Pius XII. The Hound of Hitler

By any reckoning the issues at stake in the relationship between Pius XII and Hitler`s Germany are key to any understanding of the origins and progress of the Second World War.

Noel neither denies the fatal effect of the Vatican`s Concord with Hitler nor Pius XII's failure to condemn Hitler`s attempt to exterminate the Jews. This is a highly original study of the exercise of political and religious power, of real politik and the extent to which politics is always the art of the possible.

But beyond this, we are offered a portrait of a man in highest power and authority who was mother fixated, under the influence of German nun Sister Pasqualina, who became the real power behind the throne and was ultimately more liberal and anti-Nazi than the Pope. It was Pasqualina herself who did most to shelter the Jewish population of Rome.

There is a move to canonise Pius XII, resisted tooth and nail by many. For this reason alone Pius XII will continue to command huge attention and controversy. But beyond these issues, Noel has produced an extraordinary study of the wartime Pope.

Table of Contents

1. The Quest Begins
2. The Design Unfolds
3. Enter Pasqualina
4. The Attack at the Nunciature
5. The Best Informed Diplomat in Germany
6. Secretary of State
7. Shaking Hands with the Devil
8. The Flying Cardinal
9. With Deep Anxiety
10. Pastor Angelicus
11. Darkness over the Earth
12. Ecclesiastical Lust
13. The Croatian Genocide
14. The Final Solution
15. The War in Rome
16. An Uneasy Peace
17. The Great Design
18. The Church of Silence
19. Casa Pastor Angelicus
20. The Verdicts of History
21. Pope Pius X11: An Apologia