Re: "Memory and Reconciliation" Exerpts[ref to "pagan"]
Beirdd

Wed Mar  8 18:25:36 2000
In the document, the section "Christian and Jews" makes the following reference to paganism:*p* The Shoah was certainly the result of *br*: the pagan ideology that was Nazism, a pagan ideology *br*: animated by a merciless anti- Semitism that not only *br*: despised the faith of the Jewish people, but also denied *br*: their very human dignity. *p*In its context, I would say that the word "pagan" is here used to refer not so much to "non-biblical religion" as to "god-less," which makes perfect sense when associated with the Nazis. The key here is the context. Previous Church documents and teachings have recognized the value of pagan religions and their manifestations of spirit, even as precursors to Christianity. Part of the problem is one of language. A god-less pagan ideology and a pagan faith based in the recognition of spirit and deity are two vastly different things, even in the teaching of the Catholic Church. Note that "pagan ideology" is not criticized, but the "pagan ideology that was Nazism" with its particularly anti-Semitic and therefore anti-human character.*p*Still, I can understand that the passage is bound to make some of today's pagan cringe.*p*--Beirdd
"Memory and Reconciliation" Exerpts
Beirdd
120
Wed Mar  8 11:20:28 2000