By condemning Nazism, would the Pope not be seen as condoning Nazism's arch-enemy, Communism? And if the Pope condemned Communism as well, would he not be seen as condemning the West's ally Russia?
It would seem that the Pope had a moral dilemma that would have perplexed even Solomon.

Roy Weston, Vancouver, Canada

Harold Helbock:"Pius was obligated to excommunicate the whole of the Nazi party.."

He wasn't. Also it would have had the same effect as denouncing the persecution of Jews and instead of calling him weak you would be calling him a fool. He knew that Hitler was a psycho, and that it wouldn't help.

Greg Lorriman, Leatherhead, UK

What would I have done? I would have played it safe, of course. However, if I had been pope, I would have lowered the boom on Hitler and all his cronies. After all, I would have been God's representative on earth, which is no mean thing. No, this fellow was a calculating coward.

Ted Schrey, Montreal, Canada

A catholic's view,

Nothing, not the fate of catholics or the Vatican or the clergy was of greater moral obligation than the obligation to condem with fury the nazi muderers. Pius was obligated to excommunicate the whole of the Nazi party and the SS. He was not an evil man but he was a weak man

Harold Helbock, Vacaville, USA

Israeli diplomat Pinchas Lapide’s assessment Pius XII’s wartime activities: "The Catholic Church under the pontificate of Pius XII was instrumental in saving lives of as many as 860,000 Jews from certain death at Nazi hands. This figure far exceeds those saved by all other Churches and rescue organizations combined."

Julianne Wiley, Johnson City, TN, USA

The question is not, would his speaking out have resulted in more deaths. The question is, did his silence result in more deaths, or did it, as he claimed, allow him to help more Jews?

Ann , NYC,

The Pope claims to be the Vicar of Christ. As such he had a duty to behave as Christ would have done. He did not. Jesus was no coward. He never passed the buck. Perhaps Mr. Pacelli could be made the Patron Saint of Cowards.

Stuart Greif, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Just a footnote from me; throughout history popes have excommunicated emperors and kings. It never helped much.
J. P. Ward

j.p.ward, Vlaardingen, NETHERLANDS

None of us was sitting on the papal throne in 1942, contemplating the response to any statement we might have made. A statement might have resulted in thousands more deaths. After the war, I'm sure he was troubled over the whole affair and determined the best course was to put it behind .

William, Bethany Beach, De, USA

What happened to the "advocatus diaboli"? When the Vatican investigated Mother Teresa's cause, they invited Chris Hitchens to testify precisely because he poured out hundreds of pages of vitriol against her.

Why put Mother Teresa through the wringer, and not Pope Pius XII.

Yamaneko, West Lafayette, IN, USA

This article is a subtle but poisionus distortion: it says nothing about the fact that when the Catholic Church DID speak out, in Holland, the Nazis in retailation rounded up and exterminated Jewish converts to Catholicism, such as the nun Edith Stein. So we know exactly what would have happened.

Hal G. P. Colebatch, Perth, Australia

- "some French men and women collaborated." It was the French police who rounded up foreign Jews. -Why is this issue only a matter of "Jewish sensitivities"? -MaCintyre has it both ways. He says we have no evidence of Pius's thinking and yet he also knows that he "suffered moral agonies."

Michael, Jerusalem,

In the end, I think, we have to agree with Mr. Macintyre's conclusions. Pope Pius was nowhere near a bad man; in many respects he was a good, even great man. But he is not a saint, because we demand the highest standards of morality and courage from our saints -- no matter how unjust or unfair.

Daryl Lim, Singapore, Singapore

In the end, I find it hard to disagree with Mr. Macintyre's conclusions. While Pope Pius was nowhere near a bad man, and was indeed, a good, even great, man, he is not a saint. This is because we demand the highest standards of morality and courage from saints -- no matter how unjust or unfair.

Daryl Lim, Singapore, Singapore

An immigrant to the U.S. from Eastern Europe, my grandmother sent 4 sons to fight in WWII; my best friend's grandma sent 8. Not far from here, in Pennsylvania, lived another good woman and good Catholic: she sent 12.

If Pius is a saint, what are these women?

What is "neutral"?

ES, Small, USA

The judgement as to whether Pius did enough soon enough is subjective, and subject to retroactive standards. Those who are biased against Catholics or religion will inevitably say not enough and not soon enough.

The benefit of the doubt should be given.

Greg Lorriman, Leatherhead, UK

The Roman Catholic church alone can decide upon beatification and sainthood.

This is done after a strict procedure allowing for detailed analysis of the individual and their actions,as well as a period of reflection and contemplation.

The researchers will have access to all relevant documents.

Manny Goldstein, London, UK

Hi,

Some say the Pope should have given more weight to "speak against Hitler" than the Christians being gas chambered!
If Osama as a mighty US president war against Iraq, they suggest the Pope to oppose Osama as he opposed Bush! They are blind to see the difference of terrorist and a states man!

Jose, Bangalore, India

No one questioned the help Pope Pius Xll provided Jews until the 1963 play promoted by communist sympathizers tried to tie him to hitler. Prior to that influential Jews like Golda Meir and Einstein praised the pope for all he did. Even the New York Times praised him as "A lone voice" of help.

Ramon Garcia, fair oaks, usa

Of course the Holocaust should have been condemned. So also should the napalming of Tokyo, the Dresden massacre, the Hamburg firestorm, Katyn forest. Would any of those condemnations been more effective than one directed at Hitler?

Augustin, Lausanne, Switzerland

If Pope Pius XII was so evil WHY did the Chief Rabbi of Rome convert to Cathoicism after the war and take the baptisimal name of "Eugenio" in honour of Pius XII - and WHY did the Jewish community of Rome hold a "funeral processions" for their formal Rabbi ? Was the Rabbi a "collaborator" as well ?

LMS, Roma, Italy

Chris from Dayton It was not "The Church" protesting the killing of the "Mentally Unfit etc." It was an open letter by the Bishop of Münster, Graf von Galen read from the pulpit, that stopped this practice

H W Hehmann, Fernandina Beach FL, usa

Had all the Catholics in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Poland, France and Germany been told by Pius to rise up (and in Spain's case enter the war on the Allied side, despite Franco's fascism) then history may have been both different and kinder to the Pope.

Ben, York,

It's a mortal sin to murder another human being Keith B of Wigan. The taking of life (and that includes abortion, so-called euthanasia and suicide) is a heinous act. It is not for us to end a human life. That is God's will.

Firenzio, London, UK

Sounds remarkably like a policy of appeasement to me, and we all know how Chamberlain went down in history for adopting such an attitude.

Aside from that, one can sum up why the Catholic Church should never have opted for neutrality in four simple words, taken from the Bible, "Thou shalt not kill"!

Alex, London,

All the usual and often cheap arguments come out of the woodwork. The current pope did not voluntarily join the Hitler Jugend, so that's just an ignorant argument. Pope Pius XII did indeed rescue Jews, as I have Jewish ancestors who were actually saved by hiding in an Italian monastery. Yes: saint!

dennis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

As a 'moral leader' on the world stage Pius XII's duty ought to have been obvious to him. He should have set an example and spoken out against the Holocaust. He would then have had to take the consequences, no doubt, but he would have set a moral lead - like the Catholic martyrs of history.

Peter Preston, London, England

A coward and (effectively) a villain. If this passes for saintliness, my view of the Catholic church sinks even lower. I'm with John Cornwell on this.

'The Pope cannot speak' - what power, what bravery!

David, Manchester, UK

I thought the driver for beatification was that the candidate had done something outstandingly marvellous. It seems here that Pius will pass the test unless it can be proved beyond reasonable doubt that he was a war criminal. This seems to be setting the bar quite low.

Andrew Forbes, Thames Ditton, Surrey

I saw a TV documentary about the Nazis' systematic murder of mentally disabled children labeled as "unfit".The Catholic Church strongly protested, saying that all life was sacred. The Nazis backed down and the murders stopped. Pius could have spoken out. I believe it would have saved Jewish lives.

Chris, Dayton, USA

Just checking: Is the standard for sainthood that historians and other men consider a person to have lived a "good" life free of disastrous and condemnable mistakes? Or is it that that, as evidenced by supposed "miracles", it appears to the Church that God has had mercy on his soul in Heaven?

Matt, Denver, USA

Why did so many Jewish leaders praise PIus after the war? No less than Albert Einstien, Golda Meier and others. The New York Times in its Christmas editorial 1942 praised Pius. Please read comments from contemporary sources to learn the truth.

Anne Kahn, New York City,

Wow Keith, you're a scary man!

DAve T, London,

Whether Pius XII is cannonized in the near future or later is not relavant. Immediately upon the death of Pius XII, Padre Pio had a vision of Pope Pius rejoicing with the saints in heaven. He is in heaven, as are many uncannonized saints.

James, Denver, USA

Shame that the Vatican's keeping the archives closed to prevent people investigating him.

Hugh, London,

But surely one of the reasons for his silence was the increase in persecution that occurred after publication of "With Burning Sorrow" lamenting the breaking of the Concordat? The decision for silence was a prudential judgement based on past experience.

Elizabeth, Glen Ridge, United States

Why is "irresponsibility a part of true courage"? That is just an assertion. It is easy to think of countless instances where irresponsibility is just selfish and nothing to do with courage at all.

Peter, Maidstone,

The conduct of Pius XII after the war is also relevant. He stymied Jewish attempts to reclaim Jewish orphans who were in Catholic hands after the war. He approved Vatican help to Nazis fleeing to South America. And he tried to prevent the establishment of the State of Israel, on theological grounds.

Ben, San Francisco, USA

Pius XII was consistent in his beliefs & actions.
His codification of Canon Law put the needs of the Church before abused children. His German diplomacy put Communist evil before Genocide. Mother and Child put theology before life. A saintly Holy Father would have put his flock first - so no saint.

Tom Kernan, Camberley, England

Why should it matter if people are killed or die? They go to a better place don't they? death is only momentary and then they are in heaven. People should remember this worldly life counts for nothing in the eyes of God.

keith b, Wigan, uk

This sounds like Roman Catholic white-washing eg you fail to mention the concordat & the role of the church in Hitler 's rise to power. I've read Cornwell's book & checked the sources. I can't see there's anyway Pacelli could be regarded as a saint. But present pope is ex-Hitler Youth so ......

Stanley, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil