Kertzer (history, Brown Univ.) expands on a theme he first developed in The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara (LJ 5/1/97). In his latest book, he exposes a trail of anti-Semitic papal policies and practices that stretched from the French Revolution to the era of the Final Solution. Kertzer argues that the modern popes and their minions helped create and perpetuate an anti-Semitic Catholic culture that facilitated the eventual extermination of six million European Jews. He asserts that despite occasional denunciations of the persecution of the Jews, the Roman Curia for political and theological reasons persistently demonized the European Jews by accusing them of such heinous crimes as the ritualistic murder of Christian children. His thesis is grounded on a thorough examination of recently released Vatican archival material and a penetrating analysis of Catholic journals and newspapers. Kertzer reveals a far more systemic pattern of papal anti-Semitism than even John Cornwell confronts in "Hitler's Pope" (LJ 5/15/99). His book promises to stir up considerable controversy and belongs on the shelves of both public and academic libraries. Jim Doyle, Sara Hightower Regional Lib., Rome, GA "Important...Fascinating...a riveting piece of historical detective work." -- The New York Times "Scrupulous...Significant and compelling." —The Washington Post "The material is dynamite." -- The Times (London) "Popes Against the Jews"...demolishes the findings of "We Remember." -- The Boston Globe "This reviewer is grateful to Kertzer for having written such a compelling narrative. His thesis is shocking and disturbing... "An important book." -- The Irish Times "Riveting." -- Globe & Mail (Toronto) "Kertzer [has the] extraordinary ability to present the most painful, religiously radioactive material with a coolness that makes his findings...devastating...Its superb, meticulous scholarship is a benchmark by which other books on the subject must now be judged." The Forward "A profoundly well-documented book...It is a work of brilliant narrative quality, an oppressive, unremitting and enraging report on what may be the most lethal period of official and quasi-official Catholic anti-Semitism." -- Providence JournalThe Vatican's 1998 report "We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah" purportedly exonerated the Church of complicity in the Holocaust. In "The Popes Against the Jews," David I. Kertzer argues that the report is "not the product of a Church that wants to confront its history." Kertzer's book refutes the Church's thesis that the Holocaust grew out of "an anti-Judaism that was essentially more sociological and political than religious." In fact, Kertzer asserts, those dimensions of European anti-Semitism developed "in no small part due to the efforts of the Roman Catholic Church itself." The racial laws of fascist Italy and the Nuremberg Laws of 1930s Germany, for example, were directly modeled on the Church's own rules governing treatment of Jews: until the collapse of the Papal States in the late 19th century, Jews living in these territories were forced to wear yellow badges and live in ghettos. Kertzer's arguments make for compelling reading because they're presented in story form, based on the actions of the popes themselves. Access to long-sealed Church archives allowed Kertzer to reconstruct some of the most shocking, secret conversations that occurred in the Vatican in the decades leading up to World War II. -- Michael Joseph Gross
Thanks for the ping!
Excellent work on this thread, Dr E!
I am amazed at the Father’s longsuffering with Rome. Still, like Isreal and Judah, I think that his patience has limits. Despite his providential mercies Rome still lacks repentance. He gave us the printing press which allowed men to see the ignominies of Rome and still they do not repent. He continues to expose her ignominies through new providential mediums such as television and the internet and still she refuses to repent. No doubt at some point the recorded ignominies locked up at the Vatican will be brought to light.
Lord have mercy!
“For how long, Oh Lord?”
Great posting, Dr. E. Thanks for all the pings.