A talk with the Dominican scholar whom
Benedict XVI asked to do further research on Pius XII
by Filippo Rizzi
Translated from
Dec. 22, 2009
Ten months of research in the first section of the archives of the Secretariat of State to look through 27 master files that show how Pius XII, through his diplomatic network and his providential silence, worked to help Jews during the Nazi war years.
This was the supplementary research carried out at the request of Pope Benedict XVI by Fr. Ambrosius Eszer, O.P., a German and Dominican historian, before the Pope promulgated last Friday the decree on Pius XII's heroic virtues.
Fr. Eszer studied all the letters and messages sent or received by the Vatican between 1939 and 1945 in order to dispel any doubts on the late Pope's record. [In 2008, Benedict XVI said that he was postponing the promulgation to allow time for 'further study and reflection'.]
From the Convent of St. Paul in Berlin, Fr. Eszer, 77, expressed his great satisfaction that Pius XII has now been declared 'Venerable' along with John Paul II. Eszer is a distinguished scholar who had served as a historical consultant to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
"I am very happy", he said, "because my recent investigation allowed me to see how much the Holy See and Pius XII did in behalf of the Jews in World War II".
He adds: "I believe that when the full archives on his Pontificate are open to the public, we will discover more how much the light of the 'Pastor angelicus' deserves to shine forth in the world, if only because he did all he could - silently and behind the scenes - to stem the tide of Nazi persecution".
He says he was chosen for the task "because I am German, and almost all the documents reviewed were in German, including news clippings and letters".
Much of the correspondence came from the episcopates in Germany and the German-occupied countries of Europe.
"I was surprised," he said, "at the silent 'parallel' diplomacy which was carried out by the Holy See to help save so many lives in countries like Czechoslovakia and Hungary".
For instance, he says, "There is a letter of protest to Hitler by the Archbishop of Bratislava Adolf Bertram, in which the cardinal opposed separating spouses in mixed Catholic-Jewish marriages to prevent the deportation of the Jewish spouses".
But he also noted a paradox about Italy's membership in Hitler's Axis: "Strangely, the presence of Italy in the Axis helped mitigate the Nazi ferocity against Italian Jews".
"I was also struck by a letter of Mussolini to a Fascist leader, Cesare de Vecchi, expressing concern that Hitler was giving little weight to the risk of protests from German Catholics, who at that time, numbered about a third of the population".
"In general", Eszer concludes, "my research confirms the conclusions drawn from the documents published in the 12 volumes of the
Actes et Documents du Saint-Siège relatifs à la seconde guerre mondiale, edited by the Jesuit historians Pierre Blet, Robert Graham, Angelo Martini and Burkhart Schneider".
Namely, that the 'silence' of Pius XII was obligatory in order not to place Jews and Catholics at even greater risk.
I'm posting the following item because it is the companion piece to the first item.
Pius XII's postulator speaks:
'An important step towards
establishing historical truth'
by Filippo Rizzi
Translated from
Dec. 22, 2009
From his Rome office, at Jesuit headquarters in Rome, Fr. Peter Gumpel - poatulator of Pius XII's cause for beatification and canonization - happily welcomed the news that 'his' Pope was mow a 'Venerable' of the Church.
Fr. Gumpel says it is not just out of satisfaction that his work is proceeding to the next stage, but he sees Benedict XVI's decision as "an important step towards establishing the historical truth' beyond doubt about Pius XII
"I have always been convinced of this great Pope's sanctity," he said, "but if there had been any document in the Vatican Archives that could possibly undermine his cause, I would have been the first to disclose it."
Fr. Gumpel says he has suffered the objections from Jewish circles who insist that the Church should do nothing about the process for Pius XII until after the Vatican archives on his Pontificate are opened for research in 5 years.
"First, I must say that not all the Jewish world is against the beatification. For instance, a majority of American Jews acknowledge with grattitude what Pius XII did to save as many Jewish lives as he could.
"But I also wonder why the objectors have not bothered to look into the Archives that are assessible up to 1939. Because then they would get to know the Eugenio Pacelli who was the Apostolic Nuncio in Munich and then the Cardinal Secretary of State - very different from the man portrayed by Rolf Hochhuth in his play
The Deputy".
Moreover, he points out, "There are so many unpublished documents favorable to Pius XII in the chancelleries of many nations from World War II. Why are the objectors not looking at these?"
He also recalls that Papa Pacelli did make several statements against Nazism and racism - even if not explicitly against the persecution of Jews, in particular - and cites the Christmas radio message of 1942 [that Benedict XVI recalled in his homily for the Mass marking the 50th anniversary of Pius XII's death].
He cites Martin Gilbert, the English World War II historian of Jewish ancestry and a biographer of Winston Churchill, who said that Pius XII's 'silence' had allowed more Jewish lives to be saved than any explicit condemnation of Nazi persecution could have done.
[I must check that out, because I think Gilbert also made a less unequivocal statement during a visit to Yad Vashem.]
The Jesuit says he received a letter last July from Fr. Ambrozius Eszer, the Domonican scholar tasked by Benedict XVI to carry out supplemental research on Pius XII's wartime role, who wrote: "I have finished my research at the archives of the Secretariat of State, and every investigation confirms the present position of the Holy See on Pius XII".
Gumpel says: "Pacelli was a rich Roman patrician, but he died poor, because he spent a great part of his personal fortune in the task of helping the persecuted Jews who were given refuge in Catholic churches and convents. I can cite all those 'unofficial missions' carried out for him throughout Rome by his faithful aide, Sister Pascalina Lehnert".
He adds, for instance, that Pius XII's detractors do not acknowledge what the Pope did before the October 16,1943, mass deportation of some Jews from Rome.
"He made it clear to the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Eugenio Zolli
[who converted after the war and took Pacelli's name for his own - which fact alone should make the Pope's Jewish detractors think twice, but then, militant Jews look down on Jews who convert, even if this one was Chief Rabbi of Rome, and would hardly credit what he has to say] that he was ready to give gold if that was needed to get the deportation order lifted. At the same time, he protested formally to the German ambassador to Rome, Ernst von Weizsaecker. This was personally related to me by Princess Pignatelli Aragona".
Fr. Gumpel's final wish is that "sooner or later, Papa Pacelli is rightly elevated to the honor of the altar. I don't know when, but it will come".
Prof. Giorgio Israele gives his usual calm and reasoned approach to Jewish differences with Christians:
How Pius XII is being used
to alienate Benedict XVI from the Jews
by Giorgio Israel
Translated from
Dec. 22, 2009
I have maintained all along that the question of Pius XII's actions with regard to the Shoah does not lend itself to cutting judgments along the style introduced by rolf Hochhuth's
The Deputy.
On the contrary, historiographic acquisitions in recent years have simply made incredible the radical hypothesis of a Pope who was almost an accomplice in the extermination of Jews, or, at the very least, indifferent to the catastrophe.
Prudence would counsel to leave this question completely to rigorous historical research on available documents and any that may be found in archives that will be opened eventually - not to opportunistic polemics that are frenetic and too emotion-laden.
Besides, the beatification of Pius XII, as of any other Pope or Christian personality, only concerns the Catholic Church, something over which no one outside the Church can interfere, much less dictate how the Church should proceed.
From this perspective, the joint statement today of the Chief Rabbi of Rome, the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, and the president of the Roman Jewish community, appears balanced.
They declare that they "cannot interfere in decisions internal to the Catholic Church that have to do with its freedom of religious expression", and they express their acknowledgment of "individuals and institutions of the Church who did all they could to save persecuted Jews" in World War II.
Of course, such acknowledgment should extend to Pius XII because it is not believable that, for instance, so many hundreds of Jews could be granted refuge at the Lateran Cathedral - the Pope's own cathedral - without his express permission.
However, it is also understandable that after many decades during which the figure of Pius XII has been portrayed as either an outright accomplice in the Jewish genocide or someone who was, at the very least, indifferent to it
[the most usual accusation is that he chose to keep silent about it], a part of the Jewish world, and even many Christians - cannot accept a different image without recourse to historiographic research t5hat will help them overcome their emotional approach.
It must be said that the whole case takes on the aspect of what has been called 'opportunistic judgment". In other words, in all the stages crucial for Jewish-Catholic relations, something happens to provoke emotions, disconcertation, and perplexity that serve to reopen old wounds that had been difficult to close, to begin with.
And so, the question over Pius XII was been revived at a time when important events were on the agenda. The Williamson case came up while the Pope was preparing to go to Israel. This time, the Pope is scheduled to visit the Rome Synagogue next month.
If one adds to these coincidences the fact that there is a part of the media that is always quick to provoke and exploit whoever happen(s) to be the firebrand du jour, then the opportunistic picture is complete.
It is not my intention to speak with hindsight. Let us stick to the facts.
Some may disagree with the evidence, but
the fact is that Joseph Ratzinger, as cardinal and 'theoretician' of John Paul II's Pnotificate, and then as Pope himself, has been a leading actor in the progress of Jewish-Catholic relations - and I underscore the word 'relations' instead of 'dialog'.
Whoever wants to develop those relations further should not indulge those who are working for a dramatic regression.
The latter are putting to work all the useful measures they can find to create a context in which the Pius XX question becomes the overriding concern when the Pope visits the Rome synagogue.
But everything should be done in order to make this visit happen. It would be the best gift even for those who prefer to sow the seeds if discord.
Jews and Christians have too much in common and work to do together: starting with getting religious freedom for everyone around the world.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 23/12/2009 07:44]