Was Hitler excommunicated for being best man?

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A Catholic cannot be excommunicated for attending or being in a Protestant wedding.
 
The 1917 Code of Canon Law has the following canons:

Canon 1258 It is illicit for the faithful to assist at or participate in any way in non-Catholic religious functions.

Canon 2316 One who spontaneously and with full knowledge helps in any way in the propagation of heresy, or who co-operates in divinis with heretics contrary to the provision of canon 1258, is suspected of heresy.

I do not know what delicts incurred automatic excommunication in the 1917 code. But, I wouldn’t think merely being “suspected of heresy” as noted in canon 2316 in reference to canon 1258 would suffice.

Bill Donohoe is not a canon lawyer. He is zealous in his defense of the Catholic faith, but I think it’s a stretch to say Hitler was excommunicated latae sententiae for participating in the non-Catholic wedding.

I’m sure Hitler was latae sententiae excommunicated somewhere along the way by his actions and inactions-- but not necessarily for that.
 
FWIW, I’ve read several scholarly biographies of Hitler, and I’ve never seen anything about his officially being excommunicated. The last official interaction between him and the Catholic Church that I’ve ever seen was his Confirmation.

DaveBj
 
Hitler was into all sorts of bizarre occult power rituals. Regardless of his upbringing, nobody can reasonably assert that the man had a catholic faith as of his rise to power.

But then again, Nancy Pelosi claims to be a devout catholic, so what do I know…:rolleyes:
 
I’m a longtime WWII buff and I’ve never heard of Hitler being excommunicated for any reason.

Though he never publicly broke from the Church, and only in second-hand sources (such as the Table Talks) is he ever depicted as being anti-Christian, his religious behavior at worst was that of a lapsed Catholic who no longer practiced his faith but still identified with it.
 
I find it odd that anyone can assert Hitler was not anti-Christian or at least apathetic. I mean, I just can’t see the guy who hated Jews so much that he planned the systematic genocide of them supporting a religious beleif system that worships a Jew.
 
vera_dicere said:
I find it odd that anyone can assert Hitler was not anti-Christian or at least apathetic. I mean, I just can’t see the guy who hated Jews so much that he planned the systematic genocide of them supporting a religious beleif system that worships a Jew.
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I don’t have access to source material right now, but I have read that Hitler believed that Jesus was fathered by a Roman soldier and therefore (in his twisted thinking) He was not a Jew.

He also believed that Christianity had been distorted by that “Jew swindler” Paul.

DaveBj
 
vera_dicere said:
I find it odd that anyone can assert Hitler was not anti-Christian or at least apathetic. I mean, I just can’t see the guy who hated Jews so much that he planned the systematic genocide of them supporting a religious beleif system that worships a Jew.
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Christians do not worship a Jew - we worship God who came in the form of a Jewish man to accomplish the necessary sacrifice. To say we “worship a Jew” makes it sound as if we’re worshiping a human being, which we’re not.
 
I can categorically assure you that being present at an illicit wedding is the LEAST of Herr Hitler’s worries.😉
 
dominikus28 said:
So are we allowed to be the best man or woman at a Protestant wedding?
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The canons from the 1917 Code of Canon Law (in force during the time of Hitler) that specify that Catholics may not participate in non-Catholic services have been replaced with the 1983 Code of Canon Law. The new code does not forbid a Catholic from attending a non-Catholic service as the old code did.

We should, however, make sure we follow the guidelines laid out in the documents of Vatican II on ecumenism, and most especially the document Ecclesia de Eucharistia which clarifies the ways in which a Catholic may participate in non-Catholic services, especially as it pertains to non-Catholic communion. Catholics may NOT participate in protestant communion.
 
Hitler wasn’t a christian in the first place. Hitler was “anti-christ”.

In 1933, Hitler said, **‘It is through the peasantry that we shall really be able to destroy Christianity because there is in them a true religion rooted in nature and blood.’" **
 
Gloria1 said:
Hitler wasn’t a christian in the first place. Hitler was “anti-christ”.

In 1933, Hitler said, **‘It is through the peasantry that we shall really be able to destroy Christianity because there is in them a true religion rooted in nature and blood.’" **
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Just because he was a sinner doesn’t mean he wasn’t a member of a Christian church. Aren’t all Christians sinners?
 
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