A Presentation of
the Santa Fe Distinguished Lecture Series and
the Santa Fe Jewish Film Festival.

The documentary Holy Silence tells the dramatic story of the Vatican’s actions – and inactions – during World War II and the years leading up to it. Featuring Oscar-nominated actor David Strathaim as the voice of President Franklin Roosevelt, the film reveals the different attitudes of Pope Pius XI and Pius XII toward the Jews. Among the stories the film uncovers is that of the American Jesuit priest John LaFarge who, at Pope Pius XI’s request, drafted an encyclical denouncing racism and anti-Semitism. When the Pope died, so did the possibility that the encyclical would be published, raising the question of whether the Holocaust would have taken a different turn had Pius XI lived a few years longer.