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The Pope’s Secret War. Did Pius XII Take Part in the Plot to Kill Hitler?
Pius XII, accused after the war of pro-German sympathies, actually participated for many years in a plot to kill Hitler and mediated in secret negotiations between Admiral Canaris and the British!
The Vatican knows how to guard its secrets well. Until recently, only a few knew about the recording of papal audiences 80 years ago! Equipment for recording was installed in the Apostolic See, comparable to any intelligence agency. The Holy Father also had at his disposal telephones installed by Guglielmo Marconi, a radio transmitting station, and a shortwave link to the summer residence.
The Jesuits managed the radio and equipment, which was used daily to record the Pope’s speeches. Just before the outbreak of World War II, at the request of Pope Pius XII, they began recording his guests! The Pope feared that even reports of secret conversations with trusted collaborators could be falsified and used against the Church. For security reasons, he wanted to have hard evidence.
Times were tough. National Socialists ruled in Berlin. They didn’t hide that Catholics — besides Bolsheviks and Jews — were their greatest enemies. So when a few days after the…
