Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Cosmos The In Lost

Home
Catholic
Pope Francis Wasn’t Silent About Auschwitz; He Deconstructed It Instead

Pope Francis Wasn’t Silent About Auschwitz; He Deconstructed It Instead

Last updated on: August 1, 2016 at 3:55 am by Artur Rosman

Pope Francis Wasn’t Silent About Auschwitz; He Deconstructed It Instead 2016-07-31T22:52:11-07:00 Artur Rosman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

My good friends, what is the difference between you and me? Both of us, all of us believe, because we are religious, in the coming of the Messiah. You believe that the Messiah came, went back, and that you are waiting for Him for the second coming. We Jews believe He hasn’t come yet, but He will come. In other words, we are waiting. You for the second coming, we for the first coming. Let’s wait together.” After a pause, he said, “And when He will come, we will ask Him, have you been here before?” Said Buber, “I hope I will be behind Him and I will whisper in His ear, please do not answer.”

From what I’ve read about this anecdote it seems that Buber never said these words, they were invented by Wiesel, but that doesn’t hurt their theological legitimacy. I actually heard them quoted by the Chief Rabbi of Poland during an ecumenical Advent retreat at Auschwitz.

The added twist is that they were most likely invented by Wiesel, whose books, especially Night, were the chief vehicles for promoting the uniqueness of Auschwitz and Jewish suffering, to the exclusion of other victim groups. Groups such as the Polish Catholics represented by St. Maximilian–who were first designated for extermination, long before the camps turned against Jews.

Nearly three million Polish Catholics were killed during the Holocaust, but this is a Forgotten Holocaust (as the sole book on the topic calls it), because the legacy of Auschwitz has become a kind of zero-sum game where one victim group triumphs to the exclusion and forgetting of the others.

Therefore I find it fascinating that Wiesel (along with Francis) provide some new possible ways for understanding the Holocaust as part and parcel of an ongoing history–if only because it reminds us that something like Auschwitz is possible in the near future, rather than being excluded by the better angels of our [postmodern] nature.

Or, as Faulkner paraphrased Pope Francis, avant la lettre, in Requiem for a Nun:

The past is never dead. It’s not even past.

You should also read 5 Facts Holocaust and World War II Remembrances Frequently Forget to learn some things that you should remember.

Consider making a donation to this blog through the donation button on the upper right side of its homepage. Our family just moved to a new place, we’re experiencing car problems, and things will be financially tight until the end of this year. Your donations help keep us, and this blog, going.

Stay in touch! Like Cosmos the in Lost on Facebook:

Cosmos the in Lost

Previous Post

July 31, 2016

Why Are Muslims Filling Up France's Traditionally Empty Churches Today?

Next Post

August 6, 2016 Truman Lied, Hiroshima Fried: An Atomic Transfiguration

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #WhyRemainCatholic Abortion Advent Anti-Catholicism Arts Atheism Beauty Benedict XVI Bible Book Review Catholic Cinema Comedy Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey Czesław Miłosz Dariusz Karłowicz Devil Easter Eastern Orthodoxy Economics Environment Family Famous Atheists Who Weren't Atheists Guest Post Hans Urs von Balthasar HHS Mandate History Imagination Interview Islam Jean-Luc Marion John Paul II Judaism Just War Lent Literature Little Sisters of the Poor Liturgy Martyrdom Music News Paganism Patristics Phenomenology Philosophy Pierre Hadot Poetry Poland Pop Culture Pope Francis Poverty Prayer Protestantism Rabelais Race Remi Brague Rene Girard Russia Sam Rocha Science & Religion SCOTUS Secularization Sexual Abuse Sexuality Silence Solidarity Stratford Caldecott Synod14 Terrorism Top 10 Uncategorized Walker Percy War Weakened Edition World War II World Youth Day WYD Krakow

Select a Month July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said: "Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Peter James Paul John