Pope Pius XII

Criticism of Pope Pius XII

Despite almost universal high praise from Jewish and Israeli leaders after the war and upon his death, Pope Pius XII's memory had to endure criticism years after his death, started by Rolf Hochhuth's 1963 controversial fictional drama Der Stellvertreter. Ein christliches Trauerspiel (The Deputy, a Christian tragedy), which (as noted by John Cornwell in his book Hitler's Pope) falsely portrayed Pope Pius XII as a money-grabbing hypocrite who remained silent to the Holocaust. This play spawned both criticism of the Pope, but others came to his defence. The critics claimed his efforts to mitigate the Holocaust were inadequate and that his role in negotiating the Reichskonkordat may have been well-meaning but played into the hands of Adolf Hitler. His critics in this regard include John Cornwell (writer) in the book Hitler's Pope.

Related Topics:
Rolf Hochhuth - 1963 - Holocaust - Reichskonkordat - Adolf Hitler - John Cornwell (writer) - Hitler's Pope

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These questions have also re-surfaced of late because of the moves toward canonisation of Pope Pius XII. The widespread Jewish concern at the history of Pius XII interventions or lack thereof surfaced in Pope Benedict XVI's recent visit to the Cologne Synagogue when the president of that synagogue, Abraham Lehrer, asked that the Vatican's archives relating to Pope Pius XII be opened for scrutiny.

Related Topics:
Pope Benedict XVI - Cologne - Synagogue

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In 1999, a class action suit against the Vatican Bank and others was brought up in the United States by various Holocaust survivors, alleging collusion in war crimes by the Ustashe regime of the Independent State of Croatia. In addition, the same lawsuit concerns secreting large vaults of war loot from Croatia into Vatican accounts. The suit alleges these funds were used to finance yet more of the almost 'mythic' rat-lines mentioned in ODESSA, with secret Vatican re-location and funding of implicated Nazi and Ustashe priests and monks, mostly in South America.

Related Topics:
Class action suit against the Vatican Bank and others - United States - Ustashe - Independent State of Croatia - ODESSA - South America

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Rabbi defends Pius XII

In The Myth of Hitler's Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews from the Nazis published in 2005, author Rabbi David G. Dalin presents extensive documentation culled from Church and State archives throughout Europe. Rabbi Dalin suggests that Yad Vashem should honor Pope Pius XII as a "Righteous Gentile" writing that "he anti-papal polemics of ex-seminarians like Garry Wills and John Cornwell (author of Hitler?s Pope), of ex-priests like James Carroll, and or other lapsed or angry liberal Catholics exploit the tragedy of the Jewish people during the Holocaust to foster their own political agenda of forcing changes on the Catholic Church today."

Related Topics:
The Myth of Hitler's Pope - 2005 - Rabbi David G. Dalin - Yad Vashem - Righteous Gentile

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Others assert that critics base their opinions upon a Catholic stereotype hundreds of years out of date by vastly overrating the influence of a Papal speech on the opinions of modern Catholics, especially in a pre-dominantly Protestant country as Germany.

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On September 6, 1938, in a statement published worldwide (except for censorship in fascist countries like Germany and Italy, Pius XI said:

Related Topics:
September 6 - 1938

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:Mark well that in the Catholic Mass, Abraham is our Patriarch and forefather. Anti-Semitism is incompatible with the lofty thought which that fact expresses. It is a movement with which we Christians can have nothing to do. No, no, I say to you it is impossible for a Christian to take part in anti-Semitism. It is inadmissible. Through Christ and in Christ we are the spiritual progeny of Abraham. Spiritually, we are all Semites.

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In January 1939 the National Jewish Monthly reported that "the only bright spot in Italy has been the Vatican, where fine humanitarian statements by the Pope have been issuing regularly."

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Defenders of Pius XII also claim that he chose action over speech, secretly hiding thousands of Jews from the Gestapo police, even in the Vatican itself. It is worth noting that Eugenio Zolli, the highest ranking Rabbi in Rome, converted to Catholicism after the War due to Pius XII's example. Zolli claimed "Pius XII did more to protect the Jews from Nazism than did all the other religions of the world put together." (See the Catholic League's special report on Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust). Rabbi David Dalin has argued that Pius should be considered a "righteous gentile" for his work in saving Jews and Rabbi Daniel Lapin agrees.

Related Topics:
Righteous gentile - Daniel Lapin

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