Rating: 
Summary: Cornwell changes his tune.
Review: From the December 9th issue of the (London)Economist: "Devil's advocates were supposed to be fair-minded, and in the past Mr. Cornwell, a prolific writer on Catholic matters, has at times been anything but. As he admits, "Hitler's Pope" (1999), his biography of Pope Pius XII, lacked balance. "I would now argue," he says, "in the light of the debates and evidence following 'Hitler's Pope', that Pius XII had so little scope of action that it is impossible to judge the motives for his silence during the war, while Rome was under the heel of Mussolini and later occupied by the Germans."
Rating: 
Summary: "Hitler's Pope" More Applicable than Ever
Review: Hitler's Pope is an important read for anyone attempting to understand the rabid anti-Semitism of Mel Gibson or the almost slavish devotion of most of the American churches hierarchy(the Archbishop of Atlanta for instance) to radical right wing politics. It is true that the Vatican's devotion to and support of radical right wing and fascist causes and it's repudiation of democratic ideals did not begin with Pius XII. Sadly ...neither did it end with him.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This book is captivating. It is well researched and well written. It gives great insight into the life of Pius XII and the Catholic church. A "must read" for students of history and the Catholic church.
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Summary: Cornwall Recants
Review: It may be of interest to note that author Cornwell himself now says the following: "I would now argue, in the light of the debates and evidence following Hitler's Pope, that Pius XII had so little scope of action that it is impossible to judge the motives for his silence during the war, while Rome was under the heel of Mussolini and later occupied by the Germans." This must be kept in mind while reading this unbalanced book.
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Summary: thoroughly discredited
Review: This book created a great sensation when it came out. However, it has now been thoroughly discredited. For those who want to learn more about this subject, I recommend the article by Rychlak that appeared several years ago in First Things (available on the web www.firstthings.com), the more recent article there by Bottum, and the books mentioned therein. Far from being Hitler's pope, there is massive documentary evidence that Pius XII was passionately hostile to nazism and its racist ideology, that he worked assiduously to rescue Jews from Nazi clutches, and that he even lent his assistence to a plot to everthrow Hitler. There is a legitimate question whether Pius XII said enough publicly in explicit condemnation of the Nazis. There are reasonable arguments on both sides. However, what is not reasonable, indeed what is detestable, is to slander this good man as "Hitler's pope". Fortunately, real scholars do not take Cornwell seriously. In fact, it seems that he is something of an intellectual fraud. It has been reported that Cornwell claimed a level of access to Vatican archives that he did not actually enjoy. There are people who fear and loath the Vatican and all it stands for, and doubtless this book will feed their appetite for things that reinforce their prejudices. Just as there is a long history of hate-mongering and conspiracy-theorizing about Jews, so there is about the Vatican. Cornwell adds his little dollop of mendacity. Sad.
Rating: 
Summary: Serious questions about the church
Review: Cornwell's book, despite the title and the controversy, is about much more than Pius XII and the Holocaust. The Church's compliance with the rise of Nazism and its inability to speak frankly on the murder of millions of innocents in the war were only the miserable climax of the development of Eugenio Pacelli and the Catholic Church of his time. As Cornwell spins the tale, convincingly, the underlying process was (and is) the centralization, even glorification, of the unified Church under the direct control of the Pope during the 20th century, abetted by modern communications and transportation. The Code of Canon Law developed early in Pacelli's career is highlighted as setting the framework for many future events, always moving in the direction of central control and away from collegiality in the Church hierarchy.
Cornwell's writing is excellent, with copious citations. His argument suggests an antipathy toward the central model and a sorrowful judgement against Pius XII. He would be much more in tune with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, alas since muted by the current Pontiff.
All in all, an excellent "read" for this non-Catholic reviewer.
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Summary: This book does not let facts interfere with a good story!
Review: If you like to read books that spread lies then this one is for you. The author is not concerned with facts and just wants to make a buck by spreading lies. I wish I could give this book negative stars! Oh well, Mr. Cornwell will have to face Jesus and account for his lies.In this book the statements by the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church are constantly taken out of context. Based on this as a guidline for Mr. Cornwell's bias - and he is bias in all his books - he could easily write a book proving that Hitler was saving the Jews from the Americans and the other Allies who sought to exterminate them in WWII. It is rare to see an author who can manipulate facts and misquote whith such ease. For the truth just read other books on the subject or look up the information from the sources he listed and 'see' the truth he overlooked on purpose. I hope you pray for Mr. Cornwell, I will.
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