Pius XIII

The hero of the series "Young Pope" - 47-year-old Lenny Belardo - originally from Brooklyn, USA. The action of the tape takes place today. After being elected pope, Belardo changed his name to Pius, becoming the thirteenth pontiff named after this saint.

In reality, Pope Pius XIII did not exist: the character was invented by the scriptwriters of the series.

Lenny was abandoned by his hippie parents as a child, and he was raised by nuns. His childhood traumas and personal upheavals subsequently affect a billion Catholic believers. Pius XIII wants to become a father for the faithful and practically throughout the entire series tries to get rid of the thoughts of a tragic childhood that constantly plague him. He has to renounce the "understandable" world and enter a much more complex world - the spiritual.

Pope Francis in his youth and Pius XIII from the series "Young Pope"

Francis

Pope Francis (before his election - Jorge Mario Bergoglio) was born in the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. He spent his childhood in the family of a railway worker and a housewife. From his own experience, he felt how ordinary hard workers live, starting from an early age to earn extra money: first as a cleaner, laboratory chemist, and then as a bouncer in a nightclub. At the age of 12, he fell in love with his neighbor. He told her: “If I don’t marry you, I will be a priest” - and, as we can see, he kept his word.

The mother of the future pontiff wanted her son to become a doctor. But her hopes were dashed in 1958 when Bergoglio decided to join the order of Jesuit priests.

He was attracted by their military obedience and discipline. As a priest, Bergoglio was formed during the so-called "dirty war" in Argentina, which began with a coup d'etat.

Almost immediately after joining the order, Bergoglio was appointed mentor of novices, and two and a half years later - the head of the province. A few years later, Bergoglio became a priest, and later headed the Argentine Jesuits. For some time he lived in exactly the same conditions as the poorest people of Buenos Aires, in a tiny apartment, cooked his own food and used public transport. Therefore, he received the nickname Bishop of the Slum among the people.

In 2005, Bergoglio was one of the most likely candidates for the post of pope after the death of the previous head of the Catholics, John Paul II. But he was bypassed by Joseph Alois Ratzinger, who eventually became a pontiff. However, in 2013, then 86-year-old Benedict resigned due to health conditions, and the conclave elected the 266th Pope of Rome, Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

Francis is the first in many endeavors. He first introduced the Jesuit order in the pontificate. He is the first pope from the New World. In addition, no one accepted the name of this saint before Francis.

Daily life and character

Pius XIII

Dad is a heavy smoker with an incredibly bloated ego. He suffers from a vow of celibacy, prefers a modest breakfast to luxurious meals, and cherry cola for drinks. He is reluctant to try on rules for himself (for example, he calmly smokes even on the territory of the church), but in this regard he is extremely demanding of others. Pius XIII forbids any manifestation of familiarity towards himself, and once he scolded an elderly nun for kissing him on the forehead.

He makes all his plans and reforms independently, without consulting the cardinals. Its main idea is to reform the Holy See and revive the former splendor of the church. He is a calculating and ruthless manipulator who does not consider it a sin to spread gossip about his associates.

The willfulness and rigidity of the pope's character is confirmed by the fact that he easily gets rid of ideological rivals, sending them to serve in Alaska.

In Pius's understanding, only faith can move people, everything else only interferes with serving God. The papacy of Pius XIII is based on the theorem of refusal: his parishioners must stop thinking about themselves and completely immerse themselves in faith, accept the ultra-conservative doctrine of their pope. Lenny demands absolute dedication, not the episodic relationships that the church builds with most people.

Francis

The coup d'état in Argentina strongly influenced the character of the then bishop Jorge Bergoglio. Endless attacks on the church by the authorities, torture of priests - all this forced Bergoglio to be more careful, but at the same time he had to protect his entourage, risking his life. From a strict, authoritarian and conservative bishop, Jorge turned into an attentive and gentle person.

In 2001, Bergoglio called on the people of Argentina to fight the activities of drug dealers: “Let's close this dark page of our country. Let's stop the merchants of death. " He knew that this statement threatened his safety, but he knew that the inhabitants of the Argentine slums needed support. In addition, he quadrupled the number of priests in such places.

Francis gave up many papal privileges. For example, upon learning of his assignment, he flew to Rome in economy class.

And after being elected pontiff, he specially returned to the hotel, where he stayed in Rome for a while to pay his bill. His confidants also note that dad always carries his luggage on his own when traveling. It was not possible to find out the attitude of the pontiff to cherry cola, but among his favorite foods he named Mexican empanadas pies, steak and ice cream.

Attitude of the cardinals

Pius XIII

Pius is considered a "photogenic puppet" by the cardinals. His entourage hoped that he would thank them for their support during the election, but the Brooklyn orphan does not listen to anyone except his sister Mary, who was with him from early childhood.

Hopes to manipulate the young pope were dispelled from the very first hours of the pontiff's reign: the cardinals begin to realize with horror that a quiet life is in the past. Lenny dads in his pleasure and runs the Vatican, forcing his entourage to fall to their knees and plunge into the web of his intrigues.

Shot from the series "Young Pope"

Pius XIII does not value friendly relations, categorically does not accept the advice and help of those close to him, and also constantly makes comments to them.

Belardo has a special button under the table in case some meeting will strain the pontiff or he considers it a useless waste of time.

After pressing, an assistant enters the room, who reminds him of some "important matters" and saves the dad from an unpleasant company. Lenny uses this option at every opportunity after just a few minutes of conversation with any interlocutor.

Francis

Unfortunately, Pope Francis does not have a magic button under the table. He does not need it: the pontiff easily finds a common language with his team. For closer and more fruitful cooperation with his subordinates, the Pope refused to move to the luxurious Apostolic Palace and decided to live in a less formal setting, in the house of St. Martha, located not far from St. Peter's Cathedral. This building is home to cardinals, bishops and special guests of the Vatican.

The Pope's retinue consists of almost a hundred people. His Holiness does not use a stylist or personal trainer, although the headquarters has a papal physician and several wardrobe workers. One of the responsibilities of the Pope's headquarters is the coordination of liturgical events. This is done by a special team led by Monsignor Guido Marini. If John Paul II loved colorful holidays, then Francis prefers a calm liturgy.

Public behavior

Pius XIII

Pius XIII is fundamentally opposed to personalized souvenirs, which are one of the main sources of income for the Vatican: “I have no image. I am nobody. There is only ".

He fires all the papal photographers, and if someone succeeds in photographing him, he immediately buys out all the photographs.

Colleagues call this behavior "media suicide", but this does not bother Pius XIII in the least: he wants to make himself an "unattainable rock star."

The Pope also refuses all public speaking, forcing his subordinates to answer letters from church members. If the cardinals manage to persuade the pontiff to speak to the public, he will deliberately be late for his "appearance to the people." The Pope rejects all public speeches that are written especially for him by those close to him. And to a crowd of ten thousand, he declares: "You must understand that I will never be close to you, because everyone is alone before God."

Francis

Francis, unlike Pius XIII, independently answers all letters to the church. He is also known for his surprise calls to church members who write letters to him. An Italian newspaper even published a special guide with tips on how to talk to your dad. There are both advice from Captain Obvious like "write to this address", and unusual life hacks like how to properly address Holiness.

Moreover, the pontiff is an active blogger: he tweets daily for more than ten million audience. “The Internet provides endless opportunities for unexpected meetings and unity, and therefore it is something truly good - a gift from God,” said Francis.

A photo posted by Pope Francis (@franciscus) on Jul 30, 2016 at 12:31 pm PDT

Francis also planned to register on Facebook, but the cardinals of the church dissuaded him: there the pontiff "may face a lot of negative comments."

By the way, in September 2015, during Francis's visit to the United States, hashtags with emoji specially created in honor of the Pope were launched on Twitter.

Closeness to the people for Francis is most important, even personal safety. Therefore, the list of his public deeds is much richer than the list of the hero of the series "Young Pope". For example, in 2001, as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he washed and kissed the feet of 12 AIDS patients in an Argentine hospice. In November 2013, Daddy hugged and blessed a man with neurofibromatosis (a disease in which tumors grow over his entire body) and washed the feet of juvenile delinquents, including two Muslim girls. And in 2014, by order of Francis, three showers were installed in the center of the Vatican, which could be used by homeless people. Subsequently, similar booths were installed in parishes throughout Rome.

In the same 2014, Francis unexpectedly visited the Vatican's dining room to dine with local workers: took a plastic tray and stood in line with everyone. He ordered a bowl of pasta without sauce and cod and fried tomatoes, and then, to everyone's surprise, sat down at a long table with a group of workers and said a prayer before eating.

Accepting luxurious and unusual gifts, dad often sells them and donates money to charity. So, in 2013, the pontiff received a Harley-Davidson motorcycle after he gave a blessing to hundreds of motorcyclists in St. Peter's Square. The bike was later sold for $ 327,000 in Paris at a charity auction.

Attitude towards the gay community

Pius XIII

The main character of the series cannot determine his views on a number of socially important problems. He either speaks out in defense of gays, abortion and emancipation, or plans to ban homosexuals from being in the ranks of priests.

Pius XIII's orientation remains questionable for a third of the season.

In the first episode, he has a dream where he calls out to a crowd of thousands: “We forgot how to arrange gay marriages. They forgot to allow the priests to love each other and even marry. " In the next episode, Pius XIII communicates with the prefect of the congregation for clergy affairs. From a conversation with him, he learns that the cardinal is homosexual. The pontiff immediately uses his "saving button" and ends the conversation with the priest, and later even offers to demote him from the cardinals.

Francis

Although Pope Francis openly expresses his dissatisfaction with the legalization of same-sex marriage in Argentina and does not support the adoption of children by gay couples, in 2013, in an interview with reporters aboard a plane from Brazil, the pope said:

"If a person is gay and has good will and aspires to God, who am I to judge him?"

Francis is against the so-called gay lobby, which he says is "a destructive claim against God's plan."

Homosexuality in his understanding is "a machination with the father of lies, who seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God." At the same time, he actively supports liberal archbishops who advocate same-sex marriage.

In June 2016, the pontiff said: "The Roman Catholic Church and ordinary Christians should apologize to gays for the previous attitude towards them." He believes that people of non-traditional sexual orientation should not be marginalized in the eyes of society and be discriminated against. The Pope forgave the gay priests and forgave all their sins. “I consider acts of same-sex love as sinful, but not homosexual orientation per se,” Francis said in a 2013 interview.

clothing

The Gamareli family has been making clothes for pontiffs, cardinals and priests since 1798. Their task is to provide the new dad with a wardrobe for public events. The finished robes, before being shipped to the Vatican, can be seen in the window of their Roman store.

It is noteworthy that the papal robe worn by the protagonist of the series in performance was sewn in the same atelier. As for the close associates of Pius XIII, almost all of them wear things of dark colors.

Pope Francis and Jude Law in a scene from the TV series Young Pope

Francis, after being appointed to the post of pope, abandoned the expensive things worn by pontiffs and other archbishops.

He chose not to wear luxurious red shoes made especially for him, and preferred his old, worn out black shoes from Buenos Aires to them. He also ditched the traditional red robes, saying, "The time for carnivals is over."

Hobbies

As for Pius's hobby, it turns out from the series that he is partial to animals. So, one day he receives a kangaroo as a present from Australia. Pius XIII tames the animal and allows it to walk freely through the Vatican gardens.

And Pope Francis is not indifferent to football, he has special sympathy for the Argentine club San Lorenzo de Almagro. From other sports, dad is attracted to dancing: in his youth, he often attended tango dance evenings with his friends. The chapter also likes science fiction, in particular, he read many of Tolkien's works. And here

The pontiff has not watched television since 1994, since he made a corresponding vow to the Virgin Mary.

In his free time, Francis loves to cook: according to rumors, he is especially good at paella.

The pontiff also has a good sense of humor. When Bergoglio was elected pope, he told the other cardinals: "God forgive you for what you have done." Photographers also once captured the moment when he tried on a red clown nose.

The pontiff treats his age the same way - with humor. “It is extraordinary for all of us - cardinals, bishops, priests and laity - that we are called to serve the church at any age,” he said in an interview. And three former cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church joked when a CNS journalist asked about the upcoming anniversary of the pope: "80 years is the beginning of the new 60!"

This is not a story of a young dad with children, but Pope, which is already much more attractive.
Pope Pius XSh ... I go to Wikipedia - oops ... there was no such dad in the history of the Vatican. There was Pius KhP, who supported the fascist regime - not that ...

A Pope Pius XIII, allegedly a native of the American Catholic Church, - fictional character. He lives in our time, next to him is today's life with its problems and technologies (homosexuality, abortion, MacBooks, selfies, Brodsky's poems and even a meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church - such a granddaddy, a bit like Patriarch Kirill, but less sympathetic. , did not tell, but our patriarch left the Pope under "Kalinka" ...).
Yes ... and a cigarette in your mouth or in your hands - constantly and everywhere (one after the other).

I started watching the series - and could not tear myself away, I realized that it was mine! Captured by the story, and the surroundings, and of course the acting, the characters of the heroes, especially the main character.
Probably, it is difficult for a woman to pass by indifferently Jude Law (Pius Xsh), which is confirmed by stories about his terrible popularity among the female audience in Hollywood. The result is noticeable: a bunch of children (five!) From three women.

Well, God bless them! He conquered me precisely in this role: smart, subtle, ironically sarcastic, hard and soft, saint and devil, ambitious and vulnerable, devilishly beautiful, strong and weak at the same time, endlessly lonely ... How anger, insolence are combined in this person, cruelty, arrogance, compassion, love, holiness!

A stunningly complex image, charismatic and cruel, evoking both sympathy and denial. He easily talks about sex and gender with colleagues, uses slang words in communication with high-ranking people.

The Pope is a saint, he has a gift: when he begins to speak earnestly with the Lord, miracles and strange things happen - people are healed, barren women give birth to children, and villains and greedy seekers get what they deserve.
He performed his first miracle as a teenager, when his prayer, addressed to heaven, lifted his friend's dying mother out of bed.

In addition, dad is also a clairvoyant. He knows everything about his environment: it is impossible to hide something from him.

It is very interesting to watch his constantly changing expression on his face, eyes (from strict, sometimes even evil to a charmingly childish, mischievous or sly expression in them, accompanied by the same innocent childish smile). This mysterious smile of his ...

By the way, how "modestly" he speaks about himself (in the scene with the Italian prime minister):

"A few weeks before the elections, Pope Pius XIII will first appear to the people. The whole world will be agitated: Pius XIII appears in front of them with his beautiful blue eyes and tender lips. A striking image - so vivid that it literally blinds people."
It seems...
So one day boy Lenny Belardo ended up in a shelter sisters Mary- it is not known why mom and dad took him to the gates of the orphanage and left him there. They never appeared again, but Lenny dreams of meeting them. And from time to time (both in childhood and already as an adult) they appear to him - either in dreams, or in dreams. However, the picture of these "meetings" is still sad: the parents silently leave, leaving him alone again and again.

This is how he carries his burden of orphanhood through life, probably trying to understand how, why, why? Although Sister Mary and friend Andrew somehow brighten his life in their own way, trying to help carry this heavy cross.

Mary raised him and prepared him for a career as a priest. When Lenny grew up, she handed him over to the influential American cardinal and theologian Michael Spencer, who was one of the likely candidates for the post of pope. But something strange happened. Lenny became dad.

How could this young (by the standards of gray-haired cardinals) man become the head of the Vatican? By the definition of Lenny himself, the Holy Spirit chose him for the role of pontiff, whom he himself frantically prayed for this ... their will... Yes, it was not so.

The elected Pope Pius XIII (this is the name Belardo receives after ascending to the throne) turned out to be a tough man and almost a tyrant. He begins "perestroika" - both within the papal office and in general in the politics of the Catholic Church.

He does not accept anyone's advice (above all the Secretary of State - an influential cardinal Angelo Voiello, other cardinals, even sisters Mary whom he invited to the Vatican and made his secretary; he categorically refuses to go out in public, outside the palace no one has ever seen the pope's face; does not allow himself to be filmed and photographed, creating an image of mystery and inaccessibility; prohibits the production and sale of various small things under its brand (magnets, key rings, pens, plates, notebooks, etc.). Often he is harsh and cruel, he easily gets rid of ideological opponents, for example, sending him to serve in Alaska and accompanying his decree with Brodsky's verses.

He does not hide his plans to reform the Holy See: how to relate to God, the church, deviations from the commandments in the behavior of representatives of the papal throne, gay priests, celibacy, orphans, abortions and parents abandoning their children, new saints, religion ...

All the clergy are shocked by Pius XIII, and not only in the Vatican, the church loses its parishioners - they begin to grumble around.
But, as they say, the wrong one was attacked ...

The scene of Pius XIII's speech to the cardinals in the Sistine Chapel is good, here are excerpts from his speech:

"Knock-knock, knock-knock ... We are not at home. Brothers-cardinals, from this day we are not at home, no matter who knocks at our door. We are only for the Lord. From that day on, everything that was wide open, will be closed.
... Conversion to Christianity - we have already done this, ecuminism - it was like that, we passed. Tolerance - she no longer lives here - she was evicted, she vacated the house for a new tenant, who has completely different tastes for a new design.
... We have tried for many years to reach out to others. It's time to stop. We're not going anywhere. We are here because we - what? - we are cement and do not move. We are the foundation, and the foundation is not moving anywhere.
... We have no windows, we do not look at the outside world ... we have no need to look at the outside world. Look there ... What do you see? This door is the only entrance - small and extremely inconvenient, and everyone who wants to know us must understand how to enter this door.

... Brothers-cardinals, we need to become inaccessible, inaccessible and mysterious again. Only in this way will we become desirable again, only in this way are stories of great love born. The church doesn't need weekend believers. I want a great love story, I want to see fanatics, because fanatics are love, everything else is exclusively surrogates, they have no place in the church (stunned cardinals)
... I only need absolute love and complete devotion to the Lord.
... our squares are packed with people, but the Lord is not in their hearts.
... sin will no longer be forgiven on demand ...

You must obey Pius XIII .. There is no more place in this church for gratitude ... from me, for sure, and from you too. The politeness and manners of people don't bother me.
... I expect you to do what I told you to do - you must obey Pius XIII and nothing else. For insubordination, hell awaits you. Hell, about which you may not know anything. But I know. Because I created it myself. Right outside this door.
... For the last few days I have been creating hell for you, which is why I came to you late.

... I know that you will obey, because you have already understood that this pope is not afraid of losing believers if they are even a little bit unbelievers.
And this means that dad will not agree to negotiations - to any and with anyone. And you can't blackmail this dad. From this very day on, the word "compromise" is not in your vocabulary. I just deleted it. When Jesus voluntarily suffered on the cross, he did not compromise. And I won't go either. "

Then he put out his leg (for a kiss). The stunned cardinals reached for this leg. And when the Secretary of State (his main opponent and adversary) hesitated (could not bring himself to do it), the second leg of the Pope helped him to bend down and kiss the beautiful shoe of the Pope.

The series is very beautiful: the interiors of St. Peter's Cathedral, the Pope's chambers and numerous courtyards and gardens of the Vatican, bright, colorful, chic costumes and decorations, pretentious outfits of clergymen, and around us are the little things we are used to - cigarettes, a phone in hand, a billiard cue ...

Meanwhile, the series was filmed in many places, but not in the Vatican!

Oh, it's a pity, the series ended quickly, and ended on a dramatic note: Pius KhSh arrived in Venice (in the hope that he would see his parents, who, as he found out, live here), first came out to the people, made another cool speech, saw- the same man and woman, whom he supposedly recognized as his parents, and how they are trying to get through the crowd of parishioners as soon as possible and leave ... (once again!) Dad falls either in a fainting spell, or from a heart attack. Lies, reminiscent of Christ, just taken down from the cross.

Oscar winner Diane Keaton and Jude Law will take part in the new 8-episode miniseries directed by Paolo Sorrentino, according to The Guardian.

Diane Keaton will play Sister Mary, an American nun living in the Vatican, while Jude Law will play the lead role as the fictional figure of Pius XIII, the American priest Lenny Belardo, elected to the post of Roman pontiff.

The role in a joint project of HBO, Sky and Canal + television companies will be D. Keaton's first experience of participating in a television series. Filming is expected to begin this week, and the series is scheduled to air on TV in 2016. The world premiere will take place on cable networks in the USA, UK, Italy, Germany and France.

The producers have not yet revealed the details of Keaton's character, but it is already known that Jude Law's character will be a person who stubbornly resists the influence of the "courtiers" of the Vatican.

Pius XIII in the series will appear "a complex and conflicting character, conservative in his choice sometimes to the point of obscurantism, but full of compassion for the weak and the poor."

The show's director Paolo Sorrentino said that the plot of Young Pope will focus on the beginning of Pius's pontificate, and will contain both "clear signs of the existence of God" and "clear signs of the absence of God."

He also added that the film will pose the problem of finding faith and losing it. The creators intend to show “the greatness of holiness, which can become an unbearable burden - when you are struggling with temptations and the only thing you can do is to succumb to them, as well as the inner struggle between the enormous responsibility of the head of the Catholic Church and the suffering of an ordinary person whose fate or Saint The spirit was chosen as the pontiff, ”said the director.

And, finally, the authors of the series ask themselves how a person should use and manipulate power in a state in which the refusal of power and selfless love for one's neighbor are dogma and moral imperative.

Pius XIII: Fictional Character or Historical Person?

Despite the fact that Jude Law's character, Pius XIII, is called a fictional character by the producers of Young Pope, the history of Catholicism knows a real person with that name.

In 1998, the priest Earl Lucian Pulvermacher, who belonged to the schismatic sedevakantist movement, was proclaimed by the adherents of the True Catholic Church by Pope Pius XIII.

Catholic missionary, member of the Capuchin monastic order, Fr. Lucian Pulvermacher gradually moved to the position of extreme traditionalism in the 1970s. The reason was the reaction of some of the Catholic clergy and personally L. Pulvermacher to the changes in the Catholic tradition that occurred as a result of the Second Vatican Council of 1962-1965.

L. Pulvermacher breaks with the Capuchin order and becomes in opposition to the official Vatican.

In the mid-90s of the XX century, Fr. Lucian concludes that the Roman pontiff John Paul II is a Freemason, which means that his election as Pope in 1978 is invalid. Based on this, and also on the fact that the decisions of the Second Vatican Council are contrary to the Catholic faith, he concludes that all subsequent popes are also invalid.

In his opinion, Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II physically occupied the Roman throne, but were not true Roman pontiffs. Pope John XXIII, who convened the Second Vatican Council, through his heresy also ceased to be a Catholic, and therefore a Pope, Pulvermacher argued.

Thus, in accordance with his theory, the throne of St. Peter after the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958 remained vacant.

From this originated the name of the sect of Sedevakantists, to which L. Pulvermacher belonged: in the Catholic tradition, the period in which the Holy See is not occupied by a legitimate pontiff is called Sede Vacante (“with a vacant throne,” with a vacant throne).

Gradually, the idea was formulated to restore true Catholicism through the election of a "real" pope.

In 1998, elections were held for a new pontiff. The pseudo-conclave lasted a day, voting took place by telephone. It was attended by a small number of adherents of the schismatic organization created with the participation of Pulvermacher - the True Catholic Church. As a result, the only candidate was elected - Lucian Pulvermacher.

The "antipope" Pius XIII passed away in 2009. During his lifetime in the True Catholic Church, as is often the case in schismatic communities, further divisions took place.

Biography

Pius XII (Latin Pius XII, before enthronement - Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli, Italian.Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; March 2, 1876, Rome - October 9, 1958, Castel Gandolfo) - Pope since March 2, 1939, proclaimed the dogma of Assumption of the Virgin Mary and symbolically dedicated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1942. On October 18, 1967, Pope Paul VI began the process of beatification of Pius XII. He became the first pope to be elected from among the secretaries of state, beginning with Clement IX in 1667. During his pontificate, Pius XII canonized 8 people, including Pius X, and beatified 5.

Nuncio, Cardinal, Secretary of State

Pacelli came from a noble family - he was the grandson of the founder of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Marcantonio Pacelli, nephew of Leo XIII's financial advisor Ernesto Pacelli and the son of the chief of the Vatican lawyers Filippo Pacelli. In April 1899, Pacelli became a priest, in June 1920 he was appointed apostolic nuncio to the Weimar Republic, and on December 16, 1929 he received the cardinal dignity and wide powers. In a letter to Cardinal Pietro Gasparri on November 14, 1923, Pacelli wrote that the National Socialist movement is anti-Catholic and carries anti-Semitism.

American diplomat Robert Murphy, who worked in Munich in the first half of the 1920s, wrote in his memoirs:

“The nominal head of the Munich consular corps was the papal nuncio, Monsignor Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII... The Vatican has always maintained a close relationship with Bavaria, which remained Catholic throughout the Reformation, while many other regions of Germany adopted Lutheranism. Monsignor Pacelli was well versed in the intricacies of European politics and was one of the first to recognize that the future of Europe as a whole depends on what is happening in Germany. " On June 3, 1933, in the document Dilectissima nobis, Pacelli emphasized cosmopolitanism in foreign policy, but in August, regarding Nazi politics, he wrote to the British Mission to the Holy See about the execution of Jews and about the kingdom of terror to which an entire nation was subordinated.

From 1920 to 1940, Pacelli entered into concordats with Latvia, Bavaria, Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Prussia, Baden, Austria, Germany, Yugoslavia and Portugal and made a number of diplomatic visits, including to the United States in 1936, and in March 1942 established diplomatic relations with Japan.

Election and pontificate

See also: 1939 Conclave, Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church and Social Doctrine of Pius XII The death of the 259th Pope Pius XI on the eve of World War II forced the cardinals to hold a conclave at the Apostolic Palace on February 10 of that year. The conclave to elect a successor to Pius XI began on March 1 and ended a day later. On March 2, after three electoral ballots, Eugenio Pacelli was elected the new Pope. Eugenio accepted the election and took the papal name of Pius XII.

His pontificate was marked by an extremely difficult foreign policy situation, when the Pope found himself "bound" hand and foot in Nazi-occupied Rome. The Vatican's relations with both the anti-Hitler coalition and the pro-German camp turned out to be very difficult. The Pope was constantly under pressure from outside.

In the East, extremely ambiguous relations developed with the Soviet Union, in which both an active policy of eradicating religion in general and persecution of the Catholic Church in particular were pursued.

During the Holocaust in World War II, Pius XII, according to some estimates, provided all the possible help to the Jews that he could. It was on his instructions that the representatives of the Holy See sheltered Jews from the Nazis and gave them false passports.

In 1949 he anathematized the communist leaders of Czechoslovakia.

Pius XII was called "Pope Mary" - for his enormous commitment to the Mother of God, manifested in the declaration of faith he declared regarding Her Dormition. He made a significant contribution to the development of Catholic social teaching.

Bulls and encyclicals

Basic encyclicals:
"Mystici corporis", June 29, 1943 - about the Church, as a single mystical body of Christ;
Communium interpretes dolorum, April 15, 1945 - on the call to prayer for peace;
Fulgens radiatur, March 21, 1947 - about Saint Benedict;
Mediator Dei, November 20, 1947 - on the liturgy;
Auspicia quaedam, May 1, 1948 - about prayers for peace and a solution to the Palestinian conflict;
In multiplicibus curis, October 24, 1948 - on prayers for peace in Palestine;
Redemptoris nostri cruciatus, April 15, 1949 - on places of pilgrimage in Palestine;
Anni sacri, March 12, 1950 - on a program to counter atheist propaganda in the world;
Humani generis, August 12, 1950 - on some aspects of Catholic doctrine;
Ingruentium malorum, September 15, 1951 - about the rose garden;
Fulgens Corona, September 8, 1953 - announcing the centenary of the Immaculate Conception as the year of Mary;
"Ad Sinarum Gentem" October 7, 1954 - Address to the Chinese people;
Ad caeli Reginam, October 11, 1954 - announcing the heavenly reign of Mary;
Datis nuperrime, 5 November 1956, condemning the tragic events in Hungary and the use of force;
"Ad Apostolorum Principis" (On the Apostolic Principles), June 19, 1958 - on the Chinese community of Catholics; the last encyclical in the life of the pope.

Awards

Commander of the Highest Order of the Holy Annunciation
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Mauritius and Lazarus

Beatification

On May 8, 2007, the Congregation for the Canonization of Saints adopted Pius XII's Dossier of Heroic Virtues. On December 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI approved the dossier and awarded Pius XII with the title "venerable" (Latin venerabilis). This should be followed by the consideration of miracles that occurred through prayers to the late Pope and his canonization - that is, the actual beatification.

Views of Jewish leaders and community organizations

Pius XII, surrounded by bishops from Uden (Netherlands) On July 14, 1944, the Supreme Rabbi of Rome, Israel Anton Zolli, in an interview with The American Hebrew in New York, said: “The Vatican has always helped Jews, and Jews are very grateful to the Vatican for its charitable works undertaken without any discrimination of races. "

Also, in his memoirs, Zolli described the role of the Pope in more detail:

“... The people of Rome felt disgust for the Nazis, and for the Jews - great pity. He willingly helped evacuate the Jewish population to remote villages, where they were hidden and protected by Christian families. Jews and Christian families were welcomed in the very heart of Rome. The treasury had money to support the beggars from among the refugees thus sheltered. The Holy Father personally sent a letter to the bishops, in which he ordered to abolish the discipline of seclusion in monasteries and convents so that they could become refuge for Jews. I know a monastery where the sisters moved to sleep in the basement, leaving their beds to Jewish refugees. In the face of such mercy, the fate of many persecuted becomes especially tragic. " After the end of World War II, Jewish unions expressed their deep gratitude to the Pope. World Jewish Congress President Nahum Goldman wrote: "With special gratitude we remember everything that he did for the persecuted Jews during one of the most difficult periods in their history." As a token of gratitude, in 1945, Congress donated $ 20,000 to Vatican charitable causes.

Here is the opinion of the political leader of Israel in the post-war period, and later of the Prime Minister of the country, Golda Meir:

“During the ten years of Nazi terror, when our people endured the horrors of martyrdom, the Pope expressed condemnation of the oppressors and expressed solidarity with their victims. Our era has been enriched by this voice that affirms great moral truths. " The speculation that Pius XII sympathized with the Nazis arose mainly after 1963, when the German playwright Rolf Hochhuth published The Deputy (by Rolf Hochhuth), which depicts the Pope cowardly silent in the face of the mass extermination of the Jews. Published as a book, the drama was accompanied by a commentary presented as a historical work.

On October 19, 2008, the Vatican officially confirmed its intention to canonize Pope Pius XII, despite opposition from Israel.

Pius XII is accused by some Israeli organizations of not speaking out against the genocide of Jews during World War II.

The Yad Vashem National Holocaust Memorial displays a photograph of Pius XII with the caption:

“The Pope, elected in 1939, put aside the message against anti-Semitism and racism prepared by his predecessor. Even when reports of the extermination of Jews reached the Vatican, he did not protest against it in writing or orally. In 1942, he did not join in condemning the Allies in connection with the murder of Jews. Pius XII did not intervene when the Jews were deported from Rome to Auschwitz. "

Earlier, Father Peter Gumpel, who heads the commission for the canonization of Pius XII, claimed that the text of the photo caption falsified history. In his opinion, until this photograph is removed from the museum, Pope Benedict XVI will not be able to visit the Holy Land.

However, the official Vatican said that the caption to the photo could not influence Benedict XVI's decision to visit Jerusalem. A spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Minister also confirmed that the Pope's invitation to the Holy Land remains valid.

The Vatican insists that Pope Pius XII made every effort to save as many Jews as possible during the war, but used the means of diplomacy for this, since the more open intervention of the Catholic leader could only worsen the situation. The Vatican also recalled that Pius XII ordered the Catholic churches to shelter Jews, and representatives of the Vatican in other countries helped many Jews avoid concentration camps by giving them fake passports. At a mass commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of the pontiff, Benedict XVI emphasized that Pope Pius XII "secretly and quietly" did everything possible during the war to avoid the worst and save the lives of as many Jews as possible.

In May 2009, Pope Benedict XVI visited Yad Vashem to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. In his speech, he, in particular, said:

“The Catholic Church, following the teachings of Jesus, imitating Him in love for every person, feels deep compassion for the victims, whose memory is honored here. And in the same way, she stands today on the side of those who are persecuted because of race, color, living conditions or religion; their suffering is her suffering, as is their hope for justice. As Bishop of Rome and Successor of the Apostle Peter, I reaffirm - like my predecessors - the Church's commitment to pray and work tirelessly so that hatred will never again dominate the hearts of people. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God of peace (cf. Ps. 9: 9). "

Role in the Serb genocide

Throughout the war, Pope Pius XII repeatedly received reports of crimes committed in the Independent State of Croatia against the Orthodox population and the participation of Catholic priests and monks in them, but he refused to do anything. A similar position was taken by Aloysius Stepinac and the Catholic Archbishop of Belgrade Josip Uzice, who were regularly supplied with information about the extermination of the Serbs. Only Cardinal Eugene Tisserand protested against the terror of the Croatian Ustasha in the Vatican.

After 1945, the Vatican was also blamed for encouraging massive conversions of Orthodox Serbs to Catholicism. This was done accompanied by armed detachments of the Ustasha. The English historian Richard West, who researched this issue, in one of his books refers to the text of a Bosnian newspaper, which spoke of the conversion of 70,000 Serbs to Catholicism in the Banja Luka diocese. He also wrote that the Catholic clergy directed their aspirations primarily at the Serbian peasants. According to him, all those who had a secondary education, as well as teachers, merchants, wealthy artisans and Orthodox priests were considered carriers of "Serbian consciousness" and were subject to total destruction. A similar point of view was voiced by contemporary Serbian researchers. In total, more than 240,000 Serbs were converted, for which the Catholic structures in Croatia were thanked by Pope Pius XII.

After the defeat of the NGKh and the liberation of Yugoslavia from the occupation forces and the formations of collaborationists, the leaders of the Ustasha fled to Austria. About 500 Catholic priests and monks fled with them, including the Archbishop of Sarajevo Ivan Saric and Bishop of Banja Luka Jozo Garic. Most of them took refuge in the Franciscan monasteries of Austria. Later, Pavelic moved to Rome, where he enjoyed the patronage of the Vatican, and with the help of which he later emigrated to Argentina.