I am catching up on my reading and have seen this great article at Inside the Vatican Magazine called Pope Pius XII: "Be proud to be a Jew!"
Anti Catholics and Anti Christians always try to make a case that Pope Pius the XII was in bed with HItler. Or at least didn't really care. Of course this all nonsense. There has been a signifcant find that again proves this is bladderdash.
Here is just a part of the article:
As the article reports, the Jewish author attended a papal audience in the autumn of 1941. He entered the papal chamber along with numerous other people, including a group of German soldiers. (It was common for soldiers to visit the Pope early in the war era. Later, when Hitler learned of what the Pope told them, he put an end to this practice.)
The author was the final individual to approach the Pope that day. He wanted to tell Pius about a group of Jews who were being interned by Italy’s Fascist government on an island, in danger of starvation. He tried to speak in broken Italian, but the Pope invited him to use his native language, assuming that it would be German. "You are German, too, aren't you?" asked the Pope. The author then explained that he was born in Germany, but he was a Jew.
Pius invited the author to finish his story. He listened intently then said: "You have done well to come to me and tell me this. I have heard about it before. Come back tomorrow with a written report and give it to the Secretary of State who is dealing with the question. But now for you, my son. You are a young Jew. I know what that means and I hope you will always be proud to be a Jew!"
Pius then raised his voice so that everyone in the hall - including the German soldiers - could hear it and said (in a "pleasant voice"): "My son, whether you are worthier than others only the Lord knows, but believe me, you are at least as worthy as every other human being that lives on our earth! And now, my Jewish friend, go with the protection of the Lord, and never forget, you must always be proud to be a Jew!"
The significance of this testimony, particularly for the cause of Pius XII, is still too early to gage, but Doino believes "it may well be the most explicit single testimony about Pius’s personal feelings toward Jews that has ever been recorded. It is not too far removed from Pius XI’s famous declaration of September 1938: "No, it is not possible for Christians to take part in anti-Semitism.... Spiritually, we are all Semites." But Doino notes one great difference between the statements: "Pius XI’s remark to a group of Belgian pilgrims was given wide publicity and is often quoted; Pius XII’s statement has been lost to history -- until now."
"For Pius XII to make this statement to a German Jew, in 1941, in private, would have been remarkable enough," continued Doino. "That he did it in public, with his voice raised so that 'everybody in the hall' could 'hear it clearly,' in front of German soldiers, as well as cardinals, bishops and other high dignitaries of the Vatican government, is more astonishing still. It doesn't merely reveal Pius XII's kindness and Christian compassion; he goes well beyond that and affirms the young man's Jewishness, the very core and dignity of his being."
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Pope Pius XII: Be proud to be a Jew!”
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3 comments:
Trying to save Pius XII's reputation is a lost cause.
Franz Jagerstatter, who was just "beatifed" was one of only 7 Catholics who refused to serve in Hitler's armed services. What few of the R. C. hierarchy were able to fathom at the time Franz formulated very clearly in a letter from prison to his wife, "Can there be any talk of defense of the Fatherland when one invades countries that owe one (i.e. Germany) nothing and robs and murders there? What more can we Catholic Austrians lose if we fight no further for the German state? ... That we Catholics must make ourselves tools of the worst and most dangerous anti-Christian power that has ever existed is something I cannot and never will believe."
These private words you quote are nothing compared to the failure to condemn any of the leaders of the AXIS nations, almost every one of whom was a Roman Catholic!!! See http://JesusWouldBeFurious.Org/RCscandal .
Thanks for the response. I am tempted to do a full fledged post on Pius the XII.
Pius the XII was aware of what the stakes. However when the Church spoke Catholics and others were rounded up in a major repisal in HOlland.
IN the end PIus the XII was hiding Jews in the Vatican, at the Papal estates, and places all around Rome. That is one reason why the Cheif Rabbi of ROme later converted to Catholicsim
If you read my site, as recommended, you'll see how empty those common excuses are. Briefly, the fate of the Jews in Holland had nothing to do with the pope's timid complaints, as demonstrated by the fact the the Protestant Jews suffered the same fate at the same time, despite the fact that their clergy had kept their mouthes shut and had NOT spoken out against Hitler.
And Rabbi Zolli "converted" to Catholicism after he and his family had been given refuge in the Vatican but left most of his congregation to do so. He became a Catholic because his own people "excommunicated" him.
By the way, the Vatican has about eleven THOUSAND rooms (that's not a typo), enough to house ALL of the Jews of Rome. I devote a whole page to the Vatican Palace.
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