Sainthood for Pope Pius XII unacceptable, Israeli minister says
An Israeli cabinet minister stepped into a row with the Vatican today, saying it was "unacceptable" to consider canonising Pius XII, who was pope during the second world war and has been criticised by some for not publicly opposing the Holocaust.
In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, Isaac Herzog, Israel's social affairs minister, who is responsible for relations with Christian communities, said efforts to turn Pius into a saint were "an exploitation of forgetfulness and lack of awareness".
He accused Pius of having kept silent during the war. "Throughout the period of the Holocaust, the Vatican knew very well what was happening in Europe," Herzog told the paper. "Yet there is no evidence of any step being taken by the pope, as the stature of the Holy See should have mandated ... Instead of acting according to the biblical verse 'thou shalt not stand against the blood of thy neighbour' the pope kept silent - and perhaps even worse."
His comments come at a time when some in the Vatican have been pressing for the current pope, Benedict XVI, to take the next step towards making Pius a saint by approving a decree recognising his "heroic virtues". Earlier this month the pope paid tribute to his wartime predecessor, but a Vatican spokesman said Benedict was now in a period of reflection about Pius. "It isn't right to submit him to pressures on one side or another," the spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said in Rome.
Benedict has defended Pius, saying he worked "secretly and silently" during the war and saved thousands by ordering churches and convents in Italy to hide Jews and by giving them false passports to escape.
Others have been more critical.
Read entire article at Guardian (UK)
In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, Isaac Herzog, Israel's social affairs minister, who is responsible for relations with Christian communities, said efforts to turn Pius into a saint were "an exploitation of forgetfulness and lack of awareness".
He accused Pius of having kept silent during the war. "Throughout the period of the Holocaust, the Vatican knew very well what was happening in Europe," Herzog told the paper. "Yet there is no evidence of any step being taken by the pope, as the stature of the Holy See should have mandated ... Instead of acting according to the biblical verse 'thou shalt not stand against the blood of thy neighbour' the pope kept silent - and perhaps even worse."
His comments come at a time when some in the Vatican have been pressing for the current pope, Benedict XVI, to take the next step towards making Pius a saint by approving a decree recognising his "heroic virtues". Earlier this month the pope paid tribute to his wartime predecessor, but a Vatican spokesman said Benedict was now in a period of reflection about Pius. "It isn't right to submit him to pressures on one side or another," the spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said in Rome.
Benedict has defended Pius, saying he worked "secretly and silently" during the war and saved thousands by ordering churches and convents in Italy to hide Jews and by giving them false passports to escape.
Others have been more critical.