A closer look
Just when you think the Vatican's historical PR couldn't get any worse, enter Bishop Alois Hudal. After World War II, this Austrian cleric used his powerful position in Rome to establish a 'ratline'—a highly efficient underground railroad for fleeing Nazi war criminals. Armed with fake identities, Red Cross passports, and Catholic charity funds, Hudal helped monsters like Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele escape justice to live out their days in South America. He later claimed he was just performing acts of 'Christian charity'.
