Edmond Paris - The Secret History of the Jesuits

"On the 15th of March, the German press published the following declaration from Cardinal Innitzer: "The priests and the faithful must unhesitatingly uphold the great German state, and the Fuhrer whose struggle to set up Germany's power, honour and prosperity is in accord (62) G.E.R. Gedye: "Suicide de l'Autriche" (Union latine d'editions, Paris 1940, p. 188).

140

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE JESUITS

with the wishes of Providence.

The newspapers printed a facsimile of this declaration to dispel any doubt as to its authenticity. Reproductions were posted up on walls in Vienna and in the other Austrian cities. Cardinal Innitzer.. had, with his own hand, written the following words before his signature: "Und Heil Hitler!"

"Three days later, the whole of the Austrian episcopate addressed a pastoral letter to its diocesans; the Italian newspapers published the text of this letter on the 28th of March: it was a straightforward adhesion to the Nazi regime whose virtues were highly extolled".(63) Cardinal Innitzer, highest representative of the Roman Church in Austria, also wrote in his declaration: "I invite the chiefs of Youth organisations to prepare their union to the organisation of the German Reich".(64)

So, not only did the cardinal-archbishop of Vienna, followed by his episcopate, throw in his lot with Hitler most enthusiastically, but he handed over also the "Christian" youth to be trained according to nazi methods; these methods had been "officially condemned" in the 'terrible'

encyclical letter: "Mit brennender Sorge"!

Then, the 'Mercure de France' justifiably observed: "... These bishops have not taken a decision which involves the Church as a whole on their own accord; the Holy See gave them directives which they merely followed".(65)

This is obvious. But what other "directives" could be expected from this Holy See which brought to power Mussolini, Hitler, Franco and, in Belgium, created the 'Christus-Rex' of Leon Degrelle?

We understand, then, why English authors such as F.A. Ridley, Seeker and Warburg object to the Politics of Pius XI which favoured fascist movements everywhere".(66)

As for the Anschluss, M. Francois Charles-Roux tells us why the Church was so much in favour of it: "Eight million Austrian Catholics united to the Catholics of the Reich could make a German Catholic body more able to make its weight felt".(67)

Poland was in the same situation as Austria when Hitler, after having invaded it, annexed part of it in the name of the Fatherland. A few more million Catholics to reinforce the German contingent under the Roman (63) Francois Charles-Roux, op.cit., pp.118, 122.

(64) Ernest Pezet, former vice-president of the Commission for Foreign Affairs, "L'Autriche et la paix" (Ed. Self, Paris 1945, p. 149).

(65) Austria and Hitler ("Mercure de France", 1st of May 1938, p.720).

(66) J. Tchernoff: "Les Demagogies contre les democracies" (R. Pichon and Durand-Auzias, Paris 1947, p.80).

(67) Francois Charles-Roux, op.cit., p.114.

GERMAN AGGRESSIONS AND THE JESUITS

141

obedience: the Holy See could only be in favour of this, in spite of all its love for its "dear Polish people". In fact, it did not frown at the brutal re-grouping of Catholics in Central Europe, according to the plan of the Jesuits' general, Halke von Ledechowski.

The Vatican's licensed thurifers keep on reminding their readers that Pius XII "protested" against the aggression in the encyclical letter "Summi Pontificatus". In reality, this ludicrous document, like all other such documents, which numbers no less than 45 pages, contains only one phrase, at the end, concerning Poland crushed by Hitler. And this short allusion is an advice to the Polish people to pray much to the Virgin Mary!

The contrast is striking between those few words of trite condolences and the nattering pages devoted to fascist Italy and the exaltation of the Lateran Treaty; this treaty was concluded by the Holy See and Muss'olini, Hitl e r ' s collaborator who, at the time when the pope was writing his encyclical letter, delivered a scandalous speech, as a challenge to the world, and started it with these words: "Liquidata la Polonia!"

But what risks are there in using these derisory alibis, when preaching to the converted? Besides, how many of them would be anxious to examine such references?

Nevertheless, when we study the Vatican's behaviour in this affair, what do we see? First of all, we see the nuncio in Warsaw, Monseigneur Cortesi, urge the Polish government to give in to Hitler in everything: Dantzig, the "corridor", the territories where German minorities live (68). Then, when this is done, we see also the Holy-Father lend his help to the aggressor when trying to make Paris and London ratify the amputation of a large part of his "dear Poland".(69)

To those who would be surprised at such behaviour towards a Catholic country, we will quote a famous precedent: after the first division of Poland in 1772, a catastrophe in which the Jesuits' intrigues played a large part, Pope Clement XIV, when writing to the Empress of Austria, Marie-Therese, expressed his satisfaction as follows:

"The invasion and division of Poland were not done for political reasons only; it was in the interests of religion, and necessary to the spiritual profit of the Chruch, that the Court of Viennna should extend its domination over Poland as much as possible".

Obviously, there is nothing new under the sun—especially at the Vatican. In 1939, there was no need to change one single word in that cynical declaration, apart from "the spiritual profit of the Church" which, this time, consisted of several million Polish Catholics joining the Great Reich.

(68) Cf. the "Journal", (1933-1939) of Count Szembeck (Plon, Paris 1952, pp.499).

(69) Cf. Camille Cianfarra, op.cit., pp.259, 260.

142

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE JESUITS

This fact easily explains the parsimony of papal condolences in "Summi Pontificatus".

In Czechoslovakia, the Vatican did even better: it provided Hitler with one of its own prelates, a secret chamberlain, to be made into the head of this satellite state of the Reich.

"The Anschluss had made a great noise in Europe. From now on, the hitlerian threat was hovering over the Republic of Czechoslovakia and war was in the air. But, at the Vatican, nobody seemed concerned. Let us listen to M.

Francois Charles-Roux:

"In the middle of August, I had tried to persuade the pope that he should speak in favour of peace—a just peace, of course... My first attempts were unsuccessful. But, from the beginning of September 1938 on, when the international crisis reached its worst level, I started gathering, at the Vatican, soothing impressions contrasting strangely with the rapidly deteriorating situation.".(70)

"All my attempts", adds the former French ambassador, "received the same answer from Pius XI: "It would be useless, unnecessary, inopportune". I could not understand his obstinacy in keeping silent". (71) Events were soon going to explain this silence. It was first of all the annexation of Sudetenland by the Reich, with the support of the Christian Social Party, of course; this annexation was ratified by the Munich accord, and the Republic of Czechoslovakia was divided. But Hitler, who had undertaken to respect its territorial integrity, intended in reality to annexe the Czech countries independent of Slovakia, and reign over it as well by his own appointee.

It was easy for him to attain these ends as most of the main political Slovakian chiefs were Catholic ecclesiastics, according to Walter Hagen (72), and, amongst these, the priest Hlinka (Jesuit), had at his dosposal a "guard"

trained on nazi S.A. principles.

We know that, according to canon law, no priest can accept a public post or a political mandate without the Holy See's consent.