The New York Times has a profile of Gary Krupp, a retired medical equipment dealer from Long Island who was knighted by Pope John Paul II in 2000 "for persuading American manufacturers to donate $12 million worth of high-tech medical equipment to an Italian hospital." Krupp, who is Jewish, founded Pave the Way Foundation in 2002; it is dedicated, its website states, to "removing obstacles between the religions and ... initiating gestures of good will." Krupp has been getting attention for his vocal defense of Pope Pius XII:
He has pressed his case in a recent op-ed article for The New York Post, and in interviews with conservative Catholic television programs and Web sites, which have cited him as an expert on Pius.
And in a special audience at the papal summer residence in September 2008, Pope Benedict XVI thanked Mr. Krupp for bringing attention to “what Pius XII achieved for the Jews.”
Historians and religious leaders around the world have taken increasing notice of Mr. Krupp’s work — some with alarm, some with pleasure — because his advocacy has coincided with efforts within the Vatican to promote the canonization of Pius. Pope Benedict nudged that process forward in December by affirming Pius’s “heroic virtues” and pronouncing him “venerable,” a step on the path toward sainthood.
The controversy over Pius’s wartime conduct had stalled his elevation for so many years that Pope Benedict’s action shocked scholars on both sides of the debate. And while agreeing on little else, some in both camps credit Mr. Krupp for breaking the logjam.
“I wrote 10 books about Pius XII, but in all these years I never knew how to shake things up for the cause like this wonderful man, Mr. Krupp,” said Sister Margherita Marchione, a professor emerita at Fairleigh Dickinson University who is considered the foremost defender of Pius outside the Vatican.
Deborah Dwork, a professor of Holocaust history at Clark University, put it another way: “Pope Benedict would not have had the chutzpah to go forward with the veneration process if not for this P.R. work Gary Krupp does.”
Of course, it's "P.R. work" when it is in defense of Pius XII, but sober, careful, exacting historical research when John Cornwell labels Pius XII as "Hitler's Pope." Dr. Dwork states that Krupp's research is “amateurish, worse than amateurish — risible.” Never mind that his main points (here's a start) haven't been refuted, but are routinely ignored, perhaps because they don't fit at all with the mythology of an anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi pope. Does Dr. Dwork think that the campaign to slander Pius XII, begun in earnest in the 1960s in German Rolf Hochhuth's play, "The Deputy" (a work that was allegedly supported and produced by the KGB), has exhibited a level of professionalism and accuracy that rises above "risible"? Her comment about Benedict XVI is, frankly, quite laughable (that's a fancy word for "risible," in case you didn't know).
Having quoted Dr. Dwork's insinuating remark that Krupp is somehow leading the Vatican through the veneration process, the article then notes that Dwork thinks Krupp's "lack of experience in international affairs and historical research" makes him "highly vulnerable to being manipulated by factions inside the Vatican." Just as with the accusations that Pius XII was highly vulnerable to being manipulated by Nazis, no evidence apparently exists for this claim; it's enough to simply assume the bad motive and/or naivety of Catholic popes and the Jews who defend them. Krupp, on one hand, is leading the Vatican's public defense of Pius XII; on the other hand, he is in the pocket of the Vatican. In related news, warm weather proves man-made global warming, while record cold weather and snow storms—yep—prove man-made global warming. I'm with Bill Donohue: Dwork's credentials aren't in question, but her judgment is.
The Times piece, not surprisingly, makes certain to call into
question Krupp's credentials and motives, if not his sanity: "In the debate over
Gary Krupp, too, there will always be questions. Why is he doing this?" After all, he does not have a degree in history, nor has he held a job teaching history. He is delving into complex issues requiring years of study and proven expertise. But it's not entirely clear why these are considered negatives. After all, Al Gore was, until recently, considered some sort of climate guru/expert, despite possessing no academic credentials for measuring hot air (oh, wait, he did flunk out of a liberal Protestant seminary). And the current President of the United States, who has no business background or prior governing experience, has initiated the governmental takeover of banks, car companies, and the entire health-care industry.
The bottom line is that for The New York Times and Co., it is considered de rigueur that an accused Pope is likely guilty and a Catholic-friendly Jew is eccentric at best but most likely suspicious or stupid. There are only certain kinds of inconvenient truths to be considered and championed, especially when the truth really is inconvenient.
• Pius XII and objectivity (January 22, 2010)
•
The Charity of Pope Pius XII | Eugenio Zolli | From Before
the Dawn: Autobiographical Reflections by Eugenio Zolli, Former Chief Rabbi of Rome
What a surprise: the response to Krupp's work by the secular left consists of name-calling and faux psychologizing. I'm starting to think that "laughable" has been redefined as "I can't refute you but I know that a deer-in-the-headlights response doesn't persuade others..."
Posted by: Kevin | Monday, March 08, 2010 at 10:45 AM
Thanks Carl for this post; I admire your strong defense of Pacelli's true performance as a pope. One thing we must keep in mind: some jews will never admit that Pope Pius XII saved many jews during WW2, simply because their 'dislike' towards our Church is larger and more important than their truthfulness.
There is more than sufficient proof that Pius made incredible efforts to save not only jews, but many others that suffered under the nazis. i.e: polish people, to name just one example.
At Rome, on April 15 1945, Pius XII wrote , on his 7th year of pontificate, the Encyclical "Communium Interprete Dolorum", # 6 the following:
"We desire moreover that those who heed Our exhortation, also pray for those who are fugitives vanished from their homeland and longing to once again see their own homes; also for those in captivity who wait for their liberation after the War;and finally those who lie in numberless hospitals"...
That was the man, and the Pope who behaved most proper and holy.
Posted by: Manuel G. Daugherty Razetto | Monday, March 08, 2010 at 01:52 PM