m
-•. "
I'-w ViSi*J7 •-
The Legend of Our Lady of Guadalupe(Spain) The origin of the legend of Our Lady of Guadalupe(Spain), which was widely known before the XVI century, is related 4
to Saint Luke the Evangelist. He made many images of Our Lady before her death, and his devotion to one of them (the one we
are treating here) was so great that he requested it be buried with him in his tomb at Acaya (Asia Minor).
I
The statue was discovered when the remains of the apostle were
'
,, <
found in the IV century, and the image and relics were all carefully translated to Byzantium.
The icon of the Blessed Virgin soon became the object of a great
devotion. A prodigy that occurred when an earthquake struck the
been sent by Pope Pelagius II as the Apostolic Nuncio to the
^
Emperor. Around the same time (c. 581), St. Leander, Archbishop
of Seville, also came to the capital of the Empire on behalf of his king, St. Hermengild, to ask for help against the Moors. From then on Gregory and Leander were bound by a deep and lasting
^ 'v
A
ceeded by Mauritius (582) who had a great love of Gregory. When the latter was recalled to Rome by the Pope, the emperor made
him gifts, among which were the head of St. Luke (and presum-
^
ably the image of Guadalupe, for shortly thereafter it appears in In 590, when Gregory was raised to the pontificate, he placed
the statue in his private oratory. On one occasion, when a cruel [^| pestilence was ravaging the Eternal
brought it out for a
alleluia." Since that time, the castle has been called Sant'Angelo. According to an early XV century codex of the Monastery of Guadalupe, Pope Gregory sent the miraculous statue to his friend St. Leander through his brother, St. Isidore, who was then in
Rome. After having calmed a tempest at sea, the Virgin reached
.u
»
ro
-11
u
u
•
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T
j
j L
the port of Seville where she was received by St. Leander and the
whole population of the city. The holy Archbishop placed the
statue in the cathedral, where it was the object of fervent devotion until the Moslem invasion. In order to save it from profanation, the image and other relics were removed from Seville by some pious clerics and hidden near the Guadalupe River in the hills of Villuercas. There it remained until its discovery by the herdsman Gil Cordero, probably during the reign of Alfonso X the Wise, King of Castille,and ,Leon (1252-1284). , , .
According to the codex, some herdsmen were tending their cattle near Aha, in the vicinity of Guadalupe. One of them Gil Cordero, lost a cow in the wilds and had gone in search of it. After three days he found it dead in the brush near a spring and "he wondered that it was not yet bitten by wolves or otherwise ® ■ In order not to lose the hide, Gil drew his knife and prepared to clean the animal. "As he was about to open the belly by cut-
ting in the form of a cross, as was the custom, the cow stood up." The Virgin then appeared to the herdsman, telling him not to fear, for she was the Mother of God. She instructed him to lead the cow back to the herd and then inform the clerics in that area
that they should come and dwell there, for in that place they would find her statue.
Our Lady appearing showing him where appearing to to the the herdsman herdsman GU GU Cordeo Cordeo and and shown Her statue was hidden, Cantoral, XVI Century
i i
cu-
•
a . .c
r
Gil took leave of his companions and , G'' r set out for Caceres, his home. When he arrived, he found his wife in a sea of tears because "ome When he arrived, he After foundconsoling his wife inher, a seaheoft. one of their sons had died. died. After consolmg her he bid bid her to have confidence in the Lady — Santa Maria de Guadalupe — who had '^""f'dence in the Lady-Santa Maria de Guadalupe appeared to him. He besought Her, as one who had promi'ied to besought Her, as one whouphad , be an "ff' eternal servant of her House, to raise "P his son. ''^f" "At that moment, rose "" up tl"' alive and ^ well,a and saiu to " 'i the boy ""f his father, father. "Father, Father, let us go to Santa Maria de Guad Guadalupe." All
,marvelled cleri. told them present marvelled at at the the miracle, miracle, and and going going to to the the clerics Qur Lady's instructions to build a house in | of Our Lady's instructions to build a house in the the place where they ^guld would find find Her Her image image. Everyone Everyone went went with with the the herdsman herdsman to to the the appointed appointed place, "and (hat same place they found digging in that same place they found a a cave cave in in the the manner of a sepulchre and removed the statue of Our Lady Santa St Maria,
and and a a small small bell bell that that was was with with Her, Her, and and the the rock rock upo upon which she was resting." was resting."
They built built aa very very small small house house "of "of dry dry branches branches and and green twigs They and covered it with cork." The herdsman remained the there as a guar
dian, together with his wife and children, children. From then on, because of the many miraculous (cun (cures) obtained "for many sick people," the fame of this Virgin spread spre; through out Spain and has lasted until our days.
Contents Volume 13, Number 1 EDITOR: Philip A. Moran, Sr. CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: J.A. Schelini J.E. Parrot
Finding Common Ground: Development and Peace
PHOTOGRAPHY:
Gary Isbell
And the World Council of Churches
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR:
Hispanic Quiet Revolution
Gerald Campbell
DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE:
A MULTICOLORED SOCIALISM AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNISM • Introduction
• Introduction to the French Edition • Part I — Christian Civilization:
A Permanent Ideal or an Obsolete
Myth that Has Melted Away with Time? • Part II — Unperceived Ideological Transshipment to a Multicolored Socialism • Part III — Marxist Inspiration Observed In the Method of Socio-economic Analysis And Interpretation of History Used by
"Development and Peace"
24
• Part IV — A One World Socialist Republic Marching Towards the Communist Utopia
32 ated Virgin of Guadalupe after whom
• Conclusion
39 and whose fame spread throughout
COVER PICTURE: The most venerColumbus named one of the Antilles
Mexico. The statue, carved out of cedar, has been robed in fine fabrics
since the XIV Century.
Crusadefor a Christian Civilization, P.O. Box 176, Pleasaniville, N.Y. 10570. Published
by The Foundaiion for a Christian Civilization, inc. When changing your address, please send both new and old adresses. Some back issues available.
FINDING COMMON GROUND
Development and Peace and the World CouncU of Churches With songs, fire and beating of drums, Christians of many denominations and heritages met at the World Council of Churches Sixth Assembly at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver during
been grinding out a relentless series of peaceful ruses: "the fall of ideological barriers," "the policy of the extended hand," "Ostpolitik," and "detente."
eighteen days in July and August. The nine hundred delegates(including Catholic priests) gathered to share
munism â&#x20AC;&#x201D; part of what is aptly named revolutionary psychological warfare â&#x20AC;&#x201D; has as its purpose convinc ing the West that the Soviets are mellowing. It is not surprising, then, that the most vocal of the Western representatives at the WCC assembly emphasized the importance of peace and non-violence
a "fellowship of love in a world of violence." To underscore this emphasis on unity, Anglican archbishop Robert Runcie led the first public use of the new common liturgy, the "Feast of Life." This
service was held in a tent with a multiracial congre gation of some 3,000 Christians from all over the
globe. Never before had Christians of so many dif ferent confessions worshipped at the same eucharistâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; witnesses to a doctrinal convergence unseen since the time of the Protestant revolution.
The theme of the assembly was explicity stated. The goal was implicitly understood. From "all across the idiotic barriers that the world
erects between us, we meet together to share the word of life," British Methodist Pauline Webb told an opening workshop audience. "In Christ, there is no East or West," sang the delegates of many races, cultures and religions. "In
Him, no South or North, but one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide world" {Corpus Christi Caller, 7/25/83). Some six month's earlier, theologians from a number of churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, reached an historic agreement on the mean ing of baptism, eucharist and ministry at a conference in Lima,Peru. The pact muted the sharp differences over these issues and found a doctrinal convergence that all churches supposedly could support. Based on this common doctrinal footing, organiza tions like the World Council and Churches(WCC) and Development and Peace(D&P)also find them selves at ease in pursuing the same goal on the po litico-socio-economic level. The startling statements
This continual maneuver of international com
under virtually all circumstances. Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., said that non-violence must apply to all social
struggles. Pointing to the pacifist tactics (sic) of Mohandas Gandhi,she added that this approach can become a powerful force for social change... a force that can be applied to both national and international disputes. Unable to resist the temptation to enter into mat ters other than doctrinal ones, the WCC delegates, in a statement strikingly similar to the one issued by the U.S. Catholic Bishops some months earlier, con demned the possession of nuclear armaments and
went so far as to urge Christians everywhere to resist the "crime against humanity" constituted by the possession of such weapons. The statement was approved by an overwhelming vote.
"We urge that churches press their governments, especially in those countries that have nuclear capa bilities, to elaborate and ratify an international legal instrument which would outlaw as a crime against humanity the possession as well as the use of nuclear arms" {Rocky Mountain News, 8/11/83). A handful of critics denounced the WCC 1
"claiming to be a prophetic voice decrying the op pression of human rights" while at the same time fail ing to speak out against the denial of those same rights in Marxist regimes. Council leaders responded that the body is pushing ahead for fuller religious rights
made at the WCC meeting and the recent action and pronouncements by representatives of D&P lead one to conclude that both organizations are serving one
in communist totalitarian countries. "We have not
master-international communism.
chief administrator.
Almost twenty-five years ago, the summit meeting at Camp David (September 1959) between President
of the communist-controlled Russian Orthodox
Eisenhower and Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Kru-
schev sounded a strikingly similar theme as that voiced by the WCC and D&P: peaceful coexistence. Since that time, the Soviet propaganda machine has 2 CRUSADE
been silent," said Rev. Philip Potter, the Council's However,it is widely known that the representatives Church whose delegates were present at the meeting pressured the leadership not to make any strong statements in this regard. Many Third World representatives sounded the
i tr familiar theme that there can be no peace without
justice, adding that the issues of racism, government oppression, hunger and poverty are paramount in their struggle. Responding to their concerns, the WCC statement took pains to emphasize that the struggle towards unity would not be at the expense of the churches' efforts to help the poor and the oppressed. The Lima text, the joint statement said, is a sign of the church "living and working for a renewed and reconciled
DEI/ELOPPM^Cmr Er ?A\m tsN '" c/
mankind" {Newsday^ 8/9/83).
However, some critics have pointed to reports in Reader's Digest and on CBS Television's "60 Min utes" that WCC funds, particularly those funds gath ered from unsuspecting parishoners, are sometimes channeled into world-wide revolutionary coffers. WCC leaders deny that their efforts to feed and clothe the hungry and have-nots are politically inspired. These protestations, however, are not supported by the WCC's efforts to fund the SWAPO guerrillas who
imj^ tm /iepresenfaiives of Development and Peace taking part in the 1983 May Day Parade in Montreal
manity's travails through the ages in search of spiritual meaning, was carved by inmates of Agassiz prison.
Called the "Israel Pole" by its creators, the symbol traces the evolution of worship â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from nothing to
Sandinist regime in Nicaragua {Time, 8/22/83). In the fellowship of love offered by the Council, "peace" has to be perpetual. The existence of values
the point where people began to worship "a force greater than anything on Earth . . . the Great Spirit of God" {Dallas Morning News, 8/6/83). A brochure distributed at the conference explained that totem poles "were not pagan gods or demons as is commonly supposed." This primitive or tribal society alluded to by the presence of the totem pole is, in the view of present-
that are greater than life itself and for which one must
day structuralists, the synthesis of the height of in
be willing to die is totally contrary to the mentality underlying the assembly's statement. This, one might conclude, is a socialist mentality made up entirely of the horror of risk and pain, of the adoration of securi ty, and a supreme attachment to earthly life. While the WCC has been militantly vocal in its pacifist
dividual liberty. In a collective society, whose longedfor reality cannot be missed in the undercurrents of
want to end South Africa's rule over Namibia and
the African National Congress which is fighting to
end Pretoria's apartheid rule. Nor can these argu ments be sustained in view of the Council's document
that praises "the life affirming achievements" of the
statements and about the need for convergence, lit
tle was heard at the meeting in the area of its sup posed expertise â&#x20AC;&#x201D; morals.
Criticized for bypassing such issues as gay life styles, marriage and the family, alcohol and drug abuse and, above all, abortion, the WCC leadership was evasive. "If there is one thing the WCC will never
do," Mr. Potter insisted, "is to try to dodge the issues. Those isues (abortion, etc.) are part of our agenda. But," he added,"with some issues like abortion there is a clear division of opinion. If we brought it into the assembly, it would serve no purpose." Not content with offering the world this treacherous path of the "felowship of love" lined with sophisms of "peace" and "convergence," the leaders of the Christian West are inviting their flocks to wander even
the WCC statements, an individual will be dissolved
into the collectivist personality of the tribe. This tribal collectivist personality generates one thought, one will and one style of being intensely common to all. In tribes, the cohesion among members is assured mainly by way of a feeling common to all from which flow common habits and a common will. In other words,
it is restricted to first and elementary movements that this atrophied state permits. This idea was presented
by Claude Levy Strauss in his study Savage Thought. It is against this background that the Catholic organization Development and Peace, whose act' are so closely parallel to those of the WCC, musi viewed.
While the study focuses on the activity of D&P over a period ending a few years ago, recent reports on the organization show that it has not abandoned its ideology or methods of action.
On May 13, 1983, for example, D&P took part in the May Day parade in Montreal, Canada in which
further in their search for reconciliation.
many socialist, veiledly and openly communist orga nizations such as the Communist Workers Party, Mouvement Socialiste, Communist Party of Canada erection of a 50-foot totem pole, a gift from the Cana (Marxist-Leninist) and others also participated. dian Indians to the churches of the world, on the Recently, an article in a Quebec City newspaper {Le meeting site. Soleil, 12/7/82) devoted an entire page analyzing the The pole, whose carvings depict the story of hu- role of traditional missionaries in the formation of Symbolic of the direction the WCC feels mankind should take to solve the crises of our days was the
CRUSADE 3
pagan peoples and the exclusive socio-economic role of Development and Peace's "conscientization" of
Isn't the situation analogous to a shepherd who sees his flock being attacked by all sorts of birds of prey
the people. According to Mr. Maurice Lajoie, Re and deadly insects as well as ravenous wolves? If the gional Director for D&P in Quebec, "Development shepherd turns all his attention towards the lesser and Peace ... has a socio-economic mission to ful danger (the birds and insects)and ignores the presence fill. Anything outside of the socio-economic field is of the wolves, can it be said that he has real concern not of interest to the organization." for his flock? What may the reader draw from this posturing for peace and against poverty by the organization Devel And what if some of the wolves disguise themselves opment and Peace?
in shepherd's clothing?
Hispanic Quiet Revolution The growth of the Hispanic population taking place separatists' first acts was to set up a Minister of within the Catholic Church, especially in the South Education to eliminate Catholic influence in the west in the last decade sets the stage for a dramatic classroom. Today, for all purposes, education is change.
laicized. Only a few external religious aspects exist.
Taken as a whole, the Hispanic people living north This laicization extended to the administration of of the border are merely a new minority. However, hospitals and orphanages whose services in the past within the confines of the Catholic Church, the new Hispanic immigrants or Hispanic American families with a long history in this country now total some 15-20 million. With their low median age, high birth rate and immigration rate, Hispanics may soon be come a majority inside the Church in our country. The sheer number potential alone has alerted many to the paramount importance of Hispanics for the
were normally associated with the Catholic Church. In all this, it should be remembered that prior to the separatists' gaining control over French Canadian public opinion, a lay movement(Mouvement Lai'que de Kanche Frangais) was very active at the grassroots level preparing the ground for the measures later enacted by the Levesque administration. The situation developing in the Southwest is not
future of the Church in the United States.
as defined as the one in Canada because of the broad
Paralleling the potential impact this situation can
geographical area involved. Then, too, the mixture have upon the nation is the peril that it also poses if of new immigrants (both legal and illegal) and the this emerging "majority" is placed at the disposition American Hispanics make the problem more complex. of leftist forces. About one-half of the Hispanics in the U.S. were "If Hispanics are going to have the degree of im here before the great immigration from Southern and pact on the U.S. Catholic Church that the Quebecois Central Europe at the turn of the century. have had on Canada," said one North American ob Noting the great potential in influencing the server, "they are going to have to carry out their own Hispanics within the Catholic Church,the Secretariat 'Revolution Tranquille,' a 'Tranquil Revolution.'" for Hispanic Affairs recently mailed a questionnaire For some, this process has been evident since 1970 to the entire body of 390 Bishops in the U.S. address when the first Hispanic Bishop, the Most Reverend ing the situation. Patricio Flores, was appointed to the diocese of San One of the areas of particular interest in the ques Antonio. tionnaire dealt with political responsibility. In re One need only briefly consider the tragic conse sponse, the Bishops called for greater Church sup quences of the 'Revolution Tranquille' that took place port in the area of "political responsibility." In in the province of Quebec, Canada in 1964-1965, to episcopal terminology this means more emphasis on be concerned about the events taking shape in the the ever growing work of Church entities in social Southwestern United States. action and the promotion of "social justice." The In that instance, an overwhelmingly French Cath responding Bishops recognized the need to "prepare olic population was manipulated by the leftists to Hispanic leaders" in order to overcome "oppression." achieve goals diametrically opposed to those of a Clearly, the U.S. Bishops have launched their "quiet Catholic society. revolution" and seem firmly committed to manipu Under the separatist banner of Prime Minister Ren6 lating the Hispanic community to bring about a trans L6vesque, steps were taken to break down the Cath formation of the Church in our country and, if possi olic structure of the Quebecois society. One of the ble, of U.S. society as a whole {America, 7/2/83, p. 9). 4 CRUSADE
COLORS... ODORS... FLAVORS...
THAT DISGUISE THE ACTION OF MOSCOW
-3 BFflCl
RlaSitj
Cover of the English language edition of Development and Peace
Introduction
This is a study of the structure, purposes and methods of the Canadian Catholic Organizationfor Development and Peace^ founded by the Bishops of Canada in 1967. The Young Canadiansfor a Chris
tian Civilization first published a French language edi
contenders who supposedly symbolize diametrically opposed conceptions of life, and covers all his atrocities and failures with a mantle of silence while
continually attacking the other in a passionate and unrestrained manner, there is no doubt that he con
tion of this study in Montreal in 1978. Later, in 1982, siders himself an unconditional friend of the first and an English edition was published. an irreconcilable enemy of the second. This careful analysis of the documents coming from Documents coming from Development and Peace Development and Peace reaches grave conclusions: make no doctrinal or factual criticisms of the com The organization has completely ignored the principles munists' advance in the world. Rather they show that oriented Christian Civilization and are embodied financial help sent with no strings to communist coun in a large number of Papal documents. In regards to tries. They reveal support for revolutionary move socio-economic matters, it finally fell into a reformist ments in Latin America and Asia that are openly or mentality which, in spite of being presented in a vague veiledly pro-communist. Finally, they leave no doubt and hazy way, permits one to clearly perceive that that the organization is a fellow traveller of interna Development and Peace has adopted the Marxist tional Communism. This is so even though the aver vision of the world. age Catholic, uninformed of the great crisis the At the same time that this organization collects Church is going through, has difficulty in accepting donations from Catholic Canadians to send the so- the idea that a Catholic organization sponsored by called Third World, it promotes a subtle but intense such high authorities could play the communist game. campaign to bring about a revolutionary conscienThe ecumenism of Development and Peace permits tization of the Canadian people. By means of publica it to penetrate non-Catholic circles and carry out, with tions, shows,speeches, movements, etc. it tries to sur ultra-liberal organizations from other Churches, joint reptitiously change their mentality to favor Marxist actions such as Ten Daysfor World Development. reformism. So Development and Peace uses the Cana This program, which has been held annually since dian people's wealth while fighting against the institu 1977 and aims to "educate" the Canadian people tions that, on the basis of private property and free about the problems of "international justice," is enterprise, afford them that same wealth. sponsored by religious organizations which make up Development and Peace is then an organization that the Inter-Church Committeefor World Development aims not only to support Marxist reformism (which Education. They include: The Primates' World Relief sometimes uses guerrilla violence and terrorism) in and Development Fund, The Anglican Church of Third World countries but also uses the problem of Canada; Canadian Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran underdevelopment in those countries as a starting Council in Canada; The Committee on Inter-Church point to "educate" the Canadian people to accept Aid, Refugee and World Service, The Presbyterian these reforms in their country. The great efficacy of Church in Canada; the Canadian Catholic Organ i their action is derived from their carrying out a real zation for Development and Peace; Committee on "unperceived Ideological transshipment"(an expres Educationfor Mission and Stewardship, the United sion created by Professor Plinio Correa de Oliveira Church of Canada. to describe this method). In more recent years,"D & P" has been striving While maintaining a complete silence about com to create grassroots level groups modeled on the munism and the organized and powerful international "comunidades de base"(Basic Christian Communi communist movement. Development and Peace ties) of Latin America. It was out of the "comuni makes constant and unqualified attacks against gov dades de base," based on a "liberation theology" view ernments considered to be anti-communist such as of the Church's "prophetic" role in changing the those of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, the Phil structures of society, that grew the Marxist revolu
ippines, etc. These attitudes show better than any tion in Nicaragua. Perhaps the initial enthusiasm of other evidence the nature of the organization's ide "D & P" for the Nicaraguan revolution (where now ology and the behavior of its followers. Now if in a there is no free press, no elections, but a militarized struggle someone systematically protects one of two junta running a militarized society, an atheistic educa6 CRUSADE
tion, etc.) is going to see it putting more and more emphasis on the creation of"comunidades de base" across Canada.The trends point in that direction, but only the future will tell...
of Afghanistan {Global Village Voice, 1980: JanuaryMarch,pg.7); the same campaign against the govern
ments of Bra^,Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Guate mala,the Philippines, etc. {Solidarity, 1980: April, pgs. 3, 4; idem, June, pg. 3; idem November- Dec ember, pgs. 1, 3,4, 5, 6, 7; 1981: March-April, pg. 3; September-October, pg. 2; November-December,
Five years have now elapsed since the publication pg. 1; Global Village Voice, 1980: May June, pgs. 1, of the original study, which has been very well re 8;idem September-October, pgs. 3,6;idem Januaryceived by the Catholic public of Quebec. What has March, pgs. 1,4; 1981: October,pgs. 1,2;SqMember, been the reaction of the leadership of Development pg. 1); the same defense of a worldwide socio-eco and Peace and of the members of the nation^ epis nomic reform based on the premise that underdevdcopate who are its promoters and prestigious guar opment is solely a consequence of the wealth of the antors?
developed countries {Solidarity, 1980: March, pgs.
Even though the conclusions have not been refuted, 1, 2, 7; 1981: September- October, pg. 1; Global nor our documents placed in doubt,it is surprising to Village Voice, 1980: January-March, pg. 2); and the see that neither has Development andPeace changed attempt to instill a guilt complex in the Canadian peo its orientation nor has the Bishops Conference with ple because they are prosperous {Solidarity, 1981: drawn its support. In view of the gravity of the denun January-February, pgs. 6, 7; Global Village Voice, ciations presented, this is the opposite of what one 1980: January-March, pg. 2;idem March, pgs.6,7). would have expected. In the 1980 and 1981 collections of Development
In view of this scandalous situation, it is clear that this study ofDevelopment and Peace is still perfectly
and Peace's publications. Solidarity(in French)and The Global Village Voice(in English), one finds: The
the cause of Christian Civilization in Canada. We
same silence in the face of the brutal and bloody ac tions of the communists even when writing about the
publish it certain of the support of all our fellow coun trymen who are zealous for our Christian traditions
"reconstruction" ofcountries like Vietnam and Cam
and concerned about the dangers that Moscow's
bodia {Solidarity, 1980: March, pg. 4; idem, Febniary, pg. 1; 1981: January-February, pgs. 1, 2 March-April, pg. 8; The Global Village Voice, 1980 January-March, pgs. 1, 2, 3; 1981: October, pg. 7
Share Lent issue, pg. S), or of the Russian invasion
up to date and that it can render a great service to
Revolutionary Psychological Warfare has created for our beloved country.
We pray that Divine Providence, through the in tercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,deign to bless our efforts and protect our country.
CRUSADE 7
While insisting that it is a Catholic orga
INTRODUCTION
nization,"Development and Peace" let its scorn for traditional works of charity and
TO THE FRENCH EDITION — 1978
beneficience show through.^ A strangely, non-religious tone characterized its works and publications.
The concept of "development" pro-
The "Canadian Catholic Organization
renewal of the missionary zeal that had
moted by the organization was vague and
for Development and Peace" was founded
once been one of the glories of Canadian confused: a secularist solidarity and egalCatholicism. Thus, he might view the foun- itarianism of a socialist flavor replaced the At first sight, its objectives seemed pro- ding of "Development and Peace" as in- Christian notions of charity, justice, and
in 1967.
per to arouse the enthusiasm of the Cana- dicative of the restoration of the charity dian faithful." As inhabitants of a wealthy that Had taken so many heroic men and
of spiritual and material progress, The banner of a "pacifist development"
country, we would now be able, through the organization's undertakings, to help
women to faraway countries. By evangelizing those peoples as ambassadors of Jesus
displayed in the name of Catholicism was gradually taking on connotations typical of
our poorer brothers living in underdevel- Christ, our missionaries have civilized them
socialist political movements promoting
oped countries.
spiritually wd materially.
class warfare and confrontation between
appropriate to attract the adhesion and direction of their Shepherds, Canadian sympathy of all Catholics. Indeed, it was laymen would channel their large-scale efestablished by an initiative of the Canadian .W.V.UO
ment and Peace has thus become an evil.
thought that this aid would make possible the implantation, or perhaps even the full two members of the Council of Governors achievement of development as it should in charge of orienting the organization. The be understood, that is to say, the realiza
concem about this matter to the Young Canadians for a Christian Civilization. They were concerned to see "Develop
The benefit expected from "Develop
^ matter of fact, some of the faithful Episcopate, which gives it its prestigious of- tJ\y und7rd7veli'e7wofiid! MlnyTa^ ^^o have foUowed the growth of this or-
Conference also participates in the Com
mittee responsible for approving aid pro-
jects.'
j the "Development and• Peace, as organization is more ^wideiy*kn'own, has
ment and Peace appearing as an interpreter
tion of Christian Civilization.
..
. .. .
.
... . .
This aid seemed all the more beneficial
timely because it could be a help in
defending many countries from commu-
of the social doctrine of the Church, as it
kept making general references to Encycli cals of John XXIII and Paul VI and to
texts of the Council. They were also con
come into contact with most of the faithful rjw.rj
nism, which uses the socio-economic dif- cerned to see that the organization counts '"""\"aiV*y»TQh"ro nations through ah MAA annual MAAAAVAMA campaign ^I'MAAA|^MA^1 (WOJlCLt 01101 C ficultiesA of A poorer * t- as* a pretext t 'to VHV Wi kllW lit ^WAAVA«4A
Lent." This campaign, which has been attempt to impose on them its enslaving grassroots groups in all dioceses -nd anti-Christian domination. of the country.^
- in all Canadian parishes since taking place 1968, reaches its culmination with a great
Nevertheless, it very soon became clear
This is why the Young Canadians were
collection on one of the Sundays in (hat the reality was not in accord with this led to study attentively the spirit and docLent.^. presumption. "Development and Peace" trine that "Development and Peace" realSeeing this, someone could imagine he spoke a different language and manifested ly spreads. To make this study, they have was witnessing a welcome and profound a different spirit. analyzed more than a hundred documents of that organization. Analyzed carefully and as a whole, the
problem is graver than one would have imagined. The reader is now invited to consider the
results of this study.
(1) General Rules of the Canadian Catholic
Organization for Development and PeaL\ December 5, 1974, p. 6; J.P. "D6veloppemen et Paix de 1967 ^ 1975" Pevelopment and Peace from 1967 to 1975), MondesNouveaux, special issue. Seminar '75, pp. 20-21.
(2)Diveloppement et Paix — Qu'est-ce que
c'est? (Development and Peace — What is it?) propaganda leaflet. (3) Jacques Champagne, "10 ans au service du diveloppement des peuples"(10 Years at the
Service of Development of Peoples) Solidaritis,
March 1977, p. 4; Ja^ues Perron, "II faut bfitir la solidariti Internationale" (It Is Necessary to
^ _, , , , The Canadian Episcopate grants its prestigious officialsupport to the acttvities of Development
Build International Solidarity) Mondes Nouveaux, special issue, Seminar '75, p. 15.
and Peace."From left to right: Auxiliary Bishop Andr4 Cimichella, ofMontreal; Bishop Robert
Lebel, of Valleyfield; Co-adjutor Bishop Bernard Hubert, ofSaint-Jean; Fr. Jacques Couture, at
(4) Pastoral Guide "Pour que la terre soit &
that time Minister ofImmigration ofthe Province ofQuebec;Bishop Jean-Marie Fortier, ofSher- tout I'monde,ensemble voyons-y"(So That the brooke, and the Reverend Russel S. Brown, Anglican Bishop, during the celebration of Earth Is for All, Let Us See It Together) "MAGOSHAN '78." 8 CRUSADE
Lent 1978, p. 5.
Part I CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION:
A PERMANENT IDEAL OR AN OBSOLETE MYTH
THAT HAS MELTED AWAY WITH TIME? Before presenting our observations and conclusions regarding "Development and Peace" in detail, it is necessary to treat a
key question whose presence(now clearly, now in a veiled manner)is continually felt
tant validity of these unmutable moral prin
2. The Extreme Opposite of the Chiistian Vision: the Materialistic Idea of Man,Society and History Defended by Marxism One of the fundamental principles of the Marxist doctrine is the determining role of economics in the life of man, society and
ciples, and even tending to erase the very the course of history. notion of these principles from their minds. In its analysis of the formation of the Until recently, these principles were ex Christian West, Marxism denies the deci plained in detail everywhere: in the bishops' sive influence of the religious, metaphysical
through the analysis of the documents of pastoral letters, from the pulpits of the and moral principles preached by the that organization.
This key question could be posed in the following terms:
In spite of the changes undergone by societies throughout the centuries, are there or aren't there immutable moral principles of universal validity according to which man must always build a rightly ordered society? Are there, or aren't there principles from which man cannot licitly stray with out incurring the chastisement that follows
churches,in catechism classes, in the parish halls, in Christian schools and universities.
Today,on the contrary, these principles of the temporal order. For the Marxists, these principles are a mythology created by
are only rarely preached. A heavy, some
times even disdainful silence weighs upon
man in order to justify an economic infra
them, when it is not interrupted by cor
structure.
rosive attacks.
Therefore, there is nothing astonishing
"No, the civilization is no longer to be invented, nor the new city to be built upon the clouds. It was, it is; it is the Christian
Civilization, it is the Catholic city. It is only a matter of establishing and restoring it unceasingly upon its natural and divine foundations against the ever-reoccurring at
tacks ofthe unsound Utopia, ofrevolt and
ofimpiety: omnia instaurare in Christo".^ 1. The Silence of the Leaders and
According to them. History is nothing but the result of a dialectical struggle be
about the rapid decline in the number of tween the social classes. The economic in Catholics who know, love and defend the
principles of Christian Civilization. Today, for instance, how many people the violation of the natural order itself? For a Catholic faithful to the traditional can see the importance of: — the primacy and immutable Magisterium of the Popes, of Natural Law over positive laws; — the the answer to these questions is incontest role of tradition in the life and progress of able: such principles exist, they cannot a people; — the sacred origin of the Chris change in their essence, they are an im tian family based on the indissoluble ties mutable part of the social doctrine of the of marriage; — the moral foundations of the natural right of private property; — the Church. Christian Civilization is their pro legitimate, necessary and beneficial char jection in the temporal order. In this regard, it is proper to recall the acter of the diversity of social classes when words of Pope Saint Pius X denouncing the differences between them are just and and condemning "Le Sillon," a movement proportionate; — the existence of a wellthat was the historical predecessor of the ordered society where the individual, the leftist progressivism of our days. In his family and the intermediate bodies have a celebrated letter "Notre Charge Apostoli- life of their own and are not absorbed by que," that great Saint of our century the State? teaches us:
Church that have inspired the formation of the economic, political and social structures
Influenced by the silence of the natural leaders that should orient them, Christians
gradually suffer in their spirit a a phenomenon of evaporation of these doc trinal principles that constitute the
patrimony of essentially immutable values of Christian Civilization.
The weaker ones begin asking themselves whether such principles are really immu table, whether the fruit of their actual ap plication has really been good, whether
they do solve the problems of humanity on
level. the ^'Evaporation" of Principles a profound Favored by growing doubts, materialism
terests of these classes are irreconcilable. The ones who have more dominate and im
poverish those who have less. The ones who have less seek to destroy and overcome those who have more.
At the end of this fight, the "workers" of the whole world would take economic
power away from the bourgeoisie through the implantation of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The socialist States would be founded. Finally, there would come the establishment of a Utopian universal society without classes, without family, without
properties, without law, without country, namely, the godless communist "paradise" where even the State would disappear.
Formally denying the existence of God and the spiritual soul is not the only way of being atheistic or materialistic. Com munism also wants to uproot from the social order everything that reflects God the Creator, His Eternal, Divine and Natural Laws.
While maintaining every point of this monstrous and anti-natural doctrine, the
communists avoid showing it openly and
in all its radicality to the great public of the West. They prefer to veil it in order to make it more acceptable to the peopi ise ideological defenses against it are i. ^as-
works its way into their minds through
ingly diminishing. This camoflauged penetration of Marx ist doctrine is greatly favored by the habit
in general, religious and political leaders of
these questions: do not the rules for build
ual silence of countless religious and lay
the West maintain an impressive and rare
ing a society vary according to the times,
ly interrupted silence about the perennial principles of Christian Civilization. This
having as their only goal the provision of
Even within Catholic or Christian circles
also occurs in Canada.
In a world where all values are cast into
doubt, this systematic silence tends to hang with a dangerous weight over Christian public opinion, leaving it without any
orientation amid the present confusion. Thus, absorbed by a thousand little problems of modern life, many people suf fer a slow corrosion of their beliefs, weak
ening the certainity they have of the cons
the immediate needs of man,such as nour
personalities. They seem to have relegated the principles of Christian Civilization to a secondary plane, if not to oblivion.
ishment, dress and shelter? Since economics provides for these needs, isn't it the real driving force of history? In
Unfortunately, this is not the only way communism is helped. In certain circles, it takes advantage of a more open collabo
comparison to it, aren't other things of
ration.
lesser importance? Then, why worry so much about them?
Whoever yields to the allurement of such relativism knocks down one of the principal
ideological barriers separating and protec ting him from communism.
(1) Saint Pius X, "Notre Charge Apostolique," Bonne Presse, Paris, t. 5. 127. CRUSADE 9
3. The Marxist InfiltrationIn Catholic Circles Progressivist currents manifested themselves more openly in the Church during the Second Vatican Council. From that moment on, the Marxist doctrine and mentality spread in increasingly alarming proportions.
■ ^ tNV {K
rr-
i \■
It is tragic to see the multiplication of the cases of direct collaboration of members
of the clergy with the communist cause. There is no one who is ignorant of the recent appearance of the so-called "theol ogy of liberation." In Europe and Latin America, it brings together more or less lef tist priests and religious with those of an openly Marxist orientation. They present themselves as "prophets" of a supposedly
1
//
"liberating" revolution. The most widely
known are: from Italy, Fr. Giulio Girardi, S.D.B., counselor of the "Secretariat for
Non-Believers" (of the Vatican) and cur rently a professor in the Catholic Institute of Paris; from Belgium, Fr. Joseph Comblin; from Spain, Fr. Jos6 Maria DiezAlegria, S.J., and Fr. Jose Maria GonzdlesRuiz, the "Red Canon" of the Cathedral of Mdlaga; from Brazil, Fr. Hugo Assmann; from Uruguay, Fr. Juan Luis Segundo, S.J. (Pedro Fabro Center); from Chile, Fr. Segundo Galilea and finally, Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez from Peru.
In certain cases, this strange "theology" seems to be the "doctrinal" basis of a new,
materialistic "religion." The international
Cardinal Raul Silva Henriquez of Santiago, Chile, with Marxist Presi
dent Salvador Allende during an of ficial ceremony. The creation of the movement "Christianfor Socialism"
in Chile wajfavored by the climate produced by a great part of the Chilean Episcopate and clergy col laborating with the process of com munization of that South American Country. In November 1971, Cardinal
Silva Henriquez heartily received Fidel Castro. At that time, the Communist tyrant ivo5 paying a lengthy visit to comrade Allende.
ojclesiastical movement called "Christians for Socialism" is a recent fruit of this new
"theology." It was started in Allende's Chile, representing the vanguard of"Marx ist Catholics." The creation of this move
ment was favored by the climate of col
laboration of a large part of the Chilean Episcopate and clergy with the political process of communization of that South American Country.^ No less shocking is the support given by numerous Bishops and priests of Uruguay to the communist designs of the "Tupamaros guerrilla movement, whose bloody terrorism devastated that nation from 1965
to 1972.3
ing Marxist socio-economic principles work entirely in the open without the least re proach from the National Conference of
encouraged and supported them.'* We, the Young Canadiansfor a Chris
tian Civilization, have already denoun ' a similar Marxist infiltration here in Ci
In Brazil, members of the clergy defend-
Bishops of that country. On the contrary, that episcopal conference has frequently
(2)Chilean Society for the Defense of Tradi-
muno-missiondrio para o Brasil do sdculo XXI
That group transformed the Most Holy Sacrifice
ada.3
tion, Family and Property, The Church of (Indian Tribalism, Communo-missionary Ideal
of the Mass into a strange ceremony filled with
Silence in Chile, Lumen Mariae Publications, Cleveland. U.S.A. 1976.
for Brazil in the XXI Century) Editora Vera Cruz, Sao Paulo, 1978.
pro-communist texts. The pretext used for the realization of that sacrilegious act was the mani
(5) We took a public stand concerning the following events:
of Marxist Chilean Salvador Allende on the oc
(3) Uruguayan Society for the Defense of
Tradition, Family and Property, Izquierdismo en la Iglesia: "Compahero de ruta"del Comunismo(The Left in the Church: Fellow Traveler of Communiam), Montevideo. 1977.
(4) Plinio CorrSa de Oliveira, A Igreja ante a escalada da ameaga comunista — Apelo aos Bispos silenciosos(The Church Facing the Ris ing Communist Threat — Appeal to the Silent Bishops), Editora Vera Cruz, SIo Paulo, Sth Edition, 1977; Tribatismo indfgena, ideal co10 CRUSADE
festation of tlieir solidarity with the fallen regime •The holding of meetings having an evident communist orientation in the parish halls of certain churches of Montreal(La Presse, April 1, '76)
•The celebration of a sacrilegious Mass by a group of Catholic priests and a Protestant pastor. That Mass took place on September 12, 1976, in Saint-Pierre-Apotre parish in Montreal. Among the people present were several nuns
casion of the 3rd anniversary of its fall. (cf. Le Soleil, Feb. 5, 1977).
That doubly abominable sacrifice profaned the most sacred act of Catholic worship and favored an anti-Christian doctrine. Although that abom
inable sacrilege had been perpetrated before the eyes and ears of all, its authors remained without any known canonic sanction. They did not merit even the public blame which would be normal
from the competent ecclesiastical authority.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that this is a problem of world-wide proportions.
morality. A symptom indicative of this neopaganism in many countries of Christian
4. Other Factors that Weaken Anti-Communist Resistance
legalization of abortion. Thus, the way is
traditions is the people's indifference to the
This panorama would not be complete without considering two other factors in
cleared for even greater abominations.
b) The So-Called Policy of "Ditente" On another plane, the public is troubled
fluencing the average man of our country by the so-called policy of "ddtente** with and of the West. These factors put people communist governments. This policy is to sleep in the face of the revolutionary pursued by leaders of the Western powers psychological war waged by Communism and especially by the Vatican.® and lead them to forget the religious and moral convictions that oblige them to resist 5. An Urgent and the Marxist advance. These two factors are:
Indispensable Reminder It is within the context describeil above
a) Neo-Paganism
that one has to consider the huge propagan Neo-Paganism increasingly characterizes da that "Development and Peace" has the ambiences, customs, laws and institu been intensifying lately. Without considering the factors we have tions of Western society. It spreads a kind of practical atheism and brings about the mentioned, one will not understand ade progressive decadence of the family and of quately the power of penetration of this
propaganda and the effects of the work of transforming mentalities pursued by "D & P"(Development and Peace). We have spoken of immutable principles of Christian Civilization. Before entering into the analysis of "D & P'"s doctrines
and techniques of action, it seems oppor tune to point out some principles of Chris tian Civilization especially neglected or attacked in our days.
We have hopefully gazed at our vast na
tional territory, look^g for religious or dvil personalities with greater authority than ourselves in these matters, who were ready to remind people of the truths that are undermined by organizations such as "D & P" and to denounce their destruc tive action. But we have not found them.
Therefore, because of the omission of our natural leaders, we, the Young Cana dians for a Christian Civilization, are obliged in conscience to take up the respon sibility of speaking out and thus to break the general silence. a) The Fonnatlon of Christian dvBiatioa
(6) In this regard, the Societies for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) of South America, the United States and Europe
published in 1974 in their respective countries a
fallibility does not apply. Basing (heir stand on
the Ordinary Doctrine of the Church, enunciated by eminent theologians and Canonists of all times, the TFPs declared themselves to be in a
state of firm and respectful resistance to the socalled "Ostpolitik" of the Vatican.
Or to Resist?" In that declaration the TFP members demonstrated that their unrestricted adhesion to (he Throne of Peter and to (he
document:
"A nd kneeling, gazing with veneration at the
dogma of Papal infallibility did not oblige them
figure of His Holiness Paul VI. we express to
— according to the doctrine and laws of the Church — to accept a politico-diplomatic orien
(heir fight against communism, since foreign
him ourfidelity. In thisfilial act, we say to the Pastor ofPastors: Order us whatever you wish, only do not order us to stay idle in face of the assailing red wolf. To this, our conscience is
policy is a domain where (he charism of in
opposed."
tation of the Vatican that leads Catholics to cease
laws.
Applied to man and society, these laws are part of the Natural Law, which is far One phrase of the declaration regarding Pope more important than the laws of the State Paul VI expresses very well the spirit of the or any other human legislation.
declaration entitled "The Vatican Policy of 'Detente' Toward the Communist Governments:
The Question for the TFP: To Take No Stand?
God our Creator has ordered the uni
verse according to immutable and eternal
The Ten Commandments of the Law of God summarize in an admirable manner the foundations of the natural order. Our Lord Jesus Christ has instituted His
Church as a perfect spiritual society to lead men to eternal salvation during their so
journ on this earth. The Church spreads
%
Sacrilegious Mass in Saint-Pierre-Apotre parish in Montreal. In 1977, the Young Canadiansfor a Christian Civilization protested publicly against the celebration of a Mass having a clearly Marxist orientation, celebrated in memory of Chilean ex-president Salvador Allende. CRUSADE 11
supernatural life principally through the Only vestiges of the political, social and sacraments. She teaches the precepts of the economic structures inspired by the life-
of things where private property does not
Decalogue, reafflrmed and completed by giving Sap of Catholic Truth remain today.
exist.'°
the Gospel that Our Lord and Savior has preached.
But the vigour of these remnants is such that even the aspects of progress and well-
Tradition and the Holy Scriptures are the being still present in many peoples, are off springs of these remnants in spite of the of this Revelation, the Official Magisterium contemporary disorder. of the Church defines the body of theolog When a Christian has to face the very
Thus, Catholics cannot accept an order
This conclusion becomes even clearer if we consider that it is innate to the Church to be the Guardian of the natural order
sources of Divine Revelation. On the basis
manifested in the Ten Commandments of the Law of God. Two of them consecrate
ical, philosophical and moral doctrines and complex socio-economic problems of our their necessary projection over the organi times,such as the existence of injustices and zation of human society. This ensemble of deplorable abuses requiring urgent solu
"Thou Shalt not steal" and "Thou shalt
doctrines constitutes the Catholic Doctrine. tions, It is not licit for him to forget that
Thus, it is that the Church has inspired these solutions must be reached through the
the principle of private property forever: not covet thy neighbor's goods"(7th and 10th Commandments).
To affirm that private property is one of the pillars of Natural Law is to suppose the
the formation of Christian Civilization and
prism of Christian Civilization.
acceptance of its being subjected to its
culture.
In this context it is important to recall some immutable principles of a moral character that are part of Christian thought on this matter and that are particularly neglected, despised and even attacked by today's "progressivist" theological cur
social function to the full extent of the lat
HistoricaUy, the Church has saved and
baptized the salvageable remnants of the andent Greco-Roman culture. At the same
time, She infused Her Christian virtue in
to the hordes of invading barbarians that dealt the mortal blow to the Empire of the rents. These theologians are partisans of a Caesars. society inspired by socialist postulates that Christendom was bom of the conversion they never define clearly. of Europe,and with it arose the culture and •The natural right of private property is the dvilization par excellence, which do not constitute a relative order of values like any among the Christian principles most attack other, applicable only to a specific histor ed. It is an irreplaceable foundation of authentic material and spiritual progress ical era. In Christendom,the Catholic principles and of true human freedom. It is not only have taken a concrete form. Although they an economic reality: first of all it is a prin undergo accidental variations according to ciple of the moral order, fundamental to the times, these principles possess an im the correct organization of society. In brief, according to Catholic Doctrine, mutable essence. If they are abandoned, one will never be able to build a rightly the right of private property is a corollary of the right given to man by the Creator, ordered society.^ This is how His Holiness Leo XIII, the of disposing of the fruit of his work for great Pontiff of the social question,speaks himself first. This right is the foundation of that society inspired by the Church: of the action through which man appro "There was a time when nations were priates material goods, processes them and governed by the philosophy ofthe Gospels. uses them to produce for his benefit. That At that time the influence of Christian is why His Holiness Pope Leo XIII affirms wisdom and its divine virtue affected laws, in his Encyclical "Rerum Novarum,"that institutions, the customs ofthe people and capital is nothing more than "salary all ranks and relationships ofcivilsociety. transformed." So much is the right of Then, the religionfounded by Jesus Christ, private property a special characteristic of
firmly and befittingly established, flour human dignity, that it is the main distinc ished everywhere thanks to the favor of tion between men and animals as far as princes and the legitimate protection ofthe material goods are concerned. officers ofthe law. Then, Priesthood and
empire worked in smooth harmony and
In this regard. His Holiness Leo XIII wrote:
there was afriendly exchange ofservices. "And on this very account — that man Thus organized, the civil society brought alone among the animal creation is endowed forth fruit beyond all expectations, the memory of which is recorded in countless
with reason — it must be within his right to possess things not merelyfor temporary
documents that no ingenuity ofthefoe will
or momentary use, as other living things
ever be able to corrupt or tarnish.
do, but to have and to hold them in stable
b) The Principles Remain Valid in Spite of the de-Chiistianization of the West
right of private property is an organ with a social function, it would be monstrous
and contradictory for the organ to be des troyed by the exercise of its own function, under the pretext of correcting injustices. •Along with the right of appropriation,
human nature also generates the right of constituting a family. The family is the first, fundamental and natural cell of socie ty, and is prior to the State itself. It is not difficult to show the correlation
between private property and the family. Indeed, the task of providing for the main tenance of his home and the right upbring ing of his children, is a natural obligation of the head of a family. Thus the family acquires a natural right over the work of their head, by which work all the members of that family benefit. This right is more important than those of society. The ob ject of this right is not only what the man earns, but also what he accumulates. Here
you have the family's patrimony, which can be left to tbe children through the right of inheritance.
Property and the family are therefore related institutions; even more than that, they have the same nature. •Like the right of property, the family is consecrated forever by the Commandments of the Law of God:"Thou shalt not com
mit adultery" and "Thou shalt not covet
thy neighbor's wife" (6th and 9th). Thi the family is founded on monogamic union and the indissolubility of the marriage
and permanent possession; he must have (7)Pllnio Corrfia de OUveira, "Revolution et not only things that perish in the use of Contre-Revolution," Ed. Catolicismo, Brazil,
them, but those also which, though they have been reduced into use, remain his own forfurther use.
From Christian Europe arose the dy namic colonizing effort in the New World. Thus one understands that the suppres Civilization was brought to the New World, sion of private property leads to an order although the germs of the process of de of things fundamentally opposed to human terioration already affected Christendom dignity. As a consequence,this suppression
at the time of the great discoveries. With would he incompatihle with the sanctify Civilization came the true Faith, particular ing mission of the Church, which is to pro ly through the words and examples of mote everything that elevates the soul and heroic missionaries. makes it more dignified. 12 CRUSADE
ter. Nevertheless, that extent cannot be
such that it destroys the right. For if the
1960, 1st Part, Chap. VII.
(8)Leo XIII, "Immortale Dei," Bonne Presse, Paris, t. II p. 39.
(9) Leo XIII, "Rerum Novarum," in The Papal Encyclicals in their Historical Context,
New American Library, New York, 1963, p. 169. (10)Plinio Corrfia de Oliveira, "The Church and the Communist State: the Impossible Coex istence" in Crusadefor a Christian Civilization no. 4-5, 1976.
bond:These are the conditions upon which
vidual interest, nor among the interests of
eluding the means of production; private
Our Lord Jesus Christ has definitively
social groups organized in a harmonious
initiative, and the regime of salary. Con cerning the latter, it is just to the degree that
established the family and sanctified it, and hierarchical manner. The progress of
elevating it to the supernatural order by in each individual, of each family and of each group is what makes the social body stituting the sacrament of matrimony. A real Catholic society is fundamentally advance." Today we witness the fact that, even in a harmonious ensemble of families consti non-communist countries, the, modern tuting different social classes. trend of a gigantic growth of State power •True tradition is normally a fruit of the is increasingly diminishing the power of in
longevity of families of all social classes. dividuals, families and intermediate social This longevity is guaranteed by the con
tinuity of the patrimony(however small it may be) which is founded on the natural right of private property. It is through family tradition that peoples preserve their own identity throughout the centuries. A country without traditional family con
it gives the worker and his family sufficient means to lead a worthy and decent life, facilitating a just improvement of his socio economic situation according to the actual
possibilities of his company or employer. While so teaching, the Church also has
justly condemned and energetically com bated the distortions and abuses to which
groups. In order to fight this trend. Cath
capitalism gave rise. In these condenma-
olic doctrine teaches a fundamental prin
tions, the Magisterium of the Church has
ciple: the principle of subsidiarity. Rejec always distinguished between the abuses tion of this principle would lead the peoples and the legitimate essence of the system." gradually to become amorphous masses, Among the excesses of capitalism is deprived of authentic development because found what could be called the "gigantrue Christian freedom would be lacking. ticism" of a certain supercapitalism.
tinuity is an ephemeral transient group of
According to this principle, it is not licit
individuals unworthy of being called a
The existence of a mixture of large, even
for the State to take over functions that the
country. On the contrary, authentic pro gress must be achieved in continuous har
intermediate social groups and the indi viduals can perform by themselves. In his Encyclical Mater et Magistra, Pope John XXIII thus enunciates this prin ciple: "This intervention of public authorities that encourages, stimulates, regulates, supplements and complements, is based on the principle of subsidiarity as setforth by Pius XIin his Encyclical Quadragesimo Anno: Tt is afundamentalprin ciple ofsocial philosophy,fixed and un changeable, that one should not withdraw from individuals and commit to the com munity what they can accomplish by their own enterprise and industry. So, too,it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and a disturbance of right order, to tranter to the higher and larger collectivi
very large properties along side medium-
mony with the best traditions. In order to make possible this whole
some, harmonious development filled with organic social life, families must have con ditions of unity and stability, as well as in dependence from the State. In its turn, the latter must respect and protect these con ditions with a special zeal, otherwise it will
destroy the sources of its own life. • We have spoken of social classes. Following the traditional teachings of the Popes, we can categorically declare that a society in conformity with the natural order of things must be constituted of distinct and hierarchicaiiy ordered social classes. However,in order for this hierarchy to be just, it is required:
sized and small properties is in accordance with the natural order of things. Therefore, the current trend to merge many small en terprises in order to set up supercorporations that have powers comparable to those of the State and that escape all legitimate
control, is condemnable. In such cases the personal relationships between the owners and those supercom-
panies practically disappears. Thus is form ed a kind of socialism run by private indi viduals.
The problems created by this deperson alizing giganticism are really delicate and disconcerting. Nevertheless, the true solu tion will only be found in the blessed ways of Christian Civilization.
Confiscating these gigantic enterprises tyfunctions which can be performed and and handing them over the State is not a provided for by lesser and subordinate
legitimate solution. For then, the State would become an even larger and allpowerful entrepreneur. Wishing to apply as to deprive the other classes of the abun dance, security and dignity inherent to the this illegitimate solution is a socialist error condition of a man and a Christian; contrary to Catholic principles. •It is by virtue of these very principles Second, the higher classes must not be A greater evil will resolve nothing. Quite come castes; they must be open to assimi that the doctrine of the Church considers the contrary, it will aggravate the injustices late the authentic values coming from the the capitalist regime to be legitimate in and bring about fatal moral and economic itself. For the principles on which it is based consequences. lesser groups. This proportionate diversity of social are legitimate ones: private property, inIt is not legitimate to modify the nature classes has as its corollary the diversity of of enterprises by law, denying the justice patrimonies — large, medium-sized and of the regime of salary in itself and ^ hsmall — which is manifested in the domains lishing obligatory participation o le (11)Pius XI, "Divinis Redeny)toris," A.A.S,, workers in the management and profits of of agriculture, trade, industry and so on. First, that it not produce such a concen
tration of wealth in the hands of one class
Although the State was entrusted with the task of looking after the common good and correcting abuses, equity will never be achieved by the implantation of a socio economic egalitarianism. For this egalitar-
bodies. Inasmuch as every social activity should, by its very nature, prove a help to members ofthe social body, it should never destroy or absorb them'.
vol. XXIX, p. 81; Leo XIII, "Quod Apostoiici Muneris," A.A.S., vol. XI, p. 372; Pius XII, "Christmas Message of 1944," Discorsi et Radiomessaggi, vol. VI, pp. 239-240; John XXIII, "AdPetriCathedram,"A.A.S. vol. X, pp. 505-506.
ianism is monstrous and anti-natural; it
brings general paralysis and an even greater injustice. Equity is rather found in regu lating and harmonizing the just and legi timate inequalities that are the base and the stimulus of real progress.
(12)John XXIII, "Mater et Magistra"m The Papal Encyclicals in their Historical Context, New American Library, New York, 1963, p. 342. A.A.S. vol. XXIII (193d) p. 203. (13)Pius XI, "QuadragesimoAnno," A.A.S. vol. XVIII, pp. 209-214.
the company. In certain cases, the Popes have recom mended an agreement between employers and employees in order to give the latter a greater participation in the life of the company. Nevertheless, the Popes have categorically opposed the trend of making this system obligatory. For example, we recall here the words of Pius XII about this
matter: "It is the profound reason that the Popes ofthe socialEncyclicals and we our
Therefore, a well understood Christian selves have refused to deduce — whether development does not encounter an ob directly or indirectly —from the nature of (14)Pius XII "Radiomessage to the Katholikstacle in a just inequality, but rather the entag of Viena," Sept. 14, 1952, in Documents the contract of work the right ofco-owneropposite. Iliere is no dialectical contradic Pontificaux de Sa Sainteti Pie XII, Ed. Saint- ship of capital by the worker and conse tion between collective interest and indi
Augustin, Saint-Maurice, 1952, p. 469.
quently of his right of co-management.*^ CRUSADE 13
false solutions for the abuses and injustices
And then, at the community level a trans they see in it and perpetuate themselves at formation of society, including our own the cost ofignoring,^storting, dodging or society, in its structure, its politics and its
Before analyzing the positions taken by "D & P"that are the immediate object of
this study, it was necessary to recall these fundamental principles of the social doc trine of the Church.
denying the constant validity of the prin ciples of Christian Civilization. These are the ideological "colors, odors and flavors" used by Moscow to disguise its revolutionary action.
In this manner, the reader will easily understand how a society by straying from these fundamental norms, approaches the Marxist socio-economic regime. While analyzing contemporary social
reality, "leftist Catholic" currents propose
relations with others.
This "educational" task of the organiza tion has taken on such importance for its directors that they presently consider it the primary function of"D & P",even above aiding underdeveloped countries. In a meeting held in Quebec,the General
After these preliminary considerations, Director of"Development and Peace Mr. we shall study in the next chapter the means Jacques Champagne declared: "One can of action and the propaganda techniques even consider that, of the two means put of "D & P." forward by Development and Peace to build internationalsolidarity, that ofedu cational action in Canada could take on a
higher priority than thefinancing ofsocio
Part II
UNPERCEIVED IDEOLOGICAL TRANSSHIPMENT TO A MULTICOLORED SOCIALISM
In a hasty observer, the propaganda
spread by"D &P"can produce the super ficial impression that the long-range goals of the members of that organization are in spired by a kind of confused and chimerical ideal: that for the time being, without doc trinal preoccupations, they are committed to fighting poverty in the underdeveloped
What is this technique through which you, the reader can be led to change your way of being and thinking without realiz ing it?
countries.
However,if this observer has a Christian formation, his first exposure to the writings
1. The Fields of Action
"There is something else here," he will think. Nevertheless, failing to define what aspects of the organization's propaganda induced that malaise in him, he will nor
mally end by not analyzing the problem at tentively; at most, he will say:"Such a pro cedure is regrettable in on officially Cath olic organization that should consider reali ty in the light of the authentic doctrine of the Church, and express that view unequi vocally. But that does not necessarily in
dicate the existence of grave deviations of principles proper to alarm the Hierarchy and faithful, zealous for true orthodoxy. "D & P" just needs to make a few ad justments in its methods."
Unfortunately, much more than that is involved here. Indeed,"D & P" describes
of the Organization The action of "D & P" pursues two objectives: a) Aid Projects to Underdeveloped Countries
According to a somewhat brief report published by the organization in 1977, diese projects presently reach 60 countries. This includes Latin America and India, socialoMarxist Tanzania, Amin's Uganda,collectivistic Guinea-Bissau and even Communist Vietnam.'
b) The Education of
Canadian Public Opinion In 1975,"D & P" passed from an era of discreet action to one of large scale
publicity.2
From then on, the organization inten sified its propaganda activities, following political, economic and social reality prin a method designed to "educate" Cana cipally by reporting on concrete facts and dians! Its goal is to change ones mentality by making statistical comparisons. This in order to bring about a huge social trans description is not simply humanitarian and formation. For example, in 1975 Mr. Pierre short-sighted as the appearances might lead
Paquet, Director of the Committee of Education, French Sectoi*, affirmed: "The An attentive study reveals that the infor objective now established in our education mation and commentaries published by the program is to create or increase solidarity
one to believe.
organization foIlGW a technique that is and deepen all its social, economic, polit capable of surreptitoosly transforming the ical, cultural and spiritual dimensions. This mentality of the pabBc, a technique that means:first at the personal level a change can be defined precisely. 14 CRUSADE
nized that"D & P" is committed "to the
priority task, that is, the education of Canadian public opinion. Later on we shall see what propaganda techniques and psycho-ideological means are utilized by the organization in its "edu cational" effort to change Canadian men talities and society.
Where will this subtle propaganda tech nique lead you? We shall answer these questions by an analysis of the abundant documents pro duced by "D & P" propaganda.
of"D & P" will not fail to cause him an ill-defined uneasiness.
economic projects in the Third World. In 1977, Mr. Jacques Champagne him self, upon making a balance of the or ganization's ten years of existence, recog
in our mentality, our behavior, our lives.
2. The Vehicles of Propaganda Let us examine briefly the vehicles of
propaganda utilized by "D & P" in order to reach Canadian public opinion. One can distinguish four kinds: a) With the General Public
"D & P" reaches the general public in
the country by means of popular education propaganda campaigns. The most wellknown among these is "Share Lent." On that occasion, when it collects money from the Catholic faithful, the organization car ries on vast propaganda activities through
(1)"325 nouveaux projects de d^veloppement socio-^onomiques dans 60 pays"(325 New Pro jects of Socio-economic Development in 60 Countries), Solidarity, March 1977, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 7-9.
(2) Jacques Champagne,"Finie la discrc...n, vive I'information!"(The Discretion is Finish
ed,Long Live the Information!), "D'iveloppement et Paix — Information," 1975, pp. 1-3. (3) Pierre Paquet, "Education Program, French Sector — Evolution — Objectives —
Perspectives," Development ana Peace, Final Report — International Seminar," Montreal, 1975, p. 76.
(4)Jacques Perron,"Plus encore d'^ucation, plus encore"(Still More Education, Still More), "Diveloppement et Paix — Information," 1975, p. 2.
(5) Jacques Champagne,"10 ans au service du d'6veloppement des peuples"(10 Years at the Service of the Peoples' Development), Solidarity, March 1977, vol. 1. no. 3, p. 4.
In October 1980, on the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the Young Canadiansfor a Christian Civilization,
together with several organizations ofrefugeesfrom behind the Iron Curtain, organized the celebration ofa Massfor the Victims ofall the assaults, revolutions and wars caused by communism as well asfor the liberation ofall the nations enslaved by it since then. More than 1,500faithful attend ed the Mass held in the famous Notre Dame church located in downtown Montreal.
CRUSADE 15
signs, small pamphlets and other such resources. They are destined to play the role of informing and "awakening the con sciousness" of the people. Recently,"D & P" has begun bringing pressure against Canada's socio-political
and economic structures. An example of this is its open letter to Prime Minister Trudeau. It was a declaration against "the arms race," demanding profound reforms for "an equitable redistribution of wealth and power at the nationalas well as the in ternational level." Although"D & P"con siders these reforms to be urgent, it avoids deHning clearly what they are.®
b) Infonnation Bulletins and Magazines of More Restricted Circulation
The organization's propaganda causes a gradual and unperceived change of people's ideology. "D & P" appears to limit its action to
"informing" and favouring an "awaken ing of consciousness" in relation to underdevelopment and its causes, and to "en couraging" people to unite with those who fight to overcome the misery and back wardness of "Third World" countries.
A Canadian subjected to this propagan da imagines he is receiving objective knowl edge of today's socio-economic reality. He thinks Christian specialists are helping him to become aware of the full extension of
this reality and to take a personal stand. In respect to it, though, he still ignores the
If the person guided by this propaganda began with a conception of society more or less in conformity with Natural and Divine Law, at the end of the process he paper Solidarity in French and The Global will have inadvertently adopted a new view Village Voice in English. The ideological point opposed to the principles of Chris aspects of "D & P" propaganda can be tian Civilization. At this moment, he will more easily noticed in publications such as be disposed to collaborate with the very the above, directed to more restricted audi ideological currents he had formerly con ences. sidered as deadly enemies of his innermost convictions.
The closest entourage of "D & P" is made up of small communities established
4. The Stages of the ''Educational" Process of Changing Mentalities in all the Dioceses of the country. Here one can naturally study more attentively the propaganda of the organization, and even draw more precise conclusions. In 1975, the
Let us now consider, one by one and in logical order, the stages of the process of unperceived change in mentality carried out
central nucleus of"D & P" decided to send 11 "activities coordinators" to activate
by the "educational" action of"D & P."
these groups.'. In its "educational" plan, the organiza tion affirms its intention "toform agents for social change."® The members of these "base communi
Let us also study the gradual manner in which its final objective appears. It is necessary to point out that in the organiza tion's propaganda these stages are some times interwoven from the chronological point of view.
ties" are persons in whom the process of transformation may more rapidly reach its ultimate consequences. They will be the ac tivists of"D & P'"s ambiguous reformism,
Under the pretext of making the reality
which is never well-defined — at least for
of underdevelopment objectively known,
the public.
"D & P" propaganda floods the reader
d) Relations With Similar Organizations Finally, "in order to carry out its educa tional work,""D & P"seeks to be in con tact with other institutions in order to in
cite them to join in the pursuit of the same goals. The organization's discreet propa ganda thus acquires multiple and subtle ramifications.^
3. The Surreptitious Character of "D & P"*s Psychological Action "D & P" incessantly multiplies its pro paganda efforts to transform ones way of being and thinking and change Canada's socio-economic structures. Nevertheless,
the organization does not reveal clearly what kind of new society will arise from the mentality created by its "educational" process. 16 CRUSADE
as though these aspects were blatantly evi dent. Statistical sources are at times men
tioned with remarkable imprecision, at others, they are not mentioned at all. The reader is dumbfounded by the overwhelm ing impact of this great amount of infor mation. He is also influenced by the "sug gestions" that this avalanche of seemingly disorderly facts slowly introduces into his mind.
Let us examine some concrete examples.
consequences of that stand.
The organization publishes in addition to leaflets of a popular type, bulletins such as Development et Paix — Information and Mondes Nouveaux, as well as the news
c) Grassroots Groups in the Dioceses
ticity of the statistical data and the news that are presented to him. He has neither the time nor the specialized knowledge to judge the complex aspects of the world's socio-economic reality. The latter is ex pounded to him in an elementary manner,
a) "Information": A Manipulation of Data and News to Shake Convictions
with a torrent of confused statistical data
and impression-forming, briefly commented news.
•"D & P" manipulates brief statistical data, announcing on different occasions that "In the world, 75 million human be
ings are threatened with dying of hunger; 462 million presently die of hunger; twothirds of mankind (that is to say 2 billion men) are starving." •"D & P" presents situations utilizing a
technique of brutal and simplistic contrasts such as "The rich minority feeds its live stock with more grain than is consumed by the poor majority; the rich countries have used more grain in animal husbandry than was consumed by all inhabitants of China and India; one needs $40.00 to buy stainless steel utensils, which is the annual income
ofa poor peasant of Brazil; if Canadians passed up one hamburger a week, a million tons of grain used to feed cattle would become available to nourish 5 million peo
ple; landowners in Colombia have replaced the cultivation of wheat with that of car nations, which pays 80 times more; a per son in North America consumesfive times as much grain as a person in Africa, Asia or Latin America.""
•"D & P" poses questions like this: "Water consumption in our country: 1,500 gallons a month per home. How many died of thirst in the Sahel in '74? Would one have to be infected with utopianism to im agine a world where the man ofthe South
The average man does not have the background necessary to check the authen-
does not starve to death while the mat
(6)Information Service,"Le Canada est pays riche mais..." (Canada is a Rich Country, But... Ddveloppement et Paix — Information, March-April 1976, no. 3, p. 1.
(10) Menu d'actions (Action Menu) popular propaganda pamphlet: "Saviez-vous que..." (Did you know that...). Solidarity, March 1977, vol. 1, no. 3, p. 3; Development and Peace, Education Sector,La crise alimentaire(The Food
(7) J. P.,'*D6veloppement et Paix de 1967 1975" (Development and Peace from 1967 to 1975), Mondes Nouveaux, special issue, Seminar '75, p. 20.
Crisis), August 1975.
the North suffersfrom obesity?
(11)Menu d'actions,(Action Menu)popular propaganda pamphlet; "Saviez-vous que..." (Did you know that...). Solidarity, March 1977,
(8)"Education," The Global Village Voice, February 1977. vol. 1, no. 3, p. 4.
vol. 1, no. 3, p. 3.
(9) J. P., "D6veloppement et Paix de 1967 i 1975," Mondes Nouveaux,special issue, Seminar '75, p. 20.
(Let Us Imagine a World...); Magoshan, Cele bration of the Word, Complexe Desjardins,
(12) Menu d'action (Action Menu), popular propaganda pamphlet; "Imaginons un Monde..." Montreal, Feb. 25, 1977.
degree that they commit or allow injustices
logue. About all of this,"D &P"remains
â&#x20AC;˘"D & P" announces the growth of humanity's evils in a language that is vague
in international economic relations, and fail
as silent as death.
to use the superabundance of their resources
and dramatic at the same time: "According
to aid poor nations to progress correctly.
For an officially Catholic organization to deal for so long with socio-economic reality and the requirements of develop ment, while systematically ignoring the
to Cousteau, at the rate things are going, Through an excessive and rigid general the oceans will be dead within 25years(...) ization of the causes of underdevelopment Population growth is running away with us; carried to the absurd,"D & P"disregards pollution poisons us; unemployment threat undeniable historical realities resulting ens us; inflation strangles us;freedom and from religious, moral, cultural and psy individual rights are sacrificed to the pro chological factors. For example,the limita
presence of as terrible a factor of disorder and barbarism as communism,reveals very
much about the organization's real criteria
of propaganda and analysis. Such behavior
fit of a so-called National Security. The tion of progress in several countries of deceives people of good faith who are at system is sick. People are disgusted. No
Africa and even Asia by superstitious
tracted to, support,or are influenced by the
Marxist confiscatory socialism into the
Therefore, the propaganda of"D &P" tends to surreptitiously introduce a grave distortion ofreality into the minds of Cana
thing goes well anymore. The cone of religious practices of pagan origin, or more organization because of its being officially privileged ones becomes thinner, the mass recently, the introduction of a somewhat Catholic. of the disinherited grows.
We are therefore faced with a kind of
unilateral information with demagogic characteristics proper to condition the reader: it simplifies and generalizes the
socio-economic structures of numerous
"Third World" countries. This socialism
generates gigantic government bureaucra dians. Does this ^tortion of reality stop cies and paralyzes authentic progress and here? problems, presenting their data in a tenden- sooner or later brings about total misery. Unfortunately not. There is still a lot tiously incomplete manner and establishing In addition, the description of"D & P" more to say. simplistic and sometimes arbitrary con omits natural differences between countries b) A "ConsdousnesÂť>Awakening" Anal trasts carried to the point of absurdity. in respect to size, geographic position, ysis: From Anti-Capitalism to the The insistence, on the technique of dem
agogic contrasts between the aspects of poverty found in underdeveloped countries and the abundance of the industrialized
Western worid, goes beyond mere informa tion. It really is a psycho-ideological means to cause a surreptitious transformation of mentalities. Without saying it explicitly,
this insistence suggests to people's minds that this dramatized contrast between riches
and poverty is the only aspect that should be considered important by a Christian view of today's social reality. In this manner,"D & P"casts a shadow over other fundamental aspects of the
Catholic conception of development. For this conception cannot be summarized simply as the need for diminishing socio economic inequalities not in conformance
climate and natural resources.
The impact produced by the repetition
Acceptance of Man^t Models As we have seen, "D & P'"s "infor
of such manipulated information may have mative" propaganda demogogically sim disastrous effects on the average Catholic not alert to the problem, especially if he plifies the phenomenon of socio-economic underdevelopment in the world. It exag feels inclined by vocation to do works of
charity and to promote social justice. In fact, he becomes confused by this pas sionate and demagogic preaching and a
gerates this reality, distorting it to a point where every other aspect of the problem is
cast into oblivion, whether it relates to a
or to the evaluation of contem doubt easily arises in his niind regarding the principle porary reality. moral validity of the system of private pro
At this stage, the process of "con perty and private initiative which are the sciousness awakening" will lead people to bases of the prosperity of the great nations of the West.
As if it were a spontaneous movement
of his spirit, he develops a tendency to sym pathize with the socializing and con fiscatory intervention of the State as a sup
draw a series of conclusions founded on the
description that has been presented to them.
â&#x20AC;˘ First Step: "Discovery" of the One, General Cause of the Evils of Under development
posedly adequate means of correcting the The "critical" analysis of"D &P"seeks injustices depicted by the propaganda of to define the universal and,so to speak, on Upon attracting people's full attention "D & P." ly "cause" of underdevelopment. With to what it sees as an excessive contrast of From the perspective created by that "riches and poverty" between certain na doubt and that tendency, the average Cath neither nuances nor distinctions, it classifies as underdeveloped the most diverse peoples tions,"D & P" does not prepare its par olic will find the international Communist tisans to ask for Christian solutions to movement and its fellow travelers less under the general designation of "Third social injustices. Instead, its "educational" reprehensible than before, all the more so World." For example, in its magazine Solidarity, process takes another direction. Its remark since "D & P" keeps an absolute silence ably peculiar description of the problem of about the real character of communism. one reads: "There are social injustices all underdevelopment is a starting point for The organization does not mention the fact over the world(...) one gradually discovers >suggesting a series of increasingly fallacious that communism is a radkaOy anti-Chrisdan that they have common roots, that i nomic, political, cultural and social ^nucconclusions. phUosophical sect endowed with an im tures must be called into question on the By simplifying the problem of under mense, world-wide subversive network that with true justice.
international level.
development in such a manner, the orga nization not only undermines one's global
fights to enslave mentalities and impose its
conception of Catholic Doctrine but also
earth through violence, infiltration or dia- the West as a whole: "What is in ques
draws one's mind towards a false vision of
anti-civilization on all the peoples of the
tion," the organization affirms, are "the
reality itself. In this regard, the texts already cited insinuate such a determining relation of cause and effect between the riches of Western industrialized nations and
the poverty and underdevelopment of "Third World" countries, that it seems to
be the only relation between them.
That is quite different from the affirma tion that rich countries are partly respon
sible for the grave fault of maintaining the state of poverty. Yes, that is true to the
In its publications,"D &P"attacks the socio-economic system of Canada and of
mechanisms and the national and interna
(13) Magoshan, Celebration of the Word, Complexe Desjardins, Montreal, February 25, 1977, p. 2.
tional structures of production and ex ploitation of natural resources, ofexchange and commerce, of processing and con
sumption ofgoods. Our national economy (14) See this study, Part I, 5b.
and our international trade are not orga
nized according to thefundamental needs d'iducation" (Share Lent, A Right Time for of men and of the peoples, but rather ac Education), Solidarity, March 1977, vol. 1, no. cording to the interests ofcertain large pro ducers or middlemen, thirsty for profits. 3, p. 16. (15) "Carfime de Partage -- un temps fort
CRUSADE 17
u
St
iiMii
.'l'
^Wl
ffim
On Feb. 27th, 1981 a Solidarity Committee/or El Salvador was launched in Valleyfield. Seen at the presiding table are Mr. Robert Poupard of "D & P"and Fr. Claude Fluet (also of"D & P")together with Dominique Reynolds ofthe Communist Workers Par ty. Also part of the Solidarity Committee is the Marxist-Leninist Organization In Strug gle, together with various other "progressive Christian"and worker groups. Purpose of the Solidarity Committeefor El Salvador? — "To findfinancial and political sup port, as well as the recognition of the Revolutionary Democratic Front(FDR) as the
only legitimate representative of the people ofEl Salvador."(Le Soleii de St. Laurent, Valleyfield, March 4, 1981).
Mr. Robert Poupard, President and Coordinator of the Valleyfield Diocesan team for "D & P," as well as Fr. Claude Fluet,feld-worker of the "D <fi P"in the Cegep of
Valleyfield, launching the 1981 Share Lent campaign {Le Soleii de St. Laurent, Valleyfield, March 4, 1981).
'"'M' cL ,» t
;wf»" it-.
18 CRUSADE
■
on the one hand, and some already privi
leged social groups, on the other.
According to these remarks, the same universal obstacle always causes the "pro
Its position is indeed revealed in the words pronounced by the "activities coor
In the same manner, Mr. Jacques Cham cess of impoverishment" and impedes the dinator" of an "ecumenical celebration of pagne, Director of"D & P," affirms that development of"Third World" countries, the word" sponsored by "D & P" on the
"it Is also necessary for the populations of however different they may be. This sup
rich countries, acting in solidarity with the efforts of Third World peoplesfor their own development, to accept calling into question the structures of their own con sumer society founded on the exploitation of the work and resources of the peoples
of poor countries."" What the descriptions insinuated with their simplistic and demagogic contrasts will be made explicit during the "con sciousness-awakening" analysis: the
occasion of its tenth anniversary. Held at
posedly happens in places such as India, the the "Complexe Desjardins" in Montreal, other Asiatic countries, Amin's Uganda, the ceremony was broadcast by Canadian the African nations occupied by Castro's Broadcasting Corporation. Here is what communism, the several Arab countries the "activities coordinator" said: "We are and Latin America (where the agrarian now gathered in order to question our structures of many countries were dis faith, whatever it may be, regarding what mantled by socialism). In brief, all the it contributes to our awareness ofthe pre peoples "D & P" designates as "Third sent drama ofa worldfull ofinjustices(...)
"Ourprayer(...) will not luD our anguish World" supposedly suffer hunger and misery almost exclusively because of a (...) quite the contrary, we want to ask direct action of the economic system In ourselves courageously If the very logic of underdevelopment in the world is the direct force in the Industrialized nations of the our faith does not put us in contradiction with capitalism In Its essence. Because une and princip^ fruit of the economic system West. qual development of countries, or of var With one more step in the process of in force in the West. This dialectical opposition between the "consciousness awakening," we will find ious regions or ofseveral classy inside the affluence of some and the poverty of the a more exact definition of the system that same nations, this unequal development is others appears little by little as a fundamen "D & P" indicates as the force hostile to not an accident, an urfortunate excess that tal conclusion of the analysis of"D & P." universal progress: capitalism — here is the might be corrected. It is opportune to make clear that just Thus, for instance, we read in one of its common enemy. According to this "educational" process, as "D & P" attacks capitalism in its bulletins: "Four billion men live on the earth. Most of them are poor and unpro it is necessary to lead Canadian and West- essence, it also considers all kinds of socio videdfor, because a tiny minority mono em public opinion to consider capitalism economic inequalities as a baneful conse polizes nearly all the riches.It seems clear as an essentially unjust system that cannot quence of that system. Likewise, it does not that the development of the economy of the be corrected or improved. It is necessary distinguish between excessive or unjust inWest may have given birth to a monstrous to proclaim the totd failure of capitalism, nequalities and the legitimate and propor machine of exploitation that put science because"D & P" prefers a very different tionate ones that are part of a just social order. Here again"D & P" contradicts the and technology at the service ofthe dollar, economic system, as we shall see later. In this line, the organization's newspaper social doctrine of the Church." affirms: "It is necessary to educate by Does the organization's relentless antiof human beings who die of hunger In our showing the links existing between the in capitalism and egalitarianism mean that it terests of starving populations and our is favorable to the communist regime, modern world."'® For"D & P," the underdevelopment of own, to make known the successes of ex which aims at the suppression of all social periments in nutritionalself-sufficiency and classes and, in accord with that end, the "Third World" countries has a fundamen to the detriment of the most elementary
human needs. Thus there are still millions
tally unique and Intentional origin. This, to show, starting from the example of necessary suppression ofthe right of private according to it, is a "process of impoverish hunger, the fundamental Incapacity ofthe property? ment" voluntarily caused by the Industrial
presentsystem to satisfy the basic needs of
ized countries of the West. Therefore, the
humanity.
New indications to this effect will be
given by the following stages of the "educa
While using ambiguous and simplistic tional" process to which "D & P" wants formulations to accuse capitalism of being to subject us. the direct and principal culprit of under former. • Second Step: the Principles of Christian For example. Solidarity affirms: "In development, this Catholic organization Civilization and the Combat Against each country and on the international level fails to make the necessary distinctions Communism Are Like an Alienating By there areforces that voluntarily hinder the between the abuses to which capitalism product of the Capitalist Infrastructure gave rise and the essential legitimacy of this wealth of the latter supposedly exists at the
price of the penury in which they keep the
development of peoples and now strike
In this way,the problem of underdevel them violently in their vital needs.(...) This system. In this manner, the organization process ofimpoverishment is not a natural induces people to think that capitalism has opment is misconstrued. The capitalist system, considered as the direct and i phenomenon; it has been induced and to be rejected as such. In doing so,"D & P" clashes with the cipal cause of underdevelopment, is maintained. It resultsfrom a marketsystem that produces not according to human traditional teaching of the Popes, who have needs, but rather according to the demands always made the necessary distinctions.^' The organization will finally show very ofthose who can pay. The earth is notfor a//.""
clearly its position on this matter.
(18)"Un geste & poser — En guise d'6ditoriaI" (A Gesture to be Made — In the Guise of an (Does the Misery of Peoples Have its Origin in Editorial), Mondes Nouveaux, March 1976, vol our Country? - For an Educational Action Here), 2, no. 4, p. 1. The emphasis is ours. Solidaritis, March 1977, vol. 1, no. 3, p. 11. The emphasis is ours. (19)"La terre est h tout I'monde mais..."(The Earth Is For All, But...), Solidarity, March (17) Jacques Champagne,"10 ans au service 1977, vol. 1, no. 3., p. 1. (16)"La misfere des peuples a-t-elle son origine
chez nous? - Pour une action 6ducative id"
du ddveloppement des peuples"(10 Years at the Service of the Development of Peoples), Solidarity Mdxch 1977, vol. 1, no. 3, p. 4. The emphasis is ours.
(20) "Plus de nourriture, et pourtant, plus d'affam6s. II faut y voir!"(More Food but Also More People Starving. Let Us See It!), Solidari
dicated as public enemy number one; and one's global vision of the social doctrine of the Church is undermined.
Thus, the change of mentality of a per-
ty, March 1977, vol. 1, no. 3, p. 3. The emphasis is ours.
(21) See this study, p. 31-34.
(22)"Aimer: c'est choisir quel homme, quel monde, quel Dieu?" (To Love: Is to Choose
What Man, What World, What God?)Ecumen
ical Celebration ofthe Word,Foi et^veloppement, Montreal, 1977, p. 32. The emphasis is ours.
(23) See this study, pp. 30-31. CRUSADE 19
son subjected to this process of "con sciousness awakening" now reaches a more advanced stage. That person will tend no longer to care
According to this view, the missionary and civilizing work accomplished by col onization beginning in the sbcteenth century was nothing but a manifestation of the un
bridled greed for power and profit exhib capitalism itself, and not only of its abuses, ited by Europe's dominant classes. will entail the abolition of the principles of Particularly revealing in this regard are C3iristian Civilization that still remain in the "theological" explanations and "inter the world.2^ pretations" of History given during the Then,in order to facilitate the taking of first international seminar of"D & P" held a stand so contrary to a well-formed cons in Montreal in 1975. cience, and to consolidate that stand, the For that event, the organization chose "educational" process leads the faithful to two European lecturers whose task was to a new "discovery." If they accept this explain to the participants the fundamen to know whether or not the destruction of
anism of exploitation" of future "Third World" countries; this mechanism was sup posedly imposed on the colonized peoples by means of military force. The cultural
values and the true Faith which dissipated the darkness of paganism among so many peoples seem of negligible value to Canon
Houtart and his partisans of"D & P."^'
that Canon Houtart is "closely associated fusing Christian virtue in the barbarians, with the liberation movements oftheformer the Church had inspired the formation of Portuguese colonies and Vietnam..."^''
In his summary of the conference of Canon Houtart, Mr. Jean-Pierre Lagac6 adds that "Christianity was largely utilized to justify this undertaking (...) "Humanitarian work was certainly car ried out by numerous Europeans; never theless, in spite ofall their good will, these men and women, whether missionaries of functionaries, have unconsciously contrib uted to solidify this regime of exploitation. In his turn, Fr. Cosmao,O.P., affirmed in the same seminar that: "thesystem (...) born ofthe History of the Christian West is what dominates the world and prevents the other peoplesfrom existing as peoples and establishing a new international econ
Christian Civilization founded on absolute
omic order (...)"^^
"discovery," they are already showing a more definite rupture with the spirit and doctrine of the Church. It is insinuated that most Catholics and
Christians have believed in ideological myths that must be destroyed so that their eyes may be opened to present-day reality. We thought that by rescuing the worth
tal causes of underdevelopment and the relations between development and faith. The selection of those lecturers is in itself
quite suggestive: one of them was Canon Francois Houtart, a professor at the Uni versity of Louvain, well-known for his socialo-Marxist tendencies. In its bulletin
Mondes Nouveaux,"D & P" makes it clear
while renmants of Roman culture and in
The other lecturer invited was the "pro
principles of the order of the Universe, gressive" theologian Fr. Vincent Cosmao, vivifi^ by supernatural grace, and that this O.P., well-known because of his leftist
Civilization born in Europe had spread its
As in other cases, the method used in this
prodigious falsification of History is always
orientation. Fr. Cosmao is the founder of the "Centre Lebret de Paris." "D & P" was not contented with turn
the same: to take some abuses or injustices, dramatize or exaggerate them, put them under a magnifying glass and then to con
development, which brings material pros
ing these two lecturers into the principal
demn en bloc the whole social structure
perity, would come to the degree that the
ideological guides of the seminar. In addi
where these abuses or injustices took place.
light throughout the world. We were convinced that real Christian
peoples accepted the immutable principles tion, it published their theses without any This unilateral interpretation of history of Christian Civilization and applied them objections and in a prestigious manner, really reaches a paroxysm. According to it, in their institutions, always with the adap thereby identifying itself with them. Fur Christian Europe brought backwardness in tations proper to each epoch and situation.^ thermore, these theses are nothing more stead of progress to the tribes of Africa and However,"D & P"takes another view. than theory corresponding to the organi In this stage of its process of "conscious zation's concrete analysis of the problem ness-awakening" analysis of the reality of of underdevelopment. underdevelopment, the organization invites Quoting Canon Houtart, M.Jean-Pierre us to reinterpret the History of Christen Lagac^ wrote in Mondes Nouveaux: dom. As usual, this is done with a mixture "Underdevelopment directly induced of half-truths and half-errors that leads to by the development of Europe, and later a complete falsity. on, ofNorth America. The bases ofcapi Considering economics as the main driv talist economy were laid in Europe, start ing force of history, the organization plain ing in the thirteenth and fourteenth cen ly holds that underdevelopment was direct turies. The technical superiority and in ly induced, first by the development of dustrial strength ofEuropean countries led Christian Europe, and later on by that of to an accumulation of wealth and set in North America. motion the colonial undertaking. For example,"D & P" asks; "fVhy are According to this interpretation of his there rich and poor nations?" and it an tory, the work of colonization should be swers: "There are several reasons: the seen as Europe's implantation of a "mech historical reason is the most important. Centuries ago, economic underdevelop
ment was world-wide. In every continent there were advanced civilizations, but within each civilization, power was in the hands of the aristocratic and merchant
classes. Life among the peasants and workers, in Canada as in India, was im poverished.
"The change began in Western Europe. Ambition, greed and the questfor knowl
edge led Europeans to explore, and thus to colonize, other continents. Colonization boosted overseas trade(...) The colonizers
(24) See this study, Part I, 5, b.
by its influence. Such distortions verge on the monstrous.
We are then told that the cultural heri
tage we have received as sacred must be considered relative.
Here is what Mondes Nouveaux says, citing Fr. Cosmao, O.P.: "We begin to become aware that we have been formed by the small catechism or any other prevail
ing ideology. We see the world through the lenses of our education (...) this which is nothing but a fruit of a history, of our history, also appears to us as a consistent whole ofevidences and the only consistc"' whole ofevidences that can be possible. Later on Mondes Nouveaux adds: "Be-
Mondes Nouveaux, special issue. Seminar '75, p. 12.
(25) See this study, p. 26-27. (28) Ibid.
(26)"20 Questions on World Development, a Canadian Perspective," Development and Peace, 1975, p. 4. This pamphlet is a Canadian
version of an article origin^y written by Eric Jay in Christian Aid, England. (27) Jean-Pierre Lagac6, "Le sous-
built up new wealth at the expense of the
d^veloppement: un ph^nom^ne provoqu'6"
colonized.
(Underdevelopment, an Induced Phenomenon),
20 CRUSADE
Latin America and all the countries reached
(29) Ibid. (30) Ibid., pp. 12-13.
(31)J. P., "D6veloppement et Foi"(Develop ment and Faith), Mondes Nouveaux, special issue. Seminar '75, p. 17.
(32) Ibid., p. 16. The emphasis is ours.
cause of this, we have to accept relativizing our theoretical constructions and see the arbitrary character of our system. It makes
essential in respect to civilization and culture, one may understand why"D & P" abstains from combating and even from
us understand that we do not have a model
criticizing the doctrine of socialist or openly
already prepared to establish a new, more just order ofthingsfor every man and every people. "D & P" is consistent within its "own
vision" of reality. This vision abandons
Marxist systems.
For this organization founded by the Canadian Episcopate, such systems are a possible and admirable option from various points of view.
Thus, in "D & P'"s publications, we find unrestricted praise of the socialist measures of Algeria's government, of the defeated regime of Marxist president Sal
vador AUende, of the revolutionary process in Tanzania and Guinea-Bissau, of Com munist Vietnam and even of Red China and Cuba.
These regimes are presented as examples
Christian Civilization or denies even the no
tion of it. As a consequence, the organiza tion does not see the combat against com munism as an obligation of every Catholic faithful to the social doctrine of the
Church. This is all the more astonishing if one has in mind that communism is the
most radically anti-Christian sect of all times.
On the contrary,"D & P" refers to anti-
communism as a mere expedient of the multinationals or other privileged groups used to crush the "liberation movements" of the "Third World."3"
Thus, the unperceived ideological trans shipment reaches a decisive stage. The vic tim of this process is invited to abandon his
"MAGOSHAN 78": In the
display on Latin America, Allende's picture is emphasized.
old principles. Then, completely obsessed by a materialistic and relativistic solution to the problem of underdevelopment, he must accept an egalitarian and collectivist humanism.
He will see capitalism as his greatest enemy, against which all forces fighting for "liberation" must unite. He will further conclude that he need not concern himself
with adopting a way of acting in accor dance with the principles of Christian Civi lization, because these principles,"D & P"
insinuates, are part of already dead systems. At this stage of the process, "D & P" will begin presenting the Communists and their fellow travelers — the socialists of all
colors— not only as legitimate soldiers of the fight against capitalism but also as models of efficiency in attaining devel opment.
That is what we shall see upon analyzing the third step of the process. • Tbird Step: the Marxist Regimes of the "Third World" Are a Model for the
Development of Peoples
Having in mind that the organization accepts the false premise that the Faith
teaches nothing immutable, categorical and
(33) Ibid., p. 17. The emphasis is ours.
Salvador AUende practicing with his machine gun. The Marxist minority was preparing the bloody implantation of the proletariat in Chile.
(34) Laurie Girouard, in collaboration with
Claude Par6, Louise Langlois and Jean-Pierre Lagacd,"La crise aiimentaire"(The Food Cri sis), August 1975, pp. 39 and 44; "Qu'est-ce que le Nouvel Ordre Economique International?" (What is the New International Economic
Order?) Gati-Fly, p. 3; Jean-Claude Leclerc,"A
I'ombre de Magoshan" (At the Shadow of Magoshan), Le Devoir, Feb. 24, 1977, in Solidaritis, April 1977, vol. 1, no. 4, p. 1; Eileen Shea,"La repression enemie du developpment" (Repression, Enemy of Development), Solidaritis, Feb. 1977, vol. 1, no. 2, p. 4. CRUSADE 21
of victory over the mechanisms of capitalist utilized by"D & P" to stimulate the pro peal to the whole population, hoping that "dependence" and as models of attaining cess of changing mentalities, one finds cer their response will go further than mere devdopment and a self-sufficient economy.^ tain key words which have a great power charity A peculiar and very revealing contrast can be noticed between "D & P"'s pro-
communist propaganda and its 1977 cam
paign to "educate" Canadian public opi nion, particularly on "human rights."^®
of attraction. These key words act upon a
The magazine Solidaritds assures us that
the organization has changed "from the Among these are words such as "justice," concept of aid to that of solidarity with the "equality," "development," "liberation," fight for development and liberation (...)"^ In his turn, Mr. Andr6 Tremblay reports "solidarity," etc. Although their meanings given person as a talisman.
No mention is made of the millions of peo
on the modifications introduced by the key
ple killed by Peking's regime, nor the prisons, tortures and other kinds of tyranny that this regime imposes as a matter of prin ciple. Neither does "D & P" refer to the
word "solidarity" into the concept of aid to poor countries. Citing the Vietnamese
are certainly legitimate in themselves, the organization gradually gives them a dif ferent meaning,loading them with relativistic, secularistic and collectivistic insinua tions. The ambiguous meaning of these victims of communism in Indochina and "talisman words" is very similar to the Africa, nor to the multiple violations of meaning that Marxist propaganda attaches to them. human rights in Russia and Cuba. A person not alert to this problem reads Interestingly enough,"D & P"'s cam paign for "human rights" is rife with heavy such key words and begins using them in
criticism of anti-subversive measures taken
by the anti-communist regimes of Latin America and elsewhere. As a matter of
hind the Iron or Bamboo Curtains appears
wrote: "The types of relations of the old
system, of the old conception of charity, must be suppressed(...)From now on, the partner ofDevelopment and Peace in Viet nam will no longer be an organization or a private group, but the Vietnamese people
(...) In order to help this people it is these words are symbols of "modernity" necessary to enter the overall framework and "up-to-dateness," the person will, if of the country.'"" Needless to say, in a he can, introduce them into lectures and Marxist regime, the words "people" and
his social and business circles. And since
fact, the excesses possibly committed by these regimes could never be compared with even newspaper articles. Although, at first, the victim of this pro the systematic, general and institutionalized violation of all natural rights practiced by cess may use these words simply out of op portunism, later he will little by little ac the Marxist regimes.^' Here is a very significant double standard. cept the distorted meaning they have ac For "D & P," the most impressive and quired, ending by easily accepting the hid
generalized violence institutionalized be
priest Fr. Nguyen Dinh Thi, Mr.Tremblay
den errors that they imply.
In this regard, it is worth noting what
"overall framework of the country" mean,
respectively the State and its designs of total communization...
This is where we are being led by the
"solidarity" with which "D & P" proposes to replace Charity.
It is worth noting that Fr. Thi, cited by Mr. Tremblay, was also among those of the
to be merely a way of achieving "develop "D & P" itself said about the use of the "Third World" invited to participate in the International Seminar held in 1975. Fr. Thi ment," whereas the occasional repression word "solidarity": "The term 'solidarity* seemed to be the is the "activities coordinator" of of Communist subversion (whether exces sive or not) is considered to be an aston key word that would open the thick door "Fraternit6-Vietnam," an international ishing manifestation of tyranny and back of our prejudices to the perspectives ofthe operation carried on in a climate of open wardness on this side of the world...
c) The Process Finishes: "Encourage ment" to Make a Committment in
Union With All Those Fighting for "Liberation" Against Capitalism
future and ofcooperation between the peo collaboration with the Communist govern ples of the Third World and those of the ment of Vietnam. It is through this "frater First World.^^
"Development and Peace wants to con
nity" that "D & P" channels its financial aid for the socialist reconstruction of this
tribute to establishing this international country run by the Hanoi regime. At the end of its "educational" process, solidarity which will bring an end to ex The process of changing mentalities ploitation," said Mr. Jean-Pierre Lagac^ "D & P" will invite us to pass from words in Mondes Nouveaux. He added later: to action by making a commitment of soli reaches its end. Among the psycho-ideological resources "Development and Peace makes this ap darity with all those fighting to abolish
(35)"Qu'est-ce que le Nouvel Ordre Economi-
que International?"(What is the New Interna tional Economic Order?), Gatt-Fly, pp. 1-3-6-7; Laurie Girouard, in collaboration with Claude Pard, Louise Langlois and Jean-Pierre Lagacd, "La crise alimentaire"(The Food Crisis), August
1975, pp. 11-14-39; Canon F. Houtart,"Underdevelopment: an induced phenomenon — Are there examples of socialism which have succeed ed outside Marxist socialism?" Development and Peace — Final Report, International Seminar, Montreal, 1975 p.8 — Nguyen Dinh Thi, "Viet
nam is a question, an appeal and a proposal," Development and Peace — Final Report — In ternationalSeminar, Montreal, 1975, pp.48-51;
Jacques Foumier and Jacques Perron, "La
mdne provoqud" (Underdevelopment, an in duced phenomenon)Mondes Nouveaux,special issue. Seminar '75, p. 13; Andrd Tremblay,"Au Nord-Vietnam, la victoire des coopdratives —
March 1977, Vol. 1, no. 3, p. 2; Jean-Pierre Lagacd, "Le sous-ddveloppement: un phdno22 CRUSADE
darity, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 1, 4 and 5; "Aux
Philippines, Faction sociale de I'Eglise est primde"(Social Action of the Church is reprc
gagner la partie"(In North Vietnam, The Vic sed in the Philippines), Solidarity, Feb. 1977, tory of the Cooperatives — To Win the Party), vol. 1, no. 2, p. 2. Mondes Nouveaux, Nov. 1975, Vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 3 and 6; Andrd Tremblay,"Au Nord-Vietnam la victoire des coopdratives — marcher sur ses
deux jambes"(In North Vietnam, The Victory of the Cooperatives — To Walk on One's Two Legs), Mondes Nouveaux, March 1976, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 3 and 6.
(36) "Ressources" (Resources), Solidarit^s,
(38) Jacques Perron, "Rapport d'ateliers", Mondes Nouveaux,special issue Seminar '75 p. 18. The Emphasis is ours.
(39) Jean-Pierre Lagacd,"La terre est k tout I'monde mais... il faut y voir..."(The Earth Is For All, But... Let Us See It...), Mondes Nou veaux, March 1976, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 2 and 8.
Feb. 1977, vol. 1, no. 2, p. 6.
Guinde-Bissau en I'an 1 du ddveloppement"
(Guinea-Bissau in the Year One of Develop ment), Solidaritis, Feb. 1977, vol. 1, no. 2, p. 7; "Plus de nourriture, et pourtant, plus d'affamdf — il faut y voir!"(More Food But Also More People Starving — Let Us See It!), Solidaritis,
South Africans moved to Latin America), Soli
(37)Eileen Shea,"La rdpression, ennemie du ddveloppement"(Repression, Enemy of Devel opment), Solidarity, Feb. 1977, vol 1, no. 2, pp.
(40)"Vers la co-responsabilitd"(Towards Coresponsibility). Solidarity, March 1977, vol. 1, no. 3, p. 6.
4-5; "Vers la co-responsabilitd"(Towards Co-
(41) Andrd Tremblay, "Quelle aide au Viet
responsibility), Solidarity, March 1977, vol. 1, no. 3, p. 6; "150,000 blancs sudafricains
nam?" (What Aid To Vietnam?), D^eloppement et Paix — Information, 1975 pp. 1 and 4.
transferds en Amdrique Latine"(150,000 White
The emphasis is ours.
capitalist structures here and in the "Third World.
Therefore, because of their principles and strategy, the international communist movement and its fellow travelers are ob
viously the ones showing the highest degree
of "efficiency" in this struggle... As we have seen, "D & P" praises socialist and even openly communist sys tems, presenting them as models of "libera tion" from capitalist domination. Thus influenced by the key word "soli darity" in its new meaning, "unprejudiced" collaboration, the person is faced with a problem of conscience whose deceitfulness
he can no longer perceive: either he accepts the lessons coming from the "Third World" and
becomes involved
with
all those
fighting for "liberation," including the Marxists, or he will be held co-responsible for all the evils and injustices that "D & P" presents to him.
If the victim accepts all the stages of this process, his collaboration with Marxist ob
jectives and even his adhesion to the doc trine of Marx are only a matter of time. It is obvious that not all those affected
"Development and... Peace"?~In the
by such propaganda will reach the end of this process of changing mentalities. Never theless, a great number of Christians will begin to have a vague sympathy for Marx ist collectivism. An even greater number of people may begin to doubt the very validity of their anti-communist convictions, thus abandoning the courageous struggle against
display on Africa, pictures show Afri
cans handling arms. The captions pro claim: "One soon carries the rifle... since it is necessary."
the Red sect. Here you have the unperceived ideological transshipment made on the Canadian mentality by the Canadian Cath
olic Organization for Development and Peace!
If the process of changing mentalities led by "D & P" reaches its end, the Com munists will achieve in Canada what they would never be able to obtain by them selves; and this, through the undertakings
of an officially Catholic organization, which receives the prestigious support of the Episcopate.
5. The Unperceived Ideological Transshipment: A Strategy Launched by International Communism
This surreptitious process of changing mentalities waft not created by "D & P."
of Tradition, Family and Property(TFP). This Brazilian writer and Catholic leader
(42)Jean-Pierre Lagac6,"La Terre est k tout
It was started on a world-wide scale by the communist sect some years ago.
counters difficulties everywhere in per suading the multitudes when it openly
I'monde mals... il faut y voir..." (The Earth Is For All, But... Let Us See It...), Mondes Nouveaux, March 1976, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 2 and 8;
This process was first denounced in 1965 by Professor Plinio CorrSa de Oliveira in
presents its anti-Christian doctrine. Because
of this, the Red sect has adopted a new tac
ou votre famille"(Four "Animation" Activities
his book entitled Unperceived Ideological
tic: without abandoning the classic violent
1977, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 12 and 15; Jean-Pierre
Transshipment and Dialogue, with im
pressive precision and very great rigor of analysis. Dr. CorrSa de Oliveira is a Pro
methods, it presently wages a revolutionary psychological war against the West, di
Lagac6,"Le sous d^eloppement: un phinomfene provoqu^" (Underdevelopment, an induced
rected especially against Catholics and
fessor of Contemporary History of the Catholic University of SSo Paulo and Presi dent of the Brarilian Society for the Defense
phenomenon), Mondes Nouveaux, special issue, Seminar *75, p. 13; Jean-Pierre Lagacd, "Re
is, that because of their spiritual and doc trinal formation, these people are called to
has demonstrated that communism en
Christians in general. The reason for this
"Quatre Activity d'animation pour votre group for your Group or Family), Solidaritis, March
construction et d^veloppement" (Reconstruction
and Development), Mondes Nouveaux, March 1976, vol. 2, p. 8. CRUSADE 23
constitute the greatest ideological anti- favoring collaboration between Catholics and communists.
communist force.
Professor Plinio CorrSa de Oliveira uses
Prof. Oliveira analyzes in detail the
a very enlightening comparison: the victims several stages that the victim of the process of the new tactic are like railroad passen
gers who change trains half-way towards their Hnal destination, without realizing
goes through:
1. Loss of one's global vision of the Christian doctrine;
that the very destination has been changed. Thus,those riding the "Christian ideolog
2. Overestimation of some socio-eco nomic theses;
ical train" unwillingly arrive at a com
3. Loss of one's solidarity with persons or institutions representing the victim's former position;
munist terminal.
With scientiflc precision, the author describes all of the psycho-ideological resources used by communism to achieve its end. The "talisman" or "key words"
play a considerable role among those re sources. As an exemple of this tactic, we have already analyzed the word "solidari ty" used by "D & P" propaganda. In his work Unpercelved Ideologlea! Transshipment and Dialogue, Professor
4. Admiration for communist leaders
fighting for "justice" and socio political "accomplishments"; 5. A more definite rupture with one's former convictions; 6. Collaboration with Marxism; 7. Finally, in some cases, the acceptance of the communist doctrine itself.^'
Plinio Corr8a de Oliveira uses the word
"dialogue" as an example of the technique of changing mentalities. This and similar words are widely employed by Marxist pro paganda machines that graduaDy load key words with a relativistic meaning,especially
(43) Plinio Corrfia de Oliveira, Baldeaf&o
Ideotdgica Inadvertida e DUttogo (Unperceived Ideological Transshipment and Dialogne), Editora Vera Croz, S3o Paulo, 1974, 5th edition. Part n, pp. 42<43.
Starting from the denial of God and of the transcendental spiritual and eternal end of man, Marxism considers the needs of the latter to be fundamentally material: nutri tion, shelter, dress and other necessities of this kind.
The manner whereby man strives to pro duce these material goods in a given histor ical period is called "social existence" or "economic life." It determines what is call ed the "social consciousness" of each
epoch, that is to say, the ideologies, the juridical, political and social institutions, the cultural and religious life, etc. Upon
their acceptance by men, philosophical and moral principles constitute the "social con sciousness." They have no value in them selves, being merely a relative by-product of the determining material reality that is economics.
As a consequence, the method of pro duction is decisive for the development of a society; the evolution of this method of production of material goods Is the prin cipal and determining cause of social de
f Position of"Development
velopment.^
and Peace": As an official
ly Catholic organization, it naturally does not declare
Part III
itself to be atheistic...(that
MARXIST INSPIRATION OBSERVED IN THE METHOD OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF HISTORY USED BY "DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE"
would be the last straw!) .
Nevertheless, its description of the pro
blem of development is focused so much on the method of production of goods in force in the West, that it is barely possible to distinguish it from Marxist historical materialism, which maintains that econom ics is the exclusive motor of social progress. We have indeed verified in the preceding
As we have demonstrated, the process of the afHrmations, descriptions and analysis chapter, that upon analyzing the problem changing mentalities promoted by the or formulated or supported by "D & P.*' ganization constitutes a powerful help for The reader will be able to verify the strik of social development in today's world, the penetration of Marxist propaganda in ing similarity, and in some cases the iden "D & P" directs its critical attention Canada.
However, the ideological links between "D & P" and Marxist doctrine are even more deHned.
tity, between the positions of the Marxist doctrine and the "pro-development" doc trine of the organization created by the Canadian Episcopate.
Several readers have certainly realized All through this comparison, we will that the techniques of "consciousness- limit our comments to the minimum awakening" education that we have just necessary to clarify ambiguities of concept
analyzed do not lead to sympathy and col
towards "the mechanisms and the national
(1) V.G. Afanasyev, Marxist Philosophy, Progress Publishers, Moscow.
(2)Here is how Engels defined Marx's think ing in this regard: "Just as Darwin discovered the law of development of organic nature, so ''hu
laboration with Marxist "liberation"
of language in the position of"D &P"and Marx discovered the law ofdevelopme to the stating of the context of afHrmations man history: the simplefact, hitherto a
movements by more chance...
where this is needed, to make them more
ed by an overgrowth of ideology, that mankind must flrst of all eat, drink, have shelter and
Indeed,such propaganda techniques are comprehensible to a non-specialized reader. a logical consequence of a manner of analyzing both the life of man in society •FIRST COINCIDENCE:The determining
clothing, before it can pursue politics, sciences, art, religion, etc.; that therefore, theproduction
and the historical evolution of society. This
role of economics in society and human
and consequently the degree ofeconomic devel
method of analysis adopted by "D & P" is based on speciflc principles.
development — fundamental law of historical materialism
opment attained by a given people or during a given epochform thefoundation upon which the
ofthe immediate material means ofsubsistence
state iristitutions, the legal conceptions, art, and
Once it is put in order and studied in its parts, the general conception of"D & P"
Marxist thesis: the mode
even the ideas on religion ofthepeople concerned
reveals itself to be saturated with pseudoscientific premises of analysis of Marx and
of economic production in force in each epoch is the
versa, as had hitherto b^n the case."(F. Engels,
Lenin.
fundamental directing ele-
^~ ment of history. This de In this chapter, we will first examine some central points of Marxist thought as termining role of the production of mate presented in Marxist manuals.' Subsequently, we will make a com
parison between these Marxist theses and 24 CRUSADE
rial goods is the first and most fundamental
have been involved, and in the light of which they
must, therefore, be explained instead of vice-
"Speech at the Graveside of Karl Marx," Karl Marx and Frederick Engels — Selected Works, International Publishers, New York, 1968, p. 435.)
♦ In this regard, Marx himself says: "In the
law deciding the organization of the whole
social production of their life, men enter into
society.
d^mite relations that are indispensable and in-
and internationalstructures ofproduction and exploitation of natural resources, of exchange and commerce, ofprocessing and consumption of goods" in the capitalist world, excluding every other aspect of to
day's reality.^ We have also seen how the organization generalizes, simplifies, distorts and prac
tices an astonishing demagogy in the ap plication of its "economicist"*' vision of
society and history. We have seen how "D & P" arrives at the conclusion that the
capitalist system is the cause of misery and underdevelopment in the "Third World.
According to this same concept, which considers economics to be the center of
everything, the historical movement to
wards development will be accomplished only by bringing "an end to the present order based on profit, the domination and plunder ofthe resources ofthe Third World to the benefit of a rich minority (...) that centralizes all the power ofdecision-making. And by replacing it with a new order based on equality among men and a solidarity that
should make all the countries equal partners
Archbishop Miguel Obando y Bravo of Nicaragua
with
Sandinisia military
leaders: "Taking up arms)''
in an undertaking aimed at satisfying fun damental human needs such as nutrition, housing, the right to work, etc."® In the 132 documents that we have
studied, "D & F" ignores or seems to
Sister Martha Freeh
ignore the fact that true development, in
with a guerrilla
cluding that of economy, comes from the application of the immutable principles of Christian Civilization. As Pope Leo XIII luminously taught in his celebrated En
wounded in Maia-
cyclical "Graves de Communi" dealing with the problem of socio-economic in
justices requiring drastic correction, de velopment is fundamentally a moral and religious question. The Pontiff wrote: "For, it is the opinion ofsome, and the
f
galpa, Nicaragua.
IVlthout the sup port of the "progressivist Chris tians", the San
ir 'fe'i
dinisia Revolution
would never have
been successful.
tenor is already very common, that the dependent of their will, relations ofproduction which correspond to a definite stage ofdevelop social question is merely an economic one, ment of their material productive forces. The whereas in point offact, it is above all a sum total of these relations ofproduction con moral and religious matter, and for that stitutes the economic structure ofsociety, the real reason must be settled by the principles of foundation on which rises a legal and political morality and according to the dictates of superstructure and to which "orrespond definite forms of social consciousness. The mode of pro religion... duction of material life conditions the social, A change of economic system made political, and intellectual life process in general.
ty that has appeared in History, the manner in which wealth is distributed and society divided
into classes or orders is dependent upon what is
produced, how it is produced and how the pro ducts are exchanged. From this point of view, thefinal causes ofall social changes andpolitical revolutions are to be sought, not in men brains, not in men's better insight into eternal truth and
justice, but in changes in the modes ofproduc
tion and exchange. They are to be sought not
against, or to the detriment of, the prin
It is not the consciousness of men that determines
in the philosophy, but in the economics ofeach
ciples of Christian Civilization would do
their consciousness. At a certain stage of their
particular epoch." (Frederick Eng.
"So
nothing more than aggravate present evils.
development, the material productiveforces of
cialism: Utopian and Scientific,") Xa/i
xand
To look at the probL-m of development society come in conflict with the existing rela without regard for these principles and to tions ofproduction, or— what is but a legal ex pression for the same thing — with the proper
see it only as a need to transform the system
of production, marketing and consumption
of material goods is to adopt a fundamen tal postulate of historical materialism.
Let us put aside for a moment the coin
ty relations within which they have been at work
hitherto. Fromforms ofdevelopment of the pro ductiveforces, these relations turn into theirfet ters. Then begins an epoch ofsocial revolution. With the change of the economicfoundation the
immense superstructure is more or less cidences between the economic changes entire rapidly transformed."(Karl Marx, Preface to
proposed by Marxism and those desired by "D & P." Let us consider only this first fundamental principle that economics is the motor of history.
the "Critique of Political Economy," 1859, in Karl Marx and Frederick Engels — Selected Works, International Publishers, New York, 1968, pp. 182-183). The emphasis is ours.
• Engels also affirms that: That this method of analyzing social "The Materialistic conception of history starts reality is Marxist was clearly recognized by from the proposition that the production of the
Canon Houtart and Fr. Cosmao, O.P., lec-
means to support human life and, next to pro duction, the exchange of things produced, is the
basis ofall social structure; that in every socie-
Frederick Engels — Selected Works, interna
tional Publishers, N.Y., 1968, p. 417). (3) See this study. Part II, 4, b. (4)"Economicist" — that considers econom
ics as the determining "motor" of society and history (neologism).
(5) See this study, Part II, 4, b. First Step. (6) Jean-Pierre Lagac6, "Qu*est-ce que le Nouvel Ordre Economique International?" (What is the New International Economic
Order?), Mondes Nouveaux, Nov. 1975, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 1 and 8. The emphasis is ours. (7)Leo XIII, Grave de Communi, The Paulist
Press, New York 1941, p. 9. CRUSADE 25
turers especially invited by"D & P" to its international seminar held in Montreal in
1975. In the preceding chapter, we have seen to what extent"D & P" has identified
itself with their positions.® Canon Houtart delivered an important conference entitled "Underdevelopment: an induced phenomenon." This conference received enthusiastic support from the
magazine Mondes Nouyeaux.^ Explaining the meaning of his confer ence, Canon Houtart said literally: "This analysis starts with the fact that man or
ganizes his collective life, his social life, his political life on bases which are related to
dominates the workers (essentially seen as those exploited). There is a dialectical opposition between
is necessarily a prejudice to the other; every degree of emanicipation achieved by one class is a new element ofoppressionfor the
the working classes, on tjie one hand, and the bourgeoisie with its system of private ownership on the other. Therefore, the in
other."'2
terests of both sides are irreconcilable.
About this matter, Engels wrote: "Since the basis ofthe civilization is the
exploitation of one class by the other, its development is realized through a constant contradiction. Every advance in production is simultaneously a delay in the situation of the oppressed class, that is, of the im mense majority. Every benefitfor the one
Therefore, development will come from the liberation of the "productive forces" in their total fight to destroy the depen dences and restraints established by the dominant system of production. Class struggle between the working mass and the bourgeoisie is what will lead to the elimina tion of the system of private property. Because of this, Marx and Engels wrote in their Manifesto of 1848: "The whole of
communism can be summarized in only one
the manner in which he has to sustain
himself materially, that is, by providing (8) See this study, p. S3. himself with food,shelter, and clothing. In that sense,I agree that my analysis is largely (9) Jean-Pierre Lagac6,"Le sous-d6veloppea Marxist analysis, but it does not thereby ment, un phinom^ne provoqu6"(Underdevelop in any way accept philosophical material ment, an Induced Phenomenon), Mondes Nouism. It is increasingly important to show veaux, special issue, Seminar '75, pp. 12-13. that one can perfectly well make a Marxist (10) Canon F. Houtart,"Underdevelopment: analysis at the economic or sociological An Induced Phenomenon," Development and level without necessarily adopting the Peace — Final Report — International Seminar, atheistic philosophy (...) It is in this Montreal, 1975, p. 17. The emphasis is ours. perspective that I have written my presen (11) Fr. V. Cosmao, O.P. "Are There Ex amples of Socialism Which Have Succeeded Out tation entitled "Underdevelopment, an in side Marxist Socialism? — Reply," Development duced phenomenon."'® Should any shade of doubt still remain, and Peace — Final Report — International Seminar, Montreal, 1975, pp. 17-18. The em it will be quickly dissipated by the words phasis is ours. of Fr. Cosmao,O.P.: "Ifthere is one thing It is evident that Canon Houtart and Fr.
How is it possible to believe in God, to know and to serve His Church and, at the same time,
explain the marvelous formation of medieval Christendom upon the ruins of the Roman em pire as a fundamental evolution of economic laws?
How is it possible to recognize the superiori
ty of spirit over matter and, at the same time, deny that the course of History is determined by the acceptance or refusal of the principles that form the mentality of men? How is it possible to accept the socio-economic theories of Marxism, which deny the harmonious
hierarchy of social classes and the right of private property derived from the order of things created by God, and, at the same time, to call oneself a "Catholic"?
Let us complete these considerations with an
that can be considered as definite, thanks
Cosmao do not say that they accept philosoph
example of the true doctrine of the Church about
in particular to Marx,(...) it is that societies are what they make themselves and social
ical atheism. The first of these even felt the
the problem of social inequalities: "Social inequalities and also those left by birth
systems are historic products. This is of course a fundamentally Marxist principle (...) We are now aware that societies are
not created from models designed by God or from anywhere else and not from the world of ideas: we know that societies are
built up in relation to the problems witb whicb men are confronted in the places
where they live. In particular, they respond to the problems ofproduction in relation to human existence.
•SECOND COINCIDENCE: Development
Win Bee Attained Through Oass Struggle Between the Proletariat and the Boui^geoisie
necessity of affirming his non-atheistic position clearly, which is a paradoxical public stand on the part of a priest.
are unavoidable. The benevolent nature and the
They would reject atheistic philosophical
protect the cradles, cover them with kisses, but
materialism and limit their acceptance of Marx ism to historical and dialectical materialism ap
^ ~
We believe it is opportune to dwell for a mo ment on this subject.
With a disconcerting assurance. Canon Houtart and Fr. Cosmao seem to ignore the fact that the historical and socio-economic conception of Marxism is nothing but a logical and necessary
projection of its atheistic materialism upon reality. Even if in principle the Marxists said they believed in God and, at the same time, continued
Marxist thesis: After
their socio-economic conceptions, there would
be no improvement whatsoever, because they
economics directs the life
would continue to deny the interventions and reflections of God in History and society. Ac
moves history and generates development. The most important factor of economic life is what the Marxists call "productive forces," that is, the popular masses, the workers, their tools and the materials that they process.
Facing the productive forces, always within the economic sphere, are the so-
coUed "relations of production," today consisting of the system of private owner ship of the means of production and the existence of a bourgeoisie of owners (nec essarily considered as exploiters) which 26 CRUSADE
viewpoint, if these ineluctable inequalities may
appear as a rigorous consequence ofsocial con tion is rather common among leftist ecclesiastical flicts and of the power acquired by some over and lay people who favor the communist cause others, as a consequence of blindly rigid laws, while seeking to remain in the Church. which are thought to guide human activity and
having established that
principle: class struggle is the law that
do not make them equal. ... But,from the pagan
plied to the socio-economic sphere. This distinc
to apply their scheme of historical analysis and
of society, atheistic materialism advocates a second
benediction ofGod over humanity enlighten and
cordingly, they would build a.i atheistic society anyway.
To imagine a god who did not create the universe according to his divine, eternal and natural laws; a god who is his revelation to men
did not say anything obligatory in respect to the right organization of society; a god who could be accepted in theory by anyone,and simultane ously allowed men to build a civilization and culture denying that same god in practice, would be nothing but a blasphemous foolishness. How is it possible to believe that man was created according to the Image and Likeness of
God, having an immortal soul capable of being elevated to supernatural life by grace, and,at the same time, to accept a blind and gross material istic determinism, that places economics at the center of history?
result in the triumph ofsome and in the sacrifice
of others, on the contrary, the souls instructed andformed by Christian faith cannot consider these inequalities except as an order of things wanted by God, Who, in his own counsel, allows inequalities within thefamilies. Wherefrom these inequalities are destined to increase the unity of men among themselves during their terrestrialso journ towards the heavenly country, thereby per mitting some to help the others, asfather helps mother and children.
If this paternal concession ofsocial supi sometimes leads the souls, on account oj . le
shock of human passions, to leave the right way in the relations between people ofa higher rank and those of a humbler condition, the history
offallen humanity is not astonished by this. Such deviations can neither diminish nor veil thisfun damental truth: that,for the Christian, social in equalities are established in a great humanfami
ly; ..."(Pius XII, "Allocution to the Patriar chate and Nobility of Rome," Jan. 5, 1942, in Documents Pontificaux de Sa Sainteti Pie XII, Ed. Saint-Augustin, St. Maurice, 1962, pp. 19-20).
(12) F. Engels, "L'Origine de la Famille, de la Propri6t6 Priv6e et de TEtat",(The Origin of the Family, Private Property and State) in G. Glezerman y Kursanov,Probldmes Fondamentaux du Mat&ialisme Historique, Ed. Progress, Moscow, p. 353.
f Position of"Development
principle: the abolition of private prop erty.""
Mondes Nouveaux:"Underdevelopment is
luminated the lands of America with their
a product of the development of the Westem world (...)But one thing is certain, that
examples and words. It is with veneration
and Peace": All the gross ly rigid descriptions of the world situation made by this organization presup pose, implicitly or explicity, the existence of a dialectical opposition between the mass of consumer workers and the capitalist system, based on private ownership of the means of production. In the preceding section, we have il lustrated this viewpoint with several ex amples. We have also verified that through out its critical analysis,"D & P" does not distinguish between the capitalist system in itself and the abuses to which it gave rise. Furthermore, we have seen that the organi zation questions capitalism in its essence.'" In this way,the organization lets the idea show through that an injustice exists inside our social and economic system. This in justice is the coexistence of salaried workers and consumers(who do not own the means of production) with small, medium and
underdevelopment is not a question of
Churches, schools, universities and
more or less, of rapidity or slowness in a
hospitals were built in very little time; the juridical, political, social and economic organization reached such a degree of pro gress that even today it evokes admiration and astonishment among impartial histo rians; the natives helped to give the arts an
large owners, whether in agriculture, in dustry or commerce. Without afHrming it in theory, the or ganization in practice orients people in such a way that they accept the Marxist concept that every inequality is unjust and that private ownership of the means of produc tion is an evii to he rooted out. Let us now examine the other documents
in which "D & P" emphasizes this dialec tical opposition between the mass of the people and the capitalist bourgeoisie. The logical and inevitable consequence of this opposition will be class struggle to destroy the bourgeoisie. Citing Canon Fran?ois Houtart, Mr. Jean-Pierre Lagac^ wrote in the magazine
(13) Dealing with this postulate, Engels ex plains that Marx "discovered the great law of development, a law according to which every historicaljight in politics, religion, philosophy, and in any other ideologicalfield is in reality the more or less clear expression ofthefight between social classes:and, the existence ofthese classes
process ofdevelopment, but rather a dialec tical relation between the development of some and the underdevelopment of the others.""
Thus, the whole history of the West in the last few centuries is viewed according to the principle of the dialectical struggle between classes. In this matter,"D & P"
arrives at monstrous distortions, as de scribed in the preceding section. According to the organization, the col
onizing and missionary undertaking carried out by the Christian West from the 16th century on, was nothing more than a series
of lootings and destructions caused by the economic interests of dominating classes who used Christianity to justify them selves."
Let us now dwell on this point for a lit
cumulated labor and immediate labor. No an
tagonism, no progress. This is the law that civilization has followed up to our days. Till now, the productiveforces have been developed
admirable perfection.
As in nearly all human undertakings, there were also abuses and injustices. But they were neither so numerous nor so grave as the so-called "Black Legend" described them for posterity. Indeed, that description would not stand an objective historical criticism today. The work of colonization merited
stronger reproaches on other continents.
In any case, to wish to reduce this pro digious and complex reality to a mere result of conflicting economic interests is to desire the animalization of human history. Considering,in the light of Faith, all the
tle while in order to guage how terribly the Marxist criteria of analysis distorts reality. aspects of reality in their true hierarchy, the Pretending to classify the birth of the wise and balanced thought of the Roman New World (a reality rich in aspects and Pontiffs arrived at conclusions completely nuances) within the fanatical outline of different from those reached by"D & P"'s
historical materialism,"D & P"goes so far as to ignore the importance of that great
historical materialism."
event in the history of the Church and
the prism of Marxist analysis,"D &P"in
Christendom.
discriminately attacks wi^ brutal injustice
Obsessively considering reality through
When post-Medieval Europe had already the efforts made in Canada towards pro
started its sad process of de-Christianization, gress. It affirms that the knowledge of the Divine Providence allowed the life-giving cause of current injustices in the world
Sap of the old continent to bring Christian "oblige us to turn to our country to study vigor to peoples living in pagan stagnation closely the origin of our own wealth, and and barbarism.
the mechanisms of its production,to under
In less than a century, a new group of stand that our well-being, like a vampire nations was formed in the three Americas. that nourishes itself on the blood of others, Multitudes embraced the true Faith. A legion of heroic missionaries and saints il
(14) See this study, Part II, 4, b, first step. (15) Jean-Pierre Lagac^,"Le sous-d^eloppement: un ph^nomtoe provoqufi"(Underdevelop ment: An Inv jced Phenomenon),Mond^Nou
veaux, special issue. Seminar *75, p. 13. The em phasis is ours.
as well as the clash between them are condi
tioned, in their turn, by the degree of develop ment of their economic position, by the mode of production and by the mode of exchange determined by this latter." ("Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels" in The Future of Society Ed. Progress, Moscow, 1973, p. 41). In this regard Marx says that "The very mo ment civilization begins, production begins to be founded on the antagonism of orders, estates, classes, and finally on the antagonism of ac
that Canada remembers her Jesuit martyrs.
(16) See this study, p. 52. (17)Let us see, for example,some pontifical texts about the Spanish colonization, which can be found in the book, Une Chritienti d'outremer(A Christendom of Overseas) by Fr. Jean Terrades, C.P.C.R.
• Leo XIII, during the 4th centenary of the discovery of America, gave "thanks to the im mortal God ... for this auspicious event, that millions ofmen who were in darkness and obli vion, have been reintegrated in society, and have passed from barbarism to sweetness and to humanity, and, what is more, have been called
by virtue of the system of class antagonisms." from death to eternal life by the communication (Karl Marx,"The Poverty of Philosophy," in ofgoods brought about by Jesus Christ."(En karl Marx and Frederick Engels — Collected cyclical Quarto Abeunte, July 16, 1892). Works, Intemational Publishers, New York, vol. •Pius IX said: "Spain has always shown a 6, p. 132. particularpredelictionfor this Apostolic See, and
does so in good measure by the exploita tion of poor countries.""
does its utmost to bring Christian Civilization to all nations ofthe world. The Spanishflag has floated over the seas ofAmerica, India and other regions, as the symbol of the faith in Jesus Christ. ... Because of this, Spain was great in the days of old, because shefoundet gran deur on the propagation of Christiat. 4ion, serving and defending it at the price of all sa crifices."(Pius IX to a commission of Spanish Catholics, June 20, 1871). • Pius XII said: "From the bottom of our heart, we thank the Blessed Trinity and OurLord Jesus Christfor all the good deeds ofthe Cath olic Faith and the Christian culture which,
throughout the centuries, have been spreadfrom the Mother Country, repository of religious forces, to her vast overseas lands."(Pius XII, Message to the enclosure of the First Great
Spanish Nationalfor the d^mition ofthe Dogma
of the Assumption, October 12, 1946). (18)"La mis^re des peuples a-t-eUe son origine chez nous? Pour une action Educative id"(Does the Misery of Peoples Have Its Origin in Our Country? — For an Educational Action Here), Solidarity, March 1977, vol. 1, no.3, p. 11. The emphasis is ours. CRUSADE 27
Marxists draw from this concept: the pop
were absolute, they transform these prin ciples into ideological obstacles to develop ment. At this point, it is necessary to
We believe that a much better rating is merited by the titanic efforts of the ances
ular masses, their tools and the raw mate
tors of present-day Canadians to form a people and build up material progress in
rials are the driving force of class struggle aimed at destroying capitalist structures of eliminate these obstacles in order for social
production. In order to reach that goal, it progress to continue along its historic is necessary to incite poor countries against course.^ The efHcient, far-sighted and intelligent rich countries; inside each country, the Position of "Development work carried out at home and abroad by workers must seize economic power from and Peace": A surprising Canadian individuals, groups and enter the bourgeoisie. It is impossible to distin coincidence can be observed prises cannot be judged unjust as a whole. guish this program from the so-called "dic in the organization's litera It is clear that in certain cases, in the past tatorship of the proletariat," which, accor ture regarding this third and present, this effort has given rise to and ding to the conununists, the State must im principle of historical materialism. does give rise to abuses and injustices. pose by eliminating private ownership of First, in its ten years of existence,"D & Nevertheless, it was and is fundamentally the means of production. P" has omitted any reference to the im the product of a culture and a civilization mutable value of the principles of Chris • THIRD COINCIDENCE: Ideology oriented by undoubtedly Christian prin tian Civilization. We have already made Must Evolve According to the New ciples over the course of many centuries. note of this. "Social Consciousness" Bom of Class Today, its most dynamic and enterprising Furthermore, "D & P"*s doctrinal Struggle; or Else It will Become an aspect comes from the legitimate elements relativism becomes even more notorious as Obstacle to Development. of the natural order upon which it is still one analyzes its position towards commu based. A critical analysis concealing or Marxist thesis: The new nism. denying this fact is lacking in truth and "social consciousness" We know that anyone who recognizes justice. emerges to the degree that absolute moral precepts in the immutable •"D & P'"s profoundly Marxist critical the masses of the people principles of Christian order cannot help analysis leads to the use of the principle of 4r openly clash with the capi but see the communist sect and the system class struggle as a decisive factor in obtain talist system of production. The philosoph it imposes everywhere that it seizes power, ing development. Here is how the position ical, moral and religious Ideas that society as the anti-order and the destruction of all of"D &P"about this specific matter can has accepted until the present time, now authentic spiritual and material progress. be summarized: become entirely obsolete. They were noth Militant anti-conununism is an elemen 1. There will be no development without ing more than a by-product of the econo tary requirement of our Faith and the love the overthrow of the system of production mic system in force. we must have for Catholic principles. in force in the Western world." Economic life or the "social existence" The only times"D &P" made reference 2. It is necessary to favor the union becomes outmoded and is transformed to anti-communism, it did so precisely to "between the exploited ones ofour system through class struggle; the same thing hap depict the latter as an outdated ideological and the oppressed masses of the Third pens with the philosophical and religious position and a mere instrument used by the a country whose climate is in many respects very hostile!
World."20
3. The organization cites China, Vietnam, Tanzania, Guinea-Bissau and Cuba as ex
ideas derived from that "social existence":
bourgeoisie to overcome the desire for the
they become outmoded and will be trans
"liberation" of peoples
formed.
There is even more. We find that"D & P"
amples of a successful fight to control the To the degree that the dominating classes means of production by tearing them from reject this evolution of the "social con the mechanisms of capitalist dependencies.^' sciousness" and remain obstinately attached
considers the several socialistic regimes of every hue and even Marxist regimes such
to their relative principles as though they
etc., as new, valid and reconunendable
(19)See this study, Part II, 4, b; Part III, First
ory, creates its morals, its political,juridical and esthetic conceptions.
4. It is no wonder that"D & P"reports
without any conunent the program of ac tion proposed by Canon Francois Houtart in his lecture during the 1975 seminar. Here are a few points in this plan of "liberating" struggle: "Therefore, it is necessary to undertake political action in the industrial
Coincidence.
(20) Jacques Perron, "Porquoi le S^minaire
ized countries in order to raise a social con '75?"(Why the Seminar '75?), Mondes Nouveaux, special issue. Seminar '75. p. 6. sciousness and bring pressure on the public powers. (21)See this study. Part II, 4, b, third step.
"(...) to promote, in the industrialized countries, the internal control of economic
power by the workers and their organiza tions (...) to make it possible for the dominated masses of the Third World to
(22) Jean-Pierre Lagac£,"Le sous-d^eloppement: un phtoomtoe provoqud"(Underdevelopment: An Induced Phenomenon)Mom/esA/buveaux, special issue. Seminar '75, p. 13, The em phasis is ours.
seize power in their countries through
social, political or workers' organizations and peasant or liberation movements of several kinds.
(23)V.G. Afanasyev synthesizes this Marxist postulate as follows: "In the capitalist regime, the bourgeoisie dominate economically. Thus, in order to accomplish this domination, it utilizes
as those of Cuba, Red China, Vietnam,
"...Asa consequence ofthe social revolution, a particularly profound modification is produced ... with the substitution of one economic basis
by another one.In the course ofthe revolution, the political domination of the old class is destroyed and the domination of the new class is consolidated. To replace the old apparatu the State, a new one is created, that is to su_ an ensemble ofpoliticalandJuridical institutions. Socialconsciousness is modified, the old ideology
is replaced by the new one, which corresponds to the new basis."(V.G. Afanasyev, Marxist Philosophy, Progress Publishers, Moscow, pp. 254-55). In this regard Lenin afHrms: "Capitalism is progressive because it destroys the old methods ofproduction and developspro ductiveforces, yet at thesame time, at a certain stage of development, it retards the growth of
"(...) to carry out an action upon the the ideas and institutions in use within thesociety foreign policy of Western countries to in itsfight against the proletariat. However, in make them support the countries engaged the capitalist society, the proletariats, who con forces. It develops, organizes, and in the people's way ofdevelopment:for ex struct their own ideas and institutions, oppose productive disciplines the workers — and it crushes, op the bourgeoisie. The proletariat gradually under ample, Tanzania, Zambia, Guinea-Bissau stand the essence of capitalism and becomes presses, leads to degeneration, poverty, etc." and South Vietnam aware ofthe necessity ofeliminating it. In order (V.I. Lenin — Collected Works, Differences in First,"D &P"distorted the concept of tofight the bourgeoisie, the proletariat create the European Labour Movement, Progress deveiopment in a .materialistic manner. its own organizations;politicalparties, cooper Publishers, Moscow, vol. 16, p. 348). Following that, according to logic, it con atives, unions, etc. Allthrough the revolutionary (24) See this study, p. 55. sistently accepted the consequence that the fight, the proletariatpossesses the Marxist the 28 CRUSADE
models to free peoples from their underdevelopment.^ This is the new "social consciousness"
being born.
On the other hand, in the magazine
generates a "new social consciousness" that will be the "faith" of the "new order..."
In the same seminar of 1975 a prominent lecturer invited by"D & P" was even more explicit. Indeed, Vietnamese Fr. Nguyen Dinh Thi, the "activities coordinator" of
Mondes Nouveaux, the organization makes Fr. Cosmao's exposition its own in the 1975 seminar by publishing the following state the movement "Fraternit6-Vietnam" ments: "Indeed, having suffered the influ (helped financially by"D & P")announced ence ofthe current ofsecularization asking that "Certainly, in Vietnam, one type of him to behave as an autonomous and re
sponsible adult in the world; that was given
to him, man is called to invent continuously his vision of the world and his behavior in
a creative work, without being subjected to
his cultural heritage and education that
church is destined to disappear to give way to a new type ofchurch.(...)A newsociety is coming to birth in Vietnam and there will necessarily be a new church. Fr.Thi's"church" is obviously commit
•FOURTH COINCIDENCE:In Order to Accelerate the World-wide Socialist
Revolution, h Is Necessary to Denounce the Contradictions of Capitalism and Make Useful Tools Out of Them.
Marxist thesis: Although class struggle develops by itself and
thus
makes
history progress, it can and should be fomented by a revolutionary strategy. To that end, the Marxist parties and "advanced" groups must make the masses aware of the con
tradictions of capitalism. As the bourgeoisie tries to perpetuate capitalism
wanted the order of things to be sacred and
ted to the communization of Vietnam. He
by proposing at times to conciliate its in
therefore untouchable."^6
makes no secret of that.
terests with those of the proletariat, this
Referring to the history of the West, he
said: "(...) this which is nothing but the fruit of a history, of our history, also ap pears to us as a consistent whole of evi
dences and the only consistent whole of evidences that can be possible. "Thus, Theology is not constructed other
than in practice. It is the whole people of
God that in their historical march,interpret their history as holy history, construct the
language of their faith, theology. It is together, in the community, that Christians team how to 'make the truth'and that little
by little (...) the collective consciousness of
the sense of faith emerges, by analogy to the 'sensusfidei'offormer times. But such a consensus always has to be reworked by
the permanent,frank and humble negotia tion of our contradictions."^^
In spite of the usual confusion of the for mulation typical of the new progressivist "theology," the natural sense of the affir
A sad episode in the Vatican policy of"detente" with Communist governments. Lazio Lekai(left), successor of Cardinal Mindszenty as Archbishop of Eztergom and Primate of Hungary, taking an oath offidelity to Pal Losonczi (right), the Communist President of the Hungarian State.
mations cited above leads us straight to the evolutionist relativism postulated in histor ical materialism.
The words quoted by the magazine ot "D & P" describe the traditional Christian
conception of society as a "decrepit ideology" that, having become a hindrance to the movement for the "liberation" of
peoples, must be abandoned. The "struggle of the people" gradually
(25)See this study, Part II, 4, b.. Third Step. (26) J. P., "D^veloppement et Foi"(Develop
m, ft
ment and Faith), Mondes Nouveaux, special issue, Seminar '75, p. 16. The emphasis is ours. (27) Ibid. The emphasis is ours.
(28) J. P.,"Diveloppement et Foi"(Develop ment and Faith), Mondes Nouveaux, special issue, Seminar '75, p. 17. The emphasis is ours. (29) Fr. Nguyen Dinh Thi, "Vietnam is a
Question, an Appeal and a Proposal — (Questions
In Saigoni Catholic nuns march in a parade; holding aflower, they pay homage to Ho-Chi-Minh,
and RepUes, "Development and Peace — Final Report — International Seminar, Montreal,
of Vietnam (Communist). Is this the new church of Fr. Thi?
the "father ofthe revolution,"on the occasion of the 30th anniversary ofthe Democratic Republic
1975, p. 51. CRUSADE 29
awareness of the contradictions of capi
talism will entirely neutralize those efforts of conciliation.
eliminates private property and brings the economy under "collective" control. In this manner, the revolutionary strat
publications, repeated in its popular pam phlets, articles, posters and so on. In 1977, this slogan was completed by the phrase
There are many kinds of contradictions that can be pointed out by revolutionary
egy will be able to bring the hour of social
"... Let Us See It!"" Here is the whole
revolution closer. Helped by the State, the
slogan: "The Earth is for All, But... Let
propaganda; it is just a matter of looking
popular masses will then seize control of
Us See It!"
contradictions are those of such importance
"D & P" applies that ambiguous for means of production, establishing the dic mulation in a frankly tendentious manner. The idea spread by the organization tatorship of the proletariat. This is how the
that by departing from them one can more
conununization of society will begin
for the piindpal contradictions and those that are most irreconcilable. The principal easily distinguish the lesser ones; the most irreconcilable contradictions are those al
the multinationals and thereafter of all the
f Position of"Development
and Peace":To be truthful,
lowing no room for any possible concilia
the organization makes an
tion whatsoever.
effort to concentrate in
The principal contradiction in the cur rent historic moment is the contrast bet ween the "successes of socialism" and the
^'crisis of decadent capitalism." This contradiction is what must serve as
a background for the revolutionary pro paganda to make the masses aware of the most important internal contradiction of capitalism: the irreconcilable antagonism existing between the social aspect of pro
albout this slogan can be enunciated as follows:
a) The goods existing on the earth are for all men,but an unjust socio-economic
creasingly its activity upon system of appropriation has placed them in the "awakening of consciousness" of Ca the hands of a rich minority, thus concen
nadian public opinion regarding the inter nal "contradiction" of the capitalist system as it is seen by Marxist doctrine. It is obvious that"D & P" does not say
openly that it considers private property essentially unjust. In doing so, it would
trating therein all decision-making power. b)This minority manages the economy of the rich countries and causes poverty and misery in the rest of the world.
c) So there is a brutal contradiction:
of Catholic social doctrine already defined
material goods exist to satisfy "social necessities," but because of a system of private property, the means of production
duction and the private mode of appropria
unanimously by the Ordinary Magisterium
are in the hands of a few. This minority
tion and acquisition.
of the Church for more than one hundred
manages the system for its own profit. It
years.'' Nevertheless,"D & P"suggests it
harms and ruins the majority of mankind.
very strongly.
d)In view of the essential incapacity of the capitalist system, there are countries of
Being a fruit of the worker's efforts, pro duction is destined for all men; but since
directly clash with an immutable principle
Through a demagogic method of criti the ownership of the means of production is private, the workers and popular masses cism and a jumble of half-truths and halfare obliged to subject themselves to the errors,"D & P"forms in the minds of the victims of its propaganda a whole set of owners, that is to say, the exploiters. The fact that the ownership of the means "capitalist contradictions" according to the of production is private also determines the Marxist scheme. It thus inculcates all the manner whereby material goods are distri false premises whose normal conclusion buted. This imequal distribution maintains will be the abolition of the private owner the differences among classes; consequent ship of the means of production. ly, it is essentially unjust. In its unbridled bid for ever-growing pro
fits, capitalism forms multinational monopolies,finally generating indefensible hypertrophy. Thus,the irreconcilable con tradiction between the social aspect of pro
ticularly important to lookfor theprinc^lcon tradiction. The discovery of the principal con tradiction aids the advanced classes ofsociety
and the Marxist parties to elaborate a correct policy,so as to organize in an efficacious man ner the practical work.
"... Among the numerous contradictions of contemporary society, which one is the most im portant and decisive?
really serve to satisfy the crying needs of the majority of humanity?""
the heart of the question which the com
Therefore, the principal theme of the "educational" campaign carried out by "D & P" in the last few years is exactly what the communists consider a fundamen
tal question: the irreconcilable contradic tion between tbe social aspect of produc tion and tbe fact that the means of appro-
their development. The deepest contradiction of constitutes the economic basisfor the sot the capitalist mode of production is the con revolution. The victorious socialist revoiuuu/i abolishes capitalist production relations and tradiction between the social character ofpro duction and the private capitalist form of ushers in the new, communist socio-economic formation." (V.G. Afanasyev, Marxist appropriation. "... Towards the end of the iast century Philosophy, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1968, capitalism grew into imperlsUsm, its highest and pp. 210-211.)
laststage. The crux ofmaterialism is the domina tion ofmonopolies, which replacesfree competi
(31) See this study. Part II, 4, b.
tion. Monopolies are large associations ofcapi talists who concentrate in their hands the pro
"The principal contradiction and the most decisive one determining the development of society as a whole is the contradiction between
theflourishing world-wide socialist system and the decrepit capitalist system."
contradiction between the social character of
SO CRUSADE
Guinea-Bissau."
organization's propaganda for "conscious ness awakening" has gone more deeply to
duction and marketing of the bulk of certain commodities. The aim of the monopolies is to extract the highest profits possible. "... Imperialism aggravates all the contradic
Afanasyev adds later: the titanic growth of the productive forces, capiUilist relations ofproduction cease to corre^nmd to them and turn intofetters on
this contradiction in a different way â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the
socialist way. Examples of this are Com munist China, Cuba, Tanzania, Vietnam,
Thus it is that"D & P" now proclaims its "consciousness-awakening" message at full blast: "The fundamental question is: Let us now consider some documents of 'Who should control the resources of the earth and benefit from them?' Will they "D & P" in this respect. â&#x20AC;˘ Especially in the last two years, the continue to enrich a minority or will they
duction and the private system of appro munists consider decisive for the precipita tion of the socialist revolution. priation of goods reaches its climax. Indeed, beginning with the publicity By arguing through contrasts, the Marx ist parties and "advanced" groups must campaign "Share Lent" of 1976,"D & P" show the popular masses that socialism launched a new slogan: "The Earth is for gives a solution to this contradiction: it All, But..." This slogan was present in its
(30) In this regard Afanasyev says: "Social life is characterized by an extraor dinary complexity. In this social life, it is par
the "Third World" successfully resolving
tions ofcapitalism to the extreme, especially the
production and the privateform ofappropria tion. This contradiction gives rise to crises and
unemployment, causes fierce class battles be tween the bourgeoisie and the proletariat and
(32) "CarSme de Partage, un temps fort
d'iducation" (Share Lent, a Right Time for Education), Solidaritis, March 1977, vol. 1, no. 3, p. 16.
(33) See this study, p. 56.
(34) "CarSme de Partage, un temps fort d'6ducation" (Share Lent, a Right Time for Education),Solidarity, March 1977, vol. 1, no. 3, p. 16. The emphasis is ours.
Let us see how "D & P" gives examples of this capitalist "contradiction" in agri culture: "The myth of the necessity of 'modernizing' agriculture to produce more (...) made the future nourishment of the
Third World dependent upon the impor tance of agricultural technology rather than human resources.
"Agriculture has passed into the hands ofthose who have at one and thesame time
lands, money, credits and political ir\fJuence. Mechanization expelled the peasants and agricultural workersfrom their lands
(...) They live now as refugees in the city slums, unemployed, threatened by hunger. "(...) Why should large producers care
about the loss of that clientele, since they no longer producefood to providefor local needs but luxury commoditiesfor betterpaying markets: urban centers andforeign countries. The rest of the production will Daniel Ortega (member of(he Sandinista Junta
be used to breed cattle destinedfor expor
in Nicaragua), standing with his clenchedfist high in the air, with the guerrilla David Chavarria on
tation (...) "(...) the nutrition crisis is not a
his right, exalts: "the Cuban revolution — heroic and magnificent — with Fidel Castro at its head."
geographic datum in the first place; it is
Fr. Uriel Molina (firstfrom left). Friar Betto and Miguel D'Escoto, Minister ofForeign Affairs of Nicaragua(on reader's right) applaud. On the table are posters of the "saints" of the Nicaraguan
rather a result ofa socialprocess affecting the majority wherever it may be. "Food production no longer feeds the
local population. The large multinational
Revolution:Sandino and Carlos Amador. This is
companies and their national allies are
a special session (Feb. 28. 1980) of the Interna tional Ecumenical Congress of Theology held in the A uditorium ofthe Pontifical Catholic Univer
establishing one single agricultural system
sity in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
all over the world, where they will control everything, from the ground to the con sumer's table.
"(...) Food has become a political weapon in the hands of the United States and the large companies which have ac quired a right of life and death over 2.5 billion human beings who no longer have any guarantee they will eat. The texts that we have just quoted are a typical example of"D & P"'s way of ac ting. Through its "consciousness-awaken
ing" work, the organization emphasizes the "capitalist contradictions" in a simplistic and tendentious manner, based on aston Religious symbolism and revolution: Fidel Castro
in the early days of his "liberating cause."
ishing demagogic generalizations. The article closes with a real death cer
tificate of capitalism, which is very reveal priation are private, compared to the so-
complish this universal end of the goods of
called success of the socialist experiment.
the earth.
The Marxists recommend that their
agents exploit this question in their pro paganda so as to prepare for the "dictator ship of the proletariat" and the implanta tion of communism.
It must be said in passing that, by present
Furthermore, it must be emphasized that the history of the last centuries proves that the natural right of private property is an irreplaceable principle of the dynamism of real development even on the purely mate
ing of the thinking of "D & P" on this matter: "It is necessary to educate b ^^owing the links existing between the i. ts of starving populations and our own, to make known the successes ofexperiments in nutritional self-sufficiency the article cites the case of Communist China) and
rial level; by opposition, this is also proved
ing its campaign in this manner,"D & P" by the economic failure of the socialist fulfills to the letter the objectives of com countries. Wherever private property is munist strategy. Moreover, it depicts in a annihilated, true freedom necessarily dis distorted and incomplete way the Christian appears; spiritual progress is hindered or principle that the goods of the earth should destroyed and material well-being deterio satisfy the needs of all men. rates. In reality,"D & P" fails to say that ac In this same line one reads: "At the heart cording to Divine and Natural Law, the of the whole problem is Ihe question of
right of private ownership of consumer
ownership of lands and political power to
goods as well as of the means of produc
be applied for the nourishment of popula
tion, being in conformity with the dignity
tions or for the enrichment of a handful of
of human nature, is the proper way to ac-
privileged nationals and foreigners.
(35) See this study, pp. 40-41. (36) Jean-Claude Leclerc, "A I'ombre de
Magoshan" (In the Shadow of "Magoshan"), Le Devoir, February 24, 1977, in Solidaritis April 1977, vol. 1, no. 4, p. 1. The emphasis is
(37) "Plus de nourriture, et pourtant, plus d'affam^s — il faut y voir!" (More Food but
also More People Starving — Let Us See Itl), Solidaritis, March 1977, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 2-3. CRUSADE 31
to show, starting with the example of alienated God. We have made God a capi hunger, thefundamental incapacity ofthe talist.
considered as immutable and sacred. They must abandon anti-communism and sup
present system to satisfy the basic needs of
port socialist or Marxist models of "de velopment" in force in the "Third World." d) Class struggle must be fomented
"D & P" analyzes reality according to Marxist doctrine and str.ategy. What will • With the collaboration of Mr. Jean- be the outcome of the "development" it Pierre Lagac6 of"D & P," and other "pro promotes? In short, we have accumulated abundant moters of development," the ACEF(Co operative Association of Family Economy) proofs that through its propaganda "D & elaborated a report on the food crises. The P" leads to sympathy for and collabora tion with the communist cause, and, more report affirms: "Thepresent capitalist economicsystem over, that it clearly adopts Marxist doctrine is infact dominated by (...)giant(...)enter itself to analyze social life, history and the
humanity.
through "awakening the consciousness" of public opinion by pointing out the "con tradictions" of capitalism, especially be tween the social character of production and the system of private property, and by showing that the socialist regimes are ca
pable of "overcoming" these "contradic
prises(...) The multinationals reign as mas process of development. The organization founded by the Cana ters in thisjungle where 'might makes right'
tions."
dian Bishops really shows that it has ac is the best law. Economic domination com posed of corruption and horror replaces cepted the following communist theses:
question becomes unavoidable: if the pro paganda techniques used by"D & P"lead
a)Economics play a determining role in these latter are not too far away, if they society and human development. This is a become necessary. SUCH IS THE FOUN fundamental law of historical materialism. b)The opposition or dialectical struggle DATION OF THE ECONOMIC ORDER between classes is what explains the move WE ARE LIVING IN TODAY."^^ ment of history. Development, the fruit of •In the same way,"D & P"'s educa this struggle, will not be attained in Canada tional sector affirms: "The action of and in the whole world except by the trans multinational companies in Latin America, fer of economic power from the capitalist Asia or Africa is one ofthe principal causes bourgeoisie to the masses of workers, peas keeping the Third World countries in their ants and consumers. state of chronic dependence. (...) These c) If economic life is the determining same companies are alsofound here, exert driving force of society and of history, the ing a nearly total control over our natural ideas of each epoch are nothing more than resources, their processing and the distribu a by-product of economic life, and conse tion of consumer products.
to collaboration with Marxism, and if its
political and military domination, although
"Result: two-thirds of humanity are
starving... "(...) this is why, pursuing its educa tional objective. Development and Peace
feels the needfor denouncing this system ofexploitation in the Third World by ex posing its close connections with Quebec's economic situation.
"This is why we believe thai, in order to
resist the ever greater pressure of these economic giants, it is necessary to become
quently there are no absolute religious, philosophical or moral principles that should rule the true social order. The prin
ciples of the social order evolve according to the changes of the "social conscious ness" born of the economic transforma tion: this "social consciousness" itself
originates from class struggle. Because of this, Christians must "liberate" themselves from obsolete
ideological systems that they erroneously
In view of what has been said so far, a
description of social life, history, the causes of underdevelopment and the means to
achieve development coincide so much with Marxism, wouldn't it be reasonable to ask if the model of society proposed by this officially Catholic organization is the same model desired by Marxism? The next section was written in order to
answer this question. It studies the "New International Economic Order" proposed
by"D & P" as the solution for implanting justice in Canada and the whole world. (38)Idem. p. 3.
(39) Laurie Girouard in collaboratioa with Claude Par6, Louise Langlois and Jean-Pierre
Lagac£, "La crise aiimentaire" (The Food Crisis), August 1975, pp. 33 and 44.
(40)Development and Peace, Education Sec tor, "La crise aiimentaire"(The Food Crisis), August 1975. The emphasis is ours. (41)Canon F. Houtart,"Underdevelopment: An Induced Phenomenon" Development and Peace, Final Report, International Seminar, Montreal, 1975, p. 17. The emphasis is ours.
aware of their intemationai dimension and
to show, as a people, solidarity with the battles now being fought in what is called the Third World.
• Within the context of "D & P"'s
"consciousness-awakening" strategy, it is
opportune to cite here an answer of Canon Houtart to a question during the 1975
Part IV
A ONE-WORLD SOCIALIST REPUBLIC MARCHING TOWARDS THE COMMUNIST UTOPIA
seminar.
When one speaks of socialist revolution, the minds of most people are struck with published this one without any reservation the image of the old Bolshevik conspiracy headed by a cruel and terrible Lenin seiz or qualification. Speaking about the sup posed efficiency of socialism in overcom ing power by violence; one thinks of his ing underdevelopment. Canon Houtart says: ferocious-looking communist militiamen, "Are there examples of socialism which bushy-haired and bloody in their aspect, have succeeded outside Marxist socialism? penetrating the homes of the bourgeoisie, "It must be said that the true socialist setting fire, looting, raping and killing; in experience is the Marxist experience and it brief, people think of a sinister "Night of Just as in the case of all other interven tions of Canon Houtart's, "D & P"
is these Marxist experiences that have suc ceeded. Take for example Cuba, North
Vietnam, China. / do not accept the
philosophy that necessarily eliminates God orfaith.I wonder why, to achieve an effi
the Long Knives." Indeed, since 1917, communism has never stopped using violence and war as a
compassion of the leaders of "Deveh ment and Peace," so preoccupied witn human rights violations which supposedly have been practiced by the anti-communist regimes of South America against a few terrorists...
Nevertheless, today's Marxist advance aimed at implanting socialism in Western countries is carried out with less physical violence, with "democratic" appearances and in a manner calculated to henumh and
prevent a possible reaction of the masses, which have obstinately shown themselves method of seizing power. Even in our days, to be more conservative than predicted by this is exemplified by Red slaughters in the revolutionary propaganda.
This is how communism presented itself cient socialist society which takes entire South Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Ethiopia peoples out of underdevelopment, we have or Angola. These massacres, it should be in Chile during Allende's unsuccessful at to arrive at atheism. Why?Because we have noted in passing, have not attracted the tempt to dominate that country. The same 32 CRUSADE
can be said of Latin countries of Europe such as Italy, France,Spain and Portugal,
where everting is being prepared by socalled Euro-communism to grant the Com munist Parties an increasing influence ovei those countries' governments or a par
ticipation in them in order to control "democratically" their political, social and economic life and make themselves ab solute masters of the situation.
Therefore, when we speak of socialist revolution today, we must adapt our criteria to the new strategies of interna tional communism; otherwise, we will neither understand present reality well, nor
be aware of the real dangers threatening Canada and the West.
It is especially important to keep all of this in mind while reading our analysis of the solution proposed by "D & P" to replace the capitalist system. In order for us to Hnd out which model
of society is being promoted by"D & P"
amidst the prudenUy concocted jumble of ambiguities of its propaganda, our analysis has to go through the following stages:
a)A description of the principal features of the "New International Economic Order"
preached by "D & P." b) An analysis of the institutional con sequences of its application for each coun try and the whole world. c) A description of the international policy proposed by "D & P" as a means of obliging the industrialized countries to accept the implantation of this "New
question has not only socio-economic but also political and cultural implications, because the great influence that these com panies can exert over the life of the coimtries within which they work may at times result in an injury to their sovereignty or moral identity. Therefore, in principle, it is normal for,
"Social justice is concerned with the distribution ofresources and power at the
situation.
same time.
We are going to deal with another aspect of this question. As we mentioned previously, a tenden tious distortion has been produced by
with the expression "New International
crated, as the veryfirstpriority, to building asfirmly as possible thisso necessary sol Those desiring to appear "up-to-date" idarity among men and peoples in thefight use this expression more and more as an for a just distribution of the earth's re attractive and prestigious talisman. sources. Only then, will the latter really be The propaganda of the communists and for all."* their fellow travelers graduallyload the ex The general change ofsociety became the
pression with a meaning clearly hostile to private property, the individuality of peo
leitmotiv of"D &P'"s politick action pro
gram.Thus,in one of its bulletins, we may read: "It is urgent to proceed with a critical examination of ti -j basic structures ofour Our criticisms are directed against this society, because only an equitable redis socialist meaning, which is unjustly egal tribution of wealth and power, at the na itarian and collectivistic, suggesting an in tional as well as the international level, will contestable supra-national power. This is finally allow us tosay that 'the earth isfor ple, private initiative and even the sover eignty of the State.
what Marxism wants to make of the inter
national initiatives aiming at transforming
a) "Development and Peace" wants
radical structural reforms inside under
developed countries as well as in Western While analyzing the "New Order" pro industrialized countries and in international posed by"D & P," it is necessary to make relations. In order to establish the "New Order"
all'."
Here is what the Canadian Catholic
Organization for Development and Peace said in substance in a letter sent by it to Prime Minister Trudeau:
"(...) Development and Peace empha sizes that one could notpossibly guarantee ajust, new economic order on the interna tional level without carrying outprofound reforms right here in the country. A first notion appears clearly to us amidst the ambiguous formulations of
it desires,"D & P" proposes a "tran^ormation ofsociety on the collective level(in "D & P": the New International Economic cluding our own society) in its structures, its policies and its relations with others.
It points out that "numerous groups
with the problem of the export of raw materials by poor or less industrialized
Order will be attained only through a gen eral and profound reform. General and profound reform of what? Of the political and economic system in force in Western nations, both oi na tional and international level.
countries, which are forced to accept a (1) See this study, Part II, 4, c.
be entitled to demand from the more power (2) "CarSme de Partage, un temps fort ful nations. Another much debated ques d'^ucation" (Share Lent, A Right Time for tion was the international price imposed on Education), in Solidarity, March 1977, vol. 1. certain agricultural products such as sugar, no. 3, p. 16. tea, tobacco,etc., which are the base of the countries.
^pnomy and international trade) willallow
Economic Order."
Having stated these qualiHcations, let us
economies of several non-industrialized
For the organization, "only profound
transformations of these structures (of
w equitable sharing of the planet's re words such as "peace," "dialogue," "ecu sources (...)" menism," "solidarity," "reform," "equal "In this regard, the next decade ofDe ity," "justice," etc.' The same happens velopment and Peace should be conse
now analyze the positions of "D & P."
price lower than the just one they should
oflarge companies and governments is ex erted in such a way as, in effect, to block citizens'legitimate struggles to bring about the changes necessaryfor a morejust eco nomic and social order.
1. What Is the **New International Economic Order"
clear that we do not condemn as a whole
and with them. Much too often the power
non-communist governments or personal
economic relations.
the efforts of underdeveloped countries or even those ofrich ones to achieve more just economic relations in today's world. In fact, several international organizations have recently increased their debaies about this matter. For example, they have dealt
a more Just sharing o/power and wealth; solidarity must be organized among them
ities to speak of the need to change certain aspects of the international economic
Order."
Proposed hy "D & P"?
fight in the world against injustice andfor
(3) Ibid. The emphasis is ours.
(4) Jacques Champagne,"10 ans au service
Accordingly, these organizations are du d^veloppement des peuples"(10 Years at the seeking to find ways to establish more Service of Development of Peoples), Solidarity,
equitable relations between these countries March 1977, vol. 1, no. 3, p. 4. The emphasis and the foreign companies who, because is ours. of; their large capital and technological (5) Information Service, "Le Canada est un
know-how, have been called to exploit pays riche mais..."(Canada is a Rich Country, these countries' natural resources, which But...),Diveloppement et Paix â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Information, otherwise would remain unproductive. This March-April 1976, no. 3, p. 1.
The proposed transformations are ex tremely radical in their number, depth and important structures to be reached. Although "D & P" considers these reforms to be so important and urgent in its letter to the Prime Minister of Canada, it found no need to deEne them with preci sion, not even their general features. Why this strange lack of precision? Or,
perhaps, this... "prudence"? In what manner does"D & P" want to redistribute political and economic power in the whole world?
Only a really investigative study of the abundant propaganda of "D & P" will enable us to pick up the scattered pieces of the following puzzle: what reforms does the CRUSADE 33
organization consider necessary to permit the establishment of the "New Order"?
Through this examination, we may gain an exact idea of the contents of these struc
tural reforms, and the visible features of the society established by them. b)The Content of These Reforms: Inside Each Nation, Hand Power Over to the Workers and Consumers
In order to direct production to satisfy the material needs of man (that is to say, to achieve development), it is necessary to reform the structures profoundly. As we have seen, this reform is urgent and must
reach the underdeveloped countries de pending on the capitalist system, the in dustrialized countries that manage capital
relations themselves.
Let us see then, through an examination of the systematic ambiguity of "D & P," which principles have been indicated by that organization so that its proposed reforms will bring forth a "New Economic Order."
In its publications,"D & P" frequently afHrms some basic premises:
ism and even the international economic • The contradiction between the social
ends of production and the private mode of appropriation of goods, supported by the Western system, has given absolute
political and economic power to the minori ty controlling the multinationals. Capital ism has shown itself incapable of resolving this contradiction.^
• The second principle Is fonnd In the
magazine Solidarity: "The inequality of power constitutes the greatest obstacle to
"Liberation theology" leades a nun to take up a
development.
rifle alongside a guerrilla
Let it be noted that these remarks of
woman in Nicaragua,
"D & P" do not say that only unjust or disproportionate inequality is the greatest obstacle to development, but rather ine
whose revolution is now
presented by "Develop ment and Peace" as a
quality as such withont any distinction
modelfor the rest of Cen
whatsoever.
tral America.
But the traditional and immutable doc
trines of the Popes about the inequality of power among the several social classes,
groups, families or individuals teaches that when this inequality is just and propor
tionate, it is inherent to the natur^ order of things and a necessary condition for true
spiritual and material progress.^
i
During the "Ecumenical Celebration of the Word" organized by "D & P" on the occasion of its tenth anniversary, the "ac
tivities coordinator" of the ceremony made very significant affirmations in this respect, which we have already mentioned: "Un equal development of countries, or of various regions or of several classes inside late Maurice Bishop of
the same nation, this unequal development is not an accident, an unfortunate excess
Grenada (center), Ortega
that might be corrected."^
Deadly partnership: The of Nicaragua and Castro
He thus let it be understood that he con
siders inequalities not only an abuse, but
also a logical consequence of capitalism,a system whose essence should be put into
question. We have already anf''"*d this question previously.'®
(6) See this study. Part III, Fourth Coincidence.
(7)"Se nourrir d'abord! Six prindpes pour une politique d'autosufflsance alimentaire"(To
i X!
Feed Oneself Firsti Six Prindples for a Policy of Nutritional Self-sufficiency) Solidarity, March 1977, vol. 1, no. 3, p. 3. The emphasis is ours.
(8) See this study, pp. 30-32.
(9) "Aimer: c'est choisir quel homme, qud monde, quel Dieu?" (To Love: Is to Choose What Man, What World, What Ood?), Foi et DiveioMefimt, Ecumenical Celebration of the
Woal,M(»tre^ 1977, p. 32. (10)See this study, Port II, 4,b. First Step. 34 CRUSADE
Total equality brings about the suppres sion of social classes and necessarily the elimination of private property, at least of
c) Is a Community of Goods Among Nations Also Necessary?
one to say YES,but most of all it prevents one from saying NO.
"D & P" goes even further in its ambiguities. Based on the principle that "the earth is for all" and that equality among States must reign,"D & P" proposes the distribu behind the Iron Curtain. tion of political and economic power not In formulating its egalitarian slogan, only within each nation but also in the "D & P" does not make any distinction whole world, i.e., among nations. between its position and the antinatural and According to "D & P," the time has anti-Christian thesis defended by commu come for planning both on a national scale nism. and, beyond all borders, on an interna The same can be said of the way"D & P" tional scale. Its ambiguous formulations manifests its intention to replace the order about this matter are very disquieting:
d) The Socialist Revolution Imposed "Peacefully" and From Above by
"(...) Tl^e world of the I970's is a small
proposes a model of socialist development
the means of production; it takes away every legitimate personal desire for progress and finally produces the stagnation, sad ness and vulgarity typical of the societies
in force in the West with "a new order
the New National and International. Economic Structures
The final results of the actual applica
tions of the organization's Utopian dreams about development has certainly taken many a reader by surprise. Some will think: It is well demonstrated that"D & P" works to lead Canadians to
collaborate with the communist cause; it assumes dialectical and historical material
ism in its method of analyzing reality and
based on equality among men and a soli
planet on which distance no longer sepa in terms so ambiguous that it is impossible darity that should make all the countries rates people. Inescapably, in a 'global to distinguish this model from conununism. equal partners in an undertaking aimed at village'all men are near neighbors;'home' This is certainly very grave, because this satisfyingfundamental human needs such is not determined by nationalfrontiers any organization, founded by the Canadian as nutrition, housing, the right to work, longer. Episcopate, presents itself as officially e/c."" For the organization, "The world is a Catholic; it presently receives direct support What are the means for attaining this small place where the members of the from many religious authorities as well as human family are more and more linked the Canadian government. Therefore, a "New Order" that seems to require ab together in interdependence. It is merely public clarification from the ecclesiastical solute equality and consequently the sup pression of social classes, even if the dif common sense to plan the social and eco authorities is necessary. But this whole af nomic development of humanity on a fair is nothing mo^e than a limited ideolog ferences among them are legitimate? "D & P" insists that this be done world-wide scale, and it is insane to think ical and religio''s c-isis, where extremist mi through a redistribution of power and that we can continue planning onlyfor na norities such as t' 3 one directing"D & P" wealth in such a way that the masses of tional needs. are implicated up to their neck. These If the objective of this planning is to pro workers and consumers may control them.'^ minorities are not really in a position to mote development in the world, and if this bring about their Marxist designs in the Only in this manner, according to this development implies destroying every in near future, nor to transform the structures organization, "will the earth be for all." equality of power and wealth so that the of Canada and the whole world. If the end of such redistribution is total resources of the earth are shared by all, Whoever thinks in this manner has only equality through the elimination of social how could this be achieved without estab a partial vision of reality. Obviously such classes, it will only be accomplished by the lishing a vast supra-national power capable a transformation could not take place forceful implantation of collectivistic so of imposing this artificial egalitarianism overnight. cialism suppressing the private ownership and of penetrating within the sphere of In order to analyze the problem in all of of the means of production. sovereignty of each State? its ramifications, it is necessary to consider This would mean the "peaceful" and Whether"D & P"likes it or not, the in other aspects. "legal" establishment of the "dictatorship equality of political and economic power On the one hand, it is true that most peo of the proletariat," inaugurating the pro is not only determined by technology or in ple of the West would not accept the im cess of total communization to the degree dustrial progress but also by other factors plantation pure and simple of classic, that the countries' populations fail to resist such as religion, culture, the size of each violent and openly declared communism. this attempt against the natural order of country, its natural resources, geographic On the other hand, it is necessary to take society. position, climate, etc. How can the goods into account the existence of new, more
of the earth be distributed in an egalitarian subtle and efficient methods of producing manner without assaulting all these real While the ambiguity of the texts pub a social revolution. ities? If such a monstrosity came about, the lished by that organization prevents one from answering this question with a NO, geographic and political borders between countries would cease to exist. the ensemble of its positions strongly in We do not see how the supra-national clines one to answer YES. (11)See this study. Part III, First Coincidence. power necessary to carry out such a dis â&#x20AC;˘ Indeed, we have already seen that tribution can be distinguished from the (12) Jean-Pierre Lagac^ "Qu'est-ce que le "D & P" praises the system based on socialist one-world republic, which, accor Nouvel Ordre Econoniique International?" agricultural collectivism implanted by ding to the Marxist dream, is nothing but (What is the New International Economic Is this the "New Order" of"D & P"?
Communism in Red China and Vietnam,
a preliminary step in the final implantation
Order?), Mondes Nouveaux, Nov. 1975, no. 3,
as the only solution so far proved to be capable of overcoming the mechanisms of dependence and inequality of political and economic power. The organization proposes that "Third World" countries adopt this solution.'^
of Communism in the whole world. Ac
p. 1; "Plus de nourriture et, pourtant plus d'affam6s"(More Food but Also More People Star ving), Solidarit4s, March 1977, vol. 1 no. 3, p. 6.
This can also be noticed in the actual
program of action of Canon Houtart, pub
cording to the Communists, after a transi tional stage, the State itself will disappear
and men will live in a Utopian paradise without any laws or institutions, having on ly a vast system of cooperatives of produc tion run by "free and equal" men. Is this the final destination of the dreams
lished without any objection by "D & P" of "D & P"? Again, the systematic ambiguity of in a special issue of its magazine Mondes "D & P"'s formulations does not permit Nouveaux, published in 1975.'''
(13) See this study, pp. 91-96. (14) See this study, p. 82.
(15) Development and Peace,"20 Questions on World Development â&#x20AC;&#x201D; A Canadian Perspec tive," p. 5. (16) Ibid. p. 14. CRUSADE 35
For example, let us imagine a political
and ideological situation which-treats the concentration of power in the hands of the multinationals as having reached an in
tolerable limit. Let us suppose that a well-
orchestrated propaganda indiscriminately accuses these companies of unilaterally dominating all of the political and eco
nomic power of the capitalist system in order to exploit the rest of mankind, depic ting them as the sources of bribes, black mail, corruption, violence, etc. In this way, with the conjunction of other favorable cir cumstances, the world could be led to a kind of international deadlock like the one
that began to take shape at the time of the oil crisis and the latest Arab-Israeli war.
Let us suppose that at a given moment, the communist powers have great influence;
the precipitation of a crisis such as that one could result in the kind of transformation of the national and international structures
advocated by "D & P," leading to a
gradual and "peaceful" implantation of Marxist socialism through a legislation not
mentioning communism directly, a legisla
tion presented as a question ofjustice that could not be postponed.
Suddenly, the whole world would be
Beginning of the process of unperceived ideological transshipment... Fernando Cardenal — National Coordinator
of the Literacy Crusade in Nicaragua speaks
faced with a crossroads of history where
in Montreal on Oct. 9. 1980 at the invitation
it could be possible for the socialist objec
of"Development and Peace." The theme was
tives of "D & P" to become a terrible
"The Earth Shakes in Central America:
reality. In order to understand this catastrophic
formation and Solidarity."(Note map ofCen
possibility better, let us now analyze the practical means proposed by "D & P" to
"conscienlizing" Canadian Catholics.
accelerate the implantation of the "New
... end of the process?
Guatemala — Nicaragua. An evening of In tral America on wall). Such evenings aim at
Socialist International Economic Order."
(Let us call it by its true name!)
From a church tower, a guerrilla controls the
2. Economic War: Class Struggle
center ofLe6n, Nicaragua. The Temple ofGod transformed into a revolutionary redoubt.
Transformed Into a
Fight Among Nations Just as communism postulates that the interests of the several social classes are in
an irreconcilable dialectical conflict within
each nation,"D & P" considers that this same conflict exists between the in dustrialized nations and those that the
"(...) For example,sugar-producing coun tries should gather as the oil-producing
organization, without nuances or distinc tions, designates as the "Third World."
countries have done, andform a cartel that enables them to resist the pressures of in ternational economic giants, and to make
The development and wealth of great
pressures themselves in order to bring a
capitalist countries, according to"D & P," change in the structures of international is the cause of the underdevelopment and poverty of the others. The way of "liberation" of underdevel
trade."'®
As everyone knows, during the last war against Israel, Arab oil-producing countries oped countries is found in the international used price increases as a means of pressure. struggle to obtain the complete transforma Analyzing whether or not this attitude was tion of the economic structures of the West. licit goes beyond the scope of this study. Nevertheless, one thing is certain: a gener a) The War Waged with the Weapon of Raw Materials
alization of economic pressures of this kind
could easily provoke a climate of tension
In order to foment this war, "D & P" in the world and plunge it into a chaos of does not hesitate to propose that poor or unpredictable consequences. less industrialized countries take attitudes If the perspective of a real economic war
capable of leading to a world-wide eco nomic conflict.
encouraged by "D & P" with astounding irresponsibility should materialize, then
•In this regard, Mr. Jean-Pierre Lagac6 depending on the nature of the pressures wrote in a maeazine of the organization:
exerted and the reactions they provoke, we
raw materials used as a means of political pressure to change the structures of the
West. However, several types of raw ma terials may fall into the hands of orga nizations much more radical than OPEC,
which contains several very influential noncommunist countries. The radical organiza tions to which we refer are satellites of the
communist empire. b) Revolutionary Psychological War Inside Canada and the Developed Countries of the West
If political pressures acquire the propor tions of an international economic war, Canada could soon be faced with a gigan tic and unexpected threat: being forced to change the structures of Canadian society in a socialist direction.
In such circumstances, the priority "educational" activity of "D & P" will have undermined the possibilities of moral and ideological resistance by the Canadian
people against that pressure. What are the means used by the organi zation in order to accomplish this wretched task?
â&#x20AC;˘ To gain a large audience in Canadian public opinion for "Third World" leaders fighting for the implantation
Idibal Piveta presenting Sandinista guerrilla uniform to Msgr. CasalddUga. The Bishop declared:
"I will try to thank you with deeds, and if necessary with blood. ... Dressed as a guerrilla, Ifeel as I might(when)dressed as a priest. ... Nicaragua gave us the example. A U of us, all the peoples ofLatin America, all the peoples of the Third World, let usfollow!"(Feb. 28, 1980 during the special session of the International Ecumenical Congress of Theology in Sao Paulo, Brazil). In his autobiography "Yo Creo en la Justiciay en la Esperanza," Msgr. CasalddUga, who calls himself "Monsignor Hammer and Sickle,"says: "Iknow that lean and must gofarther than communism" (Bilbao. 1976, p. 180).
of that "New International Economic
Order" and to give prestige to these leaders in this country.
In this regard, the organization "Gatt-
Fly," established by"D & P" in collabora tion with "other Christian churches""
and to help us create, for us and others as well, a society based on foundations of
tours in favor of a socialist way for the "Third World," was indeed the guest of
ju'tice and a full blooming of man.''^" The 1975 seminar is a good example of the manner in which "D & P" promotes
niversary of the organization, in Montreal
affirms: "By the dawn of the decade of the 70's there were already indications of the
leftist nersoiialities of the "Third World."
financial crisis that allowed one toforecast
C jsmao and Thi, whose clearly leftist orientation \,e have already shown, the organization invited Chilean leader Osvaldo Nunez. As Allende's secretary general for supervi.s'^n of the government's banks, Nunez actively participated in the program gradually leading his country to com
the dangers of inflation, and following that, ofrecession. These crises opened the way for the energy crisis, the population crisis, the nutrition crisis and the housing crisis. The unemployment rate keeps climb ing. Our political and civil leaders seem paralyzed by a psychosis and a crisis that
In '.dditio. 'o Canon Houtart and Fathers
munism. Other leaders of the "Catholic
honor in the celebration of the tenth an in 1977.22
In Mondes Nouveaux,"D & P" publish ed also the leftist theses of Msgr. Antonio Fragoso, Bishop of Crateiis, in Brazil. The
organization enthusiastically regards this prelate as a prophet. Here are his remarks: "Concerning Development and Peace, we
expect from you Canadians, Quebecers,
Montrealers, first of all an awakening of consciousness (...). "Now this awakening of conciousness
prevent them from finding the solutions (...)
left" of Asian countries were also invited.
will perhaps lead us to recognize that Chris
"Perhaps it is time to listen to other voices (...)" The voices to which we will
Their remarks at the seminar clearly in
tians in more industrialized and rich coun
dicated the infiltration of Marxist principles in their method of analyzing the problem of underdevelopment.
tries are conniving at the exploitation that
listen are naturally those preferred by "D & P," that is, the voices of the "Third World." So, the text goes on: "Few are the Canadians who have oc
In one of its bulletins, the organization affirms its goal of "giving a voice to the
casion directly to draw lessons from citizens
Third World in Canada."On the same oc
of the Third World regarding their efforts
casion, it explains that without excluding the possibility of "inviting such prophets
to overcome their social, economic and
political dilemmas. Nevertheless, These ef forts are manifested on several levels in the
cooperatives of producers in the Mexican countryside, in a collective farm in Cuba, as well as in an initiative aimed at laying the basisfor new economic relations in an
(19) J. P., "D^veloppement et Paix de 1967 a 1975"(Development and Peace from 1967 to
1975), Mondes Nouveaux, special issue, Seminar *75, p. 20.
as the Brazilian Bishops Camara and Fragosc,"it "will privilege just as well in '76 and '77 the meetings among persons com mitted at the grassroots level in the Third
tional Economic Order?), Gatt-Fly, pp. 1-2. The
World and here in Canada." "D & P"
emphasis is ours.
points out that "the visitorsfrom the Third
(20)"Qu'est-ce que le Nouvel Ordre Economique International?"(What is the New Interna
(21) Jacques Perron,"D^veloppement et Paix
international conference. Such efforts show
World will be chosen according to their
veut donner une voix au Tiers-Monde au
a dynamic and positive movement of change
commitment and experience in the ques
Canada" (Development and Peace Wishes to
in the Third World.
tions relating to the general theme of the Give a Voice in Canada to the Third World),
"What do Third World citizens say by
new international economic order,
Ddveloppement et Pair â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Information, MarchApril 1976, no, 3, p. 4.
nomic order? Their fight gives us the oc
Msgr. Helder Camara, the Brazilian Archbishop of Recife and Olinda, well-
casion to examine the realities of our world
known because of his world-wide lecturing
I, no. 4, p. 6.
their words and deeds about a new eco
(22)"Magoshan," Solidaritds, April 1977, vol.
CRUSADE 37
Dom Helder Camara, the "red arch
bishop" ofOlinda and Recife(Brazil), is one of the "Third World" leaders preferred by "D & P,"which grants
him much prestige. Here he is speaking at Fordham University in May of1981, bringing the "liberating" message to
campuses in the United Slates. At one time, Bishop Camara declared: "I respect very profoundly the memory of Camilo Torres (terrorist priest of South America), that of "Che" Guevara and, in general, of all those whofeel them selves obliged in conscience to choose violence."(El Siglo, Santiago, Chile, April 16, 1969).
4r\
'\r-\
^
progressively and cumulatively impoverishes
In Part II we have studied the unperceived
political, economic and cultural domina
Latin America (...) But it is not sufficient to recognize our sin, when the problem is
ideological transshipment towards a multi colored socialism, and in Part III we have shown the coincidences between the posi
accept becoming involved in a true solidari
tions of"D & P" and the Marxist theses.
of a new international order based on justice and equality among men."^^
in mechanisms ofunjust exploitation. It is necessary to decide to return what has been exploited and what has been stolen."
Let us now examine a few more texts:
tion that are found among us, and if we ty with the peoplesfightingfor the coming
tions and personalities of the "Catholic
mobilization of public opinion. Develop
"First is becomes urgent for organiza tions like Development and Peace to attach greater importance to education right here in Canada, in order to denounce alienating economic and political structures and also show the solidarity existing between the ex
left" in the whole world, all of which con
ment and Peace must do everything possi
ploited ones ofour system and the oppress
verge towards the same socialist objective.
ble to support the claims of the Third
ed masses of the "Third World.
of the propaganda activites of "D & P," one must have in mind the large network of relations and mutual support that is
"The setting up ofa morejust, new in ternational economic order is afundamen tal questionfor the development of Third World countries (...) in theframework of
gradually being formed among the institu
its action of education, information and
It must be added that, when one thinks
â&#x20AC;˘ In order to have a complete picture of the situation, we have to consider, in addition to the promotion of "ThirdWorld prophets," the vast "educational" work to which the organization wants to subject Canadian public opinion "D & P"'s criticism of the socio
economic system in force in Canada and
in the West, in its pamphlets, publications and in its campaigns has a well-determined
World, and to put pressure upon the Cana dian government so that the latter recog nizes as legitimate ones the revindications
ofthe Third World, not only theoretically
The study of the methods, doctrine and objectives of "D & P" thus brings us
before a new perspective: the possibility of
but also in practice."^* "... The fight is proving long and dif ficult, but it will be victorious if it receives
a socialist Revolution in Canada and in the
concrete support in countries such as ours,
socio-economic structures both on the na tional and international level, a Revolution
that is to say, if we carry on an effort to track down and denounce the forms of
Western world to transform the capitalist
to be implanted by legal and bloodless means!
It would be imposed as a result of a huge, world-wide economic tension provoked by
meaning. Imbued with the Marxist method, this criticism is entirely oriented; First
towards the creation of a real guilt com
the countries of the "Third World." Con
plex among the Canadian people; second,
(23) Bishop Antonio Fragoso's speech at the
towards adopting an attitude of solidarity
auditorium of the Botanical Garden of Montreal,
trolled or influenced by Marxisii countries would be helped in their
February 1975, Mondes Nouveaux, vol. 1, no.
gles by the "consciousness-awakening"
with the socialist "liberation" movements
of the "Third World"; finally, towards the
acceptance of a socialist transformation of our society.
This is why "D & P"suggests that "Third World" countries make use of raw mate
2. May 1975, p. 7.
(24) Andrd Tremblay, "Ddveloppement et
pressures.
the "Catholic left."
tional" (Development and Peace and the New
Before closing this part, it seems oppor tune for us to cite the far-sighted and enlightening words pronounced by Pius XII
International Economic Order), D^veloppement
Economic Order), Mondes Nouveaux, Nov.
1975, vol. 1, no. 3, p. 8. The emphasis is ours.
We have amply described the psycho(26) Jacques Perron, "Pourquoi le S^minaire ideological action over the mentality of the '75"? (Why the Seminar '75?), Mondes Nou people conducted by "D & P"in Canada. veaux, special issue, Seminar '75 p. 6. 36 CRUSADE
work performed on the populations of in dustrialized nations by pressure groups of
Paix et le Nouvel Ordre Economique Interna
rials as a weapon in the fight against the el Paix â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Information, January-February 1976, no. 2, p. 4. capitalist structures of Canada and of the West, while its "consciousness-awakening" (25) Jean-Pierre Lagac^, "La crise alimentaire action in Canada wages a real revolutionary et le Nouvel Ordre Economique International" psychological war to prepare the country (The Food Crisis and the New International
to capitulate before eventual international
se ..g-
in 1952 regarding this new perspective: "If the signs of the times do not deceive, in the second epoch of social conflicts in which we seem to have entered, some other
problems dominate(the working class ques tion dominated (hefirst epoch). We shall name two lof these problems: the surmoun
ting of the class struggle and the defense of the person and of the family.
"Class struggle must be surmounted by
tle where supreme values are at stake: eries and calamities. For it is not given to human dignity and the eternalsalvation of men to establish new societies and com souls. munities opposed to the natural conditions could never be an objective of the Catholic Pius IX is no less clear about this subject: of human things social doctrine. The Church always owes "Ifthefaithful consent in conspiring (...) Herself to all classes of society. for the perverse systems of Socialism and
the establishment of an organic order unit ing patrons and workers. Class struggle
"It is necessary to prevent the person and thefamilyfrom being carried into the abyss towards which the socialization of every
Communism, let them know and consider
(27)Pius XII, Radiomessage to theKatholikentag of Viena, September 14, 1952 in
it seriously: they shall gatherfor themselves
"Documents Pontificaux de Sa Saint6t6 Pie
before the Divine Judge treasures of ven
XII", Ed. Saint-Augustin, St. Maurice, p. 469.
thing tends, socialization in whose end the terrible image ofLeviathan would become a terrible reality. It is with the utmost energy that the Church willfight this bat
geance on the day of wrath; and, in the (28) Pius IX, "Nostis et Nobiscum," En meantime, no temporal advantage what cyclical Letter, Sept. 8, 1849, in Lettres ApostoHsoever will come to the people from this ques de Pie IX, Gregoire VII, Pie VII, Bonne conspiracy, but rather a growing of mis Presse, Paris, p. 165.
Conclusion
liberated" by collectivistic socialism from capitalism and the multinational compa nies. Meanwhile, inside industrialized coun tries — Canada in this case — a politicoeducational campaign would be carried out with two different goals: a) To "awaken the consciousness" of
An attentive and objective analysis of the
inspired by Marxist doctrine and to be aimed at promoting, with increasing inten
public opinion regarding the innate in
all over the world has brought us face to
ment of public opinion towards a multi colored socialism working for the commu
capacity of the capitalist system to satisfy the needs of the greater part of humanity, and thereby to establish the obligation of overthrowing this system and supporting all
face with a reality of unquestionably grave
nist cause.
the claims of the "Third World."
doctrine inspiring "D & P" in its methods
of action and propaganda and in its rela tions with other groups and persons from
consequences.
As our study uses the authentic texts coming from the organization itself, this
sity, an unperceived ideological transship
There is more. The recent methods of ac
tion and propaganda of"D & P" indicate
that it has the intention of creating the na
b)To exert pressure on the government of each country, on its political and busi ness leaders, so that they may accept the
reality is undeniable. It can be summarized
tional and international conditions neces
national and international socialist trans
as follows:
sary to transform the political, economic
formations demanded by the "liberation"
and social structures of Canada according to the socialist-Marxist meaning of the doc
movements of the "Third World." The activities of"D & P" fit into an even
trine advocated by the organization. All of
greater framework. Large sectors of the
this will be done with the collaboration of
Catholic Church are plunged into an ideo logical and religious crisis provoked by the sympathy and collaboration — whether
The Canadian Episcopate founded the "Canadian Catholic Organization for De velopment and Peace" in 1967. Financed by the faithful and the Federal Government, this organization has devoted
itself during its ten years of existence to analyzing the problem of underdevelopment in the world, to promoting projects of aid to poor countries and to carrying out an intensive propaganda campaign in Canada. The method of analysis of"D & P"and its propaganda have been shown to be
the "liberation" movements of the "Third
World," including those that openly pro claim themselves to be Marxist.
These conditions will be brought about by fomenting what could be called an eco nomic war of raw materials against the in
dustrialized countries of the West, waged by "Third World" countries "already
direct or indirect — of bishops, priests, religious and lay people with the commu nist cause in several countries on both
sides of the Iron Curtain. An analogous phenomenon can be observed among the leaders of other Christian religions in general. For Canadian Catholics, it is a right and a duty to manifest publicly their profound preoccupation regarding the activities of "D & P"; this organization that, since its
foundation, has been receiving the pres Mam*.
tigious support of the Canadian Episcopate.
Indeed, such activities have beei cly carried out for ten years without an> , uwn official censure from the Ecclesiastical
Hierarchy. Quite the contrary, some of its
members have openly expressed their sym pathy and even their support of"D & P." According to some reports, there are
prelates discontented with the organiza tion's orientation, but we do not know the foundation of such rumors.
On account of all that has been said, with
due respect to the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy in the full measure required by Canon Law, we make to the Canadian Bishops a filial request that they take a public stand ca
The "Chinese way" to reach nutritional "self-sufficiency." Farmers condemned by a "people's tribunal"some moments before their execution during the implantation of Mao-Tse-Tung's agrarian reform. Their crime? They were proprietors...
pable of remedying the grave harm for the
Church and for the country, originating in the activities of "Development and Peace."
Someone could consider such a move by CRUSADE 39
the religious authorities to be unnecessary, since on December 1, 1977, the.Canadian
Conference of Catholic Bishops(C.C.C.B.)
published a pastoral message criticizing Marxism.
This condemnation has given us hope. Many years have gone by without suffi ciently numerous and important voices speaking out, as the Canadian Bishops have
ALFABF.TIZAR veiiuir cl c.imino,%en,il.<clo por C.trios Fonsvca y Sdnclino
AirABETIlMSON
done, to recall some of the evils of com munism.
From another standpoint, nevertheless, this condemnation leaves us perplexed. With all the respect due to the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, we permit ourselves to make a remark. The bishops manifest their concern regarding the rapprochement of Catholic groups with Marxism, while at the same
Solidarites, the French newspaper of "D & P" in its April 1980 issue, p. 8. Under the poster is written: "Poster-theme of the literacy cam paign supported by Development
and Peace in Nicaragua." This literacy campaign fCruzada Nacional de Alfabetizacidn) wasfunded
time they maintain "D & P" with their
by "D & P" with S80.000 fClobal Village Voice." Sept. 1981, p. 8). The poster reads: "To educate is to follow the way shown by Carlos Fonseca and Sandino."In reality, the''literacy campaign'' was an in doctrination coursefor the masses, showing the Sandinista way to a
precious support. The well-documented facts analyzed in this work show how this warning by the bishops is innocuous, if not contradictory.
Furthermore, while criticizing Marxism, the C.C.C.B. declares: "Neverlheless, cer
tain Christians committed to thefightsfor justice, use what is called the 'Marxist method ofanalysis'."This approach may help in the identification ofinjustices and structures of exploitation. The C.C.C.B. also seems to accept some
Ei LIBERACIOi
"new" Marxist society. "... At all levels, their content is directly re
â&#x20AC;˘ Nicaragua librc!
lated to the revolutionary process and the present-day situation of Nicaragua.'VGlobal Village Voice, Sept. 1981, p. 8).
Catholic currents favorable to a certain socialism:
pages. At the moment when Christendom
to deny the validity of our accusations.
capitalist system in the light of the Gospel.
is threatened by the obvious Marxist in
Others will choose to join socialist move
filtration in Catholic ranks, we have the
These accusations cannot be validly refuted without demonstrating that:
ments, trying to bring them into agreement with the teachings of Jesus (...) This may
right to expect that their apostolic zeal and their culture will impel them to defend the
false.
be beneficial on the plane ofsocial change
ideals of our Civilization.
"Some will seek to reform the current
The illustrious prelates avoid explaining how socialism can
be reconciled
with
Before closing this study, it seems oppor tune for us to clarify another point.
It is possible that after reading our obser
1. The documents cited in our work are
2. Our interpretation of these documents does not correspond to reality. In each of these cases, it must be pointed
out precisely what document or interpreta tion is defective, and how.
Catholic thought. Therefore, this docu
vations about "D & P" someone may seek
ment does not invalidate our study in any way, even if it has brought satisfaction to
its socialism remains within the limits al
demonstration would be invalid and irrele
lowed by Catholic doctrine. This argument is groundless.
stand.
the Catholic public opinion of Canada in other respects.
to justify the organization by alleging that
Any defense of "D & P" without this vant, constituting only diatribes against our
By publishing our conclusions about the
Indeed, the word socialism, as we used
doctrine, the methods of action and the
it in this study, means an economic regime
Finally, our gaze turns to the glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph, protector of the
propaganda of "D & P," we believe we have fulfilled our duty as young Canadian Catholics in regard to this matter. We
in which the activities that are proper to
Holy Church and Patron of Canada.
State, this transfer being carried out in such
of a humble love of order and Hierai
would have wished
more authoritative
a way or in such proportions that private
symbol of harmony between the rich
voices to speak before we did. However, the ten years of ideological devastation car
enterprise is nearly or totally eliminated. Marxist socialism reaches this goal by en tirely eliminating private ownership of the means of production. This facet of social
the poor, Thou who didst unite a princely ancestry with the modest life of a carpenter, intercede with the Holy Virgin, the Univer sal Mediatrix of all graces, so that She may completely extirpate from the Catholic
ried out by
& P" without any known
obstacle seemed to us more than sufficient to indicate that the hour had come to break
private enterprise are transferred to the
ism and even milder characteristics of it
Saint Joseph, model of orthodoxy and
the silence about this grave question. It
were severely condemned by the Magiste-
ranks the anti-Christian error of Marx that
touches us as Catholics and Canadians,
rium of the Church.^
treacherously attempts to take the place of
because of the very grave consequences it
It cannot be said that the degree of so cialism wished by"D & P" remains within
the true and luminous doctrine of the
can have for the future of the Church and of Canada.
We firmly expect not to be the only ones
to take this stand; hopefully theologians and other ecclesiastical and lay personalities
Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
the norms of Catholic doctrine, because
there is no definition by the Church estab lishing such a degree. Whoever wishes to argue in this manner would first have to
(1) "Une socieie a refaire," (A Society to
Remake), Pastoral Message, Canadian Con
faithful to the traditional and immutable
produce this hitherto unknown definition. ference of Catholic Bishops, Dec. 1, 1977, p. 8.
teachings of the Roman Pontiffs will soon pronounce themselves on the important problem with which we have dealt in these
make use of a never defined "Catholic so
40 CRUSADE
Therefore, a hypothesis which tries to cialism" cannot serve"D & P" as a shield
(2) Idem., p. 9.
(3)Pius XI, "Quadragesima Anno,"A.A.S. vol. XVIII.
CREDO in unum Deum,Patrem omnipotentem,factorem caeli et terrae, visibflium omnium et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum
Fllium Dei unigenitum. Et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero. Genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri: per quem omnia facta sunt.
Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis.
ET INCARNATUS EST DE SPIRITU SANCTO EX MARIA VIRGINE: ET HOMO FACTUS EST.
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis: sub Pontio Pilato passus,
et sepiiltus est. Et resurrexit tertia die, seciindum Scriptiiras. Et ascendit in caelum: sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria judicare vivos et mor-
tuos: cujus regni non erit finis.
Et in Spfritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem: qui ex Patre, Filioque procMt. Qui cum Patre, et Filio simul adoratur, et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per Prophetas.
Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum bapti'sma in remissionem peccatdrum.
Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum. Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.