Grace Thompson
Catholicism, like many religions, has a history of persecution, both as a persecutor and a victim. In the 4th century, the Catholic Church became the official religion of the Roman Empire, leading to the persecution of non-Nicene Christians. During the Nazi regime, the Catholic Church was persecuted, with many Catholics involved in strikes and protests against the treatment of Jews. The Church has also been persecuted in Communist regimes, such as Poland, where it was severely suppressed, and China, where Christianity was banned for a century. On the other hand, Catholics have also been accused of persecuting other Christians, such as during the European wars of religion, and the Donatists, who attacked random Catholics without warning. Additionally, the Catholic Church has been criticized for its role in the persecution of Jews during the Nazi era, despite the efforts of some Catholics to hide and protect Jews.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Catholics persecuting other religions | Catholics persecuted Arian and Nontrinitarian devotees, Donatists, and Orthodox Christians |
| Catholics persecuted by other religions | Catholics were persecuted by the Nazis, Communists, and during the English Reformation |
| Catholics persecuted by their own religion | Catholics were persecuted by their own religion during the English Reformation and under the rule of Mussolini and Hitler |
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What You'll Learn
Catholics persecuted by Nazis
Catholicism was indeed persecuted by the Nazis, particularly in Poland, where over 3 million Catholics of Polish descent were murdered during the Nazi invasion, including bishops, priests, monks, nuns, and laypeople. The Roman Catholic Church was also violently suppressed in Reichsgau Wartheland and the General Government, where churches were closed and clergy were deported, imprisoned, or killed. Between 1939 and 1945, 2,935 members of the Polish clergy (18%) were killed in concentration camps.
The Nazis targeted the Catholic Church because they saw it as a sinister, alien institution that opposed their ultranationalist ideology. Hitler himself held a hostile view of the Church's teachings, believing them to be "the systematic cultivation of human failure". He also wanted to eliminate political Catholicism and its democratic networks, seeing them as a threat to Nazism. Joseph Goebbels, the Minister for Propaganda, was among the most aggressive anti-church radicals and led the persecution of Catholic clergy.
The Nazis took several steps to persecute the Catholic Church. They suppressed denominational and youth organizations, campaigned against denominational schools, and defamed the clergy. They also arrested thousands of members of the German Centre Party, including the head of Catholic Action, and dissolved the Catholic Youth League. Hitler's sterilization law was particularly offensive to the Church, and Catholic resistance to the Nazi regime grew over time, with Pope Pius XII using diplomacy to aid war victims and speak out against atrocities.
Catholic groups in Austria were also radically persecuted by the Gestapo for their resistance activities, which included informing the population about Nazi crimes and taking active measures against the Nazi system. By the end of Hitler's 12-year reign, tens of millions of Catholics had died as soldiers, in forced labor, as civilian casualties, or as victims in the gas chambers.
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Catholics persecuted by Communists
Catholicism has indeed been the target of persecution by various groups throughout history, including Communists. Here is a focused exploration of the topic of Catholic persecution by Communist regimes:
The complex relationship between Catholicism and Communism has often been characterised by persecution. During the 20th century, as Communist regimes rose to power across Europe and Asia, Catholics frequently became targets of repression and violence.
World War II and Post-War Persecution
During World War II, the Catholic Church faced intense persecution under Fascist and Communist governments. Nazi persecution of Catholics was particularly severe in Occupied Poland, where over 3 million Catholics of Polish descent were murdered, including numerous clergy members. The defeat of Fascism at the end of the war strengthened the position of Communism, leading to intensified persecution of Catholics in Eastern Europe, the USSR, and later, the People's Republic of China.
In the post-war period, the Catholic Church was under attack in all Communist-governed countries. The Church lost much of its presence in Albania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Romania, Communist China, and the Soviet Union (including Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). In East Germany and Hungary, the Church faced ongoing attacks and severe restrictions.
Communist Poland
In Poland, the Communist Party assumed governmental control in 1947 and began confiscating Church properties. Mass arrests and show trials of Catholic bishops and clergy began in 1948, with many imprisoned, deported, or killed. Archbishop Wyszyński initially tried to reach an agreement with the Communist authorities in 1950, but this was breached when the Sejm passed a law confiscating more Church property. Wyszyński, later elevated to cardinal, was himself imprisoned and placed under house arrest.
Communist Czechoslovakia
In Czechoslovakia, the Communist regime began persecuting the Catholic Church immediately after taking power in 1948. Dioceses were managed by pro-regime priests, as bishops were imprisoned. Faithful Catholics were barred from positions in education and culture, and many had to leave their jobs. This persecution continued until the fall of Communism in 1989.
Communist China
In China, the Catholic Church faced significant challenges under Communist rule. The "Patriotic Catholic Church" supported the government's "one-child policy," which mandated abortion during the second pregnancy, a move that scandalised many Catholics. Additionally, the Chinese government banned Catholics from venerating their relatives, Confucius, the Buddha, or Guanyin, leading Pope Clement XI to respond by forbidding Chinese Catholics from these practices. This resulted in violence against Christians, including foreign and Chinese missionaries, during the Boxer Rebellion.
In summary, Catholics have faced severe persecution under Communist regimes, with churches closed, property confiscated, and clergy members imprisoned, deported, or killed. This persecution spanned multiple countries and continued for decades, leaving a profound impact on Catholic communities worldwide.
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Catholics persecuted by other Christians
The Catholic Church has a long history of persecution, and Catholics have often been persecuted by members of other Christian denominations.
During the Middle Ages and the Reformation, Catholics were persecuted by other Christians through the Inquisition and religious wars. In the 17th century, the Donatists, a Christian sect, attacked Catholics without warning, causing serious bodily harm and inviting their own martyrdom. In the same century, the Thirty Years' War, a conflict between Protestants and Catholics, resulted in the persecution of Catholics in Europe. After the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, Parliament passed oppressive measures that restricted the rights of Catholics during Elizabeth I's reign. During the 1660s and 1670s, penal laws were enacted in England, Scotland, and Wales, leading to violent religious disturbances and the persecution of Catholics. Catholics were forced to attend illegal worship services under threat of fine or imprisonment.
In the 20th century, the Nazi regime in Germany persecuted the Catholic clergy. Adolf Hitler expressed hostility towards Catholic teachings, and Nazi officials like Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann led the persecution, believing Christianity and Nazism to be incompatible. During World War II, the Nazi invasion of Poland resulted in the murder of over 3 million Polish Catholics, including clergy and religious leaders.
Catholicism in Poland continued to face persecution under the Communist regime from the 1950s. An agreement between the Church and the Communist authorities was breached when the government passed a law confiscating Church property. This was followed by mass trials and the internment of priests, including Cardinal Wyszyński, who was imprisoned and placed under house arrest.
In China, the Boxer Rebellion targeted Catholic missionaries and Chinese Christians, and Christianity was banned for a period during the Qing dynasty. In Japan, the Tokugawa Shogunate suppressed Catholicism, leading to an armed rebellion in the 1630s. After the rebellion was crushed, Japanese Catholics went underground, and Catholicism was not openly restored until the 1850s.
Additionally, in the United States, early American religious culture exhibited extreme anti-Catholic bias due to the influence of Puritan and Congregationalist colonists who had fled religious persecution in England. Colonial charters and laws often included specific proscriptions against Catholics, and historians have noted the rarity of Catholics in colonial settlements.
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Catholics persecuted in the UK
Catholics have indeed historically persecuted other religions. For example, under Emperor Constantine, the Roman state saw an end to the first great age of persecution, in which the Devil was believed to have used open violence to dissuade the growth of Christianity. Orthodox Catholic Christians close to the Roman state viewed imperial persecution as a historical phenomenon rather than a contemporary one. However, this article will focus on the persecution of Catholics in the UK.
Persecution of Catholics in the UK
The persecution of Catholics in the United Kingdom has a long history, dating back to the English Reformation under King Henry VIII in the 16th century. Henry VIII broke from the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England, with himself as the head rather than the Pope. This marked the beginning of varying levels of persecution, discrimination, and obstacles for Catholics in both private and public life in England.
During the reign of Henry VIII's daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, the persecution of Catholics intensified. Elizabeth passed laws requiring her subjects to worship in the Church of England, and those who did not comply faced harsh penalties. The Elizabethan state was anxious about Catholics living in England, suspecting them of being sleeper agents of the Pope, intending to overthrow the Anglican regime. This fear was heightened by the presence of Catholic monarchs in France and Spain.
Elizabeth's persecution of Catholic Jesuit missionaries led to many executions, and priests such as Edmund Campion, who were considered traitors, are now venerated as martyrs by the Catholic Church. The Recusancy Acts, dating from Elizabeth's reign, legally coerced English, Welsh, and Irish citizens to conform to Anglicanism, further marginalizing Catholics.
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, orchestrated by a group of persecuted Catholics, provided further justification for anti-Catholic sentiment and resulted in additional oppressive measures and restrictions on Catholics. The 17th century witnessed a strict uniformity of religious worship, with those deviating from the established Church viewed as a threat to the state and social order.
The Glorious Revolution of 1689 saw the overthrow of King James II, a Catholic, and the subsequent enactment of the Act of Settlement 1701, which excluded any heir to the throne who was Catholic or married to a Catholic from the succession forever.
The 1660s and 1670s saw the enactment of penal laws that persecuted Catholics and nonconformist groups, sparking violent religious disturbances and hatred across England, Scotland, and Wales. Attending Catholic worship was declared illegal and punishable by fines or imprisonment.
The persecution of Catholics in the UK extended beyond England, particularly in Ireland, where the majority Catholic population faced severe oppression. Land appropriation, political and land-owning rights denied, and the Penal Laws established in the 1690s assured the Church of Ireland's dominance in all spheres of life.
Today, anti-Catholicism persists in the United Kingdom, notably in Scotland and Northern Ireland, with a history of violent religious conflict and ongoing sectarian tensions.
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Catholics persecuted in China
Catholicism has a long history of persecution, both as a persecutor and a victim. During the Roman Empire, orthodox Catholic Christians close to the state represented imperial persecution as a historical phenomenon, while Constantine the Great's conversion to Christianity marked the final fulfilment of its heavenly victory over "false gods". In more recent times, Catholic Poles were severely persecuted during World War II, with over 3 million Catholics of Polish descent murdered during the Nazi invasion.
Catholics have also been persecuted in China. The country has the world's largest persecuted church, and under President Xi Jinping, freedoms have rapidly deteriorated. While China has two officially tolerated churches, the Catholic Patriotic Association and the Protestant Three Self Patriotic Movement, most Protestants worship in "house churches", which are illegal but tolerated. All churches are under pressure to praise Xi Jinping and express an ideologically biased version of the Gospel that lauds the Communist Party.
The Chinese government has long tried to sever the Catholic Church in China from the Pope. In the 1950s, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expelled the papal envoy and imprisoned Shanghai's Cardinal Ignatius Kung for 30 years after he refused to renounce papal authority. Since the 2018 China-Vatican agreement on the appointment of bishops, religious repression of the Catholic Church in China has intensified. Beijing has used the agreement to pressure Catholic bishops into joining the CPCA, and 10 Vatican-approved bishops have been persecuted as a result. Seven of these bishops have been detained without due process, some for years or decades.
The suppression of the ministries of the Catholic Church in China denies religious freedom to millions of Chinese Catholics. Since Beijing announced the Sinicization policy in 2015, the Chinese Catholic Church has seen its greatest repression since the Mao Zedong era. During the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, religious activity was banned, and Communist Red Guards persecuted Christians, especially clergy, and destroyed church buildings.
In addition to the persecution of Catholics, Christianity as a whole has faced challenges in China. In the late 17th century, Christianity was banned by the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty after Pope Clement XI forbade Chinese Catholics from venerating their relatives, Confucius, the Buddha, or Guanyin. The Boxer Rebellion beginning in 1899 targeted foreign and Chinese Christians, spreading violence across Shandong and the North China Plain and attacking or murdering Christian missionaries and Chinese Christians.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, there is a long history of Catholics persecuting other Catholics. For example, the Donatists were responsible for unprovoked attacks on Catholics in the 4th century. In the 17th century, the Thirty Years' War was a period of Catholic infighting. More recently, in the 1950s, the Polish episcopate and the Communist government entered an agreement, but the latter soon breached the agreement and began persecuting Catholic clergy.
Yes, Catholics have also persecuted people of other religions. During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the Nazis retaliated against Dutch Bishops who condemned the abduction of Jews. The Nazis then commenced a round-up of all ethnically Jewish Catholics, and 49 priests were killed in the process. In the 1930s, Mussolini and Hitler also enforced policies that led to the persecution of the Catholic Church.
Yes, Catholics have also been persecuted by non-Catholics. During World War II, over 3 million Catholics of Polish descent were murdered during the Nazi invasion of Poland. In the 17th century, large numbers of laws were passed in England, Scotland, and Wales to enforce membership of the established Church, leading to violent religious disturbances.
