Hitler's Pope - The Secret History of Pius XII (paperback)
In 'Hitler's Pope' award-winning journalist John Cornwell shows that Eugenio Pacelli, Pope Pius XII, was instrumental in negotiating an accord that helped the Nazis rise to unhindered power and sealed the fate of the Jews in Europe.
In a new preface, John Cornwell answers his critics and reaffirms his overall thesis that Pius XII, now moving toward beatification by the Vatican, weakened the Catholic Church in the eyes of the world with his endorsement of Hitler.
Drawing upon secret Vatican and Jesuit archives to which he had unprecedented access, Cornwell tells the full, tragic story of how narcissism, long-standing personal antipathy for the Jews, and political and spiritual ambition combined to make Pius the most dangerous churchman in history. Not just a firm and final indictment of Pius XII's papacy, Hitler's Pope is also a searing exploration of its lingering consequences for the Catholic Church today.