context of millennial Christian anti-Judaism, can one begin to appraise the Pope's wartime record. When armed force ruled well-nigh omnipotent, and morality was at its lowest ebb, Pius XII commanded none of the former and could only appeal to the latter, in confronting, with bare hands, the full might of evil. A sounding protest, which might turn out to be self-thwarting - or quiet, piecemeal rescue? Loud words - or prudent deeds? The dilemma must have been sheer agony, for which ever course he chose, horrible consequences were inevitable. Unable to cure the sickness of an entire civilization, and unwilling to bear the brunt of Hitler's fury, the Pope, unlike many far mightier than he, alleviated, relieved, retrieved, appealed, petitioned - and saved as best he could by his own lights. Who, but a prophet or a martyr could have done much more?. Lapide quoted approvingly Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s observation that "He who begins by loving Christianity better than truth will proceed by loving his own sect or church better than Christianity, and end by loving himself better than all." Jesus and Lapide In his dialogue with German reformed theologian Jürgen Moltmann, Lapide says: "On page 139 of his book The Church in the Power of the Spirit (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1977) it says: Through his crucifixion Christ has become the Saviour of the Gentiles. But in his parousia he will also manifest himself as Israel's Messiah. I find this sentence an acceptable formula of reconciliation." Moltmann's compelling response: "Christendom can gain salvation only together with Israel. The Christians will one day be asked, Where are your Jewish brothers and sisters? The church will one day be asked, Where have you left Israel? For the sake of the Jew Jesus there is no ultimate separation between church and Israel. For the sake of the gospel there is provisionally, before the eschatological future, also no fusion. But there is the communal way of the hoping ones." In their common declaration, Lapide and Moltmann acknowledge that the diverging paths of Christianity and Judaism may only be as consequential as the man-made barriers that hinder rapprochement. Both agree that Christianity and Judaism are pilgrim's paths to the same God. In another debate on the messianic connotations of Isaiah 53 with Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Lapide posits that the people of Israel collectively are the expiatory lamb of mankind; God visits