Pope St. Pius X rejects Zionism
THEODOR HERZL: Audience with Pope Pius X (1904)
On
January 26, 1904, Theodor Herzl had an audience with Pope Pius X in the
Vatican to seek his support for the Zionist effort to establish a
Jewish state in Palestine. He recorded his account of the meeting in
his diary. Source: Raphael Patai, The Complete Diaries of Theodor Herzl, translated
by Harry Zohn (New York/London: Herzl Press, Thomas Yoseloff, 1960),
1601-1605. The "Lippay" to whom he refers is Count Berthold Dominik
Lippay, an Austrian papal portraitist, whom Herzl had met in Venice and
who had arranged the audience with the pope.
 |
Yesterday I was with the Pope. The route was already familiar since I had traversed it with Lippay several times.
Past the Swiss lackeys, who looked like clerics, and clerics who looked like lackeys, the Papal officers and chamberlains.
I arrived 10 minutes ahead of time and didn't even have to wait.
I was conducted through numerous small reception rooms to the Pope.
He received me standing and held out his hand, which I did not kiss.
Lippay had told me I had to do it, but I didn't.
I believe that I incurred his displeasure by this, for everyone who visits him kneels down and at least kisses his hand.
This hand kiss had caused me a lot of worry. I was quite glad when it was finally out of the way.
He seated himself in an armchair, a
throne for minor occasions. Then he invited me to sit down right next to
him and smiled in friendly anticipation.
I began:
"Ringrazio Vostra Santità per il favore di m'aver accordato quest'udienza" [I thank Your Holiness for the favor of according me this audience]."
"È un piacere [It is a pleasure]," he said with kindly deprecation.
I apologized for my miserable Italian, but he said:
"No, parla molto bene, signor Commendatore [No, Commander, you speak very well]."
For I had put on for the first time—on
Lippay's advice—my Mejidiye ribbon. Consequently the Pope always
addressed me as Commendatore.
He is a good, coarse-grained village priest, to whom Christianity has remained a living thing even in the Vatican.
I briefly placed my request before him.
He, however, possibly annoyed by my refusal to kiss his hand, answered
sternly and resolutely:
"Noi non possiamo favorire questo
movimento. Non potremo impedire gli Ebrei di andare a Gerusalemme—ma
favorire non possiamo mai. La terra di Gerusalemme se non era sempre
santa, è santificata per la vita di Jesu Christo (he did not pronounce it Gesu, but Yesu, in the Venetian fashion). Io
come capo della chiesa non posso dirle altra cosa. Gli Ebrei non hanno
riconosciuto nostro Signore, perciò non possiamo riconoscere il popolo
ebreo [We cannot give approval to this movement. We cannot prevent
the Jews from going to Jerusalem—but we could never sanction it. The
soil of Jerusalem, if it was not always sacred, has been sanctified by
the life of Jesus Christ. As the head of the Church I cannot tell you
anything different. The Jews have not recognized our Lord, therefore we
cannot recognize the Jewish people]."
Hence the conflict between Rome, represented by him, and Jerusalem, represented by me, was once again opened up.
At the outset, to be sure, I tried to be
conciliatory. I recited my little piece about extraterritorialization,
res sacrae extra commercium [holy places removed from business]. It
didn't make much of an impression. Gerusalemme, he said, must not get into the hands of the Jews.
"And its present status, Holy Father?"
"I know, it is not pleasant to see the
Turks in possession of our Holy Places. We simply have to put up with
that. But to support the Jews in the acquisition of the Holy Places,
that we cannot do."
I said that our point of departure had been solely the distress of the Jews and that we desired to avoid the religious issues.
"Yes, but we, and I as the head of the
Church, cannot do this. There are two possibilities. Either the Jews
will cling to their faith and continue to await the Messiah who, for us,
has already appeared. In that case they will be denying the divinity of
Jesus and we cannot help them. Or else they will go there without any
religion, and then we can be even less favorable to them.
"The Jewish religion was the foundation
of our own; but it was superseded by the teachings of Christ, and we
cannot concede it any further validity. The Jews, who ought to have been
the first to acknowledge Jesus Christ, have not done so to this day."
It was on the tip of my tongue to say,
"That's what happens in every family. No one believes in his own
relatives." But I said instead: "Terror and persecution may not have
been the right means for enlightening the Jews."
But he rejoined, and this time he was magnificent in his simplicity:
"Our Lord came without power. Era povero [He was poor]. He came in pace [in peace]. He persecuted no one. He was persecuted.
He was abbandonato [forsaken]
even by his apostles. Only later did he grow in stature. It took three
centuries for the Church to evolve. The Jews therefore had time to
acknowledge his divinity without any pressure. But they haven't done so
to this day."
"But, Holy Father, the Jews are in
terrible straits. I don't know if Your Holiness is acquainted with the
full extent of this sad situation. We need a land for these persecuted
people."
"Does it have to be Gerusalemme?"
"We are not asking for Jerusalem, but for Palestine—only the secular land."
"We cannot be in favor of it."
"Does Your Holiness know the situation of the Jews?"
"Yes, from my Mantua days. Jews live
there. And I have always been on good terms with Jews. Only the other
evening two Jews were here to see me. After all, there are other bonds
than those of religion: courtesy and philanthropy. These we do not deny
to the Jews. Indeed, we also pray for them: that their minds be
enlightened. This very day the Church is celebrating the feast of an
unbeliever who, on the road to Damascus, became miraculously converted
to the true faith. And so, if you come to Palestine and settle your
people there, we shall have churches and priests ready
to baptize all of you."
to baptize all of you."
Count Lippay had had himself announced.
The Pope permitted him to enter. The Count kneeled, kissed his hand,
then joined in the conversation by telling of our "miraculous" meeting
in Bauer's Beer Hall in Venice. The miracle was that he had originally
planned to spend the night in Padua. As it happened, I had expressed the
wish to be allowed to kiss the Holy Father's foot.
At this the Pope made une tête
[a long face], for I hadn't even kissed his hand. Lippay went on to say
that I had expressed myself appreciatively on Jesus Christ's noble
qualities. The Pope listened, now and then took a pinch of snuff, and
sneezed into a big red cotton handkerchief. Actually, these peasant
touches are what I like best about him and what compels my respect.
In this way Lippay wanted to account for
his introducing me, perhaps to excuse it. But the Pope said: "On the
contrary, I am glad you brought me the Signor Commendatore."
As to the real business, he repeated what he had told me: Non possumus [We can't]!
Until he dismissed us Lippay spent some
time kneeling before him and couldn't seem to get his fill of kissing
his hand. Then I realized that the Pope liked this sort of thing. But on
parting, too, all I did was to give him a warm hand-squeeze and a low
bow.
Duration of the audience: about 25 minutes.
In the Raphael stanze [rooms], where I spent the next hour, I saw a picture of an Emperor kneeling to let a seated Pope put the crown on his head.
That's the way Rome wants it.
Confessions from the NWO Jewish Zionists