New York, NY, July 23, 2001…The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today urged the Vatican to grant increased access to its Holocaust-era records so that scholars working under their aegis can get to the truth. The League’s call came after scholars of the International Catholic-Jewish Historical Commission said they were stymied in trying to get access to relevant records to fulfill their mandate.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, and a Holocaust survivor, issued the following statement:

We are deeply distressed that the scholars of the International Catholic-Jewish Historical Commission have been forced to suspend their work because their present limited access to Vatican archives prevent further progress and compromise their credibility. By frustrating the scholars’ work, the truth is put in jeopardy. How can the truth be told if scholars working under the aegis of the Vatican Commission are prevented access to the very records that document the Church’s actions and activities during the Holocaust?

We urge the Vatican Secretariat of State to grant increased access to the relevant records, so that both Catholic and Jewish scholars can present an objective academic historical account. Catholic-Jewish relations have advanced greatly under the Pontificate of John Paul II. The historical truth is essential to promoting even greater understanding between the Jewish people and the Church.

The scholars have submitted 47 questions arising from their preliminary research that can only be answered by their impartial analysis of further Vatican documentation. Access to this additional material is necessary for the scholars to fulfill the mandate given to them by the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.