PBS Program "Secrets of the Inquisition"

[pnewton]

The plight of the jews under the fist of the church is a fact.

Really? Pope Benedict is in Israel and he seems to be having no problem. His fist is not on top of anyone.

The Church has acknowledged evils of the past. There are none so blind as those who refuse to see. Rabid anticatholics are adept at twisting and and exaggerating history to do the work of the Abaddon in the world today.

 

[MDK]

So it’s simply a case of do as I say not as I do?

In some cases, yes. In all cases, do what they say, because they have the authority given by God, with protection from teaching error. Are you believing as they say? Are you rejecting what they say, and thereby then also rejecting Christ?

 

[MDK]

My tirade is only going off the evidence I saw presented in the documentary I say. The journals of the people that wrote for the time, the records that were kept and the images that were drawn to depict what was going on…

Unfortunately I’m biased and it would be a lie for me to say so. I hate organized religion to the core of my being, being raised in the catholic church has made me bitter. But you also have a bias, to defend your church regardless of the mistakes it has made, if the church had participated or encouraged the holocaust I’m sure you would defend that to, in some way or the other

Thanks for being honest. However, you don’t know how I am biased, so please be careful not to let your hatred of organized religion drive you to bear false witness as well. I am biased to the truth of God. I do not defend the bad behaviors of men and women in the Church, and there have been bad behaviors from those who have orders and the lay people, including during the Inquisition. But, the reports made from the Church’s enemies are not to be believed in regard to the Inquisition, as these have exaggerated and fabricated claims. What I defend is the truth, that is never tarnished by individual the bad behavior. The truth is that the teachings have always been and will always be without error. Why? Because Christ protects His Bride from teaching error. The individual behaviors of those with orders (including the pope) and the lay people are not protected. We must adjust our will to be in line with God’s Will. Why do we have organized religion… because God organized it, but only one Church. There are thousands who act on their own human will to teach whatever they want, and call it the word of God… the correct teachings of which they rarely possess, and the truths present are in small quantities and are often mixed with twists of their false teachings. I go to God for God’s word… and it is found without error only in the Catholic Church built by Christ on the rock of the office of Peter which He protects from teaching error in order to protect His Church from teaching error. It’s Christ’s Church. He’s the perfect sacrifice and High Priest. He’s the Head of His Church, which is His mystical body, His Bride.

 

[Galnextdoor]

Now how strange. Apparently “The Jews” are guilty as “the Jews” at all times throughout history for all acts from the time of Joshua until the present day. The Church on the other hand apparently always behaves at a higher moral standard then its adherents. The adherents, as opposed to “the Jews”, apparently must be judged in relation to the time and era.

The Jews were persecuted by the Catholic Church which expounded anti-Jewish dogmas and promulgated anti-Semitic papal edicts and laws against the Jews. The Priest whipped up the Catholic adherents against the Jews. What Catholic Church morality concerning the Jews? There was no separation between Church and State. The Church taught the attitudes toward the Jews not the other way around. The Church taught that Jews were cursed like Cain for rejecting Jesus, that Jews were guilty of deicide, that the Jew was a corrupting influence, that the Jews should wear marked clothing and live in ghettos, that Jews should be kept totally socially separate from Catholics, that Jews should not employ or be employed by Catholics or eat with them or do business with them or study with them. The Church made laws and edicts to enforce these attitudes. If a Catholic Saint taught that Jews are like beasts fit only for slaughter how did you expect the Catholic adherent to behave toward the Jews?

Could you please cite these anti-Jewish dogmas and anti-Semitic papal edicts? I would also like for you to cite your sources of official Church teachings that state that Jews should be cursed. I would also like you to give sources for your accusation that the Catholic Church forced the Jews to live in the ghettos. Please cite the Cannon law that states Catholics should not employ or associate with Jews. Actually, I know you wont do this, because they have never and will never exist.

Why don’t you just google Catholics and Jews during WWII? You will find plenty of legitimate sources documenting how the Catholics tried to save the Jews. Also, you might try reading about St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic priest who gave up his life for a Jewish man. The New York Times called Pope Pius a " Lonely voice crying out in the silence and darkness of a continent. Here are a couple of links that have documented sources.catholicleague.org/pius/truth.htm The author of this article lived in a convent in Rome during WWII. Her convent hid Jews from the Nazi’s. The newspaper articles she cites are easy to trace. I read the actual editorial at the library of college I live close to. You might try reading this %between% or read the documentation it cites.

 

[chosen_people]

Could you please cite these anti-Jewish dogmas and anti-Semitic papal edicts? I would also like for you to cite your sources of official Church teachings that state that Jews should be cursed. I would also like you to give sources for your accusation that the Catholic Church forced the Jews to live in the ghettos. Please cite the Cannon law that states Catholics should not employ or associate with Jews. Actually, I know you wont do this, because they have never and will never exist.

With your permission, before our discussion about WWII, I think this partial list up until Mortara may be a good starting point. If any of the information here is incorrect I would welcome your comments.

c. 240 Origen of Alexandria writes that the Jews “have committed the most abominable of crimes” in conspiring against Christ, and for that reason “the Jewish nation was driven from its country, and another people was called by God to the blessed election”
248 St. Cyprian writes that the Jews have fallen under the heavy wrath of God, because they have departed from the Lord, and have followed idols
306 The Council of Elvira decrees that Christians and Jews cannot intermarry, have sexual intercourse, or eat together
325 Conversation and fellowship with Jews is forbidden to the clergy by the Council of Nicaea
4th century Christian emperors of Rome decree that Christians converting to Judaism, and Jews obstructing the conversion of other Jews to Christianity, will incur the death penalty; Jews can not marry Christians, or hold public office, or own slaves
c. 380 St. Gregory of Nyssa refers to the Jews as “murderers of the Lord, assassins of the prophets, rebels and detesters of God,… companions of the devil, race of vipers, informers, calumniators, darkeners of the mind, pharisaic leaven, Sanhedrin of demons, accursed, detested,… enemies of all that is beautiful”
c. 380 St. Ambrose calls the synagogue “a place of unbelief, a home of impiety, a refuge of insanity, damned by God Himself”
388 A mob of Christians, at the instigation of their bishop, looted and burned the synagogue in Callinicum, a town on the Euphrates. The Emperor Theodosius wants those responsible punished and the synagogue rebuilt at the expense of the bishop, but St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, pressures him to relent and condone the action
400 St. Augustine writes: “the Church admits and avows the Jewish people to be cursed, because after killing Christ they continue to till the ground of an earthly circumcision, an earthly Sabbath, an earthly passover, while the hidden strength or virtue of making known Christ, which this tilling contains, is not yielded to the Jews while they continue in impiety and unbelief, for it is revealed in the New Testament. While they will not turn to God, the veil which is on their minds in reading the Old Testament is not taken away… the Jewish people, like Cain, continue tilling the ground, in the carnal observance of the law, which does not yield to them its strength, because they do not perceive in it the grace of Christ”
c. 400 Calling the synagogue “brothel and theater” and “a cave of pirates and the lair of wild beasts,” St. John Chrysostom writes that “the Jews behave no better than hogs and goats in their lewd grossness and the excesses of their gluttony”
413 A group of monks sweep through Palestine, destroying synagogues and massacring Jews at the Western Wall
414 St. Cyril of Alexandria expels Jews from his city
425 Jews are required by law to observe Christian feasts and fasts and to listen to sermons designed to persuade them to convert
442 The synagogue in Constantinople is turned into a church
529-553 The Code of the emperor Justinian decrees that in Christian Byzantine society Jews cannot read their sacred books in Hebrew in their synagogues, and the Mishnah and other rabbinic interpretations are banned
538 The Third Synod of Orléans decrees that Jews cannot show themselves in the streets during Passover Week
591 Pope St. Gregory the Great decrees that Jews are not to be forced into baptism “lest they return to their former superstition and die the worse for having been born again”
600 Pope St. Gregory the Great decrees that Jews should not have excessive freedom, but also “in no way should they suffer a violation of their rights”
681 The Synod of Toledo orders the burning of the Talmud and other books
768 Pope Stephen IV decries ownership of hereditary estates by “the Jewish people, ever rebellious against God and derogatory of our rites”
c. 830 Agobard, Archbishop of Lyons, writes anti-Jewish pamphlets in which he refers to Jews as “sons of darkness”
c. 937 Pope Leo VII encourages his newly appointed archbishop of Mainz to expel all Jews who refuse to be baptized
c. 1010-1020 In Rouen, Orléans, Limoges, Mainz, and probably also in Rome, Jews are converted by force, massacred, or expelled
1050 The Synod of Narbonne decrees that Christians are not permitted to live in Jewish homes

 

[chosen_people]

c. 1070 Pope Alexander II warns the bishops of Spain to prevent violence against the Jews because, unlike the Saracens, they “are prepared to live in servitude”
1078 The Synod of Gerona decrees that Jews must pay the same taxes as Christians to support the church
1081 Pope Gregory VII writes to King Alphonso of Spain telling him that if he allows Jews to be lords over Christians, he is oppressing the Church and exalting “the Synagogue of Satan”
1084 Rüdiger, bishop of Speyer, grants the Jews a charter allowing them to keep Christian servants and serfs, own fields and vineyards, and carry arms
1096 Massacres of Jews takes place in the First Crusade, destroying entire Jewish communities in Mainz, Speyer, Worms, Cologne and other cities. The Jewish chronicler reports: “The enemies stripped them naked and dragged them off, granting quarter to none, save those few who accepted baptism. The number of the slain was eight hundred in these two days.” The chronicler Guibert de Nogent reports that the Rouen Crusaders said: “We desire to go and fight God’s enemies in the East; but we have before our eyes certain Jews, a race more inimical to God than any other”
1182 Jews are expelled from France, all their property is confiscated, and Christians’ debts to them are cancelled with the payment of one-fifth of their value to the treasury
1190 The Third Crusade, led by Richard the Lion-Heart, stirs anti-Jewish fervor and results in the mass suicide of the York Jews in Clifford’s Tower on March 16
1198 Jews are allowed to return to France
1199 Pope Innocent III decrees that Jews are to be allowed to worship in their synagogues, they are not to be coerced into baptism, and that Jewish cemeteries are not to be mutilated
1215 The Fourth Lateran Council decrees that Jews are to wear distinctive clothing, and on the three days before Easter they are not to go out in public
1222 The Council of Oxford prohibits the construction of new synagogues
1227 The Council of Narbonne orders Jews to wear a round patch
1230 Jews in France are forbidden to lend money on interest
1234 The Council of Arles orders Jews to wear a round patch
1235 Thirty-four Jews are burned to death in Fulda on a blood-libel charge
1246 The Council of Béziers orders Jews to wear a round patch
1247 Pope Innocent IV defends the Jews: “they are wrongly accused of partaking of the heart of a murdered child at the Passover… Whenever a corpse is found somewhere, it is to the Jews that the murder is wickedly imputed. They are persecuted on the pretext of such fables… they are deprived of trial and of regular judgment; in mockery of all justice, they are stripped of their belongings, starved, imprisoned and tortured”
1254 The Council of Albi orders Jews to wear a round patch
1260 The Council of Arles orders Jews to wear a round patch, but not when traveling
1267 The Synod of Vienna decrees that Christians cannot attend Jewish ceremonies, and Jews cannot dispute with simple Christian people about the Catholic religion
1267 The Synod of Breslau decrees compulsory ghettos for Jews
1267 Pope Clement IV instructs the Franciscans and Dominicans to deal with the “new Christians” who had reverted to Judaism
c. 1270 St. Thomas Aquinas writes that the Jews sin more in their unbelief than do pagans because they have abandoned the way of justice “after knowing it in some way”
1272 Pope Gregory X defends the Jews: “It happens sometimes that Christians lose their children and that the enemies of the Jews accuse them of having kidnaped and killed these children in order to offer sacrifices with their heart and blood, and it also happens that the parents themselves, or other Christians who are enemies to the Jews, hide the children and attack the Jews, demanding of them, as ransom, a certain sum of money, on the entirely false pretext that these children had been kidnaped and killed by the Jews”
1275 Jews in England are forbidden to lend money on interest
1279 The Synod of Ofen decrees that Christians cannot sell or rent real estate to Jews
1283 Jews in France are forbidden to live in the countryside
1284 The Council of Nîmes orders Jews to wear a round patch
1289 The Council of Vienna orders Jews to wear a round patch
1290 Jews are expelled from England and southern Italy
1294 Jews in France are restricted to special quarters of the cities
1294 Jews are expelled from Bern
1298 The Jews of Röttingen, charged with profaning the Host, are massacred and burned down to the last one
1320 The “Shepherds’ Crusade.” A Christian chronicler records: “The shepherds laid siege to all the Jews who had come from all sides to take refuge… the Jews defended themselves heroically… but their resistance served no purpose, for the shepherds slaughtered a great number of the besieged Jews by smoke and by fire… The Jews, realizing that they would not escape alive, preferred to kill themselves… They chose one of their number (and) this man put some five hundred of them to death, with their consent. He then descended from the castle tower with the few Jewish children who still remained alive… They killed him by quartering. They spared the children, whom they made Catholics by baptism”
1326 The Council of Avignon orders Jews to wear a round patch, but not when traveling
to him

 

[chosen_people]

1345 King John authorizes his subjects in Liegnitz and Breslau to destroy the Jewish cemeteries in order to use the tombstones to repair the city walls
1347-1350 During the Black Death, Jews are accused of poisoning wells in order to overthrow Christendom, and many thousands of Jews are killed. Pope Clement VI defends the Jews against these charges
1350 Jews are expelled from many parts of Germany
1367 Jews are expelled from Hungary
1368 The Council of Vabres orders Jews to wear a round patch
1381 Jews are expelled from Strasbourg
1394 The expulsion of Jews from France, begun in 1306, is completed with an edict promulgated on the Jewish Day of Atonement
1420 Jews are expelled from Mainz by the archbishop
1421 Jews are expelled from Austria
1424 Jews are expelled from Fribourg and Zurich
c. 1425 Pope Martin V denounces anti-Jewish preaching and forbids the forced baptism of Jewish children under the age of twelve
1426 Jews are expelled from Cologne
1432 Jews are expelled from Saxony
1434 The Council of Basel decrees that Jews cannot obtain academic degrees
1435 King Alfonso orders the Jews of Sicily to attach a round patch to their clothing and over their shops
1438 Jews are expelled from Mainz by the town councilors
1439 Jews are expelled from Augsburg
1453 Jews are expelled from Wurzburg
1454 Jews are expelled from Breslau
1456 Pope Callistus III bans all social communication between Christians and Jews
1462 Jews are expelled from Mainz following a conflict between two candidates for the archepiscopal seat
1467 Jews are expelled from Tlemcen
1471 Jews are expelled from Mainz by the archbishop
1475 The entire Jewish community in Trent, northern Italy, is put to death on the allegation that it had murdered a boy for religious purposes
1485 Jews are expelled from Warsaw and Cracow
1492 After forcing many Jews to be baptized and then referring to them as Marranos (swine), and after an Inquisition in which some 700 Marranos were burnt at the stake for showing signs of “Jewish” taint, Spain expels all Jews from the country
1497 Jews are expelled from Portugal
1519 Jews are expelled from Regensburg
1553 Cardinal Carafa instigates a public burning of copies of the Talmud and other Jewish religious works in a square in Rome
1555-1559 Pope Paul IV restricts Jews to ghettos and decrees that they are to wear distinctive headgear
1566-1572 Pope St. Pius V expels Jews from the Papal States, allowing some to remain in Rome’s ghettos and in Ancona for commercial reasons
1592-1605 Pope Clement VIII includes a ban on all Jewish books in the expanded Index of Forbidden Books
1826 Pope Leo XII decrees that Jews are to be confined to ghettos and their property is to be confiscated
1858 Edgardo Mortara, 6-year old son of a Jewish family in Bologna, is abducted by the papal police and brought to Rome. He had been secretly baptized five years earlier by a domestic servant who thought he was about to die. The parents try to get the boy back, and there is a universal outcry, but Pope Pius IX rejects all petitions submitted

 

[pnewton]

In looking up some of the official acts listed, I thought I would clarify something listed. I do not think those that exaggerate anti-Semitism have any moral high ground over their opposite numeber. I found that Pope Leo XII did not declare as stated above that Jews are to be confined to ghettos. What he did was reinforce the ghetto in Rome only where he was city administrator the that the Jews were to stay in the ghettos. He expanded the area and had the part destroyed by Napolean rebuilt. He took no actions to end what was already a bad idea and abolish prejudicial practices. However, it should be noted that the citizens of Rome across the board thought him a poor administrator and were glad to be rid of him. Popes do not make good mayors. This is the lesson.

 

[Galnextdoor]

Chosen Person,
I see what you have done. You have taken sentence fragments and twisted them to support your belief that the Catholic Church somehow persecutes Jews. I am so sorry that your prejudice against Catholics has so blinded you that you cannot see open and obvious attempts of the Catholic Church as a whole to protect the Jews.
Pope Paul IV was a bad apple who viewed the Jews as heretical, but he never invoked the privilege of infallibility about anything he said. There have been Catholic popes who were not good men. At one time, there were two men who claimed to be pope at the same time. There has never been a Catholic dogma or doctrine that stated it was okay to persecute Jews. There are people who were Catholic that allowed the Jews to be put Ghettos rather than standing up for them, but this was never the doctrine of the church.

Gregory the Great, who you so eagerly quoted a partial sentence from, wrote one of the first letters denouncing ill-treatment of Jews. He stated that the Jews who presumed upon the laws of toleration (i.e. trying to force their beliefs onto others) should be restrained, but he also stated that they should be treated equitably and justly. He felt that Jews had hardened their heart against God, but, nevertheless, they should be allowed to keep their own festivals and religious practices (without the fear of being stoned); they should retain property rights and their synagogues should be treated with respect.
These principals were molded into a Charter that has been honored with a few exceptions for centuries.
I am sorry that their have been Catholic people down through the centuries who have not been good people or who have been religious zealots that tried to force Christianity on people, but the doctrine and dogma of the Church does not state that this is how Catholics should act.
I don’t want to waste space and my time doing a line by line criticque of all the misguided and obviously misinterpreted semi-facts that you have posted. Many of the “facts” you stated had nothing to do with the Catholic Church. (If you read them again yourself, you will realize that some of the things you posted are actually proof of the Catholic Church’s attempts to protect Jewish people from their persecutors.)
I will pray to the Holy Spirit that he will enlighten your mind, so that you can understand the real meaning of the words you tried to research.
Through history, their have been many attempts to persecute the Jewish people, but that has never been the objective of the Catholic Church.
Pope John Paul II said that Jews are our religious “elder brothers”. I have always viewed them that way and will continue to do so.

 

[Abbadon]

Really? Pope Benedict is in Israel and he seems to be having no problem. His fist is not on top of anyone.

The Church has acknowledged evils of the past. There are none so blind as those who refuse to see. Rabid anticatholics are adept at twisting and and exaggerating history to do the work of the Abaddon in the world today.

Sorry meant was a fact. The church has lost nearly all it’s power now… so… yay…

 

[Abbadon]

In looking up some of the official acts listed, I thought I would clarify something listed. I do not think those that exaggerate anti-Semitism have any moral high ground over their opposite numeber. I found that Pope Leo XII did not declare as stated above that Jews are to be confined to ghettos. What he did was reinforce the ghetto in Rome only where he was city administrator the that the Jews were to stay in the ghettos. He expanded the area and had the part destroyed by Napolean rebuilt. He took no actions to end what was already a bad idea and abolish prejudicial practices. However, it should be noted that the citizens of Rome across the board thought him a poor administrator and were glad to be rid of him. Popes do not make good mayors. This is the lesson.

Popes do not make good leaders… Unless they are fictional leaders, then I’m sure they’re one of the best, next to the muftis and sheiks…

 

[chosen_people]

Chosen Person,
I see what you have done. You have taken sentence fragments and twisted them to support your belief that the Catholic Church somehow persecutes Jews. I am so sorry that your prejudice against Catholics has so blinded you that you cannot see open and obvious attempts of the Catholic Church as a whole to protect the Jews.
Pope Paul IV was a bad apple who viewed the Jews as heretical, but he never invoked the privilege of infallibility about anything he said. There have been Catholic popes who were not good men. At one time, there were two men who claimed to be pope at the same time. There has never been a Catholic dogma or doctrine that stated it was okay to persecute Jews. There are people who were Catholic that allowed the Jews to be put Ghettos rather than standing up for them, but this was never the doctrine of the church.

Gregory the Great, who you so eagerly quoted a partial sentence from, wrote one of the first letters denouncing ill-treatment of Jews. He stated that the Jews who presumed upon the laws of toleration (i.e. trying to force their beliefs onto others) should be restrained, but he also stated that they should be treated equitably and justly. He felt that Jews had hardened their heart against God, but, nevertheless, they should be allowed to keep their own festivals and religious practices (without the fear of being stoned); they should retain property rights and their synagogues should be treated with respect.
These principals were molded into a Charter that has been honored with a few exceptions for centuries.
I am sorry that their have been Catholic people down through the centuries who have not been good people or who have been religious zealots that tried to force Christianity on people, but the doctrine and dogma of the Church does not state that this is how Catholics should act.
I don’t want to waste space and my time doing a line by line criticque of all the misguided and obviously misinterpreted semi-facts that you have posted. Many of the “facts” you stated had nothing to do with the Catholic Church. (If you read them again yourself, you will realize that some of the things you posted are actually proof of the Catholic Church’s attempts to protect Jewish people from their persecutors.)
I will pray to the Holy Spirit that he will enlighten your mind, so that you can understand the real meaning of the words you tried to research.
Through history, their have been many attempts to persecute the Jewish people, but that has never been the objective of the Catholic Church.
Pope John Paul II said that Jews are our religious “elder brothers”. I have always viewed them that way and will continue to do so.

Absolutely not! What I have done was to post a reply to someone so totally lacking in knowledge of Catholic historical relations and attitudes toward Jews and Judaism that she stated unequivocally that I would never be able to give the necessary citations and sources as “they never existed”. I suffered the accusation that I had invented a pack of lies for some insidious purpose. I do not seek some sort of apology for these past acts, though a personal one to your post would be nice, nor is it my attention to attack present day Catholics or present day Catholicism by their examination. It is however imperative in any discussion between Jews and Catholics to be aware and to understand history and historical attitudes.

Vatican II came to change, among other things, attitudes toward Jews and Judaism for the simple reason that it was recognized that there was a need for such a change. It is impossible to discuss any of these topics, from prayers concerning the conversion of Jews to the Shoah, the Spanish Inquisition or the SSPX and Bishop Williamson without being knowledgeable and understanding past history and attitudes, and among certain groups, present attitudes. I do not claim that you condone or justify these acts or that you hold anti-Jewish attitudes.

If instead of the Inquisition there was a discussion on the claim that “the Jews control Hollywood” or “the Jews are seeking to destroy Christmas”, in order for us to have a true viable discussion I would first point you to the internet to start reading Leonard Freely and “the Point” and Fahey on “Jewish Naturalism”. Now I would not claim that you hold such attitudes or that these are the views of your local congregation. I would claim that such attitudes are part and parcel of the SSPX. I would claim that these historical attitudes toward Jews and Judaism as an undermining force to Catholicism should be understood in order to carry on the discussion in a fruitful manner.

 

[Shaken]

Does any one have statistics on how many priests were killed in the Inquisition? I was suspicious of the chatelaine portrayed in the documentary whose testimony against the priest was used to execute him while she was free to go a few years later.

What if the most religious people in the towns were the ones exectuted based on false testimony to the inquisitors by those who found their religiosity annoying? It is a tactic that was used in biblical times to persecute the prophets, for instance. It has been so successful that it continues to the present.

Today, if someone or ones raise an outcry against a religious person, how is it determined whether it is scandalmongering or a genuine moral lapse?

 

[MDK]

Popes do not make good leaders… Unless they are fictional leaders, then I’m sure they’re one of the best, next to the muftis and sheiks…

What if the office of the Papacy were created by Christ to lead His Church on earth…, and what if the popes were protected by the Holy Spirit from teaching error in matters of faith and morals binding on all the faithful? Would popes be good leaders then if they taught God’s revealed truth without error which were binding on all the faithful… and if the office of the Papacy were established by Christ to lead His Church, then would the office of the papacy perhaps also be considered the most important leadership position on the earth?

…so, what if that is this were reality… we already know your opinion of whether it is or is not reality, but what if it were reality?

 

[MDK]

Sorry meant was a fact. The church has lost nearly all it’s power now… so… yay…

Christ said the gates of Hell will never prevail against the Church. So, rooting for the gates of Hell to prevail is the most futile thing in the world as you guarantee that you’ll be on the losing side of this.

 

[gtchrist]

In these days of people being too easily offended, as a Catholic, I am not complaining about the series “Secrets of the Inquisition.” Based on factual research, one should study history and learn from mistakes - the more horrible, the more was should learn. I often say that one thing Catholics and everyone else can agree on is that Catholics have been and still are sinners. My question is, “when is there going to be equal time airing the horrible acts of other religions?” I have a co-worker who is virtually an exile from Israel. As a Palestinian Christian, the jews took his family’s land in 1948 and he can not go back without harassment at every check point. Is there a series on how the English persecuted and murdered Catholics who would not convert to the King Henry the VIII’s Anglican Church, or how the English invaded and conquered Ireland? Is PBS going to have a series on radical Islam? How about how India that treats Christians as the lowest class, or what happens to a Chinese wanting to convert to Christianity? Again, I am all in favor of the truth but how about “the whole truth, so help you God.” Nobody likes to feel targeted.

 

[CesarAugustus]

My question is, “when is there going to be equal time airing the horrible acts of other religions?”

Yes, they should do programs about that.

¡Blessings!

 

[brumano]

It’s on SBS in Australia right now. The episode with the treatment of Jews in the 1850’s is most distressing. It’s like the prequel to Hitlers Germany.

But as Hitchens puts it. W more.[/QUOTEith one apology the church goes back to begin infallible once

[/QUOTE]

 

[RobbyS]

Oh no I was talking about making the Jews live in ghettos and forced to identify with yellow arm bands (wow that sounded just like WWII Germany). The environment in which the montaro case was conducted. The inquisition police etc…

The church has no right to take a boy away from his loving and caring parents… Australia said sorry for the same acts… The aboriginal stolen generation. I’m sure the apology was included in that inquisition apology the church gave. Regardless the church choose poorly.

Funny thing is the aboriginal children were taken away for their spiritual and physical welfare as well… This was only about 50 years ago. I guess if we don’t know we made a mistake we can’t really learn from it. Well at least we know now that we were wrong.

Let’s not get sentimental. Much the same happened to the Indian children in the United States, but the aim was detribalization, or assimilation into the dominant American culture. To be sure many praiseworthy cultural things were lost, but the sheer diversity of indian cultures meant that the American culture was the only common culture for all. Even our institutions provide only an imperfect way of integrating individuals. Many indian institutions provided little support at all for its members as they sought to survive as tribes. The ghettos proved little island where Jewish institutions could survive, and did survive among a population hostile toward them.