The Papacy in the Modern World by Frank J. Coppa
Author:Frank J. Coppa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Papal opposition continued in the condemnations of Nazi principles and practices by the Holy Office in 1936, which rejected race as a principle of organization.46 Publication of the condemnation was blocked by its secretary (Cardinal Francesco Marchetti-Selvaggiani), who, like Pacelli, opposed an open conflict with Nazism.47 The pope, on the other hand, believed that the dignity of the Holy See required him to denounce Nazi outrages.48 In February 1936, when Hitler sent Pius XI a congratulatory telegram to commemorate the anniversary of his coronation, the pope responded by deploring German developments.49 Following the remilitarization of the Rhineland, he confided to the French ambassador: âif you [French] had called forward 200,000 men you would have done an immense service to the entire worldâ.50 Attempts to implicate the Church in the Nazi persecution of the Jews were rejected by Pius XI, who differentiated religious anti-Judaism from racial anti-Semitism and found Nazi racism in conflict with Church teaching.51
The continued Nazi attacks on the Church and its doctrines led Pius XI to speak out despite the subtle restraining influence of his secretary of state. On 14 March 1937 the pope issued the encyclical Mit brennender Sorge, which was secretly printed and distributed to the various parishes and read from Catholic pulpits throughout Germany on Palm Sunday.52 âWith deep anxiety and increasing dismayâ, Pius wrote, he had witnessed the âprogressive oppression of the faithfulâ.53 He protested against the treatment of the Church in the Reich while negating the principle of the division of humanity on a racial basis.54 Denouncing the racism of the regime, and all social theories derived from the myth of blood and race, he catalogued the articles of faith trampled upon by the Nazis. He was shocked by their attempt to revive the pagan belief in a national god or a national religion, restricting the universal faith to one people or race.55 His action earned him respect in Western capitals, but condemnation in Berlin.56 Although Pacelli, under papal orders, played a part in drafting this encyclical, the secretary of state still sought to prevent a break between Berlin and the Vatican.57 He was told that Hitler was infuriated by the encyclical and deplored the Vaticanâs secrecy in its transmission, along with its anti-Nazi message, vowing to take revenge at an appropriate time.58 In the interim, the Führer had his police bring a number of Catholic priests to trial for âimmoral conductâ and sexual abuses.59
When in May 1937 Cardinal George William Mundelein of Chicago made insulting references to the Führer as a poor paperhanger, Pius refused to censure him, as some demanded, but praised him instead.60 The following month La Civiltà Cattolica, which occasionally issued anti-Jewish pronouncements, proclaimed that the Church condemned all forms of anti-Semitism.61 Like the Pope, its editors refused to recognize any relationship between clerical anti-Judaism and Nazi anti-Semitism. By the end of the year, Pius deplored anti-Christian developments in Germany no less than those in the Soviet Union.62 In fact, Nazism soon displaced communism as his major concern.63 Distressed
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell(8790)
How to Bang a Billionaire by Alexis Hall(7938)
Wonder by R. J. Palacio(7745)
The Space Between by Michelle L. Teichman(6576)
The Thirst by Nesbo Jo(6442)
Assassin’s Fate by Robin Hobb(5856)
Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi(5320)
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern(5041)
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini(4954)
Paper Towns by Green John(4804)
Bittersweet (True North #1) by Sarina Bowen(4719)
Gerald's Game by Stephen King(4377)
Too Much and Not the Mood by Durga Chew-Bose(4096)
Pillow Thoughts by Courtney Peppernell(4018)
Goodbye Paradise(3452)
Twelve Days of Christmas by Debbie Macomber(3416)
Good by S. Walden(3349)
The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion(3210)
The Cellar by Natasha Preston(3078)
