With sensitivity and much awareness of the use and abuse of New Testament texts, Pope John Paul II, in October 31, 1997, called for a symposium of Catholic New Testament scholars to study the history of anti-Jewish sentiment in the Christian world. This meeting and Pope John Paul II are very important in considering Passion Plays. The Pope said that "the erroneous and unjust interpretations of the New Testament regarding the Jewish people and their presumed guilt circulated for too long" and "contributed to a lulling of many consciences at the time of World War II, so that, while there were ‘Christians’ who did everything to save those who were persecuted, even to the point of risking their own lives, the spiritual resistance of many was not what humanity expected of Christ’s disciples." He presented his statement at the international meeting on "The Roots of Anti-Judaism in the Christian Milieu." The symposium reviewed elements of Christian teaching for the last two thousand years that might have contributed to the disdain for Judaism. Passion Plays have been sources of that contempt for Judaism and require a careful consideration in order to avoid the serious problems of the past. This should be taken into consideration by the Oberammergau Passion Play leaders in order to avoid the general sense of contempt for Jews and Judaism in their presentations.

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