That's Bobby Lee on the left, but in civilian clothes. Couldn't find a pic of him in the famous seersucker suit.
I actually tried a case with him once, he's awesomely good.
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Locked on 04/13/2007 1:17:11 PM PDT by Religion Moderator, reason:
Childish behavior |
Posted on 04/03/2007 2:32:00 AM PDT by NYer
ROME, APRIL 2, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Adolf Hitler's No. 1 enemy was the Vatican's secretary of state, Eugenio Pacelli, future Pope Pius XII, according to documents recently found in Europe.
In an article published last Thursday by La Repubblica, reporter Marco Ansaldo announced that he has a dossier on Pius XII that complements documentation found in the Vatican Archives.
According to the newly discovered documents, Pius XII was considered an enemy of the Third Reich. Memos and letters unearthed at a depot used by the Stasi, the East German secret police, show that Nazi spies within the Vatican were concerned at the Pope's efforts to help displaced Poles and Jews.
One document from the head of Berlin's police force tells Joachim von Ribbentrop, the Third Reich's foreign minister, that the Catholic Church was providing assistance to Jews "both in terms of people and financially."
Russia's motives
In a commentary on the new documents, Sister Margherita Marchione, author and expert on Pius XII, explains the campaign against the Pope was the work of the Soviets.
"Russia's plans were to control Europe after the war. The only outspoken obstacle to Russia's plan in Europe was the Catholic Church," Sister Marchione wrote.
"The first attacks claiming that the Church had endorsed silently the atrocities of the Nazis came from Communist Russia," she explained. "Soon to control Poland, and other vast areas in Eastern Europe, Russia saw the need to break the loyalty to the Pope of Catholic majorities in those countries.
"The plan was a simple one: convince everyone that the Pope supported the hated Nazis during the war and, therefore, neither he nor the Church could be trusted after the war. The destruction of the Church would leave the field wide open for Russian influence and control."
But the problem with doing nothing is that the Pope is charged with the duty of being shepherd to the sheep - to guard the sheepfold and try to keep the wolves away.
He was attempting to keep the Catholic schools from being nationalized or closed by the Nazis, and to keep his priests and people from being persecuted. It didn't work out because the Nazis were dealing in bad faith, but if he had stood by and done nothing, with his people being beaten, some murdered, and crying for help, he would be the more culpable.
Kind of like the old joke about the guy sitting on his roof in the flood and waving off a truck, a boat, and a helicopter with "God will take care of me!" Drowned, got to heaven, and asked St. Peter, "Why didn't God take care of me?"
"What do you mean? He sent you a truck, a boat, and a helicopter!"
Interesting sidelight: I knew a Dutchman who was in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation. He said most of the people were very passive and allowed the Nazis to take over and cart off the Jews because after all, God had placed them in authority so it must be His will . . .
Wrt your other remark -- I was a trial lawyer for almost 25 years -- even in the legal biz "discovery" is not a carte blanche to rummage promiscuously through somebody's records. Opposing counsel does not get to just go into your client's archives and rummage around seeing what he can find. What is done is just what was done in this case -- the client (or the Church) reviews its files and produces all relevant material to opposing counsel (or the committee). Just like a client, the Church has confidential materials, matters personal to individuals not involved in the controversy, financial records, and so forth. Imagine folks with a possible axe to grind rummaging through your personnel file, job reviews, and so forth at your employer's office -- and then making it public!
Here, the committee had not even begun to review what they had been given when rogue members went public questioning the Church's good faith and demanding unfettered access to everything. It just doesn't work that way, not in the law, not in historical research. The U.S. Census Bureau does not release any raw returns until 75 years have elapsed, despite all the genealogists' begging and whining.
On the first, my question was his motivation - i.e. if he signed the Concordant out of fear. But the truth of his motive is only known to God and to him.
If he were acting out of faith then I would have no concern at all. Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David and so on - all acted out of faith, not fear.
On the second, I wonder how it would have turned out if the Vatican had responded to the preliminary report's 47 questions specifically much like an attorney would, e. g. attached, irrelevant, documents do not exist, confidential, etc.
Maybe they could have used a couple of bulldog litigators in framing a response . . . I sure would think that a good idea . . .
I think he signed the Concordat because (1) it was the traditional method for the Church to guarantee the rights of its members in a country. I think the tradition started back in the 12th century; (2) he was a career diplomat, and that’s what career diplomats do — negotiate “understandings” and agreements. I think he knew what the Nazis were up to, even in the early 30s, and probably figured it was iffy, but decided it was better to do it than not. I wouldn’t say he acted out of fear, but out of custom and rational calculation. From what I have read, he didn’t seem to be a particularly fearful person even though he was personally in danger several times. Of course, WWII and related events were pretty frightening!
I dimly remember when the old common-law demurrer practice went out, and notice pleading and discovery came in. (And that tells my age within a year or two!) It was just before I started law school, but the new system didn't start BANG all at once, and of course all the case law for years was still demurrer practice. You still run across them cited occasionally . . .
I mean, look at the title of this thread! Ordinarily, if it was documented from STASI archives that an ugly rumor about a conservative leader had been fomented by the Soviets, everyone on FR would say, "Oh! So THAT explains it!" and consider the matter closed. That's what happened with the Rosenbergs, but here it's as though people are still stamping their feet and saying, "But I KNOW the Rosenbergs were innocent! There must be some information that those evil Americans are holding back!" (and of course some people are saying that, but they're all red diaper babies.)
Actually if they try it again perhaps it would be a good idea if they retained a Catholic and a Jewish trial lawyer from the United States to negotiate the rules for discovery for the project before the members of the commission were appointed.
That's Bobby Lee on the left, but in civilian clothes. Couldn't find a pic of him in the famous seersucker suit.
I actually tried a case with him once, he's awesomely good.
In fact, I think scholarly neutrals might be what was wanted on the committee in the first place. Get a couple of Methodists or Presbyterians, a Parsi or Zoroastrian, and a Hindu or Buddhist -- just so long as they're trained historians with a track record of serious evenhanded investigation and skills in textual analysis. No non-believers, though, they have just as much of an axe to grind as Catholics or Jews.
If they do it again - regardless of the makeup of the historians (and I agree they should not be atheist) - I believe it would help to have a preliminary round of negotiations between the Catholic and Jewish sides to lay out the ground rules, including discovery, confidentiality, press relations, etc.
There is more than enough available factual information,written before,during and after the war,to allow persons to draw conclusions and put the issue to bed.
Evidence gleaned from books,articles,commentaries and documents written by persons who witnessed and/or knew the events and the players arguably mandate that intelligent,objective,unbiased seekers of truth accept that Pope Pius XII was one of the very few courageous and caring men on the world stage during World War II.
Somehow this sounds harsher than I mean it to sound;however,I think it is an assault that the enemy hopes will be deadly to the Catholic Church and shortly thereafter,Christianity.
Indeed, I believe that we spend our lives on earth building the scales by which we shall be weighed. This is my confidence for the unwanted children whose lives were terminated willfully while yet in the womb - which is to say, they had no time in which to pile up weights in their personal scales of justice.
That said, my point above was that if this Pope acted out of fear, then it may be a Spiritual matter between him and God - and if that is so, it may be God's will that the dishonor continue. Those are all big "ifs" to which all of us are blind because his motive in signing the Concordant is known only to God and to him.
I offered it as a possible explanation for why this matter seemingly cannot be put to rest, i.e. it may be God's will.
I am indebted to you for this post. You expressed what I had in mind to post myself.
I respectfully believe that “if” and “may be” are not facts, but in the realm of conjecture. And, yes, I do believe that we will know God’s will and His action in this matter in a higher world that is to come. Meanwhile, I think it is precarious to try to discern how God’s judgments are delivered in this time and in this world.
The Pope and other Catholics have no duty to commit suicidal acts. A rational examination of this matter can not exclude the clear fact that the NAZIs were terrorists that used terror as a tool. If the Pope had any fears whatsoever, I'm sure it was for those that the NAZIs were terrorizing.
The Pope and most of his bishops were opposed to the NAZI intent and did their best to protect those that were being effected. None of the detractors have any justification whatsoever to accuse the Pope of aiding and abetting the NAZIs. All that they are doing is judging based on their own claims about what should have been done, based on a false reality. They have no evidence whatsoever to even suspect the Pope held NAZI syspathies and added and abetted them.
"then it may be a Spiritual matter between him and God"
Matthew 12:32
"Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
That's all that needs be said in the matter.
"it may be God's will that the dishonor continue."
God would never will such a thing. From the beginning man was given a free will. God didn't violate that, when He was tempted by Satin in the desert to rule the world, and He didn't do it before Pilate. During thee night in Gethsemane, Jesus prayed that the cup might pass, and that God's will be done. What that meant is not that God desired to commit suicide, but that God's original gift of free will would not be violated even then. Unlike the Pope, who had no divisions, Jesus told Pilot that He had 12 legions of angels at His disposal. Note that He told Pilate though, that His kingdom was not of this world, and that He would not oppose, nor coerce the wills of men. It was the will of man that did the killing back then, not God's, and it was the will of man that did the killing under the NAZIs. The POPe in no way blessed the killing, the imposition of terror, or the NAZI program itself.
Tell me that Peter, who denied even knowing Jesus, because of fear for his own life, carried disgrace and dishonor in the sight of God, or man. I don't see it at all. I also don't see that a man that has no dividions and does not promote war, that does his best to protect as many as he can, as dishonorable. Those that do, are simply refusing not only to forgive, but are creating offenses to show that they desire to go beyond that.
Concordat Between the Holy See and the German Reich
July 20, 1933
His Holiness Pope Pius XI and the President of the German Reich, moved by a common desire to consolidate and enhance the friendly relations existing between the Holy See and the German Reich, wish to regulate the relations between the Catholic Church and the State for the whole territory of the German Reich in a permanent manner and on a basis acceptable to both parties. They have decided to conclude a solemn agreement, which will supplement the Concordats already concluded with certain individual German states, and will ensure for the remaining States fundamentally uniform treatment of their respective problems.
For this purpose:
His Holiness Pope Pius XI has appointed as his Plenipotentiary His Eminence the Most Reverend Lord Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, his Secretary of State.
The President of the German Reich has appointed as Plenipotentiary the Vice-Chancellor of the German Reich, Herr Franz von Papen.
Who, having exchanged their respective credentials and found them to be in due and proper form, have agreed to the following articles:
Article 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.
Article 2
The Concordats concluded with Bavaria (1924), Prussia (1929) and Baden (1932) remain in force, and the rights and privileges of the Catholic Church recognized therein are secured unchanged within the territories of the States concerned. For the remaining States the agreements entered into in the present Concordat come into force in their entirety. These last are also binding for those States named above in so far as they affect matters not regulated by the regional Concordats or are complementary to the settlement already made.
In the future, regional Concordats with States of the German Reich will be concluded only with the agreement of the Reich Government.
Article 3
In order to foster good relations between the Holy See and the German Reich, an Apostolic Nuncio will reside in the capital of the German Reich and an Ambassador of the German Reich at the Holy See, as heretofore.
Article 4
In its relations and correspondence with the bishops, clergy and other members of the Catholic Church in Germany, the Holy See enjoys full freedom. The same applies to the bishops and other diocesan officials in their dealings with the faithful in all matters belonging to their pastoral office.
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 (Art. 1, Sect. 2) may be published without hindrance and brought to the notice of the faithful in the form hitherto usual.
Article 5
In the exercise of their spiritual activities the clergy enjoy the protection of the State in the same way as State officials. 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.
Article 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. This applies particularly to the office of magistrate, juryman, member of Taxation Committee or member of the Fiscal Tribunal.
Article 7
The acceptance of an appointment or office in the State, or in any publicly constituted corporation dependent on the State, requires, in the case of the clergy, the nihil obstat of the Diocesan Ordinary of the individual concerned, as well as that of the Ordinary of the place in which the publicly constituted corporation is situated. The nihil obstat may be withdrawn at any time for grave reasons affecting ecclesiastical interests.
Article 8
The official income of the clergy is immune from distraint to the same extent as is the official salary of officials of the Reich and State.
Article 9
The clergy may not be required by judicial and other officials to give information concerning matters which have been entrusted to them while exercising the care of souls, and which therefore come within the obligation of pastoral secrecy.
Article 10
The wearing of clerical dress or of a religious habit on the part of lay folk, or of clerics or religious who have been forbidden to wear them by a final and valid injunction made by the competent ecclesiastical authority and officially communicated to the State authority, is liable to the same penalty on the part of the State as the misuse of military uniform.
Article 11
The present organization and demarcation of dioceses of the Catholic Church in the German Reich remains in force. Such rearrangements of a bishopric or of an ecclesiastical province or of other diocesan demarcations as shall seem advisable in the future, so far as they involve changes within the boundaries of a German State, remain subject to the agreement of the Government of the State concerned.
Rearrangements and alterations which extend beyond the boundaries of a German State require the agreement of the Reich Government, to whom it shall be left to secure the consent of the regional Government in question. The same applies to rearrangements or alterations of ecclesiastical Provinces involving several German States. The foregoing conditions do not apply to such ecclesiastical boundaries as are laid down merely in the interests of local pastoral care.
In the case of any territorial reorganization within the German Reich, the Reich Government will communicate with the Holy See with a view to rearrangement of the organization and demarcation of dioceses.
Article 12
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 11, ecclesiastical offices may be freely constituted and changed, unless the expenditure of State funds is involved. The creation and alteration of parishes shall be carried out according to principles with which the diocesan bishops are agreed, and for which the Reich Government will endeavor to secure uniform treatment as far as possible from the State Governments.
Article 13
Catholic parishes, parish and diocesan societies, episcopal sees, bishoprics and chapters, religious Orders and Congregations, as well as institutions, foundations and property which are under the administration of ecclesiastical authority, shall retain or acquire respectively legal competence in the civil domain according to the general prescriptions of civil law. They shall remain publicly recognized corporations in so far as they have been such hitherto; similar rights may be granted to the remainder in accordance with those provisions of the law which apply to all.
Article 14.
As a matter of principle the Church retains the right to appoint freely to all Church offices and benefices without the co-operation of the State or of civil communities, in so far as other provisions have not been made in previous Concordats mentioned in Article 2. The regulation made for appointment to the Metropolitan see of Freiburg (the Ecclesiastical Province of the Upper Rhine) is to be duly applied to the two suffragan bishoprics of Rottenburg and Mainz, as well as to the bishopric of Meissen. With regard to Rottenburg and Mainz the same regulation holds for appointments to the Cathedral Chapter, and for the administration of the right of patronage. Furthermore, there is accord on the following points:
Article 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, the selection of members (save for the special provisions of paragraph 2 of this article), pastoral activity, education, care of the sick and charitable work, or as regards the management of their affairs and the administration of their property.
Religious Superiors whose headquarters are within Germany must be German citizens. Provincials and other Superiors of Orders, whose headquarters lie outside Germany, have the right of visitation of those of their establishments which lie within Germany.
The Holy See will endeavor to ensure that the provincial organization of conventual establishments within the German Reich shall be such that, as far as possible, German establishments do not fall under the jurisdiction of foreign provincials. Agreements may be made with the Reich Government in cases where the small number of houses makes a special German province impracticable, or where special grounds exist for the retention of a provincial organization which is firmly established and has acquired an historic nature.
Article 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."
Article 17
The property and other rights of public corporation, institutions, foundations and associations of the Catholic Church regarding their vested interests, are guaranteed according to the common law of the land.
No building dedicated to public worship may be destroyed for any reason whatsoever without the previous consent of ecclesiastical authorities concerned.
Article 18
Should it become necessary to abrogate the performance of obligations undertaken by the State towards the Church, whether based on law, agreement or special charter, the Holy See and the Reich will elaborate in amicable agreement the principles according to which the abrogation is to be carried out.
Legitimate traditional rights are to be considered as titles in law.
Such abrogation of obligations must be compensated by an equivalent in favor of the claimant.
Article 19
Catholic Theological Faculties in State Universities are to be maintained. Their relation to ecclesiastical authorities will be governed by the respective Concordats and by special Protocols attached to the same, and with due regard to the laws of the Church in their regard. The Reich Government will endeavor to secure for all these Catholic Faculties in Germany a uniformity of practical administration corresponding to the general spirit and tenor of the various agreements concerned.
Article 20
Where other agreements do not exist, the Church has the right to establish theological and philosophical colleges for the training of its clergy, which institutions are to be wholly dependent on the ecclesiastical authorities if no State subsidies are sought.
The establishment, management and administration if theological seminaries and hostels for clerical students, within the limits of the law applicable to all, is exclusively the prerogative of the ecclesiastical authorities.
Article 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. The syllabus and the selection of textbooks for religious instruction will be arranged by consultative agreement with the ecclesiastical authorities, and these latter have the right to investigate whether pupils are receiving religious instruction in accordance with the teachings and requirements of the Church. Opportunities for such investigation will be agreed upon with the school authorities.
Article 22
With regard to the appointment of Catholic religious instructors, agreement will be arrived at as a result of mutual consultation on the part of the bishop unfit for the further exercise of their teaching functions, either on pedagogical grounds or by reason of their moral conduct, may not be employed for religious instruction so long as the obstacle remains.
Article 23
The retention of Catholic denomination schools and the establishment of new ones, is guaranteed. In all parishes in which parents or guardians request it, Catholic elementary schools will be established, provided that the number of pupils available appears to be sufficient for a school managed and administered in accordance with the standards prescribed by the State, due regard being had to the local conditions of school organizations.
Article 24
In all Catholic elementary schools only such teachers are to be employed as are members of the Catholic Church, and who guarantee to fulfill the special requirements of a Catholic school.
Within the frame-work of the general professional training of teachers, arrangements will be made which will secure the formation and training of Catholic teachers in accordance with the special requirements of Catholic denominational schools.
Article 25
Religious Orders and Congregations are entitled to establish and conduct private schools, subject to the general laws and ordinances governing education. In so far as these schools follow the curriculum prescribed for State schools, those attending them acquire the same qualifications as those attending State schools. The admission of members of religious Orders or Congregations to the teaching office, and their appointment to elementary, secondary or senior schools, are subject to the general conditions applicable to all.
Article 26
With certain reservations pending a later comprehensive regulation of the marriage laws, it is understood that, apart from cases of critical illness of one member of an engaged couple which does not permit of a postponement, and in cases of great moral emergency (the presence of which must be confirmed by the proper ecclesiastical authority), the ecclesiastical marriage ceremony should precede the civil ceremony. In such cases the pastor is in duty bound to notify the matter immediately at the Registrar's office.
Article 27
The Church will accord provision to the German army for the spiritual guidance of its Catholic officers, personnel and other officials, as well as for the families of the same.
The administration of such pastoral care for the army is to be vested in the army bishop. The latter's ecclesiastical appointment is to be made by the Holy See after contact has been made with the Reich Government in order to select a suitable candidate who is agreeable to both parties.
The ecclesiastical appointment of military chaplains and other military clergy will be made after previous consultations with the appropriate authorities of the Reich by the army bishop. The army bishop may appoint only such chaplains as receive permission from their diocesan bishop to engage on military pastoral work, together with a certificate of suitability. Military chaplains have the rights of parish priests with regard to the troops and other army personnel assigned to them.
Detailed regulations for the organization of pastoral work by chaplains will be supplied by an Apostolic Brief. Regulations for official aspects of the same work will be drawn up by the Reich Government.
Article 28
In hospitals, prisons, and similar public institutions the Church is to retain the right of visitation and of holding divine service, subject to the rules of the said institutions. If regular pastoral care is provided for such institutions, and if pastors be appointed as State or other public officials, such appointments will be made by agreement with the ecclesiastical authorities.
Article 29
Catholic members of a non-German minority living within the Reich, in matters concerning the use of their mother tongue in church services [sermons], religious instruction and the conduct of church societies, will be accorded no less favorable treatment than that which is actually and in accordance with law permitted to individuals of German origin and speech living within the boundaries of the corresponding foreign States.
Article 30
On Sundays and Holy days, special prayers, conforming to the Liturgy, will be offered during the principal Mass for the welfare of the German Reich and its people in all episcopal, parish and conventual churches and chapels of the German Reich.
Article 31
Those Catholic organizations and societies which pursue exclusively charitable, cultural or religious ends, and, as such, are placed under the ecclesiastical authorities, will be protected in their institutions and activities.
Those Catholic organizations which to their religious, cultural and charitable pursuits add others, such as social or professional interests, even though they may be brought into national organizations, are to enjoy the protection of Article 31, Section I, provided they guarantee to develop their activities outside all political parties.
It is reserved to the central Government and the German episcopate, in joint agreement, to determine which organizations and associations come within the scope of this article.
In so far as the Reich and its constituent States take charge of sport and other youth organizations, care will be taken that it shall be possible for the members of the same regularly to practice their religious duties on Sundays and feast days, and that they shall not be required to do anything not in harmony with their religious and moral convictions and obligations.
Article 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.
Article 33
All matters relating to clerical persons or ecclesiastical affairs, which have not been treated of in the foregoing articles, will be regulated for the ecclesiastical sphere according to current Canon Law.
Should differences of opinion arise regarding the interpretation or execution of any of the articles of this Concordat, the Holy See and the German Reich will reach a friendly solution by mutual agreement.
Article 34
This Concordat, whose German and Italian texts shall have equal binding force, shall be ratified, and the certificates of ratification shall be exchanged, as soon as possible. It will be in force from the day of such exchange.
In witness hereof, the plenipotentiaries have signed this Concordat. Signed in two original exemplars, in the Vatican City, July 20th, 1933.
(Signed) Eugenio, Cardinal Pacelli
(Signed) Franz von Papen
APPENDIX: THE SUPPLEMENTARY PROTOCOL
At the signing of the Concordat concluded today between the Holy See and the German Reich, the undersigned, being regularly thereto empowered, have adjoined the following explanations which form an integral part of the Concordat itself.
In re: Article 3. The Apostolic Nuncio to the German Reich, in accordance with the exchange of notes between the Apostolic Nunciature in Berlin and the Reich Foreign Office on the 11th and the 27th of March respectively, shall be the Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps thereto accredited.
Article 13. It is understood that the Church retains the right to levy Church taxes.
Article 14, Par. 2. It is understood that when objections of a general political nature exist, they shall be presented within the shortest possible time. If after twenty days such representations have not been made, the Holy See may be justified in assuming that no objections exist to the candidate in question. The names of the persons concerned will be kept confidential until the announcement of the appointment. No right of the State to assert a veto is to be derived from this article.
Article 17. In so far as public buildings or properties are devoted to ecclesiastical purposes, these are to be retained as before, subject to existing agreements.
Article 19, Par 2. This clause is based, at the time of signature of this Concordat, especially on the Apostolic Constitution, "Deus Scientiarum Dominus' of May 24th, 1931, and the Instruction of July 7th, 1932.
Article 20. Hostels which are administered by the Church in connection with certain Universities and secondary schools, will be recognized, from the point of view of taxation, as essentially ecclesiastical institutions in the proper sense of the word, and as integral parts of diocesan organization.
Article 24. In so far as private institutions are able to meet the requirements of the new educational code with regard to the training of teachers, all existing establishments of religious Orders and Congregations will be given due consideration in the accordance or recognition.
Article 26. A severe moral emergency is taken to exist when there are insuperable or disproportionately difficult and costly obstacles impeding the procuring of documents necessary for the marriage at the proper time.
Article 27, Par. 1. Catholic officers, officials and personnel, their families included, do not belong to local parishes, and are not to contribute to their maintenance.
Article 27, Par 4. The publication of the Apostolic Brief will take place after consultation with the Reich Government.
Article 28. In cases of urgency entry of the clergy is guaranteed at all times.
Article 29. Since the Reich Government has seen its way to come to an agreement regarding non-German minorities, the Holy See declares -- in accordance with the principles it has constantly maintained regarding the right to employ the vernacular in Church services [sermons], religious instruction and the conduct of Church societies -- that it will bear in mind similar clauses protective of German minorities when establishing Concordats with other countries.
Article 31, Par. 4. The principles laid down in Article 31, Sect. 4 hold good also for the Labor Service.
Article 32. It is understood that similar provisions regarding activity in Party politics will be introduced by the Reich Government for members of non-catholic denominations. The conduct, which has been made obligatory for the clergy and members of religious Orders in Germany in virtue of Article 32, does not involve any sort of limitation of official and prescribed preaching and interpretation of the dogmatic and moral teachings and principles of the Church.
(Signed) Eugenio, Cardinal Pacelli
(Signed) Franz von Papen
At the Vatican City, July 20th, 1933.
Relations with Germany and the Concordat of 1933
Pius XI was eager to negotiate concordats with any country that was willing to do so, thinking that written treaties were the best way to protect the Church's rights against governments increasingly inclined to interfere in such matters.
Twelve concordats were signed in all in his reign with various types of governments, including some German state governments and with Austria. When Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 and asked for a concordat, Pius XI was therefore inclined to assume his sincerity and accept. Negotiations were conducted on his behalf by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who later became Pope Pius XII (1939–58). The Reichskonkordat was signed by Pacelli and by the German government in June 1933, and included guarantees of liberty for the Church, independence for Catholic organisations and youth groups, and religious teaching in schools.
Hitler, however, never intended to honour the agreement. He had merely wanted to neutralise potential Church opposition in the vital early months and years of his government to make his establishment of a dictatorship easier. As the years went by, Hitler's totalitarian ambitions, much greater even than Mussolini's, were made clear. The Church was a rival for people's total devotion and therefore would be slowly squeezed out of existence. Clause after clause of the concordat was broken; Catholic youth groups were abolished and all youth were forced into the Hitler Youth; religious education in schools was cut back and finally abolished; show trials of priests were held to discredit the clergy; vandalism of churches by Hitler Youth members was tacitly encouraged; seminaries were interfered with and closed.
Pius XI responded by issuing in 1937 the encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge condemning the Nazi ideology of racism and totalitarianism and Nazi violations of the concordat. Copies had to be smuggled into Germany so they could be read from the pulpit.
As the extreme nature of Nazi racial anti-Semitism became obvious, and as Mussolini in the late 1930s began imitating Hitler's anti-Jewish race laws in Italy, Pius XI made his position clear, both in Mit Brennender Sorge and in a public address in the Vatican to Belgian pilgrims in 1938: "Mark well that in the Catholic Mass, Abraham is our Patriarch and forefather. Anti-Semitism is incompatible with the lofty thought which that fact expresses. It is a movement with which we Christians can have nothing to do. No, no, I say to you it is impossible for a Christian to take part in anti-Semitism. It is inadmissible. Through Christ and in Christ we are the spiritual progeny of Abraham. Spiritually, we [Christians] are all Semites." These comments were subsequently published worldwide.
At the end of his pontificate, an encyclical with the name Humani Generis Unitas was prepared on his orders; it contained an open condemnation of anti-semitism and all racism. The encyclical was ready in september 1938, but never published, as Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, cardinal secretary of state of the Holy See, judged that it might provoke anti-Catholic retaliation, especially in Nazi Germany, and that an open attack on racial policy and internal affairs of Germany and Fascist Italy would make the Holy See's claim to impartiality ludicrous and incredible.
“Article 30
On Sundays and Holy days, special prayers, conforming to the Liturgy, will be offered during the principal Mass for the welfare of the German Reich and its people in all episcopal, parish and conventual churches and chapels of the German Reich. “
Well, there it is, the welfare clause. That must be what irritates the accusers.
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