Class 30: Catholicism in early 20th C

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Class 30 Catholicism in early 20th C

• Ann T. Orlando
• April 5, 2006

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Introduction

• Missionary activities and Colonial expansion
  before WWI
• Beginning of Liturgical Renewal
• Catholic Reaction to Changing social and economic
  situation in early 20th C
• Church during WW I
• Pius XII and Concordat with Hitler
• World War II and Shoah
• Pius XII after WWII

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Early 20th C Colonialism

• Africa and Asia
• Expansion of trade and economic colonialism to
  control of territory
• To protect economic interests, colonial powers
  assume control of politics
• Missionaries have much less restricted reach into
  local populations
• Latin America
• Criollos wanted strong ties with industrialized
  US and Northern Europe
• Led to Protestant missions in Latin America
  starting in early 20th C

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Colonialism in Africa

• Greatly expanded in late 19th, early 20th C
• Berlin Conference 1884-1885 how to divide Africa
  between England, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy,
  Belgium, Germany
• Religious missionaries follow these divisions

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Colonial Africawww.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/isa
/ninvest/imperial/scrambleafrica.htm
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Liturgical Renewal in Church

• The liturgy had been little changed since Trent
• Need to reinvigorate liturgy in opposition to
  Enlightenment
• Effort to rediscover older liturgical forms as
  core of liturgy (Romanticism)
• Balance corporate and individual in worship
• Benedictine Abbey at Maria Laach
• Pope St. Pius X
• Encouraged active participation of laity in
  Church music during liturgy
• Special devotion to Mass
• Romano Guardini (1885-1968)
• Spirit of Liturgy 1918
• Corporate, Christological nature of liturgy
• Relation between liturgy and call to do justice
  in world

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Pope Pius X (1903-1914)

• Opposed to Modernists (Historical Critical Method
  applied to Biblical studies)
• Reform of Canon Law, 1917 (revised 1985)
• Lay reception of daily Communion
• Included children who had made First Communion
• Not in a state of mortal sin
• Willingness to accept Gods Will for them
• Encouraged more lay participation in liturgy but
  implied need to understand liturgy.
• Roots of Catholic lay education

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Catholic Social Justice Movements

• In late 19th C and early 20th C, Church responds
  to increasing economic and social problems with
  organizations that
• Often rely on laity
• Work with but outside typical clerical diocesan
  hierarchies
• Often explicit political agenda
• Forged bonds with labor unions
• Salesians
• Founded by Don Bosco (1815-1888)
• Care for poor urban boys
• By 1900 there were 300 Salesian Houses
• Knights of Columbus, 1882
• Boys Town 1917
• Catholic Action, 1923
• Catholic Medical Mission Board, 1928
• Catholic Worker Movement, Dorothy Day, 1933
• Catholic Relief Services 1943

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Benedict XV (1914-1922) and WWI

• WWI was just starting when Benedict XV elected
• He was deeply concerned that the peace
  established in1917 would destroy the social and
  economic fabric of Germany
• Deeply concerned that Europe had lost sight of
  its Christian roots and was returning to a new
  barbarism

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Pius XI (1922-1939)

• Deeply concerned about rise of Communism
• Wrote Quadragessimo Anno (40th Year) to
  commemorate and endorse Rerum Novarum
• In some sense saw Fascism as bulwark against
  Communists
• Signed agreement with Mussolini that Rome was
  Capital of Italy, Pope sovereign over Vatican
  City
• But Pius XI clashed with Italian Fascists and
  rising German Nazis over political tactics and
  strong rhetoric
• Supported Franco in Spain
• Once Nazis came to power in Germany, 1933,
  recognized need to establish some relationship
  with them
• Concordat with Hitler 1933 (negotiated by
  Pacelli)
• Realized deep dangers of both Nazism and
  Communism, resulting in two Encyclicals, 1937
  Mit Brennender Sorge and Divini Redemptoris

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Pius XII (1939-1958) and WWII

• Pius XII did have a special love for Germany
• Pius XII was opposed to Hitler, deplored Fascism
  almost as much as he deplored Communism
• Opposed Italys invasion of Ethiopia
• He was in contact with German Generals who tried
  to overthrow Hitler in 1940
• But felt he needed to be publicly neutral to be
  able to work for peace
• Catholic relief supplies and efforts to reunite
  refugee families were substantial across Europe
• Worked with anti-Mussolini forces near end of War
  to remove Mussolini from power and prevent Nazis
  from taking over managed to have Rome declared a
  non-combat zone

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Pius XII and the Holocaust

• Public Stance it does seem that Pius XII knew
  what was happening to Jews. No public
  condemnation
• Possible reasons
• Concern about vicious Nazi retaliation against
  Church
• Better able to help some Jews if Church was not
  threatened by Nazis
• Unwillingness to jeopardize official neutrality
• Private Activities
• Over 400,000 Jews in Italy saved
• Churches in France, Germany, Belgium part of
  underground railroad to hide Jews

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Pius XII after WWII

• Holy Year Pilgrimage 1950
• Increased numbers of Catholics, increased
  prosperity for Church
• Worked against Communism
• Infallibly declared Assumption
• Allowed historical critical method to be used by
  Catholic scholars
• Encouraged growth of Catholic diocese in Asia and
  Africa promoted diocese in Western Hemisphere

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Epistemology and Pius XII Humani Generis, 1950

• We know by the Teaching Authority of the Church
• Theologians should work to support and promote
  the mind of the Church
• Concerns about modern methods
• Opposed to Communism and evolution process
  theology

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Mystici Corporis, 1943

• Written during the darkest days of WWII
• Addressed to all people of good will
• Church as a living body
• Importance of family model as basic unit of
  society
• Communion as participation in Body of Christ

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Assignments

• Guardini The Spirit of the Liturgy
• Benedict XV, Pacem, Dei Munus Pulcherrium,
  www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xv/encyclicals
  /documents/hf_ben-xv_enc_23051920_pacem-dei-munus-
  pulcherrimum_en.html
• Pius XI (optional) Mit Brennender Sorge,
  www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/doc
  uments/hf_p-xi_enc_14031937_mit-brennender-sorge_e
  n.html
• Pius XII (skim) Mystici Corporis,
  www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/do
  cuments/hf_p-xii_enc_29061943_mystici-corporis-chr
  isti_en.html
• Bokenkotter on Pius XII during WWII is a balanced
  view