tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post4767505418747809324..comments2024-03-28T20:30:10.681-04:00Comments on southern orders: POPE PIUS XII: WHY DO SOME JEWS SO HATE HIM?Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-18189192116982788942010-02-04T09:08:00.426-05:002010-02-04T09:08:00.426-05:00"However, it is also possible that there is a..."However, it is also possible that there is anti-Catholicism at work with the current campaign to malign Pope Pius XII."<br /><br />Wow! For a big-time understatement, Fr. McDonald, you will never top this one, however this fine blog endures.Henry Edwardsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-88940011850251046362010-02-03T13:56:21.377-05:002010-02-03T13:56:21.377-05:00One more thing, Mr. Wilensky: I just noticed you ...One more thing, Mr. Wilensky: I just noticed you are a resident of my home town, San Diego. Having grown up there, I can confidently say that except for a few fringe nutcases living in the "boonies", I cannot recall any anti-semitic strongholds in our beloved city.<br /><br />On several occasions, I had the privilege of seeing and hearing Morris Casuto, President of San Diego's Anti-Defamation League, speak and I even had a chance to interview him once for a story I had published in <em>The Reader</em>. You might be surprised (as I was when I interviewed him) to find that when he was a child, even though he was Jewish, he sang in a choir at a Catholic Church. I guess no one had taught him to hate Pope Pius XII.Robert Kumpelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10567786012498143419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-69394445513841701942010-02-03T05:16:17.163-05:002010-02-03T05:16:17.163-05:00From Fr. Allan McDonald: I am no expert on Pope Pi...From Fr. Allan McDonald: I am no expert on Pope Pius XII and therefore cannot defend or accuse him. It does strike me odd though, that Mr. Wilensky, while rightly decrying anti-Semitic sentiment of many Christians, but also atheists and godless secularist such as Adolph Hitler in the murder of over six million Jews never mentions the six million others who were slaughtered for their ethnic origin or mental and physical disabilities or sexual orientation. Most of these six million others were Christians, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestants. Why would Pope Pius XII be silent about them? Was he anti-Christian? Or did he really have an antipathy toward human suffering and murder no matter who? These are the questions that I fee are answered by the author of the article I pasted on the blog. Mr.Cavalli seems to answer in a positive light what Pius XII actually did. The author also acknowledges the other six million who died, whom we should never forget either! From the author's last sentence:<br /><br />The campaign against Pope Pius XII is doomed to failure because his detractors cannot sustain their main charges against him - that he was silent, pro-Nazi, and did little or nothing to help the Jews - with evidence. Perhaps only in a backward world such as ours would the one man who did more than any other wartime leader to help Jews and other Nazi victims, receive the greatest condemnation.<br /><br />Dimitri CavalliFr. Allan J. McDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-70135546814909881512010-02-03T00:36:34.024-05:002010-02-03T00:36:34.024-05:00I cannot speak for the entire Catholic Church, but...I cannot speak for the entire Catholic Church, but it seems that our previous pope, John Paul II, has apologized all over himself for every shortcoming committed by persons within the Church, including mistreatment of Jews.<br /><br />As a product of the Catholic schools, the first few years of which were "pre-Vatican II" I cannot recall any priest, nun or lay teacher feeding us negative information or opinions about the Jews. Quite the opposite, the biggest sin that was always pinned on Hitler was his treatment of the Jewish race. We were taught that the Jews were God's chosen people.<br /><br />Because of the nature of my father's business, I grew up around a lot of Jewish people and I was (and am) very comfortable with them. I certainly cannot remember an anti-semitic remark ever coming from my parents' lips. Again, quite the opposite, my father often praised some of his Jewish associates for having more integrity than many of the Catholics that he knew.<br /><br />And the Jewish people I knew? I cannot recall ever hearing them complain about the Catholic Church's complicity in the Holocaust. <br /><br />Of course, this is just my testimony, easily dismissed as anecdotal at best.<br /><br />So, I'm probably wasting my time when I suggest reading <em>The Myth of Hitler's Pope</em> by Rabbi David Dalin, a book that strongly refutes this tired canard about Pius XII. I have no doubt that his detractors can explain away Dalin's arguments. It's also probably pointless to remind readers of the conversion of Rome's Chief Rabbi, Israel Zolli, who converted to the Catholic Church after the war and took Pope Pius' first name, Eugene, as his own.<br /><br />No, I'll just remind Mr. Wilensky and the other readers that successful public relations are critical for secular organizations, but is not the primary concern of the Catholic Church. <br /><br />I'll also apologize once again to Mr. Wilensky and others who share his conviction on behalf of the shortcomings of the Catholic Church. I hope one day you will find it in your heart to forgive us and our Church.<br /><br />Finally, I ask, if the eventual opening of the Vatican's secret archives ever prove, to your satisfaction, that Pius XII was not complicit with Hitler, will YOU apologize to the Church?<br /><br />I'm not holding my breath.Robert Kumpelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10567786012498143419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-88679969336019082742010-02-02T20:31:28.437-05:002010-02-02T20:31:28.437-05:00Pope Benedict claims the “The Apostolic See itself...Pope Benedict claims the “The Apostolic See itself provided assistance, often in a hidden and discreet way” during the Holocaust. How does he know this? Is there any evidence he has access to the rest of the world doesn’t? If so, given the controversy surrounding the role of the Vatican and of Pope Pius XII during the murder of six million Jews, the last and most devastating step in a long history of antisemitism fostered by the Church for centuries, it behooves the Church to release any information as soon as possible. Yet, about 50 years ago when the controversy about Pope Pius began the Holy See released eleven volumes of documents with the purpose of “exonerating” the wartime pope from any wrongdoing, including that of inaction. It stands to reason these must have been the best documents showing the Vatican’s “hidden and discreet” work to save Jews. Yet, almost none of it showed the Holy See or the pope had done that. The Vatican’s public efforts are of course well-known, and they show no clear action on behalf of the hounded Jews of Europe, including those of Rome. Now Pope Benedict wants to raise Pope Pius to the sainthood for his “heroic virtues”. Even though it’s the Church’s prerogative to canonize whoever they wish, canonizing Pope Pius XII before the Vatican Secret Archives covering the WWII period are opened to independent researchers is a misguided effort that can turn into a public relations disaster for the Catholic Church.<br /><br />Gabriel Wilensky<br />---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />Author <br />Six Million Crucifixions:<br />How Christian Teachings About Jews Paved the Road to the Holocaust<br />http://www.SixMillionCrucifixions.com<br />Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sixmillionbook<br />---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gabriel Wilenskyhttp://www.sixmillioncrucifixions.comnoreply@blogger.com