Israeli authorities have agreed to re-open an investigation into the activities of a war-time priest from Kerry who is credited with saving many Jews from the Nazis which could see him honoured as 'Righteous Among the Nations'.
Msgr Hugh O'Flaherty, often referred to as the Vatican Pimpernel, ran a mammoth network of convents and private houses where Jews and Allied Prisoners of War (POWs) were hidden from the Nazis after the invasion of Rome.
However, while there is lots of evidence for his work on behalf of POWs and he has been honoured by several nations, little documentary evidence has appeared to back up his risks for the Jewish people.
Yad Vashem, the Jerusalem-based agency that honours people who risked their lives to help Jews during World War II, told The Irish Catholic they ''would be very happy to receive any documentation and material that would illuminate this story'' and allow investigations to continue.
''We know of Father O'Flatherty's activity in Rome, but so far have not been able to find any documentation about his rescuing Jews, or any survivors saved by Father O'Flaherty.
''Therefore we are unable to submit the case to the Commission for the Designation of the Righteous,'' a spokeswoman for Yad Vashem told The Irish Catholic.
''One of the prerequisites is to have survivor testimony or documentation (primary sources) that attests to the fact that the nominated person was directly responsible for rescuing Jews; that the rescue involved personal risk; and that he was motivated by the wish to rescue Jews from persecution and death,'' she said.
After the war, Msgr O'Flaherty retired to his native Kerry and died there after a short illness in 1963. At the time of his death he had received a number of awards, including the CBE from Great Britain and the US Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm.
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