NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      JERUSALEM (CWNews.com) - Officials of Israel's national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust sent a demand on Monday to the Polish government to remove crosses placed at the Auschwitz concentration camp by Catholic groups who object to the removal of Christian symbols from the site.

      The Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial issued a statement demanding the removal of 50 crosses placed at the site, calling it a "provocative act." The crosses were erected last week by a Catholic workers' group. The memorial said the crosses violate an international agreement that no religious, ideological, or political symbols would be erected at the former Nazi death camps where 1.5 million people were murdered, most of them Jews, but also including Polish Catholics, Russians, and Gypsies.

      "It was agreed that a tombstone would not be erected on the site and that only a museum for educational purposes would be allowed to remain there," the statement said. "The placing of the crosses, after special efforts have been made to reduce tensions, may aggravate the situation and prevent further dialogue between the sides about the future of the site."