A Pinoy Blog About Nothing

Hitler and the Vatican :
Inside the Secret Archives That Reveal the New Story of the Nazis and the Church
by Peter Godman

With Pope John Paul II falling ill and missing Ash Wednesday mass for the first time in 26 years, concerned Catholics have begun wondering whether he would be retiring soon.

The last pope to abdicate the Throne of St. Peter was almost 800 years ago when in 1294, Celestine V left the papacy for “the desire for humility, for a purer life, for a stainless conscience, the deficiencies of his own physical strength, his ignorance, the perverseness of the people, his longing for the tranquillity of his former life.” He was proclaimed a saint by the Church but was relegated to hell by Dante in the Divine Comedy for his “cowardice”.

Pope John Paul II is certainly not “longing for the tranquility of his former life”. If not for his health he would rather see to his duties to the end and whether or not he will abdicate is very much up in the air. This is after all the same Pope who stared down Communism.

What’s even less clear is the Pope’s predecessor who faced a different -ism in his time. Pope Pius XII is the subject of intrigue for being the head of the Church during the Second World War. What did he or didn’t he do during the WWII? Did he or didn’t he condone the Nazism and Fascism during his tenure? Could he have saved more Jews against the Holocaust? Was it his place to do so? Did proclaiming neutrality in WWII a bad call on his part or a shrewd maneuver by the head of an organization surrounded by its enemies in Fortress Europe?

These are just some of the questions Peter Godman explores in his book. For all intents and purpose, Hitler and the Vatican isn’t exactly light reading. Maybe I was in need of a break after a reading a series of non-fiction books and biographies but it’s definitely one of those books you cannot consume in one sitting. The scope is much too overwhelming and the scholarly work of Godman is much to be admired.

And so I plodded along. While not exactly a page-turner, there’s a wealth of information for those interested in history, secular and Church. It’s a fascinating study of the inner workings of the Vatican. How much like in any ordinary organization, politics and human dynamics come into play. It’s explains how the Cardinal Marcantonio Pacelli who became Pius XII had to live with decisions made by his predecessors. It shows how Hitler and the Nazis blindsided the world - including the Vatican - with their unprecedented duplicity.

As early as the 1930s, the German Catholics were already complaining about Nazism. Hindsight being 20/20, of course not all Church leaders saw it as evil and was more worried about Communism. As Cardinal, Pacelli was instrumental in forging pacts with Austria, Germany, Prussia and Bavaria. He saw the Nazis rise to power.

Of interest to me was the Church’s response before, during and after the WWII. For example, before Pacelli became Pius XII, the Church’s concern was not Communism or Nazism or Fascism but Nudism. According to Godman, much of the Church’s resource went to investigating Nudism - whether it contradicts the teachings of the Church or not. Such was the tone of Pius XII’s ascension. Much of the diplomatic work was done by his predecessors and his hands tied by Benito Mussolini and the Italian government.

But make no mistake that the book is of an apologist. It presents documents and records as to the actions the Church would take. Or rather, would like to take. As like other leaders in human history, Pius XII did what is humanly possible - even if that human was blessed by God’s Holy Spirit. Godman takes the middle road and neither condemns nor cleans up Pope Pius XII’s image. No, it’s not an easy ready but it’s a satisfying one nonetheless.