Vatican City • Declaring that the Catholic Church “isn’t afraid of history,” Pope Francis said Monday he has decided to open up the Vatican archives on World War II-era Pope Pius XII, who has been criticized by Jews of staying silent on the Holocaust.
Francis told officials and personnel of the Vatican Secret Archives that the archive would be open to researchers starting March 2, 2020.
Pius was elected pontiff March 2, 1939, six months before World War II erupted in Europe. Pius died Oct. 9, 1958, at the Vatican summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome.