The Catholic times. [volume], June 20, 1952, Image 4

About The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current

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THE
CATHOLIC TIMES
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Why Bel rayal I
Of Our Nation?
Despite the squeals made by the communists
and their sympathizers. l.ouis Budenz is now recog
nized as having done his country a tremendous
service. He is still doing whatever he can to fight
the menace of communism. It is true that he may bp
doing so in reparation for his own defections and
work as a communist some few years ago. Neverthe
less. his former experience makes him now a val
uable asset in fighting an evil as slippery and
elusive as is communism.
Mr. Budenz said in an address last week that
communism’s greatest wins have been in the United
States. This is rather shocking and startling, to say
the least. But we gather the meaning of this when
we hear him say that Communism has taken another
200.000.000 persons since 1945. in addition to the
600.000,000 it already controlled. He said that the
United States policy has been responsible for com
munism’s success in enslaving these people over a
seven-year period-. That is an amazing and humiliat
ing statement for all red-blooded Americans.
“Poland was betrayed in Washington through
the counsels of Alger Hiss. Harry Hopkins and
others of their ilk,” said Mr. Budenz. China, too. was
lost in Washington through the counsels of Owen
Lattimore and a host of others in the government.
Hou all good Americans should blush at this revela
tion! The only consolation is in the knowledge that
the United States as such has not betrayed anyone, but
rather that a small segment of its leadership has ar
ranged for the country’s own defeat by the "ever
encroaching communist conspiracy.”
One cannot help but wonder how so many people
could be so far from devotion to this greatest nation
on earth, with all its privileges and its high standard
of living. Besides, how could it be that so many
others sit idly by while all this happens right around
them? is there something wrong with our educa
tional processes that our citizens no longer have
deep abiding patriotism? It must be. else why the
continual fight to separate the Church and State?
For how can a nation long endure that rules God
out of its interest and concern? Our greatest trait
ors are those who long since ruled religion out of
the training of future citizens, the ones who now
betray their country.
Ambassadors Of Christ
One of the highlights of the American pilgrimage
to the Eucharistic Congress in Barcelona was the
visit the pilgrims had with the Pope on their return
journey. His message to them al that time is some
thing that all of us might take to heart.
The Holy Father said that He recalled “a pic
ture of exquisite, delicate beauty and charm, which
perhaps you all know. The tall, erect figure of the
Blessed Mother raises her divine Baby shoulder high,
and supports His little arm as His hand would give a
blessing to all who come to Hirn. A living ostensor
lum. one might say.
"And why can't you. returning to your country,
to your cities and neighborhood hold Christ aloft,
that all about you may see Him, recognize Him
in your words, your conduct, your whole person, may
come to know His teachings, to know that "the
grace of God our Saviour has dawned on human
kind, schooling us to forego irreverent thoughts and
worldly hankerings, and to live in this present
world a hie of order, of justice and of holiness,”
(Tit. 2 12), aware of the inheritance that is yours
as God's adopted children through Jesus Christ?
I^t that thought, dear children, he the measure
of the resolution you carry home after this pil
grimage
It is a thought that we all might “carry home.”
The one absolutely sure, can’t fail method, for
curing the ills that afflict the would, would be for
the world to turn to Christ. And the surest way of
bringing about this end is to take heed of the Holy
Father's words and bring Christ to our neighbor
hoods by letting all see His life in us
The Heat’s On
The battle to keep cool started in earnest this
week and, if past years are any criterion, will go
nn for the next few months. The old army phrase:
“to sweat it out” applies most aptly to the general
public’s summer preoccupation.
The temporary stop gap afforded by the modern
Invention of air conditioning is little bettor than a
hard uon truce. The debilitating effect of the out
side weather seems to grow in proportion to the
time one spends in the refrigerated atmosphere
Of the artificial sanctuary.
The warfare waged ny the weather is both
physical an psychological While we arc baked
unmercifully from without out spirit melts and dis
appears within when we view (he inevitability of
the prospect. No matter what we do. at some time
during the next few months, each one of us will
suffer some from he heat.
That effects on us of such dismal prospects
could be put to any good use is beyond the pale of
thought. Ahd yet, the thought that they might be
lends at least an air of spiritual refreshment to the
picture
Why not put the heat on the Devil this sum
mei by offering up all the discomfiture of the sea
son and applying the merit gained to the fostering
of vocations to the Diocesan priesthood
The thought of how many people you'll be help
ing to keep cool in the life to come should make
this summer’s heat a little easier to hear.
Ancient Heresies?
4
The ancient heresies concerning the person of
Jesus Christ, those extremist views which led to so
many bitter wars and the defection of so many from
the true Faith, are thought by many to have been
settled once for all and to be now a part of dusty
history
There are those today who would reduce Christ
and His teachings to a mere man and a social doc
trine. There are those who say that Christ was a
manifestation of the God Head only and no man at
all. There are others, who say that Christ, the God
Man, wai but a figment of the imagination of his
followers, a super myth grown up over the years.
We know who Christ was He was the Only Be
gotten Son of the Father, True God from all etern
ity. We also know that He became man to redeem
us from our sms. We know that Christ is both God
and man—one Divine Person, being at the same time
true God and true man
We know Christ was God because He did things
that only God could do: raise the dead to life, give
sight to the blind, cure all manner of illnesses and
foretell the future.
We know Christ was man because He was born
of the Virgin Mary, grew up and lived among men,
felt tired, suffered, ate food and finally was execut
ed and died.
We know Christ was one Person, the Second
Person of the Blessed Trinity, because as God He
told us this, and could neither deceive or be de
ceived.
Today, Friday, the 20th, is the Feast of The Sac
red Heart of Jesus. This feast was instituted and is
celebrated by the Church today to give honor and
homage to the Sacred Humanity of Je$us.
It has its dogmatic foundation in the Incarnation
of the God’s Son. making every part of our Lord’s
human nature worthy of adoration and in a par
ticular way. we honor Our Lord’s Sacred Heart, as
a symbol, a reminder of His great love for us.
There are countless numbers of human beings
who. knowing or unknowingly, subscribe to the an
cient heresies about the Person of Christ. Our cele
bration of this Feast of Sacred Heart can do much
to repay Christ for their neglect and win for man
kind the treasures promised by Christ to those who
honor His Divine Person, and pay homage to His
Sacred Heart.
list Among Ourselves
Pasting Comment Considered or Inconsiderate
We sometimes hear people speak of “thinking in
a certain language”,, particularly when they have
reference to an acquired language, that is, a lan
guage other than the native tongue. “You do not
really know French.” they will say, “until you can
think in French.” This is a mistaken and a mislead
ing statement.
We do not think in a language. Thought comes
first and language gives it outer expression. Our
thinking is fundamentally a grasp of things, and in
deed there is a very close affinity between the word
think and the word thing. We know things (in es
sence, or by definition) and we compare and men
tally pronounce upon these points of knowledge fin
ally, out of evidenced pronouncements, seen side
by side in the mind, new facts may become mani
fest. All this is involved in the business called
thinking.
Language is something else again. Language is the
expression of thinking. Suppose a varied group
of nationals considers a circle drawn on a black
board. Suppose that in the minds of all members of
the group there is this piece of thinking: “If this
is a true circle, all its radii are equal in length.” It
would be merely silly to say that the Polishman
thinks "this thought” in Polish, the Frenchman
in French, the Hollander in D”tch. the Amer
ican in English They all think the same thought.
When it conies to expressing the thought, each man
is, of course, limited to the language he knows.
Man's inevitable impulse to express his thoughts
usually gives him an early facility in the use ot his
native tongue, tor uruiuary and casual purposes,
words aie so icauy to his recollection and use that
tiicie seems to be no time-interval between the
thought and its expression, and no effort appears to
be involved in giving utterance to thinking. But let
a man try to express himself in a language imper
fectly known, a language that he has never mas
tered by daily and hourly use tor a considerable
time and in varying circumstances he will have dif
ficulty. He will need to recall apt words for what he
wishes to say, that is, to express his thinking. He
will also need to employ suitable grammatical con
structions in his use ot the words. This (till he has
acquired facility by much practice) takes effort and
occasions halting and imperfect utterance.
But the man. struggling to find words and con
structions in a unfamiliar language, does not rightly
say, “I am not yet able to think in this language.”
He has the thought all right, he is able to think he
is actually thinking. What he lacks is mastery of lan
guage to express his thinking. He should say, not
“1 cannot think in this language,” but “I don't know
this language well enough to give ready expression
Io my thoughts.”
Nevertheless language, especially the native lan
guage or a language thoroughly mastered, is closely
related to the thinking for which it is the instru
ment of expression. And this close relationship some
times makes a word the prod and occasion of think
ing sometimes indeed a*word may be so associated
with a thought that its use directs (or misdirects) fur.
ther thinking. A word used overmuch to express one
thought may carry its overtones into the expression
of another thought lor which the word but not the
overtones may be suitable.
Take, lor instance, the word “tree” or the word
“liberal.” Fredom and liberality are splendid
things they are noble, desirable, wholly admirable.
The adjectives “free” and “liberal”, used so consist
ently Io express what is fine, are likely to carry the ov
ertone of fineness and nobility into all their uses,
and sometimes these overtones are unjustified and so
tend to deceive the mind. Thus “free thought’ or
“liberal views in religion” are expressions suggest
ive, at Inst sight or hearing, of good and noble
things it lakes attention and effort to shake off
the strong suggestion of the words and to look
carefully at what they arc used to express and
most hearers and readers are not willing to bestow
the required attention and effort.
Only when material circumstances arc so mani
festly at variance with fineness and nobility that no
one can mistake their actual meaning in a special
and precise use arc these words “free” and “liberal”
robbed of the overtones which make them potntial
deceivers and misdirectors of the mind. We know
(but a foreigner would not know) that we arc not
praising the housebreaker when we say that “he
look his tunc sat in the living room, and was very
lice in the use of both my books and my cigars.” We
understand (but a foreigner would not understand)
the unpraiseful meaning of the remark made by a
prisoner to the judec who has just sentenced him
to 20 years in jail. “Your Honor, you are very liberal
in the bestowal of my time.”
\nd thrie aie words which ought to have an evil
moaning, but which, through constant use in a good
sense, have lost that meaning, and which therefore
blunt the accuracy of the mind in choosing terms of
expression. One such word is the noun "pride” with
its adjective "nroud low often do we find the word
"pride" used as something fine and good as a fad,
pride is the foulest ot sms A father will say, “My
boy’s work at school is a source of great pride to
me.” He means, of course, "joy” or "satisfaction" he
certainly does not mean "pride," We hear such com.
ment as. He takes a pardonable pride in his accom
plishment." Of course, he doesn t, for pride is never
pardonable, what is meant is that the man is pleased
or delighted with what he has achieved.
It is a good thing, now and again, to chock on our
familiar phrases and on those constantly heard or
seen in print Language which is the expression of
thinking is inevitably the suggestion of further
thinking, and very often of crooked and damaging
thinking. Is progressive education really progress
ive? Is progress always an advance towards truth
or worth’’ Is prosperity always prosperity,—in view
of eternity? We must make words our sen ants, not
our masters, they are continually getting above
themselves and seeking to master the thought they
are meant to sene.
THECA THOLIC TIMES, FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 1952
EM
WASHINGTON LETTER
A Job For
WASHINGTON—Is it possible
for a Congressional hearing to
go too well for one side as
against the other?
Some people are asking them
selves that question here with
regard to an investigation into
radio and TV programs. It is
possible, some people think, that
persons and interests friendly to
the two industries may have
played their hand a bit too
strong.
A sub-committee of the House
of Representatives Committee on
Interstate and Foreign Commerce
is presently seeking “to deter
mine the extent to which radio
and television programs
contain immoral or otherwise
offensive matter, or place im
proper emphasis upon crime,
violence, and corruption.”
The group has held a few brief
hearings and pt this moment is
in recess.
Witnesses heard up to this
point have found fault with one
or another aspect of radio or tel
evision as now presented. By and
large one would have to say they
have had a “bad press.” As a
matter of fact, some observers
here feel that few investigations
have got off to such a seemingly
poor start. Not only witnesses
hut members of Congress have
been subjected to “ribbing.”
some of which has been none
too gentle. One radio and tele
vision trade paper made fun of a
Congressman who appeared as
a witness wondered out loud
LOUIS E. BUDENZ
Mr. and Mrs.
Average Amer
ican will have
to look sharp
for new at
tempts to
break down
their morale:
they are put
on notice by
the latest prop
aganda worked
out by the
Communists. In addition to the
V
false cries of American “bacteri
ological warfare,” Stalin’s follow
ers in this country have opened
up a campaign to spread defeat
inn the ranks of our people.
Stalin gave them the big cue
in his “interview” with American
newspaper men on April 2, which
was designed to spread hopes
that Soviet Russia would enter
into an honorable peace. This
statement by the Soviet dictator
is played up by the New Times
of Moscow, under date of April
9. and we know by now that this
Soviet organ is a source of direc
tives to the Reds of the world.
The Master of the Kremlin
takes special pains to paint a
gloomy picture of the sufferings
of the people under “capitalist”
governments. He refers to the
burden of the huge armament
programs—never at any time, of
course, admitting that Soviet
arming to the teeth has caused
the Western world to prepare for
defense. To the contrary, he pre
sents the Red dictatorship as the
great guardian of peace through
out the world.
Only the Climax
The Communists here were
quick to respond to this clear
directive from him whom they
have proclaimed as their “leader,
teacher and guide.” Plans for a
End of the Affair
The Mothers
what the voters in his home dis
trict would think of his perform
ance, and asked if some mem
bers of Congress were not just
trying to get publicity in an elec
tion year.
It was clear that radio and tel
evision, which struck it rich
when they were permitted to
broadcast and televise some ear
lier Congressional hearings, were
not in favor of this investiga
tion.
And, it is interesting to note,
it was not just trade papers that
gave this hearing “the light
treatment.” Daily papers, pre
sumably without the same close
interest in the industries as the
trade papers, have “played it for
laughs” when reporting some of
the sessions.
What some thoughtful persons
are asking themselves is: May
not this sort of treatment have
made friends for those who com
plained against some radio and
TV practices?
Representatives of the indus
tries and of the Federal Com
munications Commission are ex
pected to be in the majority, if
not all, of the witnesses when
the hearings resume. There is
a feeling that nothing much will
come out of the inquiry during
this Congress. Of course, if more
of that now considerable group
that is taking these problems se
riously were to come forward
with their chapter and verse evi
dence, the picture could change.
But friends of radio and tele
vision delude themselves, observ­
Statin, Aesop And You
defeatist campaign are sei down
in the March issue of Political
Affairs, exactly along the line of
Stalin’s statement. It may be ob
jected, at first blush, that the Po
litical Affairs article preceded
Stalin’s declaration. But it must
be understood that what the
Soviet dictator said was only
the climax to a whole series of
similar statements in the Comtn
form organ—some of them quot
ing Stalin as the authority for
the effort to undermine morale
in the free world.
What Stalin’s statement did
was to give added spur to The
Daily Worker and other Com
inunist sheets which spread out
their propaganda to the commun
ity through concealed Commun
ists. It brought the necessity for
the Red drive against the peo
pie’s morale to a new head. And
the response, as 1 have stated,
was immediate.
The March issue of Political
Affairs is particularly worth not
ing because of the emphasis it
puts on defeatism as a Red tac
tic. It is not content with one
article on this subject, but two!
The first of these is the work
of Alexander Bittelman, Soviet
subject and chief theoretician of
the Communist Party in the Unit
ed States. The other is by a writ
er going under the name of John
Swift. Both stress heavily the
burdens of the defense program
on the people. Both place the
blame for this state of affairs
solely on “the American Wall
Street warmongers.” And both
count upon the “failures” that
have come out of American ap
peasement and vacillation in for
eign policy to cast doubt on
whether this country can do
anything to defend itself.
Swift puts it neatly: “In the
Even if the inquiry gets no
where in this Congress, the radio
and television industries are not
“out of the woods.” Both media
are wonderful as inventions, but
they are not consistently won
derful as entertainment.
More than the “temperance
people” are interested, especial
ly in TV. which comes so inti
mately into homes. Mothers in
several parts of the country have
banded together to make some of
the most interesting and impres
sive surveys of radio and TV
program content yet conducted.
If they were to appear before
Congress, presenting the facts
and figures they gave up pre
cious time to paintstakingly as
semble, it would not be possible
to “laugh them off.” Even to try
it might be disastrous.
United States, the warmongers
are still having their own way in
great measure, but their failures
tn foreign policy in both Asia
and Europe and the mounting
burdens of the war economy are
creating a growing doubt and di
vision in the ranks of the peo
ple and even in capitalist cir
cles.”
Offset Defeatism
Thus, our own hesitancy to
take a strong stand against Sovi
et aggression is turned against
us. Since the Communist direc
tive-giver states events as occur
ring in order to make them oc
cur, the statement about ‘‘doubt
and division” is a clear order to
the comrades, open and conceal
ed. to achieve that result.
This is made doubly evident
when Swift follows up this state
ment with another to the effect
that the success of “the war
mongers" to date has been due to
“the Big Lie that the Soviet Un
ion was the aggressor.” He de
clares that “conditions are rapid
ly multiplying for undermining
and destroying these illusions.”
Thereupon he states that it is
“our Party’s great responsibili
ty” to help bring the American
people to an understanding that
the defense program must be op
posed.
If this advice were to remain
cooped up in Communist circles,
it would be bad enough, for it
would encourage every device at
sabotage of the defense effort
that the Reds can command. But
experience teaches us that such
counsels go farther—out into the
non-Communist press in one
form or another. Be prepared,
therefore, to meet and offtet
defeatism, just as you must be
prepared to halt appeasement of
Soviet aggression.
INQUIRY CORNER
I
■4
IM?- v-r
ers feel, if they believe—as some
have said—that the opposition is
limited to certain categories. As
one paper put it, the hearings so
far show that the Women’s Chris
tian Temperance Union, the Na
tional Temperance League and
the American Temperance Soci
ety constitute the principal crit
ics of radio and TV programs.
It is true that the witnesses at
hearings so far have more or less
concentrated on opposition to
beer advertisements (beercasting,
they called it) on these two media
of entertainment. This does not
seem to alarm the two industries
too much, because they can point
to the fact that they refuse “hard
liquor” ads.
Why Do Catholics Say
Shorter “Our Father"
Q. Why do Catholics omit the
last part of the Lord's Prayer:
“For thine is the kingdom and
the power and the glory for
ever. Amen”?
An ancient prayer ending,
something like the doxology
(Glory be) the prayer cited was
added by some copyist in the
early centuries. St. Jerome re
jected it as part of. the Lord’s
Prayer as did the authors of the
Revised Version of the King
James Bible in 1881. Catholics
say the Our Father as Christ
Himself taught it to the Apos
tles. There is no need to make
it a subject of controversy as all
reputable scholars now consider
it an addition in some copies of
the New Testament.
Q. Why are not all prayers
answered? Did not Christ prom
ise that they would be (John
14:13)?
Just as a child may ask for
things that are not good for him
so we often make requests that
are not for our true welfare.
Even such prayers are answered,
for God always listens. If we pray
humbly and perseveringly (Mat
thew 15:22, Luke 11:5) for spirit
ual blessings God will always an
swer directly for our benefit. If
we ask for God’s graces for oth
ers the effectiveness of such
prayers may be hindered by the
lack of cooperation of the per
son for whom we pray. Usually
the problem rises when we ask
for temporal favors, such as
health or success in some ven
ture. Christ taught us how to
pray in such matters when he
prayed: “My Father, if it be pos
sible, let this chalice pass from
Me. Nevertheless not as I will,
but as Thou wilt.” (Matthew
26:39).
I Q. What is the difference be
tween Plenary and Partial Indul
gences?
A. After true sorrow for sin
and confession there remains
reparation to God for forgiven
sin. The temporal punishment
due to sin, illustrated in the
story of David who was punish
ed after his repentance and for
giveness, must be removed. Par
tial Indulgences, usually attach
ed to prayers, removes part of
the temporal punishment, indi
cated by the comparison to early
Christian penances (e.g. 300 days,
7 years, etc.). Plenary Indulgenc
es, requiring reception.of Holy
Communion and prayers for the
intentions of the Holy Father,
can remove all the temporal pun
ishment due to sin. If a person’s
disposition is perfect a Plenary
Indulgence would mean immedi
ate entry into heaven for the
person gaining it.
Q. How are the sacramentals
different from pagan supersti­
GRETTA PALMER
As America Goes
The world
pop ulation is
nearly two and
a half billion
people. The
temporal fate
of all of them
will be largely
decided by the
actions of
thirty -three
i 11 ion men
and women. If
you are mathematically-minded,
you may say that every Ameri
can Catholic carries at least
some responsibility for the fu
ture of seventy-two and one-half
persons he has never seen.
This odd fact is illustrated by
an address given by Louis F. Bu
denz, convert and former Com
munist, in which he said: “Com
munism has won its victories in
the United States, not in the
countries it has conquered
Poland was betrayed in Wash
ington, through the counsels of
Alger Hiss. Harry Hopkins and
others of their ilk. China was
lost in Washington through the
counsels of Qwen Lattimore, the
so called Far East expert, and
a host of others in the govern
ment who went along with his
thinking.”
The richest indeed almost
the only rich country in the
present world has much the au
thority of a multimillionaire sur
rounded by a host of poor rela
tions. none of whom can support
himself without his help. What
such a man decides will always
get a respectful hearing from
those around him. What such a
country decides will, in view of
Point Four and other hoped-for
favors, influence the political
thinking of most of the countries
of the world. The fate of Greece
is less apt to be determined in
Athens than in Washington the
lives of millions of Asiatics and
Europeans and residents of Af
rica are being formed in a cap
ital the name of which many
of them cannot even pronounce.
As America goes, so goes a very
large segment of the modern
world.
Uniqu* Sophistication
The Catholic American is also
aware of other facts, in his
unique sophistication. He knows
that effects resemble their caus
es, and that a bad philosophy
will never lead to a virtuous re
sult. This fact would come as
startling news to many politicians
who believl that it does not mat
ter what a dictator believes, so
long as he is on bad terms with
tious practices?
A. Superstition means blind
belief in the power of an action
or a thing which has not real
power. The sacramentals, such
as the sign of the cross or holy
water, are not considered magic.
Catholics know that they have
their power from Christ through
the Church. As a great Catholic
writer states: “When the Catho
lic uses Holy Water, or makes
the sign of the Cross on the
forehead of one he loves, or fix
es on his wall blessed palms and
blessed flowers, his action signi
fies a devout communion with
the prayer of the whole Church,
that God may help him in all
his needs.” By ^his means the
whole activity Af the Catholic in
all its aspects is directed toward
heaven—by visible things to
things invisible. It is true that
abuses are possible and that the
sacramentals may be degraded
into magical charms. Wherever
there are men there will be abus
es. but we should judge a good
thing by itself, not by its abuse.
Q. Who is the patron saint of
youth?
A. In 1926 Pope Pius XI nam
ed St. Aloysius Gonzaga as pa
tron of youth. St. Aloysius (1568
1591), rejecting a life in the ar
my of his father, took up a place
in the army of Christ. Growing
up the rough life of an army
camp and the intrigues of court
life he showed young people
a
sublime example in overcoming
environment. “I am a piece of
twisted iron,” he said, “and I
entered religion to get twisted
straight.” At the age of seven
teen he entered the Society of
Jesus, and died six years later.
Like St. Therese he proved that
length of life is not as important
as way of life. His feast day is
June 21st.
Q. Does the Catholic Church
allow hypnotic treatment for the
curing of disease?
A. Today the exaggerated
claims of some earlier propon
ents of hypnotic treatment have
been moderated, and in the
hands of a reliable person it is
often useful. There were some
theologians who condemned it,
but the Holy Office said in 1840
that it “is not morally forbid
den,. provided it does not tend
to an illicit end .” Again in
1899 it was stated that “it was
permissible, provided there was
no danger of superstition or
scandal.” It has elements of sen
sationalism in it and certain def
inite dangers accompany its use,
but under medical supervision it
may be used.
Send questions to Inquiry Cor-.
ner, The Catholic Times, Box
636, Columbus 16, Ohio.
Moscow. Any Catholic college
student knows that Communism,
under any ruler and in any cli
mate, will inevitably result in
the concentration camp and the
purge. The first page of his
books on causology have made
the issue clear. But the world
would, today, be a far happier
place if that simple fact had
been known to the men who
guided our government through
out the past decade.
The Catholic American knows
that man is a composite of body
and soul, and that the soul is far
too lofty a thing to be suscep
tible to the clumsy calipers of
scientific measurement. He
knows therefore, that all the
efforts to streamline mankind
from without are doomed to fail.
The heady hope that the world
can be stabilized by education
alone is not for him: he knows
that sociologists will never
achieve any end worth mention
ing so long as they work on the
environment alone and negect
the enormous fact of man’s free
will.
No Compass To Guido Thom
The Catholic American is also
aware of the almost-forgotten
fact that societies can ftburish
under any one of several types
of secular government: it is not
essential, for the peace of the
world, that every country shall
set up a Constitution resembling
our own or elect a Congress di
vided into a Senate and a House.
To the Catholic American, there
is nothing disreputable about a
monarchy, or even a Maharajah
—if he behaves himself. For the
Catholic American is not provin
cial—he belongs to a Univer
sal Church which has rubbed
along comfortably with many
types of government.
The Catholic American, almost
without realizing it. thinks clear
ly in areas where the vast ma
jority of his countrymen are
bound to be confused. He has the
vast advantage of dogma to guide
him but the liberals and the
agnostics, who have thrown all
first principles overboard, have
no such compasses to guide their
thought.
America needs the clear
thinking of almost the only
group of her children who are
able, today, to refer all temporal
quesions back to basic verities
—especially to the Basic Verity
of God. The world, too. needs
the Catholic American. It needs
him just seventy-two and a half
times as much as it needs any
other individual today.