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Last update - 02:05 11/05/2007
ADL urges Pope to suspend Pius sainthood over Holocaust inaction
By Reuters

A U.S.-based group that fights anti-Semitism urged Pope Benedict on Thursday to suspend the sainthood process for Pope Pius XII, whom critics accuse of turning a blind eye to the death of Jews during World War Two.

The Anti-Defamation League said the process should stop until secret World War Two Vatican archives are declassified and fully examined "so that the full record of the Pope's actions during the Holocaust may finally be known."

The Vatican's saint-making Congregation has voted in favor of a decree recognizing Pius' "heroic virtues," a major hurdle in a long process toward sainthood that began in 1967.
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"We urge Pope Benedict XVI to suspend the sainthood process for Pope Pius XII for the sake of historical truth and the deepening friendship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people," said Abraham Foxman, the league's national director and a Holocaust survivor.

"While we understand that the process of sainthood is an internal matter for the Church, the issue of what Pius XII did or did not do to help save Jews during the Holocaust is a profound question that must be resolved first for the sake of the Jewish-Catholic relationship," he said in a statement.

According to the Vatican Web site, it is up to the Pope to decide the "liberalisation" of access to documents on the basis of an entire papacy. Documents have been "liberalised" up until -- and including -- the papacy of Pius XI, which ended in 1939.

If the documents are "liberalised," only scholars are granted access to the papers.

If German-born Pope Benedict approves the Congregation decree, as expected, Pius XII would be officially given the title "venerable." The Vatican would then move toward beatification by looking for miracles performed by the late Pope.

The pontificate of Pius has been one of the trickiest problems in postwar Roman Catholic-Jewish relations.

Jewish groups have accused Pius of being indifferent to the Holocaust and diplomatic ties between the Vatican and Israel were briefly tested last month over a depiction of him at a state Holocaust memorial in Israel.

Before being elected Pope in 1939, Pius XII was Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli. He served as the Vatican's ambassador to Germany in 1917-1929 and was Vatican secretary of state in 1930-1939. Pius died in 1958.

The Vatican maintains that Pius did not speak out against the Holocaust more forcefully because he was afraid of worsening the fate of Catholics and Jews and worked behind the scenes to save Jews.

Jewish groups have pressed the Vatican for years to either freeze the sainthood process of Pius XII or shelve it altogether for fears that it would harm Catholic-Jewish relations.

Pope Benedict is in Brazil for a five-day visit to reinforce the Roman Catholic message on traditional family values and try to halt a tide of defections to Protestant religious groups
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  1.   Pope 02:33  |  Shana 11/05/07
  2.   Pope Pius XII 04:21  |  mike davis 11/05/07
  3.   Pope To Tell ADL to Go To Hell 04:21  |  Mr. Knowitall 11/05/07
  4.   Some things do indeed revolve around the Holocaust 04:30  |  Jonathan 11/05/07
  5.   The Pope 04:49  |  peace 11/05/07
  6.   Foxman STAY the hell out of the Church 04:55  |  JC 11/05/07
  7.   butt out 04:55  |  barbara 11/05/07
  8.   Barbara 06:29  |  Connie 11/05/07
  9.   don`t think I will butt out 06:29  |  newageblues 11/05/07
  10.   jc 06:53  |  connie 11/05/07
  11.   Anti-Semitism 06:57  |  Samy 11/05/07
  12.   pope`s award 07:21  |  bill 11/05/07
  13.   Rwanda and Sudan Holocausts 07:26  |  Its all about ME, ME 11/05/07
  14.   Connie - #10 07:33  |  Me, Me, Me 11/05/07
  15.   Newageblues - #9 08:01  |  Me, Me, Me 11/05/07
  16.   The truth 08:26  |  MM 11/05/07
  17.   I Agree With ADL But... 08:32  |  Yosemite 11/05/07
  18.   ME ME ME 08:52  |  Connie 11/05/07
  19.   #9, newageblues: Are you Catholic? 08:54  |  Thomas Jackson 11/05/07
  20.   Attack on Catholicism? 09:01  |  Flying Dutchman 11/05/07
  21.   ME ME ME 09:13  |  Connie 11/05/07
  22.   Is there nowhere the ADL won`t stick their snouts? 09:33  |  Clickfool 11/05/07
  23.   Yosemite - I Agree, In Addition To The Fact That Who Cares 09:46  |  Phinias Whoppy 11/05/07
  24.   #11, Samy: Anti-Semitism is on the rise? 09:47  |  Thomas Jackson 11/05/07
  25.   imagine no difference 11:24  |  Aborgast von E. 11/05/07
  26.   As aJew I say... 11:45  |  Avi Yerushalmi 11/05/07
  27.   Hochhut: "Stellvertreter" 12:09  |  juan solanet 11/05/07
  28.   me me me 14 13:04  |  Christina 11/05/07
  29.   To Barbara # 7 13:08  |  Hindanow 11/05/07
  30.   To clickfool #22 13:46  |  Hindanow 11/05/07
  31.   Marathon canonization of Pius XII ? Why? 13:48  |  H.H.M 11/05/07
  32.   They did not bomb Eichmanns railsways 14:04  |  Fritz 11/05/07
  33.   None of ADL`s business 14:29  |  W 11/05/07
  34.   Stop blaming the Jews...it is simple ignorance. 14:47  |  Mary 11/05/07
  35.   ADL arrogance 15:25  |  Chris Linthwaite 11/05/07
  36.   More ADL chutzpa 15:31  |  Kristina 11/05/07
  37.   #22 Clickfool 16:10  |  martyrmaker 11/05/07
  38.   ADL IS WRONG 16:11  |  Brant 11/05/07
  39.   #15, I`m well aware Vatican has no army 16:11  |  newageblues 11/05/07
  40.   Bill from NEB 16:12  |  TAZ 11/05/07
  41.   Saint shmaint; the soul of the Catholic church 16:14  |  Polybios 11/05/07
  42.   flying Duthman 16:17  |  TAZ 11/05/07
  43.   #19, this won`t advance interfaith relations 16:23  |  newageblues 11/05/07
  44.   FDR and Jews 16:27  |  Rita Etter 11/05/07
  45.   #4 17:00  |  Shana 11/05/07
  46.   H.H.M. makes good point on role of communism 17:25  |  newageblues 11/05/07
  47.   Saintly Pope Pius XII 17:31  |  Proeugenio 11/05/07
  48.   giving back native american land 18:04  |  jerry 11/05/07
  49.   Pius X11 19:42  |  H.DeBonis 11/05/07
  50.   Pius Sainthood 19:58  |  C Zuis 11/05/07
  51.   Pope Pius IIX 21:26  |  Mary 11/05/07
  52.   Connie - #18 22:48  |  ME ME ME 11/05/07
  53.   Some real facts 22:49  |  Jaroslav 11/05/07
  54.   #26 - Thank You 23:03  |  ME ME ME 11/05/07
  55.   Pius is a Saint 23:03  |  Laurie 11/05/07
  56.   Statements on the subject of Pius XII`s Sainthood 23:12  |  Laurie 11/05/07
  57.   #39 Newageblues 23:13  |  ME ME ME 11/05/07
  58.   #39 Newageblues 23:15  |  ME ME ME 11/05/07
  59.   Connie - Temple 23:51  |  Ben 11/05/07
  60.   PIUS XII 00:22  |  John Haas 12/05/07
  61.   pope pius x11 00:22  |  Bernard janecki 12/05/07
  62.   Jews praise Pius XII 00:39  |  Col 12/05/07
  63.   Mary in #34 get a clue 01:20  |  vladimir998 12/05/07
  64.   Please read a book 01:25  |  vladimir998 12/05/07
  65.   Pius XII`s Miracle. 03:13  |  seal 12/05/07
  66.   The Menorah 03:20  |  seal 12/05/07
  67.   connie 8 04:29  |  claire 12/05/07
  68.   christina 28 04:33  |  claire 12/05/07
  69.   #37 04:36  |  claire 12/05/07
  70.   LAURIE #56 04:38  |  barbara 12/05/07
  71.   Stop the Defamation of Pius! 06:30  |  TAD 12/05/07
  72.   Pius XII, a Saint 09:26  |  Peter Karl T Perkins 12/05/07
  73.   Re-Examine The Facts 12:52  |  John 12/05/07
  74.   Pope Pius XII 14:30  |&nbs