vatican agrees to release selected archives

The Vatican announced last week that it would release additional archives from the pontificate of Pope Pius XI, who held office from 1922 to 1939. According to the Associated Press, the material to be released may, or may not, include information regarding an encyclical, "Humani Generis Unitatas," which condemned racism and antisemitism but which Pius XI died before issuing. The Vatican has continued to resist releasing many important documents from the pontificate of his successor, Pius XII, notably those relating to the Pope's efforts (or lack thereof) on behalf of European Jewry during the Holocaust era. Continuing efforts to canonize Pius XII--whether on his own or as part of a deal to make both him and his more liberal successor, John XXIII, saints--suggest that the latter documents will not be released any time soon.