Cardinal Pell defends pope Pius XII.
Oct 11, 2007
Sydney's Catholic Cardinal George Pell has mounted a spirited defence of World War II Pope Pius XII, saying the church had helped as many Jews as it could in a climate of fear.
(The Age, October 10, 2007) Pius XII was Pope from 1939 until his death in 1958. During WWII and for decades later he was heavily criticised for not actively speaking out against the Nazi march across Europe and the Holocaust.
But last year an Italian paper published extracts from the diary of an Italian nun which said Pius had ordered Rome's Catholics to hide Jews.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Pell said he "would not plead guilty to the charge" that Pius had turned a blind eye to the Nazi slaughter.
He pointed to the move by the Chief Rabbi in Rome who became a Catholic in the wake of WWII.
"You don't make that sort of transition over to a body who's listed amongst your principal opponents," Cardinal Pell told the National Press Club.
Fear, Cardinal Pell said, had been the main reason Pius had not spoken out publicly during the Holocaust.
"We have free speech, we take it for granted, that wasn't the situation under the Nazis.
"While the church might have done more, the church did a lot.
"The Nazis hated the church precisely because they recognised it was one of their leading opponents.
"Overwhelmingly the people who gave succour to the Jews were Christian people, not entirely but largely Christian people of the different denominations."
Cardinal Pell defends pope Pius XII.