Just like herpes, the Pope Pius/Nazi conspiracy theorists never go away for good.
Put your faith not in man but God.
Interesting piece, thanks for posting.
I was struck by this part “Many Pius XII supporters have maintained that had he spoken out about the Holocaust, he would have made the situation worse but Kertzer finds that hard to imagine.”
I too find it hard to imagine.
At this point in history, it’s clear that Pius XII is simply being slandered.
Something wrong with Kertzer, who is obsessed with Pius XII.
Not this sh*t again.
Aside from protecting some people in the area near him in Italy, what we can fairly state is that he sure didn’t rise to the occasion in a proper Christian fashion.
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18
“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.: James 3:1
There WERE some Christian clerics (including some Roman Catholic priests) who did speak up and visibly seek to save lives. A good quick example will suffice:
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/martyrs/dietrich-bonhoeffer.html
Pacelli worked behind the scene to rid Europe of Hitler. He approved plans by German, anti nazi, officers to assassinate Hitler.
I will stick with William Shirer’s account in the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
Aside from protecting some people in the area near him in Italy, what we can fairly state is that he sure didn’t rise to the occasion in a proper Christian fashion.
The Israeli diplomat Pinchas Lapide credited Pius XII with saving hundreds of thousands of Jewish lives during World War II. (The specific citation provided on Wikipedia gives a range of at least 700,000, with an upper bound of 860,000.)
A particularly telling section with regards to why Pius XII was not more outwardly vocal, preferring instead to work in more clandestine fashion (underline is emphasis mine):
Pius XII followed the Dutch Roman Catholic hierarchy’s plan to name the Jews explicitly in their condemnation of Nazi deportations and intended to issue a similar statement himself. The Nazis threatened to arrest more Jews. The Dutch Reformed Church agreed not to protest openly but the Roman Catholic hierarchy issued, in May 1943 [sic; the pastoral letter in question was actually issued in April 1942, but was publicly reported on by the Jewish Telegraph Agency in May 1942], their famous protest against the deportations. The Nazis then launched an all-out offensive against Jews (except those who had converted to the Dutch Protestant Reformed Church). Ironically, it was the Dutch hierarchy’s letter of open condemnation which led to the arrest and execution of Edith Stein, the Jewish Roman Catholic nun and philosopher.
The news of the increased persecution reached Pius XII. His own protest was due to go into L’Osservatore Romano that very evening but he had the draft burnt saying “If the protest of the Dutch Bishops has cost the lives of 40,000 people, my intervention would take at least 200,000 people to their deaths.” (See II Seitimanale, 1 March 1975, p.40.) Such was the result of openly naming the Jews; more death from vain gestures.
On the contrary, many continued to support Stalin. The New York Times even covered up for Stalin when they had evidence of his genocides.
My understanding is that the US also failed the Jews in the Holocaust.
So why would Kertzer deign to soil his feet on American soil?
His latest book, the result of two years of intensive work, The Pope at War shows how the Pope did nothing to stop the Holocaust.
Needless to say, this is utter libel by Kertzer and the Jewish Chronicle.
Yes, most world governments are corrupt as well, but most governments don’t claim to have been founded by God himself.
The last really good Pope was Pius XI. Ratzinger was a good man, but too much of a theology professor to really have an impact.
Did you know that the CHIEF RABBI in ROME CONVERTED TO CATHOLICISM because of this Pope and what he did???? LOOK IT UP!
This is anti-Catholic CRAP!
“the Pope did nothing to stop the Holocaust.” 100% deception. In other news, Pope Pius XII’s heroic works during WWII are respected by many scholars. For starters, I suggest Rychlak’s Hitler (2010). https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B007R61OKU&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_1B0BETKX1BR56GFK1WEA
There were certainly those in the Vatican who gave tacit support to the Ustashe in Croatia.
“David Kertzer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning US historian”
Well, that doesn’t help his credibility.