ABC NEWS
Emily Bourke reported this story
on Monday, January 18, 2010 08:18:00
ELEANOR HALL: Overnight in Rome, an Italian Jewish leader confronted the Pope and told him that the Vatican should have spoken out more forcefully during the Holocaust.
But Pope Benedict defended the Vatican's wartime actions saying the Holy See worked quietly to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis.
Emily Bourke reports.
EMILY BOURKE: Pope Benedict's landmark visit to Rome's main Synagogue provided another chance heal the wounds caused by the wartime actions of the Vatican.
Vatican Spokesman, Reverend Federico Lombardi.
FEDERICO LOMBARDI: We are very happy of this invitation by the Jewish community of Rome and in this occasion the Pope will demonstrate the continuity with the past visit of John Paul II to the synagogue 24 years ago.
And this is a confirmation of an important way of harmony, of dialogue, for the peace and for the harmony in our society.
EMILY BOURKE: While one Jewish community leader praised Catholics who sheltered Jews from the Nazis, he said that the "silence" of Pope Pius "still hurts as a failed act".
Pope Benedict defended the Vatican's actions in the face of the Holocaust, saying it used quiet diplomacy to save lives. He also apologized for Christian responsibility for anti-Semitism.
POPE BENEDICT XVI (translated): Despite the problems and the difficulties between the believers of these two faiths there is a climate of great respect and dialogue, a testimony to how the relationship has grown and to the common commitment to value that unites us.
EMILY BOURKE: While 15 Holocaust survivors attended the ceremony, others boycotted it, saying they were angry over the steps taken to advance Pope Pius's beatification and possible sainthood.
The Jewish community remains deeply split since Pope Benedict signed a decree last month praising the wartime pontiff for his heroic virtues.
ELEANOR HALL: Emily Bourke reporting.
Showing posts with label Pope Benedict. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pope Benedict. Show all posts
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
Pope visit to Rome synagogue under cloud
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's decision to move his controversial wartime predecessor Pius XII closer to sainthood has put a cloud over his planned visit next month to Rome's synagogue, with some fearing it risks being canceled.
The pope on Saturday approved a decree recognizing the "heroic virtues" of Pius, accused by some Jews of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust. The two remaining steps are beatification and canonization, which could take years.
Jewish leaders expressed concern because they said the Vatican had given them private assurances that the procedure leading to possible sainthood would be frozen until more study of Vatican archives for the wartime period could be studied.
The World Jewish Congress said the beatification of Pius would be "inopportune and premature" before opening of the archives and said "strong concerns about Pope Pius XII's political role during World War II which should not be ignored."
The timing of the decision, which a number of Jewish leaders called "insensitive," has cast a cloud over the German pope's plan to make his first visit to Rome's synagogue, on January 17.
"I hope it goes ahead but after this latest move I wouldn't be surprised if it is canceled," said Rabbi Giuseppe Laras, president of the Assembly of Italian Rabbis.
"While I respect the autonomy of the Church in matters of sainthood, I don't see how the pope could have taken such an untimely decision. Anything can happen now," he was quoted as telling the Rome newspaper La Repubblica.
Since his election in 2005 Benedict has visited synagogues in his native Germany and in the United States.
But his visit to the synagogue on the Tiber is significant because relations between the Vatican and Rome's Jewish community -- the oldest in the diaspora -- have often been considered a bellwether of Catholic-Jewish relations worldwide.
NOW OR NEVER
Vatican sources feared that if the Jewish community withdrew its invitation for the visit -- which would be only the second by a pope to the Rome temple -- the move could have devastating consequences on long-term Catholic-Jewish relations.
"If he does not go to the Rome synagogue on January 17, he will never go," one Vatican source said. "They will never want to reschedule something like that."
Pope Benedict has come under great pressure from both Catholics and Jews over the possible sainthood of Pius, who led the Catholic church from 1939 to 1958, years when the current pope was a teenager and young priest. "He admires Pius as the pope of his youth," another source said.
The Vatican department that makes saints submitted the heroic virtues decree to the Benedict in 2007 but he decided not to approve it immediately, opting instead for what the Vatican called a period of reflection. The delay pleased Jews concerned about Pius' place in history.
Some Jews have accused Pius, who reigned from 1939 to 1958, of not doing enough to help Jews, a charge the Vatican denies.
The Vatican maintains that Pius worked quietly behind the scenes because direct interventions might have worsened the situation for both Jews and Catholics in Europe. Many Jews have rejected this position.
In a speech on Monday recapping the year's events, the pope recalled his visit in May to Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, calling it "a monument against hate." He made no mention of Pius.
Rabbi David Rosen, the American Jewish Committee's head of Inter-religious Relations, called the move "undiplomatic."
"While it is not the business of the Jewish community to tell the Holy See who its saints are, if the Church claims as it does that it seeks to live with the Jewish community in a relationship of mutual respect, we expect it to take our sensitivities into serious consideration," Rosen said.
(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
The pope on Saturday approved a decree recognizing the "heroic virtues" of Pius, accused by some Jews of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust. The two remaining steps are beatification and canonization, which could take years.
Jewish leaders expressed concern because they said the Vatican had given them private assurances that the procedure leading to possible sainthood would be frozen until more study of Vatican archives for the wartime period could be studied.
The World Jewish Congress said the beatification of Pius would be "inopportune and premature" before opening of the archives and said "strong concerns about Pope Pius XII's political role during World War II which should not be ignored."
The timing of the decision, which a number of Jewish leaders called "insensitive," has cast a cloud over the German pope's plan to make his first visit to Rome's synagogue, on January 17.
"I hope it goes ahead but after this latest move I wouldn't be surprised if it is canceled," said Rabbi Giuseppe Laras, president of the Assembly of Italian Rabbis.
"While I respect the autonomy of the Church in matters of sainthood, I don't see how the pope could have taken such an untimely decision. Anything can happen now," he was quoted as telling the Rome newspaper La Repubblica.
Since his election in 2005 Benedict has visited synagogues in his native Germany and in the United States.
But his visit to the synagogue on the Tiber is significant because relations between the Vatican and Rome's Jewish community -- the oldest in the diaspora -- have often been considered a bellwether of Catholic-Jewish relations worldwide.
NOW OR NEVER
Vatican sources feared that if the Jewish community withdrew its invitation for the visit -- which would be only the second by a pope to the Rome temple -- the move could have devastating consequences on long-term Catholic-Jewish relations.
"If he does not go to the Rome synagogue on January 17, he will never go," one Vatican source said. "They will never want to reschedule something like that."
Pope Benedict has come under great pressure from both Catholics and Jews over the possible sainthood of Pius, who led the Catholic church from 1939 to 1958, years when the current pope was a teenager and young priest. "He admires Pius as the pope of his youth," another source said.
The Vatican department that makes saints submitted the heroic virtues decree to the Benedict in 2007 but he decided not to approve it immediately, opting instead for what the Vatican called a period of reflection. The delay pleased Jews concerned about Pius' place in history.
Some Jews have accused Pius, who reigned from 1939 to 1958, of not doing enough to help Jews, a charge the Vatican denies.
The Vatican maintains that Pius worked quietly behind the scenes because direct interventions might have worsened the situation for both Jews and Catholics in Europe. Many Jews have rejected this position.
In a speech on Monday recapping the year's events, the pope recalled his visit in May to Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, calling it "a monument against hate." He made no mention of Pius.
Rabbi David Rosen, the American Jewish Committee's head of Inter-religious Relations, called the move "undiplomatic."
"While it is not the business of the Jewish community to tell the Holy See who its saints are, if the Church claims as it does that it seeks to live with the Jewish community in a relationship of mutual respect, we expect it to take our sensitivities into serious consideration," Rosen said.
(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
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