Beneath a Scarlet Sky

by Mark T. Sullivan

“The Holy Father and the Vatican are surrounded by tanks and the SS, Pino. For the pope to speak out now would be suicide and mean the invasion and destruction of Vatican City.

he used to say that the trick to doing almost anything difficult was to act like someone else, someone who belonged.

Even though his parents had ordered him to join the Organization Todt, Pino had seen how his father reacted to his swastika armband, how he looked away, his lips curled with shame.