The Catholic defense of the Jews suffering from persecution under Hitler is upheld by Father James M. Gillis, editor of the Catholic World.
Asserting that the Jews are not the only victims of Nazi interdiction and that Catholics also are marked for persecution. Father Gillis condemns Catholics who express surprise and resentment at the Catholics’ defense of the Jews.
“If Catholics are scandalized when we defend the Jews, it is Pharisaic scandal,” Father Gillis writes. “As far back as March, 1928, the Pope condemned Jewish persecution in Germany. Of course he was reviled for so doing by Nazis of the fiercer type…. But the Pope is hardened to abuse. But be it noticed that the Holy Father did not wait until Catholics came under Nazi persecution before he protested against persecution of the Jews. If he had done so, he would have been accused — and with some semblance of cause—of speaking one word for the Jews, but two for the Catholics. It was appropriate that a non-Jew should speak out for the Jews.”
Father Gillis also takes to task Catholics who place the onus for certain evils, such as publishing nasty plays and books, on the shoulders of Jews and goes on to show that Christians are also responsible for these evils.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
