Shalom Life
By: DAN VERBIN
Published: January 9th 2010
A controversial pope’s road to sainthood is causing Jewish groups to push for the Roman Catholic Church to open sealed archives that would shed light on Vatican actions during World War Two.
Pope Pius XII, who reigned between 1939 and 1958, has long been accused of turning a blind eye to atrocities committed by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Canadian Jewish Congress is concerned about unresolved questions surrounding Pius’s failure to speak out. The lack of access to private Vatican World War Two archives – documents that likely would finally resolve the issue of what Pius did or did not do during the Holocaust – is further problematic.
“It is not up to us to determine for the Catholic Church who is worthy of sainthood. We do, however, feel warranted to observe that the process of beatification should not be surrounded by a cloud of controversy. We also believe that Jewish sensibilities about Pope Pius XII’s actions during the Shoah should be considered in the process of determining his future status,” said CJC President Mark J. Freiman in a statement, noting the strong relationship that currently exists between the Canadian Jewish Community and the Catholic Church.
The Vatican placed Pius, along with Pope John Paul II, on the road to beautification in December when it gave each the title of “venerable”. Beautification is a step toward sainthood.
If the full historical record is not made available, the CJC believes raising concerns about the potential fast-tracking of the beautification of Pius is totally justified.
“We hope our ongoing concerns about Pius’s silence during the Holocaust will not be met with ongoing silence by Vatican authorities today. We reiterate our request for the secret Archives to be fully opened so that historians may have unfettered access to the documentary record of Pius’s actions,” said Freiman.
In a Canwest interview, Congress CEO Bernie Farber said that CJC is unsure why the Vatican seems to be stalling the release of the millions of war-time documents. He believes that going ahead with sainthood while so many questions remain unanswered is inappropriate.
Farber said that CJC is making its case in honour of those who perished in the Holocaust.
“The archives will tell the story. The fact that there seems to be been strong resistance in doing that leaves us puzzled and concerned,” he said. “The position we have taken is that really, until the archives are open and independent historians can get in there and do a full assessment, it would seem improper to move forward on this.”
Many questions remain because of inconsistencies and gaps in the story of Pius’s reign.
By certain other historical accounts, Pius has been described as a strong supporter and admirer of Europe’s Jewish community who used his position before and after the war to rescue Jews.
“Opening the archives may very well may prove Pius deserves beatification. On the other hand, it may prove that he doesn’t,” Farber said.
The move to further the path to sainthood for Pius – a potential blow to relations between Jews and the Vatican – comes amid a step forward. In mid-January, Pope Benedict will visit Rome’s main synagogue, a meeting scheduled before the controversy over Pius erupted.
The synagogue visit is “an important event, a milestone in the dialogue,” Rome’s chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, told Vatican Radio. “We have great expectations for what it can mean in terms of the general climate.”
For its part, the Vatican issued a statement saying that Pope Benedict’s decision to beautify Pius was not meant as a “hostile act” towards the Jewish community and that Jews should not think of it as an “obstacle on the path of dialogue between Judaism and the Catholic Church.”
The decision to elevate Pius to sainthood was seen by Vatican watchers as part of Benedict’s effort to satisfy conservative elements within the church.
The Vatican has stated that it will only release its World War Two archives in four to five years, after a process of review.
