Pope and Jews
Regarding the AP article “Pope defends Pius against Jewish critics at Rome Synagogue”, January 18, 2010.
I commend Pope Benedict XVI for defending his recent decision to move Pope Pius XII a step closer to sainthood. Despite largely Jewish efforts to cast a dark shadow over Pope Pius XII 's good character it is an irrefutable fact that Pius II and the Catholic Church saved more Jews in Europe during the Second World War than any other party, with the only exception being the Allied liberating armies themselves.
He often acted secretly and silently because, in the light of the practical situations of that complex period of history, he foresaw that only in this way could he avoid the worst and save the greatest possible number of Jews.
In 1946 Isaac Herzog, chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, wrote a letter to Pius XII thanking him for helping Jews during the Holocaust and for “sheltering thousands of children, who were hidden in Catholic institutions”.
Pope Pius XII promoted intense charitable work on behalf of the persecuted, without distinction of religion, race, nationality or political affiliation.
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