Vatican will open secret files on Pius XII, wartime pope who stayed silent during the Holocaust

March 2, 2020 will mark the 81^st anniversary of the election of Pius XII to the Papacy.

In his announcement, Pope Francis said the process "of inventory and preparation of substantial documentation" had begun more than a decade ago, in 2006, on the wishes of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. 

In an article published in Italian by the Vatican News, the official news website of the Vatican, the Pope said: said: "The church is not afraid of history, on the contrary, she loves it & would like to love it more and better, just as she loves God."

The article said: “Serious and objective historical research will be able to evaluate, in its proper light, with appropriate criticism, moments of exaltation of that Pontiff.”

It added: “Without doubt there were also moments of serious difficulties, of tormented decisions, of human and Christian prudence, which might seem like reticence to some.

"On the contrary there were hard-fought attempts to keep the flame of humanitarian initiatives, of hidden but active diplomacy, of hope in possible good openings of hearts, lit up in the periods of more intense darkness and cruelty.”