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Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler
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About Church Of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler
Product Description Hailed as "powerful and provocative" ( Washington Post), "heart-pounding" ( New York Times) and "brilliant" ( Kirkus), intelligence expert Mark Riebling's groundbreaking book Wedge inspired "no fewer than seven assorted congressional committees, internal evaluators, and blue-ribbon panels" ( Wall Street Journal). Now, in the long-awaited Church of Spies, Riebling documents an epic secret battle in the Second World War -- and reframes one of the great historical controversies of our age. The Vatican's stance toward Nazism is fiercely debated. History has accused wartime pontiff Pius the Twelfth of complicity in the Holocaust and dubbed him "Hitler's Pope." But a key part of the story has remained untold. Pius ran the world's largest church, smallest state, and oldest spy service. Saintly but secretive, he skimmed from church charities to pay covert couriers, and surreptitiously tape-recorded his meetings with top Nazis. When he learned of the Holocaust, Pius played his cards close to his chest. He sent birthday cards to Hitler--while plotting to overthrow him. Church of Spies documents this cross-and-dagger intrigue in shocking detail. Gun-toting Jesuits stole blueprints to Hitler's homes. A Catholic book publisher flew a sports plane over the Alps with secrets filched from the head of Hitler's bodyguard. The keeper of the Vatican crypt ran a spy ring that betrayed German war plans and wounded Hitler in a briefcase bombing. The plotters made history in ways they hardly expected. They inspired European unification, forged a U.S.-Vatican alliance that spanned the Cold War, and challenged Church teachings on Jews. Yet Pius' secret war muted his public response to Nazi crimes. Fearing that overt protest would impede his covert actions, he never spoke the "fiery words" he wanted. Told with heart-pounding suspense, based on secret transcripts and unsealed files, Church of Spies throws open the Vatican's doors to reveal some of the most astonishing events in the history of the papacy. Review CIA Studies in Intelligence (Unclassified Edition) "[E]xciting.... deals fairly with the pope's theological and political rationale.... thoroughly documented with primary sources... Church of Spies is the best account of the subject to date. Amen!" Intelligencer: Journal of U. S. Intelligence Studies "[A] remarkable book... Mark Riebling gained access to Vatican documents not viewed by any previous author. The scope of Rieblng's book is demonstrated by 104 pages of chapter notes (which are worth the read on their own). ... Incredibly brave men [are] highlighted in Rieblng's highly readable narrative. ... Riebling by no means exonerates Pius. But he takes a giant stride in refurbishing the status of Pius." Mark Ruff, Contemporary Church History Quarterly "Mark Riebling's methodically-researched detective story... deserves widespread attention .... masterful... will long remain the definitive account of the papal involvement in the conspiracies to topple Hitler. ... This is simply the finest work on the subject in print." The Jewish Week "Riebling, in thorough research and documentation, shows that Pius XII, rather than being an acquiescent enabler of the Nazis' genocidal designs, was an active participant in an intrigue whose goal was the assassination of the Fuhrer." Choice"Steeped in primary sources and compulsively readable, this book should lead to a broad rethinking of Pius XII's action and inaction during the Nazi era.... Though never exonerating Pius for his few oblique statements about Nazi murderous anti-Jewish policy, Riebling portrays Pius as an implacable foe of Nazism and sheds light on the extent of Catholic resistance to an inhuman regime." Frederic le Moal, Le Litteraire (Paris) "This crucial book compellingly documents Pius XII's anti-Nazi actions. Against the Marxist theory of 'Catholic-fascism,' it details Nazi hatred of the Roman Church -
