The documents studied by the foundation are under the control of the Jesuits. Krupp said the Vatican archives are sealed because canon law requires cataloguing to be completed, though the process has been accelerated by papal order.
However, the archives of the papacy of Pope Pius XI have been completed and contain much information relevant to the work his successor did until 1939.
“Of the critics who have accused Pius XII, nobody has come to the Vatican archives to see what was open until 1939, which represents a great percentage of his public life.”
Krupp said that German historian Michael Hesemann has been investigating the open archives. Each time he enters the archive, Krupp said, he comes out with an “astounding” document about Pius XII fighting anti-Semitism or saving Jewish lives.
“This information is so readily available, but nobody has gone to look,” he said, saying historians and critics of Pius XII’s pontificate do not have to wait for the sealed archives to open when they have “so much material they can look at.”
“That’s the disappointing part.”
Krupp told CNA that PTWF’s purpose is to address non-theological obstacles between religions, and allegations surrounding Pope Pius XII have been “one of greatest obstacles.”
“I put in two years of investigation before deciding to take this project on,” he said. He advised people to go to the archives of the New York Times or the Palestinian Post and search on the keywords “Pope” and “Jews” from 1939 to 1958.
“You will not find one negative article about this man,” he said, speaking of Pius XII. “If he was such an evil ‘Hitler’s Pope,’ you would find so much negativity.
“This man hated Hitler, despised him, and Hitler felt the same way about him.
“A final solution was planned for the Catholics as well as the Jews and the Vatican knew about this, he said, pointing to recent revelations about the Vatican’s plans to set up a papacy-in-exile in Portugal in the event of Pope Pius XII’s detention by the Nazis.
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The evidence, he said, was “against every belief that Pius was anti-Semitic” and caused him to change his mind.
“I was angered because I grew up hating him. This discovery was a personal affront to me because I trust historians to report history correctly. When a historian makes a mistake like this, it’s like a moral sin,” Krupp told CNA.
“This man was actually the greatest hero of World War II. He saved more Jews than any other religious leaders combined.
“Even under threat of being kidnapped and killed, he tried to stop the arrest of Roman Jews. He managed to save all Jews of Rome except 1,000. In one day he hid 6,000 Jews, supported and fed them.
“This black legend will end,” Krupp continued, saying the documents would provide a “flood” of new information that will create an “absolute 180 degree turn” in the Pope’s reputation among his detractors.
“There are too many anti-Semites already. We don’t need to invent anti-Semites where none exist.”