In one of the biographies of Pope Pius XII (in the world of Eugenio Pacelli), the author places him in the pantheon of great pontiffs, next to Innocent III, Gregory VII, Pius IX and Leo XIII. Summing up his spiritual uniqueness in opposing both Nazi racism and Stalinist materialism, the book opines that Pius was " guiding star in the wilderness of the earth, a sign of hope, a pledge of future improvements.

After the death of Pius XII in 1958, few would dispute such an assessment. For Catholics, as well as for many non-Catholics, this lean, aesthetic, pious intellectual, impeccably wearing a white cassock, cap and red papal shoes decorated with crosses, was simply the personification of the ideal pope. He canonized Pope Pius X (1903-14) and it seemed clear that, in time, he too would go through the process of canonization. However, in 1999 came out new biography Pius XII. In an extremely critical book one could read:

"The gospel parable of the good shepherd tells of a shepherd who loved his sheep so much that he would do anything, dare anything, endure any pain in order to save a single sheep that was lost and in danger. To his eternal shame and to the shame of the entire Catholic Church, Pacelli abhorred to recognize the Jews of Rome as part of his Roman flock.

How can such a monstrous difference in historical estimates be explained?

Historical division

In the first few years after the death of Pius XII, biographers tended to describe his life in the laudatory spirit of the Lives of the Saints. Later in 1963, the German Protestant and leftist anti-church playwright Rolf Hochut staged the play The Deputy (Der Stellvertreter). In it, Eugenio Pacelli was portrayed as an avid anti-Semite, openly collaborating with the Nazi system and turning a blind eye to Hitler's genocide. The play gave impetus to such a heated historical debate that they do not subside to this day. Diaries of ambassadors, newspaper editorials, eyewitness accounts, papal archives, general statistics of the Holocaust and personal testimonies of its participants, telegrams from diplomats, secret Allied government documents, and many visual sources - all this and much more has come flooding in thanks to both apologists and detractors of the pope. Some concluded that Pius, in helping vulnerable people, especially European Jews, did everything that was humanly possible. Others have described Pacelli as a moral coward at best and an active anti-Semite at worst. What, from a historical point of view, is the most accurate version of Pope Pius XII?

Sympathy for Dictatorship: Criticism

It is believed that after the liberal experiments of Pius IX (1846-1848), which apparently led to the revolution of 1848 and the exile of the pope, the Roman pontiffs turned away from liberalism, modernism and democracy. The following pontiffs, relying on the dogma of the infallibility of the pope (since 1870), returned to the medieval idea of ​​paternal authoritarian government as an ideal for all countries. The church denounced atheistic socialism, petty-bourgeois radicalism, the pursuit of women's equality, the struggle for church separation, contraceptive measures and the movement for all-Christian unification - and all this criticism clearly indicated that the Vatican had declared war on the new world.

Moreover, as a result of the loss of papal dominions to the newly formed Italian state in 1870, the pontiff ceased to look like a practical statesman and began to resemble more the ideal of Catholic spirituality. As a result, this image of the pope began to evoke sympathy among civil authorities, who also saw liberal democracy as a threat to an orderly Christian civilization. As a result, the Vatican signed several concordats with monarchist and dictatorial reactionary states - with fascist Italy and Spain, Nazi Germany, authoritarian Hungary and militaristic Poland. Catholic democratic parties (the Italian People's Party in 1924 and the German Center Party in 1933) were sacrificed, a clear indication of the pope's predilection for dictatorship during the interwar period.

The fact that Pacelli was a key figure in the secretariat of state, first as deputy, and from 1930 as head of this organization, suggests that he, like his predecessor Pius XI (1922-1939), had a penchant for dictatorship.

Protection

There is no doubt that the Vatican in the late XIX and early XX centuries. saw himself as an island of Christian truth in the raging sea of ​​modernism. However, in reality, while the theological line of the Vatican, reviving medieval ideas, was reactionary, the policy of the church's relations with secular and non-secular countries was extremely practical. Leo XIII (1878-1903) ruled like a king. However, he put as much effort into trying to end the Kulturkampf (Cultural Struggles) in Imperial Germany and wanting to reach an interim agreement with republican France as he did in official relations with monarchist Spain or the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Benedict XV (1914-1922) and Pius XI (1922-1939) continued to expand the number of their permanent representatives around the world. During the interwar years, papal policy actively adapted to new circumstances. Historians recognize three principles of decision-making in the international politics of the Vatican up until 1939.

• First, while the democracies were in a stable position, relations with them were full of the same enthusiasm as relations with dictatorships: a lot of democracies received permanent papal representatives during that period.


• Secondly, all efforts were focused on restoring the independence of the Vatican. Preliminary negotiations with the Italian government on the solution of the Rome Question took place from 1918 to 1922. And this issue remained unresolved until Mussolini proposed the Lateran Agreement in 1929, which was accepted by the Vatican. By signing this treaty, Pius XI received not only the right to tax and territorial independence, but also the right to interfere in the cultural, social and religious life of the Italian people.


• Finally, in those countries where godless communism would inevitably come to power, the Vatican chose to support authoritarian principles. The pope considered communism the greatest social evil, so any union that provided the church with freedom to preach became theologically justified.

Questionable neutrality: criticism

Many conclusions are drawn from the fact that Pius was a Germanophile. He had a penchant for German cuisine, literature and music, and his servants consisted entirely of German monks, who were managed with Teutonic dedication by Matushka Pascalina. Pacelli was papal representative in Bavaria and later in the Weimar Republic from 1917 to 1930. Critics insist that the pope's attachment to all things German blinded him to the atrocities committed in the name of Germany during the World War.

Protection

It is believed that Benedict XV showed such strict neutrality during the First World War that each side accused him of approving the opposing side. Pius XII inevitably fell into the same trap. His "impartiality" caused displeasure on both sides. Allied propaganda needed the pope's spiritual authority to boost morale; the Axis needed an obliging, nonjudgmental silence on their military and social policies.

In fact, for most of the war, Pius XII did show, albeit covertly, some sympathy for the allies. In 1940, he approved the leak to the Allies that the Dutch coast was mined. He supported Roosevelt's program to help the USSR. Most impressive was his remark to the Prime Minister of Hungary during a visit in April 1943: the pope “considered incomprehensible German actions against the Catholic Church, Jews and peoples in the occupied territories ... he was very worried about the terrible threat of communism, but felt that contrary to the Soviet I’m building… the Russian people remained more Christian… than the German people.”

Anti-Semitism: criticism

The works of modern researchers show that a frighteningly strong, albeit modified, medieval anti-Semitism in a certain respect existed in the Catholic Church of the 20th century. The "God-killing" Jews who rejected the Christian atonement were the perfect scapegoats. In the history of the church, 114 pontiffs and 16 churches have introduced anti-Semitic rules. After a short period of rational enlightenment in the 18th century, Catholicism, which desired the absolute power of the pope, rekindled its fear of the Semitic intellectuality, which was apparently the core of secular modernism, and in some respects of socialism.

It is believed that by the late 1920s, fear of Bolshevism and Jewish secularism had intermingled. Since the Jews received the greatest benefit from the dechurching of the state, the Catholic Church, at best, remained prudent towards them and did not bind itself with any obligations, and at worst, demonstrated rabid anti-Semitism. Pius XII, as a representative of the anti-Semitic papal curia, shared such prejudices and therefore did not help the Jews in their plight during the war.

Protection

In 1904, Pius X met personally with Theodor Herzel (the founder of modern Zionism), it seemed that this should be evidence of the beginning of a more advanced approach in Catholic-Jewish relations. Certainly, individual representatives The Vatican, supporters of church-fascist views, continued to spread the usual anti-Semitic sentiments in the interwar years. However, Pius XI was afraid that the traditional fear of Jewish influence in the dechurching of society would turn into political extremism, social threat and moral evil.

In 1923 and 1928 he condemned racism with particular force. In 1938, the papal encyclical "With great anxiety" became the most serious attack on the racial policy of the Nazis, which was launched by the leader of all Christians in the interwar period; and Pacelli took part in the compilation of this encyclical. And he also dismissed it, since soon a new encyclical “On Godless Communism” was published, stigmatizing the Soviet ideology, not noticing that the derogation of the rights of believers caused spiritual harm to Ukrainian Greek Catholics just as well as to Soviet orthodox Jews. In June 1938, Pius XI began work on the encyclical "On the Unity of the Human Race" - a warning to Europe about the threat of deadly anti-Semitism. Pius XI died of cancer before the outline of the encyclical was completed.

So far, there is no evidence that Pacelli "set fire" this document. On the contrary, all the diplomatic efforts of the pope were aimed at preventing war. And could Pius XI allow a racist to infiltrate the Secretariat of State and remain there for more than a decade? The reactions of Pius XI and Pius XII to the horrors of racism differed only in their loudness.

Failure to condemn the Holocaust: criticism

It is quite obvious that by the winter of 1942-43. Vatican diplomats in eastern Europe made it clear to the pope that the Nazi "settlement of the east" was a verbal cover for extermination. In this regard, many scholars condemn the timidity of Pius's statements during radio broadcasts, in comparison with the much more outspoken statements of the Dutch archbishop in the summer of 1942, who condemned the Nazis for their treatment of Jews. It is alleged that the Pope's direct attack on Nazi policies and the threat of excommunication to every Catholic for participating in these policies alerted the Jews and gave them a chance to escape, and also forced the leaders of Nazism, brought up in a Catholic spirit (Hitler, Himmler and Goebbels), to abandon drastic measures, as happened with the disabled euthanasia program in 1938-39.

Protection

While official Italy remained neutral, the Vatican radio and the Roman Observer newspaper came out with strong criticism. On January 19, 1940, the radio and newspaper reported to the world about the "terrible atrocities and savage tyranny of the Nazis in Poland." In his Easter sermon in 1940, Pius condemned the bombing of the civilian population, and on May 11 of that year he sent a telegram to Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg expressing sympathy for their disaster. In June 1942, the Pope condemned the mass deportation of French Jews. And on December 24, 1942, in a Christmas address, Pius spoke directly about "those hundreds and thousands who, without any fault, sometimes only because of nationality or race, are sentenced to death or exhaustion."

In those years, the Jews, as well as the Nazis, were quite sure that the pope's statements were evidence of his categorical condemnation of the Holocaust policy. Ribbentrop and Mussolini decided that the pope had violated his neutrality. That the pope's statements were not followed by more frank and lengthy condemnations was due to the well-known fact that after the Dutch cardinal's frank confessions of sympathy for the Jews, more than 100,000 Dutch Jews were sent to the death camps. By comparison, the Danish episcopate kept a low profile in public statements, and at the end of the war most of the 8,000 Danish Jews were smuggled to Sweden, and of the 500 Danish prisoners in the Terezin ghetto, 90% survived the war.

The chief rabbi of Copenhagen, Markus Melchior, believed that "if the pope had allowed himself to speak, Hitler would most likely have committed the massacre of more than six million Jews."

Failure to protect Italian Jews: criticism

Italy's unilateral withdrawal from World War II forced Germany to occupy two-thirds of the peninsula by September 1943. There is evidence that the Vatican was aware of Hitler's plans to kidnap Pius XII if his resistance became too strong. SS General Wolff was supposed to take the pope to Liechtenstein, confiscate the treasures of the Vatican for the needs of the war and prepare Rome for defense against the onslaught of the allies. As a consequence, Pius' failure to help the 8,000 Roman Jews is clear evidence of his moral cowardice. He prioritized personal security and the preservation of the Vatican over the human catastrophe that unfolded in Rome "literally under the windows of his house," as one critic wrote.

Protection

Fierce hostility towards the Jews was not a characteristic feature Everyday life Italy. Jews, first of all, were Italians, and then already Semites. Pacelli denounced Mussolini for imitating the Nazis, such as passing the racial laws in 1938. However, the 400,000 Italian Jews remained undisturbed. New Ambassador The Nazis informed the Vatican that the Roman Jews were safe. When the political course became more radical and the Jews began to be driven to Rome, Pius protested to the German ambassador and ordered that all the monasteries and convents of the papacy should support the Jews.

The Nazis hoped to herd 8,000 Jews to Rome. To the fury of the SS, only 1,259 were captured. About 5,000 were hidden in 155 religious institutions. The Vatican itself received 500 people into its cloisters, including the family of the chief Roman rabbi, Israel Zolli. The pope's summer palace hosted about 2,000, and 60 received refuge in the cellars of the Jesuit Gregorian University and the Biblical Institute of the Pontiff. In the rest of Italy, partisans, socialists and communists took part in the defense of the Jews. However, in central and southern Italy, it was the church that led the way in helping.

In Italy, as much as 80 percent of the Jewish population was saved, in stark contrast to the 80 percent of Jews exterminated in the rest of Europe. It seems incredible that this could happen if there was an ideological anti-Semite on the throne of St. Peter.

To understand disputes

One of the researchers wrote:

“It may well be that criticism of the church is due to its high claims. If over the centuries less was said about her wisdom, perhaps the expectations from her in such a difficult situation would be smaller. The Roman Catholic Church claimed the highest standards, and it was precisely for By this measure, she was condemned."

This statement briefly explains the loud and irritated historical disputes. And here the well-known saying that the historian should not be a judge, much less an executioner, turns out to be completely inapplicable. Many try to hide their interest in obscuring the truth revealed by the facts. Deliberate attempts are constantly being made to distort, deceive with a false translation, edit, or simply remain silent about the historical context of papal activity.

Be that as it may, everyone agrees that the study is far from over. However, the following conclusions seem to be quite obvious.

• The Catholic Church directly participated in the spread of the anti-Semitic idea of ​​the Jews as "the people who killed Christ." However, in the XX century. all popes since Pius XI were concerned about the danger of a new round of anti-Semitic sentiments on the part of the Nazis. And the Catholic Church became the first international organization to warn of this danger.


• In the interwar years, Vatican politics were often pragmatic. If the fascist regime, which promised independence to the Catholics, was the only alternative to godless communism, one should not be surprised at the choice of the Vatican. After all, the policy of appeasement of Germany, which was carried out by Great Britain and France, was also based on the fact that Germany is a bulwark against communism.


• Pius sought to convert all representatives of traditional Judaism to Christianity. Such was the purpose of the pope and his universal church. Today, such intentions seem too arrogant, but in those days it seemed natural.


• The reaction of the Catholic Church to the Holocaust varied depending on the states and peoples. However, according to separate studies, anti-Semitic legislation did not enjoy support in Catholic Western Europe.


• The pope's response to anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe varied greatly. In Slovakia and Croatia, the criminal regimes of Tiso and Pavelić received only a "diplomatic protest" from the Vatican Secretary of State for their racist policies. However, when in authoritarian Hungary mass extermination people became a reality in 1943-44, the papal representative, at the behest of Pius XII, took a number of proactive measures to protect the Jews, using mass conversions, papal immunity and asylum to transport them to neutral countries. The World Jewish Congress later recognized it as "the greatest concentrated effort to save the Jewish population in the entire war."


• In Italy, Pius defended the vulnerable Jews directly and boldly. After the war, the chief rabbi of Rome, Israel Zolli, converted to Catholicism and took Christian name- Eugenio, for Pacelli's services to the Jewish people.


• Pius' actions as a diplomat may give the impression that he was a man obsessed with the legal niceties of papal neutrality, and not at all with human suffering. However, Pius and the Catholic Church saved more Jewish lives than Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, Frank Foley and the International Red Cross put together.

Outcome

Pius XII was convinced that his tactics of unprovoking practical help would ultimately save more Jewish lives than pompous curses against the ranks, whose punishment would be directed at the very people Pius wanted to help. Most Jews immediately after the World War subconsciously admitted that the pope was right.

If the louder Pius XI had been in his place, the death penalty would have befallen not 20, but 80 percent of Italian Jewry. Would Pius XII's detractors then accuse him of being more concerned with his historical reputation than with the fate of the Jews, who could have been saved using a less narcissistic and more pragmatic approach? This is a real historical dilemma!

F.G.Stapleton) Translation: Igor Oleinik

Original: History Review December 2006 F.G.Stapleton " Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust"pp 16-20

Antipope Pius XIII, in the world Earl Pulvermacher (Earl Pulvermacher) was born on April 20, 1918 in the family of Hubert Pulvermacher and Cecilia Lerenz. He was baptized on April 28, 1918. After four years of pre-seminary, a year of novitiate, four years of philosophy and four years of study of theology, he makes perpetual vows on August 28, 1942 in the monastic order of the Capuchins. June 5, 1946 he was elevated to the rank of priest. In keeping with the Capuchin tradition of choosing a different name for himself to show his "removal from the world", he chooses the name Lucian, which means "illuminating the path."
From the autumn of 1947 to the end of 1948, Fr. Lucian is the vicar of the parish of St. Francis in Milwaukee, USA. At the end of 1948, as a missionary, he traveled to the Amani Oshima Islands, where he served first as a vicar, and then as parish priest. In 1955, he moved to the island of Okinawa, where he served until the spring of 1970. From the end of 1970 until January 1976 he was a missionary in Australia. In January 1976, Fr. Lucian Pulvermacher leaves Australia and the Capuchin order and begins cooperation with traditionalist Catholic organizations opposed to the decisions of the Second Vatican Council. Worked with FSSPX for some time.
After the break with FSSPX, Fr. Lucian organizes private chapels in parts of the US where he celebrates the Tridentine Mass. In the mid-1990s, Fr. Lucian comes to the conclusion 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 also concludes that all post-conciliar popes are invalid. Those. Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II physically occupy the Roman throne, but are not true Roman pontiffs. And so did Pope John XXIII, who convened the Second Vatican Council, through his heresy ceased to be a Catholic, and therefore a pope. Thus, in accordance with the theory of Lucian Pulvermacher, throne of St. Petra remains vacant after the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958.
In 1998, it was decided to convene a conclave of conservative Catholics, both secular and clergy. Voting was to be done by telephone. The conclave began on October 23, 1998 at 13:00 and lasted 24 hours. It should be noted that Fr. Lucian was the only clergyman to claim the papacy at this conclave. Upon its completion, Fr. Lucian, who chose the name Pius XIII. However, the elected Pius XIII was still a priest. Therefore, he first elevates the married Australian Gordon Bateman to the “episcopal” rank, who then puts Pope Pius XIII in the “bishopric”.
This was the beginning of the formation of the true Catholic Church, headed by Pope Pius XIII. "Bishop" Bateman was made a cardinal. The ranks of the clergy of the true Catholic Church were replenished on June 18, 2000 by the married Robert Lyon, who was elevated to the rank of "priest" by Pope Pius XIII. Soon the paths of "cardinal" Bateman and Pope Pius XIII parted ways. Bateman condemned the pope for practicing pendulum divination and promoting it to others. After that, "cardinal" Bateman moved to another antipope -

You don't have to be seven spans in your forehead to understand: the book "Purgatory" by Jörg Kastner was written based on the biography of Earl Lucian Pulvermacher, and the film about Pius XIII is a translation of the book into cinematic language.

Priest Earl Lucian Pulvermacher, Capuchin (April 20, 1918 – November 30, 2009) was an American Sedevacantist who was proclaimed Pope Pius XIII of the True Catholic Church in 1998.

Pius XIII: fictional character or historical person?

STS will show a television series about the Pope, the prototype of which was the antipope Earl Lucian Pulvermacher.

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

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

Catholic missionary, member of the monastic order of the Capuchins, Fr. Lucian Pulvermacher in the 1970s gradually moved to the position of extreme traditionalism. The reason was the reaction of part 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-1990s, Fr. Lucian comes to the conclusion 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 decrees 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 came the name of the sedevacantist sect, 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. A few adherents of the schismatic organization created with the participation of Pulvermacher, the True Catholic Church, took part in it. As a result, the only candidate was elected - Lucian Pulvermacher.

Antipope Pius XIII died in 2009. Even during his lifetime in the True Catholic Church, as often happens in schismatic communities, there was a further division.

Religious teachings and sects. Directory

The sedevacantist movement is a whole series of autonomous groups, as a rule, hostile to both the official Catholic Church and to each other. All sedevacantists are united by the non-recognition of the ruling Pope. They consider the throne of St. Peter to be vacant, hence the name of the current (Latin sedes vacans).

The reasons why the Holy See is considered vacant can be called different. Most sedevacantists believe that Popes John XXIII and Paul VI fell into the heresy of modernism and thereby deposed themselves. All subsequent popes are also considered illegal, since they were elected after the reform of Pope Paul IV, (1970), according to which cardinals over 80 years old cannot participate in the election of the Pope. Some sedevacantists also consider other popes as illegitimate, such as Pius XII or Liberius.

The Sedevacantists have their own bishops, some of whom were ordained by the Old Catholics, whom the Sedevacantists themselves consider heretics. Others were ordained by Vietnamese Archbishop Ngo Ding Thuc or bishops appointed by him. (Ngo Ding Thuc himself was twice excommunicated from the Catholic Church: in 1976 and 1983).

Some sedevacantist groups even elect their own popes. One such antipope was Gregory XVII (Spanish Bishop Clemente Dominguez Gomez). Another antipope, Pius XIII (the American Capuchin priest Lucian Pulvermacher), does not even have a bishopric. Nevertheless, he arrogated to himself the right to ordain bishops and presbyters, arguing that the Pope could grant the presbyter the privilege of administering the Sacrament of the Priesthood (the Catholic Church does not know such a doctrine).

According to the Polish journalist Robert Nogacki, there are now more than 10 antipopes in the world.
http://www.apologia.ru/mddb/28

Black Saturn
The victory over the pedophile bishop is also ambiguous. No sensible evidence was dug up on him (except perhaps new dirt with a tennis player), he just suddenly decided to confess to the Pope himself, after many years of denying it. You can also look at the situation from the other side - this is exactly what the church (not necessarily the Catholic one) is often accused of - in covering up its own. The "Holy" Pope did exactly the same thing that the church administration does in real life - he simply removed the factor that irritated the public from the focus of attention, the guilty person was transferred away from the eyes, avoiding real punishment, the scandal was stupidly hushed up. Oh yes, in the series this is manipulatively presented as a terrible punishment, "exile in the cold", but let's be realistic - this is hyperbole. When the service scene in Alaska was shown for the first time, I thought it was just a joke. It can also be noted that the Holy Pope punished the hardened pedophile as severely as the cardinal who dared to joke on him on the sidelines - sins are clearly of the same caliber.
Also, from the very first day, the Pope self-confidently and defiantly sets absolutely the entire environment against himself. Including his own informant, who at first immorally inclines to violate the secrecy of confession, and then leads to a complete refusal to cooperate. At the same time, the series tries to convince us that the Pope is a skilled politician and knows everything about everyone. Here, again, it certainly could not have done without the direct help of God, sending out a dossier through revelations and miraculously turning enemies into friends.
The intrigue and politics in the series is a big disappointment. They are presented too schematically and superficially, they end illogically, the cunning plans and actions of the Pope are mostly left behind the scenes, at the mercy of the imagination. Like, don’t look that in the demonstrated part, the Pope stupidly rushes ahead, frankly humiliates opponents, distances himself from potential allies - no, somewhere behind the scenes he had a brilliant difficult undercover fight, and now we are already shown a victorious result. Somehow I can’t believe it, we know the Pope’s way of achieving the goal - to pray and everything will be fine.

The Young Pope is perhaps the most curious and promising TV project of this year, a multi-layered canvas from the Oscar-winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, which is not inferior in the beauty of each frame and the thoughtfulness of the scenes to his films (The Great Beauty, Youth). This is the story of Lenny Balardo, Pope Pius XIII, one of the youngest in history. The series came out surprisingly lively, brazen, smart and insightful, and most importantly - more open to a wide audience than it might seem from Sorrentino's past works or from an unusual setting.

"The Young Pope" started in Italy and Germany on October 21, then other European premieres slowly pulled up, in Russia the release date is December 1, while the United States will see the story of the first American Pope (British Jude Law plays American Lenny Belardo) only in January next year (on HBO, which ordered the series along with Sky), so it's not entirely clear when exactly is the best time to write about it here. However, many Russian viewers have already managed to watch all 10 episodes and write rave reviews, the series obviously does not leave people indifferent, so I hope you will give it a chance. Believe me, he's worth it.
In my opinion, the title of the series should have been translated as "The Young Pope" so that no one would get the wrong idea about a sitcom about a young single father struggling with the difficulties of raising children.
But even without this, it seems to me that the project will have to face the problem of false expectations. Some simply do not want to watch a series about the life of the Vatican, as they will not be able to imagine interesting story about this theme. Some religious people may well not risk watching, fearing that the series will offend their feelings with heresy and outrageous distortion of the image of Christianity and its institutions.
Perhaps the Vatican House of Cards label will help the series find an audience, as it does a good job of explaining one of the project's strengths and is able to give the viewer something familiar to hook on to. We are indeed watching the workings of the political machine of the papacy, following the intrigues against Pius Thirteenth and his own complex multi-movements. If this topic appeals to you, then the series will definitely have something to offer you. The main thing is to understand that its merits are not limited to this, as well as the range of topics that it affects.
Lenny Belardo is an orphan left by his parents in the orphanage of Sister Mary as a child, he knows nothing about their future fate, but the dream of meeting them again does not leave him. The broken heart of an abandoned child, abandoned for unknown reasons by his own parents, dictates much of the principles and policies of the new Pope. Sorrentino states that orphans always strive to stay with their children because they cannot grow up, just like priests, since celibacy makes it impossible for them to go through fatherhood. Until you become a parent, you remain a child, and they need to remain children of God so as not to encroach on his position as the supreme father.
Thanks to the machinations of the Cardinals, Lenny beats out other candidates for the post, including his mentor, Michael Spencer - the conspirators believe that the young moderate American will become a convenient puppet in their hands, but he suddenly turns out to be a tough and wayward tyrant who instantly cuts off any attempts to do something to him. to advise, remaking for themselves, first the usual methods of work of the “papal office”, and then the policy of the entire Catholic Church.
The cardinals are trying to reason with, and then stop the raging madman, who threatens to bring the fragile economy of the Vatican to the coffin, and then shake the position of the Church as a whole. On the side of Lenny are only his sister Mary, who was called by him to the Vatican, who replaced his mother, and Andrew Dusolier, his peer, with whom the future Pius Thirteenth grew up in an orphanage. But these two people close to him will also have to decide for themselves whether they can continue to support Lenny, who is being changed more and more by the newfound power every day.

Sorrentino wrote that this series is about the strong signs of the presence of God and the equally strong signs of his absence, about the search and loss of faith, about the greatness of holiness and its unbearable burden for a person whom fate (or the Holy Spirit) has chosen to be the pontiff.
But other than that, it's just a beautiful work of art with meticulously written characters, an amazing soundtrack, acting that impresses even those who never really noticed and did not single out the acting as something apart, and a fantastic range of topics that are not just touched upon, but are played out before our eyes, without offering any specific answer, without trying to incline towards a ready-made simple option.
How to relate to God, the church, gay priests, celibacy, orphans, abortions and parents who abandon their children, new saints, the flexibility of religion and the possibility of revolution in it - the series only argues for both positions, shows the finally blurred line between sin and righteousness. In general, here everyone will find not just confirmation of their convictions or a challenge to them, but space for reflection, experiencing other people's experiences, sentimental, but sober reflection.
And, of course, since this is Sorrentino, who impressed with his cinematography and sense of the frame back in The Great Beauty, the series is simply breathtakingly beautiful. Not just stylish, clear, geometric - we see this quite often. Here, in each scene, one can see not just technarianism, but an active creative thought that presents the world of the work and the characters in a sensual, involved way and as if it is the only correct one.
Paolo's camera is not like Lubezki's puppy dog ​​active camera, which can't sit still, pokes at the characters' faces, trembles, sways on waves of tension, or Carruth's camera methodically sniffing surfaces, pausing to listen to a distant rumble, at times as if deafened, dumbfounded, aloof, or at Spielberg's attentive camera, absorbing the whole scene from beginning to end, looking at the characters, changing close-ups to wide ones, moving from place to place, just not to miss a word or a gesture.
Sorrentino is a master of the stationary shot, he sets up the camera and no longer moves it from its place, only changing angles when required. But he puts it as if it had always stood there - at the ideal point. From this immobility, an atmosphere of appeasement (sometimes false), the steadfastness of the world of the pontiff, stagnation in thoughts and morals, and resistance to any changes are created. We have nothing to be distracted by, focusing on the faces of the characters, perfectly inscribed in a rich background.
The interiors of St. Peter's Basilica, the Pope's chambers and the endless neat courtyards and gardens of the Vatican, the high vaults of temples and the geometry of ascetic cells. The contrast between the frilly outfits of the clergy and the little things familiar to us - a cigarette or a phone in your hand, a billiard cue under your arm. And, of course, superbly staged lighting that turns every frame into a renaissance painting.
A talented detail like the play of light on a hat that turns it into a halo is not a single successful solution invented exclusively for posters, there are dozens of such finds here.

In total, Sorrentino released an amazing ten-hour film. Finished, deep and modern. Unhurried, but concise, devoid of stupid water, filled for the sake of blowing up the timing. Yes, this is not a typical American drama that, although it takes on complex topics, quickly degenerates into something superficial, simplified and reduced to unviable absolutes, immersed in unnecessary continuations of a long-finished story, far-fetched character pairing and fabricated conflicts arising from ridiculous misunderstandings.
It will not be easy for everyone to accept and watch to the end for this series - we have lost the habit of complex and unhurried, even if so unusual and lively. But you should try to decide for yourself which category you will find yourself in. Because, if all this does not seem boring and incomprehensible to you, you will understand that it was not just a pleasant time, these ten hours can enrich you, saturate the modules of our consciousness, which rarely get a chance to turn on and develop.
How often, in the end, we are given series that are not inferior in quality to films - neither in the beauty of the frame, nor in the scenery, costumes and interiors, nor in the dynamics and thoughtful structure, cleared of unnecessary elements. The tightness of these storylines and scenes, where a catchphrase, melody or gesture that appeared at the beginning of the episode, will surely turn into a refrain at the end, loop, give a new meaning, is amazing. Where else can you find so many strong visual images that create their own sign system - half a pipe, a lighter with a view of Venice, an empty plate - everything becomes a capacious container for meanings and emotions in the hands of Sorrentino.

American shows, even the best ones, are often quite narrow-minded, they are squeezed into a certain space, concentrating all their energy on impressing and hooking the viewer, driving him from twist to cliffhanger, and immediately to a new twist.
They rarely create such an ephemeral thing as a thought-sensory space, the perceived world of the series with all our emotions and ideas that are born in the folds and gaps between events, characters, scenes - in the thought-out and felt by us in gaps that can be fertile, and may turn out to be cold and not giving birth to anything. Inside this series, you can finally not just bite your nails from tension or squeal with delight, here you might think, and for this rare opportunity, Sorrentino, many thanks.

In October, The Young Pope by Paolo Sorrentino with Jude Law, a drama about a pontiff who drinks cola and smokes cigarettes, began airing. The American HBO, Italian Sky Atlantic and French Canal+ worked on the show. The Italian premiere took place on October 21, and the release on HBO is scheduled for January 15, 2017. In Russia, the series will be available on the Amedia Premium channel and in Amediatek until the end of 2016. Many compare the new Sorrentino show to House of Cards: in the beautiful and provocative series, Jude Law does about the same in the Vatican as Kevin Spacey does in Washington. At the request of Meduza, film reviewer Yegor Moskvitin talks about The Young Pope and one of the most important roles in Jude Law's career.
The premiere of "The Young Pope" took place at the September Venice Film Festival - one of the few European shows that have never nominated Paolo Sorrentino for awards. And it seems that Fellini's Oscar-winning heir has found a very subtle way of revenge. The series begins with a young pontiff, Jude Law, crawling out of a pile of naked babies, folded into a pyramid, like Vereshchagin's skulls. The action takes place on the main Venetian square - St. Mark. The director seems to be warning: whatever happens in The Young Pope, this series was born here - and the Venetians are responsible for everything that happens.
There will be enough for 10 episodes - after the first four episodes, the "insulted believers" have every reason to send an exorcist to Sorrentino. The plot: a conclave led by the wise Secretary of State of the Holy See Voiello (titled Italian actor Silvio Orlando) chooses as the new pontiff not the experienced and independent Archbishop Spencer (James Cromwell, familiar to us from American Horror Story), but the young and “photogenic” American Lenny Belardo (Jude Law). But immediately after the appointment, it becomes clear that the operation "successor" has failed. The newly elected dad quarrels in the morning that they didn’t bring him cherry cola, smokes a pack a day and does not obey anyone except his sister Mary (recognizable only by Diane Keaton’s glasses), who raised him. The Cardinals hoped in vain that the Brooklyn orphan would be grateful to them for something.
The last time we saw such a provocateur in a cassock was in the movie Face Off (1997), when the hero of Nicolas Cage briefly went insane.
And while The Young Pope is not without reason compared to House of Cards, it is worth saying that the fictional pontiff Pius XIII is much more complicated and unpredictable than Frank Underwood. The hero of the American political drama exposed himself immediately, because he liked to share his plans with the audience while sitting on the couch. A typical political animal, a bunch of ambitions with a rare will to power; with such everything is clear. The hero of Jude Law is a completely different matter: your opinion about him will change several times per episode, and when he finally breaks the fourth wall, it turns out that his attitude towards the audience is the same as towards the flock. Nothing is known about this man. He alternately daydreams about delivering a speech in defense of emancipation, gays, and abortion, and plots a campaign against homosexuals in cassocks. His own orientation remains in question for at least a third of the season - and this is despite Paolo Sorrentino's passion for the carnal world. The hero's motives are incomprehensible - he may be infantile and selfish, but it is possible that he is driven by a fanatical self-deprecating faith. At the same time, no one will be surprised if he even turns out to be an atheist. The hero follows everyone and brings only sister Mary closer to him - but soon decides that she is also an extra link between dad and God. The pontiff turns out to be an expert on Salinger, Kubrick, Banksy and even Daft Punk, but his views cannot be called liberal. More like Old Testament. Of all the names, the pontiff chooses the name of Pius - either in pursuit of the 13th number, or reminding the flock that his predecessor loved Mussolini. To important questions, each series adds a few very irrational secrets. Why do we need to know about the sex life of the Swiss guards? What kind of vow of silence binds the Pope and a computer-drawn kangaroo?

The second major advantage of "The Young Pope" over "House of Cards" is that his character is terribly vulnerable - and the series does not give any guarantees that Pius will overcome his opponents (except for the guarantee of an early extension of the show for new season). In the very first episodes, he has at least three powerful enemies, but it seems that their number may well grow to a billion Catholics around the world. Therefore, instead of the triumph of a rogue, we will surely get an ancient tragedy.

Of all the filmography of the suddenly fashionable Sorrentino, this plot is closest to the film "Amazing" ("Il divo") - a story about the machinations of the Italian prime minister. Of the director's later works, the series was influenced by "The Great Beauty" and "Youth" with their baroque frame construction, special musicality, eccentricity, the ability to see the funny and beautiful in the withering and sick. And most importantly - their humor, expressed without words. Nuns play football, cardinals use iPhones, and in the middle of a lush hall there is a cooler of holy water. However, there are enough verbal jokes: “I’m a virgin, but this is an old T-shirt,” says elderly sister Mary, quoting a little-known meme.

To say that The Young Pope is based solely on Jude Law is to underestimate the work of a huge European ensemble cast, but for him this is indeed one of the most important roles in his career. Jude Law is somewhat similar to his hero - at first it seems that both are out of place, so the confusion does not look feigned. But in the way the young pontiff becomes cold-blooded and tough before our eyes, one can also see the personal evolution of the actor.
When the camera loses sight of Jude Law (which is not easy), the Vatican is finally in focus - and the series has another "split personality". On the one hand, "The Young Pope" is a tough journalism that explores the mechanisms of work of a corporation called the church. Sorrentino is known for his passion for photographing garden alleys and palace corridors, but this time he is also interested in the Catholic back office: marketing and personnel offices, the intricate bookkeeping of the city-state and the work of the papal press office. On the other hand, this is a bit of "Downton Abbey" - a gentle, funny and touching tragicomedy about elderly eccentrics. And their kangaroo. No, seriously, how can you not watch a series where a kangaroo jumps through the Vatican?
Egor Moskvitin
Moscow

Catholicism - (from the Greek katholikos - universal, universal), one of the main, along with Protestantism and Orthodoxy, directions in Christianity. Catholicism took shape as a creed and church organization after the division of the Christian Church into Catholic and Orthodox in 1054. It recognizes the basic Christian dogmas and rituals.
Sources of doctrine - Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition.
In the second half of the ninth century Catholicism penetrated the Slavic lands. In Rus', Catholic missionaries appeared under Prince Vladimir I Svyatoslavich. In the XII-XIII centuries. there were Catholic churches in Kyiv, Novgorod, Pskov and other cities. In the XIV-XVII centuries. there were practically no Catholics in the Russian state, with the exception of foreigners. The lands settled by Catholics became part of Russia in 1721-95: the Baltic States, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Poland. In 1847, a concordat was concluded with the Vatican, under the terms of which the Pope of Rome was recognized as the head of Russian Catholics. In 1866, the concordat was unilaterally terminated by Russia (contacts between the Catholics of Russia and the Kingdom of Poland with the Roman curia were carried out through the Minister of the Interior, papal messages and orders were not valid without the permission of the emperor). A papal nunciature existed in Russia until 1917. Diplomatic relations with the Vatican were restored in 1990. The governing structures of the Roman Catholic Church of Russia were revived in 1991.

Features of Catholicism (in comparison, first of all, with Orthodoxy):

In the dogma of Catholicism about the Trinity, the "holy spirit" comes not only from God the Father (as in the "Creed", recognized by Orthodoxy), but also from the son (filioque);
A feature of Catholicism is the wide, exalted veneration of the Mother of God (Madonna). In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary (rejected by the Orthodox Church); in 1950 the Catholic Church recognized the dogma of her bodily ascension;
A sharp distinction between the clergy and the laity, it is expressed in a number of institutions that do not have a place in Orthodoxy, communion with bread and wine - only the clergy, bread alone - the laity (now in some cases also wine);
Celibacy is the obligatory celibacy of the clergy (in Orthodoxy, only monasticism gives a vow of celibacy).
The organization of the Catholic Church is characterized by strict centralization, hierarchical character; the head of the church is the Pope, the residence is the Vatican.
The Catholic Church, like the Orthodox Church, recognizes seven sacraments, but there are some differences in their administration. Thus, Catholics perform baptism not by immersion in water, but by dousing; chrismation (confirmation) is performed not simultaneously with baptism, but over children no younger than 8 years old and, as a rule, by a bishop. Bread for communion among Catholics is unleavened, not leavened (as among the Orthodox). The marriage of the laity is indissoluble, even if one of the spouses is convicted of adultery.
Only in Catholicism is there a dogma about purgatory - an intermediate instance between hell and paradise, where the souls of the dead, in anticipation of their final fate, can be cleansed of sins that they have not atoned for during their lifetime, passing through various kinds of trials, as well as with the help of prayers for them and "good deeds". "their loved ones on earth: the clergy are in power to shorten the period of stay in purgatory. This was finally approved in the 16th century. Trent Cathedral.
The cult in Catholicism is characterized by a particularly magnificent theatrical worship, which should affect the imagination and feelings of believers. In addition to singing, instrumental music (organ) is used, temples are decorated with sculptures and paintings. The veneration of all kinds of relics, the cult of martyrs, saints and blessed ones, is extremely developed. Usually Catholic worship was performed only on Latin(The 2nd Vatican Council of 1962-65 allowed services in modern national languages).
Many holidays in Catholicism appeared after the separation of the churches - the holidays of the Body of Christ, the Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, etc.; at the same time, a number of holidays established by the Orthodox Church are missing - the Meeting, the Transfiguration, the Exaltation, etc.
Qantas Airlines Limited (ASX: QAN) (pronounced /;kw;nt;s/ - /kuantas/) is Australia's largest airline. Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo". The airline is headquartered in Sydney. Founded in 1920, it is the third oldest operating airline in the world (after KLM and Avianca), and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Qantas is a public company listed on the ASX.
The original name "QANTAS" is an acronym for "Queensland And Northern Territory Aerial Services" ("Air transportation of Queensland and the Northern Territories") and allows you to judge how the airline began its activities.
In 2008, Qantas was voted third on the list of the world's best airlines, according to Skytrax research. This is better than the 5th place in 2007, but worse than the second place she held in 2005 and 2006.

Antipope - the head of the Catholic Church, whose election to this post was declared invalid. Officially, the church does not recognize antipopes, but is forced to reckon with their existence, they appear, though in brackets, in the register of pontiffs, religious prescriptions. The first antipope was St. Hippolytus (217-235) and lastly Felicius V (1439-1449). Some antipopes were declared unlawfully elected by the cathedrals of the church, others themselves renounced their titles for ransom, and still others created their own "courts" and acted under the auspices of various royal houses.
Used materials from the site http://mirslovarei.com

Bishops and Antibishops

Very little is known about the first Roman bishops (they began to be called popes far from immediately, only from the 5th century AD). The available information from different sources is often contradictory. Thus, a number of authors report the martyrdom of St. Linus (although he died between the reigns of Emperor Nero and Emperor Domitian, when there was no persecution of Christians).

Since the dates of the first Roman bishops are given at best to within a year, it is difficult to guess how long the intervals between the execution (or simply death) of one leader of a church banned by the state and the election of a new leader lasted.

More accurate dates appear from the 3rd century AD. e. In the same century, the first of more than 30 antipopes appeared in the history of the Catholic Church. This first antipope (or rather, antibishop) was Hippolytus. In 217, after the election of Calixtus as the head of the Roman church, Hippolytus, dissatisfied with the too liberal policy of the new bishop, who did not fight the heresy of the modalists vigorously enough and was too tolerant of sinners, proclaimed himself (with the support of a small number of supporters) the bishop of Rome. The schism lasted under the next two official bishops, Urban and Ponzian. During the reign of Pontian, the reconciliation of the two heads of the church finally took place, after which, however, both were exiled by the Roman authorities to Sardinia.

After the death of Fabian in 250 AD. e. the episcopal throne was vacant for more than a year - in connection with the intensified persecution of Christians. And then there were two contenders at once. The Roman priest Novatian did not recognize the election of Cornelius as the new head of the church and found three provincial bishops who agreed to recognize him as the head of the Roman church. Each of the two bishops sent letters to different churches announcing their election. Novatian even created a separate Christian community (the Cathars), which adhered to stricter principles of life than other Christians. Cornelius managed to collect the signatures of almost all Christian bishops in order to excommunicate his rival from the church. Novatian, on the other hand, continued to remain in opposition during the reigns of three successive bishops of Rome.

At the beginning of the 4th century, during the reign of the emperor Diocletian, the persecution of Christians reached such strength that after the death of Marcellinus (who, oddly enough for that time, died of natural causes), the throne of the bishop of Rome remained vacant for four years. Then Marcellus took it, but after his arrest and exile, the episcopal throne became vacant again. Then, for only four months, Eusebius (309 or 310, according to various sources), who died in exile in Sicily, manages to occupy it. In 311, Miltiades (Melchiad) became the head of the church, who ruled until 314, but in this short period he manages to catch not only the end of the persecution of Christians, but also the final triumph of faith - the publication by the Roman emperor Constantine of the Edict of Milan, which made Christianity the official religion of Rome. empire.

Popes and Eastern Emperors

After the transfer of the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople, Rome retains its position as the religious capital of Christianity. With the transformation of Christianity into the state religion, the persecution of ordinary believers became a thing of the past, but a new phenomenon arose - the active intervention of secular authorities in the leadership of the church.

Another split occurred during the reign of Liberius (352-366). As a result of the conflict between Liberius and the emperor Constantius, the head of the church was exiled to Thrace, and Felix II (355-358) was appointed bishop of Rome. Liberius signed a compromise Creed close to the Arian doctrine, after which he was pardoned by the emperor and returned to Rome.

Liberius was replaced by Damasius (366-384). Part of the clergy elected Ursinus as the new head of the church (who, again, can be somewhat conditionally called an antipope), but Damasius managed to remove him from Rome by force (at the same time, 160 supporters of Ursinus died in the battle).

Following the rules of Siricius (384-399). There was no split in the church leadership under him. The split occurred in secular life - the Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern. This had far-reaching consequences. In each of the parts, its own branch of Christianity began to take shape - subsequently, respectively, Catholicism and Orthodoxy.

The next schism took place in 418. While the schismatics voted for the ordination of Eulalius, Boniface was chosen as the legitimate head of the church - largely against his own will. By decision of the emperor, both applicants were to leave Rome until the council of bishops in Ravenna resolved their dispute. However, Eulalius returned to the city with a group of supporters, seized the episcopal palace by force, from which he was expelled by the imperial troops. The behavior of Eulalius offended the emperor so much that he finally took the side of his rival.

At the request of Boniface, the emperor also issued a decree according to which, in the future, in the event of disputes in the election of the bishop of Rome, new elections must be held, at which candidacies of participants in the previous elections cannot be put forward. Boniface is famous for being the first to proclaim the bishop of Rome "the head of all Christianity." The final consolidation of the position of the Roman bishops took place during the reign of Leo (later called the Great) (440-461), whom some historians call the first pope, because he got the emperor to issue an edict on the subordination of all bishops to the papal court and giving the pope's decisions the force of law.

Meanwhile, splits in the church leadership and the election of new antipopes at the suggestion of the emperor in Constantinople continued.
In 498, the majority of the clergy elected Symmachus as pope, while the minority, representing the interests of the Emperor of Constantinople, preferred the candidacy of Lawrence. To resolve the conflict in Rome, a synod of bishops of Italy was convened, which adopted the first ever regulation on the election of the pope (he, in particular, forbade anyone to claim the papal throne until the death of the ruling legally elected bishop of Rome). Of course, Lawrence's supporters tried several times to break the rules and overthrow the legitimately elected pope.

Felix IV (after one of his namesake predecessors was recognized as an illegitimate pope, he became Felix III) tried before his death in 530 to appoint a successor, Boniface II. The supporters of the emperor liked the candidacy of the priest Dioscorus more. Fortunately, this split quickly ended. Dioscorus died three weeks after he was elected head of the church.

After that, the church lived without antipopes for almost a century and a half.

It is worth noting another event of this period. In 533, Mercury, elected by the Pope of Rome, having headed the church, changed his name to John II, so as not to bear the name of a pagan god, thereby laying the tradition that exists to this day to take a new name during enthronement (the ceremony of official entry into office). The last pope to rule under his birth name would be Marcello Cervini (Marcellus II) a thousand years later.

Popes and Western Emperors

The next pope - John V (685-686), - a Syrian by origin, became the first representative of the Eastern churches on the Roman throne. The so-called eastern popes included all his successors up to and including Zacharias (741-752), with one exception - Gregory II.

After the death of Pope John, two candidates were nominated for the post of new head of the church - Archpriest Peter and Priest Theodore. It ended with the election of Konon as a compromise figure, who was very ill at the time of his election and died after 11 months of rule. Again there were two candidates for the vacant throne - the already mentioned Theodore and Archdeacon Paschaliy, who offered a large bribe for the confirmation of his candidacy. As a result, Saint Sergius I became the new pope. If Theodore voluntarily renounced his claims to the papacy, then Paschaliy tried to challenge this decision, for which he was imprisoned in a monastery.
The return of power in the Roman church to the Italians took place during the reign of Pope Stephen II, during which there was another failure in the numbering of the heads of the church. The fact is that for three days the church was headed by Stephen II, already elected pope, but not having passed the official enthronement ceremony, who is not included in the official list of popes of the Vatican. He was succeeded by Pope Stephen III, who should actually be called Stephen II.

Even during the life of Pope Paul (757-767), serious disputes arose over his heir, as a result of which three new popes appeared at once. Constantine II was placed on the throne by his brother, Prince Toto of Nepi. The monk Philip also had a small number of supporters. However, representatives of the papal court managed to bring the situation under control. Both antipopes were arrested and blinded, and Stephen III was elected the new pope.

In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Roman Emperor. In 812, Byzantium recognized the existence of two emperors - eastern and western. The fates of the Orthodox (Eastern) and Catholic (Western) churches diverged completely.

Bad dads and popes

In 844, the first case of a radical-democratic election of a pope was recorded. After the death of Pope Gregory IV, Sergius II was elected by a majority of votes as the next head of the church. But the crowd that burst into the palace, consisting of supporters of the people's party of Rome, tried to force their candidate, Deacon John, to sit on the throne.

In 855, Benedict III was elected the new pope, but Emperor Louis II intervened in the election process, nominating his cardinal Anastasius, who held the position of librarian, that is, the head of the papal office. However, the papal curia managed to keep their candidate on the throne, and put the antipope in a monastery.

In addition to the year 855, a very common folk legend relates the beginning of the reign of Popess Joanna, a woman on the papal throne. According to this legend, it was not Benedict who was elected pope, but a certain young man from England named John, who showed amazing knowledge of theology. Already being a pope, more precisely, a popess, Joanna fell from a horse, which provoked a premature birth, during which she died. Allegedly, after this, the custom was born to check the elected popes for belonging to the male sex, seating them in a special chair called sedes stercoraria. This legend, born in the XII century and survived to this day, has not the slightest scientific basis.

From 882 to 963, the Catholic Church was led by a succession of pontiffs whom the Catholic Church itself prefers to call "bad popes" (in general list It is immediately evident that not a single pope who ruled during this period was canonized as a saint). Soviet atheistic propaganda gloatingly described this time as follows: "an endless chain of violence, intrigues and murders." Here is just one example. Leo V, a month after his election as pope, was thrown into prison by Cardinal Christopher, who took the vacant throne. Antipope Christopher led the Roman Church for four months, after which he was captured by order of the Count of Tusculum and killed in prison.

The period of "bad popes" was put to an end by Emperor Otho I. He dethroned St. Peter John XII and recognized Leo VIII as pope. The inhabitants of Rome, however, at the first opportunity expelled the imperial protege from the city, and after the death of John XII they elected their candidate, Benedict V, as pope. The emperor brought troops to Rome, deposed Benedict, sent him into exile in Germany and returned his candidate to the papal throne . The result is the following situation. Some historians believe that the emperor violated the procedure for electing popes, and therefore Leo VIII is an antipope. In the official list of popes compiled by the Vatican, there is a note: "If Leo VIII is considered a legitimately elected pope, then Benedict V should be recognized as an antipope." Moreover, in the same list, both popes have serial numbers, while no numbers are assigned to antipopes. There is also no dual numbering for the later elected popes, who took the names of Leo and Benedict, which proves once again that both heads of the church mentioned must be considered legitimate popes.

In some sources there is a mention that allegedly in 965 Pope Domn II was elected, who in reality never existed.

Anti-pope embezzler and pope robber

The end of the 10th century was marked by the activities of a man who deserves the title of "bad antipope" - Boniface VII. In 974, the legitimately elected Pope Benedict VI was imprisoned, where he was soon executed by order of Boniface, who took the throne. Just a month later, the troops of the emperor's envoy approached Rome, and Antipope Boniface fled to Constantinople, taking with him the treasury of the Vatican. Nine years later, he returned to Rome to overthrow the next legitimate pope, John XIV (thrown into prison, where he died). Boniface himself, however, also died not of natural causes less than a year after his return, and his body was given to the mob for desecration.

The fates of the next few antipopes are connected with the activities of the Roman noble family of Crescencii, who repeatedly tried to put their candidate at the head of the church. So, in 988, Antipope John XVI, a protege of the Crescentii, was blinded, his nose and ears were cut off, after which they were thrown into prison, where they starved to death. In 1012, Antipope Gregory, also nominated by the Crescentii, was more fortunate: he was simply forced to recant. And in 1044, a certain Sylvester paid the Crescents a large sum for being elected pope, but the election was declared invalid.

Three reigns (and two expulsions) of Pope Benedict IX also date back to the 11th century. The first time he ascended the papal throne at the age of 15, in a sense, having inherited it (he was a nephew of the two previous popes). In 1044 he was expelled from Rome on charges of robbery and debauchery. He returned a month later with the imperial troops, again became pope, but two months later he was overthrown by the supporters of the Crescentii and expelled from the city again. This time his absence lasted a year and a half. Returning to Rome for the third time, he again took the throne, hoping for approval of his candidacy by the emperor. When the emperor supported another candidate, Benedict IX took refuge in a monastery, where he later died a natural death.

In the official list of the Vatican, Benedict IX is mentioned as the 145th, 147th and 150th pope.

At the same time, Benedict X was recognized as an antipope, and therefore is not included in the number of 265 popes, so that the current ruling pontiff is only the 15th Benedict in a row.

In the first half of the 11th century, there were several more cases of schism and the election of antipopes, but they are not remarkable in any way.

At the same time, another case of confusion with names and serial numbers was noted. Some Vatican historians have considered that between the two comings to power of antipope Boniface VII, two popes named John legitimately ruled, and not one, as was actually the case. Therefore, during the enthronement of the next pope, who wished to take the name John, he was assigned the number XVI, although he should have been assigned the number XV. In the future, all the other popes of Joanna received erroneous numbers. When the error became clear, the popes were renumbered, but the new numbering did not cover John XXII, John XXII, and John XXIII. As a result, no pope with the name John XX can now be found in the official list of the Vatican.

The next record belongs to Pope Paschal II (1099-1118). During his reign, he was opposed by three antipopes: Theodoric, Albert and Sylvester IV. The first was arrested by supporters of the legitimate pope, imprisoned in a monastery, where he died. The second considered himself the rightful heir of the first and quickly repeated his fate. Only the third was sagacious enough to run away after being elected pope, which gave him the opportunity to live as long as six years after being elected.

The record for the number of competitors was soon broken by Pope Alexander III (1159-1181). He was already opposed by four antipopes - Victor IV (V), Paschal III, Calixtus III, Innocent III. The double numbering in the name of antipope Victor IV is due to the fact that he did not recognize his predecessor, who bore the name Victor IV, as pope, and preferred to consider himself the fourth rather than the fifth. The church schism of that time reflected the struggle of two political forces in Italian politics - the Ghibellines, supporters of the emperor's power, and the Guelphs, supporters of the independence of Italian cities and the papacy. Alexander forced the fourth of "his" antipopes to renounce his claims to the throne, after which the Catholic Church for a long time forgot about the concept of "antipope".

For more than a century.

The thirteenth century passed without antipopes, but it was not without further confusion. Simon de Brion, elected pope in 1281, decided to rule under the name Martin. Experts considered that before him there were already three popes who ruled under that name. They decided to call the new pope Martin IV. In fact, before him there was only one Pope Martin - Martin I. Two more popes were called Marin - Marin I and Marin II. The Vatican did not change the numbering. Until now, there are no Martin II and Martin III in the list of popes, and Martin IV has remained with his wrong number. And two centuries later, Martin V appeared.

Avignon and Roman popes

Pope Clement V, elected in 1305, made his residence the city of Avignon, which was destined to play a serious role in the history of the papacy.

If, before the election of Pope Clement V, the cardinals could not agree on a candidate that suited everyone for 11 months, then after his death in 1314, the papal throne remained vacant for almost two years. The cardinals, gathered to elect the next pope, broke into two factions that could not reach an agreement. Eventually the conclave was disbanded, and a new one quickly elected Pope John XXII.

While Avignon was the ecclesiastical capital, the monk Nicholas V was proclaimed pope in Rome, who, however, could not long compete with the Avignon head of the church and surrendered to the mercy of the winner.

Pope Gregory XI (1370-1378) decided to move the ecclesiastical capital back from Avignon to Rome. This resulted in a rivalry between the two cities and a split, as a result of which one pope ruled in Rome, and the other (antipope) in Avignon. This situation, the so-called Great Schism, ended with the death of the Avignon antipope Benedict XIV in 1430.

The last in the list of antipopes of the Catholic Church is Felix V, who ruled in the Lausanne diocese and recognized the supremacy of Pope Nicholas V in 1449.

In 1799, Pope Pius VI, who refused to recognize the republic proclaimed in Italy, was arrested and exiled by General Berthier on the orders of Napoleon. In exile, the head of the church soon died. Only seven months after his death, a new pope, Pius VII, was elected.

The throne remained vacant for 64 days after the death of Pope Pius VIII in 1830. All these days, the conclave of cardinals could not decide on the candidacy of the new head of the church, until finally Pope Gregory XVI was elected. All subsequent popes were elected no later than a month after the death of their predecessors.

This is not a story of a young dad with kids, but Pope which is much more attractive.
Pope Pius XIII... I go to Wikipedia - oops ... there was no such pope 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, nearby - 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 grandfather, a bit reminiscent of Patriarch Kirill, but less attractive. They didn’t tell what they were talking about, but our patriarch left the pope under Kalinka ...).
Yes ... and a cigarette in the mouth or in the hands - all the time and everywhere (one after the other).

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

Well, God be with them! It was in this role that he conquered me: smart, subtle, ironically sarcastic, tough and soft, saint and devil, ambitious and vulnerable, devilishly handsome, strong and weak at the same time, infinitely lonely ... How anger, audacity, 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 earnestly talk with the Lord, miracles and strange things happen - people are cured, barren women give birth to children, and villains and self-interested people get what they deserve.
He performed his first miracle in adolescence when his prayer to heaven lifted his friend's dying mother out of bed.

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

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

By the way, how "modest" he says about himself (in the scene with the Prime Minister of Italy):

"A few weeks before the election, Pope Pius XIII will appear to the people for the first time. The whole world will be excited: Pius XIII appears before them with his beautiful blue eyes and tender lips. A striking image - so bright that it literally blinds people."
It seems...
So one day boy Lenny Belardo ended up in a shelter Mary's sisters- it is not known why mom and dad brought him to the gates of the shelter and left him there. They never showed up 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" still remains sad: the parents silently leave, again and again leaving him alone.

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 up 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 position of pope. But something strange happened. Lenny became a dad.

How did this young (by the standards of gray-haired cardinals) man become the head of the Vatican? By definition of Lenny himself, the Holy Spirit chose him for the role of pontiff, whom he himself furiously prayed for this ... The gentlemen cardinals helped, judging that a young moderate American would become a convenient puppet in their hands, would fulfill their will. Yes, it was not there.

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

He does not take anyone's advice (above all, the Secretary of State - an influential Cardinal Angelo Voiello, other cardinals, even Mary's sisters, 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 face of the pope; does not allow himself to be filmed and photographed, creating an image of mystery and unattainability; prohibits the production and sale of various small things under its brand (magnets, key rings, pens, plates, notebooks, etc.). He is often harsh and cruel, easily getting rid of ideological opponents, for example, by exiling him to serve in Alaska and accompanying his decree with Brodsky's poems.

He does not hide his plans for the reform of the Holy See: how to treat God, the Church, deviations from the commandments in the behavior of representatives of the papacy, gay priests, celibacy, orphans, abortions and parents who abandon their children, new saints, religion...

All the clergy are shocked by Pius XIII, and not only in the Vatican, the church is losing parishioners - they start to grumble around.
But, as they say, they attacked the wrong person ...

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

"Knock-knock, knock-knock... We are not at home. Cardinal brothers, from this day on, we are not at home, no matter who knocks at our door. We are only for the Lord. From this day on, everything that was wide open, It will be closed.
... Conversion to Christianity - we have already done it, ecuminism - there was such a thing, it 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 been trying to reach out to others for many years. It's time to stop. We're not going anywhere. We are here because we are what? - we are cement and do not move. We are the foundation, and the foundation is not going anywhere.
...We don't have windows, we don't look at the outside world... we don't need to look at the outside world. Look over there... What do you see? This door is the only entrance - small and extremely inconvenient, and everyone who wants to know us must figure out 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 great love stories, I want to see fanatics, because fanatics are love, everything else is only surrogates, they have no place in the church (stunned cardinals)
...I need only absolute love and complete devotion to the Lord.
... our squares are filled 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. Politeness and manners of people do not excite me.
...I expect you to do what I said to do - you must obey Pius XIII and nothing else. Hell awaits you for disobedience. Hell, which you may not know anything about. But I know. Because I created it myself. Right behind this door.
...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 dad is not afraid of losing believers if they are even a little unbelieving.
And this means that dad will not go to negotiations - not to any and with no one. And you can't blackmail this dad. From this day forward, the word "compromise" is not in your vocabulary. I just removed 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). Stunned cardinals reached for this leg. And when the Secretary of State (his main opponent and adversary) hesitated (he couldn't bring himself to do it), the Pope's second leg helped him to bend down and kiss the Pope's beautiful shoe.

The series is very beautiful: the interiors of St. Peter's Basilica, the Pope's chambers and numerous courtyards and gardens of the Vatican, bright, colorful, chic costumes and decorations, frilly outfits of clergy, and around - the little things familiar to us - 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 XIII came to Venice (in the hope that he would see his parents, who, as he found out, live here), went out to the people for the first time, made another cool speech, saw- the same man and woman, in whom he supposedly recognized his parents, and the way they try to quickly get through the crowd of parishioners and leave ... (once again!) Dad falls either in a swoon, or from a heart attack. Lies, reminiscent of Christ, just taken down from the cross.

Biography

Pius XII (lat. 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 from March 2, 1939, proclaimed the dogma of Ascension of the Virgin Mary and symbolically consecrated 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. Became the first Pope to be elected from among the Secretaries of State since 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, the nephew of Leo XIII's financial adviser Ernesto Pacelli and the son of the head 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 rank and wide powers. In a letter to Cardinal Pietro Gasparri dated November 14, 1923, Pacelli wrote that the National Socialist movement was anti-Catholic and anti-Semitist.

The 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, Monseigneur Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII. The Vatican has always maintained close relations with Bavaria, which remained Catholic throughout the Reformation, while many other regions of Germany adopted Lutheranism. Monseigneur Pacelli was well versed in the intricacies European politics and one of the first to recognize that the future of Europe depends in general on what happens in Germany. On June 3, 1933, in the document "Dilectissima nobis", Pacelli emphasized cosmopolitanism in foreign policy, but in August, regarding Nazi policy, he wrote to the British Mission to the Holy See about the executions of Jews and the reign of terror to which an entire nation was subjected.

From 1920 to 1940, Pacelli concluded concordats with Latvia, Bavaria, Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Prussia, Baden, Austria, Germany, Yugoslavia and Portugal and paid 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: The 1939 Conclave, The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church, and The Social Doctrine of Pius XII The death of Pope Pius XI, 259, on the eve of World War II, forced the cardinals to hold a conclave on February 10 of that year at the Apostolic Palace. The conclave to elect Pius XI's successor began on 1 March and ended a day later. On March 2, after three electoral ballots, Eugenio Pacelli was elected as 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, which carried out both an active policy of eradicating religion in general and persecuting the Catholic Church in particular.

During the Holocaust in World War II, Pius XII, by some accounts, gave all the help he could to the Jews. It was on his instructions that the representatives of the Holy See hid the 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 great commitment to the Mother of God, manifested in the creed he announced regarding Her Assumption. 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 the one mystical body of Christ, ;
"Communium interpretes dolorum", April 15, 1945 - on a call to prayer for peace;
"Fulgens radiatur", March 21, 1947 - about St. Benedict;
"Mediator Dei", November 20, 1947 - on the liturgy;
"Auspicia quaedam", May 1, 1948 - on 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 - about places of pilgrimage in Palestine;
"Anni sacri", March 12, 1950 - on a program to counter atheistic propaganda in the world;
"Humani generis", August 12, 1950 - on some aspects of Catholic doctrine, ;
"Ingruentium malorum", September 15, 1951 - about the rosary,;
"Fulgens corona", September 8, 1953 - on the announcement of the centenary of the dogma 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 - about the announcement of the heavenly reign of Mary,;
"Datis nuperrime", November 5, 1956 - about the condemnation of the tragic events in Hungary and the use of force;
"Ad Apostolorum Principis" (Toward Apostolic Principles), June 19, 1958 - about the Chinese Catholic community; the last encyclical in the life of the pope.

Awards

Knight of the Supreme 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 Causes of Saints accepted Pius XII's Dossier of Heroic Virtues. On December 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI approved the dossier and awarded Pius XII the title of "venerable" (lat. venerabilis). This should be followed by an examination of the miracles that occurred through prayers to the late pope and his canonization of the blessed - that is, the proper beatification.

Opinions of Jewish leaders and public organizations

Pius XII surrounded by bishops from Uden (Netherlands) On July 14, 1944, the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Israel Anton Zolli, in an interview with the New York edition of The American Hebrew, said: “The Vatican has always helped the Jews, and the Jews are very grateful to the Vatican for its charitable labors 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 great pity for the Jews. He willingly helped the evacuation of the Jewish population to remote villages, where they were hidden and protected by Christian families. Accepted Jews and Christian families in the heart of Rome. The treasury had money to support the poor from among the refugees thus sheltered. The Holy Father personally sent a letter to the bishops, in which he ordered the abolition of the discipline of seclusion in men's and convents so that they can become asylums for the Jews. I know one 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 the Second World War, Jewish unions expressed deep gratitude to the Pope. World Jewish Congress President Naum Goldman wrote: "With special gratitude we remember all that he did for the persecuted Jews in one of the most difficult periods of their history." As a token of gratitude, in 1945 Congress allocated $20,000 to the charitable causes of the Vatican.

Here is the opinion of the political leader of Israel in the post-war period, and later 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 epoch has been enriched by this voice, affirming great moral truths. The suggestion that Pius XII was fascist sympathizers arose mainly after 1963, when the German playwright Rolf Hochhuth published the play 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 National Holocaust Memorial, Yad Vashem, has a photograph of Pius XII with the caption:

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

Earlier, Father Peter Gumpel (Peter Gumpel), who heads the commission for the canonization of Pius XII, said that the text of the photo caption falsifies 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 cannot influence the decision of Benedict XVI to visit Jerusalem. The representative of the Israeli Foreign Minister also confirmed that the invitation of the Pope to the Holy Land remains in force.

The Vatican insists that Pope Pius XII made every effort to save as many Jews as possible during the war, but used diplomatic means to do this, since the more open intervention of the Catholic leader could only worsen the situation. The Vatican also recalled that Pius XII ordered Catholic churches to shelter Jews, and Vatican representatives in other countries helped many Jews avoid concentration camps by issuing false passports to them. 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 lives as much as possible more Jews.

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

“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 never again dominates the hearts of the people. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God of peace (cf. Ps. 9:9).”

Role in Serb genocide

During 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 refused to do anything. A similar position was taken by Aloysius Stepinac and the Catholic Archbishop of Belgrade, Josip Uzhice, who were regularly supplied with information about the destruction of the Serbs. Only Cardinal Eugene Tisserand protested against the terror of the Croatian Ustashe in the Vatican.

After 1945, the Vatican was also blamed for encouraging mass conversions of Orthodox Serbs to Catholicism. This was done accompanied by armed detachments of the Ustashe. The English historian Richard West, who has studied this issue, in one of his books refers to the text of a Bosnian newspaper, which spoke of the conversion to Catholicism of 70,000 Serbs in the diocese of Banja Luka. He also wrote that the Catholic clergy directed their aspirations primarily to 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 the "Serb consciousness" and were subject to total destruction. A similar point of view was voiced by modern Serbian researchers. In total, more than 240,000 Serbs were converted, for which Pope Pius XII thanked the Catholic structures in Croatia.

After the defeat of the NGH and the liberation of Yugoslavia from the occupation troops and collaborators, the Ustashe leaders fled to Austria. About 500 Catholic priests and monks fled with them, including Archbishop Ivan Sharich of Sarajevo and Bishop Jozo Garic of Banja Luka. 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 emigrated to Argentina some time later.