Foreign relations of Pope Pius XII

Between the loss of the Papal States in 1870 and the signing of the Lateran Treaty in 1929, the diplomatic recognition of the papacy had actually increased, with eighteen accredited members of the Vatican diplomatic corps in 1890, fourteen in 1914, and twenty-four in 1921. This did not represent international support for the papal position in the Roman Question, however, as these nations also recognized the unified Kingdom of Italy, whose diplomatic corps in Rome developed over a similar trajectory. However, several of these diplomats spent much of their time in other European capitals—either for personal reasons or because they served multiple embassies (Argentina, Estonian, Latvia, Liberia, Peru, and El Salvador), were merely sinecures (Belgium), or were unpaid (Honduras). At the time there were also twenty-three Vatican envoys without diplomatic status in their host state. ==List of diplomats==

A list of diplomats accredited to the Vatican published in December 1940 lists Diego von Bergen as the dean of the diplomatic corps, followed by thirteen Ambassadors and twenty three Ministers, with Myron Charles Taylor conspicuously in last place. "Nuncios" and "Ambassadors" were only exchanged between the Holy See and countries where the pope's representative ex officio was granted the title of dean of the diplomatic corps. In other countries, Pius XII was represented by an apostolic delegate or a ''chargé d'affaires'', constituting a lower level of diplomatic recognition (representing the ecclesiastical hierarchy of a country, not the government). An apostolic delegate was neither accredited to a host government, nor required their approval. A special 1948 Christmas Eve midnight Mass for diplomats celebrated by Pius XII was attended by 300 diplomatic personnel. In February 1949, there were thirty-nine accredited members of the Vatican diplomatic corps. Nuncios with Hitler and Joachim von Ribbentrop in postwar Germany , the Polish ambassador to the Vatican Apostolic delegates Apostolic visitor ''chargé d'affaires'' ==World War II==

, Mussolini's son-in-law, became Vatican ambassador in 1943. Some of Pius XII's nuncios in occupied Europe were forced to flee their nunciatures, including Clemente Micara in Belgium, internuncio Paolo Giobbe in The Netherlands, and Casimir Papée in Poland. The nuncio to Luxembourg was similarly "overrun by German troops". Micara and Giobbe eventually found their ways to Rome. These were supplemented by apostolic delegates in Albania, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Turkey, and the United States. High-ranking Nazi Ernst von Weizsäcker and Mussolini's son-in-law Galeazzo Ciano both became ambassadors to the Vatican in 1943; it was believed that von Weizsäcker's main job was to keep an eye on Ciano lest the pope assist Italy in negotiating a separate peace with the Allies. ==The Holocaust==

Morley's Vatican Diplomacy and the Jews during the Holocaust (KTAV, 1980) is a comprehensive country-by-country study of Vatican diplomacy, using primary sources from the nuncios themselves up to the Cardinal Secretary of State and Pius XII himself. Morley's study draws heavily on the ADSS vols. 1–9, supplemented by documents from the Centre de Documentation Juive Contemporaine (Paris), British Foreign Office, Public Records Office (London), Institute for Jewish Affairs (London), the Nuremberg Trials, the World Jewish Congress archives (New York), and Yad Vashem (Jerusalem). The central conclusion of Morley is as follows: :This study of the Vatican and Jewish sources has revealed little evidence that the nuncios manifested any consistent humanitarian concern about the sufferings of the Jews during the years 1939 to 1943. This research has indicated that the Vatican diplomats only rarely acted on behalf of the Jews as Jews, and this usually only for specific individuals. They sometimes had words of sympathy for the Jews, but little action followed from these words. However, Morley does find a multitude of examples of Vatican diplomats protesting against the effects of racial laws on Jews who converted to Catholicism before and during the Holocaust, as well as numerous interventions on their behalf. ==After World War II==

, a World War II hero, as ambassador but opposition from Protestant leaders forced the withdrawal of the nomination. Pius XII allowed Ernst von Weizsäcker, the former Nazi ambassador, to remain in Rome as a "guest" after Nazi Germany ceased to exist and he lost his status as an ambassador. Similar status was accorded to former Vichy France ambassador Léon Bérard, even after Pius XII received Jacques Maritain as French ambassador in 1945. Ken Harada, the Japanese ambassador, remained in the Vatican "on much the same basis", while the Holy See protested that it had not yet received "official notification" from Gen. Douglas MacArthur that it should sever relations. As he was no longer accredited to the Vatican, Harada was not allowed to participate in a New Year's Day 1946 event, although Pius XII granted him a separate audience a few days later. Harada was received in a final farewell audience on January 25, 1946, before being repatriated, following MacArthur's order discontinuing Japan's diplomatic service. After World War II relations were strained or cut with several Communist Eastern European nations. For example, there was no Apostolic Nuncio to Poland between 1947 and 1989. After the resignation of US presidential envoy Myron Charles Taylor in 1950, Truman struggled to replace Taylor. American Protestant leaders opposed the continuation of the mission (including Truman's own pastor, Edward Pruden), and the Vatican wanted a full ambassador, not another "personal envoy". The appointment of General Mark Wayne Clark as United States Ambassador to the Holy See was withdrawn after a prolonged Senate fight. Clark had been the Allied Commander in Italy, known for the bombing of the historic abbey of Monte Cassino but also his triumphant entry into Rome in 1944. ==Primary sources==

: first ambassador from Japan to the Holy See As of 2002, no complete set of diplomatic papers has been published by any country with diplomatic relations with the Holy See during Pius XII's pontificate, although partial sets have been published in various works. However, the outrage over Rolf Hochhuth's 1963 play The Deputy prompted Pope Paul VI in 1964 to authorize the opening of Pius XII's diplomatic papers prior to the usual seventy-five year rule. Four Jesuit Priests were allowed into the archives and eleven volumes, Actes et documents du Saint Siège relatifs à la Seconde Guerre Mondiale (ADSS), were published between 1965 and 1981, covering only the wartime years. Others have had their wartime papers published, including German ambassador Ernst von Weizsäcker and British Minister D'Arcy Osborne. The documents are the subject of a 2006 monograph by Dr. Suzanne Brown-Fleming, a fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. ==Footnotes==