Pope Francis paid a somber visit in silence to the Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau on Friday, with his only public comment a guest book entry begging God “forgiveness for so much cruelty.”
The Argentine-born pontiff made an early morning pilgrimage to the place where Adolf Hitler’s forces killed more than 1 million people, most of them Jews, during World War II.
Francis entered the camp on foot, walking slowly in his white robes beneath the notorious gate at Auschwitz that bears the cynical words “Arbeit Macht Frei (Work sets you free).”
After meeting briefly with 11 death camp survivors, he moved on to nearby Birkenau, a sprawling complex where people were murdered in factory-like fashion in its gas chambers. There he greeted 25 Holocaust rescuers.
Altogether, it was a deeply contemplative and private visit of nearly two hours that Francis passed in total silence, except for a few words he exchanged with the survivors and rescuers.
Vatican and Polish church officials explained that Francis wanted to express his sorrow in silence at the site, mourning the victims in quiet prayer and meditation.
However, he did express his feelings, writing in the Auschwitz memorial’s guest book in Spanish: “Lord, have mercy on your people! Lord, forgiveness for so much cruelty!” He then signed with his name in Latin, “Franciscus” and added the date “29.7.2016.”
Francis is the first pope to visit Auschwitz who did not himself live himself through the brutality of World War II on Europe’s soil.
Both of his predecessors had a personal or historical connection to the site. St. John Paul II, born in Poland, witnessed the unspeakable suffering inflicted on his nation during the German occupation during the war. His successor, Pope Benedict XVI, who visited in 2006, was a German who served in the Hitler Youth for a time as a teenager.
Francis prayed silently for more than 15 minutes before greeting survivors, one by one, shaking their hands and kissing them on the cheeks. He then carried a large white candle to the Death Wall, where prisoners at Auschwitz were executed.
At the dark underground prison cell that once housed St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish friar who sacrificed his life to save that of a fellow prisoner who had a family, Francis prayed again. A few shafts from a tiny window were the only light cast on the pontiff.
He then traveled 2 miles (3 kilometers) to Birkenau, the vast satellite camp where the Nazis murdered Jews, Roma and others from across Europe.
Invited guests, among them camp survivors and Christian Poles who saved Jews during the war, stood in respect as the pope arrived, his vehicle driving parallel to the rail tracks once used to transport victims to their deaths there.
At one point the deep silence was broken by the wailing of an infant.
When Francis arrived, the hundreds of guests applauded. Francis slowly observed each of the memorial plaques in the 23 languages used by the inmates.
Poland’s chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, then recited, in Hebrew, Psalm 130, which starts: “From the depths I have cried out to you, O Lord.”
Francis clasped his hands and bent his head as the psalm was read, first by the rabbi and then by a priest in Polish.
John Paul’s visit to the site in 1979 made history because it was the first ever by a pontiff, part of the Vatican’s historical efforts at reconciliation with Jews.
As a pope hailing from another continent, Francis’s presence highlights visit the universal importance of a site that in recent years has drawn ever more visitors from around the world. The millions who now visit have put increasing stress on the site’s aging barracks, prompting urgent conservation efforts that are being funded by governments worldwide.
Francis’ visit is also different in that it had a private character with no speeches. Benedict, for instance, spoke there in 2006 in Italian — pointedly avoiding his native German language — in a speech questioning why God was silent at the slaughter of so many.
The pope’s visit to Auschwitz came on the third day of a five-day visit to Poland that includes meetings with young pilgrims taking part in World Youth Day, a global celebration of faith.
(AP)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
7 Responses
This pope represents the best hope for achieving better relations between Jews and the Catholic church and more support for EY than any other pope in modern times. Rather than dwelling on what Pius XII (??) might have or have not done during the Shoah, we should be looking forward and seizing opportunities for better relationships to the extent it will help reduce anti-Semitism and build political support for EY. The Vatican is slowly realizing that they are ultimately as much at risk from Islamic terrorists as we are.
Who is he asking forgiveness for?
The genocidal maniacs who perpetrated this heinous crime? Why should God forgive them?
He obviously doesn’t say the av horachamim before mussaf on shabbos. Hashem yinokem domom. G-d will not forgive them. Nor forgive Pius for not doing something.
Because God’s forgiving?.
Sorry, without teshuva it is useless. They’re very good at asking forgiveness for terrible things they do. As long as you believe. Deeds don’t matter. Not that people should learn from it and not act that way, not condemning those who did it. The way to get forgiveness is to act nicely to Israel now and the Jews, and not try to prohibit shechita and bris, not attack Jews, and make a shturem that Jews in Israel should be left alone and allowed to do what they need to protect themselves and their land.
And asking why gd was silent? How outrageous! Why was the Pope excuse me silent during that time??!! Maybe ask that? Why were other countries not just silent but complicit? Hmm? Not a word about how people have to improve their behavior? How about gathering forces to stamp out murderous Muslims in the world, if what happened is so bad? What if the Pope were murdered? How would he feel if someone would ask for forgiveness for his murderer? That is just as cruel as the murder…Can someone say”Oh, I don’t mind that you hurt someone else. You should be forgiven.” ??!! Chutzpaaaaa
Bloody hypocrite!
If not for his evil church this would never have happened!
And where was the pope during the war?
Does he want us also to “forgive” the Polish and Slovakian catholic priests who preached violent anti-Semitism during the war and fanned the flames of hatred?
Christianity is the root source of western antisemitism. Antisemitism seems to be its only raison d’etre!
As long as Christianity exists, Jewish people can never be secure.
Bergoglio! If you really want to save humanity burn your anti-Semitic “new testament” and close your church.
The truth is that this “friendliness” of the church toward Israel and the Jews is extremely dangerous. The missionaries are stepping their work with alarming success. In Israel alone there are over 20,000 “Jews for J”, according to the last statistics and the number is growing. And it is also a cause of intermarriage. Conversions of Jews by “friendly” Christians is successful in the U.S. as well, not just here.
Of course, we can’t do anything about this “friendship”, but we have to be aware of what is actually happening and be careful. Keep as far away as possible.
There is a well-know American modern Orthodox “rabbi” living in Israel who went so far as to have a joint Jewish-Christian prayer meeting, and on top of that he addressed a Christian group and said he always refers to J.C. as “Rabbi J.” because he admires him so much, because he was a “great talmud chacham”! (re: a YouTube video) So you see what tzuros we have.
What should keep an uneducated Israeli youth from converting if the rabbi talks like that?
Furthermore, there are Christian groups who are very pro-Aliya. They even donate large sums of money to help bring Jews here. Why? Because it is part of their belief that their “savior” will come when all the Jews are either converted or dead, G-d forbid, and they think that the easiest way for them to achieve either of these two goals is to have us all here in one place.
So don’t be naive and don’t be deceived.
And of course there can be no forgiveness for the Nazis. They didn’t even ask for forgiveness. And the ones caught and brought to trial never expressed any remorse. The pope has at other times asked the Jewish people to forgive the Christians. Only the victim can forgive.