Soldier of Christ

Soldier of Christ PDF Author: Robert A. Ventresca
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674067304
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
Debates over the legacy of Pope Pius XII and his canonization are so heated they are known as the “Pius wars.” Soldier of Christ moves beyond competing caricatures and considers Pius XII as Eugenio Pacelli, a flawed and gifted man. While offering insight into the pope’s response to Nazism, Robert A. Ventresca argues that it was the Cold War and Pius XII’s manner of engaging with the modern world that defined his pontificate. Laying the groundwork for the pope’s controversial, contradictory actions from 1939 to 1958, Ventresca begins with the story of Pacelli’s Roman upbringing, his intellectual formation in Rome’s seminaries, and his interwar experience as papal diplomat and Vatican secretary of state. Accused of moral equivocation during the Holocaust, Pius XII later fought the spread of Communism in Western Europe, spoke against the persecution of Catholics in Eastern Europe and Asia, and tackled a range of social and political issues. By appointing the first indigenous cardinals from China and India and expanding missions in Africa while expressing solidarity with independence movements, he internationalized the church’s membership and moved Catholicism beyond the colonial mentality of previous eras. Drawing from a diversity of international sources, including unexplored documentation from the Vatican, Ventresca reveals a paradoxical figure: a prophetic reformer of limited vision whose leadership both stimulated the emergence of a global Catholicism and sowed doubt and dissension among some of the church’s most faithful servants.

Soldier of Christ

Soldier of Christ PDF Author: Robert A. Ventresca
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674067304
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 428

Get Book Here

Book Description
Debates over the legacy of Pope Pius XII and his canonization are so heated they are known as the “Pius wars.” Soldier of Christ moves beyond competing caricatures and considers Pius XII as Eugenio Pacelli, a flawed and gifted man. While offering insight into the pope’s response to Nazism, Robert A. Ventresca argues that it was the Cold War and Pius XII’s manner of engaging with the modern world that defined his pontificate. Laying the groundwork for the pope’s controversial, contradictory actions from 1939 to 1958, Ventresca begins with the story of Pacelli’s Roman upbringing, his intellectual formation in Rome’s seminaries, and his interwar experience as papal diplomat and Vatican secretary of state. Accused of moral equivocation during the Holocaust, Pius XII later fought the spread of Communism in Western Europe, spoke against the persecution of Catholics in Eastern Europe and Asia, and tackled a range of social and political issues. By appointing the first indigenous cardinals from China and India and expanding missions in Africa while expressing solidarity with independence movements, he internationalized the church’s membership and moved Catholicism beyond the colonial mentality of previous eras. Drawing from a diversity of international sources, including unexplored documentation from the Vatican, Ventresca reveals a paradoxical figure: a prophetic reformer of limited vision whose leadership both stimulated the emergence of a global Catholicism and sowed doubt and dissension among some of the church’s most faithful servants.

The Life and Pontificate of Pope Pius Xii

The Life and Pontificate of Pope Pius Xii PDF Author: Frank Coppa
Publisher: CUA Press
ISBN: 0813220165
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Eugenio Pacelli, Pope Pius XII, is one of the most studied but least understood popes of the twentieth century while his pontificate remains the most turbulent and controversial. Although there is a general consensus that he faced serious problems during his tenure--fascist aggression, the Second World War, the Nazi genocide of the Jews, the march of communism, and the Cold War--there is disagreement on his response to these developments. Applauded by some as an "apostle for peace" for his attempt to prevent the outbreak of war, he has been denounced by others as an "advocate of appeasement" for this same effort. Praised by both Christian and Jews for his "Crusade of Charity" during the war, he was denounced by many for his "silence" during the Holocaust. These conflicting interpretations, dubbed the Pius Wars, are often narrow in focus, lack objectivity, and have shed more heat than light. Written by one of the foremost historians of Pius XII, the present biographical study, unlike the greater part of the vast and growing historiography of Pope Pius XII, is a balanced and nonreactive account of his life and times. Its focus is not on the pope's silence during the Holocaust, though it does address the issue in a historical and objective framework. This is a biography of the man as well as the pope. It probes the roots of his traditionalism and legalism, his approach to modernity and reformism in Church and society, and the influences behind his policies and actions. This book is the first biography of Eugenio Pacelli to appear in English since the opening of the papers of the pontificate of Pius XI (1922-1939), in which Pacelli served as nuncio to Germany and secretary of state, along with the publication of the memories of figures close to Papa Pacelli. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Frank J. Coppa is the first recipient of the Lifetime Distinguished Scholarship Award of the American Catholic Historical Association and professor of history and the director of doctoral studies in modern world history at St. John's University. He has published widely in the areas of modern Europe, modern Italy, and papal history. His more recent works include The Papacy, the Jews, and the Holocaust; Politics and Papacy in the Modern World; The Policies and Politics of Pope Pius XII; Controversial Concordats: The Vatican's Relations with Napoleon, Mussolini, and Hitler; and the Encyclopedia of Modern Dictators. PRAISE FOR THE BOOK: "This book adds a great deal to what we currently know about this most written about pope. Frank Coppa introduces a number of principles which need to be discussed by experts and also by biographers of this pope, most importantly the concepts of papal impartiality and anti-Judaism as related to Pope Pius XII."--Charles R. Gallagher, S.J., assistant professor of history, Boston College "This is a balanced and highly nuanced biography of Eugenio Pacelli that examines the whole life and times of the man. Frank Coppa has examined the considerable, publicly available, historical record on Pacelli, placed the war years and the Holocaust in the broader scope of Pius XII's life, and brought much needed attention to the oft-neglected pre-1939 and post-1945 years of this complex, enigmatic and intriguing man."--Paul O'Shea, co-director of the Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Sydney "These books approach the wartime pontiff with such a clear mastery of the arguments that both Pius's supporters and his denigrators will find it difficult in the future to expect any serious student to accept the hoary myths that have clouded or exalted that pontiff's reputation . . . Coppa opens both books with the statement that Pius is the most studied but least understood of modern pontiffs. His books will go a long way toward changing that perception." --The Catholic Historical Review "A refreshingly balance

The Life of Pope Pius IX and the Great Events in the History of the Church During His Pontificate

The Life of Pope Pius IX and the Great Events in the History of the Church During His Pontificate PDF Author: John Gilmary Shea
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Papacy
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description


Hitler's Pope

Hitler's Pope PDF Author: John Cornwell
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101202491
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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Book Description
The “explosive” (The New York Times) bestseller that “redefined the history of the twentieth century” (The Washington Post ) This shocking book was the first account to tell the whole truth about Pope Pius XII's actions during World War II, and it remains the definitive account of that era. It sparked a firestorm of controversy both inside and outside the Catholic Church. Award-winning journalist John Cornwell has also included in this seminal work of history an introduction that both answers his critics and reaffirms his overall thesis that Pius XII fatally weakened the Catholic Church with his endorsement of Hitler—and sealed the fate of the Jews in Europe.

The Global Pontificate of Pius XII

The Global Pontificate of Pius XII PDF Author: Simon Unger-Alvi
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1805396102
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
In 2020, the Vatican opened its archives for the pontificate of Pius XII (1939-1958), the pope that led the Catholic Church during WWII, the Holocaust, and the beginning of the Cold War. The Global Pontificate of Pius XII brings together historians who were among the first to consult the previously unseen Vatican materials. These long-awaited records allow for an expansion of the current historiography beyond the pope’s biography. Methodologically, the volume works to transcend the rigidity of religious history and engage with new approaches in global, transnational, and postcolonial history to re-introduce questions surrounding religion into modern post-war historiography.

The Pope's Last Crusade

The Pope's Last Crusade PDF Author: Peter Eisner
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 006204916X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
Drawing on untapped resources, exclusive interviews, and new archival research, The Pope’s Last Crusade by Peter Eisner is a thrilling narrative that sheds new light on Pope Pius XI’s valiant effort to condemn Nazism and the policies of the Third Reich—a crusade that might have changed the course of World War II. A shocking tale of intrigue and suspense, illustrated with sixteen pages of archival photos, The Pope’s Last Crusade: How an American Jesuit Helped Pope Pius XI's Campaign to Stop Hitler illuminates this religious leader’s daring yet little-known campaign, a spiritual and political battle that would be derailed by Pius’s XIs death just a few months later. Peter Eisner reveals how Pius XI intended to unequivocally reject Nazism in one of the most unprecedented and progressive pronouncements ever issued by the Vatican, and how a group of conservative churchmen plotted to prevent it. For years, only parts of this story have been known. Eisner offers a new interpretation of this historic event and the powerful figures at its center in an essential work that provides thoughtful insight and raises controversial questions impacting our own time.

The Myth of Hitler's Pope

The Myth of Hitler's Pope PDF Author: David G. Dalin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1596981857
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Was Pope Pius XII secretly in league with Adolf Hitler? No, says Rabbi David G. Dalin, but there was a cleric in league with Hitler: the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini. As Pope Pius XII worked to save Jews from the Nazis, the grand mufti became Hitler’s staunch ally and a promoter of the Holocaust, with a legacy that feeds radical Islam today. In this shocking and thoroughly documented book, Rabbi Dalin explodes the myth of Hitler’s pope and condemns the mythmakers for not only rewriting history, but for denying the testimony of Holocaust survivors, hijacking the Holocaust for unseemly political ends, and ignoring the real threat to the Jewish people.

The Policies and Politics of Pope Pius XII

The Policies and Politics of Pope Pius XII PDF Author: Frank J. Coppa
Publisher: Peter Lang Incorporated, International Academic Publishers
ISBN: 9781433105210
Category : Christianity and politics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Policies and Politics of Pope Pius XII delves into the diplomacy of the most controversial pope of the twentieth century: Pius XII (pontificate, 1939-1958), «Advocate of Appeasement» to some and «Apostle of Peace» to others. Disagreement prevails on his quest for peace, recourse to impartiality during the Second World War, and relative public silence during the Holocaust. His abandonment of impartiality to play a prominent role in the Cold War has contributed to the charges and counter-charges leading to what has been deemed the «Pius War.» Unfortunately, a good deal of the literature published by the defenders and denigrators of this papal diplomacy has shed more heat than light. In this book, Frank J. Coppa, who has written on numerous controversial figures including Pius IX (pontificate,1846-1878), seeks to objectively explore the origins and rationale of Pius XII's diplomacy during the war, the Nazi genocide, and its aftermath.

Pope and Devil

Pope and Devil PDF Author: Hubert Wolf
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674050815
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
Wolf presents astonishing findings from the recently opened Vatican archives--discoveries that clarify the relations between National Socialism and the Vatican. He vividly illuminates the inner workings of the Vatican.

Eight Popes and the Crisis of Modernity

Eight Popes and the Crisis of Modernity PDF Author: Russell Shaw
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1621643409
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
Assaults on the dignity and the rights of the human person have been central to the ongoing crisis of the modern era in the last hundred years. This book takes a searching look at the roots of this problem and the various approaches to it by the eight men who led the Catholic Church in the twentieth century, from Pope St. Pius X and his crusade against Modernism to Pope St. John Paul II and his appeal for a renewed rapprochement between faith and reason. Thus it offers a distinctive, illuminating interpretation of recent world events viewed through the lens of an ancient institution, the papacy. The fascinating story is told by a veteran observer of Church affairs through short profiles of the eight popes, which include crucial, often little-known facts. The book includes substantial excerpts from the writings of the popes that give important insights into their personalities and thinking. It also includes a useful overview of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) and its pivotal role in reshaping the Catholic Church. Serious and open-minded readers, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, as well as students of Church history will find this unique work an informative, timely, and inspiring guide to understanding many central events and issues of our times.