Jewish charges against Pius XII outrageous: Vatican

ROME (Reuters) - Jewish accusations that Nazi-era Pope Pius XII turned a blind eye to the Holocaust are "outrageous" and no one can tell the Vatican whether he should be made a saint, Pope Benedict's deputy said on Thursday.

Some Jews have accused Pius, who reigned from 1939 to 1958, of being indifferent to the Holocaust. The Vatican says he worked silently behind the scenes and helped save many Jews from certain death during World War Two.

"The depictions of Pius XII as indifferent to the fate of the victims of Nazism -- Poles and above all Jews and even going as far as saying he was 'Hitler's pope' are first of all outrageous," said Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

Bertone, who is known as the 'deputy pope' because he ranks only second to Pope Benedict in the Vatican hierarchy, told a conference that such accusations "could not be supported from a historic point of view."

Differences over what Pius did or did not do during the war have haunted Catholic-Jewish relations for decades and conflict has resurfaced over whether Pius should be made a saint.

The Vatican has shown signs of chafing and irritability recently as some Catholics have pushed for the Pope to expedite his sainthood process and some Jews wanted it frozen pending the opening of Holy See archives in about seven years.

Last week a Jewish leader urged the Pope to put the sainthood process on hold and Benedict reportedly said he was "seriously considering" the possibility.

FREEZE SAINTHOOD

Jewish leaders have called on the Vatican not to make Pius a saint until all doubts about his so-called silence are cleared up, with one saying it would open a "wound difficult to heal."

But Bertone was short with such requests. He said the sainthood process was "a religious matter that must be respected by all (and) the exclusive jurisdiction of the Holy See."

At issue is whether Benedict should let Pius proceed on the road to sainthood -- which Catholic supporters want -- by signing a decree recognizing his "heroic virtues." This would clear the way for beatification, the last step before sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.

Benedict has so far not signed the decree -- approved last year by the Vatican's saint-making department, opting instead for what the Vatican has called a period of reflection.

The Vatican says while Pius did not speak out against the Holocaust, he worked behind the scenes to help Jews because direct intervention would have worsened the situation by prompting retaliation by Hitler.

In his speech at Rome's Gregorian University, Bertone offered a long defense of Pius, saying that in 1939-1940 he secretly supported a British-German plot to overthrow Hitler.

The Vatican says he saved several hundred thousand Jewish lives by ordering churches and convents throughout Italy to hide Jews and instructing Vatican diplomats in Europe to give Jews false passports.

Bertone defended Pius's lack of public outcry after Nazis occupying Rome massacred 335 men and boys in retaliation for a partisan attack that killed 33 German soldiers.

He said Rome convents were full of refugees, including Jews, and a public denunciation by Pius of the Nazi massacre would have led to "catastrophic" raids on the convents.

(Editing by Charles Dick)