THE TELEGRAPH: The Pope has for the first time publicly defended the wartime record of Pope Pius XII, who for decades has been accused of failing to speak out against the Holocaust.
Pope Benedict XVI said new research showed that the former Pontiff “spared no effort” in trying to save Jews from extermination by Nazi Germany and fascist Italy.
Pope Pius XII has been condemned by some scholars and many Jewish groups for not speaking out more stridently against Nazism and the Final Solution.
His alleged ambivalence to the deportation and murder of Jews has been the subject of several books, including the 1999 Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pope Pius XII, by John Cornwell.
He is edging towards sainthood — a move strongly supported by the last Pope, John Paul II - despite accusations that he kept silent about the Holocaust, was anti-Semitic and was sympathetic to Nazi Germany because of his horror of communism.
“(Pius XII) spared no effort, wherever it was possible, to intervene (for Jews) directly or through instructions given to individuals or institutions in the Catholic Church,” Benedict XVI told a conference which presented new work on Pius ahead of the 50th anniversary of his death on October 9.
Pius XII, who was Pontiff from 1939 to 1958, had to work ”secretly and silently” to ”avert the worst and save the highest number of Jews possible,” Benedict XVI said, repeating assertions made by Vatican experts in the past. The Pope also said Pius XII was thanked by Jewish groups during and after the war for saving the lives of thousands of Jews. He cited a meeting the leader of the Roman Catholic Church had in the Vatican in November 1945 with 80 death camp survivors who ”thanked him personally for his generosity”. Pope Defends Wartime Predecessor >>> By Nick Squires in Rome | September 19, 2008
NZZ Online:
Papst Benedikt XII. verteidigt seinen Vorgänger Pius XII.: Gebet für baldige Seligsprechung >>> | 9. Oktober 2008
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
Pius XII Controversy Intensifies: Sainthood for the Holocaust Pope?: Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday fueled speculation that beatification may be on the horizon for Pope Pius XII, often criticized for not doing enough to combat the Holocaust. The Vatican has been working hard to improve Pius's popular image.
The process of beatification is usually a backroom deal, taking place inside the Vatican and well outside the public eye. But not this time. For months the Catholic Church has been sending signals that the beatification of Pope Pius XII, who headed the Catholic Church during World War II, may be imminent. Some historians and Jewish leaders, though, have been vociferous in their opposition to the move, arguing Pius XII did less than he should have to save the Jews from the Holocaust. >>> cgh -- with wire reports | October 10, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Italy)
