The Pope's Visit to the Rome Synagogue
By Tommy Baer
Honorary President of B'nai B'rith International

The Vatican does not too easily succumb to pressure. After all, it took only 2,000 years for the enlightened Pope John XXIII to absolve the Jews of the crucifiction of Christ in his “Nostra Aetate.”

Thus began a period of dialogue and reconciliation between the Catholic Church and Judaism, enhanced as never before by his successor, Pope John Paul II, a Pole who saved Jews during the Third Reich and understood our pain. As president of B'nai B'rith International, I met with him in 1996 and, at the request of both Israel’s ambassador to Italy and its ambassador to the Vatican, attempted to secure a promise from him to visit Israel. I did, and he went to Israel in 2000.

During my term, I was also among a handful of Jewish leaders to meet at the Vatican with high church officials to discuss, among other things, the opening of the archives for scholars to examine the war-time record of Pope Pius XII. It was this issue that was first and foremost on the minds of those who attended the Great Synagogue of Rome on Jan. 17 for the historic visit of Pope Benedict XVI.

There are 14,000 Jews in Rome and 15 synagogues, including the Great Synagogue, which is located in the old ghetto and is one of the largest and most magnificent in Europe. The Rome Jewish community is the oldest in the Western Diaspora. Pope Benedict’s visit followed that of Pope John Paul II in 1986, the first visit by a pope to a synagogue since apostolic times.

Together with leaders of Rome’s B’nai B’rith lodge and with Senior International Vice Presidents Bruce Pascal and Yves-Victor Kamami, we constituted the largest organizational group at the event, which was attended by approximately 600 people. The pope made his way down the long center aisle, led by Ricardo Di Segni, the chief rabbi of Rome, and took his place on the bimah with other prominent rabbis from Israel and elsewhere. With the backdrop of the Aron Kodesh and Ner Tamid, the setting was spectacular. Sitting in front were the deputy prime minister of Israel and Israel’s ambassadors to Italy and the Vatican.

The three speakers all spoke eloquently. Ricardo Pacifici, the president of Rome’s Jewish community and a member of B’nai B’rith, specifically addressed “the silence of Pius XII in the face of the Shoah” and said that Pius “might not have stopped the death trains, but he would have transmitted a signal, a word of final comfort and human solidarity, to our brothers and sisters who were being taken to the ovens of Auschwitz.”

The chief rabbi then spoke of our shared “Biblical imperatives” and, in an allusion to Pius, stated: “The silence of G-d, or own capacity to hear His voice in the face of the world’s evils, are an inscrutable mystery. But the silence of man is on a different level; it makes us wonder, it challenges us, and neither does it escape justice.”

During his formal address, the pope spoke of Pope John Paul’s historic contributions toward reconciliation and friendship with words and phrases that truly did soar, of the horrors inflicted upon the Jews by the Nazis, of the failings of the Church to do more, and of our commonality and shared spirituality. But he did not speak a word about Pope Pius XII, his intended beatification, or the opening of the archives. His only allusion: “The Apostolic See itself provided assistance, often in a hidden and discreet way.”

Following the program, I was part of a select group of about 25, leaders, that was invited to a small sanctuary in the synagogue to greet the pope. It was anticipated that he might make some private remarks and give each of us the chance to say a few words to him. This was his opportunity to express his sensitivity to Jewish concerns about the controversy surrounding Pius and the move toward sainthood. He said nothing, shook a few hands, and was gone within two minutes. Controversy avoided. I had hoped to ask him about opening the archives, but it proved to be an opportunity lost.

Too much documentation exists that casts doubt on the “heroic virtues” of Pope Pius XII. Only the Vatican’s archival records from 1939 forward can shed light on his role vis-à-vis the Jews. Light leads to truth. Until that happens, all steps toward sainthood are premature and inappropriate.

The failure of the pope to discuss the issue which most divides our two religions will not impede the great progress that has been made between us. The dialogue will continue. However, we will press on, for the stakes are too high not to persevere.

The synagogue visit was indeed historic. But it was an act unfulfilled.