THREE POPES AND THE JEWS

by Pinchas E. Lapide ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1967

This is, quite simply, the strongest, most authoritative, and best documented vindication of the papacy yet to appear in the continuing controversy over the failure of the Catholic Church, in general, and of Pius XII in particular, officially to condemn the murder of millions of Jews during World War II. Mr. Lapide--an Israeli journalist and diplomat, demonstrates that, during the years of the holocaust, the efforts of Plus XII, Secretary of State Montini (now Paul VI) and Archbishop Roncalli (later John XXIII), as well as of the innumerable Catholic organizations and individuals, were responsible for saving the lives of almost a million Jews--more than all other churches, religious institutions and rescue agencies combined. Finally, he shows how John XXIII worked to change the official (and shameful) position of the Roman Church vis a vis the Jewish question. The reader is convinced, moved, swayed. But he is not entirely sure that Mr. Lapide has not missed the point of the controversy. No one seriously denies that Pius worked tirelessly, at the unofficial level, to save European Jewry from extermination, or that his sympathies were committed to an ancient race in danger of extinction. The question remains, however: Did Plus XII, as the strongest and most influential moral leader in the world, have an obligation in conscience, was he required by the laws of his Church as well as by the expectations of humanity, to ""form the conscience of the World"" with respect to the most monstrous crime in history? In other words, the question is not whether Plus unofficially saved 860,000 Jews; it is whether or not, by his official silence and inaction, he acquiesced in the slaughter of 6,000,000 Jews. It is a question that is still left unanswered.

Pub Date: June 1, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Hawthorn

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION