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Pope Francis announced on Monday (March 4th) that the secret archives of the Vatican on the pontificate of Pius XII (1939-1958) would be opened in March 2020. This could shed light on his role during the Second World War, a controversial subject. .
" I decided that the opening of the Vatican Archives for the pontificate of Pius XII would take place on March 2, 2020 ", the 81st anniversary of the election of Eugenio Pacelli to the papacy, said the pope receiving the archivists of the Holy See. " The Church is not afraid of history, " said François, recalling that Pius XII had found himself at the head of the Church " in one of the saddest and darkest moments of the twentieth century ."
" I accept this decision ... sure that the serious and objective historical research will be able to evaluate in its right light, with the appropriate critics, the moments of exaltation of this pope and, probably also the moments of serious difficulties. , tormented decisions, human and Christian prudence, "he added.
These decisions " may appear to some as a reluctance and were in fact attempts (...) to maintain, in times of deepest darkness and cruelty, the small flame of humanitarian initiatives, hidden but active diplomacy " assured the Argentine pontiff.
Trial in neutral
While his successors John XXIII (1958-1963), Paul VI (1963-1978) and John Paul II (1978-2005) were canonized, the beatification process of Pius XII, revived in 2009 by Benedict XVI , has since been stalled due to controversy over its role during the war.
Many researchers have been asking for years to consider why Pius XII has not intervened more against the Holocaust , an attitude that Jewish organizations denounce as a form of passive complicity. For many historians, he should have condemned the massacre of Jews much more firmly, but he did not do so for the sake of diplomatic caution and not to endanger Catholics in occupied Europe.