The Catholic times. [volume], February 22, 1952, Image 4

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4
THE
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Ashes To Ashes 1
Into a gathering of people, about three weeks
ago walked a priest with a large smudge of ashes
on his forehead. One member of the company look
ed up with a start and gasped. "By George! It's Ash
Wednesday, and 1 didn't get any ashes.”
The utter confusion which resulted- the day was
Monday, Feb. 4—was cleared up when the cleric
explained he had knocked out his pipe in the wind,
before coming into the building.
There is no particular moral to be drawn from
this incident, except the fact that these days do
creep up on us often unexpectedly. More often
than not. it happens because we take them for
granted and do not think much about them before
or after
We ll all go up to the Altar railing next Wednes
day to have the priest trace a cross on our brows
with the blessed ashes. If we don’t think about the
meaning of the ceremony, however, and unite our
thoughts and wills to its signification it will be for
us but an empty symbolism.
We should think about the meaning of the words
the priest uses when he imposes the ashes on our
heads. He uses some very humbling words of Sacred
Scripture. They are rich with meaning for us.
To each person receiving ashes on that day, the
priest addresses the words that God used in the
Garden of Eden "Remember, man. that thou art
dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.” "Remember”
is an important word in that sentence.
Remembei what? Well, the little hoy’s answer
to the query of the priest concerning the transla
tion of the Latin phrase spoken when giving the
ashes was not too far from the spirit, even if it was
from the literal, sense of the words. His determined
answer was ‘Ashes to ashes, dust to dust if Heaven
don’t get you—the other place must!”
Sportniaiiship. a Lament
The fine display of hard play and sportsmanship
on the part of the basketball players of Catholic
University has come in for compliment from the
athletic director of Randolph Macon College, one of
America’s oldest Methodist colleges. Never once did
the coach or squad complain about anything, said
the Methodist college official. He added some sig
nificant words, however, saying that “it is certainly
unfortunate that we can’t have more games like this
in college athletics today.”
That is a startling statement to most people who
had been of the belief that interscholastic contests
had as one of their fundamental reasons the develop
ment of sportsmanship, (if course, there have been
repeated instances of athletes "roughing it up" in
their games, sometimes with the approval of their
coaches. But, has this lack oi the great ideal of
sportsmanship become so general that an official
in the field can say that "it is certainly unfortunate
that we can’t have more games” with sportsmanship
as a characteristic?
There are contests during which the young men
display a commendable spirit until the spectators
get out ot control There have been instances of
the extreme antagonism of followers at a game be
ing the cause for bad feelings between schools.
Coaches may do a splendid work with the boys only
to find it ruined by insulting and even vulgar lan
guage from the sidelines.
Possibly one of the best ways to insure a whole
sale return ol the ideal of sportsmanship to inter
scholastic contests is Io return sports to the students,
eliminating the promoters, hangers on, and Urge
staffs of managers The glorification of star ath
letes and then coddling is no asset to sportsman
ship Il merely serves Io enlarge their hat bands and
leaves empty the space given them for storing knowl
edge Open honesty all the way through is the best
way to insure sportsmanship
Need More Be Said?
One often reads or hears the inference that Cath
olic schools are un American This conclusion is fre
quently used as a bolstering argument by those who
oppose tax supported government aid for these
schools. The American system, they say, is the pub
lic, non religious system. Any divergence from this
system is un-American.
This shir carries clear past its mark of defend
ing what some hold to he a basic American con
stitutional principle It contaminates, in the mind
of some, the students and teachers themselves so
that they are thought to be somewhat less than
what is meant hy the word "American.”
We hone that the results of the fifth annual
Voice of Democracy Contest, just announced, will be
hroucht to the attention ot such people We would
ask them to keep in mind that of the total of 30,000
high schools entered in the contest only 2,150. or
rouvhly 7fT could have been Catholic for that last
figure is the total numhei of Catholic high schools
in the country.
I he contest, sponsored by the I’ S Junior ham
her of Commerce The National Association of Radio
and Television Broadcasters and the Radio and Tele
vision Manufacturers, required that each entrant
write a brief essay on "I Speak For Democracy.”
then record it Judging was based on these record
ings which were identified only by number.
Keeping tn mind the proportion of the entries—
saying that every one of our schools entered—was
30.000 to 2,150, the results are revealing and vindi
cating: Two of the four possible winners came from
Catholic schools! And last year three of the four
winners were from Catholic schools.
The Holy Father'* all:
Mighty Reawakening
Many many times has the I afhci of hristendom
warned his children of the dangers ‘hat surround
them. He is constantly counselling, teaching, encour
aging, and mspiriiik' tin live with Christ and tor
Christ that the world of suffering might come to see
hy their example where alone true peace can be
found His tremendous genius for work, hi- out
standing talents and expei icnce and above all his
priestly sanctity. make the Holy lather the leadei in
this day of doubt and confusion. From his position as
visible head of the Church he knows probably better
than any other the dangers which beset men and
nations today.
Hence it is that when Pope Pius XII utters a
warning, his words should command immediate at
tention, But when he gives voice to such solemn
words as he did last week, everyone has a duty to
take his words to heart and do something about
them, particularly those who are of the household
of the Faith. His Holiness was. speaking to the peo
ple of Rome but made it plain that his words were
for all. He called for a “mighty reawakening” to save
the world from disaster. He said it is the duty of
every man of good will to “re-examine, with a cour
age worthy of the great moments of human history,
what he can and must do personally, as his own con
tribution to the saving power of God, in order to
help a world which is started, as it is today, on the
road to ruin.”
Lethargy of spirit, weakness of will and cold
ness of heart are the root of modern evils. Against
this the Holy Father called for a “mighty reawak
ening.” He spoke of the urgency of the undertaking
and prayed that “the justifiable fear of the terrible
future, which would result from a culpable in
dolence, vanquish every hesitation and determine
every will ... It is an entire world which must be
rebuilt from its foundations, transformed from sav
age to human from human to divine, that is to say,
according to the heart of God.”
“Of what use would it be,” the Holy Father ask
ed, “to study the ways of God and of the spirit, if in
practice one were to choose the way of perdition
and to submit supinely to the god of the flesh?
What would it avail to know and to proclaim that
God is our Father and that men are brothers, if ev
ery intervention of God in private and public affairs
were to be feared? Of what value would be dis
putations on justice, on charity, on peace, if the will
were already resolved for the sacrifice, if the heart
were determined to remain in icy solicitude and if
none were to dare to be the first to break through
the barrier of dividing hate to hasten to offer sin
cere embrace? All this would but render more guilty
the sons of light, to whom less will be forgiven,
if they have loved less.”
The approach of Lent was chosen by His Holi
ness as the opportune time to give such words of
warning. The Holy Season ahead can well be the
God-given opportunity for all to reawaken themsel
ves to their duty to God and to their fellowmen.
Just Among Ourselves
Pasting Comment Considered or Inconsiderate
The TV boys who catch history on the fly gave
us many a glimpse of both the official and the popu
lar to-do associated with the death and burial of a
king. Even the uncrowned Edward VIII, now Duke
of Windsor, looked laggardly at us and spoke to us
briefly as he embarked, alone, to take part in his
brother’s obsequies. But the great democracy, speak
ing through its pert and persistent weekly reviews,
had small space for the resigned monarch, although
it gave generous paragraphs to more remote and
rusty rulers who are as well unremembered.
The decencies of the moment seem to have kept
the reporters silent on the subject of the affair
which occasioned Edward’s abjuration and the acces
sion of George VI to the throne of England. One
paper merely mentioned the fact that the fine manli
ness of the late king had restored the luster of roy
alty which had been “tarnished” by the abdication of
his brother. We saw no single reference (albeit our
poll was less corrnletc than the Camel survey of puff
ing physicians) to the possibility—stated as a fact
in Edward’s recent, and popular, autobiography—
that the abdication was not alone the fruit of “ro
mance” but also of the conscientious unwillingness
of a man to take a coronation oath which he could
not sincerely mean, and to assume a position of spir
itual leadership which can be no more than an
anomaly and a vague pretense.
But decencies of the moment did not keep silent
many false and fatuous references to the first Eliza
beth. as thoughts and words turned suddenly from
the dead king to (he living queen. Even the canny
and capable Churchill was unfortunate enough to
blunder into a pompous hypocrisy about “the mag
nificent figure who presided over and, in many ways,
embodied and inspired the grandeur and genius
of the Elizabethan age.” It is regrettable that a clean
and estimable young monarch should be sahiated at
her ascension by hollow and rotund insult deriving
solely from her Christian name.
V
Was it decency that kept our papers silent upon
Ihc English Monarch's oath of accession? Where
were Ox n a ms and the Blanshards? Where were the
lads and ladies who grow shrill at the very mention
of the union of Church and State? Was there no
dedicated soul, no panting defender of democracy,
to squeak out on objection against the defender of the
faith” How comes it that there was no outcry against
the solemn declaration of the monarch that she is a
Protestant and will see to it that only Protestants
succeed her in office? Arc our valiant and hull-voiced
champions of liberty afraid of this challenge? All
silent? All quite chop fallen?
And what of that solemn idiocy which expects
England’s ruler to assume with oath and vow the
headship of a Church which is a conflict and a con
tradiction? To be “head of the church” means that
the monarch is an Anglican in England and a Pres
byterian in Scotland. And if anyone should suggest
that, after all, Anglicanism and Presbyterianism are
one. he ought to read up a little in the more vitriolic
statements of Doctor Samuel Johnson. Decidedly,
this is a matter upon which the American reader
has a right to a word from his editors, review
makers, and digesters, who are so willing to instruct
him on every other subject.
Is there not one among the irrepressible framers
of our opinion to notice that Edward had a point in
his objection of kingly office? Must we all rest con
tent in the notion that shoddily romantic motives
are the full explanation of his rejection of kingship?
It is surely conceivable that a man should find an
impossible and stultifying oath an absolute barrier
to the accepting of high position. Is the word “in
telligence" meaningless? Is there no longer any
force in the word “morality?” Yet you will scan the
copious reviews with a microscope and find no ref
erence to this muddled matter.
Long ago the prophet of God declared that deso
lation comes upon the earth because men do not
think in their hearts. Desolation has come indeed,
and the world is distressed and weary. How much
of our trouble, think you, stems from the fact (hat
men and nations refuse to think, refuse to face facts,
and rush into ojiths, promises, plans and programs,
which ignore sane reason and plain morals? How
can an accession oath or a coronation oath which
involves radical injustice and places the juror in
an utterly impossible and contradictory situation be
considered merely a matter of form? Yet it is so
considered because it would mean inconvenience to
face up to its true character. “With desolation is the
world made desolate
And we have had no word from the parties who
lately made such a fuss about President Truman's
plan for sending an American ambassador to the
Holy See. Strange, for it seems doubly objectionable to
have an ambassador at the court of a monarch who
is the head of two churches. Is there no one to or
ganize a march on Washington, complete with
placards, denouncing the presence of an American
ambassador at the court of St. James? How can the
"separatists” stand this situation? Not a pin from
them’’ Not a squeak? Nothing at all from the pip
squeaks?
Well, may a Hne and estimable young woman be
a good and gracious queen. May her rule be blessed,
despite the fact that her accession involves a na
tional situation of moral obtuseness and mental
stupidity—a real London fog.
s?
THE CATHOLIC TIMES, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1952
Word reaches this city that
Latin Americans are watching
this phenomenon with undisguis
ed anxiety. There is reason to be
lieve that it has heavy repercus
sions in Europe, too.
Observers are justified in
wondering why President Tru
man “lets go” from time to time
with these “wild swings.” Not
once, but many times, he has
said with evident firmness that
he does not like Franco and his
regime. Almost every time the
most noteworthy thing about this
remark is that he didn’t have to
make it. At some of these press
conferences he has answered al
most every other question with
the reply of “no comment,” or
or that it was a matter upon
which he couldn’t, or shouldn’t,
comment. But then someone ask
ed a question about Spain. Very
likely it could be fully answered
“Yes” or “No.” The President
answered, and then out of a clear
sky volunteered that he didn't
like Franco.
Of course, it can be argued that
FATHER HIGGINS
By and large,
Americans just
seem to take it
for granted that
the Christian
trade unions of
Western E u
rope are made
up only of Ca
tholics. Even a
magazine like
The Christian
Century, which
one would expect to be well in
formed on Protestant if not on
Catholic matters, writes about
the Christian unions contemptu
ously, and in such a way as to
suggest that they are exclusively
Catholic and therefore open to
suspicion. The fact is, however,
that some of the Christian un
ions of Europe are exclusively
Protestant in origin and in mem
bership, while others, such as the
Confederation of French Chris
tian Workers, are non sectarian—
so much so that Moslems and oth
er non-Christians are included in
their ranks.
Very often such misinforma
tion on the part of Americans
concerning the origin and the
nature of European Christian
unions is coupled with a vague
fear that the Vatican or the
American Hierarchy is secretly
preparing to establish Christian
unions in the United States.
Nothing could be further from
the truth.
CLA Under Protestant Auspices
Curiously enough, those who
are obsessed by this unreason
able fear never say a word about
the fact that we already have a
so-called Christian union in the
United States under Protestant
auspices, I refer to the Christian
Labor Association of Grand Rap
ids, organized in 19.1 and affiliat
ed with the International Feder
ation of Evangelical Workers’
A Great Traveler
JI
1
i
i.
4
‘il
WASHINGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON President
Truman’s continued slaps at the
Franco Government in Spain do
not have merely the passing sig
nificance given them by the daily
press.
Uli
Outbursts of President Cause
Worry in Spain. Latin America
the President doesn’t have
to like Franco. But at. the same
time, it might he that he doesn’t
like vanilla, or chocolate, ice
cream. But he wouldn’t dare say
so. Not so often, anyway. The
ice cream industry would be
down on him “like a ton of
bricks.” Right now, to those
thinking of the defense of our
country, Spain is a pretty im
portant commodity, too.
Latin Americans are listening
for the President’s periodic vol
unteer remarks about Spain. It
seems clear that they are heard
there with pain. Latin American
countries have close ties with
Spain, and only recently the
press in the southern hemisphere
was jubilantly proclaiming that
the closer relations between
Spain and the United States be
spoke closer and better relations
between the United States and
Latin America. Now, the Latin
Americans are not so sure.
Some Latin Americans note
that Spain, a Catholic country in
Europe, and Colombia, a large
Latin American country with a
Catholic government, are the two
countries most frequently at
tacked in the United States of
late. They believe they see some
connection.
Neutrality9 Of American Onions
Associations which has its head
quarters in The Netherlands. To
the best of our knowledge, neith
er Paul Blanshard nor the edit
ors of The Christian Century nor
any of the other American op
ponents of Christian trade un
ionism have seen fit to acknowl
edge the existence of the CLA,
much less deplore its unqualified
opposition to the very principle
of so-called “neutral” trade un
ionism wherever it may be
found.
The CLA—unlike the Catholic
Church, be it noted, and unlike
those European Christian unions
w hich are under Catholic leader
ship—is absolutely opposed to
the AFL, the CIO, and other in
dependent neutral unions in the
United States. These unions, says
the CLA in a statement of pol
icy which has only recently come
to our attention, “do not give
proper recognition to the author
ity of God and His word, the Bi
ble.” They are accused of in
sisting upon “separation between
religious convictions and consid
eration of the problems with
which the laborer comes into
contact as a union member.”
Criticism Extreme, Inaccurate
There is no reason to question
the sincerity of the CLA, but
there is every reason to disagree
with it" extreme criticism of the
American labor movement. Amer
ican unions, admittedly, are any
thing but perfect: but it simply
isn’t accurate to say that they
insist upon “separation between
religious convictions and con
sideration of the problems with
which the laborer.- comes into
contact as a union member.”*'
This would be as inaccurate as to
say that American political life,
which is “neutral” in the same
sense of the word, insists upon a
separation between religion and
the problems of the political or­
Representative Clement J. Za
blocki of Milwaukee went to the
White House following President
Truman’s latest blast against
Franco and told the Chief Execu
tive he was disturbed by it. The
Congressman is chairman of a
House of Representatives For
eign Affairs sub committee which
visited places in Europe, includ
ing Spain, last fall.
The President was quoted by
the Congressman as saying that
he understood Spain’s position in
the Western defense plans, but
that he still doesn’t like France.
der. Individual labor leaders and
politicians may insist upon a
separation between religion and
life but, fortunately, they are
not representative of the system
as a whole.
Christian unions were abso
lutely necessary in Western Eu
rope at the time of their estab
lishment, because of the anti
religious and Marxist philosophy
of the early socialists. In some
countries they are probably still
necessary for the same reason.
They have never been necessary
in the United States, however,
and they are not necessary to
day.
Most Practical Christian
God willing, Christian unions
will never be necessary here if
the religious-minded workers of
the United States repudiate the
secularism of a Blanshard on the
one hand, and the misguided
piety of a CLA on the other, and
instead, give themselves gener
ously to the task of applying
Christian principles to the eco
nomic order in and through our
existing unions.
The “neutrality” of American
unions, far from demanding—as
the CLA mistakenly suggests—
that the worker live “as a prac
tical atheist,” makes it possible
for him to live as the most prac
tical sort of Christian if he so
desires. It’s up to organized re
ligion to give him the necessary
spiritual motivation and the nec
essary intellectual training in
Christian social ethics. The CLA
doesn’t believe it can be done.
Blanshard—if 1 have understood
him co’-rectlv—doesn’t think it
should be done. Catholics and
many non Catholics think it can
be done, should be done, and with
the help of God, will be done
more and more successfully as
time goes on.
INQUIRY CORNER
ji
a
■Mi
Let an anti clerical, or Liberal,
or Leftist regime be in charge of
a large Latin American country,
they contend, and the United
States sits back quietly and com
placently. For example, they as
sert, the regime presently run
ning Guatemala is very far over
to the Left, and ought to be caus
ing the United States more con
cern than any other country in
this hemisphere, but seemingly
is not. Let Catholic leaders cottle
back to power in one of the larg
er countries, they continue, and a
furore starts in the great repub
lic to the north. Advertisements
are run in newspapers charging
Catholics with persecuting the
Protestants.
Ts The Pope A
Temporal Ruler?
Q. Is the Pope really a tem
poral as well as spiritual ruler?
A. Just as in our country the
president resides in a small terri
tory which is not part of one of
the states in order to be apart
from the dictates of any particu
lar governor, so the Pope lives
in territory that is free of tem
poral rulers, who might interfere
with the universal mission of the
Church. He is temporal ruler of
that small piece of territory
known as Vatican City, establish
ed in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty.
This country has no significance
as a temporal power, as Stalin
sarcastically e a ked: “How
many divisions does he have?”
The reason for its existence is to
provide a territorial center from
which the Church can carry on
her world wide spiritual mission
without being subject to any civ
il ruler.
Q. Why does the Catholic
Church emphasize fasting, giving
up shows etc. for Lent rather
than spiritual preparation for
Easter?
A. Lent should be a time of
retreat for the Christian, a time
of prayer and thought, living as
the catechumens did in the early
church when they underwent ex
aminations or scrutinies and re
ceived the first parts of what is
now included in one baptismal
ceremony. The chief idea in fast
ing and penances is the spirit of
detachment from creatures and
greater attachment to God, as in
dicated in this stanza from a
hymn in Vespers,
“And grant us, while by fasts we
strive,
This mortal body to control,
To fast from all the food of sin
And so to purify the soul.”
While it is true some people
place too much emphasis on the
penances, they certainly serve to
check our bodily impulses and
give more control over our self
willed inclinations. Fasting is
clearly indicated by Christ as a
necessity for full Christian liv
ing: “But this kind can only be
cast out by prayer and fasting.”
(Matthew 17:20) and for personal
holiness St. Paul’s example
guides us: I chastise my
body and bring it into subjection,
lest perhaps after preaching to
others I myself should be reject
ed.” (I Cor. 9:27)
Daily Mass and Holy Commun
ion, attendance at lenten devo
tions, family prayer, reading of
the Bible and other spiritual
books often involve sacrifice and
penitential effort and are strong
ly recommended for lenten reso
lutions.
GRETTA PALMER
Q. Is not a morally upright
man who belongs to no church
better than a church-goer who
regularly commits sms e. g. a
man who is drunk nearly every
Saturday night, but hypocritical
ly goes to church on Sunday?
A. Christ’s commandment and
necessary rule for man’s good
ness is love of God. His second
(including the fourth to tenth of
the Mosaic law) concerns love of
neighbor and our own soul. No
man is really good, in the sense
of moral excellence, who habitu
ally violates either, but the worst
sin is prideful disobedience, en
throning ourselves where God
should be. Sins of weakness
(drunkenness) are often tempo
rary lapses by men who habitual
ly love God, and the action of th®
man in your example may be sin
cere effort to rise to God above
his weakness.
Q. I am a convert. I’m afraid
to go to confession—I haven’t
gone since a few weeks after I
entered the Church.
A. Your fear is shared by
many people who have been
Catholics all their lives, but the
sacrament of Penance is neces
sary for the health of our souls
and we should accept the means
Christ gave us just as we accept
unpleasant medicine and painful
operations for the health of our
bodies. In instituting the sacra
ment Christ stated His desire and
the purpose for which He design
ed its use by Christians, when
He said: ‘Peace be to you!”
(John 20:21) All Catholics who
bring themselves to realize that
it is Christ who listens and
speaks to them through the lips
of the priest, that it is the kind
and loving Person who spoke
these words of consolation to his
Apostles after the Resurrection
in spite of the fact that they had
deserted Him and that St. Peter
had even denied Him. The pos
sible human weakness of the
priest, who also goes to confes
sion, we should accept as insig
nificant and concentrate on our
need of God’s forgiveness and
the flood of graces that come to
our soul for strength against sm
and the guidance we can obtain
even through this human instru
ment. The Church has left Cath
olics free to choose a confessor
who will be a guide and physi
cian of the soul so that we may
feel free and draw the full joy
of a soul renewed and refreshed
by this glorious sacrament. Fear
of offending God is helpful for a
Christian but fear that keeps us
from Him is unreal and un
worthy.
Repentant Apostates
One of the
most interest
ing phenomena
of our day is
the apostate—
the pitiful
apostate from
the Church
who denies
His God un
der Communist
pressure, and
the growing
army of apostates from the creed
of Marx. The contrast in their
later behavior is a testimonial
to Grace.
There have been hundreds of
ardent Communist Party mem
bers who saw the error of their
belief and publicly recanted it.
The notables among them in
clude Arthur Koestler and Louis
Budenz, Douglas Hyde and Whit
taker Chambers, and any number
of fortunate Russians who have
managed to make off with USSR
planes and flee to safety in the
western zone of Europe.
So far as we have heard, not
one of these apostate Marxists
has ever changed his mind. Not
one of them has sought out party
headquarters and begged to be
accepted back again. There is no
record of any penitent Red writ
ing a book to express contrition
at having betrayed his Marx.
There is no parable of the Prod
igal Son in the annals of the
Reds..
When The Cock Crew
Now, there have been, and
there are today, cases of Cath
olics who have publicly aban
doned their Faith—in China, in
Hungary, in Poland, in Yugoslav
ia. Some of them announced
themselves to be militant athe
ists others joined one or an
other of the Quisling churches
set up by the Soviets to delude
and terrorize the devout. And
what happened then?
What happened then is one of
the most heartening and heart
breaking things in the world to
day. What happened then is,
very often, what happened to St.
Peter when the cock crew. Such
apostasy they found a burden
too heavy to bear. They discov
ered that martyrdom itself is
preferable to the agony of soul
that goes with submission to the
atheist state.
Last December Alois Petr,
chairman of the People’s Party
of Czecho slovakia, died a natur
al death in a Prague hospital. He
had been a Catholic all his life
but since the war’s end, he had
collaborated With the excom
municated priest, “Father” Ploh
jar, ir. organizing the renegade
“Catholic Action” group which
rejected the authority of the
Vatican. According to Intelli­
gence Digest, Petr also organized
a blasphemous ceremony at th®
sanctuary of Velehrad and was
excommunicated: he pub
licly declared that the excom
munication did not worry him in
the least, and described himself
as a ‘practical Catholic’.” But—
“During his final illness, being
in great pain, Petr repented. A
little over a week before hi®
death he asked for a priest to re
ceive him back into the Church.
A ‘Catholic Action’ priest was
brought, whom he refused to see.
Up to two days before his death
a watch was kept at his bedside
and he was refused the service®
of a genuine priest. So heart
rending were his screams and
entreaties for a priest that the
hospital attendants were deeply
shocked and spread the story of
these harrowing and tearful
deathbed scenes everywhere
A number of people, including
former priests, have now sought
reconciliation with the Church as
a result.”
Public Repentance in China
Now turn to China, on th®
other side of the globe. World
mission Fides Service, issued by
the Society for the Propagation
of the Faith, tells us what hap
pened in the case of Father Ho,
Vicar Apostolic of Kaifeng, after
the Communists had expelled
Bishop Gaetano Pollio. Father
Ho, too, signed a declaration in
favor of the Communist-organiz
ed “Independent Catholic
Church” just last November. One
month later, he stood up in the
Cathedral and publicly cried
mea culpa in these words:
“For some time my conscience
has not been at peace We
who have signed the ‘declaration’
have made a serious error and
are guilty. That ‘declaration’
made schismatics of us. Lord, we
beg You to pardon us.
“I hereby declare to you that
those who follow the road of
the ‘Reformed Church’ are on the
road to hell .. Anyone who ad
heres to the ‘Reform’ will be re
sponsible before God. I, Father
Ho, do not wish to lead you to
eternal punishment: we must
be ready to have our heads cut
off rather than deny our Faith.
I spoke to you as a worldly man
when I told you that you might
sign the schismatic declaration:
today I am speaking to you as a
priest of God.
“My words will have conse
quences. We shall go to prison.
Deo gratias!”
Father Ho’s repentance is not
an isolated case: a few months
ago every Chinese priest in
Chungking who had signed th»
Red “Reform” manifesto made a
similar and public repentance
before the Blessed Sacrament