The following full page ad appeared in the Tuesday, October 26, 1999 edition of The New York Times
At the beginning of the decade, Condé Nast’s Vanity Fair sought to discredit John Cardinal O’Connor
At the mid-point of the decade, Vanity Fair sought to discredit Mother Teresa
Now at the end of the decade, Vanity Fair seeks to discredit Pope Pius XII
In 1990, Vanity Fair painted John Cardinal O’Connor as an authoritarian “dinosaur.” Labeled the “Holy Terror,” the portrait that emerged was that of a priest who was indifferent to suffering, even to children with AIDS.
In 1995, Vanity Fair painted Mother Teresa as a lap dog to dictators all over the world. Labeled a “Tough-Minded Ideologue,” the portrait that emerged was that of a hypocritical cynic who curried favor with fat cats and tyrants.
1n 1999, Vanity Fair painted Pope Pius XII as an anti-Semite who helped Hitler come to power. Labeled “Hitler’s Pope,” the portrait that emerged was that of a war criminal who did nothing to help Jews during the Holocaust.
THOSE WHO DON’T SEEK TO PROMOTE BOGUS HISTORY, KNOW BETTER
The record shows that Cardinal O’Connor has done more to improve Catholic-Jewish relations than any American ever has. In 1984, soon after he became the New York Archbishop, he announced that the New York Archdiocese would care for, free of charge, any woman pregnant and in need who wished to take her baby to term. His Eminence presides over the largest private provider of care for AIDS patients and has steadfastly supported universal health care and organized labor.
The record shows that Mother Teresa was loved the world over for her indefatigable service to the poorest of the poor. Several times voted the “Most Admired Woman in the World,” she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, and was honored by both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government for her work. In the 1980s, she sought to have all convicts with AIDS released to her hospice where they could die with dignity. She also established the first hospice in Greenwich Village for those suffering with AIDS.
The record shows that Pope Pius XII did more to save Jews during the Holocaust than anyone else. Indeed, according to the Israeli scholar, Pinchas Lapide, Pius XII was responsible for “saving the lives of 860,000 Jews.” In 1963, when the attacks against Pius XII first surfaced, an official at the ADL, Joseph L. Lichten, came to his defense, noting that Pius XII “did everything humanly possible to save lives and alleviate suffering among the Jews.” This is why the head of the World Jewish Congress in 1945 gave Pius XII a gift that today would be worth more than a million dollars.
THERE IS NO DOUBT CONDÉ NAST HAS A PROBLEM WITH CATHOLICISM, IT WOULD BE MOST HELPFUL IF
VANITY FAIR EXPLAINED WHY
