Pope Pius XII

After the Canonization of Pope St John XXIII and Pope St John Paul II are there more popes in the canonization queue? News is that Paul VI will be beatified in the fall and on the plane on the way back from the Holy Lands reporters asked about Pius XII. The wartime pope’s cause has “stalled” said Pope Francis. The UK’s Catholic Herald reports here.

Francis was asked whether he might declare Pope Pius XII, the wartime pontiff who some claim did not do enough to oppose Nazi atrocities against Jews, a Blessed.

“The Cause is open, I looked into it and no miracle has been found yet,” he said, according to Vatican Insider. “So the process has stalled. We have to respect the reality of this Cause. But there’s no miracle and at least one is required for beatification. I can’t think of whether I will beatify him or not.”

I know it’s not a popularity contest, but I have always like Pope Pius XII. He had a regal bearing about him that spoke of papal authority. Call me a snob, but the populist popes aren’t the ones who capture my imagination. I can see the good they do, and I’m glad they’re part of the papal history, but my own preference is for more distance and mysterious.

As for the calumnies against Pius XII and the lies that he was sympathetic to the Nazis…that is enough to make him my hero for the day. Here is a good assessment of Pius XII and information about him for your learning.