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Lainey
TGAT
USA
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May 18 2002
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 Posted - December 29 2002 : 11:23:21 PM
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The false, yet widely believed accusations against Pope Pius XII as a Nazi conspirator need to be addressed & corrected. First created with one German playwright's fictional piece in 1962, the myth of "Hitler's Pope" grew & grew until many simply presume there is a factual base for the work. There is not, of course, but the world seems unaware. Konrad Löw's recent book, "Die Schuld" (The Guilt), is a good response to the continued vilification of a holy man who was once praised & thanked for both his protection of Jews & his opposition to Nazi atrocities by men such as Elie Weisel & Albert Einstein.
Nazis' Anti-Catholicism Ran Deep
Konrad Löw's "The Guilt" Documents Racial and Religious Hatreds
ROME, DEC. 23, 2002 (Zenit.org).- Nazi hatred for the Catholic Church has been documented in Konrad Löw's new book, "Die Schuld" (The Guilt), with the subtitle "Jews and Christians in the Opinion of Nazis and in Present Times."
The book, published by Resch Press, is promoted as "a response to 'Amen' and 'The Vicar,'" referring to film and theater works that accuse Pope Pius XII of having been too conciliatory to Nazism.
At the same time, the volume is a response to Daniel Goldhagen's work "Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust" (New York: Knopf, 1996), which accuses Germans in general of being accomplices of Nazism.
The book's greatest contribution is the documentation presented in its 355 pages, including 1,063 footnotes and a 331-item bibliography. Löw uses specific historical documents to address aspects of Nazi policy up to now little known, in particular the continuous and systematic persecution of Catholics.
The Bavarian author demonstrates, in a critical spirit, how Zentrum, the Catholic party, was supported and voted for precisely by Jews, a phenomenon that can be explained by the fact that the Catholic Church condemned the nascent racism and nationalism with great clarity. The author also points out that Protestant groups, on the contrary, were to a large extent fascinated by the racial theories.
Löw recalls that Hitler's appointment as chancellor was applauded by Protestant denominations, while the Catholic bishops condemned Nazi theories. This was why the Nazis persecuted Catholics as well as, if not as much as, Communists and Jews.
According to the Nazi theory, Christianity's roots in the Old Testament meant that whoever was against the Jews should also be against the Catholic Church. And ample documentation, gathered by Löw, records Catholics' assistance to Jews, which angered the Nazis.
The author cites how the Nazis invoked "the unconquerable arm of the spirit of blood and earth against the Hebrew plague and Christianity."
Löw recounts in detail what Adolf Hitler, Alfred Rosenberg, Joseph Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler and Martin Bormann said and wrote about Jews and Catholics. In particular, Hitler wished to trample the Catholic Church "as one does a frog."
The book reproduces articles and sketches on Catholics published by Das Schwarze Korps, the official SS periodical, and Der Stürmer, a racist periodical.
In a sketch published by the Nazis in 1938, a Jew, a Catholic priest and a capitalist entrepreneur try to stop the Nazi swastika that turns like the hands of the clock of history.
In another sketch, published by Der Stürmer in 1934, a Jew, standing before a picture of Christ on the cross, says: "We have killed him, we have ridiculed him, but we are still defended by his Church." Another sketch in the same newspaper, published in 1939, shows a Catholic priest stretching out two large hands: one with the Star of David, and the other with the hammer and sickle.
To give an idea of what the Nazis thought of Catholics, Löw presents an SS report, which states: "It is indisputable that the Catholic Church in Germany is decisively opposed to the governmental policy of opposition to Hebrew power. As a consequence, it carries out work in support
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - December 30 2002 : 08:46:47 AM
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| Lainey, thank you for a very eloquent reminder, to all of us, of just how full of hatred the Nazis were and are. Many people think that they persecuted and killed only the Jews. Not so, as you have pointed out. |
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Lainey
TGAT
USA
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May 18 2002
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Posted - January 11 2003 : 7:07:59 PM
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Wilderness Woman, there are so many revealing statements, speeches, etc. by Adolph Hitler that show how vast his & Nazism's hatred was. The Aryanism 'philosophy' aside, were he not a head of state he'd be analyzed by psychiatrists as a particularly violent serial killer whose obsessive hatreds mirrored aspects of himself.
Anthony, you should never confuse the virtues of discipline & responsibility with the crushing vices of evil as displayed in Nazism. |
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securemann
Deerslayer
USA
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July 08 2002
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Posted - January 13 2003 : 4:27:03 PM
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| I know alot of things occured in the Church throughout its 2000 year history but to say that it's all over for the Church now,well, let's examine what the founder said:"The gates of hell will not prevail." It might drill holes in the foundation but we still carry on.The founder also said:"I am with you ALL DAYS even till the end of time." By the way,the founder is Jesus.Good enough for me. |
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Lainey
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May 18 2002
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Posted - January 18 2003 : 01:40:01 AM
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Many agree, or many hope? To think such a thing is to know very little.
Wild accusations aren't going to prevail.
Slander & deception isn't going to prevail.
Suppression & government intimidation isn't going to prevail.
Media bias isn't going to prevail.
Obscenities before St. Patrick's Cathedral aren't going to prevail.
Revolution isn't going to prevail.
Violence isn't going to prevail.
Kissling's protests before the UN isn't going to prevail.
Anti-Catholic 'Know Nothings' aren't going to prevail.
Masons aren't going to prevail.
Chick tracts aren't going to prevail.
Vilifying the priesthood isn't going to prevail.
The gates of hell will not prevail.
For two thousand years nothing has changed ...
"I am with you always ..."
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Lainey
TGAT
USA
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May 18 2002
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Posted - January 21 2003 : 01:46:19 AM
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A “MORAL” CRUSADE AGAINST CATHOLICISM
Daniel Goldhagen’s Unsavory Treatment of the Wartime Church
By Bronwen Catherine McShea
Daniel J. Goldhagen’s latest book, A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair, purports to be a much-needed “moral philosophical” contribution to a troubled field of scholarship. Standing on the shoulders of other critics of Pope Pius XII’s wartime Church—James Carroll, Garry Wills, David Kertzer, to name a few—Goldhagen calls upon all Catholics to own up to the deep-seated antisemitism in their Church’s past which he calls “a necessary cause” of the Holocaust.
As Goldhagen’s “inquiry” proceeds, it becomes increasingly clear that his program for “moral reckoning” has less to do with the historical record of Catholic involvement in the Holocaust, criminal or otherwise, than it does with the author’s opinion of Catholicism itself—that it is inherently flawed, and must be reformed out of all recognition.
At first Goldhagen focuses his attention on the hypocrisy of a Church whose wartime leaders preached “love and goodness” but failed in many instances to exhibit Christ-like heroism in defense of innocent Jews. In his excitement over what he considers an insightful use of the Catholic “sins of ommission” concept, Goldhagen allows its definition to balloon to the point where he faults the Church for failing “to tend to the souls of the mass murderers and of the other persecutors of Jews.” One wonders what Goldhagen pictured in his mind when writing such a line: a toddling Hitler and Goebbels in kindergarten, given less tender, loving care by their nuns and priests than they deserved? Does Goldhagen honestly believe the Church was in a position to reach and reform all those who chose the demonic descent into Nazism?
The integrity of Goldhagen’s arguments seem less a priority than taking swipes at the Church wherever he can. How else can we explain his frequent demands that the Church be held to the highest of standards—to live Christian love and goodness to perfection—and his simultaneous suggestions that the very faith which is the lifeblood of such love and goodness should be rejected? For indeed, while he asks the question, “What would Jesus have done,” his contention that he is only concerned for Catholics to strive more fully in their faith quickly breaks down as soon as his program for a Catholic “moral reckoning” takes shape. Catholics, he proposes, to do right by the Jews, must effectively cease to be Catholics—must abandon their Scriptures, their Pope, and even the Cross itself.
“The Catholic Church has a Bible problem,” writes Goldhagen matter-of-factly in the latter part of the book. “The antisemitism of the Bible is not incidental to it but constitutive of its story of Jesus’ life and death and of its messages about God and humanity.” Adding that “the structure of the Gospels in particular is antisemitic,” Goldhagen proposes that the Pope and all those who teach the Catholic faith must teach as “falsehoods” some 80 “antisemitic” passages in Matthew, 40 in Mark, 60 in Luke, 130 in John, 140 in Acts, and so on. He then begs the question whether it would not also be just to demand that the Church expunge these several hundred passages from the Christian Scriptures.
Goldhagen defines as “antisemitic” any passage in the Bible which in any way implicates Jews in the death of Christ, or which in any way suggests that Christianity has superceded Judaism as the faith of God’s people. Apparently, we are supposed to reject as “null and void” the Gospels accounts of Judas’s betrayal of his Lord, Christ’s mockery of a trial before the Sanhedrin and His being handed over to the Roman authorities, and the crowds of men and women who cheered for Christ’s death sentence. Also, Goldhagen explicitly says that the phrase “New Testament” is itself offensive to Jews, as it implies the Old has been superceded or |
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Lainey
TGAT
USA
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May 18 2002
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Posted - January 23 2003 : 01:29:18 AM
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The Judeo-Catholic Commission
by Sister Margherita Marchione, Ph.D., author of "Yours is a Precious Witness: Memoirs of Jews and Catholics in Wartime Italy," (1997) and "Pope Pius XII: Architect for Peace," (Paulist Press, 2000).
In the last 30 years, above all with the pontificate of John Paul II, giant steps have been made toward progress in dialogue between Jews and Catholics. To prepare a serious scholarly analysis on Pius XII, several scholars were called to participate in a Commission in order to examine the Vatican documents of the Holy See during the Second World War. This group’s assignment as scholars was to analyze documents already published. The group consisted of three Catholics: Eva Fleischner, Gerald Fogarty, and John Morley; and three Jews: Michael Marrus, Bernard Suchecky, and Robert Wistrich.
Marrus was interviewed by Paolo Mastrolilli, an Italian journalist. “We must not fall into the error of evaluating facts that occurred more than 50 years ago with today’s sensitivity,” Marrus stated. …”Vatican Council II has enormously changed relations between Jews and Catholics, and therefore now certain attitudes may seem strange. During the period of Pius XII, the reality of the times was different.”
According to Fogarty, “Pius XII believed more in diplomacy than in public declarations and he behaved himself accordingly. His priority was to stop Nazism and for this reason he also accepted in silence the alliance with Russia, reserving for himself the fight against Communism at a latter date. The American Secret Services have documents that judge in a very positive way the actions of the Vatican during the war, but until now they have remained secret. The Holy See was careful to preserve its neutrality, but there exists proofs of the help offered to several German generals, who in the Spring of 1940 had planned a plot to free themselves of Hitler: therefore, what counts more, the public words of the Pope, or the acts accomplished to stop Nazism?”
Fogarty also said that “the panel has still not succeeded in overcoming the widespread myth in Anglo-Saxon culture which believes that there are important unpublished documents in the Vatican Archives. If such files existed, other proofs of those documents would have been found in the studies I have carried out in archives all over Europe.” In order to help his colleagues understand that the opening of the Vatican Archives does not answer these questions definitively, he gave this example: “In the spring of 1940 there was an attempt to oust Hitler by a group of generals who later tried to surrender to the English. The negotiations took place with the Vatican’s mediation and the knowledge of Pius XII. However, there are no documents on this case in the Vatican.”
There was no guarantee that the Nazis would have respected the Vatican. One can readily understand that, when the Nazis occupied Rome and the SS and the Gestapo were searching for Jews throughout the Rome area, it was necessary to destroy whatever documentation might have affected Vatican neutrality.
Apparently, the Commission members did not research the existing material that would have answered, at least in part, some of the 47 questions. Some of this information may be found in other archives. A typical example is Number 44. It reads: “The Poles were major victims of the Nazis. Members of the Polish Government in Exile in London and some Polish bishops were often very vocal in their criticism of Pius XII’s role. It has been reported that the Vatican commissioned the Jesuits to prepare a defense of its Polish policy. Is this correct and, if so, may we see the report? More generally, the subject of Vatican-Polish relations is an essential element for understanding the role of the Holy See during the Holocaust period and deserves further investigation in the Vatican a |
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Lainey
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May 18 2002
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Posted - January 24 2003 : 6:07:17 PM
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| I'm flattered, Anthony ~ but, this whole forum is used by, & for, fair exchange of intellect by many, including yourself. Whatever I add is only because I think it's important. |
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Lainey
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May 18 2002
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Posted - February 21 2003 : 01:48:48 AM
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Historian Sir Martin Gilbert Defends Pius XII
Goebbels Saw in Him an Enemy of Nazism
ROME, FEB. 20, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Sir Martin Gilbert, considered one of the greatest living historians, praised Pope Pius XII's efforts on behalf of the Jews throughout World War II.
In an interview broadcast Feb. 2 on C-Span, Gilbert was asked if Pope Eugenio Pacelli was passive in face of Nazism.
Gilbert replied: "Please read my new book, 'The Righteous.' I've written extensively there about the Catholic Church, some of whose leaders played a remarkable part in the rescue of Jews, many of whose priests and [...] ordinary Catholics played a remarkable part."
"The Pope himself was denounced by Dr. Goebbels" -- the Nazi propaganda minister -- "for having taken the side of the Jews in the Christian message, in December 1942, where he criticized racism," Gilbert said.
He continued: "The Pope also played a part, which I describe in some detail, in the rescue of three-quarters of the Jews of Rome, at very short notice, when the SS came in and tried to round up all 5,000, at least 4,000 of whom were given shelter in the Vatican itself and other Catholic places. ...
"So I hope that my book can restore, in a way, on the foundation of historical fact, the true and wonderful achievements of Catholics in helping Jews during the war."
Gilbert, a Jew, is an expert on World War II and the Holocaust. In 1968 he was appointed Sir Winston Churchill's official biographer. He is author of 70 books, including "The Holocaust," "Auschwitz and the Allies," "The First World War," "The Second World War," and "A History of the Twentieth Century."
Three years ago, Gilbert published the book "Never Again: A History of the Holocaust." Interviewed by United Press International, the English historian said: "Christians were among the first victims of the Nazis. ... One of the things I try to bring out in the book is that the Christian churches took a very powerful stand. ... At every stage of the Holocaust, the Church had no hesitation ... all the great bishops of France protested the deportations, ... Poland had more Righteous Gentiles than any other country."
In the same book, Gilbert says that he is not unaware that some Christians, violating their faith, did not oppose the Nazis, but he explained "that they did so, in spite of, and not because of, their religion. This was particularly true regarding the Catholic Church, whose moral teachings against racism, anti-Semitism and murder were perfectly clear."
Gilbert added: "I try to find out what the Catholic Church and churchmen and Pacelli himself actually did do. So the test for Pacelli was when the Gestapo came to Rome to round up Jews. And the Catholic Church, on his direct authority, immediately dispersed as many Jews as they could."
In regard to Daniel Jonah Goldhagen's accusations that all Germans collaborated with the Nazi persecution and with Hitler's collaborators, Gilbert commented: "There were people in Germany who, despite the terrifying pressure of the Gestapo, took enormous risks and did save Jews, and did try to help Jews. ...
"There were many other Schindlers who, instead of acting like vicious conquerors, made tremendous efforts to try to save Jews, not just individual Jews, but sometimes dozens and even hundreds."
Gilbert added: "The 'other side of the coin' is given full justice in 'The Righteous,' which contains an entire chapter on German heroism."
With reference to John Paul II's public request for forgiveness during the Jubilee, Gilbert said that he deeply appreciates the Pope's efforts to acknowledge the abuses certain Catholics have committed against Jews in the past.
But the historian emphasized that "this should not be viewed in a one-sided fashion, as it now often is. If the Pope has to apologize perhaps someone should also thank him. In fact, my book does thank him for what the Vatican did to save Jewish lives." |
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Nazism vs Catholicism
