From: Sister Margherita Marchione, Ph.D.
E-mail: Sr.Margherita.Marchione@ATT.NET
June 4, 2009
Dear Friend of Pope Pius XII:
I am appealing to you for help in promoting the beatification of Pope Pius XII. Several months ago, Pius XII was proclaimed venerable by a committee of cardinals and bishops. The next step will take place as soon as a miracle has been received and approved by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. It is imperative that you, the faithful who are interested in the beatification of Pius XII, pray and notify the Vatican as soon as any miracle is recorded.
Two months after Pius XII’s death on October 9, 1958, the following prayer was circulated among the faithful:
"O Jesus, eternal High Priest, who didst deign to raise Thy faithful servant, Pius XII, to the supreme dignity of Thy Vicar on earth and to grant him the grace to be a fearless defender of the faith, a valiant champion of justice and peace, zealous in proclaiming the glory of Thy Most Holy Mother, a shining example of charity and all virtues, deign now to grant us, in view of his merits, the graces we ask of Thee; so that, made certain of his efficacious intercession with Thee, we may one day see him raised to the honors of our altars, Amen."
Imprimatur Petrus Canisius,
Vic. Gen. Civit. Vatic.
Die 8 Dicembris 1958.
The Catholic Church saved 860,000 Jews from the Holocaust thanks to Pope Pius XII. He was not “silent.” As Papal Nuncio to Germany (1917-1929), then Vatican Secretary of State (1930-1939) and as Pope (1939-1958), Pius XII spoke out against the evils of his age: racism, ethnic and religious hatreds, nationalism, militarism, war crimes and atrocities against non-combatants.
Sir Francis Osborne, a non-Catholic British diplomat in the Vatican from 1936 to 1947, had this to say (The Times of London, May 20, 1963): “…Pius XII was the most warmly, humane, kindly, generous, sympathetic (and, incidentally, saintly) character that it has been my privilege to meet. Without the slightest doubt, he would have been ready and glad to give his life to redeem humanity from its consequences. And this quite irrespective of nationality or Faith.”
… I know. I met him in St. Peter’s Basilica in July, 1957.
Pope Pius XII will be remembered for his heroic leadership, his peace-making efforts and his commitment as the defender and protector of the victims of war and hatred which drenched Europe in blood during World War II. He was a moral beacon to mankind. His voice was heard around the world. It was the “Voice” of a tireless world leader whose contribution to humanity during the Holocaust is incontrovertible.
It is time for Catholics to refute the careless innuendoes and unfounded accusations that have been leveled against Pope Pius XII whose aspirations toward truth and goodness and whose extraordinary World War II achievements combine to make him one of the great men of our times.
Affectionately,
Sr. Margherita Marchione, Ph.D.
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