Papal Envoy's U-turn on Memorial

The papal nuncio in Jerusalem reversed his decision to boycott the annual Holocaust memorial service, it was announced yesterday.

Monsignor Antonio Franco said he would attend a torch lighting ceremony at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, in spite of his earlier protests at a picture caption at the museum that is critical of the conduct of Pope Pius XII.

The ceremony yesterday evening preceded a day of memorial services which includes a nationwide two-minute silence this morning. The event is traditionally attended by representatives of all foreign embassies in Israel. Msgr Franco said he would not attend in protest at the description of the wartime pope as being reluctant to criticise the Holocaust.

Msgr Franco told the Guardian last week: "I consider this picture in that place and the caption that accompanies it unfair and something that disturbs my feelings and the feelings of Catholics all over the world." He said yesterday that his threat to boycott was "diplomacy" to draw attention to his position on the caption.

Avner Shalev, chairman of Yad Vashem, wrote to the nuncio to say he regretted the decision to link the commemoration of the Holocaust with the debate over the role of Pope Pius. "It is a complex issue, and we will continue to make sure that we are firmly rooted in the most updated historical truth. We would be pleased to examine any new documentation that may come to light on this issue," he wrote.