THE POPE’S BIG HOLOCAUST LIE

by James Carroll

The Vatican is on the defensive as Jewish groups object to its decision to move Pius XII, the wartime pope, toward sainthood. James Carroll on the church’s shameful bid to rewrite Holocaust history.

Arbeit Macht Frei was an instance of the Big Lie, a promise of liberation to those who labored in the Nazi death camps. The iconic sign bearing those words arching over the entrance into the prisoners’ area of Auschwitz was stolen last week. Five men have been arrested, and the sign, cut into three pieces, has been recovered. But the event has lasting resonance. The theft was a mortal offense not just because of the death camp’s sacrosanct status, but because it amounts to a removal of evidence. Nothing must be lost of the physical facts of the Holocaust—precisely so that, far into the future, it will be remembered for what it was.

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February 5, 2009

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By RACHEL DONADIO

ROME — Responding to global outrage, especially in Pope Benedict XVI’s native Germany, the Vatican for the first time on Wednesday called on a recently rehabilitated bishop to take back his statements denying the Holocaust.

Late last month, the pope revoked the excommunication of four schismatic bishops, including British-born Richard Williamson, who in an interview broadcast last month denied the existence of the Nazi gas chambers.

A statement issued on Wednesday by the Vatican Secretariat of State said that Bishop Williamson “must absolutely, unequivocally and publicly distance himself from his positions on the Shoah,” or Holocaust, which it said were “unknown to the Holy Father at the time he revoked the excommunication.”

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“I’m not interested in the word antisemitism, the word is very dangerous.”–Bishop Richard Williamson

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International / Europe

Pope Reinstates Four Excommunicated Bishops

By RACHEL DONADIO

Published: January 25, 2009

Among the four reinstated bishops, one had stirred outrage with comments denying the Holocaust.

New York Times article

An unexpected response to the production of Constantine’s Sword, we would like to share with you, was the founding of The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a clearinghouse for reports of religious prejudice by men and women serving in the US Armed Forces. Mikey Weintsein, who appears in the film with his son Casey, felt compelled to start the organization when he saw their story in the context of a long history of the terrible events that have followed the coming together of religious zealotry and military power, as shown in the movie.

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Many of the thousands of letters and emails they receive support the concerns we present, in our account of recent events at the US Air Force Academy, and suggest that  the phenomenon has spread to all branches of the Armed Forces.

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Army Private Subjected to Anti-Semitic Attacks Brutally Beaten By Soldiers

By Jason Leopold – The Public Record

A U.S. Army soldier was brutally beaten by other soldiers in his platoon earlier this month following two incidents in which a drill sergeants allegedly used anti-Semitic slurs to address the soldier. Read the full entry »

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If you are curious, intrigued, confused, or outraged about Sarah Palin’s comments invoking God’s role in the Iraq war, you may want to watch Constantine’s Sword. The film shows what happens when military power and religious fervor are joined.

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After seeing the film, the acclaimed actor Gabriel Byrne contacted us and recorded a moving personal introduction, available on the DVD of Constantine’s Sword. He also shared with us his broader reactions to the story of Jim Carroll in a heartfelt interview, which can be viewed here on Youtube.

Robin Young interviews James Carroll and Oren Jacoby on NPR’s Here and Now.