The Charity of Pope Pius XII  by Eugenio Zolli |

By George Weigel

Washington DC, Jan 26, 2007 / 04:18 pm (CNA).- A former high-ranking officer with the KGB claims that the Kremlin and the Russian intelligence agency in the 1960s were set on executing a smear campaign against the Catholic Church, and the main target was Pope Pius XII.

In a recent issue of the National Review Online, Lt. General Ion Mihai Pacepa, who eventually defected from the former Soviet bloc, recounts how the KGB and the Kremlin designed the deliberate campaign to portray the Pius XII “as a coldhearted Nazi sympathizer.”

“In February 1960, Nikita Khrushchev approved a super-secret plan for destroying the Vatican’s moral authority in Western Europe,” writes Pacepa. “Eugenio Pacelli, by then Pope Pius XII, was selected as the KGB’s main target, its incarnation of evil, because he had departed this world in 1958. ‘Dead men cannot defend themselves’ was the KGB’s latest slogan.”

The code name for this operation against Pope Pius XII was “Seat-12.”

The KGB used the fact that Archbishop Pacelli had served as the papal nuncio in Munich and Berlin when the Nazis were beginning their bid for power against him. “The KGB wanted to depict him as an anti-Semite who had encouraged Hitler’s Holocaust,” says Pacepa.

To do this, the KGB wanted some original Vatican documents to “slightly modify”. So they called in Pacepa, who was working for the Romanian intelligence service.

Pacepa says he became the Romanian point man. He was authorized to falsely inform the Vatican that Romania was ready to restore its broken relations with the Holy See, in exchange for access to its archives — in order to find historical roots that would help the Romanian government publicly justify its change of heart toward the Holy See — and a one-billion-dollar, interest-free loan for 25 years.

Between 1960 and 1962, the Romanian spy sent hundreds of archival documents connected in any way with Pope Pius XII to the KGB. Pacepa says none of the documents were incriminating in themselves, but they were sent to the KGB in any case.

The KGB used these documents to produce a powerful play attacking Pope Pius XII, entitled The Deputy. It eventually saw the stage in Germany in 1963, under the title The Deputy, a Christian Tragedy. It proposed that Pius XII had supported Hitler and encouraged him to go ahead with the Jewish Holocaust. The German director claimed to have 40 pages of documentation attached to the script that would support the thesis of the play.

The play ran in New York in 1964 and was translated into 20 languages. The play then led to a flurry of books and articles, some accusing and some defending the pontiff.

“Today, many people who have never heard of The Deputy are sincerely convinced that Pius XII was a cold and evil man who hated the Jews and helped Hitler do away with them,” Pacepa writes in the National Review Online. “As KGB chairman Yury Andropov, the unparalleled master of Soviet deception, used to tell me, people are more ready to believe smut than holiness.”

Pacepa says the truth has finally begun to emerge with the canonization process of Pius XII, which was opened by Pope John Paul II.

“Witnesses from all over the world have compellingly proved that Pius XII was an enemy, not a friend, of Hitler,” says Pacepa.

He also refers to the book The Myth of Hitler’s Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews From the Nazis, by David G. Dalin, which has compiled further proof of Archbishop Pacelli’s friendship for the Jews.

“At the start of World War II, Pope Pius XII’s first encyclical was so anti-Hitler that the Royal Air Force and the French air force dropped 88,000 copies of it over Germany,” he concludes.

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Cardinal Bertone emphasizes the efforts of Pope Pius XII to save Jews during the Holocaust


Vatican City, Jan 25, 2007 / 04:06 pm (CNA).- During the presentation of a new book chronicling the “anonymous heroes” who worked against the Holocaust during World War II, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, recalled the exemplary role of Pope Pius XII in the fight against the Nazi’s and in the effort to help those in need, especially the Jews.
 
According to Vatican Radio the Cardinal said on Wednesday that independent historical research has now proven that Pope Pius and those around him sought to help all who were in need during the war.

"The story of the 20th century Catholic Church ran into an unprecedented tragedy with the extermination of the Jewish people, a tragedy which confronted all of Europe with questions about its religious and human values," said Cardinal Bertone during the presentation of Martin Gilbert’s book, "The Just: The unknown heroes of the Holocaust."
 
Cardinal Bertone explained that "the story of ‘The Just’ is the story of a chain of goodness that has crossed humanity regardless of religions, even at the risk of losing one’s own life and those of their relatives."

The protectors of Jews during Nazism, stated the Prelate, developed a "peaceful and silent war against the forces of evil and against the prejudices of their environment."
 
In this war, indicated the Vatican Secretary of state, "the Catholic Church had a prominent role:  The story of “The Just” is intertwined with that of Pius XII and is a story that ends the controversies about a supposed papal 'collaboration (with Nazis)' or anti-Semitism."

The book clearly proves, said Cardinal Bertone, "a clear attitude of Pius XII to help in every possible way the pursued Jews;" and even more, it was precisely the in the "continuation of the guidelines of Pius XII, the Holy See sought, not only to organize the search for the scattered, but also to coordinate the efforts in favor of the victims, thus giving example to the faithful as to how they should help," concluded the Cardinal.

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Archival document reveals Pope Pius XII’s support for Jewish people


Rome, Oct 27, 2006 / 12:00 am (CNA).- A recently uncovered archival document demonstrates Pope Pius XII’s high esteem and support for the Jewish people during the Second World War.

The uncovered document provides further evidence against the notion that Pope Pius XII was an anti-Semite and did nothing to help the Jews during World War II.

Monthly magazine, Inside the Vatican, reported on the document, which is an article that was published in The Palestine Post, (now The Jerusalem Post), on April 28, 1944. The article was written as a first-hand account by an anonymous Jewish author in wartime Palestine.

It describes a meeting between Pope Pius XII and the anonymous author, a young German Jew, in 1941 at the Vatican. The young man had gone seeking help for Jews who were being held in an Italian Fascist internment camp.

After listening to the young man and asking him to follow up with a letter to the Secretary of State who was dealing with the matter, Pius told him twice in front of a large group, which included German soldiers: “Be proud to be a Jew.”

The document was uncovered by William Doino, a longtime contributor to Inside the Vatican and the author of an 80,000-word annotated bibliography on Pope Pius XII, titled “The Pius War: Responses to the Critics of Pius XII". Doino found the article in archives maintained by Tel Aviv University.

"The testimony has apparently been forgotten, because, as far as I know, no leading Holocaust authority or biographer of Pius XII has ever cited it,” Doino was reported as saying.

According to the article, the Pope had told the young Jewish man: "You have done well to come to me and tell me this. I have heard about it before. Come back tomorrow with a written report and give it to the Secretary of State who is dealing with the question. But now for you, my son. You are a young Jew. I know what that means and I hope you will always be proud to be a Jew!"

Pius then raised his voice so that everyone in the hall - including the German soldiers - could hear him. "My son, whether you are worthier than others only the Lord knows, but believe me, you are at least as worthy as every other human being that lives on our earth! And now, my Jewish friend, go with the protection of the Lord, and never forget, you must always be proud to be a Jew!"

"For Pius XII to make this statement to a German Jew, in 1941, in private, would have been remarkable enough," Doino told Inside the Vatican. "That he did it in public, with his voice raised so that 'everybody in the hall' could 'hear it clearly,' in front of German soldiers, as well as cardinals, bishops, and other high dignitaries of the Vatican government, is more astonishing still.”

“It doesn't merely reveal Pius XII's kindness and Christian compassion; he goes well beyond that and affirms the young man's Jewishness, the very core and dignity of his being," Doino said.

Doino will be contributing a full commentary on his findings in an upcoming publication of Inside the Vatican.

For Doino's initial article and the full text of The Palestine Post article see this link to Inside the Vatican.

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Newly-opened Vatican archives demonstrate a future Pius XII with no love for Nazis


Rome, Sep 21, 2006 / 12:00 am (CNA).- Documents emerging from the Vatican's archives demonstrate that Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII, defended anti-Nazi clergy and censored priests who expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler, a German historian said Wednesday.
 
German church historian Hubert Wolf told The Associated Press that the recorded minutes of Vatican meetings held in the late 1930s show that the ailing Pope Pius XI greatly relied on Cardinal Pacelli, then Secretary of State, to enforce his Pontificate's stance against Nazism and Fascism.
 
"The Pope would just make a blessing and say 'our secretary of state will find a solution'," Wolf told the AP about what he saw in the first few documents he had seen among the millions opened up by the Vatican on Monday.
 
The archives, which span from 1922 to 1939, may offer some answers into the controversy surrounding the cardinal who later became Pope, and who has been accused by some historians of failing to do enough to protect Jews during the Holocaust. The Vatican has insisted Pius XII used discreet diplomacy that saved thousands of Jews.
 
Wolf also saw documents relating to the strong anti-Nazi statements Chicago’s Cardinal George Mundelein made in 1937.  The documents showed a flurry of discussion between the Pope, Cardinal Pacelli and 10 other cardinals as to how the Vatican should respond to the protests of Hitler’s administration.  The Vatican’s communications centered on whether the Vatican should blame the U.S. cardinal or exonerate him.  It was Cardinal Pacelli, who to the dismay of the Nazis was successful in pushing for a reply to German authorities that defended Cardinal Mundelein, saying he had simply exercised freedom of speech within his diocese.
 
The Vatican archive also includes extensive documents regarding Cardinal Theodor Innitzer of Vienna’s 1938 endorsement of the German annexation of Austria. Cardinal Pacelli reportedly responded to this situation with harsh communications, ordering Cardinal Innitzer to report to Rome. The meeting in Rome resulted in a retraction of the pro-Nazi statement.

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Progress in Pius XII’s cause for beatification

Vatican City, Feb 7, 2005 / 12:00 am (CNA).- In an interview with the Italian news agency APCOM, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, said the beatification process for Pope Pius XII “is proceeding without problems.” The Portuguese cardinal said that in March 2005 a first meeting would take place of the committee of historians charged with examining the massive amount of material gathered during the years of preparation for the cause.

The historical review will be followed by theological reviews and later, by reviews by the committee of cardinals.

“The cause of Pope Pacelli continues ahead without problems and has never been stopped, despite the controversy of these days,” the cardinal told APCOM.

“As everyone knows, these are news controversies that have nothing to do with the main work of research,” which is about serious historical study of the complex period in question, the cardinal said.

Father Peter Gumpel, one of the most renowned experts on Pius XII and promoter of the cause, told Italian reporters that “the beatification process is proceeding normally and progressing.”

“It is not true that the process has been slowed down or stopped” because of recent accusations against Pius XII in the Italian media, which have been quickly refuted by historians.  “They are absurd reports,” said Father Gumpel.

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Martyrdom would have been too easy for Pius XII, says Italian professor


Rome, Jan 28, 2005 / 12:00 am (CNA).- Pope Pius XII was a heroic leader, who kept the Church intact and saved the lives of many with his wise decisions during World War II, says an Italian professor and specialist in religious geopolitics. As the debate rages on in some Jewish and Christian camps about whether the wartime Pope should be beatified, University of Florence professor Pietro De Marco says Pius XII would be “a lofty model of charismatic responsibility and rational rigor” if the Church moved ahead with the beatification.

Critics have accused Pope Pius XII of not having done enough to stop the arrest, torture and extermination of the Jews and others targeted by the Nazis during World War II. The Vatican is expected to begin reviewing documents for the former Pope’s cause for the sainthood this spring.

De Marco, who is also a professor at the Theological Faculty of Central Italy, shares his analysis of Pius’s pontificate in his article “Towards an Evaluation of Pius XII,” published by http://www.chiesa.espressonline.it/index.jsp?eng=y

Pius XII “did what his conscience told him,” writes De Marco. “And it was the conscience of a pope, [who was] responsible for the universal Church and for the spiritual and, at that moment, even physical health of many,” he underlines.

“From the safety of his position between spiritual guide and head of state, he worked in practical ways for the good of many, and to an enormous extent, I believe,” he writes.

“It was the pope’s impenetrable brilliance and his capacity as a leader that stopped Hitler at the gates of Vatican City,” De Marco states.

The professor speculates that Hitler was probably affected by Pope Pius XII’s “extraordinary degree of political-religious charisma, and by the fear that laying hands on the pontiff would have had a delegitimizing, profaning effect upon him.

“In short, the only foundation and the only arena of political action that remained for Pius XII in the face of Hitler was his person, as the ‘Pope's body,’ and his charisma of authority,” De Marco offers. “He wanted these to remain free and operative, and he kept them so for as long as he could.”

This, De Marco believes, “saved the lives of many.”

De Marco writes that it would be too simple to state that the Pope should have acted and spoken, even at the risk of martyrdom.

“Martyrdom would have been only a liberation from the burdens of office, from the daily exercise of charisma,” De Marco says.

“In Pius XII, therefore, there is manifested the heroism of the one who works under extreme responsibility, in the exceptional situation,” he states. “It is the sanctity of the rock, the marvelous Catholic sanctity that flows from decisive action, and not from homilies.

“The miracle of Pius XII is that of the house built upon the rock (Mt. 7:24), which he kept intact in silence – and by virtue of silence – and which was thereby capable of providing shelter and protection in a place that words would have destroyed,” he concludes.

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New York Times fails to print story on Hitler’s plot to kidnap Pius XII

New York, Jan 19, 2005 / 12:00 am (CNA).- Catholic League president William Donohue issued a statement yesterday, questioning the journalistic integrity of the New York Times. He noted that the daily was quick to run articles slamming Pope Pius XII as an alleged pro-Nazi supporter.

However, it failed to publish a subsequent article that hit the press, stating that Adolf Hitler viewed the wartime Pope as “an obstacle to his plan for global domination” and ordered his kidnapping, said Donohue.

“Though the wire services and many major newspapers at home and abroad carried the story, readers of the New York Times have yet to read about Hitler’s plot,” said Donohue.

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Former U.S. wartime diplomat expects Pius XII to be made a saint


Washington DC, Jan 18, 2005 / 12:00 am (CNA).- A key U.S. diplomat, who served during Pope Pius XII’s pontificate, states in his revealing memoirs that he expects the pontiff to be eventually made a saint. The book offers a first-hand account and convincing evidence that the accusations railed against Pope Pius XII as a “pro-Nazi Pope” are unfounded.

“Inside the Vatican of Pius XII: The Memoir of an American Diplomat During World War II” is the memoir of Harold Tittmann, Jr., who was chief assistant to Myron Taylor, Franklin Roosevelt’s personal representative to the Vatican, between 1940 and 1946.

Tittmann, now deceased, has often been quoted in the case against Pius XII, but his memoir depicts a totally different picture of the wartime Pope, say literary analysts William Doino, Jr. and Joseph Bottum in a book review. Their full book review was published in First Things.

Doino and Bottum state: “These memoirs may be the most important document to be published on Pius XII in over 20 years. And they prove to be, far from an indictment, an overwhelming defense of the Pope and the Catholic Church.”

In his memoirs, the Episcopalian and World War I veteran insisted that Pius XII “detested the Nazi ideology and everything it stood for.” He also credited the Pope for his diplomatic skills, decisive nature and ability “to see both sides of a question.”

The 224-page book reveals that Pope Pius XII’s actions during the war were influenced by the anti-Nazi resistance, which advised him not to make any public statements specifically condemning the Nazis for fear of greater violence against the people.

For example, soon after World War II began, Pope Pius XII had authorized Vatican Radio to condemn Nazi war crimes against Catholics and Jews in Poland, wrote Tittmann. However, “the Polish bishops hastened to notify the Vatican that after each broadcast …, the various local populations suffered ‘terrible’ reprisals,” he said. As a result, such broadcasts were discontinued.

“Personally, I cannot help but feel that the Holy Father chose the better path by not speaking out and thereby saved many lives,” wrote Tittmann. “Who can say what the Nazis would have done in their ruthless furor had they been further inflamed by public denunciations coming from the Holy See?”

Tittmann witnessed to the Vatican network that provided assistance to persecuted Jews and Pius XII’s “personal and secret account,” in a U.S. bank, which he “used exclusively for charitable purposes” during the war.

Tittmann also stated that Allied diplomats followed Cardinal Maglione’s advice and destroyed “all documents that might possibly be of use to the enemy.”

As a result, say the book reviewers, “the many official diplomatic documents, which survive the war years, represent merely a fraction of Pius XII’s activities.”

“I do not for one moment overlook his great spiritual qualities,” wrote Tittmann of Pius XII. “Whether near him or away from him, one was always conscious of them. … Very possibly the future will rate him a saint.”

“Inside the Vatican of Pius XII: The Memoir of an American Diplomat During World War II” is priced at $13.95.

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Truth about wartime document revealed
 shows Pius XII supported Jewish children’s return to families


New York, Jan 17, 2005 / 12:00 am (CNA).- Catholic League president William Donohue says critics of Pope Pius XII are looking “rather foolish” after the truth about a document, slamming the wartime Pope, was revealed late last week.

The New York Times ran a story Jan. 9, citing an Italian newspaper, which claimed to have uncovered a 1946 letter implicating Pope Pius XII in a scheme not to return Jewish children, who were cared for by Catholics during the Holocaust, to their parents after the war.

The newspaper article claimed that Pope Pius XII approved the unsigned letter.

However, Donohue pointed out in a press release that Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli of Il Giornale discovered that the letter never originated at the Holy See. In fact, he found that the text bears the seal of the apostolic nunciature of France.

Most importantly, the letter says the exact opposite of what was originally claimed.

Tornielli discovered that the letter states that Jewish children, who were cared for by Catholic families or institutions during the war, should be returned to their original families. In the event that Jewish organizations, and not families, sought custody of the children it was to be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Donohue added that Zenit, the international news agency that covers the Vatican, “learned that the origins of the document extend to a letter written in 1946 by Isaac Herzog, chief rabbi of Jerusalem, to Pius XII.

“In it, (Rabbi) Herzog thanked the Pope for helping Jews during the Holocaust and for sheltering ‘thousands of children who were hidden in Catholic institutions.’ He then requested that these children be returned to their original families,” said Donohue.

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"Be Proud to Be a Jew!" Pius XII Told Visitor in '41

Benedict XV acknowledged Pacelli's work by consecrating him a bishop on May 13, 1917. As soon as World War II began in 1939, Pius XII re-established the Vatican Information Office.

Q: What was it that inspired 20 million people to write to the Vatican to locate their missing loved ones? Why did they put so much confidence in the Church?

Sister Marchione: Regardless of race or religion people throughout the world contacted the Holy Father for help. Some asked for his blessing, others for material assistance.

Yes, research in the Vatican Secret Archives revealed that there are 20 million documents; not only the original letters requesting help for prisoners of war, but copies of the responses and all other pertinent information recorded on file cards. Here one finds information on prisoners of war with the first name, surname, date of birth, parents, profession, rank, and domicile of each individual.

Of course, research was relatively simple if the addressee was a prisoner, an internee, or an exiled person who sent news to his family; but it was a difficult task when relatives had received no news from the addressee for a month or a year or more. At times, the search for information was etched in desperation. Hundreds of volunteers helped Pius XII in the Vatican Information Office.

Desperately seeking help, families from every social class wrote to Pius XII. Letters were written with little formality but much hope.

I love this undated letter, number 00425091, from a child: "Dear Pope, I am the little girl who sent you Christmas greetings last year. Now I am sending you greetings for this Christmas. But I want news about my uncle, my mother's brother, Tonino Mangano, who is in America on Avenue Gremponti -- Greenpoint Avenue -- Brooklyn, and I want to know how he is and send him many kisses. I pray every evening that all my uncles come home, and also that Jesus will bless you."

Nor did non-Catholics hesitate to ask for assistance. "I'm not a believer, but I'm turning to you, Mr. Pope," one letter began. To help in this mission, Vatican Radio broadcast 1.2 million shortwave messages asking for news about missing individuals.

The papacy rescued Jews by channeling money to those in need, issuing countless baptismal certificates for their protection, negotiating with Latin American countries to grant them visas, and keeping in touch with their relatives through the Vatican Information Office. News of Pius XII's acts of charity spread.

Nuncios, apostolic delegates, bishops, pastors, and priests offered their assistance and comfort to prisoners, to internees, to families. The Vatican magazine, Ecclesia -- a collection of articles concerning the activities of the Vatican Information Office during World War II -- was published weekly from September 1942 to December 1945.

Incidentally, in this magazine I found photographs of the Religious Teachers of St. Lucy Filippini who had joined the volunteers. They were answering letters addressed to the Holy Father. This confirms the response of our superior general who stated in an interview printed in a book, "The Church and the War," that each day the sisters carried their typewriters to the Vatican.

Q: Pius XII has been accused of being indifferent to the sufferings of the victims of the Nazis. Your book tells a very different story. How did so much misinformation come about?

Sister Marchione: Ignorance of the historical truth is the only answer. How can anyone accuse Pius XII of indifference? My book reveals the truth and proves that Pius XII was not indifferent to the sufferings of the victims of the Nazis.

These [wartime] letters [to the Vatican] express the faith and confidence of families with regard to their loved ones who were prisoners of war or missing in action. Some beg for his blessing, confide in him, ask for food, clothing and financial assistance.

There are many very personal letters: An invalid father begs to see his son before he dies; a young mother thanks His Holiness for clothes she received for her children; a little child asks that her father be present for her first holy Communion; the father of nine children, with the four oldest serving in the army, implores Pius XII's help in a letter dated May 21, 1943: "You can perform a miracle. I know that the other three boys must still make their contribution toward victory; but at least try to have Mario, my son who is a prisoner, come back to us."

Writing in the name of a group of prisoners, one soldier begged His Holiness to contact their families in a letter dated November 22, 1943: "For the past several years we have been away from our country, from our family, from our home. We recall the smile of a mother, the embrace of a father, the kiss of a brother. Some of us long to see a son, whom we have not yet seen; men subjected to all the elements of bad weather dream of an oasis, a little green, a little rest in the midst of so much battle, so much blood, so much chaos, so much death. A funereal shadow envelops humanity, and we are fighting without hope in the midst of so much ruin and devastation."

The 100 letters I included are addressed to Pius XII. He read them and, at times, noted what the response should be in his own handwriting. They are among the 20 million in the Vatican Secret Archives.

Personally and through his representatives, Pius XII employed all the means at his disposal to save Jews and other refugees during World War II.

It should be noted that in every country, the Catholic Church had apostolic delegates who were asked to visit hospitals, prisons and concentration camps in order to report to the Vatican.

As a moral leader and a diplomat, Pius XII was forced to limit his words; he privately took action and, despite insurmountable obstacles, saved hundreds of thousands of Jews from the gas chambers.

Q: Any comments on the canonization process of Pius XII?

Sister Marchione: I understand that the canonization process is proceeding rapidly. Ever since the death of Pius XII, every Pope from John XXIII to Benedict XVI noted his sanctity.

In fact, in his first Christmas message, John XXIII called his predecessor: "Supreme doctor, light of holy mother Church, lover of the divine law."

Q: What do we have to learn from this Pope?

Sister Marchione: Thousands of available documents in the Vatican Secret Archives record the humanitarian work of the Holy See. Pius XII directed the greatest rescue program in the history of the Catholic Church and served as a beacon of hope throughout his pontificate, 1939-1958.

He knew that explicit condemnations would have sabotaged rescue operations and provoked more brutal reprisals. With "diplomacy" rather than "confrontation" he saved hundreds of thousands of Jews and Christians from death in the concentration camps.

He was a moral hero: a man solicitous on behalf of Jews and Gentiles alike who worked tirelessly for peace. Among his many prayers, he wrote "Ten Commandments for Peace." His was a crusade of charity!

The documentation will show convincingly that during the period leading up to, during, and after the Second World War, the Vatican used its moral prestige, limited funds, and extraordinary network of contacts to work consistently for the protection of human life and human dignity.

The humanitarian work of the Vatican was made known in the very words of a Nazi leader, Adolf Eichmann, who was condemned at the Nuremberg Trials. In his memoirs, he clearly states that the Vatican "vigorously protested the arrest of Jews, requesting the interruption of such action; to the contrary, the Pope would denounce it publicly."

Q: What is it about Pius XII that inspires such interest on your part?

Sister Marchione: Undoubtedly my meeting with Pius XII in 1957. I was 17 years old when he became Pope on March 2, 1939. I was a young nun whose order had special connection with the papacy from 1707, when the then Pope Clement XI called our sisters to open schools in Rome.

Like most Catholics of my generation, I revered the new Pope whom everyone described as the "Pope of Peace." My first trip to Italy was in May 1957, as a Columbia University Garibaldi Scholar. Accompanied by his niece, Elena Pacelli, I had the opportunity to meet Pius XII in the Basilica of St. Peter.

His piercing eyes penetrated my soul as we chatted informally. We spoke about my research on the poet Clemente Rebora, about the sisters in the USA, about my family.

I still see this tall, dignified, and ascetic figure, along with his brilliant glance, his loving smile, and animated gestures. He had a magnetic personality full of intelligence and nobility of spirit. When I think of Pius XII, I feel inspired.

Q: What are you doing now to promote the truth about Pius XII?

Sister Marchione: As we approach the 50th anniversary of the death of Pius XII, October 9, 1958, I have asked Yad Vashem to posthumously recognize and honor him as "Righteous among the nations."

He risked his own life to save Jews during the Nazi occupation of Rome. Jews firmly believe in justice and truth. I would also like Yad Vashem to correct the statement below the portrait of Pope Pius XII which is contrary to the truth and is unjust. It must be repudiated.

It says: "Pius XII's reaction toward the killing of Jews during the period of the Holocaust is controversial. In 1933, as the Vatican secretary of state, in order to maintain the rights of the Church in Germany, he signed a concordat with the Nazi regime even at the price of recognizing the racist Nazi regime. When he was elected Pope in 1939, he put aside an encyclical against racism and anti-Semitism prepared by his predecessor."

This statement is false. Pius XII wrote his own encyclical, "Summi Pontificatus," which did deal with racism.

The statement continues: "Although reports about the assassination of Jews reached the Vatican, the Pope did not protest either by speaking out or in writing."

This is not true. Whenever Pius XII spoke out, there was immediate retaliation by the Nazis. There were more than 60 protests!

The text in Yad Vashem says: "In December 1942, he did not participate in the condemnation by members of the allies regarding the killing of Jews. Even when the Jews were being deported from Rome to Auschwitz, the Pope did not intervene."

The Pope did indeed intervene. After that first day, the SS were ordered to stop the deportation of the Jews in Rome.

It adds: "He maintained a neutral position except toward the end of the war when he appealed on behalf of the government of Hungary and of Slovakia. His silence and the absence of directives obliged the clergy in Europe to decide independently how they should behave toward the persecuted Jews."

This is not true. Members of the Church were ordered to protect all refugees and Jews.

If the statement is corrected and Pius XII is declared a "Righteous Gentile" by Yad Vashem in Israel, it would mean that finally the Jews recognize the good that was done by Pius XII in saving hundreds of thousands of Jews as the Jews themselves have testified.

In his introduction to the Eichmann trial, Israeli Attorney General Gideon Hausner stated on April 17, 1961, "that the Pope himself intervened personally in support of the Jews arrested in Rome."

Some historians continue to ignore the testimony of countless contemporary witnesses. Can historians prove that the charges against Pius XII are false? Truth and justice demand a re-evaluation of the attacks against Pope Pius XII claiming "silence," "moral culpability," or "anti-Semitism." Did Hitler want to kidnap the Pope? The answer is, "Yes."

However, Yad Vashem requires two testimonials from people of Jewish descent who can testify that they were saved, or that they knew Jews -- or heard about Jews -- who were saved by the Pope. Their testimony must be notarized. Perhaps friends of ZENIT will be able to help locate these testimonials.

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Pius XI and Eugenio Pacelli Revealed
Interview with Professor Matteo Luigi Napolitano

ROME, OCT. 2, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The opening of Vatican Secret Archives from the pontificate of Pope Pius XI may help historians to reevaluate the years preceding World War II.

The archives, opened Sept. 18, include millions of letters relating to the years 1922-1939, covering events such as the Catholic Church's persecution in Mexico and Spain, the advent of Fascism and Nazism, and the spread of Communism in Europe.

In this interview with ZENIT, Matteo Luigi Napolitano, associate professor at the University of Molise, comments on the first steps of analyzing the documents found in the archives.

Napolitano is also a delegate of the Pontifical Commission of Historical Sciences to the International Commission for the History of World War II.

Q: From the historical point of view, of what importance is the opening of the Vatican Archives on the period of Pius XI's pontificate?

Napolitano: The opening of the archives, in the greatest possible number, is in general the great desire of historians. In particular, the Holy See's international relations can also be documented based on different Vatican archives.

It is the case with Pius XI's pontificate: The valuable work carried out by experts of Italy's Foreign Ministry, in the '80s, under the guidance of professor Pietro Pastorelli, has enabled us to have access to an enormous quantity of material relative to the relationship between the Holy See and Fascist Italy.

The work of similar commissions abroad and the publication of diplomatic collections, has enhanced our knowledge of many other aspects of Pius XI's diplomacy.

But the opening of the papers of the Vatican Secret Archive represents an enormous enrichment, not only because of its own importance, which needs no explanation, but also because the internal dynamics of the Holy See can be understood, especially in great moments of change in the contemporary world in which the Vatican was involved.

Q: What do the documents say about Hitler's visit to Rome on May 2, 1938? How did the Holy See conduct itself?

Napolitano: From Father Giovanni Sale's research in the archives opened in 2003, one deduces that neither Pius XI nor Pius XII were "Hitler's Popes." The papers now available enlarge the horizon on Pius XI's pontificate and specify two aspects that were already known for a long time.

Documented, in the first place, is the Vatican's criticism of a passive Mussolini, imitator of Hitler.

Recorded, in the second place, is the concern given the crushing of Italy because of German politics, not only in regard to the racial issue, but more broadly in choosing an alignment fraught with dangerous consequences.

In this connection, Hitler's visit on May 2, 1939 to which you allude, is symptomatic.

The Vatican did not approve of having the German chancellor in Rome.

The Pope's departure for Castel Gandolfo and his allusion to the other cross that was rising over Rome, which was not Christ's, is only an example of a larger theme of unfolding events, such as the controversy over street decorations, over the route Hitler should follow, the instructions to the Italian episcopate and religious not to participate in manifestations of homage to Hitler, and the fear that the Axis would become an alliance.

But also recorded was the Fascists' conviction that the Vatican's anti-Nazi posture not only compromised the attempts to moderate Nazi anger against the German Church, but ended ultimately by favoring the "popular fronts," and, specifically, the "Bolsheviks" and French "Masons" with whose position the Holy See seemed to be in agreement.

Q: What is your assessment of what the documents say about Pius XII?

Napolitano: The proclivities to controversy might now be tempted to launch accusations, according to which the Vatican had a "Hitler's Pope" and a "Mussolini's Pope" and, perhaps, also a "Franco's Pope."

But controversy and ignorance sometimes are related. This is demonstrated in a Sept. 23 article by John Cornwell -- author of the controversial book "Hitler's Pope" -- in the British review The Tablet, in which he writes that the new opening of the Vatican Archives of the period 1922-1939 "is an important event for all researchers interested in the Holy See's relations with Nazi Germany."

Cornwell demonstrates consequently that he is unaware that the Vatican documents on the period 1922-1939 relating to German-Vatican relations were opened in February of 2003. This is an example of a supposed "expert" who is three years behind in regard to history!

To return to more serious matters, Pius XI's pontificate was certainly great, including the way he addressed international affairs, along with his principal collaborator, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pius XII.

There are already -- and others will come -- proofs of the reservations of Pius XI and Cardinal Pacelli vis-à-vis exasperated nationalist phenomena such as Hitlerism. I would not be surprised also to find documentary proofs that deny the old theory that the Vatican was soft toward Nazism and inflexible with Communism.

Thanks to some documents, one can now perceive, for example, the Fascists' judgment on Pius XI: Mussolini always saw the Pope as too aligned against Nazi Germany and too tolerant toward the Bolsheviks. But a more detailed judgment will only be possible when the examination of existing documentation is complete.

Q: What was the relationship like between Pius XI and his secretary of state, Cardinal Pacelli?

Napolitano: I would limit myself for now to verify what the other archives say. In the archive of Italy's Foreign Ministry there is a profile of possible "papables" -- papal candidates -- prepared by Monsignor Enrico Pucci in anticipation of the conclave and given -- perhaps -- to the Italian ambassador in the Vatican, Pignatti Morano de Custoza.

In the profile relating to the future Pius XII, the following is read: "Instead, it seems increasingly clear that the candidate preferred by Pius XI for an eventual succession is Cardinal Pacelli. Pius XI, especially recently, has never missed an occasion to manifest, even in public addresses, the qualities of his immediate collaborator and of showing him his predilection."

The document was published by professor Mario Casella in 2000. The Vatican documents -- and I am thinking especially of the "Diary" of the audiences written by Pacelli -- will undoubtedly confirm this privileged relationship between the Pope and his closest collaborator.

Beyond personal differences, therefore, neither Pius XI nor his successor were Hitler's or Mussolini's Popes.

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The Myth of Hitler's Pope:
                             How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews From the Nazis
by David G. Dalin  (Regnery, 209 pages, $27.95)
                           
July/August 2006 issue of The American Spectator.

AS A HISTORIAN OF THE HOLOCAUST, I frequently receive requests from Jewish educators, seeking support for grant applications for their Holocaust programs. Almost all these applications include a sentence about how the new program will inform students that the Pope, and the Vatican, "did nothing" during the Holocaust to help Jews.

The most recent such portrayal reached me while I was writing this review. It is part of a proposal to a major Jewish philanthropic organization, and contains the sentence: "Also discusses the role of the Vatican and the rabidly anti-Semitic Pope Pius XII, who were privy to information regarding the heinous crimes being committed against the Jews, and their indifferent response."

That the Pope and the Vatican were either silent bystanders, or even active collaborators in Hitler's diabolical plan -- and "rabidly anti-Semitic," as stated above -- has become something of a truism in Jewish educational circles, and a powerful, emotional assertion made by American-Jewish writers, lecturers, and educators.

David G. Dalin, professor of history and political science at Ave Maria University, Naples, Florida -- and an ordained rabbi -- demonstrates in his recent book, The Myth of Hitler's Pope, that this is a false and distorted portrayal. He also shows its long pedigree, starting more than 40 years ago, in 1963, with Rolf Hochhuth's play The Deputy. Although that play was fiction, it was widely regarded as based on fact in its strident assertion of the moral cowardice and silence of Eugenio Pacelli, who in 1939 became Pope as Pius XII.

Since Hochhuth's play, this theme has become commonplace. John Cornwell, a Roman Catholic, in his book Hitler's Pope (1999) blamed Pius XII not only for silence, but for active collaboration with the Nazi regime. Jewish writers have understandably been shocked by the reiterated assertion of papal refusal to help Jews at their time of greatest need. Daniel Goldhagen's book A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and Its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair (2002) portrays Pius XII as part of a wider Roman Catholic anti-Semitic tradition that permeated the Church's teachings and was integral -- in Goldhagen's words -- to the very "genesis of the Holocaust."

Dalin takes issue with these critics of Pius XII. Building on earlier documented defenses of Pius XII, including Ronald J. Rychlak's detailed study Hitler, the War, and the Pope (2000), he builds a powerful case for Pius XII, suggesting that the desire of Pope John Paul II to canonize Pius need not have been offensive -- or insensitive -- to Jews, as it was widely portrayed.

THE HISTORICAL RECORD is clear. There can be no minimizing the horrors of those manifestations of Christian anti-Semitism that were a curse in the story of Nazi-dominated Europe. The Polish villagers who murdered their neighbors in Jedwabne had been churchgoers all their lives. The Roman Catholic priests who, on many documented occasions, turned their flocks against the Jews throughout Eastern Europe were ordained in the rites of Rome. The Slovak leader, Father Jozef Tiso, who asked the Germans to deport his Jews to German-occupied Poland and to slave labor -- and death -- was an ordained priest.

But, as I myself pointed out in my book The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust (2003), there was another side to this coin. In France, leaders of the Roman Catholic clergy were outspoken in their condemnation of the deportations. In Italy, churchmen across the whole spectrum of Roman Catholicism, including leading Jesuits, saved Jews from deportation.

Many hundreds of Polish priests and nuns are among more than 5,000 Catholic Poles who have been recognized by the state of Israel for their courage in saving Jews.

Where does this leave Pope Pius XII, the object of so much published hostility, and the main figure in Dalin's short but powerful book? Can Pius really merit the words of Israel's then Foreign Minister, Golda Meir (later Prime Minister of Israel), when she telegraphed to the Vatican on Pius's death in 1958: "When fearful martyrdom came to our people in the decade of Nazi terror, the voice of the Pope was raised for the victims. The life of our times was enriched by a voice speaking out on the great moral truths above the tumult of daily conflict. We mourn a great servant of peace."

Those who were in charge of that Nazi terror during the war years held this same view during the war itself. After Pius XII delivered his Christmas message in December 1942, the Reich Security Main Office, the German government department in Berlin responsible for the deportation of the Jews, informed its representatives, who were in charge of encouraging local leaders to permit their Jews to be deported: "In a manner never known before, the Pope has repudiated the National Socialist New European Order.... Here he is virtually accusing the German people of injustice to the Jews, and makes himself the mouthpiece of the Jewish war criminals."

This was stern condemnation by the Nazis of a man who is now condemned for the opposite failing. Yet nine months later, Pius XII was to upset the Nazis even more. After the German occupation of Rome and the northern part of Italy, when the SS determined to introduce the Final Solution in all areas of Italy under German military control, Pius and the Vatican took the lead in seeking to frustrate the deportation plan.

A MAIN OBJECT OF SS POLICY in Italy after the German occupation in 1943 was the deportation to Auschwitz of all Jews living in Rome. Margherita Marchione has told this story in Consensus and Controversy: Defending Pope Pius XII (2002). The roundup began without warning at eleven in the evening on October 15, 1943. Between then and one in the afternoon on October 16, one thousand of Rome's 6,000 Jews were arrested and taken to a deportation holding center, the Collegio Militare: their destination (although unknown at the time) was Auschwitz.

News of the start of the round-ups was brought personally to the Pope early on the morning of October 16 by an Italian Catholic princess, Enza Pignatelli Aragona Cortes, who had been alerted by a Jewish friend. Having received the princess early that morning, the Pope immediately instructed the Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Maglione, to protest to the German ambassador to the Vatican, Ernst von Weizsacker (a former German Deputy Foreign Minister).

Maglione did so that morning, making it clear to the ambassador that the deportation of Jews was offensive to the Pope. In urging Weizsacker "to try to save these innocent people," Maglione added: "It is sad for the Holy Father, sad beyond imagination, that here in Rome, under the very eyes of the Common Father, that so many people should suffer only because they belong to a specific race."

Following Maglione's appeal, Weizsacker gave orders for a halt to the arrests. To protect those who were thus still in their homes from a possible German reversal of the halt to the deportations, the Pope gave instructions for the Vatican to be opened to Rome's Jews, and for the convents and monasteries of Rome to provide hiding places, or provide false identification papers.

As a result of this papal initiative, in Rome a larger percentage of the Jews were saved than in any other city then under German occupation. Of the 5,715 Roman Jews listed by the Germans for deportation, 4,715 were given shelter in more than 150 Catholic institutions in the city; of these, 477 were given sanctuary within the confines of the Vatican itself.

In reporting on the Maglione-Weizsacker meeting to London two weeks later, the British ambassador noted: "Vatican intervention thus seems to have been effective in saving numbers of these unfortunate people." Of the thousand deportees of October 16, only ten survived. The remaining four-fifths of Rome's Jews were alive at liberation.

A footnote to these events: fifty-one years after Weizsacker's decisive intervention, his son Richard was the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany to visit Israel, and there to express his shame at what Germany had done to the Jews in the Nazi era.

AS THE GERMANS began deporting Jews from other parts of northern Italy, the Pope opened his summer estate at Castel Gandolfo to take in several thousand (women had their babies in the Pope's apartment) and authorized monasteries throughout the German-occupied areas of Italy to do likewise. As a result, while the Germans managed to seize and deport a further 7,000 Italian Jews to their deaths, 35,000 survived the war -- one of the highest ratios of those rescued of any country.

There was to be a further decisive papal rescue action after the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944. Under the leadership of the Pope's senior representative in Budapest, the Papal Nuncio Angelo Rotta, the diplomats of eight neutral countries represented in the Hungarian capital -- including the Swedish ambassador and his staff, prominent among them Per Anger and Raoul Wallenberg -- organized a city-wide rescue scheme.

Under Rotta's energetic lead, an "International Ghetto" was established in the northern section of the city, in which more than 40 safe houses were established, marked by the Vatican emblem, and other national emblems. Into these safe houses -- a series of tall, modern apartment buildings -- 25,000 Jews found refuge, and survived. Elsewhere in Budapest, Roman Catholic institutions hid several thousand more Jews in their cellars and attics.

The influence and authority of Pius XII was wide-ranging. In the port of Fiume, the Italian police chief, Giovanni Palatucci -- the nephew of an Italian bishop, Giuseppe Palatucci -- together with his uncle, saved 5,000 Jews from deportation during the German occupation of the port. They did so by providing the Jews with false identity papers, enabling them to gain safety in the bishop's diocese in southern Italy. For helping the Jews of Fiume, Giovanni Palatucci was arrested by the SS and sent to Dachau, where he was executed.

Pius XII took a direct part in sending money to support the Jewish refugees from Fiume. He also sent considerable sums of money to other rescuers of Jews in Italy, and to the French Capuchin monk, Father Pierre-Marie Benoit, from whose monastery in Marseille several thousand French Jews were smuggled across the borders of neutral Spain and Switzerland.

AMONG THE LEADING Roman Catholic clergymen who helped save Jews was Archbishop Giovanni Montini, the future Pope Paul VI. When the government of Israel asked him, in 1955, to accept an award for his rescue work during the Holocaust, Montini replied: "All I did was my duty. And besides I only acted upon orders from the Holy Father."

When the deportation of 80,000 Jews from Slovakia to Auschwitz began in March 1942, Pius authorized formal written protests by both the Vatican secretary of state and the papal representative in the Slovak capital, Bratislava.

When a second round of deportations began in Slovakia the following spring, Pius wrote a letter of protest to the Slovak government. Dated April 7, 1943, it was outspoken and unambiguous. "The Holy See has always entertained the firm hope," Pius wrote, that the Slovak government "would never proceed with the forcible removal of persons belonging to the Jewish race. It is, therefore, with great pain that the Holy See has learned of the continued transfers of such a nature from the territory of the republic."

That pain was "aggravated further," the Pope wrote in this same letter, since it appeared "that the Slovak Government intends to proceed with the total removal of the Jewish residents of Slovakia, not even sparing women and children. The Holy See would fail in its Divine Mandate if it did not deplore these measures, which gravely damage man in his natural right, mainly for the reason that these people belong to a certain race."

Six times the Pope appealed to the Slovak leader -- the Catholic priest Father Tiso -- to halt the deportations. After the sixth appeal, on April 7, 1943, the remaining planned deportations were halted.

On April 8, 1943, the day after his final protest to Father Tiso, Pius XII instructed the Vatican's representative in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, to take "all necessary steps" to support those Bulgarian Jews facing immediate deportation. From Istanbul, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli (later Pope John XXIII), a former Papal Nuncio in Bulgaria, and godfather to the king's sons, added his voice to that of Pius XII, urging the King of Bulgaria not to deport the Jews of his kingdom. Roncalli also signed transit visas for Palestine for several thousand Slovak Jewish refugees.

On learning of the plight of Jews in concentration camps in Romanian-occupied Transnistria, Angelo Roncalli contacted Pius XII, who interceded at once with the Romanian authorities, and authorized the dispatch of money to those in the camps. When, in 1957, the Israeli government sought to thank Cardinal Roncalli for his help, the Cardinal replied: "In all those painful matters I referred to the Holy See and afterwards I simply carried out the Pope's orders: first and foremost to save human lives."

Such is the historical record. It explains why Rabbi Dalin is so disturbed by the continuing assertions that Pius XII did nothing to help Jews, was an anti-Semite, and effectively acted as "Hitler's Pope."

AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THIS BOOK is the carefully constructed background to Pius XII's attitude to the Jews, going back to his early days as a young Vatican official. Indeed, from his schooldays, Eugenio Pacelli -- as he then was -- was friends with a Jewish student, Guido Mendes, later a distinguished Roman physician. As a result of this friendship, Pacelli was the first Pope to have shared a Sabbath dinner in his youth at a Jewish home. In 1915, then aged 39, he helped draft Pope Benedict XV's powerful papal denunciation of anti-Semitism in Poland, which insisted that the Christian law to love one another "must be observed and respected in the case of the children of Israel."

In 1919, as Papal Nuncio in Munich, Pacelli defended the Church against the ferocious onslaught of Communism, then -- as in Russia two years earlier -- spearheaded by individual Jews who had long since abandoned their religious faith. But anti-Communism did not make him pro-Nazi or anti-Semitic, as his critics claim. In May 1922, Pacelli warned the Jewish politician Walter Rathenau of an assassination plot by German anti-Semites. A month later, Rathenau was murdered. In November 1923, five days after Hitler's failed attempt to seize power in Munich, Pacelli wrote critically to the Vatican about the Nazi movement, and noted with approval the public defense of Munich's Jews by the city's Catholic archbishop.

In 1933, while serving as Cardinal Secretary of State -- the Vatican's Foreign Minister -- Pacelli negotiated the "Reich Concordat" with Hitler's Germany, determined to protect German Catholics from the anti-religious policies of the new regime. Dalin makes a convincing argument in favor of the Concordat as a protective measure, stressing that it was not a moral endorsement of Nazism. Indeed, from the outset of the anti-Jewish persecutions in Germany, Pacelli opposed them.

On April 4, 1933, three days after the one-day boycott of Jewish shops, Pacelli instructed the Papal Nuncio in Berlin to warn the regime against the persecution of German Jews, asking the nuncio to become actively involved on behalf of the Jews. Four months later he twice expressed to the British ambassador to the Vatican his "disgust and abhorrence" at the Nazi regime. The ambassador reported to the Foreign Office in London -- on August 19, 1933 -- that Pacelli "deplored the action of the German Government at home" including "their persecution of Jews."

In 1936 Pacelli visited the United States. One result of his mission, Dalin notes, was that, at President Roosevelt's personal request, he prevailed upon Father Charles Coughlin, the "radio priest," to end his anti-New Deal -- and also anti-Semitic -- broadcasts. While willing to meet Roosevelt, Pacelli never met Hitler. When, in a much-heralded gesture of friendship, Hitler visited Mussolini in Rome in 1938, Pacelli deliberately absented himself from the city, together with Pope Pius XI.

While Secretary of State, Pacelli made an astonishing 55 protests against Nazi policies, including, repeatedly, the "ideology of race." In 1938 Pacelli publicly endorsed and repeated the words of Pius XI, that "it is impossible for a Christian to take part in anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is inadmissible; spiritually we are all Semites."

So outspoken were Pacelli's criticisms that Hitler's regime lobbied against him, trying to prevent his becoming the successor to Pius XI. When he did become Pope, as Pius XII, in March 1939, Nazi Germany was the only government not to send a representative to his coronation.

IMMEDIATELY UPON BECOMING POPE, Pius XII responded to Mussolini's anti-Jewish legislation by appointing several Jewish scholars who had been dismissed from the university to positions inside the Vatican. Among them was the distinguished Jewish cartographer, Roberto Almagia, a professor at the University of Rome since 1915. On the day after his dismissal, Almagia was appointed director of the geography section of the Vatican library. While working there he completed an exceptional four-volume study of the Vatican's cartographic holdings.

Another dismissed Jewish scholar, Professor Giorgio Levi della Vida, a world authority on Islam, was also given a job in the Vatican library, cataloguing the Arabic manuscripts.

In his first encyclical as Pope, Pius XII specifically rejected Nazism and expressly mentioned the Jews, noting that in the Catholic Church there is "neither Gentile nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision." The head of the Gestapo, Heinrich Mueller, commented that the encyclical was "directed exclusively against Germany." So outspoken was it that the Royal Air Force and the French air force dropped 88,000 copies of it over Germany.

One strong piece of evidence that Dalin produces against the concept of "Hitler's Pope" is the audience granted by Pius XII in March 1940 to the German Foreign Minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, the only senior Nazi official to visit the Vatican during his papacy. After Ribbentrop rebuked the Pope for "siding" with the Allies, the Pope responded by reading from a long list of German atrocities and religious persecution against Christians and Jews, in Germany, and in Poland, which Germany had occupied six months earlier.

The New York Times, under the headline "JEWS' RIGHTS DEFENDED," wrote on March 14, 1940: "The Pontiff, in the burning words he spoke to Herr Ribbentrop about religious persecution, also came to the defense of the Jews in Germany and Poland."

DALIN DRAWS ATTNETION in this book to the man whom he regards as the missing personality in the story: Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, a position of influence in the Muslim world to which Hajj Amin had been appointed by the British in 1922. This senior Muslim prelate met Hitler several times during the war, called openly for the destruction of European Jewry, and intervened with Hitler to prevent rescue efforts.

Having been given an office in wartime Berlin, Hajj Amin mobilized political and military support for the Nazi regime. Traveling to German-occupied Yugoslavia, he helped raise a Muslim Waffen SS company, which turned its savage attentions against both Jews and Serbian Christians. In one of his many broadcasts from Germany to the Middle East, Hajj Amin said of the Jews: "They cannot mix with other nations but live, as parasites among the nations, suck out their blood, embezzle their property, corrupt their morals...." Hitler found the Mufti a useful tool.

In answer to Daniel Goldhagen's charge that the Roman Catholic Church remains a danger to the Jews today, Dalin writes: "It is radical Islam -- Hitler's overt ally in World War II -- not the Catholic Church, that threatens Jews today."

In his book Hitler's Pope, John Cornwell calls Pius XII the "most dangerous" cleric in modern history. Dalin feels that the Mufti is the one who deserves this title. As Dalin writes: "Hitler's mufti is truth. Hitler's pope is myth."

Professor Dalin's book is an essential contribution to our understanding of the reality of Pope Pius XII's support for Jews at their time of greatest danger. Hopefully, his account will replace the divisively harmful version of papal neglect, and even collaboration, that has held the field for far too long.

Sir Martin Gilbert is Winston Churchill''s official biographer and the author of ten books on the Holocaust. His new book, Kristallnacht: Prelude to Destruction, was published in June by HarperCollins. This review appears in the July/August 2006 issue of The American Spectator.

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The Myth of Hitler’s Pope
By Rabbi David G Dalin
256pp | Regnery Publishing | ISBN 0895260344 | US$27.95 | 2005

History in the short term can be fickle with the reputations of good men. Until 1963, Pope Pius XII was always regarded as a defender, even a champion, of the Jews during the Fascist period. Then, in 1963, Rolf Hochhuth, a German playwright, wrote “Der Stellvertreter” (“The Deputy”), a play attacking Pius for his alleged “silence” when the Jewish Holocaust was taking place. Other writers have followed suit, not least John Cornwell to whose recent, much-publicised book, Hitler’’s Pope, the title of this volume alludes.

The author, an ordained rabbi, is a professor of history and political science at Ave Maria University, Florida. His book, which is robust, polemical and argumentative, deploys much documentation to show that the notion of the Holy Father being a Nazi sympathiser and anti-Semite is at best grotesque, at worst deliberately false and mendacious. Given the wealth of evidence he assembles to the contrary, it seems strange that such a fantastic notion should ever have been taken seriously. Rabbi Dalin argues persuasively that it has been used by Western liberals to further their own hidden agenda: an attack on Judaeo-Christian civilisation itself and in particular the bastion of this civilisation, the Catholic Church.

Professor Eamon Duffy, medieval Church historian at Cambridge, has referred to the “repellently illiberal” stance of “angry liberals”. In their attacks on the reputation of Pius XII the ugliness and illiberal nature of this stance is revealed in all its twisted rhetoric and selective evidence. For example, the notorious jacket cover to Cornwell’s book seems to show Pius XII grandly sweeping out of Hitler’s chancellery and being saluted by Nazi guards; in fact the photo was taken in 1927, during the Weimar Republic, when the Pope was papal nuncio; it was deliberately selected by Cornwell for its malign subliminal “message” and the caption given the wrong date of 1939.

Dalin begins by giving an historical survey of the Papacy’s attitude towards the Jews. Compared with the often lamentable record of other Christians, the Popes through the ages appear to have been philo-Semites. Beginning with Gregory the Great in the seventh century, successive Popes promoted enlightened attitudes towards Jews, so that Cecil Roth, the Jewish historian, was to write: “Only Rome…… is free from having been a place of Jewish tragedy.” Indeed, Alexander Borgia, better known for his moral laxity, created the first chair of Hebrew at the University of Rome and during his tenure of office the Jewish population of Rome almost doubled. It was also the Popes who consistently defended the Jews from the scurrilous accusations of ritual murder. In more modern times, Pope Pius X observed: “As far as charity is concerned, the best Christians are the Jews”. In 1916 Pope Benedict XV published a condemnation of anti-Semitism, which was drafted by Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli, later to become Pius XII. Pius XI, who succeeded Benedict, studied Hebrew with a local rabbi. It was he who made the famous remark: “Spiritually we are all Semites”. John XXIII (1958-63) blessed Jews leaving a Rome synagogue; John Paul II visited Rome’’s chief synagogue -–– the first Pope ever to do so -- and made a moving pilgrimage to the Western Wall in Jerusalem in 2000. On his first foreign visit as Pope, in August, Benedict XVI visited a synagogue in Cologne. On inauguration he greeted his “brothers and sisters of the Jewish people.”

Nazi fear of Pius XII

These, then, are the gestures and attitudes of Pius XII’s papal forbears and successors. What of the life and pontificate of this deeply controversial figure of the modern liberal establishment? He, too, studied Hebrew and had many Jewish friends, notably the conductor Bruno Walter, whom he met in 1917 when he was Papal Nuncio to Bavaria. Of 44 speeches he made as Papal Nuncio between 1917 and 1929, forty denounced some aspect of the emerging Nazi ideology. Indeed, the Nazis viewed Pacelli as a “Jew-loving” cardinal. Heydrich, the Nazi SS commander, wrote that “in the long run the Pope in Rome is a greater enemy of National Socialism than Churchill or Roosevelt”. There is evidence of a Nazi plot to kidnap the pontiff, only frustrated by Wolff, the German commander in Rome.

When Pacelli was elected Pope in 1939, Dalin cites a huge amount of evidence for his implacable opposition to Hitler, National Socialism and the anti-Semitic attitude of the Nazi party. The Nazis, the Pope said, were “diabolical” and of Hitler he commented, “This man is capable of trampling on corpses”. When Mussolini’’s Fascist laws forbade Jews to teach in Italian schools or universities, Pius XII promptly appointed several Jewish scholars to posts in the Vatican library. The Times newspaper of London commented on the Pope on 1 October 1942: “He condemns…… the persecution of the Jewish race” and the New York Times described the Pope’s Christmas address of 1941 “a lonely voice in the silence and darkness enveloping Europe”.

Notwithstanding this, the overwhelming historical record of the Pope’s concern for the Jews comes from Jews themselves. It is perverse how who those who perpetuate the ““myth”” ignore the overwhelming documentation in Pius XII’’s favour by the very people he is supposed to have despised.

Setting the record straight

Rabbi Dalin puts the record straight. His best-known source is Three Popes and the Jews by the Jewish diplomat and historian, Pinchas Lapide, which was published in 1967. Weighing all the evidence at his disposal, Lapide calculated that “Pius saved at least 700,000 but possibly 860,000 Jews from death” -–– more than all the other relief agencies put together. This enormous effort was achieved largely through the Church’s own religious houses in Italy and through the Papal nunciatures in other European countries such as Hungary and Bulgaria.

Both Archbishop Roncalli, later to become Pope John XXIII, and Archbishop Montini, later to become Pope Paul VI, were charged by Pius to do what they could to save Jewish lives. The theologian Henri de Lubac SJ, was similarly directed, as were countless other priests and senior members of the Church’s hierarchy. Convents, monasteries and presbyteries all over Europe opened their doors to Jewish fugitives; more than 1,000 found asylum at the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo and hundreds were hidden in the Vatican itself. It is estimated that more than 80 per cent of Rome’’s Jews were saved by the intervention of the Pope.

Albert Einstein paid tribute to Pius XII as early as 1940, saying that in Germany “only the Catholic Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler’s campaign for suppressing the truth”. When Pius died in 1958 he was deeply mourned by the Jews. Golda Meir, then Israel’s foreign minister, wrote to the Vatican: “When fearful martyrdom came to our people in the decade of Nazi terror, the voice of the Pope was raised for the victims.” One telling detail is omitted from this well-researched book: after the war the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Israel Zolli, converted to Catholicism; in a personal tribute to the Holy Father, he took “Eugenio” as his baptismal name.

So how could the slur of Pius’s “silence” ever gain the slightest credibility? Although the Pope was not silent in his actions, in his directives to Church personnel and in his communications with Allied diplomats, he deliberately refrained from making public statements attacking Hitler during the war. Was this silence culpable? His reason, heavily influenced by Jewish and diplomatic advice, was that not only would a public protest not help the Jews but that it would actually increase their persecution.

The former chief rabbi of Denmark, Marcus Melchior, a Holocaust survivor, argued that “it is an error to think that Pius XII could have had any influence whatsoever. If the Pope had spoken out, Hitler would have massacred more than six million Jews.” When the Dutch bishops did courageously protest against the rounding up of Dutch Jews, the Nazis instantly retaliated by harsher measures. To have excommunicated Hitler -–– a former Catholic -–– would, as historical examples demonstrate, have had a similar effect. Such an imposed silence must have caused the Holy Father great inner agony.

His critics have further attacked the Holy See’s 1933 concordat with Nazi Germany, not accepting, as the author indicates, that is was “a morally defensible diplomatic measure to protect German Catholics…… against a dangerous regime”. It was in no way an endorsement of National Socialism. During the negotiations preceding the concordat, Hitler arrested 92 priests and closed down nine Catholic publications. As the British ambassador to the Vatican, Ivone Kirkpatrick, commented, “A pistol…… had been pointed to his [Cardinal Pacelli’s] head.” Reporting to the Foreign Office on 19 August 1933, Kirkpatrick reported that the Cardinal “deplored the action of the German government at home, their persecution of the Jews……”

Nazi links with Muslim extremists

Dalin has done an excellent job in defending the wartime record of Pius XII. But perhaps the most interesting and significant section of his book is the evidence he produces for a quite different and sinister scenario: the close relationship between Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem from 1922, and Hitler’s Nazi party. He suggests that Pius’’s critics have deliberately deflected blame from pro-Nazi Islamic fundamentalists onto Pius XII. Certainly this thread of the argument was news to me and, I suspect, to many others, but Dalin produces disturbing evidence to support his case. Hajj Amin al-Husseini was known to have met Hitler privately on a number of occasions. He was a friend of Adolf Eichmann and visited Auschwitz. An implacable enemy of the Jews, he supported the destruction of European Jewry and did all he could to prevent the establishment of a Jewish state. He made frequent broadcasts on German radio, displaying virulent anti-Semitism with statements such as that the Jews “live as parasites among the nations, suck out their blood, embezzle their property……” Most telling of all in this disturbing and little-known aspect of history: in Egypt in 1946 Hajj Amin al-Husseini met the young Yasser Arafat, who became his protéégé and who later went on to lead Palestinian terrorists in the PLO for 40 years.

The cause for Pius XII’s canonisation is under way. It has been held up by unsubstantiated and malicious accusations over his wartime record. According to Rabbi Dalin, the Pope should be honoured as a “righteous Gentile”, the term given to Christians who risked their own lives to save Jews from the Holocaust. Because of the author’s scholarly research it is to be hoped that history in the long term will be kinder to the reputation of a great and good -– and much-maligned -- man.


Francis Phillips, who is married with eight children, lives in Bucks, in the UK.
Her reviews often appear in British Catholic publications.

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Foundation Hails Myth-Debunking Book on Pius XII
Says Rabbi Reveals "Other Side of the Coin"

BUENOS AIRES, AUG. 29, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The founder of the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation said a new book written by an American Rabbi on Pope Pius XII reveals another side of the debate surrounding the Pontiff.

Baruj Tenembaum, speaking at an interconfessional meeting in Buenos Aires, said that David Dalin's "The Myth of Hitler's Pope: How Pius XII Rescued Jews from the Nazis" demonstrates that how the Holy Father rescued many Jews from the Holocaust.

The Argentine-born Jew who established the Wallenberg Foundation and the Angelo Roncalli Committee, said that this book reveals "the other side of the coin" of the Pope's relationship with Jews at the height of World War II.

Dalin, professor at Ave Maria University in Florida, analyzes and documents in his book the deportation of Rome's Jews to Auschwitz in 1943.

He includes in his book the Pope's protest made to Ernst von Weizsacker, the German ambassador to the Vatican, through his secretary of state, Cardinal Luigi Maglione.

The cardinal asked the ambassador that they "try to rescue the innocent who suffer for belonging to a specific race."

In response to the cardinal's request, the German ambassador gave orders for the deportation to be halted; and the Pope instructed that the Vatican be opened to hide Rome's Jews, who installed themselves in convents and monasteries of the Vatican, according Dalin's sources.

Of Rome's 5,715 Jews registered by Germany for deportation, 4,715 were sheltered in 150 Catholic institutions, and of the total, 477 were in Vatican sanctuaries. The British ambassador to the Vatican confirmed this fact.

Servant of peace

Dalin also mentions in his book the message sent by Golda Meir, Israel's minister of foreign affairs, on the occasion of the death of Pius XII: "We mourn. We have lost a servant of peace. The Pope's voice during Nazism was clear and in defense of the victims."

Tenembaum clarified that he assumes no role whatsoever in this discussion, but "calls everyone to seek and proclaim the truth, with no prejudices: Only the truth, not sticking to preconceptions or spreading slander! Let us follow the path of reconciliation with open minds!"

He added: "The rhetorical reiteration does not certify conjectures or guarantee truths; we Jews wish to recall and defend the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

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Pius XII hid Jews during war
Philip Crispin
   
The Roman convent of Santi Quattro Coronati sheltered political fugitives and Jews during the Second World War on the direct orders of Pope Pius XII, according to the diary of one of the Augustinian convent's sisters.

According to the Italian daily La Stampa, which has seen the 60-year-old-plus diary, the Pope, who has often been criticised for keeping his counsel during the Holocaust, instructed the mother superior to open, exceptionally, the enclosure of the contemplative order's convent in order to shelter those fleeing the Germans.

The anonymous author of the journal provides detailed names and dates of more than 10 Jews and non-Jews who were sheltered in the convent from September 1942 to June 1944. One of these was Amalia Viterbo, the Jewish niece of Palmiro Togliatti, one of the creators of the Italian Communist Party and secretary of the Comintern before the Second World War.

The Augustinian sister writes that the Pope wished to save "his children as well as Jews" and ordered that monasteries and enclosures should be opened up to those persecuted.

Later, when the convent superior perceived that the SS were flouting the sanctuary of convent enclosures, she had false identity papers drawn up for her guests.

The diary should interest historians who have been at loggerheads for 60 years over the attitude of Pope Pius XII concerning concentration camps and the Holocaust. Many have accused him of complicity through his silence.

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Pius XII beatification on track, says Kasper

Cardinal Walter Kasper has defended the role of Pope Pius XII during World War II but a Jewish expert has called for further argument and debate before any eventual beatification.

The Holy See has stepped up its campaign to rehabilitate the memory of war time pontiff Pope Pius XII - before he is moved further down the track to sainthood and is beatified by the Church, according to a report in The Universe.

Pius XII, who denounced extermination without citing the Jews or Nazis, had to "strike a balance in such a dramatic situation" according to Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Vatican Office for Religious Dialogue with Jews, who spoke at a conference about him at the pontifical Lateran University.

"I think that means he thought stronger words would have had very negative consequences," the Cardinal said.

The controversial Pontiff "silently helped countless victims of persecution," Cardinal Kasper said, revealing that Pius's path to beatification - a halfway house on the way to sainthood - was "proceeding according to the rules and in a very well-pondered way."

Cardinal Kasper said Pius XII did what was "humanly possible" during the difficult years around World War II.

"Right here in Rome, for instance, many Catholics, Jews and even atheists found refuge in convents and other church buildings," he added.

"It is unthinkable that it all happened without the Pope's knowledge. It is unfair to judge Pius by today's standards."

There is concern however that the memory of Pius XII has only been rehabilitated in some limited scholarly circles.

"In the last 10 years we have become more knowledgeable about Pius XII and a great deal of positive and heartening information has emerged," said Rev Jonathan Gorsky, of the Council of Christians and Jews.

"The problem is that this is still not widely known in the Jewish community and by the general public.

"People do not know the stories of rescue of Jews, especially those that took place in Rome, and must have occurred with the knowledge of the Pope. "

Rev Gorsky called for further argument and debate before any eventual beatification.

"I think that at the moment, many Jews would construe a beatification in a way that the Vatican and the Catholic Church certainly do not intend," he added.

It would be very important to encourage Catholics to communicate with Jewish leaders about this before, rather than after, it takes place to make known the reasoning and the understanding behind it. A beatification of Pius XII without this elaborate explanation would result in the same controversy that took place a few years ago."

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Rabbi Says Pius XII Deserves "Righteous" Title
David Dalin Makes Case in "Myth of Hitler's Pope"

ROME, JAN. 17, 2006 (Zenit.org).- A U.S. rabbi says that the title "Righteous among the Nations" should be conferred on Pope Pius XII for his efforts to defend the Jews during World War II.

Rabbi David Dalin, a professor of history and political science at Ave Maria University in Florida, makes his case in his book "The Myth of Hitler's Pope," published by Regnery.

The work shows that, in the course of history, many popes defended and protected the Jews from accusations and persecutions. It also recounts many incidents which show how Pius XII saved Jews from Nazi persecution.

Rabbi Dalin quotes authoritative studies by Jewish authors, such as Pinchas Lapide's "Rome and the Jews" and "Pius XII and the Jews," written in 1963 by Joseph Lichten, a member of the Anti-Defamation League.

The rabbi also quotes Hungarian historian Jeno Levai who, in the face of accusations of silence against Pius XII, wrote "Hungarian Jewry and the Papacy: Pope Pius XII Did Not Remain Silent. Reports, Documents and Records from Church and State Archives," published in English in 1968. Robert M.W. Kempner, the deputy U.S. counsel during the Nuremberg trials, wrote the introduction to that book.

Martin Gilbert's view

Among recent books, the American rabbi stresses specifically the works of Martin Gilbert, one of the most authoritative living Jewish historians. Gilbert is the official biographer of Winston Churchill and author of more than 70 books on World War II and the Shoah.

Gilbert recounts all that the Catholic Church did in defense of the Jews, opposing racism and Nazism, and affirms that "Pius XII should be praised and not censured."

Rabbi Dalin proposes that Pius XII, for his actions in favor of Jews, be conferred the highest Jewish recognition for a gentile, the title "Righteous among the Nations." Last Nov. 3, the Internet edition of the Jerusalem Post published a positive review of the book.
Pius XII as a "Righteous Gentile"

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Scholar Ronald Rychlak Defends Wartime Pope

JACKSON, Mississippi, JAN. 11, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Despite what some modern critics say, Pope Pius XII launched a multifaceted response to the Nazi campaign against the Jews.

So says, Ronald Rychlak, an adviser to the Holy See's delegation to the United Nations, University of Mississippi law professor and author of "Righteous Gentiles: How Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church Saved Half a Million Jews from the Nazis".

Rychlak shared with ZENIT some of the information he has amassed in defense of Pius XII and the Church, and how Catholics can respond to detractors.

Q: How is this book different from those that have previously defended Pope Pius XII? What new information does it reveal?

Rychlak: In "Righteous Gentiles" I directly respond to arguments made by the critics of Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church during the Nazi era. I generally tried to avoid doing that in my last book -- "Hitler, the War, and the Pope" -- because I wanted to lay out the facts chronologically and just as they happened.

Philosopher Michael Novak, author of the foreword to "Righteous Gentiles," pointed out that over the past five years there have been so many books and articles that set forth arguments against the Church that a book responding to them had become necessary.

That's what I have tried to do with this book: address each and every argument that has been lodged against Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church during the Holocaust.

As for new information, the first chapter of "Righteous Gentiles" sets forth 18 new pieces of evidence that have come to light in recent years. Each one casts a positive light on Pius XII and the Catholic Church.

The book also discusses Pope Pius XII, the Germany clergy and other rescuers from nations throughout Europe. Those topics have not, for the most part, been discussed in other recent pro-Pius XII books.

Q: How did Pius XII and the Catholic Church respond to Nazi aggression?

Rychlak: Pius XII's response was multifaceted. He opened buildings throughout Rome, providing food, shelter and clothing to all those in need. He also made many statements in opposition to the Nazis and in support of the Jews.

His first encyclical, "Summi Pontificatus" -- released just weeks after the outbreak of war -- expressly mentioned Jews and urged solidarity with all who profess a belief in God. Allied forces later dropped thousands of copies behind enemy lines for propaganda purposes.
In his 1942 Christmas statement, Pius spoke on behalf of "the hundreds of thousands who, through no fault of their own, and solely because of their nation or race, have been condemned to death or progressive extinction."

His 1943 encyclical "Mystici Corporis Christi" explained: "Our paternal love embraces all peoples, whatever their nationality or race." He went on to say that Christ, by his blood, made Jews and Christians one "breaking down the middle wall of partition ... in his flesh by which the two peoples were divided."

Pius XII also used his representatives throughout Europe to intervene on behalf of Jewish victims. He sent open telegrams complaining to collaborating governments and commiserating with the persecuted.

He established the Pontifical Relief Commission which distributed food, medicine and clothing in 40 countries during the war, and he created the Vatican Information Office which supplied information about missing persons and helped reunite families -- all without any discrimination on the basis of race, religion or nationality.

Many Catholic rescuers were inspired by the repeated appeals in support of Jews that were broadcast on Vatican Radio. Some rescuers even testified to direct papal orders that they received to help victimized Jews.

The Pope's position, like his means of inspiring the resistance, was well understood during the war. The New York Times reported that because of him, "hiding someone 'on the run' became the thing to do."

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints, following a 39-year investigation into Pius XII's life, concluded that the only way to save the Jews was with "secret but efficient ways to shelter them, provide them food and clothing, and move them to neutral countries. Pius XII did this in a manner unequaled by any state or organization."

Q: What did you find in your research of Church archives, especially the confidential Vatican report on Pius XII?

Rychlak: I was able to draw upon documents that I saw for the first time in March 2003, when I traveled to Rome to examine materials from newly opened Vatican archives. I returned to Rome in April 2004, at which time I was given extraordinary access to the still-confidential internal Vatican report -- the "positio" -- prepared by historians for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

This eight-volume work includes sworn testimony from about 100 witnesses who knew Pius XII. It also reviews all the scholarship in the area -- critical and supportive -- and looks to the victims, the rescuers and the Nazi villains.

Relying on this evidence, and applying reasonable standards to evaluate his leadership -- as opposed to the ever-shifting and unfair procedures adopted by so many critics -- it sets forth a compelling case that he lived a life of heroic virtue.

Q: Why do so many scholars and critics want to find Pius XII culpable in Nazi atrocities?
Rychlak: The "positio" concludes that there is a campaign to denigrate the personality and work of Pius XII. This should not, I think, be taken as an orchestrated campaign of critics working in conjunction.

Rather, many of the critics share a view of the world that runs counter to the Catholic Church, and they have tried to advance their view and discredit the Church by denigrating Pope Pius XII.

Read through to the end of most of these books and you will find that the authors are critical not only of Pope Pius XII, but also the late Pope John Paul II, the positions expressed by Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI, traditional Catholic doctrines of papal supremacy, the all-male priesthood and especially Catholic sexual teachings.

In fact, because the Catholic Church stands as the pre-eminent voice advancing the very concept of ultimate truth, it is their main target -- not Pius or any other individual.

Q: What factual evidence can Catholics cite in response to criticism of Pius XII and the Church during World War II?

Rychlak: Much of the evidence, including sheltering, feeding and clothing the Jews of Rome, is well known. The same goes for his public statements and the offer of gold to pay a ransom so that the Nazis would not deport Roman Jews. The diplomatic protests and radio broadcasts are not as well known, but are just as important.

Some of the newly discovered evidence that is set forth in "Righteous Gentiles" includes letters from Pius XII containing money to be used to help interned Jews.

There is also a 1933 letter from Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli -- the future Pius XII -- instructing the papal representative in Germany to intervene with the Nazi government regarding "anti-Semitic excesses in Germany."

In 1923, Pacelli -- who was then the papal representative in Germany -- wrote to Rome reporting that "right-wing radicals" and "followers of Hitler" were persecuting Catholics and Jews.

He praised the "learned and zealous" archbishop of Munich who had been attacked by the Nazis because he "had denounced the persecutions against the Jews."

Q: Why is Pius XII's exoneration crucial to future Catholic-Jewish relations?

Rychlak: As Jews and Catholics have come together in recent years, this issue has remained a stumbling block. It's unfortunate, because we share so many interests and outlooks. We need to get to the truth, which will permit us to focus on joint efforts and shared heritage.

That, not revision of Catholic doctrine or social teaching, is the important result that should come from honest research into the Catholic Church during the Nazi era.

Q: Why do you think the Jewish people should award Pius XII the title of "Righteous Gentile"?

Rychlak: Since 1963, a commission headed by an Israeli Supreme Court justice has been charged with awarding the title "Righteous among the Nations."

In general, when a non-Jewish person risked his or her life, freedom and safety in order to rescue one or more Jews from the threat of death or deportation, without exacting monetary compensation, the rescuer qualifies for consideration as a "Righteous Gentile."

As Rabbi David Dalin has long asserted, based on the record that we already have, Pope Pius XII fully deserves that designation. I also think that this designation would once-and-for-all resolve the controversy and heal the divisions.

The Holocaust was a horrible era in the history of mankind. The best way to assure that it is not repeated is to deal honestly with the facts.

The victims of that era thanked Pius XII, the rescuers identified him as their inspiration and the Nazis detested him. Those who want to revise history have ignored this evidence.

I hope that "Righteous Gentiles" can, in some small way, help restore the truth.

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Radio Moscow Linked to Rumors Against Pius XII
Revelations of Italian Review La Civiltà Cattolica

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 13, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Newly published research reveals that the "black legend" against Pope Pius XII was launched by Radio Moscow at the end of World War II.

Pius XII, who on his death received tribute from numerous heads of democratic states and from key Jewish representatives, has been described by some publications as an ally of totalitarian regimes. In particular, he has been accused of being "silent" in the face of Nazism.

Now, an article in the latest issue of the Italian review La Civiltà Cattolica, signed by Father Giovanni Sale, analyzes the Communist radio's role in defaming Pius XII, specifically its reaction to the Pope's address of June 2, 1945, the feast of St. Eugene.

On June 7, 1945, Radio Moscow broadcasted a program which "assumed … a paradigmatic value, as it summarized very well the point of view of the radical left about the Holy See's activity during the time of the war," affirms the historical research.

"Those who heard the Pope's address on the occasion of the feast of St. Eugene, have been extremely surprised to learn that the Vatican, during the past years of Hitler's dominance in Europe, acted with courage and audacity against the criminal Nazis. What the Vatican really did states the contrary," claimed Radio Moscow.

"Spread distrust"

"In fact, if the Vatican acted in this way, it did so to maintain the vigilant policy of protection of Hitler and Mussolini," added the Communist radio.

"No atrocity carried out by the Hitlerites stirred the contempt and indignation of the Vatican," Radio Moscow claimed. "The latter was silent when the German death machines were active, when the chimneys of the crematorium ovens spewed smoke, when grenades and projectiles were thrown against the peaceful population of London, when the Hitlerite doctrine of elimination and extermination of nations and peoples was being transformed into a harsh reality."

Radio Moscow lamented that Pius XII was filling his address with allusions against the Soviet Union and international Communism to "provoke differences and spread distrust among the Allies."

The author of the La Civiltà Cattolica article states that "the international Communist press, and not only the latter, was totally aligned to Moscow's directives on this matter."

The article adds: "So began the 'Black Legend' -- which in the main has come down to our days -- of a Pius XII friend and ally of the Nazis; the Pope who supported, for reasons of political interest, the Fascist totalitarian regimes and declared enemies of popular democracy."

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Pius XII's Aid to Jews Was So Great That It Stirred Protests

New Revelations of Vatican Archives, Analyzed by Historian

ROME, JULY 4, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Documentation from the Vatican Secret Archives has revealed that Pope Pius XII's wartime assistance to Jews was so great that it stirred protests in some Catholic circles.

This is confirmed in letters published together with the registers of the Vatican Information Office on Prisoners of War, established by Pius XII, with the title "Inter Arma Caritas."

Press agencies published one of the letters reproduced in Volume 2, pages 950-951, sent to the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Luigi Maglione, on July 21, 1943, by Archbishop Andrea Cassulo, apostolic nuncio in Romania, in which he referred to "some protests."

Bishop Agostino Pacha of Timisoara, Romania, wrote that in his community there were protests, "as the greater part of messages transmitted to this nunciature are for persons of the Jewish race," to the point that he spoke of the Holy See's "preference" for Jews.

Archbishop Cassulo presented a copy of a letter in Latin, written by a Monsignor Tacha, in which he spoke about the protests of his faithful -- 78% of whom were of German origin -- who accused the Church "openly and publicly" of supporting and having good relations with the Jews, "enemies of the Germanic people."

In the letter, the apostolic nuncio explained that he sent a circular to the Romanian bishops in which he clarified the reasons for the Holy See's assistance "not taking into account any political consideration or any nationality or race." In the missive, the nuncio asked the secretary of state to advise him what he should do.

In order to understand better these new discoveries of the Vatican archives, ZENIT interviewed Father Peter Gumpel, a historian and expert on the matter.

Q: What do the recently published Vatican archives say about the Holy See's relation with Jews and about the protests of some Catholic circles?

Father Gumpel: First of all, it must be recognized that the Catholic Church carried out an enormous work of assistance to Jews.

A. Safran, the rabbi of Romania, expressed on various occasions his gratitude to the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Andrea Cassulo.

On April 7, 1944, he wrote him this message: "In these hard times, our thoughts go more than ever to what the Supreme Pontiff has done in favor of Jews in general and to Your Excellency in favor of Romania and Transylvania. These deeds will never be forgotten." [See Civiltà Cattolica, 1961, Volume 3, p. 462]

Moreover, in Volume 10, pages 428-429, of the "Minutes and Documents of the Holy See Relating to the Second World War," in a message sent by Archbishop Cassulo to Monsignor Domenico Tardini [a future secretary of state], the full article appears which was published by the Romanian newspaper Mantuirea, in which Rabbi Safran recounts how, thanks to the interventions of the nuncio and "with the help of God, he succeeded in having no more deportations take place."

Q: What can you say about the protests of Catholics because of the Holy See's help to Jews?

Father Gumpel: The work of assistance to the victims of war and to Jews, ordered in particular by Pius XII, was so extensive and intense that it caused surprise even among some ecclesiastics.

When Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli himself [the future Pope John XXIII], who did so much for the Jews, was apostolic delegate in Turkey, after the umpteenth recommendation by the Holy See to help and foster the Jewish emigration to Palestine, he wrote these words to Maglione on September 4, 1943: "I confess that this sending by the Holy See of Jews to Palestine, which seems a reconstruction of the Jewish Kingdom, beginning by making them leave Italy, causes me some uncertainty in spirit."

Q: Do the testimonies contained in "Inter Arma Caritas" contribute something new?

Father Gumpel: These new historical tendencies deny definitively many articles on the alleged silence and insensibility of Pope Pius XII in regard to the Jews. As can be seen, there were people who criticized the Pontiff for doing too much for the Jews.

Also denied are theses, such as Susan Zuccotti's, according to which the work of assistance to Jews was the result of individual actions, of which Pius XII knew nothing.

From all the correspondence of the nuncios, it is obvious that the work of assistance was determined, directed and organized directly by Pope Pius XII.

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On Pius XII's Help to Slovakian Jews

Interview With Monsignor Walter Brandmuller

VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 7, 2004 (Zenit.org).- A new book attests to the Holy See's intervention to prevent the persecution of Jews in Slovakia during World War II.

"The Holocaust in Slovakia and the Catholic Church" ("L'Olocausto nella Slovacchia e la Chiesa Cattolica"), written by Monsignor Walter Brandmuller, president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, was published last July in an Italian translation by the Vatican Publishing House.

Through meticulous historical research, including the use of previously unpublished documents, the book analyzes the position of the Church and the Holy See in the face of the wartime persecution of Jews.

Q: Your book recounts the history of Slovakia in a historical period that goes from 1939 to 1945, analyzing how the Church intervened to rescue Jews persecuted by the Nazis. Can you explain the conclusions you reached in your research?

Monsignor Brandmuller: In my book I attempt, above all, with the necessary brevity, to describe the political, social and religious situation of Slovakia between 1939 and 1945, and to study at the same time the famous persecution measures against Jews.

When speaking later of the reaction of the Catholic Church, I make a distinction between the Church in Slovakia and the Pope, that is, the Holy See.

In regard to the reaction of the Slovakian bishops, clergy and faithful, it is interesting to note that, on one hand, there was inflamed bad humor toward the influence -- perceived as excessive -- of the Jewish section of the population on the economic life of Slovakia. And, on the other, there was a change in this atmosphere in favor of the Jews as soon as the persecution measures were introduced.

Evidently, a distinction must be made here between the large Catholic population and the numerically reduced realm of the nationalists-National Socialists. The latter were on the side of the German National Socialists.

Q: What are the novelties in the historical field contained in your book?

Monsignor Brandmuller: Again in this book there is the fact, for example, that for the first time the texts of communications of the Slovakian bishops are presented, in the form of translations and original documents.

Moreover, it has been possible to analyze documents collected in the Archives of the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesial Questions which are still not available for publication. Also the "Actes et Documents du Saint-Siège relatifs à la Seconde Guerre Mondiale," already published in 1970-1981, have been used for the first time.

From these sources stems, among other points, a very differentiated assessment of the role that the president of the Slovakian republic, Josef Tiso, a Catholic priest, played in this context.

Q: What was the policy that Pius XII and the Holy See adopted in face of the persecuted, and in what way did they intervene to save the Jews?

Monsignor Brandmuller: The Holy See's policy -- or rather Pope Pius XII's -- consisted in influencing the Slovakian government, through diplomatic channels, in order to impede the persecution of Jews and, in particular, to impede deportations to Polish extermination camps.

In this respect, Vatican diplomacy carried out, under Secretary of State Cardinal [Luigi] Maglione and -- after his death which occurred in 1944 -- under Monsignor Tadini, an excellent role.

Q: What objectives do you hope to achieve with the publication and diffusion of this book?

Monsignor Brandmuller: A careful and impartial reading of the book makes one understand how the appropriate interpretation of the sources lets the contribution of Pius XII and Vatican diplomacy be seen in the just light of rescue of the Jews, against all the accusations and suspicions that have existed.

The gratitude and acknowledgment of the help given to Jews expressed to Pius XII by Jews, both when he was alive as well as after his death, were, therefore, well motivated. Only Rolf Hochhuth's "Vicar" has poured against him what had until then been the positive opinion of the people. One should ask: Why?

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