Prime Minister Gyurcsany, National Assembly Speaker Szili, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Ministers, Ambassador Foley, Ambassador Adman, Dr. Feldmajer, Mr. Zoltai, your excellencies, distinguished guests, friends:

I am honored to be here and to join the thousands who participated in today’s meaningful events. I also want to thank the Federation of Jewish Communities of Hungary for being the partner of the U.S. agency I chair, in placing a plaque honoring Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli here at the magnificent Dohany Street Synagogue complex.

Like so many people in Europe caught up in World War II, Monsignor Roncalli didn’t plan on playing an active role in history. Events swirled all around him, and finally overtook him, and in that moment, the monsignor faced a choice: Do I protect myself, my career, and my interests? Or do I do everything I can to save my fellow man?

So many chose to look away as millions were identified, rounded up, and eventually sent to their deaths.

In Germany, as Hitler rose to power, the judges, the doctors, the lawyers, the universities, the unions, and the guilds willingly expelled Jews from their midst when they were told to do so. Most nations around the world - including my own - refused to give sanctuary and most people did nothing.

But Monsignor Roncalli did not look away. From his post in Turkey, he undertook efforts to save the lives of Jews from Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Greece, Transnistria, France, Bulgaria, and elsewhere. He urged Church officials in these countries to issue forged papers and take other steps to obstruct Hitler’s final solution.

Monsignor Roncalli also wrote letters to Vatican leaders in Rome – impassioned letters that crackle with urgency even today – pleading with them to take actions across Europe to hide and protect Jews wherever possible, and to lend the Church’s important voice to those opposing the Nazi campaign of coordinated murder.

Monsignor Roncalli knew that by issuing false papers to Jews he was violating law, yet he continued to issue them. He knew that his actions imperiled his future in the Church, yet he would not stop. He did not follow the path of least resistance. He followed the path of courage. And for that, we honor him today.

Later, after the war ended, the greatness of the man was recognized, and he eventually was placed in a position to lead the Church. As Pope John the XXIII, he confronted the elements of anti-Semitism in official church theology and liturgy, and his initiative led to Nostra Aetate … a historic declaration that would remove the stigma that the Church once attached to the Jewish people, and forever improve relations between two great religions and between the Church and Jews.

Pope John’s actions during World War II serve as a real-life parable for all who face moral challenges in difficult times. Even today, Europe still struggles to face the truth of the Holocaust ... what occurred and where,... how many lives were taken, ... and who was responsible -- both directly and indirectly. As in Europe during the 1930’s and 1940’s, there is again a temptation to not get involved -- to let apartment buildings be constructed on top of Jewish cemeteries … to allow Nazi sympathizers and racists to be honored by governments and lead national political parties … to let others minimize or even deny that the Holocaust occurred.

Yet there are some who refuse to stay silent … who insist on protecting what Primo Levi called “the memory of the offense.”

In Hungary, and across Europe, there are many who refuse to forget. They are preserving sites of Jewish heritage and history … and taking down the symbols of European fascism … and erecting memorials where Jews were murdered. They do so not out of guilt, but out of a commitment to preserve history and to address an injustice.

We recognize that fear can cause inaction. But today, there is no Gestapo, there are no death camps or gulags, and most European nations are free and democratic. We can act without fear.

We know if mankind only had more people like Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, history may have been different. So let his heroism and courage motivate all of us to act when we are confronted with prejudice and intolerance. Because we know all too well, that if we do not, the forces of intolerance can destroy a society – and undermine the rights and freedoms we all cherish.

Thank you,