The Vatican has rebuked Fr Peter Gumpel, one of the leading proponents of the beatification of Pope Pius XVI, after he suggested that Pope Benedict XVI had stalled the wartime pope’s cause after Jewish groups warned him it would irrevocably ruin Catholic-Jewish relations, writes Robert Mickens.

“The signing of decrees that pertain to causes of beatification are the exclusive competence of the Pope, who must be left completely free in his evaluations and his decisions,” said Fr Frederico Lombardi, director of the Holy See press office on 19 June.

“If the Pope thinks that more study and reflection on the cause of Pius XII is required, this position must be respected without interfering with unjustified and inopportune interventions,” Fr Lombardi said.