Sunday thoughts: What does the Jerusalem Cross represent?
Posted By RichC on March 16, 2025
I can’t recall what recent news context the Jerusalem Cross was mentioned in before, but suspect it was used in a negative reference — something about the Christian Crusades (AI reference below) and therefore the symbol to some indicated some kind of “white supremacy” and in the news story was being compared to the Nazi swastika?
Personally, I never associated the symbol with either the negative or a positive thought, but since our current U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has it tatooed on him, I prefer to view it in a positive light. 
The Crusades were a series of religiously motivated military campaigns initiated by the Roman Catholic Church, primarily aimed at reclaiming the Holy Land from Islamic rule. The most well-known Crusades took place between 1095 and 1291 in the Near East, where European Christian armies attempted to recover Jerusalem and other territories from Muslim control.
There were also other Crusades against Muslims in Iberia and against pagans and fellow Christians in Europe whom the Catholic Church deemed heretical. These included political crusades, such as the Crusade against Roger II of Sicily from 1127 to 1135, and crusades against heretics, such as the Albigensian Crusade from 1209 to 1229.
Modern Catholics view the Crusades with a range of perspectives, from seeing them as just defensive wars to protect Christian territories to recognizing the atrocities and missteps that occurred during these campaigns. Some argue that the Crusades were necessary to stop Muslim encroachment and raids into Europe, while others acknowledge the negative aspects and regret the loss of innocent life.
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