| Much condemnation has befallen the Catholic church because of certain events throughout its history. It has also illustrated that ignorance squeeks louder than knowledge. In an attempt to paint an unbiased yet accurate portrait, we will survey certain events in the history of Catholic/Jewish relationships. Though these events happen to fall within the periods of the first reich (800-1806) from the coronation of Charlemaine to Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, the second reich (1871-1918) from the crowning of Kaiser Wilhelm as king of Germany furthering the attempt to re-create the holy Roman empire set into motion by Otto I (962), until the surrender of Germany in WWI, and the infamous third reich (1933-1945) under Adolf Hitler, I do not mean for these designations in any way to insinuate an association between the Catholic church and Jewish persecution. Much ignorance and bias is to blame for such speculation. The First Reich (800-1806) The stopwatch of this era began to tick the moment that pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne (Charles the Great ) emperor on Christmas day in AD 800. In hopes of unifying Europe and reviving the holy Roman empire, Charlemagne sought to bring his dominion under one state religion, whether by choice or by force. Prior to Constantine (274-337), all Christians faced the reality of persecution-even martyrdom- for being a religion that was not recognized by the Roman authorities partly because of their refusal to acknowledge the emperor as deity. Beginning with Constantine's legal recognition of Christianity, subsequent emperors fell prey to a growing seduction of the church by the state, leading it to eventually marry her enemy. In recent years, advocates of such a "separation" embrace a one-sided separation, that of the church from the state. According to Erwin Lutzer, "The coronation of Charles the great was the high point of the fatal marriage." In 1804, attempting to crown Napoleon Bonaparte in Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, Napoleon grabbed it away from the pope, crowned himself as if he had won the right to rule of his own merits. Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo resulted in the re-creation of Prussia and a new sense of unified German nationalism was growing after a series of wars. But this historical context is skipping a very important event in Jewish history. A time of horrors. The crusades. The century prior to the crusades was marked by famine and hardship. Many Jews were city dwellers and tended to work in financial or other professional circles. Thus, it didn't take much for non-Jews to suspect that their Jewish neighbors/colleagues would take advantage of them one way or another. Would they loose their jobs, their homes, be imprisioned for a debt that they were unable to pay. Given the environment of hostility toward non-Christians, emotions can easily override reason. The Crusades The crusades were military expeditions formed under the Roman Catholic church. Though they were under the auspice of the church, not all persons involved were Catholics or had religious motives. Definately, not all were Christians. Kings, nobles, knights & peasants took part in the crusades. Some sought to gain control of the holy land, others to increase their power, territory and material stores. The 600s introduced Islam to the world as it was spread, often by violence. In 1071, Seljuk Turks (muslims) invaded Asia Minor, Palestine, Syria and often made it difficult for Christian to travel to the holy places. In 1095, Byzantine emperor Alexius Comenus asked pope Urban II for aid in fighting the Turks. In addition to defending Christianity against the Muslim and recovering the holy places, Urban also wanted to secure an advantage over a rival pope. Though the eight crusades occupied a total of 25 years between 1096-1254, much Jewish blood was shed as the hostility toward non-Christians was fueled by a mixture of motives. The historian Kenneth Latourette wrote that "The crusaders were far from being ideal exemplars of the faith which they professed & few if any willing conversions from Islam were made by them." (Latourette, p. 411). The First Crusade (1096-99). Following Pope Urban II's call for a crusade, an entheusiastic preacher known as Peter the Hermit and a knight called Walter the Penniless led a vigilante group which preceeded the official expedition. Known as the Peasant's crusade, this untrained and undisciplined band often demanded food and shelter from villagers as they traveled. Many citizens who the peasants robbed & killed for food, money & supplies were Jews. Most of these robbers were eventually killed by angry Europeans. Unfortunately for the Jews, the increasing feelings of hostility toward non-Christians in general and Muslims in particular, included them in its wake. As the institutionalized church became wedded to the state, the Jews were seen more as outsiders. To entice volunteers, the pope offered plenary indulgences to participants (& guarantee of eternal life to the martyrs). The Second Crusade (1147-49). Just as the first crusade was stirred by the preaching of pope Urban II, this one was fueled by the preaching of Bernard of Clarvaux. Prompted by the Turkish invasion of Constanople, this crusade sought to defend the Latin states (Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli, and Jerusalem) from Muslim rule. The Third Crusade (1189-92). Saladin, the sultan of Egypt & Syria had united the Muslims around the Latin states, crouched for invasion. The loss of Jerusalem brought on this crusade co-led by the German emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa), King Richard (the Lion-hearted) of England and King Philip II of France. Frederick drowned in 1190, and the alliance between Richard and Philip was soured as they quarreled & Philip eventually sought to kill Richard. By this time, many of the crusaders began to include Jews in their bodycounts while on the crusade-route. The Fourth Crusade (1202-04). This crusade was thwarted as the crusaders became ensnared in the affairs of the Byzantine empire. Disobeying the pope, the crusaders decided to attack Egypt & split Muslim power. However, after bargaining with Venetian traders to take them to Egypt the crusaders discovered they didn't have the money for the transport. The Venetians offered to forgive the debts if the crusaders would attack Zara (Croatia) for them. The crusaders were also diverted by a Greek prince who convinced them to regain the Byzantine empire for a price. Upon installation, the promise for payment was reneged. The crusaders then re-captured the empire and re-installed Count Flaunders. The Children's Crusade (1212). The validity of this event is in disbute, but signals probably the strangest and saddest event during this time. Thousands of boys and girls between ages of 10-18 became convinced that God would deliver Jerusalem into their hands. Children from France formed one group and children from Germany formed the other. None of the children reached the holy land. Many starved or froze to death, others returned home in shame while yet others boarded ships and were either drowned or sold into slavery by the Muslims. The remaining four crusades were characterized by political posturing, negotiations and failure. Within the following centuries, the original (and often forgotten) crusader goal, the spread of the gospel, had turned its eyes toward the horizon. The next event is also often laid at the feet of the Roman Catholic church, the Inquisitions. |
