Consolation, May 9, 1945
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Contents
The Pope the Savior of Pagan Rome
"Crime and Ignorance
Monuments or Men? ’
Innerarity Talks Sense
>. Not Merely a Protestant Reaction
? Do Valera Is Heard
Nazi Occupation
Who Gets the Credit?
The Killer Indians of Perija
The Kingdom in Guadeloupe
“Thy Word Is Truth”
Why Must Armageddon Come?
The Mormon Empire at the Crossroads
Mormon Petitions
The Polygamy Trials
Are You Afraid of Rats?
John and Mary Keep Up to Date
Of Special Interest to Women
Juvenile Delinquency
The Need of Education
The Cure of Tantrums
Conditions in Canada and Britain
Bright Outlook for Cotton Pickers
Just a Smile
Peter of Bruys—Protestant
Presenting “This Gospel of the Kingdom”
Bible Versions and Manuscripts
An Answer to the Question—
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In Brief
Pope Blessed President In Message of Week Ago
It was revealed last night that In a personal message to President Roosevelt, received a week ago, Pope Pius XII had conveyed his blessings and asked that Mr. Roosevelt, be told that “I am praying for him and especially for his health.”
The message was transmitted through Herbert L>. Matthews, Rome correspondent of The New York Times, who received it on March 6 when he had a private audience with the Pontiff, at which Myron C. Taylor, the President’s personal envoy to the Vatican, also was present. The Pope asked Mr. Matthews to deliver the message personally when he got to Washington as he was deeply concerned about the President's well-being. Mr. Matthews was unable to see the President when he arrived in Washington ten days ago but wrote out the message and it was delivered to the President through Jonothan Daniels, his press secretary. A few days ago Mr. Matthews received a not from the President thanking him for delivering the message and saying that he had also had communicated his thanks directly to the Pope.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, FRIDAY,. APRIL 13, ftlS.
CONSOLATION
“And in His name shall the nations hope.”—Matthew 12:21, A.S. V.
Volume XXVI
Brooklyn, N. Y., Wednesday, May 9, 1945
Number 669
The Pope the Savior of Pagan Rome
TODAY we hear it proclaimed, louder than ever, that Rome is a “holy city”, an “eternal city”. Surely there must be some basis for this claim. Perhaps Rome, since World War I, has had such a glorious history as to completely eclipse and cover up her past record of the Dark Ages. Perhaps herein we' shall find the basis for such proclamation. When we look in this direction, however, our hopes are shattered immediately, for at the very outset we see that the seeds of this present World War were sown in the city of Rorpe itself in the early twenties of this present century. It was Rome that nourished and fed the seeds of Fascism until they brought forth the firstfruits of 1929. The Lateran concordat, which restored to the pope his temporal power, was signed February 11 and W’ent into effect June 7 of that year. Later the larger crop of Nazism ripened on this same Axis tree, and fell to the ground in Germany in 1933. What has happened since then is all too vivid in our minds. As a consequence future generations will add to Rome’s long list of atrocities against humanity one more. This entry on the pages of history books will read, “Rome, the Mother of Fascism and Nazism.”
Notwithstanding all of this infamous history of the past, Pope Pius XII early in World War II laid down the law, “Thou shalt not bomb Rome.” As the African campaign came to an end and the Allied armies moved up the Italian peninsula the sound of guns and planes grew louder in the ears of Romans. The cry was intensified to spare Rome. Once again the pope pleaded that Rome be saved. It is interesting to read the reasons he gives why Rome should not suffer as London had. As reported in the New York World-Telegram, Pius said:
Without recalling to mind the immense historical importance of the ancient city, for us Rome is the Holy City of Catholicism risen and shining with dazzling glory in the name of Christ, rich in marvelous monuments of religion and art, guardian of the most precious documents and relics; Rome, in whose catacombs in the time of fiercest persecutions were the first refuges of the Christian people and of martyrs who rendered sacred the amphitheaters and circuses, to whose burial places people descend to pray today as they did in the very cradle of Christianity; Rome, in whose territory are scattered the various organs of the Roman Curia, numerous institutes and pontifical undertakings, international societies and colleges under our dependence ; so many sanctuaries without mentioning our patriarchal basilicas, so many libraries and works of the most famous artistic geniuses; Rome, to whom people in such large numbers come to learn, not only the faith, but also the ancient wisdom and regard as a lighthouse of civilization founded upon Christian virtue.
Here are five reasons advanced as to why Rome should not be bombed. It is well to consider each one of these arguments individually.
First, “Rome is the Holy City of Catholicism.” From her history we know that there is nothing that warrants calling Rome a “holy city”. Rome, however, is the birthplace of Catholicism. And Catholicism, as we know, is paganism with the label of “Christianity” pinned on it by Constantine, the Great (meaning that he was greater in wickedness than all others by the same name). But why should the pontiff be so concerned over the fact that the mecca of Catholi-'teism might be bombed? Did he not bless {he Italian fliers that bombed the 'holy city1 of London with its “sacred” Westminster Abbey once Roman Catholic!
, Second. “Rome is . . . rich in marvelous monuments of religion and art, guardian of the most precious documents and relics.” Rome has monuments and relics of religion all right. From her very birth she worshiped every god her imagination could create. To these she added even more abominable ones when she extended her empire in the days of the Caesars. There are the remains of the temple of Cybele, or Magna Mater, where an oriental cult practiced in Rome devilish orgiastic rites. Also in Rome are the remains of a subterranean basilica, temple of a Neo-Pythagorean sect, used for secret and mystic rites. The remains of the pagan temple of Saturn, Castor, and Pollux are there to help us remember those devil-worshipers. Also the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, originally built in 535 B.C. The reason it is so sacred, we are told, is that Titus and Vespasian both celebrated their triumphs over the fall 6f Jerusalem in this temple. There is also the Arch of Titus, erected especially to immortalize Titus for destroying Jerusalem. If there is any antique that will tend to cast ridicule and reproach on Jehovah’s name you may be sure of finding it in Rome. The Arch of Constantine, which is said to be the “most striking”, is there. The temple of Divus lulius was built by Augustus in 29 B.C. to deify Julius Caesar, because the God-dishonoring doctrine of the “divine right of kings” was believed away back there, and they do not want us to forget it. Among Rome’s carefully preserved religious relics is the thronechair upon which Pope Leo III sat when he crowned Charlemagne emperor of the “Unholy Roman Empire”. This chair is decorated with the labors of Hercules (a demon god), and the signs of the Zodiac (more demon mysticism). We should not overlook the “magnificent Cloaca Maxima”. Why, do you know, it was built away back in the second century before Christ and was used up until thirty years ago. No doubt this is one of the objects very dear to the pope’s heart. But in case you do not know what this fancy-named object is you may consult Webster. He says it was “the .main sewer of Rome”. Surely it shouldn’t be bombed.
Yes, we can recount Rome’s “marvelous” monuments of religion; but put them all together,, and how many human lives are they worth! Not one! There is not one item among all of Rome’s antiques that magnifies Jehovah God, Christ Jesus, or the Kingdom. They are only the relics of demon religion. They are what the official Catholic Encyclopedia calls “the past splendour of the pagan world”. Therefore Rome, in preserving these relics of demon temples, is today an odious symbol of devil-worship.
Thihd. The pope’s third reason agbinst the bombing of Rome is that Rome has catacombs and amphitheaters rendered sacred by early Christian people and martyrs. The catacombs, we are told, are used as air-raid shelters; so they couldn’t suffer from bombing. The most notable of the amphitheaters is-the Coliseum, so named after a near-by colossal statue of that bloody and wicked emperor, Nero; Nero, who had Christians greased and burned at night as torches to light the sports arena. On this point Smith’s original three-volume Bible Dictionary says concerning the gardens of Nero in the Vatican: “Here Christians wrapped in the skins of beasts were torn to pieces by dogs, or, clothed in inflammable robes, were burnt to serve as torches during the midnight games.” This source then locates the gardens of Nero in the Vatican as “not far from the spot where St. Peter’s now
stands”. To say that these amphitheaters are sacred because of the blood of martyrs' shed therein is not true, no more so than saying that the guillotine is sacred and should be worshiped because it cut off the heads of many innocent people. '
Fourth. “Rome is the very cradle of Christianity.” Such ignorance! Cities like Jerusalem, which was destroyed by Rome, and Antioch were the cradle of Christianity. Rome was the cradle of Catholicism and paganism (look at her monuments).
Fifth. The last argument advanced by Pius XII against the bombing of Rome is that this ancient city has many institutions, societies, sanctuaries, basilicas, libraries, colleges, and universities. Is this a plausible reason why men should be sacrificed to preserve these temporal institutions? If these colleges and universities had been used to educate the people of Italy there would be some logic in the pope’s argument. At least those living under the very shadow of these “educational” institutions of Rome should have received some benefit therefrom. But an impartial examination of the facts discloses a far different picture.
Crime and Ignorance
Let us go back a few years to the time of Napoleon. Following the release of Pius VII from prison and his return to Rome, the Encyclopedia Britannica says,
The, Jesuits, who had proved their indispensability to tyrants . . . were restored; many suppressed monasteries were re-established; and the mortmain laws were repealed. Elementary education was narrowed in its limits, and thrown into the hands of the clergy. Professors suspected of liberal views were expelled from the universities, and the press was placed under the most rigid supervision. At that time the education of the people of Rome and Italy was entrusted to “the hands of the clergy”. Surely if these gentlemen were capable and willing to educate the people there could have been no better or more favorable opportunity for them to do it than at that time. Of course, it takes time to educate people who have been steeped in ignorance for so many generations. In fact, it is not easiest to educate adults; one has to start with children, AU of this we concede. We will give them, therefore, two generations to see what progress they make as sole educators of the masses. They were given the job in 1814. The results, as reported by no less an authority than the Encyclopedia Britannica, are as follows: “As late as the census of 1861 it was found that in a population of 21,777,331 there were no less than 16,999,701 persons absolutely destitute of instruction, absolutely unable to read.” After fifty years, yes, after fifteen hundred years, of papal “education” 77 percent of the population of Italy were on the level of five-year-old children. No wonder, then, that the greatest problem for the civil authorities at that time was the education of the people.
Crime and ignorance are often associated together. However, one would think that if the clergy utterly failed in the education of the Italian people to read and write, they would certainly have raised the moral standard of their pupils. The facts are these:
There is hardly a country of Europe which presents from year to year such appalling tables of criminality. Leaving out of view the question of brigandage . . . crimes of violence are exceptionally frequent, and (to take the statistics of 1875) the number of persons undergoing punishment in a given year is in the ratio of 175.51 for every 100,000 inhabitants- In proportion to population there are four times as many persons condemned to death or penal servitude for life as in France, twice as many to hard labour, five times as many to solitary confinement.—Encyclopedia Britannica.
This was the condition in Italy when the late Kingdom of Italy was formed
after centuries of papal rule. If there has heen any; reduction in crime statistics or improvement in education since 1875, then credit must be given to the civil authorities for the same, and not to those “holy” basilicas, libraries, institu-'■>. tions, colleges and universities that the I pope speaks of as so sacred they should not be bombed. Only an inhuman, cruel, and dictatorial mind could conceive and advance the above five reasons why men’s lives should be sacrificed instead of buildings. And there are many men, both ‘ Catholics and Protestants, that are of this opinion, as we shall see.
Incidentally, on this matter of crime, one wonders if the pope forgot what he said back in 1941 when his friend Hitler was mutilating city after city. An AP report of June 30, 1941, from Vatican City said, “Pope Pius XII, for the first time, attributed the war Sunday to the hand of Divine Providence as punishment for the sins of mankind.” If this is true, that wars are the purgings of God, then the pope should welcome a good bombing raid to exterminate these criminal rats of Rome. But no. After two years, when the fortunes of war are reversed, the pope is seized with aestheticism. He remembers Rome’s 446 churches, 217 chapels, 77 oratories, etc.
Monuments or Men?
But why is the pope so suddenly concerned over these fine old treasures and works of art? Did he never read of Hie bombing of London and its treasures of antiquity? Or did he forget about it? J. Edward Murry remembered, and the New York World-Telegram printed it alongside the pope’s story, in the same issue, just to remind him. “Londoners also recalled that St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, sacred to the Church of England, were among the scores of English churches damaged during the German raids on. Britain, in which Italian fliers,' according to Mussolini, were given the ‘privilege’ of participating. Lambeth palace, the residence of the archbishop of Canterbury, also was damaged.” Westbrook Pegler, well-known news commentator, didn’t forget either. He said: “The Italians, be it remembered, took part in the bombing of London, where many fine old treasures were obliterated with obvious intent.” (Cleveland Press) Raymond Clapper even remembered more of the terrible damage done to London and her buildings, as reported in the Kansas City Star:
I remember seeing in London only a few weeks ago that buildings all around St. Paul’s were down (that is the financial section of London). The Germans tried to wipe it out in the big blitz two years ago. Also I saw severe damage to St. Thomas’s hospital on the Thames near Lambeth palace. The latter is the home of the archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church' of England, and it was in the midst of the bombed area. Nearby offices of the London county council were hit, also the Parliament buildings, along with Westminster abbey just across the street. Anybody in London can see the ruins of the exquisite Queen’s Concert hall near the British Broadcasting building. All who walk down Piccadilly can see the ruins of the beautiful Wren church of St. James. The University of London buildings, now occupied by the British ministry of information, have been hit.
And yet the pope, who loves fine old treasures, has never, even to this late date, shed even one tear over this total loss.
Indignant Press Comment
As the battle in Italy dragged on, and reports came in of the number of casualties, it was apparent that military commanders of the Allied armies were determined to respect the pope’s wishes by refraining from the bombing of Rome and other “holy” and “sacred” places. The result was that the free press in America and England was enraged over the matter. Questions like these were asked: “How many lives should we sacrifice to spare aesthetic monuments?” (Minneapolis Sunday Tribune) “Dead men or a monastery ?” “How many American or British or French lives is. a Benedictine monastery worth?” (Milwaukee Journal)
The general public was also infuriated over the fact that human life was counted as nothing when some old religious relic or antique was involved. A prominent citizen, Hendrick William van Loon, wrote the following letter to the New York Herald Tribune, dated July 23, 1943:
I am getting a little bewildered by the dispatches that have appeared in your paper, and perhaps you ean set me straight. This very afternoon the inevitable. Mr, de Valera cabled the pope how sony he felt about the bombing of the Church of St. Lawrence, and a lot of other people (not quite so famous) have been greatly worried about the fate of a Church of St. Lawrence which seems to have suffered some damage, although it was by no means destroyed.
Now there are quite a number of churches dedicated to the memory of that venerable saint, and I do not want to get them mixed up in my mind. Does Mr. de Valera and do his friends who object so strenuously to the bombing of the Church of St. Lawrence refer to the Church of St. Lawrence in Rome or to the Church of St, Lawrence in Rotterdam? Does he and do his friends refer to a church that stood in the midst of the military railroads of the militant capital of a most militant empire, now at war with our country, or are they thinking of a church which stood in a city which had been officially surrendered to the enemy, from which all forces had been withdrawn and which was therefore unable to defend itself against the incendiary bombs of a Nazi air armada which destroyed the helpless town and killed about ten thousand of its inhabitants “to give an example to the rest of Europe”?
Unless I am very much mistaken, at the time of the extermination of that other Church of St. Lawrence Mr. de Valera and his friends did not give any kind of expression of their indignation about this absolutely inexcusable attack upon what was an open city. ■
I realize, of course, that the present indignation of these local and foreign friends of the Fascists and the Nazis is based upon the claim that Rome is a holy city. Is not every city inhabited by peaceful human beings a holy city ?
Someone else wrote the New York Herald Tribune on the same date, and asked this question, “Is a basilica in Rome, Italy, sponsored by San Lorenzo more significant in the histpry of man’s religious strivings than a basilica in Canterbury sponsored by St. Augustine?”
In answer, the pope says what he thinks of his beloved San Lorenzo when it was damaged by a stray bomb during a raid on the rail yards of Rome. In writing to the vicar general of Rome, as reported in the New York World-Telegram, the pope wailed: “And now the very thing we deprecated has happened; the very thing which we feared and foresaw has become sad reality because one of the most noted of Roman basilicas, the San Lorenzo Outside-the-Walls, held sacred by all Catholics for its ancient traditions and for the magnificent tomb of our venerated predecessor, Pius XI, is now almost completely destroyed.”
Innerarity Talks Sense ,
Such silliness over clay, wood, and stone is ridiculous and disgusting when compared with logic and sense. And Mr. Lewis A. R. Innerarity has both the logic and the sense. He wrote to the New York Herald Tribune, in part, as follows :
Did Herr Hitler apologize or seek to justify the bombing of St. Paul’s, or Westminster Abbey or other rare examples of art, culture and antiquity in England? Even the apologists and justifiers confine themselves to expressions of sorrow for the damage done to stone and mortar, and silently accept the killing of hundreds and maiming of thousands of noneombatants as a hazard of war, which calls for no apology or justification. Is the Basilica of San Lorenzo of greater value than the life of one single human being? Why the sentimentality about ivbuilding when human lives are at stake? If the city of Rome is the seat of military operations, no considerations of sentiment, art, culture, religion or antiquities should prevent its obliteration as completely as military necessity may require, and the Jives of American airmen should not be exposed to additional hazard in order io preserve some edifice merely because it has stood for a few hundred years and has historic or sentimental value.
It:is nauseating to read the expressions of eminent prelates to the effect that Rome is a ■sacred city and its soil is holy, and therefore should be immune from attack. Is any soil on earth as holy as human lives? If Christianity can survive the hate, destruction and horror of modern warfare, the wholesale murder and torture of human beings, the premeditated bombing of schools filled with young children, it can certainly survive the destruction of religious edifices used as a screen for military operations. If, however, present-day Christianity is founded on no firmer foundation than superstition and sentiment attached to medieval structures, the frippery of material form and relics of antiquity, it does not deserve to survive.
There is not one church or shrine or bit of architecture or ancient ruin or work of art, or any other material thing, in all of Italy that is worth the life of even one soldier, or the delay of one hour in gaining the immediate military objective. . . . The attack on Rome calls for no apology or justification, and those who condemn it give much comfort to the enemy, and create unfavorable reactions within.
But in exposing Rome to aerial bom-bardihent would not the very foundation of the Catholic church be exposed to damage and probable ruin? Without a doubt, since she is built only on the ruins of pagan temples and traditions. And since Catholicism has such a foundation, to use the words of Mr. Innerar-ity, “it does not deserve to survive.” To which Westbrook Pegler, in the Cleveland Press, adds, “There is no value in any suggestion that Christianity itself can be endangered by any damage thus inadvertently inflicted on any material property of the church. These are all man-made, and, although their loss would be great and irreparable, there is as much religion in a mass in a field or a cave or in a prayer in a human heart as there is in the most stately ceremony.” Mr. Bart L. Stafford 3rd even puts it in plainer words. In writing to the New York Herald Tribune, he said, “If a religion can be irreparably damaged by the ruining of one church building, then it cannot be a very strong religion. Faith is in the hearts and in the souls of every true Christian, and no amount of bombing or persecution can ever harm that faith.”
This heated debate of “Monuments or Men” was not limited to America. Men in England, with clear vision and the noble virtue of expression, were quoted in the famous London Times on this issue. One letter therein published, and reprinted in the Minneapolis Sunday Tribune, read as follows: “Sir: May 4 inquire if any of the gentlemen so deeply concerned over the ancient monuments of Rome have an only son whom they are prepared to sacrifice on the altar of St. Peter’s? If not, may I then ask them to moderate the enthusiasm with which they propose to substitute mine?”
The obvious conclusipn to be drawn from these newspaper 'clippings is that the public in general does not believe that Rome is as holy and eternal as the pope says it is.
Not Merely a Protestant Reaction
It may be argued, by some, that this expression of indignation on the part of the press and public was merely protestant reaction, to take advantage of the situation. However, this is not true. The American Institute of Public Opinion, George Gallup director, conducted a public poll on this question. The report showed that 74 percent approved of bombing Rome’s religious institutions. And please note, the break-down of the report revealed that 63 percent Catholies voted in favor of sacrificing buildings instead of bodies, and only 2S percent Catholics sided , with their hardhearted Roman "papa” in wanting to destroy men instead of monuments. Some of the reasons given by the 74 percent were, “Lives are more important than a few relics. ... No ancient relic or city is worth one American boy's life. ... A church can be rebuilt, but you can’t rebuild a dead man. ... I do not believe in sacrificing good American blood for an antique.”
The Roman Catholic Hierarchy is agafhst the interests and welfare of the people. This is a well-known fact. It has been proved time and time again. Another evidence of this fact was seen in this issue of Rome. The Catholic Hierarchy, en masse, came out in the public press from coast to coast, on this question of sparing the lives of men. It declared that it was 100 percent for the wholesale slaughter of American and British soldiers rather than the destruction of one stone of “sacred” Rome. Bishop Hurley, of Florida, called Rome a “booby trap” set by the Nazis. He should have added that the primer fuse was Vatican. As reported in the New York Times, Hurley said that if the Allies attacked Rome it “would be a lasting blot on what has been hitherto a glorious history” of this nation. He continued, “Even though the Nazis are holding Rome with military force, we would be blamed before the bar of history if we went in and destroyed the sacred shrines of the city. . . . Far from saving American lives, the destruction of Rome may well cost us the loss of countless thousands of additional lives.” He also said that if we attacked Rome, “we shall destroy our own prestige and thereby make a decent peace almost impossible.” Is this not a threat? Is he not warning the Allies that the Catholic Hierarchy, with headquarters in Vatican City, is their real foe? It is very apparent that Hurley means that even if the Allies did chase the Nazis out of Rome with a firebrand they would later have to fight a more sinister and formidable enemy, the Vatican, and their wo rid-wide Jesuit agents, and that in the end it would , “cost us the loss of countless thousands of additional lives”.
This was not the voice of a lone individual. The most eminent prelates of the Hierarchy of America echoed and re-echoed these seditious statements. Among the .chorus were heard the voices of Mgr. Sheen, professor of philosophy at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.; Archbishop Samuel A. Stritch, Chicago; Bishop James H. Ryan, of Omaha; Walter A. Forey, of Syracuse; Archbishop Michael J. Curley, of Baltimore and Washington; Leo Binz, coadjutor, of Winona; J. Francis A. McIntyre, auxiliary bishop of hfew York; Bishop John F. Noll, Fort Wayne, Ind.; H. Em. Cardinal Dennis Dougherty, archbishop of Philadelphia; H. Em. Cardinal William O’Connell, archbishop of Boston; and Archbishop Spellman, of New York. These are the gentlemen, if you please, who are willing to sacrifice thousands of American lives, if need be, on the altar of Rome, that, perchance, the relics of their pagan-Catholie religion might he preserved. These are the rasping voices thab join with the pope in proclaiming that Rome is holy and eternal. _
De Valera Is Heard
There was also heard another squeaky voice from the other side of the Atlantic. It was from the head of that pro-Nazi government of Ireland. De Valera, as reported in the London Catholic Herald, said that he too was in favor of human slaughter at the gates of Rome.
As head of the government of a state, the vast majority of whose citizens belong to the Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church, I consider it my duty to express in their name the deep concern they are feeling, and in which 300,000,000 Catholics throughout the world are sharing, through the danger which now threatens the City of Rome, and because of the lack of any measures by the belligerent Powers to assure its security.
It is evident that should the city be militarily defended by one side and militarily attacked by the other, its destruction would be inevitable.
\ The destruction of this Holy City which for pearly two thousand years has been the seat of the Sovereign Authority of the Catholic Church, and in which the great central temples of Catholic religion, the great seminaries and libraries of Christian faith are situated, would mean a great misfortune for humanity ■and would deprive them for ever of the highest religious memories and cultural inheritance, the root of which is the teaching of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Millions of Catholics would gladly give their lives to save these treasures, ■which are symbols of those eternal things which alone give meaning to human life.
I beg that the voices of millions of people in every country, which implore the belligerent Powers to find a way-through the appropriate intermediaries—by which Rome can be saved, should be heard.
We wonder where De Valera gets his information. Surely not from the Catholic boys in the army. Neither from the thinking Catholies of America. Evidently De Valera never read the Gallup report of how the great majority of Catholics are not in favor of giving “their lives to save these treasures” of Rome. Mr. Lawrence Fernsworth, also a Catholic, took issue with De Valera and the Hierarchy over their threatening to those who would spare human life instead of demon temples. Mr. Fernsworth, as reported in Consolation No. 645, was so enraged over the propaganda published by these pseudo-Ameri-cans, as well as that “neutral” De Valera, that he demanded of them to apologize and retract their statements.
While all this controversy was raging in the press, the responsible officials of both England and America were taking every precaution to preserve Rome. President Roosevelt said that the policy of the Allies was to do as much as possible to protect Rome and the Vatican. And the secretary of state, Cordell Hull, said, “It is my understanding that the Allied military authorities are pursuing & policy of avoiding damage to such shrines and monuments to the extent humanly possible in modern warfare and in the circumstances that face theip.”
These men of affairs know the history of Rome. They know that Rome is a symbol of every crime that is named, and is in no sense "holy”. They know also that Rome is not “eternal”, for it is within their power to unleash on .it a worse destruction than was caused by both the Gallic and Nero fires put together. And if they know all this they also know the power that the Vatican wields. As politicians, therefore, they are determined not to make the same mistake that Frederick II and others made. Instead they have gone on their bellies, so to speak, to avoid the papal wrath. They gave many assurances to the pope and his emissaries that Rome would be spared the terrible affliction of modern warfare. This left the Vatican free to pursue her business as usual, and this in spite of the fact that the German armies occupied Rome.
Nazi Occupation
This occupation of Rome on the part of the Nazis caused some to express fear for the safety of the pope. But such people know nothing of the intimate relationship of totalitarian governments and the Vatican. For the reassurance of the ignorant Catholics, therefore, the Catholic newspaper, The. Register, West Virginia edition, said, “The Vatican radio’s news reports .seemed to be sent without interference or censorship from external sources even after the Nazi seizure of control in Rome.” The New York Daily News carried a similar article under the heading “Vatican Assures World ‘All’s Well’
The Nazis, upon entering Rome, proclaimed that it was for the protection of the Vatican. And they really meant it.
For on November 9, 1943, it is reported that the pope personally gave the orders to re-enforce the Vatican militia. Two thousand recruits were asked for, but 16,000 volunteered. Pius, evidently, wasn’t trusting too much in his own statement that Home was invulnerable and eternal. This recruiting was done with the full approval of the Nazis; for the Gospel Witness of March 2, 1944, says that the Vatican forces were equipped with modern rifles doubtless made in Germany. Some idea as to how thorough the Germans were, in fortifying the Vatican, may be gathered from an article in the June 5, 1944, issue of Time, under the heading “Church Militant”.
The Vatican was ready for the battle of Borne last week. Against possible “foreign aggression” it had:
Bogun the construction of-a hefty steel fence outside the Vatican wall.
Mobilized a “special defense corps” estimated at 2,000 men to guard Vatican property in Borne.
Acquired a fleet of 21 coastal ships to bring food to the “hard-pressed people of Borne and Vatican City”. The ships will operate between Borne and Genoa, hying the Vatican flag.
Other defense measures taken during the past six months: (1) increase of the efficient, well-equipped Swiss Guards from JOO to 600; (2) increase of the Pontifical Military Guard (papal gendarmes, who ordinarily police palace and gardens) from 800 to 3,300 men; (3) quadrupling the Palatine Guard of Honor to 2,000 men. This small army has been equipped with modern weapons. The Vatican walls have been prepared for machine-gun defense “should the occasion arise”.
"Should the occasion arise” when the Allied armies (referred to insultingly as “foreign aggression”) no longer recognized Home as “the eternal city”, then this force with “made in Germany” equipment would be put to use. Probably this was what the London Daily Express had in mind when, to quote Edward P. Morgan in the Pittsburgh Press, it published a “biting four-column cartoon of Hitler, attired in bishop’s robe, brandishing a pistol and standing behind a German gun crew who have mounted a cannon on the ruins of a cathedral and are firing at the Allies. The caption, quoting Hitler’s recent statement, says: 'The party stands for positive Christianity’.” We wonder if, after reading the above article in Time, it wouldn’t be more in keeping with the facts for the cartoon to have shown Pius’ face instead of Hitler’s.
Nazis Withdraw
As the war progressed the Allied armies moved closer and closer to Home. And no promise had been given that Rome was to be considered an “open city”, since she was harboring German troops. Then, suddenly, the Germans gave up the city and moved out to the north. Rome had been saved. Rome was still an “eternal” city! I But why did the Germans pull out? The report was that it was because they had such profound respect for the great cultural monuments. Some may question this, recalling that a lone German plane flew over and bombed the Vatican during the winter of 1943-44. If such failed to read the explanation for this, attention is called to the New York Times, of July 7, 1944, wherein it was shown that although it was a German plane, yet the pilot was a close friend of an arch anti-cleric of Italy. Herbert L. Mathews in this article continues and says, “The Germans, I was told, were furious about the incident but could not themselves say anything publicly for they had to join in the ■ cry that the Allies had bombed Vatican City.”
Again, someone may question the Nazis’ respect for Rome’s religious institutions and monuments, pointing to the fact that the Nazis had no respect for the religious edifices of Rotterdam and London. But this objection is easily answered. First of all, no German army would have dared to withdraw from so
strategic a position as Borne without Hitler’s personal orders to do so. And, it being a well-known fact that Hitler is a baptized Catholic, in good standing in his church, it can at once be seen why he was as concerned about the saving of s Catholic (Pagan) Rome as the pope was. I It is likewise apparent why Hitler and his henchmen have been so relentless and persistent in blotting out the cathedrals of Protestant England. And Pius has lost no sleep or tears over that either. Further proof that the Nazis, who are - arch persecutors of true Christians, really had a genuine desire to preserve Rome for the Catholic cult is seen in this fact, that since the Allied armies moved into Rome many months ago not one German plane has bombed this city of the pope.
Nazism, Fascism, Shinto, and Catholicism hang together in war or peace, in victory or defeat. So in all four camps there was great satisfaction expressed over the fact that Rome’s demon treasures were spared. Fascism, as represented by its head Mussolini, rejoiced also in the saving of Rome, and his reason was the same as the Nazis’. A report from London, by United Press, says, “Mussolini insisted, however, that the Germans could have defended Rome successfully, but refused to do so out of consideration for the cultural and religious monuments of the city and to spare its inhabitants from further suffering.” And likewise Japan, The same news dispatch said that a Japanese government spokesman “said the German decision to spare Rome met with the greatest sympathy in Japan and that ‘the decency of the German attitude is like a fresh breath in a sticky atmosphere’ ”. Thus we see the close and affectionate love the gangsters of Nazism, Fascism, and Shinto have for Catholicism.
Who Gets the Credit?
Now who gets the credit for saving Rome? Is it Roosevelt? Or Hull? Or Churchill? Or the military commanders who issued the orders not to bomb Rome? Or is it Hitler and the German high command who withdrew their armies from Rome with only the minimum rearguard action? The press is not so much concerned with giving credit where credit is due as it is with magnifying, extolling, and flattering an already overinflated Roman pontiff. And so headlines like the one in the Baltimore Sunday Sun appeared: “Sparing of Rome Now Credited to Personal Courage of Pope.” Another in The Register: “Pope Prays 24 Hours in Chapel; Rome Is Freed.” All credit for the saving of Rome from baptism by fire in this World War II will be given to Pope Pius XII. And, perhaps, this is where the “credit” is due. If so, it proves but one thing, i.e., the pope is not the vicar of Christ. For Christ Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Rome, from its founding in 753 B.C. until now, has been one of the chief cities of this wicked old world. The pope, in preserving it, has thus made himself a part of this old world. Therefore the god who answered the pope’s prayers was Satan the Devil, for it is written in the Great History Book, the Bible, that Satan is the god of this present evil world.—2 Corinthians 4:4.
The saving of Rome has been termed the “Miracle of Rome, Sign to the World”, by the Columbus (Ohio) Evening Dispatch. In the future the Hierarchy will be very arrogant in referring to Rome as an everlasting, unchangeable and eternal city. As a sample of what the world may expect in this regard is an editorial in the devoted Catholic paper, the Brooklyn Tablet;
■ How curious, how significant it is that all of the American newspapers now hail Rome as the “Eternal City”. The president rightfully calls it “the great symbol of Christianity”. He rightfully terms Rome “the symbol of Authority”. He accurately acknowledges that Rome was and is the Catholic Church. He calls it the “Eternal City”.
What a fitting recognition and aeknowledg-meat of its eternal supremacy as the light of Christendom! What a conclusive and universal corroboration of the unbroken claims of the Papacy to the entire and undivided City! , . .
Rome, no longer the capital city of a captured disintegrated kingdom, emerges as the City of the Popes, the center of Christianity, the symbol of moral authority moving with calm yet majestic dignity down the course of the ages claiming and receiving expressed and tacit world-wide recognition and acknowledgment of its spiritual dominion over mankind.
From this position now irrevocably and inextricably rooted in the hearts and minds of men, the Papacy shall never again be displaced. Before it the red threats of world Communistic control vanish into wraiths of mist.
Such outpouring should have been titled “The Victory Song of the Harlot”,
Spiritual Harlotry
Since the Lateran treaty of 1929 the Vatican has expanded its territory and increased its power and influence in all parts of the earth. So there is no government that does not know the political power exercised by the see of Rome. Throughout this war, notwithstanding sporadic outcries to the contrary, Vatican City as a temporal state and sovereignty has been doing business as usual* Throughout this war she has had diplomatic relationship with all the governments, and, in turn, these governments have had their ambassadors at the Vatican. During this war her brothel has been a beehive of international intrigue and diplomacy. From the days of Charlemagne and the “Holy Rome Empire” her closest lovers have been the cruel, ruthless totalitarian despots. And continuing, all through this war, she has had constantly in her bedroom the ambassadors of Germany, Italy, and Japan. And take note of this fact, it was only after Pearl Harbor and the loss of the Philippines, only after Japan had proved that she was a brutal and treacherous government, that the Vatican considered Japan qualified to have an ambassador at the Vatican. After Pearl Harbor the Vatican opened diplomatic relations, exchanging ambassadors with Japan, and recognized the Japanese puppet government in the Philippines. Many people were deluded in thinking that the Vatican, located in Fascist Rome, couid do nothing else. Therefore the Allies engaged in what President Roosevelt called a “crusade to liberate Rome, the Vatican and Pope Pius XII”.
After the Allies’ armies occupied Rome and “rescued the pope” it was, therefore, expected that these representatives of the totalitarian gangsters would be asked to leave the Vatican. But what do we find? We find that the Vatican now works a double shift. While still holding the Nazi, Fascist, and Shinto paramours close to her breast with one arm, the Vatican puts out the other arm and fondles the liberal democratic governments—Gen. de Gaulle has a private audience with the pope; Myron C. Taylor, Roosevelt’s special representative, is in constant attendance holding up the pope’s train; and the prime minister of a so-called Protestant country, Church-in, makes a special trip to see Pius. Over this last juicy morsel the Vatican is still licking its chops. A dispatch from United Press reporting on this said (August 23), “Vatican quarters said they believed the conference had served to increase influence of the Church and expressed the deepest satisfaction at its outcome. They emphasized that Mr. Churchill’s visit was not a mere courtesy call.” Thus we see that Rome comes out of World War II, not bomb-scarred and desolate, but as a queen, seated with the victors in the saddle and riding upon a scarlet-colored beast.
Her End
Rome—founded in 753 B.C., twice destroyed by fire, the nest of paganism and cradle of Catholicism, the city of the Caesars and popes, the mother of Fascism—is hailed today as a holy and eternal city. Nothing was ever said that was farther from the truth. Her history in review, and her present activity, both cry out that Rome is an abomination on the earth. She it is “with whom the kings of the earth have committed forniea-tion”. From the fusion of paganism with . lapostate Christianity until now, Rome ,, Jias been consistently and eternally “the ' great whore”, “the mother of harlots.” At the same time she has endeavored to - ' ride atop the imperial powers. She is an ■ adroit rider too, for when one of her - mounts stumbles and falls she quickly changes to another. Even in the middle of this present struggle we have seen Rome change horses. The painted harlot of religion as dominated by the Roman Hierarchy will emerge from this World
War seated upon a terrible beast of many colors, riding at great speed toward the abyss of destruction. And she will be unable this time to get her feet out of the stirrups before she descends into the bottomless pit never to rise again.
The very fact that Rome emerges from this War intact is no evidence of her eternalness, but is the strongest proof that she will shortly be destroyed, even as Sodom and Gomorrah. The great God of the universe, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Destroyer of the wicked world of Noah’s day and of the host of haughty Pharaoh, He whose name alone is Jehovah, will in His own due time, at Armageddon, obliterate Rome completely and eternally.
The Killer Indians of Perija
THE wisdom of living up to the Golden
Rule becomes more manifest every day. Of late the governments of Venezuela and Colombia have had a hard time trying to make good citizens of the killer Indians that live on the borderland of Perija. Probably on account of treasured hates growing out of the cruelties of Cortez and Pizarro, and their conviction, as expressed by Indians in Florida, “White man no good; lie too much,” these people seem to be inaccessible. In one friendly approach a three-year-old child was found. He refused to eat, growled and bit when anybody approached him, and finally succeeded in killing himself by bleeding to death by biting himself.
An article in the United Rubber Worker, telling about working conditions not far from where the Perija Indians live, has this astonishing paragraph:
Under the hiring provisions, the workers are divided into two classes, white and Indian laborers. Indians are paid much Jess than whites. A white laborer receives $2.50 a day; an Indian, only 30c for the same work.
The title of the article in the United Rubber Worker was “Plenty of Rubber in Colombia, but Slave Conditions Halt Flow to U. S.” It went on to say:
The present low salary of the Indian worker, as well as the white, is insufficient to buy adequate drugs and other protection, especially at the high prices charged at local stores run by contractors for the U.S. Rubber Development Corporation. The work lasts five months of the year, from October to March, because in the remaining months torrential tropical rains prevent construction. Thus, the Indian does not receive more than $40 to $50 and must seek other means of earning his livelihood. . . . The Indian worker is also obliged to assume the debts of members of his family who have died in this disease-infested area.
Pear Tree 114 Years Old ♦ Jerseyville, III., boasts of a pear tree known to be at least 114 years old. It has probably had good care. Trees are like animals: they need human attention now and then. The tree blossomed in 1944 and may have borne fruit Anyway, it passed through a severe windstorm.
MAY 9, 1946
Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe
(Antille) R.F.
Votre frtre au service du Roi Jesus Christ,
Rend Sahai
le 11 Fdvrier, 1945 Le Royaume a Guadeloupe
Mes chers Frdres ■
Cette photographie montre le serviteur de la compagnie en train de donner 1c bapteme a six frdres et trois soeurs qui ont accepts la bonne nouvelle.
Illllllllllllllllllllllll
II
[Translation]
Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe (Antille) R.F.
February 11, 1945
The Kingdom in Guadeloupe
Dear Brethren :
This photograph shows the company servant baptizing six brothers and three sisters that accepted the good news.
Your brother in the service of the King Jesus Christ, Rend Sahai
Why Must Armageddon Come ?
TODAY, on an increasing scale, the good news that Jehovah’s kingdom by Christ Jesus has been established, is being proclaimed by His witnesses, in fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy concerning the end of the world: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14) What shall mark the end or conclusion thereof"? Jesus answers that what will mark it is a tribulation upon. the earth such as man has never before known. (Matthew 24:21,22) That final tribulation is called “the battle of Armageddon”.—Revelation 16:14-16.
But why should there come a great trouble on earth more terrible than man has ever before known? Briefly call to mind what has occurred during the past fifty-nine centuries, Satan the enemy was once Lucifer, who was created perfect, beautiful and glorious. God highly honored him by clothing him with power and authority, appointing him as invisible overlord of perfect man and making him a light-bearer, for such the name “Lucifer” means. He betrayed that trust and confidence, became guilty of treason, the most heinous of all crimes, and since then has been leading the way in all wickedness. During all the centuries Satan has reproached God and mocked Him, that he might turn the minds of men away from their only Benefactor and true Friend. He introduced hypocrisy among the people that they might mock-God. (Genesis 4:26, margin) Teaching the people to ignore and repudiate God, Satan caused them to build a tower of Babel and induced them to believe they could save themselves by that organization. There God gave the people a demonstration of their human helplessness.
Call to mind again that when God’s chosen people were domiciled in Egypt, its king Pharaoh as the Devil’s representative oppressed them. And when God sent Moses to tell Pharaoh of God’s command, he defiantly said: ‘Who is Jehovah, that I should obey, him?’ Then God went down to Egypt, figuratively speaking, to make a name for himself. (2 Samuel 7:23) To this end the Lord slew the Egyptians, and miraculously delivered His own people, carrying them safely through the Red sea. “Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known. He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness." —Psalm 106:8,9.
Call to mind further that when the Assyrian monarch, Sennacherib, sent his messengers to Jerusalem to reproach God, blaspheming His holy name, presumptuously assuming to be greater than Jehovah God and defying Him and His people, God sent His angel of destruction and slew the vast majority of the Assyrian army in one night and sent Sennacherib reeling back home.— 2 Kings 19: 35-37.
But the nations of earth have failed to take heed to these things and to learn a bit of instruction therefrom. Their religious teachers not only have failed to teach them the meaning of such Bible examples, but have actually spurned the Bible. Arrogance, haughtiness, contemptuousness, presumptuousness and blasphemy against God have in this present day reached the superlative degree. Hypocrisy has matured and gone to seed. Of all the reproaches that have been brought upon God’s holy name, of all the insolence and vainglory on the part of men and religious systems, of all the presumptuousness of sin committed against Jehovah God by men or organizations, those in times past pale down to a secondary glow when compared with those of the present time.
Modern wickedness is made worse because evildoers perform their wicked deeds in the name of the Lord. One great religious system, steeped in wickedness and crime, is headed by one man; and it is claimed for his office that he is the vicegerent of Christ on earth and that he possesses power equal to that of Jehovah God. The clergy of this system fraudulently represent to the people that their loved ones who have died are now consciously suffering in “purgatory” because of the wrath of God, and these clergy claim to be able to relieve the suffering ones from purgatorial fires by prayers of priests and upon a sufficient consideration. Thus under false pretenses those religious leaders receive money from the people and turn the minds of the credulous people away from the true and living God.
The “Protestant” religious organizations likewise claim to represent God, and yet defame His holy name by teaching that He is tormenting millions of unfortunate souls in a lake of eternal fire and brimstone. The clergy of these religious systems hypocritically call themselves by tlite name of the Lord and pose before the people as God’s representatives, while at the same time they deny the Word of God and repudiate the blood of Jesus Christ given for man’s redemptive price. These religious systems have illicit relationship with the commercial and political powers of.the world; and the Lord God himself gives to such system of “organized religion” the name of “harlot”, or “whore”, meaning it is Satan’s organization.
The shepherds and leaders, speaking for these hypocritical religious systems, presumptuously and insolently say : "I sit a queen, ... I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” (Revelation 18:7; 3:17) And now, when the wicked world which has oppressed the people has come to the “time of the end”, and when God’s Theocratic Government under Christ Jesus is born; yes, now, when Christ Jesus has begun His reign, for which He taught His disciples to pray and which prayer these clergymen have hypocritically repeated while fornicating with politics; and when the evidence clearly proving these facts is brought to their attention, these self-satisfied ecclesiastics not only turn deaf ears thereto, but persecute the humble followers of Jesus who dare call attention to the message of truth. Instead of heeding the words of the Lord and telling the people that His kingdom is their hope, these religionists blatantly, irreverently and presumptuously unite with the profiteers and professional politicians in setting up a League of Nations to keep the people under the control of Satan the enemy, and then blasphemously declare that such a League of Nations is “the political expression of the kingdom of God on earth”. They not only have defamed God’s name, but have pushed Him aside and have set themselves up in His place, and claim that their wisdom is superior to His and is a safe and ample guide for the people to follow in the postwar epoch with its revived League of Nations.
If it was necessary in times past for God to exhibit His power against the Devil’s organization, in order to preserve His name in the minds of the people and to manifest His universal domination and almighty power, the reason for so doing has now increased a thousandfold. The time has come for the arrogance of men before Jehovah God to cease. He will now make a name for himself that those who live in heaven and on earth will never forget. He warns the nations of earth, and particularly the clergy and the “principal of the flock”, now before the battle of Armageddon. Their refusal to heed the warning and their persistence in following in the path of Satan’s organization only serve to accentuate all the more the reason why the battle of Armageddon must come.
The Mormon Empire at the Crossroads
THE Mormon Church has in the last fifty years grown in importance and respectability. Some of its sons have peached positions of considerable conse-duence in the United States. Not so long , ago a Mormon missionary, a calculating z Scot, had more than a little to say about . the spending of the money which the . • ’ government had, would have, or hoped : to have. He was called that "abomination of orthodox bankers, an heretical brother who believes the nation can spend its way into prosperity”. The fact that it did not work does not alter the situation. At any rate, Eccles had the position of Federal Reserve chairman, and some of the reflected glory shone upon the Mormon church.
Another noted son of Mormonism is Reed Smoot, an apostle, sent to the United States Senate by the people of Utah. Still another was Judge H. H. Rolapp, former associate justice of the Utah Supreme Court. There are, of course, many other men of note connected with the Mormon “empire”, of which a few years ago a feature article in the Chicago Sunday Tribune, which entitles itself the “World’s Greatest Newspaper”, could say, “Zeal, Unity, Heber Grant Exalt Mormon Empire.” That the unity at least is not as complete as the article may have indicated is possible.-
Mormonism, which a century ago, and for a half century* thereafter, gained notoriety, first because it introduced a new “Bible”, and then because it sought to introduce polygamy once again into the modern world, has in recent years come into the public eye on other grounds. Five things have figured in this publicity. First among these is the regular Sunday radio program of the Mormon church over one of the great radio systems. Second is the motion picture about Brigham Young which glorified that dictatorial figure of the west some years ago, leaving out of the picture his conscientious efforts to follow out the tenet of “celestial marriage” on a scale worthy of his position in the church. (He had 27 wives and 56 young Youngs.) Next may be mentioned the decision to take Mormons off the dole, which was given wide publicity at the time. Fourth, the new novel and bestseller, “Children of God,” by Vardis Fisher, has brought prominence to the Mormon church, and finally, the polygamy issue’s coming to the fore again and being aired in the courts and papers, though the polygamists themselves are disowned by the church whose revelations uphold polygamy.
Outwardly, at least, the church of Mormon seems to be holding together its 700,000 members. Seceding bodies are small, including the Temple Lot Mormons, the Bickerstonites, the Cutierites, and the Strangites. And then there is the Reorganized Church, which, with its nearly 100,000 members, holds forth mainly in Missouri. It rejects the polygamy revelation and so escapes the major inconsistency of modern Mormonism.
There is much that has contributed to the outward unity of the Mormon empire. Chiefly the fact that it is more than a church plays its part. It has been well said that in Utah the United States has had the only example of a churchstate. While the Mormon empire no longer has the power it once did, much remains of its former affluence. In view of this fact it was all the more remarkable to read, back in 1935, the following paragraph in the press:
Nearly 90,000 Mormons ip the nation as a whole—18 percent of the total Church membership—on relief, county, state or federal; close to 45,000 of them in Utah.
…