Vatican City - Pope Pius XII, the wartime pontiff who some have accused of remaining largely silent in the face of the Holocaust, has taken another step toward possible sainthood, the Vatican said yesterday.
A panel of bishops and cardinals at the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints approved a declaration on Pius' virtues Tuesday and passed it to Pope Benedict XVI, said a spokesman.
If Benedict signs the document, it will be the first major step toward possible beatification for Pius. The Vatican would then have to confirm a miracle attributed to Pius' intercession for him to be beatified, and another miracle for him to be made a saint.
Pius, who reigned from 1939 to 1958 and was a Vatican diplomat in Germany, has been criticized by some Jews and others for not doing enough to save Jews from the Nazi Holocaust. His supporters say he made every effort to help Jews and other victims through quiet diplomacy.
The German-born Benedict has praised Pius as a great pontiff who loved the German people, although he has stopped short of endorsing beatification.
The approval of a declaration of Pius' virtues followed a public spat last month between the Holy See and Israel over the wartime pontiff's conduct. The Vatican ambassador to Israel threatened to boycott a service at the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem because of a caption at the museum that said Pius didn't protest Nazi Germany's genocide of Jews.