are cruel taskmasters, not only
working the farmers harshly and forcing them to carry excessive loads, but also
whipping them for punishment. So it has come about that those poor farmers are
the subjects of the Jews, submissive to their will and power. Furthermore,
although the power to punish lies with the Christian official, he must comply
with the commands of the Jews and inflict the punishments they desire. If he
doesn't, he would lose his post. Therefore the tyrannical orders of the Jews
have to be carried out.
3. In addition to the harm done to Christians in these regards, other
unreasonable matters can result in even greater loss and danger. The most
serious is that some households of the great have employed a Jew as
"Superintendent-of-the-Household"; in this capacity, they not only administer
domestic and economic matters, but they also ceaselessly exhibit and flaunt
authority over the Christians they are living with. It is now even commonplace
for Christians and Jews to intermingle anywhere. But what is even less
comprehensible is that Jews fearlessly keep Christians of both sexes in their
houses as their domestics, bound to their service. Furthermore, by means of
their particular practice of commerce, they amass a great store of money and
then by an exorbitant rate of interest utterly destroy the wealth and
inheritance of Christians. Even if they borrow money from Christians at heavy
and undue interest with their synagogues as surety, it is obvious to anyone who
thinks about it that they do so to employ the money borrowed from Christians in
their commercial dealings; this enables them to make enough profit to pay the
agreed interest and simultaneously increase their own store. At the same time,
they gain as many defenders of their synagogues and themselves as they have
creditors.
4. The famous monk, Radulph, inspired long ago by an excess of zeal, was so
inflamed against the Jews that he traversed Germany and France in the twelfth
century and, by preaching against the Jews as the enemies of our holy religion,
incited Christians to destroy them. This resulted in the deaths of a very large
number of Jews. What must we think his deeds or thoughts would be if he were now
alive and saw what was happening in Poland? But the great St. Bernard opposed
this immoderate and maddened zeal of Radulph, and wrote to the clergy and people
of eastern France: "The Jews are not to be persecuted: they are not to be
slaughtered: they are not even to be driven out. Examine the divine writings
concerning them. We read in the psalm a new kind of prophecy concerning the
Jews: God has shown me, says the Church, on the subject of my enemies, not to
slay them in case they should ever forget my people. Alive, however, they are
eminent reminders for us of the Lord's suffering. On this account they are
scattered through all lands in order that they may be witnesses to Our
redemption while they pay the just penalties for so great a crime" (epistle
363). And he writes this to Henry, Archbishop of Mainz: "Doesn't the Church
every day triumph more fully over the Jews in convicting or converting them than
if once and for all she destroyed them with the edge of the sword: Surely it is
not in vain that the Church has established the universal prayer which is
offered up for the faithless Jews from the rising of the sun to its setting,
that the Lord God may remove the veil from their hearts, that they may be
rescued from their darkness into the light of truth. For unless it hoped that
those who do not believe would believe, it would obviously be futile and empty
to pray for them." (epistle 365).
5. Peter, abbot of Cluny, likewise wrote against Radulph to King Louis of
France, and urged him not to allow the destruction of the Jews. But at the same
time he encouraged him to punish their excesses and to strip them of the
property they had taken from Christians or had acquired by usury; he should then
devote the value of this to the use and benefit of holy religion, as may be seen
in the Annals of Venerable Cardinal Baronius (1146). In this matter, as in all
others, We adopt the same norm of action as did the Roman Pontiffs who were Our
venerable predecessors. Alexander III forbade Christians under heavy penalties
to accept permanent domestic service under Jews. "Let them not continually
devote themselves to the service of Jews for a wage." He sets out the reason for
this in the decretal Ad haec, de Judaeis. "Because Jewish ways do not
harmonize in any way with ours and they could easily turn the minds of the
simple to their own superstitions and faithlessness through continual
intercourse and unceasing acquaintance." Innocent III, after saying that Jews
were being received by Christians into their cities, warns that the method and
condition of this reception should guard against their repaying the benefit with
evildoing. "They on being admitted to our acquaintance in a spirit of mercy,
repay us, the popular proverb says, as the mouse in the wallet, the snake in the
lap and fire in the bosom usually repay their host." The same Pope stated that
it was fitting for Jews to serve Christians rather than vice versa and added:
"Let not the sons of the free woman be servants of the sons of the handmaid; but
as servants rejected by their lord for whose death they evilly conspired, let
them realize that the result of this deed is to make them servants of those whom
Christ's death made free," as we read in his decretal Etsi Judaeos.
Likewise in the decretal Cum sit nimis under the same heading de
Judaeis, et Saracenis, he forbids the promotion of Jews to public office:
"forbidding Jews to be promoted to public offices since in such circumstances
they may be very dangerous to Christians." Innocent IV, also, in writing to St.
Louis, King of France, who intended to drive the Jews beyond the boundaries of
his kingdom, approves of this plan since the Jews gave very little heed to the
regulations made by the Apostolic See in their regard: "Since We strive with all
Our heart for the salvation of souls, We grant you full power by the authority
of this letter to expel the Jews, particularly since We have learned that they
do not obey the said statutes issued by this See against them" (Raynaldus,
Annals, A.D. 1253, no. 34).
6. But if it is asked what matters the Apostolic See forbids to Jews living
in the same cities as Christians, We will say that all those activities which
are now allowed in Poland are forbidden; these We recounted above. There is no
need of much reading to understand that this is the clear truth of the matter.
It is enough to peruse decretals with the heading de Judaeis, et Saracenis;
the constitutions of Our predecessors, the Roman Pontiffs Nicholas IV, Paul IV,
St. Pius V, Gregory XIII and Clement VIII are readily available in the Roman
Bullarium. To understand these matters most clearly, Venerable Brothers, you do
not even need to read those. You will recall the statutes and prescripts of the
synods of your predecessors; they always entered in their constitutions every
measure concerning the Jews which was sanctioned and ordained by the Roman
Pontiffs.
7. The essence of the difficulty, however, is that either the sanctions of
the synods are forgotten or they are not put into effect. To you then, Venerable
Brothers, passes the task of renewing those sanctions. The nature of your office
requires that you carefully encourage their implementation. In this matter begin
with the clergy, as is fair and reasonable. These will have to show others the
right way to act, and light the way for the rest by their example. For in God's
mercy, We hope that the good example of the clergy will lead the straying laity
back to the straight path. You will be able to give these orders and commands
easily and confidently, in that neither your property nor your privileges are
hired to Jews; furthermore you do no business with them and you neither lend
them money nor borrow from them. Thus, you will be free from and unaffected by
all dealings with them.
8. The sacred canons, prescribe that in the most important cases, such as the
present, censures should be imposed upon the recalcitrant; and that those cases
which bode danger and ruin to religion should be reckoned as reserved cases in
which only the bishop can give absolution. The Council of Trent considered your
jurisdiction when it affirmed your right to reserve cases. It did not restrict
such cases to public crimes only, but extended them to include more notorious
and serious cases, provided they were not purely internal. But we have often
said that some cases should be considered more notorious and serious. These are
cases, to which men are more prone, which are a danger both to ecclesiastical
discipline and to the salvation of the souls which have been entrusted to your
episcopal care. We have discussed these at length in Our treatise On the
diocesan synod, Book 5, 5.
9. In this matter We will help as much as possible. If you have to proceed
against ecclesiastics exempt from your jurisdiction, you will doubtless
encounter additional difficulties. Therefore We are giving Our Venerable Brother
Archbishop Nicaenus, Our Nuncio there, a mandate appropriate for this business,
in order that he may supply for you the necessary means from the powers
entrusted to him. At the same time We promise you that when the situation
arises, We will cooperate energetically and effectively with those whose
combined authority and power are appropriate to remove this stain of shame from
Poland. But first Venerable Brothers, ask aid from God, the source of all
things. From Him beg help for Us and this Apostolic See. And while We embrace
you in the fullness of charity, We lovingly impart to you, Our brothers, and to
the flocks entrusted to your care, Our Apostolic Blessing.
Given at Castelgandolfo on the 14th of June 1751 in the eleventh year of Our
Pontificate.
