Pope Benedict / Pope Pius XII News

[ConservativeOne]

Someone just brought the following to my attention - I’ve missed alot of news lately and don’t get to read newspapers. Has there been a news item about positive moves re Pope Benedict working on beatification of Pope Pius XII - and then NY Times reporting otherwise due to particular country’s influence? I’d rather not quote too much for fear this be incorrect - but has anyone heard?

 

[AlanF]

Google News Search results for “Pope Pius XII”:
news.google.co.uk/news?hl=en&um=1&resnum=4&nolr=1&q=Pope+Pius+XII

I believe Pope Benedict XVI is putting the beatification on hold untill all the files about him in the Secret Archives can be sorted out and read, which may take six years.

There are a few current threads about this in the Catholic News Forum.

Pope may reexamine Pius XII sainthood

Pope considering freeze on Pius XII sainthood?

Israeli rabbi opposes beatification of Nazi-era pope

There’s also German Church admits aiding Nazis which isn’t really about Pope Pius XII alone but it’s sort of related to Israeli rabbi opposes beatification of Nazi-era pope.

 

[HollyDolly]

Well,I read in today’s San Antonio Express News
the same thing you posted AlanF. The best way for Pope Benedict to silence the critics of the canonization of Pope Puis XII
IS TO OPEN TH ESECRET ARCHIVES UP to scholars so the question can be settled once and for all.That way there can be no doubt about Pius’s works on behalf of the jews and others.

 

[Harmony1988]

Well,I read in today’s San Antonio Express News
the same thing you posted AlanF. The best way for Pope Benedict to silence the critics of the canonization of Pope Puis XII
IS TO OPEN TH ESECRET ARCHIVES UP to scholars so the question can be settled once and for all.That way there can be no doubt about Pius’s works on behalf of the jews and others.

You don’t get it…there’s a policy that the archives aren’t opened until 75 years after the beginning of a pontificate, so that would mean 1939 + 75 = 2014

Whilst I’m sure Benedict can open it up earlier, he’s probably going to let things cool down a bit more I guess, there’s no rush.

 

[AlanF]

You don’t get it…there’s a policy that the archives aren’t opened until 75 years after the beginning of a pontificate, so that would mean 1939 + 75 = 2014

Whilst I’m sure Benedict can open it up earlier, he’s probably going to let things cool down a bit more I guess, there’s no rush.

Interesting, the news articles were giving the impression that it would take 6 years to catalogue it all and that’s why it wouldn’t be untill 2014 that the archives are opened.

From the Telegraph

But he was told that the secret archives for 1939-1945 contain around 16 million documents and the Vatican lacks the specialised staff to categorise them quickly.

Although demands that the archives be made available were “understandable and justifiable”, it would be unrealistic to expect the archives to be opened earlier than 2014.

“The prefect for the secret archive, Monsignor Sergio Pagano, recently stated that with the present workforce the estimated time frame is at least 6-7 years,” said a Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi.

“Of course, once the filing work is completed, since the secret archive is the archive of the Pope, the final decision on opening the archives will be up to the Holy Father”.