[DL] Re: deadlands-digest.20020605

[Nyarlathothep132@aol.com]

<<<<Well, the church certainly didn't help the situation. Ever hear of Pope
Pius XII? There was a book written about him called "Hitler's Pope". As
harsh as that may sound it wasn't far from the truth. His predecessor
Pius XI was working on a document that would officially in the eyes of
the church recognize anti-sematism and any type of racism as a sin just
as bad as murder. He died before he could pass it. So, Pius 12 took that
document and locked it away denying it ever existed. When the Nazi's came
to take the Jews of Rome, many Jews ran to the Vatican for sanctuary.
Pius 12 turned them away into the hands of the Nazis. It was even
documented that he publicly prayed for a Nazi victory over Communism. And
now there are members of the church that are trying to get this man
recognized as a Saint!>>>>>>


Well, that book did not nearly present the entire situation. There are quite a few books, scholars, etc, defending the church- many of them not currently employed by the Vatican or even Catholic. 

The book had a bias- it still might have been correct, but it can still be wrong. For example, it downplayed the idea that the Vatican did, indeed, save a good number of Jewish persons throughout Europe, though obviously mostly in Rome. It downplayed that Hitler wanted to crush the Vatican but was *barely* kept in check by  his advisors, who didn't want the diplomatic blow-up that would cause, and that Hitler's desire to enter the Vatican and get himself a Puppet Pope was common knowledge in Rome. (And much feared.) The most guilt the Vatican is really guilty of, as far as I can tell, is acting in the interest of preserving itself- probably due to a mixture of "We can do more good when we *are not* in death camps", and "I'd really not enjoy going to a death camp." The Pope, after receiving his first reliable info on the holocaust, even prepared a statement, to be read over Vatican radio, condemning Hitler. He was convinced/decided not to release the statement, for, again, fear that the Vatican would be entertaining some SS men shortly thereafter.

But this is soooooooo off topic.