A Bridge Across the Ocean: The United States and the Holy See between the Two World Wars

Afterword by Luigi Rossi

aFterword Gerald P. Fogarty’s foreword describes the intricate fabric of this book, focusing on the most significant aspects of Luca Castagna’s research. Since I have followed its progress and am in some ways responsible for the choice of subject, I should like to underline the importance of the sources used, for they have made it possible, with a many-sided approach, to give an interpretation of the events that is in some ways innovative. The research’s point of reference is certain aspects of U.S. history, and on this basis the book deals with the ways in which Vatican diplomacy operated in a context that was by no means easy: that of North America within the more general dynamic workings of international relations during a dramatic period of world history. The author has integrated the primary sources of various provenance with an appropriate selection of Vatican documentation concerning the papacy of Pius XI and has compared this with the abundant historical studies of recent years. Among much else, he deals with the Vatican’s attitude to Nazi-Fascist escalation and describes events that are familiar, so presenting us with a complete and well-articulated account. This is made possible by paying constant attention both to the internal issues and to more strictly diplomatic aspects of relations between countries. Recognition of the overall pattern of events has enabled Castagna to describe the processes that have determined the slow but evident transformation in relations between the United States of America and the Holy See, which in his opinion were due to changes brought about by the choices of positions and styles of government of the many protagonists: popes, presidents, secretaries of state, diplomatic representatives, and apostolic delegates in a mix of individual psychologies, cultural 167 168 LUIGI ROSSI backgrounds, interests, and traditions slowly blended by the need to reach an agreement as the horizons were darkened by the crisis the European powers were experiencing, and the emergence of new ideologies and new strategic, political, and diplomatic options. Against this background, the most significant moments of change are described in the light of main international events such as the Conference of Versailles, postwar reconstruction, the 1929 crisis, the Spanish Civil War, the Anschluss, the Conference of Munich, and finally the outbreak of the Second World War. Though he was not made pope until 1939, Eugenio Pacelli had reached the stage when he was able to lead Vatican policy as early as 1936–37 because of the ever-worsening condition of Pius XI’s health. The convergence of the positions of the president of the United States and the Vatican secretary of state reached its height in their mutual understanding of the need for diplomatic rapprochement in the face of the deepening international crisis. The decision was made necessary by the approaching snares and threats, but was pursued with tact, circumspection, and caution not only because of Hitler’s predictable and feared reactions but also because of the unrelenting anti-Catholic prejudice rooted in the United States. This is the general picture that enables us to appreciate the wealth of references, analyses, and interpretations that Castagna has formulated with regard to personages that in some cases were not very familiar or who had been perceived differently. He does well to dwell on Amleto Giovanni Cicognani and Pietro Fumasoni Biondi, the apostolic delegates to Washington, who were expected to carry out the directions formulated in Rome, and on George Mundelein, the cardinal archbishop of Chicago, who was aware of public opinion and the views of American diplomatic and political circles. A careful reading of the book confirms an aspect of the history of the United States that is repeatedly encountered: idealism as a force capable of orienting decisions in foreign affairs. In spite of the urgency dictated by the dangerous chain of events in Europe and the knowledge that the Vatican was a privileged observation point, uniquely strategic of its kind, the decision to send Myron C. Taylor AFTERWORD 169 as a personal representative to the Vatican was justified by Roosevelt by the mutual attempt to achieve peace against the forces of evil. The American president’s statement on the matter finds its echo in Pacelli’s words a few months earlier when, referring to the United States and the Holy See, he identified them as the two greatest “moral forces” of the world. Luca Castagna’s work throws light...