Controversial Concordats: The Vatican's Relations with Napoleon, Mussolini, and Hitler [Paperback]

Frank J. Coppa (Editor, Preface), John K. Zeender (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 081320920X | ISBN-13: 978-0813209203 | Publication Date: May 1999

Controversial Concordats offers an engaging survey of the relationship of the Roman Catholic Church with three dictatorial figures in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: Napoleon, Mussolini, and Hitler. The essays reveal that the papacy not only played a key role in determining church-state relations in particular countries, but also greatly influenced the general course of international relations and modern history from the era of the French Revolution to the age of dictators and World War II.

This volume examines the concordats signed by Pope Pius VII and his Secretary of State Consalvi with Napoleonic France in 1801; the concordat concluded by Pius XI and Cardinal Gasparri with Fascist Italy in 1929; and that signed by Pius XI and Cardinal Pacelli with the Third Reich in 1933. In addition to tracing the evolution of these crucial agreements, the contributors assess their consequences at home and abroad, their impact on the universal Church and the Catholic faith, and their effect on European and international developments.

A complete bibliography-divided into three parts corresponding to the periods examined-offers a historiographical overview of the sources for each of the agreements. It also provides important references on the broad issue of church-state relations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

In addition to the editor, the contributors are: Joseph A. Biesinger, William Roberts, Stewart A. Stehlin, and John Zeender.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French, German, Italian, Latin

About the Author

Frank J. Coppa is professor of history and director of the doctoral program in modern world history at St. John's University, New York. He is the author or editor of numerous works, including The Origins of the Italian War of Independence, The Dictionary of Modern Italian History, and Modern Italian History: An Annotated Bibliography.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Catholic University of America Press (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081320920X
• ISBN-13: 978-0813209203
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #786,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Reference, January 18, 2011

By 

Ann Lackey - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Controversial Concordats: The Vatican's Relations with Napoleon, Mussolini, and Hitler (Paperback)

Truly an outstanding reference for anyone interested in this time frame and subject matter. The inclusion of the Napoleonic Concordat gives a much needed historical perspective as to why the Church pursued concordats through the twentieth century. The other part can be understood by reading Kertzer's Prisoner of the Vatican.

What intrigued me was the European version of "separation of church and state." While we as Americans employ it for protection of individual rights to freely exercise our beliefs, they employed it for state/totalitarian control over their conquered many. It's a battle of church versus conqueror. Concordats became the Church's way of losing the battle, but surviving the war.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of Vatican diplomacy with powerful dictators, December 25, 2009

By 

William J. Shepherd (Crofton, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Controversial Concordats: The Vatican's Relations with Napoleon, Mussolini, and Hitler (Hardcover)

Good overview by several noted scholars of the Vatican's political relationship with powerful dictators of influential European states, ranging from Napoleon and France to Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The concordat was a Vatican document used from the 12th century until the 20th century, culminating during the interwar years, and now somewhat outmoded since the death of Pius XII in 1958 and the changes of the Vatican II Council thereafter focusing more on the spiritual rather than the temporal aspects of the Vatican's role in the world.

1 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars concordats, January 21, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Controversial Concordats: The Vatican's Relations with Napoleon, Mussolini, and Hitler (Paperback)

every word in this book is the truth