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PDF versionUPDATED: Scholars ask pope to slow Pius XII's canonization
Feb. 18, 2010
WASHINGTON -- Nineteen Catholic scholars of theology and history are asking Pope Benedict XVI to slow the process of the sainthood cause of Pope Pius XII.
Saying that much more research needs to be done on the papacy of the mid-20th century pope, the scholars said in a Feb. 16 letter to Pope Benedict that "history needs distance and perspective" before definitive conclusions can be reached on the role of Pope Pius during World War II and the Holocaust.
Leading the effort are Servite Father John Pawlikowski, professor of ethics at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and Holy Cross Father Kevin Spicer, associate professor of history at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass.
"We're not on a bandwagon to stop his eventual canonization," Father Pawlikowski told Catholic News Service Feb. 18. "We're saying allow some time."
Father Pawlikowski said the scholars, known widely for their research and expertise on the Holocaust, wanted to express their concerns in a respectful manner to the pope.
First sent Feb. 16 via e-mail to the Vatican and then sent a day later via overnight mail, the letter asked Pope Benedict "to be patient with the cause of Pope Pius XII."
Pope Benedict advanced the cause of Pope Pius' sainthood in a Dec. 19 decree.
Copies of the letter also were sent to Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York, episcopal moderator for Catholic-Jewish relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.
Both Father Spicer and Father Pawlikowski said the letter was meant to be private correspondence with the pope but it was released by an unknown party to a secular news agency Feb. 17.
Father Spicer told CNS Feb. 18 that the scholars also wanted to tell Pope Benedict that concerns about the canonization of Pope Pius are not limited to the Jewish community.
"The people who signed the letter, they are ... Catholic, they work in the Catholic Church in Holocaust studies or have written in that area before," Father Spicer said.
"We're all practicing Catholics. We're faithful to the Holy Father. We wanted to be sure of writing a letter that was respectful but at the same time addresses our concerns," he added.
In the letter, the scholars said "the movement to press forward at this time the process of beatification of Pius XII greatly troubles us."
Citing controversy that surrounds Pope Pius' actions during World War II and the Holocaust, the scholars said much research remains to be done before final conclusions can be drawn about his behavior.
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"History needs distance and perspective to arrive at these conclusions," the letter said. "At this moment, scholars eagerly await the opening of the papers from Pius XII's pontificate that you, Holy Father, have so graciously arranged to be made available."
The scholars said 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."
"At the same time, some evidence also compels us to see that Pius XII's diplomatic background encouraged him as head of a neutral state, the Vatican, to assist Jews by means that were not made public during the war. It is essential that further research be conducted to resolve both these questions," the letter said.
The scholars also shared their concern that by discussing the beatification of Pope Pius, Catholic-Jewish relations would be set back.
Acknowledging Pope Benedict's efforts to breach misunderstandings between Catholics and Jews, the scholars still cautioned that much work remains to build relations between the two religions.
"Mistrust and apprehension still exist," the scholars wrote. "For many Jews and Catholics, Pius XII takes on a role much larger than his historical papacy. In essence, Pius XII has become a symbol of centuries-old Christian anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism.
"It is challenging to separate Pope Pius XII from this legacy. Proceeding with the cause of Pope Pius XII, without an exhaustive study of his actions during the Holocaust, might harm Jewish-Catholic relations in a way that cannot be overcome in the foreseeable future," the letter said.
In addition to Father Spicer and Father Pawlikowski, the list of signers includes Jesuit Father James Bernauer, philosophy professor, Boston College; Suzanne Brown-Fleming, independent scholar; John Connelly, associate history professor, University of California at Berkeley; Frank J. Coppa, history professor, St. John's University in New York; Donald J. Dietrich, theology professor, Boston College; Sister Audrey Doetzel, a member of the Congregation of Notre Dame de Sion and associate director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, Boston College; Lauren N. Faulkner, assistant history professor, University of Notre Dame in Indiana; Eugene J. Fisher, retired associate director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligous Affairs in Washington; and Dominican Father Elias H. Fullenbach of the Institute for Church History, University of Bonn in Germany.
It also includes: Beth A. Griech-Polelle, associate history professor, Bowling Green State University in Ohio; Robert A. Krieg, theology professor, Notre Dame; Martin Menke, associate history professor, Rivier College in Nashua, N.H.; Paul O'Shea, senior religious education coordinator, St. Patrick's College, Strathfield, Australia; Michael E. O'Sullivan, assistant history professor, Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Michael Phayer, professor emeritus of history, Marquette University in Milwaukee; Mercy Sister Carol Rittner, professor of Holocaust and genocide studies, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey; and Jose Sanchez, professor emeritus of history, St. Louis University.
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Editor's Note: The full text of the scholars' letter to Pope Benedict can be read at cnsblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/18/catholic-scholars-ask-pope-benedict-to-slow-process-of-sainthood-cause-of-pope-pius-xii/.
Pope Pius XII was a holy man,
Pope Pius XII was a holy man, a man of outstanding moral courage, outstanding personal piety (according to all reputable sources) and a man of generosity, deep faith and great compassion. He had the misfortune of reigning during one of history's most difficult moments, but he did so without ever compromising his faith and his personal integrity, while also working in every way available to him to save as many lives as he could.
The fact that so many oppose this canonization is an example of secular modernist revisionism -- a rewriting of history in an effort to quell the hurt feelings of some who accept a FICTIONAL play written in the 60s as if it were unbiased and honest nonfictional scholarship.
Pius XII is a saint of the Church, I and many, many Catholics already recognize this fact. We simply wait for the Church to catch up with the reality.
Meanwhile, Venerable Pius XII, Servant of God, pray for us.
Slow down the canonization!
Slow down the canonization! Slow down the Missal! It seems as if these progressive reformers are against any progress or reform.
And YOUR definition of
And YOUR definition of "progressive"?
What if we just said WAIT? At
What if we just said WAIT?
At least until THIS action of Pius XII in 1948 also receives further investigation:
http://www.karenliebreich.com/html/rev_fo/Star.html
Pope Pius XII, promoter of pedophiliac ecclesiastical enablers, pray for us all!
Obviously, those who do not learn from the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them:
http://www.podles.org/dialogue/maciel-the-legion-and-the-piarists-159.htm
Scholars and others, like We
Scholars and others, like We the People of God, should ask the Vatican to slow down or even cancel the canonization of John Paul II because we do not want our children and future generations to think the way to holiness is whipping themselves into a pathological frenzy or crucifying themselves during Holy Week as they do in the Philippines.
Some 3 million Catholic Poles
Some 3 million Catholic Poles were killed by the Nazis as 'untermenschen', including something like half of the clergy.
So, why isn't the Polish Hierarchy upset about Pius' pending canonization.
Seems that secular politics is playing a role. And secular politics is not something that Catholics need to worry about when canonization is the issue.
The entire system of "making
The entire system of "making saints" is a house of cards that is about to fall. It's like a bad Hollywood B Movie. Saints are nothing more than Christians who try a little harder to be true disciples of Jesus. The strange formulas the dysfunctional men in the Vatican have "devised" for determining if a person has performed a miracle are right out of a Loretta Young movie of the 1940's, with a dash of fantasy from Disney. None of it should be taken seriously and most of the "investigations" these Vatican fiction writers embark on to prove or disprove a human being is a "saint" is pure child's play. All silly stuff for the clerical elite to pass their time while a world starves and a planet continues to die. One of the least deserving people to make a saint is Pius XII, but why should that prevent them from spinning their fairy tales?
I wonder how many extra
I wonder how many extra copies of 'Hiter's Pope' sold ever since this whole Pius XII thing started?
As far as this pope is
As far as this pope is concerned pius was right during the war; pro-nazi. Remember they fought for the same side.
It is wise to not rush to
It is wise to not rush to canonize Paul XII. It is very wise to not canonize Pius XII at all. Thank you brave theologians of integrity and great scholarship for advising thoughtful honest caustion and further research.
Catholics as well as Jews must uphold the truth. We must not make saints of those who are not saints at all. The rush to canonize John Paul II is also a credibility disaster for the Roman Catholic church as well. John Paul II allowed the sex scandal abuse of children, youths and seminarians to continue for decades and he was informed of the abuses perpetrated on both thousands of priests and bishops and the abuses done by the embezzler, drug addict, narcissitic ego cult leader and pedophile founder of Legion of Christ, Father Marciel Maciel Dellogoda.
You are so right about the
You are so right about the stampede phenomenon to canonize JPII.
I myself think his canonization, in light of what you've described about his enabling Maciel, would be a major church scandal.
Talk about the cult of personality!!! It's a major ingredient in the rise of fascism and totalitarianism.
Regrettably, we have plenty of Catholics who believe the Lord's reference to "sheep" is justification for authoritarian submission to popes and other hierarchs. They overlook the critical word "I" as in "I [Jesus] am the good shepherd". Not the pope, or the cardinals, or the archbishops, or the bishops, or the monsignors, or the presbyters. Jesus alone is the "good shepherd".
In this controversy, it
In this controversy, it certainly appears that B16 cannot delay his gratification.
Indeed, why the hurry?
Let the ENTIRE historical record speak for itself.
After reading the feedback by
After reading the feedback by some of the discrunted and sarcastic "commentators",I'm grateful that I don't get a regular subscription to this "catholic" newspaper! I find it limiting that some people refuse to accept other Christians views on faith and church.Jesus said" in my Father's house there are many mansions" I think the pilgrim Church must make room for all. I'm uncomfortable with those who refuse to respect such diversity.If one wants their views respected,accept the fact that others may hold views that are contrary and respect that.
It is one thing to disagree ( can be very healthy),it's another thing to disgrace. Pretty sad.
The call for delaying the
The call for delaying the canonization process is very wise. There are some very disturbing questions about the involvement of Pius XII in the murder of some 500,000 Croat nationals by the Catholic Nationalist Uztashe government of Ante Pavelic. These victims included Jews, Roma Gypsies and huge numbers of Serbian Orthodox Christians who refused to convert to Roman Catholicism.
During the reign of Pius XII, hundreds of Nazi war criminals found safehaven
in the San Girolamo monastery....which enjoyed Papal sovereign immunity as an extension of Vatican City State in Rome. Pius XII's Vatican Secretariat of State together with the Institute For Religious Works (ie: The Vatican Bank)
handled huge cash transactions to support the escape of these criminals including such vicious criminals as Adolf Eichmann, Klaus Barbie and Josef Mengele. To this date, the Vatican has yet to acknowledge or open up its records to public scrutiny about a 200 million Swiss-Franc gold shipment
that arrived in the Vatican bank in 1945....a shipment that started out as looted dental gold and valuables taken from the 300,000 victims of the Jasenovac concentration camp in Croatia.
Do the proponents of Pius XII's canonization deny that he gave audiences and private blessings to Ante Pavelic in 1941 and again in 1943....while fully knowledgeable of the outrageous brutalities being carried out at Jasenovac???
Do they seriously believe that Pius XII....a professional and consummate diplomat and practitioner of statecraft....himself a former Papal Nuncio to Germany.....had NO KNOWLEDGE that his own Secretariat of State was manufacturing forged passports for numerous top SS officials and assisting them materially in their escape to Argentina between 1945 and 1950?
I strongly suggest that the commission conducting the canonization process
study the records of various Allied intelligence services and operations
eg: Operation Safehaven, Operation Paperclip, OSS, papers of Alan Dulles
and the Eizenstadt Report....review the diplomatic cables and communications between Vatican officials, the Juan Peron government of Argentina, Antonio Cardinal Caggiano, Eugene Cardinal Tisserant, Bishop Alois Hudal, Bishop Ivan Saric, and Father Krunaslav Dragonovich....all these sources should be consulted and reviewed thoroughly before beatification takes place.
No matter how strongly we
No matter how strongly we devoted Catholics feel about the current Pius XII
controversy there are a couple of facts that cannot be lightly overlooked.
ADOLF HITLER WAS NEVER EXCOMMINICATED; NETHER WERE ANY OTHER HIGH RANKING CATHOLIC FASCISTS
However, in 1937, Pius XII did sign a decree against Communism and all Communists. The decree has seven different categories and essentially condemns anyone who joins into Communist activities, or joins the Communist party.
The Vatican made a deal with Mussolini's Fascist government, in exchane the Vatican was given 92.1 MILLION US. Although the deal was conducted under the papacy of Pius XI, it was Pacelli and his brother who brokered the deal with Mussolini.
For those advocating the
For those advocating the canonization of Pope Pius XII, please explain why His Holiness was absolutely silent about Father Miraslav Tomaslav Filipovic, OFM who was the COMMANDANT of Jasenovac. Why was Father Filipovic not excommunicated? For that matter, why were most of the Croatian Catholic clergy
allowed to go uncensured when many were willing members of the Uztashe?
It seems that harming Jewish
It seems that harming Jewish relations is more important than the canonization of a true Saint, Pope Pius XII. Why is it that Jewish demands are always met? Yet, when we ask Israel to stop building illegal settlements in the West Bank, they just thumb their noses at us. They continue to confiscate Palestinian land, demolishing Palestinian homes, kill innocent men, women, and especially children, but let just one of us criticize these crimes and the first thing they yell is "anti-Semitism." When will the people of the world wake up?
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