HAARETZ: Israeli and Vatican historians met for the first time Sunday to discuss the current state of research into Pope Pius XII and his Holocaust-era conduct.
The gathering at Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial signals a growing willingness of Israeli and Vatican officials to try to resolve one of their most sensitive disagreements - the pope's action or inaction during the Nazi genocide.
Most Jews believe Pope Pius XII was partly to blame for the scope of the Holocaust tragedy for failing to speak out publicly against the Nazi atrocities or attempting to mobilize Catholics in Germany and elsewhere to stop it.
The Vatican has struggled to defend its wartime pope as it pushes his sainthood cause, insisting that Pius spearheaded discreet diplomacy that saved thousands of Jews.
A symbol of the dispute is a caption of a photo of Pius at Yad Vashem's museum that says he did not protest the Nazi genocide of Jews and maintained a largely neutral position. The Vatican protests the wording. >>> Associated Press | Monday, March 9, 2009
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