the TRUTH about Pope Pius and the Nazis?

Question

Okay, forgive me for this lengthy post, but SOMEONE has to counter the lies people have been posting about Pope Pius XII, and as usual, its me. Please read this:

Why did Pope Pius not use the bully pulpit of the papacy to denounce Hitler and the Nazis? The Pope knew well that any of his acts or comments might bring retaliation against him, the Catholic clergy, and the laity in Germany and every occupied nation.

The U.S. counsel at the Nuremberg war trials, Dr. Robert M.W. Kempner, wrote, "Every propaganda move of the Catholic Church against Hitler’s reich would have been not only ‘provoking suicide’. . . but would have hastened the execution of still more Jews and priests." German field marshal Albert Kesselring testified: "If [Pius XII] did not protest, he failed to do so because he told himself, quite rightly, ‘If I protest, Hitler will be driven to madness—not only will that not help the Jews, but we must expect that they will then be killed all the more.’"

"The detained priests trembled every time news reached us of some protest by religious authority, but particularly by the Vatican," reported one bishop who was imprisoned at Dachau (where about 2,500 priests died and another 1,000 were held captive). "We all had the impression that our wardens made us atone heavily for the fury these protests evoked. . . . Whenever the way we were treated became more brutal, the Protestant pastors among the prisoners used to vent their indignation on the Catholic priests: ‘Again your big naive pope and those simpletons, your bishops, are shooting their mouths off . . . why don’t they get the idea once and for all, and shut up. They play the heroes, and we have to pay the bill.’"

The Nazi hierarchy sent its ambassadors a "guideline on silencing the Vatican" that made clear the Nazi propaganda machine would be put in gear to counter any statements from the Vatican. In occupied France, the media put forth only censored versions of the Pope’s proclamations, including his Christmas messages. When the Allies invaded France, General Eisenhower said, "You see this country has suffered an intellectual blackout ever since the fall of France. The people have heard only what the Germans and Vichy wanted them to hear."

Pius knew that any condemnation from him would only bring more suffering without putting a damper on Nazi abuses. In that situation, the only logical response was to engage in undercover operations, shelter victims, and pray for peace.

Pope Pius XII believed his approach would best serve victims of the Nazis. Most Jewish leaders at the time agreed, as did Polish Archbishop Adam Sapieha, almost all German religious leaders, the International Red Cross, and most Jewish rescue organizations. Hundreds of thousands of Jewish people owe their lives to this wise approach, which is why, at the time of his death, Pius XII was praised for his efforts.

People who have heard the allegations against Pius need to be gently corrected. He was not "Hitler’s Pope." He was a wise and brave man who did what was within his power to shelter, protect, and save all that horrible era’s victims, regardless of race, nationality, or religion. His life was indeed one of heroic virtue.

Comments?

more info:
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2001/0101fea1.asp

To "bregweidd": Did you know that the chief Rabbi of Rome became a Catholic after WW II, in part because he was amazed at the heroic effors of the Pope?

To "Giovanni Geezus": If he did, he would have taken thousands with him. Not too smart.

Answer 1

Very good.

No serious scholar contests the evidence that Pius XII took direct and indirect measures to save Jews from the Nazi death machine.

At the start of World War II, Pope Pius XII’s first encyclical was so anti-Hitler that the Royal Air Force and the French air force dropped 88,000 copies of it over Germany. Here is a link to the Summi Pontificatus: Encyclical of Pope Pius XII on the Unity of Human Society, October 20, 1939: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_20101939_summi-pontificatus_en.html

Unfortunately the Soviet Union and others had been trying to convince the world that the Catholic Church was pro-Nazi since the death of Pope Pius in 1958. Here are some sources:
+ The KGB made corrupting the Church a priority: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTUzYmJhMGQ5Y2UxOWUzNDUyNWUwODJiOTEzYjY4NzI=
+ The KGB campaign against Pius XII: http://www.the-tidings.com/2007/021607/difference.htm
+ Pius XII and the Jews: http://web.archive.org/web/20010919100700/http://www.weeklystandard.com/magazine/mag_6_23_01/dalin_bkart_6_23_01.asp
+ http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/a/ww2jews.html

See also "The Myth of Hitler’s Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews From the Nazis" by Rabbi David G. Dalin which has compiled further overwhelming proof of Pope Pius XII"s friendship for the Jews beginning long before he became pope.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

I am quiet surprised at this question. Here we are sharing with each other how we should all be tolerant, forgiving, understanding, non-judge mental and then we get a question that protests something that happened so many years ago.
I thought we were supposed to live in the day, forget the past and try and make the future a better place? I really thought that those that were quoting tolerance of religion and race would not bring up hatred of the past hoping to make their point. I lived as a child during the second world war in England and I know from first hand experience and the aftermath of the war, what terrible things happened. However, since I am attempting to live as good a life as possible I do not dwell in the past! Please everyone, let us not use the past to hate! There are so many things that happened in this world and that is happening now, that could give us reason to hate many, but if we do, then we are no "better" than those that have done, and are doing these things. Remember peace and love, which we cannot do if we are bringing up hateful memories of the past, Once again we are saying we are right and whoever is "lying" about history are wrong, which maybe they are but why change around from being loving and kind to negative, and blame. History is history, let it not be the future. Let us start with ourselves and live in love and peace. THEN the world will one by one, become a better place.

Answer 3

Hello,

1) With a Vatican guard of 150 armed with halberds at that time there was little the Vatican could do physically. Also a pope must be impartial to the political systems as both sides were Christian and RC, all children of God.

2) No one has ever accused this pope of being a poor diplomat and as you and many others surmised, he had to be very careful in not turning the Nazi machine against the Catholics in Germany and occupied Europe. The Vatican did what it could to save many Jews.

3) Just looking at the book cover, Hitler's pope was enough for me to counter the saying that you cannot judge a book by its cover. The picture of the Pius XII being saluted by German soldiers as he walked out of a building, and note I say Pius, not pope, was one taken in the late 20's during the Wiemar Republic when he was a cardinal which I have in several history books written before Hitler's Pope. The cover of the book lied to begin with and that says a lot.

4) Finally there is a book, The Myth Of Hitler's Pope written by a Rabbi which is worth a look:

http://www.regnery.com/books/mythhitler.html


Cheers,

Michael Kelly

Answer 4

C.C., the problem I have with this is that the Pope came out against the Iraq war. How many civilians have died? I think it takes more courage to come out and say something. If the U.S. had thought the same way then how many more Jews would have been killed? Hitler wouldn't have stopped regardless of what anyone said. He would have kept on going had he not been forcibly stopped. I don't understand Pope Pius' reasoning. Also, the Germans would have said anything at the time. John Paul continued to hold Mass even when he knew he could be killed. I understand the argument presented but there are a lot of holes in it. Thank you for sharing, however.

Answer 5

It is useless to present facts to anti-Catholic bigots.

It is pure speculation to suggest what Pius XII should have done, but did not do, and the consequences of such actions or lack thereof. What we have is nothing less than the proverbial Monday morning quarterbacking.

Where is the outrage over Charles Lindbergh, who admired Hitler and the Third Reich, and even consulted with the Luftwaffe generals during the 1930s? Lindbergh is considered an American hero. Pius XII is not a canonized saint, but was merely a man, who also happened to be the Pope, placed by time and circumstance into an extremely dangerous and difficult situation.

Answer 6

Those Catholic haters will all ways speculate even when a Dean for academic affairs and professor of law at the University Of Mississippi School Of Law has written his article which was posted on the Catholic Answers. Catholic haters you call yourselves Christians what about when our Lord Jesus Christ says, don’t talk bad about others. I am finding pure self option with self speculation not base on the article. I bet that what you do to real history (for example Constantine I and other history) add your own options and speculations with deceptions. I have message if you can’t take the truth on good academic paper don’t give us your trash or deceptions. Catholic haters you are worse as Hitler. You kill but not in the physical aspect put inside of you by having every good Catholic killed inside of your hearts.

Answer 7

With a wicked man like Hitler, Stalin, Mao or Saddam its hard to stand and be courageous. This applies to people of all kinds of belief or none. I wouldn't want to judge the Pope as I'd find it hard to be courageous.

Answer 8

So Pope Pius was too big of a chicken to die as a martyr for Jesus Christ? Sounds like a real weasel. A true Christian should not worry about retaliation brought against him for his beliefs. But nice try anyway on the historical revisionism and rationalization. Pius was Hitler's Pope.

Answer 9

If Hitler had done anything to the Pope at that time, 500,000,000 catholics would have joined arms and marched on Germany and the war would have ended years earlier than it did. Also, if the Pope was so righteous, why were many of the war criminals ending up in South America transported there under Vatican passports, and they do have evidence of that.

Answer 10

Actually the Dutch bishops spoke out strongly and 40.000 more Jews were killed, so, it wasn`t just to save Catholics, Catholics under the leadership of Pope Pius XI,( who condemmed Kristalnacht), and Pope Pius XII saved hundreds of thousands of Jews. Hitler oposed the election of Pope Pius XII cause he was a Jew loving cardinal, and thanks to the Catholic Church, Mussolini didn`t enact the Holocaust in Italy and only started discriminating Jews under pressure from Hitler in 1938.