Holocaust-surviving Jews Thank Pope

[Eden]

"June 18, 2008

Today, Pope Benedict XVI is welcoming a group of Jewish Holocaust survivors. Arranged by the Pave the Way Foundation, the group will personally thank the pope for the Catholic Church’s intervention in saving their lives in Italy during World War II."

The rest of the article is here:

catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1448

I was surprised to read in this article that 85% of Italy’s Jews were saved during WWII, more than any other country in Europe. That’s surprising considering Mussolini’s political alliance with Hitler, a fact which magnifies the contributions of Pope Pius XII to help the Jews during the war.

 

[Cathdefender]

This is great news for anyone who ever doubted the sincerity of the Catholic church.

 

[Kaninchen]

The Pius XII question has always been an enormous diversion in understanding the issues involved.

 

[Kaninchen]

I was surprised to read in this article that 85% of Italy’s Jews were saved during WWII, more than any other country in Europe. That’s surprising considering Mussolini’s political alliance with Hitler, a fact which magnifies the contributions of Pope Pius XII to help the Jews during the war.

I can appreciate that it must be nice to think that it was Pius who was responsible for Italy being the safest place in Axis Europe for Jews but it wasn’t vaguely ‘surprising considering Mussolini’s political alliance with Hitler’, Italian Fascism and Nazism were very different phenomena. It was only really after the fall of the Fascist regime in 1943 and the setting up of the German puppet “Repubblica Sociale Italiana” and German occupation of Northern and Central Italy that there was serious danger.

 

[JReducation]

This is why it’s so important to read very carefully any document that people post here on CAF regarding the Catholic Church’s position on the salvation of the Jews and the conversion of the Jews. One must always ask what the issue was at the time. The document was addressed to whom? What was the mind of the Pope who wrote it? What exactly did he mean?

The Church’s activities on behalf of the Jews during the 20th century indicate the Church’s love for all people and her recognition that all men and women are our brothers and sisters. It also teaches us that true evangelization begins not with in-your-face proselytising, but by putting one’s own life on the line. The Italian Catholics as well as many Polish Catholics put their lives on the line for the Jews. Some, such as Maximilian Kolbe lost their lives for the Jews.

When the Franciscan friary where Maximilian was the superior was to be invaded by the Nazis, Maximilian ordered the friars to take their place among the Jews. That night, they left the friary, dressed in secular clothes and joined a community of Jews who were in hiding. St. Maximilian told his friars, “St. Francis does not want our lives to be spared. He wants us to be one with our Jewish brothers and sisters, because they are Christ’s people.” Most of those friars were killed that night. Maximilian was eventually killed in a concentration camp, because he stepped up to the plate to take the place of a Jew who was identified to die as a punishment, because another prisoner had escaped.

During his detainment in the concentration camp, St. Maximilian held services for the Jews in Hebrew. Angelo Roncalli, who later became Pope John XXIII, did the same. He snuck into Jewish hiding places and he brought along rabbis to offer services for the Jews. When there was no rabbi, Cardinal Roncalli acted as the Rabbi. He also snuck 500 Jewish children on board a ship and used all of his diplomatic influence to find a country that would take this shipload of orphans.

Karol Woytila snuck Jews out of Poland when he was a seminarian. He forged baptismal certificates which allowed them to pass as Catholic Poles. This was a violation of Canon Law, but the local bishop authorized it and the Vatican looked the other way, even though they knew this was happening, because many of these Jews ended up in Italy

In Spain the bishops allowed the Jews to hide inside of papal cloisters, which are never supposed to be opened to the laity.

In all of this we can see that true evangelization and true ecumenism begins with giving one’s life for one’s neighbour, even if one does not literally die, one takes that risk willingly, out of love for Christ. In the end, the graces that flow out of such great acts of mercy transform men’s hearts in a way that we will never know and at a time that we may never see and lead all people to Christ. Such is the hope and belief of the Church.

JR

 

[Kaninchen]

The Church’s activities on behalf of the Jews during the 20th century indicate the Church’s love for all people and her recognition that all men and women are our brothers and sisters.

One of the reasons why I’ve always thought the Pius XII a complete diversion is not so much the accuracy or not of the claims against him (always questionable at best) but focusing the issue on the behavior of one individual and a group of regularly quoted ‘righteous gentiles’ who somehow become representative of ‘The Church’ or ‘Catholics’ or ‘Protestants’ (for that matter).

The thing is that anti-Semitism was rife in Catholic Europe, ‘Catholics’ were involved in the Nazi machine and ‘Catholics’ collaborated with Nazi occupation authorities. Not only that, institutional Catholicism in countries like Slovakia and Croatia had a role in the authoritarian, persecutory regimes.

The truth is mixed - ‘Catholics’ were involved in the Nazi State, the Nazi war and the Nazi genocide - ‘Catholics’ were also involved in resistance to the Nazi State and occupation, fighting against the Nazis and saving Jews from the Holocaust. The activities of the former do not form some kind of ultimate condemnation of ‘Catholics’ but the activities of the latter do not form some kind of ultimate defense.

 

[JReducation]

One of the reasons why I’ve always thought the Pius XII a complete diversion is not so much the accuracy or not of the claims against him (always questionable at best) but focusing the issue on the behavior of one individual and a group of regularly quoted ‘righteous gentiles’ who somehow become representative of ‘The Church’ or ‘Catholics’ or ‘Protestants’ (for that matter).

The thing is that anti-Semitism was rife in Catholic Europe, ‘Catholics’ were involved in the Nazi machine and ‘Catholics’ collaborated with Nazi occupation authorities. Not only that, institutional Catholicism in countries like Slovakia and Croatia had a role in the authoritarian, persecutory regimes.

The truth is mixed - ‘Catholics’ were involved in the Nazi State, the Nazi war and the Nazi genocide - ‘Catholics’ were also involved in resistance to the Nazi State and occupation, fighting against the Nazis and saving Jews from the Holocaust. The activities of the former do not form some kind of ultimate condemnation of ‘Catholics’ but the activities of the latter do not form some kind of ultimate defense.

Your point is well made, but the activities of those who put their lives on the line for the Jewish people was consistent with the Christian gospel as opposed to those who went with the status quo. That’s where the difference lays.

The question that has to be asked, which behaviour is truly Catholic. The answer is, the behaviour of those who practiced mercy, because that is what is expected of a real Catholic, just as it is expected of a real Jew.

Having grown up Jewish I saw my fait share of anti-Christian posturing, which I would never call Jewish. I would call it the acts of Jews, which is different from the faith of Judaism. The same applies to Catholics. Not every act of Catholics is Catholicism.

Those who died a martyrs death for the Jewish people represented true Catholicism.

JR

 

[Kaninchen]

Those who died a martyrs death for the Jewish people represented true Catholicism.

JR

I would not disagree with that thought but, unfortunately, concentrating on it, in and of itself, can hide, even prevent, a necessary understanding just how that broke down in that era and may potentially break down in the future.

It has always been my belief that one of the keys to understanding the decline of the Church in Europe lies in that discontinuity between the ‘ideal’ and ‘what actually happened’ in the first half of the last century.

 

[Sam_777]

I was surprised to read in this article that 85% of Italy’s Jews were saved during WWII, more than any other country in Europe.

Remember that Italy has the Vatican city, the holiest city on earth.

 

[dolphinlove]

Im glad this has happened.
And i pray this atrocity never happens again on this earth.

 

[Valke2]

Im glad this has happened.
And i pray this atrocity never happens again on this earth.

Just to be clear. When you say you are glad this happened, you are referring to the meeting of holocaust survivors with the Pope, right?

 

[dolphinlove]

Just to be clear. When you say you are glad this happened, you are referring to the meeting of holocaust survivors with the Pope, right?

Valke2,
I did say i would pray that this atrocity would never happen again, so i think its pretty clear i was glad the survivors met with the pope…

I pray all nazi scum is eradicated from this earth

 

[Cathdefender]

Til this day, I will never understand just what it was that Hitler was thinking. And without remorse from him or his blood-sucking comrades. I can’t even fathom the emotional pain of these people thinking they were going out of the country, when in fact, they were going to their deaths in those box cars. I just can’t think about it, I get awfully sad. That something of this magnitude could actually happen to innocent people.

 

[JReducation]

I would not disagree with that thought but, unfortunately, concentrating on it, in and of itself, can hide, even prevent, a necessary understanding just how that broke down in that era and may potentially break down in the future.

I took the liberty of shortening your post, because I believe the key is in your first paragraph.

You are 100% correct. Concentrating on the martyrs alone, without reflecting on those who failed to live true Catholicism can be a way of smoke screening the flaws of those who failed to live and act according to the teachings of their faith.

Any faith, Catholicism or Judaism, that smokes screens the sins of omission or comission that human beings make fails to help individuals grow toward the ideal, which should always be union with the Divine will of G-d.

Having been born and raised Jewish and now being Catholic, I know that one of the many truths that the two faiths share is the belief that there is only one G-d and that all men and women are children of that G-d. Therefore, we are to see the life of G-d in each person.

Because we see G-d hidden beneat the surface of each person, we must always love, serve, protect and honour each life.

We have a duty to ourselves as a people (Jewish and Catholic) to remember that we do not always do this, not only in the past, but even today. We have a duty to remind ourselves that we are called to love G-d above all things and our neighbor as ourselves, even if it means laying down our lives for the sake of those who need us.

That being said, I would certainly keep the Jewish and Catholic martyrs very present and alive in our minds, because they are role models of this kind of faith, love and courage. In other words, they are role models of true Judaism and Catholicism.

If we ignore our role models, it’s hard to make the corrections that we must, because we lack a point of reference. In addition, if Jews and Catholics ignore our role modes, it makes any kind of unity and brotherhood between us more difficult. Without the role models, how do we show each other that our faith is not just empty words? Our role models are the living proof that our faith is real and that many of us take it very seriously. We don’t ignore the fact that some don’t take it as seriously and that they need to change. That’s not right. But it is equally wrong, to ignore those who have in the past and are today, living according to true Judaism and true Catholicism.

When we look at our role models, we find that we have much more that unites us than we think.

One of my favorite Jewish role models is Rabbi Klenicke. Rabbi Klenicke is a theologian who has taught Torah and Catholic Mysticism at several seminaries aorund the world and Pontifical universities.

I believe that it was in 2007 that Pope Benedict XVI conferred upon him the highest honor that can be given to any theologian in the Catholic Church. He was given membership in the Order of St. Gregory, which is an association for theologians. It’s like the Catholic Mensa of theology.

Pope Benedict said that Rabbi Klenicke deserved to be admitted to the Order of St. Gregory for his contribution the the Catholic Church.

Here is how this plays into what we have been discussing. This wonderful Rabbi, has displayed to Catholic students of theology around the world, the wealth of the Torah and Judaism’s openness to the possibility that G-d does bring Catholic souls into intimate relationship with him as he did with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and so many of our patriarchs.

What he does in his course on Catholic mystics is to show how G-d continues to bring men and women into the same intimate relationship with him as he did our forefathers. Thus he proves that the G-d of Israel is alive and well, to put it in more secular language.

Now, by looking at these people and how they live in communion with G-d and with others, be they Jewish or Catholic, we can see what is lacking in most of us and what we need to correct. We should celebrate the fact that such holiness and such love is possible and commit to a conversion of manners so that all Jews and Catholics will live by the same law of love.

This is the only way that we can protect the world from the horrors of brutality, not just against the Jews, but against all people. I don’t want to see iMuslims or Christians killed by brutal systems any more than I want to see Jews suffer such a fate.

We have to ensure a conversion to a fuller life of faith for Catholics, Jews and others or we will continue to see tragedies and abominable sins against the sons and daughters of G-d.

Don’t you agree?

Shalom

JR

 

[JReducation]

Remember that Italy has the Vatican city, the holiest city on earth.

The Catholic Church teaches that the holiest city on earth is Jerusalem. That’s why the Catholics call it the Holy City, along with the Jews and Muslims.

Vatican City is not in Italy. It is an independent country surrounded by the City of Rome. It is a very special country to Catholics for several reasons.

1. Sts. Peter and Paul are burried there.
2. It is the headquarters of Catholcism.
3. Because it is an independent nation, recognized as such by the world community, everyone who is a Catholic is also a citizen of the Vatican City.
4. It is the place from which the the Pope successor of Peter governs.
5. Interestingly enough, while within the City the Pope is the Pontiff and Supreme Ruler, but his bishopric is the Archdiocese of Rome, which is outside of Vatican City. Vatican City is part of the Archdiocese of Rome, not the other way around. The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, not the Bishop of Vatican City.

JR

 

[Eden]

One of the reasons why I’ve always thought the Pius XII a complete diversion is not so much the accuracy or not of the claims against him (always questionable at best) but focusing the issue on the behavior of one individual and a group of regularly quoted ‘righteous gentiles’ who somehow become representative of ‘The Church’ or ‘Catholics’ or ‘Protestants’ (for that matter).

Apparently, Italian Jewish survivors of the Holocaust don’t see Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church during the war as a diversion. That’s why they were there to honor him and thank the Church at last week’s audience. I do get a chuckle out of reading the posts of someone who was born years after Pope Pius XII’s time telling us how it was. I think I’ll take the survivors’ word for it that he was instrumental in saving Jewish lives in Italy, over the predictably negative opinion of Kaninchen.

 

[Kaninchen]

Apparently, Italian Jewish survivors of the Holocaust don’t see Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church during the war as a diversion. That’s why they were there to honor him and thank the Church at last week’s audience. I do get a chuckle out of reading the posts of someone who was born years after Pope Pius XII’s time telling us how it was. I think I’ll take the survivors’ word for it that he was instrumental in saving Jewish lives in Italy, over the predictably negative opinion of Kaninchen.

While I just smile wryly at somebody who completely misses the point.

 

[Kaninchen]

We have to ensure a conversion to a fuller life of faith for Catholics, Jews and others or we will continue to see tragedies and abominable sins against the sons and daughters of G-d.

Don’t you agree?

Shalom

JR

There is, obviously, much that is admirable in your post - it’s rather hard to disagree and, perhaps, that’s the main problem that I face when reading it. It is rather ‘everything would be for the best in the best of all possible worlds’, you know and one is left with a feeling of “that’s all rather nice but what is actually to be done?”

People of those times grew up in worlds of religious behests and spiritual insights from their belief communities - in many ways those were the only real communities many of them had.

 

[JReducation]

one is left with a feeling of “that’s all rather nice but what is actually to be done?”

You ask a very powerful question. “What is to be done?” How I wish that I had the answer. I can only say that something has to begin, even with the smallest seed. How it will grow from there is as much a mystery to you as it is to me.

Maybe this is the crux of the matter. We need to begin. St. Francis of Assisi once said to is Brothers, “Let us begin, for up to now we have done nothing.” The Brothers were perplexed, because they had left their riches, their families, their communities and their homes to follow Jesus. They wondered to themselves, “What does he mean ‘up to now we have done nothing’?”

What Francis was implying is that it was not enough to give up things for love of G-d. But there was more to be done. The emptiness left by the things from which we detach must be filled with Divine Life, which Catholics call Grace.

Francis’ experience with G-d allowed him to see that true conversion of heart comes about in two stages. In the first stage the individual must freely detach himself from everything that stands between him and that which is Holy. That can be wealth, property, family, friends, career and so forth. It is different for everyone. All of us know what our false gods are. For others these false gods do not have a physical dimension, but are even more powerful. They are the desire for power without justice, pleasure without responsibility, and wealth without generosity. During this stage, we must struggle with our ego to detach ourselves from our false gods.

In the second stage we must seek to embrace the fullness of Truth. That truth is that G-d made a covenant with Israel that he would be their G-d and they would be his people. Starting with Israel, G-d brings all men to himself, if they are willing to enter into a loving relationship with him. Catholics believe that G-d chose to take flesh as Jewish man, whom the world calls Jesus, to keep his promise to Israel. He did not take flesh as an Egyptian, Indian, Chinese or any of the other races of the Earth. He took flesh as a Jew, because they are his people and he is their G-d… Therefore, he was to become flesh as a Jew.

That being said, the second stage is for man to prove his fidelity to G-d, because G-d has already proven his fidelity. Whether one is Catholic and believes in Jesus or Jewish and has questions about Jesus, one truth is known by both. G-d has kept his Word. He has reached out to us and has shown us what we need to change in our lives, our families, our place of work, and our communities. It is up to us to keep our side of the Covenant. We must live, love, work, worship and believe as G-d’s people should.

For today, this means that we must put aside the things that separate us and work on strengthening what we have in common: a Covenant, a promise, a commandment to love G-d and neighbour, a mission to build a just world, an invitation to conversion and become the people that we are meant to be. We need each other to do this.

We need to discuss how to encourage and promote justice, peace, prayer, reflection before action. We must develop an education plan, so that Jews and Catholics are all hearing the same message.

“Basta” as Benedict XVI said. Enough! There is enough hatred and conflict. Stop it. Yes we disagree and we misunderstand each other, but abuse and hatred has not given us what we need, union between the soul and the Divine. We must teach our people that debating over their differences is not the path to justice. To achieve justice we must change the way that we view each other. We must focus on our purpose for being alive. Catholics look at what Jesus tried taught us, to see ourselves differently and to see others differently. To see every human being as G-d sees him, a son or daughter, a creature with dignity, an image and likeness of himself.

I know that Jews do not use the teachings of Jesus as Catholics do. But I also know that my Jewish brothers and sisters do believe the same truths. Every human being has dignity, is a child of G-d, and is the image and likeness of his Creator.

JR

 

[rien]

I would not disagree with that thought but, unfortunately, concentrating on it, in and of itself, can hide, even prevent, a necessary understanding just how that broke down in that era and may potentially break down in the future.

It has always been my belief that one of the keys to understanding the decline of the Church in Europe lies in that discontinuity between the ‘ideal’ and ‘what actually happened’ in the first half of the last century.

I think that is a great point. The great European wars last century -Christian against Christian - did not start the collapse of Chrsitianity but surely accelerated to the point we see today. Throughout formerly Chritian Europe - whether the reformed parts or the catholic part. IMO Christianity will never again be a major player in Europe.

To deny the rampant anti-Semitism of Christianity over the centuries is absurd. Just read history. And I am not talking just catholics. Read some of martin Luther’s comments about jews. Absolutely abhorrent IMO.