On November 9, 1938, thousands of Nazis and their supporters in Germany...
burned down 177 synagogues...destroyed 7,500 Jewish businesses...killed almost 100 Jewish people and injured hundreds more...burned thousands of Bibles, Jewish books of poetry, philosophy, and religious teachings.This night is known as Kristallnacht ("the night of broken glass").
While the Nazis and their friends did this, millions of Germans stood by and let this happen. This means that millions of Christians including Catholic bishops, priests, and lay people did nothing while this was happening.. So, the Nazis then decided that they could do whatever they wanted. Because "good"people did not protest and tell the Nazis, "what you are doing is wrong", the Nazis then....
....killed 6 million Jews; 20 million Russians; thousands and thousands of Poles,Lithuanians, Greeks, and so many others;
....conducted horrible experiments on deaf children and adults; other children and adults with disabilities; raped hundreds of thousands of women and young children;
....imprisoned, tortured, and killed thousands of Catholic priests, Sisters, Brothers, and lay leaders;
....murdered anyone identified as "gay", "retarded", a "gypsy","mentally ill", an "undesirable person".
There is an important lesson for all of us TODAY! There are people in OUR country, people who call themselves "good citizens," "patriots", etc who believe that...
....immigrants are "enemies";
....people who are deaf or disabled should not have the protection of laws like ADA, IDEA;
....gay/lesbian people are evil and should not be respected as persons;
....people who are born with diseases or disabilities (Pre-Existing conditions) should not be allowed to get health insurance because they are "a burden";
....people who dress differently or speak differently or live differently or worship differently than "normal" people are suspect;
....people who are poor and suffering are poor and suffering because it's their own fault;
....people with mental illnesses are the same as criminals and should be locked up;
....these "good citizens" know God's Will and can decide what God wants for the world, no matter what harm that brings to other people.
The people who stood by while the Nazis did these terrible deeds in the end themselves suffered because they did nothing to stop this evil. The same thing will happen to us if we allow people in power to treat others, especially the poor, the vulnerable, the weak with injustice and inhumanity.