Never More
Oct. 13th, 2005 08:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smokingbootWell, my rant button's been pressed again. Oh, I'm not in a bad mood - all those hugs and smiles and cuddles and cocoa, how could I be? Thank you:-) but I should stop watching the news, reading the internet...in fact, I should run off to middle-earth or Narnia or be anywhere except here, because every single week something happens to set the raven in my head off. Here's a lovely little gem for the pagans among us:
Pope Benedict XVI characterized the murder of the Jews by the Nazi regime as “an insane racist ideology, born of neo-paganism”. In the words of the Pontiff, citing Pope John Paul II, “The terrible events of that time must ‘never cease to rouse consciences, to resolve conflicts, to inspire the building of peace’”. He reminded his audience of the “common roots and the immensely rich spiritual heritage that Jews and Christians share.”
Well now. What a lovely man. It's true that Christians and Jews share a rich heritage - a pity Christians have spent millenia trying to rob Jews of their part of it - and of course, we want people of different faiths to get along. So, how to achieve that? How can we unite people, and make them feel closer? Well, you can always go for that old chestnut, creating a common foe no-one really empathises with so it's safe to blame...something strangely familiar about that method. Clearly those 'reluctant' years in the Hitler Youth didn't leave Ratzinger entirely untouched.
Don't get me wrong, Hitler was undoubtedly influenced by some occult bits and pieces, from theories of Thule to Blavatsky's aryan race bollocks. But the evidence around this is scarce and vague, enjoyably embroidered by conspiracy theorists: There is no evidence that neo-paganism was the source of Hitler's final solution, quite the reverse - his vision for Germany took and twisted old folk tales and ideas of racial consciousness; one might as well blame Jung(who, long before the third reich, predicted that 'The Blonde Beast is rising in Germany"). Why not? Does it matter where the blame goes, as long as the Church remains infallible?
Tomorrow is the feast of the disirblot, traditional norse feast of the goddesses. Freya is called Vanadis, the 'dis' (Goddess) of the Vanir. The Vanir were often associated with elves, and were clearly another 'tribe' to Odin's lot, the Aesir. These two tribes warred, and the peace was achieved only through conciliation, the swapping of hostages and intermarriage. Hardly wiping out one's enemies utterly, or shoving them in a giant oven. So no, Hitler might have taken these old archetypes to emphasise his vision of one people, one land, one leader, but he distorted them, much as earlier leaders had distorted the words of Christ to justify mass murder in the Crusades.
We cannot be sure of the influence of whatever it is Ratzinger means by 'neo-paganism' on Hitler, but we know where the Catholic Church stood on the matter.
[NB: I have not extensively checked the article sources pertaining to the below; these are just copies, so do not take them as in depth analyses without further research]
Art. 1. The German Reich guarantees freedom of profession and public practice of the Catholic religion.
It acknowledges the right of the Catholic Church, within the limit of those laws which are applicable to all, to manage and regulate her own affairs independently, and, within the framework of her own competence, to publish laws and ordinances binding on her members.
. . . .
Art. 4. . . . Instructions, ordinances, Pastoral Letters, official diocesan gazettes, and other enactments regarding the spiritual direction of the faithful issued by the ecclesiastical authorities within the framework of their competence may be published without hindrance and brought to the notice of the faithful in the form hitherto usual.
Art. 5. . . . The State will take proceedings in accordance with the general provisions of state law against any outrage offered to the clergy personally or directed against their ecclesiastical character, or any interference with the duties of their office, and in case of need will provide official protection.
Art. 6. Clerics and religious are freed from any obligation to undertake official offices and such obligations as, according to the provisions of Canon Law, are incompatible with the clerical or religious state [serve on juries, etc.] . . .
. . . . . . . .
Art. 14. . . . Catholic clerics who hold an ecclesiastical office in Germany or who exercise pastoral or educational functions must:
(a) Be German citizens
(b) Have matriculated from a German secondary school
(c) Have studied philosophy and theology for at least three years at
a German State University, a German ecclesiastical college, or a papal college in Rome
. . . .
Art. 15. Religious orders and congregations are not subject to any special restrictions on the part of the State, either as regards their foundation, the erection of their various establishments, their number . . ., pastoral activity, education, . . .or as regards the management of their affairs, and the administration of their property. . . .
Art. 16. Before bishops take possession of their dioceses they are to take an oath of fealty either to the Reich representative of the state concerned, or to the President of the Reich, according to the following formula:
"Before God and on the Holy Gospels I swear and promise, as becomes a bishop, loyalty to the German Reich and to the State of . . . . I swear and promise to honor the legally constituted government and to cause the clergy of my diocese to honor it. In the performance of my spiritual office and in my solicitude for the welfare and the interests of the German Reich, I will endeavor to avoid all detrimental acts which might endanger it." . . . .
Art. 21. Catholic religious instruction in elementary, senior, secondary and vocational schools constitutes a regular portion of the curriculum, and is to be taught in accordance with the principles of the Catholic Church. In religious instruction, special care will be taken to inculcate patriotic, civic and social consciousness and sense of duty in the spirit of the Christian Faith and the moral code, precisely as in the case of other subjects . .
Art. 23. The retention of Catholic denominational schools and the establishment of new ones, is guaranteed . . .
Art. 32. In view of the special situation existing in Germany, and in view of the guarantee provided through this Concordat of legislation directed to safeguard the rights and privileges of the Roman Catholic Church in the Reich and its component states, the Holy See will prescribe regulations for the exclusion of clergy and members of religious orders from membership of political parties, and from engaging in work on their behalf.
Signed . . . in the Vatican City, July 20th, 1933 [Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli; Franz von Papen]
Below are two articles; the first detailing the depth of Pope Pius XII's collusion, potential anti-semitism and anti-bolshevism (he seems to have linked the two) or at least, non-hostility towards Hitler. It makes disturbing reading.
http://emperors-clothes.com/vatican/hitlers.htm
Below is the counter argument, mentioning the denunciations the Church did make, the good work that was done, the work that should not be forgotten:
http://www.chivalricorders.org/vatican/piusXII.htm
Whether or not we agree that Pope Pius XII was making the best of an impossible situation, it is clear that 'Neo-Paganism' was not the enemy here. It wasn't Gerald Gardner or Alex Saunders who felt that they had to extend friendship, seeming or otherwise, to Hitler. It wasn't the Wickedest Man in the World, Mr 'cognac, cunt and cocaine' Crowley himself, who accepted a large financial gift from Mussolini.
What lesson has been learnt? The Vatican has kept quiet on this matter for decades, and is this their answer? To find a more acceptable outsider to unify the faithful in hatred?
I trust those who know me will know I mean no disrespect to the words of Christ or Moses. And of course there are some who will read this and think, 'Who cares what the old fart says?'
But the truth is, clever little propaganda tricks like this have been manipulating us into hating each other for centuries. We can't afford these games any more. If there is any such thing as spiritual or social evolution, the cult of the scapegoat has to die. And in trying to revive and reshape it, Ratzinger has shown who his real spiritual forefathers are.
Pope Benedict XVI characterized the murder of the Jews by the Nazi regime as “an insane racist ideology, born of neo-paganism”. In the words of the Pontiff, citing Pope John Paul II, “The terrible events of that time must ‘never cease to rouse consciences, to resolve conflicts, to inspire the building of peace’”. He reminded his audience of the “common roots and the immensely rich spiritual heritage that Jews and Christians share.”
Well now. What a lovely man. It's true that Christians and Jews share a rich heritage - a pity Christians have spent millenia trying to rob Jews of their part of it - and of course, we want people of different faiths to get along. So, how to achieve that? How can we unite people, and make them feel closer? Well, you can always go for that old chestnut, creating a common foe no-one really empathises with so it's safe to blame...something strangely familiar about that method. Clearly those 'reluctant' years in the Hitler Youth didn't leave Ratzinger entirely untouched.
Don't get me wrong, Hitler was undoubtedly influenced by some occult bits and pieces, from theories of Thule to Blavatsky's aryan race bollocks. But the evidence around this is scarce and vague, enjoyably embroidered by conspiracy theorists: There is no evidence that neo-paganism was the source of Hitler's final solution, quite the reverse - his vision for Germany took and twisted old folk tales and ideas of racial consciousness; one might as well blame Jung(who, long before the third reich, predicted that 'The Blonde Beast is rising in Germany"). Why not? Does it matter where the blame goes, as long as the Church remains infallible?
Tomorrow is the feast of the disirblot, traditional norse feast of the goddesses. Freya is called Vanadis, the 'dis' (Goddess) of the Vanir. The Vanir were often associated with elves, and were clearly another 'tribe' to Odin's lot, the Aesir. These two tribes warred, and the peace was achieved only through conciliation, the swapping of hostages and intermarriage. Hardly wiping out one's enemies utterly, or shoving them in a giant oven. So no, Hitler might have taken these old archetypes to emphasise his vision of one people, one land, one leader, but he distorted them, much as earlier leaders had distorted the words of Christ to justify mass murder in the Crusades.
We cannot be sure of the influence of whatever it is Ratzinger means by 'neo-paganism' on Hitler, but we know where the Catholic Church stood on the matter.
[NB: I have not extensively checked the article sources pertaining to the below; these are just copies, so do not take them as in depth analyses without further research]
Art. 1. The German Reich guarantees freedom of profession and public practice of the Catholic religion.
It acknowledges the right of the Catholic Church, within the limit of those laws which are applicable to all, to manage and regulate her own affairs independently, and, within the framework of her own competence, to publish laws and ordinances binding on her members.
. . . .
Art. 4. . . . Instructions, ordinances, Pastoral Letters, official diocesan gazettes, and other enactments regarding the spiritual direction of the faithful issued by the ecclesiastical authorities within the framework of their competence may be published without hindrance and brought to the notice of the faithful in the form hitherto usual.
Art. 5. . . . The State will take proceedings in accordance with the general provisions of state law against any outrage offered to the clergy personally or directed against their ecclesiastical character, or any interference with the duties of their office, and in case of need will provide official protection.
Art. 6. Clerics and religious are freed from any obligation to undertake official offices and such obligations as, according to the provisions of Canon Law, are incompatible with the clerical or religious state [serve on juries, etc.] . . .
. . . . . . . .
Art. 14. . . . Catholic clerics who hold an ecclesiastical office in Germany or who exercise pastoral or educational functions must:
(a) Be German citizens
(b) Have matriculated from a German secondary school
(c) Have studied philosophy and theology for at least three years at
a German State University, a German ecclesiastical college, or a papal college in Rome
. . . .
Art. 15. Religious orders and congregations are not subject to any special restrictions on the part of the State, either as regards their foundation, the erection of their various establishments, their number . . ., pastoral activity, education, . . .or as regards the management of their affairs, and the administration of their property. . . .
Art. 16. Before bishops take possession of their dioceses they are to take an oath of fealty either to the Reich representative of the state concerned, or to the President of the Reich, according to the following formula:
"Before God and on the Holy Gospels I swear and promise, as becomes a bishop, loyalty to the German Reich and to the State of . . . . I swear and promise to honor the legally constituted government and to cause the clergy of my diocese to honor it. In the performance of my spiritual office and in my solicitude for the welfare and the interests of the German Reich, I will endeavor to avoid all detrimental acts which might endanger it." . . . .
Art. 21. Catholic religious instruction in elementary, senior, secondary and vocational schools constitutes a regular portion of the curriculum, and is to be taught in accordance with the principles of the Catholic Church. In religious instruction, special care will be taken to inculcate patriotic, civic and social consciousness and sense of duty in the spirit of the Christian Faith and the moral code, precisely as in the case of other subjects . .
Art. 23. The retention of Catholic denominational schools and the establishment of new ones, is guaranteed . . .
Art. 32. In view of the special situation existing in Germany, and in view of the guarantee provided through this Concordat of legislation directed to safeguard the rights and privileges of the Roman Catholic Church in the Reich and its component states, the Holy See will prescribe regulations for the exclusion of clergy and members of religious orders from membership of political parties, and from engaging in work on their behalf.
Signed . . . in the Vatican City, July 20th, 1933 [Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli; Franz von Papen]
Below are two articles; the first detailing the depth of Pope Pius XII's collusion, potential anti-semitism and anti-bolshevism (he seems to have linked the two) or at least, non-hostility towards Hitler. It makes disturbing reading.
http://emperors-clothes.com/vatican/hitlers.htm
Below is the counter argument, mentioning the denunciations the Church did make, the good work that was done, the work that should not be forgotten:
http://www.chivalricorders.org/vatican/piusXII.htm
Whether or not we agree that Pope Pius XII was making the best of an impossible situation, it is clear that 'Neo-Paganism' was not the enemy here. It wasn't Gerald Gardner or Alex Saunders who felt that they had to extend friendship, seeming or otherwise, to Hitler. It wasn't the Wickedest Man in the World, Mr 'cognac, cunt and cocaine' Crowley himself, who accepted a large financial gift from Mussolini.
What lesson has been learnt? The Vatican has kept quiet on this matter for decades, and is this their answer? To find a more acceptable outsider to unify the faithful in hatred?
I trust those who know me will know I mean no disrespect to the words of Christ or Moses. And of course there are some who will read this and think, 'Who cares what the old fart says?'
But the truth is, clever little propaganda tricks like this have been manipulating us into hating each other for centuries. We can't afford these games any more. If there is any such thing as spiritual or social evolution, the cult of the scapegoat has to die. And in trying to revive and reshape it, Ratzinger has shown who his real spiritual forefathers are.
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