These figures, small as they are in comparison with our six million martyrs whose fate is beyond consolation, exceed by far those saved by all other churches, religious institutions and rescue organizations combined.

[3]After analyzing the available information, he concludes: Were I a Catholic, perhaps I should have expected the Pope, as the avowed representative of Christ on earth, to speak out for justice and against murder - irrespective of the consequences.

But the secondary guilt lies in the universal failure of Christendom to try and avert or, at least, mitigate the disaster; to live up to its own ethical and moral principles, when conscience cried out Save!

When armed force ruled well-nigh omnipotent, and morality was at its lowest ebb, Pius XII commanded none of the former and could only appeal to the latter, in confronting, with bare hands, the full might of evil.

Unable to cure the sickness of an entire civilization, and unwilling to bear the brunt of Hitler's fury, the Pope, unlike many far mightier than he, alleviated, relieved, retrieved, appealed, petitioned - and saved as best he could by his own lights.

"[5] In his dialogue with German reformed theologian Jürgen Moltmann, Lapide says: "On page 139 of his book The Church in the Power of the Spirit (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1977) it says: Through his crucifixion Christ has become the Saviour of the Gentiles.

"[7] In their common declaration, Lapide and Moltmann acknowledge that the diverging paths of Christianity and Judaism may only be as consequential as the artificial barriers that hinder rapprochement.

[8] In another debate on the messianic connotations of Isaiah 53 with Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Lapide posits that the people of Israel collectively are the expiatory lamb of humankind; God visits the sin of Israel with the full impact in order to let guilty humankind survive, a position that Kaiser thought could be interpreted as being close to the traditional evangelical Christian interpretation of Isaiah 53.

(Isaiah 29:13 NIV)In responding, Lapide sees the selfless sacrifice of the Jewish prophets as synonymous with Israel becoming acceptable through the imputed righteousness of God.