Editing Pope Pius XII (section)

==Cause for canonization==
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix = [[Venerable]]
|name             = Pius XII
|birth_date       = 2 March 1876
|death_date       = 9 October 1958 (aged 82)
|feast_day        = 
|venerated_in     = [[Catholic Church]]
|image            = Pio XII - Luis Fernández-Laguna 1958.jpg
|titles           = [[Pope]] and [[Confessor]]
|attributes       = [[Papal vestments]]<br />[[Papal tiara]]<br />[[Pectoral cross]]
|patronage        = }}
{{Main|Canonization of Pope Pius XII}}
Pope Pius XII's cause of canonization was opened on 18 November 1965 by [[Pope Paul VI]] during the final session of the [[Second Vatican Council]]. In May 2007, the congregation recommended that Pius XII should be declared [[Venerable]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0702592.htm|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20070612181832/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0702592.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 June 2007|title=CNS STORY: Sainthood congregation recommends Pope Pius XII be named venerable|publisher=Catholicnews.com|access-date=6 May 2009}}</ref> [[Pope Benedict XVI]] did so on 19 December 2009, simultaneously making the same declaration in regard to [[Pope John Paul II]].<ref name="Pitel"/>

For Venerable status, the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]] certifies the "[[heroic virtue]]s" of the candidate. Making Pius XII as Venerable met with various responses, most centered on the papal words and actions during World War II. Benedict's signature on the decree of heroic virtue was regarded by some as a public relations blunder, though acceptance of Pius XII as a saviour of Europe's Jews is regarded as 'proof of fidelity to the Church, the ''pope'' and the Tradition' by neoconservative Catholic groups.<ref>Paul O'Shea, A Cross too Heavy, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p. 2</ref> On the other hand, Rabbi [[Marvin Hier]], founder and dean at the [[Simon Wiesenthal Center]] said "there would be a great distortion of history" if Pius XII were canonized.<ref name="afp">AFP. 22 December 2009. "[https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hkzlifIdlOmb9wKRtm48d4OADI4g Wiesenthal Center shocked at pope Pius sainthood moves] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122135058/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hkzlifIdlOmb9wKRtm48d4OADI4g |date=22 November 2011 }}".</ref> Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence, the head of [[Great Synagogue (Sydney)|Sydney's Great Synagogue]], said: "How can one venerate a man who ... seemed to give his passive permission to the Nazis as the Jews were prised from his doorstep in Rome?"<ref name="maley">Jacqueline Maley. 24 December 2009. "[http://www.smh.com.au/national/rabbi-hits-out-at-popes-veneration-of-pius-xii-20091222-lbsy.html Rabbi hits out at Pope's Veneration of Pius XII]". ''Sydney Morning Herald''.</ref>

On 1 August 2013, an anonymous "source who works for the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]]" said [[Pope Francis]] was considering canonization without a miracle, "us[ing] the formula of ''scientia certa''".<ref>{{cite web|last = Gagliarducci|first = Andrea|title = St. Pius XII? Pope Francis Mulling It Over, Says Vatican Source| date=August 2013 |url = http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/st.-pius-xii-pope-francis-mulling-it-over-says-vatican-source|access-date = 2 August 2013}}</ref>

Pope Francis also announced his intention in January 2014 to open the [[Vatican Secret Archives]] to scholars so that an evaluation of Pius' role in the war can be determined before canonization. This has been met with praise by the Jewish community. However, it was said that it could take up to a year to gather all the documents and then analyze them.<ref>{{cite web|last = Ben-zvi|first = Gidon|title = Pope May Open Holocaust Era Vatican Archives, Possibly Shedding Light on Pope Pius XII's Role|url = http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/01/19/pope-may-open-holocaust-era-vatican-archives-possibly-shedding-light-on-pope-pius-xii%e2%80%99s-role/|access-date = 22 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Report: Pope Francis to examine Pius' wartime record before deciding on sainthood| date=19 January 2014 |url = http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Report-Pope-Francis-to-examine-Pius-wartime-conduct-before-deciding-on-sainthood-338649|access-date = 22 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Report: Pope Secret Vatican archives on Pius not ready to be opened|url = http://www.jta.org/2014/01/20/news-opinion/world/report-secret-vatican-archives-on-pius-pontificate-not-ready-to-be-opened|access-date = 22 January 2014|date = 20 January 2014}}</ref>

On 26 May 2014, on his way back from the [[Holy Land]] to the [[Vatican City]], Pope Francis stated that the late pope would not be beatified because the cause has stalled. Pope Francis stated that he checked the progress of the cause for Pius XII and said that there were no miracles attributed to his intercession, which was the main reason that the cause had halted.<ref>{{cite web|title = Pope Francis: 'Pius XII's Cause for beatification has stalled'| work=Catholic Herald |url = http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2014/05/27/pope-francis-pius-xiis-beatification-has-stalled/|date= 27 May 2014|access-date = 28 May 2014}}</ref>

Father [[Peter Gumpel]] stated, in a 12 January 2016 documentary on the late pope, that there was consultation of the Vatican Secret Archives which were carried out in secret; in short, it means that there are no controversies surrounding the late pontiff that could impede the potential beatification.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.papapioxii.it/dalla-teche-rai-un-pio-xii-inatteso/|title=Dalla Teche Rai un Pio XII inatteso|publisher=Papa Pio XII|date=8 January 2016|access-date=10 January 2016}}</ref> In that same documentary, the cause's vice-postulator Marc Lindeijer stated that several miracles attributed to the late pope are reported to the postulation every year but the individuals related to the healings do not come forward to enact diocesan proceedings of investigation. Lindeijer explained that this was the reason that the cause has stalled in the past as none have come forward to assist the postulation in their investigations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.papapioxii.it/pio-xii-come-papa-francesco-amava-incontrare-la-gente/|title=Pio XII come Papa Francesco amava incontrare la gente|date=13 January 2016|publisher=Papa Pio XII|access-date=14 January 2016}}</ref>

===Potential miracle===
Reports from 2014 indicate a potential miracle from the United States attributed to the intercession of the late pope that was reported to the postulation. The miracle pertains to a male plagued with severe influenza and pneumonia that could have proven to be fatal; the individual was said to have been healed in full after a [[novena]] to Pius XII.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.romancatholicman.com/amazing-miracle-story-for-pope-pius-xii-canonization/#.VUvCoWeT6dd.mailto|title=Amazing Miracle Story for Pope Pius XII Canonization?|publisher=Roman Catholic Man|date=5 May 2015|access-date=6 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.papapioxii.it/questa-malattia-non-e-per-la-morte/|title=Questa malattia non è per la morte|date=14 May 2015 |publisher=Papa Pio XII|access-date=6 January 2016}}</ref>