After sending 'strong signal,' nuncio attends Holocaust ceremony

Published: 2007-04-16

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- In a reversal of an earlier decision, the papal nuncio to Israel attended a Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial ceremony after receiving a personal letter from the memorial's chairman. Archbishop Antonio Franco said he decided to attend the ceremony April 15, the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, after receiving assurances from Chairman Avner Shalev regarding the memorial's willingness to review any new documentation regarding Pope Pius XII's actions during the Holocaust. Archbishop Franco said his earlier announcement that he would not attend the ceremony was meant to be a "strong signal" of the need to "reconsider the way Pius XII is presented at Yad Vashem." He said the depiction of the World War II-era pope in a photo caption at the museum was offensive to his sensibilities and those of Catholics worldwide. Archbishop Franco said his intention had not been to dissociate himself from the commemoration or to "make a polemic statement" but to "reach an aim of consideration" of how the pope is presented. "I have no further reason not to go," the nuncio said before the ceremony.

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