After the war, there seemed to be a consensus among Jewish leaders about Pius. On Dec. 1, 1944 the New York Times reported that the World Jewish Congress publicly thanked the Holy See’s protection of Jews, especially in Hungary. In October 1945, the World Jewish Congress made a financial gift to the Vatican in recognition of Pius’s work to save the Jews. In May 1955, the Israel Philharmonic played at the Vatican as a gesture of thanks to the pope for his services to Jews during the war.
When Pius died on Oct. 9, 1958, the public accolades continued. In fact, the New York Times received so many tributes over the next three days that it could only publish the authors’ names, among them, leaders of major Jewish organizations. Two days later, the Times cited memorial services for Pius in several New York City synagogues.
Last month, at a meeting of the Vatican’s synod of bishops, Haifa’s Chief Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen advised that Pius “should not be seen as a model” or be canonized. Israeli social affairs minister Isaac Herzog called the canonization process “unacceptable.”
What sparked the sea change? Most historians mark 1963 as the year that soured public opinion, with the production of a play, “The Deputy, A Christian Tragedy.”
An interesting read about the power of historic revisionism.
Related – A Jew recommends John XXIII for the title “Righteous among the Nations”
Ahh, so that’s where Saturday Night Live learned their campaigning tricks — the KGB. Good work Comrade Fey.
Another salient point to defend Pius is that the idea that Pius would have allowed, what?, 20 million Roman Catholic Poles (number two on the Nazis’ hit-list) to be exterminated to be rid of 12 million European Jews out of anti-Semitism is ludicrously beyond belief.
Jews are ever vigilant that the world never forget the holocaust and rail against those who are trying to rewrite history. They should be as vigilant not to engage in the same practice when it comes to Pius X11. If they persist in perpetrating a lie on this they will quickly loose support against those who deny the holocaust.
He didn’t have much to say when the Catholic Croats were committing atrocities on the Orthodox Serbs.
He may not be the Devil, but he’s no saint either.
Just one of the small side stories in the continuing campaign to discredit Christianity Threw defamation of individuals in the 20th century till now. To replace it with a mish mash of feel good emotions, with existential social relativism, in place of a moral or ethical social template . To bad for them its foredoomed to crumble on those shifting sands. Many have tried to destroy Christianity threw one philosophy or political movement towards an earthly Utopia. Even those using Christianity for evil. They are now as much dust as their ideas & books.
Always easy to blame Catholics. In an organization that big your bound to have a your fair share of knaves. Jesus predicted it himself. By the way I am not Catholic but what I consider an Historical Christian. I go by the Bible & early Christian practices, which are more or less when you rid modern Christianity of its Gentile furnishings, is in really a Jewish sect at base. The big difference being Followers of the way trust Jesus was the first coming of the Messiah as our Pascal lamb for the remission of sins for a relationship with the Living God.
This from a guy who never went to Church & who’s family was as heathen as you can get for generations. I used to be an Atheist till I ran into God kicking & screaming my disbelief all the way till I couldn’t deny the reality any more.
The idea Jesus never existed is a modern delusion Just look at the effects of the Jesus on our whole Culture for 2000 years, it makes me laugh that one can believe in cause & effect, yet deny the cause lol. How many thousands of books have said the same, that always end up being ridiculed for stupidity.
Seems every half century the NT is pushed back in age, as I might say the Old which we consider just as relevant as the NT. The dead sea scrolls put paid to the nonsense of there being written in the 300 BC or after. I believe they now think most where written in 60 AD for the NT. A lot of scholars have had to eat this because there are now over 10,000 examples of the NT scripture found before 150 Ad. Just 50 years ago they where sure none had been written till after 200 AD. No one disputes Mohammed lived, nor the Buddha, or Plato for that matter. Jesus is different it seems except for Moses. You get deniers there as well.
See the unpalatable standard here.
Yet where to believe the revisionists yet again. I read a lot about this Pope, he was under a ton of restrictions. That he broke at every turn for Jews & other Christians not Catholic. Perhaps he could have done more, but gee that’s easy to say when you don’t have a billion people counting on you in a time of war horrors. His contemporizes should speak for him, not the girly boy Christian hating gay world of today. They experienced the times not us.
History if it exists in the future. Weill laugh with scorn at this age of hysterics conjoined to gullibility with the worship of emotions over reason. Where true hero’s are defiled, while the inhumane monsters are praised or lauded as mini messiahs . With only death as their legacy. Like a certain baby killer with an Order of Canada.
People are free to think or believe anything, just don’t be stupid about it, or ill informed of your own positions. Its sloppy at best. Purposely misleading at worst.
Thanks Kate for posting this. Its a great lesson in historic bandits becoming revisionists, for political or social agendas.
JMO
Edward Teach said: “He didn’t have much to say when the Catholic Croats were committing atrocities on the Orthodox Serbs.”
You may want to look up the date of Pope Pius XII’s death.
Edward Teach said: “He didn’t have much to say when the Catholic Croats were committing atrocities on the Orthodox Serbs.”
You may want to look up the date of Pope Pius XII’s death.
Priestblock 25487 and the German movie The Ninth Day cover the persecution of Catholic priests in the Holocaust.
“In May 1941, Father Jean Bernard was arrested for denouncing the Nazis and deported from his native Luxembourg to Dachau’s “Priest Block,” a barracks that housed more than 3,000 clergymen of various denominations (the vast majority Roman Catholic priests). Priestblock 25487 tells the gripping true story of his survival amid inhuman brutality, degradation, and torture. This important book, originally published in Germany in 1963, was adapted by director Volker Schlöndorff into the film The Ninth Day in 2004.”
If you were a Catholic, a Pole and a priest the Nazis had a special kind of hell in store for you.
As a Jew it saddens me that this is going on, for first of all it takes a lot of cheek to want to dictate to the Catholic church who they can canonise. I doubt that anyone has all the facts other than the fact that pope did receive praise from the Jewish community, and only much later has been demonised by the same. A greater service would be for these same people to concern themselves with real and actual threats and danger to Jews coming from the radical Left and its alliance with the Islamofascists.
Hannibal Lectern wrote: Edward Teach said: “He didn’t have much to say when the Catholic Croats were committing atrocities on the Orthodox Serbs.”
You may want to look up the date of Pope Pius XII’s death.
There’s more to history than the last 20 years, sport. The Serb-Croat conflict started LONG before the death of Tito and the breakup of Yugoslavia. I’m referring to events that took place during WWII, while Pacelli was alive and when he was pope.
“I’m referring to events that took place during WWII, while Pacelli was alive and when he was pope.”
Do go on Teach. What profound moral failing was Pope Pius XII guilty of in the Serb-Croat affair?
“Catholic Croats”
If memory serves, the “Catholic Croats” whom you refer to were part of the Axis Powers during WWII. Since Pope Pius XII had Nazis stationed 200 yards away exactly what was he supposed to do that he wasn’t already busy doing?
Quote from the article, for those who are hard of hearing:
“With no records, it’s easy to point to what he didn’t do, says Rabbi Silver. “But my question is this: Does it take a rocket scientist to figure out why there is no paper trail? Rome was occupied by the Nazis, there were German spies in the Vatican, so what would have happened if they had found physical evidence of the pope’s actions? There is not a paper trail linking the Final Solution to Hitler. If you don’t want to give credit to the pope because there was no paper trail, you can’t blame Hitler for the Final Solution, because there was no paper trail there either.””
Did you catch that? German spies in the Vatican. Axis power spies in the Vatican.
Teach,
You’re not leaving much of a paper trail in this thread.
I was always impressed by the leadership of Richard Kastner during WW11.
Re: “Israeli social affairs minister Isaac Herzog called the canonization process “unacceptable.”
Perhaps Herzog would like to rule the whole damn world. As it is he has no say what Catholics do.
End of story.
You can’t really defend a pope who couldn’t be bothered to have Hitler excommunicated, or to call on Christian Germans to refuse to carry out his orders.
Even worse – how can you take seriously anyone who claims to be God’s right-hand-man, while simultaneously being cowed into silence by the presence of enemy soldiers? You’d figure if “god” was going to help anyone, he might start with the friggin’ pope …
“You can’t really defend a pope who couldn’t be bothered to have Hitler excommunicated, or to call on Christian Germans to refuse to carry out his orders.”
Rabbi David Dalin’s “The Myth of Hitler’s Pope” and Ronald Rychlak’s 2 books: “Righteous Gentiles: How Pius XII and the Catholic Church Saved Half a Million Jews from the Nazis” and “Hitler, the War, and the Pope” do exactly that, including examining what excommunication really is.
If you wish to persist in your ignorance I strongly suggest you NOT read these books and you should also AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE Sir Martin Gilbert’s 2006 essay in the American Spectator titled Hitler’s Pope?
How about it Alex?
Posted by: Alex at November 30, 2008 9:08 PM
“You’d figure if “god” was going to help anyone, he might start with the friggin’ pope …”
To point to the stupidity of the argument above here is one change.
“You’d figure if “god” was going to help anyone, he might start with the friggin’ Jew …”
Of course now all hell breaks loose.
I agree with the thrust of the article that Pius XII has been very unfairly demonized in recent history. I’m not a catholic, but I believe credit should be given where it’s due. Pius XII was in a very delicate position with no real temporal power (In the words of Stalin, “And how many divisions has the Pope?”). My reading of history is that Pius did what he could with his limited authority and not without risk to his church and himself.
His situation is reminiscent of that of Capt Bligh, unfairly portrayed by Hollywood as a deranged sadist, but according to the best historical records in fact a very humane and capable leader, mariner, and navigator.
Nothing sells, or sticks like a smear.
“How about it Alex?”
I have neither the time, nor the desire to spend my money, in order to read books on a topic in which I have little interest, written by people I’ve never heard of. If your silly little argument from authority makes you feel superior, hey, fill your boots. On the other hand, if you’re actually interested in having a reasoned exchange of ideas, or proving a point, then I suggest you summarize their arguments as well as providing a reason why they should be taken seriously.
“To point to the stupidity of the argument above here is one change.”
I agree – it’s idiotic to expect “god” to help anyone, yet billions of people waste time wishing for exactly that type of interference. Thank you for pointing out the absurdity of prayer.
“Thank you for pointing out the absurdity of prayer.”
The Talmud says God answers all prayers. Most of the time, the answer is no.