Catholic scholars urge Pope Benedict to halt sainthood elevation of Pius XII

18 February 2010

In a letter, Catholic scholars from Australia, Germany and the United States have urged Pope Benedict XVI to delay making the controversial war-time Pope Pius XII a saint, ‘Reuters’ reports. Relations with Judaism could be irreparably harmed if Pius was elevated to sainthood before the historical record of his actions on behalf of Jews during the Holocaust was cleared up, the 18 scholars write, according to the news agency. "Holy Father, we implore you, acting on your wisdom as a renowned scholar, professor and teacher, to be patient with the cause of Pius XII," the letter reportedly states.

Some critics have accused Pius of having ignored Jewish suffering during the Holocaust. The Vatican and other Pius supporters say the pope had worked behind the scenes to save Jews from the Nazi onslaught.

"Currently, existing research leads us to the view that Pope Pius XII did not issue a clearly worded statement, unconditionally condemning the wholesale slaughter and murder of European Jews," the scholars write in their letter.

The scholars include John Pawlikowski of the Catholic Theological Union, a leading historian on Judaism and the Holocaust, and Eugene Fisher, the retired expert on Jewish-Catholic relations for the Catholic Bishops Conference in the United States. Copies of the letter were to be sent to Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican official in charge of relations with Jews, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, a leading figure in Catholic-Jewish dialogue in the United States.
 

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