Why do Catholics mention Pontius Pilate in the creed? What's so important about him that he gets mentioned at Masses around the word?
Essentially, it's to show that Christianity is a religion based in history, unlike other religions, such as Hinduism, which are shrouded in myth.
Christianity is rooted in a real, historical person who lived and died during a specific time in history--a time when a verifiable person, Pontius Pilate, lived.
From the Catechism:
643 Given all these testimonies, Christ's Resurrection cannot be interpreted as something outside the physical order, and it is impossible not to acknowledge it as an historical fact.
423 We believe and confess that Jesus of Nazareth, born a Jew of a daughter of Israel at Bethlehem at the time of King Herod the Great and the emperor Caesar Augustus, a carpenter by trade, who died crucified in Jerusalem under the procurator Pontius Pilate during the reign of the emperor Tiberius, is the eternal Son of God made man.
(Question heard on Catholic Answers radio show here: Apologist Tim Staples answered the question around hour 8:03 into the program.)
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