La distinction théologique entre racisme modéré et racisme exagéré du pontificat de Pie XI à celui de Pie XII. Éléments d’analyse

Abstract

This paper aims to contribute to the investigation of how and to what extent the theological vision of racism elaborated in the pontificate of Pius XI influenced the attitude, official and unofficial, of the Holy See in the face of racist and anti-Semitic legislation enacted by various European states during the 1930s and 1940s. On the basis of both previously published studies and the analysis of at least part of the new recently disclosed documentation from the pontificate of Pius XII, it is shown how the theological distinction between moderate and exaggerated racism survives and acts in the transition between the two periods. In particular, it proceeds to ascertain how this view of racism intertwines and interacts with the persistent anti-Jewish prejudice of a theological nature, tenaciously present in Pope Pacelli's entourage and in several concrete instances emerging. The research presented here is also intended to be a contribution to the study of the role assumed, along with other factors, by Catholic theology and anti-Jewish prejudice in the context of the Holy See's complex diplomatic action in the face of the Shoah.