Editing Pope Pius XII (section)

=== Opening of the Vatican Secret Archives ===
On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the [[Appointment of Catholic bishops|appointment]] of Pius XII as [[Diocese of Rome|Bishop of Rome]], [[Pope Francis]] announced during an audience for staff of the [[Vatican Secret Archives]] on 4 March 2019 that Vatican archival materials pertaining to Pius XII's pontificate would be accessible to scholars beginning on 2 March 2020.<ref>[https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-03/pope-francis-vatican-secret-archives-pius-xii.html ''Pope Francis: Pius XII archives to open next year''], Vatican News, 4 March 2019.</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/04/vatican-to-open-archives-on-controversial-wwii-pope-pius-xii| title = Vatican to unseal archives on controversial WWII pope| website = The Guardian| date = 4 March 2019}}</ref> While this announcement was welcome by researchers, much of it was clouded by the role of Pope Pius XII with regard to the Holocaust. However, archival research of this period was expected to inform a much broader shift within global Christianity, from Europe to the global South.<ref>[https://www.historiadomus.net/2019/03/10/the-shift-in-the-vatican-secret-archives''The Shift in the Vatican Secret Archives''], Historia Domus, 10 March 2019.</ref>

The Vatican archives have provided many millions of pages and it was expected to take many years to process the findings. As of May 2021, the study of the archive had been inconclusive.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morris |first=Julia |date=20 May 2021 |title=No 'smoking gun' yet in Pius XII archives, researchers say |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/no-smoking-gun-yet-pius-xii-archives-researchers-say}}</ref> In January 2022, historian [[Michael F. Feldkamp]] announced that he had discovered in the Vatican archives evidence that Pius XII had personally saved at least 15,000 Jews from extermination, and that he had sent a report on the Holocaust to the American government shortly after the [[Wannsee Conference]] of January 20, 1942, although they did not believe the pope.<ref>[https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2022-02/feldkamp-pope-pius-xii-holocaust-history-archives.html "Feldkamp: Pope Pius XII knew early about Holocaust and saved many Jews – Vatican News"]. February 2022.</ref>

In June 2022, [[David Kertzer]], one of the first historians to have analyzed the archives, published his book ''The Pope at War''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler |last=Kertzer |first=David I. |publisher=[[Random House Publishing Group]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-8129-8995-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AJTEAAAQBAJ}}</ref> Kertzer, with the support of thousands of unpublished documents, uncovered the existence of secret negotiations between Hitler and Pius XII already a few weeks after the end of the [[conclave]], promoted by Hitler himself with the intention of improving his relations with the Vatican. For his part, Pius XII concentrated his efforts on protecting and improving the situation of the Church in Germany in the face of the [[anti-Catholic]] policies of the Nazis, although no agreement was reached.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kertzer |first=David I. |date=31 May 2022 |title=The Pope's Secret Back Channel to Hitler |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/pope-pius-xii-negotiation-hitler-catholic-church/639435/ |access-date=16 September 2023 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>

In September 2023, ''[[Corriere della Sera]]'' published a newly discovered documentation from the Vatican Secret Archive showing that a German Jesuit had informed the Pope of the Holocaust.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carioti |first=Antonio |date=16 September 2023 |title=Papa Pio XII sapeva della Shoah: la prova in una lettera scritta nel 1942 da un gesuita tedesco |url=https://www.corriere.it/cultura/23_settembre_16/pio-xii-sapeva-shoah-prova-una-lettera-scritta-1942-un-gesuita-tedesco-380489dc-53fb-11ee-8884-717525326594.shtml |access-date=16 September 2023 |work=Corriere della Sera |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Winfield |first=Nicole |date=16 September 2023 |title=Letter showing Pope Pius XII had detailed information from German Jesuit about Nazi crimes revealed |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ap-vatican-jews-poland-nazi-b2412693.html |access-date=16 September 2023 |work=The Independent}}</ref>

The archives have also demonstrated that Pope Pius XII had knowledge of [[Marcial Maciel]]'s accusations of crimes, including sexual abuse of seminarians and drug abuse, before action was taken.<ref name="apnews.com">{{cite web | url=https://apnews.com/article/vatican-legion-pius-xii-abuse-91744e8054aa839647633e1d56372165 | title=Vatican's Pius XII archives shed light on another contentious chapter: The Legion of Christ scandal | work=[[Associated Press News]] | date=21 July 2024 }}</ref> The Vatican apparently knew of Maciel's crimes for 50 years.<ref name="apnews.com"/>