Pope: 'violence never serves humanity, it only dehumanizes'

Commenting on the Gospel passage on Sunday, the story of Jesus driving out the animal sellers and money-changers from the temple of Jerusalem, Pope Benedict XVI stressed at the Angelus on Sunday, that "the expulsion of the merchants from the temple was also interpreted in a political-revolutionary sense, placing Jesus in the line of movement of the Zealots. These were, indeed, 'eager' for the law of God and ready to use violence to enforce it."

He explained: "At the time of Jesus they were expecting a Messiah who would free Israel from Roman rule. But Jesus disappointed this expectation, so much so that some of the disciples abandoned him and even Judas Iscariot betrayed him.

"In fact, it is impossible to interpret Jesus as violent: violence is contrary to the Kingdom of God, it is a tool of the Antichrist. Violence never serves humanity, it only dehumanizes".

Source: VIS