Francis I and Jews, in context

Amid commentaries about the Catholic Church’s relations with Jews during the papacy of Francis I and his personal warmth toward us, I think it proper to place Francis’s legacy in the context of those of modern popes. Where does he stand between the nadir of Pius XII and the summit of John XXIII? How does the late pontiff compare with Benedict XVI and John Paul II? (John Paul I reigned for just over one month, too short for a record, and Paul VI did not initiate anything consequential one way or another.)

Pius XII was a virulent antisemite. As notable books and, indeed, the Vatican’s own archives, which Francis opened completely for scholars, indicate, Pius knew of the Holocaust but kept quiet. Pius’s crimes included more than passivity.  

His predecessor, Pius XI, though he made peace with Benito Mussolini in exchange for power, drew the line at antisemitism. In 1939, he prepared to release an encyclical vigorously denouncing antisemitism and the ongoing persecution of Jews. Pius died before he could issue his condemnation. Not only did Pius XII squelch the initiative, he destroyed copies of the draft, though at least one survived. (I read it in a collection of famous, undelivered speeches.) After the defeat of the Axis, Pius XII helped Nazi war criminals escape to Latin America and the United States. Contrary to his defenders’ claims, any effort he made concerned only Jews who had converted, and, in the eyes of the Church, had become Christians.

His successor, John XXIII, was the most philosemitic pope. As the Vatican’s apostolic delegate (minister) to Turkey during World War II, Angelo Giuseppi Roncalli gave certificates of safe passage to the thousands of Jews fleeing to Israel. He did so in defiance of Vatican policy. In addition, he intervened with the royal family of Bulgaria, where he had been stationed, to rescue Jews as well. (This is documented in the recent book, Jesus Wept by Philip Shenon.) 

As pope, John, playing on his birth middle name, used to say when he met Jewish delegations, “I am your brother, Joseph,” quoting Genesis 45:4. Indeed, he was. He uprooted Jew-hatred from the Church’s doctrine. My father used to tell stories of how, in Poland and Montreal, he was attacked, physically and verbally, when priests incited their drunken followers with Easter sermons on the Church’s doctrine of Jews as Christ killers. John XXIII removed that odious dogma through the reforms of Vatican II. At John’s behest, Vatican II also erased the violently antisemitic sections of Catholic prayers.

Right-thinking people rightly condemn John Paul II for his indifference to sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, and his coverup of those heinous crimes, during his papacy. His record regarding Jews stands in stark contrast.  

Many remember John Paul II’s historic visit to Rome’s Great Synagogue and Chief Rabbi Elio Toaff. An article in this publication a few months ago mentioned that a Jewish glass manufacturer acted as the go-between when John Paul suggested the visit. When John Paul died and his will was read publicly, it mentioned Rabbi Toaff (“the Rabbi of Rome”) as one of the few people who impressed the pontiff with their greatness. In fact, Rabbi Toaff attended the outdoor papal funeral.

Well hidden to history, Karol Wojtiyla, who became the Polish pope, saved a Jewish life. A man living in my neighborhood in Maryland had spent the Holocaust hidden with a Polish Catholic family. During the war, a priest had baptized him for the baby’s protection. After the war, the baby’s family came to claim him.  

Pius XII had forbidden the return of such children to the Jewish community, essentially sanctioning kidnapping. However, these protectors asked their parish priest, by then, Karol Wojtiyla, what to do. He told them to return the boy. 

Benedict, lacked humanity when it came to Jews. He repeated the traditional view of Judaism as a waystation for conversion to Christianity. Only then could Jews attain holiness. I recall that, on his trip to New York, he scheduled a meeting with Orthodox Jewish leaders on the afternoon of Passover eve in Manhattan. When informed that the notorious rush hour traffic jams might make it impossible for some of his guests to get home before sundown, he shrugged. 

Francis? We read about his warmth toward Jews. However, unlike John XXIII, he changed nothing in Church doctrine, including imposing on others rules in medical matters, which makes it difficult for Jews to obtain health care when halachically mandated.

Maybe his successor will.