In Defense Of Pio Xii

[ruso]

The Museum of the Holocausto will review its phrases on Pío XII
13 declarations of Jewish leaders - from Einstein to the great rabbis of Bucharest, Palestine and Rome in defense of Pacelli Pope. Between Sunday 15 and Mondays 16, Israel has made its annual acts of tribute to the victims of the Nazi Holocausto. The televisions and radios have emitted during all the historical day documentary, films and interviews to survivors. To the official acts the Vatican nuncio in Israel has gone finally, monsignor Antonio Franco, who the past Thursday 12 had announced his "painful resignation" to the annual celebrations of the Day of the Memory, which they will take place in the museum Yad Vashem of Jerusalem. The Vatican protested thus because in the seventh room of the museum there is a photo of Pío XII with a text in which it accuses of "silence" and "lack to him of directives" and not to denounce holocausto. Monsignor Franco wrote to the Jewish authorities: "Perhaps the phrase could be cleared the photo or be changed. But certainly the Pope cannot be placed in the middle of men who would have to be shamed of which they did against the Jews. Pío XII would not have to be shamed by everything what did by the salvation of the Jews, documented by historical sources ". And it is that already the previous nuncio, Pietro Sambi, had requested it when east museum in 2005 was opened. In the end, the president of the museum Yad Vashem, Avner Shalev, promised to the nuncio "to reconsider the way in which he appears Pope Pío XII", and for that reason monsignor Franco he went to the acts: "My action did not try to resign to the celebrations but to call the attention on the way in which it appears the Pope, my objective has been obtained". The hoaxes against Pío XII do not send in spite of the documented works of historians, even Jewish, defending the Pope. The hoaxes were born with the communist propaganda of 60 years and trasnmitierona traverse of the "new left" by all Europe, along with the work of Soviet financing "the Vicar", of Huchhoth. In her s ebasa the film "Amen", of Costa-Gavras, that has seen in the televisions this Easter. For that reason, it is possible to remember some historical data, that we took, for example, of book of Vicente carcel Ortí and Juan E. Schenk "Pío XII, defender of the Jews" Pío XII and the Hitlers had good relation? Hitler considered to Pío XII their worse enemy and in diverse occasions she said that once finished the war she would have eliminated for always in Europe as much the catholic Church as the Christianity, that considered as a product of the Judaism [... ] Why Pío XII did not do public declarations denouncing the Holocausto during the war? Pío XII did by Hebrew the whatever was humanly possible to him to do. The president of the United States, Roosevelt did certainly much more that and English prime minister, the Churchills, who far better were informed that the Pope of whatever happened in Germany. These shut up two years and they did not take part. However, Pío XII ordered secretly to the Church that will help the Hebrews persecuted and limited the damages of the war as soon as it was possible to him. Pío XII did not send anathemas against Hitler and the Nazis, who at those terrible moments had been useless and harmful for such Hebrew, but that took part with the charity to help all. His to have of father and shepherd they forced not to increase to the sufferings of populations proven by the war and the persecution to him with public interventions that were agravated the situation. The same the International Red Cross and the World Jewish Congress did. Both organizations aided the victims but they did not make public declarations of sentence against the Nazi atrocities because they would have been counter-productive and they would have triggered a still greater repression. 13 Jewish authorities, from 1940 to the present time, in defense of the Pope and the Church. 13 Jewish leaders in defense of Pío XII the critics against the Pope left from sectors related to the Soviet communist block, not of the Jews. They began in addition in 1963, five years after the death of the Pope, with the play of the communist Germany of Rolf Hochhuth. Until that year the Jewish recognition to Pío XII was unanimous. And also after that date, the Jewish historians know it clearly. Pío XII saved many Jews.

1. "When the revolution in Germany took place, I watched with confidence the universities, because it knew that always they had been proud of its devotion by the cause of the truth. But the universities were gaged. Then I trusted the great publishers of the newspapers that proclaimed their love by the freedom. But, like the universities, also they had to shut up, choked in few weeks. Only the Church remained firm, still on, to close the way to the campaigns of Hitler whom they tried to suppress the truth. Before never it had experienced a particular interest by the Church, but now I feel by her a great affection and admiration, because the Church was only that had valentía and the certainty to defend the intellectual truth of the moral freedom." [ Albert Einstein, German Jew and Nobel prize of physics, in the North American magazine TIME the 23 of December of 1940 ]

2. "the town of Israel never will forget what Their Sanctity and its illustrious delegates, inspired by the principles to eter to us of the religion that form the same foundations of the true civilization, are making by our unfortunate brothers and sisters in this hour, most tragic of our history, that is living test of the divine Providence in this world" [ Isaac Herzog, Great Rabbi of Palestine, the 28 of February of 1944; Actes ET documents du Saint Siege relatifs to the Seconde Guerre Mondiale, X, p. 292. ]

3. "it is not easy us to find the words adapted to express the heat and consolation that we experimented by the preoccupation of the Supreme Pontiff, who offered one long sum to alleviate the sufferings of the deported Jews; the Jews of Rumanía never we will forget these facts historical importance "[ Alexander Shafran, Great Rabbi of Bucharest, the 7 of April of 1944; Actes ET documents du Saint Siege relatifs to the Seconde Guerre Mondiale, X, p. 291-292 ]

4, "we have heard the great part that Santo Padre has played in the salvation of refugees in Italy, and know of sources that deserve confidence that this great Pope has extended its powerful hand and cosy for Judge Joseph Proskauer helped pressed in Hungary" [, president of the American Jewish Committee, in the march of awareness of the 31 of July of 1944 in New York ]

5, "We directed a reverente tribute of recognition to the Extreme Pontiff, to the monks and nuns who putting in practice the directives of Santo Padre, have only seen in the persecuted ones to brothers, and with I throw and self-denial has acted of intelligent and effective form to aid, without thinking to us about the very serious dangers to that they were exposed ". [ Giuseppe Nathan, commissioner of the Union of Italian Israelite Communities, 07-09-1945 ]

6, "To Santo Padre, in name of the Union of the Israelite Communities, his more felt gratefulness by the work carried out by the Catholic Church in favor of the Jewish town in all Europe during the war". [ A.Leo Kubowitzki, Secretary General of the World Jewish Congress, to the being received by the Pope the 21-09-1945 ]

7, "Would wish to take advantage of this opportunity to pay tribute to Pío Pope please by its effort in the victims of the war and the oppression. It provided with aid to the Jews in Italy and took part in favor of the refugees to lighten its load "[ William Rosenwald, president of United Jewish for Appeal Refugees, 17 of March of 1946, mentioned the 18 of March in the New York Times ]

8," Can be written volumes about you multiform works of aid of Pío XII. The rules of the severe closing fall, all and each one of the things, is to the service of the charity. Administrative schools, offices, churches, convents, all have their guests. Like a sentry before the sagrada inheritance of the human pain, it arises the Angelical Shepherd, Pío XII. It has seen the misfortune abyss towards which the humanity goes. It has measured and foretold the immensity of the tragedy. He has done of itself heraldo of the voice of justice and the defender of the true peace." [ Eugene Zolli in its Before book the Dawn, 1954; its original name was Israel Zoller, great rabbi of Rome during World War II; turned to the Christianity 1945, it was baptized like "Eugene" in honor to Eugene Pacelli, Pío XII]

9, "We cried to a great servant of La Paz that raised its voice by the victims when the terrible martyrdom lowered on our town" [ Golda Meier, Secretary of State of Israel, October of 1958, when dying Pío XII ]

10- "In a time in which the Armed Forces dominated of indiscriminate form and the moral sense had fallen at the lowest level, Pío XII did not have force some resemblance and could only appeal to the moral; one was forced to badly resist the violence of with als the naked hands. It had been able to elevate vibrant protests, that were similarity even foolish, or more bie to come passage after step, in silence. Shouted words or quiet acts. Pío XII chose the quiet acts and tried to save the except forable thing ". [ Pinchas E. Lapide, Hebrew historian and consul of Israel in Milan, its Pop work "Three and Jews", London 1967; it calculates that Pío XII and the Church saved with their interventions 850,000 lives ].

11. "the same Pope was denounced by Joseph Goebbels - minister of Propaganda of the Nazi government by to have taken the part from the Jews in the message of Christmas of 1942, in which it criticized racism. He also played a role, which I describe with some details, in the rescue of the three fourth parts of the Jews of Rome." [ Sir Martin Gilbert, Jewish historian English expert in the Holocausto and World War II, in one interviews the 02-02-2003 in the program "In Depth", of the televising channel

12, "the lynching against Pío XII? A nastiness. I come from a family of Jewish origin and have had relatives who died in the concentration camps during World War II. That Pope and the Church that as much depended on him, made very many by the Jews. Six million Jews assassinated by the Nazis and almost million Jews saved thanks to the structure of the Church and of this Pontiff. He recriminates himself to Pío XII by not to have raised a shout before the deportations of ghetto of Rome but other historians have observed who nobody saw the antifascist ones running towards the station to try to stop the train of the deported ones. One of the reasons by which this important Pope was crucificado must to the fact that it took part against the communist universe from hard way, strong and decided." [ Paolo Mieri, Italian Jewish journalist, ex--director of Corriere della Sera, presenting/displaying the book Pio XII; Il Pope degli ebrei, of Andrea Tornielli the 6 of June of 2001, ]

13. "Pío XII was not the Pope of Hitler, but the defender greater than ever we have had the Jews, and indeed at the moment at which we needed it. Pacelli Pope was a right one between the nations whom there are to recognize the protected salary and saved by the hundred of thousands of Jews. It is difficult to imagine that so many world-wide leaders of the Judaism, in so different continents, have been mistaken or confused at the time of praising the conduct of the Pope during the war. Its gratitude to Pío XII lasted during long time, and was genuine and deep." [ David G. Dalin, rabbi of New York and historian, 22 of August of 2004, interviewed in meeting of Rímini, Italy

Edited April 16, 2007 by ruso

[cathoholic_anonymous]

Pope Pius is something of an enigma. I've read widely on this subject and could not form a concrete opinion about his actions. Some of the things he did for the Jewish people were nothing short of heroic, which is why I don't believe that he was an anti-Semite - especially as he didn't do those things for personal gain or public approval. But this did lead me to ask why he didn't do much more.

Then again, the same question could be asked of almost every person alive in Europe at the time, especially the leaders. I do think that Pius has been used as a scapegoat in some circles.

[Socrates]

[quote name='Cathoholic Anonymous' post='1246321' date='Apr 16 2007, 06:44 PM']Pope Pius is something of an enigma. I've read widely on this subject and could not form a concrete opinion about his actions. Some of the things he did for the Jewish people were nothing short of heroic, which is why I don't believe that he was an anti-Semite - especially as he didn't do those things for personal gain or public approval. But this did lead me to ask why he didn't do much more.

Then again, the same question could be asked of almost every person alive in Europe at the time, especially the leaders. I do think that Pius has been used as a scapegoat in some circles.[/quote]
Pope Pius XII and the Church probably did more to help the Jews during the Holocaust than anyone else, as was widely recognized by Jews immediately after the war. He was also a strong critic of Nazism before the war. The "Hitler's Pope" propaganda nonsense dates back to a German Communist propaganda play from the 1960s.

Great resources here from the Phatmass Defense Directory: [url="http://www.phatmass.com/directory/index.php/cat/344"]The Church and the Holocaust[/url]

He probably did all he could reasonably do considering the circumstances - taking a more "visible" role would have resulted in swift retribution by the Nazis, leading to many more deaths. People today often forget the grim political/military reality of the time.