How an 800-year old Catholic ruling laid the groundwork for Hitler — and now Trump
LORRAINE BERRY
03 MAY 2016 AT 14:10 ET
Among Donald Trump’s many proposals for how to “make America great again,” his call to register all Muslims living in the United States was among the most alarming for those afraid of Trump summoning the spectre of Hitler’s separation of German Jews from the German population. Trump’s rhetoric and its resemblance to fascism echoed the fear that Trump longed for a return to 1930s Europe.
But those who think that Hitler originated the idea that Jews should be forced to wear the yellow star should consider that the Catholic Church mandated the wearing of special clothing for Jews back in 1215, more than 800 years ago. Lateran Council IV is largely remembered among Catholics because it described the Eucharist as an act of transubstantiation (that is, that the bread and wine became the literal flesh and blood of Christ), and called down for harsh punishments against heretics. (Although the Church was not allowed to execute anyone itself, it could try suspected heretics and then”relax” the convicted heretic to civic authorities, who would then burn the offender.)
What is often omitted in historical accounts of the Council was its harsh pronouncements about Jews who lived in Christian lands. Canons 67-70 mandated that Jews be forced to adhere to the regulations set forth by the Church — laws that crossed national borders to wherever Jews lived in Christendom.
So, for example, the laws that prevented Christians from being able to loan money to other Christians and charge interest had a negative impact on the economy — no one was likely to loan money without some way of making money on the loan. Jews were able to loan money with interest, but the Fourth Lateran Council declared that if a Christian struggled to pay tithes to the Church because they were paying off an interest-bearing loan to Jews, then the Jew who had loaned money to the Christian would be forced to pay the tithes to the Church instead.
https://www.rawstory.com/2016/05/how-an-800-year-old-catholic-ruling-laid-the-groundwork-for-hitler-and-now-trump/
To change the future, first know the past.
