"Mit brennender Sorge made it 
indisputably clear the racial ideology 
expressed by the Nazi party was not 
supported by the Catholic Church." 



MIT BRENNENDER SORGE 

An Exegesis on the Encyclical to the Third Reich 

A L E X A N D R A V A L D E Z 

T H R O U C H O U T T H E 1930s, T H E A S C E N D A N C E O F T H E N A Z I R E G I M E N O T O N L Y D I M I N -

I S H E D T H E A U T H O R I T Y O F T H E R O M A N C A T H O L I C C H U R C H I N G E R M A N Y , B U T A L S O 

D I R E C T L Y C O U N T E R E D F U N D A M E N T A L C A T H O L C D O C T R I N E S . I N F A C E O F T H E 

M O U N T I N G A T R O C I T I E S O F T H E G E R M A N G O V E R N M E N T , P O P E P I U S X I , W I T H T H E 

H E L P O F E U G E N I O P A C E L L I , N U N C I O T O G E R M A N Y , A N D G E R M A N B I S H O P M I C H A E L 

F A U L H A B E R , I N A N U N P R E C E D E N T E D O U T R E A C H T O T H E E N T I R E G E R M A N F A I T H F U L , 

I S S U E D T H E E N C Y C L I C A L MIT BRENNENDER SORCE. A P P E A L I N G P A R T I C U L A R L Y T O 

T H E Y O U T H A N D T H E L A I T Y , T H E E N C Y C L I C A L C H A L L E N G E D G E R M A N S T O U S E C O N -

S C I E N C E A S A F I N A L R E S O R T I N A S S E S S I N G T H E V A L I D I T Y O F A R E L I G I O U S I N S T I T U -

T I O N O R P O L I T I C A L M O V E M E N T . I N I T S A D D R E S S T O T H E G E R M A N P E O P L E , MIT BREN-

NENDER SORCE R E F L E C T E D T H E D E L I C A C Y O F T H E R E L A T I O N S H I P B E T W E E N T H E H O L Y 

S E E A N D T H E N A Z I R E G I M E B Y N O T R E F E R E N C I N G A N Y P E R S O N , P A R T Y , O R O R G A N I -

Z A T I O N S P E C I F I C A L L Y . N E V E R T H E L E S S , T H E P U R P O S E A N D T H E T I M E L I N E S S O F T H E 

E N C Y C L I C A L W A S L O S T O N F E W , P A R T I A L L Y D I S P E L L I N G T H E W I D E S P R E A D B E L I E F T H A T 

T H E C A T H O L I C C H U R C H T U R N E D A B L I N D E Y E T O T H E T H I R D R E I C H . 



I N T R O D U C T I O N 

Passion Sunday, 1937: the encyclical to the G e r m a n 

C h u r c h — m i t brennender Sorge ( " w i t h b u r n i n g c o n c e r n " ) — 

was read at the pulp i t s o f Catholics churches t h r o u g h o u t 

the G e r m a n Reich. Th i s d o c u m e n t is the sole official pub-

lic declaration f r o m the Head o f Rome against the Nazi 

reg ime. I n the years after the war, the response o f the 

Catholic C h u r c h , part icular ly o n the hierarchical level, to 

the atrocities that took place u n d e r the c o m m a n d o f A d o l f 

H i t l e r has been considered grossly insuff ic ient . I t is the re-

sponsibi l i ty o f an i n s t i t u t i o n such as the R o m a n Catholic 

C h u r c h to take a stand against any miscarriage o f justice. 

T h u s , to r e m a i n a bystander i n the face o f a leviathan such 

as the Holocaust 

is beyond inexcus-

able. 

W I T H THE S I G N I N G O F T H E REICHSKON KORDAT, THERE WAS THE APPEARANCE 

OF COOPERATION BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC C H U R C H A N D T H E N A Z I REGIME. 

A n y j u d g m e n t o f 

the Catholic 

Church's actions 

is far f r o m be ing 

settled. Mit bren-

nender Sorge is at 

the center o f this 

heated debate. 

The most vehe-

m e n t critics em-

phasize h o w the 

d o c u m e n t failed 

to defend the Jews 

i n Germany. The 

anti-Semitic views 

o f the Nat ional Socialist Party were explicit f r o m its incep-

t i o n , and by 1937, the harshly d i sc r iminatory N u r e m b e r g 

Laws had been i n effect for a lmost two years. I n other 

words , i t was distressingly clear that the r ights o f thousands 

o f indiv idua ls , part icular ly the Jews, were b e i n g disre-

garded by the G e r m a n government . By r e m a i n i n g m u t e o n 

the subject, the C h u r c h — w i t h her o w n h a n d i n anti-Judaist 

s e n t i m e n t — c a n be construed even as desirous o f such an 

atrocity. But for every i n d i v i d u a l that holds the C h u r c h i n 

c o n t e m p t for her v i r t u a l silence, there is another that cites 

mit brennender Sorge as p r o o f that the C h u r c h , as an i n s t i t u -

t i o n , defied the Nazi reg ime. D e t e r m i n i n g the culpabi l i ty 

o f the C h u r c h i n these matters does not fall under the scope 

o f h istor ica l study. T h u s , i t is not m y i n t e n t i o n to either 

c o n d e m n or exonerate her. Rather, this w i l l be an analysis 

o f the encyc l ica l—in its content and l anguage—attempt ing 

to determine what the C h u r c h was c o m m u n i c a t i n g to the 

German-Cathol ic popu la t ion . 

T H E REICHSKONKORDAT 

Before b e g i n n i n g a discussion o f the encyclical, i t is i m p o r -

tant to address another d o c u m e n t that is invaluable w h e n 

cons ider ing rela-

t ions between the 

Catholic C h u r c h 

and the T h i r d 

Reich d u r i n g the 

per iod preceding 

the outbreak o f 

W o r l d War I I : the 

Concordat be-

tween the H o l y 

See and the 

G e r m a n Reich. 

O n July 20 , 1933, 

less t h a n six 

m o n t h s after 

A d o l f H i t l e r was 

s w o r n i n as 

Chancellor, 

Cardinal Secretary 

o f State Eugenio Pacelli and Vice-Chancellor Franz v o n 

Papen signed the Reichskonkordat, w h i c h was meant to de-

fine the state's re lat ionship w i t h the Roman Catholic 

C h u r c h . The m a j o r i t y o f the articles out l ine a series o f free-

doms that were to be assured to the C h u r c h under the 

G e r m a n government . 

The Concordat guaranteed the profession and publ ic prac-

tice o f the Catholic r e l i g i o n (Art ic le 1), u n h i n d e r e d c o m m u -

E L E M E N T S : : S P R I N G 10 



"It is the responsibilty of an 
institution such as the 

Roman Catholic Church to 
take a stand against any 

miscarriage of justice." 

n i c a t i o n between the H o l y See a n d G e r m a n Catholics 

(Art ic le 4) , the m a i n t a i n e d existence o f Theological 

Faculties i n State Univers i t ies (Art ic le 19), Catholic educa-

t i o n i n schools (Art ic le 21), the r i g h t o f the bishops to ap-

prove all Catholic r e l i g i o n teachers (Art ic le 22), the reten-

t i o n o f Catholic d e n o m i n a t i o n a l schools as w e l l as the 

establ ishment o f new ones (Art ic le 23), and the protect ion 

o f Catholic organizations and societies i n a d d i t i o n to the i n -

st i tut ions a n d activities thereo f (Art ic le 31).1 The G e r m a n 

government gains l i t t l e f r o m this agreement i n compar i -

son to the protections p r o m i s e d to the C h u r c h . The m o s t 

notable article that w o u l d be considered advantageous to 

the state requi red the Catholic bishops to take an oath o f 

loyalty to the G e r m a n Reich (Art ic le 16). 1 1 A n o t h e r advan-

tage—and possibly the sought advantage—of the G e r m a n 

government was that the agreement w i t h the C h u r c h 

w o u l d discourage the C h u r c h f r o m openly c r i t i c i z i n g the 

Nazi Regime, i n order to preserve the protections guaran-

teed by the Concordat. 

I t is clear f r o m this Concordat that the Catholic C h u r c h 

h e l d the protect ion o f herse l f as an i n s t i t u t i o n and the 

r ights o f its m e m b e r s to practice freely o f the u t m o s t i m p o r -

tance. Unfortunate ly , as t i m e w o u l d te l l , the T h i r d Reich 

was n o t part icular ly d i l i gent i n u p h o l d i n g the agreements 

made i n the Reichskonkordat. The m o s t a l a r m i n g and inces-

sant breaches o f the agreement were encroachments u p o n 

Catholic educat ion a n d y o u t h organizat ions. A policy was 

established f o r b i d d i n g double-membersh ip i n the H i t l e r 

Youth and other y o u t h organizat ions . 1 1 1 I n 1936, the Gesetz 

tiber die Hitler Jugend (Law o n the H i t l e r Youth) was passed. 

A l t h o u g h i t was not p u t i n t o strict effect u n t i l 1939, i t w o u l d 

require "the ent ire G e r m a n y o u t h inside o f the reg ion o f the 

Reich" to become m e m b e r s o f the H i t l e r Y o u t h . l v The gov-

e r n m e n t sought to secularize schools by decreasing school 

prayers a n d rel ig ious services, c u r t a i l i n g the n u m b e r o f re-

l ig ious instructors , and even a t t e m p t i n g to remove cruci-

fixes f r o m classrooms. A campaign to convert confessional 

schools i n t o i n t e r d e n o m i n a t i o n a l schools caused great 

a l a r m a m o n g the G e r m a n bishops for these ins t i tu t ions 

were specifically protected u n d e r the Reichskonkordat? T h e 

near abo l i t ion o f private schools and a b a n o n m e m b e r s o f 

re l ig ious orders f r o m teaching came as a fur ther b l o w to the 

Catholic educational system. v l 

O n August 20 , 1935, the bishops o f Germany gathered i n 

Fulda to draw u p a m e m o r a n d u m sent directly to A d o l f 

Hi t ler . I n a d d i t i o n to expressing concern over the viola-

t ions o f the Concordat, the bishops were distressed over the 

"neopagan attacks against Chr i s t ian i ty and the c h u r c h " a n d 

"the general secularization o f al l aspects o f publ ic l i f e . " v n 

They received no response. As a result , i n January o f 1937, 

the bishops reassembled i n Fulda once m o r e to draft an-

other m e m o r a n d u m , b u t expecting the same result as the 

f irst , they appealed to h igher power. Shortly f o l l o w i n g the 

conference, the three cardinals o f Germany, Ber t ram, 

Faulhaber, a n d Schulte and two bishops, Galen and 

Preysing arr ived i n Rome at the request o f Pope Pius X I . 

Here , they appealed for the pope to make a publ ic declara-

t i o n o n the c o n d i t i o n o f the Catholic C h u r c h i n Germany. 

A t the request o f Eugenio Pacelli, Michae l Faulhaber pre-

pared the encyclical, w h i c h was t h e n revised by Pacelli and 

the H o l y Father h i m s e l f . v l " 

The encyclical fiercely bemoaned the grievances c o m m i t -

ted by the T h i r d Reich against the Concordat and the 

C h u r c h . However, a l though the violations o f the 

Reichskonkordat were the leading catalyst to the dra f t ing o f 

the encyclical, the m a i n focus was n o t o n the G e r m a n gov-

e r n m e n t . Instead, Rome addressed the G e r m a n fa i th fu l . 

The T h i r d Reich's disregard for d ip lomat ic agreement 

MIT BRENNENDER SORC E 



c o m m u n i c a t e d t w o th ings to the G e r m a n C h u r c h . First, 

the t e m p o r a l power that the C h u r c h and the Papacy once 

exerted h a d become extremely l i m i t e d . Second, the protec-

t i o n that the C h u r c h h a d sought to atta in for the fa i th fu l 

t h r o u g h d ip lomacy was by no means assured. I n l i g h t o f 

these t w o facts, the C h u r c h realized that appeals to the 

T h i r d Reich were useless. T h u s , they released an encyclical 

that was ent ire ly unprecedented i n the l o n g his tory o f the 

C h u r c h i n Rome. 

I N T R O D U C T I O N T O T H E E N C Y C L I C A L 

Mit brennender Sorge—translated i n the official Engl i sh ver-

s ion as " w i t h deep anxiety"—li tera l ly means, " w i t h b u r n i n g 

concern." These words evoked a sense o f urgency. The 

body o f the encyclical was d iv ided i n t o three m a i n sections, 

exc luding the i n t r o d u c t i o n and the c o n c l u s i o n . 1 X The first 

section o u t l i n e d a n d reiterated the pr inciples o f the 

Catholic fa i th and cr i t ic ized the Nazis use o f language to 

create a r e l i g i o n out o f the i r fascist ideology. The second 

section (not discussed i n this work) ident i f i ed the author i ty 

o f m o r a l i t y and natura l law as superior to t e m p o r a l decrees 

and i t served as a re in forcement o f the first section by dis-

paraging the fabricated m o r a l standards o f the Nazi ideol-

ogy w h i c h removes God as the b e i n g that shapes m o r a l i t y 

and natura l law. The final and m o s t u n i q u e section was a 

direct address to the G e r m a n fa i th fu l i n three sections: one 

to y o u t h , one to the priests and the ordained, and one to the 

laity. 

REINER CLAUBE: U N A D U L T E R A T E D F A I T H 

The first section was compr i sed o f five smaller sections. 

O n l y the first three w i l l be discussed as the m a j o r points are 

largely encompassed w i t h i n t h e m . The first four broke 

d o w n the pure components o f what Catholics believe start-

i n g w i t h God (Reiner Gottesglaube), t h e n discussing Chr is t 

(Reiner Christusglaube), t h e n the C h u r c h (Reiner 

Kirchenglaube), and finally the headship o f Pope (Reiner 

Glaube an den Primat). The fifth subsection is t i t l e d , Keine 

Umdeutung heiliger Worie und Begriffe, w h i c h cr i t ic ized the 

adopt ion o f C h r i s t i a n vocabulary i n Nazi speech. These 

f irst sections were addressed to the fa i th fu l and act as a con-

G E R M A N CATHOLICS PLEDGE LOYALTY TO THE STATE 

D U R I N G MASS. 

scientious r e m i n d e r o f foundat iona l beliefs o f Cathol ic i sm. 

I t was also a po ignant r e p r i m a n d o f the current G e r m a n 

Reich. As a h i g h l y d ip lomat ic document , there was no 

n a m i n g o f perpetrators n o r is there specific m e n t i o n o f 

Naz i sm; however, the people and the problems b e i n g ad-

dressed were clear to all w h o heard i t i n 1937. 

REINER GOTTESGLAUBE: U N A D U L T E R A T E D 

F A I T H I N G O D 

Reiner Gottesglaube emphasized that fa i th i n God, according 

to the Catholic creed, is very specific and defined. I t served 

as a sharp cr i t ique o f the neopaganism a n d p a n t h e i s m per-

petuated i n Nazi speech and ceremony and asserted that 

there can be no subs t i tu t ion for the b e i n g called God: 

Our God is the Personal God, supernatural, omnipotent, 

E L E M E N T S S P R I N G 10 



infinitely perfect, one in the Trinity of Persons, tri-personal 

in the unity of divine essence, the Creator of all existence. 

Lord, King and ultimate Consummator of the history of the 

world, who will not, and cannot, tolerate a rival God by his 

side.x 

The Nazi ideology made th is r iva l God by d i v i n i z i n g the 

State a n d the so-called A r y a n race. The Nazis created a 

state i n w h i c h i t was no longer possible to serve God prop-

erly s imultaneous ly w i t h the G e r m a n n a t i o n , for "no one 

can serve t w o masters."" 1 Not only d i d the C h u r c h reject the 

elevation o f race and the state o n the g r o u n d o f idolatry, b u t 

also the C h u r c h expressed recogn i t ion o f a universal equal-

i ty owed to al l m e n before the eyes o f God: "As God's s u n 

shines o n every h u m a n face so H i s law knows nei ther priv-

ilege n o r exception. " x n I t is also o f note that the re ject ion o f 

a h igher race (Rasse) is m e n t i o n e d three t imes i n th is sec-

t i o n a l o n e . x m The repet i t ion o f th is w o r d and the repeated 

denial o f its significance before God, t h o u g h not an art icu-

late defense o f the Jews, clearly stated that these racist atti-

tudes were w h o l l y incompat ib le a n d u n s u p p o r t e d by 

Christ ianity . Yet, there were a countless n u m b e r o f 

Catholics d u r i n g th is t i m e per iod w h o conflated these ide-

ologies w i t h o u t reservation. 

REINER CHRISTUSCLAUBEl U N A D U L T E R -

A T E D F A I T H I N C H R I S T 

There are t w o i m p o r t a n t points b r o u g h t f o r t h i n the next 

section: Reiner Christusglaube (unadulterated fa i th i n 

Chr is t ) . One o f these points was a defense o f the O l d 

Testament as an essential part o f the Chr i s t i an fa i th. "The 

sacred books o f the O l d Testament are exclusively the w o r d 

o f God, and const i tute a substantial part o f h is 

revelation. " x l v The recogn i t ion o f this issue was the closest 

that th is encyclical comes to m e n t i o n i n g the Jews. W h i l e i t 

certainly was not a defense o f Judaism n o r a c o n d e m n a t i o n 

o f the Nazi policies against the Jews, i t is s ignif icant that i t 

denied the b lasphemy that Chr i s t ian i ty was independent o f 

Judaism, especially i n a society i n w h i c h the denial o f Jesus' 

Jewish ancestry was b e i n g professed. x v 

The next i m p o r t a n t p o i n t was the d e n u n c i a t i o n o f A l f r e d 

Rosenberg's "The M y t h o f the 2 0 t h Century," a poisonous 

c o m p o s i t i o n w h i c h contained seething anti-Catholic and 

anti-Semitic ideas. This w o r k was part icular ly dangerous 

because i t orda ined the A r y a n race as superior, n o t so m u c h 

o n biological grounds (i.e. D a r w i n i s m ) , b u t rather o n spir i -

tua l grounds: "The soul signifies race as seen f r o m inside. 

A n d , vice versa, race is the exterior o f the s o u l . " ™ This dec-

larat ion alone makes the super ior i ty o f a race n o t designed 

by nature , b u t i n t e r t w i n e d i n t o the very p l a n o f God, the 

Creator. This w o r k o f Nazi propaganda never became part 

o f official Naz i teaching as Hi t le r ' s Mein Kampfi b u t be-

cause o f its message, namely that i t was n o t Jesus Chr is t 

that saved, b u t rather race and b lood , the C h u r c h re-

sponded w i t h great ferocity. Neither Rosenberg n o r his 

book was explicit ly n a m e d , b u t there was absolutely no mis -

take that w h e n the encyclical decried the "so-called m y t h o f 

b lood and race," i t was a direct and u n a m b i g u o u s address 

to th is p a r a d i g m o f Nazi p r o p a g a n d a . x v n 

REINER Kl RCH ENC LAUBE: U N A D U L T E R -

A T E D F A I T H I N T H E C H U R C H 

The Church founded by the Redeemer is one, the same for 

all races and all nations. Beneath her dome, as beneath the 

vault of heaven, there is but one country for all nation and 

tongues; there is room for the development of every quality, 

advantage, task and vocation which God the Creator and 

'Asking someone to choose between his nationality and 
his faith was essentially asking him to reject a part of 

himself" 

MIT BRENNENDER SORGE 



Savior has allotted to individuals as well as ethnical com-

munities.™111 

These l ines f r o m mit hrennender Sorge encompass the pure 

m e a n i n g o f what i t means to be Catholic, that is, universal . 

Already w i t h i n the f irst twenty paragraphs o f the encyclical, 

i t was iterated t i m e and again that b l o o d and race and na-

t i o n m e a n n o t h i n g before God, and thus i t is fallacious to 

raise the fo rmer above the latter. I n the same paragraph, 

the encyclical ident i f ied one m o r e o f the four marks o f the 

C h u r c h : unity . Th i s oneness is such o f an indiv i s ib le na-

ture that those w h o t ry to d i s rupt i t are gu i l ty o f a t t e m p t i n g 

to d i smant le what God has designed. 

U n d e r these two p r i n c i p l e marks , the encyclical l aunched 

i n t o what is possibly its most per t inent message. I t under-

l ines that there w i l l be n o excuse for those w h o cause d iv i -

s ion i n the C h u r c h . Ever the d ip lomat ica l ly w o r d e d docu-

m e n t , the encyclical does not excuse the C h u r c h f r o m 

scrut iny and se l f - recr iminat ion. Th i s is used as a device to 

stress that such scrut iny m u s t also be appl ied to "other or-

gan iza t ions . " X I X Fur thermore , there is an appeal to the con-

science, a n d the duty that all m e n have to examine and heed 

i t , s tat ing, " I t yet remains t rue that at no m o m e n t o f history, 

n o i n d i v i d u a l , i n no organizat ion can dispense h i m s e l f 

f r o m the duty o f loyally e x a m i n i n g his conscience, o f mer-

cilessly p u r i f y i n g himsel f , and energetically r e n e w i n g h i m -

self i n sp i r i t and i n a c t i o n . P e r h a p s such words were n o t 

s trong e n o u g h to convert those w h o h a d already abandoned 

the C h u r c h , b u t to those w i t h misg iv ings , these words 

w o u l d r e m i n d t h e m that there w o u l d be no pardon for ig-

norance or adher ing to an ideology. 

The C h u r c h recognized that t a k i n g a stand for one's fa i th 

can be di f f icul t , even m o r e so w h e n i t p u t a person i n con-

t e n t i o n w i t h his country. A n d yet, this d i d n o t stop her f r o m 

asking the very highest price f r o m her members : " O u r 

wholehearted paternal sympathy goes out to those w h o 

m u s t pay so dearly for the i r loyalty to Chr i s t and the 

C h u r c h , b u t directly the highest interests are at stake, w i t h 

the alternative o f sp i r i tua l loss, there is b u t one alternative 

left, that o f h e r o i s m . " ™ By 1937, i t had already become ev-

ident that any defiance to the r e i g n i n g party w o u l d possibly 

result i n great suffer ing and persecution. A s k i n g someone 

to choose between his nat ional i ty and his fa i th was essen-

tial ly asking h i m to reject a part o f h imsel f . Unfortunate ly , 

such was the c o n u n d r u m w i t h w h i c h m i l l i o n s o f Germans 

struggled p r i o r to and d u r i n g W W I I . 

A N D I E G L A U B I C E N : T O T H E F A I T H F U L 

Previously, encyclicals were largely reserved for the clergy 

and the educational elite. T h o u g h the issues discussed may 

have been o f some concern to the laity, these papal letters 

were n o t w r i t t e n for the m a j o r i t y o f the popu la t ion . Even 

today, the m a j o r i t y o f the Catholic fa i th fu l do not read the 

papal encyclicals, a l t h o u g h they are easily obtainable. Th i s 

direct address to the fa i th fu l was entirely unprecedented i n 

1937. Indeed, the C h u r c h had never before faced a crisis 

such as that o c c u r r i n g i n Germany. Addi t ional ly , the role o f 

the R o m a n Catholic C h u r c h had changed a great deal i n the 

past centuries. Gone were the days w h e n the Pope could ex-

ercise great power over w o r l d leaders w i t h the threat o f ex-

c o m m u n i c a t i o n . The H o l y See's voice o n the pol i t ica l f r o n t 

h a d waned, a n d its demands and request fel l o n deaf, or 

perhaps s i m p l y indi f ferent , ears. T h u s , he t u r n e d to the 

Body o f Chr is t , to the fa i th fu l , w h o were w a i t i n g to hear 

h i m address the i r crisis. To the y o u t h , Pius X I chal lenged 

t h e m to be u n y i e l d i n g to "a gospel that has n o t been re-

vealed by the Father o f Heaven. " x x i l H e encouraged t h e m to 

participate i n the y o u t h organizations created by the state 

b u t to combat any host i l i ty against the H o l y M o t h e r C h u r c h 

and Christ ianity , foster ing love and loyalty to the i r earthly 

country so l o n g as i t shall not result i n unfaithfulness to the 

heavenly h o m e . This section i l lustrates that the C h u r c h 

h a d a s imi la r awareness as the Nat ional Socialists: the 

y o u t h were the future . To the priests, Pius X I sent words o f 

congratulat ions a n d support for the i r faithfulness i n t imes 

o f t r i a l . H e asked t h e m always to be fa i th fu l to the t r u t h . 

Here , Pius X I made the assertion that fai lure to correct 

error a n d deviat ing f r o m the t r u t h was not only a disloyalty 

to God " b u t also an offense against the real welfare o f your 

people and c o u n t r y . " x x m Lastly, he expressed his deep grat-

i tude and empathy to those w h o h a d already made great 

E L E M E N T S S P R I N G 10 



sacrifices and suffered i m p r i s o n m e n t i n j a i l or concentra-

t i o n camps. I n the f ina l subsection, " to the followers f r o m 

the Laiety," the H o l y Father addressed the parents i n partic-

u lar a n d emphasized the importance o f the i r ob l igat ion 

and r i g h t to educate the i r c h i l d r e n according to the fa i th . 

A l t h o u g h there were great campaigns against confessional 

schools a n d rel ig ious educat ion i n i n t e r d e n o m i n a t i o n a l 

schools, he ordered parents to ensure that the i r chi ldren's 

Chr i s t i an educat ion was n o t ta inted by the ideas o f a false 

gospel, caut ion ing , "Yet do n o t forget th i s : n o n e can free 

y o u f r o m the responsibi l i ty God has placed o n y o u over 

your c h i l d r e n . " X X 1 V 

R E A C T I O N S 

The G e r m a n government ' s reaction to the encyclical was 

i m m e d i a t e . Dated M a r c h 14,1937, the encyclical was actu-

ally set to be read f r o m the p u l p i t a week later o n M a r c h 

21st—Palm Sunday. The actual reading was d iv ided i n t o 

t w o parts, the first h a l f be ing read i n the m o r n i n g and the 

last h a l f i n the evening. As soon as seven o'clock the 

evening o f M a r c h 2 0 t h , the government h a d issued an 

order for the seizure o f the e n c y c l i c a l . ^ Fortunately, the 

actual reading o f the letter was left u n d i s t u r b e d . 

Theoretically, the Pope's abi l i ty to correspond w i t h the 

m e m b e r s o f the Catholic C h u r c h was protected u n d e r 

A r t i c l e 4 o f the Reichskonkordat. I t declared that , 

" I n s t r u c t i o n s , ordinances, Pastoral Letters, official dioce-

san gazettes, a n d other enactments regard ing the sp i r i tua l 

d i rect ion o f the fa i th fu l issued by the ecclesiastical author i -

ties w i t h i n the f r a m e w o r k o f the i r competence (Art . 1, Sect. 

2) may be pub l i shed w i t h o u t h indrance and b r o u g h t to the 

notice o f the fa i th fu l i n the f o r m h i ther to u s u a l . " ™ " Th i s 

t e r m "usual f o r m s " X X V 1 1 came to be def ined by the govern-

m e n t as Amtsblatter or as a s e r m o n f r o m the p u l p i t . ™ " 1 1 

Therefore, any extra publ icat ions or flyers were n o t pro-

tected u n d e r the Concordat and were i m m e d i a t e l y confis-

cated u p o n d i s t r i b u t i o n . Two days after the release o f Mit 

brennender Sorge, m i n i s t e r for c h u r c h affairs H a n n s Kerr l 

charged al l the G e r m a n bishops w i t h v io la t ing the i r oaths 

o f loyalty i n a letter. Subsequently, he p r o h i b i t e d the p r i n t -

i n g , r e p r o d u c t i o n , and fur ther d i s t r i b u t i o n o f the encyclical 

a n d the two p u b l i s h i n g houses that h a d p r i n t e d the docu-

m e n t were c l o s e d . x x l x 

I n a letter addressed M a r c h 30, 1937, to Secretary o f State 

Eugenio Pacelli, Cardinal Faulhaber describes w h a t he has 

heard o f the recept ion o f the fa i th fu l to the encyclical: 

The letter was listened to by the people with tense concentra-

tion and visible emotion. In spite of bad weather, the 

parishioners came to the parish church from the mountains 

and the remote farms. In some parishes, the pastor read the 

whole letter on Palm Sunday morning and even in this case, 

the faithful stayed in the church—without exception— 

until the end.™* 

I t seems that i t was i m p o r t a n t to the fa i th fu l to hear what 

the i r H o l y Father h a d to say about the i r cur rent s i tuat ion . 

HITLER JUG END SUPPLANTED ALL CATHOLIC Y O U T H 

O R G A N I Z A T I O N S BY N A Z I DECREE. 

MIT BRENNENDER SORGE 



Faulhaber indicated that the last section o f the encyclical, 

w h i c h directly addressed various groups w i t h i n the 

C h u r c h , made a part icular ly s trong impress ion . T h o u g h 

the Churchgoers were certainly in f luenced by these words , 

two pastors indicated that i t was necessary to provide future 

analysis for al l the contents o f the letter to be clear. One 

priest expressed the dif f icult ies that have arisen because o f 

the seizure decree w h i c h does not a l low the people to have 

a n d read the encyclical o n the i r o w n , an issue protested by 

b o t h Cardinal B e r t r a m and N u n c i o Orsenigo. 

I n the wake o f the encyclical's release, the M i n i s t r y for 

C h u r c h affairs considered t a k i n g act ion that w o u l d have 

radically changed the re lat ionship between the G e r m a n 

State and the C h u r c h . Kerr l proposed sending a note to the 

Vatican to declare the Concordat i n v a l i d — a rather i r o n i c 

proposal cons ider ing the repeated violations made by the 

G e r m a n State against the C h u r c h . The C h u r c h w o u l d n o t 

request such a t e r m i n a t i o n because i t served as d ip lomat ic 

p r o o f that the Nazi government that p r o m i s e d to respect 

the rel ig ious f reedom o f the R o m a n C h u r c h i n Germany. 

The T h i r d Reich, w i t h its c o n t i n u e d violat ions against the 

agreement, had l i t t l e to lose i n e n d i n g this re lat ionship . 

Ul t imate ly , th is note was never sent and d ip lomat ic interac-

t ions r e m a i n e d . 5 0 ™ T h u s , despite the i n i t i a l waves caused 

by the release o f the encyclical, the interact ions o f the 

C h u r c h i n Germany w i t h the G e r m a n government were 

most ly unchanged. The ebb and f low o f antagoni sm o f the 

Nazis against the C h u r c h r e m a i n e d after mit brennender 

Sorge, b u t no attempts at completely d isabl ing the C h u r c h 

were made. Parishes r e m a i n e d open and the sacraments 

were always a v a i l a b l e . x x x n O n the Catholic side, services 

were w e l l attended, as were p i l g r i m a g e s . 5 0 0 5 1 1 1 

M e a n w h i l e , the f ight for the y o u t h raged o n as a steady one-

by-one d i sso lut ion o f Catholic y o u t h organizations i n dioce-

ses t h r o u g h o u t the country were enacted. By the early 

m o n t h s o f 1938 the eradication o f al l y o u t h organizations 

excepting the H i t l e r Jugend was i n effect i n Paderborn, 

Minis ter , Trier, Breslau, Bavaria, Cologne, and Aachen. 

Finally, a pol icy was passed i n February 1939 w h i c h de-

clared a Reich-wide abo l i t ion o f such organizat ions . X X X 1 V 

Mora l i ty trials w h i c h had been essentially abandoned since 

the s u m m e r o f 1936 were revisited. These tr ials , w h i c h 

began i n 1935, were a campaign to prosecute m e m b e r s o f 

rel igious orders that h a d been accused o f sexual offenses. 

The trials were used as a part icular ly mal ic ious means o f 

propaganda, w h i c h is evidenced by the sporadic nature i n 

w h i c h the trials proceeded. Clearly meant to cause great 

distrust a m o n g the Catholic believers i n the clergy, i t is 

questionable whether the trials had the i r i n t e n d e d effect. 

The means by w h i c h the police at tempted to prove the 

cr imes o f the clergy m e m b e r s made i t all the m o r e obvious 

that m u c h o f the i n f o r m a t i o n was fabricated, w h i c h m o s t 

often resulted i n generated sympathy for the C h u r c h and 

those i n d i c t e d . 5 0 0 ^ 

T h o u g h the persecution o f the C h u r c h d i d rouse u p sympa-

thy a n d support , the C h u r c h was s t i l l suf fer ing o n the i n -

side. The same year that mit brennender Sorge was read wi t -

nessed approximately 108 ,000 m e m b e r s leave the C h u r c h , 

over double the n u m b e r that that had w i t h d r a w n the previ-

ous year. The year 1938 w o u l d see 88 ,700 m e m b e r s aban-

d o n the C h u r c h . x x x v l There are too m a n y variables a n d a 

substantial lack o f d o c u m e n t a t i o n to be able to def init ively 

say whether those w h o left were in f luenced to do so by the 

papal letter; however, d i s m i s s i n g i t as coincidence w o u l d be 

"By issuing a papal document, the Church brought the 
situation of the Church in Germany to the attention of 

the world." 

E L E M E N T S : : S P R I N G 10 



unwise . I t is never the i n t e n t i o n o f the H o l y Father, i n any-

t i m e per iod or s i tuat ion , to alienate any m e m b e r s o f his 

flock. O n the other h a n d , there are those w h o f i n d t h e m -

selves no longer i n c o m m u n i o n w i t h the H o l y M o t h e r 

C h u r c h w h e n such strong decrees, as those made i n mit 

brennender Sorge, are declared. Whatever t h i n guise o f co-

operat ion that had been constructed by the Concordat h a d 

been t o r n away. The C h u r c h , as an i n s t i t u t i o n , was p u t i n 

c o n t e n t i o n w i t h the Nat ional Socialist Party, the govern-

m e n t o f the G e r m a n n a t i o n . The Catholics w h o defied the 

State cou ld n o longer be dismissed s i m p l y as radical out-

l iers. The entire Catholic body h a d been charged by the 

Pope to stand t rue to the fa i th , even i n the face o f persecu-

t i o n . I t was clear that the Nazi ideology, part icular ly the 

m y t h o f b l o o d and race—the d e f i n i n g doctr ine o f Nat ional 

Soc ia l i sm—could n o t be compat ib le w i t h Catholic doc-

t r i n e . I f the encyclical was taken to heart, i t is clear w h y 

there w o u l d be those w h o w o u l d be compel led to leave the 

C h u r c h as a result . 

P U R P O S E A N D L A N G U A G E O F T H E 

E N C Y C L I C A L 

Mit brennender Sorge was composed for two ends. First, i t 

was drafted to express the grievances o f the C h u r c h i n 

Germany w i t h the G e r m a n government ' s violations o f the 

Reichskonkordat, as w e l l as to decry the Nat ional Socialist 

ideology that u n d e r m i n e s Catholic doctr ine . Second, the 

H o l y Father w i s h e d to directly address the C h u r c h i n 

Germany i n order to give t h e m encouragement i n the i r suf-

fer ing a n d to r e m i n d t h e m o f the i r personal responsibi l i ty 

before the C h u r c h a n d before God. I t was o f the u t m o s t i m -

portance to c o m m u n i c a t e these messages w i t h o u t p i t t i n g 

the C h u r c h against the G e r m a n n a t i o n . Some o f these del-

icacies o f language have already been referenced. The en-

t i re d o c u m e n t was b u i l t o n subtlety, b u t subtlety w i t h o u t 

the loss o f clarity. The reader w i l l notice that there was n o 

m e n t i o n o f specific names; Hi t le r , Rosenberg, even the 

n a m e o f the party i t se l f were absent f r o m the pages o f the 

letter. I n d o i n g so, the C h u r c h was m a k i n g universal state-

ments that can be appl ied t h r o u g h o u t al l ages a n d to any 

"organizat ion" that may violate these universa l pr inc ip les . 

Yet, a l l w h o heard the encyclical k n e w exactly to w h o m and 

o f what the encyclical spoke. For al l practical purposes, the 

outcome was the same. But i n n o t n a m i n g indiv idua ls and 

organizat ions explicitly, the encyclical avoided m a k i n g an 

o u t r i g h t accusation. The encyclical called the perpetrators 

"whoever" (wer).xxxyn I t was the l isteners w h o identi fy the 

" w h o , " and thus make the accusation complete . 

I n t e rms o f what i t hoped to achieve, Cardinal Michae l 

Faulhaber, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, and Pope Pius X I d i d 

n o t expect mit brennender Sorge to fix the problems o f the 

Catholic C h u r c h i n Germany. Indeed, they k n e w that i t 

w o u l d not . The T h i r d Reich's t reatment o f the 

Reichskonkordat and the Fulda conferences h a d already 

proved that those r u n n i n g the G e r m a n government w o u l d 

pay n o heed grievances o f the H o l y See. The t o i l o f the 

C h u r c h , however, d i d not fai l ut ter ly to bear f r u i t . T h o u g h 

the pol i t ica l inf luence o f the R o m a n Catholic C h u r c h h a d 

d i m i n i s h e d , its far-reaching inf luence h a d not . By i s su ing 

a papal document , the C h u r c h b r o u g h t the s i tuat ion o f the 

C h u r c h i n Germany to the a t tent ion o f the w o r l d . T h o u g h 

i t certainly d i d not cause an u p r i s i n g against Germany, i t 

cannot be d ip lomat ica l ly favorable for a country 's govern-

m e n t to be cr i t ic ized by the H o l y See. M o r e important ly , 

Pope Pius X I was f u l f i l l i n g his al l i m p o r t a n t role as 

Shepherd, w h i c h i n part means car ing for the m o s t vulner-

able m e m b e r s o f the flock. T h o u g h he may have r e m a i n e d 

s i lent o n the specific issue o f ant i -Semit i sm, he d i d not 

leave the R o m a n Catholic C h u r c h i n Germany to suffer 

alone and i n silence. The H o l y Father we ighed his w o r d 

carefully. Not w a n t i n g to alienate m e m b e r s o f the body o f 

Chris t , he d i d his best to express that sacrifice w o u l d be nec-

essary, b u t avoided i n s i n u a t i n g that i t r equ i red a re ject ion 

o f one's G e r m a n national ity . H e called for a re ject ion o f u n -

faithfulness, o f apostasy, o f an "organizat ion . " The call was 

n o t to open rebe l l ion , b u t rather conscientious object ion. 

C O N C L U S I O N 

The Pope considered his greatest responsibi l i ty as the head 

o f the Catholic C h u r c h to be the protect ion o f the C h u r c h , 

to ensure that she can thr ive i n sp i r i t a n d i n t r u t h . Mit bren-

MIT BRENNENDER SORCE 



nender Sorge made i t indisputably clear the racial ideology 

expressed by the Nazi party was n o t supported by the 

Catholic C h u r c h . Unfortunate ly , n o fur ther act ion was 

taken to oppose the anti-Jewish measures. Th i s is m o s t 

l ikely because the C h u r c h feared that any drastic act ion 

w o u l d only serve to c o m p o u n d the problems o f the G e r m a n 

Catholics. I n h i n d s i g h t , this fai lure is regrettable. 

However, I w o u l d argue that the encyclical mit brennender 

Sorge cannot be i n c l u d e d i n the c r i t i c i s m o f the Church 's si-

lence. I t d i d n o t express the Church's sympathy for the 

Jews because that was n o t its purpose. Based o n its pur-

pose, this encyclical was a s trong and unequivocal docu-

m e n t that was addressed to a n d for the m e m b e r s o f the 

G e r m a n Catholic C h u r c h . Its m a i n focus was the people o f 

Germany, n o t the Nat ional Socialist government . 

Fur thermore , the reactions o f the G e r m a n government , 

t h o u g h not drastic, clearly c o m m u n i c a t e d that widespread 

fear o f fur ther persecut ion was not u n f o u n d e d . The r i g h t 

to practice the Catholic fa i th was never fu l ly taken away, b u t 

the government d i d its u t m o s t to cont inue to alienate the 

p o p u l a t i o n f r o m the C h u r c h . The C h u r c h was engaged i n 

a battle for the ears a n d the hearts o f her fa i th fu l , and i t 

w o u l d be the loss o f souls as w e l l as the loss o f lives that 

w o u l d preoccupy her t h r o u g h the rest o f the r e i g n o f the 

Nazi r e g i m e — a n d l o n g after the swastika ceased to fly. 

E N D N O T E S 

i . "Concordat between the Holy See and the German Reich" 
i i . "Concordat between the Holy See and the German Reich": 
"Before God and on the Holy Gospels I swear and promise as 
becomes a bishop, loyalty to the German Reich and to the State 
o f . . . I swear and promise to honor the legally constituted 
Government and to cause the clergy of my diocese to honor i t . 
I n the performance of my spiritual office and i n my solicitude 
for the welfare and the interests of the German Reich, I w i l l en-
deavor to avoid all detrimental acts which might endanger i t . " 
h i . Helmreich (290) 
iv. "Gesetz iiber die Hitler Jugend.": "Die gesamte deutsche 
Jugend innerhalb des Reichsgebietes ist i n der Hitlerjugend 
zusammengefalst." 
v. Helmreich (275) 
vi. Helmreich (289) 
v i i . Helmreich (275) 
v i i i . Helmreich (280) 
ix. The organization and structure of the English version is con-
siderably different from that o f the German. The English ver-

sion, for example, does not contain section titles, and the para-
graphs are divided differently. I have used the official English 
translation from the Vatican website for my citations. However, 
when I refer to the structure, it w i l l be i n reference to the origi-
nal German structure. There has been some controversy over 
the whether or not the current English translation is the most 
accurate because it was from the Latin translation, rather than 
from the original German. Therefore, I have provided citied 
passages that are significantly different i n the footnotes i n its 
original German, i n order to highlight aspects o f the German 
language that do not come through i n the English translation. 
x. Pope Pius X I , Pacelli, and Faulhaber, "Mit brennender Sorge," 
para. 9. 
xi . Mt 6:24. 
xi i . " M i t brennender Sorge," para. 10. 
x i i i . " M i t brennender Sorge," para. 8,10,11. 
xiv. " M i t brennender Sorge," para. 15. 
xv. „Die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass Christus kein Jude war, dass 
we keinen Tropfen echt judischen Blutes i n den Adern hatte, ist 
so groS, dass sie einer Gewissheit fast gleich kommt." von 
„Grundlagen des 19. Jahrhunderts" von H . St. Chamberlain i n 
Adam, "Jesus der Christus und wir Deutsche." 
xvi. Rosenberg, Der Mythus des 20. Jahrhunderts, 2 "Seele aber 
bedeutet Rasse von innen gesehen. Und umgekehrt ist Rasse 
die AuKenseite einer Seele. " Translation by author. 
xvii. " M i t brennender Sorge," para. 17. 
xviii . " M i t brennender Sorge," para. 18. 
xix. " M i t brennender Sorge," para. 19. 
xx. " M i t brennender Sorge," para. 19. 
xxi. " M i t brennender Sorge," para. 21.: "Aber—heir ist der 
Punkt erreicht, wo es u m Letztes und Hochstes, u m Rettung 
oder Untergang geht, und wo infolgedessen dem Glaubigen der 
Weg heldenmutigen Starkmutes der einzige Weg des Heiles 
ist." 
xxii. " M i t brennender Sorge," para. 33. 
xxiii . " M i t brennender Sorge," para. 36. 
xxiv. " M i t brennender Sorge," para. 48. 
xxv. Faulhaber (315) 
xxvi. "Konkordat zwischen dem heiligen Stuhl und dem 
deutschen Reich." 
xxvii. "ublichen Formen" 
xxviii. Helmreich (280) 
xxix. Helmreich (282-3) 
xxx. Faulhaber (315): "Das Rundschreiben wurde vom Volk m i t 
gespannter Aufmerksamkeit u n d sichtlicher Ergriffenheit 
angehort. Trotz schlechten Wetters waren die Pfarrkinder...von 
den Bergen und entfernten Bauernhofen zur Pfarrkirche 
gekommen. I n einigen Pfarreien haben die Pfarrer das ganze 
Rundschreibens am Palmsonntag vormittag verlesen...und 
auch i n diesem Fall. . . sind die Glaubigen ohne Ausnahme bis 
zum Schluss . . . i n der Kirche geblieben." Translation by 
author. 
xxxi. Helmreich (285) 
xxxii. Helmreich (296) 

E L E M E N T S S P R I N G 10 



xxxiii. Helmreich (294) 
xxxiv. Helmreich (290-1) 
xxxv. Helmreich (288) 
xxxvi. Hehl (105) 

xxxvii. " M i t brennender Sorge," para. 10-12. 

R E F E R E N C E S 

Adam, Karl. "Jesus der Christus und wir Deutsche." 
Wissenschaft u n d Weisheit 10 (1943). 
Einheitsubersetzung der Heiligen Schrift. Stuttgart: 
Katholische Bibelanstalt, 1980. 
<http: //alt.bibelwerk.de/bibel / ?kbw_10=3035 973i&.> 
Faulhaber, Michael. Akten Kardinal Michael von Faulhabers 
1917-1945. Vol. 1935. 2 vols. Mainz: Matthias Griinewald Verlag. 

"Gesetz iiber die Hitlerjugend," Dezember 1, 1936. 
<http://www.documentarchiv.de/ns/1936/hj_ges.html.> 

Hehl, Ulr ich von. "Das Kirchenvolk i m Dritten Reich." I n Die 
Katholiken und das Dritte Reich, edited by Klaus Gotto and 
Konrad Repgen, 93-118. Mainz: Matthias Griinewald Verlag, 
1990. 

Helmreich, Ernst Christian. The German Churches under 
Hitler: Background, Struggle, and Epilogue. Detroit: Wayne 
State University Press, 1979. 

"Concordat between the Holy See and the German Reich," July 
20,1933. 
<http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_ss33co.htm.> 

Pope Pius X I , Eugenio Pacelli, and Michael Faulhaber. " M i t 
brennender Sorge," March 14,1937. < 
http: //www. vatican.va/holy_father / pius_xi/encyclicals/docume 
nts/hf_p-xi_enc_i403i937_mit-brennender-sorge_ge.html.> 
German <http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encycli-
cals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_i403i937_mit-brennender-
sorge_en.html> English 

Rosenberg, Alfred. Der Mythus des 20. Jahrhunderts. 
Munchen: Hoheneichen Verlag, 1930. 
<http://www.scribd.com/doc/2628285/Der-Mythus-des-20-
Jahrhunderts-Alfred-Rosenberg.> 

MIT BRENNENDER SORCE 

http://www.documentarchiv.de/ns/1936/hj_ges.html.
http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_ss33co.htm.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encycli-cals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_i403i937_mit-brennender-sorge_en.html
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encycli-cals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_i403i937_mit-brennender-sorge_en.html
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encycli-cals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_i403i937_mit-brennender-sorge_en.html
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2628285/Der-Mythus-des-20-Jahrhunderts-Alfred-Rosenberg.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2628285/Der-Mythus-des-20-Jahrhunderts-Alfred-Rosenberg.