In ‘confession of guilt,’ German Catholic Church admits ‘complicity’ with Nazis / BISHOPS ‘GAVE SUCCOR TO THE REGIME PROSECUTING THE WAR’

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL / By TOI STAFF 2 May 2020

After decades of ambivalence, document prepared by clergy says hundreds of priests gave spiritual guidance to Hitler’s soldiers on front, ‘lent war an additional sense of purpose’

Pope Pius XII blesses faithful at the Vatican, March 4, 1949. (INTERCONTINENTALE / AFP)

In a new report after decades of ambivalence, Germany’s council of Catholic bishops has finally admitted to the church’s complicity in the actions of the Nazi regime during World War II, The Times reported Friday.

The 23-page document by the council reportedly states, “Inasmuch as the bishops did not oppose the war with a clear ‘no,’ and most of them bolstered the [German nation’s] will to endure, they made themselves complicit in the war.”

German Catholic bishops admit they were ‘complicit’ in Nazi crimes

NEW YORK POST

By Jorge Fitz-Gibbon / May 3, 2020 | 

Adolf Hitler with the Vatican ambassador in 1935

Germany’s Catholic bishops have acknowledged that they were “complicit” in allowing the Nazis to rise to power and stood by while they launched World War II, according to new reports.

In a 23-page report made public this weekend, Germany’s Council of Catholic Bishops said it didn’t do enough to oppose the rise of Nazi power and even cooperated with Adolf Hitler’s regime during the Second World War, according to a report originally published in the UK’s Sunday Times.

Newly Unsealed Vatican Archives Lay Out Evidence of Pope Pius XII’s Knowledge of the Holocaust

The Catholic Church’s actions during World War II have long been a matter of historical debate

By Theresa Machemer SMITHSONIANMAG.COM
MAY 5, 2020

New research from the Vatican Archives sheds light on Pope Pius XII’s decisions during World War II. (Photo by Fred Ramage / Keystone / Getty Images)

Pope Pius XII led the Catholic Church during the tumult of World War II, but his silence on the fate of the millions of Jews killed during the Holocaust has clouded his legacy with controversy.

To critics, the pontiff’s refusal to publicly condemn the Nazis represents a shameful moral failing with devastating consequences. In his polarizing 1999 biography of Pius, British journalist John Cornwell argued that the religious leader placed the papacy’s supremacy above the plight of Europe’s Jews, winning a modicum of power—and protection from the rising threat of communism—by becoming “Hitler’s pope” and pawn. Supporters, however, say that Pius’ silence was calculated to prevent German retaliation and ensure the continued success of the Catholic Church’s behind-the-scenes efforts to aid victims of Nazi persecution.

‘Women’s rights are being trampled’

Voices from a protest march in Warsaw over Poland’s near-total abortion ban

By Kuba Kaminski, Antonia Mortensen and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN

January 31, 2021

Editor’s note: The people photographed and interviewed by CNN did so on the condition that they are only identified by their first names to preserve their anonymity.Warsaw, Poland — The protesters who marched through the Polish capital’s icy streets on Friday night had a clear message for the government over its imposition this week of a near-total ban on abortions: We will stand up for women’s rights.It was the third day of protests since the ruling came into effect — and marked 100 days of protests since Poland’s constitutional tribunal court first handed down its controversial ruling, sparking weeks of mass demonstrations.Following those protests, the government had signaled it was open to dialogue. But on Wednesday it unexpectedly published the law enforcing the court’s ruling, which states that abortions may only be permitted in cases of rape, incest or when the woman’s life is in danger and bars the termination of pregnancies with fetal defects.