Posted on 05/12/2006 12:13:47 PM PDT by PatrickHenry
Hitler was baptized in a Catholic church, he never renounced Catholicism, never converted to another faith, and was never excommunicated.
Actually, under Canon Law, there's something called latae sententae excommunication, under which a person is automatically excommunicated upon commission of certain offenses, without any bishop having to declare it.
Freeper Campion, a couple years ago, pointed out that Hitler did in fact commit acts that resulted in his latae sententae excommunication:
"The first time he committed or instigated a violent act against a priest or religious (1934, for sure, but maybe before then), OR the first time he stole or intentionally destroyed church property (1939, if not earlier), OR the first time he authorized or promoted, or forced an abortion for anyone (Jews and Poles were victimized by forced abortion during the Holocaust), he was excommunicated automatically, according to canon law."
So to answer your question, under Canon Law, Hitler was not legally a Catholic from at least 1934, and probably earlier, his statements to the contrary notwithstanding.
Yea, well, lest we forget, this is your opinion, which science does not share--on account of accumulating evidence, rather than a bilious attitude, or a widespread conspiracy to hide the truth. The Big Bang theory is extremely healthy at the moment, and gradual abiogenesis looks quite promising. Your claim was that these theories have fallen on hard times--what's the basis of this claim?--your cynicism?
"scriptural literalism"?
Catholicism buys into Biblical inerrancy, not literalism. Literalism was used by the Manichaeans as a strawman interpretation of scripture to make it easier to attack; Augustine recognized it as a strawman when he became a Christian.
So it's pretty unlikely any orthodox Catholic would be a Biblical literalist, especially not one "old school to the bone".
According to Rabbi David Rosen, as Cardinal, he "affirmed the Jewish people's special status as "elder brother"... giving them a "unique place among all other religions," declaring that "the Jewish messianic expectation is not in vain."
Not sure what Ratzinger meant by that, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean "Jews suck."
If you ever read the stuff written by Americans who have known him like First Things, it's about as pro-Jewish, pro Israel as you get this side of Commentary Magazine.
Shouldn't you wait for some sign that he was lying as a Cardinal before you condemn him now that he's Pope?
My sister and her ex-husband have had an abortion, at his behest, yet both are permitted to attend the catholic church in their small town where everyone knows everyone else's business. That's really a heck of an excommunication. Hitler must have sure cried himself to sleep the night he heard about this big ol' hairy ex-communication.
That's not a very concise interpretation of what I just said. Does this
the Jewish people's special status as "elder brother"... giving them a "unique place among all other religions
mean that a Good Man of orthodox jewish persuasion is saved, as a Good Man of orthodox catholic perusasion is saved? I assure you, it does not. "Elder Brother" is a status that carries no meaning in canon law.
Give me a break. Darwin studies for the cloth, and left behind some pretty thoughtful essays from that period of his life. His disenchantment with God set in when God decided to take his daughter from him, as much as anything else. And he wasn't particularly vindictive about it. His loss of faith was a gradual, complex and pretty private affair, and I would think anyone over the age of 10 or so, would recognize that the notion that Darwin spent that much detailed, sweat-drenched effort to "discredit our maker" isn't even very believable comic book fodder.
If they confessed it to their priest and repented of it, he probably lifted it.
If not, and the priest knows about it and still gives here communion, he's in dereliction of duty. The Church, unfortunately, has grown lax about these sorts of things since the 1960's.
FYI, no priest could have lifted Hitler's excommunication. Under the Code of Canon Law in force at the time, only the pope can lift the automatic excommunication that comes with assaulting a priest, monk or nun.
This is a myth. The only folks who believe it are those who want to discredit Darwin so that they can discredit the theory of evolution. Others have already posted information on this as well.
As for smoking: I gave up too. It was about the middle of July, 1975. I reached the point where I said, this has to stop, and it did stop.
You can do it too. All you need to do is decide to stop. Not decide to cut down, not decide to try to stop, not decide to roll your own because it will get you to cut down.
Decide to stop! And you will stop.
You can do it! Report progress.
The internet may tell you this, but history most certainly does not. The changes in Darwin's faith were slow, and their roots ran deep, and his family disconfirmed this rumor definitively.
FYI--quite obviously, this is balderdash ex-communication of no value or merit. When the Pope does a real excommunication catholics are required to shun you. Had the Pope actually, publicly excommunicated Hitler, and any priest that co-operated with the SS, it almost certainly would have halted the holocaust in its tracks. Did this occur because of your namby-pamby so-called ex-commication? I think not.
Do you have a better authority than the family members who attended his death bed? Did angels whisper this in your ear?
I do. And because I have been there, I tell you that you will stop when you decide to do so. Not a moment before.
ps. The latest studies on coffee are pretty good, as long as the amount is not horrific. In all the years they have been trying to find coffee is bad for you, they have largely failed. If its one or the other...
1000
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.