| ANTI-SEMITISM IS NOT CHRISTIAN |
| Pope Pius XI |
| We condemn all discriminatory measures against any religious or racial group. We
proclaim with Pope Pius XI that "it is not possible for Christians to have any part
in anti-Semitism." By attacking a people from whom Christ was born, anti-Semitism is
manifestly anti-Christian in its roots. Every doctrine is contrary to Christianity that
mistakenly or out of hatred prevents men from exercising their natural rights by reason of
their ethnic or religious affiliation. If individuals or established social and religious
groups harm the common good, punishment for such acts should be meted out according to the
responsibilities of the persons involved. Preventative measures cannot deprive any
individual of his natural rights and of the conditions of a free, dignified, and humane
life—that the state by reason of its existence ought to guarantee to each person.
Every exceptional or discriminatory law is unjust. We know moreover that Christians ought
not only care for themselves and their interests but also for the good of their brothers
and the future of justice and law. The abominable racial, religious, and political
persecutions which today bloody the word wound the health of each of us who belong to
Christ. Jacques Maritain, Oeuvres Completes, vol. 7, 1224. Quoted in: Jacques Maritain and the Jews, edited by Robert Royal (Notre Dame 1994). |
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