Books by authors who defend Pius XII are practically 
dismissed today
by the media and by writers who are prejudiced.

Pope Pius XII

By Margherita Marchione

Why was Pope Pius XII publicly honored during and after the war? Were Jews on six continents ignorant of the facts? How do Pius XII’s detractors explain the praise and gratitude of survivors?

Contrary to Susan Zuccotti’s statements, in Under His Very Windows: The Vatican and the Holocaust in Italy (Yale University Press, 2001), oral and written testimonies of Catholic rescuers, acting under Pius XII’s direct orders, are available. Pope John XXIII explained the motivation for his efforts in Istanbul during the war:

“For all these painful matters I have referred to the Holy See and simply carried out the Pope’s orders: first and foremost to save Jewish lives.” (Michael O’Carroll. Pius XII: Greatness Dishonoured, Dublin: Laetare Press, 1980, p. 21.)

The chief rabbi of Rome, Elio Toaff, upon learning of Pius XII’s death, said: “More than any other people, the Italian Jews had experienced the great pity and supreme generosity of the Pontiff during the unhappy years of persecution and terror, when it seemed to them that they had no way of escape. His Jewish compatriots will everlastingly remember with gratitude the papal ruling to open the doors of convents and parish houses to them. The Jewish community is in mourning for the death of Pope Pius XII, and with sincere sentiments it raises its prayers to the Lord that He may grant His generous and chosen soul every beatitude.” (The Tablet of London, October 25, 1958, p. 371.)

After years of research that began in 1959, the book, Never Again: History of the Holocaust (Universe Publishers, 2000) by British researcher Sir Martin Gilbert, contains an extraordinary chapter on Pope Pius XII’s humanitarianism. Gilbert thanks the Vatican for what was done to save Jewish lives. We owe this historian a debt of gratitude.

In an interview, Gilbert noted that Christians were among the first victims of the Nazis and that the Churches took a very powerful stand. . . . On the question of Pope Pius XII’s alleged silence, he added, “So the test for Pacelli was when the Gestapo came to Rome in 1943 to round up Jews. And the Catholic Church, on his direct authority, immediately dispersed as many Jews as they could.”

Books by authors who defend Pius XII are practically dismissed today by the media and by writers who are prejudiced. This is an injustice against the Catholic Church. On the other hand, contemporary authors of several new books who condemn the Pope are called “historians and scholars.” it suffices to mention John Cornwell, Michael Phayer and Susan Zuccotti whose books are filled with falsehoods that clearly and directly attack Pope Pius XII’s integrity.

During World War II, Pius XII believed that, had he publicly confronted Hitler, thousands of additional victims would have been exterminated. Enough has been said about John Cornwell. In an article, “Pius XII as Scapegoat” (First Things, August-September 2000, pp. 20-22), Michael Novak refers to some critics (including Cornwell) who “demand in retrospect an open, no-holds-barred papal condemnation of unprecedented evil. They offer nothing but speculation . . . and must concede to the papacy far greater rhetorical power than modern theories of the advanced secularization of Europe permit. Do such historians pledge that they, for instance, would heed the solemn words of a pope today, even when those words go against their own beliefs and interests? And if they wouldn’t today, why would others then?”

One need only glance at the jacket of Phayer’s book, The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930-1965 (Indiana University Press, 2000) to understand his thesis. It is the most anti-Catholic illustration ever published by a supposedly reputable American press—a sketch of a bishop and an SS officer standing over the corpse of a Jew wearing the Star of David.

Does Phayer take into consideration that Pius XII, whose focus was to save as many lives as possible, provided shelter to the persecuted Jews and other refugees? The Pope coordinated the Catholic Church’s efforts and cared for suffering humanity. According to a document published by Andrea Riccardi in Vita e Pensiero (Milan, 1975) the Vatican secretary of state encouraged all the superiors of religious orders in Europe to open their doors.

Among other inaccuracies in her book, Susan Zuccotti reiterates that Vatican protests against Italian anti-Jewish laws were limited to measures affecting converts and Jews in mixed marriages with Catholics. She also claims that today there are no witnesses who can testify that they, at the direction of Pius XII, helped save Jews. The following document destroys Zuccotti’s thesis that there is no evidence of a papal directive to Church institutions to shelter Jews. It was written on September 26, 2000: “I, Sister Domenica Mitaritonna, declare under oath that during the period of the war 1942-1943, I was living at 16 Via Caboto, Rome, and assisted two or three Jewish families who sought refuge in our convent. They were welcomed with immense hospitality by the Superior who had been solicited by the Vatican to help them. With joy we received the Jews and tried to make their stay, living in the little theater of our school, less painful. Another Sister and I took turns near a window each evening for fear that the Germans would arrive. One night, German soldiers stopped their truck near our school. We were frightened and spread the word. The Jews were rushed to the trap door beneath the stage to hide. When a shoemaker who lived near us told them it was an elementary school, the soldiers departed. The Jews were saved. With fraternal affection, Sister Domenica Mitaritonna” (Istituto “Maestre Pie Filippini”). This story and many others are told in, Yours Is a Precious Witness. Memoirs of Jews and Catholics in Wartime Italy (Paulist Press, Mahwah, N.J., 1997).

Perhaps Susan Zuccotti’s contradictory statements and the contempt she expresses in her book, Under His Very Windows surpass that of Hitler’s Pope by John Cornwell! By refusing to grant Pius XII credit for his leadership during World War II, by ignoring the testimony of contemporary witnesses and the innumerable statements in the media that acknowledge his words and actions on behalf of the Jews, by denigrating the many Catholic leaders who endangered their own lives to protect Jews, Zuccotti clearly exposes her prejudices.

If Pius XII did not speak out against the Nazis, why did newspapers in Germany condemn him for speaking out? Why did the New York Times and the media throughout the world praise him? If the Pope had been “silent,” why did past historians claim that he had condemned racism and totalitarianism? Has she correctly interpreted the twelve volumes of Vatican documents prepared by four Jesuit historians between 1965-1981? Has she studied the twenty volumes of Discorsi e radiomessaggi and the twenty volumes of Atti e discorsi di Pio XII where one can fully and honestly interpret his religious and political point of view? How can any writer ignore the many documents that contradict Susan Zuccotti’s statements? 

Sister Margherita Marchione, Ph.D., the author of 30 books and 100 articles, received the Michael award from the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame in 1993. She is one of the world’s leading scholars on the Holocaust and Pope Pius XII. Her books on this topic are in both English and Italian: Yours Is a Precious Witness: Memoirs of Jews and Catholics in Wartime Italy (1997), and Pius XII: Architect for Peace (Paulist Press, 1999).