Here's some progress on a different front. Thanks to Catholic Culture for reporting on stuff that will never see the light of the mainstream media day:
Yad Vashem, the Israeli memorial to Holocaust victims, has acknowledged that some Catholic convents and monasteries opened their doors to shelter Jews from the Nazi genocide, “sometimes with the knowledge of the Vatican.”
In a display dedicated to the “Righteous Among the Nations”—the honest people who sought to protect Jews from the Holocaust—Yad Vashem now pays homage to those Catholic institutions that provided safe havens for Jews. The display still criticizes Church leaders for failing to speak out forcefully, complaining of a “lack of overt and unequivocal guidance by the Vatican,” but recognizes that some Church leaders openly encouraged help for the Jews.
Last year, after a sometimes contentious debate, Yad Vashem changed its description of Pope Pius XII, noting that recent historical work has shown his efforts to save Jews. The memorial replaced a panel criticizing the wartime Pontiff with one that said research shows “a more complex picture than previously presented.”
Sure, they are hedging a lot of bets here. "Sometimes" with Vatican knowledge. "Lack of overt...guidance." Of course, there's still going to be criticism. It's tough to back down from stuff like outright condemnations of Venerable Pius XII to something lighter, no matter how much historical evidence there is demonstrating the stupidity of the former claims. Stuff will probably be "complex" for some time to come.
It is better, though. And maybe, just maybe, the controversy will abate to the point where we can say "St. Pius XII" and have formal backing for doing so.
Pray for us!
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