A Catholic archbishop in Brazil has belittled the Holocaust and declared that Jews dominated the world’s media. Dadeus Grings, archbishop of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil, declared that "more Catholics than Jews died in the Holocaust” and added that this “is not usually told because Jews own the world's propaganda."
In a six-page interview that appeared last Friday in the Brazilian trade magazine ‘Press & Advertising’, Grings went on to ask: "How many millions of Catholics were victims of the Holocaust? Twenty-two million? The Jews say they were the main victims, but the main victims were the Gypsies, who were exterminated. And they don't mention this." Porto Alegre is home to Brazil's third largest Jewish community, with some 12,000 Jews.
"It's not the first time Mr. Grings refers to the Holocaust in a twisted way," said Henry Chmelnitsky, president of the Rio Grande do Sul Jewish Federation. "Fewer Jews died in World War II because there were and there still are fewer Jews in the world. Proportionally, the extermination minimized by the archbishop meant the slaughter of most of a people that was already small. By reproducing stereotypes created by the Nazis, Grings positions himself on the wrong side of history."
Archbishop Grings is the second Catholic bishop in recent months to publicly minimize the Holocaust. British bishop Richard Williamson, who headed a seminary in Argentina, caused a furor over his public denial that gas chambers were used to murder Jews during World War II and over claims that no more than 300,000 Jews were killed by the Nazis. His rehabilitation by Pope Benedict XVI in January after decades of exclusion over his membership in an ultra-right traditionalist sect sparked a rift in Catholic-Jewish ties.
Full text of the response to Archbishop Grings by Henry Chmelnitsky, president of the Jewish Federation of Rio Grande do Sul (JFRS):
The Jewish Federation of Rio Grande do Sul responded last Thursday to the statements of the Archbshop of Porto Alegre, Dadeus Grings. In the interview, Dadeus stated that “more Catholics than Jews died in the Holocaust, but this does not appear in public, because the Jews dominate PR in the world.” The JFRS responded in an official note published on the Federation website.
In the reply, Henry Chmelnitsky, the Federation president, says that Dom Dadeus’ statement do not in any way contribute to the creation of a peaceful co-existence between Brazilians of every origin. In Chmelnitsky’s view, to diminish or question the Holocaust wounds the memory of the millions of victims killed in a war rooted in fanaticism and intolerance.
The president of the Federation added that he hopes that Archbishop Grings will give some thought to his statements. He is a man of faith and peace. He attended the inauguration of the Federation board a few days ago, and that honored and moved that Gaucha Jewish community. However, in quoting stereotypes created by the Nazis, Dom Dadeus positions 1himself on the wrong side of history. His statements are an aggression not only against Jews but against the millions of Gypsies, physically deficient and enemies of the Nazi regime who were also murdered. Proportionately the mass murder banalized by the archbishop was the killing of the major part of a people that was not large to begin with.
The Vatican itself in recent years has taken a transparent and open attitude with regard to the murder of millions of Jews. The relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jews has never been better and Pope Benedict XVI is expected to visit Israel later this year.
The only way to make it impossible for the Nazi barbarism to be repeated – against Jews or against other ethnic or religious parts of the population – is always to respect the memory, in serious, fraternal and honest spirit. That is what we expect from Dadeus Grings and from men and women committed to truth and justice.
