Hitler the Catholic
Most people agree that Nazism and the purposes it held were atrocious. Few people would disagree that Adolf Hitler was an evil man. Fewer people are aware that The Roman Catholic Church officially supported Nazism and Adolf Hitler
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Wow, that's a bit harsh. First of all, Hitler was by no means a Catholic..some historians think he may have Jewish ancestory, but to my knowledge nobody really knows if he followed a specific religion. Yes, the pope probably supported him when he was first elected, because most people did..he was a charming guy, a good speaker, and a decorated war hero. Only later did he begin persecuting Jews, and the pope actually helped bring several hundred Jews to freedom. Catholics are very pro-life and we certainly don't condone the killing of anyone. Yes, we have had some violent periods in our past, partly because the Church was corrupted in medieval times when it was highly involved with the government and Church leaders got paid a lot and controlled most of the land. Catholics weren't the only ones involved in the Crusades, by the way, and we were persecuted right along with the Protestants through the years - because, guess what? Protestantism didn't even come around until the 1700s, so before that there weren't denominational splits, it was just Christianity. Anyway..sorry that was kind of long..I hope I made sense. :>
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1)“Hitler was by no means a Catholic..some historians think he may have Jewish ancestory, but to my knowledge nobody really knows if he followed a specific religion”
Hitler was indeed a Catholic, and through his reign he wasn’t denounced by the Catholic Church for his treatment of Jews and, as I tried to impress in my original post there is no excuse on the part of the Catholic Church as far as being ignorant of Hitler’s sentiments for the Jews.
Hitler was never excommunicated from the church and so we must conclude that the church never deemed any of his acts bad enough to boot him from the official church roster (http://www.humanismbyjoe.com/hitler.htm).
Hitler was involved in the occult (http://www.taivaansusi.net/historia/occulthitler.html) and was interested in the holy grail, and other artifacts attributable to some tie to Christ but this is a reflection of the occult elements of Catholicism (transubstantiation, praying the rosary for forgiveness, prayers to saints - all not mentioned in the Bible and all key components of Catholicism).
I do not know if Hitler came from Jewish ancestry or not, but that has little bearing on his link with Rome, or change his actions toward the Jews, the mentally retarded, the Russians or French.
2)“Yes, the pope probably supported him when he was first elected, because most people did..he was a charming guy, a good speaker, and a decorated war hero. Only later did he begin persecuting Jews, and the pope actually helped bring several hundred Jews to freedom”
The pope didn’t “probably” support Hitler when he was elected, he absolutely did. The 1933 concordat is the undeniable proof of this.
Hitler was a very charismatic speaker who did play to the nationalism deeply felt in Germany. People had to have been aware of his agenda for Germany, Jews, Aryanism etc,. for he had been a member of the DAP political party in Germany which was openly anti-semitic (http://www.passmores.essex.sch.uk/~history/germl12.htm)and had also published his book “Mien Kampf“ which outlined his world views.
His dissent for Jews was known in the decade before he came to rule Germany (http://www.worldhistory.com/hitler.htm ), this ought to have been enough for the Germans to realize his attitude for Jews and the same goes for the Papacy.
You said the Pope brought several hundred Jews to freedom but do not give evidence to back your claim. I had quoted “the Roman Catholic Church Hitler agreed to make concessions to the church which in 1937 “ . . . alleged persecution of Roman Catholics in Germany, but included no condemnation of Anti-Semitism.””, this was said two years after Jews were labeled lesser humans. In his silence the Pope is guilty of a sin of commission, I.e. his failure to address the treatment of Jews he is guilty of allowing to continue. I have shown that Hitler had strong Catholic ties and was led by Catholic beliefs and if those were wrong one would hope that the man allegedly in charge of God’s church on earth would correct a man who was effecting millions of lives. This never happened and the Magesterium has not apologized for it’s role in Nazi Germany.
3)Catholics are very pro-life and we certainly don't condone the killing of anyone. Yes, we have had some violent periods in our past, partly because the Church was corrupted in medieval times when it was highly involved with the government and Church leaders got paid a lot and controlled most of the land.
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The Catholic Church does not today call for the persecution of nonmembers, but the history of the Church is indeed is “ . . . drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of martyrs of Jesus . . .” Rev. 17:6. The Catholic Church thrived on persecution and is the reason the Pilgrims left for the new world. The Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition are all on the hands of the Catholic Church as you have not tried to hide. I propose that these are much more than “violent periods”, on several occasions Popes were the product of bloody feuds. Pope Stephen VII exhumed Pope Formosus and condemned him of heresy (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14289d.htm) and was soon strangled, six popes were brought to office by a mother and daughter pair of prostitutes - three were their bastard son, grandson and great grandson. These hardly seem to be the workings of the Lord, instead they appear to be the products of the lusts of men.
You are correct to recognize the corruption of the Catholic Church but should not limit the corruption to a particular period of time as it is continually in a state of blasphemy. Speaking of the church HE established Christ said “ . . . upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18) (See this link for additional insight into this verse http://www.livejournal.com/users/soldierofgod/5062.html?mode=reply). If God allows men to corrupt His church, He is in violation of what He promised in Matthew 16:18. The Catholic Church by your own admission is guilty of corruption and this corruption is not from God. The pedophile priests who were protected from civil prosecution by the Magesterium is not outlined as proper conduct for the leadership of God’s church. The gates of hell have prevailed against God’s church if God’s church is the Roman Catholic Church.
4)Catholics weren't the only ones involved in the Crusades, by the way, and we were persecuted right along with the Protestants through the years - because, guess what? Protestantism didn't even come around until the 1700s, so before that there weren't denominational splits, it was just Christianity.
The Catholic Church may not have been the only party guilty of the sins committed in the Crusades, the Catholic Church instituted the Crusades and made a claim similar to the one Muslim’s are given if they die in Jihad, that they were “ Being promised forgiveness of one's sins and direct entry into paradise, many - even children (CHILDREN'S CRUSADE 1212) were willing to take the oath, travel to where they have never been before and fight” (http://www.zum.de/whkmla/sat/texts/XXVIIIcrus.html).
When were the Catholics and Protestants persecuted together?
The icon of the Protestant Reformation was Martin Luther. He made his 95 point critique of the Catholic Church in 1597(http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/ninetyfive.txt) , at least full 103 years before you claim that Protestantism came about. Do not say things that are not true when you could easily search on Google to double check your facts.
I see the Catholic Church as one of many heretical groups started after the time of Christ. Other early groups that deviated from the Word of God were the Gnostics( http://www.carm.org/heresy/gnosticism.htm) , the Arians ( http://www.carm.org/heresy/arianism.htm ) and others (http://www.carm.org/heresy.htm).
I hope to have addressed your contentions clearly. I took me several hours to compile this response so please review it carefully before attempting any refutations or bringing up any disputes you have with what I have said.
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Sorry I didn't give sources, I was just trying to remember from what I had learned. Anyway, I appreciate that you spent time looking for the information. I did a little research myself, and while I'm not going to reply to all of your post just now, I'd like to defend Pope Pius XI, as well as Pope Pius XII (WWII). So, here ya go:
"Pius's pontificate, like his pre-papal career, was marked by great diplomatic activity, often aided by Eugenio Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII). He openly opposed the youth activities of Fascist governments, and he finally published the papal letter Non abbiamo bisogno in 1931; it showed one could not be both Fascist and Catholic....Hitler signed a concordat with the Church in 1933, but never paid it any attention after the ceremony. Nazis continually meddled with Church activities, persecuted clergy, and tried to convert German Christians to the new faith in Nazism. Pius denounced the government and Nazi theory in Mit brennender Sorge in 1937....Pius spoke out against nationalism, racism, anti-Semitism, and totalitarianism, and for human dignity."
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/pope0259.htm
"Shortly after Hitler came to power the two powers agreed to sit down and hammer out a compromise. The resulting concordat reaffirmed the legal position of the Church in Germany. Freedom of religious teaching in Catholic schools was also recognized. The Reich government received the support of the pope and the disbanding of the Catholic Center Party. Although it seemed to many that the papacy was selling her German flock out to the Nazis, Pius hoped for the best. Unfortunately, it was not long before Hitler proved to be untrustworthy. Before the ink dried on the concordat, Gestapo troops and Nazi regulars began to round up suspected "traitors". Under the pretext of "fostering unity", Catholic presses were shut down, as were its unions. Catholic youths were required to join Hitler's growing military machine. When the Holy Father and his representatives voiced any displeasure, they were given a deaf ear. Bishops began to be denied access to their flocks and the right to travel to Rome. Finally, the pope decided to speak out. On March 14, 1937, an encyclical was issued regarding the status of the Church and her relations with the German Reich. The document was smuggled into Germany and read on Easter Sunday in every Catholic
church, much to the dismay of the vaunted Gestapo. In the encyclical, the pope calls the German leaders,
"... superficial minds [who] could stumble into concepts of a national God,
of a national religion; or attempt to lock within the frontiers of a single
people, within the narrow limits of a single race, God, the creator of the
universe, King and Legislator of all nations before whose immensity they
are "as a drop of a bucket".
Pius then goes on to equate Nazi volkish fascism with a false god and to criticize any suggestion of racism and racial hat"
http://www.geocities.com/athens/troy/1344/popepius2.html
* The pope tried to work out a negotiation with Hitler at the beginning of his regime, but
Hitler refused to cooperate and tried to force Catholic youth to join his organization. Pius XI did speak out against Hitler, and denounced his actions.
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"Both before and throughout WWII, he worked for peace. On 24 December 1942 and 2 June 1943, he forcefully denounced the extermination of peoples on account of race.
Through the Pontifical Aid Commission, Pius XII operated a vast program of relief to the victims of the war on both sides, but especially to the Jewish people. When Hitler occupied Rome on 10 September 1943, after the fall of the Italian government, the Pope
opened Vatican City to Jewish refugees. It is estimated that Pius XII aided more than 1,500,000 refugees, including Jews, throughout the war, especially by granting them Vatican citizenship. Under his encouragement, a vast underground of priests, religious,
and laity throughout Italy, served as a pipeline to save Jews and non-Jews alike from the Nazi government. His efforts were so sucessful that the leader of the Jewish community in
Rome praised him, and after the war himself converted to Roman Catholicism."
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/pope0260.htm
*I thought it was thousands of Jewish refugees, but it was actually 1.5 million. As you can see, both of the popes denounced Anti-Semitism, communism, and persecution...hope that answered that part of the question.
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