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March 17, 2000/10 Adar II, Vol. 52, No.28
Critics contend pope's apology ignored holocaust
BRIANNE KORN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
and CHRIS GARIFO
Staff Writer
The Vatican has again missed a historic opportunity to apologize for its silence during the Holocaust, say many Jewish leaders.
Pope John Paul II issued a broad apology March 12 for sins committed by the church throughout the ages, including those against the Jews. But the pope, who has worked to improve Catholic-Jewish relations, did not mention one of the darkest chapters in Jewish history.
"We're very disappointed that the Vatican did not make a reference to the Holocaust and its silence during the Holocaust period," said Seymour Reich, chairman of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, the main Jewish partner in formal dialogue with the Vatican.
"It's an omission that's hard to comprehend."
Rabbi A. James Rudin, the American Jewish Committee's national interreligious affairs director, called the pope's speech Sunday at St. Peter's Basilica "unprecedented."
However, Rudin said, "We expected more than what came today."
He echoed the opinions of other Jewish leaders who said they believe the plea for forgiveness was groundbreaking but lacked proper acknowledgment of the church's role during the Holocaust.
Valley rabbis contacted by Jewish News credited the pope for taking the step of apologizing, but added they are looking for follow-up actions by church leaders.
"It's a good beginning and I do believe that there is a sincerity to his message or his desire," said Rabbi Kenneth I. Segel of Tempe Beth Israel in Scottsdale. "But I don't think it goes far enough and I hope that when he visits Israel next week that he will specifically deal with some historical grievances that Jews have in terms of the Holocaust, in terms of other periods of uprisings that were sponsored by the church against the Jews."
Rabbi Rick Sherwin, of Beth El Congregation in Phoenix, said the pope should be afforded the opportunity to follow up on his speech before taking criticism.
"Basically, when somebody speaks from the heart, I think the world needs to listen," Sherwin said. "To be upset that he doesn't say what we want him to say, I think, is asking a bit much. I think we need to take what he says at face value and give him a chance to act on his words."
Sherwin added that the Jewish people now should give the pope, and the church, the chance to act on his apology.
"The Jewish value of teshuvah (repentance) means giving people a chance, giving the benefit of the doubt," Sherwin said. "Now it's time for us to sit back and not only to watch and see what (the pope) does but to offer our assistance; but we can't tell him where to go, where his path might take him."
On the first Sunday of Lent, the pope said in his apology: "We are deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer. We wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant."
While the pope continues to hold the respect of many Jewish leaders for his attempts to strengthen ties between the communities, this is not the first time he has disappointed the Jewish community for his failure to place blame on the Roman Catholic Church for its silence as 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust.
"I was especially pleased there was no defense of actions of previous popes," said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, referring to a 1998 Vatican document in which the silence of the Holocaust-era pope was defended. "The unnecessary defense of Pius XII weakened the document a great deal."
The silence of Pius XII was hailed as a rescue effort by the church in the 1998 document, which declared that any words of disapproval from Pius would have only exacerbated the violence against the Jews.
One Jewish organization, however, made a point of not criticizing the pope's apology, choosing instead to focus on what it called the "profound historic turning point in the church and its own perception of its role and responsibilities in the world."
A statement from the American Jewish Congress also said the change in Catholic attitudes should not be obscured "by focusing on points that may not have been specifically identified by the pope during the course of his bold accounting of the church's errors."
The pope's attempts to seek forgiveness for past sins has become a theme of his papacy. A week before the pope's speech, the Vatican issued a document, "Memory and Reconciliation: The Church and the Mistakes of the Past," that lists several major areas where the church had failed, including the Inquisition, forced conversion and treatment of Jews.
The document and the March 12 speech came a week before the pope's planned visit to Israel. It will be the first papal visit to the Holy Land in 36 years. Pope Paul VI visited Jerusalem in 1964 before Israel gained control of the entire city after the Six-Day War.
John Paul II is scheduled to visit Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, where he is slated to give another major speech. Israel's chief Ashkenazi rabbi, Yisrael Meir Lau, said he hopes the pope will use his visit as an opportunity to address, more specifically, the church's wrongdoing during World War II.
Expectations of a broad apology for the Holocaust were extinguished last week when Vatican officials announced that the Sunday Mass should not be viewed as a "spectacular self-flagellation." Jewish leaders, however, were still anticipating a more specific apology for the Holocaust.
"Expectations were high because of who he is," Foxman said.
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