VATICAN CITY
Scotsman
by ALLAN HALL IN BERLIN
Updated on the 01 December 2014
JEWISH groups worldwide hope to learn soon the extent of papal collaboration with Hitler during the Holocaust, when the Vatican archives – sealed since the time of Pope Pius XII – are opened.
Pius has been branded “Hitler’s Pope”, who did not do enough to try to save the doomed Jews of Europe.
After the war “rat lines” assisting top Nazi war criminals to escape to South America were set up in Rome by Bishop Hudal, a German who critics say acted with papal approval.
Now current Pope Francis has reiterated his position on opening secret Vatican archives to researchers.
In an extensive interview with the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronot, Francis said there was “an agreement between the Vatican and Italy from 1929 that prevents us from opening the archives to researchers at this point in time. But because of the time that has passed since World War Two, I see no problem with opening the archives the moment we sort out the legal and bureaucratic matters”.
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