Pope Pius XII was meant to go and castigate Hitler for being a [air quotes] 'Genocidal Fuckhead [pause; air quotes again] with bunny rabbit ears'. But he didn't, he wimped out, and since then History has renamed Pius XII as 'Pope Gutless Bastard I'.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- This critiques a historical figure for failing to condemn a dictator forcefully.
- In plain terms
- The Pope did not stand up to Hitler so history judges him harshly.
- What can you take from it?
- Silence in the face of evil invites harsh judgment.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What is the cost of silence?
- How do we judge historical leaders?
Another view
It simplifies complex historical constraints into a single label.
More from Eddie Izzard
Yes, and the Crusades were, 'We kill you in the name of Jesus!' 'Wait, we have Jesus too! He's a prophet in our religion! We kill you in the name of Jesus!' 'D…
Permalink to quote #72 There's 200,000 gods in Hinduism... and they've got gods like Shiva, the God of Creation and Destruction. Which is a good god to be, 'cause you can go *WHOOM* …
Permalink to quote #74 But there must've been a Death Star canteen, yeah? There must've been a cafeteria downstairs, in between battles, where Darth Vader could just chill and go dow…
Permalink to quote #71
Related quotes
Je ameroie mieus que uns Escoz venist d'Escosse et gouvernast le peuple du royaume bien et loyaument, que que tu le gouvernasses mal apertement.
Louis IX of FranceLouis IX of France quote #1 Stalin's methods did not help.
Anastas MikoyanAnastas Mikoyan quote #1 If we had fifty Eichmann's, we would have won the war.
Heinrich MullerHeinrich Muller quote #2