The Pope’s Dubious Holocaust Remembrance

[cbayer]

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/theeditors/6792/the_pope_s_dubious_holocaust_remembrance/


January 28, 2013 12:13am
Post by EVAN DERKACZ

Sunday sundown signals the start of this year’s Yom HaShoah, or “Holocaust Remembrance Day,” marking the 68th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. First, in the name of optimism, let’s point out that it's a good sign that we live in an age when the pope is expected to make a statement like the one B16 made today:

The memory of this immense tragedy, which above all struck so harshly the Jewish people, must represent for everyone a constant warning so that the horrors of the past are not repeated, so that every form of hatred and racism is overcome, and that respect for, and dignity of, every human person is encouraged.

Great. Great. Problem is, this same pope remains determined to bring the “ultra-traditionalist” Society of St. Pius X, which broke with the Catholic Church over the Vatican II reforms, back into the fold. The SSPX has a, let’s say, “problematic” relationship with Jews which they seem unable or unwilling to rid themselves of.

Most famously, during an interview on Swedish TV, SSPX Bishop Richard Williamson claimed that “There was not one Jew killed by the gas chambers. It was all lies, lies, lies!” And he put the number of Jews killed at “200,000 to 300,000.” Straight from the Holocaust denier’s handbook.

You’d think the pope would’ve been humiliated by these statements since the interview aired on the very day that he lifted the excommunication of Williamson and three other SSPX bishops. The pope and his supporters of course claim that he had no idea that Williamson held these views and that he was shocked—shocked—to learn of it.

more at link

[Permanut]

1. Even worse; the behavior of Pius XII during the Holocaust..

Pius XII maintained "neutrality" during much of the war, and ignored cries for help. You'd also think a contemporary Pope would revisit these actions, or inactions, but I suppose it would be improper to criticize his predecessors.


Some details at

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/pius.html

[struggle4progress]

3. Pius XII and the Holocaust

Jonathan Gorsky
<published by Yad Vashem>

... Supporters of the Pope point to thousands of Jews rescued by Catholic institutions in Rome and across Europe, as well as the endeavours of Nuncios (Papal Ambassadors) on behalf of Jews in different countries occupied by Nazi Germany. They note that in the post-war years distinguished Jewish figures expressed gratitude to the Vatican for their endeavours and a forest was planted in Israel, in memory of the Pope on his death in 1958 ...

Papal critics point to the failure of Pius XII publicly to condemn either Nazism or the Holocaust. There was no explicit papal reference to Jewish suffering throughout the war years, nor was there clear condemnation of Nazism in the Pope's addresses. Information received by the Vatican from 1942 onwards was not disseminated, nor was direction given to bishops and the Catholic faithful, with regard to the treatment of Jews. Church efforts on behalf of Jews in the occupied countries depended on local initiative and the particular inclinations of the Nuncios, who might or might not be sympathetic. It was only late in 1944 that the Vatican responded adequately in helping to forestall the deportation of the Jews of Hungary ...

... neither set of arguments is as clear cut as its protagonists maintain ...

Two clear positions do emerge from the debate about Pius XII. For his supporters, the Pope avoided making public statements because there was a strong possibility that they would expose innocent people to drastic Nazi reprisals ... Papal opponents focus on the particular evil that Nazism represented and maintain that in such circumstances religious leadership must be clear, forthright and outspoken ... The argument exposes the dilemmas facing religious leaders who confront political tyranny ...

<pdf link:> http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20684.pdf

[struggle4progress]

2. ... The Vatican later published a statement saying that Bishop Williamson would not be welcomed into

full communion with the church unless he disavowed his remarks and publicly apologized ...
Feb-12-2009
Pope says Holocaust denial is 'intolerable ... unacceptable'
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0900668.htm

... The statement announcing the ouster of Bishop Williamson from the SSPX said the decision was made by the superior general, Bishop Bernard Fellay, and by members of the SSPX council. It said the SSPX leadership met Oct. 4 and gave Bishop Williamson a deadline of Oct. 23 "to declare his submission" to the SSPX leaders. Instead, the statement said, Bishop Williamson sent a letter resigning from the group ... When it appeared Bishop Fellay was close to signing an agreement with the Vatican, internal tensions within the SSPX erupted. Bishop Williamson was excluded from the July general chapter meeting of the SSPX "due to his stand calling to rebellion and for continually repeated disobedience," according to a letter leaked to the press ... In an early October interview with a German radio station, Archbishop Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, confirmed that the talks with the SSPX had broken down and that no further discussions had been scheduled.
Oct-24-2012
SSPX expels Bishop Williamson, who opposed talks with Vatican
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1204487.htm

[pinto]

4. Geez, even I (born in '52) know about the SSPX and their history.

Vehemently opposed to John XXIII and the pretty logical, ecumenical and incremental reforms of Vatican II. John XXII tried to make some changes to a long, long entrenched mind set. Recognizing that the RC Church was mired in tradition, he did what he could, fwiw. The knee jerk response to even minor changes was SSPX.

[dmallind]

5. Nah - it's not at all dubious that he remembers the Holocaust.....

.... I suspect he remembers it quite well.