Wlodimir (Vladimir) Ledochowski- Holocaust: Critical Concepts in Historical Studies

Wlodimir Ledochowski S.J.

John LaFarge S.J.

Since John Hagee had reportedly blamed the Roman Catholic Church for the WW2 holocaust of the Jewish peoples, I went to his site for a search there upon John LaFarge, the Jesuit who was involved with encyclical opposing racially based persecution that was reportedly suppressed by Wlodimir Ledochowski, and found nothing.

For the benefit of Hagee and anyone else, I did an internet search upon this and came across the book "Holocaust: Critical Concepts in Historical Studies", from which I quote below:

(excerpt)

The election of Pacelli made it all but certain that the draft encyclical prepared y LaFarge and his colleagues would never be issued by the Holy See. From the Vatican, Ledochowski's assistant wrote to LaFarge on March 16 saying that the draft had not yet had time to take the matter in hand. A few weeks later he advised LaFarge that the project was finished, and that the French and English versions would be returned. La Farge was to keep the whole process secret, Ledochowski insisted, although he could publish parts of the draft over his own signature-subject of course, to the regular censorship of the Jesuit Order. 29

Why did the encyclical fail to see the light of day as LaFarge and Gundlach so feverantly had hoped? As we have seen, the German Jesuit strongly suspected that the obstacle was Ledochowski, and that his motives were anti-communism. Of Polish aristocratic background, Ledochowski seemed to subsequent commentators a militant right-wing cleric who probably was disinclined to challenge the fascist dictators, particularly on questions of race and antisemetism. However, elements of his background and is reputation might suggest otherwise. 30 Known as a Polish patriot, Ledochowski was actually born in 1866 in the Lower Austrian village of Loosdorf, just west of Vienna, and his native language was German. Once a page at the court of the Empress Elizabeth of Austria, he was the son of Count Anthony Ledochowski, an exiled Russian Pole and cavalry officer in the Austro-Hungarian army, and Josephine Salis-Zizers, who was of aristocratic Swiss background. His distinguished family included Cardinal Miecyslaw Ledochowski, prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, a sister [Julia Ursula] who was superior of the Polish Ursulines, and another sister [Maria Teresa] who directed missionary work in Africa. Educated in both German and Polish instructions, Ledochowski was elected Superior General of the Jesuit Order in 1915, and served in his post for twenty seven years until his death in 1942. He lived almost continuously in Rome for this entire period.

Appreciated as a strict disciplinarian and keen administrator, committed to the strengthening [of] the Jesuit Order and opposing the excesses of modernism, Ledochowski was a dynamic and determined leader, with greater seniority in the high office at the Vatican even than the Pope himself. He seems to have no particular interest in Jewish matters, but was understood to be rather liberal on matters of race and religious diversity. "A great believer in the cooperation of Catholics with non-Catholics" observed The New York Times in its 1942 obituary; he worked untiringly to promote understandings between religious groups." 31 As Superior General, Ledochowski sought the appointment of native clergymen in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East and, again according to The New York Times, was "keenly interested in the rights and progress of the Negro in the United States."

There is no indication that he might have been driven by anticommunism to spare criticism of Germany under Hitler. To be sure, as Passelecq and Suchecky point out, Ledochowski had believed like so many others that Nazism was a passing phenomenon, and in a sense the Soviets were seen to pose a far more fundamental threat than the Hitlerian regime to the interests of the Church. 32 But on the other hand as the Fuhrer hold on power solidified[,] the dangers of Nazism became more apparent- a viewpoint confirmed by Obborne's Italian counterpart in August 1939. Indeed, Ledochowski was said to fear the pope's peace initiative of 1939 precisely because it suggested the Holy See was coming too much under German and Italian pressure. 33

Another hypothesis has it that Pacelli himself might have blocked the encyclical- based on the latter's disinclination to confront the fascist dictators on matters of racism and antisemitism and his concern to maintain the neutrality of the Holy See. The French Cardinal Eugene Tisserant's words in 1940 are often quoted, saying that history might reproach the Vatican with having followed a policy of "Selfish convenience" under Pius XII, in marked contrast to the policies of his predecessor, Achille Ratti. 34 Whatever the general assessment of Pacelli, however, no evidence has come to light that he sought to subvert the objectives of his predecessor whom he had faithfully served as secretary of state, or that he disagreed with the content of the draft encyclical. What seems much more important is the shifting context of the spring of 1939. A few weeks after the death of Pius XI[,] the British government announced a military guarantee of Poland, sharply reversing their hands-off approach to eastern Europe. To an even greater degree than before, the European powers seemed about to go to war. At the Vatican, might the newly elected pope have been determined to make a fresh effort to preserve the peace, putting aside Ratti's confrontationist approach, which after all had borne little fruit? Pacelli seems to have been determined to assist the European powers "not to destroy each other," as Owne Chadwick observes. This was not a rejection of Pius XI's cause, but the adaptation of a new priority. In Chadwick's words, "Vatican policy changed overnight." 35

Much of factual evidence cited above has been known, at least among a small circle of interested readers, since the end of 1972, when a story on he "hidden encyclical" appeared in the Kansas City-based, lay-edited National Catholic Reporter (NCR) by Thomas Breslin, then a twenty-eight-year old academic and former Jesuit seminarian who had come across the material in LaFarge's private papers. Unfortunately, discussion at the time drew only selectively from the draft encyclical itself and made some very doubtful claims about its import. "Pope Pius XI commissioned ... an encyclical attacking racism and anti-Semitism in June of 1938," the NCR article began; had it been published, the encyclical "would have broken the much criticized Vatican silence on the persecution f the Jews before and during the Second World War." Had the encyclical appeared, the associate editor of NCR further claimed, hundreds of thousands, even millions of lives might have been saved. Commenting more soberly for the NCR, Gordon Zahn, historian and author of German Catholics and Hitler's Wars, noted that "the heart of [the draft] encyclical, its whole reason for being written in the first place, was the explicit condemnation of racism and anti-Semitism." While not so bold in his claims as Connor Cruise O'Brien fifteen years later, Zahn was nevertheless certain that publication would have made an important difference. "Nazi anti-Semitic practices would not have stopped, but they [might] not have escalated to the stage of planned extermination; more important, Catholics in countries soon to be occupied might have been less ready to cooperate when the time came." 37

At the time, the NCR story whetted the appetite of Georges Passelecq, who eventually joined with Bernard Suchecky to write a full-dress account of the affair. In a not entirely convincing first chapter, the authors suggest that their hunt for the missing encyclical- a most elusive document, "like the Loch Ness monster," as one source described it to them -- was constantly obstructed by Church authorities. 38 It is not clear why they did not immediately seek out Breslin, who was named in the 1972 NCR story. ....

John Hagee's Apparent Lack of Interest In History

When I first heard about John Hagee and his characterization of the Roman Catholic Church as “the Great Whore,” an “apostate church,” and a “false cult system,” blaming it for the WW2 holocaust of the Jewish peoples, I sent his organization an email alerting him to this blog that I created "Continuing Counter Reformation" which exposes the WW2 era Jesuit Superior General Black Pope Wlodimir Ledochowski. I received the following reply:

March 12, 2008

Dear Doug,

On behalf of John Hagee Ministries, we appreciate the support and confidence you have in Pastor Hagee’s teachings.

Our staff at John Hagee Ministries reviewed your e-mail forwarding your website information.

Thank you for providing Pastor Hagee with the web link listed in your letter. Thank you for sharing this information with Pastor Hagee. The web site link has been duly noted and will be reviewed by our staff at the first opportunity.

Please understand that the demands on this ministry have placed a tremendous responsibility on the hands of our Shepherd and staff. Please understand why he is unable to respond and comment on this web site information.

Remember God’s word says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will grant you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord and He will bring it to pass”. [Psalm 27:4]. We pray that God will fill you with His peace and joy for “the joy of the Lord is our strength”. [ Nehemiah 8:10].

God bless you.

Sincerely,

Edward Martinez

John Hagee Ministries

In looking at my web counter I could find no indication that anyone at John Hagee Ministries looked at this blog.

Is Hagee just another fraternal order controlled minion?

What can one expect from a ministry headed by a man who endorsed John McCain- the U.S. Presidential candidate perhaps most likely to ultimately steer the U.S. into a destructive 2 front war that it will loose?!




Jesuitical Ledochowskiesque Set Up?

Wlodimir Ledochowski's Plausible Childhood Revenge Vow to Destroy Prussia
Wlodimir Ledochowski Mission, Motivation, Geo-Political Chess-Board
Wlodimir Ledochowski's Plausible Counter Reformation Strategy
Wlodimir Ledochowski's Plausible Childhood Inspiration
Wlodimir Ledochowski's Goal Predicted by Max Kolbe
Wlodimir Ledochowski's Goal Via Goals
Wlodimir Ledochowski's Counter Reformation in Art
Wlodimir Ledochowski's Religious Demographic Cleansing
Wlodimir Ledochowski's Counter Reformation Customerly Overlooked
Wlodimir Ledochowski War Culpability Counter Reformation 'Aim' Admission

History's Denial by The New York Times

The New York Times just published this about U.S. Presidential candidate John McCain's pastor John Hagee:

(excerpt)

Mr. McCain had sought the endorsement of the Rev. John Hagee, a televangelist, for more than a year and finally won it in February, only to have the Catholic League denounce Mr. Hagee for waging “an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church.” Mr. Hagee called it “the Great Whore,” an “apostate church,” and a “false cult system.” The pastor apologized and said his remarks had been misconstrued, a truce was declared and Mr. McCain still welcomed the endorsement.

Apparently the New York Times forgets what it wrote in 1892 about a faction within the Roman Catholic Church/Vatican, headed by one Miesczyslaw Ledochowski, uncle to the then future Jesuit Order Superior General Wlodimir Ledochowski (b. October 7, 1866, elected Superior General February 11, 1915, retaining that position to his death of December 13, 1942):

(excerpt)

It is very well understood, however, that Monaco is entirely under the control of Ledochowski, that proud, imperious, and able Pole who made Bismarck such worlds of trouble in the old Kulterkampf day and who has been able to impose his will very often upon even the present Pope. This powerful man was in a German prison when Pius IX created him a Cardinal in 1875. Next year he was released and banished, and he has since lived in Rome, devoting his great wealth and talents to building up a militant Ultramontagne party about him. His wrath at the treatment he received at the hands of Bismarck has colored all his political views. He has hated both Germany and Italy and has looked unceasingly forward to the time when French bayonets should restore the temporal power of the Vatican in the old Roman States.

If we assume that this spirited and resolute prelate will shortly be ruling the Church through its nominal head, it becomes a most anxious question how he will accept the existing political conditions of Europe which have so radically changed since 1875. The new rulers of the Germans have been at pains to show their desire to abolish the last traces of the Kulterkampf. When the pending Prussian Education bill is passed, the German Catholics will be actually stronger than they were before the May laws. During the last half year these dispatches have frequently reflected the new interest which William and his immediate entourage are displaying in the Polish question. Of course a good deal of this has arisen naturally from the contemplation of the necessity of sooner or later fighting Russia: but even more it represents the effort to allure Ledochowski into friendship with Germany by an appeal to his national sentiment. How far this has succeeded will be, as has been said, a most anxious question.

In any event under this new regime there would be an abrupt cessation of pastorals on Socialistic and labor problems and of poems about St. Thomas Aquinas. We should instead see the Vatican boldly embark upon the troubled waters of European diplomacy, seeking alliances and taking desperate risks upon the fortune in the next war.

“Should Old Pope Leo Die: the political tendencies of his successor. The Cardinal who would probably win the prize – his Polish supporter – affairs in France and Germany – Spurgeon’s return – Lord Lorne’s appointment", The New York Times, January 23, 1892

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9B07E3DA1738E233A25757C2A9679C94639ED7CF&oref=slogin

What The New York Times writes now is an insult to the 10s of millions of people murdered by the Ledochowskis' wars- 1st that for Polish independence (WWI), and especially the following war (WWII) for the 'cleansing' of Poland of its Jewish and its more independently minded peoples and so many many more, for the goal of Poland's shift westward for the continuing counter reformation's aim of the wholesale theft of lands from Protestants.



Wlodimir Ledochowski: Mission, Motivation, Geo-Political Chessboard
Wlodimir Ledochowski's Plausible Counter Reformation Strategy
Wlodimir Ledochowski's Plausible Childhood Inspiration
Wlodimir Ledochowski's Plausible Childhood Revenge Vow To Destroy Prussia
Wlodimir Ledochowski's Spooky Obscurity