To justify the elevation of the late Pope to the rank of "venerable", the Vatican says have evidence that he helped Jews during the Second World War. The Jewish state wants to see them.
The decision Saturday by Benedict XVI to elevate the status of "venerable", the last stage before the beatification, Pope John Paul II and most controversial Pope Pius XII, causing a stir in Israel. On Sunday, Israel has formally requested to consult the historical archives of the Vatican on the one who led the Church during the Second World War.
At the same time he raised his predecessor, Pope has chosen to do the same honor to a more controversial figure. Eugenio Pacelli, who led the Catholic Church from 1939 to 1958 under the name of Pius XII, accused by many historians to have been totally silent on the issue of the Holocaust, even when Roman Jews were deported in late 1943.
For this reason Israel rose in 2008 against the wishes of Benedict XVI to Pius XII beatification. The Israeli Minister of Social Affairs, Yitzhak Herzog, had then protested, saying that "the project to turn Pius XII a saint is unacceptable. During the Holocaust, the Vatican knew very well what was happening in Europe (...) The pope kept silent and may be made worse, instead of rising, according to the biblical commandment against the bloodshed " .
Historical Controversy
Stephan Kramer, general secretary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany was "furious" and "sad", saying that Benedict XVI "rewrite history". To some, indeed, the Pope would try to take advantage of the immense popularity of John Paul II in the Christian community to "get" the beatification of Pius XII, more controversial.
The Jewish community of Rome has expressed a position "critical", requiring access to Vatican archives of the time and recalling the departure in 1943 of a train of Jews deported to Auschwitz "in the silence of Pius XII.
A version that the church denies, as some historians who believe that Pius XII has played a big role in saving hundreds of thousands of Jewish victims of Nazi persecution. If it does not rise publicly to defend the Roman Jews, Pius XII did or hide help many in the Vatican. It also asserts that Benedict XVI, who claims to have evidence of these facts in the archives of the Holy See.
On Sunday, Israel has asked for access to these archives, which are normally open to researchers in 2013. "" The beatification process does not concern us, is a matter which concerns only the Catholic Church. As for the role of Pius XII, is for historians to evaluate and we therefore urge the opening of Vatican archives during the World War, "said the spokesman of Foreign Affairs Yigal Palmor.