Will Pope Francis open the archives?

There is speculation in some quarters that the new pope, Francis, will speed up the opening process of the Vatican archives from the pontificate of Pius XII.  I suspect this is a bit of wishful thinking.  Francis needs time to settle into his new role and so far he has indicated that it will be "business as usual" for the time being until he is ready to make changes.  I doubt if the Archives are a major priority at present, but I am happy to be proven wrong.

This article was taken from Steve Lipman and Stewart Ain's article in The Jewish Week.  Whether or not the new pope speeds up the opening of the archives, his long and positive relations with the Jewish community in Argentina points to the ongoing, friendly development of relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.  And this is a very good thing, following in the footsteps of the popes since John XXIII.

Opening Wartime Archives?

The selection of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina to be the new pope of the Roman Catholic Church is being seen as a move that will continue to cement Catholic-Jewish relations and perhaps end the debate over the Church’s actions during World War II.

Bergoglio, 76, who took the name Francis and is the first Jesuit ever to be chosen pope, has publicly called for the opening of the Vatican archives to learn the true role Pope Pius XII during the Holocaust. 

There have been allegations that Pope Pius XII, who is on track to be canonized by the Church, remained silent in the face of the mass extermination of Jews and that he was friendly to the Nazis. Others have claimed that he secretly instructed Catholic clergy to hide Jews and that he did so himself inside the walls of Vatican City.

Rabbi Abraham Skorka, who co-authored a book with the new Pope in 2010, “On Heaven and Earth,” told The Jewish Week that they devoted a chapter in which they “analyzed the attitude of Pope Pius XII during the Second World War. His answer was, in essence, that we have to wait to open all the archives and analyze all the details regarding this issue.”

Asked if he believes that with his new authority Pope Francis will order the opening of the archives, Rabbi Skorka replied: “I believe yes, that his attitude will be to search for all of the details and to open all the archives. He will use this opportunity to learn the truth.”

Rabbi Skorka said that during his discussion with Bergoglio about this issue, “I explained that I could not understand how a person — a spiritual leader — didn’t involve himself more and more during the Shoah [Holocaust]. His answer was, ‘Let us continue searching to reach the truth.’”

I have left the rest of the article out of this post as it is not directly related to the topic of the archives.

Pope Francis

An interview with David Cymet "History vs Apologetics"

This article featured in the latest Jewish Week.  David Cymet's book is creating interest in historical circles.  I have just started reading it and my initial impression is that while there is a sense of creating a wholistic framework which needs to be established to place the subject matter within its appropriate historical context/s, this book is, in many ways, a literature review of the last half-century of material on Pius XII, the Holocaust and the role of the Catholic Church. A quick look at the notes and bibliography show an almost exclusive reliance on secondary sources, which does cause some worry especially given the relative ease of accessing so much archival material, including the Vatican files up to 1939.  I will not comment on the substance of the interview until I have read the book, but I am intrigued by the response made to the first question about "whitewashing" the Church's role  during the Shoah.  Having read my way through ADSS that is not an impression I gained of the Vatican leadership during the war.

Making Sense Of Pius’ Wartime Record

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Steve Lipman, Staff Writer

The role of the Catholic Church during the Holocaust — and of Pope Pius XII, its wartime leader — has remained a subject of controversy for nearly a half century, since Rolf Hochhuth’s play, “The Deputy,” accused Pius of indifference to Jewish suffering at the hands of the Nazis. The latest voice in this discussion is Davidt Cymet, a Mexico-born educator who spent eight years researching “History vs. Apologetics” (Lexington Books), an exhaustive study of the Church and Pius XII during World War II.

Q: Libraries are full of books about the actions of Pius XII — and the Catholic Church — during the Holocaust. What new information or perspective do you bring to the discussion?

A: The large literature on the role the Church played in the Holocaust is fragmented. Authors deal with specific episodes, often with no visible connection between them. Without the knowledge of that vast literature, one cannot begin to understand and evaluate the role of the Church during that period, particularly as long as the Church continues to block free access to its archives and maintains a selective tight control over them.

The role played by defenders of the Church in the Shoah is the equivalent to that of the Holocaust deniers. Although these defenders are not necessarily interested in denying the Holocaust per se, their main agenda is to whitewash the Church and its leaders of any responsibility in the Shoah.

Much of my time was spent to acquire critical mastery of that literature. A unifying background and perspective  ... linking the particular episodes in a logical coherent and historically valid account within the framework of their contemporary general background ... has been badly missing.

Why is the Vatican’s behavior seven decades ago still relevant to the Jewish community?

After the Cain murder of European Jewry, the Church had some explaining to do ... but it took more than 50 years for the Vatican to recognize its moral obligation to examine its past. It was only after Pius XII’s 1958 death that important changes in the Catholic attitude towards the Jewish people began; the Vatican II Council produced Nostra Aetate (1965) in which the so-called “exoneration” of the Jewish people of the crime of deicide took place. Nevertheless, the first three drafts of Nostra Aetate included the Christian doctrine of the ultimate conversion of the Jewish people to the Christian faith.

Pope John Paul II ... who had personally witnessed the horror of the Holocaust in Poland ... put the question on the agenda for the first time in 1987. He delegated Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, president of the Holy See Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, to produce an official document on the question of Christian responsibility for the Shoah. “We Remember: Reflections on the Shoah” rejected any connection between millennial Church anti-Semitism and Nazi anti-Semitism and denied the formidable role played by German Catholicism in the rise of Hitler to power.

The fact that the Church failed to acknowledge the historic role it played in the Shoah ... is not to be taken lightly. It means that not having found fault with its past actions and policies, the Church may continue to consider them a valid model to follow in the future.

The pope’s critics say he turned a blind eye to Nazi atrocities against the Jews. His defenders say he quietly had the Church save untold Jewish lives. Saint or sinner — what’s your take on Pius XII?

On September 1933 ... Vatican Secretary of State Eugene Pacelli [the future Pius XII] agreed to provide a written promise not to interfere in “German internal affairs”  ... the persecution of the Jews ... in exchange for a verbal promise to exclude Jewish converts to Catholicism (non-Aryan Catholics) from these actions. The Church adhered scrupulously afterwards to its promise of not interfering with the persecution of the Jews; during the war Pius XII did not mention the Jews even once. Allegations of how much the Church did to save Jews have no factual basis. To the contrary, available evidence and testimonies ... prove the callous indifference of the Church.

Is continued Jewish interest in the Vatican’s wartime record — and Jewish opposition to Pius’ canonization — harming Jewish-Catholic relations?

Jews have no part in the polemic if Pius XII deserves or does not deserve to be canonized. That is a matter for the Church and its believers to investigate and decide by themselves. What does, however, concern Jews, is the legitimate question on the role played by the Church and its highest authorities in the attempt led by Third Reich to annihilate the Jewish people. It is a tragic error to think that the truth as such will harm Jewish-Catholic relations and assume that good relations can be built perpetuating deception and make-believe.

Keeping up to date on Pius XII news

Over the last week or so there have been more than a few news stories related to Pius XII.  Some are serious, many are apologetics masquerading as history and some are just plain irrelevant.

I've classified my email inbox collection under three headings:  Worth the read; Worth a look; Don't bother.  This is only a taste of what appears most days via google alerts.  I have not made reference to some of the material, there is simply too much.  Some posts are so offensive I would not want to give them any publicity, and that includes references to Holocaust deniers and other assorted fringe-dwellers, religious or otherwise.

Worth the read

1.  Greek Catholic Monastery Recalls Saving Jews in War  A good news story of an Eastern Rite Catholic monastery near Lviv where a significant number of Jewish boys were hidden and saved.  The Abbot of the monastery was Klement Sheptysky, (1869-1951), brother of Andrei (1865-1944) the Metropolitan (Archbishop) of Lviv. Their coworker was the priest Omelyan Kovch, (1884-1944) who was later arrested and sent to KL Majdanek were he died.  Both Klement Sheptysky and Omelyan Kovch were beatified by John Paul II in 2001.
(The link gives a redirect to the original source, the Kyiv Post.)

2.  Cardinal says Jews want Sainthood for Nazi-era Pope  This ranks as one of the most amazing "foot in mouth" articles I have seen in a long while.  Successor to the highly sensitive and diplomatic Walter Kasper, Kurt Koch appears to have not understood the debate surrounding Pius XII.  Koch's claim that many Jews are supportive of the eventual canonisation of Pius is an extraordinary claim to make.  Rabbi Eric Greenberg, director of Inter-faith relations with the ADL summed up the consensus of the gathering at Seton Hall, when he expressed his dismay that Koch seems to have learned his history from non-historical sources.

3.  New Dialogue Leader off to bad start Steve Lipman from The Jewish Week continues the Cardinal Koch story.  Eric Greenberg's comments are very apt.  The New Jersey Jewish News report on the Cardinal's comments was placed within the context of the three day Inter-Faith conference where Koch was one of the principal speakers.

4.  Challenges facing the Vatican's Jewish Point Man  Rabbi Noam Marans, one of the participants at Seton Hall gives his side of the story.  It is a well-written and thoughtful article that places Christian-Jewish relations within its bigger context.

Worth a look

1. The Fighting Nun in Rome and the Pope Pius XII Museum  Worth a look for the document quoted in its entirety.  A W Klieforth, US Consul General wrote an appraisal of the newly elected Pius XII addressed to Jay Pierrepont Moffat, Chief of the Division of European Affairs at the Department of State.  Klieforth noted Pacelli's anti-communist position as well as his strong condemnation of Nazism. 

2. It didn't take long for some groups to respond to Cardinal Koch's statements at Seton Hall.  Joseph Bottum's comments on Catholic Vote suggest that the Cardinal's words were taken out of context.

Don't bother
1.  Don't have the energy to write your own apologia on Pius XII?  Well, you can use one that has been written online!  Gregory Luther or Gelinde Cobbs, (I'm not sure which one is the author) on Essaypedia does the work for you.  True to the non-historians format, Lapide gets a front row seat in the bibliography.

2.  The claim made by Pave The Way that Pius XII went undercover to get a Jewish family out of the Rome ghetto is one thing.  The comments by readers of the California Catholic Daily are quite another.  It is part of the availability of the Internet - we can all have a voice, rational or otherwise.