The late years of the pontificate of Pope Pius XII were characterized by a hesitancy in personnel decisions. After a major illness in 1954, he redirected his energies from Vatican clergy to the concerns of lay people.
Pope Pius XII and appointments
Roman Curia
In the last years of his pontificate, while open to all the faithful and visitors to Rome, Pius was viewed as limiting contacts with Vatican clergy and representatives of the Roman Curia. Pope Pius procrastinated personnel decisions, but also found it increasingly difficult to chastise subordinates and appointees. Domenico Tardini provides an insight: Pope Pius received a monsignor whose work performance left much to be desired. Upon leaving the Papal rooms, Tardini asked the monsignor how it went. "The Holy Father is so happy with my work." Tardini interrupted him, "But the Holy Father told me …." "Yes" was the answer, "he told me that too, but he is happy with me overall."Tardini 145 He attempted to avoid unnecessary contacts with the clergy, because of their constant demands for recognition and positions.
"Today I will receive a group of priests. Who knows, how many requests they will have.” I told him, "Your Holiness, just say no." “Okay”, said the Pope, ”I say no, but then they press and press and press.” A sign of resignation followed.Domenico Cardinale Tardini, Pio XII, Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, 1960, p 155
During the last years of the pontificate, vacant Vatican positions were not always filled. ”The Roman Curia experienced certain stagnation.”Tardini, 73 In his last years, it was difficult for Pius to make decisions regarding the promotion of Curia priests.Schneider 96 Domenico Tardini gave a significant insight, Pius' huge concern about appointments.
The higher the honour was to be, the more difficult and more desired were the positions. It is well known, that for such occasions there is no shortage of candidates, even applicants, including those who claim to have capacities which they are not always in possession of. They measure their value by the extent of their aspirations, calling on “rights”, which simply do not exist. It may even happen that such non-virtuous aspirations find cover and support in lavish red silk coats of some Cardinals. Pius suffered under all this, being subjected to contrary proposals and recommendations. His inclination to fulfill wishes and agree spontaneously and his conscientiousness contradicted within him. Thus, the Pope did not like to make personnel changes and preferred to procrastinate.
The seeming inability to talk to appointees about their performance, extended also to his one-time physician, Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi. He was finally dismissed by the Pope in 1956, but gained admittance in October 1958 as the Pope lay dying and took photographs of Pius which he sold to Paris Match, forcing him to resign as chief physician of the Vatican ("pontifical archiater") in the wake of massive public protests. When Pius died, Galeazzi-Lisi assumed the role of Pius' embalmer, using controversial methods.Paul Hoffmann. (2002). The Vatican's Women. St. Martin's Press. . p. 44.
The pastoral needs of the Church were not affected by his procrastination on Vatican positions. New bishops were appointed whenever necessary. Pope Pius XII favoured naming unconventional, often young priests, such as Julius Döpfner (35 years) and Karol Wojtyla (38 years), one of his last appointees in 1958.
Stories and rumours
Robert Leiber reports that during the life of Pope Pius XII, fabrications were published about his personal life such as his allegedly austere life, sleeping on a bare iron bed and being attended to by four German Capuchin monks at six a.m. every morning with a single cup of black coffee.Leiber, 49 Madre Pascalina Lehnert took care of the Papal household from 1939-1958 together with several Swiss nuns from Obermenzingen Horror stories continued after the death of Pius XII, a number of them originating in Cornwell’s Hitler’s Pope published in 1999, such as the allegation that the papal nose was falling off, and collapsing Vatican guards.See Hitler's Pope, p. 358. Cornwell’s statements have been copied without referencing by several of the below mentioned sources: “Pius suffered from gastritis brought on by kidney dysfunctions. Galeazzi-Lisi, with the aid of a Swiss colleague, prescribed injections made from the glands of fetal lambs that gave Pius chronic hiccups and rotting teeth (Heirs of the Fisherman: Behind the Scenes of Papal Death and Succession, ) Papal Preservation . Steven Palmer. YB News. June 2005.When Pius died, Galeazzi-Lisi assumed the role of Pius' embalmer. Rather than slow the process of decay, the doctor-mortician's self-made technique (aromatizzazione), which involved encasing Pius in a cellophane bag with herbs and spices, sped it up, causing the Holy Father's corpse to disintegrate rapidly, turning purple. At one point, the body's nose fell off. It is reported that while transporting the pope's body from Castel Gandolfo to the Vatican, pressure within the coffin due to gases given off by decay blew off the seals. This caused considerable embarrassment to the Vatican and one of the first acts of Pius' successor, Pope John XXIII, was to ban and excommunicate the embalmer from Vatican City for life.(Guide to Age). Alexander Chancellor. The Guardian. April 16, 2005. The Italian Medical Council expelled Galeazzi-Lisi for "infamous conduct", but the High Court of the Italian Central Health Commission reversed the decision.(The Pope's Doctor . Alan McElwain. Annals Australia. July 1989).
Worker-priests
Controversy caused the Vatican position on French worker-priests. In 1941, worker-priest Dominican Father Jacques Loew began a new priestly mission by working as a priest in the docks at Marseille, France.Felix Corley Fr. Jacques Loew: Spawned the Worker-Priest Movement, The Times, February 27, 1999 Some followed him. Originally, a dedicated idealistic group, they soon split, some of them joined political parties and unions, others left the priesthood altogether. Conflicts with the Vatican developed after some worker-priests advocated a close association between Marxism and Catholicism, as American sympathizer Dorothy Day freely admitted.Dorothy Day, French Worker Priests and the Little Brothers of de Foucauld" The Catholic Worker, March 1954, 2,4 Some like Jacques Loew were able to combine personal piety and spirituality with a full engagement in factory work. The French bishops were divided.Schneider, p. 78 The Vatican was divided too, with Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini, later Pope Paul VI, allegedly in favour. Against considerable opposition of French bishops, Pope Pius decided to stop the experiment. Priests were to work in rectories not in factories. Allowed to work for three hours factory work, they were prohibited from joining unions and had to live in rectories or religious communities. Pope John XXIII continued and even sharpened the decision of his predecessor in 1959 by withdrawing the three-hour work permit completely.Time Magazine, November 6, 1965
To Pius, a clear separation of priestly duties and the role of lay people was essential. This position mirrored his earlier insistence that Catholic priests should not be in politics. Loew bowed to the Vatican, and in 1971 Pope Paul VI invited him to preach the Lenten retreat in the Vatican. Earlier in 1965, he attempted to resurrect the French worker-priest experiment but without much success.
Theologians
Theologians began to create problems from both ends of the philosophical spectrum. On the ultra-conservative end was American Jesuit Leonard Feeney, who taught that Protestants and other non-Catholics are on their way to hell, because extra ecclesiam nulla salus: there is no salvation outside of the Church. This old teaching was undergoing development. Feeney overlooked that aspect and was not only silenced, he was excommunicated under Pope Pius XII for his outdated interpretation of Catholic doctrine.
In Europe, Catholic theology tried to go different roads, which did not all lead to Rome. History was rediscovered, including the history of dogma, opening the door to theological relativism. The Cardinal of Paris, Suhard, questioned whether the historically conditioned theological language of Thomas Aquinas is really the only permitted form of expressing one truth.HK137 Pope Pius XII, first in 1950 in Humani generis, warned against adopting of philosophies which today are modern, tomorrow hopelessly old-fashioned. Defending traditional Thomism, Pope Pius asked for its reform and further improvement rather than rejection, which would lead to positivism and relativism in theology. In the following years, the Sacred Congregation began to review critical theologians, issuing condemnations or threats of condemnation, which generated within the Church a sense of narrowness and distrust.Schneider, 84 Mainly French and German theologians were affected. Theologians like Henri de Lubac, Yves Congar and Karl Rahner were reprimanded or temporarily silenced. Pius was not personally involved in this development, and may have tried to change course; in his last speech to honour Pope Benedict XIV, to be delivered to the Roman Curia in October 1958, he was to announce a revision of the review processes of the Church, increasing the rights of individuals and protecting them from secret investigations.Schneider, 84-85 Several years later, this reform was carried out by his successors.
Pope Pius XII and lay people
Encouragement of lay people
In his last years, Pope Pius devoted most of his energies to meetings with lay people and addressed their problems in an unprecedented range of topics to large and small organizations, in which he confronted the big questions of the time in light of their specific concerns or orientation. This was based on his theology of the Mystical Body of Christ,explained in the encyclical Mystici corporis Christi "Lay people not only belong to the Church, they are the Church."AAS 1946, 141 "Therefore they must turn the world from a wilderness to a humanistic and from a humanistic to a divine world, reflecting the Heart of God."Tardini 72
The roots of today’s problem are not bad intentions but laxness of spirit, limpness of will, and coldness of heart: the tiredness of all the good people. Following the encyclical,Mystici corporis the call to all Christians is theologically based on their guidance through the Holy Spirit and their participation in the redemptive works of Jesus Christ. The Church can only be effective in a modern society if lay people from their position actively participate at all levels: parish, community, society and international relations World Congress of Lay Apostolate, AAS 1951, 784;Letter to Monsignor Cardijn JOC, AAS 1949, 324;World Congress of Lay Apostolate AAS 1957, 933, Lay Apostolate in Uganda, AAS 1954, 35
Pope Pius XII spoke to members of scientific congresses, explaining Christian teachings in light of most recent scientific results. Sometimes he answered specific moral questions which were addressed to him. To professional associations he explained specific occupational ethics in light of Church teachings. During the last three months of his pontificate, Pius XII gave the following thirty addresses:
The message of Lourdes to blue collar workers – International pilgrimage of Catholic blue collar workers to Lourdes, July 21, 1958 The Contemplative Life – Radio audience for members of contemplative convents throughout the World, July 26, 1958 Problems and Ideals in the health sector – International Catholic Health Conference, Brussels, Belgium, July 27, 1958 The meaning of biblical studies – International biblical congress, Brussels, Belgium, July 28, 1958 The Contemplative Life, Part Three – Radio audience for members of contemplative convents throughout the World, August 2, 1958