MOSCOW, may 11 — RIA Novosti. In the Vatican scandal due events 75 years ago. Historians are studying the archives that shed light on the activities of one of the most controversial popes — Pope Pius XII, who some demand to recognize the Holy Ghost, and the other is called “friend of Hitler”.
What are the new details found in declassified documents and what prevents researchers to get to the truth — in the material RIA Novosti.
about 400 thousand boxes of documents. And in every sensation. The Vatican decided to publish the archives from 1939 to 1958, when the “vicegerent of the Apostle Peter” was Pope Pius XII. For half a century about his acts argue far beyond the offices of historians.
“the Pope urged world leaders not to start a war,” said one.
“Pius XII excommunicated the Nazis against the Church,” retort others.
And although his pontificate actively studied for decades, is still not fully known, its role during the Second world war. That is why the world enthusiastically welcomed the decision of Pope Francis to declassify the archives of the period.
However, the pandemic coronavirus has broken plans. A few days after the Holy see admitted in the archives of historians, the smallest state in the world was closed for quarantine. From the moment specialists have studied only 180 boxes — a couple hundred thousand sheets of ten million. However, it was enough for a new wave of discussions about the role of Pius XII.
recently, researchers from the University of münster remembered about the documents, who forty years ago wanted to include in the 11-volume work devoted to the participation of the Vatican in the Holocaust. But at the last moment of the publication of these papers has prevented members of the Jesuit order. For the sake of the reputation of Pius XII.
After this from the Pope waited for active opposition to evil is obvious.
the Report was confirmed by the reports of own sources of the Vatican. So, the Greek Catholic Archbishop of Lviv Andrey Sheptytsky reported the killing of about 200 thousand Jews during the “frankly diabolical” the occupation of the Ukraine. Another informant denounced the “unthinkable massacre” in the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw.
this information to the Pope delivered the Vatican Secretariat of state, the analogue of the Ministry of foreign Affairs. The Minister urged Pius XII not to believe the information about the massacres.
“He told the Pope that Jews are “prone to exaggerate”, and “Easterners” — the so — called Greek Catholics in the Vatican “are not an example of honesty, as was recently proven by German researchers”. The document signed Della Aqua is a key for us. Paper concealed for many years — is clearly anti-Semitic document that sheds light on why Pius XII is not directly the OShave uidal Holocaust” — draws the attention of Hubert wolf.
a few months after the report of the Pope made perhaps the most discussed Christmas address to the congregation. He mentioned “the hundreds of thousands who without any fault and the only reason of their nationality or race, were destined to death or gradual extermination”. But he said these words casually, without mentioning neither the Germans nor the Jews.
to the Vatican was called European Jews for help. Although with this city-state in 1933 Hitler signed the first international Treaty.
the Controversial policy of Pope Pius XII trying to explain to historians. On the one hand, he knew about the mass murder of Jews and tried to help them. On the other — he never publicly condemned for that, Nazi Germany.
Historians are turning to the reports of 70 Vatican ambassadors, and correspondence of Pius XII with U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. Most of all in these papers researchers interested in the answers of the Pontiff.
the Role of Pope Pius XII in the Holocaust is not only interested in the Jewish community, but the Catholics themselves. With 60 years in the Vatican discusses the beatification of the Pontiff the recognition of the blessed. This, in turn, opens the way to his canonization.
the Beatification of the Roman Hierarch actively promoted by Pope Benedict XVI. According to one version, due for this he had obstructed the publication of archives. His successor at the Holy see — Pope Francis I, has removed documents marked “secret until October 2027”.
“the Beatification is a recognition of the personal Holiness of a person. But in the case of Pius is a very powerful political context. After the war, the attitude was different, despite evidence that he tried to protect Jews, for example, in the history of the surviving community of Rome. In addition, his predecessor Pius XI in 1937 called national socialism “a kind of vicious racial paganism, which hasn’t happened yet,” explains RIA Novosti historian of the Catholic Church Alexey Yudin.
However, the answer to the main question — why Pius XII did not openly condemn the Nazis, knowing the mass murder of Jews yet to come. Vatican city, temporarily closing access to the archives due pandemic and has not announced when historians go back in there.
