Pope Benedict XVI has defended the Vatican against accusations of indifference towards the Nazis' annihilation of Europe's Jews in World War II.
During a visit to the main synagogue in Rome, the Pope said the Vatican helped Jews and "provided assistance, often in a hidden and discreet way".
The Pope conceded that "unfortunately, many remained indifferent", to the suffering of the Jews, six million of whom were killed in the Holocaust.
But he said "The Apostolic See (the Vatican) itself provided assistance, often in a hidden and discreet way."
His response came after an Jewish leader spoke of the painful "silence" of wartime Pope Pius XII.
The president of Rome's Jewish community Riccardo Pacifici, said: "the silence of Pius XII before the Shoah (Holocaust), still hurts because something should have been done".
"Maybe it would not have stopped the death trains, but it would have sent a signal, a word of extreme comfort, of human solidarity, towards those transported to the ovens of Auschwitz," he said.
The visit was Benedict's third to a Jewish temple since becoming pope in 2005. However, the BBC reports the issue is unlikely to go away.
