The Pope's Last Crusade: How an American Jesuit Helped Pope Pius XI's Campaign to Stop Hitler - Hardcover

Eisner, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062049143 ISBN 13: 9780062049148

Publisher: William Morrow, 2013

Synopsis

Physical Description; x, 292 pages, [16] pages of plates: illustrations, maps; 24 cm. Summary; Draws on new archival research to examine Pope Pius XI's effort to reject Nazism, discussing how he enlisted the assistance of John La Farge, a virtually unknown American Jesuit, to craft a papal encyclical condemning Hitler's campaign against the Jews. Contents; A settling of accounts -- Nostalgia confronts reality -- A "crooked cross" -- The imposition of the Reich -- The Pope's battle plan -- The flying cardinal -- A democratic response -- In the heat of the summer -- The Pope's discontent -- Shame and despair -- A new year and an end to appeasement -- Will there be time? -- Change overnight -- The new regime -- Excerpts from LaFarge's encyclical. Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-277) and index. Subjects; Pius XI, Pope, 1857-1939. La Farge, John, 1880-1963. Pius XII, Pope, 1876-1958--Relations with Germany. Catholic Church--Germany--History--1933-1945. Church and state--Germany--History--1933-1945. World War, 1939-1945--Religious aspects--Catholic Church. National socialism and religion.

About this title

Review:

"An exciting reminder of how Vatican machinations continue to haunt history."--Kirkus Reviews

"Gripping. ... Finally, the story of a lost opportunity that could have affected the course of history can now be told."--Voice of Reason

"Engrossing. ... Lively."--Library Journal

Engrossing. ... Lively. --Library Journal"

An exciting reminder of how Vatican machinations continue to haunt history. --Kirkus Reviews"

Gripping. ... Finally, the story of a lost opportunity that could have affected the course of history can now be told. --Voice of Reason"

From the Back Cover:

A conspiracy within the Vatican—to stop an outspoken Pope

In 1938, Pope Pius XI was the world's most prominent critic of Hitler and his rhetoric of ethnic "purity." To make his voice heard, Pius called upon a relatively unknown American Jesuit whose writing about racism in America had caught the Pope's attention. Pius enlisted John LaFarge to write a papal encyclical—the Vatican's strongest decree—publicly condemning Hitler, Mussolini, and their murderous Nazi campaign against the Jews.

At the same time conservative members of the Vatican's innermost circle were working in secret to suppress the document. Chief among them was Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, whose appeasement of the Germans underlay a deep-running web of conspiracy. Pacelli, who would become Pope Pius XII, was joined by Wlodimir Ledóchowski, leader of the Jesuit order, to keep the finished encyclical from reaching the increasingly ill Pope.

Peter Eisner, award-winning reporter and author of the critically acclaimed The Freedom Line, combines shocking new evidence (released only recently from Vatican archives) and eyewitness testimony to create a compelling journey into the heart of the Vatican and a little-known story of an American's partnership with the head of the Catholic Church. A truly essential work, it brings staggering new light to one of the most critical junctures in modern history.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0062049143
• ISBN 13: 9780062049148
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320