Group says pope will weigh delay of Pius's beatification

www.iht.com ^ | October 31, 2008 | Rachel Donadio

[Publius804]

Group says pope will weigh delay of Pius's beatification

By Rachel Donadio

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI told Jewish leaders on Thursday that he was "seriously considering" delaying the beatification of Pius XII, the pope during World War II, until the archives of his papacy had been opened, a participant at the meeting said.

But the pope's spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Benedict's response was not a "public commitment," according to The Associated Press.

"You shouldn't read this response for beyond what it is," Father Lombardi said. "It is a polite, serious response. He always takes seriously what he is told."

The meeting followed weeks of controversy over efforts to beatify Pius, who was pope from 1939 to 1958. Jewish leaders have said Pius did not do enough to stop the deportation of Jews during the Holocaust, and have asked the Vatican to open the sealed archives of Pius's papacy to scholars.

Although a Vatican committee passed a decree last year recognizing Pius's "heroic virtues," an important step toward sainthood, Benedict has not yet approved it. The Vatican has said the pope needs time to reflect. Benedict has said Pius worked "secretly and silently" to save Jews.

Rabbi David Rosen, the president of the organization at the meeting, an umbrella group called the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, told reporters that when asked by an American member, Seymour Reich, to delay the beatification until the archives had been examined, the pope said he was "seriously considering it."

"He didn't clarify what matter he was giving serious consideration and what that means," Rabbi Rosen said in a later telephone conversation.

[Mr. K]

This really sort of creeps me out that I was taught all this baloney when I was a kid.

It sounds like “being made a saint” is a popularity contest, especially after seeing the process in action for John-Paul and Mother Theresa.

The church is losing credibility on too many fronts

[Petronski]

860,000

[fortunecookie]

John-Paul and Mother Theresa.

Popular, yes. But they also led holy lives dedicated to God. Sometimes in one's life, one is priveleged to see saintly (like these 2) or powerful people (Reagan, Thatcher) in action doing good and serving as example, people who also have some claim to popularity, all the more noticeable in our 'age of technology'. I don't think it's right to fault the Church for noticing what technology has made us privy to, the holiness of Pope John Paul and Mother Teresa.