Revisiting Pope Pius XII
Since the early 1960s, it has been fashionable to condemn Pope Pius XII (1939-1958) for keeping "silent" during the Holocaust and having "pro-Nazi" sympathies. In fact, the evidence shows that these allegations are false.
During World War II, the "silent" pope had a lot to say. His wartime encyclicals, speeches, and public letters fill seven volumes. At the time, the pope's words were widely seen as condemnations of Nazism. For example, on October 27, 1939, the New York-based Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that "the unqualified condemnation which Pope Pius XII heaped on totalitarian, racist, and materialist theories of government in his [first] encyclical Summi Pontificatus caused a profound stir."
In his 1939 Christmas address, Pius XII said, "Atrocities and the illegal use of violence even against noncombatants and refugees . . . cry out for the vengeance of God." In the same speech, the pope articulated his conditions for a "just and honorable peace," which included the protection of all "racial minorities."
The Nazis never believed Pope Pius XII was silent. A report dated January 22, 1943 by the Reich Central Security Office (RHSA) on the pope's explosive 1942 Christmas message reads, "In a manner never known before the pope has repudiated the National Socialist New European Order. . . . His speech is one long attack on everything we stand for." After quoting the pope's words, the report states, "Here he is virtually accusing the German people of injustice towards the Jews and makes himself the mouthpiece of the Jewish war criminals."
Although Pius XII publicly refused to take sides, he actively cooperated with the German Resistance. In early 1940, the pope acted as an intermediary between a group of German generals who wanted to overthrow Adolf Hitler and the British government. A 1944 report by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which was found in the National Archives a decade ago, reveals that the Resistance gave the pope knowledge of two other plots against Hitler.
Instead of sympathizing with Nazi Germany, Pius XII actually assisted the Soviet Union during the war. In response to diplomatic appeals made by President Franklin Roosevelt in the fall of 1941, the pope agreed that American Catholics could support the extension of military aid, through the Lend-Lease program, to the Soviet Union after it was invaded by the Nazis.
Throughout the war, the pope instructed his diplomatic representatives in many Axis and Nazi-occupied nations to help Jews who were being persecuted or in danger of being deported. The Jewish press even reported some of the Vatican's efforts. Consider a few headlines and articles: "Vatican Radio Denounces Nazi Acts in Poland"--Jewish Advocate (Boston), January 26, 1940; "Laval Spurns Pope--25,000 Jews in France Arrested for Deportation"--Canadian Jewish Chronicle, September 4, 1942; "Jewish Hostages in Rome: Vatican Protests"--Jewish Chronicle (London), October 29, 1943. In an editorial (July 27, 1944), the American Israelite in Cincinnati stated: "With Rome liberated, it has been determined, indeed, that 7,000 of Italy's 40,000 Jews owe their lives to the Vatican .... Placing these golden deeds alongside the intercession of Pope Pius XII with the regent of Hungary on behalf of Hungarian Jews, we feel an immeasurable degree of gratitude towards our Catholic brethren."
In February 2003, the Vatican began the process of opening its archives from the Nazi period. One of the very first documents that was found was a letter dated April 4, 1933 by Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, the Vatican Secretary of State and future Pius XII, to the papal nuncio in Germany. Pacelli instructed the nuncio to see what he could do to oppose Germany's anti-Semitic policies.
In the last few decades, Pius XII's other achievements have been forgotten as well. He encouraged scholars to use scientific methods to analyze biblical texts, agreed that Catholics could accept the theory of evolution, and encouraged women to enter public life. Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI have all credited Pius XII with laying the theological groundwork that made the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) possible.
The recent scholarly literature in Europe defending Pope Pius XII is extensive. The pope's defenders include Jewish authors such as Rabbi David Dalin and Sir Martin Gilbert. Contrary to what is often repeated in the secular media, the Vatican has made a strong persuasive case for beatifying Pius XII. Now it's up to the late pope's critics to prove his guilt rather than demanding that the Vatican to prove his innocence.
Dimitri Cavalli is an editor and writer in New York City.
