CULTURE Major historian to publish book on relations between Pius XII and Mussolini

By Pagine Ebraiche staff

David Kertzer, the most authoritative scholar about the relations between the Catholic Church and the Jews and winner of a Pulitzer Prize, is working on a book focused on the relations between Eugenio Pacelli, who became Pope with the name of Pius XII, and the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

Kertzer announced the new book speaking on an online event organized by Pagine Ebraiche.

The historian was one of the few scholars who had the opportunity to start examining the Vatican archives on Pius XII which were opened for the first at the beginning of March after decades, right before the coronavirus crisis forced the facility to close again.

In the interview, Kertzer, also spoke about the recent revelations of a group of colleagues of the University of Münster who revealed that according to the documents consulted, the Pope had full awareness of what was happening during the Shoah but did not convey the information to the American government when requested.

According to Kertzer, “it’s a bit premature to release public statements on the big scoops from the archives after only few days spent inside”. And in any case, in what has been said, “there is nothing that we didn’t already know.”