Catholic scholars from three countries have asked Pope Benedict XVI in a private letter to delay the proposed sainthood of World War II Pope Pius XII.
The 18 scholars from the United States, Germany and Australia said that Catholic-Jewish relations could be irreparably harmed if Pius achieves sainthood before the historical record of his actions on behalf of Jews during World War II is cleared up, Reuters reported last week. The news agency saw a copy of the letter.
Critics have long accused Pius of having ignored Jewish suffering during the Holocaust. The Vatican and other supporters of Pius say the wartime pope worked behind the scenes to save Jews. — jta