Papal trip to Holy Land prompts call for Holocaust Hero stories Foundation seeks testimonies of Jews saved by Catholics

(April23,209): In view of Pope Benedict XVI's upcoming visit to the Holy Land, the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation has launched a worldwide appeal for testimonies of Jews saved by Catholics during the Holocaust, the foundation explained in a statement: "During World War II, a great number of Catholic men and women in the European continent, risked their own lives to save the Jews persecuted by the Nazis. Only a fraction of these saviours were duly recognized. It said the mission of the foundation is to develop educational programs and public awareness campaigns, based on the values of solidarity and civic courage, ethical cornerstones of the saviours of the Holocaust. One of the organization's objectives is to unearth these stories of heroism and establish educational programs for the legacy of courage to be conveyed to younger generations. Thus, they launched the campaign to call for information, or evidence related to rescues led by Catholics during the Holocaust. This recent initiative coincides with the upcoming May 8-15 visit of Pope Benedict to Israel. The statement noted that it is "a way to celebrate the presence of the Pope in the Holy Land and the fraternal embrace between Catholics and Jews it symbolizes."