Pope, in Israel, Confronts Dark History of Germany

of a British bishop who denies the Holocaust, although Benedict later explained that he had been unaware of the bishop's history. Ties were further strained when a senior Vatican official said during Israel's recent military campaign in Gaza that the territory resembled a "big concentration camp."

But the biggest point of contention between Catholics and Jews remains the role of Pius XII during World War II. Benedict has called him a "great churchman" and supports efforts to make him a saint despite Jewish concerns about his wartime conduct.

At Yad Vashem, Benedict did not visit the main part of the museum, where a photo caption says Pius did not protest the Nazi genocide of Jews and maintained a largely "neutral position."

Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, chairman of Yad Vashem's board of directors and a former chief rabbi of Israel, called Benedict's speech at the memorial important but said he also found it lacking.

"There is a clear difference between 'killed' and 'murdered.' There is a difference between saying millions in the Holocaust and saying six million. The word six was not said," Lau, himself a Holocaust survivor, told Israel TV. "There was certainly no apology here."

Avner Shalev, Yad Vashem's chairman, also praised the speech in general terms but said two of his expectations had not been met: The pope did not mention anti-Semitism or explicitly say who perpetrated the Holocaust. "He didn't mention Nazis or German Nazis or collaborators," Shalev said.

But Edward Mosberg, one of the survivors who met the pope, said he was satisfied.
"This was very important," Mosberg said.

Benedict is using a weeklong pilgrimage to the Holy Land to reach out to both Muslims and Jews. He spent three days in neighboring Jordan before arriving in Israel.

Benedict angered many in the Muslim world three years ago when he quoted a medieval text that characterized some of Islam's Prophet Muhammad's teachings as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith." He later expressed regret that his comments offended Muslims.

Before leaving Jordan, he said he had a "deep respect" for Islam.

But Muslims, like Jews, had decidedly mixed reactions to Benedict on Monday.

During his visit to the presidential residence in Jerusalem, the pope met the parents of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who was captured by Hamas militants three years ago and remains in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

In Gaza, Palestinians expressed anger that Benedict met the family of the captive Israeli, but would not meet with relatives of any of the 11,000 Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israel.

Associated Press - May 11, 2009