Letter to the Editors
NEW YORK, MAY 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is an adapted version of a letter to the editors received by ZENIT from Sister Margherita Marchione, a Pius XII scholar.
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On May 8, members of the Congregation for Saints' Causes voted unanimously to recommend that Benedict XVI formerly declare Pope Pius XII "Venerable." Hopefully this recognition that Pius XII lived the Christian virtues in a heroic manner will bring an end to the controversy over whether he did enough in defense of the Jews and other victims of the Nazis. The 30 cardinals and bishops -- from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Japan, and the USA -- studied six volumes of documents comprising more than 3,000 pages.
However, soon after the announcement, Abraham Foxman, national Anti-Defamation League director and a Holocaust survivor, urged Benedict XVI to suspend the action taken by the congregation regarding Pius XII's "heroic virtues" until all Pius XII documents in the Vatican Archives are made available.
Ever since the death of Pius XII in 1958, every Pope from John XXIII to Benedict XVI noted his sanctity. In fact, in his first Christmas message, John XXIII said his predecessor was worthy of canonization and called him "Supreme doctor, light of holy mother Church, lover of the divine law."
Pope John Paul II at the start of his 1987 visit to the United States, defended Pius XII during a meeting with Jewish leaders, recalling "how deeply he felt about the tragedy of the Jewish people, and how hard and effectively he worked to assist them during the Second World War."
It was Pius XII who authorized false baptismal certificates to save Jewish lives. He also distributed visas for Jews to enter other countries, and ordered the superiors of convents and monasteries to open their doors and hide Jews and other victims of the Nazis and Fascists. Angelo Roncalli (Pope John XXIII), who also distributed many certificates, stated that all he was doing was following the Pope's directives.
Almost 50 years have passed since Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, then apostolic nuncio in Istanbul, wrote in his diary about an audience with Pius XII on Oct. 10, 1941. He declared that the Pope's statements were "prudent."
It is interesting to note that when news of Pius XII's death on Oct. 9, 1958, was flashed around the world, an editorial, "Fighter for Peace," in the Los Angeles Examiner expressed the sentiments of Catholics and non-Catholics, and declared that this "Fighter for Peace" was the "Pope of Peace." Of those mourning the Pope's death, Jews -- who credited him with being one of their greatest benefactors -- were in the forefront.
Did Pius XII help the Jews? Indeed he did. Nor can one claim he was "silent."
Rather one must speak of his "prudence." In his Christmas radio messages of '41, '42, and '43 following this audience, Pius XII denounced theories that attribute rights to "a particular race." He revealed that "hundreds of thousands of people, through no fault of theirs, sometimes only because of nationality or race, were destined to die."
[Text adapted]
Code: ZE07053008
Date: 2007-05-30