Abstract
On December 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI signed the Decree of Heroic Virtue for Pope Pius XII. The now “venerable” Pius XII was deemed to have lived an exemplary Christian life—not a faultless one, but one that was indicative of a close communion with God in his vocation as priest, bishop, and pope. Responses varied from the triumphant to the tragic. Most focused on the papal actions and reactions during the Second World War in general, and on the Holocaust in particular. I suggest that the quality of many responses were indicative of deeper issues that lie beneath the surface of contemporary Catholicism. And as is so often the case when one peers beneath the surface, what is found is often unpleasant, challenging, and upsetting.
At what point does an experience precipitate a change in consciousness?
Professor David Bankier, Yad Vashem (March 8, 2009)
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Notes
Two works that deal specifically with the changes in Catholic cultural identity are Bill McSweeney (1980), Roman Catholicism: The Search for Relevance and Michèle Dillon (2000), Catholic Identity. Of particular interest are McSweeney, 22–52, 86–94; and Dillon, 34–40.
See Colin Tatz et al. (2003), “Why Denialists Deny,” in Genocide Perspectives II, 267–84.
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© 2011 Paul O’Shea
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O’Shea, P. (2011). Introduction: Pius XII, Catholics, Myths, and Realities. In: A Cross Too Heavy. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230118362_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230118362_1
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