I think this song is a reaction to what Lou Reed perceived as a wave of antisemitism at the time. Someone else pointed out that Kurt Waldheim was a politician who covered up his involvement in the Nazi Party, while Jesse Jackson made some notorious comments like referring to New York as "Hymietown," uncritically supporting the terrorist PLO, and refusing to repudiate Louis Farrakhan, who also spoke out against Jews. "If I ran for president and once was a member of the Klan, wouldn't you call me on it?"–obviously it wouldn't be okay for a white guy to lead a political career after a history of involvement in hate groups, so why do Kurt Waldheim and Jesse Jackson get to? I think this is what Lou means by "there are fears that still reverberate"–antisemitism still ripples through the world, even more than forty years after the fall of Nazi Germany. The mention of the papacy I took to be a reference to the Reichskonkordat, which was a treaty signed with Nazi Germany that was widely seen as the Catholic Church implicitly validating the racist policies of the Nazi government, or at least explicitly not speaking out against them.
Interesting interpretation and it appears correct, with some tweeking. The very last clause is correct: "or at least explicitly not speaking out against them." The Catholic church's papal leadership at the time did not; however, it never validated the racist policies. It was against them, but sadly did not take an active (vocal) role against them. The Church, a few years back, made a public apology for its role (its silence). And it should be noted that just because the leaders, who reside in Italy, didn't speak out against the polices, individual Catholics worldwide(as well as rebel priests and nuns)...
Interesting interpretation and it appears correct, with some tweeking. The very last clause is correct: "or at least explicitly not speaking out against them." The Catholic church's papal leadership at the time did not; however, it never validated the racist policies. It was against them, but sadly did not take an active (vocal) role against them. The Church, a few years back, made a public apology for its role (its silence). And it should be noted that just because the leaders, who reside in Italy, didn't speak out against the polices, individual Catholics worldwide(as well as rebel priests and nuns) DID speak out againt the policies.
I think this song is a reaction to what Lou Reed perceived as a wave of antisemitism at the time. Someone else pointed out that Kurt Waldheim was a politician who covered up his involvement in the Nazi Party, while Jesse Jackson made some notorious comments like referring to New York as "Hymietown," uncritically supporting the terrorist PLO, and refusing to repudiate Louis Farrakhan, who also spoke out against Jews. "If I ran for president and once was a member of the Klan, wouldn't you call me on it?"–obviously it wouldn't be okay for a white guy to lead a political career after a history of involvement in hate groups, so why do Kurt Waldheim and Jesse Jackson get to? I think this is what Lou means by "there are fears that still reverberate"–antisemitism still ripples through the world, even more than forty years after the fall of Nazi Germany. The mention of the papacy I took to be a reference to the Reichskonkordat, which was a treaty signed with Nazi Germany that was widely seen as the Catholic Church implicitly validating the racist policies of the Nazi government, or at least explicitly not speaking out against them.
Interesting interpretation and it appears correct, with some tweeking. The very last clause is correct: "or at least explicitly not speaking out against them." The Catholic church's papal leadership at the time did not; however, it never validated the racist policies. It was against them, but sadly did not take an active (vocal) role against them. The Church, a few years back, made a public apology for its role (its silence). And it should be noted that just because the leaders, who reside in Italy, didn't speak out against the polices, individual Catholics worldwide(as well as rebel priests and nuns)...
Interesting interpretation and it appears correct, with some tweeking. The very last clause is correct: "or at least explicitly not speaking out against them." The Catholic church's papal leadership at the time did not; however, it never validated the racist policies. It was against them, but sadly did not take an active (vocal) role against them. The Church, a few years back, made a public apology for its role (its silence). And it should be noted that just because the leaders, who reside in Italy, didn't speak out against the polices, individual Catholics worldwide(as well as rebel priests and nuns) DID speak out againt the policies.