“The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican”

Book Review for The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican, by J.P. Gallagher
Ignatius Press

Born in Killarney, Ireland, Hugh O’Flaherty was an avid athlete—becoming a formidable boxer, handball player, hurler, and golfer. From an early age, however, he knew his calling was to the priesthood. After his ordination, he served first as an Apostolic Delegate in Egypt, Haiti, Santo Domingo, and Czechoslovakia, then in Rome at the Holy Office (now the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith).

Msgr. Hugh O’Flaherty

It was here in Rome that his greatest work began. After the surrender of Italy in 1943, Rome came under the command of Nazi Colonel Herbert Kappler of the dreaded SS, who began the deportation of Italian Jews to Auschwitz. Kappler was a notorious hater of the Jews, persecuting them at every turn.

Lt. Col. Herbert Kappler of the SS

As a top man in the Vatican Holy Office, Msgr. O’Flaherty sprang into action, organizing a sophisticated team that included men and women of many nationalities, religions, and political views. There was one goal—to save Jews and POWs from the Nazi machine. Despite Kappler’s numerous attempts to assassinate him, O’Flaherty persisted, and his efforts saved thousands of Jews and POWs.

Using private homes and apartments, churches and monasteries, the effort was all orchestrated by Msgr. O’Flaherty. Each day his familiar figure would stand on the steps of St. Peter’s - neutral ground that even the Nazis wouldn’t violate - to welcome any fugitives who might be sent his way. All told, of 9,700 Roman Jews, most were saved, with 1,007 shipped to Auschwitz. The rest were hidden, 5,000 of them by the official Church - 3,000 at the Pope’s Castel Gandolfo, 200 or 400 (estimates vary) as "members" of the Palatine Guard, and some 1,500 in monasteries, convents and colleges. The remaining 3,700 were hidden in private homes, including Msgr. O'Flaherty's network of apartments. After the war, O’Flaherty was honored by various Allied countries with awards and decorations for his heroic acts to save Jews and POWs.

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For more information --
Hugh O’Flaherty: The Vatican Pimpernel
Hugh O'Flaherty Memorial Society
Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty: Hero of the VaticanHugh O'Flaherty - County Kerry
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The Scarlet and the Black (1983)

Cinema Catechism continues this Thursday, November 11, 2010, at 7 p.m., with a showing of the outstanding film The Scarlet and the Black at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church Parish Center, together with further discussion and reflections on this fall's theme of Love and Truth.

I was unable to find a clip of the movie in English, but here is a good one in French --

Movie Review
by Steven D. Greydanus
Overall Recommendability A+

Also known as The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican, The Scarlet and the Black tells the true story of a Holy Office notary who, during Nazi occupation of Rome, covertly ran an underground railroad for Jews, anti-Fascists, and escaped Allied POWs.

Riveting and edifying, this WWII drama stars Gregory Peck as Msgr. Hugh O’Flaherty, a plain-speaking, straight-dealing Irish priest who boldly aids enemies of the Third Reich under the watchful eye of Christopher Plummer’s Nazi Lt. Col. Herbert Kappler. Their cat-and-mouse game is thrilling and great fun, and culminates in a startling showdown in a very significant setting.

John Gielgud plays Pius XII, who is depicted sympathetically and is shown to be willing to stand up to the Nazis. In one scene he is depicted as having had second thoughts about his Concordat with the Nazi regime — a portrayal the well-meaning filmmakers undoubtedly meant to put the Holy Father in the best possible light. . . .

Movie Review
by Richard Pettinger
Blog Critics

The Scarlet and The Black tells the true story of Irish priest Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, who helped to save thousands of Allied POWs and Jews during the German occupation of Rome in 1943-44.

Monsignor O’Flaherty got to know British servicemen by visiting Italian POW camps. When Italy switched sides in 1943, many Allied servicemen fled to Rome, where they sought the help of O’Flaherty in the Vatican. The Gestapo learned that there was a network dedicated to hiding Allied prisoners and sought to break the network. In particular the Gestapo chief Kappler becomes obsessed with finding and capturing the priest at the centre of the huge operation.

The film, directed by Jerry London for television, creates a great sense of tension as the Gestapo try every means to capture or assassinate O’Flaherty. This tension is heightened by the personal battle of wills between O’Flaherty (Gregory Peck) and Kappler (Christopher Plummer). The acting is superb and there are some very sharp, incisive and memorable dialogues between the two.

Gregory Peck successfully pulls off portraying a priest who embodies both great compassion and a burning sense of indignation at the actions of the Nazis. His role is equally well matched by Christopher Plummer, who portrays the complex character of Kappler. On the one hand Kappler is responsible for the most appalling atrocities, on the other hand we are aware of his good nature which is slowly squeezed as he serves the Nazi regime. He is devoted to the Nazi ideology but we see it gnaws at his hidden consciousness. His hatred of O’Flaherty is perhaps a realisation he secretly admires his nobility and selflessness. At the end of the war, as the Nazis are in full retreat, we see Kappler make an emotional appeal to his arch-enemy O’Flaherty to save help save his family.

The Scarlet and The Black is a good action film, but also portrays the complex moral dilemmas that many faced during the Nazi occupation of Rome.

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The First Years of Eugenio Pacelli (Pope Pius XII)

Jesus assured us that, if we follow Him, the world would hate us. Far from promising us a party, He told us that to be a Christian would be to know persecution, and the Church has indeed been persecuted ever since her Founder was nailed to the Cross.

The 20th century did not see any diminishing in the persecution of the Church and the faithful, and the 21st century is no different. The Church, and especially the popes, have been routinely slandered and attacked with malicious lies and twisting of facts.

In the last offering of Cinema Catechism, with the showing of The 13th Day, we explored how the "third secret" of Fatima was a vision about the persecution of the Church, that the popes would suffer much. In our next showing, The Scarlet and the Black, we will examine the question of the historical truth of the Catholic Church and Pope Pius XII during World War II.

In preparation for that discussion, here is a documentary on the life of Eugenio Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) --

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