The lonely Cold War of Pope Pius XII : the Roman Catholic Church and the division of Europe, 1943-1950 / Peter C. Kent.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kent, Peter C., 1938-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christianity and politics--Catholic Church--History--20th century.

Christianity and politics.

Christianity and politics--Catholic Church.

History.

Communism and Christianity--Catholic Church.

Communism and Christianity.

Europe--Politics and government--1945-.

Europe.

Politics and government.

Papacy--History--1929-1945.

Papacy.

Pius XII, Pope, 1876-1958.

Pius.

Physical Description:

viii, 321 pages, 7 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Montréal ; Ithaca : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2002]

Summary:

In The Lonely Cold War of Pope Pius XII Peter Kent shows how the Catholic Church was able to continue to exist on both sides of the Iron Curtain in spite of the division of Europe after the Second World War. Although Christian democracy became increasingly influential in western Europe, the struggle to preserve the position and rights of the Church in the east was much more difficult. When east European governments, under Moscow's direction, began their offensive against the independence of the Church in 1948, the papacy found that it stood alone, with little assistance from the U.S.

Kent offers a new assessment of Pius XII, extending the study of his career and papacy beyond the Second World War. He also examines the origins of the Cold War, the European perspective on American and Soviet policies, and the diplomatic role and influence of the Roman Catholic Church.

Contents:

Part 1 The Church and the Challenge of Communism

1 The First Cold Warriors 11

Part 2 The Roman Catholic Church in the Second World War

2 The Church and the Axis Powers 21

3 The Church under Nazi Occupation 33

4 The Church in the Balkans 45

5 The Church in the United States 55

6 The Soviet Union and the Catholic Church 67

7 The Papacy and the Second World War 74

Part 3 IL Dopoguerra: Neither War Nor Peace

8 Papal Leadership after the War 87

9 Early Persecution in the Balkans 101

10 The Catholic Majorities of East Central Europe 112

11 Catholics and European Reconstruction 129

12 The Catholic Church and the Occupation of Germany 138

Part 4 The Cold War Begins

13 The Martyrdom of Archbishop Stepinac 155

14 Vatican Resistance to the Division of Europe 177

15 The Impossibility of Vatican Neutrality 191

16 Communist Consolidation and Catholic Division 203

17 The Religious Cold War: Communist Offensive 217

18 The Religious Cold War: Catholic Counter-Offensive 237.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [299]-308) and index.

ISBN:

077352326X :

OCLC:

47947578