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"It's not the business of Jewish communities to tell the Catholic Church who their saints are," said Rabbi David Rosen director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee.
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JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel reacted cautiously to Pope Benedict XVI's support of the process to declare his controversial World War II predecessor Pius XII a saint.
The foreign ministry as well as the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial declined to comment on Benedict's backing of beatification of the wartime pope who has been accused of failing to comdemn the Holocaust.
Other officials were also cautious.
"It's not the business of Jewish communities to tell the Catholic Church who their saints are," said Rabbi David Rosen director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee.
"But if the Church wants to live in a respectful and sensitive relationship, and it says it does, it should consider our sensitivities," said Rosen, who was involved negotiating the 1993 agreement that set up diplomatic ties between Israel and the Vatican.
"There are still survivors and wounds among them so it's a reason that decision for beatification should be delayed," said Rosen. "Another reason to delay a decision on beatification is to wait for the complete opening of the archives, a process which should take another five years," he told AFP.
On Thursday, Benedict said Pius "often acted in secret and in silence" but spared no effort in "the defence of the persecuted, with no distinction of religion, ethnicity, nationality or political affiliation."
Celebrating a mass commemorating 50 years since the death of Pius, the 81-year-old pontiff said: "In light of the real situations of this complex historical moment, he sensed that this was the only way to avoid the worst and save the greatest possible number of Jews."
