Nazi-era Pope moves step closer to sainthood
Jewish groups slam move; argue that Pope Pius could have done more to prevent Holocaust.
By Associated Press Tags: Holocaust Pope Pius XII Israel newsPope Benedict XVI moved two of his predecessors closer to possible sainthood Saturday, signing decrees on the virtues of Pope John Paul II and controversial Pope Pius XII, who has been criticized for not doing enough to stop the Holocaust.
The decrees mean that both men can be beatified once the Vatican certifies that a miracle attributed to their intercession has occurred. Beatification is the first major step before possible sainthood.
Some Jews and historians have argued Pius should have done more to prevent the deaths of 6 million Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators. As a result, the German-born Benedict's surprise decision to recognize Pius' "heroic virtues" sparked immediate outcry from Jewish groups.
The Anti-Defamation League said the move was premature since the Vatican still hasn't opened up to outside historians its secret archives from Pius' 1939-1958 pontificate. The Vatican says the 16 million files won't be ready until 2014 at the earliest.
"We are saddened and disappointed that the pontiff would feel compelled to fast-track Pope Pius at a point where the issue of the record - the history and the coming to a judgment - is still wide open," said Abraham Foxman, a Holocaust survivor and the Anti-Defamation League's national director.
Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, called the announcement "particularly disturbing and callous" because it was paired with that of John Paul, who endured the Nazi invasion of his native Poland.
The Vatican insists Pius used quiet diplomacy to try to save Jews.
Pius, a Vatican diplomat in Germany and the Vatican's secretary of state before being elected pope, did denounce in general terms the extermination of people based on race and opened Vatican City up to war refugees, including Jews, after Hitler occupied Rome in 1943.
But he didn't issue scathing public indictments of Jewish deportations, and some historians say he cared more about securing a concordat with Nazi Germany than saving Jewish lives.
The Vatican argues that Pius, who officially maintained neutrality during the war, couldn't publicly denounce the Holocaust because he believed public outcry would only enrage the Nazis and result in more deaths.
The Rev. Peter Gumpel, who has worked for two decades shepherding through Pius' cause and has long championed him as a great defender of the Jews, said he was "delighted" with the pope's decision.
"I'm glad that the truth has been professed," Gumpel told The Associated Press.
He said he had read "every scrap" on Pius that is in the Vatican archives and said "the accusation that he was anti-Semitic or anti-Judaic is absolute nonsense."
Last year, Jewish leaders asked the pope to speed up the opening of the archives on Pius' papacy to settle the issue of what he did or didn't do to save Jews.
According to participants in the October 2008 meeting, Benedict had said he would give "serious consideration" to their request to freeze the sainthood process until the archives were opened.
As a result, Saturday's announcement about Pius came as a surprise, whereas the decree on John Paul was expected.
In contrast to Pius, John Paul is greatly admired by Jews. During his 27-year pontificate he forged diplomatic ties with Israel; prayed at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site; and was the first pope in history to visit a synagogue.
Benedict, too, made an official visit to Israel, already has made two visits to synagogues and has a planned visit to Rome's main synagogue next month. But his decision to take a step forward in Pius' long-delayed beatification process sparked further outrage among Jews still incensed over his rehabilitation earlier this year of a Holocaust-denying bishop, Richard Williamson.
"Less than a year after the so-called "Richard Williamson affair," we are left bereft in our feelings and appeal to the Vatican to prevent the inevitable blow to interfaith relations which will follow from this," Steinberg said.
No dates for the beatification ceremonies were announced, but Italian and Polish media widely reported that John Paul could be beatified as early as October.
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I cannot answer as a Roman catholic why the Pope decides to push the cause of Pius XII. For those of you who read this, we have plenty of Saints in the Roman catholic faith, like Francis of Assisi, whose accomplishments on earth and love of God far exceeds Pius. On the other hand, I have to point this out. Who within the community of European or world leaders made a perfect or good response to Hitler? Did the leaders of the Orthodox Church in Russia stand up for the millions of russian Jews who were killed by the Nazis? Many brave Lutheran ministers were killed for their opposition to the Hitlerite regime, but many more remained silent. How about our Protestant friends in England? Remember, Chamberlain made a concordat with Hitler which increased Germany's territorial power and brought many Jews under Hitler's authority? And how about our Muslim brethren. They claim to recognize Abraham, Moses, and even Jesus as their Prophets and call Jewish and Christian people "people of the book."
you no makea da rules.
Since when does the Church listen to a people who reject Jesus or even the concept of saints in deciding who will become a saint? The Jew and the Catholic have a mutual distrust of each other just like the Jew and the Protestant and Muslim and Jew does - we will not dictate what the Jew should worship nor should the jew attempt to dictate what others should worship - it is the height of arrogance.
When Pius XII died in 1958, Golda Meir sent the following message to Rome: "We share in the grief of humanity. When fearful martyrdom came to our people in the decade of Nazi terror, the voice of the pope was raised for its victims. The life of our times was enriched by a voice speaking out about great moral truths above the tumult of daily conflict. We mourn a great servant of peace." As early as 1940 Pius XII was receiving Jewish thanks for his stance. Here's what Albert Einstein wrote in TIME magazine: "Only the Catholic Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler's campaign for suppressing the truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised, I now praise unreservedly." Recommended reading: Rabbi Dalin's "The Myth of Hitler's Pope" (2005).
the Catholic church did not condemned the Nazis http://www.nobeliefs.com/nazis.htm
of all the Jewish saints. pius was not an example of moral courage, no miracles can be attributed to him either.
They don't tell us how to run our faith. Let us not be tempted to tell the Roman Catholics what to do. Anyone who objects to this canonization is advised not to pray to this guy.