Book Review
Hitler's Pope - The Secret History of Pius XII by John
Cornwell
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Insidious, February 22, 2005
Reviewer: Franken Sense "frankensense" (New York) - See all my
reviews
An insidious book with an insidious title. Pius XII could do no
more to stop the Holocaust than John Paul II could do to stop
terrorism. Now, what was Pius XII to do, take a band of bishops
and cardinals armed with staffs to the doors of Nazi Germany in
protest? Here is an idea; lets lay the blame on Hitler and the
Nazis. However, it would not have served the purpose of this
book, which is to bash Catholicism. I certainly don't think Pius
XII is perfect, but aligning him with Hitler and the Nazis is
pure evil on the part of Cornwell. A useful apologetic against
this drivel would be Mit Brennender Sorge given by Pius XI, and
written with the assistance of Pius XII, in 1937. Another useful
apologetic would be Summi Pontificatus given by Pius XII in 1939.
Dear God, Hitler wouldn't listen. Could you believe that? Hitler
being the psychopath that he was may very well have gone out and
murdered more Jews and Christians and others if Pius XII had
spoken more forcefully. Considering the circumstances, Pius XII
did about as much as he could without endangering others, and he
certainly did more than almost anyone else. Others that did
significant good had to fight against the Nazis with weapons.
Pius XII didn't have an army.
Other useful and factual exhibits refuting Cromwell's slanderous
lies:
Exhibit - NY Times editorial from December 25, 1941 (along with
several other NY Times editorials from WWII): "The voice of Pius
XII is a lonely voice in the silence and darkness enveloping
Europe this Christmas...In calling for a 'real new order' based
on 'liberty, justice and love,' to be attained only by a 'return
to social and international principles capable of creating a
barrier against the abuse of liberty and the abuse of power, the
pope put himself squarely against Hitlerism. Recognizing that
there is no road open to agreement between belligerents 'whose
reciprocal war aims and programs seem to be irreconcilable,' he
left no doubt that the Nazi aims are also irreconcilable with his
own conception of a Christian peace."
Exhibit - From Albrecht von Kessel (1963), German Embassy
official to the Holy See: "We were convinced that a fiery protest
by Pius XII against the persecution of the Jews ... would
certainly not have saved the life of a single Jew. Hitler, like a
trapped beast, would react to any menace that he felt directed at
him, with cruel violence."
Exhibit - From Das Reich (on Pius XI's death): "Pius XI was a
half-Jew, for his mother was a Dutch Jewess; but Cardinal Pacelli
is a full Jew."
Exhibit - Albert Einstein from Time, December 23, 1940: "Being a
lover of freedom, when the revolution came in Germany I looked to
the universities to defend it, knowing that they had always
boasted of their devotion to the case of truth; but no, the
universities immediately were silenced. Then I looked to the
great editors of the newspapers whose flaming editorials in days
gone by had proclaimed their love of freedom. But they, like the
universities, were silenced in a few short weeks. Only the Church
stood squarely across the path of Hitler's campaign for
suppressing truth. I never had any special interest in the Church
before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because
the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for
intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to
confess, that what I once despised, I now praise
unreservedly."
Exhibit - From the book Three Popes and the Jews (1967), by
Israeli diplomat Pinchas E. Lapide: Pope Pius XII "was
instrumental in saving at least 700,000, but probably as many as
860,000 Jews from certain death at Nazi hands."
Exhibit - Rabbi Isaac Herzog, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, from
1945: "The people of Israel will never forget what His Holiness
and his illustrious delegates, inspired by the eternal principles
of religion, which form the foundation of true civilization, are
doing for our unfortunate brothers and sisters in the most tragic
hour of our history, which is living proof of Divine Providence
in this world."
The cold harsh reality is that the only thing that could stop
Hitler, the Nazis, and the Holocaust was cold hard steel.
As far as polemics go, Cornwell owes an apology.
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Hitler's Pope, February 14, 2005
Reviewer: truthseeker - See all my reviews
If I wanted a good read, I certainly wouldn't read this book.
It's not fact and certainly not even good fiction. I highly
recommend "Hitler, the War, and the Pope", by Ronald J. Rychlak,
for a much better understanding and a much more fascinating and
historically accurate account of the events that took place
before and during World War II. Don't let a fuzzy photograph fool
you. Find out the truth...if you dare.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Cornwell changes his tune., January 26, 2005
Reviewer: Alphonsus Rodriguez (Corsicana, TX USA) - See all my
reviews
From the December 9th issue of the (London)Economist: "Devil's
advocates were supposed to be fair-minded, and in the past Mr.
Cornwell, a prolific writer on Catholic matters, has at times
been anything but. As he admits, "Hitler's Pope" (1999), his
biography of Pope Pius XII, lacked balance. "I would now argue,"
he says, "in the light of the debates and evidence following
'Hitler's Pope', that Pius XII had so little scope of action that
it is impossible to judge the motives for his silence during the
war, while Rome was under the heel of Mussolini and later
occupied by the Germans."
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ROME, SEP 16, 1999 (ZENIT) - In light of the recent
controversy provoked by the promotion of John Cornwell's new
book: "Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII," ZENIT has
obtained an exclusive point by point rebuttal from one of the
most respected authorities on the Catholic Church and the Second
World War, Dr. Peter Gumpel, S.J. He is postulator of the cause
for beatification of Pius XII and has carried out years of
extensive research on the life and historical facts surrounding
the person and pontificate of Pope Pacelli.
During a recent presentation in Rome of the book "The Jews, Pius
XII and The Black Legend," by Italian journalist and writer
Antonio Gaspari, Dr. Gumpel came to the final conclusion: "After
reading over 100,000 pages of the documents for the process of
beatification, I am more and more convinced that Pius XII was a
saint."
Because of the length of the document and the recognized
authority of the source, ZENIT wishes to make the full text
available to the general public.
---------------------------------------
By Dr. Peter Gumpel, S.J.
The cover of the book of Cornwell depicts Archbishop Pacelli
leaving a German government building, guarded by two soldiers.
This official visit of the then Nuncio took place not later than
1929, that is, four years before Hitler came into power (January
30, 1933). Since Pacelli left Germany in 1929 and never returned
there, using this photograph is misleading and tendentious.
Against this old and dirty trick protests were repeatedly
published. The fact that a few months ago in a review in the USA
Cornwell uses this photo on the cover of his book reveals from
the outset his intention to denigrate the future Pius XII.
At the beginning of the book a list of archives is published
which Cornwell says to have consulted. This list is extremely
meager for a pretentious book of this size. Scores of archives
which could and should have been consulted are simply ignored.
This regards German, Italian, U. S. Archives, the Acts of the
Nuremberg Trials, etc. Even those archives which are mentioned,
are certainly not fully explored and used. Most sources used by
Cornwell are secondary sources and here the choice is extremely
selective. Cornwell deals at length with the situation of the
Catholic Church in Germany, but never mentions the standard work
of Dr. Heinz Hirten which is an extremely well documented,
scholarly work that deals with the situation of the German
Catholics between 1918-1945. Other standard works dealing with
this topic are equally ignored by the author.
The first part of the book of Cornwell is wishy-washy. Instead of
solid documentation we find a series of gratuitous conjectures,
suppositions, insinuations. Cornwell deals at length with
Concordats, totally ignoring their primary pastoral importance,
and suggesting and asserting all the time that the only purpose
of the Holy See is to strengthen its power and in particular to
secure the right to appoint Bishops of its own liking. Cornwell
does not mention such abuses as Josephinism, popular in Austria
and to a certain extent even in Bavaria. Cornwell speaks about
modernism without even mentioning its real dangers (Loisy,
Tyrrel), rather concentrating on the witch hunt which in fact did
take place. However, there is not a shred of evidence that
Pacelli ever took any part in the latter. Cornwell does not say
that Pacelli did take part in this regrettable phenomenon, but he
insinuates that he lived in this atmosphere in the earlier stages
of his life.
The Serbian Concordat
It is to be noted that this was requested by Serbia and that the
Holy See never refuses negotiations of this kind. Pacelli was
then in a subordinate position. Each step of the negotiations had
to be examined by his superiors, the Cardinal Secretary of State
of that time and Pope Benedict XV. The suggestion that Pacelli in
the Concordat with Serbia contributed to the outbreak of World
War I is patently absurd and not taken seriously by any competent
scholar.
Pacelli, Apostolic Nuncio in Bavaria (1917) and Germany
(1920-1929)
The positive aspects of this activity are glossed over. Great
emphasis is placed on the uprising in Munich in 1919. In his
report to the Secretary of State, the fact that the leaders of
these terrorists were Jews sent from Russia (just as the leaders
of the revolutions in Berlin were led by Jews sent from Russia
[Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg] as well as Bela Kun in
Hungary) are historical facts. To mention such facts has
absolutely nothing to do with anti-semitism, as Cornwell wrongly
insinuates. It was necessary to mention who the terrorist leaders
in Munich were so that the Superior of Pacelli could understand
that this was a part of an effort of the Russian Communists to
extend their power in various Western countries.
Pacelli and Hitler
Cornwell refers in the list of works, which he says to have
consulted, to one book in which it is explicitly stated that in
1929, that is four years before Hitler came into power (January
30, 1933), Pacelli warned in abrasive terms against Hitler and
could not understand that even highly competent Germans did not
share his totally negative judgement. Cornwell omits this
statement. Either he did not read this book, or he willingly
omitted this and other similar easily ascertainable statements of
Pacelli, simply because they do not tally with his destructive
tendencies.
The Concordat with Nazi Germany
Here again the request was made by Hitler who at that time made
repeatedly positive statements about the two Christian
denominations in Germany. If Pius XI had refused the
negotiations, Hitler would have said: I extended a hand of peace,
but it was brutally rejected. The persecution of the Catholic
Church which existed already on local levels would have become an
official and severe persecution (N. B.: When the German Bishops
protested against local persecutions, Hitler always claimed that
this was done without his foreknowledge and without his consent.
Cornwell does not mention this. He likewise ignores or at least
never mentions that the Concordat was not the first international
pact concluded by Hitler, the Concordat was preceded by the
so-called "four countries pact" (England, France, Italy, Germany;
signed in Milan). Pacelli knew that he could not trust Hitler and
mentioned this to the English diplomat Kirkpatrick a few weeks
after the paraphrasing of the Concordat (July 20, 1933). Totally
false is the assertion of Cornwell that the Concordat impeded
political and social activities on the part of Catholics. It was
agreed that priests and religious should not engage in "party"
politics.
In the Nuremberg Trials, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Joachim
von Ribbentrop, admitted that Pacelli, as Secretary of State, had
sent scores of protests about infractions of the Concordat but
that these were nearly always ignored. Finally in 1937 there came
the Encyclical letter "Mit brennender Sorge" - with "burning"
preoccupation (norsk: Med brennende sorg) and not "with great
appreciation" as Cornwell mistranslates. Main author of this
flaming protest: Pacelli, "Hitler's Pope"!!! Cornwell equally
plays down or downright omits the sharp condemnation of Nazism
made by Pacelli at Lourdes, Lisieux, Paris, Budapest, where he
went as Papal Legate. It is true that neither Hitler nor Nazism
were ever mentioned by name, but everybody understood against
whom these condemnations were directed. If Cornwell had made a
serious effort to ascertain this, - a reading of reviews and
newspapers in U. S., England, France, Holland, etc, would have
made this clear to him - , not to mention the Nazi publications
which throughout the book of Cornwell are simply neglected and
totally underestimated. To be noticed also: that every utterance
of this kind aggravated the situation of Catholics in Germany
(just as later in the countries occupied by the Nazis).
Pius XII, Pope
Cornwell belittles the serious efforts of Pius XII to prevent
World War II and makes a ridiculous comment on the first
Encyclical of Pius XII (published at the beginning of World War
II). In fact, if this encyclical letter was so insignificant as
Cornwell wishes us to believe, why then did the Allies airdrop
88,000 copies of this Encyclical letter over Germany, where this
Encyclical letter could not be published? Cornwell, of course,
does not mention this action of the Allies. Simple ignorance? But
the fact was easily ascertainable in the literature which
Cornwell pointedly omitted in his notes and bibliography.
Pius XII and The Occupied Countries
In repeated speeches Pius XII protested against the unjust
treatment of the occupied countries. However, especially the
Polish Bishops - except those who had fled Poland and lived
abroad in safety, such as Cardinal Hlond and Bishop Radonski -
begged the Pope not to make these protests because they achieved
nothing good, but only aggravated the situation of oppression and
persecution. Downright classical and frequently mentioned is the
case of messages sent by Pius XII through a chaplain of a Maltese
relief train to Archbishop Sapieha (Krakow). When the latter read
this message, he threw the whole lot in the fire, saying that if
ever a copy fell into the hands of the Gestapo, they would kill
all Polish priests. Typical is the fact that thousands of Polish
and other priests were killed by the Nazis and that the standard
work of Professor Dr. Olrich von Held (now in its third edition):
"Priester unter Hitlers Terror" (Priests - in Germany - Under the
Terror of Hitler) is never mentioned or quoted by Cornwell. On
the whole, one must say that Cornwell, who has never lived in a
highly organized criminal police state, is totally unaware of the
situation prevailing in such a state and that, in consequence, a
great many of his judgements, appraisals, suggestions, etc., are
completely unrealistic, utopian and anachronistic From an
historical point of view, one must be able to understand the
situation as it was then and not judge it with the hindsight from
today's situation in free countries. To proceed in such an
irresponsible manner is a capital mistake which is everywhere
present in the book of Cornwell.
Cornwell and the German Bishops
The treatment of the German Bishops by Cornwell is extremely
unfair. Prior to the appointment of Hitler as Chancellor, they
had repeatedly warned against the Nazis and their pagan
"Weltanschauung" (ideology). When Hitler became the legitimately
appointed Chancellor of the Reich, a "modus vivendi" had to be
found. It was then not clear to the Bishops, the German
politicians, and many German Jews, how Hitler would act once he
had obtained the government. However, never did the Bishops
approve his ideology and increasingly they protested against his
actions. Bishop Gröber (Archbishop of Freiburg) whom
Cornwell calls the "brown Bishop" was initially in favor of a
certain effort to come to terms with Hitler, but quite soon he
became a bitter opponent of the regime. What Cornwell does not
say is the fact that in various reports of the Gestapo one can
read that as long as the Catholic Church has any influence on the
people, the Nazi ideology would never be accepted by a large
section of the German people. The classic work of Boberach which
published the internal reports of the Gestapo is, of course, not
even mentioned once by Cornwell.
Pius XII and the statute of impartiality, traditional with the
Holy See
Both parties in the Second World War exercised pressure on Pius
XII to declare a "crusade": the opponents of Hitler wanted the
Pope to declare a crusade against Nazism; Hitler exercised
pressure on him to declare a crusade against Bolshevism. Both
pretences were absurd, considering that Bolshevism had committed
and continued to commit numerous crimes and persecuted every form
or religion, and the same applied to the Nazis (with the
exception of those Protestants who actively supported
Hitler).
Pius XII and the Jews
During the Second World War, and till five years after his death
(† 9 October 1958), Pius XII was greatly praised by all
kinds of Jewish organizations, chief Rabbis of diverse countries
and especially from the U.S. (see my article in "The Tablet" and
the article "In defense of Pius XII" in Newsweek). The debate if
a flaming public protest against the crimes against the Jews
would have had any effect will probably continue to a large
extent due to biased and partial writers who have an interest to
denigrate the Catholic Church.
In my considered opinion, a public protest would not have saved a
single Jewish life. It would only have aggravated the persecution
both of Jews and of Catholics. Moreover it would have impeded and
practically made impossible the very extensive silent action of
helping Jews in every possible manner. It is well known that no
organization has saved so many Jews as the Catholic Church, and
this on the formal order of Pius XII. The latter knew well and is
on record that this "silence" - which, however, was not a
"silence" at all for everyone who wanted to hear and understand -
might one day be held against him. However, he was not concerned
for his reputation, but with saving Jewish lives and this was the
only just decision, which clearly required wisdom and a great
amount of courage. Cornwell has simply not understood this. He
does not do justice to the facts when, in order to belittle
Pinchas E. Lapide who praised Pius XII, he attributes to him
second motives without producing a shred of evidence.
Cornwell also has never asked himself why the projected
rounding-up of 8,000 Roman Jews was suddenly stopped after about
1,000 Roman Jews were caught in October, 1943. He totally
misrepresents the interview which immediately afterwards the
Secretary of State Maglione had with the German Embassador von
Weizsäcker, called to the Vatican on the urgent request made
in the name of Pius XII. Weizsäcker played an ambiguous
role. Afraid that a formal protest made by the Holy See would
enrage Hitler, he gave a too bland impression of the attitude of
the Holy See and this became patently clear in the Nuremberg
Trials which Cornwell ignores completely. But there is far more.
On the order of Pius XII the German military commander of Rome,
Brigadier General Rainer Stahel, an Austrian officer of the old
school, was approached. This humane man sent a phonogram directly
to Himmler. His reason given: this kind of violent action against
the Italian Jews disturbs my military plans to reinforce the
German divisions still fighting far to the south of Rome, and can
also create serious problems here in Rome. This was a true
reason, but no less important was another one: his indignation
about the criminal acts of the Gestapo and his compassion for the
Jews. His intervention had success. Himmler immediately ordered
to stop further deportations. In this way thousands of Jews could
be hidden, at the order of Pius XII, in the Vatican and in more
than 150 ecclesiastical institutions in Rome. All this is, of
course, not said by Cornwell. That Pius XII could do nothing with
regard to the reprisal after the killing by (Italian resistance)
"partisans" of 33 German - rather South Tyrolian - policeman, has
been demonstrated for years. The reprisal was carried out within
24 hours of the attack on personal order of Hitler. A reprisal
was certain, but its nature was unknown. Every effort of
ecclesiastics sent by Pius XII to various German authorities
failed because none of them could be reached in time.
Two more individual remarks. Cornwell complains that a report
sent by Mr. Riegner from Switzerland to Rome was not published in
the "Acts and Documents of the Holy See During the Second World
War," Riegner handed this report to the nuncio in Switzerland in
March 1942, thus: a few months after the Wannsee Conference (20
January 1942). This report reached the Vatican only in October
1942 as is clear from the dispatch of the Nuncio published in the
"Acts and Documents," where Riegner's report is mentioned.
However, with a view to the fact - so frequent in times of war -
it was not possible to check whether the facts mentioned in this
report were objectively true. The U.S. State Department had
manifested doubts about this type of reports and asked the
Vatican whether they would confirm them.
The second fact concerns an interview that the U.S. diplomat, Mr.
Tittmann had with Pope Pius XII. Cornwell makes much of this. He
says that this interview took place on Oct. 18, 1943, thus a few
days after the rounding-up of 1,000 Jews. Cornwell accuses Pius
XII that he was so little concerned with the fate of the Jews
that he did not even mention them. The whole argument falls flat.
In fact, the dispatch of Tittmann, in which he says to have had
an interview with Pius XII "today," is dated not Oct. 18, but
Oct. 19. In fact, even the date "19" is wrong. The interview took
place on Oct. "14." This results from the very accurate lists of
interviews granted to diplomats by Pius XII. The fact that this
interview took place on Oct. 14 (fourteenth) is registered in two
distinct volumes of the "Acts and Documents," which Cornwell
quotes in his meager list of archives but, obviously has never
read accurately, if at all.
Pius XII, Hitler's Pope?
I have already pointed out what Pacelli as early as 1929 thought
and said about Hitler. To this must be added that he repeatedly
went on record saying that Hitler's victory in World War II would
mean the end of the Catholic Church in Europe. Likewise, if he
was indeed Hitler's Pope, why did he transmit to the English
government the proposal of a group of anti-Nazi German generals,
who asked whether England would make peace with Germany, if they,
the group of German generals, succeeded in arresting Hitler and
removing him from government. Incidentally, it was not a
low-ranking officer, Colonel Oster, who was responsible for this
proposal, but Colonel-General (four star general) Ludwig Beck.
The latter had been the chief of the German General Staff, but in
1938 resigned from this new post since he had become convinced
that Hitler was a criminal who against all promises and treaties
would attack other nations. Pacelli had known Beck when he was
nuncio in Berlin and highly esteemed his honesty and integrity.
If Pius XII would have been "Hitler's Pope" he would never have
undertaken this highly dangerous mediation. And again: before the
United States after Pearl Harbor became allies with Russia, many
American Catholics had problems of conscience whether they could
help produce weapons which would go to communist Russia. Pius XI
had, in fact, in his 1937 encyclical "Divini Redemptoris,"
forbidden Catholics to do anything in favor of the communists.
Pius XII informed about this situation, ordered the Apostolic
Delegate in Washington, Archbishop Amleto Cicognani (who later
became Secretary of State) to induce one or more prestigious U.S.
bishops to publish the following statement: the position of the
Catholic Church with regard to communism remains what it has
always been. However, the Church has nothing against the Russian
people. It is now the Russian people who have been attacked and
thus Catholics should not have any problems in helping a people
who have been unjustly attacked. This statement was made public
by at least one U.S. bishop and endorsed by others. It was, of
course, understood on whose initiative this problem was solved.
How then can Pius XII be called "Hitler's Pope?" If he had been
that, he would obviously never have given the above order. He
could have even proclaimed a crusade against communist Russia,
which, of course, notwithstanding the pressure of Nazi Germany,
he steadfastly and courageously refused to do.
Pius XII and Communism
There is clear historical evidence that Pius XII was deadly
opposed both to national socialism and to communism. It is
equally clear that, everything considered, he thought that in the
long run communism was the greater danger for the worlds and for
Christianity. Mr. Churchill was of the same idea. He never shared
the optimism of President Roosevelt who was convinced that the
Russian communists would change their ideology and their attitude
to religious communities. Well, history has demonstrated who was
right and who was wrong. With regard to this question Glennon's
book, "The Cardinal Spellman Story," is highly revealing.
Spellman had many personal contacts with Roosevelt and Glennon's
book was published when Spellman was still alive. Cornwell
mentions this book, but abstains from making use of the most
crucial pages.
Pius XII and the so-called policy of appeasement with regard
to Hitler
In my previous fax I have already mentioned the role which
Pacelli played in drafting the encyclical "Mit brennender Sorge."
I equally referred to his speeches as Papal legate in Lourdes,
Paris, Budapest, etc. According to protocol, a newly-elected pope
informs all the governments with which the Holy See has
diplomatic relations that this election has taken place. A
personal note of Pius XII to Hitler was therefore necessary. The
tone is moderate. At the height of the Kulturkampf, the
newly-elected Leo XIII sent a similar message to the Germany of
Bismarck which had eased the tensions. A similar gesture had to
be made by Pius XII, though he had no illusions. He said: We must
show that we want peace; if the other side does not want peace,
we will fight. Speaking about such appeasement, the question must
be asked about the actions of England and France. They made, from
the outset, concessions to Hitler which they had persistently
refused to make to the democratic governments of Germany prior to
Hitler. England and France consistently gave in to Hitler (the
occupation of the demilitarized territory on the western bank of
the Rhine; the Fleet agreement between England and Germany; the
introduction of military conscription, that is, obligatory
military service of all young German men). But most of all, in
1937 the Holy See, with the encyclical "Mit brennender Sorge,"
had denounced tin the clearest and sharpest possible way that
Hitler was not trustworthy and that treatises signed by him were
worthless. And then in 1938, a year later, there was the
ill-fated Munich Conference (England, France, Italy, Germany) and
Mr. Neville Chamberlain and Mr. Daladier so trusting that now
there was "Peace for our times, and peace forever!"
Pius XII and Other Activities
Cornwell has little to say about the great encyclical letters of
Pius XII, namely "Mystici corporis" (on the Church), "Divino
afflante Spiritu" (on advanced Scripture studies), "Mediator Dei"
(the liturgy's Magna Charta), nor about his numerous other
encyclicals, nor about his speeches which covered the gamut of
all modern problems. Cornwell, a rank amateur in these matters,
has the impudence to make at times negative remarks on those
important activities without which the Second Vatican Council
would not have been possible. In fact, after Sacred Scripture,
the Council's documents cite no single author as frequently as
Pius XII. Cornwell attacks Pius XII on two issues:
a) the document Humani generis, without even realizing that there
were, at that time, some tendencies of theological relativism
emerging which needed to be corrected. Today judgements on this
whole question are far more just and balanced than they were in
previous times.
b) The question of the priest-workers. Pius XII did NOT forbid
them. He was, however, aware of the fact that in not so few
cases, priests played an important role in communist-led trade
unions; that they neglected their priestly duties and prayer;
that they propagated class struggle; that some had become fervent
communists. Pius XII appreciated the generosity of so many priest
workers, but felt it necessary to safeguard their priestly life
by reducing the hours as workers in lay occupations. It was John
XXIII, former nuncio in Paris, who forbade radically the
institute of priest-workers which Paul VI restarted, but
insisting on a severe selection and accurate formation and
supervision.
Cornwell and Pius XII's Character
Cornwell calls Pius XII ambitious and insinuates that he was a
careerist. This is not true. The young Pacelli made rapid
progress in his career because he was brilliant, conscientious
and hardworking. There is not a shred of evidence that there were
any other reasons for his rapid advancement, let alone that he
himself tried to favor his career. The young priest Pacelli
wanted to do pastoral work in the direct sense of the word as
every good priest should wish to do. It was only in obedience to
higher authority that he entered the diplomatic service of the
Holy See. When in 1929, his task as Apostolic Nuncio had come to
an end, he desired to become a diocesan bishop and do pastoral
work in this way. When he had been elected Pope, he did not
accept his election immediately, but insisted on another ballot.
When this was overwhelmingly in his favor, he accepted the
election as a sign of God's will, but "in signum crucis," as a
heavy cross.
Cornwell speaks of Pius XII's "narcissism." I frankly cannot see
how this outrageous statement can be or is substantiated. Pius
XII hated to be photographed but submitted to what for him was
distasteful because so many people wanted his photograph and out
of goodness he did not want to disappoint them.
During his reign Pius XII received many millions of people in
public audiences. These audiences were different from those of
later times. Pius XII went right in the midst of people, talked
to them, even heard confessions. Cornwell mocks Pius XII that he
had his hands doused but forgets to say that in shaking so many
hands, his own hands were frequently bruised and scratched.
Cornwell undoubtedly knew how the people reacted to these
audiences and how they saw in Pius a humble, charitable, saintly
person.
The use of sources made by Cornwell
With only one or two exceptions, Cornwell totally ignores the
scores of scientific and highly documented volumes published by
the "Kommission für Zeitgeschichte" (History Commission),
which now number well over 40 volumes.
Cornwell certainly knew about the book of the Hungarian Jew,
Jenö Levai. The prologue and epilogue of this book were
written by Dr. Robert Kempner, the Chief Assistant Prosecutor of
the United States of America at the Nuremberg trials. Kempner
refutes the attacks against Pius XII and his judgement in regard
to the Pope's behavior in World War II and his decision to
refrain from too outspoken protests against the persecution of
the Jews in order to help them efficaciously is totally positive.
Kempner knew what was possible in the given circumstances and his
judgement must be taken seriously. Cornwell omits this for
obvious reasons.
Cornwell does not give due importance to the fact that the
International Red Cross (with headquarters in neutral
Switzerland) came to exactly the same appraisal of the situation
as Pius XII and equally refrained from loud protests so as not to
jeopardize secret and silent actions helping Jews. The same
applies to the then nascent Ecumenical Council of Christian
Churches (also situated in neutral Switzerland).
Numerous times you find the following entries: "quoted by..."
This means that the original sources have not been consulted and
that to a large extent secondary sources have been used, hardly
an academic procedure, let alone a procedure of accepted
standards in a pretentious book of this size. The phenomenon
"quoted by..." is very frequently applied to the work of Klaus
Scholder which has been severely criticized on various counts.
Scholder who is dealing with the Concordat is largely surpassed
by the standard works of Volk regarding the Concordats with
Bavaria, and with Nazi Germany (20 July 1933). Yet though this is
known, Cornwell prefers Scholder to Volk, obviously because this
suits his negative thesis with regard to Pacelli, nuncio, and
then Secretary of State.
Cornwell seems to have blind faith in what is published in the
memoirs of the late Dr. Brüning. The latter was Chancellor
of Germany in the years 1930 - 1932 in a desperate situation
(i.e., after "Black Friday" - the New York stock market crash -
the recall of loans made to Germany by foreign countries,
millions of unemployed, bankruptcy of numerous German banks and
businesses). Brüning tried to do what he could, but he also
made serious economic mistakes. In 1932 his cabinet was brought
down and this traumatized him for the rest of his life. He blamed
Msgr. Kaas as co-responsible for his dismissal, and since Kaas
worked with Pacelli, his pathological aversion to Kaas was
extended also to Pacelli. Brüning, still Chancellor, but
already overworked and in a highly nervous condition, also had a
somewhat stormy meeting with Pacelli, as he says. When years
later Brüning wrote his memoirs, he was an embittered and
frustrated personality. Subjectively, his honesty cannot be
questioned, but highly qualified experts have rightly challenged
the objective truth of these memoirs. Cornwell quotes these
memoirs a-critically.
Cornwell claims to have studied all the Acts of the canonical
inquiry made with regard to the beatification of Pius XII. He
totally omits the nearly 100% positive judgements of all these
witnesses and this is not honest. He blindly trusts the
deposition of a sister of Pius XII who says only good things
about her brother, but is very hostile with regard to Mother
Pascalina. Any objective judge realizes that she was envious of
Pascalina, who had daily contact with Pacelli, Secretary of State
and Pope whereas she herself saw her brother only rarely. Her
accusation that Mother Pascalina came from Berlin to Rome without
the request of Pacelli and without leave from her own superiors
is, of course, absurd, but Cornwell again, for obvious reasons,
accepts this statement without reservation.
After Rolf Hochhuth produced his play "The Vicar" ("Der
Stellvertreter"), in 1963, Cardinal Montini (later Paul VI) wrote
a strong letter in defense of Pius XII, a few days before he
himself was elected Pope. This letter was published in "The
Tablet" a few days after Montini's election to the papacy. It was
also published in "La Civiltà Cattolica" and elsewhere. John
XXIII had always expressed his highest esteem for Pius XII. In
his latest trip to Africa, Pope John Paul II called him a great
Pope. When a journalist questioned him about the (alleged)
silence on the Holocaust on the part of Pius XII, John Paul II
reacted very sharply and advised the journalist to read one
Father Blet who had just published a clear defense of Pius XII.
Earlier this year the Secretary of State, Cardinal Sodano,
reacted in an extremely sharp way against the calumnies against
Pius XII, and the "sottile persecuzione" (the deceitful
persecution) of the latter, which indeed is based on a deliberate
falsification of history. Cornwell either ignores or plays down
such statements, just as he does not duly appreciate the fact
that in the document "We Remember," there is a long footnote in
defense of Pius XII.
Cornwell undoubtedly knew about the obituaries published by the
"Sunday Times" in England and elsewhere. Cornwell knew what Field
Marshal Montgomery, not exactly an easy character, wrote in the
"Sunday Times" of October 12, 1958 about his frequent private
audiences with Pius XII. Montgomery, a staunch Anglican and son
of an Anglican bishop, had so deep a friendship with Pius XII
that in his (Montgomery's) bedroom there were two photographs:
one of his father, the other of Pius XII.
Cornwell also frequently refers to Sir D'Arcy Osborne, the
English Minister to the Holy See, but he does not mention that
this diplomat, who during the Second World War lived in the
Vatican, considered Pius XII the most saintly person it had been
his privilege to meet in his long life and that he confided in a
private letter that he regretted not being a Catholic to be able
to receive Holy Communion at the hands of Pius XII. Many other
testimonies could be added, such as that of Evelyn Waugh, beside
those of so many other outstanding and honest persons. Of all
this is taken into account, one feels bound to say that the
vicious book of Cornwell attempts a moral lynching, and an
authentic well character assassination. His Pius XII is not
"Hitler's Pope"; it is a fictitious Pius XII, a nasty caricature
of a noble and saintly man.
Conclusion
There are many more things that could be said. For example that
Cornwell is totally unaware of the psychological warfare made
especially by the English by divulging false reports about
transmissions by Vatican Radio and others, or that he obviously
has never heard about the Scattolini forgeries which were widely
believed. After the war, Scattolini was arrested by the Italian
police and admitted that these reports (about 1,000) were purely
and simply invented by him in order to make money. Cornwell has
never checked whether and to what extent he has fallen a victim
of this man who was condemned by the Italian Tribunal and sent to
prison. Much more could be said, but the few above remarks give
you an idea of what to think about the book of Cornwell who,
naturally, also attacks John Paul II. Everything considered, my
judgement is the following: Cornwell who is a rank amateur in the
field of history, canon law, etc., has produced a shoddy,
superficial and totally untrustworthy book which, to say the very
least, is objectively biased, tendentious and so unilateral and
one-sided that one wonders what really prompted this man to write
this book.
Further Reading:
Freemasonry in the
Vatican
Born in Blood - Masonic New World
Order(s)