The papacy is an institution that matters, whether or not one is a religious believer. The succession of the popes, all 262 of them, is the world’s most ancient dynasty. The Roman Empire was young when the popes first emerged on the stage of history, and the earliest references to them, in the late second century, already claim for the bishop of Rome a status greater than tha (...)
Article
The Diplomat
The Tragic Silence of Pius XII
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Pope Pius XII's refusal to walk the few blocks to the train station [with a half dozen Swiss Guards?] to prevent the deportation of Rome's Jews will always remain as the mark of his failure as a Christian witness. If he knew so much about Germany and German discipline, he must have also have known there was no German authority in Italy that would have acted against him until the telegrams went back and forth to Berlin. Even a 'show' would have preserved the Jews for a time and the papacy and his name in history.