Saturday, October 11, 2008

Red faces at Vatican synod as guest rabbi criticises war role of Pius XII

A highly anticipated speech by an Israeli rabbi this week at the opening of the Catholic bishops' synod on the Word of God was quickly transformed from an "historic event" into a cause of embarrassment and irritation for the Vatican.

The Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Shear-Yashuv Cohen, raised eyebrows on Monday - the first working day of the three-week synod - when he issued a veiled but obvious criticism of Pope Pius XII.

It came in remarks he added at the last minute to a pre-submitted text that focused on the Jewish meaning of Scripture.

"We cannot forget the sad, the painful fact of how many, including great religious leaders, did not raise a voice in the effort to save our brethren, but chose to keep silent and help secretly," Rabbi Cohen said in reference to the Nazi-led Holocaust.

"We cannot forgive and forget it. And we hope that you understand our pain, our sorrow over the immediate past in Europe," he said in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI and some 253 cardinals, bishops and other participants.

The rabbi, who is an old friend of several cardinals and Vatican officials, never mentioned Pius XII explicitly in his remarks inside the synod hall. But the reference was confirmed later when he told journalists he opposed any plans to beatify the wartime pope.

"I did not want to offend anybody," Rabbi Cohen said of his talk. "Maybe [Pius XII] was afraid, or for other reasons known to him he did not raise his voice. And that we cannot forget," he said.

In an earlier interview the rabbi also indicated that he might not have even accepted the invitation to address the synod had he known the gathering was to include a large public Mass (on Thursday) to honour Pius XII on the fiftieth anniversary of his death.

"I did not know it happened during the same meeting. If I had known ... I might have refrained from coming, because we feel that the pain is still here," Rabbi Cohen told Reuters hours before giving his talk.

The Vatican ignored the rabbi's comments and L'Osservatore Romano, which had trailed his synod appearance before the speech as "innovative", did not even acknowledge his presence afterwards.

Instead, the paper published articles defending Pius XII's wartime activities and dismissing all criticism. Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, said he was convinced the late pope had done everything possible to save Jews from the Holocaust.

The incident deflected attention from a busy start to the three-week synod which included an elaborate papal Mass on Sunday and a two-hour-long opening address in Latin on Monday by the synod's special secretary, Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec City.

At the opening Mass the Pope attacked the godless character of modern culture and suggested Christianity in Europe could become extinct, adding that Christian societies that rebelled against God in the past had faced his "punishment".

"Nations once rich in faith and vocations are losing their own identity under the harmful and destructive influence of a certain modern culture," he said.

Meanwhile the Canadian cardinal insisted that a new emphasis be placed on the spiritual meaning of the Scriptures in order to balance the historical-critical method of exegesis.

He encouraged synod Fathers to ask the Pope for an encyclical on the interpretation of Scripture.
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(Source: TT)