The love of neighbor is a common commitment among Christians and Jews, Pope Francis said Tuesday, to teachers and students at Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute.
The pope explained that Christian interpretations of Jesus’ interactions with the Pharisees, as well as consideration of the Jewish heirs to the Pharisaic tradition, must seek this common ground with accuracy, free of prejudice and stereotypes.
Love of neighbor “certainly constitutes an important basis for any dialogue, especially among Jews and Christians, even today,” the pope said in May 9 prepared remarks for the biblical institute, known in Vatican parlance as the Biblicum.
The papal audience included participants in the conference “Jesus and the Pharisees: An Interdisciplinary Reappraisal,” held to mark the 110th anniversary of the Biblicum’s founding by Pope St. Pius X. The conference focused on the role of the Pharisees in the Christian Bible, Jewish traditions, and later Jewish-Christian relations.
Reflecting on the love of neighbor, Pope Francis said that the influential second century Jewish commentator Rabbi Aqiba, an heir of the Pharisees, described the words “love your neighbor as yourself” as “a great principle of the Torah.”
“According to tradition, he died as a martyr with the Shema on his lips, which includes the commandment to love the Lord with all one’s heart, soul and strength,” said the pope.
