Pope Benedict XVI's recent decision to proclaim Pope Pius XII as "venerable" surprised and delighted many who have been campaigning to clear the wartime Pope's name, but provoked protests among some Jewish leaders, reports the National Catholic Register (NCR) website today.
Although some historians say there is plenty of well-documented evidence to suggest Pius was one of the Second World War's greatest heroes, critics still accuse him of being "silent" and doing nothing to save the lives of some six million innocent Jews who were murdered during the war.
Pope Benedict issued a decree on December 19, 2009 attesting to the "heroic virtue" of Eugenio Pacelli, pope from 1939 to 1958, giving him the title "venerable."
Now a panel of medical experts and Vatican theologians can proceed with investigations into alleged miracles attributed to the late Pontiff's intercession. Once a miracle is approved, Pius XII can be beatified.
Jewish leaders have called the move to proclaim Pius "venerable" as being "inopportune, premature, and regrettable."
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