It’s been a tough week for Roman Catholics and for religious toleration

Published: 23 September, 2010

• IT’S been a tough week for Catholics. 

Journalists and letter-writers who profess themselves liberals have published views that would make the far-right proud. Underlying all this sectarianism is racism, conscious or not. Those who had to contain their prejudice against continental Europe can now write and talk about those Catholic countries, who being Catholic, were supposed to be natural allies of Hitlerism. Ireland is mentioned because she chose to be neutral.

If we are to examine all faiths – Judaism, Church of England, Islam, even Buddhism we can find plenty of evidence where deals were done with the Nazis. England was quite fascinated with Nazism up until 1938. The Hitler Youth and the Boy Scout movement here had exchange programmes. Hardening camps were set up in the 1930s for the unemployed, an idea from Hitler’s Germany, and approved of by the Trade Union Congress. 

Winston Churchill was intrigued by Mussolini and said that come the day that was the system for Britain. As a near relative of mine said; if this loathing of Catholicism were to go on for weeks and then for months we might begin to understand what the Jews suffered in Nazi Germany. 

All in all a useful revelation of what really lies under the surface. 

In all faiths there are things that could be changed but I expect, like Catholicism, a religion can be treated à la carte. 
Wilson John Haire
Lulot Gardens, N19