Pope Recalls Horrors of Auschwitz & St. Francis

Pictures courtesy of Daylife





VATICAN CITY, 27 JAN 2010 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience, the Pope recalled how "sixty-five years ago, on 27 January 1945, the gates of the Nazi concentration campo near the Polish city of Oswiecim, better known by its German name of Auschwitz, were opened and the few survivors freed.

"That event, and the testimony of those who survived, revealed to the world the horror of the crimes of unprecedented cruelty committed in the extermination camps created by Nazi Germany", he added.

"Today we celebrate 'Holocaust Remembrance Day', to recall all the victims of those crimes, and especially the planned annihilation of the Jews, and to honour those who, at the risk of their own lives, protected the persecuted and sought to oppose the murderous insanity. Deeply moved, our thoughts go to the countless victims of that blind racial and religious hatred, who suffered deportation, imprisonment and death in those abhorrent and inhuman places.

"May the memory of those events", he concluded, "and in particular the drama of the Shoah which struck the Jewish people, arouse ever greater respect for the dignity of each person, so that all mankind may feel itself to be one large family. May omnipotent God illuminate hearts and minds, that such tragedies never happen again".

Remarks regarding St. Francis of Assisi can be found here.

Video of January 25th, Monday mass for Christian Unity & Vespers of St. Paul's Conversion:

Pope Departs-"Bridges of Lasting Friendship"

Abe Foxman comes to Pope Benedict XVI's defense:

Abe Foxman (national director of the Anti-Defamation League): “Yet a close examination of Benedict’s text and actions shows that he did deliver an appropriate speech focusing on the concepts of remembrance. He also met briefly with Holocaust survivors. It must be noted also that in recent months Benedict has made strong statements repudiating Holocaust denial. And, in the past, Benedict has talked about his personal experiences as a member of Hitler Youth and the Germany Army.

Therefore, it would do us well to keep things in perspective and recognize what this pope has said and done. By coming to Israel at this time, the 82-year-old pontiff is solidifying the Vatican’s formal relationship with the state of Israel, launched when a historic diplomatic agreement was signed in 1993. His trip demonstrates the Church’s commitment to the security and survival of Israel as a Jewish state.

Benedict is also establishing a track record for future popes. No longer will Pope John Paul’s journey be able to be portrayed as an aberration or a personal mission. Indeed, Benedict’s trip will institutionalize that every pope visit Israel and commit the billion-member Roman Catholic Church to the importance of Israel as the Jewish state.” — from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Ynet's coverage of Pres. Peres' departure remarks:

President Peres was there to bid farewell to the pope on Friday, and told him: "Your journey to the Holy Land was a heartfelt example of the exercise of spiritual values. It constituted a significant contribution to the new relations between the Vatican and Jerusalem.

"It was a profound demonstration of the enduring dialogue between the Jewish people and the hundreds of millions of Christian believers throughout the world."

Referring to the pope's speech at Yad Vashem, the president said: "Your statements during the journey here carried a substantive weight.

In particular your declaration that the Holocaust, the Shoah, must not be forgotten nor denied, and that anti-Semitism and discrimination, in any form, and in any place, must be fought intensively."

Peres also spoke about the needs to fight religious fanaticism. "Today's political and spiritual leaders face a profound challenge: how to divorce religion from terror.

"How to prevent terrorists from hijacking the religious conscience by cloaking an act of terrorism in the false guise of a religious mission… I believe that your great spiritual leadership… Can help people to recognize that God is not in the hearts of terrorists."

Pope Benedict XVI (C) walks alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and President Shimon Peres (R) during his departure ceremony at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on May 15, 2009. Pope Benedict XVI backed a two-state solution as recipe to end bloodshed, war and "terrorism" in the Middle East as he wrapped up his Holy Land pilgrimage. (Getty Photos-Day Life Website)

Vatican Radio's full text of Pope's departure speech:

Mr President,

Mr Prime Minister,

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As I prepare to return to Rome, may I share with you some of the powerful impressions that my pilgrimage to the Holy Land has left with me. I had fruitful discussions with the civil authorities both in Israel and in the Palestinian Territories, and I witnessed the great efforts that both governments are making to secure people’s well-being. I have met the leaders of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, and I rejoice to see the way that they work together in caring for the Lord’s flock. I have also had the opportunity to meet the leaders of the various Christian Churches and ecclesial communities as well as the leaders of other religions in the Holy Land. This land is indeed a fertile ground for ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, and I pray that the rich variety of religious witness in the region will bear fruit in a growing mutual understanding and respect.

Mr President, you and I planted an olive tree at your residence on the day that I arrived in Israel. The olive tree, as you know, is an image used by Saint Paul to describe the very close relations between Christians and Jews. Paul describes in his Letter to the Romans how the Church of the Gentiles is like a wild olive shoot, grafted onto the cultivated olive tree which is the People of the Covenant (cf. 11:17-24). We are nourished from the same spiritual roots. We meet as brothers, brothers who at times in our history have had a tense relationship, but now are firmly committed to building bridges of lasting friendship.

The ceremony at the Presidential Palace was followed by one of the most solemn moments of my stay in Israel – my visit to the Holocaust Memorial at Yad Vashem, where I met some of the survivors who suffered the evils of the Shoah. Those deeply moving encounters brought back memories of my visit three years ago to the death camp at Auschwitz, where so many Jews - mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, friends - were brutally exterminated under a godless regime that propagated an ideology of anti-Semitism and hatred. That appalling chapter of history must never be forgotten or denied.

On the contrary, those dark memories should strengthen our determination to draw closer to one another as branches of the same olive tree, nourished from the same roots and united in brotherly love.

Mr President, I thank you for the warmth of your hospitality, which is greatly appreciated, and I wish to put on record that I came to visit this country as a friend of the Israelis, just as I am a friend of the Palestinian people. Friends enjoy spending time in one another’s company, and they find it deeply distressing to see one another suffer.

No friend of the Israelis and the Palestinians can fail to be saddened by the continuing tension between your two peoples. No friend can fail to weep at the suffering and loss of life that both peoples have endured over the last six decades. Allow me to make this appeal to all the people of these lands: No more bloodshed! No more fighting! No more terrorism! No more war! Instead let us break the vicious circle of violence. Let there be lasting peace based on justice, let there be genuine reconciliation and healing.

Let it be universally recognized that the State of Israel has the right to exist, and to enjoy peace and security within internationally agreed borders. Let it be likewise acknowledged that the Palestinian people have a right to a sovereign independent homeland, to live with dignity and to travel freely. Let the two-state solution become a reality, not remain a dream. And let peace spread outwards from these lands, let them serve as a “light to the nations” (Is 42:6), bringing hope to the many other regions that are affected by conflict.

One of the saddest sights for me during my visit to these lands was the wall. As I passed alongside it, I prayed for a future in which the peoples of the Holy Land can live together in peace and harmony without the need for such instruments of security and separation, but rather respecting and trusting one another, and renouncing all forms of violence and aggression.

Mr President, I know how hard it will be to achieve that goal. I know how difficult is your task, and that of the Palestinian Authority. But I assure you that my prayers and the prayers of Catholics across the world are with you as you continue your efforts to build a just and lasting peace in this region.

It remains only for me to express my heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed in so many ways to my visit. To the Government, the organizers, the volunteers, the media, to all who have provided hospitality to me and those accompanying me, I am deeply grateful. Please be assured that you are remembered with affection in my prayers. To all of you, I say: thank you, and may God be with you. Shalom!

Relevant Links:

Pope kneels at Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Vatican Official site of Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Catholic News Agency Holy Land visit site

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Papal visit site

Israeli Ministy of Tourism Papal visit site

Day Life photo exposition of Benedict XVI

Rabbi David Rosen, Orthodox Jew, leading Jewish-Catholic reconciliation

Pave the Way Foundation, promoting Catholic-Jewish bonds

Papal Coat of Arms on the side of the El Al plane taking Pope to Rome

International Service of Jewish-Christian Documentation Rome Center

"If I Were Not a Catholic" by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

Yad Vashem Ceremony with B16

Pope Benedict XVI (R) looks on as Vatican representatives lay a wreath during a ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem May 11, 2009. Pope Benedict on Monday said at Israel's memorial to 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany that their suffering must never be denied, a message that addressed Jewish anger over a Holocaust-denying bishop. (Reuters Photos)

Pictures courtesy of Day Life

Text of Yad Vashem speech:

(11 May 09 - RV) “I will give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name … I will give them an everlasting name which shall not be cut off” (Is 56:5).
This passage from the Book of the prophet Isaiah furnishes the two simple words which solemnly express the profound significance of this revered place: yad – “memorial”; shem – “name”.

I have come to stand in silence before this monument, erected to honor the memory of the millions of Jews killed in the horrific tragedy of the Shoah. They lost their lives, but they will never lose their names: these are indelibly etched in the hearts of their loved ones, their surviving fellow prisoners, and all those determined never to allow such an atrocity to disgrace mankind again. Most of all, their names are forever fixed in the memory of Almighty God.

One can rob a neighbor of possessions, opportunity or freedom. One can weave an insidious web of lies to convince others that certain groups are undeserving of respect. Yet, try as one might, one can never take away the name of a fellow human being.

Sacred Scripture teaches us the importance of names in conferring upon someone a unique mission or a special gift. God called Abram “Abraham” because he was to become the “father of many nations” (Gen 17:5). Jacob was called “Israel” because he had “contended with God and man and prevailed” (Gen 32:29). The names enshrined in this hallowed monument will forever hold a sacred place among the countless descendants of Abraham. Like his, their faith was tested. Like Jacob, they were immersed in the struggle to discern the designs of the Almighty. May the names of these victims never perish! May their suffering never be denied, belittled or forgotten! And may all people of goodwill remain vigilant in rooting out from the heart of man anything that could lead to tragedies such as this!

The Catholic Church, committed to the teachings of Jesus and intent on imitating his love for all people, feels deep compassion for the victims remembered here.

Similarly, she draws close to all those who today are subjected to persecution on account of race, color, condition of life or religion – their sufferings are hers, and hers is their hope for justice. As Bishop of Rome and Successor of the Apostle Peter, I reaffirm – like my predecessors – that the Church is committed to praying and working tirelessly to ensure that hatred will never reign in the hearts of men again.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God of peace (cf. Ps 85:9).
The Scriptures teach that it is our task to remind the world that this God lives, even though we sometimes find it difficult to grasp his mysterious and inscrutable ways. He has revealed himself and continues to work in human history. He alone governs the world with righteousness and judges all peoples with fairness (cf. Ps 9:9).

Gazing upon the faces reflected in the pool that lies in stillness within this memorial, one cannot help but recall how each of them bears a name. I can only imagine the joyful expectation of their parents as they anxiously awaited the birth of their children. What name shall we give this child? What is to become of him or her? Who could have imagined that they would be condemned to such a deplorable fate!

As we stand here in silence, their cry still echoes in our hearts. It is a cry raised against every act of injustice and violence. It is a perpetual reproach against the spilling of innocent blood. It is the cry of Abel rising from the earth to the Almighty.

Professing our steadfast trust in God, we give voice to that cry using words from the Book of Lamentations which are full of significance for both Jews and Christians:

“The favors of the Lord are not exhausted, his mercies are not spent;
They are renewed each morning, so great is his faithfulness.
My portion is the Lord, says my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
Good is the Lord to the one who waits for him, to the soul that seeks him;
It is good to hope in silence for the saving help of the Lord” (Lam 3:22-26).

My dear friends, I am deeply grateful to God and to you for the opportunity to stand here in silence: a silence to remember, a silence to pray, a silence to hope.

Related articles:

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Pope walks out on Chief Islamic Judge of the Palestinian Authority, Sheikh Tayseer Rajab Tamimi during anti-Semitic diatribe

Pres. Peres characterizes Benedict XVI as a "promoter of peace"

Pope promises to help Noam Shalit's son

Pope's address to Pres. Peres at official residence

Israeli Ministry of Tourism coverage of Papal arrival

Pontifex Maximus

Video above is the Holy Father, via Vatican You Tube Channel, speaking out against the evils of the Holocaust, during WW2.

Click here to sign an electronic letter of support for the Bishop of Rome, Benedict XVI, as there recently have been days of turmoil within Holy See. (H/T Da Mihi Animas)

Furthermore, read Benedict's full Lenten Message for 2009 here or here.