Pope Julius III — On Compelling the Hebrews to Burn the Talmud and Other Books in Which the Name of Jesus Is Used Ignominiously (1554 AD)
Since, as we have recently learned not without distress of mind, although our venerable brothers the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, general inquisitors of heretical wickedness throughout the Christian commonwealth, had at our command condemned and caused to be burned by fire a certain volume of Hebrew books called the Gemara of the Talmud, containing many things unworthy and offensive to the divine law and orthodox faith — nevertheless among those same Hebrews there are still said to be various books containing various blasphemies and ignominies against Christ our Redeemer and His most holy name and honor.
§ 1. Bishops commanded to search out and burn blasphemous books
We, wishing to provide opportunely in the premises, commit and command by the present letters to you and to each of you that you intimate and notify, on our behalf, to each and every community of Hebrews within the limits of your jurisdiction, that once four months have elapsed from the day of such intimation and notification, all and each of the books in which the name of Jesus our Savior — which is called “Yeshu HaNozri” — is named with blasphemy or otherwise ignominiously, both in their synagogues and public places and private houses, and everywhere else, be most diligently sought out; and that those who are found to have such books in their possession in any manner be irremissibly punished with the appropriate penalties, both monetary and of confiscation of goods, and, if their contumacy or the nature of the offense demands it, corporally, even to the ultimate punishment, and otherwise as those who apostatize from the faith of Christ are punished. And those same books, with all diligence, shall be inquired into and carefully investigated by you or others deputed by you for this purpose, and those who are found to have such books in their possession shall be altogether and irremissibly punished with the penalties with which the aforesaid apostates are punished.
§ 2. Hebrews not to be molested for other books that do not contain blasphemy
Not permitting henceforth those same Hebrews — who, in memory of the Lord’s Passion, are tolerated by holy mother Church so that, attracted at some time by our mildness, they may, with the divine Spirit inspiring them, be converted to the true light of Christ — to be in any way vexed or molested by any persons, even those wielding apostolic authority, on the occasion of any sort of books found among them, provided they do not contain blasphemy as aforesaid, except by our express command.
Given at Rome, at Saint Peter’s, under the Fisherman’s Ring, on the twenty-ninth day of May 1554, in the fifth year of our pontificate.
Dated May 29, 1554; pontificate year 5.
Source. Bullarium Romanum, Taurinensis Edition, Vol. VI, pp. 482–483. Pope Julius III, Contra Hebraeos retinentes libros Thalmudi. Translated from the Latin.