Gaza should not be investigated to see if the conflict meets the technical definition of a genocide, Edith Bruck told Pope Francis (both pictured). The Pope can’t call Gaza a genocide. It isn’t, insists Bruck – a 93-year old Holocaust survivor. “Genocide is something else. When a million children are burned to death, then you Read more
More than 250 Holocaust survivors have joined an international initiative to share their stories of loss and survival with students around the world during a time of rising antisemitism following the Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. The Survivor Speakers Bureau was launched Thursday by the New Read more
Every Christian should have a deep respect for Judaism. When we consider that our Lord Jesus, our Blessed Mother Mary, St. Joseph, the twelve apostles, and the very first disciples were practicing religious Jews. We also need to consider that the Christian New Testament is firmly rooted in the Jewish Scriptures of the Old Testament. Read more
News reports regarding recently opened Vatican archives confirm that Pope Pius XII knew about the Holocaust as early as 1942. That is no surprise. The Vatican had extensive contacts across Europe. But such revelations about the tragic relationship between Catholics and Jews reminded me of an uncomfortable episode early in my time as editor of Read more
Newly discovered documents at Vatican City’s Pontifical Biblical Institute may shed some light on what happened to many Roman Jews during the Nazi occupation in WW2. The documents contain the names of 3,200 Jews whose lives Catholics protected during the occupation. Rome’s Jewish community organisation has verified the listed Jews’ identities. Researchers from the Pontifical Read more
Eighty years after Edith Stein’s death at Auschwitz, a Vatican cardinal has said Mass in her honour near the former death camp. Raised as a Jew, Stein was an atheist philosopher who converted to Catholicism in 1921 when she was 30. She became a Discalced Carmelite nun in 1938 and took the name Sr Teresa Read more
Bishops in Nazi Germany have been criticised by the Catholic bishops in their commemoration of the upcoming 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. In a statement, they said the Catholic bishops under the Nazi regime did not oppose the war of annihilation started by Germany or the crimes the regime committed. They Read more
Pope Pius XII’s wartime archives will be opened, the Vatican has announced. This will enable scholars to probe accusations that Pius turned a blind eye to the Holocaust. They will find he helped Jews behind the scenes, Holy See officials say. “I don’t think you will find a smoking gun,” Father Norbert Hofmann, the top Read more
Two vases, estimated to be worth about $120,000, were returned to the family of Harry Fuld 80 years after they were stolen from his widow by the Nazi regime, in a ceremony made possible by the joint efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Art Crime Team and the American Embassy of Germany, according to Read more
Steven Anderson, an extremist Christian preacher from the United States, is planning a visit to New Zealand. Anderson made headlines last month when he attended a ‘Make America Straight Again’ conference in Orlando, Florida. In his YouTube post, he said he now planned to conduct a soul-winning and preaching event in New Zealand. He just Read more