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BBC to present series exonerating Judas, Pilate and Caiaphas

The BBC of London is set to air a mini-series on the last week of the life of Christ which will exonerate Judas, Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas of responsibility for the death of Jesus, reports Catholic News Agency.

The series presents a Judas who anguishes over his loyalties to Jesus and to Caiaphas and a Pilate who struggles to manage his wife’s social aspirations and his career while trying to keep a lid on tensions in Jerusalem.

The creators of “The Passion,” which will be aired in four installments, said they wanted to “understand the motives of characters.”

Frank Deasy, the series writer, said he wanted to discover the motives behind Judas’ betrayal “I’ve always had a problem with Judas in �?Passion’ stories in that he suddenly and inexplicably betrays Jesus,” he said. “I was keen to develop a psychological reality to Judas’s portrayal.”

Nigel Stafford-Clark, who produced the BBC series, said he wanted to put the characters’ actions in context “so you can see it from their point of view and realize that what they did felt legitimate”.

In an interview with the Radio Times, Stafford-Clark said, "By such accounts as there are from the time, Caiaphas was reckoned to be a fair man and a good high priest. [He was] a man doing a very difficult job and doing it well."

A BBC spokesman said, "We are not seeking to subvert or rewrite the Gospel narrative – we are just retelling it to bring it alive for a contemporary audience."

The series will conclude on Easter Sunday and stars Paul Mawle as Jesus, Paul Nicholls as Judas, and James Nesbitt as Pilate.

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[03/19/2008]

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