MovieChat Forums > The Statement (2003) Discussion > Catholic Church Collaboration?

Catholic Church Collaboration?

posted 12 years ago by AZINDN
11 replies | jump to latest

The Statement makes a clear association that the Vichy French who worked with the Nazis to execute the Jews were protected after the war by the Catholic Church in France. It also introduces a secret Catholic society called the Chevaliers of St. Marie who protected the main character, Pierre Brossard. Until the introduction of the idea of "crimes against humanities" the Brossard character was able to live through the various monasteries aligned with these "Chevaliers". Not one for world history in post war France, is any of this information based in true facts such as the collaboration of all these organizations?

-- If Ewan McGregor were a lollipop I'd be a diabetic strumpet --

[–] thurman43 12 years ago

The movie makes the entire catholic church look evil.

[–] The_Dying_Flutchman 12 years ago

The Church has much to be ashamed of. As an ex priest I can assure U, if there is a hell, most of the popes will be in it.

Obtained from the liver of the inflatable mongoose.

[–] Fred-333 10 years ago

What did you do? Seriously why ex Priest?

[–] Fred-333 10 years ago

Don't most of the quasi history Jewish movies? It is marketing - kind of like Christmas and Disney World. A lot of Catholics helped the Jews during the war - maybe the Jews should show the US government as not being really helpful as well as all of FDR's jewish advisors. They will not be happy until the USA is involved in a war with the Arabs - just think of all the money to be made.

[–] Fred-333 10 years ago

[–] Kawada_Kira 9 years ago

The Catholic Church over the last 2,000 years has done probably more evil than every other human institution combined. And yes, collaborating with Nazis was one of those many evils.

The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of history.
-Mao Zedong

[–] uhriaheap69 10 years ago

Yes, very true ! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Touvier

[–] mloessel 10 years ago

Yes the Catholic Church made an unholy alliance with those that assisted the Nazis in France. That alliance came to the surface in this movie. The Catholic Church has a history of allying itself with people of influence and power. This movie is an example of how senior members of the Roman Catholic Church were less then cooperative to those seeking the truth.

[–] blanche-2 10 years ago

I don't know about France, but in Rome, the Vatican hid thousands of Jews and helped them escape. One reason the Pope tried to act tolerant of the Nazis in public was so that they wouldn't come and do an exhaustive search of the Vatican and find the people being hidden. I think it's just like anyplace else - you're going to get factions of good and bad, depending on who's running the church in any particular country.

[–] Kawada_Kira 9 years ago

Some sectors of the church helped Jews, but the institution as a whole has a long history of ties to fascism due to the fact that the fascists uphold the established class system and oppose communism. The church has always been, and continues to be, a bastion of reaction against any kind of progress, reform and revolution. Also, it was the church more than anything else that brought about European anti-Semitism in the first place and nurtured it for 2,000 years. Nazism was just the logical conclusion.

The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of history.
-Mao Zedong

[–] blanche-2 9 years ago

I agree with you regarding the church regarding any progress.

However, the Church did hide thousands of Jews and help them. I refer you to: Silent Rescue: Pope Pius XII and the Jews, The Pope's Jews: The Vatican's Secret Plan to Save Jews from the Nazis, Did Pope Pius XII Help the Jews?, The Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pope Pius XII And His Secret War Against Nazi Germany. Actually there are a few more books, I won't list them here.

The Hitler regime registered strong protests and called Pope Pius XII the Jewish Pope because of his earlier condemnation of German race hallucinations.