The Ordeal of Pius XII
Once again, the reputation of the wartime pope, Pius XII, is under scrutiny and attack for his failure to condemn Nazi Germany. In fact, Pius XII was anti-Nazi, and hoped that Nazism could be destroyed without destroying Germany, thus preserving it as a bulwark against the Soviet Union.
ROME – Once again, the reputation of Pope Pius XII is under scrutiny and attack. Indeed, so searching are the questions and so inflamed are discussions about the Roman Catholic Church’s pontiff during World War II that the current pope, Benedict XVI, recently announced that he may postpone Pius’s beatification until the Vatican’s archives for the war years are opened and examined.
ROME – Once again, the reputation of Pope Pius XII is under scrutiny and attack. Indeed, so searching are the questions and so inflamed are discussions about the Roman Catholic Church’s pontiff during World War II that the current pope, Benedict XVI, recently announced that he may postpone Pius’s beatification until the Vatican’s archives for the war years are opened and examined.