Soldier of Christ: The Life of Pope Pius XII by Robert A. Ventresca (review)

Unlike some other works on Pius XII that look only at his record regarding the Jews during the period of Nazism, Robert A. Ventresca introduces his readers to the full life and career of Eugenio Pacelli. This gives his volume an in-depth perspective on Pius XII’s response to the Nazi effort to exterminate the Jews of Europe—a view often lacking in more restricted accounts of his papacy. The more complete picture of Eugenio Pacelli’s life makes this volume one of the best studies currently available.

Ventresca opens his volume with an examination of Pacelli’s early upbringing in Rome, where even as a child he manifested a taste for the diplomatic world he observed through his father’s role in Italian politics. This upbringing instilled a strong commitment to the Vatican state, and left Pacelli with deep pride in his Roman heritage, a feeling that would carry over into his policies during the Nazi era.

In a prologue Ventresca tells us that he considers most other accounts of Pope Pius XII’s record considerably distorted and highly selective. I find his claim significantly overstated. He neglects several important scholarly works such as those by José Sanchez and Frank Coppa. Yet, I believe that the author has a partially valid point on the importance of comprehensiveness with regard to Pacelli’s life and policies.

Ventresca emphasizes that Pius XII’s early training for the priesthood took place largely during the so-called “Modernist Crisis” in continental European Catholicism. It appears that this attempt to bring the liberal democratic tradition to bear on Church teachings initially intrigued Pacelli. But as people who knew him reported, as the Vatican turned against proponents of the Modernist perspective and began to remove any of its partisans from significant ecclesiastical positions, Pacelli also turned against the movement and became more closed in his vision of the Church and far more cautious in his speech about religious and political matters. Here we see, according to Ventresca, the emergence of a public persona that would remain with Pacelli throughout his service to the Church.

Another formative experience for Pacelli was his nunciate in Munich, where he witnessed the emergence of various social revolutionaries, some of whom he singled out as Jewish. The experience seems to have strengthened his commitment to defend the institutional Church at all costs. This sense of responsibility would carry over into his papacy.

This devotion to social stability for the good of the Church led Pacelli to promote, as nuncio to Germany, the idea of a coalition government that would include Hitler’s party. But a coalition was staunchly opposed by nearly all Catholic political leaders in Germany. Pacelli’s “softness” with respect to Hitler divided him and the leadership of the predominantly Catholic German Center Party, a chasm that was never resolved. On this point Ventresca is too favorable to Pacelli. The Catholic leadership of the Center Party were correct in their objections to inclusion of the Nazi Party in a coalition government. Their continued critique of Pacelli’s position was quite valid.

A major aspect of Pacelli’s career as papal diplomat and as Pope is the importance he attached to the concordat with the Vatican, a pact to which Hitler agreed. Pacelli saw this as his own contribution to the Church’s security. While he certainly was never unaware of or unconcerned by the Nazi government’s violations of many of the concordat’s provisions, he also felt it was better to keep it in force rather than renounce it. This attitude was in large part responsible for his reticence to denounce Hitler publicly despite pleas from political leaders and Church officials. Ventresca gives the impression that Pacelli’s unwavering commitment to the concordat is key to understanding his papacy, the “golden calf” that blocked any possibility of a more prophetic public stance.

Pacelli experienced a...