Debating sainthood for Pope Pius XII

[struggle4progress]

Posted by Michael Paulson October 9, 2008 11:14 PM

The controversy over the likely canonization of Pope Pius XII (left) heated up again this week, as the first rabbi invited to speak to a Synod of Bishops indirectly criticized the wartime pope, and Pope Benedict XVI three days later responded with a defense. The back-and-forth is only the latest chapter in a long-running debate over whether Pius, who was pope from 1939 to 1958, did enough to help victims of the Holocaust.

The flap began Monday, when, according to an account by John L. Allen Jr. in the National Catholic Reporter, the chief rabbi of Haifa, Shear-Yashuv Cohen, said "We cannot forget the sad and painful fact of how many, including great religious leaders, didn’t raise a voice in the effort to save our brethren, but chose to keep silent and help secretly...We cannot forgive and forget, and we hope you understand our pain, our sorrow” ...

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2008/10/the_pius_wars_h.html

[leveymg]

1. Sainthood for "Hitler's Pope"? Who's next - St. Mussolini?

[knitter4democracy]

2. What a terrible idea.

They really should look into WWII issues more before going through with this. Better yet, just leave it alone. There are better saints to canonize than that guy.

[Az]

3. He sat by doing nothing until he saw that it was politically unsound to remain silent

Clearly not an enlightened individual. If he was enlightened in any way he should have raised his voice at the first opportunity. He should have taken Hitler down. Oh cripe I violated Godwin's law. Er... wait... I think its appropriate to mention Hitler in this issue right?

[onager]

5. Oh, he did plenty...

Cardinal Secretary of State, Eugenio Pacelli (later to become Pope Pius XII) signs the Concordat between Nazi Germany and the Vatican at a formal ceremony in Rome on 20 July 1933. Nazi Vice-Chancellor Franz von Papen sits at the left, Pacelli in the middle...

The Concordat effectively legitimized Hitler and the Nazi government to the eyes of Catholicism, Christianity, and the world.

http://www.nobeliefs.com/

Speaking of which...has anyone read this book? Sounds interesting:

Under His Very Windows: The Vatican and the Holocaust in Italy by Susan Zuccotti

Pope Pius XII has often been criticized for his silence during the extermination of European Jewry during World War II. In his defense, some have alleged that the pope was doing a great deal to help the Jews but that his efforts were necessarily behind the scenes.

This meticulously researched and balanced book examines exactly what the pope, his advisers, and his assistants at the Vatican Secretariat of State did to help the Jews of Italy.

It finds that they did very little.

http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=0300093101

[Occam Bandage]

4. Only a true man of God would remain utterly and competely silent

during the greatest atrocities in history out of fear of a thuggish government. Truly Pius XII acted as Peter would have when he closed his mouth rather than risk the wrath of the military authorities in Rome.

[skepticscott]

6. What does it matter?

Sainthood is just made up silliness. An ultimately meaningless honor granted by an organization that was fundamentally and irretrievably corrupt long before anyone had heard of Hitler. Let them honor who they will for whatever reasons they can dream up, and let them pretend it means something.