Catholic Church

===20th century===
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[[File:Members of the Royal 22e Regiment in audience with Pope Pius XII.jpg|thumb|Members of the Canadian Army's [[Royal 22nd Regiment]] in audience with [[Pope Pius XII]] on 4 July 1944, following the [[Battle of Anzio]], which liberated Rome from [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] and the [[Italian Social Republic|Italian fascist]] occupation during [[World War II]]]]
[[File:Second Vatican Council by Lothar Wolleh 003.jpg|thumb|Bishops listen during the [[Second Vatican Council]] in the early 1960s]]
[[File:President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan meet with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican Library.jpg|thumb|[[Pope John Paul II]] and then U.S. president [[Ronald Reagan]] (pictured with his wife [[Nancy Reagan|Nancy]]) meeting in June 1982; both Pope John Paul II and Reagan were credited with contributing to the [[Revolutions of 1989]], which led to the fall of communism and the end of the [[Cold War]] two years later, in 1991.]]
During the 20th century, the church's global reach continued to grow, despite the rise of anti-Catholic authoritarian regimes and the collapse of European Empires, accompanied by a general decline in religious observance in the West. Under Popes [[Benedict XV]], and [[Pius XII]], the [[Holy See]] sought to maintain public neutrality through the World Wars, acting as peace broker and delivering aid to the victims of the conflicts. In the 1960s, [[Pope John XXIII]] convened the [[Second Vatican Council]], which ushered in radical change to church ritual and practice, and in the later 20th century, the long reign of [[Pope John Paul II]] contributed to the [[fall of communism]] in Europe, and a new public and international role for the papacy.<ref>Geoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011</ref><ref name="communist">{{cite news|title=Pope Stared Down Communism in Homeland – and Won|publisher=CBC News|date=April 2005|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/obit/pope/communism_homeland.html|access-date=31 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223141702/http://www.cbc.ca/news/obit/pope/communism_homeland.html|archive-date=23 December 2007}}</ref><!-- The following sentence is needed for neutral coverage of several notable controversies, as well as to summarize significant content within the article. Please do not remove without a discussion on the talk page. -->
From the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been [[Criticism of the Catholic Church|criticized]] for its doctrines on [[Catholic teachings on sexual morality|sexuality]], its inability to [[Catholic Church doctrine on the ordination of women|ordain women]], and its handling of [[Catholic Church sexual abuse cases|sexual abuse cases]].
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Pope [[Pius X]] (1903–1914) renewed the independence of papal office by abolishing the veto of Catholic powers in papal elections, and his successors [[Benedict XV]] (1914–1922) and [[Pius XI]] (1922–1939) concluded the modern independence of the Vatican State within Italy.<ref>''Lives of the Popes''; Michael J Walsh, Universal International; 1998; p. 239, p.241</ref> Benedict XV was elected at the outbreak of the [[First World War]]. He attempted to mediate between the powers and established a Vatican relief office, to assist victims of the war and reunite families.<ref name="Popes p.240">''Lives of the Popes''; Michael J Walsh, Universal International; 1998; p.240</ref> The interwar [[Pope Pius XI]] modernized the papacy, appointing 40 indigenous bishops and concluding fifteen concordats, including the [[Lateran Treaty]] with Italy which founded the [[Vatican City State]].<ref>''Lives of the Popes''; Michael J Walsh, Universal International; 1998; p.241-2</ref>

His successor [[Pope Pius XII]] led the Catholic Church through the [[Second World War]] and early [[Cold War]]. Like his predecessors, Pius XII sought to publicly maintain Vatican neutrality in the War, and established aid networks to help victims, but he secretly [[Pope Pius XII and the German Resistance|assisted the anti-Hitler resistance]] and shared intelligence with the Allies.<ref name="Popes p.240"/> His first encyclical ''[[Summi Pontificatus]]'' (1939) expressed dismay at the [[1939 Invasion of Poland]] and reiterated Catholic teaching against racism.<ref name="Cook983">Cook, p. 983</ref> He expressed concern against race killings [[Pope Pius XII's 1942 Christmas address|on Vatican Radio]], and intervened diplomatically to attempt to block Nazi deportations of Jews in various countries from 1942 to 1944. But the Pope's insistence on public neutrality and diplomatic language has become a source of much criticism and debate.<ref>[https://spectator.org/46578_hitlers-pope/ Hitler's Pope?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102174409/https://spectator.org/46578_hitlers-pope/ |date=2 November 2022 }}; Martin Gilbert; The American Spectator; 18 August 2006</ref> Nevertheless, in every country under German occupation, priests played a major part in rescuing Jews.<ref>Gilbert, Martin (2004). The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust. Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 978-1-4299-0036-2, p 299</ref> Israeli historian [[Pinchas Lapide]] estimated that [[Rescue of Jews by Catholics during the Holocaust|Catholic rescue of Jews]] amounted to somewhere between 700,000 and 860,000 people.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lapomarda |first=Vincent A. |title=The Jesuits and the Third Reich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5mO7AAAACAAJ&pg=PA3 |year=2005 |publisher=E. Mellen Press |isbn=978-0-7734-6265-6 |page=3}}</ref>

The [[Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church in Germany|Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church]] was at its most intense [[Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church in Poland|in Poland]], and [[Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany|Catholic resistance to Nazism]] took various forms. Some 2,579 Catholic clergy were sent to the [[Priest Barracks of Dachau|Priest Barracks]] of [[Dachau Concentration Camp]], including 400 Germans.<ref>Ian Kershaw; Hitler a Biography; 2008 Edn; W.W. Norton & Company; London; pp. 210–11</ref><ref>Berben, Paul (1975). Dachau, 1933–1945: the official history. Norfolk Press. ISBN 978-0-85211-009-6, pp276-277</ref> Thousands of priests, nuns and brothers were imprisoned, taken to a concentration camp, tortured and murdered, including Saints [[Maximilian Kolbe]] and [[Edith Stein]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/holocaust/about/01/non_jews_persecution.asp |title=Non-Jewish Victims of Persecution in Germany |publisher=Yad Vashem |access-date=28 October 2010 |archive-date=29 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129015947/http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/holocaust/about/01/non_jews_persecution.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Erika Weinzierl: Kirchlicher Widerstand gegen den Nationalsozialismus. In: Themen der Zeitgeschichte und der Gegenwart. Vienna 2004, {{ISBN|3-8258-7549-0}}, pp 76.</ref> Catholics fought on both sides in the conflict. Catholic clergy played a leading role in the government of the fascist [[Slovak State]], which collaborated with the Nazis, copied their anti-Semitic policies, and helped them carry out the Holocaust in Slovakia. [[Jozef Tiso]], the President of the Slovak State and a Catholic priest, supported his government's deportation of Slovakian Jews to extermination camps.<ref>James Ward, ''Priest, Politician, Collaborator: Jozef Tiso and the Making of Fascist Slovakia'', Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2013, 202 – 245</ref> The Vatican protested against these Jewish deportations in Slovakia and in other Nazi puppet regimes including [[Vichy France]], Croatia, [[Bulgaria]], Italy and Hungary.<ref>Martin Gilbert; ''The Holocaust: The Jewish Tragedy''; Collins; London; 1986; pp. 202, 203, 206–207, 212–214, 451, 466.</ref><ref>Mark Mazower; ''Hitler's Empire – Nazi Rule in Occupied Europe''; Penguin; 2008; {{ISBN|978-0-7139-9681-4}}; p.395</ref>

Around 1943, [[Adolf Hitler]] planned the kidnapping of the Pope and his internment in Germany. He gave SS General Wolff a corresponding order to prepare for the action.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/pius-xii-wie-adolf-hitler-den-papst-entfuehren-lassen-wollte-a-1101877.html|title=Pius XII: Wie Adolf Hitler den Papst entführen lassen wollte|first=Katja|last=Iken|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=7 July 2016|access-date=5 February 2021|archive-date=13 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813232941/https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/pius-xii-wie-adolf-hitler-den-papst-entfuehren-lassen-wollte-a-1101877.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wienerzeitung.at/nachrichten/politik/welt/379790_Hitler-plante-Entfuehrung-Pius-XII..html|title=Hitler plante Entführung Pius' XII. – "Streng geheime" Berichte faschistischer Parteigrößen entdeckt|first=Wiener Zeitung|last=Online|website=Weltpolitik Nachrichten – Wiener Zeitung Online|date=9 September 1998|access-date=5 February 2021|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624175822/https://www.wienerzeitung.at/nachrichten/politik/welt/379790_Hitler-plante-Entfuehrung-Pius-XII..html|url-status=live}}</ref> While [[Pope Pius XII]] has been credited with helping to [[Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust|save hundreds of thousands of Jews]] during the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]],{{sfn|Bokenkotter|2004|p=192}}<ref name="Deák">Deák, p. 182</ref> the church has also been accused of having encouraged centuries of [[Christianity and antisemitism|antisemitism]] by its teachings<ref>{{cite news|last=Eakin|first=Emily|title=New Accusations Of a Vatican Role In Anti-Semitism; Battle Lines Were Drawn After Beatification of Pope Pius IX|work=The New York Times|date=1 September 2001|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/01/arts/new-accusations-vatican-role-anti-semitism-battle-lines-were-drawn-after.html|access-date=9 March 2008|archive-date=25 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125154923/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B04E3DF1130F932A3575AC0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref> and not doing enough to stop Nazi atrocities.<ref>Phayer (2000), pp. 50–57</ref> Many Nazi criminals escaped overseas after the Second World War, also because they had powerful supporters from the Vatican.<ref>{{cite web|last=Welle|first=Deutsche|title=The ratlines: What did the Vatican know about Nazi escape routes?|date=1 March 2020|url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-ratlines-what-did-the-vatican-know-about-nazi-escape-routes/a-52555068|access-date=7 February 2021|website=DW.COM|language=en-GB|archive-date=4 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004152242/https://www.dw.com/en/the-ratlines-what-did-the-vatican-know-about-nazi-escape-routes/a-52555068|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/article124863191/Fluchthilfe-fuer-Nazis-vom-Vatikan-und-US-Agenten.html|title=Rattenlinien: Fluchthilfe für Nazis – vom Vatikan und US-Agenten|first=Manuel|last=Opitz|newspaper=Die Welt|date=15 February 2014|access-date=5 February 2021|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127054736/https://www.welt.de/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/article124863191/Fluchthilfe-fuer-Nazis-vom-Vatikan-und-US-Agenten.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000114377607/ns-fluchthelfer-der-braune-bischof-und-die-rattenlinie|title=NS-Fluchthelfer: Der "braune Bischof" und die Rattenlinie|website=[[Der Standard]]|access-date=5 February 2021|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411062724/https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000114377607/ns-fluchthelfer-der-braune-bischof-und-die-rattenlinie|url-status=live}}</ref> The judgment of Pius XII is made more difficult by the sources, because the church archives for his tenure as nuncio, cardinal secretary of state and pope are in part closed or not yet processed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/judgment-day-vatican-ready-to-open-its-holocaust-files-to-the-world-drp9dgpc6|title=Judgment day: Vatican ready to open its Holocaust files to the world|first=Philip Willan|last=Rome|work=[[The Times]]|access-date=5 February 2021|archive-date=1 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201134510/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/judgment-day-vatican-ready-to-open-its-holocaust-files-to-the-world-drp9dgpc6|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Second Vatican Council]] (1962–1965) introduced the most significant changes to Catholic practices since the [[Council of Trent]], four centuries before.<ref>The Second Vatican Council Celebrating Its Achievements and the Future p. 86</ref> Initiated by [[Pope John XXIII]], this ecumenical council modernized the practices of the Catholic Church, allowing the Mass to be said in the [[vernacular]] (local language) and encouraging "fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html |title=Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium |publisher=Vatican.va |date=4 December 1963 |access-date=12 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080221180735/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html |archive-date=21 February 2008}}</ref> It intended to engage the church more closely with the present world (''[[aggiornamento]]''), which was described by its advocates as an "opening of the windows".<ref name="Duffy272">Duffy, pp. 270–276</ref> In addition to changes in the liturgy, it led to changes to the church's approach to [[Catholic Church and ecumenism|ecumenism]],<ref>Duffy, ''Saints and Sinners'' (1997), pp. 272, 274</ref> and a call to improved relations with non-Christian religions, especially Judaism, in its document ''[[Nostra aetate]]''.<ref name="NOSTRA AETATE">{{cite web|author=Pope Paul VI|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html|title=''Nostra aetate'': Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions|date=28 October 1965|access-date=16 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220214550/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html|archive-date=20 December 2008|quote=According to Section 4: "True, the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ; still, what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures."}}</ref>

The council, however, generated significant controversy in implementing its reforms: proponents of the "[[Spirit of Vatican II]]" such as Swiss theologian [[Hans Küng]] said that Vatican II had "not gone far enough" to change church policies.<ref>Bauckham, p. 373</ref> [[Traditionalist Catholics]], such as [[Archbishop]] [[Marcel Lefebvre]], however, strongly criticized the council, arguing that its liturgical reforms led "to the destruction of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the sacraments", among other issues.<ref>{{cite journal|last=O'Neel|first=Brian|url=http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2003/0304fea2.asp|title=Holier Than Thou: How Rejection of Vatican II Led Lefebvre into Schism|journal=This Rock|volume=14|issue=4|location=San Diego|publisher=Catholic Answers|date=3 April 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100510014807/http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2003/0304fea2.asp|archive-date=10 May 2010}}</ref> The teaching on the morality of [[Birth control|contraception]] also came under scrutiny; after a series of disagreements, ''[[Humanae vitae]]'' upheld the church's prohibition of all forms of contraception.<ref>{{cite book|last=May|first=John F.|year=2012|title=World Population Policies: Their Origin, Evolution, and Impact|publisher=Springer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UCQRxtm3Z34C&pg=PA202|isbn=978-94-007-2837-0|pages=202–203|access-date=31 March 2021|archive-date=10 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310112236/https://books.google.com/books?id=UCQRxtm3Z34C&pg=PA202#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Kinkel|first=R. John|year=2014|title=Papal Paralysis: How the Vatican Dealt with the AIDS Crisis|publisher=Lexington|url={{googlebooks|O9dkAgAAQBAJ|page=2|plainurl=y}}|isbn=978-0-7391-7684-9|page=2}}</ref><ref group="note">While ruling contraception to be prohibited, Pope Paul VI did, however, consider natural family planning methods to be morally permissible if used with just cause.</ref><ref name="HV_then_now">{{cite web|url=http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/germain-grisez-on-humanae-vitae-then-and-now|title=Germain Grisez on "Humanae Vitae", Then and Now: The Dust Still Hasn't Settled, But There Are Signs of Hope|publisher=Zenit: The World Seen from Rome|date=14 July 2003|access-date=16 November 2014|archive-date=29 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021843/http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/germain-grisez-on-humanae-vitae-then-and-now|url-status=live}}</ref>
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In 1978, Pope [[John Paul II]], formerly [[Archbishop of Kraków]] in the [[Polish People's Republic]], became the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. His 26 1/2-year [[pontificate]] was one of the longest in history, and was credited with hastening the fall of communism in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.co.uk/this-day-in-history/April-02.html;jsessionid=08931E713115A304B13BB1A6FA315A63.public1|title=2 April – This Day in History|publisher=History.co.uk|access-date=28 October 2010|archive-date=13 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513125001/http://www.history.co.uk/this-day-in-history/April-02.html;jsessionid=08931E713115A304B13BB1A6FA315A63.public1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Peter and Margaret Hebblethwaite and Peter Stanford|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/apr/02/guardianobituaries.catholicism|title=Obituary: Pope John Paul II|work=The Guardian|date=2 April 2005|access-date=28 October 2010|location=London|archive-date=29 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829041832/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/apr/02/guardianobituaries.catholicism|url-status=live}}</ref> John Paul II sought to evangelize an increasingly [[Secularism|secular world]]. He travelled more than any other pope, visiting 129 countries,<ref>{{cite book|last=Maxwell-Stuart|first=P.G.|year=2006|title=Chronicle of the Popes: Trying to Come Full Circle|location=London|publisher=Thames & Hudson|page=234|isbn=978-0-500-28608-1}}</ref> and used television and radio as means of spreading the church's teachings. He also emphasized the [[Dignity of labour|dignity of work]] and natural rights of labourers to have [[Living wage|fair wages]] and safe conditions in ''[[Laborem exercens]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=John Paul II|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae_en.html|title=Laborem exercens|publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana|date=15 May 1981|access-date=16 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027122758/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae_en.html|archive-date=27 October 2014}}</ref> He emphasized several church teachings, including moral exhortations against abortion, [[euthanasia]], and against widespread use of the death penalty, in ''[[Evangelium Vitae]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=John Paul II|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae_en.html|title=Evangelium Vitae|publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana|date=25 March 1995|access-date=16 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027122758/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae_en.html|archive-date=27 October 2014}}</ref>