The Popes Against the Jews: The Vatican's Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism

366 Pages·2002·2.78 MB·English

by  David I. Kertzer

ACCLAIM FOR DAVID I. KERTZER'S
The Popes Against the Jews
"Important. . . . [Kertzer] challenges much of the received wis
dom about the Holy See's role in the evolution of modern anti-
Semitism. . . . Commands serious attention." —The New Leader
"A powerful and shocking book." —Times Literary Supplement
"Finely written. . . . Kertzer's book is valuable. It shows the extent
to which anti-Semitic fanatics were tolerated in the Catholicism
of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It makes a case that
calls for an anwer." —The New York Review of Books
"Brilliant. . . . Wonderfully written and jarring, it reads like a terri
fying novel." —Choice
"Kertzer's bill of indictment is a formidable one—a reminder of
what a mighty institution may choose to overlook when sitting in
judgment on itself." —The Economist
"For any Catholic, the book makes profoundly uncomfortable and
shameful reading. ... As a contribution to the rapprochment
between Catholicism and Judaism, [The Popes Against the Jews] has
an important role to play." —The Independent
ALSO BY DAVID I. KERTZER
The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara
Politics and Symbols
Sacrificed for Honor
Ritual, Politics and Power
Comrades and Christians
DAVID I. KERTZER
The Popes Against the Jews
David I. Kertzer was born in 1948 in New York City. He is Paul
Dupee, Jr. University Professor of Social Science and a professor
of anthropology and Italian studies at Brown University. He is the
author of The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, which was a finalist
for the National Book Award. The Popes Against the Jews was a
finalist for the Mark Lynton History Prize and he has twice been
awarded, in 1985 and 1990, the Marraro Prize from the Society
for Italian Historical Studies for the best work on Italian history.
He and his wife, Susan, live in Providence.
The Popes
Against
the Jews
THE VATICAN'S ROLE
IN THE RISE OF MODERN
A N T I - S E M I T I SM
David I. Kertzer
VINTAGE BOOKS
A Division of Random House, Inc.
New York
FIRST VINTAGE BOOKS EDITION, OCTOBER 2002
Copyright © 2001 by David I. Kertzer
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. Published in the United States by Vintage Books, a division
of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by
Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Originally published
in hardcover in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division
of Random House, Inc., New York, in 2001.
Vintage and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the Knopf edition as follows:
Kertzer, David I.
The Popes against the Jews: the Vatican's role in the rise of
modern anti-Semitism /
David I. Kertzer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Judaism—Relations—Catholic Church. 2. Catholic Church—Relations—
Judaism. 3. Christianity and anti-semitism.
4. Papacy—History. I. Title.

Vintage ISBN: 0-375-70605-4
Author photograph © Jill Krementz
Book design by Virginia Tan
www. vintagebooks. com
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
For Seth
a father' s delight
and for my sister Eva
one of the fortunate few
CONTENTS
Introduction 3
PART ONE Keeping Jews in Their Place
1 A Missed Opportunity 25
2 Forced Baptisms 38
3 The Ghetto 60
4 Ritual Murder Makes a Comeback 86
5 The End of an Era 106
PART TWO The Church and the Rise
of Modern Anti-Semitism
6 The Catholic Press 133
7 Jewish Vampires 152
8 France 166
9 Austria 186
10 Race 205
11 Ritual Murder and the Popes
in the Twentieth Century 213
PART THREE On the Eve of the Holocaust
12 A Future Pope in Poland 239
13 Antechamber to the Holocaust 264
Acknowledgments 293
Appendix: Popes and Their Secretaries of State 297
Notes 299
References Cited 329
Index 345
vii

The Popes
Against the Jews