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.
#506499 in Books 2009-09-30 2009-08-17Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.20 x .90 x 5.50l; .80 #File Name: 0674034651384 pages
Review
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. An Amazing Book...By Bob McCrory...but hard to read sometimes.As much as I've read about the Third Reich; it was only after reading this book that I was able to glimpse the horror of it. The pervasive racism; the complicity of the German people; the active involvement of the Wehrmacht; the destruction of the bodies and history of the Jews in Europe; and the way in which it is all remembered (if at all) is laid out in detail. The book is hard to read sometimes - not because it is badly written - but because I didn't want to believe that it was possible for people to behave this way.This book should be mandatory reading for anyone interested in or studying the Second World War.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. A must readBy Brad SA fantastically written book about real life during the war years through the lens of the german citizens. Backed by facts; diary entries and unembellished war stories of the victors; this is a must read.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Life and Death in WarBy ReaderroverHow can you love a book about WWII? Well; if it's well written; well documented; very thorough and very thoughtful - it can be done.
