The myth of Pius XII as silently complicit during the Holocaust is EXTREMELY pervasive. It began with a play in the 1970s and spiraled out of control thanks to a book with the wildly misleading title "Hitler's Pope". The author of that book has since backed down on some of his claims.

 

Nevertheless, the myth persists and the BBC reiterated it during a report on Pope Francis' visit to Auschwitz this summer. The BBC has since looked into that report and published a correction saying that they "perpetuated a view which is at odds with the balance of evidence."

 

There is a case currently open considering Pius XII for sainthood, and a public vetting of his case could go a long way to clearing the name of a pope who saved countless people through his actions, even hiding many Roman Jews within the walls of the Vatican itself.

 

BBC admits it underestimated Church's opposition to Hitler

 

I'm thrilled to see retractions like this printed and hope that it's part of a larger process to clear the name of man smeared in modern history but who was, in fact, given awards and citations by Italian Jews immediately following WWII for his efforts.

I saw part of a program on History that actually came t the conclusion that The Pope was aware of and supported an assassination attempt on Hitler.