Whatever else Pope Francis’s decision Monday to open the archives from the pontificate of Pius XII in 2020 may mean, there’s one preliminary conclusion that seems take-it-to-the-bank, no-doubt-about-it, slam-dunk certain. Here it is: Opening the archives will not – indeed, by definition, cannot – settle the historical controversy about Pius XII and his alleged silence Read more
Pope Francis says the Vatican archives on Holocaust-era Pope Pius XII will be opened next year. Pius’s role – helping or ignoring the plight of Jews during the holocaust – has been much debated. On the one hand, he has often been criticised by Jews for his apparent silence during the holocaust. On the other, Read more
This week’s summit between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of four Central and Eastern European nations has been abandoned following a row about the Holocaust. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pulled out of the summit scheduled for Monday and Tuesday after Netanyahu and other members of the Israeli cabinet accused Poland of Read more
A Polish nun who was honored by Israel for helping to hide Jews in her convent during World War II died last week. Sister Cecylia Maria Roszak OP, who was aged 110, is believed to have been the oldest nun in the world. During the war, Roszak and eight other sisters were living in Vilnius Read more
Condemnation from around the world over a new law on criminalising those who implicate Poland in responsibility for Holocaust crimes has drawn a strong response from a Polish archbishop. Archbishop Waclaw Depo of Czestochowa says the new law’s critics are trying to “alter historical truth”. The law imposes fines or up to three years’ jail Read more
A French priest has received a human rights award for research uncovering millions of previously unaccounted-for Nazi genocide victims. Father Patrick Desbois was awarded the Lantos Foundation’s Human Rights Prize last week for being a “vital voice standing up for the values of decency, dignity, freedom, and justice.” The prize is named after a Holocaust Read more
Seventy-six years ago during World War II over 300 Jews were massacred in their Polish home town of Jedwabne. They were forced into a barn and burned alive by a few dozen perpetrators. On Monday, a Catholic bishop apologized in the name of the Catholic Church for their murder, at a ceremony to mark their Read more
Nazi holocaust plans and executions were hidden from staff of top-ranking Nazis, Joseph Goebbels personal secretary, Brunhild Pomsel says. Pomsel has opened up about her life working for Adolf Hitler’s infamous minister of propaganda — and insists the mass extermination of Jews was carefully hidden from her and her co-workers. “I know no one ever Read more
Pope Francis has cancelled his planned speech at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp this month, saying he would prefer silence. Francis is scheduled to visit the camp in Poland on July 29. During World War II, 1.1 million people were killed by the Nazis at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Francis is in Poland from July 27-31, primarily for the Read more
The body of the late Bishop of the South Island, John Gray, is on its way home. Gray died on Friday after a long illness. Gray served as Vicar General to Te Pihopa o Aotearoa for 10 years. He was suspended as Bishop of Te Waipounamu in February after controversial comments about the Holocaust. The suspension Read more