Pius XII files ready in 5 years, says Archives Director
(March 03, 2010) According to the prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives, the documents
from Pope Pius XII's pontificate might be catalogued and ready for researchers in
five years. There are some 16 million documents from the 1939-1958 pontificate. They
have generated great interest due to the controversies surrounding Pius XII's aid
to Jews during the Nazi era. Bishop Sergio Pagano, prefect of the Vatican Secret
Archives, gave the projected date for catalogue completion, when he opened an event
on the history of the Church held annually on the Canary Islands. In his talk on Monday,
the bishop gave an overview of the history of the Vatican Secret Archives, noting
how Pope Leo XIII opened it to researchers in 1881. Pope Paul VI was responsible for
the most recent expansion of the archives, now on two floors with 43,000 meters of
display stands. Between 60 and 70 researchers work there daily. Regarding the controversial
documents from Pope Pius XII's time, Bishop Pagano said the Holy See would be willing
to open the archives even tomorrow, since there is nothing to fear from them. But
the documents must still be numbered, registered and ordered. "When Pius XII's pontificate
is opened, matters will be defined more closely but nothing mysterious is expected,"
he said. "What will be seen is the great good that Pope Pius XII did in relation to
the Jews."