{"id":333529,"date":"2010-02-18T02:07:15","date_gmt":"2010-02-18T07:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.reuters.com\/faithworld\/?p=11936"},"modified":"2010-02-18T02:07:15","modified_gmt":"2010-02-18T07:07:15","slug":"theologians-historians-urge-benedict-to-slow-pius-xii-saint-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/333529","title":{"rendered":"Theologians, historians urge Benedict to slow Pius XII saint process"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"pius\"<\/p>\n

Undated photo of Pope Pius XII from the archives of the Vatican daily L'Osservatore Romano<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A group of Catholic theologians and historians has written to Pope Benedict XVI urging him slow down the beatification process for the late Pope Pius XII, the next step on the way to making him a saint. Critics accuse Pius of not doing enough to prevent the Holocaust and the theologians and historians say they need to finish research into the Vatican’s wartime archives before the pope goes ahead with this case.<\/p>\n

The letter is extremely rare because in the past it has mostly been Jewish groups and not Catholic academics who have written to popes about the issue, which has long strained Catholic-Jewish relations.<\/p>\n

See my news story on this letter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here is the text obtained by Reuters:<\/p>\n

20 February 2010<\/p>\n

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI<\/p>\n

Apostolic Palace<\/p>\n

00120 Vatican City<\/p>\n

Your Holiness,<\/p>\n

As faithful, practicing Catholics, consecrated and lay, we urgently write to you concerning the cause of Pope Pius XII.\u00a0 We are educators who have conducted research and are currently carrying into effect more research on Catholicism under National Socialism and the Holocaust.\u00a0 The movement to press forward at this time the process of beatification of Pius XII greatly troubles us.\u00a0 Needless to say, the controversy over Pius XII\u2019s actions during the Second World War and the Holocaust is longstanding.\u00a0 Numerous books and articles have been written on the topic.\u00a0 Nevertheless, scholars still have a great deal of research to complete before final conclusions can be drawn about Pius XII\u2019s behavior during the Holocaust. \u00a0History needs distance and perspective to arrive at these conclusions. At this moment, scholars eagerly await the opening of the papers from Pius XII\u2019s pontificate that you, Holy Father, have so graciously arranged to be made available.\u00a0 At the same time, as researchers, we also realize that there are numerous archives, both secular and ecclesiastical, that scholars have yet to access or consult, many of which might shed more light on Pope Pius\u2019s actions during the Holocaust.\u00a0\u00a0 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.\u00a0 At the same time, some evidence also compels us to see that Pius XII\u2019s 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.\u00a0 It is essential that further research be conducted to resolve both these questions.\u00a0 As scholars of theology and history, we realize how important the historical critical method is to your own research and we implore you to ensure that such a historical investigation takes place before proceeding with the cause of Pope Pius XII.<\/p>\n

A greater issue, of course, arises with the discussion of the beatification of Pius XII.\u00a0 For centuries the Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, have propagated both religious anti-Judaism and religious antisemitism, however unintentionally or in ignorance.\u00a0 Nostra Aetatae<\/em>, however, ensured that Catholics\u2019 views of Jews would be definitively changed.\u00a0 Your most recent comments, Holy Father, in the Synagogue of Rome, endeavored to breach centuries of misunderstandings between Catholics and Jews. \u00a0Your actions were moving and courageous. \u00a0Still there is great deal of work to be done in this area.\u00a0 Mistrust and apprehension still exist.\u00a0 For many Jews and Catholics, Pius XII takes on a role much larger than his historical papacy.\u00a0 In essence, Pius XII has become a century old symbol of Christian anti-Judaism and antisemitism, which, for example, the late Reverend Edward H. Flannery has documented and spelled out in his work The Anguish of the Jews:\u00a0 Twenty-Three Centuries of Antisemitism<\/em>.\u00a0 It is challenging to separate Pope Pius XII from this legacy.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Holy Father, we implore you, acting on your wisdom as a renowned scholar, professor, and teacher, to be patient with the cause of Pope Pius XII. \u00a0Patience is not passive, it is active; indeed it is condensed strength and courage to bring one forward in hope to a central conclusion and point. \u00a0In this regard, we humbly ask that scholars be given the access and time to carefully and thoroughly examine the documents relating to the pontificate of Pius XII before embarking on the beatification process.\u00a0 We thank you for hearing us and reflecting upon the urgent concerns of our request.\u00a0 We have the honor to be, Your Holiness,<\/p>\n

Rev. Dr. John Pawlikowski, O.S.M.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Professor of Ethics<\/p>\n

Catholic Theological Union<\/p>\n

Rev. Dr. James Bernauer, S.J.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Kraft Professor of Philosophy, Boston College<\/p>\n

Director, Center for Christian-Jewish Learning<\/p>\n

Dr. Suzanne Brown-Fleming<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Independent Scholar<\/p>\n

Dr. John Connelly<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Associate Professor of History<\/p>\n

University of California, Berkeley<\/p>\n

Dr. Frank J. Coppa<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Professor of History, Saint John\u2019s University<\/p>\n

Associate Editor, New Catholic Encyclopedia<\/p>\n

Currently working on biography of Pius XII<\/p>\n

Dr. Donald J. Dietrich<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Professor of Theology<\/p>\n

Boston College<\/p>\n

Dr. Lauren N. Faulkner<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Assistant Professor of History<\/p>\n

University of Notre Dame<\/p>\n

Dr. Eugene J. Fisher<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Retired Associate Director<\/p>\n

Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations<\/p>\n

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops<\/p>\n

P. Elias H. F\u00fcllenbach, O.P.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Dominikanerkloster D\u00fcsseldorf<\/p>\n

Institut f\u00fcr Zeitgeschichte der Universit\u00e4t Bonn<\/p>\n

Dr. Beth A. Griech-Polelle, Ph.D.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Associate Professor of History<\/p>\n

Bowling Green State University<\/p>\n

Dr. Robert A. Krieg<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Professor of Theology<\/p>\n

University of Notre Dame<\/p>\n

Dr. Martin Menke<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Associate Professor of History<\/p>\n

Rivier College<\/p>\n

Dr. Paul O\u2019Shea<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Senior Religious Coordinator<\/p>\n

St. Patrick\u2019s College<\/p>\n

Strathfield, NSW, Australia<\/p>\n

Dr. Michael E. O\u2019Sullivan<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Assistant Professor of History<\/p>\n

Marist College<\/p>\n

Dr. Michael Phayer<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Professor Emeritus of History<\/p>\n

Marquette University<\/p>\n

Dr. Carol Rittner, R.S.M.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Distinguished Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and<\/p>\n

Dr. Marsha Raticoff Grossmann Professor of Holocaust Studies<\/p>\n

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey<\/p>\n

Dr. Jose Sanchez<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Professor Emeritus of History<\/p>\n

Saint Louis University<\/p>\n

Rev. Dr. Kevin P. Spicer, C.S.C.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Kenneally Associate Professor of History<\/p>\n

Stonehill College<\/p>\n

—————————–<\/p>\n

cc:\u00a0 Walter Cardinal Kasper, President of the Holy See\u2019s Commission for Religious Relations with Jews<\/p>\n

Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Episcopal Moderator for Catholic-Jewish Relations for the USCCB<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Undated photo of Pope Pius XII from the archives of the Vatican daily L'Osservatore Romano A group of Catholic theologians and historians has written to Pope Benedict XVI urging him slow down the beatification process for the late Pope Pius XII, the next step on the way to making him a saint. Critics accuse Pius […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4403,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-333529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4403"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333529\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}