WHAT really IS ANTI-SEMITISM?
By Fr. Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp
Father Fahey, the great apostle of Catholic Social Doctrine, wrote this brief, but excellent expose on the question of what the Catholic Church defines as anti-Semitism. Even more so then when it was written in 1950, such a clear distinction is needed today.
On account of the confusion of mind prevalent amongst Catholics concerning the question of Anti-Semitism, a few words must be said about it.
In the excellent review of my book The Kingship of Christ and Organized Naturalism which appeared in the Jesuit magazine, La Civilta Cattolica (Rome, March 1947), the reviewer laid special stress on the distinction which I have been making in all books. He wrote as follows:
"The author wants a clear distinction to be made between hatred of the Jewish nation, which is Anti-Semitism, and opposition to the Jewish and Masonic naturalism. This opposition on the part of Catholics must be mainly positive by acknowledging, not only individually, but socially, the rights of the supernatural Kingship of Christ and His Church, and by striving politically to get these rights acknowledged by States and public life. For this indispensable undertaking… the active and effective union of Catholics… is absolutely necessary."
Space does not allow of lengthy quotations from papal documents to show that, on the one hand, the sovereign pontiffs insist that Catholics must stand unflinchingly for the integral rights of Christ the King as contained in the papal encyclicals, while, on the other hand, keeping their minds and hearts free from hatred of Our Lord’s own nation according to the flesh. On the other hand, they must battle for the rights of Christ the King and the supernatural organization of society as laid down in the encyclical Quas Primas, unequivocally proclaiming that the rejection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the True Messias, by His own nation, and the unyielding opposition of that nation to Him, are a fundamental source of disorder and conflict in the world. On the other hand, as members of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Catholic should neither hate the members of that nation in which, through our Blessed Mother, the Lily of Israel, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity assumed human nature, nor deny them their legitimate rights as persons. The supernatural elevation of mind and heart and the unshrinking fortitude that are required from members of Christ in our day can be maintained only with the aid of Him who wept over Jerusalem’s rejection of order. It will inevitably mean suffering for Christ’s faithful members as the power of the anti-supernatural forces in the world increases. Even in the midst of their suffering, however, Christ’s members must bear in mind that there will be glorious triumph for Christ the King.
Two reasons can be assigned for the fact that Our Lord’s faithful members will often be betrayed by those who should be on the side of Christ the King.
Firstly, many Catholic writers speak of papal condemnations of Anti-Semitism without explaining the meaning of the term and never even allude to the documents which insist on the rights of Our Divine Lord, Head of the Mystical Body, Priest and King. Thus, very many are completely ignorant of the duty incumbent on all Catholics of standing positively for Our Lord’s reign in society in opposition to the Jewish naturalism. The result is that numbers of Catholics are so ignorant of Catholic doctrine that they hurl the accusation of Anti-Semitism against those who are battling for the rights of Christ the King thus effectively aiding the enemies of Our Divine Lord.
Secondly, many Catholic writers copy unquestioningly what they read in the naturalistic or anti-supernatural Press and do not distinguish between Anti-Semitism in the correct Catholic sense as explained above, and "Anti-Semitism," as the Jews understand it. For the Jews, "Anti-Semitism" is anything that is in opposition to the naturalistic Messanic domination of their nation over all the others. Quite logically, the leaders of the Jewish nation hold that to stand for the Rights of Christ the King is to be "Anti-Semitic." The term "Anti-Semitism," with all its war-connotation in the minds of the unthinking, is being extended to include any form of opposition to the Jewish nation’s naturalistic aims and any exposure of the methods they adopt to achieve these aims.
At the beatification of Joan of Arc (December 13, 1908), the saintly Pope Pius X said:
"In our time more than ever before, the greatest asset of those disposed toward evil is the cowardice and weakness of good men, and all the vigor of Satan’s reign is due to the easygoing weakness of Catholics. Oh! if I might ask the Divine Redeemer, as the Prophet Zachary did in spirit (Zach. 13:6a): ‘What are those wounds in the midst of Thy hands?’ The answer would not be doubtful: ‘… With these I was wounded in the house of them that loved me’ (Zach. 13:6b). I was wounded by my friends, who did nothing to defend me, and who, on every occasion, made themselves the accomplices of my adversaries. And this reproach can be leveled at the weak and timid Catholic of all countries."
Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp.
Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
June 16, 1950
