When a group of Latin American Jews visited the Vatican for an audience with Pope Francis last week they knew they would receive a warm reception from the Pontiff, who is famously friendly towards Jews.
What they did not expect was to hear him tell a joke about an antisemitic Catholic priest.
According to Claudio Epelman, executive director of the Latin-American Jewish Congress, the joke went like this: "One day during his sermon, the priest found a way to attack Jews as usual, in a vicious way. During a pause, Jesus got down from his cross, looked at the Virgin Mary and said 'let's get out of here Mum, they don't seem to like us'."
The group much appreciated the joke, and Mr Epelman later told the Argentine newspaper La Nación: "It's incredible that the Pope would tell a joke like this. It says so much about the wonderful relationship he has with Jews".
