RELIGION AND WAR, GENOCIDE & TERRORISM
The spike in religious violence is global and affects virtually every religious group. A 2018 Minority Rights Group report indicates that mass killings and other atrocities are increasing in countries both affected and not affected by war alike. While bloody encounters were recorded in over 50 countries, most reported lethal incidents involving minorities were concentrated in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Hostilities against Muslims and Jews also increased across Europe, as did threats against Hindus in more than 18 countries. Making matters worse, 55 of the world’s 198 countries imposed heightened restrictions on religions, especially Egypt, Russia, India, Indonesia and Turkey.
According to a PEW Research article published by KATAYOUN KISHI in 2018, Islamic extremists waging global jihad and power struggles between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Middle East to the persecution of Rohingya in Myanmar. The outbreaks of violence between Christians and Muslims across Africa. According to Pew, more than a quarter of the world's countries experienced a high incidence of hostilities motivated by religious hatred, mob violence related to religion, terrorism, and harassment of women for violating religious codes.
As far back as the 1930, a pamphlet published by the Rationalist Press Association included this quote from historian Bertrand Russell, to which he stated:
Religion prevents our children from having a rational education; religion prevents us from removing the fundamental causes of war; religion prevents us from teaching the ethic of scientific co-operation in place of the old fierce doctrines of sin and punishment. It is possible that mankind is on the threshold of a golden age; but, if so, it will first be necessary to slay the dragon that guards the door, and this dragon is religion.
WAR, GENOCIDE & TERRORISM - CHRISTENDOM
It has become a well established fact in modern history that wars, genocide and terrorism have been backed, supported and carried out by both the religiously devout and the religious extremist.
To be noted, when you hear the term Religious War during this heart wrenching part of the article, it refers to wars that have a religious goal, claims a spiritual reward for violence and is authorized and condoned by a religious leader.
Perhaps the most globally recognized “Religious War” of the 20th century was carried about by the Nazi Germany party in corporation with the Vatican Church.
It should be interesting to note that the legitimate authority or a holy war is not the government of a state, but the Church.
As with the case of the 3 Rich, the Nazi party engaged in crimes against religious minorities including Jews, Gyps and Jehovah’ Witnesses, resulted in the estimated death of some 6 million were both instigated and supported by the Vatican during it’s beginnings.
As documented in the The Catholic Church And Nazi Germany By Guenter Lewy, the Nazi-Nationalist coloration came into power on March 5, 1933, winning 52% of the votes and on March 13th, the Priest Pius XI, Cardinal Faulhaber publicly praised Chancellor Adolf Hitler for the stand he had taken against communism.
Prior to this, the Holy See had been working to establish a Concordat between them and Germany that involved maintaining control over religious schooling, assets and the like. Negotiation had failed in the past due to the former German party being predominantly non-catholic. However, with the rise of Hitler, the Holy See saw a new opportunity for negotiations and were willing to implement new strategies to obtain them.
The Vatican's use of the Hitler regime had immediate policy advantage, when a law announced on Feb 27th recognized seven Catholic feast days as LEGAL holidays.
For that reason, although having placed limits on the Nazi Party under the old regiment, the Vatican made a momentous reversal. And on March 24th, the Catholic church hastily removed restrictions placed on the Nazi Party in a letter written by Cardinal Bertram that addressed members of the Fulda Bishop's Conference."
The Vatican approved Bishop Bertram's stance on removing prohibitions formerly placed on the Nazi Party and welcoming them into the church.
Hitler saw this as a great diplomatic opportunity to establish a strong relationship with Rome and worked to establish a Concordat.
The Vatican now saw a unique opportunity to use the Nazi political power to carry out own religious agenda, and were willing to implement and support the extermination of the religious minority to achieve their religious ends. Leading many to see that what is noted in history as one of the greatest atrocities of the century was in fact instigated, supported and facilitated by one of the most powerful religious organizations of the world.
And, with the backing of the Vatican, there was now nothing to stand in Hitler's way to gain world domination by employing Vatican supported and inspired tactics to exterminate any religious opposition or entity standing in its way.
At the meeting of the Bavarian Council of Ministers on April 24th,1933, the Premier was able to report that Cardinal Faulhaber had issued an order to the clergy to support the new regime in which he (Faulhaber) had confidence.
A declaration of the Catholic teachers organization, published on April 1, encouraged its members to participate in building the new order and to be helper and friend to the nationalist movement.
When German ministers Papen and Goring of the Nazi party visited the Vatican on April 10, they were received with great honor.
The Catholic Allgemeine Rundschau concluded "The bishops cannot fight where Rome concludes peace. "
When Jehovah’s Witnesses were suppressed in Bavaria on April 13th, the Church, on assignment from Hitler's Ministry of Education, reported any members seen or thought to be still practicing the new forbidden faith.
As Hitler fulfilled his role as executor of religious minorities and began operations of the notorious concentration camps and gas chambers, members of the catholic faith were being persuaded to continue to suppress emotional sympathies.
On April 3, 1938, a Papen, who assumed the title Protector founded an Organization named Kreuz und Alder ( Cross & Eagle) to appeal to German Catholics to join in the creation of the 3rd Reich that personified the “God-Give” mission of the German nationals to deepen Christian-conservative thinking.
The Papen was clear on his purpose to use the Nazi Party for it’s own religiously corrupt means and made this eyebrow raising statement. “Success is not tied to the existence of political parties,” which according to him would not last.
For Hitler's 4th birthday party on April 20, 1935, Monsignor Kaas sent a telegraph of congratulations from Rome that was published in the press.
“For today's birthday, sincere good wishes and the assurance of unflinching co-operation in the great enterprise of creating a Germany internally united, enjoying social peace and externally free.
Kass, who wrote from Rome, was expressing the well wishes of the Holy See.
“The bishops, it goes without saying, rendered the state and the authority what according to God's command is their due. The Church has done this under earlier forms of government and she would do the same under the present one. She would urge the faithful to be obedient and respectful."The bishops gladly recognized that the new state promoted Christianity, raised the level of morality and fought the battle against Bolshevism and godlessness with vigor and success.
During that meeting, Hitler spoke on the long standing view of the church and their views of Jews as parasites, pointing to the fact that the Church had banished them to the Ghettos. He reaffirmed his stance against them and mentioned that he was only going to do what the Church had done for 1,500 years.
As a devout Catholic, Hitler affirmed that he was personally convinced of the great power and significance of Christianity and he would not permit the founding of another religion. A statement, that at that time, went unchallenged by the Holy See.
From such statements, it’s clear that Catholic Church in accordance to Vatican approval, were instrumental in orchestrating, facilitating and implementing the genocide and execution of Jews, Gyps, Jehovah’s Witnesses and other religious minorities who did not adhere to the supreme power and doctrine of the Catholic faith.
Archbishop Gober, in response to an inquiry at the Vatican, had also been told that a concordance between the Reich and the Holy See had been discussed in the talks with Papen and Goring.
So, how did the Vatican escape retribution along with Hitler and the regime with it’s fall in 1945? Perhaps in part due to the fact that Hitler and the Catholic Bishops only met publicly on a few occasions .
With the death of Pius XI in 1939, Hitler sought to influence the vote of the next Pope who would be more favorable to his policies.
After taking control, Pope Pius XII, remained politically neutral, and chose not to use their influence to ruffle the feathers of Germany, in the interest of the Church in Germany.
In his first encyclical, Summi Pontificatus ("On the Unity of Human Society"), released in October 1939, Pius urged Church members internationally, including Germany to remember a quoting Jesus, "render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's." Meaning, Church members were expected to obey the laws of the land even if it meant carrying out the execution of the religious minority, which would soon commerce in the mont