On Monday, Pope Francis announced a decision that promises to shed light on a controversial period of Vatican history: starting on March 2, 2020 — years ahead of schedule — the Vatican will let historians access sealed documents about Pope Pius XII, who led the Church during the Holocaust.

Eight decades after Pius XII was elevated to Pontiff on March 2, 1939, his legacy has become the subject of great debate. He has been portrayed as having not done enough to publicly condemn the Nazi genocide of Jewish people in Italy and throughout Europe, and his critics hope historians studying the archive will be able to figure out exactly what his role was in the Church’s approach to that issue. On the other hand, those who say Pius XII privately helped save Jews in other ways hope the new batch of unsealed documents will contain more evidence of this kind, especially anything that could bolster his case for sainthood.

“The church is not afraid of history,” Pope Francis said on Monday, while ac..

U.S. lawmakers have appealed to the Trump Administration to take action against “egregious human rights abuses” in western China, where it is believed that at least one million ethnic Uighur and other minority Muslims are being held in secretive internment camps.

In a letter addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs said Monday that the Administration had taken “no meaningful action” since the body sent a request in August calling for sanctions that would freeze the travel and assets of officials responsible for abuse.

“The United States must stand up for the oppressed and, at every opportunity, make clear to the Chinese government that the situation [in Xinjiang] is a priority for the U.S. Government,” the letter said.

The committee said it received a reply from the State Department in September pledging to look into the request, but that nothing had since been done and the global response to the crisis has to date been “insufficient.”

The..

A second minister from Justin Trudeau’s administration has resigned in the wake of an unfolding corruption scandal, dealing additional damage to the Canadian prime minister’s already slipping popularity.

Treasury Board President Jane Philpott announced her resignation on Monday, writing in a statement that she has been “considering the events that have shaken the federal government in recent weeks” and has made the decision to quit “after serious reflection.”

Trudeau’s government has been swept up in controversy since his former attorney general, Jody Wilson-Raybould, accused the administration of trying to stop a criminal case against Quebec-based firm SNC-Lavalin, one of the world’s largest engineering and construction companies.

The firm is facing corruption charges for allegedly paying C$48m (US$36m) worth of bribes in Libya in order to secure lucrative contracts, according to the BBC.

Trudeau and top aides have been accused of pursuing a months-long campaign to silence the tri..