A further and resounding defense of the actions on behalf of Jews suffering deadly persecutions under the Hitler regime, taken by the late Pope Pius XII, was printed here today in the Vatican’s official organ, L’Osservatore Romano.
The article made it clear that, when Pope Paul VI made a statement in Jerusalem, last Sunday, defending Pius, the present Pontiff was referring specifically to the German drama. “The Deputy,” which accuses Pope Pius of failing to speak out against the Hitler holocaust. Pope Paul had made his pro-Pius statement when he was leaving Israeli territory, at the Mandelbaum Gate, on his way back to the Jordanian area.
“It is not necessary,” stated L’Osservatore Romano, “to explain that Paul VI, by these and other words, referred to a known theatrical work which has provoked lively discussions and protests. To vindicate the memory of the Pope of the war years, his good will, his heroic work, his intense and direct participation–there, near the Mandelbaum Gate in Jerusalem–meant reaffirming and exalting the dignity of man, created in the image of God, meant to defend man from all oppressions, discriminations, all cruelties that ensue from the inevitable.
“Paul VI, before his audience of survivors of the tragedy which swept away so many of their brothers and ours, raised his voice against denigration and calumny which, against the person of Pope Pius XII, attempted to strike the Church and, with her the people of the faithful.
“It is false to say that the tragedy of the Jews, and of so many other beings judged then of being of an ‘inferior race,’ was not understood or shared. The truth is the opposite. The Pope and the Church did everything they could with assiduous zeal, often hidden and therefore unknown to many through daily engagement often performed and with true heroism.
“Neither did they fear to pass the limits that a certain common sense obstinately assigns to their action in history. Nothing that concerns man can leave the Church indifferent or her visible head who leads her through the centuries. This, in its time, was acknowledged with gratefulness by Jewish leaders who manifested, on several occasions, their thanks to Pius XII. All those who did not share the Christian faith should took with confidence and hope at the Church, which has not betrayed and will not betray.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
