Pius XII: Cutting it both ways

by Editor · October 22, 2008

The historic moment of a rabbi addressing the Synod of Bishops this month was diluted by his use of that platform to rebuke Pope Pius XII for his perceived failure to speak out against the Nazi genocide of Jews.

Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen, the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Haifa, in his address also referred to contemporary Middle East politics, effectively telling the Church that its lack of solidarity would be judged as a perpetuation of Pope Pius� perceived dereliction.

Pius XII remains controversial as his detractors continue to imply that he was indifferent to Jewish suffering and tolerant of Nazi atrocities. Rabbi Cohen acknowledges that Pope Pius was quietly active in saving Jews from the Nazis, hinting even that the pope�s failure to protest forcefully against the persecution of Jews may not have been motivated by anti-Semitism.

It seems evident that Pius� reticence was at worst a diplomatic misjudgment � and there is no evidence that public pronouncements of protest would have had any positive consequences, but much to support the view that such protests might have been reckless and counterproductive.

Error of judgment is human. It is fair to assess a pontificate by a pope�s decisions, but it is unjust to ascribe impure motives to a putative error in judgment unless malice can be proven. Pius� silence was not rooted in ill will, but he approved and supported rescue missions of imperilled Jews. He should be judged by what we know of him, not by what the imagination suggests.

But that cuts two ways. If we are to credit Pope Pius with the rescue missions of Jews, then we must question the Church�s part in the smuggling of Nazi war criminals into safety � some reportedly even on Vatican passports � and Pius� lack of post-war condemnation of the Holocaust.

As long as these questions remain unresolved it will be injudicious to proceed with the beatification of Pope Pius XII. Pope Benedict is wise to keep his counsel in that respect.

It is unfortunate that Rabbi Cohen should have linked Pius� silence to the Middle East crisis and Israel�s role in it.

Mindful of its own intolerable treatment of Jews over almost two millennia, the Church is acutely sensitive to Jewish concerns and fears. Even after Pope John Paul II�s momentous apology to Jews in 2000, Catholics may never forget what cruelties were perpetrated against Jews in our Church�s name. But this awareness cannot inexorably translate into unconditional support for the policies and actions of the Israeli state.

The Church condemns� anti-Semitism and it guarantees Israel�s right to exist peaceably. The Church condemns threats such as those made by Iran�s belligerent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has pledged Israel�s destruction, and it denounces insurgent attacks against residents of Israel. At the same time, the Church cannot approve of Israeli aggression against and oppression of Palestinians.

It is in acknowledging its past failings that the Church seeks to meet its obligation to speak out against injustices where it finds these. There is much gross injustice in Israel�s policies and actions in its relation with Palestinians. This is not a question of perspective, but documented truth.

Rabbi Cohen�s censure of Pope Pius XII might have carried much more force if he were an opponent of the injustices committed by his country against Palestinians. But he isn�t. At best, therefore, he is guilty himself of what he ascribes to Pope Pius: failing to speak out against the oppression and brutalisation of a whole population.