Pope Francis allows for Atheism

I really don't think this is limited to the RCC. A lot of protestant sects have become more "liberal" in recent times. I really see this as christian sects trying to stay relevant in an increasingly secular society. Christianity no longer holds the reigns like it once did in Western culture.

In some sense, it feels insincere. Atheists and non-christians have been persecuted by the church for centuries,

but now that christianity has lost it's political power they want to be all chummy chummy.

Part of me wants to give them the finger . . .

but, it is actually really nice to see people reaching out to other people because we are all humans and deserve to be recognized as fellow humans. It may be a little late, but at least it happened.

don't know about you, but when you have family history of being killed because of their religion, 'some' just doesn't cut it. My family got out of Russia because of the pogroms against the Jews. My Great grandfather had 5 of his 6 sisters murdered because of them.It seems to be rather uncharitable to try to minimize the effects of prejudice , and hand wave the numbers and the effects of it.

While it is true Hitler was Catholic until his death, and that the Church never condemned him publicly your suggestion that Hitler commited his "final solution" the extermination of the Jew in the name of Catholcism needs to be supported by evidence and facts.Where did he say or quote or write that? Source please.If anything it was Martin Luthers anti semetic writings and background that contributed to Hitlers twisted racism and hatred of the Jews. Martin Luther and antisemitism - Wikipedia

164 THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE JESUITS"I learned much from the Order of the Jesuits", said Hitler... "Until now, there has never been anything more grandiose, on the earth, than the hierarchical organisation of the Catholic Church. I transferred much of this organisation into my own party... I am going to let you in on a secret... I am founding an Order... In my "Burgs" of the Order, we will raise up a youth which will make the world tremble... Hitler then stopped, saying that he couldn't say any more.."(108)Another highly placed hitlerian, Walter Schellenberg, former chief of the German counter-espionage, completed this confidence from the Fuhrer after the war: "The S.S. organisation had been constituted, by Himmler, according to the principles of the Jesuits' Order. Their regulations and the Spiritual Exercises prescribed by Ignatius of Loyola were the model Himmler tried to copy exactly... The "Reichsfuhrer SS"Himmler's title as supreme chief of the SSwas to be the equivalent of the Jesuits' "General" and the whole structure of the direction was a close imitation of the Catholic Church's hierarchical order. A mediaeval castle, near Paderborn in Westphalia, and called "Webelsbourg", was restored; it became what could be called a SS monastery".(109)For their part, the best theological pens were busy demonstrating the similarity between the Catholic and Nazi doctrines. And, for that work, the sons of Loyola were the busiest. As an example, let us see how Michaele Schmaus, Jesuit theologian, presented to the public a series of studies on this subject: "Empire and Church" is a series of writings which should help the building up of the Third Reich as it unites a national-socialist state to Catholic-christianity... The national-socialist movement is the most vigorous and massive protest against the spirit of the 19th and 20th centuries... A compromise between the Catholic faith and liberal thinking is impossible... Nothing is more contrary to Catholicism than democracy... The reawakened meaning of "strict authority" opens up again the way to the real interpretation of ecclesiastical authority... The mistrust of liberty is founded on the Catholic doctrine of original sin... The national-socialist Commandments and those of the Catholic Church have the same aim..."(110)[Notes to the above]
(108) Hermann Rauschning, former national-socialist chief of the government of Dantzig: "Hitler m'a dit", (Ed. Co-operation, Paris 1939, pp.266, 267, 273 ss).
(109) Walter Schellenberg: "Le Chef du contre-espionnage nazi vous parle" (Julliard, Paris 1957, pp.23-24).
(110) "Begegnungen zwichen Katholischen Christentum und nazional-sozialitischer Weltanchaunung", by Michaele Schmaus, professor at the Faculty of Theology of Munich.
(Aschendorf, Munster 1933).

172 Section V
Chapter 6
The Death Camps and the Anti-Semitic CrusadeTo what extent the Catholics were masters of Nazi Germany soon became apparent as also did the severity with which some of the "Papacy's high principles" were applied. The liberals and Jews had plenty of spare time to find out that these principles were far from out-dated, as the most orthodox voices confirmed it.The right the Church arrogates herself to exterminate slowly or speedily those who are in the way was "put into practice" at Auschwitz, Dachau, Belsen, Buchenwald, and other death camps. The Gestapo of Himmler, "our Ignatius of Loyola", diligently performed these charitable deeds; civilian and military Germany had to submit "perinde ac cadaver" to this all-powerful organisation.No need to say that the Vatican washed its hands of these horrors. When giving an audience to Dr Nerin F. Gun, a Swiss journalist who had been deported himself and who wondered why the pope had not intervened, at least by providing some assistance to so many unfortunate people, His Holiness Pius XII had the affrontery to answer: "We knew that, for political reasons, violent persecutions were taking place in Germany, but We were never informed as to the inhuman character of the Nazi repression".(124)And that at the time when the speaker of Radio Vatican, the R.P. Mistiaen, was declaring that "overwhelming documentary proof" concerning the cruelty of the Nazis had been received".(125)Without any doubt, the Holy Father was not informed either on what was going on in the "Oustachi" concentration camps, in spite of his own legate's presence in Zagreb.[Notes to the above]
(124) "Gazette of Lausanne", 15th of November 1945.
(125) R.P. Duclos: "Le Vatican et la seconde guerre mondiale", (Ed. Pedone, Paris 1955.
p.255) Imprimatur 1955.

It appears that the first section is simply laying out the similarities in the heirarchal structures of the two different organizations, and how these structures are more able to control people. When he uses the lines: So, he is not founding a Jesuit order, but rather the Nazi order, founded upon the heirarchal structure employed by the CAtholic Church.

And then: So, Himmler required similar regulations and took an equivalent title to the leader of the Jesuits. This does not make them Jesuit monks, just individuals who have ttaken some ideas. They saw that the Catholic Church was able to force order and so wanted this exact control for themselves.

Paris writes:
The right the Church arrogates herself to exterminate slowly or speedily those who are in the way was "put into practice" at Auschwitz, Dachau, Belsen, Buchenwald, and other death camps.

Then, Paris has this statement from Pious XII, which anyone reading can tell is a lie (not by Paris, but by Pious):

Really, Pope Pious....you had no idea that Italy's allies were decimating an entire segment of the population in the cruelest ways possible? I don't, nor do I think anyone would have bought that as truth, even at the time. The Catholic Church is definitely guilty of turning a blind eye to the treatment of the Jews (and I am sure they did not try really hard to hide Jews from Nazis.However, neither did many of the German people, the Polish people or other occupied countries. All of these people were turning a blind eye to the plight of the Jews, not just the Catholics. The Protestants in countries could have done something, or the Catholics in these countries. But these people were propagandized, forced to witness a viewpoint until you began to accept it as true. And the Christian religion (both Catholic and Protestant) makes it too easy to hate Jewish people with the right propaganda. Why? Because it allows vengeance on a group that these views already state killed their savior.

I hold everyone in that time responsible for it, but I put the bulk of the blame squarely where it belongs. Not on Martin Luther's writings, not on the Catholic Church, not on Protestants in Germany, not on The Learned Elders of Zion tract......But most of the blame goes where it belongs, on THE NAZI PARTY, the group who used dishonesty, lies, deceit and fear to control a group of people and force them to accept bigoted views that would ultimately cause the deaths of millions. The bulk of blame goes to them and is well deserved.

What does Christianity have to do with controlling people?

Doesn't it strike you as a bit odd that it would be a religious organization that would be so inspiring to the Nazis?

The early Protestants were the victims of the Inquisition in huge numbers, some 50 million, but this fact tends to get ignored completely in discussions of "Christian" persecutions.

Constantine, a hero to Protestants and Catholics today.