ROME - 19 September 2008 - 500 words
Christian-Jewish forum defends Pope Pius XII
An interfaith symposium organised by US Catholics and Jews has backed the record of Pope Pius XII with documents showing that he intervened publicly and privately to save Jews during World War Two.
The symposium, organised by the Pave the Way Foundation, to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Pope Pius XII, brought together Catholics and Jews in his defence.
The foundation claims the late Pope was the victim of a 'myth' which claimed he was insensitive to the fate of Jews terrorised by Germany's Nazi regime and the concentration camps.
The group has collected extensive documentation showing that Pius XII intervened publicly as well as in secret to save Jews and to encourage Catholic institutions to shelter them. The dossier includes diplomatic telegrams and testimony of people who survived the war, thanks to his intervention.
The foundation is asking the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, to withdraw from its permanent exhibition a text that the group considers defamatory towards Pius XII.
In February, the Vatican said it would not block steps under way for the beatification of Pius XII, despite criticism from historians and numerous Jewish associations about the former pontiff's attitude towards the Holocaust.
Gary Krupp, an American Jew who is president and founder of Pave the Way, told Pope Benedict the group's investigation "directly contradicts the negative perception of the pope's war time activities.".
In an address to the Pave the Way Foundation, Pope Benedict said: "when one draws close to this noble Pope, free from ideological prejudices", one must recognise the "courageous dedication" of Pope Pacelli to saving as many Jews as possible from the Nazi devastation during the Second World War.
Praising the symposium organisers, Pope Benedict noted that in November 1945, some six months after the end of the war, 80 delegates of German concentration camps came to the Vatican to thank Pius XII for saving them.
The symposium's documents also include many newspaper cuttings about Jewish leaders thanking Pius during and after the war, and former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir saying: "When fearful martyrdom came to our people in the decade of Nazi terror, the voice of the Pope was raised for the victims."
"Thanks to the vast quantity of documented material which you have gathered, supported by many authoritative testimonies, your symposium offers to the public forum the possibility of knowing more fully what Pius XII achieved for the Jews persecuted by the Nazi and fascist regimes", Pope Benedict saud
"It is my great hope", he concluded, "that this year, which marks the 50th anniversary of my venerated predecessor's death, will provide the opportunity to promote in depth studies of various aspects of his life and his works in order to come to know the historical truth, overcoming every remaining prejudice.
During his visit to Paris last week, Pope Benedict also reminded representatives from France's Jewish community that Pius XII had called Nazism a period of "darkness".
The Pope will celebrate a Mass on 5 October in Saint Peter's Basilica to mark the anniversary.
Source: VIS/Haretz
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