Pope establishes commission to study archives about Pope Pius XII

Published: 2007-12-19

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has established a commission to study new archival material about the papacy of Pope Pius XII and to examine how his possible beatification would impact Catholic-Jewish relations, an Italian newspaper reported. The commission "must analyze every possible repercussion, including diplomatic ones, of the beatification," reported Andrea Tornielli in the Dec. 18 edition of Il Giornale. Tornielli, a reporter for the paper, also is the author of the 2007 book, "Pius XII, Eugenio Pacelli: A Man on the Throne of Peter." Jesuit Father Peter Gumpel, the official charged with shepherding Pope Pius' sainthood cause through its Vatican process, told Catholic News Service Dec. 19 that the commission's work "has nothing to do with the merits of the cause; it is a diplomatic matter."

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