The Life and Pontificate of Pope Pius XII: Between History and Controversy

by Frank J. Coppa

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 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 The Vatican's Relations with Napoleon, Mussolini, and Hitler; and the Encyclopedia of Modern Dictators.

PRAISE FOR THE "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

336 pages, Paperback

First published February 4, 2013

About the author

A specialist in the history of modern Italy and the Roman Catholic Church, Frank J. Coppa taught at St. John's University in Queens, New York, from 1965 until his retirement in 2010. He earned his B.A. from Brooklyn College in 1960, and his M.A. (1962) and Ph.D. (1966) from the Catholic University of America.

Reviews

[Phillip Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coppa presents a well researched and insightful book on Pius XII who was pope from 1939-1958. In these years of turmoil, this well trained, scholarly, and introverted pope brought his diplomatic caution and discretion to defending the Church. He relied on diplomatic agreements and a careful and vague criticism to avoid having the Church being destroyed by the Nazis. Surrounded by fascists on his doorstep with rumors swirling of their desire to eliminate the Church, his words were designed to prevent a provocation. He hid Jews but never committed to a direct and full scale denouncement of the Nazis. Why? It does not appear to be anti-semitism. But he was not a big supporter of the Jews either even when the threat of teh Nazis ws eliminated. Was it his staunch anti-communism that prevented his caution in denouncing Germany. Was it his love of the German nation? His motives are complex and at times so opaque that they remain a mystery. This book, which struggles with Pius's lack of a written record, etc. provides some tentative explanations. In the end Pius still seems a bit of an enigma.

[Justin Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something of a missed opportunity hear, in many ways. Coppa suggests that he's writing an impartial biography of Pius XII, which won't be obsessed with the whole 'Hitler's Pope, or nope?' question--and will thus help us reach a better understanding of that question. Perhaps that's a fools errand; Pius XII is interesting because of that very question, and Coppa does return to it over and over again. He also isn't impartial, which is fine. He's writing a biography, he's sympathetic, and he tries to exonerate Pius XII of the worst charges against him. That said, this is more impartial than the hysterics, half of whom think Pius XII was roughly three degrees worse than Hitler himself, and the other half of whom think he's St. Francis.

I, at least, learned one important thing from this book: the attempt to explain Pius XII's *motives* is far less important than his actions themselves. The 'Hitler's Pope' thing is understood to be damning because it suggests that Pius was anti-semitic, and that this motivated his (at best) ambivalent reaction to the holocaust. Coppa shows fairly convincingly that Pius was no great anti-semite; instead, he was a diplomat and radical anti-communist. Combine those two things together, and you have the motivation for his failure to speak out more strongly. In a sense, then, Coppa succeeds, because he refutes the hysterics who think Pius was anti-semitic. This doesn't make his actions in the second world war any more excusable, though. It just means a different set of motivations led to the unpleasant actions. On the evidence of this book, European Jews (and everyone else) would have been much better off if Pius XI had hung on for another decade.

The writing is usually solid, and the few mistakes seem to be the result of awful, awful editing. Sentences start in one syntactical direction and end in another; more amusingly, there are routine mis-spellings. Parcelli, it seems, cannot be accused of anti-semetism. Just as well, for The Word is nothing if not a sign.

On a totally unrelated note, I was reading this book when my daughter was born. Welcome to the world, Persy!