PAVOL Gojdič, a Greek-Catholic bishop from Prešov, will receive the title of Righteous Among the Nations in memoriam. The ceremony will take place in Bratislava on January 27.
The commission for granting the title at Yad Vashem decided to grant the title to Gojdič (1888-1960) for help he provided to Jews during the Holocaust. His name will be engraved on a marble plaque in the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations.
Gojdič will be the first Catholic priest to be awarded.
The proposal to grant the title Righteous Among the Nations was made by Košice rabbi Jossi Steiner, the Pravda daily wrote.
Steiner thinks that Gojdič has deserved this honour for a long time.
Gojdič publicly protested against the deportation of Jews, Steiner told the daily. But he was not only active on the verbal level, but also personally helped the Jews. He baptised and hid them in a Greek-Catholic monastery. This way he rescued 27 Jews, at least. He also ordered priests in the Prešov Greek-Catholic eparchy to help those persecuted within their abilities.
"Some of them hesitated," said Steiner. "But Gojdič said that it is the duty of the priest to help those persecuted avoid transports and that this stems from the commandment to love your neighbour."
