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Showing posts with the label nazis

Goebbels redivivus

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Damian Thompson today has a quotation from Richard Dawkins about the Holy Father, whom he describes as a " leering old villain in a frock ". Have a read of this section: No, Pope Ratzinger should not resign. He should remain in charge of the whole rotten edifice – the whole profiteering, woman-fearing, guilt-gorging, truth-hating, child-raping institution – while it tumbles, amid a stench of incense and a rain of tourist-kitsch sacred hearts and preposterously crowned virgins, about his ears. Does that not sound a whole lot like a previous propagandist against another world religion? Just for the record, here are a couple of the comments that have been published at the Richard Dawkins website : Appeal for an anti-Catholic Kristallnacht : Until the mid 60's it was traditional for a monk to appear three times before a new pope at his coronation, to burn a taper and utter the words "sic transit gloria mundi" (thus passes the glory of the world) as a reminder...
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Summary of Pope Benedict's pontificate

Fr Dwight Longenecker picked up this amusing video, a parody of Downfall (2004) in which Adolf Hitler learns of Pope Benedict's popularity and blows his top. It is better if, like me, you don't know too much German but the subtitles are hilariously matched to the emotional content. Kudos to: Devin Rose of St. Joseph’s Vanguard And Our Lady’s Train
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Worth a thousand words?

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One website offering the e-book of Cornwell's "Hitler's Pope" carries this picture: The English edition of the book has this rather clearer version which demonstrates how the above one has been altered. At least this one shows that the chap wearing the peaked cap is obviously the driver; nevertheless, the juxtaposition of the title is says it all. Originally, the picture was referred to on the dust-jacket as being from 1939, "Cardinal Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII, leaving the presidential palace in Berlin." All pretty damning, no? Cardinal Pacelli, just before becoming Pope Pius XII, consorts with the Nazis and is saluted by them after visiting Hitler ... or something? Here is the picture without blurring or additions: It is actually from 1927. Archbishop Pacelli, then papal nuncio to Bavaria, had been to a birthday reception for Hindenberg, the President of the Weimar Republic. (Hitler did not become chancellor for another six years.) The soldiers in ...
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"The Cross and the Third Reich" - new book

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Family Publications have come up with yet another first-rate book. "The Cross and the Third Reich" by John Frain looks at the opposition to Nazism from Catholics and other Christians. The focus of the book is principally on Catholic opposition (which was in fact stronger) but he does not ignore the heroic Christians of other Churches who stood up for the truth. Frain includes a detailed examination of the Concordat, of Mit Brennender Sorge , the currency" and "immorality" trials staged by the Nazis and the propaganda campaign which used them in an attempt to discredit the Church. There is a rich chapter on individual opposition to Nazism, looking at figures such as Edith Stein and Cardinal Clemens von Galen, as well as those who are less well-known: Alfred Delp SJ, and key protestants who opposed the regime's injustices. One of the important sources for the book is "The Persecution of the Catholic Church in the Third Reich - Facts and Documents" ...
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Heroic midwife of Auschwitz

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At Seattle Catholic, you can read the story by Matthew Anger of the heroic midwife of Auschwitz, Stanislawa Leszczynska . The conditions under which mothers had to give birth were quite horrific and babies were routinely drowned in a barrel after being born: These operations were performed by Schwester [ sister ] Klara, a German midwife who was imprisoned for infanticide. "As a Berufsverbrecherin (one guilty of occupational crime), and thus forbidden to practice her profession," says Stanislawa, "she was entrusted with a function to which she was more suited." The heroic midwife, at the risk of her life, refused to participate in the infanticide. Instead, she offered care for the women as far as she could in the appalling conditions in which she worked, and made sure that the children were baptised. Few of them survived very long. On one occasion, she faced down the infamou Dr Mengele who shouted at her that "Orders are orders!" The words of Pope John Pau...
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White Rose - White Flower

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The other day, John Smeaton had an interesting post about the White Rose Society in Nazi Germany. (See: Join the pro-life resistance by supporting SPUC's White Flower appeal ) This group of patriotic Germans, many of whom had been in the Hitler Youth, came from various religious backgrounds. Increasingly horrified by the policies of the National Socialist Party, they distributed leaflets advocating resistance. The picture above shows Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, and Christoph Probst, who were executed in 1943.  One influence on them was Bishop August Von Galen whose sermons attacked the Nazi euthanasia policy. The Shoah Education website gives some background on this. the US Holocaust Memorial Museum has more information and references on the non-Jewish resistance to Hitler , mentioning a recent work on Sophie Scholl which may well give more detailed information. The Shoah Education website refers to Von Galen's sermon of 3 August 1941 which is said to have been a major influ...
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What the nazis built on

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Cardinal O'Brien's open letter to Gordon Brown has been widely reported. He has compared the HFE Bill to the atrocities of the Nazis. (See: Embryo bill like Nazi atrocities, says Cardinal ) In September, I wrote about an essay by Malcolm Muggeridge in which he pointed out that the euthanasia programme in Germany was initiated by medical professionals before the Nazi party had risen to power. (See: "The life thou gavest, Lord, we've ended" ) The book entitled The Permission to Destroy Life Unworthy of Life was published by Alfred Hoche and Karl Binding in 1920. Many people start shrieking and wailing when the "N word" is used in relation to "culture of death" policies. It may be helpful to point out that the euthanasia of the disabled was already in place well before Hitler and the nazis rose to power. The medical establishment had paved the way for the gross atrocities of the National Socialists. In the same way today, our morally bankrupt app...
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Memoir of a priest in Dachau

I received " Priestblock 25487" yesterday as a Christmas present from the Mulier Fortis (late because of Amazon). The book comprises the memoirs of a priest from Luxembourg, Fr Jean Bernard, from his time at Dachau. He first wrote them up for the Luxemburger Wort in 1945 and made them available again because we must "never forget". He describes the period from May 1941 to early August 1942. The book is compelling in its description of both the physical, psychological and spiritual suffering of the priests who were gathered together in the same block. The SS used this tactic in order to prevent the priests unduly influencing the other prisoners. About 2670 priests passed through Dachau, 600 to their death. For a time, it was widely "known" in the camp that the priests did not have to work in the same way as the other prisoners and that they were given more food and even wine. In fact, they were degraded, humiliated and abused in much the same way as the...
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Popular posts from this blog

Saint Gabriel

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The angels call for our veneration and awe as part of God’s creation. Part of the destructive modernism of the 1970s included advice to Catholic school teachers that they should not talk to children about angels. This wrought lasting damage which continues to need rectifying. We should include in our prayers a heartfelt recourse to our own Guardian Angels. The Archangel Gabriel “God is my strength” would be terrifying were he to appear to any of us. Our Lady was “troubled” at the word of Saint Gabriel and wondered at the manner of the salutation. Immediately, according to his mission, the awesome messenger explained himself. Modern retelling of the event is often reduced to the jejune “Mary said Yes to God”. In fact, she said “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word”. This conveys more accurately the flawless faith and trust of the Immaculata. In the infinitely wise providence of the Father, we now know the structure of the event in even more detai...
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Our Easter Faith: Not a Pious Crème Fraiche

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In public life, some basically well-meaning figures have the graciousness to wish us well at Easter and to recognise the importance of the Christian feast day. Perhaps they might assure us that their thoughts are with us at this time. That is kind of them and in Christian charity we should thank them for their kindness, but Easter should be a great deal more than that for us. We must believe that Our Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the grave, in the flesh, and lives for eternity. We cannot treat Easter as a jolly holiday that heralds spring, or the remembrance of a significant event from the past. It must change us today and every day, change who we are and what we do. The Christian faith cannot be a mild custard or blancmange of religiosity. (I am showing my age. Nowadays, I should say that it cannot be reduced to a pious crème fraiche .) We bow down and adore the King of Kings, risen from the tomb, who, “[…] continues for ever,...
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Blessing of the New Painting of St Bede at Clapham Park

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This morning, the parish priest at Clapham Park, Fr Marcus Holden, blessed a new picture of the parish's patron, Saint Bede, painted by James Tildsley. It is sited over a recently installed side altar near the rear of the Church. The altar itself was acquired from Antique Church Furnishings . The website gives the information that the altar was built and carved by a nun in a convent near Liverpool. It is a beautiful piece of work and it is always a joy when such works of art find a suitable and dignified home. The inscription on the gradine is AMANS AMATUS AMOR. The sellers translate this as “Loving is the object of love” which is a reasonable stab at “dynamic equivalence”. Today the parish's relic of St Bede was exposed for veneration in its distinctive brightly-coloured reliquary. After the blessing, there was High Mass with Fr Holden as celebrant, Fr Littleton deacon, and myself subdeacon. That gave me the enjoyable task of chant...
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Plenary indulgences not impossible

Dilexit Prior in Letters from a Young Catholic asked some useful questions today about indulgences. I thought it would be best to do a post here especially to cover the controversial question of detachment from venial sin. But first the other questions: The conditions for gaining a plenary indulgence Pope Paul VI set down a number of norms relating to indulgences at the end of Indulgentiarum Doctrina . Norm 7 states: To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfil three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even to venial sin, be absent. If this disposition is in any way less than complete, or if the prescribed three conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence will be only partial, except for the provisions contained in n.11 for those who are “impeded.” It is worth reading the other norms bec...
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Portiuncula indulgence tomorrow (and indulgences generally)

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Tomorrow, 2 August, you can gain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions ( see below ) by visiting a parish Church and there reciting the Our Father and the Creed . This is called the Portiuncula indulgence and goes back to St Francis of Assisi. Fr Z has the details . Don't forget that you can also gain a plenary indulgence by visiting a Church on the day of the titular feast, and there reciting the Our Father and the Creed . I made a list of other indulgences: please see the post Plenary indulgences for particular days which has a link to the list. The post has some background information which you may find helpful since indulgences are not well understood today - which is not surprising since indulgences are not included in most Catholic education curricula, and most priests never preach about them. Therefore many Catholics are left with whatever silly, half-baked, ill-informed nonsense about indulgences happens to be current. If you want to understand the theology...
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