Historical evidence prompted Yad Vashem to alter judgment on Pope Pius XII
January 11, 2013
A closed-door conference of historians, held in Jerusalem in March 2009, led to a reappraisal of the record of Pope Pius XII, reports Andrea Tornielli of La Stampa.
Shortly after the visit to Jerusalem by Pope Benedict XVI, the country’s Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, hosted the international conference to explore the historical record of the wartime papacy. Among the results were a new book on the subject, and a decision to change the caption on a photo of Pope Pius XII on display at Yad Vashem.
Vatican officials had complained about the accusatory tone of the photo caption. After hearing historians report on their research, Yad Vashem officials agreed to alter it.
The March 2009 conference heard reports that of roughly 750 religious houses in Rome during the time of World War II, at least 290 were actively involved in efforts to hide Jews from Nazi persecution, on orders from Pope Pius XII.
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