"..any interpretation of his Papacy [Pius XII's] are at best, ongoing, as the Vatican has only recently totally opened their archives on this subject." - Mr. Tom White of the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies at Keene State College.
In a response posted here: http://lasalettejourney.blogspot.com/2007/12/call-for-apology.html, I cited a link from the Catholic League which exposed this assertion as false. The link may be found here: http://www.catholicleague.org/pius.php?id=6
Paul.
From what I've seen Paul, the Cohen Center is not operating in good faith but from a deep-seated anti-Catholic bias. Because of this, the Center is not interested in history but in historical revisionism, it is not interested in reality but in fairy tales crafted for those who have a real animus toward the Church. The reason you are attacked so viciously at the Keene Sentinel Blog is that you calmly (and extensively) refute the anti-Catholic arguments without engaging in the angry rhetoric that your opponents so often do.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work. La Salette Journey is a sign of hope for so many.
Dear Mr. Melanson,
ReplyDeleteA fellow paishioner told me about your Catholic Blog and your efforts to expose both the anti-semitism of the Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire and the anti-catholicism of Keene State's Cohen Center. I am alarmed at the intensity of the hatred which atheists have been levelling at you as you expose the myths being promoted by the Cohen Center, myths which are intended to undermine the Church by insinuating that her teaching has been anti-semitic and that Pope Pius XII may not have done enough to speak out against Nazism or to protect the Jews.
I wrote the following at the Sentinel website to express my concerns about the atheistic hate movement which has sprung up in and around the Monadnock region.
"I have lived in Jaffrey most of my adult life. Never before have I been so alarmed as I have been since learning of the anti-Catholicism of Keene State's Cohen Center. I am a lifelong Catholic who takes exception to my Church and my faith being ridiculed and assaulted by people who have no knowledge of her teaching or history.
But I am just as alarmed at the atheistic tone of this forum and the biased comments from atheists who so obviously have an anti-Catholic agenda and some sort of vendetta.
Why would atheists hate Mr. Paul Anthony Melanson so much just for setting the record straight on the Catholic Church? The only possible explanation is that it is not anti-semitism they are worried about. Rather, their goal is to stamp out any expression of Christian belief by unleashing a tidal wave of hate-propaganda and defamation of the Church.
With every comment from the atheists who are part and parcel of this hate-movement, it becomes clearer and clearer that their intolerance is supreme. So supreme that they will lie about the Church to further their own agenda.
This thread proves that the atheists who follow Mr. Provost are not motivated by a love for Jews but by a radical hatred of the Roman Catholic Church and those who embrace her teaching."
Well said Barbara. Atheists can be the most intolerant people around. You have struck on a very important point. If opposition to the SBC from local residents were really just a matter of principled opposition to anti-Semitism, then such people would welcome even Catholics and would also reject any semblance of anti-Catholicism. But a quick review of comments recently posted at The Keene Sentinel Blog will show that there is really something else entirely going on here. And it is anti-Catholicism.
ReplyDeleteRead the comments from those who lump us together with the SBC because we are offended by anti-Catholic historical revisionism. What they are really saying is that they see no difference between us and the SBC. In other words, they hate Catholics and Catholicism.
Unable to answer Paul Melanson's arguments, these cowardly people use fictitious names to attack anyone who has a problem with Catholic-bashing.
I suspect this is really the work of a small handful of anti-religious zealots - intolerant atheists whose blood boils at the very idea that some people love their Church and faith and take it seriously.
Could this be why SBC Watch suddenly removed the hundreds and hundreds of comments which were posted by people using silly names such as "Just one of the Dolts," "Richmond Rising," "Just one of the Few" etc. There were like a dozen or more such nicknames.
And the deception doesn't end there. Matlee told me in an email that SBC Watch conducted a poll asking readers if they felt the posts were accurate and 83% replied "no." This poll was quickly removed from SBC Watch.
It seems to me that a small number of anti-religious zealots are determined to spread anti-Catholicism and that they were using the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies to accomplish this goal. Could this be why SBC Watch is cited at the Cohen Center Blog? Why would the Cohen Center associate itself with a Blog which had posted anti-Catholic posts and comments?
Susan and Elizabeth, I don't know if you remember it or not, but I also voiced my concern about Tom's Jefferson quote and Russell's comparing Ave Maria University with the Saint Benedict Center. I agree that the continued hate-filled comments at the Keene blog only serve as additional proof that SBC Watch activists are determined to denounce all Catholics and most especially Paul. In the process, though, these people are committing credibility suicide. I have to confess I was duped by Russell and Victoria. I thought they and their associates were concerned about Holocaust denial and the anti-Semitism of Louis Villarrubia. Boy was I a fool. All along they wanted to hurl stones at the Church.
ReplyDeleteThe proof is in the pudding. When challenged, the anti-Catholic bigots at Keene State suddenly become mute. Shameful!
ReplyDeleteWhole books have been written by scholars on Pius XII which have shown his commitment to fighting National Socialism and saving Jewish lives. Where is this character coming from? More important question: What does he hope to achieve by attacking Pius XII's record?
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