Tuesday 19th March 2024

Home » Featured Today » Currently Reading:

A Book Review . . . An Excellent Guide To Answering Anti-Catholic Attacks

July 31, 2015 Featured Today No Comments

By DONAL ANTHONY FOLEY

Five Anti-Catholic Myths: Slavery, Crusades, Inquisition, Galileo, Holocaust by Gerard M. Verschuuren (Angelico Press: 2015; 181 pages, $16.95 print edition). Available at http://angelicopress.com/.

In this book the author sets out to investigate just how it has come about that anti-Catholic myths about particular topics have managed to become so deeply embedded in the psyche of the post-Christian West.
Verschuuren begins by stating that we are dealing with myths “fabricated by people with a strong bias against the Catholic Church,” via largely fictional distortions of the facts, resulting from post-Reformation propaganda, Enlightenment prejudices, and thought emanating from later varieties of materialism and secularism.
His first topic is slavery, and he argues against the myth that somehow the Church or Christian teaching was responsible for keeping this in existence. As the author points out, slavery was endemic in the ancient world, and the Old Testament recognized this, but its teaching attempted to make the practice more humane. The Bible did not condone slavery, though, but rather tolerated it.
Slavery was also very much present in the Roman Empire of New Testament times. But the early Christians did not condemn slavery since it is probable that Roman society would have collapsed into chaos without it, in the same way that our society would collapse if all the oil, machinery, and electrical power were suddenly to disappear.
Having said that, gradually, over the centuries, the Church began to promote the idea that slavery was intrinsically wrong, and the Popes did what they could to alleviate the worst aspects of slavery, such that now we have reached the position where it is categorically condemned by the Church.
Regarding the Crusades, Verschuuren argues against the position that they were a series of aggressive military expeditions organized by the Christian powers of Western Europe against the Muslim occupiers of the Holy Land. He makes the important point that it was the Muslims who had been acting as the aggressors against Christians since the seventh century, including forays deep into Europe.
In fact, the Crusaders saw themselves as entering on a penitential pilgrimage rather than a military campaign, and they only attacked those areas which had been occupied by the Muslims, and not their home territory: Thus the Crusades could ultimately be described as defensive wars.
When, in 1095, Pope Urban II called the First Crusade, he stressed three important reasons in favor of it, namely, the molestation of pilgrims to the Holy Land, the desecration of Christian holy places, and the plight of Eastern Christians. And as the author points out, the primary motive of the Crusaders was actually religious, since they had taken a vow.
Unfortunately, during subsequent Crusades, the high ideal that motivated the First Crusade degenerated, as military and political aspirations took over. This reached a low point in the Sack of Constantinople, in 1204, an act which solidified the schism between East and West.
The third topic dealt with by Verschuuren is that of the Catholic Inquisition, which covered a number of rather diverse institutions, including the Medieval, Spanish, and Roman Inquisitions. The main function of the Inquisition was to combat heresy, and the primary investigators were Dominicans who were specially trained for the their role.
The Spanish Inquisition has become the most famous, or notorious, of these institutions, and its vilification was part of the “black legend” created about Spain in the aftermath of the Reformation.
The Spanish Inquisition was not under papal control, and its jurisdiction covered all Spanish territories, including those in the New World. The numbers of those who were executed or punished under the Spanish Inquisition have been greatly exaggerated, but there were abuses, particularly under Torquemada, although generally speaking, the punishments meted out by the Spanish Inquisition were less severe than those handed out by secular courts.
As the author notes: “The simple fact is that the Inquisition saved uncounted thousands of innocent (and even not so innocent) people who would otherwise have been roasted by secular lords or mob rule.”
Verschuuren then deals with the Galileo affair. The crux of this dispute was over whether the heliocentric model, with the sun at the center of the universe, as espoused by Galileo, or the geocentric model, with the Earth at the center, was true. The fact is that heliocentrism could not be proved in Galileo’s day, and he was wrong in believing that the sun was the fixed center of not just the solar system, but also the universe.
Galileo was an awkward character and it was this, and his insistence on arguing on theological grounds — where he had no competence — rather than on his scientific ideas, which caused his condemnation; he refused to accept that his theory was only a hypothesis, rather than a proven truth. Thus, Galileo was condemned not for his scientific theories, but for saying that his theories were facts, despite a lack of definite evidence.
In fact, Thomas Huxley, the Victorian biologist who was described as “Darwin’s bulldog,” and who was certainly no friend of Catholicism, after examining the case said, “The Church had the best of it.”

Teutonic Paganism

The final topic dealt with by the author is the Holocaust, and here he addresses two myths: First, that the Church actually supported the Holocaust, and that Nazism was rooted in Catholicism, and second, that the Church, and in particular Pope Pius XII, did virtually nothing to prevent the Holocaust.
Regarding the first point, Verschuuren points out that Nazism was a “fervently anti-Catholic ideology,” despite the fact that some Nazis, including Hitler, were cradle Catholics. Initially, the Nazis acted with moderation toward the Church, but despite this few Catholics voted for them in the 1933 elections which brought Hitler to power. Once he was in power, though, they acted with severity toward the Church, using clever propaganda and more violent methods in a program of persecution, suppression, and oppression.
The ultimate aim was to stamp out the Church, as evidenced by the thousands of priests who died in concentration camps such as Dachau, Sachsenhausen, Mauthausen, and Buchenwald. In addition, Nazism’s real roots were in Teutonic paganism, with its mixture of gods, rites, rituals, and symbols.
It’s true that German Church leaders could have done more to combat Nazism, but it took time for them to fully realize the awful nature of Hitler and National Socialism, and then a great deal of courage to do anything about it.
As regards the actions of Pope Pius XII, he did not speak out more forcefully about the actions of Hitler and his followers because he knew that would only make matters worse. Pope Pius has been described as “Hitler’s Pope,” but the irony is that during the war and in its immediate aftermath he was seen as one of the few people who did anything significant to save Jewish lives.
At the time of his death in 1958, and beyond, he still enjoyed worldwide acclaim, and this only changed with the immensely successful play by Rolf Hochhuth, The Deputy (1963), which portrayed the Pope as a cold-hearted cynic, in what was actually a Communist propaganda coup.
Gradually, though, through more recent research, that calumny is being countered, and Pope Pius XII’s true greatness is being realized.
Five Anti-Catholic Myths: Slavery, Crusades, Inquisition, Galileo, Holocaust, is an excellent guide to these controverted areas, and a very useful corrective against some of the most dangerous anti-Catholic myths of our times.

+ + +

(Donal Anthony Foley is the author of a number of books on Marian Apparitions, and maintains a related website at www.theotokos.org.uk.)

Share Button

2019 The Wanderer Printing Co.

Vatican and USCCB leave transgender policy texts unpublished

While U.S. bishops have made headlines for releasing policies addressing gender identity and pastoral ministry, guidelines on the subject have been drafted but not published by both the U.S. bishops’ conference and the Vatican’s doctrinal office, leaving diocesan bishops to…Continue Reading

Biden says Pope Francis told him to continue receiving communion, amid scrutiny over pro-abortion policies

President Biden said that Pope Francis, during their meeting Friday in Vatican City, told him that he should continue to receive communion, amid heightened scrutiny of the Catholic president’s pro-abortion policies.  The president, following the approximately 90-minute-long meeting, a key…Continue Reading

Federal judge rules in favor of Gov. DeSantis’ mask mandate ban

MIAMI (LifeSiteNews) – A federal judge this week handed Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis another legal victory on his mask mandate ban for schools. On Wednesday, Judge K. Michael Moore of the Southern District of Florida denied a petition from…Continue Reading

The Eucharist should not be received unworthily, says Nigerian cardinal

Priests have a duty to remind Catholics not to receive the Eucharist in a state of serious sin and to make confession easily available, a Nigerian cardinal said at the International Eucharistic Congress on Thursday. “It is still the doctrine…Continue Reading

Donald Trump takes a swipe at Catholics and Jews who did not vote for him

Donald Trump complained about Catholics and Jews who did not vote for him in 2020. The former president made the comments in a conference call featuring religious leaders. The move could be seen to shore up his religious conservative base…Continue Reading

Y Gov. Kathy Hochul Admits Andrew Cuomo Covered Up COVID Deaths, 12,000 More Died Than Reported

When it comes to protecting people from COVID, Andrew Cuomo is already the worst governor in America. New York has the second highest death rate per capita, in part because he signed an executive order putting COVID patients in nursing…Continue Reading

Prayers For Cardinal Burke . . . U.S. Cardinal Burke says he has tested positive for COVID-19

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke said he has tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. In an Aug. 10 tweet, he wrote: “Praised be Jesus Christ! I wish to inform you that I have recently…Continue Reading

Democrats Block Amendment Banning Late-Term Abortions, Stopping Abortions Up to Birth

Senate Democrats have blocked an amendment that would ban abortions on babies older than 20 weeks. During consideration of the multi-trillion spending package, pro-life Louisiana Senator John Kennedy filed an amendment to ban late-term abortions, but Democrats steadfastly support killing…Continue Reading

Transgender student wins as U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs bathroom appeal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to a transgender former public high school student who waged a six-year legal battle against a Virginia county school board that had barred him from using the bathroom corresponding…Continue Reading

New York priest accused by security guard of assault confirms charges have now been dropped

NEW YORK, June 17, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — A New York priest has made his first public statement regarding the dismissal of charges against him.  Today Father George W. Rutler reached out to LifeSiteNews and other media today with the following…Continue Reading

21,000 sign petition protesting US Catholic bishops vote on Biden, abortion

More than 21,000 people have signed a letter calling for U.S. Catholic bishops to cancel a planned vote on whether President Biden should receive communion.  Biden, a Catholic, supports abortion rights and has long come under attack from some Catholics over that…Continue Reading

Bishop Gorman seeks candidates to fill two full time AP level teaching positions for the 2021-2022 school year in the subject areas of Calculus/Statistics and Physics

Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Regional Catholic School is a college preparatory school located in Tyler, Texas. It is an educational ministry of the Catholic Diocese of Tyler led by Bishop Joseph Strickland. The sixth through twelfth grade school provides a…Continue Reading

Untitled 5 Untitled 2

Attention Readers:

  Welcome to our website. Readers who are familiar with The Wanderer know we have been providing Catholic news and orthodox commentary for 150 years in our weekly print edition.


  Our daily version offers only some of what we publish weekly in print. To take advantage of everything The Wanderer publishes, we encourage you to su
bscribe to our flagship weekly print edition, which is mailed every Friday or, if you want to view it in its entirety online, you can subscribe to the E-edition, which is a replica of the print edition.
 
  Our daily edition includes: a selection of material from recent issues of our print edition, news stories updated daily from renowned news sources, access to archives from The Wanderer from the past 10 years, available at a minimum charge (this will be expanded as time goes on). Also: regularly updated features where we go back in time and highlight various columns and news items covered in The Wanderer over the past 150 years. And: a comments section in which your remarks are encouraged, both good and bad, including suggestions.
 
  We encourage you to become a daily visitor to our site. If you appreciate our site, tell your friends. As Catholics we must band together to rediscover our faith and share it with the world if we are to effectively counter a society whose moral culture seems to have no boundaries and a government whose rapidly extending reach threatens to extinguish the rights of people of faith to practice their religion (witness the HHS mandate). Now more than ever, vehicles like The Wanderer are needed for clarification and guidance on the issues of the day.

Catholic, conservative, orthodox, and loyal to the Magisterium have been this journal’s hallmarks for five generations. God willing, our message will continue well into this century and beyond.

Joseph Matt
President, The Wanderer Printing Co.

Untitled 1

Catechism

Today . . .

Wisconsin Supreme Court says Catholic charity group cannot claim religious tax exemption

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a major Catholic charity group’s activities were not “primarily” religious under state law, stripping the group of a key tax break and ordering it to pay into the state unemployment system. Catholic Charities Bureau (CCB) last year argued that the state had improperly removed its designation as a religious organization.  The charity filed a lawsuit after the state said it did not qualify to be considered as an organization…Continue Reading

Walgreens and CVS Will Start Selling Abortion Pills That Kill Babies

The two largest pharmacies in America will start selling abortion pills this month that end the lives of unborn children by starting them to death. Walgreens and CVS will both sell the abortion pills despite the fact that they kill a developing human being and have killed at least dozens of women and injured tens of thousands more. They plan to initially roll out abortion drug sales in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, California…Continue Reading

Cardinal Burke announces novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe for ‘crises of our age’

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Raymond Cardinal Burke has announced the start of a global, nine-month novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe, calling on Catholics to beseech Mary’s intercession on the Church and the world in the face of the “crises of our age.” In a new endeavour published online over the weekend, Cardinal Burke announced a novena beginning in March, and culminating on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12.

Texas attorney general targets Catholic nonprofit, alleges it facilitates illegal immigration

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 21, 2024 / 21:15 pm Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is trying to shut down a Catholic nonprofit organization in El Paso based on allegations that the group may be facilitating illegal immigration, harboring immigrants who entered the country illegally, and engaging in human smuggling.  Paxton filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit Annunciation House, which has operated in the state for nearly 50 years. The lawsuit asks the District Court of El Paso…Continue Reading

Irreverent funeral service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for trans activist sparks outcry

A raucous funeral liturgy for a high-profile trans activist and sex-worker advocate was held Thursday in New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral, sparking an outcry on social media that the iconic church was misused to advance an ideological agenda at odds with Catholic teaching. The Manhattan cathedral hosted the Feb. 15 funeral service for Cecilia Gentili, an activist who helped to decriminalize sex work in New York, lobbied for “gender identity” to be added as…Continue Reading

The King of Kings

Cindy Paslawski We are at the end of the Church year. We began with Advent a year ago, commemorating the time awaiting the coming of the Christ and we are ending these weeks later with a vision of the future, a vision of Christ the King of the Universe on His throne before us all.…Continue Reading

7,000 Pro-Lifers March In London

By STEVEN ERTELT LONDON (LifeNews) — Over the weekend, some seven thousand pro-life people in the UK participated in the March for Life in London to protest abortion.They marched to Parliament Square on Saturday, September 2 under the banner of “Freedom to Live” and had to deal with a handful of radical abortion activists.During the…Continue Reading

An Appeal For Prayer For The Armenian People

By RAYMOND LEO CARDINAL BURKE (Editor’s Note: His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke on August 29, 2023, issued this prayer for the Armenian people, noting their unceasing love for Christ, even in the face of persecution.) + + On the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, having a few days ago celebrated the…Continue Reading

Robert Hickson, Founding Member Of Christendom College, Dies At 80

By MAIKE HICKSON FRONT ROYAL, Va. (LifeSiteNews) — Robert David Hickson, Jr., of Front Royal, Va., died at his home on September 2, 2023, at 21:29 p.m. after several months of suffering and after having received the Last Rites of the Catholic Church. He was surrounded by friends and family.Robert is survived by me —…Continue Reading

The Real Hero Of “Sound of Freedom”… Says The Film Has Strengthened The Fight Against Child Trafficking

By ANA PAULA MORALES (CNA) —Tim Ballard, a former U.S. Homeland Security agent who risked his life to fight child trafficking, discussed the impact of the movie Sound of Freedom, which is based on his work, in an August 29 interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. “I’ve spent more than 20 years helping…Continue Reading

Advertisement

Our Catholic Faith (Section B of print edition)

Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: This lesson on medical-moral issues is taken from the book Catholicism & Ethics. Please feel free to use the series for high schoolers or adults. We will continue to welcome your questions for the column as well. The email and postal addresses are given at the end of this column. Special Course On Catholicism And Ethics (Pages 53-59)…Continue Reading

Color Politics An Impediment To Faith

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The USCCB is rightly concerned about racism, as they should be about any sin. In the 2018 statement Open Wide Our Hearts, they affirm the dignity of every human person: “But racism still profoundly affects our culture, and it has no place in the Christian heart. This evil causes great harm to its victims, and…Continue Reading

Trademarks Of The True Messiah

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope posted this essay on September 2, and it is reprinted here with permission.) + + In Sunday’s Gospel the Lord firmly sets before us the need for the cross, not as an end in itself, but as the way to glory. Let’s consider the Gospel in three stages.First: The Pattern That…Continue Reading

A Beacon Of Light… The Holy Cross And Jesus’ Unconditional Love

By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON Each year on September 14 the Church celebrates the Feast Day of the Exultation of the Holy Cross. The Feast Day of the Triumph of the Holy Cross commemorates the day St. Helen found the True Cross. It is fitting then, that today we should focus on the final moments of Jesus’ life on the…Continue Reading

Our Ways Must Become More Like God’s Ways

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 55:6-9Phil. 1:20c-24, 27aMatt. 20:1-16a In the first reading today, God tells us through the Prophet Isaiah that His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. This should not come as a surprise to anyone, especially when we look at what the Lord…Continue Reading

The Devil And The Democrats

By FR. DENIS WILDE, OSA States such as Minnesota, California, Maryland, and others, in all cases with Democrat-controlled legislatures, are on a fast track to not only allow unborn babies to be murdered on demand as a woman’s “constitutional right” but also to allow infanticide.Our nation has gotten so used to the moral evil of killing in the womb that…Continue Reading

Crushed But Unbroken . . . The Martyrdom Of St. Margaret Clitherow

By RAY CAVANAUGH The late-1500s were a tough time for Catholics in England, where the Reformation was in full gear. A 1581 law prohibited Catholic religious ceremonies. And a 1584 Act of Parliament mandated that all Catholic priests leave the country or else face execution. Some chose to remain, however, so they could continue serving the faithful.Also taking huge risks…Continue Reading

Advertisement(2)