Romanian Priest Accused of Equating Jews with Coronavirus Says Sermon was Misinterpreted

He said the disciples of Jesus “feared the Jews,” adding “And here in the bracket we should read: feared the virus.”

[additional-authors]

Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA

April 14, 2020

INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA – APRIL 06: Roman-Catholic priest Johannes Laichner walks past by photographs of members of his congregation at his church during the coronavirus crisis in Tyrol province on April 6, 2020 in Innsbruck, Austria. Laichner has received over 1,000 photographs and attaches them to the benches in his church. He records his daily mass on video, which he uploads for viewing by his congregation via Internet by the evening. Current restrictions on public life imposed by authorities in Austria in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus make gatherings like a church service temporarily illegal, so Laichner has come up with his online mass as a means to adhere to the law while still reaching his flock. (Photo by Jan Hetfleisch/Getty Images)

(JTA) — A senior Catholic priest in Romania priest who referenced fear of the coronavirus during a sermon about Christian disciples’ fear of Jews said that people who accused him of anti-Semitic speech were “biased” against him.

Francisc Dobos, the spokesman for the Archdiocese of Bucharest, wrote this on Facebook on Monday.

On April 9, in a filmed greeting ahead of Easter, Dobos spoke about how the disciples of Jesus “feared the Jews,” adding “And here in the bracket we should read: feared the virus.”

Dobos on Facebook rejected the criticism of the MCA Romania Center for Monitoring and Combatting Antisemitism, which said in a statement that his reference to the virus risked equating it in the minds of his viewers with Jews. The statement criticized the reference to Jews in the sermon as inappropriate but did not accuse Dobos of anti-Semitism.

“I paraphrased, saying that these days of the pandemic we’re locked in houses for fear of a virus. And I added that it’s not from fear, but out of prudence. My intention was this: Even if we are locked up or in homes, the risen Jesus comes to us,” Dobos wrote in his reply.

“Someone interpreted my words as equating Jews with a virus. I was shocked that some made such an association. Then a wave of virulent reactions broke out against me.

“I consider the anti-Semitic interpretation biased toward me. Posting even content that does not offend anyone is no longer prudent.”