Wednesday, April 26, 2000 - Nerth Shore Nows - 9 ————- JV AIL BOoX—— ME ted white, mp. advertoval Apri 26,2000 Pope’s Holocaust silence defended Dear Editor: Re: Hana Mercer’s (April 7) column, Priest undermining Pope’s magnificence. The above column is impressive as far as it covers some church” documents, which are little known even to Catholics. I also can under- stand the disappoinument and even outrage from Jews regard- ing Pope Pius XII’s silence in the face of the Holocaust. At the first glance Pope Pius XIE's behaviour appears to be wrong. However, when someone analyses the situation Pope Pius XII faced when he made his decision not to speak up against the Holocaust two important points must be con- . sidered. First, the Hofocaust did not - involve only Jews but also a number of outspoken Catholic Clergy. Some of those killed in “ concentration camps were later canonized. St. Maximilian “Kolbe and Blessed Titus Brandsma and St. Edith Stein, “a Jewish’ convert to : “Catholicism, were: among the ‘well-known Catholic victims _ who died in a German concen- tration ‘amp. ~. Secondly, speaking up against a ruthless king or dicta- - ‘tor. Often’ leads to a dramatic increase in che number of vic-” The® best. example jis ° . VIL. When the Pope . that: che could. not divorce his wife, Henry VII wiped out the entire Catholic church in England and those Catholics refusing to convert te Anglicanism were executed in the most cruel fashion. Hider, no doubt, was more ruthless, bolder and as power- ful as Henry VILL Any Pope speaking up against this mad man would have risked a fur- ther escalation oof the Holocaust. An infuriated Hider probably would have deubled and wipled his effort in killing afl fews and opposing Catholics as well, Hitler was known to bite into his carpet when agitat- ed. How do you reason with a man like this? Speaking out is no doubt very important in cases where it may achieve any good. But is it responsible and ethical to speak out in no-win situations where a mad dictator cannot be stopped? I am con- vinced that if Pope Pius XII had told Hitler to stop the killing of Jews, Hitler would have flatly denied the existence of concentration camps in Nazi territory and most certainly would have tripled his efforts in Killing all Jews in Europe. It’s . possible that by not speaking out against the Holocaust Pope Pius XiI helped to spare the life of those Jews who were able to escape when the Allied forces occupied Germany. Roger Renner . Vancouver : CBC HAS A TEAM OF LAWYERS, ~ SHOULDN'T YOU? All claims have time limits Documents you sign can be used against you. Taylor. & Blin BARRISTERS & SOLICITOAS® 102-145, West 15th St. North Van 983-4311 - : www.taytorandblair.com & FREE CONSULTATION . ~ Kevin Blair heck chen antifreeze, belts & i i. ires & brakes, \ visual inspection report: “tine, F ae ” report; rofate e ies top up afl fluids al A \ check, with prot ee COND. & Coouma: fessor, hoses, belts, condenser, ~ GH : eee coletor leat anttreeze condition, test amnperatys pressure check & tull report” “Finest cordiess Hunter computerized alignment, by certified technicians, *» produces full before & after report & * road test - your choice : Brake .o linings & muttiers carry a itfetime warranty. ’ Price covers most care & light trucks. TALKING ‘YELLOW PAGES gabe. Worth Vn, (Ste South of Marine Beton) OO Go7, 476 Pemberton, J 2inebuie 1620) Ny ieRIn jkew 07 TI saglinjerightte EMPLOYMENT EQUITY UPDATE In my report dated June 2, 1999 I told the story of one of my constituents who had experienced first hand the discriminatory effects of the Employment Equity Bill which was rammed through Parliament by the Liberals in 1995. Since that report was published, the story has received i attention in the BS and Alberta Report magazines, and ~