Fides fearless
- Achille, Achille, Achille ...
Thrice pronounced the name of Pope Cardinal Pacelli, Camerlengo of Holy Roman Church. Pius XI did not respond. He was the February 10, 1939 and his body lay lifeless on the bed of suffering in the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace. The silence of the pontiff followed by a statement in a solemn voice pronounced by the cardinal, in which sensed a tone of sorrow:
- Vere Papa Mortuus est!
Yes, Achille Ratti was really dead. Eugenio Pacelli not only mourned the loss of Pope: Pope cried for her. In fact, between Pius XI and his Secretary of State had established a relationship that transcended the common dedication to the interests of the Church or the mere sympathy. It was a true father-son affection. What is more, the pope had consciously prepared to succeed Cardinal in the holy throne and had intimated to the entire world. "Fara a bel Papa!" used to say, referring to the timid Pacelli, who was traveling in Europe and both Americas foguearlo in dealing with the greats of the Earth.
fame is the strong character of Pius XI, which shook the monsignors of the Roman Curia and the staff of the Apostolic Palace. The impatience of the Pope with a sample of negligence or incompetence was well known and well cared all inflating. Alone can sweeten the Holy Father (and with whom he never got angry) was Pacelli. It is true that it was impeccable: he had learned in his long years of curatorial and diplomatic blunders and commit not to be accurate and diligent. The only error that could achacársele was the loss of an important file on the canonical encoding of the Church in time of Benedict XV, but learned his lesson.
February 10, 1939: Pius XI died Nobody called surprise when, weeks later, Eugenio Pacelli emerged from the conclave become Pius XII. He had learned to be pope next to the formidable Ratti (as Paul VI would learn to be pope to yours). As he did not want advisers but executioners. It was assumed all responsability and the full weight of the government of the Church, but, unlike his predecessor, during most of his pontificate and would not have a secretary of state, which discharged a large part of responsibilities. On the death of Cardinal Maglione, react as Louis XIV to Mazarin: rule alone. But that's another story.
Here we are interested in considering an argument often used by detractors of Pius XII as a support for his accusation of cowardice and pusillanimity: the supposed contrast to Pius XI. According to them, it would have been a fearless priest who would have faced the totalitarianism of the time his successor as he would have been timid and patronizing them. Ensure that if the former would have had to live the circumstances that arose Pius XII, had proceeded very differently to it. But is this true?
the outset it must be admitted that Pius XI and Pius XII are potatoes with two personalities and two different styles: one vehement and combative, the other thoughtful and prudent. But these differences did not prevent in any way that would have a good understanding and mutual admiration between them. Perhaps Achille Ratti Eugenio Pacelli saw the features that could help balance its natural impetus for the greater good of the interests of the Church. Lo que sí está claro es que a Pío XI le desagradaban profundamente la vileza y la debilidad de carácter y es claro que si hubiera detectado cualquiera de estas cosas en Pacelli, nunca lo habría llamado para ser su secretario de Estado, ni lo hubiera creado cardenal ni mucho menos le hubiera otorgado su plena confianza y dispensado su predilección.
Las circunstancias en las que vivieron los dos papas no fueron idénticas: hubo una guerra de por medio. Y no una guerra cualquiera. La segunda conflagración mundial fue no sólo la más cruenta de la Historia, sino aquella en la que se colmó hasta rebasar el vaso de la crueldad humana. Ésta llegó a límites inimaginables, hasta el punto que el mayor de los Skeptics could take her foot to support the existence of the devil. And is that both Nazism and Bolshevism had a sinister background Luciferian. What Would Pius XI in place of Pius XII? It is not easy to know, although there are reasons to believe that it would have acted differently in substance to that of his successor.
Here we are interested in considering an argument often used by detractors of Pius XII as a support for his accusation of cowardice and pusillanimity: the supposed contrast to Pius XI. According to them, it would have been a fearless priest who would have faced the totalitarianism of the time his successor as he would have been timid and patronizing them. Ensure that if the former would have had to live the circumstances that arose Pius XII, had proceeded very differently to it. But is this true?
the outset it must be admitted that Pius XI and Pius XII are potatoes with two personalities and two different styles: one vehement and combative, the other thoughtful and prudent. But these differences did not prevent in any way that would have a good understanding and mutual admiration between them. Perhaps Achille Ratti Eugenio Pacelli saw the features that could help balance its natural impetus for the greater good of the interests of the Church. Lo que sí está claro es que a Pío XI le desagradaban profundamente la vileza y la debilidad de carácter y es claro que si hubiera detectado cualquiera de estas cosas en Pacelli, nunca lo habría llamado para ser su secretario de Estado, ni lo hubiera creado cardenal ni mucho menos le hubiera otorgado su plena confianza y dispensado su predilección.
Las circunstancias en las que vivieron los dos papas no fueron idénticas: hubo una guerra de por medio. Y no una guerra cualquiera. La segunda conflagración mundial fue no sólo la más cruenta de la Historia, sino aquella en la que se colmó hasta rebasar el vaso de la crueldad humana. Ésta llegó a límites inimaginables, hasta el punto que el mayor de los Skeptics could take her foot to support the existence of the devil. And is that both Nazism and Bolshevism had a sinister background Luciferian. What Would Pius XI in place of Pius XII? It is not easy to know, although there are reasons to believe that it would have acted differently in substance to that of his successor.
Cardinal Pacelli Creation and five Cardinals in December 1929
could be bold, but it was no irresponsible and certainly would not have jeopardized -By a desire for personal reasons, millions of human beings, challenging a madman like Hitler was. Since then with Mussolini, can not be compared in degree of wickedness of the Fuehrer, endured all he could to avoid prejudicing the Catholic Action, the subject of harassment by the regime, which sought to end it. It is known that the Pope wanted to take the tenth anniversary of the Conciliazione to make a public complaint against it in front of all the Italian bishops, but death prevented him. However, in ten years of systematic violations of the Lateran Treaty, unless the encyclical Non abbiamo bisogno (1931), Pius XI was a patience with the Duce that, in the eyes of those who did not understand the situation, it might seem condescending. But at stake was the good of souls and for him, as he once said, the Pope was willing to negotiate even with the devil in person.
So if Pius XI had been the pope of the war, probably, though very reluctantly, I had not stood up to Hitler. Doing so would have been no other choice than to flee to London to run or fall into the hands of the tyrant. But this in no way would have favored the victims of persecution: the opposite. Was that a dilemma of Pius XII, who chose wisely as the best coverage for effective aid to the insurgents. It is very comfortable to be a hero in exile, in the way of General de Gaulle, the hard part is to be a hero in silence. We were, for example, many officials in occupied France, secret members of the Resistance, which thanks to having been silent and hidden could have helped fight the Nazis.
are an interesting sign of what Pius XI would have thought about the position of his successor to Nazism and not enough attention: Cardinal Eugène Tisserant had a temperament much like the pope Ratti (who professed great admiration ), to the point of being known as the "Lion of Lorraine" (In fact, was born in Nancy, the capital of the punished region of France). Many things went according to Pius XII and said so on more than one occasion and without mincing words. Yet not a word of criticism about a supposedly silent Pacelli attitude during the war period. In the book that the cardinal's longtime secretary, Monsignor Gilles Roche, wrote about this pope based on unpublished reports that he relied (and which were, indeed, a bizarre story), there is no censorship or phrase blame for the actions of the pontiff.
So if Pius XI had been the pope of the war, probably, though very reluctantly, I had not stood up to Hitler. Doing so would have been no other choice than to flee to London to run or fall into the hands of the tyrant. But this in no way would have favored the victims of persecution: the opposite. Was that a dilemma of Pius XII, who chose wisely as the best coverage for effective aid to the insurgents. It is very comfortable to be a hero in exile, in the way of General de Gaulle, the hard part is to be a hero in silence. We were, for example, many officials in occupied France, secret members of the Resistance, which thanks to having been silent and hidden could have helped fight the Nazis.
are an interesting sign of what Pius XI would have thought about the position of his successor to Nazism and not enough attention: Cardinal Eugène Tisserant had a temperament much like the pope Ratti (who professed great admiration ), to the point of being known as the "Lion of Lorraine" (In fact, was born in Nancy, the capital of the punished region of France). Many things went according to Pius XII and said so on more than one occasion and without mincing words. Yet not a word of criticism about a supposedly silent Pacelli attitude during the war period. In the book that the cardinal's longtime secretary, Monsignor Gilles Roche, wrote about this pope based on unpublished reports that he relied (and which were, indeed, a bizarre story), there is no censorship or phrase blame for the actions of the pontiff.
Conciliazione Image: pact must to ensure its sovereignty Church
But now we see concrete actions by Pacelli as Pius XI's secretary of state. First, we address the issue of concordat policy of the Holy See, which is attributed to the diplomatic and legalistic mentality of the former, which supposedly would have prevailed on pastoral sense. In particular, the inks are loaded by the signing of the Concordat with the German Reich in 1933. Not reflect on the fact that the policy of concordats predates the arrival of Cardinal Pacelli the third floor of the Apostolic Palace. Under the supervision of Pius XI and Cardinal Gasparri were held the following: with Latvia, Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Czechoslovakia, and German Länder of Bavaria and Prussia, as well as the Lateran Treaty (which included the Concordat with Italy) . From the time Pacelli only date, however, the covenants with Baden, Austria, Germany and Yugoslavia. The Concordat was, therefore, a policy adopted by Achille Ratti, in order to give the Church a legal instrument to defend their rights and their children.
The specific case of the Concordat with the Third Reich has been misrepresented. First, it was not ninguna aprobación del régimen nazi, el cual, por otra parte, acababa de llegar al poder y no había tenido tiempo de mostrarse en toda la crudeza de su perversión. Las mismas democracias europeas (Francia y Gran Bretaña) aún en 1938 – cuando ya se había manifestado la política racista y antisemita alemana y se había verificado el Anschluss – creían que era posible contener a Hitler y negociar con él. En segundo lugar, el concordato no fue buscado por la Santa Sede sino pedido por Hitler, el cual envió al vicecanciller, el católico Franz von Papen, a negociarlo sobre la base de un borrador de la época de la República de Weimar que había quedado archivado. El propósito the Führer was to win prestige for the brand new government even though he had no intention of respecting the agreement (which is why von Papen instructed to be long in grants). Neither Pius XI and Cardinal Pacelli had no illusions about the concordat with Germany, but at least, as entrusted to the French ambassador Charles-Roux, they had a firm legal basis on which to protest and defend the rights of the Church and German Catholics.
Another accusation that Pius XII makes is its Germanophilia, which would have been inclined to view with favor the rise of Nazism to power as an alternative to communism. In general, objects Pacelli and a right-wing authoritarian tendencies to Pius XI's sympathies more Democrats. While it is true that the latter was a determined adversary of the great totalitarianism (Fascism, Nazism and Communism) was not a fan of liberal Republicanism, which had failed to confront the social problem (which, in part, had favored the rise of the same totalitarian) and had deteriorated in some cases, anti-religious sectarianism (Mexico and Spain). The encyclical Quadragesimo anno (1931) reveals rather a social and political ideology of corporatist type, based on the principle of subsidiarity. No wonder, then, that the State novo introduced by Oliveira Salazar in Portugal and based on the same system, was seen favorably by Pius XI.
Pius XI and his beloved Secretary of State: the same desire to serve the Church
As Eugenio Pacelli, certainly felt a great sympathy for Germany, but he could be accused after having spent twelve years there? The sense of discipline, method and spirit of the legendary Teutonic order was most suited to your personality. His extraordinary mastery of the language of Goethe allowed, moreover, an established German culture. Now, talk about Germanophilia by this fact seems excessive and it is much more to infer an alleged sympathy for Nazism, even as an alternative to communism (of whose effects he had witnessed in 1919 during the Red Revolution in Bavaria nuncio Ratti as it would, indeed, the following year, when Soviet Russia invaded Poland). The future Pope Pius XII admired, however, American society, who had known build a stable and democratic system of government without resorting to extreme prejudice and European liberalism. In fact, in 1936 undertook a private tour (though with the consent of Pius XI) by the United States, where the wonder and excitement and where he returned to Rome with good and lasting friendships, especially that of President Roosevelt (who, unprecedented , sent a personal representative to Pacelli became Pope Pius XII).
Delving into the alleged propensity favorable to Nazism by Pacelli, it is worth recalling a few facts. First, the nuncio in Munich was one of the few outstanding personalities of the time you took the trouble to read Mein Kampf , a book which took the ugliest of the impressions, considering a potential danger, according to the testimony of Mother Pascualina Lehnert, governess to the Nuncio. Also consider the fact eloquently of the close friendship with Cardinal Pacelli linking with the German bishops most militant of the Hitler regime, Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber of Munich, Blessed Clemens August von Galen, Bishop of Munster and Bishop Conrad von Preysing Berlin. In addition, the anti-Nazism of the Secretary of State for Pius XI is clearly established by the encyclical Mit brennender Sorge (1937), Pacelli staff work in collaboration with Cardinal Faulhaber, as evidenced by the minutes of the original document with hand-written annotations Lyrics former. It is known also that when congratulating the Pope on the encyclical, he turned toward him and said, pointing: "it is the merit" . Anyway, should not be overlooked the strong rebuke of which was the subject Innitzer Cardinal of Vienna, summoned to Rome to demand an explanation for Pacelli's benevolent attitude toward the Anschluss.
remains the question of the famous encyclical phantom racism that Pius XI had wanted to publish prevent the death. It has been criticized Pius XII for not having rejected angered Germany, thus contributing to the persecution of the Jews and ethnic minorities. Achille Ratti is true that I had in mind to make a formal statement on the issue of racial discrimination in June 1938 and instructed the American Jesuit John LaFarge preparing the document, to be called Humani generis unitas . The priest worked on it all summer and return to his country gave the draft to the director of La Civiltà Cattolica for that he should make to reach the Pope. However, it was clear that what he had written P. LaFarge was far from being a definitive text. Good Jesuit, while committed opponent of the theory of race and anti-Semitism, paid tribute to the son of his time and did not disdain to pick up some traditional arguments of this religious anti-Judaism in Christianity (which, moreover, the Holy See was far from sharing.) Since then, the text was not, by far in advance of Nostra Aetate. Pius XI, who had publicly stated that "we are all Semites spiritually" , if you read it, certainly rule it out. Pius XII had been authorized its publication today would accuse him of intolerance and anti-Semitic.
Last audience of Pius XI (3.II.1939) One last point, the thread precisely this new anniversary of the death of Pius XI. This was attributed to Mussolini, who, to prevent the Pope publicly denouncing the fascist regime in the midst of celebrations marking the tenth anniversary of the Lateran Treaty, would have instructed the Papal arquíatra Dr. Giuseppe Petacci (father of his lover Claretta) to administer a lethal injection to the already weakened and almost dying priest, who prayed to God just one more day of life to carry out its mission. The species was released many years later by Cardinal Tisserant, but strongly denied by Cardinal Carlo Confalonieri, in 1939 was private chamberlain of Pius XI and was watching all the time with him during his agony. On the other hand, neither Bishop Mario Rocca di Corneliano Nasalli also private chamberlain, or master of camera Bishop Antonio di Sant'Elia Arborio Mella, both papal entourage persons right to mention the thing in his memoirs.
The truth is that Eugenio Pacelli came naturally to Achille Ratti (which is what he wanted and the Cardinals saw fit). Both pontificates be considered together seamlessly. The grand plans for universal screening of the Church that had Pius XI were made magnificently during the reign of his successor: the great missionary expansion, promotion of indigenous clergy, independence and prestige of the Holy See, the promotion of the apostolate of the laity, the use of new technologies in the service of religion ... They were, yes, two potatoes and two styles, but shared a love for the Church and one purpose of serving God and saving souls.
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