Pope Pius XII has been much maligned over the years for his so-
called ďsilenceĒ during World War II concerning the Jews and the
Holocaust, for along with the Catholic Church doing nothing to
help them. Sr. Margherita Marchione and others have shown this
to be false propaganda from enemies of the Catholic Church. In
Crusade of Charity, Marchioneís primary sources show that Pope
Pius XII and the Church did everything within their power trying
to prevent more killing and imprisonment of Jews or others. The
Pope instructed religious and clergy to hide or provide support
to Jews and others, and they were hidden in monasteries,
convents, seminaries, and other Church-related institutions.
This was more easily done around Rome since many of these were
part of the Vatican City State, which had extraterritorial
status according to the Lateran Treaty of 1939 that created the
Vatican City State. Still, outside of this area, Catholics - be
they clergy, religious or laity - hid many Jews and others from
the Nazis and their