.- The Holy See announced today that documents that had only been available in hard-copy in libraries are now available online through the Vatican's website. The new records "represent a documentary resource of inestimable value that is now at the disposal of scholars and all interested persons," the Vatican said.
The official "Acts of the Holy See" from 1865 to 2007, taken from the Actae Sanctae Sedis and Acta Apostolicae Sedis collections are accessible in Adobe Acrobat format (pdf), as well as the twelve-volume set of the Acts and Documents of the Holy See Relative to the Second World War, ordered by Pope Paul VI and edited by four Jesuit historians.
Access to the resources is free of charge.
According to a Vatican communique, the offering of the collection to the public "is a great contribution to research and information on the history and activities of the Holy See."
The texts can be accessed at www.vatican.va, the official website of the Holy See, in the "Resource Library" section or directly from the home page of the English site by clicking on the icon under that of the "Letter to the Catholics of Ireland."
