Between WWI and WWII, Germans proudly sang their patriotic anthem Die Wacht am Rhein translated as "The Watch on the Rhine." It contains the famous line, Lieb Vaterland, magst ruhig sein (seen in picture above) meaning "Dear Fatherland, be at peace."  That is, Germans believed that despite the loss of WWI, they could find the right captain to lead them to peace and victory. Everything was going to be fine... at all costs. Alhough there is much debate to this day on how many Germans actually believed Hitler's initial threats to the Jews, the fact is that it didn't matter to most German gentiles.  They were ready for a win, [...]

The traditional Magisterium of the Catholic Church listed nine ways to being an accessory to another’s sin: 1. By counsel 2. By command 3. By consent 4. By provocation 5. By praise or flattery 6. By concealment 7. By partaking 8. By silence 9. By defense of the ill done. In traditional Catholic morality, we usually apply the above to matters of sexuality, gossip or finances.  And we should. But have we ever thought of what it means to cover for another’s heresy under pretext of “giving the benefit of the doubt” to a "Catholic" teaching error?  St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that heresy is “any deviation from the rectitude of [...]