The Defamation of Pius XII (Key Texts)

Eugenio Pacelli, Pius XII, was one of the few unalloyed heroes of World War II. At great personal risk, he saved some 800,000 Jews from extermination by the Nazis. Jewish refugees were given asylum in the Vatican, swelling the number of Swiss Guards. No Allied leader can match his glorious record. Golda Meir lauded Pius XII after the war, and the chief rabbi of Rome became a Roman Catholic, taking the name of Eugenio in tribute to Eugenio Pacelli.

Why then has such a man been vilified and all but accused of being responsible for the Holocaust? Rolf Hochhuth's infamous play, The Deputy, marked the turning point. The outrageous distortions of this play turned the greatest friend the Jewish people had during World War II into an anti-Semite. This book restores Pius XII to the rank of hero, demolishes the ludicrous charges against him, and identifies the true target of this infamous calumny: the Church, the papacy, and the Christian moral teaching which confronts and condemns the Culture of Death.

Ralph McInerny, prof. emer. of philosophy, former director of the Maritain Center at Notre Dame, and author of over 100 books in philosophy, history, translation, and – what he’s most known for – mysteries, particularly the Fr. Dowling novels and the recent Notre Dame series.

His writing awards include:  Bouchercon Lifetime Achievement Award (1993), Agatha Award (1988), and Best Short Story for “Dutiful Son” (1988). He was the first recipient of the James Schall Award for Teaching and Humane Letters (2008), and received the most prestigious award in philosophy, the Gifford Lectures (1999–2000).