VATICAN CITY (CNS): Catholic and Jewish scholars appointed to study World War II archival material published by the Vatican have suspended their work because of lack of access to some documents.
In a July 20 letter, the scholars said that in order to continue working together they would need ‘access in some reasonable manner to additional archival material’, which the Vatican has said is not possible at present.
The letter was sent to Cardinal Walter Kasper, who is president of the Vatican’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, and signed by the five members of the historical commission.
The scholars, chosen by the commission and by the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultation, began working in 1999 amid questions about the actions of Pope Pius XII and Vatican officials during World War II, particularly in the face of the Nazi genocide of the Jews.
In a preliminary report given to the Vatican last October, the scholars said the 11 volumes of archival material published by the Vatican leave unanswered many important questions about Pope Pius and the Holocaust.
Cardinal Kasper said: ‘The Vatican archives are accessible only (up) until 1923. Recently I was informed by the competent authorities that access to the Vatican archives after that date is not possible at present for technical reasons.’
