A Letter to Archbishop John L. May

As I said recently in Warsaw, it is precisely by reason of this terrible experience that the nation of Israel, her sufferings and her Holocaust are today before the eyes of the Church, of all peoples and of all nations, as a warning, a witness and a silent cry. Before the vivid memory of the extermination, as recounted to us by the survivors and by all Jews now living, and as it is continually offered for our meditation within the narration of the Pesah Haggadah -- as Jewish families are accustomed to do today -- it is not permissible for anyone to pass by with indifference. Reflection upon the Shoah shows us to what terrible consequences the lack of faith in God and a contempt for man created in his image can lead. It also impels us to promote the necessary historical and religious studies on this event which concerns the whole of humanity today.

August 8, 1987

Next: Calling Attention to the Mass Extermination of Jews