Portrait: A Man Whose Name Was John

Aside from Roncalli, who was the dearest, so many priests and bishops scarified to help oppose the Nazi. We must remember that to defeat them the entire world was required to do battle: USA, GB, Australia, Canada, France, and even, yes, Russia. Why, then, and how could one lone little Italian, Pope Pius XII, in a sane mind have been 'braver' than he was? His l937 ex cathedra, Mit Brennender Sorge, explicitly states that what was going on in Germany was "pagan cult". Pius XII knew that to 'cop an attitude' with Hitler would have resulted in extreme reprisals against German and all other Catholics; he could offer his life, but what of the guy in the street? He was not cowardly.