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
Noel has produced an extraordinary interpretation of the exercise of power and the psychological mechanisms behind it.
The Hon Gerard Noel is a former editor of The Catholic Herald. He is also a celebrated biographer and historian. His life of Queen Ena of Spain was widely acclaimed as were his books on Harold Wilson and Cardinal Hume.
'A humane and compelling attempt to understand what went on in
Pius's mind during those years ... an important addition to the
debate.' - Catholic Herald
"This biographical work examines how Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope
Pius XII, reacted to the politics of World War II, focusing on the
Pope's failure to confront the atrocities of the Nazis, in
particular the genocide of the European Jews, and his willingness
to place the Catholic Church in concordat with Mussolini and other
fascist forces. It places Pius's personal frailties in the context
of longstanding papal politics and concludes with a defense of
Pius/Pacelli as an individual rather than as a Pope." -Eithne
O'Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc.
‘It makes for a good read, and is certainly a book that will appeal
to non-academic as well as academic readers.'
*The Journal of Ecclesiastical History*
Mentioned in The Observer, May 11, 2008.
'Few people are better qualified than Gerard Noel to disinter the
subtle diplomacy conducted by the prewar and wartime Vatican.'
Andrew Roberts, The Spectator, July 2008.
''Gerard Noel's new study of Eugenio Pacelli is a humane and
compelling attempt to explain how this pope's psychology influenced
the controversial decisions he made and to reconcile two apparently
contradictory aspects of his character...There is something of
universal charity in Noel's approach to his subject.''
Andrew M. Brown, Catholic Herald, August 2008
''Noel produces a devastatingly psychological portrait of a
flawed individual quite unsuited to his circumstances.''
Peter Stanford, The Independent, August 2008
"Unlike most biographers of Pius XII, Noel actually met his subject
... his conclusion that Pacelli's name will always be linked to
Hitler's persecution of the Jews seems to be beyond doubt." - The
Tablet
Mention -Book News, February 2009
"An excellent book ... Gerard Noel goes to the heart of Pope Pius
XII the person." - Common Ground
Reviewed in Jewish Chronicle
"A humane and compelling attempt to explain how this pope's
psychology influenced the controversial decisions he made and to
reconcile two apparently contradictory aspects of his character."
Irish News
Title mention in Bookseller Buyers Guide.
"One look at Noel's footnotes will reveal his originality and depth
of research" - First Things
*First Things*
"Essentially, he offers an apologia for Pius, explaining his
inaction with regard to the Holocaust as a response that was meant
to preserve ‘the safety of the Roman Church above all other causes,
however worthy.' Unfortunately, the book is dense and moves
ungracefully from psychological analysis to the intricacies of
canon law and Vatican diplomacy. Readers who want a better-reasoned
and -written analysis can turn to Michael Phayer's The Catholic
Church and the Holocaust, 1930-1965. Noel's book is recommended
only for comprehensive collections." - Diane Harvey, Library
Journal, October 1, 2008
*Library Journal*
"...an outstanding biography..." The Sunday Telegraph, 30 November
2008
*Sunday Telegraph*
'A humane and compelling attempt to understand what went on in
Pius's mind during those years ... an important addition to the
debate.' - Catholic Herald
"This biographical work examines how Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope
Pius XII, reacted to the politics of World War II, focusing on the
Pope's failure to confront the atrocities of the Nazis, in
particular the genocide of the European Jews, and his willingness
to place the Catholic Church in concordat with Mussolini and other
fascist forces. It places Pius's personal frailties in the context
of longstanding papal politics and concludes with a defense of
Pius/Pacelli as an individual rather than as a Pope." -Eithne
O'Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc.
'It makes for a good read, and is certainly a book that will appeal
to non-academic as well as academic readers.' -- The Journal of
Ecclesiastical History
Mentioned in The Observer, May 11, 2008.
'Few people are better qualified than Gerard Noel to disinter the
subtle diplomacy conducted by the prewar and wartime Vatican.'
Andrew Roberts, The Spectator, July 2008.
''Gerard Noel's new study of Eugenio Pacelli is a humane and
compelling attempt to explain how this pope's psychology influenced
the controversial decisions he made and to reconcile two apparently
contradictory aspects of his character...There is something of
universal charity in Noel's approach to his subject.'' Andrew M.
Brown, Catholic Herald, August 2008
''Noel produces a devastatingly psychological portrait of a flawed
individual quite unsuited to his circumstances.'' Peter Stanford,
The Independent, August 2008
"Unlike most biographers of Pius XII, Noel actually met his subject
... his conclusion that Pacelli's name will always be linked to
Hitler's persecution of the Jews seems to be beyond doubt." - The
Tablet
Mention -Book News, February 2009
"An excellent book ... Gerard Noel goes to the heart of Pope Pius
XII the person." - Common Ground
Reviewed in Jewish Chronicle
"A humane and compelling attempt to explain how this pope's
psychology influenced the controversial decisions he made and to
reconcile two apparently contradictory aspects of his character."
Irish News
Title mention in Bookseller Buyers Guide.
"One look at Noel's footnotes will reveal his originality and depth
of research" - First Things -- William Doino Jr. * First Things
*
"Essentially, he offers an apologia for Pius, explaining his
inaction with regard to the Holocaust as a response that was meant
to preserve 'the safety of the Roman Church above all other causes,
however worthy.' Unfortunately, the book is dense and moves
ungracefully from psychological analysis to the intricacies of
canon law and Vatican diplomacy. Readers who want a better-reasoned
and -written analysis can turn to Michael Phayer's The Catholic
Church and the Holocaust, 1930-1965. Noel's book is recommended
only for comprehensive collections." - Diane Harvey, Library
Journal, October 1, 2008 -- Diane Harvey * Library Journal *
"...an outstanding biography..." The Sunday Telegraph, 30 November
2008 -- Selena Hastings * Sunday Telegraph *
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