Pius XII The Hound of Hitler

Last week, I read Gerard Noel's book, Pius XII The Hound of Hitler. The Catholic Herald review of a few weeks ago revealed that Noel blames Pius for contributing to the start of the Great War and World War II. This led to a most amusing letter, which I mentioned on Cally's Kitchen here.

So, what did Noel really say? Well, in regards the Great War, Pius' - or Eugenio Pacelli's - contribution so-called was the Serbian Concordat signed by Serbia and the Vatican. It upset Serbia's relationship with the Austro-Hungarian empire which made the commencement of hostilities between the two sides that much easier or more likely after the death of the Arch-Duke Ferdinand.

For my part, although Noel explains his thinking clearly enough, I was not convinced by his argument. I can well believe that the Serbian Concordat did not help matters but was it as significant as Noel thinks it was? Well, he never goes further than to say that it contributed to the start of World War I, but that is a fairly meangingless phrase. Any number of events no doubt contributed to the start of the war but in themselves are not worthy of especial attention. Without further evidence, I would count the Serbian Concordat among them.

As for World War II, Noel blames the Concordat with the Nazis, signed in 1933. This was no doubt an ignominious moment for the Vatican because the Concordat brought an end to effective Catholic resistance to the Nazis in Germany, but whether it contributed meaningfully to World War II is quite another matter. Again, it no doubt did not help matters and no doubt made a contribution of sorts, but then, so did many other greater events. My impression is that Noel places greater emphasis on these two concordats to buttress an already decided upon argument.

Pius XII was a man of deep contradictions. He was the last triumphalist Pope. A man of deep, saintly, spirituality and austerity. But he was also a neurotic, prone to nightmares and indecision. Noel brings all these aspects of his character out wonderfully well. The genius of the book, however, is to highlight how important to Pius was his secretary, Sister Pasqualina; without her, it seems, Pius would not have been half the man that he was. This Bavarian nun ruled his life (being nicknamed la popessa by Vatican wags) to great effect. Their relationship is inspirational.

Noel's book also looks at the seedier side of Vatican policy in the age of Pius XII. For example, it tells how the Church negotiated with the Mafia on behalf of President Roosevelt, allowed its banker to invest millions of lire in unethical companies (e.g. birth control and armaments firms) and failed to stop gun toting Franciscan friars running wild in Sicily. Thank goodness we have Our Lord's word that the gates of hell will not prevail against Holy Mother Church because after reading what some prelates got up to and how Pius failed to stop it, one's faith is not damaged but there is a definite blush in the face.

Of course, the big question behind Pius XII The Hound of Hitler is why he did not condemn Nazism. The simple answer to this is that he rightly felt it would cost lives to do so. This is precisely what happened when other Catholic leaders spoke out (e.g. the Dutch bishops. As a result of their condemnation, St Edith Stein was taken to Auschwitz). As you might imagine, Pius did not do nothing. In fact, the Vatican saved the lives of over three quarters of a million Jews during the war. How many did Churchill and Roosevelt save during the war?

At the end of his book, Noel provides an apologia for Pius. Well, if it was a defence of the Pope I would hate to read a Noelian attack on him. I must read it again to better get the measure of it, but my first impression is that it is one of the worst apologias that I have ever read. In short, Noel says that the reason why Pius was not so bad after all is because the Church made him what he was. Well, if nothing else, it was an interesting variant on the parents-are-to-blame conclusion.

For all its faults, Pius XII The Hound of Hitler is one of the best books I have read this year. Noel may be right or wrong in some of what he says, but his honesty really sticks out. You very strongly get the impression that he neither wants to canonise or denegrate Pius XII but understand him. This book is a must read.