To understand Pope Pius XII during the war, don't look to his silence, look to his deeds

Keeping the Nazis at bay with his silence, Pope Pius XII saved thousands of Jews.

Historians have savaged Pope Pius XII for his silence while Hitler rounded up the Jews of Europe and murdered them. However, Pope Francis has come to the pontiff's aid, pointing out that the wartime pope did as much as he could do to save Jews from the clutches of the Nazis.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- Pope Pius XII had the misfortune of serving as Pope under the rule of Mussolini and the domination of Adolf Hitler over Europe. The Holocaust occurred during his pontificate.

As Pope, Pius XII has a unique platform from which to speak and condemn the atrocities around him. Yet, he was notably silent during the war. His silence has earned him heaps of criticism and scorn from people who believe his condemnation of the evil in Europe could have saved lives.

However, the criticisms ignore two points. First, Pope Pius XII had an obligation to protect Catholics living in Europe. Had he spoken out and made enemies with the Nazis in Germany and Fascists in Italy, not only could he, himself become a target, but Catholics across Europe as well. Catholicism was already regarded with suspicion by these powers, and condemnation would have given them the casus belli to round up even more Catholics. Some Catholics had already been persecuted by the regimes in Berlin and Rome.

The second point is that while Pope Pius XII was silent, his deeds tell of a different man. Pope Pius XII was responsible for saving thousands of Jews by issuing passports and taking risks to hide Jews himself. Speaking out could have endangered the people he was able to help; his silence probably saved the greatest number of people possible.

Pope Francis alluded to this during his visit to Auschwitz, saying "How many, beginning with Pius XII, took risks to hide Jews so that they wouldn't be killed so that they wouldn't be deported!"

Pope Pius XII also gave orders that clergy was to do what they could to rescue Jews from the Nazis. Many clergies paid the price for their efforts.

Pope Pius XII was a courageous pontiff who worked to save thousands of Jews from the Nazis. His reputation as a collaborator or a coward is undeserved. It is time for Catholics to know this and to understand.