Judas was just part of God’s plan for the world, Vatican scholars claim

THE name and reputation of Judas Iscariot will never be quite the same again if a group of Vatican scholars gets its way.

For nigh on 2,000 years, the disciple’s name has been a byword for treachery with the name hurled at traitors, back-stabbers and turncoats everywhere.

Now a group of Catholic scholars is trying to portray a more sympathetic image of Judas, who betrayed Jesus to the Romans in return for 30 pieces of silver.