Unit Overview
Welcome to our unit on the role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust. Over the next few weeks, we will be exploring the moral and practical implications of the Church's response to genocide and Fascism during the 1930s and 1940s. The purpose of this unit is for us to learn about the Holocaust through a different lens (religion and the Catholic Church) and to reflect on the responsibility of individual people of faith as well as religious institutions to respond when human rights are being threatened. We will do this in light of our shared Catholic values and beliefs about the dignity of every human being as well as the Gospel message of Jesus Christ (“whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me...")
Together, we will explore the choices made by courageous men and women (e.g. St. Maximilian Kolbe) as well as the Catholic Church as an institution under the leadership of Pope Pius XII during this time period in history. Over the next couple of weeks, we will also begin to consider the role and responsibility of the Church today, as well as individual Catholics and those belonging to other religious denominations, to respond to global problems and injustice. I encourage you to approach this unit with an open mind ready for reflection, discussion, and even disagreement as we consider this complex topic.
Welcome to our unit on the role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust. Over the next few weeks, we will be exploring the moral and practical implications of the Church's response to genocide and Fascism during the 1930s and 1940s. The purpose of this unit is for us to learn about the Holocaust through a different lens (religion and the Catholic Church) and to reflect on the responsibility of individual people of faith as well as religious institutions to respond when human rights are being threatened. We will do this in light of our shared Catholic values and beliefs about the dignity of every human being as well as the Gospel message of Jesus Christ (“whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me...")
Together, we will explore the choices made by courageous men and women (e.g. St. Maximilian Kolbe) as well as the Catholic Church as an institution under the leadership of Pope Pius XII during this time period in history. Over the next couple of weeks, we will also begin to consider the role and responsibility of the Church today, as well as individual Catholics and those belonging to other religious denominations, to respond to global problems and injustice. I encourage you to approach this unit with an open mind ready for reflection, discussion, and even disagreement as we consider this complex topic.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this unit, you will be able to...
By the end of this unit, you will be able to...
- Identify & explain the political, social, and ideological causes of World War II and the Holocaust
- Explain how Christian anti-Semitism contributed to the Holocaust
- Analyze the moral and practical implications of the Church's response to genocide and oppression
- Explore the choices made by courageous men and women to defend the Jewish people during the Holocaust
- Identify & explain the challenges to Church teaching in the 20th century
- Utilize the message of the Gospel to analyze the responsibility of individual people of faith to respond in times of moral crisis