The Pius XII dilemma

by Editor · January 6, 2010

When Pope Benedict declared Pope Pius XII venerable in December, the outraged reaction from some quarters was predictable. The war-time pontiff will remain controversial, and it seems unlikely that the points of contention are going to be resolved easily.

It is particularly unfortunate that some critics have sought to link the German-born pope�s involuntary membership of the Hitler Youth to the supposed acquiescence of Pius XII in the Holocaust, implying that Pope Benedict has some form of residual sympathy for Nazism.

That thought, of course, is absurd. The Ratzinger family was firmly, albeit quietly, opposed to the Nazi regime, and as pontiff, the pope has made his condemnation of Nazism and the Holocaust repeatedly and abundantly clear. And yet, if one has the stomach to peruse the ignorant comments to Internet news reports, the defamatory image is beginning to stick.

As a German, Pope Benedict is especially sensitive to his country�s history of anti-Semitism, and doubtless conscious that the Church�s grievous history of anti-Semitism contributed to the persecution of Jews in Germany and elsewhere, which climaxed in the Third Reich. When he has inadvertently offended Jews � by lifting the excommunication of the Holocaust-denier Bishop Richard Williamson, or by reviving a liturgical rite that included a prayer offensive to Jews � he has readily sought to repair the damage to Catholic-Jewish relations.

The Pius XII situation places Pope Benedict in a delicate position. Any endorsement of Pope Pius risks being seen as an affirmation of his controversial war-time record, even if such an endorsement does not relate to that.

Some Catholics may well feel that the Pius XII issue is a convenient stick with which to beat the Church. They feel especially aggrieved at this because to them, Pope Pius XII�s public silence over the Holocaust (broken by his often forgotten 1942 Advent broadcast) was informed by diplomatic and personal anxiety over the consequences of speaking out. They will also point out that Pius did much behind the scenes to save Italian Jews. Jewish leaders of unassailable credentials, such as Golda Meir, Albert Einstein and Roman Chief Rabbi Israele Anton Zolli, hailed Pope Pius as a �righteous gentile� for his live-saving efforts.

At the same time, Pius� critics are right to observe that the Nazi leadership saw the pope as weak, and took advantage of his silence. It may well be that by speaking out against the Holocaust, Pope Pius might have had some tempering influence on the Nazis, apart from giving prophetic witness.

That, however, is academic. The effect such a papal condemnation might have had can be subject only to speculation and guesswork; we will never really know. And because we cannot know, it is wrong to make absolute assertions on this point either for or against Pius. Arguments can be made for both views: that his silence was a grave mistake or an act of brave prudence.

Of more pertinent concern is the question of Pius� motivation. No adequate body of references has been published yet to put to rest the debate over why Pius XII did not speak out against the Holocaust.

There are still many unresolved questions concerning Pope Pius XII�s war-time leadership. Most Catholics will gravitate towards the more charitable interpretation of events, which in any event seems the more likely.

Nonetheless, as long as the Pius issue remains unresolved and continues to represent a flashpoint in Catholic-Jewish relations in particular, it will be most unwise to consider his beatification any time soon.