The late years of the pontificate of Pope Pius XII were characterized by a hesitancy in personnel decisions.[ citation needed ] After a major illness in 1954, he redirected his energies from Vatican clergy to the concerns of lay people.
The late years of the pontificate of Pope Pius XII were characterized by a hesitancy in personnel decisions.[ citation needed ] After a major illness in 1954, he redirected his energies from Vatican clergy to the concerns of lay people.
In the last years of his pontificate, while open to all the faithful and visitors to Rome, Pius was viewed[ by whom? ] as limiting contacts with Vatican clergy and representatives of the Roman Curia. Pope Pius procrastinated personnel decisions, but also found it increasingly difficult to chastise subordinates and appointees.[ citation needed ] Domenico Tardini provides an insight: Pope Pius received a monsignor whose work performance left much to be desired. Upon leaving the Papal rooms, Tardini asked the monsignor how it went. "The Holy Father is so happy with my work." Tardini interrupted him, "But the Holy Father told me …." "Yes" was the answer, "he told me that too, but he is happy with me overall." [1] He attempted to avoid unnecessary contacts with the clergy, because of their constant demands for recognition and positions.
During the last years of the pontificate, vacant Vatican positions were not always filled. ”The Roman Curia experienced certain stagnation.” [3] In his last years, it was difficult for Pius to make decisions regarding the promotion of Curia priests. [4] Domenico Tardini gave a significant insight, Pius' huge concern about appointments.
The seeming inability to talk to appointees about their performance, extended also to his one-time physician, Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi. He was finally dismissed by the Pope in 1956, but gained admittance in October 1958 as the Pope lay dying and took photographs of Pius which he sold to Paris Match, forcing him to resign as chief physician of the Vatican ("pontifical archiater") in the wake of massive public protests. When Pius died, Galeazzi-Lisi assumed the role of Pius' embalmer, using controversial methods. [5]
The pastoral needs of the Church were not affected by his procrastination on Vatican positions. New bishops were appointed whenever necessary. The Pacelli-Pope favoured naming unconventional, often very young priests, such as Julius Döpfner (35 years) and Karol Wojtyla (38 years), one of his last appointees in 1958.
Robert Leiber reports that during the life of Pope Pius XII, fabrications were published about his personal life such as his allegedly austere life, sleeping on a bare iron bed and being attended to by four German Capuchin monks at six a.m. every morning with a single cup of black coffee. [6] Horror stories continued after the death of Pius XII, many originating in Cornwell’s Hitler’s Pope published in 1999, such as the allegation that the papal nose was falling off, and collapsing Vatican guards. [7]
Controversy caused the Vatican position on French worker-priests. In 1941, worker-priest Dominican Father Jacques Loew began a new priestly mission by working as a priest in the docks at Marseilles, France. [8] Many followed him. Originally, a dedicated idealistic group, they soon split, some of them joined political parties and unions, others left the priesthood altogether. Conflicts with the Vatican developed after some worker-priests advocated a close association between Marxism and Catholicism, as American sympathizer Dorothy Day freely admitted. [9] Some like Jacques Loew were able to combine personal piety and spirituality with a full engagement in factory work. The French bishops were divided. [10] The Vatican was divided too, with Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini, later Pope Paul VI, allegedly in favour. Against considerable opposition of French bishops, Pope Pius decided to stop the experiment. Priests were to work in rectories not in factories. Allowed to work for three hours factory work, they were prohibited from joining unions and had to live in rectories or religious communities. Pope John XXIII continued and even sharpened the decision of his predecessor in 1959 by withdrawing the three-hour work permit completely. [11]
To Pius, a clear separation of priestly duties and the role of lay people was essential. This position mirrored his earlier insistence that Catholic priests should not be in politics. Loew bowed to the Vatican, and in 1971 Pope Paul VI invited him to preach the Lenten retreat in the Vatican. Earlier in 1965, he attempted to resurrect the French worker-priest experiment [11] but without much success.
Theologians began to create problems from both ends of the philosophical spectrum. On the ultra-conservative end was American Jesuit Leonard Feeney, who taught that Protestants and other non-Catholics are on their way to hell, because extra ecclesiam nulla salus: there is no salvation outside of the Church. This old teaching was undergoing development. Feeney overlooked that aspect and was not only silenced, he was excommunicated under Pope Pius XII for his outdated interpretation of Catholic doctrine.
In Europe, Catholic theology tried to go different roads, which did not all lead to Rome. History was rediscovered, including the history of dogma, opening the door to theological relativism. The Cardinal of Paris, Suhard, questioned whether the historically conditioned theological language of Thomas Aquinas is really the only permitted form of expressing one truth. [12] Pope Pius XII, first in 1950 in Humani generis, warned against adopting of philosophies which today are modern, tomorrow hopelessly old-fashioned. Defending traditional Thomism, Pope Pius asked for its reform and further improvement rather than rejection, which would lead to positivism and relativism in theology. In the following years, the Sacred Congregation began to review critical theologians, issuing condemnations or threats of condemnation, which generated within the Church a sense of narrowness and distrust. [13] Mainly French and German theologians were affected. Theologians like Henri de Lubac, Yves Congar and Karl Rahner were reprimanded or temporarily silenced. Pius was not personally involved in this development, and may have tried to change course; in his last speech to honour Pope Benedict XIV, to be delivered to the Roman Curia in October 1958, he was to announce a revision of the review processes of the Church, increasing the rights of individuals and protecting them from secret investigations. [14] Several years later, this reform was carried out by his successors.
In his last years, Pope Pius devoted most of his energies to meetings with lay people and addressed their problems in an unprecedented range of topics to large and small organizations, in which he confronted the big questions of the time in light of their specific concerns or orientation. This was based on his theology of the Mystical Body of Christ, [15] "Lay people not only belong to the Church, they are the Church." [16] "Therefore they must turn the world from a wilderness to a humanistic and from a humanistic to a divine world, reflecting the Heart of God." [17]
Pope Pius XII spoke to members of scientific congresses, explaining Christian teachings in light of most recent scientific results. Sometimes he answered specific moral questions which were addressed to him. To professional associations he explained specific occupational ethics in light of Church teachings. During the last three months of his pontificate, Pius XII gave the following thirty addresses:
Pope Pius took strong stands against hedonism, which in his view had influenced many faithful, and called for a return to a heroic virtuous life which means a renunciation of average mediocrity. [22] [23] [24] As a norm, all Christians are called to perfection. With their sacrifices and suffering, they must continue and complete the sufferings of Christ, as Mystici corporis Christi , [25] [26] and thus participate in the great mystery of salvation. The Church needs saints in today’s world, especially among the lay people. [27] The Holy Eucharist with Christ in God should be the centre of life. [28]
The worldwide monthly prayer requests of Pope Pius XII allowed lay people to participate in the pastoral concerns of the Holy Father through the Apostleship of Prayer. These prayers reflected his real concerns and created a universal prayerful community. They reflected again Mystici corporis that all Catholics are true and full members of the Church. [29] A fervent call to heroic life was promulgated to the Sodalities of Mary, whose vows included such efforts towards the perfect Christian life. [30]
Pope Pius XII wanted the life of priests to be a mirror of Christ’s love. The Cross is the tool of salvation [31] and not a flight into social action. [32] He warned of mistaken tributes to contemporary thinking. Instead, the priest must communicate Jesus Christ as living reality and enunciate clear goals of sanctity. [33] He explained his high appreciation of voluntary virginity for the sake of Christ in terms of apostolic zeal and contemplative prayer.
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Pope Pius XII was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his election to the papacy, he served as secretary of the Department of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, papal nuncio to Germany, and Cardinal Secretary of State, in which capacity he worked to conclude treaties with various European and Latin American nations, including the Reichskonkordat treaty with the German Reich.
Pope Paul VI was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in August 1978. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council, which he closed in 1965, implementing its numerous reforms. He fostered improved ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements. In January 1964, he flew to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. This was the first time a reigning pontiff had flown on an airplane, the first papal pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and the first time a Pope had left Italy in more than a century.
Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi was an Italian medical doctor who served as Pope Pius XII's personal physician from 1939 until his dismissal in 1958. During his service in the Vatican he was officially titled "Archiatra Pontificio". The pope also made him an honorary member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He managed to be present at the 1958 death of Pius XII and created a scandal in this context with his attempt to publish pictures and stories about the dying pontiff. He was also a member of the International Society for the History of Medicine.
Domenico Tardini was a longtime aide to Pope Pius XII in the Secretariat of State. Pope John XXIII named him Cardinal Secretary of State and, in this position the most prominent member of the Roman Curia in Vatican City.
Mystici Corporis Christi(The Mystical Body of Christ) is an encyclical issued by Pope Pius XII on 29 June 1943 during World War II. Its main topic is the Catholic Church as the Mystical Body of Christ.
Pietro Parente was a long-serving theologian in the Holy Office of the Roman Catholic Church, and was made a cardinal on 26 June 1967. At his peak he was regarded as one of the foremost Italian theologians.
The Magisterium of Pope Pius XII consists of some 1,600 mostly non-political speeches, messages, radio and television speeches, homilies, apostolic letters, and encyclicals of Pope Pius XII. His magisterium has been largely neglected or even overlooked by his biographers, who center on the policies of his pontificate.
The Church policies after World War II of Pope Pius XII focused on material aid to war-torn Europe, the internationalization of the Roman Catholic Church, its persecution in Eastern Europe, China and Vietnam, and relations with the United States and the emerging European Union.
Pontificia Commissione di Assistenza (PCA), also known as “Pontificia Commissione di Assistenza ai Profughi”, “Vatican mission” and “Vatican Relief”, was a papal ad hoc commission, created by Pope Pius XII on April 18, 1944, to provide quick, non-bureaucratic and direct aid to needy populations, refugees, and prisoners in war-torn Europe.
Pope Pius XII and Russia describes relations of the Vatican with the Soviet Union, Russia, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Eastern Catholic Churches resulting in the eradication of the Church in most parts of the Soviet Union during the Stalinist era. Most persecutions of the Church occurred during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII.
Persecutions against the Catholic Church took place during the papacy of Pope Pius XII (1939–1958). Pius' reign coincided with World War II (1939–1945), followed by the commencement of the Cold War and the accelerating European decolonisation. During his papacy, the Catholic Church faced persecution under Fascist and Communist governments.
Fulgens corona is an encyclical by Pope Pius XII, given at St. Peter's, Rome, on 8 September 1953, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the fifteenth year of his Pontificate. The encyclical proclaims a Marian year for 1954, to commemorate the centenary of the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.
Raimondo Spiazzi OP was an Italian Catholic theologian, advisor to Pius XII, and Mariologist with over 2,500 publications.
The theology of Pope Pius XII is reflected in his forty-one encyclicals, as well as speeches and nearly 1000 messages, during his almost 20-year pontificate. The encyclicals Mystici corporis and Mediator Dei advanced the understanding of membership and participation in the Catholic Church. The encyclical Divino afflante Spiritu began opening the door to historical-critical biblical studies. But his magisterium was far larger and is difficult to summarize. In numerous speeches Catholic teaching is related to various aspects of life, education, medicine, politics, war and peace, the life of saints, Mary, the mother of God, things eternal and temporal.
Ingruentium malorum is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII on reciting the rosary, issued on September 15, 1951, the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary:
It is an appeal for an intensification of the traditional October Rosary devotions, making a particular recommendation for the family recitation of the Rosary, begging Our Lady to obtain peace for individuals, for families, for peoples, for nations, and for the Church throughout the world.
Under Pope Pius XII, there were the several reforms of Catholic Eastern canon law applying to the Eastern Catholic Churches.
The Mariology of the popes is the theological study of the influence that the popes have had on the development, formulation and transformation of the Roman Catholic Church's doctrines and devotions relating to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Le pèlerinage de Lourdes is the only encyclical of Pope Pius XII issued in French. It includes warnings against materialism on the centenary of the apparitions at Lourdes. It was given at Rome, from St. Peter's Basilica, on the feast of the Visitation of the Most Holy Virgin, July 2, 1957, the nineteenth year of his pontificate.
Eastern Catholic victims of Soviet persecutions include bishops and others among the tens of thousands of victims of Soviet persecutions from 1918 to approximately 1980, under the state ideology of Marxist–Leninist atheism.
The relations between Pope Pius XII and Judaism have long been controversial, especially those questions that surround Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust. Other issues involve Pius's Jewish friendships and his attitude towards the new state of Israel.
