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Constantine’s Sword: The Church and the Jews

By James Carroll

Discussion led by Mark Sendrow, M.A.

Thursday, May 16, 2024 at 2PM (MST)

Discussion via ZOOM

More than a chronicle of religion, this dark history is the central tragedy of Western civilization, its fault lines reaching deep into our culture. The Church’s failure to protest the Holocaust, the infamous “silence” of Pius Xii, is only part of the story: the death camps, James Carroll shows, are the culmination of a long, entrenched tradition of anti-Judaism. From Gospel accounts of the death of Jesus on the cross, to Constantine’s transformation of the cross into a sword, to the rise of blood libels, scapegoating, and modern anti-Semitism, Carroll reconstructs the dramatic story of the Church’s conflict not only with Jews but with itself. Yet in tracing the arc of this narrative, he implicitly affirms that it did not necessarily have to be so. There were roads not taken, heroes forgotten; new roads can be taken yet. Demanding that the Church finally face this past in full, Carroll calls for a fundamental rethinking of the deepest questions of Christian faith. Only then can Christians, Jews, and all who carry the burden of this history begin to forge a new future. Drawing on his well-known talents as a storyteller and memoirist, and weaving historical research through an intensely personal examination of conscience, Carroll has created a work of singular power and urgency. Constantine's Sword is a brave and affecting reckoning with difficult truths that will touch every reader.

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Hidden Star: Faith, Family, Future

Discussion by Author, Ellie Gersten

Thursday, June 20 at 2PM (MST)

Estrella Schmitt, believed she had the perfect life. She was married to the man of her dreams, had the ideal job, and a loving family. Her world turned upside down when she went home to Pueblo, New Mexico, to say goodbye to her dying Abuelita (grandmother) whose last words to her favorite grandchild were Somos Judios, we are Jews. Estrella was left with a lot of questions and a chest full of mementos proving she was a descendant of Spanish Crypto Jews. Confused by this knowledge, she rummaged through the box and found audio tapes of her grandmother’s translation of an ancestor’s journal. The tapes described the harrowing experience her ancestors endured when they left for New Spain in 1597. They fled Spain to practice Judaism in peace, but the Inquisition followed them to the New World where they dared to observe their religion in secrecy. Fascinated by their story, Estrella recounts her family’s odyssey and their fate.