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Preparing the Way for Vatican II: CS Lewis' Mere Christianity
CS Lewis

Preparing the Way for Vatican II: CS Lewis’ Mere Christianity

05/17/2024 Bruce Strom 3

CS Lewis did not wave the flag of ecumenicism, attending this conference or that on interfaith dialogues, but instead prepares the way, saying that what denominational creed you profess is less important than whether you truly believe the core Christian teaching of the two-fold Love of God and neighbor. This was the key change wrought by Vatican II, no longer did the Catholic Church believe you needed to be Catholic to be saved. Likewise, CS Lewis is against the notion that Catholics cannot be saved. […]

Facing the Nazi Menace: CS Lewis' Mere Christianity and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning
CS Lewis

Facing the Nazi Menace: CS Lewis’ Mere Christianity and Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning

05/16/2024 Bruce Strom 9

Mere Christianity was compiled from a series of radio addresses by CS Lewis explaining the tenets of Christianity which were broadcast during the dark days of World War II, when Londoners fled to the safety of the underground subway tunnels while Nazi bombers destroyed their homes above. We will reflect on the many instances where CS Lewis referred often to this monumental struggle, one of the rare political struggles that actually pitted the forces of good and evil against each other, in Mere Christianity. […]

History

How Did the Experiences of World War II Influence the Second Vatican Council?

11/30/2022 Bruce Strom 1

Vatican II marks a shift in the Church’s attitude towards the modern secular world. Gone are the anathemas of the Council of Trent and many other councils that condemn those who may disagree with the teachings of the church, instead Vatican II seeks dialogue with the modern world in with a pastoral rather than a condemning attitude. The Vatican II decree on religious freedom announced that democracy and freedom of religion and conscience were the friends of the church, that a totalitarian form of government could never be a trustworthy friend of the Catholic or Christian Church. […]

History

Pope Pius XII, Wartime Pope, Could the Pope Have Done More To Save the Jews?

10/12/2022 Bruce Strom 3

The major questions raised about the wartime policies of Pope Pius XII were:
Why did the pope say so little when the Nazis were committing brutal atrocities, both against Jews and also Catholics in Poland?
Why did the pope not protest more forcefully against the persecution of the Jews?
We wonder why Hitler, when the Nazis occupied Rome, didn’t simply march into the Vatican and capture or at least intimidate the pope? […]

History

Pope Pius XII, Wartime Pope, Allied Powers Turn the Tide of War

10/07/2022 Bruce Strom 4

When do the Italians first realize that Mussolini and Hitler might possibly lose the war? Our beloved author gives us a hint exactly halfway through his book, The Pope At War, when, “late on the night of October 22, 1942, wave after wave of British bombers swooped below the clouds over Genoa, Italy, and released hundreds of bombs.” Later, Milan and Turin would be bombed. Soon after, Rommel’s Afrika Corps would be defeated, and American soldiers waded ashore in North Africa in Operation Torch. […]

History

Pope Pius XII, Wartime Pope, Axis Powers March Across Europe

10/05/2022 Bruce Strom 3

The complete archives of Pope Pius XII were opened in 2019, then were closed for Covid, and our favorite author David Kertzer was waiting on the steps for the archives to open so he could begin his next enthralling book, The Pope at War, filling in much detail on the years of the war. Maybe he should have titled the book, The Pope Behind Enemy Lines During WWII, but he did not ask me.

Cardinal Pacelli, former Nuncio, or ambassador to Nazi Germany, was crowned Pope Pius XII, taking the same name to signal that no major changes were planned in his papacy, mere months before World War II erupted in Poland. […]

Five Minute History

How Did Confessing Christians Tolerate Hitler? Excerpts From Post-War Interviews

09/23/2022 Bruce Strom 1

The war softened the hearts of many Germans. One German remembers shopping during the time of the brutal Allied bombing of Berlin, the “shopkeeper was talking to another customer whom she knew and said, ‘This is the punishment for what we’ve done to the Jews.’ And she dared to say that much, although I was a stranger in her shop.” […]

Five Minute History

WWII Lessons: What Happens When Politicians Promote Violence? Comparing Mussolini and Hitler to Trump

09/21/2022 Bruce Strom 0

The Fascist movements in Italy and Germany came to power with assistance by large gangs of fascist thugs who bullied, beat up, and sometimes murdered their opponents. These fascist thugs were drawn from the millions of veterans of the bloody fighting in the tranches of World War I. After assuming dictatorial powers Mussolini promised the Pope that he would reign in his thugs, but this was a promise he never fully kept, in part because these fascist gangs were hard to control, in part because he wanted to remind the Pope who was really in charge, who alone could rein in the gangs. […]