At Rome synagogue, Pope defends Nazi-era Vatican
Europe • January 2010 • Views: 437
Pope Benedict XVI used his first visit to Rome’s synagouge on Sunday to defend the oft-criticized actions of the Vatican during the Holocaust, saying the Church had “acted in a discreet and hidden way.”
The pope made the comments after a Jewish leader bluntly told the pontiff that his wartime predecessor Pius XII was “silent” in the face of the genocide of the Jewish people in Europe, and should have spoken out more forcefully against the Holocaust.