Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , addressed relations between the Catholic Church and the modern world. The council, through the Holy See, was formally opened under the pontificate of Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and was closed under Pope Paul VI on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December 1965.
Pope Pius XII
During World War II Pius saw his primary obligation as being to ensure the continuation the "Church visible" and its divine mission. Pius XII lobbied world leaders to prevent the outbreak of World War II and then expressed his dismay that war had come in his October 1939 "Summi Pontificatus" encyclical. He followed a strict public policy of Vatican neutrality for the duration of the conflict mirroring that of Pope Benedict XV during World War I, but preached against selfish nationalism and, through the use of diplomacy, sermons and radio broadcasts and the creation of the Vatican Information Service, worked to ameliorate the suffering of the victims of the war. He permitted local churches to assess and formulate responses to the Nazis, and instructed them to provide discreet aid to Jews.