Unrepentant Vatican.

by Steven Shamrak

Not long ago, a spokesperson for Pope Benedict XVI said that the Pope would not visit Israel until a caption attached to a photo hanging in Yad Vashem of Pope Pius XII, who reigned during the Holocaust era, was removed. The caption states that Pius XII "abstained from signing the Allied declaration condemning the extermination of the Jews" and "maintained his neutral position throughout the war".

Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, stands by the description and affirms that it has ensured that the presentation of the subject in the Holocaust History Museum at Yad Vashem is based on the best research regarding this topic.

Millions of Christians also died during WW2 including priests and nuns, but Pope Pius XII did not protest! The Church did not protest about the genocide of the Roma people or the Nazi hunt for the members of the 'wicked' Christian denominations.

The Vatican claims that Pius worked "secretly and silently". We must be direct and honest about it: Yes, he was silent! Some assert that the Vatican was actively involved in saving up to 860,000 Jews by establishing an escape network in some countries. Even if this is true, they disregard the fact that by speaking out against Nazi policy toward Jews, Pope Pius XII could have stopped or at least greatly reduced collaboration with Nazis by the Catholics in Poland, the Baltic region, Ukraine and France, as well as the co-operation of all Christians in Europe. Without the local 'assistance' that the Christian population eagerly provided to the Fascists, or their silence, the Holocaust would not happened and most Jews in Europe would have survived!

In addition to physical reduction of the 'unholy' Jewish population in Europe, the Vatican had another hidden agenda - 'Saving' Jewish souls! For example, it is estimated that in Hungary alone, up to 80,000 Jews were baptised by the Church authorities. Most of the time, newly issued baptismal certificates were ignored by the Nazis and many Jews were killed as 'Christians', at least in the twisted mind of the Church's statistical bureaucracy. Conversion of Jews, which the Church is still pursuing since the end of the Great Inquisition, is another big theological and moral issue!

The ugliest part of this saga is that during the last 60 years since the end of WW2, and several pontiffs later, the Vatican has still not changed its medieval attitude toward Jews. The Church leadership has shown a high level of contempt for the main Christian doctrines: "Love your neighbour" and "Repentance". They are applicable to everything and anything, as long as it is not about Jews! Ordinary Catholics must confess their sins, but not the leaders of the Church with the blood of the fellow Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Africans, American Indians and Australian Aborigines on their hands, spilled during the many centuries of Catholic reign and influence.

Well, with this continuous anti-Israel attitude and the lame apology made by the Vatican several years ago, who needs another… Well, unfortunately, there are too many hostile international hypocrites visiting Israel!