Vatican Releases Holocaust Finding

  • Share
  • Read Later
ROME: The Vatican's expression of regret for the "errors and failures" of Catholics during the Holocaust has disappointed people who expected a more complete mea culpa after recent apologies from European Catholic dioceses. While few fault the attribution of any complicity in the Holocaust to individual Catholics rather than the Church itself, some critics have challenged the document's exoneration of Pope Pius XII.

"The Vatican's point is that Pius XII could have said more during the Holocaust, but so could most other people," says TIME's Greg Burke. "In comparison with the Red Cross, for example, the Catholic Church comes off as heroic." The document doesn't end discussion on the issue: With beatification proceedings for Pius XII currently under way, the Church will be dissecting his wartime record for some time to come.