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Archbishop Fisichella: Pius XII had positive influence on Vatican II
Rome, Jun 18, 2008 / 12:32 pm (CNA).- In light of the 50th anniversary of Pius XII’s death, the new President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Archbishop-designate Salvatore “Rino” Fisichella, published an article in L’Osservatore Romano this week on the important contribution of the 43 encyclicals the Pontiff contributed to the Second Vatican Council.
Bishop Fisichella said that while many aspects of Pius XII’s life have been studied, something that is not as well-known is his influence on the development of the Second Vatican Council. “His profound teaching with a vision towards the future is reflected in the sequence of the 43 encyclicals that marked his pontificate and the numerous discourses with which he confronted the most controversial issues of the day.” The prelate continued by explaining that the Pope’s influence could be broken down into three aspects, the first of which is “the promotion of doctrine.”
This is evident, he continued, in the Pope’s definition of the dogma of the Assumption of Mary on November 1, 1950, and in his letter Mystici Corporis dated June 29, 1943, “which at the time was considered theologically innovative.” The archbishop also pointed to the encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu from September 30, 1943, which promoted biblical studies and renewed devotion to Sacred Scripture.
The second aspect of the Pope’s influence was “the defense of doctrine and the relevance of errors,” which was evident in the letter Mediator Dei. The letter, dated November 20, 1947, was written on the liturgy and the sacrificial nature of the Mass and the distinction between the priesthood of the laity and the priestly ordination. Bishop Fisichella said Humani Generis, published on August 22, 1950, addressed theological relativism and in hindsight was a prophetic document in light of what happened in the Church after Vatican II.
The third aspect, the bishop continued, was Pope Pius XII’s “clear and direct manner of speaking when circumstances required it or when there was exact information about issues and their consequences.”
Pope Pius XII’s legacy, he said, demonstrates the continuity of the Church’s doctrine and her patient and unwavering commitment to passing on the one true faith.
Vatican recalls life and teachings of Pius XII 50 years after his death
Vatican City, Jun 17, 2008 / 02:42 pm (CNA).- The Holy See has announced that it will undertake two initiatives to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of the Servant of God Pope Pius XII: a Congress on his Magisterium and a photographic exhibition of his life.
At a press conference this morning, Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, highlighted the Italian Pope’s 1939 – 1958 pontificate as one characterized by his "great stature, especially in spiritual terms, but also intellectually and diplomatically."
The archbishop continued by recalling that several significant historical situations occurred during the pontificate of Pius XII: “the genocide of the Jews, the communist occupation of various Christian nations, the Cold War, new advances of science, and the innovations of certain schools of theology."
The prelate also noted that although many aspects of the pontificate have already been studied, "what remains largely unknown is Pius XII's influence on Vatican Council II." The bishop brought to mind the 43 Encyclicals "which marked his pontificate, and the many discourses in which he examined the most controversial questions of his time.”
In these teachings, Archbishop Fisichella added, one can identify certain features that can be summarized into three points: “firstly the promotion of doctrine, the definition of the dogma of the Assumption in 1950 being particularly memorable; ... secondly defending doctrine and indicating errors." He also recalled that the Encyclical "Humani Generis" (1950) confronts “the serious problem of theological relativism. Lastly, the prelate added, “Pius XII never failed to make his voice clearly and explicitly heard when circumstances required it."
Congress
Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda S.J., rector of Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University, spoke of the congress due to take place at the Gregorian and Lateran Universities from November 6 - 8.
The congress, which will be attended by professors from both universities, will be held over two days: the first “will be dedicated to four introductory lectures on the general views of Pius XII and the cultural and historical context in which that great Pontiff developed his Magisterium." The themes will include: "the development of biblical studies, evangelization, religious freedom and Church-State relations, and the social communications media."
The second day will focus on "Pius XII's teaching in the fields of ecclesiology, liturgy and the role of the laity. The afternoon will be dedicated to his vision of relations between the Church and the world, Mariology, medicine and morals and, finally, questions of canon law."
Photo Exhibition
The commemorative photo exhibition entitled “Pius XII: the Man and the Pontificate,” according to Msgr. Walter Brandmuller, president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, “will illustrate the life of this great and exceptional Pontiff who was already an object of admiration among his contemporaries.” The exhibit reconstructs the Pope’s life “from boyhood to death, using images (many of them unpublished), as well as documents, personal objects, gifts and clothes: his formation at the Pontifical Roman Athenaeums, his training for a diplomatic career at the Secretariat of State; his mission to Germany (first in Bavaria then in Berlin); his return to the Vatican as secretary of State and, finally, his election to the Pontifical throne."
The exhibition, which will be held in the Charlemagne Wing off St. Peter’s Square October 21 – January 6, 2009, will follow the Pontiff’s life "through contemporary photographs, largely supplied by L’Osservatore Romano, documents and personal effects, provided by his family and by the 'Famiglia Spirituale Opera'."
Vatican press office director says Pius XII beatification not imminent
Rome, Jun 17, 2008 / 03:00 am (CNA).- Father Frederico Lombardi, director of the Holy See’s press office, on Tuesday said that the beatification of Pope Pius XII will not take place in the near future.
The priest spoke at a presentation of November events scheduled to mark the 50th anniversary of Pope Pius XII’s death, ANSA reports.
“The beatifications of Pius XII, as well as John Paul II, remain in the kingdom of the future” Father Lombardi said. “In other words, it is not possible to say with any certainty when they will be celebrated.”
Beatification is the final step before sainthood. When beatified, a person is given the title “Blessed” and may be venerated in the place where he or she lived.
Pope Pius XII’s papacy lasted from 1939 and 1958. Critics allege that Pope Pius was reluctant to speak out publicly against Hitler and the Holocaust, with Jewish circles being particularly outspoken in their criticism.
His defenders say Pope Pius was reluctant to confront Hitler because of fears of further backlash against the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, in June of last year said the critical view of Pope Pius XII “is now so firmly rooted that people just ignore evidence to the contrary.”
“He is falsely painted as indulgent with Nazism and insensitive to the fate of their victims... whereas many documents and witnesses show this idea is totally groundless,” Cardinal Bertone said.
Last May, according to ANSA, cardinals voted to recognize the “heroic virtues” of the wartime Pope, a requirement for beatification. Pope Benedict XVI has not yet approved the beatification.
Earlier this year, Vatican officials formally denied that plans to canonize Pope Pius XII have been postponed.
The Pope pays a visit to Secret Archives and defends the work surrounding Pius XII
Vatican City, Jun 25, 2007 / 09:35 am (CNA).- On a visit to the Papal Library and the Vatican’s Secret Archives this morning, Pope Benedict came to the defense of those whose work involves the case of Pope Pius XII. Accusations have been made by critics of the World War II era pope, in particular by the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, that the archivists have withheld incriminating documents.
The charges frequently leveled against Pope Pius XII include anti-Semitism and having aided Hitler. However, none of the charges has ever been substantiated.
The critics of the pontiff requested that Pope John Paul II open the secret archives from the reign of Pius XII before the normal period of secrecy ended so that they could prove their case. The late Holy Father granted permission to open the archives early.
A joint committee of Catholic and Jewish scholars was formed to study the secret records, but upon finding no evidence condemning Pius XII, some claimed that the Vatican was still hiding documents.
Benedict, fully aware of the situation, rose to the defense of the archivists today during his visit. He praised the work of the secret archive saying that it provides “disinterested and impartial service," which "steer[s] clear of sterile and often weak partisan historical viewpoints and give[s] researchers, without hindrance or prejudice, the documents in its possession, cataloged with seriousness and competency."
He also added that, "In your diverse activities, you make use of the most advanced techniques in computers, cataloging, restoration, photography and, more generally, in everything that concerns the protection and usage of the immense heritage you preserve."
The Holy Father noted that both the Library and the Archives receive "expressions of appreciation and respect from cultural institutes and individual scholars from various countries." "To me, this seems the best recognition to which the two institutions can aspire," he added.
The Pope left the archivists with the following words, "always to consider your work as a real mission to be undertaken passionately and patiently, with courtesy and a spirit of faith. Let it be your concern always to offer a welcoming image of the Apostolic See, aware that the evangelical message also passes through your own coherent Christian witness."
Catholic Anti-Defamation League slams comments against Pius XII by Jewish leader
Rome, Jun 8, 2007 / 11:30 am (CNA).- The Catholic Anti-Defamation League of Italy published a strong criticism of the comments by the former president of the Italian Hebraic Communities, Amos Luzzatto, who ridiculed Pius XII in an interview with “Corriere della Sera.”
Luzzatto attacked Pius XII saying that he, “never publicly opposed the mass exterminations…never said one word against the ghetto assault that took place” and “even that the German ambassador to the Holy See claimed the Vatican would not protest.”
In a press release the Catholic Anti-Defamation League of Italy pointed out that the telegram from the German ambassador cited by Luzzatto “is dated October 28, 1943, and therefore came after, not before, the assault on the Jewish ghetto in Rome.
After the raid on the Jewish ghetto, the German Ambassador Von Weizsäcker was called to the Vatican immediately by Secretary of State Cardinal Maglione, who asked on behalf of the Pope that the raid be stopped, “in the name of humanity and of Christian charity.”
On October 17, Von Weizsäcker informed German Chancellor Ribbentrop that the reaction from the Vatican against the raid was harsh and that “comparisons have begun to be made between this Pope and the more energetic Pius XI.”
The British ambassador to the Vatican, Osborne, told his government on October 31, 1943, that the reaction of the Pope to the deportation of the Jews was strong and that due to Vatican intervention many were set free.
When Pius XII, was warned by Princess Pignatelli of the Nazi plans, he quickly intervened through two German religious and through the protest of Cardinal Maglione. Two hours after the intervention, the raid on the ghetto was suspended and 4000 Jews found refuge in convents and Catholic schools.
In order to avoid accusations by the Jews against him, Von Weizsäcker maintained his story after the war that Pius XII did nothing, while the British kept to their own version of the events.
The Rabbi of Rome, Israel Zolli, publicly recognized the role Pius XII played in saving the News, including his contribution to collecting 50 kilos of gold demanded by General Kappler as a condition for stopping the massive deportation.
The League has offered documents in Italian backing up its arguments on its website at www.cadl.it.
In its statement the League said, “The statements by Amos Luzzatto seem to overlook the extensive documentation historians have gathered up to now, in addition to the numerous and authorized testimonies that the Jewish community and the Israeli government have expressed since 1944 in tribute to Pope Pacelli.”
“The repeated and vigorous attempt to obscure the venerated memory of the great Pontiff Pius XII is shocking,” the statement indicated. The League said it hoped “statements not in accord with the historical truth and that lend arguments to those who breathe hatred against the Church would be avoided.”
Panel of Cardinals recognize heroic virtues of Pope Pius XII in procedure for beatification
Rome, May 9, 2007 / 12:18 pm (CNA).- On Tuesday evening, a 30-member panel of top Catholic prelates voted in favour of recognising Pius's "heroic virtues" - the key requirement for beatification, the penultimate stage before sainthood.
Details of the meeting were not released but Italian media reported on Wednesday that the vote revealed reservations among some cardinals who urged "prudence". The decree now goes to Pope Benedict for a final green light. Then, before the beatification ceremony can go ahead, the Vatican must approve a miracle attributed to Pius's heavenly intercession.
Born into a noble Roman family, Eugenio Pacelli has frequently come under attack for not speaking out more forcefully while Hitler was hunting down and exterminating European Jews.
Supporters have also pointed out that, under the pope's orders, convents, monasteries and other Catholic institutions threw open their doors to Jews who were hidden and protected there. Many were also hidden in the Vatican.
KGB intent on linking Pius XII with Nazis, says former spy
Washington DC, Jan 26, 2007 / 04:18 pm (CNA).- A former high-ranking officer with the KGB claims that the Kremlin and the Russian intelligence agency in the 1960s were set on executing a smear campaign against the Catholic Church, and the main target was Pope Pius XII.
In a recent issue of the National Review Online, Lt. General Ion Mihai Pacepa, who eventually defected from the former Soviet bloc, recounts how the KGB and the Kremlin designed the deliberate campaign to portray the Pius XII “as a coldhearted Nazi sympathizer.”
“In February 1960, Nikita Khrushchev approved a super-secret plan for destroying the Vatican’s moral authority in Western Europe,” writes Pacepa. “Eugenio Pacelli, by then Pope Pius XII, was selected as the KGB’s main target, its incarnation of evil, because he had departed this world in 1958. ‘Dead men cannot defend themselves’ was the KGB’s latest slogan.”
The code name for this operation against Pope Pius XII was “Seat-12.”
The KGB used the fact that Archbishop Pacelli had served as the papal nuncio in Munich and Berlin when the Nazis were beginning their bid for power against him. “The KGB wanted to depict him as an anti-Semite who had encouraged Hitler’s Holocaust,” says Pacepa.
To do this, the KGB wanted some original Vatican documents to “slightly modify”. So they called in Pacepa, who was working for the Romanian intelligence service.
Pacepa says he became the Romanian point man. He was authorized to falsely inform the Vatican that Romania was ready to restore its broken relations with the Holy See, in exchange for access to its archives — in order to find historical roots that would help the Romanian government publicly justify its change of heart toward the Holy See — and a one-billion-dollar, interest-free loan for 25 years.
Between 1960 and 1962, the Romanian spy sent hundreds of archival documents connected in any way with Pope Pius XII to the KGB. Pacepa says none of the documents were incriminating in themselves, but they were sent to the KGB in any case.
The KGB used these documents to produce a powerful play attacking Pope Pius XII, entitled The Deputy. It eventually saw the stage in Germany in 1963, under the title The Deputy, a Christian Tragedy. It proposed that Pius XII had supported Hitler and encouraged him to go ahead with the Jewish Holocaust. The German director claimed to have 40 pages of documentation attached to the script that would support the thesis of the play.
The play ran in New York in 1964 and was translated into 20 languages. The play then led to a flurry of books and articles, some accusing and some defending the pontiff.
“Today, many people who have never heard of The Deputy are sincerely convinced that Pius XII was a cold and evil man who hated the Jews and helped Hitler do away with them,” Pacepa writes in the National Review Online. “As KGB chairman Yury Andropov, the unparalleled master of Soviet deception, used to tell me, people are more ready to believe smut than holiness.”
Pacepa says the truth has finally begun to emerge with the canonization process of Pius XII, which was opened by Pope John Paul II.
“Witnesses from all over the world have compellingly proved that Pius XII was an enemy, not a friend, of Hitler,” says Pacepa.
He also refers to the book The Myth of Hitler’s Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews From the Nazis, by David G. Dalin, which has compiled further proof of Archbishop Pacelli’s friendship for the Jews.
“At the start of World War II, Pope Pius XII’s first encyclical was so anti-Hitler that the Royal Air Force and the French air force dropped 88,000 copies of it over Germany,” he concludes.
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