Monsignor Antonio Franco, the Vatican ambassador to Israel, has announced that he will not attend the annual Holocaust Day memorial services at Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem this year, Ynetnews reported.The ambassador is rejecting the invitation as an expression of the Vatican's dissatisfaction with a photograph on display in the museum depicting Pope Pius XII, who was head of the Catholic Church during World War II.
The caption next to the photograph notes that the Pope had a questionable response to the murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust.
The photograph of the Pope was put on display in the new portion of Yad Vashem when it opened in 2005.
In 2006, the Vatican requested that the museum change the caption -- essentially a request for the museum to reinvent history.
Yad Vashem responded that they would happily research Pope Pius' actions during the Holocaust if the Vatican would be willing to open its World War II archives to the research staff for that purpose.
However, the Vatican however did not open the archives.
Foreign Ministry officials told Ynet, "This is a very sensitive matter which needs to be examined in depth. It is important to us that all diplomatic delegates attend the memorial ceremony. As well, Israel aspires to good relations with the Vatican. "On the other hand history cannot be changed, and if certain officials failed to help Jews during the Holocaust -- that is the reality. There are nations that take responsibility for their actions during the Holocaust and those that don't. The Vatican did not actively participate in exterminating Jews, but questions remain regarding the pope's actions. "
Since the Holocaust there have been substantial improvements in relations between Israel and the Vatican, but certain scars from the past cannot be ignored. History can't be tossed in the trash." Yad Vashem staff balked at the Vatican's behavior, saying, "It would be unthinkable to use diplomatic pressure to further historical research."
They added, "The museum also presents many stories of members of the church who saved Jews during the Holocaust."
In an official response, Yad Vashem expressed disappointment at the Vatican's behavior: "We are shocked and disappointed that the Vatican's delegate to Israel has chosen not to respect the memory of the Holocaust and not to participate in the official ceremony in which the State of Israel and the Jewish people join in memory of the victims. This contradicts the pope's statement during his visit to Yad Vashem regarding the importance of remembering the Holocaust and its victims. "Yad Vashem is dedicated to historical research, and the Holocaust museum presents the historical truth on Pope Pius XII as is known to scholars today.
Yad Vashem told to the Vatican's representative in Israel that it was willing to continue examining the issue, and noted that if granted access it would gladly study the Vatican's archives from the era of Pope Pius XII's service, to possibly learn new and different information than what is known today."
The Holocaust Day memorial service at Yad Vashem is attended by all foreign ambassadors to Israel.
Officials at the Foreign Ministry said, "If the Vatican ambassador does not come to the ceremony, his absence will definitely stand out."
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