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OPINION

Of Apologies, Acceptance,
Failure And Vigilance

directed history's most despicable
s much as some might
crime.
want to welcome and
Can one forgive such implied
embrace it, the Catholic
insensitivity,
such callousness, such
Church's recent paper on
lack
of
compassion,
such political
the Holocaust — "We Remember: A
expediency?
All
these
words seem so
Reflection of the Shoah" — is not an
inadequate to describe the Church's
apology on behalf of the Church.
posture, despite its recent paper sug-
And the paper raises troubling
gesting otherwise.
and disconcerting questions.
One would like to hear an expla-
Here is what it does and
nation — if one is possible
does not say. It does:
—
from a Church official
(a) talk about the
who
was in a decision-mak-
tragedy of the Holocaust, a
ing
position
in the Vatican
"horrible genocide"; (b)
at the time.
recognize that Jews have
What does "accepting"
suffered historically for no
the apology mean for those
reason other than that
inclined to welcome it?
"they were Jews;" (c)
Some have stated, in reac-
acknowledge that the his-
tion to the Church's state-
tory between Jews and
ment,
that "it is a first step."
Christians has been a "tor-
BERL
A
first
step to what?
mented one;" (d) recognize
FALBAUM
The
paper does not indi-
and regret "anti-Judaism"
Special to
cate
how
it expects Jews to
among "some sons and
The Jewish News react other than to "... ask
daughters" of the Church.
our Jewish friends ... to hear
The document does not:
us
with
open
hearts."
(a) apologize on behalf of the
Second,
this
"historic" statement
Church for any anti-Semitism; (b)
comes
more
than
a half century after
express regret for alleged inaction
the
fact.
Even
taking
into account
during the Holocaust. Indeed, it
that
large
bureaucracies
and power-
defends the Church, including Pope
ful
institutions
move
slowly,
that
Pius XI and XII for speaking out
change
does
not
come
easily.
But
against Nazism and its atrocities.
more than 50 years?
Yes, admittedly, it is — or may be
Further, when the Vatican finally
— constructive or may engage in
decided
to put pencil to paper and
contrition. Confession may be good
draft
this
statement, it took 11 years
for the soul but confession, to help
to
finish
the
product. That's quite a
the soul, the Church would agree,
bit
of
rewriting
and it implies,
must be uncompromising.
But even if it were an apology, can
we accept it? Must we accept it?
Should we accept it?
First, if the Vatican was not silent
as the paper holds, it was hardly
aggressive or vehement in opposing
Jewish extermination. Can one for-
give for that? Can one accept an
apology for letting 6 million be
slaughtered with hardly a word of
criticism? Can one forgive the
Church for its inaction? How can
one stand by — one that has power
and could have made a difference —
and let the unimaginable happen?
The Church was and is one of the
most powerful political — political,
not just religious — institutions in
the world. It's the moral and reli-
gious leader for millions of
Catholics, yet it stood by doing
nothing, nay, indeed, had kind
Words for the leader who, with his
demented mind, produced and

A

Bed Falbaum is a local public relations
specialist and freelance writer.

unfortunately, a strategic sanitation
And the carefully crafted
language reveals the failures of the
document.
It implies compromise, watering
down. It implies that the forces
within the Vatican are not united on
this issue.

process.

Is the
Church's
statement
a first step?"

"

Then there is the issue, discussed
so frequently in Elie Weisel's works,
of who can accept — if anyone —
an apology for the 6 million. Sur-
vivors certainly can, and if they agree
to forgive, no Jew who was spared
that horrendous experience can and
should judge that decision. But can
other Jews of this generation
respond, "Yes we forgive"? Do they
have that right, even if they do so
with the best intentions?
The answers to all these questions
are difficult ones. Are there any
answers? Perhaps the answers are the
questions.
If the Church was at odds on this
"major" policy statement, it might
have considered a short, concise,

