There are many people that look down on the Catholic Church because of what they perceive as great wealth (I tried to counter this misconception four years ago in my weekly thought, The Riches of the Church). One person I have corresponded with over the years is fond of pointing out that the pope has the most expensive car in the world, the “popemobile.” Actually, there are a number of popemobiles. The popemobiles are expensive, but they are hardly the most expensive cars in the world. I’m guessing the fleet of presidential limousines are just as expensive, if not more expensive. I know that Airforce One is much more expensive than the private papal jet.

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The following quote of Pope Benedict XVI come from the story The Renewal Of Faith Must Be A Priority For Church Today on today’s Vatican Information Service:
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From January 18th to the 25th is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. You may want to check out some of the documents of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, particularly the  2012 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity booklet. As well, the pope dedicated his Wednesday’s General Audience to this week of prayer.

For the past 12 years, I’ve kept the picture below by my computer where I can see it when I write . It gives me hope that some day there will be unity in Christ’s Church. It was taken on January 18, 2000. On that day Bl. Pope John Paul II opened the fourth and final holy door in Rome at St. Paul’s outside the walls, a symbolic proclamation of the Jubilee year.

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I’ve written a few times on my blog about the slandering of Pope Pius XII:

• Photographic Evidence of the Pope Meeting Hitler
• Archbishop Orsenigo Celebrates Hitler’s Birthday
• Why Wasn’t Hitler Excommunicated? 

Today, I read an excellent article by William Doino, Jr.,  Pope Pius XII: Friend and Rescuer of Jews. I highly recommend reading this description of the true nature of Pius XII’s relationship with the Jews and with the Nazis.

If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. (John 15:18-19)

The sex abuse scandal the pope has found himself in does not surprise me; in fact, I’ve come to expect things like this. This is a satanic attack, but not against the pope. It is an attack against at least 70% of Catholics, and more likely, more than 80% of Catholics, not to mention the many people that knowingly or unknowingly wish to be Catholic.

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I watched the movie  The Shoes of the Fisherman around twelve years ago, and from what I remember, I thoroughly enjoyed it. After learning more about the Eastern Churches and, in particular, the person whom the lead character of this movie is based on, I decided I would have a better appreciation for the story, so I bought the book. It was a well written book, but now that I’ve finished it, I feel that my time would have been better spent reading something more inspirational.

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I’ve been asked two questions concerning Hitler’s relationship with the Catholic Church that seem to demonstrate the Church’s culpability in the Holocaust: Why wasn’t Hitler excommunicated from the Catholic Church? And, why wasn’t Mein Kampf put on the Index of Forbidden Books?

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Since, as my last post states, there are no photographs of Eugenio Pacelli and Hitler together, either before or after Pacelli became pope, the next best thing to discredit Pope Pius XII is a photograph of Hitler with the man that succeeded Pacelli as Papal Nuncio to Germany. Archbishop Cesare Orsenigo held this office from 1930 to 1945, which meant it was his job to represent the Vatican to whatever German government was in power. At first, it was the Weimar Republic, the president of which was Paul von Hindenburg (the photograph in my last post was of Pacelli leaving a birthday reception for von Hindenburg). Soon after von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany, the Weimar Republic gave way to the Third Reich, and it was to Hitler and his government that Archbishop Orsenigo had to direct all Vatican negotiations and diplomacy.

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In an e-mail discussion with someone, I was told, “Just do a google and you will see many pictures of the Pope and Hitler together.” The implication is that if they were photographed together, they must be collaborators, or the very least, on friendly terms. This, of course, is a faulty argument because before Eugenio Pacelli became Pope Pius XII, he was papal nuncio to Germany. This meant that it was his job to represent the Vatican to whatever German government was in power.

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