Sunday March 22nd. 2009
afterwards carried out the pope's orders first and foremost to save human lives.'
The vitriolic slanders on the name of Pius XII by John Cornwell in his book Hitler's Pope and by other anti-papal writers are contradicted by reputable Jewish writers and historians. In the misleading front jacket of his book, Cornwell has a picture of Pius in his role as nuncio to Germany (1917-1929) leaving a government reception with two German soldiers on guard duty. This event took place in 1927 when Hitler was only a minor player in German politics. The use of this photograph under the heading Hitler's Pope gives the impression that the future Pope Pius XII is emerging from a cosy tete-a-tete with Hitler. Making matters worse is the caption inside the British edition which reads: ' Cover photograph shows Cardinal Pacelli, the future Pius XII, leaving the presidential palace in Berlin, March 1939.' This is patently false.
Anti-papal writers accuse Pius of being in favour of the Nazi regime as a bulwark against communism. This is untrue. Cardinal Pacellli as Secretary of State to Pope Pius XI formulated the powerful encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge (With Burning Anxiety) and arranged to have it smuggled into Germany in 1937 to be read in all Catholic Churches. This encyclical clearly condemned the anti-Christian, anti-God like laws of the Nazi regime and of course the persecution of the Jews, which was then gathering momentum in Germany.
Rabbi David Dalin in his book The Myth of Hitler's Pope recounts the strenuous efforts of Cardinal Pacelli in defence of the persecuted Jews in Germany. The Nazi press lampooned him as ' the Jew loving Cardinal'. The day after his election the Berlin Morgenpost read: 'T he election of Cardinal Pacelli is not accepted with favour in Germany because he was always opposed to Nazism and practically determined the policies of the Vatican under his predecessor.'
The first encyclical of Pope Pius XII, Summi Pontificatus,
expressly rejected Nazism and the hostility towards Jews in Germany. The New York Times greeted this encyclical with a front page headline which read: 'Pope condemns dictators, treaty violators, racism'.' The Manchester Guardian and The London Times continued to praise Pius for his condemnation of Nazi atrocities against Jews in Germany and Poland. Following the Pope's Christmas address in 1941, broadcast on Vatican Radio, The New York Times stated: ' The voice of Pius XII is a lonely voice in the silence and darkness enveloping Europe this Christmas ... the pope put himself squarely against Hitlerism. Pius XII left no doubt that the Nazi aims are also irreconcilable with his own conception of a Christian peace."
In 1942 the Bishops of The Netherlands credited Pope Pius as their inspiration in issuing a Pastoral Letter which was read from every pulpit in the country on 19 April, denouncing: 'the unmerciful and unjust treatment meted out to Jews by those in power in our country': Unfortunately the Nazis reacted with fury and intensified their efforts to capture Jews in Holland. In effect the vast majority of Holland's Jews were sent to the death camps. The Nazis slaughtered 110,000 people, or 79 percent of Holland's Jewish population, the highest percentage in any Nazi-occupied nation in Western Europe. This reaction to the strong protest of Church authorities probably influenced Pius to do more by diplomatic means and through the direct intervention of Church people to save Jews. Pius knew well who he was dealing with in Hitler, a ruthless dictator, and his equally ruthless cohorts Himmler, Ribbentrop and Goebbels, who would deny doing harm to the Jews and claim that Pius was an agent and dupe of the Allies. Pius was not naive; he knew megaphone declamations would have no effect. He chose diplomatic intervention and used the resources of his Church to counteract the Nazi terror.
Catholics can be proud that we had a pope of great compassion and courage who put into effect his master's command ' love one another as I have loved you' (John 13:34) during the dark days of the Second World War.
Papal and Episcopal Charities - Second collection next Sunday
Next Sunday is our opportunity to show how our Lenten penances can help the poor of the Third World. By contributing what we would have normally have spent on our usual pleasure, but decided to deny ourselves during Lent, we can make such a difference for those who have little or nothing. There are boxes from the two charities to help you continue with your efforts until the end of Lent—SCIAF’s Wee Box, and MARY’S MEALS boxes. A large percentage of next Sunday’s collection goes to the international work of SCIAF to bring relief to communities where there is hunger and decease, whereas MARY’S MEALS is a private organisation depending entirely on the generosity of people, which attracts children to school by offering them one good meal a day and assures them an education to help them improve their lives. It now feeds over 330,000 children each day in all parts of the world.