“But it doesn’t change the historical judgment” of Pius, “which remains harsh,” she said. The church’s history of involvement in the persecution of Jews long predates Pius and the massacres of the last century. For well over a millennium, Jews were subjected to forced conversion, expulsion, censorship, mass murder by roving Christian mobs and life in ghettos. Defenders of Pius XII, whose case for sainthood is still being evaluated, have long argued that he worked behind the scenes to help Jews. Other scholars say it will take years to plumb papers referring to Pius and paint a full picture of his papacy.

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Persons: Pius, Pope Paul VI, Jesus, Pope John Paul II, Pope Francis, Hitler, David Kertzer, Pius XII “, ”, ” Pius “, Pius XII, plumb Organizations: Times, Nazi, Brown University Locations: Israel, Rome, Vatican City