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Holocaust-era Pope Pius XII (AP) Last update - 00:00 24/10/2008 Vatican fumes at Israeli minister's remarks on Nazi-era pope By Adi Schwartz, Haaretz Correspondent and Staff Tags: Israel News, Isaac Herzog  Vatican officials are furious over Minister Isaac Herzog's statement in Thursday's Haaretz that the planned beatification of Pope Pius XII, who headed the Catholic Church during the Holocaust, is "unacceptable." Cardinal Andrea Lanza di Montezemolo told the Italian paper Corriere della Serra yesterday that "Israel's interference in the matter of Pius XII must stop. We've had it with this interference. Outside opinions are liable to disrupt [the process], and they look like an attempt to force Pope Benedict XVI to make a decision. The decision to declare someone a saint is an internal decision of the church." Father Paolo Molinari, a priest involved in the the beatification process, told the paper Il Messaggero that "Minister Herzog's statements constitute intervention in the process of declaring Pius XII 'blessed,' which is an internal affair of the Catholic Church." Beatification, or being declared blessed, is the final stage before achieving sainthood. Advertisement Moreover, Molinari claimed, "such statements contradict what others in the Jewish world have said, including [former Israeli prime ministers] Moshe Sharett and Golda Meir, who left no room for doubt about the positive part played by Pius XII during the Nazi era." Another paper, Il Foglio, quoted anonymous Vatican sources as saying that the beatification process is well advanced, and a final decision might be made before the end of this year. Ever since the Holocaust, a battle has raged over Pius XII's efforts, or lack thereof, to save Jews. Many historians, as well as Jewish organizations, argue that had Pius publicly condemned the Holocaust or publicly urged Catholics to shelter Jews, many thousands could have been saved. The Vatican, for its part, says that while Pius was afraid to speak out publicly, lest this lead to Nazi reprisals against Catholics, he secretly saved thousands of Jews. However, the Vatican has consistently refused to open its archives for the years of Pius' papacy (1939-58), making it impossible for scholars to verify this claim. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Can war be avoided? Can Israel accept Hamas rule, and ease, rather than tighten its chokehold on Gaza? Latke eating champ Body builder eats 46 latkes in 8 minutes to win N.Y. Hanukkah contest and set a new record.   1.   WHY CHURCH ANNULED A BAPTISM! 03:52  |  Barry S. Roffman 24/10/08   2.   Monkey see monkey do 03:57  |  hanoi 24/10/08   3.   I couldn`t care less U& both Caths and Jews... 04:54  |  Brad 24/10/08   4.   I just cannot understand why ... 05:31  |  jc 24/10/08   5.   that is none of their business! 06:09  |  ClearCut 24/10/08   6.   Vatican intimidates and bullies Jews. Break relations 06:20  |  Elly 24/10/08   7.   A German Pope beautifies a Nazi sympathizing Pope 06:21  |  Liliane 24/10/08   8.   - 06:50  |  pius 24/10/08   9.   a shame for our church 06:54  |  sister mraia 24/10/08   10.   Israel has done many things which are "unacceptable." 06:54  |  Maki 24/10/08   11.   israel killed so many christians in lebanon... 07:49  |  northern neighbor 24/10/08   12.   don`t try to change a leopard`s spots 07:49  |  judith 24/10/08   13.   To Maki, JC, and ClearCut 08:14  |  Ehud 24/10/08   14.   Maki - Eli Hobeika was a Christian 09:02  |  x-ray 24/10/08   15.   Jesus was a Jew of the house of David of course we can criticise 09:03  |  x-ray 24/10/08   16.   The true Catholics 09:29  |  tristan 24/10/08   17.   Not done enough can apply to any communist or secular leader 09:51  |  Lionel Andrades 24/10/08   18.   #8 citizen of the world 09:54  |  Sarah 24/10/08   19.   Of course Israel has a right to interfere. 10:08  |  Axel 24/10/08   20.   Pope Pius XII 10:14  |  Mark 24/10/08   21.   Pius XII is ok 10:25  |  YJK 24/10/08   22.   To Beutify or not to Beutify 10:37  |  Robert Hoffmann 24/10/08   23.   Israel has done many things that are unacceptable 10:43  |  margaret 24/10/08   24.   Beatification Process 11:34  |  Avi Yerushalmi 24/10/08   25.   Where were you 13:08  |  Ken 24/10/08   26.   Pope Pius X!! listed as Righteous Gentile 16:01  |  Bro Porter 24/10/08   27.   Blessed Eugenio Pacelli 16:07  |  Thomas 24/10/08   28.   Israel killed so many Christians in Lebanon 16:42  |  margaret 24/10/08   29.   Vatican and Israel 17:31  |  Richard 24/10/08   30.   Israeli minister`s remarks on Nazi-era Pope 17:33  |  J. DUMON 24/10/08   31.   Edit the Old Testament! 17:50  |  Jeff 24/10/08   32.   Some people get your facts straight... 18:06  |  KR 24/10/08   33.   beatification of Pope Pius XII 20:09  |  Paul 24/10/08   34.   Learn the Facts 21:48  |  Aron 24/10/08   35.   To bea(u)tify or not to bea(u)tify 23:22  |  Rob Hofman 24/10/08   36.   Israel is Out of Line 23:37  |  BJK 24/10/08   37.   Pope Pius XII and beatification 03:42  |  Anita 25/10/08   38.   The Vatican right 03:53  |  MFB 25/10/08   39.   ? of forgiveness 04:10  |  christian 25/10/08   40.   Pope Pius XII Beatification 16:30  |  Hiroshi Takemitsu 25/10/08   41.   Why Church annulled a baptism 09:09  |  Maria 26/10/08   42.   Barry S. Roffman 09:16  |  Maria 26/10/08   43.   Jews on Catholics, Catholics on Jews 20:24  |  Sal Rances 26/10/08   44.   Japanese Holocaust 20:20  |  Fila Dra 27/10/08   45.   Saints 20:26  |  Fila Dra 27/10/08   46.   Vatican atrocities 20:28  |  Fila Dra 27/10/08   47.   Good poing 20:33  |  Fila Dra 27/10/08   48.   To #11 19:48  |  Erez 30/10/08   49.   To #10 19:51  |  Erez 30/10/08   50.   Pius XII 14:14  |  Jude 01/11/08   51.   Pius XII and the Jews 01:20  |  Tom Zelaney 07/11/08

Read & React U.K. envoy: Fight against settlements not about boycotting Israel Responses: 78 Mubarak extends rare invite to Livni for talks on Gaza violence Responses: 27 Yoel Marcus: Have politicians pushing for Gaza war forgotten Lebanon debacle? Responses: 33 Olmert to Turkish PM: We must advance toward direct Israel-Syria talks Responses: 44 B. Chefetz: Security fence breeding new generation of suicide bombers Responses: 20 More Headlines 16:31 Four Qassams slam into Negev, ending brief respite 16:04 Livni: Syria peace deal must be worth more than scrap of paper 16:34 IDF soldier said arrested for shooting gun while alongside rioting Hebron settlers 14:57 Lieberman: Decent defense minister could solve Gaza problem in 2 months 11:38 Have politicians pushing for Gaza war forgotten Lebanon debacle? 16:28 Jerusalem`s Latin Patriarch blasts Gaza blockade in pre-Christmas message 16:15 Activists to sail from Lebanon in new bid to break Gaza blockade 13:40 Settlers latch on to tourism as key to holding West Bank 15:00 Lawmakers to IDF: Shut Nahal base in Negev beset with high cancer rates 16:12 Knesset panel: No raises in 2009 for MKs, salaries to stay at NIS 33,259 15:47 Tourist discovers trove of 1,300-year-old coins in Jerusalem's City of David 14:48 4,400 more jobseekers in Israel in November, up 2.2% from October 11:40 Ashdod holds first ever rocket drill in wake of Gaza escalation 10:23 Fight against settlements not about boycotting Israel, says U.K. envoy 11:54 Haifa man suspected of murdering wife found hanged on lamp post 06:42 U.K. cop says PA West Bank police equipped to handle challenges 08:21 Be'er Sheva street sign blames Arabs for unsolved Arlosoroff murder Previous Editions Select Day 22 dec 21 dec 19 dec 18 dec 17 dec 16 dec 15 dec 14 dec 12 dec 11 dec 10 dec 09 dec

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