#reference / The Catholic Church, anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism
from Theodor Herzl's personal diaries [English translation]; Book I, May-June 17, 1895:
[...] Anti-Semitism has grown and continues to grow — and so do I.
[...] I can still recall two different conceptions of the Question and its solution which I had in the course of those years. About two years ago I wanted to solve the Jewish Question, at least in Austria, with the help of the Catholic Church. I wished to gain access to the Pope (not without first assuring myself of the support of the Austrian church dignitaries) and say to him: Help us against the anti-Semites and I will start a great movement for the free and honorable conversion of Jews to Christianity.
[...] And because the Jewish leaders would remain Jews, escorting the people only to the threshold of the church and themselves staying outside, the whole performance was to be elevated by a touch of great candor.
[...] We, the steadfast men, would have constituted the last generation.