Pope Pius XII moves closer to sainthood

By Phil Stewart

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Pius XII, accused by critics of turning a blind eye to the death of Jews during World War Two, has moved a step closer to sainthood nearly five decades after his death, a Vatican source said on Wednesday.

The Vatican's saint-making Congregation has voted in favour of a decree recognising Pius' "heroic virtues", a major hurdle in a long process toward sainthood begun in 1967, he said.

If German-born Pope Benedict approves the decree, as expected, Pius would be officially given the title "venerable". The Vatican would then move towards beatification by looking for miracles performed by the late Pope.

The pontificate of Pius has been one of the trickiest problems in post-war Catholic-Jewish relations.

Jewish groups have accused Pius of being indifferent to the Holocaust and diplomatic ties between the Vatican and Israel were briefly tested last month over a depiction of him at a state Holocaust memorial in Israel.

A caption under a photo of Pius XII said he "abstained from signing the Allied declaration condemning the extermination of Jews" and "maintained his neutral position throughout the war".

The Vatican's envoy to Israel threatened to boycott a Holocaust memorial ceremony over the caption, but ultimately agreed to attend.

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