Holocaust survivors denounce pope's Croatia statement

SOURCE: BETA, TANJUG

BELGRADE, WASHINGTON -- The American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors on June 6 blasted Pope Benedict XVI over his statement about WW2 Croatian Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac.The spiritual leader of the Roman Catholics claimed during his visit to Zagreb that Stepinac - tried and found guilty of collaboration with the fascist Ustasha regime of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) - was a defender of Jews, Orthodox Christians and anyone under persecution.

That regime ran death camps, including the largest - Jasenovac, where Serbs, but also Jews and Roma, were slaughtered.

Stepinac, beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1998, is an "adored personage in Croatia", according to a Beta report, citing AFP.

Visiting Stepinac's grave in Zagreb the pope said this cardinal "knew how to resist totalitarianism in all its forms, as a defender of Jews, Orthodox Christians and any persecuted group under the Nazi and fascist dictatorship, and an advocate for believers and persecuted and murdered priests under communism".

The American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants denounced the pope for honoring Stepinac, recalling that the Zagreb cardinal was a passionate supporter of the Ustashe, whose 

brutalities were so extreme that they even shocked some of their Nazi masters....more: HTTP://WWW.B92.NET/ENG/NEWS/POLITICS-ARTICLE.PHP?YYYY=2011&MM=06&DD=07&NAV_ID=74787