Stuttgart  - Clerics of the ultra-conservative Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) are to continue their Good Friday practice of praying for the conversion of the Jews, a spokesman for the group said Thursday.

SSPX superior Father Franz Schmidberger said the intercession dated back to a Church tradition originating in the fourth century, and was not aimed at provoking or hurting the religious feelings of non-Catholics.

Germany's Central Committee of Catholics (ZdK) has criticized Pope Benedict XVI's rewording of the Good Friday intercession, which reads, "Let us also pray for the Jews: That our God and Lord may illuminate their hearts, that they acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all men."

The ZdK said these words could be interpreted as a call to convert the Jews.

An SSPX statement said the ZdK was "far from the Holy Scripture" in its criticism.

Although there was no question of forcibly converting non-Christians, a statement on the society's website said the possibility of conversion should not be ruled out. (dpa)