Cardinal Bertone defends Pope Pius XII

October 08, 2008

A day after the chief rabbi of Haifa-- a special guest at the Synod of Bishops-- urged Church leaders not to beatify Pope Pius XII, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state, defended the wartime pontiff’s reputation in an article in L’Osservatore Romano. ‘It is profoundly unjust to extend a veil of prejudice on the work of Pius XII during the war,’ wrote Cardinal Bertone. ‘If he had made a public intervention, he would have endangered the lives of thousands of Jews, who, upon his directive, were hidden in 155 convents and monasteries in Rome alone.’

 

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Further information:

• Vatican No. 2: Pius protected Jews during WWII (AP)
• Rabbi speaks against Pius XII beatification, asks Synod of Bishops to defend Israel (CWN, Oct. 7)