The Pope and Mussolini (83 page)

8.
Baudrillart 1996, pp. 624–5 (1 octobre 1937).

9.
ASMAE, APSS, b. 34, Pignatti a regio ministero degli affari esteri, telespresso, 4 ottobre 1937. Pignatti quotes from M. Barbera’s article in CC, quaderno 2095. The pope’s own relations with the Duce continued to be good. Among the signs of their collaboration was the start of the huge construction project outside St. Peter’s Square. Announced by Mussolini the previous year as a way of commemorating the Lateran Accords, the work would demolish the densely populated buildings, alleys, and churches that were packed between two narrow streets running from the Tiber to St. Peter’s. These would be replaced with a broad boulevard, named via della Conciliazione. Work had begun on the construction only after the pope gave his approval, and the pope went to inspect the work shortly after Mussolini’s return from Germany. Insolera 1976, pp. 130–31; Painter 2005, pp. 68–70.

10.
Pizzardo delivered the pope’s message to the Italian chargé d’affaires, who, in relaying the message to Ciano, added another worry: “Italy runs the risk of seeing a pope elected having sentiments very different from those of Pope Ratti.” DDI, series 8, vol. 7, n. 424, Venturini a Ciano, 12 ottobre 1937. Ciano had the text of this memo sent to the Italian ambassador in Germany. ASMAE, APG, “S. Sede Reich e Fascismo,” 14 ottobre 1937.

11.
In late December Pignatti, while waiting with Charles-Roux outside the pope’s library for their annual papal New Year’s audience, told him that the pope was still “furious” with Mussolini for his visit to Berlin. DDF, series 2, vol. 7, n. 393, Charles-Roux à Delbos, 29 décembre 1937.

12.
Tisserant made the comments to the French ambassador. DDF, series 2, vol. 7, n. 393, Charles-Roux à Delbos, ministre des affaires étrangères, 29 décembre 1937.

13.
This was reported in the Italian press as well. The Italian nuncio archives have a clipping, “Un discorso di Pio XI al Sacro Collegio,” from the December 25, 1937 edition of
Il Popolo di Roma
, ASV, ANI, b. 24, fasc. 14, f. 20r. A few days later, meeting with the Italian ambassador, the pope, looking as if he had lost more weight but as mentally sharp as ever, found time in their five-minute Christmas greeting to tell him that “nothing good could be expected from Germany.” ASMAE, AISS, b. 115, Pignatti a Ciano, 28 dicembre 1937.

14.
DDF, series 2, vol. 7, n. 374, Charles-Roux à Delbos, 20 décembre 1937; Baudrillart 1996, p. 703 (28 décembre 1937).

15.
Baudrillart 1996, p. 731 (17 janvier 1938). The Spanish ambassador shared the opinion of Ernst von Weizsäcker, head of the German foreign office: “Pacelli presents no real counterweight to Pius XI, because he is completely devoid of will and character.” Rhodes 1974, pp. 222–23.

16.
De Felice 1974, p. 299; De Felice 1981, p. 280; Deakin 2000; Innocenti 1992, p. 169.

17.
“We are on the eve of war with France and with England,” Buffarini told him. “The regime needs to ensure that the nation is united. Therefore it cannot stand by while young Catholics say that the alliance with the Germans is unnatural.” ASV, ANI, pos. 24, fasc. 14, ff. 6r–11r. Borgongini a Pacelli, 31 dicembre 1937.

18.
Ciano added that Mussolini was also upset about signs of a warming in relations between the Vatican and the French government, which had been under the control of a popular front of Socialists and Communists since 1936; Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy viewed it as an implacable enemy. In Spain, Ciano told the nuncio, German planes and men were fighting alongside Italians “for the cause of the Catholic religion against that of red Spain,” which, he said, was being armed by the French government. Borgongini replied by reminding Ciano that the Italian government’s 1929 Conciliation with the Church had benefited the government “not a little, especially in the Ethiopian war, and above all in contributing to Italian prestige abroad.” Ciano did not dispute him and agreed to talk to the Duce the next day and see what could be done. Borgongini offered to see the Duce himself if it would be helpful, but Ciano dismissed the idea. Mussolini found it more profitable to deal with Tacchi Venturi, something both Ciano and Borgongini knew, but was left unsaid. ASV, ANI, pos. 24, fasc. 14, ff. 53r–58r., Borgongini a Pacelli, 4 gennaio 1938.

19.
A follow-up letter, sent a week later, warned the priests that should they not attend, their absence might be “misinterpreted.” The two letters of invitation, on the stationery of the “National Competition of Grain and Farms Among Priests,” are found in the Vatican files at ASV, AESI, pos. 1044, fasc. 722, ff. 60r–61r and 48r–48v.

20.
ASV, AESI, pos. 1044, fasc. 722, f. 45r, Francesco Niccoli, vescovo di Colle, a Mons. Domenico Tardini, Sostituito per gli Affari Ordinari, Segreteria di Stato, 16 dicembre 1937.

21.
Before making a final decision, the pope wanted to check with the archbishop of Udine, who was billed as the main speaker at the event; the pope wanted to find out how he had agreed to play such a prominent role. Pacelli relayed the pope’s request to Rossi, adding that, in past years, bishops had been taking part in such patriotic demonstrations without any problem. The correspondence between Cardinal Rossi and Pacelli is found in ASV, AESI, pos. 1044, fasc. 722, ff. 52r, 56r, 57r, 63r–64r. “The news is true,” replied Archbishop Nogara. But “before I agreed to participate and give the address, I contacted Mons. Pizzardo (now Cardinal)”—Pizzardo had been made a cardinal just the previous month—“who spoke of it with the Holy Father.… He received his consent.” Nogara added, with a hint of concern, “I hope it does not cause any complications.” Ibid., p. 70r. Presumably Pizzardo had asked for the pope’s approval, the pope had given it, and then, such was the state of his mind on some days, he had forgotten about it.

22.
On December 30, in response to a new wave of queries from nervous bishops, the pope informed Cardinal Rossi that bishops who received the invitation from a journalist “were not required to accept it.” ASV, AESI, pos. 1044, fasc. 723, f. 4r.

23.
Ibid., ff. 16r–17r, “Appunto,” 30 dicembre 1937, with penciled comment: “prepared for the Italian ambassador, but then not given to him.” The Italian ambassador was convinced that the pope overruled Cardinal Rossi, having learned that Rossi opposed the bishops’ participation in the Fascist rite. In the same report to Ciano, Pignatti reiterates his belief that it was Pius XI who was the most “Italian” of anyone in the Vatican. For the Fascists and those in government being “Italian” was equated with supporting Mussolini. Not only did the pope not try to prevent the clergy from taking part in the celebration, but those who received invitations from their local prefect, as some did, were told they should not refuse it. One bishop—from Sicily—complained he had gotten an invitation despite the fact that he had had nothing to do with the battle for grain, adding, ruefully, “because I don’t have even a meter of land to plant.” Nonetheless, he wrote, “given the repeated invitations, I believed it my duty to accept and to come to Rome.” Ibid., p. 31r., vescovo di Agrigento, 30 dicembre 1937.

24.
De Rossi dell’Arno 1954, pp. 138–43. “Mussolini,” the British envoy to the Holy See observed, “has taken an opportunity of nailing the Catholic flag to the Fascist flag staff.” FCRSE, part XIII, p. 11, Osborne to Eden, January 12, 1938, R 495/495/2.
   Three days after the Palazzo Venezia rally, the pope hosted the bishops and priests who had come to Rome for it. The pope had been put on the spot. The original invitation to the priests and bishops had stated that arrangements were being made for them to be received by the pope, yet in fact no such arrangements had at the time been made. The pope consulted with the Consistorial Congregation, which, through its secretary, Cardinal Rossi, advised him against a papal reception for the group, fearful of how such an open embrace of Mussolini’s celebration would look outside of Italy. But the pope ignored this advice and instead decided to show solidarity with the clergy, something he knew would please Mussolini. ASMAE, AISS, b. 115, Pignatti al Ministero degli Affari Esteri, 15 gennaio 1938. He blessed the priests, complimented them for their good work with their rural parishioners, and praised all the good that had come out of Conciliation. CC 1938 I, pp. 277–79.

25.
This quote, from the
Völkischer Beobachter
, is found in the Vatican archives, ASV, AESI, pos. 1044, fasc. 723, f. 56r; the same quote was sent by the Italian ambassador in Berlin to both the Italian ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry of popular culture. ASMAE, APG, b. 47, 11 gennaio 1938. The quote from
La Stampa
is reproduced at p. 53r.

26.
The term is Innocenti’s (1992, p. 93). Dino Grandi (1985, pp. 360), former foreign minister and a major figure in the Fascist regime, captured Starace well: “Lacking in intelligence and absolutely uncultured, incapable of distinguishing the things that were important from those that were superfluous or, worse, damaging, he nourished a fanatical adoration for Mussolini and listened with rapt attention to the monologues that the Duce launched into at their morning briefing.”

27.
De Felice 1974, pp. 216–17; Innocenti 1992, pp. 94–95; Petacci 2011, p. 37.

28.
Conway 1968, pp. 158–9; Johnson 1999, pp. 212–14.

29.
Three telegrams from Pignatti to Ciano, forwarded to the Italian ambassador in Berlin, chronicle this episode. ASMAE, APG, b. 46, Ciano, “Questione religiosa Germania-Vaticano,” telespresso n. 210989, 26 marzo 1938.

30.
DDI, series 8, vol. 8, n. 130, Pignatti a Ciano, 10 febbraio 1938.

CHAPTER 21: HITLER IN ROME

1.
DDF, series 2, vol. 8, n. 422, Puaux, ministre de France à Vienne, à Paul-Boncour, ministre des affaires etrangères, 14 mars 1938.

2.
NYT, March 16, 1938, p. 8; “Austria disappears,” NYT, March 14, 1938, p. 14;
Times
, March 15, 1938, p. 14.

3.
Charles-Roux 1947, p. 122; Passelecq and Suchecky 1997, pp. 50–51. Chiron 2006, p. 448.

4.
CC 1938 II, p. 189.

5.
Mussolini initially had his minister instruct the Italian press to provide minimal coverage of the invasion. “Do not dramatize,” the editors were told. But the next day, March 12, as the new reality set in, Mussolini decided to make the best of it and try to soften up the Italian population to the new situation. And so the March 12 instructions read, “the news should be objective but sympathetic toward the new state of things.” Tranfaglia 2005, p. 248.

6.
As Mussolini reported to the king on his return from his German visit. DDI, series 8, vol. 7, n. 393, 4 ottobre 1937. In 1937 both Pacelli and Pizzardo assured the French ambassador that Mussolini would never willingly allow Hitler to take over Austria, but the ambassador was much less sure. DDF, series 2, vol. 5, n. 232, Charles-Roux à Delbos, 8 avril 1937, and ibid., n. 297, Charles-Roux à Delbos, 17 avril 1937.

7.
Lamb 1997, pp. 206–7.

8.
Baudrillart reported his conversation with the pope to Charles-Roux. DDF, series 2, vol. 9, n. 209, Charles-Roux à Georges Bonnet, ministre des affaires étrangères, 20 avril 1938. See also Charles-Roux 1947, p. 121.

9.
DDI, series 8, vol. 8, n. 437, Pignatti a Ciano, 2 aprile 1938.

10.
“Hear, O ye heavens, the things I speak,” proclaimed the pope in that first Vatican radio broadcast. “Let the earth give ear to the words of my mouth. Hear these things, all ye nations; give ear, all inhabitants of the world.” Confalonieri 1957, pp. 147–49; Agostino 1991, pp. 66–67.

11.
DGFP, series D, vol. 1d, n. 700, Bergen to the German foreign minister, April 4, 1938.

12.
That the reason for Innitzer’s rush to get back to Vienna was so that he could meet Hitler was reported by the pope to Cardinal Baudrillart. DDF, series 2, vol. 9, n. 209, Charles-Roux à Georges Bonnet, ministre des affaires étrangères, 20 avril 1938.

13.
As they awaited the cardinal’s arrival, the pope told Pacelli that if the archbishop offered his resignation, he would accept it. Durand 2010.

14.
“In this matter, too,” concluded Bergen, “the pope had allowed himself to be swayed by his morbid irritation with Germany.” DGFP, series D, vol. 1d, n. 702, Bergen to the German foreign minister, April 6, 1938. The statement was published in
L’Osservatore romano
on April 7 in its original German; an Italian translation was published the following day: “La dichiarazione dell’Episcopato Austriaco,” OR, 8 aprile 1938, p. 1.