THE POPE
THE LIFE OF POPE PIUS XIl. By Charles Hugo Doyle. Invinciblé Press.
(Reviewed by
John
Buckley
LAST read the life of a Pope in a translation of the brilliant and scholarly work, Alexander VI, by Orestes Ferrara, the Cuban lawyer and diplomat. It is an account of Renaissance glory and of a gifted, worldly, unscrupulous, magnificent but much maligned monarch Pope. Now the present work concerns Pope Pius XII, whose life has been one of great service to mankind. Such lives are not always colourful and vivid, but his is an exception, full of adventure and pageantry. There was for instance his dramatic mission to the Kaiser to seek acceptance of Pope Benedict’s proposals for a just peace in 1917, ending in glorious failure through the bad faith of a German minister. There was the nunciature in Munich in 1919 where machine-gun bullets from the Reds spattered the walls of his study and where on another occasion, facing the muzzle of a revolver, he quietly persuaded a Red section leader to respect the international usage of diplomatic immunity. Father Doyle, however, has written a book difficult to read with patience, though it is not without interest. The first five chapters on the Holy Father’s childhood and youth are unlifelike and stilted. Some passages might have come straight from the pages of Eric, or Little by Little: Eugenio, beginning his 17th year, was a tall, graceful Jad, with a distinguished and serious air that inspired all with respect as well as confidence. His teachers and schoolmates alike admitted his solid piety and intellectual accomplishments. They contain practically no facts except that a boy was born to noble parents of reduced means, lived in an ill-heated Romen palace, had’a brilliant scholastic career, and the blessing of a vocation to the priesthood. I recommend skipping them. Here is a comical example from Chapter 1 where the future Pope’s grandfather awaits the news of his birth (his aged father is at the office). He hears a "lusty wail": ° One more thing he must learn now. Was the third child, whom his beloved daughter-in-law Virginia had just brought into the world, a boy or’a girl? A neighbour rushing past with a warm blanket must have read his questioning glance, for she simply said ‘‘a boy,"’ and hurried on. That was it. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. Stroking his grey beard, he stood for a moment as if trying to organise a plan of action. Apart from the gushing style this "Life" is full of the most tedious detail: ° After a light (Continental) breakfast of cocoa and a roll, the Legate set out on a series of visits to various Catholic institutions in the City. Biographies and stories of Popes and reigning monarchs during their lifetime are apt to be fatuous. King George V, I often think, must have suffered terribly if he ever bothered to read any of the nonsense written about him. But he never had to put up with anything like this.
There are long explanations of the origin and functions of legates and Papal Household Officers, interesting enough in themselves, but better relegated to an appendix. The account of the Holy Father’s election is, however, graphic and moving, as is that of his attempts in the cause of peace in 1939 and 1940 and later. This period of the Life is set forth with matter-of-fact restraint in contrast to much of the rest. If the reader has got so far he will find there collected some of the most interesting passages in the history of our times. This book could have been: A plain account of a brave and able man. A survey of adventurous missions skilfully conducted. The intellectual life of a brilliant scholar and linguist (eight languages at least). The mournful tale of a great attempt in history to preserve peace. The life of a great Pope and a great priest. It is none of these things, but those who think (as I do) that any "Life of the Pope Pius XII" is of importance will doubtless read it. The book lacks the "imprimatur" and "nihil obstat’" which customarily prefaces a book by a Catholic on a Catholic topic. One cannot help feeling that the exercise of a wise and firm discretion by the Ordinary might have shortened the imaginative and didactic passages. It is almost a penance. I don’t envy the author if the Holy Father himself ever reads it.
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 434, 17 October 1947, Page 16
Word count
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746THE POPE New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 434, 17 October 1947, Page 16
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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