Liturgical reform is crucial in the ongoing renewal of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis said this to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on Thursday. After what has been labelled as a significant address, discussion took place against the backdrop of the dicastery’s annual plenary assembly. The assembly focused Read more
News reports regarding recently opened Vatican archives confirm that Pope Pius XII knew about the Holocaust as early as 1942. That is no surprise. The Vatican had extensive contacts across Europe. But such revelations about the tragic relationship between Catholics and Jews reminded me of an uncomfortable episode early in my time as editor of Read more
Newly discovered documents at Vatican City’s Pontifical Biblical Institute may shed some light on what happened to many Roman Jews during the Nazi occupation in WW2. The documents contain the names of 3,200 Jews whose lives Catholics protected during the occupation. Rome’s Jewish community organisation has verified the listed Jews’ identities. Researchers from the Pontifical Read more
Pope Francis has ordered the online publication of 170 volumes of its Jewish files from the recently opened Pope Pius XII archives, the Vatican announced on Thursday, amid renewed debate about the legacy of its World War II-era pope. The documentation contains 2,700 files of requests for Vatican help from Jewish groups and families, many Read more
Catholics in Rome marked the 70th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption Sunday with a solemn Mass offered by Cardinal Mauro Piacenza. Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of the Virgin Mary formally as a dogma of the Catholic faith on Nov. 1, 1950. This invoked papal infallibility to proclaim in Read more
Pope Pius XII’s wartime archives will be opened, the Vatican has announced. This will enable scholars to probe accusations that Pius turned a blind eye to the Holocaust. They will find he helped Jews behind the scenes, Holy See officials say. “I don’t think you will find a smoking gun,” Father Norbert Hofmann, the top Read more
Whatever else Pope Francis’s decision Monday to open the archives from the pontificate of Pius XII in 2020 may mean, there’s one preliminary conclusion that seems take-it-to-the-bank, no-doubt-about-it, slam-dunk certain. Here it is: Opening the archives will not – indeed, by definition, cannot – settle the historical controversy about Pius XII and his alleged silence Read more
Pope Francis says the Vatican archives on Holocaust-era Pope Pius XII will be opened next year. Pius’s role – helping or ignoring the plight of Jews during the holocaust – has been much debated. On the one hand, he has often been criticised by Jews for his apparent silence during the holocaust. On the other, Read more
Some of the Vatican wartime archives will soon be available free of charge online. However, the documents won’t include material directly relating to Pius XII. Pope Pius XII’s attitude and behaviour towards the Holocaust has often been criticised. Read more
One key to understanding how Pius XII responded to the Holocaust – both his hesitation to name both murderers and victims and his efforts to save as many lives as possible – is the Vatican’s diplomacy during World War I when Benedict XV (1914-22) unsuccessfully attempted to save the Armenians during the genocide of 1915-18 Read more