c. 1998 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY _ In a long-awaited document on the Holocaust, the Roman Catholic Church on Monday (March 16) expressed its”deep sorrow”for the effort to eradicate European Jewry but denied that Catholic teachings fostered the anti-Semitism that fueled Nazi hatred against the Jews.

In a surprisingly brief and general document of 12 pages, promised by Pope John Paul II a decade ago, the church also exonerated Pope Pius XII, who Jewish groups contend worsened the plight of Jews by not speaking out forcefully against the Nazi annihilation.”Pius XII does not have a case to answer,”said Cardinal Edward Cassidy, who presented the document _ titled”We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah”_ at a news conference here. Shoah is the Hebrew word for the Holocaust.

The document, citing the”wisdom of Pope Pius XII’s diplomacy,”methodically lists in footnote form the accolades bestowed on the World War II-era pope by Jewish leaders, including the late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, and lauded him for what he did”personally or through his representatives to save hundreds of thousands of Jewish lives.” Pius’ reign, however, is likely to remain mired in controversy as some church historians insist his admiration for German culture and German Catholicism kept him from recognizing the implications of the rise of Hitler and, in spite of the aid to Jewish refugees, his reluctance to denounce the Nazi regime and its Axis partners.

Jewish leaders had mixed reactions to Monday’s document. Some praised the document’s strong denunciation of anti-Semitism and its commitment to counter the denial of the Holocaust.

But most were critical _ some highly so _ saying the document offered no real solidarity with the Jewish people or concrete steps to combat anti-Semitism.”This document is a major disappointment,”said David Blumenthal, a professor of Jewish studies at Atlanta’s Emory University, a frequent Vatican adviser.”This is supposed to heal wounds and be a call to penitence,”he said.”But this is not a confession of anything. There is no expression of solidarity with the dangers of Jewish existence. Are these guys going to be with us the next time around because we are Jews?” Rabbi A. James Rudin, interreligious affairs director of the New York-based American Jewish Committee and an RNS columnist, said the document contained”elements that are very positive,”including its denunciation of people who deny the Holocaust.

But Rudin also said the document failed to spell out the importance of taking concrete steps to promote religious tolerance.

Rabbi Leon Klenicki, interfaith director of the New York-based Anti-Defamation League, said he was”very sad and disappointed”over the document.”I really can’t believe my eyes. I expected, especially under John Paul II, something that would continue his courageous reactions to the teachings of contempt for the Jews. This document falls short of the mark,”said Klenicki.

A number of Jewish critics repeated their demands for the church to open its archives on the Holocaust period to independent Jewish and Catholic scholars.

The document _ the culmination of 11 years of study, consultation and an academic symposium last October _ may mark John Paul II’s final word on Christianity and the Holocaust. The pope is credited with doing more than any predecessor to promote Jewish-Catholic understanding, something that even Jewish critics of the document acknowledged Monday even while saying it would not put to rest nagging questions about the church’s actions during the World War II era.

The paper said the Holocaust”was the work of a thoroughly modern neo-pagan regime. Its anti-Semitism had its roots outside of Christianity and in pursuing its aims, it did not hesitate to oppose the church and persecute her members also.” The document was produced by the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews under the direction of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which Cassidy heads.

In a short introduction, the pope said,”The crime which has become known as the Shoah remains an indelible stain on the history of the century that is coming to a close.” He reiterated pleas to Catholics made in 1994 that they”examine themselves on the responsibility which they too have for the evils of our time.” But the pope maintained a line that has emerged from the Vatican over the past several years _ that Catholicism could not be held responsible for a”pagan”and”evil”movement, an”extreme form of nationalism,”that sought to eradicate a human race.”The last thing that the Nazis were inspired by was the teaching of the church,”Cassidy said.

Jewish leaders, however, said the document failed to acknowledge what German, French and, to a lesser extent, Polish bishops have since admitted _ that the teaching of contempt for the Jews, while not as vile as Nazism, perpetrated hatred that inflamed passions and resulted in the deaths of millions simply because they were Jewish.

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While the paper acknowledges that the Holocaust took place”in countries of long-standing Christian civilization,”it denied that the Christian thought that formed the basis of political and social ideas in those nations were in any way responsible for anti-Semitism.

It called anti-Judaism”essentially more sociological and political than religious.” The paper said that many clergy, even those living in besieged Germany, risked their lives to speak out against Nazi persecution.”The church in Germany replied by condemning racism,”the document said.

But Klenicki called the claim”unbelievable,”and Blumenthal asked,”Who are they talking about?” They noted that Polish bishops were particularly hostile toward Jews, with some openly embracing Nazi ideology by contending something had to be done about the”Jewish question.” (END OPTIONAL TRIM)

The document also takes a whack at the United States and other countries that”were more than hesitant to open their borders to the persecuted Jews”when the first revelations of roundups and imprisonment were reported in the Holocaust’s early years.”The closing of borders to Jewish emigration in those circumstances, whether due to anti-Jewish hostility or suspicion, political cowardice or shortsightedness, or national selfishness, lays a heavy burden of conscience on the authorities in question,”the document said.

The document also called the history between Jews and Christians”a tormented one.”It sites discrimination, occasional expulsions and attempts at forced conversions by Catholics.”At the end of this millennium the Catholic Church desires to express her deep sorrow for the failures of her sons and daughters in every age,”the document said.”This is an act of repentance, since, as members of the church, we are linked to the sins as well as the merits of all her children.”

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