Much has been written about Richard Dawkins “Pope Nazi” comment at the Global Atheist Conference after a member of the audience asked him about the canonisation of Mary Mackillop. Dawkins now famously replied that the entire process was “pure Monty Python” and went on to deride the process requiring two verified miracles and the accusation that he only targets “the fundamental nut bags”. Dawkins was making the point that real theologians (whatever they are) believe that praying over somebody will cure them of cancer and cited Mary and “Pope Nazi” as examples, and these were the people we are meant to be taking seriously!
(Richard Dawkins from Young Australian Skeptics on Vimeo.)
It should be clear to anyone who watches the footage that Dawkins was referring to the ongoing canonisation of Pope Pius XII, who signed a concordant with the Nazis in 1933. In the historic document the Pontiff stipulated various protections for the Catholic Church, but conspicuously no restrictions where placed on the Nazis to curb their evil, megalomaniacal plans. A force for good in the world? I don’t think so.
Furthermore, it is a well known fact that Pope Benedict XVI (Ratzinger) was a member of the Hitler Youth after he turned 14 – as many were at that time. However, being a member of an organisation does not automatically mean adopting their stated beliefs or mission (although it should). For example, not many Boy Scouts would adopt the insane Christian theology of Lord Baden-Powell, whose organisation has publicly declared atheist, agnostics, and homosexuals are not welcome within their ranks. Now where would they get ideas like that? Interestingly, early Boy Scout badges featured the swastika – perhaps the two organisations are not that far apart after all?
Anyway, to my mind what makes Pope Ratzinger a Nazi is not that he necessarily holds to the dogmas of eugenics, a pure Aryan race, and the extermination of the religious group responsible for Christ’s death – although for over 300 years the Catholic Church restricted the Jewish people to special quarters within the Vatican walls, commonly called the ghettos. One wonders if this attitude had any impact on Hitlers attitude towards the Jewish people.
No, it’s that the Pope assumes himself to be the most perfect incarnation of Christ on Earth. His words are considered inerrant and eternal (thanks to the First Vatican Council’s declaration of ex cathedra in 1870), and that any dissent will result in excommunication and expulsion from the power hungry, obscenely rich, and outlandishly superstitious death cult.
When Catholics suspend their rational minds and blindly adhere to the Pope’s words because a few men in dresses took a vote and made him perfect, what naturally follows is a totalitarian dictatorship. The Catholic Church is lead by a egotistical, self important, maximally deranged man who instructs billions on what to think and how to act.
That is what makes the Pope a Nazi.
References
- http://www.youngausskeptics.com/2010/03/nazis-earthworms-and-dodgy-journalism/
- http://www.atheistconvention.org.au/
- http://vimeo.com/10226561
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichskonkordat
- http://www.intelligencesquared.com/iq2-video/2009/catholic-church
- http://www.bsa-discrimination.org/html/god-top.html
- http://elearning.scgs.qld.edu.au/learningfederation/drs/R2944/description.htm
- http://www.romanhomes.com/your_roman_vacation/quarters/jewish-quarter.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_infallibility
What a fantastic prize!
