The Catholic times. [volume], July 18, 1952, Image 4

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IX
THE
CATHOLIC TIMES
Published Every Week by
The Catholic Times, Inc.
Columbus, Ohio
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The Vacation of Our Muns
The school children will not like to be reminded
that about hall of their vacation is gone. Most of
them have not even given a thought to the coming
school days ol September And it is well that they
haven't, for they need their vacation. No doubt
most of them would like to prolong it, but they
will have a sufficient reprieve in the three months
allotted them.
Meanwhile, what of the teachers. Our nuns are
also having a vacation, hut just from teaching. Most
of them will he busy this summer studying advanced
courses to help them in their work this coming Sep
tember. This process goes on continually. The devot
ed women ol the religious communities who staff
our schools make every effort to be prepared and
fully qualified for their work. As a result many of
them are in universities during these hot summer
days attending classes and doing home work just
like their students did foi them. Some of them, it
is true, will will be teaching all summer, or most
of it. Catholic people are proud of the high stand
ards of their schools. This is due to the hard work,
summer after summer, on the part of the nuns to
further educate themselves in such a way as to
give the very best for their students.
The nuns, however, are not concerned with sec
ular subjects only. Some of them are renewing and
advancing their knowledge of religion. All of them
will take time out during their -‘vacation” to re
new their dedication to the service of God and His
little ones.. A full week will be givei to a closed
retreat by all our nuns. This will enable them to
keep their labor one of love lor and service to their
Divine Spouse These dedicated women find their
greatest help in this annual renewal of their holy
vocation. Because of it they are able to spend
themselves in their many assigned tasks, all of
which help to load souls to Christ.
Even in the few days or hours of recreation
which they permit themselves during the summer,
our nuns are profiting from the experiences of other
members o! then community, and from attendance
at meetings ol various learned and educational or
ganizations. particularly those concerned frith their
own field of work.
Yes, these are vacation months. But we should
keep our nuns constantly in our prayers during
these days, for they are very busy preparing to do
their work this coming school year with the highest
efficiency from a religious and educational stand
point. God bless them in then “vacation.”
Charles P. Tall Replies
To Prejudice
That was a splendid thing that Charles P. Taft
did at the National Education Association conven
tion in Detroit. He replied to charges made in a
speech by another speaker at the same convention
attacking the late Cardinal Faulhaber of Munich.
The other speaker was Mrs Agnes E. Meyer, writer
lecturer of Washington, who is not known tor her
love nf the Catholic Chu.ch The Ohio gubernatorial
candidate asked what dsc hut religion could have
given animal Faulhauber the courage to defy
Hitler. Mrs. Myer retorted that if this were so, how
could he and other German prelates direct Ca
tholics to pray for Hitler when he was sending
Jews and others to the gas ovens. Mr. Taft re
plied that some religious people "pray for their
enemies."
Mrs. Meyer's dislike for Catholic schools was
evident in her charge that “clerical politicians”
arc seeking to “force our people to support sec
tarian schools whose rapid increase would destroy
our secular schools and tear our nation into irre
conciliahle factions.” Mr. Taft let het and the con
vention know th the religious efforts of parochial
schools make up a “thoroughly sound objective and
the public schools should not only recognize the
validity of the objective, but help stimulate the
churches into doing a good technical job in accom
plishing it.” Bravo, Mr. Taft! But let us hear more,
“Is it not somewhat shocking.” he asked, “to realize
that those basic elements in the good life which the
West has achieved are substantially untaught in our
public schools today'’" The decision to omit "the basic
question of religion” in public schools to avoid con
troversy, he continued, has led “to the opposite
extreme which has made religion an extracurric
ular activity, certainly not as important usually as
football or basketball.” He appealed for teachers
who have personal religion so that "informed with
in by the spirit of religion." they could “aim
constantly amt in every lesson to relate what is
taught to the basic elements taught in the churches.
Without that out civilization will fail and all our
Vaunted k.iow how w ill go tor nothing .”
All this at the powerful National Education
Association convention, where (here had previous
Jy been vigorous applause when a speaker declared
ft is better to have no Federal aid at all than to
give one penny to non public school pupils.” Mr.
Taft's stand apparent!' influenced the convention
and the American Ix'gion which went on record
as favoring Federal aid to education without indi
cating any restriction on what schools should get
it, though the first draft of the joint committee
resolution used the phrase "public education”
Of Mr. Taft it must he said, “Of such stuff states
men are made.”
I- reedoin From Duty
Many of the world’s problems hinge on the mis
understanding, born ol muddy thinking, of the dif
ference between freedom and license. These two
terms are not interchangeable They are used, how
ever by some as though they were A test, the
basic thing advocated by some is tn reality license
and it is advocated and hold up as good under the
guise of freedom
Such a case in point, and a flagrant example, is
had in a brochure at is being distributed by the
Planned Parenthood League of Ohio.
The main point that i* sought to be put across
by the brochure in question is that parenthood, i.e.
the accepting or preventing of the results of the
marital act, is a God given freedom. They belabor
the point that freedom of choice is one of the most
precious freedoms enjoyed by the American people.
After breaking you down with a number of
statements that no one would disagree with, they
tack on a statement that is highly contestable with
the hope that it will be taken by the unwary, as
something just as true as the foregoing dictums.
Speaking of freedom of choice, which all will
agree is a good thing, and God-given, they say it
means that “we can choose our friends, our relig­
ion, our opinions, our leaders, our husbands or our
wives. It means too. (and here is the curve ball)
“that a married couple can choose the size of their
family.”
Well, yes and NO! They can. depending on the
cause and the method used. Limiting the family
through voluntary celebacy with the consent of
both parties or through the practice of the "rhythm
method” (always providing that a number of suf
ficiently grave causes are present) is permissable.
The basic consideration of marriage is the pro
duction of the off-spring—and there is no wide
freedom of the married couple to arbitrarily choose
to comply with the basic plan of Almighty God or
to circumvent it in an entirely unnatural way.
There is a freedom of choice in marrying. After
the marriage, though, there can be no choice of re
fusing to carry out the prime object of matrimony.
There is a duty, and it is imposed by God’s natural
law. to bear and rear children for the honor and
glory of God.
A young man is free to marry, with her con
sent. the object of his affections. After the mar
riage. though, he is not free to choose whether he
will support her or not. He assumes that obligation
with the pronouncing of the marital vows.
So it is with the duty of bearing children. The
couple is free in its choice of remaining single or
getting married, but once that step is taken, there
is no choice of unnaturally shirking their duty to
God and to society.
Just Among Ourselves
Pasting Comment Considered or Inconsiderate
It would be interesting to know just what goes
on in the minds of some of our more articulate edu
cators. Distressing too. Whatever that system of
cerebration may be, it isn’t logic, it isn’t reasoning,
it isn’t thinking in the customary sense of that
word. And its product is neither justice nor ordin
ary American decency.
A lady educator frankly states her own objective,
and evidently thinks it ought to be the prime ob
jective of the National Education Association,—to
squeez. out of existence the Catholic schools of the
nation. This, to be sure, has been the under-cover
aim of most anti-Catholic agitation for a good many
years. This, and the effort to create division
between the Catholic laity and then Bishops.
The attempt to strike the shepherds so that the
sheep may be dispersed is supplemented by an en
deavor to fence out the younger sheep from some
of their proper pasturage. All in the name of free
dom. of course all as a shining example of true
democracy at work.
Why is the lady opposed to Catholic schools? If
she thinks they are not good schools, She confesses
a degree of ignorance surprising even in an educa
tor. The product of American Catholic schools has
always stood in more than favorable comparison
with the product of state schools, mistakenly called
public schools. Whether the point of consideration
be scholarship, or rounded preparation for life, or
soundly patriotic training, the Catholic schools stand
in triumphant comparison with all others. In our
own day, two world wars and one oriental police
action evidence a truth proved by our entire history:
that the product of Catholic schools, and Catholic
training generally, bear a good deal more than their
proportionate share of the nation’s defense.
This is not surprising, for Catholic education
stresses the truth that patriotism is a duty before
God, not a mere matter of sentiment, enthusiasm,
and waving of the flag. Catholic education sanely
shows that God’s Providence is manifest in the fact
of citizenship, whether acquired hy birth or by
free choice,—and that the legitimate government
of one’s country is to be duly served and defended,
even at I he cost of considerable personal sacrifice.
A Catholic is taught to be a good citizen, to pay his
taxes, to serve his country, not because of a police
force or a current public sentiment, but because
it is a duty for the discharge of which he is respon
sible to Almighty God.
i Why then is the lady educator opposed to Ca.
tholic schools? If she says they are not American,
she lies. We have just seen that their Americanism
is a sound and solid quality, not a frothy senti
ment. What can explain the proposed effort to put
Catholic schools out of existence? Bigotry can ex
plain it tyranny can explain it political and social
totalitarianism can explain it nothing other can
explain it. Are wo to suppose that the lady educator
takes for granted that the aims and ideals of the
National Education Association arc bigotry, tyranny,
and totalitarianism?
But they say our schools arc "divisive.” This is a
strange charge to come from a Protestant source
for the core and central dogma of Protestantism
is a special type of divisiveness, another name for
which is "private judgment on the meaning of re
vealed truth Only in the matter of truth is there
need for absolute solidarity, and in that conduct
which expresses and manifests truth. There is a field
for totalitarianism (for instance in our attitude to
wards the multiplication table) and there is a field
for divnsiveness (for instance, between Rpublicans
and Democrats). A man who wears a brown suit
when blue is the prevailing style is divisive. Is he to
be condemned therefore? Does the lady want us, in
the name oi undivisivencss, to form silent ranks and
shout "Heil!” at the command of a Fuehrer? Any
thing else is divisive.
The recent convention in Chicago has shown, and
the coming one will show, a united people in a riot
ol divisivenes.s. We all hold, with totalitarian and
adamantine conviction, that our country is worth
saving, that its peace and prosperity are goals to be
achieved. But (quite apart from trickery and dis
honesty which appears here and there the whole
action ol parties, and groups within parties, is a
wild exhibition of divisiveness. To hold all totali
tarianism evil, and all disunion evil, is to make all
possible inodes of action evil. Educators and others
will please make up their minds. They will find
aid, and. one trusts, comfort, in the distinction made
by a normal mind which sees an area where unity
is indispensable, and an area where variety is
requisite.
A Catholic, thanking God for the gift of faith,
knows that he possesses the one and only religious
truth. This is the most important thing of all. He
prays that all men may come to know it and em
brace it. He prays with Christ that there may be
one fold and one shepherd. He recognizes the con
sequent and unique truth in the unique and divine
authority of the Church set up by God-made Man
to teach men truth and to guide their lives toward
eternal heaven Thus the Catholic recognizes the
supernatural and divine field of absolut of certain
ty. of truth, and of life's proper purpose and con
duct. But no merely human or natural system of
life or government has this absolute value. Here is
a field for divisiveness.
There are natural and human things,—such as
mathematics, and the realm of worthy ideals,—
which demand unity of attitude and action. But
there are millions of human things in which the
widest variety is not only possible but inevitable.
It was St. Augustine, a notable Catholic and Ca
tholic educator, who said, "In things necessary,
unity tn things uncertain, liberty in all things,
charity.” The last phrase is recommended to the
particular attention of the lady educator who would
crush our schools out of existence.
THE CATHOLIC TIMES, FRIDAY. JULY 18, 19 5 1
WASHINGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON Were you
one of those who groaned when
an individual delegate at the
Republican National Convention
rose and asked that his state del
egation be polled on one of the
preliminary issues?
Apparently a Io’ of people,
seated comfortably at televi
sions and radios, did "beef” at
these delays. This was, perhaps,
true in a special way in this
city where politics is a prime
commodity, and everyone was an
xious to know as soon as pos
sible how the major issue of the
convention the selection of a
presidential nominee—was going
to come out.
In a way, this is understand
able. Tens of thousands of peo
ple were staying up much later
than they usual) do, hoping to
see ac much as they could of the
Chicago proceedings. They were
putting off from mint te to min
ute going to#hed. Then to have a
single delegate get up and ask
to have the entire roll of a 70
or 90 member delegation called!
That was too much!
Well, Americans enjoy the
privilege of “beefing.” Just
watch them al a baseball game
when they don’t like the decision
of the umpire. And that individ
ual delegate—a small figure on
LOUIS E, RUDENZ
With notable
regularity The
Daily Worker
rushes in to
attack anyone
who raises
u e s i o n s
about subver
sive influences
in schools and
colleges. There
has been a par
ade of such
assaults during
weeks. This is
The Communists know the value
of getting a strong foothold in
education. Wherever they have
been successful in inveigling po
litical leaders into “coalition
governments,” they have sought
first of all control of the police
and education for their own
men. The Reds know that these
are the keys to conquest. The
one gets control of the nation
physically. the other conquers
the nation’s mind.
the past several
not surprising.
We are reminded by the Com
inform organ of May 9 that this
drive for Red domination of edu
cation in all non-Communist
countries is world wide. In Italy
a new "cultural” campaign has
just been launched, designed to
take over all intellectual and
educational activities from the
“reactionaries" and clericals."
It is announced in its smallest
detail and follows the general
pattern of Communist infiltra
tion of education id this country:
that is. every agency—books for
libraries, "educational conferen
ces,” concealed Reds as speakers
to teachers or students—are all
in the program.
Coined by Reds
What may be surprising to
many is that the Communist
penetration of education is dee-
Month Of The Precious Blood
No Beefing’ Behind Iron Curtain
your television screen and a lone
figure among so many delegates
—also had his right to ask that
his delegation be polled.
There is really no need to
point this out, of course. Now
that at least one convention is
over, everybody is forgetting
about it.
We should never forget,
though, that the freedom to
“beef,” the privilege of object
ing, the right to question the
majority do not exist behind the
Iron Curtain. Over there, you
can’t even disagree with the min
ority—the communist bosses.
What brings this to mind is
the fact that, on the eve of the
Republican Convention, there
was heard in this country a radio
harangue by Marshal Tito of
Yugoslavia.
Tito was belaboring his former
buddies—the Moscow commun
ist leaders. He was justifying his
break with them. He said: “We
know that the prisons and con
centration camps there (in Com
inform countries) are growing.
We know that people are being
annihilated in these camps. We
also know that they use the same
methods of mass annihilation in
these camps that fascist Ger
Gertnany once used. We then ask
calmly: Who are the culprits?”
But Tito has not leformed. He
Battle Over The Schools
fended by so many non-Commun
ist voices. The battle cries used
by these non-Communists have
been coined largely by the Reds.
In 1951 the publishing house
of John Day in New York issued
a book in the school situation
written by a collaborator with
The Daily Worker and long-time
friend of the Reds: "The Public
School Scandal,” by Earl Conrad.
All of Conrad’s works have re
ceived the loud approval of The
Daily Worker and this last is no
exception. It is interesting that
he brings out in his pages all
those slogans so glibly uttered
by defenders of peculiar develop
ments to be noted tn so many
places in our public educational
systems.
The theme of Conrad’s book
is that those who oppose the
"new ideas” creeping into the
schools, and who aim their fire
at subversive influences there,
are tools of those who would de
stroy the school system. That is
a cry which has now become
standardized. And Conrad tries
to see in the resentment of Pasa
dena citizens against the "new
ideas” merely the desire to cut
down the schools, prevent them
from functioning properly and
make them into “reactionary”
institutions.
Amalgam Tactic
That charge will nd't hold
water, no matter how much Con
rad and the “liberals" who take
up his cry seek to make it effec
tive by the old Amalgam tactic.
This is the device linking to
gether everyone who is opposed
to Red infiltration or to kindred
influences, so that someone may
be found who can be charged
with being “anti-Semetic” or “re
actionary.” Then, everyone who
is striving to nd the ebook of
N*_..
is still a communist. He is not
for the democratic freedoms that
we know. He still will not tol
erate "beefing”, questioning of
the leaders, challenges to the par
ty orders. He still couldn’t
stand it at an American polit
ical convention.
He struck out in his latest
speech against "reactionary rem
nants.” "They are diehards,” he
said, “but they have not achiev
ed success. We would be mistak
en to act deaf and let them say
what they like. We must fight
them and point out the danger
wherever it exists, because there
are still people who believe
them.”
Tito told his followers that
"we must be alert to the efforts
of reactionaries, especially cer
tain elements of the Catholic
priesthood and even the Ortho
dox church, to spread disunity
and chauvinism among our peo
ple.”
“I may tell you here and now,”
Tito advised his followers, “that
they are standing on quicksand,
because we have laws against
people who spread national
chauvinism.”
Would you like to rise and
question the report of your chair
man at a political convention
in Belgrade?
the Communists and their
friends is given a like label.
Conrad also works up new am
munition to be spread out among
his "liberal” friends in a gratui
tous attack upon the Catholic
Church. He is deeply impressed
with Paul Blanshard’s efforts
along the same line and cites
approvingly Blanshard’s libels
against the Church in America.
All of this fits in neatly with
the, Communist directives, given
as early as 1946, to incite in
Protestants hatred of Catholics.
These instructions were present
ed to the comrades by none oth
er than V. J. Jerome, head of
the cultural commission of the
Communist conspiracy.
Butt of Attack
Conrad embraces “progress
ive education” wholeheartedly
and opposes any analysis of its
effects. This is to be expected.
For with his Communist associa
tions, it is natural that he would
want to further a development
that offers such opportunities
for Red infiltration. Not Com
munist itself, but based on Dr.
John Dewey’s pragmatic philos
ophy, “The Public School Scan
dal” prepared the way for
ready access of Communists into
our educational system, for it
holds out the belief that there
are no absolute truths or good,
and that everything new is
right." That Is precisely the
premise on which the Com
munists build, using Stalin’s
famous dictum to that effect.
To make Catholics the butt of
attack is a clever scheme. It de
flects the issues from the real
center of difficulty in our pub
lic school systems of today. Will
America be content with that
sort of business? It will be in
teresting to set.
I
INQUIRY CORNER
Was Church Slow In
Urging Bible Study?
Q. Why was the Church so
slow in urging people to read
the Bible?
A. During the centuries be
fore the invention of the print
ing press, and the days when the
collapse of Roman civilization
left many illiterate, few could
read the Bible. During all that
time the Catholic Church taught
the Bible and had copies made,
presenting it, as she does today,
in the Mass and Office, e. g. Ves
pers) for all to know. For a Ca
tholic the Church is the source
of God’s teaching in the Bible
and Tradition. In His final com
mission of the Apostles Christ
said: “Going therefore, make dis
ciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost, teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have com
manded you and behold I am
with you all days, even into the
consummation of the world” (St.
Matthew 27:19,20). Nevertheless
from earliest time the Catholic
Church used every means to pre
sent the Bible to the people. In
the "Bible of the Poor” the stor
ies were represented in pictures
in paintings, statues, stained
glass windows and in sermons
the Medieval Church emphasized
the importance of the Scriptures.
Always the Church has insisted
upon accepting it as the word of
God, and Pope Leo XIII (1898)
granted an indulgence of 300
days for Catholics reading the
Bible for a quarter of an hour a
day. In 1884 the Third Plenary
Council of Baltimore stated the
Catholic ideal: "We hope that no
family can be found amongst us
ithout a correct version of the
Holy Scriptures ...”
Q. A lot of people fear that
persecution would come if the
Church had the power. They
point to the Middle Ages and
the Inquisition.
A. The Catholic Chureh has
never accepted persecution or
force of any kind for furthering
her purpose on earth. Individual
Catholics, especially civil rulers
when all western civilization was
Catholic, sometimes used force
or persecution in religious mat
ters. In the Middle Ages heretics
were rebellious subjects of the
Church, and some sanctions
were applied to protect the Faith
and save the erring. With the
union of Church and State heresy
was generally considered destruc
tive of civic order and was pun
ished as a crime against the
state. The Church does not ac
cept this practice. Pope Pius IX,
writing in 1863, said: "There are
those who live in error, and who
are strangers to the true Faith
and Catholic-unity through no
fault of their own. Far be it from
the members of the Catholic
RICHARD PATTEE
Salazar’s Portugal
A consider
able amount of
ink has been
spilled on the
Portugal of Dr.
Oliveira Sala
zar. Every time
I return to
Portugal —this
is the third
time in the
past two years
I am aston­
ished at cer
tain character
istics of the
political and economic structure
of the Republic.
Dr. Salazar has managed to
perform a task that almost no
chief of state in Europe has
achieved. He kept his nation out
of war without bringing down on
his head either the Allies or the
Axis. He displayed remarkable
vision in the case of Spain and
recognized, right from the start
of the civil war, that Portugal’s
future as well as Europe’s de
pended on the victory of General
Franco. During the war years
he played an honest and intelli
gent game throughout the crea
tion of a close alliance with
Britain.
One of the most fascinating
problems of this whole period of
diplomatic intrigue has been the
degree of Portuguese influence
in bridging the gap between
Franco and the West. Portugal
is the obvious, historical link,
since the country is the ally of
both Britain and Spain. Today,
under the NATO dispensation
Portugal’s position cannot be ov
erlooked as of supreme import
ance in the organization of Eu
rope not merely continental
Portugal, but the Azores, Ma
deira and the vast empire in
Africa and Asia which makes
this little land at the extreme
southwest edge of Europe of such
enormous significance.
Successful Colonial Policy
The colonial question is one
about which Americans ought to
know a great deal more. We ere
accustomed to the turmoil and
effervescence of the British.
French and other colonies and
territories. Indo-China, Tynis,
Malaya and the Dutch posses
sions in the Far East have all
been catapulted into front-page
news since the conclusion of the
war. Angola, Mozambique, Port
uguese Guinea am3 other parts
of the Portuguese colonial empire
have never been in the news.
There is not the slightest indi
cation of any unrest or protest in
Church to exhibit any enmity
towards them in any way.” Canon
Law (No. 1351) states: “No one
who is unwilling must be forced
to embrace the Catholic faith.**
Q. Is there any available pray
er to St. Vincent de Paul?
A. The Raccolta gives the fol
lowing: “The faithful who de
voutly offer their prayers in
honor of Saint Vincent de Paul,
with the purpose of so doing for
nine continuous days, may gain:
An indulgence of three years,
once each day a plenary indul
gence on the usual condition at
the end of their novena.”
Q. Some writers say that the
original tin is just the old myth
of Pandora's Box in a new dress.
What answer can I give?
A. There are a number of leg
ends in wydely-scattered places
which deal with an incident sim
ilar to that of Adam and Eve
in the garden. Strangely some
writers have taken these stories
as indications that it never hap
pened. In whatever form various
peoples have preserved the story
of the original fall of man, the
fact that they have a tradition
of original sin (under whatever
name) points to a fact dating
from earliest times. The Bible
account is certain and no scien
tific evidence has challenged the
fact of the Fall. Evidence in
man’s history and behavior bears
out the fact that there is some
thing out of balance in man. The
doctrine of original sin is the
most reasonable as well as au
thoritative explanation to this
evidence.
Q. Is it not true that people
born and reared in evil environ’
ments, often with handicaps by
reason of heredity, have small
chance for heaven?
A. It is certainly harder for
some people to be good, but God
takes that fact into consider
ation. In regard to holiness we
know that many saints came frpm
unfavorable environments (e.g.
Maria Groetti, St. Benedict Jos
eph Labre, St. Camillus, etc.).
We know, of course that it has
been the work of the Church to
improve environments that op
pose holiness and to create Chris
tian families and communities.
In addition to holiness, such as
that recorded in lives of the
saints, there is the question of
of salvation itself. St. Paul re
cords the clear fact that God
"wishes all men to be saved and
to come to the knowledge of
the truth” (I Timothy 2:4). God
will give even the (apparently)
most abandoned person grace
sufficient for his conversion and
salvation, a grace adjusted to
his particular needs.
Send questions to Inquiry Cor
ner, The Catholic Times, Box
636, Columbus (16), Ohio.
any of them agains the mother
country. Portugal insists on con
sidering them as provinces over
seas and as thoroughly Portu
guese as Lisbon or Oporto.
I met students at Coimbra
University the other day from
Goa in India, Macau in China
and from remote Timor in tha
East Indies. Color and race apart,
they were all Portuguese in
speech, culture and outlook. That
these bizarre human element!
have all been welded together
into a common Lusitanianism, is
testimony to the intelligence of
Portuguese colonial policy. But
since the world pays precious
little attention to successful
policies. Portugal’s achievement
passes unnoticed.
Oasis of Common Sense
The one quality that strikes
me most about Portugal is its
complete sanity and common
sense. To be sure the Portuguese
are far less militant, inflexible
and politically dogmatic than the
Spanish. Nevertheless the state
that Salazar has created is de
void of the trappings of what
our left-wingers insist upon call
ing a “totalitarian dictatorship.**
Dr. Salazar himself is so totally
modest and retiring that speech
es from balconies or mass man
ifestations are a rarity. I heard
the other day that he has stated
his willingness at any moment to
return to Coimbra as a profes
sor, and that the retention of au
thority is of no interest at all
to him.
This austere, efficient bachel
or, who for 26 years has guided
this nation, has performed noth
ing short of a miracle. The level
of living has risen—I can see it
plainly in contrast with 20 years
ago. Abundance is here and ev
ery effort is being made to make
the maximum use of the meager
resources of the land. Internal
colonization is a means to bring
land into cultivation and distrib
ute the population more equit
ably. The Portuguese escudo is
as solid as the Swiss franc and
the dollar, and is accepted any
where in Europe. But above all
the atmosphere of Portugal has
changed, thanks to Our Lady of
Fatima and to Salazar, Anti
clericalism of the crude 1910
and 1920 type has gone. For a
time Coimbra was the seat of the
most rabid anti-clericalism to
day nuns and priests flock to its
courses and its spirit has become
impregnated with Catholicism.
Portugal, in a word, is a coun
try that came back from the
brink of chaos.