World Jewish News

Mormons baptize Holocaust victim Anne Frank posthumously, says report

Annelies Marie (Anne) Frank, a German-born Jew who perished in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, was allegedly baptized posthumously by Mormons on Saturday, the Huffington Post reported Tuesday.
According to the report, the baptism was conducted using a proxy, by a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Dominican Republic.
Whistleblower Helen Radkey, a former member of the church, told the Huffington Post that she discovered Frank's name on a database open only to Mormons, where the Jewish girl who died at age 15 was listed as "Completed" beside categories labeled "Baptism" and "Confirmation" with the date February 18, 2012. A screen shot of the alleged database sent by Radkey is linked to the Huffington Post report.
The Huffington Post described Radkey as "a Salt Lake City researcher who investigates such incidents, which violate a 2010 pact between the Mormon Church and Jewish leaders."
Jews are particularly offended by an attempt to alter the religion of Holocaust victims, who were murdered because of their religion, and the baptism of Holocaust survivors was supposed to have been barred by a 1995 agreement.
Mormons believe posthumous baptism by proxy allows deceased persons to receive the Gospel in the afterlife. The church believes departed souls can then accept or reject the baptismal rites and contends the offerings are not intended to offend anyone.
Other religions, including the Catholic church, have also publicly objected to the baptism of its members, and it's been widely reported that Mormon and GOP presidential nominee front-runner Mitt Romney's atheist father-in-law Edward Davies was posthumously baptized.
In addition, the parents of Holocaust survivor and Jewish rights advocate Simon Wiesenthal were posthumously baptized. Radkey found documentation of the baptism of the Wiesenthals two weeks ago while conducting regular checks of a church database. Jews have relied on the work of Radkey, a former Mormon, since 1999, although Mormon church officials have publicly questioned her motives for reviewing the database.
Last Tuesday Radkey told The Associated Press she periodically checks the database for the Wiesenthal name to gauge whether the latest Mormon efforts to screen the process were working.
Radkey's recent monitoring also turned up a record for Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel and several of his relatives.

Haaretz.com