Egyptian Copt Patriarch Shinoda: The Vatican Was Wrong to Exonerate the Jews from the Killing of Christ

Following are excerpts of an interview with Egyptian Copt Patriarch Shinoda III, which aired on Dream 2 TV on April 8, 2007:

Interviewer: The Vatican offered a kind of apology to contemporary Jews, and exonerated them from spilling the blood of Christ. But the Coptic Church insisted on a position that dissented from that of the Vatican.

[...]

Egyptian Copt Patriarch Shinoda III: What is the Vatican apologizing for? It has done nothing that warrants an apology. I don't like things that are done for appearance's sake. Everything must have depth and reasons. What are they apologizing for?

Interviewer: It is an apology for describing the Jews as the killers of Christ. That was the context.

Patriarch Shinoda III: The New Testament says that they are. Is the Vatican against the teachings of the New Testament?

[...]

I have prevented the Copts from visiting Jerusalem because of my faith and for [various] reasons, and I don't care about the consequences. First of all, many Copts want to visit Jerusalem. If I permitted this, dozens of thousands would go.

Interviewer: They yearn to go to Jerusalem.

Patriarch Shinoda III: If dozens of thousands go to Israel, they will be influenced by the Israeli media, and we will not be able to prevent this. Who knows what ideas they will return with? That's one thing. In addition, this will revive Israel in terms of economy and propaganda. Israel will be the one to benefit from this, not them.