although pope pius xii did not publicly speak out against the murder of the jews during the holocaust, the vatican did take action to save many jews in italy from deportation, including sheltering several hundred jews in the catacombs of st. peter's basilica. in his christmas addresses of 1941 and 1942, the pontiff was forceful on the topic but did not mention the nazis by name. the pope encouraged the bishops to speak out against the nazi regime and to open the religious houses in their dioceses to hide jews. in recent years, the vatican has expressed its remorse for not speaking out with more authority against the genocide.