Expert supports Israeli ambassador's praise for Pius XII

Rome, Italy, June 28 (CNA)
.- An expert on Pope Pius XII expressed support for an Israeli
ambassador who faces controversy after publicly praising the World War
II pontiff for helping save Jews during the Holocaust.

Israeli
ambassador to the Vatican Mordechai Lewy said on June 27 that his
positive comments about late Pope were historically "premature," after
he was criticized by Jewish groups.

However,
author William Doino comended the ambassador for "opening up healthy
and productive discussion" and supports his stance in favor of Pope Pius
XII– who is often accused of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust. 

Ambassador
Lewy sparked the debate at a ceremony honoring the Italian Pope on June
23, when he recalled how convents and monasteries opened their doors to
save Jews after the Nazis persecuted Rome's Ghetto in 1943.

"There
is reason to believe that this happened under the supervision of the
highest Vatican officials, who were informed about what was going on,"
Lewy said during his address. "So it would be a mistake to say that the
Catholic Church, the Vatican and the Pope himself opposed actions to
save the Jews."

"To the contrary, the opposite is true," he said.

Days
later, after Jewish leaders claimed his remarks were historically
inaccurate and insensitive to Holocaust survivors, Lewy explained that
his comments "were embedded in a larger historical context" which is
"still under the subject of ongoing and future research." 

Passing "my personal historical judgment on it," he added, "was premature."

While
Lewy faces criticism over his remarks, he's also gained support from
those like Doino, an expert on the late Pope who contributed extensively
to a biography called "The Pius War: Responses to the Critics of Pius
XII" (Lexington Books).



"Having read his original statements, the responses to them, and his
clarification, I believe it is all for the good, because it demonstrates
how prominent officials in Israel are beginning to express greater
openness toward Pius XII," Doino said to CNA on June 27. 

Despite
media reports claiming that Lewy has now backtracked on his original
comments, Doino said "the Ambassador did not deny what he said may well
be true." Rather, he only said it's too early "to make definitive,
all-encompasing statements."

Doino
also noted that research is showing how the popular cultural perception
that Pius XII ignored the plight of the Jews during World War II is
false.

"I
believe there is an increasing amount of evidence, independent of the
Vatican archives, and impossible to ignore by anyone interested in this
subject – through first-hand testimonies, diaries, and other primary
documents – demonstrating that Pius XII did indeed 'speak out,' in ways
clearly understood by Catholic rescuers, and that he did indeed help
rescue persecuted Jews."

Doino
recalled how the Nazis were "furious" about Pius XII's public addresses
and conduct and denounced him as a "mouthpiece of the Jewish war
criminals."

He
added that early in his pontificate, Pius XII approved a plot to
overthrow Hitler and was commended by many leaders of the anti-Nazi
Resistance.

"These
are documented facts, which cannot be erased, and will remain part of
the larger discussion, whatever else is said, and whatever more comes
out of the Vatican archives," Doino said.