164-758: In the history of Germany, the Kulturkampf (Cultural Struggle) was the seven-year political conflict (1871–1878) between the Catholic Church in Germany , led by Pope Pius IX ; and the Kingdom of Prussia , led by chancellor Otto von Bismarck . The Prussian church-and-state political conflict was about the Church's direct control over both education and ecclesiastical appointments in the Prussian kingdom as
328-534: A Roman Catholic nation and country. Moreover, when compared to other church-and-state conflicts about political culture , the German Kulturkampf of Prussia also featured anti-Polish sentiment . In modern political usage, the German term Kulturkampf describes any conflict (political, ideological, social) between the secular government and the religious authorities of a society. The term also describes
492-525: A "friend of light" and a reformer of Europe towards freedom and progress. He was elected without secular political influences and in the full vigor of life. He was pious, progressive, intellectual, decent, friendly, and open to all. While his political views and policies were hotly debated in the coming years, his personal lifestyle was above reproach, a model of simplicity and poverty in everyday affairs. The most notable event in Pius IX's long pontificate
656-726: A Catholic priest in his own right and unsuccessfully attempted to convert his Jewish parents. In his 1849 encyclical Ubi primum , he emphasized Mary's role in salvation. In 1854, he promulgated the dogma of the Immaculate Conception , articulating a long-held Catholic belief that Mary, the Mother of God, was conceived without original sin . His 1864 Syllabus of Errors was a strong condemnation of liberalism, modernism , moral relativism , secularization , separation of church and state , and other Enlightenment ideas. Pius reaffirmed Catholic teaching in favor of making
820-724: A bishop's residence, the St. Nicholas Diocese Center, costing €31 million. Details of the project were kept secret from Limburg's construction authorities to quash rumours of saunas, wine cellars, and interior decorations with precious gems, but the building was later nicknamed the "Kaaba of Limburg", as the colour and cubical shape resembled the Kaaba of Mecca. This was despite the diocese's strained budget, which often lacked funds for basic overhead and maintenance of church facilities and for services such as daycare. The "Tebartz effect" has disillusioned both Protestant and Catholic Christians. In Cologne
984-569: A calculated, well-prepared move, Prime Minister Rossi was assassinated on 15 November 1848, and in the days following, the Swiss Guards were disarmed, making the Pope a prisoner in his palace. However, he succeeded in escaping Rome several days later. A Roman Republic was declared in February 1849. Pius responded from his exile by excommunicating all participants. After the suppression of
1148-701: A cardinal instead. On 22 August 1861, the pope informed the Patriarch of Venice Angelo Ramazzotti that he would name him a cardinal, however, Ramazzoti died three days before the consistory. Also in 1861, the dean of the Sacred Rota Ignazio Alberghini declined the pope's offer of nomination into the Sacred College. In December 1863, Pius IX intended to elevate the Archbishop of Gniezno and Poznań Leon Michał Przyłuski to
1312-468: A character evaluation from his parish priest to be considered. Financial administration in the Papal States under Pius IX was increasingly put in the hands of laymen. The budget and financial administration in the Papal States had long been subject to criticism even before Pius IX. In 1850, he created a government finance body ("congregation") consisting of four laymen with finance backgrounds for
1476-458: A constitutional government – to which he was sympathetic – but also the unification of Italy under his leadership and a war of liberation to free the northern Italian provinces from the rule of Catholic Austria. By early 1848, all of Western Europe began to be convulsed in various revolutionary movements . The Pope, claiming to be above national interests, refused to go to war with Austria, which reversed Pius' popularity in his native Italy. In
1640-465: A letter to the German emperor on the very day of his election, followed by a second letter in a similar vein that same year. Bismarck and the Pope entered into direct negotiations without the participation of the Church or the Reichstag , yet initially without much success. It came to pass that Falk, vehemently resented by Catholics, resigned on 14 July 1879, which could be read as a peace offering to
1804-656: A limited group of theologians" has become the bishops' proposals, which he says "openly contradict the teaching affirmed by all the popes since the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council ." Luis Ladaria Cardinal Ferrer , prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith , warned of "reducing the mystery of the Church to a mere institution of power," and so "the greatest danger" of the proposals
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#17327657765541968-522: A major setback for Bismarck although never publicly conceded. Yet, in spite of strong Catholic representation in the Reichstag, the political power and influence of the Church in the public sphere and its political power was greatly reduced. Although Germany and the Vatican were officially at peace after 1878, religious conflicts and tensions continued. At the turn of the century, Pope Pius X announced
2132-466: A majority of the votes in the early ballots but failed to achieve the required two-thirds majority. Gizzi was favoured by the French government but failed to get further support from the cardinals, and the conclave ended up ultimately as a contest between Lambruschini and Mastai Ferretti. In the meantime, Cardinal Tommaso Bernetti reportedly received information that Cardinal Karl Kajetan von Gaisruck ,
2296-414: A move that contradicted the general mood throughout Europe. On the evening of the second day of the conclave, 16 June 1846, Mastai Ferretti was elected pope. "He was a glamorous candidate, ardent, emotional with a gift for friendship and a track-record of generosity even towards anti-Clericals and Carbonari . He was a patriot, known to be critical of Gregory XVI." Because it was night, no formal announcement
2460-596: A new archaeological commission in 1853. The Papal States were a theocracy in which the Catholic Church and its members had far more rights than other religions. Pius IX's religious policies became increasingly reactionary over time. At the beginning of his pontificate, together with other liberal measures, Pius opened up the Jewish ghetto in Rome , freeing Jews to reside elsewhere. In 1850, after French troops defeated
2624-532: A new constitution titled the " Fundamental Statute for the Secular Government of the States of the Church ". The governmental structure of the Papal States reflected the dual spiritual-secular character of the papacy. The secular or laypersons were strongly in the majority with 6,850 persons versus 300 members of the clergy. Nevertheless, the clergy made key decisions and every job applicant had to present
2788-673: A number of criticisms from bishops from all over the world. In February 2022, the Polish episcopate aired their concerns to Pope Francis, mentioning the impression that "the Gospel is not always the basis for reflection." In March 2022, the Scandinavian bishops also aired their deep concern of a possible "capitulation to the Zeitgeist," on the part of the German bishops. In April 2022, an international group of more than 70 bishops criticized
2952-569: A secular ruler and the monarch of the Papal States , ruling over some 3 million subjects from 1846 to 1870, when the newly founded Kingdom of Italy seized the remaining areas of the Papal States by force of arms. Contention between Italy and the Papacy was only resolved legally by the 1929 Lateran Treaty ( Lateran Pacts or Lateran Accords ) between the Kingdom of Italy under Mussolini and
3116-536: A survey by the Erfurt-based opinion research institute INSA a third of German Catholics are considering leaving. Older Catholics consider leaving primarily due to child abuse cases while younger Catholics primarily want to avoid paying the church tax. In 2022 522,821 people left the Church, according to figures released by the German bishops. A spate of nationwide de-registrations and protest occurred in late 2013 caused by financial corruption scandals, termed
3280-680: Is also the largest religious group in Bavaria , Rhineland-Palatinate , North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg . The German state supports both the Catholic and Protestant churches; it collects taxes for the churches and there is religious education in the schools, taught by teachers who have to be approved by the churches. Church taxes are "automatic paycheck deductions" taken from all registered church members, "regardless of" whether, and if yes, "how often members attend services." Catholicism in Germany today faces several challenges: One of
3444-633: Is the question of the Infallibility of the Pope. This pretension once become a dogma, will have a wider scope than the purely spiritual spheres, and will become evidently a political question: for it will raise the power of the Sovereign Pontiff, even in temporal matters, above all the princes and peoples of Christendom." The liberal majorities in the Imperial Diet and the Prussian parliament as well as liberals in general regarded
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#17327657765543608-403: Is to lose "one of the most important achievements" of Vatican II: "the clear teaching of the mission of the bishops and thus of the local Church." Seven popes have been from Germany. Bruno of Carinthia, who reigned as Pope Gregory V (996–999), is considered the first German pope. The 11th century saw five German popes, including Leo IX who was canonized as a saint. The most recent German pope
3772-603: The Kulturkampf , suggests that the liberals wanted to do more than prevent Catholicism from becoming a political force. They wanted victory over Catholicism itself, the long-delayed conclusion of the Reformation. At least since 1847 and in line with the Liberals, Bismarck had also been of the professed opinion, that state and church should be completely separated and "the sphere of the state had to be made secure against
3936-514: The Concordat of 1855 , and then cancelled the Concordat altogether in 1870. Saxony and Bavaria withheld approval to publish the papal infallibility dogma; Hesse and Baden even denied it any legal validity. France refused to publish the doctrines altogether; Spain forbade publication of Syllabus Errorum in 1864. By the mid-19th century, liberal policies had also come to dominate Germany and
4100-492: The Holy See ever accepted this title. Ignaz von Döllinger , a fervent critic of Pius' infallibility dogma, considered the political regime of the pope in the Papal States "wise, well-intentioned, mild-natured, frugal and open for innovations". Yet there was controversy. In the period before the 1848 revolutions , Pius was a most ardent reformer advised by such innovative thinkers as Antonio Rosmini (1797–1855), who reconciled
4264-687: The Holy See , the latter receiving financial compensation for the loss of the Papal States and recognition of the Vatican City State as the sovereign independent territory of the Holy See. Though he was well aware upon his accession of the political pressures within the Papal States , Pius IX's first act was a general amnesty for political prisoners , despite the potential consequences. The freed revolutionaries resumed their previous political activities, and his concessions only provoked greater demands as patriotic Italian groups sought not only
4428-690: The Jesuits . As in many European countries, Jesuits were being banned or heavily restricted in many of the German states e.g. in Saxony (1831) or Württemberg (1862), and even in Catholic ones such as Bavaria (1851) and Baden (1860). Not to be left out, the German areas to the west of the Rhine had already gone through a process of separation of church and state in line with a radical secularization after annexation by revolutionary and Napoleonic France in 1794. After their return to Germany in 1814, many if not most of
4592-499: The Law of Guarantees (13 May 1871) which gave the Pope the use of the Vatican but denied him sovereignty over this territory, nevertheless granting him the right to send and receive ambassadors and a budget of 3.25 million lira annually. Pius IX officially rejected this offer (encyclical Ubi nos , 15 May 1871), since it was a unilateral decision which did not grant the papacy international recognition and could be changed at any time by
4756-603: The Liberals and the Conservatives representing orthodox Protestants found the Centre Party 's support of the pope highly provocative. Many Catholics shared these sentiments, especially against the pope's declared infallibility and the majority of Catholic German bishops deemed the definition of the dogma as "'unpropitious' in light of the situation in Germany". While most Catholics eventually reconciled themselves to
4920-505: The Martyrs of Japan (8 June 1862), Josaphat Kuntsevych (29 June 1867), and Nicholas Pieck (29 June 1867). Pius IX further beatified 222 individuals throughout his papacy, including the likes of Benedict Joseph Labre , Peter Claver , and his two predecessors Pope Eugene III and Pope Urban V . Pius IX named three new Doctors of the Church : Hilary of Poitiers (13 May 1851, naming him " Doctor divinitatem Christi " or "Doctor of
5084-729: The Pope , assisted by the Roman Curia , and with the German bishops. The current "Speaker" (i.e., Chairman ) of the episcopal conference is Georg Bätzing , Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg . It is divided into 27 dioceses , 7 of them with the rank of metropolitan sees . Growing rejection of the Church has had its impact in Germany; nevertheless, 28.5% of the total population remain Roman Catholic (23.9 million people as of December 2022). Before
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5248-714: The Protestant Church encountered an 80% increase in absences, with 228 de-registrations. Also, 1,250 Bavarians left the church in October 2013, doubling from 602 in September. Throughout Germany the cities of Bremen , Osnabrück , Paderborn , Passau and Regensburg reported three-fold increases of Catholic resignations. Starting on 1 December 2019, the German Catholic Church held a Synodal Path convocation discussing: The synodal path faced
5412-591: The Quirinal Palace inside Rome to the Vatican, where popes have lived ever since. After defeating the Papal army on 18 September 1860 at the Battle of Castelfidardo , and on 30 September at Ancona , Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia took all the Papal territories except Latium with Rome and took the title King of Italy . Rome itself was invaded on 20 September 1870 after a few-hours siege. Italy instituted
5576-575: The Revolutions of 1848 . Upon the assassination of his prime minister , Pellegrino Rossi , Pius fled Rome and excommunicated all participants in the short-lived Roman Republic . After its suppression by the French army and his return in 1850, his policies and doctrinal pronouncements became increasingly conservative. He was responsible for the kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara , a six-year-old taken by force from his Jewish family who went on to become
5740-617: The Treaty of Basel in 1795. Six years later, the Concordat of 1801 , an agreement between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII , was signed on 15 July 1801. Another two years later, in 1803, to compensate the princes of the annexed territories, a set of mediatizations was carried out, which brought about a major redistribution of territorial sovereignty within the Empire. At that time, large parts of Germany were still ruled by Catholic bishops (95.000 km with more than three million inhabitants). In
5904-544: The 'Tebartz-effect'. Investigations alleged misappropriation of church funds by Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg over several years. Nicknamed the "Protzbischof" ("bling-bishop" or "splurge-bishop"), he provoked outrage for the hypocrisy of preaching poverty while living extravagantly. His excesses included travelling first class on humanitarian missions to India on flights costing €7,000 each. Tebartz and his Vice-Vicar Franz Kaspar both qualified for Lufthansa 's luxury frequent flyer program. Tebartz commissioned
6068-415: The 1837 Kölner Wirren ( 'Cologne Confusion' [ de ] ) of legal and policy issues regarding the children of mixed Protestant-Catholic marriages, Prussia's final settlement was considered a defeat for the state as it had given in to demands of the Catholic Church. In 1850, Prussia again had a dispute with the church about civil marriage and primary schools and in 1852, it issued decrees against
6232-468: The 1990 reunification of the Germany by accession of the former German Democratic Republic (or East Germany), Roman Catholics were 42% of the population of West Germany. Religious demographic data is relatively accessible in Germany because, by law, all Christian taxpayers must declare their religious affiliation so that the church tax can be deducted by the state and passed on to the relevant church in
6396-527: The 20 provinces. After joining the Latin Monetary Union in 1866, the old Roman scudo was replaced by the new Papal lira . Pius IX is credited with systematic efforts to improve manufacturing and trade by giving advantages and papal prizes to domestic producers of wool , silk and other materials destined for export. He improved the transportation system by building roads, viaducts, bridges and seaports . A series of new railway links connected
6560-514: The 35-year-old Mastai Ferretti Archbishop of Spoleto in 1827. In 1831, the abortive revolution that had begun in Parma and Modena spread to Spoleto ; the Archbishop obtained a general pardon after it was suppressed, gaining him a reputation for being liberal. During an earthquake, he made a reputation as an efficient organizer of relief and great charity. The following year he was moved to
6724-558: The Arch-chancellor of Italy ( archbishop of Cologne ), and the Arch-chancellor of Germany (archbishop of Mainz). The Holy Roman Emperor could only become such through coronation by the Pope . Burghers and monarchs were united in their frustration at the Catholic Church not paying any taxes to secular states while itself collecting taxes from subjects and sending the revenues disproportionately to Italy. Martin Luther denounced
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6888-587: The Austrian Archbishop of Milan, was on his way to the conclave to veto the election of Mastai Ferretti on behalf of the Austrian Empire and Prince Metternich . According to historian Valérie Pirie, Bernetti realized that he had only a few hours in which to stop Lambruschini's election. Faced with a deadlock and urgently persuaded by Bernetti to reject Lambruschini, liberals and moderates decided to cast their votes for Mastai Ferretti, in
7052-482: The Catholic Church as a powerful force of reaction and anti-modernity, especially after the proclamation of papal infallibility in 1870 and the tightening control of the Vatican over the local bishops. The renewed vitality of Catholicism in Germany with its mass gatherings also attracted Protestants – even the heir to the Prussian throne, with the king's approval, attended one. Anti-liberalism , anti-clericalism , and anti-Catholicism became powerful intellectual forces of
7216-403: The Catholic Church had opposed, produced no democratic reforms and attempts to radically disentangle state-church relationships failed. In the revolutionary parliament , many prominent representatives of political Catholicism took the side of the extreme right-wingers. In the years following the revolution, Catholicism became increasingly politicized due to rising liberal ideologies contrasted with
7380-630: The Catholic Church was to lose its good standing which it had enjoyed for centuries in the Catholic-dominated Holy Roman Empire and which it would have continued to enjoy in a German empire united under Austrian auspices. Thus, in 1870, on the eve of unification, the Center Party was explicitly founded to defend the position of the church in the new empire. Bismarck was highly concerned that many major members and supporters of this new party were not in sympathy with
7544-440: The Catholic faith the state religion where possible. His appeal for financial support revived global donations known as Peter's Pence . He strengthened the central power of the Holy See and Roman Curia over the worldwide Catholic Church, while also formalizing the pope's ultimate doctrinal authority (the dogma of papal infallibility defined in 1870). Pope John Paul II beatified him in 2000. Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti
7708-487: The Catholic population and more resistance by the Church. During the Kulturkampf, four bishops and 185 priests in defiance of the laws were tried and imprisoned and many more were fined or went into exile. After the death of Pope Pius IX in 1878, Bismarck took up negotiations with more conciliatory Pope Leo XIII who proclaimed the end of the Kulturkampf on 23 May 1887. The Catholic Church denounced Nazism in
7872-520: The Catholic section in the Ministry of Culture was not reintroduced). The respective opposing parties in the Reichstag harshly criticized the concessions made by the Vatican and the Prussian government. Windthorst and the Centre Party were dismayed at being sidelined and not being consulted about the concessions the pope made, e.g. about the ban on Jesuits or the civil registry of clerics. None of
8036-464: The Centre Party and as far as separation of state and church was concerned, he had achieved more than he wanted. In order to garner support for his Anti-Socialist Laws and protective trade tariffs, Bismarck turned his back on the liberals in search of new alliances. The death of Pius IX on 7 February 1878 opened the door for a settlement with the Catholic Church. The new pope, Leo XIII , was pragmatic and conciliatory. He expressed his wish for peace in
8200-621: The Church for a decade after the Franco-Prussian War . Pius IX celebrated several jubilees including the 300th anniversary of the Council of Trent . Pius celebrated the 1,800th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul on 29 June 1867 with 512 bishops, 20,000 priests and 140,000 lay persons in Rome. A large gathering was organized in 1871 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his papacy. Though
8364-455: The Church as backward, a hotbed for reactionaries , enemies of progress and cast monastic life as the epitome of a backward Catholic medievalism. They were alarmed by the dramatic rise in the numbers of monasteries, convents and clerical religious groups in an era of widespread religious revival. The Diocese of Cologne , for example, saw a tenfold increase of monks and nuns between 1850 and 1872. Prussian authorities were particularly suspicious of
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#17327657765548528-408: The Church's strong political role in the affairs of the state and society. With the growing influence of enlightenment and after having lost much of its wealth, power, and influence in the course of the mediatization and secularization of the early 19th century, the Church had been in a state of decline. The papacy was at a weak point in its history, having lost all its territories to Italy , with
8692-473: The Divinity of Christ"), Alphonsus Liguori (23 March 1871, naming him " Doctor zelantissimus " or "Most Zealous Doctor"), and Francis de Sales (19 July 1877, naming him " Doctor caritatis " or "Doctor of Charity"). Pius IX was not only pope but, until 1870, also the last sovereign ruler of the Papal States . As a secular ruler he was occasionally referred to as "king", though it is unclear whether
8856-475: The European Kulturkampf principally occurred in the regional and local politics of a society, especially in cities and towns where the educated populations were politically Liberal and practised the politics of anti-clericalism and of anti-Catholicism . The Catholic Church resisted such intellectual progress, which was portrayed as an attack on religion in an effort to maintain and strengthen
9020-810: The German state from registered churchgoers (of Catholic and Protestant communities). Although the tax provides the Catholic and Lutheran churches with an exact membership count and a net income of 5.6 billion euros (in 2008) which has helped make the German Catholic Church one of the wealthiest in the world. A poll from universities in Berlin and Münster, advises that 70% of German Catholics approve of blessings for same-sex couples, 80% accept unmarried couples living together and 85% believe priests should be allowed to marry. 70% of German Catholics support same-sex marriage and 29% oppose it. 93% of German Catholics believe society should accept homosexuality while 6% believe society should not accept homosexuality. According to
9184-514: The Germanic nobility, who were expected to impose their new faith on the general population. This expectation was consistent with the sacral position of the king in Germanic paganism : the king is charged with interacting with the divine on behalf of his people. Hence the general population saw nothing wrong with their kings choosing their preferred mode of worship. The favoured method of showing
9348-663: The Germans for allegedly viewing these issues through "the lens of the world rather than through the lens of the truths revealed in Scripture and the Church's authoritative Tradition." On Nov 24, 2022, the Vatican published the critique of two curial cardinals. Cardinal Marc Ouellet , prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops , after praising the seriousness of the Germans in tackling sexual abuse, said that this has been "exploited" to push unrelated ideas, and they seem to be making "concessions" to cultural and media pressure. "The agenda of
9512-416: The Gospel and the Church. The pope's teaching was promoted as absolutely authoritative and binding on all the faithful. Secular politicians wondered whether "Catholicism and allegiance to the modern liberal state were not mutually exclusive". British Prime Minister Gladstone wrote in 1874 that the teaching on papal infallibility compromised the allegiance of faithful English Catholics. For European liberalism,
9676-411: The Holy Roman Empire were one of the reasons for the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), which devastated most of Germany and killed eight million people, many of those within the Empire dying from disease and famine. In the war of the First Coalition , revolutionary France defeated the coalition of Prussia , Austria , Spain , and Britain . One result was the cession of the Rhineland to France by
9840-434: The Italian government in 1870 outlawed many popular pilgrimages, the faithful of Bologna organized a nationwide "spiritual pilgrimage" to the pope and the tombs of the apostles in 1873. In 1875, Pius declared a Holy Year that was celebrated throughout the Catholic world. On the 50th anniversary of his episcopal consecration, people from all parts of the world came to see the old pontiff from 30 April 1877 to 15 June 1877. He
10004-406: The Papal States and throughout Italy, organized criminal gangs threatened commerce and travelers, engaging in robbery and murder at will. The Papal army in 1859 had 15,000 soldiers. A separate military body, the elite Swiss Guard , served as the Pope's personal bodyguard. The two papal universities in Rome and Bologna suffered much from revolutionary activities in 1848 but their standards in
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#173276577655410168-438: The Papal States to northern Italy. It soon became apparent that the Northern Italians were more adept at economically exploiting the modern means of communication than the inhabitants in central and Southern Italy. The justice system of the Papal States was subject to much criticism, not unlike the justice systems in the rest of Italy. Legal books were scarce, standards inconsistent, and judges were often accused of favoritism. In
10332-446: The Papal States. He also showed himself hostile to Austrian influences, delighting Italian patriots, who hailed him as the coming redeemer of Italy. "They want to make a Napoleon of me who am only a poor country parson", he once declared. In Pius' early years as pope, the government of the Papal States improved agricultural technology and productivity via farmer education in newly created scientific agricultural institutes. It abolished
10496-410: The Pope for involvement in politics, and instigated the Protestant Reformation . Luther's doctrine of the two kingdoms justified the confiscation of church property and the crushing of the Great Peasant Revolt of 1525 by the German nobles. This explains the attraction of some territorial princes to Lutheranism. Along with confiscated Catholic church property, ecclesiastical (Catholic) dominions became
10660-452: The Pope reorganize the Catholic Church of the new republic – named him auditor to assist the apostolic nuncio , Monsignore Giovanni Muzi, in the first mission to post-revolutionary South America. The mission had the objective to map out the role of the Catholic Church in Chile and its relationship with the state, but when it finally arrived in Santiago in March 1824, O'Higgins had been overthrown and replaced by General Ramón Freire , who
10824-492: The Protestant church, I have to go via Rome." In August 1871, at Bad Ems , Bismarck revealed his intention to fight against the Centre Party, to separate state and church, to transfer school inspection to laymen, to abolish religious instruction from schools and to transfer religious affairs to the minister of justice. On 22 January 1872, liberal Adalbert Falk replaced conservative Heinrich von Mühler as Prussian minister for religion, education and health. In Bismarck's mind, Falk
10988-405: The Prussian state parliament and the federal legislature ( Reichstag ), both with liberal majorities, enacted 22 laws in the context of the Kulturkampf . They were mainly directed against clerics: bishops, priests and religious orders ( anti-clerical ) and enforced the supremacy of the state over the church. While several laws were specific to the Catholic Church (Jesuits, congregations etc.)
11152-416: The Roman Empire. Aspects of primæval pagan religion have persisted to this day, including the names of the days of the week. As Roman rule crumbled in Germany in the 5th century, this phase of Catholicism in Germany came to an end with it. At first, the Gallo-Roman or Germano-Roman populations were able to retain control over big cities such as Cologne and Trier , but in 459 these too were overwhelmed by
11316-472: The Vatican. A decisive boost only came in February 1880, when the Vatican unexpectedly agreed to the civic registry of clerics. As the Kulturkampf slowly wound down the talks lead to a number of so-called mitigation and peace laws which were passed until 1887. On 29 September 1885, as another sign of peace, Bismarck proposed the Pope as arbiter in a dispute with Spain about the Caroline Islands and accepted his verdict in favour of Spain. In gratitude but to
11480-429: The adoption of the dogmatic constitution Pastor aeternus on papal infallibility . Gregory and the Melkite bishops ultimately subscribed to it, but added the qualifying clause used at the Council of Florence : "except the rights and privileges of Eastern patriarchs." This earned Gregory the enmity of Pius IX; during his next visit to the pontiff , before leaving Rome, when Gregory was kneeling, Pius placed his knee on
11644-438: The anti-modernist and anti-liberal policies of the Vatican. In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and Franco-Prussian War of 1870 the Catholic Church sided against Prussia and it was an outspoken opponent of German unification under Prussia (as well as of Italy's unification). The Catholic dogmas and doctrines announced in 1854, 1864 and 1870 were perceived in Germany as direct attacks on the modern nation state. Thus, Bismarck,
11808-509: The areas of science, mathematics, philosophy and theology were considered adequate. Pius recognized that much had to be done and instituted a reform commission in 1851. During his tenure, Catholics and Protestants collaborated to found a school in Rome to study international law and train international mediators committed to conflict resolution. There was one newspaper, Giornale di Roma , and one periodical, La Civiltà Cattolica , run by Jesuits . Like most of his predecessors, Pius IX
11972-470: The attacks of Frankish tribes. Most of the Gallo-Romans or Germano-Romans were killed or exiled. The newcomers to the towns reestablished the observance of the pagan rites. The small remaining Catholic population was powerless to protect its faith against the new ruling Frankish lords. But as soon as 496, Frankish King Clovis I was baptized together with many members of his household. In contrast to
12136-474: The battle for Italian independence. His later turn toward profound conservatism shocked and dismayed his original supporters, while surprising and delighting the conservative old guard. The conclave of 1846, following the death of Pope Gregory XVI (1831–1846), took place in an unsettled political climate within Italy. The conclave was steeped in a factional division between right and left. The conservatives on
12300-420: The biggest challenges facing the church is to retain the registered, tax-paying members (regardless of how often they attend services) to fund parishes and church agencies, especially its international relief organizations like Adveniat. German Catholics, however, are divided over the issue of a compulsory church tax. Under the tax an additional 8 percent to 9 percent of personal income tax is deducted at source by
12464-559: The cardinalate, but he died before the consistory took place. In 1866, Pius IX wanted to nominate a Barnabite to the College of Cardinals before he opened the First Vatican Council. While the pope originally decided on appointing Carlo Vercellone , a noted biblical scholar, Vercellone refused due to his precarious health, instead proposing that Pius IX instead nominate Luigi Bilio . In 1868, Pius IX nominated Andre Pila to
12628-595: The cardinalate, however, he died the day before he would have been elevated as the only person for elevation in that April consistory. Also in 1868, Pius IX offered the cardinalate to the Bishop of Concepción José Hipólito Salas whom he had met during the First Vatican Council, inviting him to join the Roman Curia. However, the bishop preferred to live in Chile and declined the offer, while Pius IX did not offer it again in
12792-508: The changes were kept in place. In the Vormärz period, Catholic publications usually portrayed revolutions as negative and dangerous to the existing order as well as to the interests of the Catholic Church. Most of them considered a viable Catholicism to be necessary for the very health of society and state and to be the only true and effective protection against the scourge of revolution. The unsuccessful German revolutions of 1848–49 , which
12956-474: The child legally a Christian convert, and Papal law forbade Christians from being raised by Jews, even their own parents. The incident provoked widespread outrage amongst liberals, both Catholic and non-Catholic, and contributed to the growing anti-papal sentiment in Europe. The boy was raised in the papal household , and was eventually ordained a priest at age 21. Pius IX was the last pope who also functioned as
13120-442: The church and was of no good to the state is now over". The Mitigation and Peace Laws restored the inner autonomy of the Catholic church while leaving key regulations and the laws concerning separation of church and state in place (civic marriage, civic registry, religious disaffiliation, government school supervision, civic registry of clerics, ban of Jesuits, pulpit law, state supervision of church assets, constitutional amendments and
13284-463: The church sought relief from a friendly government after the anti-clerical actions of Benito Juárez , who had suspended payment on foreign debt and seized ecclesial property. Pius blessed Maximilian and his wife Charlotte of Belgium before they set off for Mexico to begin their reign. But the friction between the Vatican and Mexico would continue with the new emperor when Maximilian insisted on freedom of religion, which Pius opposed. Relations with
13448-434: The church's opposition to enlightenment, liberal reforms, and the revolutions of the 18th/19th centuries, these dogmas and the church's expressed insistence on papal primacy angered the liberal-minded across Europe, even among some Catholics. Debates were heated. The dogmas were perceived as threatening the secularized state, as they reaffirmed that the fundamental allegiance of Catholics was not to their nation-state, but to
13612-479: The coming season would be like. Similar events had sometimes been convened in times of crisis, for much the same reasons. The sacrifices, consisting of gold, weapons, animals, and even human beings, were hung on the branches of a holy tree. The Hiberno-Scottish mission ended in the 13th century. Supported by native Christians, they succeeded in Christianizing all of Germany. In medieval times, Catholicism
13776-517: The convert Henry Edward Manning ; and John McCloskey , the first American cardinal. According to Bishop Cipriano Calderón, the pope intended to make the Bishop of Michoacán , Juan Cayetano Gómez de Portugal y Solís , a cardinal in 1850 and even had Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli send a letter to him to express his intentions. He would have been the first Latin American cardinal had he not died before
13940-462: The discriminated Polish minority. Laws enacted in the state of Prussia and in the empire in the early 1870s discriminated against Catholics. These laws were resisted by the Church, leading to heated public debates in the media and in the parliaments, during which the term " Kulturkampf " gained widespread currency. Diplomatic ties with the Vatican were cut and additional laws were passed to quell Catholic opposition. This only resulted in more support by
14104-667: The doctrine, some founded the small breakaway Old Catholic Church . According to the Bavarian head of government, Hohenlohe , the dogma of infallibility compromised the Catholic's loyalty to the state. He sent a circular to all the diplomatic representatives of the Bavarian Kingdom saying, "The only dogmatic thesis which Rome desires to have decided by the Council, and which the Jesuits in Italy and Germany are now agitating,
14268-438: The dogmas were perceived as a declaration of war against the modern state, science, and spiritual freedom. The pope's handling of dissent from the dogmas, e.g. by excommunication of critics or demanding their removal from schools and universities, was considered as the "epitome of papal authoritarianism". In direct response to the Vatican's announcements, Austria passed the so-called May Laws for Cisleithania in 1868, restricting
14432-486: The early 1920s) attacked a leading bishop for his defense of Jews. Some bishops prohibited Catholics in their dioceses from joining the Nazi Party . This ban was modified after Hitler's 23 March 1933 speech to the Reichstag in which he described Christianity as the foundation for German values. The Nazis did not formally advocate Catholicism but rather an apostate "Christian" sect known as Positive Christianity that
14596-511: The eastern German tribes, who became Arian Christians, he became a Catholic. Following the example of their king, many Franks were baptized too, but their Catholicism was intermixed with pagan rites. Over the next eight centuries, Irish, Scottish , and English missionaries reintroduced Christianity into the German territories. During the period of the Frankish Empire , the two most important of these missionaries were Columbanus , who
14760-459: The empire, Catholics were the majority in the states of Bavaria , Baden , and Alsace-Lorraine as well as in the four Prussian Provinces of West Prussia , Posen , Rhineland , Westphalia and in the Prussian region of Upper Silesia . Since the Thirty Years' War the population was generally segregated along religious lines and rural areas or towns were overwhelmingly if not entirely of
14924-448: The encyclical Pascendi dominici gregis , mounting new attacks on historical criticism of biblical texts and any accommodation of Catholicism to modern philosophy, sociology or literature. As of 1910, clerics had to take an oath against all forms of modernism, a requirement later extended to teachers of Catholic religion at schools and professors of Catholic theology resulting in intense political and public debates and new conflicts with
15088-589: The federal states and the leading actor of the Kulturkampf was Prussia , Germany's largest state. However, some of the laws were also passed by the Reichstag and applied to all of Germany. In general, the laws did not affect the press and associations including Catholic ones. The Falk Laws , or 'May Laws' ( Maigesetze ), were a set of laws passed by the Prussian parliament in the years 1873, 1874, and 1875. Four laws passed in 1873 were enacted on 11–14 May that year: The last two laws passed in 1876 were of no practical importance: The political situation in Europe
15252-596: The first steps in secularisation well before unification. Predominantly Catholic Baden was at the forefront of curbing the power of the Catholic Church, as in the Baden Church Dispute (1852–1854) and the Kulturkampf Baden [ de ] (1864–1876). Other examples are Prussia (1830s, 1850, 1859, and 1969), Württemberg (1859/1862), Bavaria ( Bayerischer Kulturkampf [ de ] , 1867), Hesse-Nassau or Hesse-Darmstadt . In
15416-495: The foundations of the modern nation-state. It rejected outright such concepts as freedom of religion , separation of church and state , civil marriage , sovereignty of the people , liberalism and socialism , reason as the sole base of human action , and in general condemned the idea of conciliation with progress . The announcements included an index of forbidden books. The Church gradually re-organized and began to use mass media expansively to promote its messages. In addition,
15580-512: The future. In 1875, Pius IX intended to nominate the papal almoner Xavier de Mérode to the Sacred College, however, he died just eight months before the consistory was to be held. Pius IX also decided to nominate Augusto Negroni [ pl ] , a longtime Curial official, but he declined and instead joined the Society of Jesus in mid-1874. Pope Pius IX canonized 52 saints during his pontificate. He canonized notable saints such as
15744-454: The general laws affected both Catholic and Protestant churches. In an attempt to overcome increasing resistance by the Catholic Church and its defiance of the laws, new regulations increasingly went beyond state matters referring to the purely internal affairs of the church. Even many liberals saw them as an encroachment on civil liberties, compromising their own credo. Constitutionally, education and regulation of religious affairs were vested in
15908-414: The great and small culture wars among political factions who hold deeply opposing values and beliefs within a nation, a community, and a cultural group. The philosophic influences of The Enlightenment , Scientific realism , Positivism , Materialism , nationalism , secularism , and Liberalism impinged upon and ended the intellectual and political roles of religion and the Catholic Church, which then
16072-490: The great horror of Catholics, the Pope awarded Bismarck the Supreme Order of Christ , the highest order of chivalry to be granted by the Holy See. Bismarck was the only Protestant ever to receive this award. After further negotiations between Prussia and the Vatican, the Prussian parliament passed 2 additional laws amending some of the Kulturkampf laws. On 23 May 1887, the Pope declared "The struggle which damaged
16236-434: The hierarchy and the Centre Party and the liberals' demands to curb the power of the churches meshed well with Bismarck's main political objective to crush the Centre Party. According to historian Anthony J. Steinhoff: Bismarck's plan to disarm political Catholicism delighted liberal politicians, who provided the parliamentary backing for the crusade. Yet, the phrase the left-liberal Rudolf Virchow coined for this struggle,
16400-496: The increasing popularity of the socialists or more important such as questions of import duties. In these matters, he could either not rely on the support of the liberals to pursue his goals or they were not sufficient to form a majority. Bismarck had not been comfortable with the increasing ferocity of the Kulturkampf . Concerning the rise of the Centre Party, the laws had proven to be greatly ineffective and even counterproductive. He soon realized that they were of no help battling
16564-641: The incursions by the church", although his ideas were not as far-reaching as in the United States or in Great Britain. He had in mind the traditional position of the Protestant church in Prussia and provoked considerable resistance from conservative Protestants. This became clear in a heated debate with Prussian culture minister von Mühler in 1871 when Bismarck said: "Since you stopped my plans in
16728-548: The leadership of Gregory's successor, Pope Pius IX , the church proclaimed Mary's Immaculate Conception in 1854. In 1864, Pius published the encyclical Quanta cura with its appended Syllabus Errorum (" Syllabus of Errors "), and in 1870 convened the First Vatican Council . The Council, in turn, proclaimed the dogma of papal infallibility . In Syllabus Errorum , the Church condemned as false some 80 philosophical and political statements, mainly
16892-645: The liberals for the Kulturkampf was in contrast to Bismarck's pragmatic attitude towards the measures and growing disquiet from the Conservatives. Catholic Church in Germany The Catholic Church in Germany ( German : Katholische Kirche in Deutschland ) or Roman Catholic Church in Germany ( German : Römisch-katholische Kirche in Deutschland ) is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church in communion with
17056-438: The losses in church land and property made the national or local churches in Germany (as well as in the former Holy Roman Empire, France, Switzerland , and Austria) more dependent on Rome ( ultramontane ). This shift in the 1850s was sustained by a more zealous clergy, the revival of old teaching orders, the emergence of Marian confraternities, new religious congregations of men and women, and the holding of popular missions. In
17220-613: The mediatizations, the ecclesiastical states were by and large annexed to neighbouring secular principalities. Only three survived a tide of secularization as theocracies : the Archbishopric of Regensburg , which was raised from a bishopric with the incorporation of the Archbishopric of Mainz , and the lands of the Teutonic Knights and Knights of Saint John . Monasteries and abbeys lost their means of existence as they had to abandon their lands. Paradoxically,
17384-551: The mercy of Pius VII, who elevated him and supported his continued theological studies. Mastai was ordained a priest on 10 April 1819. The Pope had originally insisted that another priest should assist Mastai during Holy Mass, but rescinded the stipulation after the seizures became less frequent. He initially worked as the rector of the Tata Giovanni Institute in Rome. Shortly before his death, Pius VII – following Chilean leader Bernardo O'Higgins ' wish to have
17548-682: The mid-19th century, the Catholic Church was also seen as a political power, even in Protestant Prussia , exerting a strong influence on many parts of life. However, from the Catholics' point of view (especially where Catholics were the majority as in the Rhineland Province, the Saar, Alsace and Loraine, and Silesia), Catholics often felt intimidated by self-consciously Protestant rulers, especially when an anti-Catholic campaign
17712-449: The monks and nuns had left Prussia, a third of the monasteries and convents were closed. Between 1872 and 1878, numerous Catholic newspapers were confiscated, Catholic associations and assemblies were dissolved, and Catholic civil servants were dismissed merely on the pretence of having Ultramontane sympathies. Thousands of laypeople were imprisoned for assisting priests to evade the punitive new laws. The general ideological enthusiasm among
17876-467: The more prestigious Diocese of Imola , was made a cardinal in pectore in 1839, and in 1840 was publicly announced as cardinal-priest of Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano . As in Spoleto, his episcopal priorities were the formation of priests through improved education and charities. He became known for visiting prisoners in jail and for programs for street children. Cardinal Mastai Ferretti
18040-457: The new Centre Party not only as an illegal mixup of politics and religion and the church's "long arm" but also as a unifying force for Catholic Germans and Poles and thus a threat to the consolidation of the empire. He feared that the Centre Party would frustrate his broader political agendas and he accused the Catholic priests of fostering Polish nationalism as had been done openly in the provinces of Posen and Upper Silesia. The Liberals regarded
18204-576: The new empire: the House of Hanover , the ethnic minority of the Poles, the southern German states. In 1871, the predominantly Catholic states of Southern Germany had only reluctantly joined the empire, increasing the overall share of the Catholic population to 36.5%. Among this Catholic share was Germany's largest ethnic minority, well over 2 million Poles in the east of Prussia, who under Prussia and Germany suffered discrimination and oppression. Bismarck regarded
18368-491: The new free-thinking concerning human rights with the classical natural law tradition of the church's political and economic teaching on social justice . After the revolution, however, his political reforms and constitutional improvements were minimal, remaining largely within the framework of the 1850 laws mentioned above. Pius IX's liberal policies initially made him very popular throughout Italy. He appointed an able and enlightened minister, Pellegrino Rossi , to administer
18532-468: The new pope had little diplomatic experience and no curial experience at all. Pius IX was crowned on 21 June 1846. The election of the liberal Pius IX created much enthusiasm in Europe and elsewhere. "For the next twenty months after the election, Pius IX was the most popular man on the Italian peninsula, where the exclamation "Long life to Pius IX!" was often heard. English Protestants celebrated him as
18696-529: The next consistory. According to the Benedictine monk Guy-Marie Oury, a letter addressed by Prosper Guéranger to his Benedictine colleague Léandre Fonteinne on 6 March 1856 indicated that Guéranger had learned that Pius IX wanted to name him a cardinal in November 1855, but he refused the honor because he did not want to live in Rome. As a result, Pius IX made the Bishop of La Rochelle Clément Villecourt
18860-404: The oldest church in the country. The country has a total of about 24,500 Church buildings including many additional religious landmarks: abbeys, minsters, basilicas, pilgrimage churches, chapels, and converted former cathedrals, built in a profusion of different layouts and styles, from Romanesque to post-modern. Many are listed as World Heritage Sites . The earliest stage of the conversion of
19024-710: The oldest structures in Germany, Reichenau , Maulbronn , Weingarten , Banz and Vierzehnheiligen on the opposite hill, the Wieskirche , Ettal , Fürstenfeld , Sacred Heart in Munich (finished in 2000), Altötting and many more. Oberammergau is famous for the Passion Play staged every ten years. The Catholic Church in Germany also boasts one of the country's most recognizable landmarks, Cologne Cathedral . Other notable Roman Catholic cathedrals are in Aachen with
19188-402: The party's major demands were met. Instead, the pope even sided with Bismarck on non-religious issues and pressured the Centre Party to support Bismarck or at least abstain, e.g. in the matter of the hotly debated Septennat 1887 (7-year military budget). Many Liberals, especially Falk, objected to the concessions Bismarck made to the Church. The growth of the Centre Party has been considered
19352-730: The patriarch's shoulder, just saying to him: Testa dura! ( You headstrong! ). In spite of this event, Gregory and the Melkite Greek Catholic Church remained committed to their union with the Holy See. The ecclesiastical policies of Pius IX were dominated by defence of the rights of the church and the free exercise of religion for Catholics in countries such as Russia and the Ottoman Empire . He also fought against what he perceived to be anti-Catholic philosophies in countries such as Italy , Germany , and France . The German Empire sought to restrict and weaken
19516-694: The personal property of the holder of the formerly religious office, for the right to rule was attached to this office. On 25 September 1555, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League signed the Peace of Augsburg to officially end the religious wars between the Catholics and the Protestants . This treaty legalized the partitioning of the Holy Roman Empire into Catholic and Protestant territories. Under
19680-525: The pope a "prisoner" in the Vatican . The Church strove to regain its influence and to hold sway in such matters as marriage, family, and education. It initiated a Catholic revival by founding associations, papers, schools, social establishments and new orders, and encouraging religious practices such as pilgrimages , mass assemblies, devotion to the Virgin Mary or the Sacred Heart of Jesus , and
19844-431: The popes worked to increase their control of the Church. The Church centralized some functions and streamlined its hierarchy, which prompted strong criticism by European governments. The bishops sought direction from the Vatican, and the needs and views of the international church were given priority over the local ones. Opponents of the new hierarchical church organization pejoratively called it ultramontanism . In view of
20008-583: The republic later that year, Pius appointed a conservative government of three cardinals known as the Red Triumvirate to administer the Papal States until his return to Rome in April 1850. He visited the hospitals to comfort the wounded and sick, but he seemed to have lost both his liberal tastes and his confidence in the Romans, who had turned against him in 1848. Pius decided to move his residence from
20172-526: The requirements for Jews to attend Christian services and sermons and opened the papal charities to the needy amongst them. The new pope freed all political prisoners by giving amnesty to revolutionaries, which horrified the conservative monarchies in the Austrian Empire and elsewhere. "He was celebrated in New York City , London and Berlin as a model ruler." In 1848, Pius IX released
20336-624: The revolutionary Roman Republic and returned him from exile, the Pope reversed the Republic's religious freedom laws and issued a series of anti-liberal measures, including re-instituting the Jewish ghetto. In a highly publicized case from 1858, the police of the Papal States seized a 6-year-old Jewish boy, Edgardo Mortara , from his parents. A Christian servant girl unrelated to the family claimed she had informally baptized him during an illness six years prior, fearing he would die. This had made
20500-461: The right favoured the hardline stances and papal absolutism of the previous pontificate, while liberals supported moderate reforms. The conservatives supported Luigi Lambruschini , the late pope's Cardinal Secretary of State . Liberals supported two candidates: Tommaso Pasquale Gizzi and the then 54-year-old Mastai Ferretti. During the first ballot, Mastai Ferretti received 15 votes, the rest going to Lambruschini and Gizzi. Lambruschini received
20664-467: The same religion. Education was also separate and usually in the hands of the churches. There was little mutual tolerance, interaction or intermarriage. Protestants in general were deeply distrustful of the Catholic Church. Unification had been achieved through many obstacles with strong opponents. These were the European powers of France and Austria, both Catholic nations, and the Catholic Church itself,
20828-412: The secular parliament. Pius IX refused to recognize the new Italian kingdom, which he denounced as an illegitimate creation of revolution. He excommunicated the nation's leaders, including King Victor Emmanuel II, whom he denounced as "forgetful of every religious principle, despising every right, trampling upon every law," whose reign over Italy was therefore "a sacrilegious usurpation." In response to
20992-422: The separation of church and state became a prominent issue. The Kulturkampf in Prussia is usually bracketed by the years 1871 and 1878 with the Catholic Church officially announcing its end in 1880 but the struggle in Germany had been an ongoing matter without definite beginning and the years 1871 to 1878 only mark its culmination in Prussia. In the wake of other European countries, most German states had taken
21156-475: The spread of monastic life among the Polish and French minorities. The Church, in turn, saw the National-Liberals as its worst enemy, accusing them of spearheading the war against Christianity and the Catholic Church. At unification in 1871, the new German Empire included 25.5 million Protestants (62% of the population) and 15 million Catholics (36.5% of the population). Although a minority in
21320-677: The state where the taxpayer lives. Apart from its demographic weight, the Catholic Church in Germany has an old religious and cultural heritage, which reaches back to both Saint Boniface , the "Apostle of Germany" and the first Archbishop of Mainz , buried in Fulda, and to Charlemagne , buried at Aachen Cathedral . Notable religious sites include structures from the Carolingian era to modern buildings. A cursory list may name Quedlinburg , Maria Laach , Erfurt Cathedral , Eberbach , Lorsch Abbey with its remnant 'Torhalle' (gate hall), one of
21484-507: The state. The abolition of the Catholic section of the Prussian ministry of ecclesiastical and educational affairs deprived Catholics of their voice at the highest level. The system of strict government supervision of schools was applied only in Catholic areas; the Protestant schools were left alone. The school politics also alienated Protestant conservatives and churchmen. The British ambassador Odo Russell reported to London in October 1872 how Bismarck's plans were backfiring by strengthening
21648-406: The success of his laws and was unhappy with his lack of political tact and sensitivity. The differences in their attitudes concerning the Kulturkampf eventually put the two politicians at odds with each other. With this background and the determination of church and state, the Kulturkampf in Germany acquired an additional edge as it gathered in intensity and bitterness. From 1871 to 1876,
21812-561: The supremacy of the Christian belief was the destruction of the holy trees of the Germans . These were trees, usually old oaks or elm trees, dedicated to the gods. Because the missionary was able to destroy the trees without being slain by the gods, his Christian god had to be stronger. The pagan sacrifices, known as blót , had been seasonal celebrations where gifts were offered to appropriate gods and attempts were made to forecast what
21976-416: The three of which Bismarck perceived as "Coalition of Catholic Revenge". For Bismarck, the empire was very fragile and its consolidation was an important issue. Biographer Otto Pflanze notes that "all of these developments, real and imagined, reinforced Bismarck's belief in the existence of a widespread Catholic conspiracy that posed a threat to both his German and European policies." In a Protestant empire,
22140-668: The throne and tomb of Charlemagne , Augsburg , Bamberg , Berlin ( St. Hedwig's Cathedral ) with the crypt of Bernhard Lichtenberg , Dresden , proto-Romanesque Hildesheim , Frankfurt with the coronation church of the old Reich 's Emperors (superseding Aachen), Freiburg , Freising , Fulda , Limburg which was depicted on the reverse of the old 500 Deutschmark banknote, Mainz with St. Martin's Cathedral ) (the only Holy see other than Rome and Jerusalem ), Munich Frauenkirche with its onion domes and giant single roof, Münster , Paderborn , Passau , Regensburg , Speyer with its Rhenish Imperial cathedral , and Trier with
22304-425: The time and the antagonism between Liberals and Protestants on one side and the Catholic Church on the other was fought out through mud-slinging in the press. A wave of anti-Catholic, anticlerical and anti-monastic pamphleteering in the liberal press was answered by anti-liberal preaching and propaganda in Catholic newspapers and vice versa. For these reasons, the government sought to wean the Catholic masses away from
22468-502: The treaty, the religion of the ruler (either Lutheranism or Catholicism ) determined the religion of his subjects. This policy is widely referred to by the Latin phrase, cuius regio, eius religio ("whose reign, his religion", or "in the prince's land, the prince's religion"). Families were given a period in which they were free to emigrate to regions where their desired religion prevailed. The religious intolerance and tensions within
22632-413: The ultramontane (pro-papal) position inside German Catholicism: Nearly all German bishops, clergy and laymen rejected the legality of the new laws and were defiantly facing the increasingly heavy penalties, trials and imprisonments. As of 1878, only three of eight Prussian dioceses still had bishops, some 1,125 of 4,600 parishes were vacant, and nearly 1,800 priests ended up in jail or in exile, nearly half
22796-594: The upheavals faced by the Papal States during the 1848 revolutions, the Mexican government offered Pope Pius IX asylum, which the pope responded to by considering the creation of a Mexican cardinal and granting an award to President José Joaquín de Herrera . With French Emperor Napoleon III 's military intervention in Mexico and establishment of the Second Mexican Empire under Maximilian I in 1864,
22960-542: The various Celtic people and Germanic people to Christianity occurred only in the western part of Germany, the part controlled by the Roman Empire . Christianization was facilitated by the prestige of the Christian Roman Empire amongst its pagan subjects and was achieved gradually by various means. The rise of Germanic Christianity was at times voluntary, particularly among groups associated with
23124-486: The veneration of relics ; the pope himself became an object of devotion. Apart from the growth in religious orders, the 19th century was a time when numerous Catholic associations and organisations were founded, especially in Germany and in France (In the United States, there was a comparable rise in fraternal organizations in the late nineteenth century.). Catholic propaganda , including the interpretation of daily events,
23288-513: The years leading up to its rise to power in 1933–34. It believed its primary duty was to protect German Catholics and the Church. Popes Pius XI and Pius XII publicly denounced racism and the murder of innocents. Many Jews were offered baptismal certificates by local parishes and priests in Germany, and some actually converted to escape deportation, arrest or execution, though the Nazi policy of anti-semitism did not exempt "converts" as their philosophy
23452-511: The young Count Mastai was engaged to the daughter of the (Protestant) Church of Ireland Bishop of Kilmore , William Foster . Certainly, if there was ever any such engagement, it did not proceed. In 1814, as a theology student in his hometown of Sinigaglia, he met Pope Pius VII , who had returned from French captivity. In 1815, he entered the Papal Noble Guard but was soon dismissed after an epileptic seizure. He threw himself on
23616-666: Was Benedict XVI , previously Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, reigned from 2005 until his retirement in 2013. Burleigh, Michael, and Wolfgang Wippermann. The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991). Zalar, Jeffery T. Reading and Rebellion in Catholic Germany, 1770-1914 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018). [REDACTED] Media related to Roman Catholic Church in Germany at Wikimedia Commons Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( Italian : Pio IX , Pio Nono ; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti ; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878)
23780-437: Was "to re-establish the rights of the state in relation to the church". Yet, unlike Bismarck, whose main motivation for the Kulturkampf was the political power struggle with the Centre Party, Falk, a lawyer, was a strong proponent of state authority having in mind the legal aspects of state-church relationships. Falk became the driving force behind the Kulturkampf laws. Although Bismarck publicly supported Falk, he doubted
23944-476: Was a bit shy, but he valued initiative within the church and created several new titles, rewards, and orders to elevate those who in his view deserved merit. Pius IX created 122 new cardinals, of whom 64 were alive at his death; at the time membership in the College of Cardinals was limited to 70. Noteworthy elevations included Vincenzo Pecci (his eventual successor Leo XIII ); Nicholas Wiseman of Westminster;
24108-582: Was a patron of the arts. He supported architecture, painting, sculpture, music, goldsmiths , coppersmiths , and more, and handed out numerous rewards to artists. Much of his efforts went to renovate and improve churches in Rome and the Papal States. He ordered the strengthening of the Colosseum , which was feared to be on the verge of collapse. Huge sums were spent in the excavation of the Christian Catacombs of Rome , for which Pius created
24272-648: Was active in the Frankish Empire from 590, and St. Boniface, who was active from 716. The missionaries, particularly the Scottish Benedictines , founded monasteries ( Schottenklöster , Scottish monasteries) in Germany, which were later combined into a single congregation governed by the Abbot of the Scots monastery at Regensburg . The conversion of the Germanic peoples began with the conversion of
24436-636: Was based on race as pointed out in its National Socialist Program – not on religion. The Vatican knew of the murder of the Jews very early on during the Third Reich , as it had religious representatives in all of the occupied countries. Many individual priests, religious and lay Catholics attempted to save Jews in Germany. Adolf Hitler was raised as a Catholic in Austria but no longer practised his faith as an adult and as he rose to power. The Catholic Church
24600-610: Was born on 13 May 1792 in Senigallia . He was the ninth child born into the noble family of Girolamo dei Conti Ferretti (1750–1833) and Caterina Antonia Maddalena Solazzei di Fano (1764–1842). He was baptized on the day of his birth with the names Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro. He was educated at the Piarist College in Volterra and in Rome. An unreliable account published many years later suggests that
24764-411: Was carried on at many levels and would involve "the banishing of priests and nuns from the country, the driving of bishops from their chairs, the closing of schools, the confiscation of church property, the disruption of church gatherings, the disbanding of Catholic associations, and an open feud with the Vatican. Chancellor Bismarck regarded the Church as a threat, especially in view of its defense of
24928-440: Was considered a liberal during his episcopate in Spoleto and Imola because he supported administrative changes in the Papal States and sympathized with the nationalist movement in Italy. Cardinal Mastai Ferretti entered the papacy in 1846, amidst widespread expectations that he would be a champion of reform and modernization in the Papal States, which he ruled directly, and in the entire Catholic Church. Admirers wanted him to lead
25092-475: Was considered a milestone not only in his pontificate but also in ecclesiastical history through its defining of the dogma of papal infallibility . After the First Vatican Council concluded, an emissary of the Roman Curia was dispatched to secure the signatures of Patriarch Gregory II Youssef and the rest of the Melkite delegation who had voted non placet at the general congregation and left Rome prior to
25256-502: Was given, just the signal of white smoke. On the following morning, the Cardinal protodeacon , Tommaso Riario Sforza , announced the election of Mastai Ferretti before a crowd of faithful Catholics. When Mastai Ferretti appeared on the balcony, the mood became joyous. Mastai Ferretti chose the name of Pius IX in honour of Pope Pius VII (1800–1823), who had encouraged his vocation to the priesthood despite his childhood epilepsy. However,
25420-456: Was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest of any pope in history. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican Council in 1868 and for permanently losing control of the Papal States in 1870 to the Kingdom of Italy . Thereafter, he refused to leave Vatican City , declaring himself a " prisoner in the Vatican ". At the time of his election, some considered him liberal, but no longer after
25584-597: Was historically majority Protestant, and only 11% of the people were Catholic. There were only two, small, majority-Catholic regions in the GDR: a part of the Eichsfeld region and the region in the southeast inhabited by Sorbs . 28.5% of the total population is Catholic (23.9 million people as of December 2022). Only one of Germany's Bundesländer (federal states), the Saarland has a Catholic absolute majority: Catholicism
25748-518: Was in direct opposition to Catholic dogma and doctrine. After World War II the Catholics in the zone occupied by the Soviet army found themselves under a militantly atheist government. Many parishes were cut off from their dioceses in the western part of Germany. German Catholicism was comparatively less affected than Protestantism by the establishment of the GDR, as nearly all of the Soviet zone's territory
25912-511: Was in opposition to other ideologies like Communism , because these ideologies were deemed incompatible with Christian morals. Some German bishops expected their priests to promote the Catholic political Centre Party . The majority of Catholic-sponsored newspapers supported the Centre Party over the Nazi Party. In Munich there were some Catholics, both lay and clerics, who supported Hitler, and, on occasion and contrary to Catholic doctrine, (in
26076-478: Was less well-disposed toward the Church and had already taken hostile measures such as the seizure of Church property. Having ended in failure, the mission returned to Europe. Nevertheless, Mastai had been the first future pope ever to have been in the Americas. Upon his return to Rome, the successor of Pius VII, Pope Leo XII , appointed him head of the hospital of San Michele a Ripa in Rome (1825–1827) and canon of Santa Maria in Via Lata . Pope Leo XII appointed
26240-426: Was promoted through local and national Catholic newspapers that were prominent in all western European nations. In addition, organized missions and groups were dedicated to producing pious literature. In the 19th century, the popes issued a series of encyclicals (such as Mirari vos (1832) by Pope Gregory XVI ) condemning liberalism and freedom of the press . These generated controversy in some quarters. Under
26404-439: Was the end of the Papal States , which lay in the middle of the "Italian boot" around the central area of Rome . In contrast, he led the worldwide Church toward an ever-increasing centralization and consolidation of power in Rome and the papacy. More than his predecessors, Pius used the papal pulpit to address the bishops of the world. The First Vatican Council (1869–1870), which he convened to consolidate papal authority further,
26568-402: Was the established church of Europe. By way of the legislated separation of church and state , the Age of Reason reduced society's financial debts to the Church and rendered secular the public sphere of society, and established the state's supremacy concerning the content and administration of public education for all of society. During the Age of Reason in the 17th and the 18th centuries,
26732-446: Was the only official religion within the Holy Roman Empire . (There were resident Jews , but they were not considered citizens of the empire.) Within the empire the Catholic Church was a major power. Large parts of the territory were ruled by ecclesiastical lords. Three of the seven seats in the council of electors of the Holy Roman Emperors were occupied by Catholic archbishops: the Arch-chancellor of Burgundy ( archbishop of Trier ),
26896-426: Was very volatile. Initially perceived as a possible enemy hostile to German unification under Prussian leadership, Austria and Germany very quickly became friends and formed the Dual Alliance in 1879. The possibility of a war with France or Russia also became more remote. Therefore, social and economic problems moved to the fore and Bismarck's attention gradually turned to other topics he deemed more threatening such as
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