Tradition, Family and Property (Magazine) 1994 by Nestor

January-February, 1994

Magazine

â&#x20AC;˘*

The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property - TFP

The grand Carolingian empire

public sphere. More elevated and universal than the private common good, the public com mon good was intrinsically no

had been reduced to rubble.

Devastating incursions of barbari ans, Normans, Hungarians, and Saracens preyed upon its ruins. At

ble.

The nobility also participated in the central power ofthe mon arch. The higher nobles were frequently royal councillors. Most ofthe ministers, ambassa dors, and generals were rnembers of the nobility, which thus held posts indispensable to the exercise of the supreme govemment of the country. The link between high public office and the nobiliary condition

tacked oqa.ll sides and unable to

resist with recourse to the greatly weakened central power ofthe kings, the populations naturally turned to their respective land owners, demanding that they com mand and govern them in such ca lamitous circumstances. Heeding their request, the landowners built fortifications for themselves and for their own.

True to the profoundly Chris tian spirit of the time, "their own" paternally included not only family members, but the manorial society, formed by the

was such that, when the common

good required that plebeians be elevated to these posts, they were usually ennobled,frequently with hereditary titles. Endowed by circumstances with a mission higher than mere farmingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;namely,the partial overseeing of the salus publica in war and peaceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the

domestic servants, manual work

ers, and their respective families living on the lord's lands. All re ceived shelter, food, religious assistance, and military leadership in these fortifications

that, with time, became imposing seignorial castles, of which so many still remain.

Historical Origins of the Feudal Nobility

Within these fortifica

judge. As such, he became a link of union with the king. Thus, the noble class developed as a subordinate participation in the royal power.

most determined resistance. The con

This noble class oversaw the com

was now added to the condition of landowner.

Quite naturally, these circum stances translated during the inter vals of peace into local political

power over the surrounding lands.

self invested with local

powers that normally belonged to the govern ment. Hence he auto

tions, peasants safe guarded the movable goods and livestock they had managed to save from the invaders' greed. In military action, the landowner and his family were the foremost combatants. Their duty was to com mand, to be in the vanguard, leading the most daring offensives and the dition of military leader and hero

landowner found him

This made the landowner a lord, dominus, in the full sense of the word, with the duties of lawmaker and

mon good of the private sphere, that is, the preservation and improve ment ofagriculture and livestock rais ing,from which both nobles and plebe ians lived. As the king's repre sentatives in the area, they were also re sponsible for the common good ofthe

matically rose to a higher condition. He became a mini ature of the king, since his mission was an intrinsic participation ^he nobility of the royal mission it. From the spontaneous circum stances of history the figure of the landowner-lord emerged. His mis sion, at once private and noble, was

gradually broadened as Christian Europe, increasingly free of afflic tions and external threats, enjoyed longer periods of peace. It did not cease to expand for a long time.

Excerpted from Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII

Contents

Tradition,

Family and Property

January-February, 1994 ❖ "Thou Shalt Not Kill"

2 EDITOR: C. Preston Noell III

The Restoration ofthe Christian Social Order

ASSOCUTE EDITORS:

Earl Appleby Gary Isbell Eugenia Guzman ■ Portrait of America: A Closer Look

❖ A Journey Through Louisiana: Remnants of an Organic Society in Formation

Steven F. Schmieder

Jack Bumham

Photography: '

Todd Kamuf

'^Circulation;

■ Is the Guardian Angel Less Intelligent than the Demon?

❖ Then My Hour Will Have Come

Philip A. Moran, Jr.

(Foreign CORRESPONDENTS:

SPAIN: Felipe Barandiaran ROME: Juan M. Montes

■ Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites

Now Available in the Philippines

BRAZIL: Orlando Lyra

❖ Gun Control or Self Control?

The Moral Crisis Behind the Headlines

FRANCE: Mario B. Varela CANADA: John Misek PHILIPPINES: Allen Bandril

He Who Limits Himself To Performing

Only What Is His Obligation Does Not Love

■ David and Goliath

❖ Letters to the Editor

❖ Comment on the Cat

TRADITION,FAMILYand PROPERTY magazine is a publication ofthe American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property(TFP). Subscription $18.00 in the United States and Canada (US$). Rates for foreign subscriptions $25.00. List of other TFP publications available upon request. Direct ail subscription requests

Our cover:

and inquiries to: The American TFP, P.O. Box 1868, York, PA 17405. Tel.:(717) 2257147, Fax:(717) 225-7382. Copyright © 1994. Permission is granted to reproduce in whole or in part any article of this magazine with credit given to Tradition, Family and Property.

The Holy Choirs of Angels Corps plays at the March for Life in Washington,D.C.

Thou Shal

On Jantiary 21,the American TFP once again took part in the Washington, D.C. annual March for Life. This year's march was the twenty-first since the 1973 legalization of abortion. As in past years, TFP members distributed a flyer addressing an important aspect ofthe continuing pro-life efibrt. (See pages 5 and 6 for its full text.) The flyer stresses the urgent need to form our youth in the ways of morahty if we are to guarantee another generation of pro-lifers who will faithfully carry on this most noble cause. A large banner carried by TFP volunteers during the march summarized the flyer's message. Portraying a young child, the banner read:'^his child, who is alive today because he was not aborted, could become an abortionist tomorrow. To prevent this we must instill in our children the principle of respect for life as commanded by God: Thou Shalt Not KlU!"

AdORTTIN

Ad te levavi oculos meos. Let us raise our eyes to heaven and beseech the Mother of God,the Immaculate Conception, Patroness ofthe United States, that she soon bring an end to the abominable crime oflegalized abortion, which has stained our Nation's honor for so many years.

m/ai^siKiu

Tradition, Family and Property

The clay before the March for Life, TFP members make final preparations for the event. Jan uary-February

Tradition, Family and Property

Guaranteeing the Next Generation of Pro-iifers America's Future Lies in the Hands of Her Youth

How do We Ensure They Wiii Respect Life? Im! lagine a baby born in 1973: the year of the Supreme Courtis infamous Roe V. Wade abortion edict. His mother—rejecting the unnatural sin that cries to God for vengeance—gave him life and nurtured it: the labors of her love. Escaping the destiny of prenatal death—the fate of so many of his contemporaries—he is an adult today. Given this chance to live, will he be found—as an adult— in the ranks of pro-life Americans? Or is he (or she)an abortionist, one of those whose hands are stained with the innocent blood of a million and a half babies

a year? Spared from being a victim of abortion, he should be a defender of

mlf

life. Indeed, it is his only legitimate choice: to follow Natural Law and obey the commandment given by God Himself: "Thou shalt not kill." But what will prevent a child, any child—even the child of pro-life parents—from becoming an abortionist(or a defender of abortionists) once infected with the moral relativism that permeates our society as a cancer? In order for this child to grow up with the respect for life its divine creation commands, the ambience of the home must be imbued with the morality inscribed in the Ten Commandments. The parents' example must be the guiding light that shows the child the way to responsible adulthood— amid the snares of hedonism along life's path. For only when fortified with moral fiber will he or she be strong enough to resist being "one of the crowd" whose moral relativism ultimately leads to justifying the "right" of the strong to murder the weak: the mother her unborn baby; the son, his frail and elderly mother. As we march for life, let us remind ourselves that the fight for life is not simply to stop today's generation of abortionists, but to guarantee the next generation of pro-lifers, by instilling in our children a reverence for life, whose only sure foundation is living a life of moral virtue in ob^^'^nce to God's commandments.

And if the child whose future formed the basis for these reflections

should, alas, be an abortionist today, to him, we address these heartfelt words:

"Once you were an enchanting child, as all babies are. Today you are an abortionist: a killer of babies. Do you not regret your wicked deeds? Do you not see the innocent blood of our children that stains your hands and cries out to God? Have you no shame as did our first parents when they sinned against God? Why do you not turn to Him today, seek His forgiveness and His strength never again to murder the innocent? Would you not rather bring children into the world than destroy them? Children you could raise with respect for life to take the place of those you robbed from God?"

The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property

The American TFP The American TFP has participated in the annual March for Life in our Nation^s capital since the first one in 1974, Every year, fellow marchers—seeing our distinctive red capes and tall red standards emblazoned with a golden lion—ask us about ourselves. Accordingly, we present a brief description of our principles, symbols, and history. tradition, family and property. The lion is a symbol of the

Principles We Defend Tradition. Colonized by England, France and Spain, our country inherited habits, customs and a Christian way of life. These gave rise to wholesome American traditions wrought from a more ample and universal tradition which is Christian civilization.

Today, more than ever, this common spiritual patrimony is being deteriorated by destructive factors. These elements have eroded the psychological, sociopolitical, artistic and religious spheres. If we hope for the survival of our valued traditions and of our nation itself, we must fight these tendencies.

To do this, the American TFP studies both the founda tion of our traditions in order to invigorate them and the components of disintegration in order to counteract them.

cardinal virtue of fortitude. The gold symbolizes the nobili ty of our cause, and the cross on the lion's chest is the sign of Christendom. The red field stands for dedication.

The Cape. The red cape worn by TFP members distinguishes them and projects their historic principles before the public.

Our History Founded in 1973 in New York State, the American Socie

ty for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property(TFP) is headquartered near York, Pennsylvania. Born of concerns arising from the moral, religious, political and economic crises shaking the Western world, it is one of 25 autonomous TFPs across the globe: the world's largest anticommunist/antisocialist network.

Family. The family is tradition's most dynamic element. It

is the basic living cell of Christian civilization. A true civiliza tion cannot exist without sound families.

Unfortunately, the family in America has been largely reduced to a mere remembrance from yesteryear. Abortion takes the lives of its youngest. Euthanasia claims its sick and aged. Waves of drugs, perversion and pornography corrupt both adolescents and adults. We cannot fold our arms in the face of such devastation.

Property. The institution of the family and of property are related. The existence of the domestic patrimony is a re quisite of the vigorous development of the family. In the absence of private property, there is little freedom and no free enterprise. People become slaves of an omnipo

The TFPs are civic organizations whose work is inspired by the traditional teachings of the Supreme Magisterium of the Catholic Church. They share the same ideal: to safeguard Christian civilization. To this end, each TFP works to de

fend its respective nation against the disintegrating elements in society by upholding—through peaceful and legal means— the principles of tradition, family and property. Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira founded the first TFP in

Brazil in 1960. A distinguished Catholic leader. Prof. Cor rea de Oliveira has dedicated his life to the ideological battle against communism and socialism: the bitterest adversaries

The Standard. Our red standard with its gold lion and let

of tradition, family and private property. A renowned author, his books and articles have been published worldwide. His work Revolution and Counter-Revolution and his exemplary witness continue to inspire the TFPs throughout the world. Undertakings of the American TFP include petition drives in defense of the national flag (over 120,000 signati ollected) and in support of Lithuania's independence froiu the Soviet Union (5.2 million signatures worldwide, 830,000 in the U.S.); campaigns against public blasphemy on the occa sion of Planned Parenthood's cartoon of Our Lady (1978), the film Hail Mary(1985) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988); and the mass distribution of publications like "The Downing of the Korean 747: A Deadly and Telltale Thunder

tering symbolizes our ideological fight for the principles of

bolt," a 1983 denunciation of Soviet atrocities.

tent State and victims of the apathy characterizing the socialist regimes of the past seventy years. Moreover, the legitimacy of private property is guaranteed by two commandments of the Law of God: "Thou shalt not steal" and "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods."

Symbols We Use

Q YES! Please send me

copies of your pro-life book

Name:

The Womb Becomes a Tomb at $6.95 each postpaid. I have enclosed $

for

books.

Address:

Q Please send me more information about the American TFP.

City:

State:

Zip:

Return to: The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property P.O. Box 1868, York, PA 17405-1868 - Tel.: (717) 225-7147 FAX:(717) 225-7382

COMMENTARY

PIUS XirS GREAT GOALS AND MEANS FOR THE

RESTORATION OF THE

CHRISTIAN SOCIAL ORDER by Plinio Correa de Oliveira On November 9,1993,the Spanish edition QtNobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions ofPius XII was released In Santiago, the Chilean capital. Despite his Innumerable commitments, the book's author, Prof. PUnlo Correa de

Ollvelra, found time to dictate a speech for this event which was attended by over

In the aftermath of the second war, the

Pontiff specifically stated that "this time the work of restoration is incomparably

300 Andean admirers of a true social order the Christian order.

more immense, more delicate and more

Read to the audience,the speech deeply Impressed the participants, who saw with new clarity the genuine contribution of the allocutions of Pius XII to the restoration

complex. It is not a question of bringing one sole nation back to normalcy.One can

of this social order.

say that the entire world must be rebuilt;

The translation of this speech Is presented here in the certainty that our readers will find In It elements they need to improve the world around them.

the universal order must be re-established.

The material order, the intellectual order, the moral order—all must be remade and

One of the most important—though not one of the most

set back in a regular, constant motion. The tranquil order tliat is peace, that is the only true peace, cannot be reborn and indeed a revolution not only in the political and economic endure except by building human society upon Christ, so as fields but also in the mentalities, usages and customs preva to gather, recapitulate, reunite everything in Him" \ ulent until then. Much of what had been deemed essential, tion of January 14, 1945). elevated, sublime, perhaps untouchable, was pitilessly and Whoever reads the Pontiffs documents readily sees that ingloriously swept away by the whirlwind of events and he intended to oppose the immense revolution with a reaction replaced by mentalities, usages, and customs diametrically in the opposite direction, a counterrevolution that would save opposed to the old. from ruin so many traditions and even enable the rise and An analogous phenomenon occurred after World War II, regeneration of many other traditions that still had a reason which allows us to state that this troubled century's two great for existing but had disintegrated. wars—let us pray there will not be a third—were two great As was to be expected,there were those who supposed that revolutions. because the author of the allocutions addressed only the Justice mandates that it be known that Pius XII attempted nobility and analogous elites he counted solely on them for to diminish the effects of these revolutions by means of such an endeavor. Perhaps those who thought thisjudged that admirably wise instructions in his fourteen allocutions to the only they could understand, love and defend these traditions, Roman patriciate and nobility. of which they were bearers. noted—results of World War I was a transformation and

January-February, 1994

And indeed Pius XII was convoking these elites in

a special way to this great missionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which is under standable, for these elites are a guarantee ofthe conti

nuity of the values that according to the Pontiff should not disappear.

The collaboration the Pope wanted from them must be considered in its entirety. His request for collaboration was not addressed only to the members of this elite who still

possessed enough riches to irradiate all the prestige of their

next to them. Traditional elites, animated by a truly

Catholic spirit,should give origin to habits,customs and forms of power to face new situations. And they should do this without destroying or contradicting the past in the least, but rather by complementing it when necessary. In view of this high end, it would have been reasonable for Pius XII to think of founding a specific association or institution, from which he might request a new effort in new circumstances. Something like the famous boarding school ofSaint-Cyr,established by the Mar quise of Maintenon, the morganatic â&#x20AC;˘ ^ ÂŤ

wife of Louis XIV, to succor the

many noble French girls whose par ents had fallen into poverty. But obviously Pope Pius XII did not place the best of his hopes in this.

i il'V i if

It must be noted that when the

Pontiff spoke about these hopes, though defending a past in face of new situations, he promoted the cause of tradition and nobility as much as possible. Consequently, his words have the value of a warm in

centive, of an ardent desire, of a pre cise instruction: "Far from forcing

you into a proud isolation, your origin should incline you to penetrate all levels of society, to communicate to The Chilean release of Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in them a love of perfection, ofspiritual the Allocutions of Pius XII in the Gala Salon of Hotel Carrera, cultivation, of dignity, that feeling of Santiago. compassionate solidarity that is the forefathers. They were not the only ones the Pope was asking flower of Christian civilization"(allocution of 1945). This being the case, we must ask ourselves on what else to place all their force of impact at the service of this was Pius XII counting? counterrevolution. There can be no doubt that Pope Pacelli He was counting also,and particularly,on appreciated associations organized for wor the members of this social class who due to "Traditional elites, thy specific ends, as he clearly showed in the misfortunes of war no longer had the material resources to exercise their influ animated by a truly his support of Catholic Action and the Marian Congregations in the Apo. ence. These persons, bearers ofa great name, Constitution Bis Seculari Diae. Yet he was even though often reduced financially to a Catholic spirit, also counting on other resources. shocking extent, were supposed to exem One has the impression that in the mind plify to the common people the essence of should give origin to of the Pontiff success could only be true nobility and the best it can provide. achieved with the collaboration of the They were to be an example of all the virtue, habits, customs and whole social body. greatness of soul and moral dignity that can forms of power to Society viewed as a great body consti continue intact in a noble person and be tuted not only by institutions and societies, irradiated by him to the other social classes face new situations." but also by the multitude of individuals who even when he has been deprived of all kinds develop a merely personal action in favor of of material goods. There was more. Pius Xll clearly counted on the whole the common good, is a social power of the first order. Pius social body not only to save the remaining elites and their Xll was counting on this great body. This concept is a far cry from the servitude to which so traditions, but also to give rise to elites that would take a place

Traditio!^, Familyand Property

often the media reduces peoples and nations by sup

planting the organic organizations that should have a true influence over society.

Anymore, without the approval ofthe media,or at least its principal organs, it is nearly impossible for a cause to suc ceed. Much is said about democracy, but the truth of the matter is that in our so-called democracies the decisive power is usually in the hands of media leaders. Pius XII could have resorted to them. It would have been

easy and convenient. They would have heeded his pleas. Or at least pretended to.

of Austria at Lepanto, to mention but two outstanding

historical examples. In fact, from the teachings of Pius XII we can infer that a powerful global impact can be achieved if every Catholic who hears him strives, individually, to fulfill his duty by applying them especially in his own circles. We should see in these allocutions,above all, the Pontiffs

great desire that each person make his own the papal aspira tions and ideals, and concentrate on realizing them princi pally among those with whom he lives and works. If all Catholicsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;proud to collaborate with the Pope in what is

f Professor .Pllnio Correa de Oliveira f

n ^

:q "The victory of great causes is not achieved so much by iarge armies as by the individual action of vast multitudes imbued with great ideals and ready for all sacrifices in order to win." As is only natural, Pius XII did desire their effective collaboration. And on several points he obtained it. But in his allocutions to the Roman patriciate and nobility the media does not figure as an essential element in the general picture of an ideal society. The probable reason for this may be that there is a permanent temptation to inauthenticity at the heart of media leadership, and it is well known that many times human weakness does not resist the permanent temptation to walk in the ways of untruth. So on what power was Pius XII counting? It was firstly and evidently the power of God Almighty: the Power who granted victory to Constantine at Milvian Bridge and to John

January-February, 1994

undoubtedly a great crusade, perhaps the crusade of the twentieth centuryâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;would devote themselves to this task, no

organization or coalition could impede the Catholic victory. The victory of great causes is not achieved so much by large armies as by the individual action of vast multitudes imbued with great ideals and ready for all sacrifices in order to win:"In an advanced society likeourown,which will have

to be restored and reordered after the great cataclysm, the responsibilities of the leaders are rather diverse; the leader is

the man of State, of government, the politician; the leader is the worker who, without resorting to violence, threats or insidious propaganda, but through his own worth, is able to

gain authority and standing among his peers; the lead ers are all those in their respective fields, the engineer, the jurist, the diplomat, the economist, without whom the material, social and international world would go adrift; the leaders are the university professor, the orator,the writer, all of whom aim at molding and guiding spirits; the leader is the military officer who infuses the hearts of his soldiers with a sense of duty, service and sacrifice; the leader is the doctor carrying out his mission ofrestoring health; the leader is the priest who directs souls onto the path oflight and salvation, providing assis tance for advancing safely along the road"(allocution of 1945).

fulminating: "Treat him like a general who has impos ing armies under him." The white-haired occupant ofthe Throne of Peter, in

the eyes of many just an old man who could do little, was a power in the eyes of the shrewd Napoleon. Why? Because an innumerable multitude of persons, apparently without influence, importance, capacity, or strength of individual impact,recognized in him the Vicar of Christ and were ready to do everything for him. This coalition ofseemingly worth less faithful frightened the man at whose sight the kings of the earth trembled.

A proper historical analysis will show that one of the reasons for Na

This statement deserves to be em

phasized, because too many people

poleon's isolation and fall after Wa

reduce their whole life to the carefree

terloo was the absence at his side of

confines of personal convenience, ex empting themselves from any obliga tion toward great causes by comfort

the "General" who could command

the invisible but frightening armies ofthose who are small in the eyes of men but whose prayers and sacri fices are all-powerful at the feet of

ably claiming that individual action has been rendered useless in this cen

tury when human massesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;^whether crowded in Babylonian urban concen trations or scattered throughout the globeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;are constantly subject to the psychological and ideological ma nipulations of the media. The importance of the individual action ofeach person must be stressed so those who do nothing cannot ex

the throne of God.

cuse themselves by alleging the use-

the French Revolution had im

lessness of making any effort because they are powerless and their personal influence is so minute. If every one, from the greatest to the smallest, gives himself to the endeavor indicated by the Pontiff, victory is certain. This is the central thought of Pius

piously attempted to reduce her; of people who had expected his sword

XII.

In other words, the Church no

longer looked kindly on the apparent winner of Europe. Napoleon no longer had the sym pathy of innumerable simple and honest folk; of people who had hoped he would restore the rights of the Church from the ruins to which

to be the defense of so many over

"Treat him [the Pope]

like a general who has imposing armies under

thrown legitimacies in the spheres of public and individual rights. He no longer had the sympathy of those who, having seen him ask Pius VII to crown him in Notre Dan

ceived great hopes that this gL^iure would be a recognition of the divine him." origin of power, only to be proven ized efforts of associations and so cial groups that wish to promote such a great good and that wrong when Napoleon instead of allowing the Pope to place can efficaciously aid the fulfillment of the huge common the imperial crown on his head took it into his own hands to task. My only desire is that they have the immense united proudly crown himself, thus denying the power he was collaboration ofall those who are open to the teachings of supposedly going to restore.

When presenting it, I am far from wanting to discourage the organ

PiusXII.

But another famous anecdote illustrates the abandonment

To evaluate the enormous power of this collaboration the tyrant would bring upon himself by his ambiguous when not openly anti-religious policy. allow me to recall a well-known historical anecdote. It is said that when Bonaparte's troops were marching When Napoleon's power in Italy was reaching its apogee, victoriously on Moscow, a special envoy of Alexander 1 one of the generals ofthe young Corsican asked him how the reigning Pope should be treated. Bonaparte's answer was requested and was granted an audience with him. When

Tradition, Family and Property

lunchtime came, they were still in the middle of their

It was considerations like these that filled the heart

of Pope Pacelli with hope as he delivered his famous allocutions to the Roman patriciate and nobility. Czar of all the Russias to eat with him. During the meal At Clermont, so many centuries ago, "God wills it!" they began to discuss the many religious edifices the invad ing monarch had noticed on Russian territory. Wanting to became the unanimous cry of feudal warriors until then attribute the weakness ofthe Russian resistance to an excess indolent in face ofthe Moslem danger.The action ofthe Holy ofreligiousness, Napoleon asked ifRussia was the European Spirit, making itself felt through the impressive mystical inflections of Blessed Pope Urban II's voice, ignited in these nation that spent the most on religious buildings. The envoy of Alexander I quickly answered: "No, Sir, sleepy souls the sublime fire of the combativity of the cru we're on par with Spain." Precisely at this historical moment saders. And the course of History changed. the heroism of Catholics in the Iberian Peninsula was inflict The voice of Pius XII still resounds in his allocutions to ing unprecedented humiliating defeats on Napoleon's great est generals. Understanding the allusion and the admirable the Roman patriciate and nobility. Hence these allocutionsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; military scope ofthe Iberian religious fervor, Napoleon kept which did not succeed in shaking the inertia of so many

negotiations, and Bonaparte invited the delegate ofthe

Catholics in the days they were deliveredâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;seem today to be admirably vivified by a renewal of graces. A renewal of During the sufferings of Waterloo, Napoleon may have graces that leads ever more numerous legions ofour contem remembered everything he was lacking to attain victory and poraries to desire the restoration ofa Christian society, where understood better than ever the importance of the religious in an atmosphere of peace the tranquility of order will reign and where for the sake of the common good all legitimate factor, even in the face of the most powerful generals. The presence ofthis factor strengthens even more than its hierarchies will be respected. And this is why Pius XII's allocutions to the Roman absence weakens. Such is the power of the multitudes of faithful who bring to success the works ofthe Popes and who, patriciate and nobility are reprinted, with renewed ardor for when moved by the wind of the Holy Spirit, feel capable of this grand ideal, in the book we launch today, as we bring what Camoes termed with such striking beauty, "Christian back to life days ofefficacy and glory in ever larger areas of civilization in our Western world. feats of daring"(Lusiadas, VII, 14). silent. Soon after, the fire of Moscow began and Napoleon had to retreat from Russia.

The American TFP in Action

Portrait ofAmerica:

A Closer Look As the last TFP members in the campaign to disse tie Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira's inspiring masterpiece No bility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII once again took to the road, braving the harsh

elements of ice and snow marking a record-setting winter, their hearts were warmed by a common conviction born of common experience: There are considerably more pockets of resistance to the social and moral Revolution subverting America than generally recognized. Indeed, the experiences recounted by the teams during their Christmas stay at the TFP headquarters in rural Penn sylvania provided an encouraging, even consoling, portrait of our Nation.

Not that anyone had forgotten the egalitarian, materialis-

January-February, 1994

Portrait of America

tic, hedonistic amorality suffocating America's soul. No one can or should.

But that—Deo gratias—is not the entire picture. While the propaganda mills of the Left parrot the line that the United States long ago burned its bridges with the Christian Europe

of its ancestors, the living history ofthe latest TFP campaign reveals beyond the shadow of a doubt the palpable existence of a different, but authentic America. This hidden, silenced, and even repressed America reveres and yearns for the resto ration of a hierarchical society steeped in Old World tradi tions, cherishes the authority of the family, and strives for Christian perfection. One team came across a monastery whose contemplative monks, isolated from the world, live in evangelical poverty and confidence—eating only what is brought to them by their God-fearing friends. Nevertheless, the prior gladly acquired

bought eight books, after pulling from a file by his desk a clipping yellowed with age. "I clipped this when I was in college many years ago. It struck me so profoundly I knew it was true." The article cited statements made by Communists a halfcentury ago on the imperative ofcorrupting the Nation's elites. He lamented the sad fact that members of his own

class—by relinquishing their leading role to the pseudo-elites

of Hollywood—^were largely responsible for the crisis afflict ing our society today. Who would imagine that we would find Southern planta tions with Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament— where crops are blessed before the harvest? Just as remarkable was the paternal relationship between the plantation owner and his hired help reminiscent of feudal nobility. Time and again Americans would bear witness to their TFP countrymen oftheir noble ancestry, a heritage they cherish in

Left.TFP members offer the book A/oh/y/fyanc/Ana/ogous Traditional Elitesto parishionersof Nativity Church inTorrance,

California. Right. TFP table at Southwestern Ohio Roundtable Conference in Cincinnati.

a copy of the book and told the team toward the end of an hour-long conversation:"Tell your superiors that the TFP has friends in this monastery. You are always welcome here and we will pray daily for your intentions." The monastery pro vided lodging for the team that night and another night a week later.

As testimony to the Catholic wisdom of ora et labora, a

the face of egalitarian ridicule. As one Philadelphia gentle man recalling his grandfather, an Italian immigrant '' hose noble origins go back to 1282, confided, "My graiu .ler showed me how difficult it is to reveal an aristocratic past while living in a democratic society. Yet, grandfather had a certain bearing that was a dead giveaway." Of course, not everyone contacted in the campaign de

month later another team—more than a thousand miles dis

scends from nobility. In accord with the natural order, most

tant—met a parish priest already familiar with the book because he had learned of it from the prior of this faraway

do not. The authentic Catholic spirit is not one ofenvy, much less one desirous of leveling society into a faceless and soulless mass. Rather true Catholics love the fact thatjust and

monastery.

Numerous religious around the country are praying for the

proportional inequalities exist in society and are heartened

success of the campaign, for the apostolate of the TFP, and

when traditional elites fulfill their ordained mission to "set

for the intentions of Prof. Plinio Correa deOliveira.

the tone in the village or in the city," to give the good example

A third team encountered a gentleman from one of the oldest families of Rhode Island. While not a Catholic, he

that inspires emulation.

After walking the last half mile on the dirt road so steep

Tradition, Family and Property

by Steven Schmieder

A Closer Look the team had to abandon their car, a TFP team arrived at the home ofan old

farmer and his wife. Simple and God fearing as they were, the eyes of this Protestant couple lit up with joy when they saw the book on nobility. Thank ing the team profusely for their visit they bought the book for their large family. Another team left the book for re view with a woman who works in a

midwestem bookstore. They returned to find her at her desk, reading Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira's book, tears

glistening in her eyes: the windows of her soul.

A.Journey Through Louisiana: Remnants of an Organic Society in Formation Travelling through Louisiana it is not difficult to find examples sustain ing theses of Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira's most recent work, Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions ofPius XII:A Theme Illuminat

ing American Social History} Along the

Jefferson Davis a model crown of to the very tombstones next to St. John thorns during the Confederate presi the Evangelist Cathedral in Lafayette, dent's imprisonment after the Civil something of the fragrance of history War. This gift can be seen at the Con and the families who contributed to its federate War Museum on Camp Street in New Orleans. shaping permeates the air. The aristocratic tendencies, though Religion and the State today much effaced, are yet present in the religious and civil celebrations, Since its earliest colonial days, Lou from the processions on the Feast of isiana belonged to either Spain or Christ the King, to the debutante balls France, changing hands several times. at the beginning of each year,with their It was therefore profoundly marked by "kings," "queens," "princes," "prin Catholicism, the only religion whose cesses" and "squires." It is not uncom practice was allowed by these two mon to find subjects like "The Court of powers. Even today a large percentage Franz Joseph" or "The Throne of Louis of the population of southern Louisi XIV" as the theme of Mardi Gras, when tial numbers of Catholics in southern

Mississippi and Alabama. This early unity of faith influenced

TFP table at the Illinois State Historical

America is culturally and morally sick and her condition is quite grave. To deny this reality is to deny the need for repentance and reparation. But there is another America—a remnant to be

sure—but a remnant alive, nay vibrant, with the faith of our fathers "living still." To deny that reality is to embrace despair, to surrender our Nation with out a fight. May Our Lady Help of Christians come to our aid as we begin the second phase of this crucial campaign for which we rely as ever on our readers' faithful prayers and support.

January-February, 1994

anti-egalitarian principles.^ Acknow ledging a mutual sympathy, Pius IX, himself a victim of a liberal egalitarian revolution that swept over Italy, sent

streets and boulevards of New Orleans,

ana is Catholic. There are also substan

Society's annual conference in Springfield.

opinion with aristocratic tendencies came to display a remarkable sympa thy for this Catholicism because of its

the formation of the region as well as the mentality of its people. Because of the Catholic Faith and the agrarian so cial structure, the early population was not imbued with the egalitarian men tality found in other parts of what is today the United States. It had a more aristocratic political outlook, which was reinforced during the French Revolu tion, when many nobles fleeing the Terror emigrated to Louisiana. Some small towns like St. Martinville became

centers of these immigrants, whose de scendants still pride themselves of no ble ancestry. Certain sectors of Southern public

an enormous effort is made to imitate

somehow the regal splendor of old.

Inequality: A Necessary Condition for an Authentic

Democracy In a century marked by the demagoguery of egalitarian democracy— now collapsing under the weight of its own lie as the chains of state tc^Mlitari-

anism grow ever heavier on i

can still catch a glimmer of what an authentic democracy is in some of the stories told in the countryside.

Today there are basically two pre requisites to winning an election: pos

sessing lots of money and making lots of promises. But amid the cacophony of political advertising and promises

1. When the writer of this article recently traveled through 1.ouisiana promoting Prof. Plinio Correa

de Oliveira's work Nobilily and Analogous Traditional I'.lites in flic Allocutions of Pius XU, he did not do so with the intention of writing about .some of his experiences and ob.servalions. For this reason he

omits names of individuals he encountered, whose privacy would be encroached upon if they were mentioned without prior consent.

2. In this regard, the book A rrcnchmnn, a Rebel and a CImylnin: The Wiir f.c/iiT.s of Louis llipyolyle Cache, written by a Jesuit serving, in the Confederate Army, is very informative reading.

'rx-Tw^.'/'

â&#x20AC;˘m '.ja^V.....

W;. "'HI!!!!

Tn_^1h. ^ Tt^TETK-r

A common scene in Louisiana (health care, jobs creation, low-interest

derstood for so long the profound as

rates, balanced budgets and the list goes on) we heard a refreshing fact from an eighty-seven-year-old descen dant of sugar cane planters and mill owners. His ninet>'-year-old sister still

pirations and values of the community

injustice. The same could be said of the very institution of fatherhood: There

and had led it to achieve them, who

have been bad, even cruel fathers in

could better represent it in Baton

history. But the average person would

Rouge? The community members saw

not conclude that most fathers are evil

in him a kind of better side of them

and that the institution of fatherhood

lives next to him in the original planta

selvesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a figure who embodied in a

tion manor house, surrounded by the homes of sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, and workers from the plantations and millsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a veritable com munity that sprangup around the fam ily of the first plantation owners. It must be mentioned that in many cases either the sugar cane planters built

special way their own values and aspi

itself is unjust and must be abolished. Such a demand is only made by people imbued with a radically egalitarian spirit, proponents of socialism md

rations.

What about today's politicians? Do they receive votes by personifying the communism for instance, who si electors' better side? Or do they win by justice in any inequality. making the most promises and spend In Louisiana, the truth regarding ing the most money on ads?

Inequality and Social lies or provided the means for them to Harmony: The Sense of Duty homes for the workers and their fami

build their own.

of the Social Elite

Many years ago this gentleman's fa ther decided to run for the office of

Egalitarian circles state ad nauseam

state representative. Without resorting to politicking and campaigning, he won easily. Why? The community had been the continual beneficiary (if his family, which had always exercised lo cal leadership. Since his family had un

that the "haves" attained and retain

their status by oppressing the "havenots." Is this the reality? Undoubtedly there have been and will continue to be those who have

risen to prominence or wealth through

proportionate social, economic or any

other inequality can be witnessed often

by simply visiting the home of a promi nent person and even at times of some one who is not so prominent. If you and your hosts meet a family servant or maid, he or she is invariably pre sented as part of the family. This is not simply a veneer but the deeper reality. This broader concept of family is in a way more enduring in those who have a sense of the legitimacy of pro portionate inequalities. What happens

Tradition, Family and Property

Monros

to so many elderly parents around the

what Fustel de Coulanges states in his famous La Cite Antique about the

world today? When they become too much of a "worry" at home, they are sent to a retirement home to be forgot

formation of the civitas. Over a pe riod of two hundred years the settler

tenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;while at times even the mon

families intermarried and multi

strous Kevorkian "solutions" of suicide

plied, while other families arrived and entered this flux, giving rise to

or euthanasia are hinted at.

But what happens to the servant who grows old in those families where the word itself has a much deeper meaning? In one case, a doctor's ser

a veritable city where nearly every one is somehow related, even

Shreveport

Louisiana Baton Porttchamalft

BreMK Brtdga

LatAvono

St. Marti'^villa Avery laiand

though the fog of history has ob scured the remembrance of distant

vant, who had also served the doctor's father, retired when he was advanced

genealogical ties.

in years to a little house his employer built close to his own. The doctor pro vides for his needs to this day. In an other case, a more than seventy-yearold gardener continues to cut his em ployer's lawn as he always hasâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; though without the energy of earlier years. Why? Because, while he could

leans and ridden the streetcar along

Who has ever been to New Or St. Charles Avenue and not admired the old but beautiful homes with their

distinctive architecture? They were built by some of the oldest families of

the region and until recently many were still inhabited by those same fami lies. These residences are but a small

retire to his home and live off his social

reflection of the tone New Orleans

security check, he feels dignified by his traditional employment. If he thought his employer would readily replace him with a younger gardener, would he have this sense of dignity? What a

once had and which was set by its leading families descended from Span

remarkably different idea of social se curity!

from a distance at the magnificent and

ish, French and later American settlers.

portant contribution to the community. They elevate the spirit of the popula tion and psychologically help it tend toward the spiritual. This spiritual benefit is immeasurably more impor tant than the simple material aid they also provide to the less fortunate.

The Cajuns: The Descendants of French Canadian Families

Form a Region

Through the cut-glass and crystal doors and windows, one can marvel

tasteful decoration. On holidays, the passerby is treated to an even greater spectacle. During the Christmas sea son,lovely trees are to be seen through

Among the few more archetypical examples of regionalism in the United States is Acadiana. Inhabited by de scendants of French Canadian families

telephone company uses nicknames in

expelled from Canada in the eight eenth century by the British crown (they are more familiarly known to us the windows while the exterior is em bellished with tiny lights and a nativity as Cajuns), this region has preserved a scene in the garden. At Halloween, unique culture well described in the more fanciful decorations greet the title of a local best-selling book. Who's

its directory because so many of its

visitor's eye.

The Family: The Foundation of Regionalism Breaux Bridge is a city of several thousand inhabitants where the local

Elite families, adorning their homes contemporary microcosmic example of in such a marvelous way, make an imcitizens have common surnames. It is a

Your Mama, Are You Catholic, And Can

You Make a Roux? by Marcelle Bienvenu. These are the characteristics that

distinguish an authentic Cajun. Until the Second World War, most inhabitants of Arndiana

spoke French. It might n.

been their first language, but at

least they were familiar with it. With the war many young men and women left the region to serve the United States else

where,while the discovery of oil brought many immigrants to the region, which was slowly trans formed.

[Continued on p. 23]

p 15

Ambiences, qualities the spirit of darkness ex ploits to disguise himself so that he may seduce men.

Our first picture is an example of such a presentation of the demon. Dia bolical, with a shrewd countenance,

astute with a penetrating psychology and full of guile, the demon instills with a suave and deep manner thoughts of perdition in Dr. Fausto, sleeping immersed in his dreams. This type of representation ofthe devil has become so frequent that one can hardly picture him save in this

TheChurch teaches that God created angels vastly superior to man. Pure spirits with most lucid intelligence and great power, they surpass in their nature even the most gifted of men.

manner.

Providence, God restrains their activ

ity. But in their nature they remain far superior to man. Accordingly, the Church always ap proved artists' depictions ofthe de mon as an intelligent, shrewd, astute,

All of this, as we have said, is quite orthodox.

How then does contemporary popu lar iconography portray the image of the good angels? They are shown as eminently wellintentioned beings, happy and inno cent. This is in conformance with

Is the Guardian

Angel Less Intelligent than

their eminent sanctity, blessedness, and purity. Nevertheless, such depictions trans gress their proper balance by cn^^hasizing the goodness and purity faithful angels, while failing to con vey their admirable intelligence, strength, and majesty. Instead, they are often painted as weak creatures with no hint of courage.

the Demon? As a consequence of their revolt,

the fallen angels lost their virtue, but neither their intelligence nor their power. In accord with His Divine

and powerful being, albeit full of mal ice in all his designs. She even sanc tions his portrayal as a creature with captivating charms, reflecting the

Our second picture shows a child crossing a treacherous creek over an uncertain bridge. A guardian angel is protecting her. This picture, however popular and unpretentious, does not al-

Tradition, Family and Property

Customs and Civilizations by Plinio Correa de Oliveira low legitimate feelings to be aroused. Rather, it evokes a pacific rural pano rama with the bell tower ofthe village in the background, permeated by an in nocence of life preserved so much more readily in the countryside. Naturally, the idea of a child con tinuing her carefree walk lovingly guarded by a celestial Prince is quite touching. Still, if we pay closer atten tion to this Prince, in particular his vis age, does he not appear utterly devoid ofthe force, intelligence, acuteness, and agility proper to angelic nature, as evidenced in every portrayal of the Prince of Darkness.

Examine the body artistically repre senting the good angel. Observe the soft attitudeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;slackened and unintelli

gent. Compare it to the lithe agility and alertness of the demonâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;could the

contrast be any sharper?

All ofthis is most inopportune. By insistently representing the de mon as intelligent, lively, and capable; and the good angel as a soft being, ex pressionless, almost foolish (as in sac charine iconography), what impres sion is inspired in the public mind? That the practice of virtue results in creatures lacking in backbone and sense, while, on the contrary, vice is

the practice of powerful and intelli gent beings.

Thus we see yet another example of the velvet deception which romanti cism continues to profoundly exercise over many religious ambiences.

January-February, 1994

% 1 #

Then my hour will have come... Prophecies of Our Lady of

twentieth many heresies will be propagated in these lands, which will then be a free re

Good Success to Mother

Mariaua of Jesus Torres, co-foundress of the Convent of

the Immaculate Conception in Quito, Ecuador. On February 2,1634, Mother Mariana of Jesus Tor res had just finished her fervent prayer at three o'clock in the morning in the upper choir when she suddenly noticed that the sanctuary lamp had burned out. Instinctively she prepared to descend to the church in order to relight it, but an unknown force immobilized her muscles so that she could not

take a single step. At this moment Our Lady of Good Success appeared carrying the Divine Infant in her

left hand and the crosier in her right. Approaching rather complacently,she said:"My beloved daugh ter, today I bring you the pleasant news of your

public. With these heresies in control, the precious light of faith will be extinguished in souls because of an almost to-1

tal corruption of customs. In

those times there will be

great calamities, both physi cal and moral, public and pri

Mother Mariana

vate. The few souls who re

of Jesus Torres main faithful to grace will suf fer a cruel, unspeakable and prolonged martyrdom. Many of them will descend to their graves due to the violence of suffering and will be counted among the martyrs who sacrificed themselves for the Church and the country. b)"Secondly, my community, which will be re duced to a small number, will be submerged in a depthless sea of unspeakable troubles. Many true vo cations will perish through a lack of good judgment and prudence concerning their formation by the mis tresses of novices, who should be prayerful souls well versed in the ways of spiritual guidance but who will allow many innocent novices, after having

death which shall occur in ten months and some

been in the secure haven of this blessed convent, to

days. Your eyes will then close to the material light

return to the Babylon of the world to become a;, of evil for the corruption of souls. c)"Thirdly the lamp was extinguished because of the poisoned atmosphere of impurity which will

of this world in order to open to the brilliance of eter nal light. Prepare your soul so that, purified more and more, it may fully enter into the enjoyment of your Lord. "I wish you to know that my maternal love will al ways watch over the convents of the entire order of my Immaculate Conception because this order will give me much glory in the holy daughters that it will have.

"The sanctuary lamp that burns before Our Lord

in the tabernacle and which you saw go out has many meanings: a)"The first is that toward the end of the nine teenth century and throughout a great part of the

January-February, 1994

reign at that time like a filthy sea. It will flow through the streets, squares and public places with such an astonishing lack of restraint that there will be almost no virgin souls left in the world. It is well known that the vice of impurity extinguishes the light of faith. d)"The fourth meaning concerns the power of sects and their ability to penetrate homes and fami lies, thus destroying the beauty of innocence in the

hearts of children. In this way, vocations to the priest hood will diminish.

"In the regular clergy, because of the observance of the rule and the practice of the virtues, there will be no lack of holy priests; not so with the secular clergy, who will become attached to wealth and riches rather than their priestly ministry. How the Church will suffer during this dark night! Lacking a prelate and father to guide them with paternal love, gentleness, strength, wisdom and prudence, many

direction, thus allowing the cursed Satan to take pos session of this land. He will achieve his victories by means of foreign and faithless people so numerous

that, like a black cloud, he will darken the pure heavens of the then republic consecrated to the Sa cred Heart of my Divine Son. "With these people every type of vice will enter, calling down,in turn, every Idnd of chastisement, such as plagues,famines,inter nal fighting, external disputes with other nations, and apos tasy, the cause of perdition of so many souls so dear to Jesus Christ and to me.

"In order to dissipate this black cloud, which impedes the Church from enjoying the clear day of liberty, there will be a formidable and frightful war, in which both native and for

eign blood will flow, including that of secular and regular priests and other religious. That night shall be most horri ble, for it shall seem to man

kind that evil has triumphed, and then my hour will have come to dethrone the proud Sa tan, trampling him under my

Interior of the Convent of the Immaculate Conception, Quito, Ecuador

heel and chaining him in the in fernal abyss, finally freeing the Church and the country from his cruel tyranny,

priests will lose their spirit, placing their souls in great danger. "Therefore, clamor insistently without tiring and weep with bitter tears in the privacy of your heart,im ploring our Heavenly Father for the love of the Eucharistic Heart of my Most Holy Son to put an end to these ominous times by sending to this Church the prelate who will restore the spirit of her priests. "We shall endow this dear son of mine with a rare

capacity, a humility of heart, a docility to divine in spiration, the strength to defend the rights of the Church, and a tender and compassionate heart, so that, like another Christ, he will assist the great and the small, without despising the less fortunate who ask him for light and counsel in their doubts and hardships. "Into his hand the scale of the sanctuary will be

placed so that all may be carried out in due measure and that God be glorified. However, the lukewarmness of souls consecrated to God in the priestly

and religious states will tip the scales in the opposite

e)"The fifth motive for the extinguishing of the lamp is the negligence and carelessness of those pos sessing great wealth who will indifferently stand by and witness the oppression of the Church, the perse cution of virtue and the triumph of evil without ap plying their riches in a holy way for the destruction of evil and the restoration of the Faith."

In an earlier apparition, the divine Lady hau plained that the devil would use all his power to de stroy the convent. However the Blessed Mother would protect it. Our Lady continued,"I shall watch with maternal solicitude over this place and its dependents. If neces

sary, I will safeguard the walls that guard the clois ters with miracles. God and His Mother, who now

speaks to you, will bless all who strive to edify, sup port and preserve this beloved place. Their names shall be written on the shining star of rubies that you see in the center of this crosier, the symbol of my power and authority in this my house. As for those who work to destroy it, I shall take the lives of some

Tradjtioi^, Familyand Property

when they least expect it; others will un dergo many ordeals, and all will receive in eternity what they deserve. "In the nineteenth century a truly Chris tian president will come, a man of character to whom God Our Lord will grant the palm of martyrdom in this very square v/here my convent is. He will consecrate the republic to the Sacred Heart of my beloved Son, and

W %

this consecration will sustain the Catholic re

ligion throughout the following years. Dur

ing those years, which will be ominous for the Church, the accursed sect of Freema

sonry will take over the civil government. A cruel persecution will rage against all relig ious communities and will descend upon this convent with special fury. Because of those wretched men the convent would per ish, but God lives and I live and We will

raise powerful defenders from their own midst. We shall place insuperable difficulties in their path; the triumph will be Ours. "Therefore, in this convent there will be beautiful

souls who will attract the mercies of God upon their

stand that I am powerful in appeasing divine justice and obtairung mercy and forgiveness for every sinful soul who comes to me with a contrite heart, for I am

the Mother of Mercy and in me there is only good ness and love; secondly, so that my daughters may understand that I am showing and giving them my most holy Son and their God as the model of relig

ious perfection, as an illustration. Let them come to me for I will lead them to Him.

"When the tribulations of the soul and the pains of the body oppress them and they seem to be drowning in a bottomless sea, a look at my holy statue will be for them like a star for the shipwrecked; I shall always be ready to listen to their cries and dry their tears. Tell them to ever hasten to their mother

Garcia Moreno, president of Ecua dor, moments after being martyred in 1875

convent, upon their unworthy country and upon the embattled Church. These souls will not know how

their God and Lord is forming them. Thus, it is the wish of my most holy Son that you command a statue of me to be made,just as you see me. Place it on the seat of the abbess so that from there I may govern my convent. In my right hand place the cro sier and the keys to the cloister as a symbol of owner ship and authority.

"You will have my divine Child placed in my left arm so that, in the first place, all mortals may under

January-February, 1994

with faith and love, for it is my desire to live with them and in them. With their manifold sufferings they will preserve their convent for all time. Tell them to imitate my humility, my obedience, my spirit of sacrifice and my absolute submission to the divine will. These are the wings by which my daugh ters who venerate the mystery of my Immaculate Conception throughout the ages will soar with mys terious agility to the highest peaks of sanctity in the silent retreat of the cloisters, seen only by the gaze of God."

A Spanish Mystic in Quito: Sor Mariana de Jesus Torres, Msgr. Luis E. Cadena y Almeida, New York: The Foundation for a Christian Civilization, Inc. 1990.

Tradition, Family and Property magazine highly recommends to its readers Revolution and Counter-Revolution,

by Professor Plinio Correa de Oliveira, now available in its third edition.

Order Today! $8.95 $3.00 for shipping and handling $.75 for each additional book

Please make checks

payable to The American TFP Pennsylvania residents add 6% sales tax.

Contents of Revolution and Counter-Revolution Parti

Ckapter VI The March of the Revolution

The Revolution Ckapter I The Crisis of Contemporary

Ckapter VII The Essence of the

Revolution

Man

Ckapter VIII

Ckapter II

The Intelligence, the Will, and the Sensibility in the

The Crisis of Western and Christian Man

Determination of Human Acts

Ckapter III

Ckapter IX

Characteristics of this Crisis

Ckapter IV The Metamorphoses of the Revolutionary Process

Ckapter V The Three Depths of the Revolution: In the Tendencies, in the Ideas, and in the Facts

The "Semi-Counter

Redemption, and the Revolutionary Utopia

ckapter XII The Pacifist and Anti-Milita rist Character of the Revolution

Part II

Ttie Counter-Revolution Ckapter I The Counter-Revolution Is a

Revolutionary" Is also a Son of

Reaction

the Revolution

Ckapter II

Ckapter X Culture, Art, and Ambiences in the Revolution

Ckaptcr XI The Revolution on Sin and

Reaction and Historical

Immobility

Ckapter III The Counter-Revolution and

the Craving After Novelties

Tradition, Familyand Property

"If the Revolution is

disorder, the

[Continued from p. 15]

Cliapter IV

The region's cuisine is well known. Gumbo, jumbalaya, courtbouillon, stuffed crawfish and boudin are just a few of the many dishes you are likely to find on the table when you sit down

What is a

for a home meal. The food will often

Counter-Revolution is the

Restoration of Order"

Counter-Revolutionary?

Cliapter V

have that extra bit of zip provided by a few dashes of the Tabasco sauce pro

Tactics

duced by the Mcllhennys on Avery Island, which has belonged to this fam ily for over two centuries.

Cliapter VI

A Region Not Unaffected by

The Counter-Revolution's

the Contemporary Crisis

Means of Actions

It would be foolish to ignore the fact that the contemporary world crisis also afflicts this region. From crime and im morality to corruption and scandal, even among the sacred ranks of the clergy, Louisiana has not been spared

lutionsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;interventionsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which simply

the Counter-Revolution, and

the effects of this crisis. As is well

intercession of the Mother of God, in

the Counter-revolutionary

known,the first major pedophile scan

"Shock"

dal in the Catholic Church in the United States occurred in the Diocese

voked under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, whose image was brought to Louisiana by the Ursuline nuns and is still keptin their chapel. On one occasion, when a fire was ravaging the city,a statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor was placed in a window facing the oncoming fire, at which the fire changed directions. During the Battle

Ckapter VII Obstacles to the Counter-Revolution

Cliapter VIII The Processive Character of

Cliapter IX

of Lafayette.

The Driving Force of the

Egalitarianism is continually erod

Counter-Revolution

ing the institutions of the past. For ex

Ckapter X

ample, the oldest and most traditional

The Counter-Revolution,

Sin, and the Redemption

ckapter XI The Counter-Revolution and

Temporal Society

Ckapter XII

Mardi Gras^ Krewes (clubs) have been victimized by this revolutionary social tendency. These clubs are generally composed of the descendants of the oldest New Orleans families and have

remained exclusive to this day. How ever, within the last several years,local

ordinances have been passed to deny

The Church and the

Counter-Revolution

Part III

Revolution and CounterRevolutioniTwenty Years After Ckapter I The Revolution: A Process in

Continual Transformation

Ckapter II The Apogee and Crisis of the Third Revolution

Ckapter III The Aborning Fourth Revolution

Conclusion

January-February, 1994

clubs that are in any way discrimina

compound the problems. Conclusion Several times New Orleans has been

spared total destruction through the

of New Orleans in the War of 1812, townsfolk did a continual novena to

Our Lady asking that the victory be gained by the Americans and the city be spared. As a result, General Andrew Jackson won a decisive victory over the British, and shortly afterwards visited

tory, i.e. exclusive, a permit to parade on city-owned streets. Consequently,

her shrine at the Ursuline convent.

some of the best-known clubs no

not ceased to manifest her solicitude for

longer sponsor a parade; they only

the inhabitants of New Orleans, al

In more recent times. Our Lady has

though in a different way. W1 le International Pilgrim Statue ot Our With the increase of crime, New Or leans had the dubious distinction of Lady of Fatima visited there in 1972 it having one of the highest murder rates wept. These tears certainly mean some per capita in the country last year. thing. Could it be that Our Lady is Many of the older families are aban calling her children to return to a path doning the city for the suburbs or for from which they have strayed? hold an annual ball.

new communities on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain.

The disappearance of the purity of customs has been especially devastat ing to the family. Divorces, illegitimate births, broken homes and so forth are

just as prevalent there as elsewhere. And with the problems comes the in evitable panacea of State-sponsored so

3. Here reference is simply made to the close familial and/or ethnic nature of the clubs that

sponsor parades and balls during Mardi Gras,

and not to the festivities' present characteristics, like so much else affected by the decadence of the

modern world and highly censurable from the viewpoint of Catliolic morals.

TFPs

The Shangri-La Hotel Manila is the Philip pines' foremost hotel. Its lobby,famous for its tall marble pillars of emerald green and exquisite ancient Chinese ornaments, is graced daily by the presence ofnumerous members ofthe national elite, who display their elegant dress and refined manners as they converse and enjoy the music played by an orchestra in the background. Perhaps most days one could legitimately won der how often the hotel guests' lively conversation deals with the responsibilities of elites. However, last December 8 it was obvious that the subject was

being given very serious consideration by at least some of them. About 150 of them to be more pre

cise, who were gathered in a section of the hotel's grand ballroom for the first Far Eastern presentation of Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira's book Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions ofPius XII. Attending this event aimed at studying the Chris tian concept ofelites, and especially their responsi bilities according to papal teaching, were members of traditional families, cultural and educational

leaders, personages of the Philippine business world and university student leaders. A choir, Musica Harmonica, was also present to sing the na tional anthem,Filipino songs between the speeches, and a thirteenth-century Ave Maria as a closing to this distinctly Catholic affair. Mr. Allen A. Bandril, the president of the Saint Thomas Aquinas Youth Association for a Christian Civilization, opened the presentation by welcoming the participants to an evening of social reevaluation ofour times. In his speech he reviewed the impactâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;for good and evilâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;ofnobles and other elites in history and encouraged all his listeners to make a meaningful contribution to the solution ofthe contemporary

Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites

PHILI crisis by asserting their leadership rok

iit-

lined in the work.

Three guest speakers then expounded on the responsibilities of elites in our times. Fr. Ra mon C. Salinas, O.P., corporate secretary of Manila's San Juan de Letran College,spoke on the noble educational role of elites, Senator

Francisco S. Tatad, on the political relevance of elites in a democracy, and the Honorable Helena Z. Benitez, on the formation and social

contribution of Philippine elites. Father Salinas began witii a commentary on the importance of St. Thomas Aquinas' teach ings to anyone attempting to remedy the lack

Tradition, Family and Property

Around the World

members to exert the necessary effort to maintain

their position as the leading class among the groups that direct the present world." Father Salinas, who is the Manila Archdiocese

deputy minister for education and catechetics, and director of youth ministry, has plans for making the book's message more widely known:"We will use this book in the course of our campus ministry. It will remind our students and academic communities

ptinio CorrSa de Oliveira

that what counts, principally counts, when speaking of the elite is commitment. Because if there is no

commitment,there is no elite. Because ifthere is no commitment, there is no reason. And if there is no reason, there is no God, and therefore no elite."

In his speech, Senator Francisco Tatad eulogized Prof. Correa de Oliveira's newspaper columns. He had published a number of them years before the release of Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites: "It pleased me immensely to share those occasional pieces with the readers of my paper.... They focused on the human condition and were written with the learned lucidity ofone who has been formed in the works of the Fathers and Doctors of

Now Available in the

the Church and all the Popes,and who lives the Faith ofthe Apostles." He proceeded to address the transformation ofthe Philippine elite. Not only did it change its first language from Spanish to English and then to Fili pino, the language of the masses, but it also "began abandoning its traditional role and responsibilities. The result is that we may have lost sight ofthe principle that certain ideas, values and traditions will not flow from below.

PPINES of conscience in the contemporary world. He went on to explain the Saint's concept of God as the source of nobility:"What has being and uses that being, In our case, rationally is no ble.... Nobility comes from God, the most noble being, the source of all perfection." Quoting from the book. Father Salinas re called the elite's mission of "guarding and promoting those traditional values without which human creatures are no more than ro

bots and the people, common people." "Un like many others," Father Salinas continued, "the Pontiff very clearly does not desire the disappearance of the nobility, but invites its

January-February, 1994

They must continue to flow from above." He pointed out that "the decline ofour country today may be traced to the disappearance of a responsible elite, and the widely propagated misunderstanding that democracy thrives

tion, intense love between spouses, be tween them and theirchildren, and finally among the children themselves, all these are excellent. However, they will avail nothing if, at the root, there does not lie love ofthe Holy Cross ofOur Lord Jesus Christ. With this love we will obtain all,

even as we are weighed down with the holy burden of purity and other heroic virtues, the unceasing attacks and mock eries of the enemies of the Faith, and the betrayals offalse friends. "The great foundation, indeed the greatest foundation,of Christian civiliza tion is that each and every soul cultivate a generous love that embraces the Holy Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ."

Senator Francisco S. Tatad

best among the greatest number ofpeople who share the same level of mediocrity." Closing, he emphasized that the political leadership will hardly find a solution to the country's serious problems unless the traditional elite comes to the fore.

The last speaker,the Honorable Helena Benitez,described why the book particularly appealed to her: "It corrects the popular idea of elite, and therefore deserves to be read.... Nobility really means leadership with excellence and above

asiaIm seminar

oSiCit^

d JKnohqom Traditional THIct

in the J\.[(ocutions oj TiusXT bij PUnio Correa de Oltyeira

all dedication." She recalled how she had asked

her father, a constitutionalist, what

kind ofgovernment would best suit the Philippines, to which he an swered: "a combination of royalty and democracy, something like Thailand, where you have an inher ited aristocracy and nobility dedi cated to the welfare of the people, where the King and Queen and their children devote all their time to the

uplifting of the nation, rendering

Corrda

service and giving example." Unable to be present, Prof. Correa de Oliveira sent a speech that was read by a representative of the Brazi lian Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property. In moving words, he emphasized that unless elites follow the example of Our Lord Jesus Christ,they will not fulfill their reason for being: "Elites, perfect family organiza-

Mr. Allen A. Bandril, president of the Saint Thomas Aquinas Youth Association for a Christian Civilization

Tradition, Familyand Property

Gun Control or

Self Control? The Moral Crisis Behind the Headlines you'll have to take responsibility for your own life. Don't say we didn't wam you." His pen has a point. Not that 2.9 violent scenes per hour

"Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark ofcelestialfire, called conscience." George Washington

on prime-time dramas is prime fare, but 218 violent crimes per hour on our streets—and in our homes—is more sobering

Rules of Civility and Decent Bihavlour

still.

Public discussion of the mass media's graphic depiction

"Cain didn't slay Abel because ofa vivid docudrama,and punks don't murder solely because they have witnessed bloodshed on TV," observes columnist Tony Snow of the

of murder and mayhem—television violence, in particu lar—has consumed a substantial share of printer's ink in recent months. But—as the representative sample of stories on the following pages chillingly illustrates—^the violence

Detroit News. "Infirmities ofthe flesh have roots in human

One editorial cartoonist, portraying Mom,Pop,and pooch before that omnipresent, modem idol, the television set, puts it this way: "The following program contains violence. But hey, the world is a violent place. If you want to blame

nature, not in the insufficiency offederal laws." To turn to our subject, gun control is a sham substitute for self control. As Snow aptly concludes, "Over the years, traditions have secured law and order by establishing stand ards that enabled people to distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong. Unfortunately, policy-makers have spent three decades plowing under the customs and institu

television for all your problems, go ahead. But someday

tions that once instilled conscience."

that dominates our Nation's headlines is on the side of the silver screen known as real life.

Recent Crimes Shock Old-Timers Doing California 'Joint'Insiders See Trend ofMore Ruthless, Random FiWen^^e'aTwf^fiMvffefeWoninn Gunman kius

-In the old days, if a gu

someone he would somedm

some remorse in the join Dacy, who was sipping colfe

:ible, with the

prison visiting room. "I one

ce nosslhtf

De Renne. 47. was ucms .~.-

by WestDon Forkde Mining Ca Hi» b?o.he. Renne of^Cupcr^

BOISE.Idaho-ABColog^

tans% '

volved in a mtnmg dispute wi

ly shortly before Thursday

Irillgarl

Man,39,kuley

. SDUt OVClT i iobeiakeninth in <1

"°A'fourth'^man. lai^e ^-iQ poUCC SUy ' 1.

Iflwve

.t. 4 rw

Gdt

gunman I in sOne

V profcs•r ihai.he i have a

CLEVELAND

story building. Three o

areumenl between wo

m"c

— an nvPT SlU nas letv UII.- —

porting Service Inc. V

them them

dead ana in I"';'" „uno"cav

Miller — who was tre jailPolice police y_saio i.oi and released —

•••

Gunmen shoot 7 at rink

. V

homeless man

rW O/ p.h

u lia

' *ae4lJ9

nr {

over pizza slice

» ifWjnnml/ nt

Iry-i

„

'•n AM

FORTLAUDSRDALBSU

wiSiiTefirS

Kills 4 Workers at Colorado Restaura

yesterday.

-"" cenlly nol a |ob jl i lait-locaj remu- Mi Kohlbert In her olllce in the i r" 9ftcr«houra shooting r9mpag« ■( a rani near ChiiM E CheeM. The reiaon Chuck E ChccM la 4 popular fa

The killer, Miami po ij i.

i J*year-OJQ ooy who the homeless man

'SI?;

'amity rvsiaumnt en Tuesday left four lor ihe dismiisal wai not known

gued overpma. The bC«il-*'"U>empkiyecwijihoilniheJ»w

eating place and enenainmeni ci Inveiiigoiorn reeovcred a »mall«li. in ine LooOon Square shopping ci her temi-aiilomillc liindaun. Mr lUi serves a nearby upper-ml

degree murder char it* 'ormer employee. Nmrun Dunovci'-'l'' — .Jc.c.a. vccu-ojo.Countv "■"" "ivMiigiiion a crowded roller pillar ekatin^l filporin ^ . ""• ortwrcoonuoinrst^Icsreemurierln fu-ed into a .X.T'.''' pi'wrcm'inoirirstiicsreemurierin

nor, 17: Sylvia Crowell, !». and Benla- 01 wnai can happen il somethina u ra in Gram. 17 Bobby Sievenj. », wai done about the level of violence e in lair condlilon ai Denver General Ins with these kids loday," Mr Si

Miller

ove' SlOonrihasthelett^cne of iy j Other in

«4

. ~

eif

iScd

TH# Associated Press

^^100111,

;Boy,13, kills

s goal,he said. lut of a crime mible. with as

before deposition mr\.land dispute, D«nnp. 47. was beinB ^

XT i~T

1 O l-ill

'In (he old days, if a gu

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

youngest person ever Site"'"*"'

BOSTON — Several teen-agei^®®"^

'aiLaata . . e rolirn statiojj^ qtatioi "i me cimen e cueeoe 'nfWeTi ""k "■is extraordm,"","*'"'^' ""k across across from trom aa police police ataooi^ .'""fOiatC Atinmpv wl! AtlOmey Pv1«(m« were »hol in lh€ ilie head h..n ,

von skaters eltoroM as an about ahniit Anthony °was rep- wounding seven fu ^

State Attorney Kyieiim. were aw u »iwr« he

dez RundJe said, "f cas

may Fuve held

Silerisaid

The vicilma were ihemgm intntter, Margarei Kohltien. M; Colleen O'Con

Hospital, oiler he Red the rtslaurani

and ran lo nearby opariinenla la call the police. The gunman entered iho

class neighborhood. The neightor has mile cnme

18 lilusi a iraglc. tragic eaai

said.

Shennon McCurley. I« a realti

employee, seid Mr. Duhlip (reou.

Berkowltz, 40, said the goal of the 13: shpdtlngS'^

which killed six people â&#x20AC;&#x201D; "was tp bring ch^Ps tP the

city, ...brining the city of New York to its knees and so forth^ which was part of the plan/' "I count him braver who overcomes his de

sires than him who conquers his enemies;for the hardest victory is the victory over self" Aristotle

(The Sacramento Bee, November 8, 1993)

A father plunges a knife into the bodies of his young children, stabbing them to death. A woman wraps her hands around the throats of her daughters and strangles them. A mother kills her children with shots from a

The confluence of law and order is not mere coinci

dence. If law safeguards order, it also depends upon it for

semiautomatic gun.

(The Sacramento Bee, September 12, 1993)

its survival-above all, the most fundamental order: the internal order ofthe soul.

To be sound,the order ofthe soul must be built on love

ofGod,yet as St. Augustine reminds us,"Two loves have erected two cities: selflove, carried to the extreme disdain of God, has built the city of the world; the love of God, carried out to the disdain ofone's self, has constructed the

city of God. The one glories in itself; the other glories in the Lord."

Where God's laws are disdained, man's laws shall

surely be defied. Every sin proceeds from disordered

appetites and, accordingly,the angelic Doctor St. Thomas Aquinas declares that disordered self-love is the origin and source of all sin.

Pride and sensuality are hallmarks ofthis egoism.Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira, a stalwart champion ofthe true Order of Christian Civilization, concludes that "the most

powerful driving force of the Revolution [the implacable enemy ofthat Order] is in the disordered tendencies." In Revolution and Counter-Revolution, a work critical to

understanding the spirit of our age, he observes, "Two notions conceived as metaphysical values express the spirit ofthe Revolution well: absolute equality, complete liberty. And there are two passions that most serve it: pride and sensuality."

Even a cursory reading of your daily newspaper will evidence the blight of these disorderly passions permeat ing our neo-pagan society. Consider the modem highway man: the street punk expropriating the property of the

gentleman at gun pointâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a gun beyond the reach of the "politically correct" naivete of gun control to be sure. Does not his "Great Equalizer" demand the "absolute equality" of good and evil? Consider the modem Herod: the abortionist destroying innocent life within the violated sanctuary of the mother's womb. Does he not usurp the "complete liberty" to determine life or death that belongs to Godâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as does his brother in darkness, the euthanasian? When God's laws are mocked, man's laws shall surely

be disdained. If gun control is a sham substitute for self control, there can be no selfcontrol that fails to accept and obey the authority of God. Gun control or self control? Man's will or God's?

A 14-year-oId Boy Scout apparently shot his mother and younger brothersto death with a rifle,then scribbled notes saying "I'm sorry" and went to his parents' bedroom and killed himself.

(The York Dispatch, December 2, 1993) A taxi driver reported missing three days ago was

found dead Wednesday,slumped in the front seat of his yellow cab on a Bronx street with a gunshot wound in the back of his head.

The killing was the 36th this year of a taxi driver in New York.

(The Plain Dealer, Novembers, 1993) A gunman opened fire without warning inside a Long Island Rail Road train during rush hour yesterday, killing

at least five people and wounding another 16,a'spokes man for the railroad said.

Shortly after6 P.M., as the train neared the Merillon Avenue station in Garden Qty,the man suddenly began shoodng his 9-millimeter handgun, aiming at passengers indiscriminately as he walked through the train car. As passengers screamed, diving to the floor, the man emptied his gun, refilled it and began shooting again. When the train rolled to a stop at the Merillon Avenue station, passengers fled in horror, many ofthem bleeding from gunshot wounds and some collapsing on the grass and pavement, wimesses said. (The New York Times, December 8, 1993)

An after-hours shooting rampage at a family restau rant on Tuesday left four employees dead, and today a recently dismissed kitchen worker was arrested. A fi employee was shot in the jaw but managed to escape and alert the police. The gunman entered the restaurant just after closing

Tuesday night, when employees were cleaning up. He confronted and shot two workers, shot a third one In a hallway, shot and wounded Mr. Stevens In the kitchen, and shot Ms. Kohlbert in her office in the rear.

(The New York Times, December 16, 1993)

Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly's notion of using National Guard troops to help combat escalating crime In the

nadon's capital Is drawing little support and some ridi cule from mayors, police chiefs and Guard commanders around the country. in making her request, Mayor Kelly said that the city's homicide problem, especially murders committed by young men arguing over drugs and guns, was much more severe than that in most other cides and that the city's

police force, which numbers 4,250 officers, badly needed the assistance.

(The New York Times, October 27, 1993) Police believe they may be tracking a serial killer. In the last month, two

The Incident started iust after 5 a.m. when the boy brought some pizza for friends who had gathered be neath the Metro-rail bridge over the Miami River south of

"The proud person subject to an other's authority hates,first ofall,

downtown. Magnusson said the teen apparently offered the

the yoke that concretely weighs upon

homeless man a slice of pizza,

girls were abducted from different

him.

suburbs in northern St. Louis County and were later found slain. A third girl fought off a man who tried to pull her

"In a second stage, the proud man hates all authority in general and all yokes, and, even more, the very principle ofauthority consid

but grew angry when he took two. As the argument became more heated, witnesses told police, the boy left. About a half-hour later, Magnusson said, the boy re turned with a handgun and

into a car.

"Everybody I know is scared to

death," Mary Burgdorf, a grand

mother, said as she and her neighbors waited for the school bus to drop off their children. "Not just the kids are afraid. The adults are, too. I have a

ered in the abstract.

"And because he hates all

authority, he also hates all supe riority of whatever order it may be. "And in all ofthis, there is a true hatredfor God."

21 -year-old daughter, and she's afraid

shot the homeless man in the

chest.

The man, who has not been identified, died at the scene. He was in his late 20s.

Prof. Plinio Corria de Oliveira

to take out the trash."

Revolution and Counler-Revolulion

(The New York Times, December 10, 1993) There was a Navy murder-suicide that left three

people dead in San Diego, a teen-age sniper who fired at people in the Chicago Loop during lunch hour, and countless killings of people whose names will never make the national news but whose deaths chip away at a

weakening sense of safety and order.

(The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 17, 1993)

An argument between two men over $10 has left one of them dead and the other in jail, police say. Homicide detectives said Thomas owed $10 to Char

les Brooks, 59,of Saywell Ave., and the two had argued over the money earlier In the day. (The Plain Dealer, July 26, 1993)

"The human raceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;what is it coming to?" said ]esus

Araiza, a 20-year-old worker at Chicago securities con

The killer had a gruesome sense of humor.

cern who has started taking martial

arts classes. "It's getting to the point where people are not killing even for

money, but just killing to be killing." (The New York Times, December 14, 1993) Six commuters killed on a New

York train. Four pizza-parlor work ers slain in a Denver suburb by a man police say is a former employee. Two shoppers gunned down in

Oklahoma; the gunman commits suicide. A police officer and four unemployment workers killed In California; police shoot the gunman. In separate work-related shoot ings Thursday, a geologist shot and killed his brother and another man

before committing suicide In Boise, Idaho, and a Chelsea, Mich.,teacher involved in a union grievance was charged with slaying a school super intendent and wounding the princi pal and a teacher.

An injured man is wheeled to a waiting ambuiance Tuesday, December 7, \ 993,after a gunman opened fire in a commuter train on Long island.

(The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 19, 1993) A mother of four who was ordered to stub out her

cigarette after lighting up in a no-smoking section re

turned with a 12-gauge shotgun and killed one of the restaurant patrons who complained, police said. (York Daily Record. September, 30, 1993)

After decapitating two people, he sat one of the victims in a chair, placed a severed head In each arm, and faced the corpse at the door to "surprise" police. (The Times Reader, October 24, 1993)

7 p H

R A m

S E

^^Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the skin but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.'' General MacArthur

Tradition, Family and Property

^orgotten Irutfis He who limits himself to performing only what is his obligation does not love. bySt PeterJulian Eymard

Our Lord wants to evoke in us

enkindles them; it makes them suffer; it is a fire that consumes

a passionate love of Him. Any virtue or thought that does not end up becoming a passion will never produce anything great. Love only triumphs when it becomes in us a vital passion. Without this, more or less frequent but isolated acts of

them; it spends their strength and

ends up causing their death. People say: "All this is an exaggeration!" But what is love if not an

exaggeration? To exaggerate is to surpass the law. Then, love must exaggerate. Is not the love that Our Lord shows for us by remaining

love may be produced. However, one's whole existence is not

conquered; it is not offered. For our love to be a passion it must abide by the laws of human passions. I speak of decent, naturally good passions, since passions are indifferent in

among us without honors and will arrive there," he will say.

Everything reduces itself to serving that desire. He puts aside anything that will not lead him to his goal.

Without a passion nothing is

servants also exaggerated?

He who limits himself to performing only what is his obligation does not love. One loves

themselves. We make them evil when we direct them towards evil.

obtained. Life lacks a purpose. One

only when he feels inside the passion of love. Let us go! Let us

But it depends on us alone to use them for the good.

drags a useless life. Well then, in

penetrate Our Lord! Let us love

the order of salvation it is also

Him a little for His own sake! Let

necessary to have a passion that will dominate our life and make it

us forget ourselves and give ourselves over to the good Savior!

produce for the glory of God all the

Let us immolate ourselves a lit

man wants to ascend to an

fruits that the Lord expects. Love a

honorable and high position; he will work just for this for ten or

certain virtue! A certain truth! Or a

Look at the candles and the vigu light, which are consumed, leaving not a trace, reserving nothing for

A passion that dominates a man concentrates his efforts. Say a

twenty years; he does not mind. "1

certain mystery! With a passion! Dedicate your life to it. Consecrate your thoughts and labors to it. Otherwise you will never achieve

anything. You will be but a hired man, never a hero.

Just consider the saints. Their love carries them away and

January-February, 1994

themselves!

(David and FAMILY

SERIES

ÂŁym LMOST a thousand years before Christ was to be afraid. Lions and bears lived in die caves on the ZJ born, David lived with his father near the city moimtains and sometimes diey would venture forth tof Bethlehem. Jesse had eight handsome sons, and try to steal the grazing sheep. David being the yoimgest. All of David's brothers were One night after the stars peeped out and all about grown men and knew how to draw a bow and throw a seemed peacefully quiet in the moonlight, David laid spear like trained soldiers. But David was too young to aside his harp to rest. Then a dark animal crept out of hunt and fight, so he was given charge of his father's the woods nearby. It came nearer and nearer. Sud sheep which he watched on the hillside. denly it stopped. With a great cry, it rolled overâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; The shepherd boy was a beautiful cluld. He had fair, dead. curly hair, and was so strong, and brave, and cheerful David had noticed the huge bear creeping out of the that everyone who saw him loved him. Night and day shadows. He knew it had come to steal a lamb. So he Hved out on the hills taking care of his father's quickly he put a sharp stone into a sling and let it fly at sheep. the bear's head. His quick mind and sturdy courage All was quiet and peaceful until news of war came had saved the lambs. to the city of Bethlehem. A race of fierce and terrible Another time a lion stole forth, seized a baby lamb warriors, die Philistines, were

in his mouth and started to run

marching across the borders of

away with it. What could a boy do against a savage lion? But

their land to attack the He

brews. Saul, who was king of the Hebrews,had disobeyed the will of God. His people no longer trusted him. He sulked his time away in his palace,

while his people trembled with fear and horror.

But David, far up on the lonely hillsides, knew nothing of the far away battles. His thoughts were always great and good, for he saw nothing that was not noble and uplifting. His companions were the moun tains, the sky, and the stars. He sang songs about the twinkling

David was not afraid. He knew

that God was watching him. He let one of his sharp stones fly at the lion's head. It struck the beast so that he fell to the

ground. Finally, there came i

iie

town of Bethlehem an old man, white-haired and wise. It was

Samuel, the prophet. He brought with him a white heifer. He had come,he told the

townspeople to sacrifice the

heifer. But in reality, God had sent him there to seek a king for Israel. Saul had disobeyed the

stars, the rain, the wind. He also

will of God, the enemy was

played beautiful tunes on his harp.

camped on the borders of the

Yet at times, David had need

land, and the helpless people needed a leader.

Tradition, Familyand Property

Samuel had said to Saul,"God will give your people court of King Saul. Here everyone grew to love the a better king," and so set forth to seek a man to be the peasantlad.Every dayheplayed and sangfor the king next ruler. God had told him he would find such a and made him well. Saul grew to love David as much

man amongst the sons of Jesse.

as his own son, Jonathan, and made him his armor-

Thus it was that Samuel invited the worthy peasant bearer. Jonathan was a boy of about David's age,and and his seven sons to the sacrifice. Afterwards they thetwobecamestaunchfriends.Thisfriendshiplasted had a great feast. The prophet gazed from one to an- all their lives. other of the sons,but each time shook his head.Surely, But finally David was sent back to his father and not one of these could rule Israel.

"David^^:b on &e moimtain tending

impressed by^the fair lad's frank,

Jes e and his^sons were amazed^ It

stronger and stronger. But while David was living so hap

pily, King Saul was as sad as the boy was cheerful, thesheep.Thewarlike Philistines broughttheir armies The king was ill. At times melancholy thoughts nearer and nearer, and Saul led his army out to i would seize him,and he would brood for hours with- them.The Philistines campedononehill,the Hebrews out speaking. Then, suddenly, he would rage and on another. Between the two hills, stretched a wide, curse. His violent words filled his servants and all green valley. Now the Philistines had a giant-sized about him with fear.

soldier in their midst. He was called Goliath. He wore

The doctors could advise no remedy to relieve his tortured state. Finally, one doctor suggested that if he could find someone to play on a harp and sing, the music might soothe him. Many knew of David's skill as a harpist. King Saul's messenger was sent to Jesse with the follow-

acoatof mail which weighed hundreds of pounds.His armor-bearers staggered under the weightof his huge spear and shield. Every day he marched down the hill to the valley.Then he would shout up to the Hebrews, "Choose a man from your number to come down and fight me. If he kills me,we shall be your servants, but

ing order,"Send me your son David, who is with the if I kill him,you will be our servants." sheep." The Hebrews listened to his challenge with fearful So it was that the boy shepherd appeared at the hearts. None ventured to accept it. Saul begged his

January-February, 1994

men to meet the giant. He of fered rich rewards and the

hand of his daughter in marriage to any man who might kill

the Philistine. But there was

no man among the Hebrews who wished to throw his life away, for there was none in

ÂŽ ÂŤ

their camp equal in size | to Goliath. And so each morning the I giant marched down the hill, " and each time he marched

back to his own camp. None ventured forth to fight him. In Bethlehem, David still

watched his father's sheep on the hillside. Three of his broth

ers had gone with Saul's army. David longed that he mightjoin his brothers. He often looked toward where he knew the ar

mies were encamped. He no longer sang of the stars in the sky; a warlike note had crept into his songs. At last he had a chance to

visit the Hebrew camp. His fa ther asked him to take bread

and corn to his brothers, and to

inquire how they all were.

^^5

David was overjoyed. He ' reached camp safely and dis tributed his gifts. While he was talking to his brothers, Goliath marched down to the valley. He jeered at the Hebrews' timidity, and called them cowards. David heard the bitter words of the giant. Resent ment awakened within him."1 am ready to fight this man!" he cried.

His brothers were vexed and told him to return

the youth. He loved him dearly and did not wish to have him kiUed. "In spite of your brave words, my

lad," he sighed,"I fear you are too young." "Never fear," encouraged David."Your army will be glorified if Goliath is slain by a child." Then Saul took off his breastplate, sword, and hel met and fastened them on David. But Davie.

ild

home to his sheep. "We know now why you came," hardly move under the heavy armor. they said."You wanted to see the battle." "1 would rather use only my sling," he said. "I am One of the soldiers heard David's brave words and not used to these weapons." repeated them to Saul. The king was greatly pleased So he went out to meet the Philistine. He wore no and sentfor the lad. When David appeared before him armor,but carried his sling in his hand. he recognized him as his harpist and armor-bearer. Now Goliath had come down the mountain for "Why you are too young, my boy," said the king. forty days. For forty days he had marched back to his "You could not fight Goliath." camp without fighting. You can imagine his surprise "Oh,no, I am not too young," cried the boy."God is when he saw the shepherd lad coming down to meet with me. He helped me kiU a bear and a lion. He will him. He laughed long and loud. help me now." "Do you think I am a dog," he roared, "that you The king finally agreed to let the boy try his skill. bring that stick?" Yet he feared that the result would be disastrous for

"No," David replied."You are worse than a dog!"

Tradition, Familyand Property

The giant lifted his huge spear,and came toward the youth. "You have a sword, and shield and a spear," David cried,"but God is with me.He will help me to kill you." With that cry, he raised his sling. The stone flew straight as an arrow, striking Goliath in the forehead. The giant fell to the ground. David then ran to him. He had no sword of his own, so he took the Philistine's

sword and cut off his head. He then held it up for the armies to see.

When the Philistines saw the boy had killed their leader, they were much afraid. The whole army fled; the Hebrews were in hot pursuit. Saul's followers killed many before they escaped. Loud were the rejoicings when David came back to King Saul and laid Goliath's fierce head at the king's feet. Because he knew that God was always with him, he succeeded in what he tried to do.

)e^.jS4onAtitC3,

VA.

On EDUCATION

"The family holds directly from the Creator the mission and hence the right to educate the offspring, a right inalienable be cause inseparably joined to a strict obligation, a right anterior to any right whatever of civil society and of the state, and therefore

inviolable on the part of any power on earth." Pope Pius XI, Divinus Illius Magistri (December 31,1929)

January-February^ 1994

Dear Mr. Noell,

To the editory As a first-time reader of the TFP magazine, I was

deeply impressed by the clarity with which the issues were presented, it is in total contrast to the competitors' style of presenting the facts. Their methods very rarely include taking a definite stand of right versus wrong. Rather, con temporary magazines have their own agendas to promote often at the expense of Christian values or more precisely

Catholic dogma. I am grateful that the TFP magazine pro vides a strong light to penetrate the smoke of heresy in the present-day world.

This letter is to commend the TFP and its staff for the

production of the magazine "Tradition, Family and Prop erty." Your efforts in compiling, graphics, and distribution are to be applauded. We have been receiving the magazine since its begin

ning and look forward to each issue. Like a breath of fresh air, it contains honest political insight, good Catholic guid ance, and information that puts things into perspective. The family series is especially a delight to us.

Thank you again for all your efforts and we keep all of you in our prayers.

Sincerely, Sincerely, Christopher R. Gonella Jodie Siwik-Enriquez

Cresskill, NJ

Newtown, CT

Our Readers Write Dear Sirs, Your September-October 1993 magazine was just won derful.

I am giving my copy to my pastor. He might like it for his library, what with that wonderful book offer, the arti cle on the French TFP honoring Queen Marie Antoinette and all the other most interesting articles! Bless you. Would the $5 check 1 enclose cover the cost of another

September-October magazine with information on buying the book "Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites"?

Dear Sirs,

Could the magazine be sent to me very soon? I hope so. I am 12 and 1/2 years old. I always read your magazine

I want to save this copy. My ancestors were in the

but only one part of it because usually all the articles ex cept one which I will mention in a minute are above my level. Now the article I always read is Family Series. I love those stories! They are so inspiring for our mixed-up practically torn-apart world as far as morals go. Please continue to put those in. But your most recent magazine was great! I read the story of Marie Antoinette, her last

Court of France at the time of the French Revolution!

letter, and the articles "French TFP Honors the Memory

of Queen Marie Antoinette," "Garcia Moreno, President of Ecuador Writes to His Holiness Pius IX" and "The

They fled to Luxembourg, bought land, had tenants to farm it, and built homes for them.

They had 9 sons. They lived in a beautiful ho built a chapel for all to worship.

Send me more information about TFP. What a wonder ful man Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira is.

My hands are getting numb, and it is rather hard to write.

I haven't lost all my marbles, yet! I live in a Christian

Emerald Beetle." It was a really good magazine. I was

home and have wonderful care.

wondering if you have any information on Marie Antoinette like any books or prayer cards asking her intercession or if

I hope you can digest this note from an 87-year-old lady who loves to read and enjoys life even though she

you have the address where 1 could obtain them. Enclosed is a prayer card I thought you might enjoy. Please rush! In the

isn't too well.

love of all my patron saints,

Your Friend,

Theresa Assumption Taylor

Leone Y. Kurth

Lakewood, CO

Minneapolis, MN

Tradition, Family, Property

A comment on the

CAT by Plinio Correa de Oliveira m, ^^ 'M me cat is a very interesting creature.

"Its nonchalant watchfulness makes it truly

impressive. Imagine a cat walkingfrom one end ofa rock wall to the other. It will have

the air of being totally oblivious of what is

alley cat, with its ordinary grape-green eyes, is

going on below, but every once in a while it

interesting. Each ofthem is interesting in its

will look down to make sure everything is

own way.

alright.

"The cat never slips, it never falls, and if

"The alley cat on the rooftops is the D'Artagnan in the business. It has leapt,

someone knocks it off the wall it always lands

fought, scarred itself everywhere except in its

on itsfeet. This is the cat'sfamous rebound.

remaining eye. It has been through everything.

"It is like the Old Sea Dog, whose face "As a kitten, the cat brings to mind a certain innocence. But as

it matures it becomes amazingly crafty. Its craftiness is very

shows he has confronted all the seas. The alley cat hasfaced all the nights, with all their risks. "The house cat is different. It

expressive and makes the cat the

is very well-mannered, clean, but

symbol of the diplomat.

false, pretending to like anyone

"There are beautiful cats with

fine fur. Actually, the eyes ofa cat are usually beautiful. But even the

who pets it...

"I think the cat very interesting!"

In order lo be the exemplary man placed at the summit of the feu

dal slate as the light atop a chandelier, the noble had to be, by defi nitio7t, a Christian hero disposed to endure any sacrifice 07i behalf of the good of his king and his people. He had to be the armed defe7ider of the Faith a7id Christendom,.,

Vrti

(

V VT

r -Âť *

Statue of Don Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, El Cid, in Burgos, Spain.

[ji 'fM -r.

Book Launching in Naples

rrrHii

Fr. Anastasio Gutierrez, C.M.F.,

I'llUli* t

|(>- <

Commends AVi'i'/no.'M

Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira's

Counti'r-%-volulivfi

Revolution \

"II Ikr

» Awvtfi r

ifa

and

I-

tlr.-n.nnuut rtf fMA r'

Counter-Revolution

Biographical data of the

It was with great interest, pleasure, and personal benefit that

Rev. Fr. Gutierrez

I read the Spanish edition of Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira's work, dedicated to me with expressions of great affection and esteem, for which I am very grateful.

Father Anastasio Gutierrez, C.M.F., is one of the Catholic Church's most renowned canon ists.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1911, Father Gutierrez is a Spanish citizen who has lived in Rome for the last fifty years. In Rome, he received his doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Lateran University.

Later, he held a chair at that university's School of Canon Law, eventually becoming its dean. Father Gutierrez served as peritus during

"Revolution and Counter-Revolution" is a masterful work

whose teachings should be disseminated far and wide so as to penetrate the conscience, not only of all those who consider themselves truly Catholic, but I would say even more, of all

men of good will. In it, men would learn that salvation can be found only in Jesus Christ and His Church; Catholics would feel confirmed and fortified in their Faith and psychologically and spiritually forewarned and immunized against the cunning process that employs many of them as useful Idiots/fellow trav elers.

the Second Vatican Council, and for many years was Cardinal Larraona's assistant in the Con

gregation for the Religious. He also is a founder of the Institutum luridicum Claretianum of Rome.

He participated in the commission charged to write the new Code of Canon Law, and is

presently a consultant to the following Vatican dicasteries: Congregation for the Oriental Churches, Congregation for the Clergy, and

Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. He is also a consultant to the Pontifical Council for the

Interpretation of Legislative Texts, the highest Church organ for canonical questions.

More recently, Father Gutierrez became

postulator of Queen Isabella of Castile's cause of canonization.

The author's analysis of the Revolutionary process is most

impressive and reveals, by its grasp of reality and profound knowledge of history, how the decadence of the end of the Mid dle Ages prepared the climate for the paganizing Renaissanc and the pseudo-reformation, thence for the terrible French Revolution and, thereafter, for atheistic Communism.

Not limiting himself to an external analysis of history, he also uses the tools provided by human psychology to explain and outline the actions and reactions of both individual psychol ogy and the collective psychology of the masses. However, it Is necessary to recognize that there is someone who directs this profound and systematic de-Christianization. It is true beyond doubt that man tends toward evil—pride and sensuality—but were there not someone holding the reins of these disorderly tendencies and sagaciously coordinating them, they most prob ably would not have produced the constant, skillful, and sys(Continued on inside-back cover)

Contents

Tradition, Family and

Property

March-April,1994 TFPs Around the World

A City Welcomes Tradition

Verona

Commentary

EDITOR;

C.Preston Noell IE Associate Editors:

Holy Week: An Invitation to Love Our Lord Jesus Christ's Holy Cross

Earl Appleby Gary Isbell Eugenia Guzman Steven F. Schmieder

The Passion of Christ Renewed in the Passion of the Church

Prophets, Martyrs, Saints and Heroes

Jack Burnham

Photography: Todd Kamuf

"Jesus and Mary, Get Me There!' Circulation:

"Cubanos Desterrados"

Cubans in Exile

FOREIGN

International

The Spirit of Voltaire Returns to the Streets of Paris Charlemagne

Philip A. Moran, Jr.

16 18

Correspondents:

SPAIN; Felipe Barandiaran ROME: Juan M. Montes

BRAZIL: Orlando Lyra FRANCE: Mario B. Varela

Great Documents of Catholic History

CANADA: John Misek

Total Liberty and Equality for Man: A Falsehood

PHILIPPINES: Allen Bandril

Forgotten Truths ■ Even the Devils Cannot Stand It

❖ Abortion and Moral Relativism

❖ The Principle of Contradiction

22 Religion

■ Apparition of Our Lady at Pontmain

❖ Episodes of History in the Light of Revolution and Counter-Revolution The Iron Chancellor Retreats Before a Golden Pope 28 Family Series

Grandmother Teaches the Gospel

TRADITION, FAMILY and PROPERTY magazine is a publication of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP). Subscriptions $18.00 in the United States and Canada (US$). Foreign subscriptions $25.00. List of other TFP

publications available upon request. Direct all subscription requests and inquiries to: The American TFP. P.O. Box 1868, York. PA 17405. Tel.: (717) 225-7147, Fax:(717) 2257382. Copyright© 1994. Permission is granted to reproduce in whole or in part any article of this magazine with credit given to Tradition, Family and Property.

Our cover:

Charlemagne

TFPs Around the World

Naples A City Welcomes Tradition

people. What a gift Neapolitans have for being excellent hosts! Everyone is a Neapolitan's old friend soon after meeting him. Harmony reigns in sweet Naples, and so does courtesy.

Neapolitan affability and courtesy were famous in centu ries past. Among their many memorials stands,for example,

On January 26,Prof.Plinio Correa de OWwtixdi's Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of

Pius XII was presented to the Neapolitan public in one of the most splendorous halls constructed on the shores of Santa Luzia inlet. His Royal Highness Prince Carlo of BourbonTwo Sicilies presided over this gathering of distinguished representatives of Naples' high society, professionals, stu dents, the press and television.

The sea, the bay and Mt. Vesuvius form the panorama seen from the famous inlet.

Harmony reigns in sweet Naples, Santa Luzia, Santa Luzia,

proclaims one of Naples' most popular songs. The Greeks landed here, even before the ancient Romans,

and built a new city {Neo Polls). Hence the Italian Napolis (Naples). People have been attracted by the inlet ever since. But Naples conquers above all by the affability of its

the immense palace of the Pio Monte della Misericordia, founded in 1602 by the city's nobility. The spirit of charity still animates the aristocrats, who through this institution provide religious instruction and good example, helping the poor with housing, medical care, clothing and other needs. In Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites, Professor Correa de Oliveira proposes a preferential option for the nobility complementing the preferential option for the poor of John Paul II as a solution to the problems plaguing our day. Therefore, the presentation began with a momi sit to the headquarters of the Pio Monte della Misericordia. The visitors were welcomed by one of the society's governors, the chaplain and the secretary. Between this visit and the formal launching of the book, the Marquis Luigi Coda Nunziante di San Fernando hosted a luncheon for members of the local aristocracy, in the prestigious club Circolo Italia.The topic ofconversation was the role of the nobility in the contemporary world. The solemn session began in the aftemoon with a speech by Juan Miguel Montes, director of the TFP Rome Bureau, on the mission of the Societies for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, now present on all continents.

Tradition, Family and Property

Baron Selvaggi described the military history of the king is president of the association Famiglia Domani, presented dom of Naples, highlighting the role of the nobility. Mr. Fragelli expounded on the present mission of the the session's speakers: Giovanni Cantoni,leader of Alleanza Cattolica; Baron Roberto Selvaggi,secretary ofthe Constan- nobility according to the allocutions of Pius XII. Deeply moved by the wisdom of the book's theses. Pro tinian Order of St. George; Nelson Fragelli, of the Brazilian fessor Turco illustrated some of them with examples derived TFP, a veteran collaborator of the author; Prof. Giovanni Turco, of the Philosophical Institute St. Thomas Aquinas; from his own research. Baron de Mattei praised the author,applying his teachings and Baron Roberto de Mattei, professor of Modem History at the University of Cassino and president of the Cultural to present-day Italy. Among the distinguished audience was the famous Nea Center Lepanto. After greeting the guests. Marquis Coda Nunziante, who

Mr. Cantoni noted the origins of the Correa de Oliveira politan politician and editor Silvio Vitale. Director of the lineage in Pemambuco, Brazil. At the time of the Dutch magazine L'Alfiere, he has been a follower of the intellectual work ofProfessor Correa de Oliveira for many years. Indeed by Neapolitan sailors in their fight for freedom from the he translated his book Unperceived Ideological Transship heretical invaders. Today, a member of that lineage comes ment and Dialogue, which he published and disseminated to remind Neapolitans of the words of a Pontiff of the univer throughout the Italian peninsula in the '70s. Honoring the book and its author by their presence were sal Church in order to help them fight the evils of our day.

invasions,the Catholic defenders ofPemambuco were aided

W .j 11 !

D n

The Naples launching of Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII was held In the main salon of the Hotel Excelsior.

March-April^ 1994

such renowned representatives of the Neapolitan aristoc racy as Fra Renato Paterno di Montecupo, councilor of the Sovereign Order of Malta; Marquis Riccardo Sersale, superintendent of the Pio Monte della Misericordia; Prin cess Emilia Acton di Leporano; Prince Leporano; Prin cess Maria Luisa Colonna di Paliano; Duchess Marulli

d'Ascoli; Duke and Duchess Piromallo; Duchess

Valiante; Princess di Cassano; Duke di Novoli; Marquis

il Giomale di Napoli

After the solemn session, launching

ANHOR • NVMCnO:«•LRL tyOhUne^ M(KtAvo I'n*

participants converse while 6 MATliriC tCAflillO

SPECLAIiE

Pancdall'uni'.crsilj GittolicadiSanl'joIorulopLi IcgininiisUi c IradkiorLilisla die Iruvj

UUimiSSiME

cocktails are served.

iuii-iv inhali:i

Ascesa e dedino dell'aristocrazia Professore brasiliano teorizza la contiwivohizione COHVEfiNO A KAPOU

Niente folklore

Capece Minutolo di Bugnano; Dr. Roberto Garolla di Bard, president of Circolo Italia, and Mrs. di Bard; Marquise Maria Consiglio Caracciolo; Baron and Baroness Carlo d'Andria; Mar quise Gabriella Coda Nunziante; Prince del Colle; Marquis Buccino Grimaldi; Baron and Baroness Giovanni d'Andria; Duke Carlo

Frezza; Dom Giuseppe and Donna Francesca

E negli Usa lottano I'aborto Iirmlizioiialiili aiilolid alia lala ckl moyiiiuvio(ropiiiioiie

Carignani. Some 250 persons from the most varied social classes, but especially the aristocracy, filled the conference hall. At the end of the speeches, cocktails were served and the book—already well known as the Book ofNobility—was avail able for purchase. The speakers mingled gra ciously with the guests, and the conversation continued for several hours.

IRISCHI DOIA DESTRA nEABONftRlA

Non contbndere i valori col portafog^o

A major Neapolitan newspaper, II Giornale di Napoli, devoted an entire page of its .Tnnuary 26 issue to describing the book, its auth id the TFP under the title,"The Aristocracy's Rise and Fall: A Brazilian Professor's Theory of Counter-Revolution." Italy's largest daily. La Repubblica, published an account of the Naples launching under the headline "Aristocracy on the Ascent: Two Hundred Aristocrats Unite Around Carlo of Bourbon."

The local TV stations gave ample coverage of the ceremony in the Hotel Excelsior, with exten sive interviews of Mr. Juan Miguel Montes and Mr. Nelson Fragelli.

Tradition, Familyand Property

La Monarctria. la migior lorma

t)i governo[Papa Pn VI) Noi, simile al SacerdoM delta Ctiiesa. ravvtsamno un altro Sacerdooo:

queito delta NobHtd(Papa Benc<ietio XV)

Verona

SABATO 29 GENNAIO 1994 ORE 17 Presentazlone del libra:

"NOBILTA ED ELITES TR.\DIZIOY\LI AN.ALOGHE NELLE ALLOCUZIOXIDIPIO XII.AL RATRIZLATO ED ALLA XOBILT.A RO.VLiX.V

Three days after its January 26 presen tation in Naples, Nobility and Analo

gous Traditional Elites was released in

the city of Verona. Although Verona is LA CITTADINANZA E INVITATA 4 INTERVENIRE

much smaller than Naples, the hall used for the event was filled with Veronese of

all classes, attracted by the subject of elites. The launching of the book in Verona, like in Naples and other Italian

ANT -89 rr.\M'\

cities, was promoted and financially sup

ported by local conservative groups.

Below: The launching of Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII in Verona, Italy.

Above: Days before the presentation, a colorful and attractive advertisement of the

event was posted throughout the city.

HOLY WEEK: An Invitation to Love Our Lord Jesus Christ's Holy Cross COMMENTARY

For this year's Holy Week I wish to offer to the consid

eration of the readers a great and supreme truth, whose re membrance should shed light on all the meditations that good

by Plinio Correa de Oliveira

piercing words would be heard: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" (Mt. 27:46).

Through these facts we understand that by granting

Catholics may choose to make

each of us the grace of being called to suffer a portion of His

on the theme.

Passion with Him, He made

The Holy Gospels show us

clear the unrivaled role of the

with great clarity how much our Divine Savior in His mercy pities our pains of soul and body. To see this, we need only

cross in the life of men, in the

history of the world and in His glorification. Let us not think that by in

recall the awesome miracles He

viting us to suffer the pains and

performed out of His omnipo tence so as to mitigate the said pains.

sorrows of the present life He

Nevertheless, let us not

imagine that this combat against pain and sorrow was the greatest gift He dispensed to mankind in this earthly life. He who would close his

eyes to the central fact of Our Lord's life, which is the fact that

wished to dispense each of us from pronouncing, at the time of death, our own consummatum est(cf. John 19:30). If we do not understand

the role of the cross, if we do not love the cross, if we do not tread our own Via Crucis, we

will not fulfill Providence's designs for us. And when dying

He is our Redeemer and that He desired to go through the cru-

we will not be able to make ours the sublime exclamation of

elest sufferings in order to redeem us, would not have under

Saint Paul: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on a meritei vn

stood His mission.

Even at the very apex of His Passion, Our Lord could have instantly put an end to all those pains by a mere act of His Divine will. From the very first instant of His Passion to the very last. He could have ordered His wounds to heal. His precious blood to stop pouring forth, and the effects of the blows on His Divine body to disappear without leaving a scar.

Finally, He could have given Himself a brilliant and jubilant victory, abruptly halting the persecution that was dragging Him to death.

Nevertheless, He did not will it so. On the contrary. He

awaits me; on that day the Lord, just judge that He i, , .m11 award it to me"(2 Tim. 4:7-8).

Any quality, however exalted, will avail nothing if it is not founded on love for the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

With this love we can obtain all, even if we find heavy the

holy burden of purity and of other virtues, the unceasing at tacks and mockeries of the enemies of the Faith, and the be trayals of false friends.

The great foundation, indeed the greatest foundation, of Christian civilization is that each and every person cultivate a

willed to allow Himself to be dragged up the Via Dolorosa to

generous love for the Holy Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

the height of Golgotha; He willed to see His Most Holy Mother engulfed in the depths of .sorrow; and, at last. He willed to cry out so that to the consummation of the ages those

quered for her Divine Son the Reign of God which today

May Mary help us to do this, and we shall have recon flickers so faintly in the hearts of men.

Tradition, Family and Property

The Passion of Christ Renewed in the Passion of the Church by Plinio Correa de Oliveira

The evidence of the facts clearly

who believed He was the God-Man,but

who on seeing Him along the Way of the Cross, instead of pitying Him, thought it better not to think of His atro cious pains. Our Lord had preached marvels and worked prodigious miracles that must have impressed at least a good

demonstrates that from the Sec

ond Vatican Council on, the "smoke

of Satan" mentioned by Pope Paul VI

penetrated the Church in unbeliev able proportions. Day by day this

smoke spread with the terrible force of gases in expansion. To the scandal of uncountable souls, the Mystical

portion of those who surrounded Him.

Body of Christ entered a sinister proc

It is inconceivable that those who had

ess of self-destruction as it were, to

been impressed would remain so quiet

which the same Pontiff referred in an

and inert when witnessing the Passion, and that only one person would do

allocution of December 7, 1968.

History narrates the innumerable dramas the Holy, Roman, Catholic and

immaculate heart of Mary,who stood at

Apostolic Church has suffered in the

the foot of the Cross.

twenty centuries of her existence: op

When we consider how much Our

positions that germinated outside her

Lord and His Most Holy Mother suf

and tried to destroy her from outside; malignancies that formed within her, were cut off by her, and thereafter fero ciously tried to destroy her from out

fered because of what is currently tak ing place, it is impossible for us not to

side.

When, however, has history wit nessed an attempted demolition like the

present one? No longer undertaken by an adversary, it was termed a "self-de

be filled with consternation. And our

consternation today is greater than on any previous Good Friday, because what may be one of the most pungent

points of the Passion shows itself in all its hideousness in the present cir cumstances of the life of the Church.

struction" in a most lofty pronounce ment having worldwide repercussion.

something to relieve our Redeemer in the initial steps of the Way of the Cross, namely, Veronica, on whose veil was

stamped the sacred face of the Savior. Yet this is what happened.

Our Lady and the holy women joined Our Lord later on and followed Him to the top of Calvary. The Most Holy Virgin is above all eulogy. The holy women deserve a eulogy partici

pative of that deserved by Our Lady. But around them there was only inertia. What we should most request from Our Lady during Holy Week is that she free us of this state of spirit. If Our Lord is suffering, I should

It is only natural that a Catholic be profoundly saddened on seeing Holy

Contemporary man adores pleas ure, joviality, and entertainment, and

Mother Church undergoing such a lam entable crisis that endangers innumer

ings. Because of the union He merci fully deigned to establish between Him and me, this is my duty, and any other attitude can only be qualified as abomi

Lord saw from the heights of the cross

abhors suffering. But here we are in the presence of a most acute suffering. It may be under standable, though not justifiable, there fore, that so many souls avoid thinking

all the sins that would be committed

about this so as to not suffer in union

against the work of the Redemption that He was accomplishing in such

with Our Lord on account of the

The days in which we live are grave and sad, but on the far edge of the horizon a joy incomparably greater

able souls.

We can be certain that when Our

the sins of this kind that are being com

Church's situation, which is tragic like the Passion was tragic. In face of the Church's present

mitted in our days.

dramatic situation, many therefore take

pain. He suffered enormously on seeing

All these sins also caused un

speakable sufferings in the wise and

March'April, 1994

a position of indifference, just like so many contemporaries of Our Lord,

wish to suffer what He suffers. Aiii' '

will do this by meditating on His sufft

nable.

than any earthly joy is appearing. It is the promise of a sun that will rise. It is

the promise of the Reign of Mary, an nounced in 1917 by Our Lady at Fatima.

PROPHETS, MARTYRS, SAINTS AND HEROES

JESUS

AND

MARY j

by Jeremias Wells

When a society no longer respects

China a civil war broke out between the

the fault lies not with the fighting men but

communists and the government of China under Generalissimo Chiang Kaishek, who had been our staunch ally

with society itself. Ingratitude is a subtle

against the Japanese. Under the guise of

vice, but a vice nevertheless. Saint

unity, the United States insisted that the communists be brought into the govern ment. When Chiang refused, George C.

and honors the fighting men will

ing to shed their blood for its principles,

Thomas Aquinas says that a debt of grati tude is a moral debt required by virtue. In

GET over all of China.

This proved to be disastrous for future recent decades, the American view of Marshall, initially ambassador to China, Pacific engagements, for the Reds now then secretary of state, cut off all aid to moral justice has been sadly lacking. Civil society has not always been so him despite the fact that the communists had a large reservoir of trained, wellarmed men to draw upon. As a result of callous. Ever since the rise of Christian were being amply supplied by the Rus culture, Christendom has held its warrior-

sians. As a result, the communists took

World War II treaties, Korea was divided

knights in high esteem. Not only that, they were a basic, creative force that molded Western civilization, as a study

of the Crusades will attest. A knight ofthe Middle Ages went to war in a spirit of

self-immolation for the glorification of the Church or the common good of tem poral society.

Through the centuries, the admiration and appreciation for the fighting man sur vived a series of revolutionary and philo

sophical setbacks that severely affected Christendom; that is, until the arrival of

communism. As the latter evil gained in influence, a commensurate decline in the

will to fight followed. Time and again, the communists won victories because

sufficient support from the printed page and the movie and television screens had

effectively disarmed the American and

Western fighting spirit. Yet the Pattons and MacArthurs of the world continue to

step forward, ready to face death rather than betray the ancient ideals of the war rior. The following story represents our part in honoring that crusading spirit.

Background At the end of World War II, the United

States and its allies began a series of appeasements to communism that virtu ally insured more armed conflict. In

Col. John W. Ripley

Tradition, Family and Property

between the communist North and the

quoted warning of Pius XI:"We cannot

trained with the Navy's frog men in un

American-supported South. In 1950 the

contemplate without sorrow the heedless-

derwater demolition teams.

North Korean Army stormed over the border and was on the verge of throwing

ness of those who seem to make light of

these imminent dangers, and with solid indifference allow the propagation far

Having trained in four elite units, Ripley now joined one of the finest units in the Vietnamese Marine Corps, itself an

and wide of those doctrines that seek by

elite division. Major Le Ba Binh com

all Free World troops into the sea when General Douglas MacArthur personally took charge. In a brilliant and carefully

violence and bloodshed the destruction of

manded the Third Battalion and had a

concealed maneuver, he made a surprise

all society." The enemies of Christendom

record every bit as impressive as his

amphibious landing at the port of Inchon under extremely difficult circumstances and eventually drove the North Koreans

never stop; they continue to forge ahead peacefully or otherwise. During the Eas

occasions and decorated many times, he

ter Offensive in 1972, Colonel (at the

was noted for leading his men from the

American adviser. Wounded on a dozen

ME THERE! all the way to China. When the Chinese communists moved into position to coun terattack, MacArthur was flatly told not

time Captain) John Ripley and the Third Vietnamese Marine Battalion decided to

step into the process and bar the way.

to make any bombing runs against their staging areas or in any way hinder their The Attack lines of supply and communication. By the Spring of 1972,the North Viet President Truman subsequently fired the "Old Soldier" for publicly declaring that in warfare there is no substitute for vic

tory. His replacement was succeeded by

namese Army(NVA) had completed its buildup and was ready to mount a largescale attack on South Vietnam. As part of

General Mark Clark, who signed an armi

the assault,two infantry divisions, 30,000

stice in 1953 with the original borders

soldiers with tanks and artillery support,

restored. General Clark lamented that he

began to cross the boundary between the

was the first United States Army com

two countries and attack south along

mander in history to sign an armistice

Highway 1, the main north-south artery. They would first have to seize a highway bridge over the major water obstacle, the

without victory.

During the early 1960s, the commu nists moved against South Vietnam, Cua Viet River just north of the town which was also divided between the com munist North and the anticommunist

South. The scenario was roughly the same. By March 1969, the United States

had a troop strength in South Vietnam of

Dong Ha. Only the Third South Vietnam ese Marine Battalion was in a position to block the critical avenue of attack and buy some valuable time. To the 700-man bat talion was entrusted the awesome task of

Col. Ripley in Vietnam, 1972

541,500. At no time did the American forces make any determined effort to de

stopping, or at least hindering, 30,000 North Vietnamese.

front as would be expected from a mem

stroy the enemy's capacity for making

ber of the aristocratic warrior class.

war. When Richard Nixon entered the

The small number of remaining Americans now in ground combat were

White House in January of 1969, he was

assigned to South Vietnamese units as

The Third Battalion was composed of four rifle companies. Two of them and

principally concerned with withdrawing

advisers. Few men were better qualified

Captain Ripley spent the night before

American troops and getting North Viet nam to the peace table. North Vietnam was principally concerned with crushing its enemy. In studying the peace negotiations of

to provide assistance in this nearly impos

Easter Sunday at an abandoned combat base just west of Dong Ha. The NVA knew they were there, for they pounded the compound all night long with heavy artillery fire. The rounds came screaming

this period,one could easily be lulled into

accepting the sophism that to save lives was worth a compromise with the com munists. That may seem reasonable only when we forget the famous and oft-

March-April, 1994

sible assignment than U.S. Captain John Ripley of Radford, Virginia. A graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, he led a rifle company through a year of intense combat in 1967. Ripley then

in four or five a minute. The Vietnamese

served an exchange tour with the British got little sleep; Ripley none. As the day dawned with an overcast Royal Marines. After returning to U.S. forces, he graduated from both the sky, Ripley went out and examined the Army's Airborne and Ranger schools and shell craters. The artillery fire was being

directed away from the camp toward

Dong Ha.He called his radio man to give a report to his own headquarters. Nha,the young baby-faced Vietnamese, ap proached with long-range whip antenna

used by the north-south traffic along Highway 1. It had been built by the Sea Bees five years earlier to carry the heavi est American weapons and equipment, including tanks. The other company

would rendezvous with them one mile west of the town. The medium tanks would be

somewhat outgunned by the heavier Soviet T-54s, but they were certainly better than no tank support at all. The tank battalion waving back and forth.In the months they would cover a much older bridge just commander, an ARVN lieutenant colonel, had fought together, the two had become upstream that could only carry light was waiting at the rendezvous point with inseparable. Neither knew the other's lan equipment. Binh told his Marines to dig his American adviser, Major James Smock. guage well, but facial expressions and a their holes deep. There would be no fall The former was less than enthusiastic about common danger made words unneces back positions.They had to hold the river- staying around and required constant urging to cooperate. sary. By that time Nha could read Ri- bank. Nha approached Ripley. It was head The two companies formed a column pley's mind. Ripley grabbed the handset. Head with Binh and Ripley leading the way and quarters again:"Our outposts can hear the quarters relayed the orders,"Fall back on headed for the bridge. Another radio mes- tanks coming. They are travelling in the scrub terrain just off the roadway,

South

China Sea

but sooner or later they are going to have to get back on Highway 1 to cross the bridge." "Don't we have any air up, to tell how many?" Ripley asked. "None yet. Low ceiling." "Come on. We must have a

thousand feet here."

"Believe me, pal, we are doing all we can.Every fire base up there is catching it and some have gone under. You have to hold the bridge

and you have to do it alone. There is nothing here to back you up ong Ha

with."

Ripley's American adviser con tact continued to give him bad

news. Practically all resistance north of the bridge had been wiped out, which was probably the source of the ARVN deserters clogging the road along with the refugees. Then came the final blow: "We

finally got a spotter plane in the air. They have tanks and armored Town,Combat Base

A Pite Support Base Airstrip 44fRai1road

Dong Ha and defend the bridge. I'll give

sage warned,"No time for questions, ex

personnel carriers stretched along Highway 1 for miles. Must be at least two hundred."

Ripley shouted back,"We can't stop that many. We have ti -v the bridge at Dong Ha." At firsi his superior on the radio hesitated.The top brass back in Saigon wanted to save

you more information when I can." pect enemy tanks. Out." When they the bridge. In the end, Ripley's logic pre Binh's bodyguard, a powerfully built, reached Highway 9, which ran along the vailed. A weary voice responded: "You rough individual who was known as south riverbank and intersected with are right. We can't authorize it, but you "Three-fingered Jack," appeared and told Highway 1 at Dong Ha, it was clogged have to blow that bridge. Get moving that Ripley that Binh wanted him at his com

with thousands ofrefugees and, what was

mand post. Jack was one of those quiet, worse, deserters by the hundreds. All of alert veterans that command respect, a them had only one thought in mind: to get as far away as quickly as possible. fearful enemy and a welcome ally. Binh had decided to deploy the two

immediately available companies along

Binh's radio contact informed him that

the rest of his battalion plus a regular

the south bank of the Cua Viet River. One Army of The Republic of Vietnam company would cover the main bridge (ARVN)tank battalion of about 40 tanks

way and we will send some demo up to you." As they approached Dong Ha, they saw the results of the destructive fire

power of the enemy's heavy artillery. Corpses lay dismembered and forgotten along the roadside. Dead livestock and overturned carts were strewn in all direc-

Tradition, Family and Property

tions. Then the artillery started again,

countless guns firing together and shells

exploding all over the town but only the town. It was being blasted off the map. Everything came to a halt along the high way.

The tank column could not go forward and it could not stay where it was. They backed off to the west and swung around to the southeast and entered what was left

of the town from the south. The shelling

alternately intensified and then thinned out. At the outskirts, the tank commander

refused to go any further but after more arguments agreed to let two tanks accom pany the dynamiters.As a parting remark, Binh told Ripley to send a message to his superiors: "There are Vietnamese Ma rines in Dong Ha. We will fight in Dong Ha. We will die in Dong Ha. As long as one Marine draws a breath of life, Dong

■

Ha will belong to us." A hundred yards

iimM

J .it. ®

from the south end of the bridge, Ripley,

Smock and Nha prepared to go on alone.

The Bridge Captain Ripley studied the bridge through his binoculars. It was built sim

^ ✓■ ■ ■

• >•' j ■ s,

ply but massively. The bridge's basic strength lay in its steel I-beam girders that

held up the superstructure. They ran lon gitudinally, that is, in the direction that the traffic would flow. Bach girder stood

three feet high, and the flanges extended

Colonel Ripley under the bridge

three to four inches on either side of the

(Detail of a diorama at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis)

vertical member. There were six of them across with about three feet between

two companies of Binh's Marines were

The two officers broke from cover and

ran straight for the bridge. Again the fire

to himself, the Sea Bees could have built a battleship. These hundred-foot long girders sat on

dug in. Across the river on the north side, there had to be thousands of NVA troops infesting the area. Halfway down his slope, sat a bunker built up with sand bags

increased as they neared their objective. A heavy, tank machine gun kicked a spray of dirt in front of them. Ripley

top of massive, steel-reinforced concrete

left over from some previous battle.

drove himself harder and harder. When

piers (intermediate supports) that rose 20

The three stood up and made a dash for the bunker. As they ran, the fire from the north side increased in intensity and ac

almost collapsed from the exertio.

them. With all that steel, Ripley thought

or 30 feet out of the river. At both sides

of the river, the hundred-foot spans con nected with the abutments(end supports). In thickness, the piers ran between five and six feet. They would easily have withstood any explosive power then available. The trick was to set the explo sives in such a way as to knock one set of

girders off the piers,thus dropping a hun dred-foot span into the river—no small task but possible by a soldier with the

curacy. They dove for the bunker just in

he safely reached the bridge abutm

• he ,e

wondered how much longer he would have to keep going.

time. Several shots thudded into the sand

bags right in front of them. Ripley de

The Demolition

cided to leave Nha here, where he could

make reports to headquarters just as eas

The explosives were waiting for them,

ily, and not expose him to any more dan ger than necessary.

about a dozen pine boxes and an equal

He then attracted the attention of a

squad leader at the river bank. Through

number of canvas haversacks. Ripley read the stencil on the three-foot boxes:

DEMOLITION-TNT. Each box con

proper training. Fortunately, Captain Ri sign language, he asked him to provide tained 150 blocks that looked like gray pley had received the necessary training cover for the last leg of the journey to the industrial soap.The haversacks contained bridge abutment.In a short period oftime, plastic explosives to be used in conjunc at Ranger School. Ripley surveyed the scene directly in Binh's Marines had a steady base of fire tion with the TNT. Ripley decided to cut the girders loose front of him. Along the near river bank. hitting NVA positions on the north bank.

March-April, 1994

The girders of the Dong Ha bridge were three-feet high and about three feet apart.

flanges. Then he twisted around until his body was spread-eagled between the two

and dropped below the girder. The com munists immediately opened fire, far

beams. He set the two haversacks of

heavier than before with hundreds of

satchel charges and crawled on his el

rounds bouncing off the girders. Over and

bows and knees back to Major Smock and

over, he prayed to Our Lord Jesus Christ

the fence.

and His Blessed Mother, "Jesus and

The major passed the first two boxes Mary, get me there! Jesus and Mary, get ofTNT and two more haversacks through me there..." the razor wire, which cut the major's Just as he reached the upstream box of hands and arms. Spread-eagled between TNT,a tank shell hit the girder about two the two girders, Ripley placed the boxes feet away. The angle was too flat and it on the flanges and dragged the load, bounced off and exploded on the south

which weighed more than 180 pounds, back to the pier, where he set the charges to the first boxes of explosives. Once more he dropped down, holding onto the bottom flanges with only his hands. Swing back and forth, build mo mentum, leap, grab, catch the heels and then muscle into the channel opening be tween the next two girders. When his legs and lower body fell below the beams, the

bank with a violent crash. The vibrations almost knocked him into the river. He set

the detonator into the plastic explosive and lit the other end of the cord with a

match. He had measured enough cord to allow about thirty minutes. Ripley worked his way over to the downstream side and repeated the process and then hand-walked back to the fence. He realized that he had exceeded all nor

mal human endurance, so again turned to girders, with rounds ricocheting all over. God and His Mother: "Jesus and Mary, Nothing hit him. Once up into the channel get me there! Jesus and Mary, get me

communist riflemen fired up into the steel at the first pier, a hundred feet from the abutment. His problems began immedi ately. The Sea Bees, to prevent sabotage to the under section of the bridge had constructed a chain-link fence on the river

side of the abutment topped with three

coils of razor wire. Ripley had to crawl over the razor wire.

He chose to work on the downstream

he was safe.

For the next two hours, Ripley worked his way back and forth setting the charges. When he finished, he crawled back through the razor wire, dropped to the ground and lay there for a while gasp ing for breath. Yet he had only accom

plished the first part of the heroic under

side of the bridge. Most of the infantry

taking. The exhausted Marine had to go men on both banks had dug in upstream, out there again and set the detonators.

there..." Heclimbed back through the razor wire once more and fell to the ground near the abutment in a bloody heap. He was so tired that he could hardly lift his arm. The major tapped him on the back.

"Look what I found. But you won't need them now." He pointed to a box of elec

trical detonators. Ripley looked at the caps and realized that he had to go

Ripley would have preferred to use electrical blasting caps and wire, but none were to be found, only the old-fashioned percussion caps and primer cord. To make things more difficult, they could not find any crimpers. Ripley had to crimp the

through the ordeal under the bridge once again. He had always been taught to rig up a backup charge if one was available. At this point,the substance of a man takes over. His moral integrity triumphs. In fact, throughout the entire ordeal, it was the guiding principle. So he returned

wire sliced numerous cuts into his legs

caps onto the cord with his teeth. Since the shiny cylinders would explode if

demanded it.

which bled profusely. Through the wire he went. He was sweating heavily. The

gripped too hard in the wrong place, a

While Ripley was again riskir â&#x20AC;˘

slight miscalculation would blow his

crawling around underneath the!

skull apart. He remembered that back in Ranger School an instructor had placed a

Bridge setting up the backup charges. Smock ran a couple of boxes of TNT down to the smaller bridge and ran back

where they had more open space. The

Marine captain climbed the fence and grabbed the bottom flanges ofthe I-beam. He then swung his feet up and hooked his feet on the flange. He began to inch himself along the

beam. His legs took a beating. The razor

sweat rolled into his cuts and they began to bum. At last, he was through the wire. With 90 feet to go, Ripley let his feet drop free and proceeded by hand-walking down the girder, swinging forward hand

to hand. Arriving at the pier, he made an attempt to catapult himself up into the space between the outboard girder and the next one upstream. His legs would not cooperate. His energy was gone. Hanging

detonator inside a softball and set it off.

The explosion blew the cover, stuffing and string all over the place. Carefully he placed the cap into his mouth, open end out and put the primer cord in the open end. He slowly bit down. It worked. The second time would be

easier, but he had to fight off overconfi-

only from his hands, they began to ache.

dence, so he remembered the softball.

Either he flipped up between the two

Now the Marine captain was ready to go back out again.

beams soon or he would fall into the river.

Once again; he almost made it that time. On the third try the heels caught the

This time the enemy was waiting for him. He crawled through the razor wire

again simply because to do the job right

life Ha

again. Ripley had completed the wiring and lay on the ground next to the abut ment, too tired to move. Painfully, he pulled himself up and, with a roll of deto nating wire hung over his shoulder, stag gered along with Smock back to the bun

ker where Nha was waiting. The South Vietnamese Marines unleashed a barrage

of fire to cover them, yelling encourage ment as they went, "Daii-iiy Dien! Dauuy Dien!" (Captain Crazy! Captain Crazy!)

Tradition, Family and Property

shock waves came before

rounded Captain Ripley with micro

phones, asking one silly question after another. Ripley yelled at them,"Get out of here;the NVA are attacking." A mortar sions that became one huge round exploded,throwing all ofthem into roar. The entire hundred- a pile on the ground. Ripley crawled out foot span dropped into the from underneath the bodies. Some were the noise. The noise ar

rived, growing louder and louder in a series of explo

river, leaving a huge gap in

the bridge. The time fuses TPiinioCorreadeOlMira

had done their job after all.

AMERICAN

The Aftermath

dead; others lay groaning and bleeding. He looked around; then his heart fell.

Nha lay dead with a mortar fragment in his head. Major Smock was severely wounded. All the South Vietnamese ve

hicles were pulling out. Ripley was able

rage around Dong Ha for

to pile the wounded on them only with difficulty. Nobody was staying around

days after, but the over

now.

whelming forces of the

When he went to load Nha's body on the last tank, it moved away and disap

The battle continued to

NVA soon began to wear out the defenders. Most ar eas in the north and south

had crumbled. A large group of communists were

pressing down on Dong Ha from the west. Binh's Ma

peared. The beleaguered captain looked up and saw the point men of several NVA rifle squads approaching. He was going to die, but he was taking his dead radio

man with him. He put Nha's body over his shoulders and started walking, fully

rines were still dug in and expecting to catch a bullet any minute. He heard rifle fire and looked up. holding, with some of Smock's tanks and armored

Colonel Ripley delivers an eloquent and

moving speech at the launching of the U.S. edition of Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII, at the

Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. At the bunker Ripley was glad to be

Three-fingered Jack and another Marine

personnel carriers lending were firing away at his assailants. More support. Ripley was mak South Vietnamese Marines came over the ing desperate calls for artil embankment directly in front of him and lery support when a barrage kept the enemy pinned down until he of mortar fire raked the

climbed up behind them. Captain Ripley

area, signalling an all-out

was safe.

A few days later the Third Marine

attack.

reunited with Nha. He looked around for

At that moment, a vehicle carrying

Battalion received orders to break

a way to trigger the explosion since they

seven journalists and cameramen raced up. Completely oblivious to what was going on, they jumped out and sur-

through the encircling enemy and a few weeks after that it was pulled out of ac

had no blasting box. Nearby was a burned-out truck, but the battery ap

peared to be in good condition. Ripley tried several combina

tion. Of the original 700 men, only 52 survived. By then Smock, Nha and Jack were dead. However,

tions to set off the explosives.

they had succeeded magnifi

Nothing worked. The terrible

cently in their task. The ARVN regrouped and

thought of failure came over

held a defensive line to" miles

him.

south of Dong Ha. 1.

The captain would have to

Easter Offensive was slopped

warn headquarters to give time to others to regroup farther south. He would stay with the

because the NVA failed to

cross the bridge at Dong Ha.

Third Marine Battalion. Binh

One cannot but wonder that, if

would never pull back. He had already made that clear. The

a few more men like Captain

Ripley, Major Binh, Major

battle-scarred warrior would

Smock, Three-fingered Jack

die at his post with no fore thought of death. From across

and Nha, the radio man, had

the river, Ripley heard the tanks starting up. The massive assault was ready to begin. Then the bridge blew. The

Crusaders of old, the commu

dedicated themselves like the

nists could have been stopped

Diorama of Colonel Ripley's heroic feat at Dong Ha

entirely. As it was, they were stopped for three years.

(U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis)

March-April, 1994

Cuban

Anticommunists

Issue Manifesto Supporting U.S. Embargo of Cuba

Iiiiii

CUBANOS DESTERRADOS TO OUR COMPATRIOTS IN EXILE AND ALL AMERICANS OF GOOD WILL:

The Honor of the West Is at Stake in the

Betrayal of Cuba House Resolution 2229 introduced by Rep. Charles Ran ge!(D-NY)calls for lifting the United States embargo on communist Cuba. The Cuban-American community and

our fellow freedom-loving Americans are shocked and out raged at this indecent proposal. Enactment of HR 2229 would:

— Constitute an unconscionable political victory for aging dictator Fidel Castro, who has never recanted his Marxist-Leninist ideology, but reaffirms the communist doctrines he es

pouses as the protagonist of virulent antiAmerican attacks.

North Korea, Serbia, Poland, Lithuania, and

other countries of Eastern Europe, who are placing their bets on international disorder to recover lost ground. — Embolden communists, crypto-communists, fellow travelers, dupes, and followers of Liberation Theology, within the Western hemi sphere, who are awaiting their time to strike, as the insurrection in Mexico reveals.

— Unnecessarily and unjustly prolong the suffering of our 10 million countrymen en slaved on the Caribbean prison island by strengthening the Castro regime in danger of long-overdue collapse. — Demoralize political, cultural, journalis

In sum, passing HR 2229 would signify not only a defeat for the Cuban people but for freedom-loving patriots across the globe. This callous betrayal of the Cuban people would indelibly stain the honor of the West through its gross viola tion of the fundamental principles of Christian civilization. Faced with this challenge, Cubanos Desterrados reso

tic and economic sectors in the United States

lutely affirms:

and throughout the American Continent that

oppose international communism, its guileful pretense of metamorphosis notwithstanding. — Rejuvenate communists in Russia,China,

Advancing the cause of Cuba's liberty is a

Tradition, Family and Property

just and timely initiative, a decisive challenge upon which hinges the future of Western civi

elites to fulfill their historic role through exem

lization.

tian civilization.

plary fidelity to the traditional values of Chris In conclusion, Cubanos Desterrados calls on our compa triots, the Cuban-American community to whom is en

An international order that is not guided by sound moral principles will inevitably decay into the international disorder of contemporary confusion whose consequent chaos is plaguing

trusted—in this historic hour—the noble mission to offer a

the world.

Cubanos Desterrados calls to mind these words of warn

living example ofthe Christian principles fundamental to the moral resurgence of the West and the establishement ofjust and lasting peace: — To initiate a doctrinal, educational, and

ing:

prayerful crusade to defeat the deplorable Ran-

The Summer 1993 issue of the journal New Perspectives advises that in the postCold War era the West will have to stand

up to a "war of civilizations" on the plane of cultural values in order to sur vive in the face of a new axis constituted

by the Islamic countries and Communist China.

Zbigniew Brzezinski,a former White House aide, warns in his book. Weak

Ramparts of the Permissive West, that the "permissive and liberal" West has created "a moral and spiritual vacuum" that holds great potential for "cultural

dO"

(CffDCJ

COUN'®

self-destruction."

Prof. Allan Bloom in his highly ac claimed book, The Closing ofthe Ameri can Mind, sounded the alarm about the

danger of inevitable decadence for a lib eral society that rests on absolute toler

1V£ SPm FOR THOSE WHO CAi

fllEE CUBA NOW! I-A VIGj

Freedom

ance devoid of values.

Among the most solid and wellfounded warnings against the self-de molishing policy of certain Western leaders are two communiques by the renowned Brazilian Catholic intellec

tual, Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira,

published in prominent American news papers: "Is Communism Dead? And What About Anti-Communism?" and

"Communism and Anti-Communism on the Threshold of the Millenium's Last Decade."

In his recent book. Nobility and

Analogous Traditional Elites in the Al locutions of Pius XII: A Theme Illumi nating American Social History, Profes sor Correa de Oliveira calls on Western

March-April, 1994

On February 24, Cuban-Americans gathered In front of the White House to protest House Resolution 2229.

gel bill—of which our February 24 march to the White House in opposition to lifting the em bargo on communist Cuba is but a first step.

indifference of strategic political centers whose decisions bear so heavily on the future of our

— To turn a deaf ear to the defeatism that

— To know with moral certitude that in this

claims the lifting of the American embargo on communist Vietnam—a betrayal of the Viet namese people we wholeheartedly condemn— automatically and irreversibly entails adopting similar measures in regards to communist

godly crusade we may count unreservedly on the heavenly aid of the Most Blessed Virgin of

Cuba.

— To be imbued with the conviction of the

supreme gravity of the hour and the confidence that we can and shall shake the apathy and

beloved homeland.

La Caridad del Cobre, Patroness of Cuba; of

Saint Anthony Maria Claret, former Bishop of Santiago de Cuba; and of the innumerable mar tyrs whose dying words were louder than the guns of Castro's firing squads,a declaration we embrace as our own:

LONG LIVE CHRIST,THE KING! DOWN WITH COMMUNISM! February 17, 1994 Feast of Our Lady of Exile

Sergio F. de Paz Miami

Guillermo Ramsay Washington

INTERNATIONAL

Hell is assuredly not a myth for the

THE SPIRIT OF

VOLTAIRE RETURNS TO THE STREETS OFPARIS

unfortunate souls condemned to re

main there for eternity, and should we hear perchance the hysterical and piercing cries of the damned,their lamentation might well be:"God is not with us...but this we have always known."

But it was not from the pit of hell According to the tradition of the Church, hell is a place of eternal ex piation. However, in the minds of many progressivists, hell represents little more than a hoary myth, a mere fabrication of man's morbid imagin ings. Still many people yet defend the doctrine of hell's existence, including some unsuspected by those same pro gressivists, for example, the leading Voltaire would end his letters with the imprecation,"Crush the infamous voices of Rock whose lyrics are re one": the Catholic Church. His plete with references to the realm of followers are still working on it. the damned, whose albums bear infer nal images.

that the world heard this cry of de

spair. Nor did it arise from the pen of Voltaire—though worthy of his spirit—the famous atheist doctrinaire who so marked his era that he came

to personify anti-Catholicism, above all in his native France.

No, it was on January 1994 in a massive anti-Catholic rally conducted by the left that this abominable cry re verberated through the streets of Paris—on the Boulevard Voltaire, no less—estimates of whose numbers

ranged from 260,000 according to the

Tradition, Family and Property

?! Leftists demonstrating in Paris against government measures favoring private schools

police and a miliion according to its

The matter at hand was France's

and an equally revealing slogan:"A truly leftist climate...the heavens are

subsidy to private schools, but—as most French private schools are Catholic—an "economic" issue pro vides the pretext for a manifestation of hate, revealing its true ideological colors. As we shall see, this is fury di rected against religious teachings, against the Roman Catholic Church, against her clergy, but above all, against Our Lord Jesus Christ, charged with partiality towards the elites, the aristocrats, and prejudice to

aristocratic" that recalled the revolu

wards the poor.

tionary Michelet's reflections on the weather of July 14, 1790, the first an niversary of the fall of the Bastille. Through these cries of open revolt, these two events merge despite the two centuries that separate them— their spirit is the same.

The limits of this article preclude a thorough account of the questionable history of the Falloux Law of 1850, which established the percentage of the subsidy allowed to private schools. We would simply note that Bayroux, the present minister of Edu

organizers.(The media weighed in at 600,000.)

The slogan, one of many polluting the air of the City of Light, was in spired by the weather, which met the revolutionaries not with encouraging blue skies and sunny rays but with an ugly and threatening overcast. Hence the rebels' line: "God is not with

us...but this we have always known,"

March-April, 1994

cation, recently proposed a most mod est reform of the law, benefiting in a minimal manner the rate allocated the

primarily Catholic private schools, thereby unleashing the rage we have recounted above.

The slogans cited here attest to the fury and thoughts of a Left who de sires the abolition of private sch> i.e.. Catholic education, but confesses

that God does not support its ideol ogy, the godless heritage of the French Revolution. The catchwords

portend God's favor of an aristocratic society, constituted according to the hierarchical orders, with harmonically unequal classes. Such a society sup ports—and is supported by—the natu ral ascendancy of those who are more virtuous, more valorous, more capa ble of carrying the burden of leader-

INTERNATIONAL

ship and heroism imposed by their superiority. All this is implicit in

News and Views

these leftist lamentations, aggra

vated by the inclement weather. Nor were these the only cries, each a stain to sully the history of this first-bom daughter of the Church. In the very Plaza of the Re public, a blasphemous poster por trayed a crucified iconoclast who said,"Public schools, my love," as though pronounced by the sacred and most serious lips of our Divine

on the

Nobility and Analogous Traditional

Elites

Savior.

Other revolutionary rantings pro claimed:"Money for the secular ists, blows on the clericalists."

CHARLEMA GNE

"Aid the rich and heaven will aid

you.""Down with the birettaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;lib erate the condom.""Teaching, yes! Eucharist, no!""The daughter of

the breadwinner, yes; the daughter of the Cardinal, no,""Money for the Devil's school, nails for the pri vate schools," and "Money for the

On February 7, Italy's prominent newspaper Corriere della Sera published an article titled "Charlemagne Rekindles Europe." According to it, "Charle magne" is the hottest premiere from Monte Carlo,the site ofthe 34th International Film Festival.

the lions during the murderous per

The showing of this film, a mini-series produced by RAl (Italy's State television and radio), opened the festival. In the words of the Corriere deUa Sera, "beginning with the death of Charlemagne's father, Pepin the Short, the series covers thirty years of the life of this great Frankish king. He is portrayed as a prince who is wild in his youth, but who, on maturing and assuming the responsibilities of a monarch, becomes conscious of his role as unifier of Europe in the name of

secutions of anti-Christian Roman

Christendom."

laicists, lions for the Christians."

In this last rebel yell we clearly observe the historic consistency

among good and evil. Just as our Christian ancestors were thrown to

emperors, today's leftists would

Such a portrayal is refreshing,in that it contradicts

Prof. Plin

rrea dej

have their descendants in faith suf

the thesis ofthe French Revolution, which holds that the

Oliveira kisses the

fer the same fate. More than a

functions and court life of the monarch and nobles

throne of Blessed

struggle between the Left and the Right, in the final analysis, we are engaged in the eternal battle be

acclimate them to a luxurious and delightful lifestyle that

Charlemagne In this emperoWs chapel at Aix-la-Cnapelle in

tween Good and Evil. The events

deteriorates their characters.

According to the French actor Christian Brendel, who plays the role ofthe king,"Charlemagne is a person

described above confirm this and

age who grows little by little. He is a barbarian who is

offer a rare glimpse into the true in ner nature of that rally.

very modern."

In contrast to the present leaders of European unification,"Charles accomplishes his desire to unite the peoples ofvarious nations,but does so without destroying

1988. '

their identities, and by respecting their cul tures." He is an intelligent monarch who real izes the advantages of political unity, and, re vealing himself the true politician, builds it on a legitimate foundation: respect for the multi ple inequalities that God placed among the nations.

The Italian article goes on to point out that there has been a restoration of Charle

magne's popularity at a time when the response to the TFP's latest book,l^obility and Analogous Traditional Elites, reveals a surge in the popu larity of the nobility and other traditionalminded elites.

The article states: "Delighted with the warm reception given 'Charlemagne,' the pro-

Charlemagne: The Man and The Legend "Charlemagne's campaigns against heresy, his concern with canon law, his insistence on the application of the Benedictine Rule in monasteries, his introduction of Roman liturgy into Frankland (the Sacramentary prepared by Alcuin at Charles's direction later formed the basis of the Roman Missal still in use)..., his aid to pilgrims and to Christians overseas, his endowments of monasteries and churches, his regard for the morals of the clergy and the improvementoftheir education,fully justified his title of "rector etdefensor ecclesiae" The numerous synods that were held during his reign, and his own personal interest in theological questions, stimulated a revival of theology that lasted long after his death.... "The political consummation of Charlemagne's lifework, the "renovatio" of the Roman Empire of the West, was in the minds of his contempo

raries and post-contemporaries acontinuation ofthe ancient Roman Empire. The twelfth-century Bavarian Kaiserchronik, for example, treated Charle magne as one of the greatest in the succession of Roman emperors from Augustus to Conrad III. Yet this same chronicle unwittingly bears wimess to the fundamental difference between

the new and the old empires when it identifies Charlemagne so closely with the Church that Pope Leo III is pictured as the emperor's brother. The legendbuilding that began immediately after the death of Charles often altered historical fact in this way in order to present a symbol of historical truth. Charlemagne had united Church and State into an organic theocracy such as had never been achieved by the Christian Roman emperors.... By grafting Augustine on Augustus he produced a political entity different in kind from the classic Roman Empire whose heir he considered himself. The people of the Middle Ages signified their understanding of the difference when they spoke of the Holy Roman Empire. "After his death, his personality, his aims and his accomplishment dominated the imaginations of men for centuries. Side by side, a real and a legendary Charlemagne marched across the ages, the two figures gradually merging until the founder of the Holy Roman Empire became one with a fabled hero who led his paladins into battle against the never-ending hosts

RekindlesEurope ducers have promised spectacular mass scenes in the next episodes, including the historic battle of Roncesvalles and the encounters in

Saxony."

RA-1 itselfseems a little surprised at the success of the film before a crowd who knows what it takes for a film to be an international

success. Only now does RA-1 feel comfortable with the idea ofinvesting in these costly scenes. So it is a welcome piece of news that the

of the infidel, and with a Christian saint before whom votive candles were

lighted. "Preservation of the memory of the real Charlemagne was assured by iiie

popularity of Einhard's biography. Written some fifteen years after the ruler's death, it was copied often, as the large number of extant manuscripts

proves. Here was a portrait of a mighty emperor of simple tastes whose

supremacy was recognized from Britain to far-off Baghdad; of a great defender of the Church who never failed to rush to the aid of the Roman

pontiff; of a legislator; of a lover of arts and letters; of a general who fought

many wars with unfailing success (except for that notable defeat in Spain which Einhard described in detail); of a militant evangelist of the Faith who

converted Saxons, Slavs and Avars by force of arms."

Richard Winston, Charlemagne (Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1954).

Corriere della Sera brings us: Charlemagne rekindles Europe. Who could have imagined that in 1994, at

the apex ofglorified egalitarianism, the film industry would choose to resurrect the legendary figure of this emperor, the champion of wise and construetive harmonic inequality, the founder ofthe Middle Ages, the warrior-king who fought 53 battles in the 50 years of his reign in favor of Christendom? And what better confirmation could there be of the

timeliness of the TFP book on nobility?

GREAT DOCUMENTS OF CATHOLIC HISTORY

Total Liberty and Equality for Man; A Falsehood In a decretal of March 10, 1791, to Cardinal

de la Rochefoucauld and to the Archbishop of

and precepts" so that "If thou wilt keep the commandments...they shall preserve thee"

Aix-en-Provence, Pope Pius VI stated:

(Eccl. 15:14-16). Where, then, is that liberty of thinking and

For indeed, that Assembly [the French Con stituent Assembly] has decreed that it was laid

of acting that the decrees of the Assembly at tribute to man established in society, as if it

down in natural law that a man established in

were an immutable law of nature itself?... It

society should rejoice in every sort of lib erty, so that he surely ought not to be dis turbed about religion, having as he does the authority to think, to say, to write, and even to print and publish whatever he wishes concerning the proof of relig ion itself. These marvels it has declared

to be derived from and to emanate from

the equality of human beings among themselves and from the liberty of na ture. But what more insane thing can be imagined than to set up such equality and

will have been necessary already from the beginning for a man to be made sub

ject to his elders, so that he might be guided and instructed by them and might be able to align his own life in accord with the norm of reason, humanity, and religion; certainly from the origin of each and every individual, it is obvious that the equality and liberty boasted of

among human beings is vain and empty. "Wherefore be subject of necessity" (Rom. 13:5). Therefore, in order that hu

liberty among all, so that nothing is at

man beings might be able to come to

tributed to reason, with which the human

gether into civil society, a form of go\

race has been especially endowed by na

emment had to be constituted, in which

ture, and by which it is distinguished from all other living creatures? When

God had created man and had placed him

those natural rights of liberty were as signed to a position below the laws and the supreme power of the rulers; from

in the Paradise of pleasure, did He not at the same time impose a penalty of death on him if he should eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Did He not immediately by this first command restrict his liberty? Did He

which it follows, as Saint Augustine teaches: "Indeed, the general agreement of human soci ety is to obey its rulers" {Confessions, Book

not subsequently, when man had made himself

cial contract as to God himself, the Author of

guilty through disobedience, add more com

what is right and just.

III, Chapter 8, pt. 1). Wherefore, this power ought to be traced back not so much to a so

mands through Moses? And although He had "left him in the hand of his own counsel," so

that he might be able to deserve well or ill, nevertheless "He added His commandments

Pii VI Pom. Max. Ada(Rome: Typis S. Congreg. de Propaganda Fide, 1871). Vol. l,pp. 70-71.

Tradition, Family and Property

ABORTION

J^orgotten

AND RELATIVISM by Orlando Lyra

l^rutfis II

Even the Devils Cannot Stand It... These wretches not only do not

bridle this fragility [homosexuality!, but do worse, committing that ac cursed sin against nature, and as blind and fools, with the light of

A PSEUDO-MORALITY THAT VARIES ACCORDING TO CIRCUMSTANCE who had abortions, we often have the im

After describing a case in detail and enu merating the principles he accepts, Gustaf-

pression that a certain sympathy and under

sonconcludes:

When we read the stories of women

standing is shown for the feticide mother as

"My own decision is: (a) If I were in

a result of the circumstances' drama.

the woman's circumstances, I believe I

which they are. It is not only that

Take, for example, the victim of rape, the wife forced by the husband to abort an unwanted child, or the minor pressured by the boyfriend to interrupt an undesired

this sin stinks before me. who am

pregnancy. In these cases, the victim of

the Supreme and Eternal Truth, it does indeed displease me so much

could morally justify an abortion and,there fore,(b) I would affirm that an abortion is morally correct in this case." So, according to these premises, cir cumstances could, in certain cases, nullify moral principles!

one responsible for the acts of the parents

In this line, it is curious to note that, as

or, even worse, as an unjust aggressor, an

David Reardon points out,"many studies

their intellect darkened, they do not know the stench and misery in

and I hold it in such abomination

abortion, the child, seems to figure as the

unbearable burden, that must be eliminated

have shown that before becoming pregnant themselves, most aborted women have

a divine judgment, my divine justice being no longer able to endure it.

at any price. When viewed in this light, the woman who aborts becomes a poor victim of cir

This sin not only displeases me as I

cumstance.

that for it alone I buried five cities by

have said, but also the devils whom these wretches have made their mas

ters. Not that the evil displeases them because they like anything

good, but because their nature is an gelic and causes them to loathe the sight of the actual commission of

To dramatize to the utmost the circum-

stancial factors becomes, then, a subtle psy chological artifice to present abortion as ac

ceptable and even somewhat moral. By using this artifice the most surprising justi fications for abortion are created. For instance, James M. Gustafson,

'definite moral opinions but little factual knowledge about abortion.' These studies have found that until placed in a situation where they themselves are 'forced' to com

promise their moral values or compelled to rationalize themselves as being 'excep tions' to the rule....

"Perhaps the most revealing discovery was that 84% said they would havi n very willing to keep the child 'under l r

professor of Christian ethics at Yale Uni versity. "has attempted to use experience as argument. He criticizes the old rational arguments against abortion as abstract and juridical efforts by people who are

circumstances.' Less than 2% indicated

but when their victim proceeds to

not involved in the situation yet pass

the actual commission of the sin.

judgment on the actions of others. He pro poses as a moral counsel that each case be evaluated by those who are involved in it.

"indicated a very negative attitude toward abortion, compared to 15% who had a very positive view of abortion. The remaining

this enormous sin. They truly enough hurl the arrow poisoned with the venom of concupiscence,

they depart for the reason and in the manner that I have said.

they would not have kept the child under

any circumstances."^ Other data cited by the same author re veals that 41% of the interviewed women

43% were somewhere in between the ex-

Notes:

n^fte (Dialog of St Catfierine ofSiena March-April, 1994

1) James M.Gustafson,A Christian Approach to the Ethics ofAbortion, in Germain G. Grisez, ElAborto: Mitos, Realidades yArgumentos(Salamanca: Editorial Sigueme, 1972), p. 411. 2) David C. Reardon,Aborted Women Silent No More (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1990), pp. 12-13.

THE PRINCIPLE OF SaintThomas Aquinas shows that not even God can deny the principle of contradiction, the absolute law of the or der of being, because it is impossible for God to will the abso lutely impossible (Suirmw Contra Gentiles, bk. 1, chap.

tsveen things, between a galley, a wall, and a man;(4) it would mean the destruction of all tmth, for truth follows being;(5) it would destroy aR dmi^ts, even all opinion; for its very aflirma-

84). Aristotle, according to the summary of theologian Father Garrigou-Lagrange,"gives eight principal reasons for defending the necessity and real validity of the princi ple of contradiction. They are briefly: (1) to deny this ne cessity and this validity would be to deprive words of their fixed meaning and to render speech useless; (2) all idea of the reality of an essence, or thing or substance as such, would have to be abandoned; there would be only a be coming without anything which is on the way of becom ing; it would be like saying that there can be a flux with out a fluid, a flight without a bird, a dream without a dreamer;(3) there would no longer be any distiriction be-

tremes, indicating limited approval of abor

abortion because of the circumstances. In

What makes the relativist doctrine so

tion under 'special' circumstances."^

their case, there is a notorious discrepancy between the moraljudgment they sustained

attractive is that it cloaks contradiction

sonal weakness in the fulfilment of the

terrupt the pregnancy. In other words,

moral precepts, but also to a relativist posi

the circumstances prevailed over the

with sophism, which becomes a lenitive for these torpid consciences. In his recent encyclical Veritatis Splen dor, John Paul II points out the core of

tion on mor^ity and truth.'^

moral principles.

moral relativism:

view of abortion (15%) are sure that hu

Now what leads a woman to have an abortion even when she considers it con

"Certain currents of modern thought have gone so far as to exaltfreedom to such

man life is trivial. For them, it is only a relative value, otherwise they would

trary to her moral convictions? Why does

an extent that it becomes an absolute, which

she not confront the circumstances as her

would then be the source of values. This is

principles mandate instead of violating them to adapt to the circumstances?

the direction taken by doctrines which have

Even a summary study of these cases undoubtedly points not only to a great per

The aborted women with a positive

never kill their unborn child. The women

who indicate a limited approval of abor tion also relativize the unborn child's

right to life, by subordinating it to "spe cial circumstances." What is surprising,

before the abortion and their decision to in

The explanationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which is not a jus

lost the sense of the transcendent or which

are explicitly atheistic. The indi\' '-nl con

tificationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;is to be found in "man's innate

science is accorded the status oi

however, is the 41% who held antiabor-

weakness following original sin" and in the moral relativism resulting from the

tion convictions but nevertheless had an

"loss of the sense of God."^

tribunal of moral judgment which hands down categorical and infallible decisions about good and evil. To the affirmation that

erne

3)Ibid, p. 13.

4) A system much in vogue among modem philosophers, relativism Ls the doctrine that denies the erostence of absolute principles and values. It places all reason for being and knowing in the relation, reducing it to a merely subjective product Because of this, relativism leads to total subjectivism. In other words,the relativisl denies the value of universal principles. He is only interested in the circumstances, which determine how we are to act and think. Since it is the subject who judges the influence of these circumstances on his conscience, and since his conscience is the only arbiter of his behavior, we fall into total subjectivism.

For the relativist, truth and moral, religious and other norms only have the value attributed to them by the subject or, at most, by a group of subjects, but only in some ways and under certain conditions. No universal or necessary value is admissible.

Therefore, there are neither truths nor dogmas to be accepted as such forever. The relative becomes the only known absolute.

Relativism is not new in the history of thought. The Greek sophists, and especially Protagoras, were relativists. The skeptics reinvigorated relativism, which had begun as an epistemological doctrine but quickly spread to philosophy, the mathematical and physical sciences, psychology and espedally morality and religion.

5) Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, declaration On Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics, December 29,1975, no. 9.

Tradition, Family and Property

CONTRADICTION tion would be a negation. It would not be an opinion which

and all hatred; there would be only absolute indifference, for

Heraclitus had when he afifirmed diat contradictories are true

there would be no distinction between good and evil; there

at the same time;(6) it would mean the destruction of all desire

would be no reason why we should act;(7) it would no longer

be possible to distinguish degrees of error; everything would be equally false and true at the same time;(8) it would put an end to the vei^* notion of becoming; for there would be no distinction between the beginning and the

1 c, 4 ttit>

w.v.v

******

end of a movement; the first would already be the sec ond, and any transition from one state to another would be impossible. Moreover 'becoming' could not be ex plained by any of the four causes. There would be no sub ject ofbecoming; the process would be without any effi cient or final cause, and without specification, and it would be both attraction and repulsion, concretion as

••f'

4« ft 4'4

't' lJ'fiCI < I < f I M'M'

well as fusion" (Garrigou-Lagrange, God: His Existence and His Nature, vol. 1, p. 168).

am \ —

one has a duty to follow one's conscience is

unduly added the affirmation that one's moral judgment is true merely by the fact that it has its origin in the conscience. But in this way the inescapable claims of truth disappear, yielding their place to a criterion ofsincerity, authenticity and 'being at peace with oneself,' so much so that some have

come to adopt a radically subjectivistic con ception of moral Judgment. "As is immediately evident, tfie crisis

of truth is not unconnected with this devel opment. Once the idea of a universal truth

about the good,knowable by human reason, is lost, inevitably the notion of conscience

ingly.Such an outlook is quite congenial to an individualistic ethic, wherein each indi

also changes. Conscience is no longer con

vidual is faced with his own truth, different

sidered in its primordial reality as an act of a person's intelligence, the function of which is to apply the universal knowledge of the good in a specific situation and thus to express ajudgment about the right con duct to be chosen here and now. Instead,

from the truth of others. Taken to its ex

there is a tendency to grant to the individ ual conscience the prerogative of inde pendently determining the criteria of good and evil and then acting accord

treme consequences, this individualism leads to a denial of the very idea of human

nature."^ This pseudo-morality, also known as

"situation ethics," has long been con demned by the ecclesiastical Magisterium, for representing the dilution of the very

concept of morality.^ It represents, in the moral field, a form of relativism, and is

6)John Paul n, Veritatis Splendor, 32. Emphasis in origlnaL

7) The Supreme and Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office condemned the eirors contained in this relathrist system of ethics by means of the In struction of February 2,1956:

"Contradicting the moral doctrine and its application taught in the Catholic Church,a system of ethics often called 'situation ethics' began to spread in many countries and even among Catholics. This system does not depend on the principles of objective ethics founded,in final arvalysis, on the'Be ing'....

"The authors who follow this system affirm that the ultimate and decisive norm of behavior is not the objective right order—determined by the natural law and known with certainty—but the interior judgment by which the individual, placed in a concrete situation, knows what to do.

"According to them, man's ultimate decision is not the application of the objective law to a particular case—as objective ethics teaches—^in which the paiticulaiities relative to the situation are observed and considered, but raffier that personal judgment.

"The objective rectitude and truth in this judgment..cannot be detennined...by any objective norm outside of man and independent of his subjective persuasion....

"According to these authors, the traditional concept of'human nature* is insufficient. We must resort to the concept of the 'existential' human nature, which does not have absolute objective value, but only a relative and therefore mutable one....

"Only a relative value is given the traditional concept of the 'natural law.' Many things that are presently considered absolute postulates of the natural

law,in their opinion and doctrine are based on this concept of'existential nanne,' being therefore relative and mutable, and always adaptable to the situ ation....

"Many postulates affirmed in this system of "situation ethics' are contrary to the truth and the dictates ofsound reason, reveal traces of relativism and modernism, and seriously deviate from the Catholic doctrine taught during centuries....

"Having pondered,...this Supreme and Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office interdicts and forbids that this doctrine of'situation ethics'...be taught...propagated or defended in any way" (ficta ApostoUcae Sedis, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 144-145).

March-April, 1994

widely diffused in existentialist philosophy

chooses an alcoholic beverage instead of

universal—whereby God orders, directs,

in general.®

water that the nature of these substances

and governs the entire universe and all the

changes. That is why if a person drinks al cohol thinking it is water he still suffers the

conceived in wisdom and love. Man has

Once unrestrictedly accepted, where

would this concept lead us? "If such a the ory were accepted without any restric tions," comments Andrew Varga,"it is ob vious that no order could be maintained in

socieW and no organized State could func tion.

Here is a tragic example of this: No body doubts that Hitler was sincerely con vinced of his ideas about racial purity, that he acted "in freedom," and that he took into consideration the circumstances of Ger

many when he ordered the death of millions of people. But who would deduce from this that the Nazi holocaust was moral? It would

be absurd to do so. Why? Because although a person can choose between two positions, the morality of the act is not in this possibility of choosing but rather in the conformity of his choice with

the good. The choice, or selection, does not

effects of the alcohol.

been made by God to participate in this law, with the result that, under the gentle dispo

Consequently, the subjective intention influences the morality ofthe act, diminish

sition of divine Providence, he can come to

ing or increasing the guilt or the merit ofthe subject. However, it can never make the ac tion good or bad.

truth."'"^ So, for example, the principle that

So with circumstances: they can in crease or lessen the culpability. But never can they make a bad act good or totally ex emptfrom guilt the agent who cooperates in

an intrinsically evil action.'^

perceive ever increasingly the unchanging

good must be done and evil avoided is con

natural with the human intelligence; it is in scribed in its very nature. This principle admirably summarizes what is called the natural law, a law inscribed by God in the human heart: "In the depths of his con

There is then an objectivity in moral judgments that does not depend on the cir cumstances, the subjective states of the in

science, man detects a law which he does

dividual, or the dominant culture. Rather it

him to obedience.... For man has in his heart

depends on absolute moral principles^de

a law written by God.To obey it is the very dignity of man; according to it he will be

rived from the very nature of the acts. Man, by virtue of his intelligence13

and the action of grace, can discern good from evil and use his freedom to choose one

change the nature ofthe act, which will still be good or bad according to what it is in it

and reject the other.

self.

rality, grasped by the reason, are contained For instance, it isn't because someone

ways of the human community, by a plan

These fundamental principles of mo

not impose upon himself, but which holds

judged."^ The acts of man are morally good when they are in conformance with his na ture. The human action is wholly human only when it conforms with the natural law, the manifestation of the divine wisdom.

in the "divine law—eternal, objective, and [Continued on p. 33]

Q Joseph Fletcher^ pzofisssar at the ^;^cqpal Theological Schoolin Cainbiidge, Massachusetts,is ccnsidexed the "fattier of situation ettiics," whose

spinious doctzine is exposed in the yroik Situation Ethics: The New Morality(Bos^:Beacon Press, 1966). 9)Andrew C.Varga,The Main Issuesin Bioethics ^ew Yodc Paulist Press, 19%),p. 13.

10)HVhen officially presenting the histruotion Donum Vitae, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger etqixnuids this principle, though applying it to the questicm of artificial procreation:

"The difficuUy which is continually raised against the teaching of ttie Church is drawn from the subjective intentions(the desire) of those concerned in these processes (the spouses,ttie doctcns). Basically, the interdion (desire) of ttie spouses to hove a child and the intention of the researchers and

doctors to increase ttieir knowle^e for the future ben^ci himianity are good intentions, morally praiseworthy.... "The Church's h&gistmium cannot make even the slightest compromise with a viewpoint in vdiidi subjective desire is the sole and sufficient crite rion to legitimate any medicalintervention whatsoever. Suctti a view is ultimately rooted in the denial ofthe truth of creation"(fi'Osservatore Romano, March 16,1987, p.6).

11) When addressing the cpiestian ofhomosexuality,ttie Congregaticui for the Doctrine ofthe Faith illustrates in a magistral way what we have just af firmed:

"At the present time ttiere are th(»e who,basing themsdves on observations in the psychological order, have begun to judge indulgentty, and even

to excuse completely,homosexual rations between certain people. This they do in opposition to the cmistant teaching of the magisterium and to the moralsense(rf the Christian people....

"Their culpability will be judged with prudmice. But no pastoral method can be employed which would give moraljustification to these acts on the grounds that ttiey would be consonant with the conditfrm ofsuch people.For according to ttie objective moral order, homosexual relations are acts which lack an essmitial and indispensable finality. In sacred scripture they are condemned as a serious depravity and even presented as the s. iseguence of rejecting God.This judgment ofscripture does not ofcourse permit us to conclude that all those who suffer from this anomaly are pe^ ally responsible for it, butit does attest to the fact that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered and can in no case be approved of"(declaration On Cer tain Questions Concerning SexualEthics,6).

12)"nie Church ttiroughout her history has always cmtsidered a certain number of precepts ofthe naturallaw as having an and immutable value,and in their transgressian she has seen a contradiction of the teaching and spirit ofthe Gospel.. "These principles and norms in no way owe their migin to a certain type of culture, but rattier to the knowledge ofthe divine law and of human na ture. They therefore cannot be considered as having become out date or doubtful ioider ttie pretext that a new cultural situation has arisen" (ibid., 4, 8).

13) The conformity of the intelligence with the iipright appetite constitutes the "recta ratio"(d St. Thomas Aquinas,Summa Theologica,I-II,57 a. 3; Veritate, \,2\De virtutibusin communi,13). The ratio is onlyrecta when it follows the natural order of ttiings, the fundamental firitcria of morality. "When we speak ofrecte raffo," writea Er. Victorino Rodriguez y Rodriguez, OJP.,"we refer to a qualified, normative reason, which is the measure of

the entice moral order through this immanent human norm that is^conscience itselt "The conscience is recta ratio, that is, vutious,when it agrees with the ratio aetema,the norm oflast appeal, which is always right and by which the whole cader of good is defined and dignified,

"Since ttfo consdenee is essentially a reality of normative knowledge,its uprightness consists in its truth, that Is to say,in its ccmformity with the su preme norm,the ratio aet0nia"(Estudios de Antropolo^a Teologica [Madrid: Speiro, 1991],p.434). 14) Vatican Cdimcil H,BUgrdtatis Humanae,3.

18)"Natural synddcesis"is what St Thomas Aquinas calls ttiis principle,"bcmm faciendum, mabim vitamdum."

fri ottier words,the syhdmesis is ttie habitual conscience or the habit ofthe first pfricfoles of the moral order(d Summa Theologica,1,79, a. 13). 16) Vaficah Council ff,Gaudiurn ef Spes,16.

Tradition, Family and Property

RELIGION

Apparition of Our Lady at Pontmain

OUR LADY OF HOPE Pontmain is a tiny village tucked away in the northwest comer of the Department of Mayenne on the

which was thrown back over her

January 17,1871

border between Brittany and Nor mandy, thirty-three miles from the

shoulders and fell below the level of

her elbows. She wore a gold crown in the shape of a diadem that had no ornament other than a red band cir

Abbey of Mont Saint Michel. It was chosen by the Mother of God for one of the most impressive manifestations of her

cling the center.

kindness in recent times.

Medal," as Eugene testifiedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;^but without the rays of light. The lady's face was of incredible beauty. But what most impressed the lad was her smile.She smiled at him the way his own mother did when he had done something that pleased her very much. For a full fifteen minutes the boy gazed at the beautiful lady. His brother Joseph joined him and also

Four children were the privileged seers of the marvels

that were staged in a star-filled sky over that tiny hamlet on the blessed night of January 17,1871. These four were Eugene Barbadette,12 years old;his brother Joseph,10;Frangoise Richer, 11; and Jeanne-Marie Labosse,9. At that time Divine Providence

was subjecting France to an arduous trial, an invasion by the Prussians. On Sunday, January 15, the Pmssians were just across the river from Laval, the capital of Mayenne. Fa ther Guerin's congregation in Pont main was filled with grief, so he spoke briefly to them of the trust they should have in God and His

Her hands were extendedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;"as on the Miraculous

saw her. Mama Barbadette went to the con

vent and summoned one of the sis

ters, Sister Vitaline. She went to the

Blessed Mother. Their hearts were

lifted, and they sang with renewed confidence the plaintive words of the hymn to Our Lady of Hope, "Mother of Hope."

bam but did notsee the lady.She did see,as did all the villagers,three stars arranged in a triangle, which re mained throughout the apparition. Sister sent two little boarders at the

school,Frangoise Richer and JeanneMarie Labosse, to the bam. Both de

scribed the apparition exactly as the boys had done. Another nun. Sister Edward,

called the parish priest. Father Guerin. When he reached thi

On January 17, Eugene Bar badette found the winter sky bril liant with stars. As his eyes wan dered over the firmament,his atten tion was drawn to an unusual

-ne

of the apparition, a large numi of villagers had already gathered there. Another child had the privilege of seeing the lady. This was two-year old Augustina Boitin,whose mother, the wife of a wooden-shoe maker,

movement on the roof of Augustine Guidecoq's house,

joined the group with the baby in her arms. The baby

some seventy feet away.

immediately stretched her little arms out toward the appa

The stars seemed to melt away and suddenly,about five feet above the roof, there appeared a beautiful lady! She was dressed in a robe of deep,radiant blue,studded

rition and lisped "Jesus,Jesus!" As they watched, a large blue oval formed around the figure of the lady, about two feet from her body and of the

with gold stars. Her dress hung loosely,without a sash.The

same hue as her dress. Then four candle holders appeared within the oval as though attached to it. Two were at the height of the lady's shoulders,two at the level of her knees. The candles were not lighted. A small red cross also ap-

full sleeves extended to her hands. She wore blue slippers tied with gold ribbons in the shape of rosettes.

Thelady'shairwascompletelycoveredwithablackveil. March-April, 1994

The Basilica of Our Lady of Hope at Pontmain peared on her left side like a badge. The old man,Jean Guidecoq,made a burlesque of look ing at the apparition as though it were an eclipse. He saw nothing,of course,but his action brought a roar of laughter from the rowdy elements present.

It also brought a rebuke from Our Lady."She looks very sad," said Eugene.

Father Guerin suggested that they pray the Rosary. The parishioners fell obediently to their knees. The four seers remained standing so that they could still see the beautiful lady,who smiled again.The figure of the lady began to grow in stature, as if to show the power of the greatest of Marian prayers. While the base of the oval re mained in the same position, the entire

apparition slowly enlarged, becoming twice its original size by the end of the prayers.

The three large stars moved outward to make room for the expanding oval.

And as the Hail Marys were recited, the stars on the lady's dress multiplied,cov

Uttle while."

The litany being completed. Father Guerin intoned the hymn Inviolata.

As the people sang the line"O dearest loving Mother of God," another line of letters took shape on the white ban ner: Mon Fits—"My Son." Now all exclaimed with joy:"It is She,it really is She!" The crowd spontaneously began the Salve Regina. More letters were formed: Be laisse toucher—"My Son lets Him self be touched."

But pray, my

children. God will hear

you in a little while."

ering the robe in an irregular pattern. The stars in the sky seemed to be pushed aside by the oval. First they gathered around the rim, then they moved, two by two, to Our Lady's feet, remaining in a cluster outside the oval. Just as the gathered faithful finished singing the first verse of the Magnificat, a white banner, more than a yard wide and as long as Guidecoq's house, began to unroll beneath Our Lady's feet. An invisible hand seemed to be

writing on the banner in gold letters.The letters,all capitals, very slowly formed Mais, French for "but." For ten minutes there was no more writing. The crowd began singing the hymn again. Now the hand went to work once more. As the last verses were simg, there was a com

plete sentence: Mais priez, mes enfants—"But pray, my children."

Father Guerin requested that they pray the litany of Loretto. As the prayers resumed, the hand again began to write.

More words slowly formed on the banner: Dieu vous

exaucera dans un peu de temps—"God will hear you in a

A gold bar, three to four inches wide, underlined this part of the message. The inscription was completed as the Salve Regina came to an end. With a new spirit of hope, the faithful sang "Mother of Hope," the hyrrm they had sung every Sunday in church since the war began. Throughout the apparition, the lady had held her hands extended. Now she

raised them to the height of her shoul ders, the palms outward and bent slightly backwards. Her elbows were held close to her body,but not close enough for her sleeves to obscure the red cross. She seemed to be accompanying the music with her fingers, moving them slightly as though She were playing an extremely delicate instrum Al though no sound came from her lips.She also seemed to be joining in the singing of the hymn. But what impressed the children most was her smile. It was the most beautiful smile She gave them all evening. Toward the end of the hymn a request was made for victory over the enemy. Suddenly, the banner and the letters dis appeared... Father Guerin then intoned the hymn Mon doux Jesus— "My sweet Jesus." Our Lady of Hope was deeply moved by this hymn of contrition."She is sad again!" the children cried out.

A large red cross appeared in Our Lady's hands. At tached to it was a figure of the Crucified, also red but of a darker hue. No blood flowed from it. The head of Our Lord

Tradition, Family and Property

Statue of

Our Lady of Hope in front of the

Our Lady of Hope Shrine in New York

basilica at Fontmain

inclined slightly to the left. The crucifix did not bear the inscription INRI. Instead it had a second cross piece at tached to the top,slightly shorter than the one to which the hands were nailed. It was white and printed on it in blood-

a last smile, but then only the crown remained.

Finally, just as the lught prayers ended, so too did the

red letters was the name Jesus Christ.

Our Lady held the crucifix just above her feet, inclining it toward the group.Throughout the singing ofthe"Mother of Hope," she kept her eyes fixed on her crucified Son,her lips moving as if in supplication. She did not weep but had an expression of indescribable

sorrow. The children were so moved by her

the face of the Mother of Hope, with her beautiful smile, was visible. It lingered there a little longer,then rose again to hide her face. The beautiful Lady had given the children

apparition. It was about nine o'clock. It had been three hours since

Eugene had first seen the beautiful lady. Even before news of the events at Pont-

main could have reached them, a rumor ran

My Son

through the Prussian lines; "A Madonna

grief that they could not help

guards the country and pre-

crying. The villagers, sharing 1 |. ffltncolf

vents us from advancing."

the children's reaction, shed

On January 17, the roar of cannon had been clearly heard at Laval,and the entrance of the Prussian troops was

many tears as they sang. As soon as the Man doux Jesus began,one of the stars at Our Lady's feet began to move. It entered the oval and

expected at any moment. But General von Schmidt re

traveled in a clockwise direction from one candle to an

ceived orders later that night not to enter the city.

other, lighting each of them in turn. It then moved out of the oval and remained over the large star above Our Lady's

Brittany was spared,as was most of Normandy. On January 28,the armistice long hoped for was signed. It would be a disastrous peace,but useless bloodshed and destruction had come to an end. The promise had \

head.

After the last verse of Mon doux Jesus, Father Guerin intoned the Ave Maris Stella.

fulfiUed.

The crucifix disappeared and Our Lady's hands re sumed their former position, as in the Miraculous Medal. She smiled once again, though with a trace of her former

On the feast of the Purification,February 2,1872,Bishop Wicart issued a pastoral letter announcing the canonical decision: "We judge that the Immaculate Virgin, the Mother of God,truly appeared on January 17,1871..." Shortly after Father Guerin's death in May of 1872, Bishop Wicart invited the Oblates of Mary Immaculate to take charge of the parish and the shrine. It was under their direction that the church of Our Lady of Hope, with its two spires dominating the village, was constructed. It was con secrated in 1900 and elevated to the dignity of minor basil ica in 1905. Pope Pius XI granted a special Mass and Office of Our Lady of Hope of Pontmain in 1922.

sadness.

Two white crosses about five inches high appeared on Our Lady's shoulders,framing Her head between them. Father Guerin then suggested that the night prayers be said.

During the examination of conscience, the children an nounced that a large white veil covered Our Lady. Appear ing beneath her feet, outside the oval, it had slowly risen, hiding the figure as it rolled upward. The veil stopped briefly at the waist, then rose as far as the neck until only

March-April, 1994

[Continued on p. 33]

Our narrative takes us back to the turbulent nine teenth century, which was so decisive in the trans

formation of national structures, the liquidation of European dynasties, the secularizing of the West and the diminution of the influence of the Church. A century that

knew well how to prepare the decadence of our own un happy and anarchic twentieth century. It was a century whose latter half witnessed one of the most significant episodes of the history of Christendom: the battle between a formidable pope and one of the greatest

statesmen Europe has ever known. Bismarck, head of Emperor William I's cabinet, went down in History with the sobriquet "The Iron Chancel lor"—a highly appropriate title, due to his intransigent firmness in directing, his extraordinary capacity to govern and his clear-sightedness as a great statesman. Early in his

Episodes of History in the Light of Revolution and

Counter-Revolution

brilliant career he realized that the fulfilment of his mission

would not go unopposed and the path to the achievement of

But all thesefactors might havefailed ofresults in

his goals would not be easy. To his surprise, however, and

the domain ofpolitics had it not beenfor the rise ofa forceful and sagacious statesman to a position ofvast

to the great glory of that century, he met his match in a

champion opposed to him: the great Pope Pius IX—like he, of great personality, firmness, perspicacity in action, but at

power in the Prussian state. How he used that power

the service of Good, of the Holy Church, of her rights as well as the rights of Christendom, already so threatened by the laicist statesmen of the time. If Bismarck can rightly be

It is to honor this Supreme Pontiff that we bring to the reader the history of this event as told by C. Downer Hazen in his

The Constitution of the new state was adopted immediately after the close of the war with France, and went into force April 16, 1871. In most respects it is simply the Constitution of the North German Confederation of 1867. The name Confederation gives way to that ofEmpire, and the name ofEmperor is substituted for that ofPresident. But the Empire is a confederation, consisting of twenty-five states, and one imperial territory, Alsace-Lor raine. The King ofPrussia is ipsofacto German Emperor.

book Europe Since 1815 in the chapter about the German Empire. After each of his passages—which will be in ital

The title of monarch is conserved, but in reality the

called "The Iron Chancellor," with much more reason can

the man of God,Pius IX be given the sobriquet"The Golden

Pope." Pius IX feared no enemy, forsook no principle, conceded not one step to evil and, on the contrary, obliged it to bow before the power of Good placed in battle array.

has been shown.

ics—we will include our commentaries with the intention

of providing the reader a brief analysis in the light of Revolution and Counter-Revolution, by Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira.

Hazen begins:

The German Empire The Franco-German war completed the unifica tion of Germany. That unification was, however, no by-product of a war, no astounding improvisation of a genius in politics and diplomacy. The foundations had been laid before, and the superstructure had been

slowly and painfully built up. Many forces had long been cooperating, as we have seen, and had at last converged toward this triumphant issue. Most effec tive of all was the passion for nationality, which gave

to the nineteenth century such elevation of emotion everywhere.

The unification of Germany (like that of Italy) under the

pretext of nationalism and patriotism revolutionized the traditional structures of Europe, which had developed since

the Middle Ages in an organic, hierarchical and sacral manner.

Representatives the Ituropean powers at the Berlin 1878

The Iron Chancellor

Retreats Before

a Golden Pope monarch becomes more like a president than an emperor. The Bundesrath and the Reichstag continue, en

larged by the admission of new membersfrom the new states, but with practically the same powers. The Em peror declares war with the consent ofthe Bundesrath; he makes treaties which, ifthey concern matters thatfall within the sphere ofimperial legislation, must be ratified by Parliament. He is head of the army and navy. He is assisted by a Chancellor whom he appoints, and whom he removes, who is not responsible to the Parliament but to him alone. Under the Chancellor are various secre

taries ofstate, who simply administer departments, but who do notform a cabinet responsible to Parliament. The Empire is a constitutional monarchy, but not a parliamentary one.

Laws are made by the Bundesrath and the Reich

stag. The Bundesrath consists of delegates appointed by the rulers of the different states. The votes of each state, ranging in numberfrom one to seventeen, are cast only as a unit and that according to the instruc

tions of the state government. The Reichstag is the

only popular element in the Empire. It consists of397 members, electedfor a term offive years by the voters, that is, men twenty-five years of age or older. The

powers of the Reichstag are inferior to those of most of the other popular chambers of Europe. It neither makes nor unmakes ministries. While it, in conjunc tion with the Bundesrath, votes the appropriations, certain ones, notably thosefor the army, are votedfor

a period of years. Its consent is required for new taxes, whereas taxes previously levied continue to be collected without the consent of Parliament being secured again. The matters on which Parliament may legislate are those concerning army, navy, commerce,

tariffs, railways, postal system, telegraphs, civil and criminal law. On matters not within the Jurisdiction

of the Empire each state legislates as it chooses.

The German Empire is unique among feder ' ernments in that it is a confederation ofmonar

states, which, moreover, are very unequal in size and

population, ranging from Prussia with a population of 37,000,000, and covering two-thirds of the terri tory, down to Schaumburg-Lippe, with a population

of 45,000. Three members of the Empire are repub lics: Lubeck, Bremen, and Hamburg. The rest are monarchies.

Under the constitution of a united state, these monar

chies may have the appearances but not the autonomies of former times. The Revolution advances with great astute ness. So as not to shock too much, it advances gradually,

maintaining the appearances as long as possible. As soon as

the people are accustomed to the new situation, the Revo lution then also casts aside the old appearances.

iTii

9. -Hi

â&#x20AC;˘Hff''

Defenders of their country in the war of 1870: Trapplst monks at exercise before joining the army of France. All have constitutions and legislatures, more or less liberal. This confederation differs from other

governments of its class in that the states are of unequal voting power in both houses, one state largely preponderating, Prussia, a fact explained by its great size, its population, and the importance ofits historic role.

unity." The Imperial Bank was erected in 1875, and,

in 1877, elaborate laws on civil and criminal proce dure, on bankruptcy, on thejudicial organization, and still later, a civil code, were passed. A new system of local government was adoptedfor cantons, circles, or provinces, whereby the Judicial and police authority of the nobility was abolished, and more power was given the voters.

So in reality Prussia rules Germany.

It is the republicanization of society. Since 1871, Germany has had three Emperors, William I(1871-1888), Frederick 111 (March 9-June

The Kulturkampf

15, 1888), and William II. since 1888.

Bismarck's Commanding Position The reign of William 1, as Emperor,falls into two periods; from 1871 to 1878, a period of internal

administrative reforms, and of bitter struggles with the Roman Catholic Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and from 1878 till

No sooner was the new Empire established than it was torn by afierce religious conflict that lasted many years, the so-called Kulturkampf, or warfor civiliza tion, a contest between the State and the Roman

Catholic Church. Germany had, since the time of Luther, been divided among the Protestants and Catholics, the Protestants predominating. South Ger

1888, the year of his death, a period characterized by

man states, Bavaria, Baden, were Catholic. In Prus

the prominence of economic questions, of protection to industries, ofsocial reforms, and ofthe acquisition of colonies. During all this time Bismarck was the Emperor's chief minister or Chancellor. Having in nine years made the King, whom he found upon the point of abdicating, the most powerful ruler in Europe, and having given Germans unity, he re mained the chief figure in the state twenty years

sia, the stronghold of Protestantism, there were two strong Catholic sections, to the east in the Polish provinces, and to the west along the Rhine. Many

longer until his resignation in 1890. His position now was one ofimmense prestige and authority. Much legislation rendered desirable by the

Religious societies, monastic orders, missions, were

new situation was passed in the nextfew years. Impe rial offices were organized. An imperial bureau of

teen years. Prominent among these were the Jesuits.

railroads was established (1873). In 1873 monomet

dox Protestants, and those devoted to freedom of

allism was adopted in the place of the confusion of groschen, kreutzer, which hindered trade. New coins

as prejudicial to culture.

causes contributed to the fanning of religu

is-

sions at this time. By the Prussian Constitute. .< of 1850 almost complete liberty ofaction and control of organization were granted the Church, which availed itselfmost energetically ofthe advantage thus offered. established widely and conducted an active and un commonly successful propaganda during the nextfif Two classes were alarmed by this progress, the ortho

thought, who dreaded the rise of religiousfanaticism

were issued, bearing on one side the effigy of the

Emperor, and on the other the arms of the Empireâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;

The wars with Austria and France increased the

"Going to preach to the people the good news of

religious disturbance. They were victories by a Prot-

Tradition, Familyand Property

On the promulgation of this dogma a conflict

estant over two strongly Catholic powers. Leadership in Germany had passedfrom Austria, in Europefrom Austria and France, to the principal Protestant nation

broke out between the Church and the State. In the

of the continent, Prussia. In the Seven Weeks' War,

Vatican Council the German bishops had opposed the new dogma, but had been in the minority. It now

the Catholic states, Bavaria, Baden, had sided with

required that all bishops and priests should subscribe

Austria. It was widely believed that the French war had been largely occasioned by the Jesuits, working

to it; the large majority did so, but some refused. A leading opponent was Ddllinger, a distinguished pro fessor and theologian. Ordered to explain the dogma in his university of Munich he denied the principles

through the Empress Eugenie, and animating her ar dent desire to humble the grooving Protestant power. Bismarck shared this belief The loss of the Pope's

on which it was based. "As a Christian, a theologian,

an historian and a citizen, I cannot accept this doc trine," he declared. He was accordingly excommuni cated. i4j' an answer to this the university elected him as its Rector. The conflict quickly widened, affecting school and parishes.

temporal power just at this time, 1870, embittered Catholics.

Under the same pretext of nationalism and patriotism,

Italy was also unified. In the process, the infamous annexa tion of the pontifical states was accomplished.

The Firmness of Pius IX During the war of 1870 the Archbishop of Posen went to Versailles to solicit Bismarck's intervention

The dissidents called themselves Old Catholics,

in behalf of the Papacy. He was coldly received.

proclaiming their adherence to historic Catholicism,

Apparently with the purpose of bringing political pressure to bear upon the Chancellor, a Catholic party was organized at once, the so-called Center,

false. These men were excommunicated and deprived

but rejecting merely this addition to their creed as

and in the election to thefirst Imperial Parliament it won sixty-three seats; in the election to the Prussian

of their positions as priests or teachers. People were forbidden to attend worship in churches where they officiated, students to attend the lectures ofsuch pro

legislature ofLandtag,forty-seven. This party desired

fessors.

the restoration ofthe temporal power ofthe pope and Here we see the power of the Holy Church punishing

the independence of the Church.

error with apostolic severity to protect the flock from nas

The Dogma of Papal Infallibility

cent heresy and the tyranny of evil. The Old Catholics thereupon appealed to the im perial and state governmentsfor protection.

The immediate cause of the conflict was the proc lamation by the Vatican Council in 1870 of the new

dogma ofpapal infallibility, the dogma that the Pope cannot err "when he defines ex cathedra, and in virtue

The Retaliation of Bismarck

of his apostolic authority any doctrine offaith, or morals," a dogma that shocked Lib erals thoroughly penetrated with the modern scientific spirit, and that seemed to politicians to assert that the Pope was superior to all rulers, and had a claim upon the loyalty of the faithful superior to that of their

-..zt

Of all legislation enacted dun

these dogmas are two of the most beautiful stars in the crown of glory of this holy pontiff, a true warrior of the Church and Our Lady.

struggle the Falk or May Laws uj the â&#x2013; > 1-

against his persecutors. Without any doubt,

expelled the Jesuits from Germany.

sovereigns.

The proclamation of this dogma and that of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception were two formidable blows dealt by Pius IX

â&#x20AC;˘

A religious war was shortly in progress, which grew more bitter each year. First the Imperial Parlia mentforbade the religious orders to engage in teaching; then, in 1879, it

Prussian legislature were the most important (passed in May of three successive years, 1873, 1874, 1875).

Bismarck supported them on the ground that the contest was political, not religious, that there must be no stale within the state, no power con

sidering itself superior to the estab lished authorities. The State must be

lay. He also believed that the whole

movement was conducted by those op

posed to German unity. Anything that Bismarck at the time of

imperiled that unity must be crushed.

the Franco-Prussian War

These May Laws gave the State large

March-April, 1994

powers over the education and appoint ment of the clergy. They forbade the Ro

His Holiness Pope Plus IX

man Catholic Church to intervene in the

civil affairs, or to coerce citizens or offi cials; they required that all clergymen should pass the regular state examination

of the gymnasium, and should study theol-

Ham I, was a new and most menac

ing party, the Socialist. Bismarck therefore prepared to retreat. The death of Pius IX in 1878, and the election ofLeo XIII, a more concili atory and diplomatic Pope, facili

ogy for three years at a state university; that all Catholic seminaries should be sub

ject to state inspection. They also estab lished control over the appointment and

dismissal of priests. A law was passed making civil marriage compulsory. This was to reduce the power that priests could exercise by refusing to marry a Catholic and a Protestant, and now even Old Catho

lics. Religious orders were suppressed.

The Catholics Confront Persecution Against these laws the Catholics indignantly pro tested. The Pope declared them null and void; the clergy refused to obey them, and thefaithful rallied to the support ofthe clergy. To enforce them the Govern ment resorted to fines, imprisonment, deprivation of salary, expulsion from the country. The conflict spread everywhere, into little villages, as well as into the cities, into the universities and schools. It domi

nated politics for several years.In over a thousand parishes in Prussia, all religious services were sus

pended and churches were closed. There was no priest to baptize or to marry. Eight out ofthe twelve bishop rics were vacant. One bishop had fled to Austria,

another was in hiding in a little village in Holland, and in order to visit hisfellow-Catholics at Munich, had disguised himself as a peddler; another, a cardi nal, had taken refuge within the Vatican itself. The national life was more and more troubled, and the end was not being accomplished.

Persecution Strengthens the Catholics

tated the change of policy. From 1878 to 1887 the anti-clerical leg islation was in one detail after an other abandoned. First the May Laws were suspended, in 1879; then rescinded in 1886; religious

orders were permitted to return with the exception ofthe Jesuits(1887). Ofthe various

laws only, those concerning civil marriage and the civil registration of births and deaths, and the state inspection ofschools were left. In returnfor the meas ures surrendered Bismarck gained the support of the Centerfor laws which he now had more at heart. The religious conflict lasted fifteen years, and was acute during five. Conclusion Hazen tries his best to limit himself to a historical

description, without inserting personal commentaries. However, like with any historian, something of his view point transpires in his writing. It is only natural. And al though his viewpoint deserves our full consideration, it does not necessarily deserve our full acceptance. In what he has of merely narrative, Hazen reveals a great capacity of detail, clarity and conciseness, making his text valuable for illustrating this phase of the nineteenth century and demon strating the greatness of the glorious Pius IX. His writings also serve to prove that evil is strong only when the good are weak, and that evil, even when it mani

fests all its firmness and power, as in the case of Bismarck, inevitably must retreat if it finds in its path people who will

not compromise, or even negotiate, but rather confront it Indeed, the resistance ofthe Catholics only stiffened under what they called this Diocletian persecution.

with the force of truth and the grace of God. Behold the most beautiful lesson given us by thi:> suc cessor of Saint Peter, whose pontificate was a constant and

Diocletian was the Roman Emperor who conducted the last and cruelest persecution against the Church.

In the elections of 1877 the Center succeeded in returning ninety-two members, and was the largest party in the Reichstag. It was evident that the policy was a failure. Other questions were becoming promi nent, of an economic and social character, and Bis

fierce battle. In this battle he suffered many cruel attacks, but his counteroffensives were even more powerful, often prostrating his enemies, to the great joy of the whole Catho lic world and with the undeniable blessing of God, whom he represented so well for the greater glory of His institu tion, the One, Holy, Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Church, of the Papacy, and of His Most Holy Mother, the Immaculate Conception.

marck wished to be free to handle them. Particularly requiring attention, in his opinion, and that of Wil-

Tradition, Family and Property

[Continued from p. 27] Cardinal Pacelli, who later became Pius XU, wrote to

Bishop Grellier that "the precious and honored statue of Our Lady at whose feet numberless groups of pilgrims kneel to implore the help of the Blessed Lady, Mother of Hope,and to give thanks for benefits received"be solemnly honored with a crown of gold. The coronation took place on July 24, 1934. His Eminence Cardinal Verdier, Arch bishop of Paris, placed the precious crown on the head of the statue of Our Lady of Hope.

During World War n,at the time of the counter-invasion and right up to the Battle of Normandy, the area was constantly bombarded. A neighboring village received 400 bombs,but none fell on Pontmain.

InhisbookNofre Dame de Pontmain,Msgr.Michel Even wrote, "The miracles of Pontmain—and they are abun

dant—are primarily miracles of grace, of conversions,that is, of return to God and of dedication to His service."

[Continued from p. 24] Therefore, to act morally is to act according

cording to this divine end, which is ex

principles based upon every person's con

to human nature.

pressed in its specific activity. Therefore,its ordering according to its own and intrinsic end or natural perfection is identical by its

stitutive elements and essential relations—

Msgr. Octavio N. Derisi explains; "With his being and intelligent,free activity ordered to his natural perfection, or the

plenitude of his form, man is consciously and freely manifesting the divine Being and Perfection, and consciously and freely ac cepting the divine Will and Order. In other words, he is obeying the moral law. "On the other hand, when man con

elements and relations which transcend his1s

torical contingency."

ordering to the end of God: the manifesta

tion and participation ofHis divine Perfec tion, that is. His Glory. "In this way, everything that is accord ing to nature considered in its integrity is according to the end ofGod and vice-versa. The same occurs in man: What is in accord

As John Paul II so opportunely de nounced in Veritatis Splendor, relativist in dividualism denies the "very idea of human

nature."'^ Neither does it admit any funda mental criteria of morality based on the na

ture of man.^*^ And what abortionists do is

sciously and freely submits to the moral law—the participation of the eternal law of God in the human conscience—he is acting according to his nature, he is perfecting

ance with his nature hierarchically and inte grally considered, is good. Hence the moral

himself as a man. In fact, man cannot order

with or leads to the divine end, the Glory of

himself according to the divine Good by the moral law, or to the knowledge and posses

God,is good,as is everything that is accord ing to human nature, seen in the hierarchical order of its parts, since nature was created

ence of a human nature with its own moral

so by God for the obtaining of this divine

unborn child.

sion of the divine Truth, Goodness and

Beauty, without perfecting his own being. Likewise, he cannot perfect himself, or or der himself according to the human end, ex

cept by directing all his activity and being toward the possession—even if imperfect, in his earthly life—of God's Truth, Good ness and Beauty, or, in short, by glorifying God.

"When man seeks in a free and con

scious way the glory of God, by obedience to His divine will, he glorifies his Creator and orders himself according to Him as his divine end. By this ordering he perfects himself in the possession of the Truth, Goodness and Beauty with which this Be

ing identifies Himself, which are the end to which his specific spiritual nature tends as its ultimate good. We cannot obtain one end

without the other.... Both ends are insepara bly linked and indeed identified. "And it could not be otherwise, since

norm can be seen both in the divine end and

follow in its footsteps, applying its precepts in everyday life, even when they are igno

in human nature. Everything that agrees

rant of its doctrinal formulation.

end."'^ We conclude therefore that "there can

Besides denying in theory the exist exigencies, the abortion mentality, in prac tice, also denies the human condition of the Therefore, the first and fundamental

question, from which all other questions

be no true promotion of man's dignity un

arise, is if the conceived, the victim of abor

less the essential order of his nature is re

tion, whether in the embryonic stage or in the fetal stage, is a human being or not.

spected. Of course, in the history of civili zation many of the concrete conditions and needs of human life have changed and will continue to change. But all evolution of

morals and every type of life must be kept within the limits imposed by the immutable

Based on the valuable indications of

the biological sciences, we can now go on to discuss some ethical and juridical a^^nects of the abortion issue. We will do this in our next article.

17) Msgr. Octavio N. Deiisi, ODireitoa V^ida, in Stanislaus Ladrisans, coord., Questdes Atuais de Bioetica (Sao Paulo, Brazil: Ed. Loyola, 1990), pp. 177-178. Emphasis in original. 18) Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, declaration On Certain Questions Con cerning SejcuaJ Ethics, 3. 19) Cf. Veritatis Splendor, 32. 20)"Many people are in error who today assert that one can find neither in human nature nor in

the revealed law any absolute and immutable norm to serve for particular actions other than the one which expresses itself in the general law of charity and respect for human digiuty. As a proof of this assertion they put forward the view that so-called norms of the natural law or precepts of Sa cred Scripture are to be regarded only as given expressions of a form of particular culture at a cer tain moment of history.

"But in fact, divine revelation and, in its own proper order, philosophical wisdom, emphasize

God, infinite Intelligence and sovereign Will, cannot create except for His divine

the authentic exigencies of human nature. They thereby necessarily manifest the existence of im

end. His Glory. The nature of creatures is

identical in all beings endowed with reason" (declaration On Certain Questions Concerning Sex

made in that way and ordered by God ac

ual Ethics, 4).

March-April, 1994

mutable laws inscribed in the constitutive elements of human nature and which are revealed to be

Some of our readers have asked us to include Bible stories for the

young in our magazine. While researching material to fulfill this request, we came across the work Grandmother Teaches the Gospel, by the

amity Series

Countess of Segur, a Russian authoress of children's books. Born in 1799, the Countess ofSegur was the daughter ofthe governor of Moscow, Count Fedor Rostopchin. When referring to his daughteris vivid imagination, the Count was often heard to say, "Sophie invents stories from dawn to dusk!"and he may have been the first to envision the future his daughter would some day entertain as a beloved author worldwide.

She married the French Count of Segur and moved to France. There, she abandoned her Orthodox faith and fervently embraced Catholicism. St. Therese of Lisieux was one of the little French girls who read her stories,some ofthe mostpopular being "Blase Makes His First Commun ion,""Sophie's Disgraces,"and "The Memoirs of a Donkey." Her children and grandchildren became the first enthralled audience to the tales of this delightful storyteller, and her book Grandmother

Teaches the Gospel is nothing less than the true account of her own experiences when surrounded by the young.

Grandmother Teaches the Gospel by the Countess of Segur Characters:

The grandmother,65 years old.

Camille, 17 years old. Madeleine, 15 years old. Isabelle, thirteen. Peter, twelve.

Henry, nine. Louis, eight. Jacques, eight. Henrietta, seven. Jeanne, six. Valentine, six. Maria Theresa, six. Armand,four.

Louis (called Little Louis),four.

The children are playing together in a large study hall.

tell us a story from the Gospel! She'll be here soon!" Armand. What is the Gospel? Henrietta. Why, it is the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Armand. Who is Jesus Christ? Henrietta. You don't know anything! I'm only seven and I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Little Louis. How is that? God has a son?

Henrietta. Certainly, Jesus Christ is His Son. Camille. Henrietta is right. Our Lord Jesus Christ is really the Son of God,as grandmother will explain to us lai ^ nd the Gospel is the narration of the actions and the wuiaa of Our Lord during His time in this world. But, oh! here comes grandmother! Let's pull up her rocking chair and table and make her comfortable.

(The grandmother enters; all the children run toward her and embrace her.) Grandmother. Good morning, dear children! Well, well... I have come here to teach all of you about the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ. You know children,Jesus Christ is the Son

of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;though He remains God all the same.Just imagine. "Isabelle! Isabelle!" Henrietta exclaimed merrily, ad He loved us so much that He became a man like us to expiate dressing her sister who had entered with Camille, Madeleine our sins and to save us from hell. But children, the Gospel is and Peter, "you know what? Grandmother has promised to not always easy to understand; I want you to interrupt my

Tradition, Familyand Property

Jesus. Jesus would be one of their race, and would vanquish The children cry in unison,"Yes, yes, grandmother, let's His great enemy, the devil. Yet, the Jews, who should have been very good because they were the chosen people of God, start right away!" Grandmother. Before starting, my dear children, we must were frequently very wicked;sometimes,they refused to obey send the little children away because they will not under the leaders God sent to them, and sometimes they even stand anything and may be bored. Later, when the story refused to adore Him and pay Him homage. But God is so becomes too childish, I will give the older ones permission good that He always forgives when one repents. Because of this, whenever the Jews repented and asked for forgiveness, to go. God forgave them." CamiUe. Oh,no! grandmother, please let me listen; it will Louis. And they would start all over? not be too childish, I assure you. Grandmother. They always started all over again. God had Grar]dmother. You can stay ifyou wish, my dear;I only said narrative if something is not clear, alright?

that for your own sake. And you, Madeleine?... Isabella?... given them a very beautiful country called the Holy Land or Judeaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;later on it was called Palestine. There they lived

Peter?

All three. We all want to stay, too.

Grandmother. Now,let's have the little ones go out. In the

waiting for the Savior, the Son of God, the one who the Prophets had announced centuries before. They believed the Son of God would come in great glory as the most powerful and richest of all kings. They thought He would have a great escort and an immense quantity ofriches. While they waited, studying the Books of the Prophets and arguing among themselves about Him, His time to come to earth was fast

first place,Paul Gaston and Francis want to go. Armand and Little Louis are only four, they are too young. Go, dear children, go play with your narmies in the garden. Armand. Oh, no, no! I like stories very much! I want to stay with you, grandmother. Uttle Louis. I also want to stay with the others, like approaching. Now, this is how it happened...let us proceed to Chapter II,"The Annunciation," where the Angel Gabriel Armand. I promise I'll behave... I won't make any noise... Graitdmother. I want you all here,too. But if you are bored announces to Mary the birth of Jesus. later, you may leave. Chapter 11 Camille. Now,sit in your rocking chair, grandmother... Madeleine. And here's your footstool. The Annunciation Isabelle. And your glass of water.

(The grandmother embraces them and sits down,and the children arrange themselves in a cozy semicircle around her.) Chapter I

The lews Grandmother. Do you know who the Jews are, children?

Henrietta. Yes, yes, grandmother: the Jews are Israelites.

Armand. But I don't... Tell me, tell me!

Henrietta. Oh,how annoying you are! We will tell you later. Henry.You'll be sent away if you interrupt! Armand. No, no! I won't say anything again... I don't want to be sent away. Grandmother. No, my dear child, they will not send you away. But it is not good to interrupt at every word. Now,to begin our story.

"The Jews were a people that God protected very especially. God had told His servants, the Prophets, that He would send them His Son

March-April, 1994

"There lived in Palestine a fifteen-year old girl named Mary. She was the daughter of two faithful servants of God, Joachim and Anna, and they descended from the family of King David, an ancient king of the Jews. Now,Mary was the spouse of her cousin, Joseph, who was also a descendant of King David. Mary was the most lovely, most prudent, and most perfect of all creatures! One day, when she was praying to God in her home in Nazareth,

an angel appeared to he rrounded by a brilliant light; he was the Angel Gabriel, who ad dressed her thus:'Hail Mary,full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.' Mary was very troubled when she heard these words. She was

so humble that she could not believe that she was 'blessed

among women.'This meant that she was chosen to be the mother of the Son of God who was to

come and save the world. Mary wondered at this salutation, reigns over all men, rewarding the good and punishing the but the angel spoke again to her, saying:'Fear not, Mary,for wicked. Armand. I would like to see God, grandmother. thou hastfound grace with God.Behold,thou shalt conceive Grandmother. But my dear, you will not see God while you in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call are alive in this world. But after our death we will go to his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the heaven and see God, as well as the Blessed Virgin and the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house angels. Armand. And why not now? of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end.' Grandmother. Because God does not wish us to under And Mary said to the angel:'How shall this be done,because stand everything and know everything while we live in this I know not man?' And the angel answered her: 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,and the power ofthe Most High world; that will be our reward after death. But we must strive shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy One to be good and prudent and obey God's commandments. Henrietta. Armand,do be quiet; you are preventing grand which shall be bom of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth has also conceived a son in mother from going on with her story. Grandmother. No, no... It is necessary for him to question her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren, because no word shall be impossible with God.' And what he does not understand. Now, I am going to tell you Mary said: 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to about what is called the Visitation, when the Most Holy me according to thy word.' And the angel departed from Virgin Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, Zachary's wife. But ooh! how late it is, children! Perhaps we should her." Valentine. Grandmother, why did the angel say that Eliza stop here and continue this chapter next time... Children. Oh no, grandmother, we aren't the least bit beth was barren? What does that mean? tired! Grandmother. When we say that Elizabeth was barren, we Grandmother. But my dears, the story is a long one! mean that she never had any children. In those days, it was shameful to be barren; the Jews thought it was a sort of Besides, I think I just heard the sound of carriage wheels rolling over the gravel outside. Your parents must be here to punishment from God. take you home. But no matter, no matter. I will arrange for Valentine. Why was that? Grandmother. Because all of the Jews expected that Jesus, all of you to visit me again next week. And that is right their Messiah, would be bom of their own family. A family around the corner, is it not? without children could not sustain this hope. [To be continued in our next issue] Valentine. Oh, yes, I understand now. Henrietta. And why did the angelsay that Jesus would be great? How was He going to be great? Grandmother. The angel meant that He would be great in sanctity and power. Louis.Why did the Angel Gabriel say that Jesus would reign forever if He never reigned, not even now?

Grandmother. The angel spoke about the re ligious and spiritual reign ofJesus over the whole world. You see, Louis, the kingdom ofJesus is the Church.The Pope and the bishops are shepherds of this Church. They have worked for twenty centuries to spread the kingdom of Jesus Christ throughout the whole earth. After His death. Our Lord ascended into heaven, where He is still

and where He always will be; from there He

The Annunciation 36

r (Continued from inside-front cover)

Fr. Anastasio Gutierrez, C.M.F., praises Revolution and Counter-Revolution tematic results, tenaciously maintained, which profit even from the ups and downs caused by the resistance and natural "reaction" of opposing forces. "Revolution and Counter-Revolution" also foresees,

although using caution in its prognoses and by means of

hypotheses, the next possible unfolding of the revolutionary action and, in turn, that of the CounterRevolution.

Spread abundantly throughout the book are perspicacious sociological, political, and psychologi cal insights and observations, not few of which are worthy of an anthology. Several of them outline the intelligent "tactics" that favor the Revolution and those that may and should be used by the devel opers of counterrevolutionary "strategies." In sum, I would dare to affirm that this is a prophetic work in the most elevated sense of the word. It should be taught In the Church's centers of higher educa tion so that at least the elite classes become aware of a crushing reality about which, I believe, they do not have a clear notion. This, among other things, would contribute to revealing and unmasking the useful idiots/fellow travelers, among whom are found many ecclesiastical figures, who act in a

suicidal manner by playing the enemy's game; this group of idiots, allies of the Revolution, would in good measure disappear.

The second part of the book well explains the Counter-Revolution's nature and the courageous

and "aggressive" tactics that counter-revolutionaries must implement while always avoiding excesses and improper and imprudent attitudes.

Before such realities, one stands in doubt if in the Church there is a true "strategy" as there is in the Revolution; one does find several elements, actions, institutions, and..."tactics," but they seem to act in Isolation, generally disconnected from one another, without a notion of the whole. The Counter-

Revolution, by its concept and consciousness of action, could unify and provide a greater sense of collaboration within the Church.

This letter would not be complete unless I congratulated the TFPs for the stature and quality of their founder. Prof. Plinio. I foresee a vast development and a future full of counter-revolutionary suc cesses for the TFP, something I desire with all my soul.

I conclude stating that the spirit with which this work is written greatly impresses me: It is that of a profoundly Christian spirit, one with a passionate love for the Church. This book Is an authentic product of Sapientia Christiana. It is moving to find in a layman, a secular man, such a sincere devo tion to the Mother of Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and oursâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a clear sign of predilection. "Uncertain, like everyone, about

tomorrow, we prayerfully raise our eyes to the lofty throne of Mary, Queen of the Universe.... We be seech the Virgin, therefore, to accept this filial homage, a tribute of love and an expression of abso lute confidence in her triumph"(pp. 165, 167).

Fr. Anastasio Gutierrez, C.M.F.

Distinction, warlike impetus and admirable riding skills are fruit not only ofan austere military schooling, but also of a long eques^ trian tradition that has its origins in the Middle Ages, in one of the noblest institutions of Christian civilization:

Chivalry

'NO '

November-December,1994

Family

FPR, THIS DAY, IS BORN TO'YOU A SAVIOR,

WHO IS CHRIST THE LOKU" LUKE 2:1 1

At Christmas our hearts overflow with gratitude to the Infant Jesus for keeping Tradition, Family and Property Magazine on the cutting-edge of Catholic journalism in 1994. Before the crib of Our Lord and Savior, our staff gathers to thank Him for a very successful year and to pray for you and all our dear subscribers, whose patronage has made our magazine possible.

We beseech our heavenly Queen and her Son, the infant King of kings, to bestow upon you and your family the choicest graces during Christmastide and throughout 1995.

'^ra^oa

''family ^3

^ A

J{Proper^ > ~ I

. - .

Contents November-December, 1994 COVER:

News Flashes

♦t* Light, the Great Gift

Our Lady Help of

Christians, Patroness of

China

*1* The Americas on the Dawn of the Third Millennium . 8

Cover Article The Underground Church in China:

A Moan and a Cry of Hope

CAMPAIGN:

Adam Cardinal Maida,

Photo Essay

of Detroit receives a

The Gothic Cathedral

copy of Nobility and Analogous Traditional

Elites.

The American TFF in Action

Always Old, Always New, Always Inexhaustible. . . 22

TFPs Around the World

Lithuania: The Marks of the Tanks Are

Still There

Between Hope and the Abyss

Cover Article:

Faithful

Our Readers Write

Catholics of the Chinese

Christianity vs Islam

Beijing.

Prophets, Martyrs^ Saints and Heroes Noblesse Oblige

underground Church pray in

Basic History Course of Western Civilization

TFPs IN Action

Abraham, Moses, and the Bronze-Age Empires . . . . 40

TRADmON, FAMtLY and

PROPERTY

Magazine l.s a publication ol" the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP). Subscrip

tion, US $18.00 in the United States and Canada. Foreign subscriptions, $25.00. List of other TFP publications avail able upon request. Direct all subscription requests and inquir

ies to: The American TFP, P.O. Box 1868, York, PA 17405.

1994. Pemiission is granted to reproduce, in whole or in part, any article of this magazine with credit given to Tradition, Family and Property.

Visiting the ex-USSR.

Making a historic appeal in the Americas

NEWS 0Big Brother, European Style

laid out in the new edition of the Diagnos tic and Statistical Manual of Mental Dis

Two years after attempting to ban the classic French cheeses Camembert and

Roquefort for containing "excessive bac teria," European Union bureaucrats charged again last September. They de

orders (DSM-IV), everybody would be crazy. Mental ailments in this listing num

An abortion interrupts the production of these protective hormones. The study

reports that the chance of contracting breast cancer is eight times greater in

ber more than 300, encompassing every

women who have committed that abomi nable crime.

member-nations. Bu

thing from smoker's "nicotine depend ence" to "written-expression distur bances," the alleged affliction of those who do not express themselves well in writing or have calligraphy problems. There is even a "wild card" category, no. 300.9, to

reaucratic

cover any unclassified malady, "non-spe

creed that beginning in 1995 bananas must

be at least 5.51 inches long and 1.06 inches in diameter to be marketed in the twelve

exactitude

0Heading Toward the Precipice "Deep calls unto deep," says Psalm 41. Japan, having produced "beef" with re cycled human excrement(See TFP Maga zine, Sept.-Oct.,

goes so far as to spec

cific mental disturbance."

ify that these measure ments apply only to green bananas, not to ripe ones. Such punctiliousness

monplace as catching a cold," said Herbert Kutchins, a psychiatrist at California State

5 of this issue.),

University at Sacramento.

selling manual on suicide. Japa

over common bananas

leaves one to imagine

what the political and monetary union of Europe portends. Will it be Big Brother European style? 0Are We All Mad? Do you get bored? Become sad?

search Center in Seattle shows that there is an intimate link between breast cancer and

than

550,000

copies this year of a book that provides several lethal "prescriptions." Among them are esoteric forms of suicide such as

breast increases dramatically during preg nancy. These young growing cells, if left to their own devices, are especially vulner

jumping into the crater of a volcano or

stages of pregnancy a woman's body re leases hormones that help the cells mature, checking their susceptibility to cancercausing agents. Editor

getting lost in the Jungle.

0More Undesirable Changes in the School Curriculum

What will be taught in the near future under the guise of history will cause a sharp distortion if a recently issued federCirculation:

C. Preston Noell III Associate Editors:

Family and Property

bookstores

have sold more

abortion. The number of new cells in the

ally any human emotion or behavior may be perceived as a symptom of mental dis

Tradition,

nese

Research by epidemiologist Janet Daling of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Re

able to malignancy. However, in the later

If we were to accept the classification

now has a best-

0Cancer and Abortion

Smoke? Drink? These, and, indeed, virtu

turbances.

1994, p. 2, and p.

"We are all mad. Yes, this is as com

Philip A. Moran Jr. Foreign correspondents:

Earl Appleby Gary Isbell Eugenia Guzman

CANADA: John Mlsek

Steven F. Schmieder

FRANCE: Mario Beccar Varela

Jack Burnham

GERMANY: Benno HofscMj^

PHOTOGRAPHY:

AUSTRALIA: John S. Tucker

BRAZIL: Orlando Lyra

PHILIPPINES: Allen Bandrij^p ROME: Juan M. Monies

Magazine Todd F. Kamuf

SOUTH AFRICA: John Horvat

SPAIN: Felipe Barandiaran The American TFP

The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) was founded in 1973 to confront the profound crisis shaking the modem world. It is a civic, cultural and nonpartisan organization which, inspired by the traditional teachings of the Supreme Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church, works in a legal and peaceful manner in the realm of ideas to defend and promote the principles of private ownership, family and perennial Christian values with their twofold function: individual and social. The TFP's words and efforts have always been faithfully at the service of Christian civilization. The first TFP was founded in Brazil by the famous intellectual and Catholic leader Prof. Plinio Coirea de Oliveira in 1960. His work has inspired the formation of other autonomous TFPs in 26 countries across the globe, thus constituting the world's largest anticommunist and antisocialist network.

Tradition, Family and Property

FLASHES ally funded guide finds acceptance.

THE IMPOSSIBLE COEXISTENCE

Backed by a $1.75 million U.S. Depart ment of Education grant, among others, and supported by the liberal teachers' or

Even though the Iron Curtain ciumbled

ganizations, the 271-page document rec ommends controversial changes in the

East, the Bamboo Curtain, remains. Be

same year. A year later he dedicated an

hind this sinister curtain eight million Chi

encyclical to the same issue, his Divini Redemploris of March 19, 1937. In sec

American history curriculum.

Gone will be the emphasis on such fa

miliar topics as Thomas Edison, the Get

tysburg Address,and Samuel Adams,to be replaced by Harriet Tubman, the Suffra gettes, and Mercy Otis Warren. One critic complained that the study offers "a warped view of American his

tory." A director of the project countered that the aim is to promote people who were ignored in the pastâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;blacks, aboriginal Americans, and women. She also men

tioned another goal is to get away from memorizing mind-numbing names that the students Just hate. One can imagine how the educational

in Europe, its counterpart in the Far

nese Catholics live under communist per

secution, refusing obedience to the red mandarins and courageously remaining faithful to the Papacy. Not having been able to drown the un

derground church in blood, the commu

cies of such maneuvers in his famous allo

cution "Siamo ancora" of May 12 of the

tions 57 and 58 of this document he cate

gorically states:

"Again, witliout receding an inch from their subversive principles, they [the com munists] invite Catholics to collaborate with them in the realm

nists are now trying to submerge it in a sea of calumnies spread in the West by communist propaganda. This

of so-called humanitari-

anism and charity; and at times even make pro

posals that are in perfect harmony with the Chris tian spirit and the doc

disinformation

campaign has duped many American and

trine

of the

Church.

Catholics,

Elsewhere, they carry

system will look in a few years if we only

who have come to regard with empathy, and even

their hypocrisy so far as to encourage the belief

teach what is pleasing to the students.

to assist, the Patriotic

that

countries

0Mystical Hallucinations

Association set up by the communists to masquer

People from twenty countries gathered last October in Lerida, Spain, to partici

ade

strongly

pate in the Second

the

International

Congress on Altered States of Conscious ness. This ostensibly scientific expression conceals a morbid reality that is only too well known to all: drug-induced hallucina tion.

Attendees propounded the need to in clude the hallucinatory effects of drugs in the concept of religious mysticism. Ac cording to American ethnobotanist Jonathan Ott, "the era of the new hallu

cinogens will be more imporlanl in world history than Luther's reform." Might this be a big step toward the social acceptance of occultist rituals?

0Two Weights and Two

European

the

where faith

and culture â&#x20AC;˘ are

Catholic

entrenched,

will assume another and

Church.

much milder form: It

On the other hand, recent

communism, in

release

will not interfere with

Catholic Bishop Yang Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveria the practice of religion; at the time he wrote it will respect liberty of Libo from three years of The Freedom of the Church conscience. There are imprisonment has been in the Communist State some even who refer to presented by the media as a sign of an opening of the communist government China's underground Church.

certain changes recently toward

This brings again to tlie fore the follow ing questions: Is it legitimate for Catholics to collaborate with communist regimes? Can the Church enjoy genuine liberty in a communist state? These questions have revived a polemic that formerly aroused

introduced into Soviet legislation as a proof that communism is about to abandon its program of war against God. "See to it, venerable brethren, that the faithful do not allow themselves to be de

ceived!

Communism

intrinsically

within the confines of the Bamboo Cur

wrong,and no one who would save Chris tian civilization may collaborate u in any undertaking whatsoever. Those who permit themselves to be deceived into lending their aid toward the triumph of

tain.

communism in their own country will be

Catholics behind the Iron Curtain and to

day seems applicable to those trapped

Measures

the first to fall victims of their error."

The major media at

tempted to have the whole world wailing in outrage when a few months ago Singapore sentenced an American teenager to six

Pius XI: Communism Is

Intrinsically Evil

Pius XII: Excommunication for

Everything began in 1936 when the

Those Who Collaborate With

French communist leader Maurice Thorez

Communism

launched the "politiqiie de la main tendue" the policy of the hand extended to

The collaborationist climate created by the Yalta Conference at the end of World

lashes for a clear act of vandalism.

ward Catholics.

War II exacerbated the problem. On July

Regrettably, no pages or sound-bytes were left over to provide tears for members

Pius XI energetically reacted to this proposal, alerting the faithful to the falla-

decree prepared by the Sacred Congrega-

of a Sudanese clan, one of them 65 years

September-October, 1994

1, 1949, Pius XII signed and published a

NEWS tion of the Holy Office that once again con

A Most Faithful Echo of the

demned all collaboration with the commu

Church

nists under penalty of excommunication.

Thirty-eight editions of this study have (See Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 41, p. 334.) seen the light of day in eight languages(Ger In 1958,Pius XII died and John XXIII was man, Spanish, French, Hungarian, English, elected. The progressivist crisis penetrated Italian, Polish, and Vietnamese), and it has deeper in the Church, weakening in countless been reproduced in full in thirty-nine news papers and magazines in thirteen countries. On December 2,1964,the Sacred Congre

'A most faithful echo of all the gation for Seminaries and Universities(today the Congregation for Catholic Education)

documents of the supreme Maglsterium of the Church." faithful the conviction that the Catholic relig ion and communism are incompatible right

honored the work with a letter of commenda

old, who were arrested in mid-July and sentenced to receive 100 lashes for re

nouncing their Muslim beliefs and con

verting to Catholicism, a "crime" in Sudan. The 65-year-old clan leader collapsed after four lashes and his flog ging ceased, but another clan member

suffered all 100 blows, according to a report in the Joliet, Illinois, diocesan

newspaper of August 5, 1994. IZI Satanic Ritual

tion praising Prof. Correa de Oliveira as "justly celebrated for his philosophical, his torical, and sociological knowledge," and hoping for "the widest circulation of this

other homosexuals in Madrid displayed an all-too-frequent and little-known as

compact pamphlet, which is a most faithful

pect of their lifestyle, satanism.

als in the Spanish capital, the rock group Gothic Sex performed on a ma

Last Halloween, transvestites and

Vatican II, the leaders of the red sect dis

echo of all the documents of the supreme Maglsterium of the Church, including the luminous encyclicals Mater et Magistra of

creetly began to fuel the hope that religious

John XXni and Ecclesiam Suam of Paul VL"

cabre stage decorated with animal

persecution in the countries they dominated

The letter, signed by that Congregation's prefect, Giuseppe Cardinal Pizzardo, and its secretary. Bishop Dino Staffa (later made a cardinal), is a valuable testimony to the author's sharpness in demonstrating his point as well as to his fidelity to the purity of

skulls, entrails, and blood. The rockers

down to their foundations. On the eve of

would be eased if Catholics ceased to combat

the regime. This is exactly what is now being attempted in China. Plinio Correa de Oliveira: Accord

With a Communist Regime Is Not Legitimate The first signs of this thaw attracted the

Catholic doctrine.

Crown of Glory

In an exclusive club for homosexu

were disguised as mummies.The show was a veritable satanic ritual, complete with sexual orgies, animal sacrifices, and the dismemberment of dolls repre senting humans.

El British Clear the Spanish Inquisition

They agreed that it was not legitimate for

In the case of the underground Church in China,the impossibility of an agreement with the communist regime is further complicated by the creation of a schismatic church subser vient to the Beijing despots.

as the devil incarnate and the Spanish Inquisition as the epitome of darkness,

Catholics to cease opposing communist re gimes in exchange for promises of one or another concession regarding freedom of re ligious practice. But they considered it diffi cult to expound the arguments for the defense

Hence, the modus vivendi of the Chinese

arbitrariness, and violent intolerance.

Catholics with the communists is doubly im possible: On the one hand, no Catholic may renounce his fidelity to the Holy See; on the other, he may not cease professing the Ten

of this stand.

Commandments of the Law of God, includ

This led to the writing of the treatise The Freedom of the Church in the Communist

ing the two that protect the right to private property. As is well known, this right is cate

State, which first appeared in the Brazilian

gorically rejected by communist collectivism.

monthly Catolicismo(no. 152,August 1963).

In addition, no accord will offer any guar antee of fulfillment by people who, like the communists,deny God and morality.In other words,even if it could be admitted today that they truly wish to extend some toleration to religion, tomorrow they could just as easily deem it more conducive to their goals to

joint effort of reputable English, Spanish, and American historians, such as Henry Kamen, Jose Alvarez-

unleash the most brutal religious persecu

Junco, and Stephen Haliczer, who say

tionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the same persecution that has long been the glorious crown of China's under

the archives of the Inquisition are elo quent. In contrast to the popular wis dom (and, we dare say, in contrast to many a modern "inquisition") the

attention of Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira,

founder of the Brazilian TFP, who had the

opportunity to discuss the problem with some prelates during the first session of Vatican II.

In his elegant, straightforward style. Prof. Correa de Oliveira stated the problem and

irrefutably demonstrated that Catholics must reject any accord with the communists that

would require them to give up the defense of the Commandments of the Law of God. The seventh and tenth Commandments

provide the theological foundation for the right to private property. Not even the threat of renewed persecution may lead Catholics to

renounce the principles contained in those Commandments, which frontally oppose communist collectivism.

ground Church.

Eugenia Guztnan

For centuries the British led the way

in regarding the Spanish King Philip II

Ironically, the British themselves are

now beginning to debunk the wide spread and long-standing Black Leg end.

On November 6, 1994, the BBC

aired a documentary prepared for "Time Watch," its Sunday peak-audi ence program, which aimed to 'O

the true face of the tribunal crcau

the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella.

The presentation was the fruit of a

documents attest to the existence of a

tribunal constituted by upstanding lawyers;

where

torture

was

Tradition, Family and Property

FLASHES

not anonymous gossipers or meddlers or

Refuting the notion of "millions" of condemned that the Black Legend often claims, Professor Haliczer, of the Univer

known enemies of the defendants; and

sity of Illinois, places the real number at

where the defense of the accused was

around 5,000 for all of the Inquisition's 350 years of existence.

banned; where testimony was accepted only from witnesses of known character,

guaranteed. In short, nothing like the terrifying popular misconception.

Queen Isabella the Catholic

Alternative Remedy

The Restraint of

0 Revulsion Collapses by Jack Burnham

In London, thousands have already resorted to a new rem

edy prescribed by "alternative medicine": human urine. "A fortifier," is the way Keith Slocombe, the guru of alternative therapy in England,characterizes urine. Dr.Charles

Ifrecycling human wasteforfood

Wansborough sustains that a daily glass of urine is good for fighting weariness and stress. Said he:"Our own body's water

becomes standard, a new era will have begun.

should not be considered a nauseating, perverse practice be

keeps us healthy and happy." In his opinion, "urine therapy cause it is the most ancient among natural remedies." Dr.

The twentieth century opened with the splendor of the Belle

Epoque, but now runs the risk of being splattered with filth.

Simon Kirby, from London's Immune Deficiency Trust, is persuaded that one ofthe"miraculous"effects of urine therapy

The ecomania of total recycling has reached to the sewers to recycle human feces into new food products. A laboratory in Okayama, Japan, recently developed a method for recycling the protein found in hu-

is to fight AIDS.

man feces. Mixed with

llHH

soybean derivatives and

'V flll

additives, the result is a

searchers: "It wil soon is nothing more than science fiction run amok,

Tse-tung utilized feces politically during the Chi-

nese Cultural Revolution of 1968 with the aim of "recycling" the minds of intellectuals. University professors and other intellectuals were forced to work on collective farms, where they had to han-

MHH

' j| waste

waste

"Art" Exposition "The Intriguing World of Excrements" was the theme of a recent well-attended "art" exposition in the Netherlands. The

principal objects included fossilized droppings of mammoths, plastic diarrhea, and the contents of a Victorian outhouse."We were astounded by the great number of visitors," declared Leeuwarden Natural History Museum's Manon Borst. A gigantic representation of a toilet at the museum's en

trance was a symbolic monumentfor the exposition. Hostesses wore bath-attendants' uniforms and earrings made with dried animal droppings."We want to do away with the taboos about defecation," said one of the exposition's organizers.

die human feces used in fertilizing crops. This followed the guidelines of a psychotherapy of

sorts aimed at breaking the remnants of "bour-

geois habits" in the mentality of the Chinese in-

YiitaA scientist holding a sample(of Imita tion beef tlon beef made made from from recycled recycled human

Formerly unheard-of behavior toward one's own refuse is scarcely short of becoming a trend of late.

September-October, 1994

The onslaught of the pro-feces cause is not new,nor is it restricted to the scientific field. Mao

looks like beef. Claims juSV \j Do not think that this

Cultural Revolution

The same system had been proposed in the

fifties as a "rearing method" by Wilhelm Reich,a well-known disciple of Sigmund Freud an ' member of the United Stales International Insti

of Social Research. Reich holds that children should be taught from a very tender age to play with their excrements,explain ing that this helps break the barrier of horror with which bourgeois society allegedly represses the "total erotization of the body" and thus causes neuroses and complexes. If the use of recycledâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or fresh!â&#x20AC;&#x201D;feces becomes fash ionable and enters the culinary habits of this end of century, a new era of mankind will be inaugurated, the era of the excrements. Man's natural restraint of horror will be de

stroyed. The human sense that distinguishes beauty from hideousness, cleanliness from filth, will evaporate from the

minds by force of this habit.

And then the road will be clear for the acceptance of him who is hideousness, filth, and abjection itself: the devil.

LIGHT,

EAT GIFT

r.:2::CT -.iXSi

io Correa de Oliveira

The greatest event in history, the birth of the Messias, divides history in two. Professor Plinio Correa de Oliveira's reflections on the general state of the world at the time of that event reveal a re fined psychological perception. Let us give ear to his eloquent

the darkness at its deepest, leaving the flocks of sheep surrounded by

perplexity and danger. Perhaps some of the shepherds,remiss in their duty or overcome

Numerous historical sources of that

distant era record that many men then were overwhelmed by a sensation that the world had irremediably failed, that an in

extricable tangle of fatal problems barred the way to the future, that the world had

there were some who, zealous and con-

reached a point beyond which could be

also prayed to God to vanquish any danger

discerned only chaos and annihilation.

Looking back over the road already trodden from the beginning of time, men

that surrounded them.

great Roman Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from the primitive

by adverse factors of all kinds. Nations had gradually risen. These had taken on their own characteristics, en

gendered their own cultures, developed intelligent and practical institutions, built roads, launched navigation and com merce. and had thus distributed the fruits of the earth and the fmits of nascent in

dustry. Abuses and disorders certainly ex isted, but men did not notice them en

tirely, for every generation suffers from a

surprising insensibility toward the

Suddenly, a light appeared and envel

of its own day and age. The most crucial aspect of the plight in which the ancient world found

oped themâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;"the brightness of God shone round about them." All sense of

danger vanished. They heard announced

itself was not that men, in general, did not have what they wanted. Rather,

to them the solution to all the problems

and dangers, not those facing a few poor flocks of sheep or a small handful of

having successfully labored to acquire the means of happiness, they knew not

shepherds, nor even those constantly threatening all earthly interests, the goods of this life that will sooner or later

of our historyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;tirst and foremost the

lands, addicted to barbarity and scourged

by tiredness, were fast asleep. But certainly

.scious of duty, would not consent to sleep. They watched. And, most probably, they

wealth, and power. How much there was that separated the great nations of Year 1

tribes that wandered about the vast waste

words.

The night was already late,

could harbor some understandable pride. Mankind had reached a peak of culture,

what to do with them. Indeed, all the

things they had desired, at the expense

perish. Rather, they heard announced the

of so much effort, left in their souls a

solution to the problems and dangers that affect the most noble and mo.st pre

terrible emptiness. More often than

cious of men's possessions, their souls.

them. Power and wealth in the hands of

That is, the remedy against dangers that

those who know not how to put them

imperil eternal life, in which success, as

to good use serve only to give them more work and to produce affliction.

well as defeat, has no end.

not. those things instead tormented

Tradition, Family and Property

So, mankind was surrounded with darkness. And what did mankind do amidst that darkness?

What do men always do at nightfall? Some indulge in orgies, others fall asleep. Othersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;albeit .so fewâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;do as the shep

herds did. They watch, keeping a lookout

the day; they did not fear the laughter nor

and the expectation of Heaven. Our Lord

the isolation with which the world sur rounds tho.se who do not conform. There

Jesus Christ will solve all things!

were souls of this caliber, though rare, to be found everywhere, amongst masters and servants, elders and children, wi.se men and illiterates; all were watching,

(Plinio Coirea de Oliveira,"Luz,o Grande Pre-

for the adversaries that attack under the

praying, fighting, and wailing for the Sav

cover of night. They stand ready to give fight. They pray with their eyes gazing

ior.

into the dark skies overhead and their

He came first to the faithful shep herds. Then, after everything the Gos

souls comforted by the certainty that the sun will shine again, dispersing the dark

pels relate had come to pass. He swept beyond the small confines of Israel and

ness and chasing back to their lairs all the

presented Himself as a great light to all

enemies that darkness had covered and

those throughout the world who refused

tempted to crime.

to accept orgies or soft and fooli.sh sleep

In the ancient world, among the mil lions crushed under the weight of useless culture and opulence, there were men of

as a solution.

the best .sort who fathomed the full depth of the darkness, all the corruption of cus toms, all the inauthenticity of the estab lished order, all the dangers that sur rounded men, and above all, all the non sense into which civilizations based on

idolatry are led. These choice .souls were not necessar

ily people of learning or of privileged in telligence. The lucidity to perceive great horizons, great crises, and great solutions comes less from the penetration of the in

When virgins, children, the elderly, centurions, senators, philo.sophers, slaves,

widows, and potentates began to convert, the cycle of persecutions came down

upon them. No violence, however, could make them submit. And in the arena,

when they gazed serenely and spiritedly upon the Caesars, the roaring crowds, and the beasts, the angels in Heaven intoned: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good will."

This evangelical canticle was heard by no human ear, but it touched souls, nonetheless. The blood of these .serene

telligence than from uprightness of soul.

and unbreakable heroes was transformed

Upright men, for whom truth is truth and

thus into the seed of new Christians.

error is error, good is good and evil is

The ancient world, the adorer of gold, idols, and the tlesh, died. A new world

evil, recognized the situation. These souls did not compromise with the disorders of

sente," Fullui de Sao Paulo, December 26, 1971.)

was bom, based on Faith, purity, ascesis.

the promise of a Redeemer, of a Messias who would come to

Tfie 'BirtH oftfk Messias

redeem mankind.

In a small corner of the vast Roman Empire gathered and

j^fter centuries of ardent expectation, in the fullness oftime,

organized by Octavius, to whom a Roman senator attributed the divine name of Augustus, there was a small people who despite having been reduced to the condition of a mere vassal

754 years after the foundation of Rome, at the apogee of the Empire, "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us"(John 1:14). Amidst the darkness of ignorance and vice, the Sun of Justice rose to illuminate the world and shower upon the Earth the celestial dew of His grace.

state, persevered in considering itself the bearer of a great mission.

'This was the Hebrew nation, the people of Abraham and Moses, which had received from God the Tables of the Law and

,5^aint Luke left for posterity inspired verses that narraiv. ah evangelical simplicity the birth of the Savior;

^nd it cxime to pass tfiat ivfien tftey zoere tfiere, fier days zi/ere accompds/kd, tfiat sfe sfiouidSe dedvered i^sfte drougfitfortfi derfirst-Bom son, andiurappedfiim up in sznadddng-cbtfies, and(aiddim in a matter; Because tdere mas no roomfor tdem in tde inn. J^ndtdere ivere in tde same country sdepderds, xifatcdiny, and((^epiny tde niydt-zvatcdes over tdeirfdjc/^ S^ndBedoB{an ^nyeCoftde LordstoodBy tdem, and tde Briydtness ofQodsdone round oBout tdem, and tdeyfearedzvitd ayreatfear. lAndtde^nyeCsaidto tdenu "(fearnot,for Bedodf7 Bring youyoodtiditys ofyreatjoy, tdatsdad Be to ad tde people: "dor tdis day is Bom to you aSo-Vior, xvdo is Cdrist tde Lord, in tde city of^avid" Luke 2: 6-1 1

November-December, 1994

TO THE EMINENT PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTER-AMERICAN

The Americas of the Third Convictions, Apprehensions, and

The momentous summit of the chief executives of the American statesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;with the well-merited exclusion of the Cubanâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;is an opportune occasion for the Societies for

the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property(TFP)in the Americas to convey their convictions, apprehensions, and hopes in regards to our hemisphere and its future.

Worldwide, the TFPs constitute a vast family of autonomous organizations on six continents, whose work is governed by the traditional doctrines of the Holy Catholic Church. The first of the TFPs was founded in Brazil in I960 by the renowned Brazilian Catholic Professor Plinio Correa de

thinker and man of action Professor Plinio Correa de Oliveira, whose implacable doctrinal

Oliveira, the author of the present

combat against the advances of the contemporary anti-Christian Revolution on every front

document, holds a chair in the

spans more than six decades of unblemished service to the Church and the world.

Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo and is the president of the national council of the

Inspired by this heroic example, the TFPs have aimed their ideological weapons at international communism, leftism within the Church, socialist and confiscatory legislation

Brazilian Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property

wherever it attacks the rights of private property, and the destructive cultural revolution devastating our "post-communist" world. Nor does the TFPs' resolute resistance to the

anti-Christian Revolution fail to combat the Kerenskys of our day, those "moderate" politicians who pave the way for its advance.

The unique influence of the educational campaigns waged by the TFPs is acknowledged by friend and foe alike. More than 500 books by prestigious scholars and other distinguished authors across the globe chronicle Professor Correa de Oliveira's prophetic role in unmask ing the infiltration of progressivism into the Church since the 1930s and the TFPs' preeminent role in preventing Latin American nations from falling prey to international communism.

The Hemisphere's

TFPs in Action The United States

Since 1993, the twenty-six TFPs have joined hands to tell the world of Professor Correa de Oliveira's masterful exposition. Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in 'Uwiitions of Pius XII. This historic book has inspired letters of commendation Ik , three Cardinals of the Roman Curia as well as from theologians and historians of world renown. Simultaneously published in Portuguese, Spanish, English, French, and Italian, the work provides positive guidelines to combat the diverse causes ofcontemporary chaos and cultural collapse. Above all, it sounds a clarion call to the traditional elites to fulfill their noble calling in the glorious restoration of Christian civilization.

SUMMIT CONVENING IN MIAMI, FLORIDA, DECEMBER 9-11, 1994

on the Dawn Millennium: Hopes of the Hemispheric TFPs The credibility merited by the actions of the TFPs and the responsibilities we bear as loyal sons of the Americas impel us to submit to your gracious consideration the following statement of the TFPs of the Americas regarding crises that—left unresolved—threaten to frustrate your legitimate aspirations of concord and prosperity—aspirations we share.

To construct a future for our hemisphere that ignores these fundamental problems would be to build—in defiance of the Gospel—a

house "upon earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great"(Luke 6:49).

This statement, written by Professor Plinio Correa de Oliveira, president of the national council of the Brazilian TFP, was unanimously endorsed by the boards of directors of the American TFT and its sister TFPs in the three Americas. Raymond E. Drake, President

The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property(TFP)

Statement on Hemispheric Problems The TFPs of the Three Americas

— The bewildering indifference, pas

eral, even conciliatory, policy toward Cuba's regime, on the one hand, and their adamant, even armed, opposition to Haiti's former regime on the other.

sivity, and even complicity of sundry ecclesiastical, political, intellectual,

— The clever metamorphosis under taken by countless figures of the far left

media, and financial circles toward the

after the fall of the Berlin Wall, who—

ineffectual communist regime in the

without repudiating their revolutionary past nor renouncing their egalitarian goals—have attained powerful political posts simply by changing labels and

1. Convey Their Concerns Regarding

land once called the Pearl ofthe Antilles

and toward its aged inspirer and head Fidel Castro. — The inconsistent double-standard

applied by several institutions and gov ernments of the Americas in their lib

adopting new methods of action.

— The way such individuals exploit their political power to promote a vir

tual cultural revolution that deals a radi

cal blow against fundamental principles of Christian civilization by numbing the

wholesome reaction of public opinion. —The destructive potential as detonators for socio-economic chaos displayed by Latin American terrorist and guerrilla

groups supported by outside foi\ — The continuing spiritual cn.^i ^ af flicting the Roman Catholic Church— with its inevitable consequences for civil society—and the concurrent pro

gress made by sects, animist religions, and even satanic movements.

Canada

i l l' •COM nrTKm> '"vQi^ ijQsnDc

— The apparent lack of appreciation in these circles regarding the highly dubi ous consequences ofsuch analogous so cial engineering as the Maastricht

2. Deplore

4. Publicly Call on the Leaders of Our

Hemisphere Assembled

Treaty, which is strongly opposed by millions of Europeans.

in Miami to

— The inordinate, media-induced con fidence and irrational fascination for

— Openly discuss, in depth and detail, these and other sensitive and urgent

economic development as the answer to

problems impacting the future of the

all our problems, the profound spiritual

Americas, welcoming constructive de bate without fear of disagreement.

and moral roots of which are routinely

— Propose sound solutions to these problems in full accord with the authen tic Christian traditions that embody the

— The unspeakable pressure exerted by

relegated to an inferior plane. — The frenzied hopes which some place in the emergence of a cyber-civilization, in utter disregard ofits inherent perils and the serious detriments de

international institutions and social fac

rived from the psychological, moral,

tions within the Americas on behalf of

and cultural transformations it would

— Adopt with all due diligence the political, economic, and educational

abortion, contraception, divorce, con

inevitably entail.

measures needed to effect the immedi

— The ever-escalating political, social, and economic influence of non-govern

ate normalization of the situation of the

— The arrogance with which homosex ual militants claim alleged "rights" in

direct opposition to the laws of God and of nature.

cubinage, euthanasia, and other evils

destructive of the family, as typified by the UN conference in Cairo.

— The experimentation on human em bryos and analogous genetic and

mental organizations(NGOs), many of which have specifically revolutionary

legitimate aspirations of the peoples of the Americas.

Cuban people.

5. View With Hope

agendas (such as those promoting a re

— The dawning of a wholesome rejec

eugenic experimentation, which brutishly ignores elemental religious and

turn to tribalism, antithetical to Chris

tion of the anti-Christian Revolution on

tian civilization), as was evident at the

ethical principles. — The escalating drug trade and the schemes to legalize such deadly addic

1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,

and the international largesse lavished

so many fronts by a growing number of the peoples of this hemisphere, particu larly among the poor and working

on these NGOs.

classes.

tions.

— The imposition of draconian reduc

— The ominous collaboration of the

tions—budgetary and otherwise—on noble armed forces ofthe hemisphere in

— The awakening of public opinion to the onslaught of television and other media outlets as conduits of immorality,

media in spreading the poison of antiChristian "values" that corrode the very soul of civilization.

3. Profess Grave

Reservations Regarding — The reckless rapidity with which certain political circles seek to hasten hemispheric integration, in ways that blur, if not obliterate, state borders, cul

tural characteristics, and even national

sovereignties.

the illusion of new national and interna tional realities.

— The strident voices accusing some armed forces of violating the human rights of communist guerrillas— voices so strangely silent in the face of the violent crimes perpetrated by revolutionary terrorists against ur ban and rural populations in impor

which is particularly destructive

children and youth. — The rejection by the electorate of avowedly leftist presidential candidates in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Ar

gentina. and El Salvador. — The loss of face of"liberation theol

ogy" and the collapse of its base com

tant countries such as Colombia and

munities. even among the most impov erished segments of the population.

Peru.

— The waning of the West's ideologi-

Tradition, Family and Property

cal obsession with egalitarianism, so advantageous to socialism and commu

Below. The facsimile of the present

statement as It appeared In a full-

nism.

page advertisement In the Wash

— The excellent prospects—solidly

ington Times on December 6. The

based on the firm foundation of Chris

statement also appeared In Span

tian civilization—that these develop ments have opened for cooperation be

ish In Miami's Diario las Americas on December 9 and 11.

tween Latin America, on the one hand and the United States and Canada, on the other. To the Eminent Parttdpenls In the Intel-American Summit Convening in Miaml.Fkirlcia'December9-l1, t994

Accordingly, the TFPs

The Americas on the Dawn

of the Three Americas

of the Third Millennium:

— Affirm their deep and abiding con

Convicttons, Apprehensions,

viction that when men resolve to coop erate with the grace of God, the unfold

and Hopes of the Hemispheric TFPs

ing of history generates marvels. This is the lesson bequeathed us by pre-medieval and medieval Europe, which, begin

ning with decadent Latin populations and hordes of barbarian invaders, at

tained, under every point of view, a religious, cultural, and economic level without precedent. — Proclaim their unwavering certainty that despite the moral upheavals, mate rial crises, and pitfalls of every kind being prepared for the Americas by the

4 PuUklyC^

statement on Hemispheric Probkms

iiMsLaderaofOar

' .1——r—

The TFPs ofthe Three Americas: .ta

^xoffdJogly, Ibe TFPs «/

L CoBtey T'kdr Cobmvw

enemies of the Church and Christian a Prarcsi Grave IUot

civilization, we shall witness the re

tlOAl Refardlor

splendent resurgence of Christendom throughout the Americas, as foreseen by Our Lady of Fatima in 1917 when She promised:"In the end. My Immacu late Heart will triumph!"

PUnio Correa de Oliveira

'Tvtifc—

fMribf

Sao Paulo, December 6, 1994

r —^ C"-

Plinio Correa de Oliveira

<•««■ « w

i O VXSt I

Brazilian Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property

ai*

taKauM fbw mei m

Irac Pf^

aOe^er*: a Bz

President of the National Council of the

—I

HU A'#*Sy erf *#>*»»«# f Jhi iioif A^ek4»

n» A wfc* TT?. Wetin»* B 4101N 7ieiLJ.AftQ<ttt.VA2K01Sllfi TrI n0:)»MS|QFAXm3)2O'M2l

This statement has also been signed by the presidents of the other Societies for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) of the three Americas, in the United States, Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

November-December, 1994

Cover Article

The Underground Church in China A Moan and a Cry of Hope by Gary Isbell

Victorious in their resistance against the communists after remaining faithful to Rome, Chinese Catholics now face a new threat, the communist propaganda in the West.

Atempest slowly loomed on the ho rizon on the evening of last May 24, the feast of Mary Help of Christians. Huddled togetlier in the midst of a great forest in Hubei Province,a crowd of faithful attempted to protect themselves from the impending downpour. But this imminent threat caused no waning of their moving prayers. All were imploring the protection of the august Mother of God under the invocation of Our Lady of Dong

of Chinese Catholics presented the Most Holy Virgin with tears, sweat, and blood as the offering of a people that has been moaning under the burden of communist

domination for clo.se to half a century. Kneeling in the mud, the elderly, youngsters, and children attended with

great piety the open-air Mass celebrated by His Excellency Bishop Su Zhi-Ming, aux iliary Bishop of Baoding, Hubei Province,

along with other prelates and 120 priests, ail from the recesses of the underground Church.

The rain did not inconvenience those

people, who were already seasoned by standing up to much more adverse storms. In that moment of fervor, the downpour posed but fleeting discomfort, nothing comparable to the deluge of blood that has tortured them all these years.

Heroic Pages of History From the moment the first Christians

set foot on Chinese soil, there began a missionary epic that has not yet ceased.

Lu.

Throughout the month of May, pil grims from all comers of the immense

Chinese territory faced every imaginable threat to reach the Marian shrine at Dong Lu. At that blessed site, the underground Roman Catholic Church in China came out

of the catacombs to the light of day once again and gave testimony of its invincible fidelity to the Papacy. Although the communist authorities

tolerated the event, they did everything in their power short of widespread arrest to impede access to the shrine. Roads leading to Hubei were blocked, and public trans portation to and from neighboring cities was forbidden for people suspected of be ing pilgrims. But the efforts of the Red mandarins

were surpassed by the fervor of the faith

ful. On foot or bicycles, they traveled day and night until they reached the "Hill of the Blessed Mother." There, tens of thousands

More than 50,000 pilgrims waited under heavy rain for the Mass to begin.

Tradition, Family and Property

A Brief History of Catholicism in China The seed of Catholicism was sown in

China seven hundred years ago, when

Pope Nicholas IV sent the Franciscan friar

China's first exposure to Christianity oc

the Jesuits as an obstacle to their plans, they,

John of Monte Corvino as his envoy to the

through a series of clever maneuvers, con

Mongol Khan. Chinese Catholicism has

curred in A.D.635 when the Nestorian heresy made some inroads into the country. Stressing

enjoyed peaks of noteworthy flourishing

the human nature of Our Lord, Nestorianism

since then, but it has suffered brutal perse

developed in Syria and then spread to Persia

cutions under pagan kings and emperors as

and parts of China. After being suppressed by

well(See box).

This notwithstanding, violence was al ways worthless when it came to stopping the advance of those who really had faith.

Chinese authorities in 435,

it again flourished from the

vinced a weak Clement XIV to suppress the order in 1773,thus leaving the way open for the French Revolution.This dastardly act removed a highly successful missionary order from its holy work in converting

'*Xijp RI OrM*) ''Tup I nt; DLV./VJLI

eleventh to the thirteenth

century, when it greatly de-

OF OF THE

dined in numbers.

Far from discouraging Chinese Catholics,

During the fourteenth

the waves of violence erupting along the course of the centuries have tempered the heroic mettle of martyrs in the crucible of persecution. As a poet adroitly remarked,"A firstclass sculpture cannot be carved in butter."

century the Franciscans met conquerors. However, the

The best carving is done in tight-grained wood, sometimes even chiseling against

in the century, when the Mongols lost control

many world.souls all over the

In China the various

persecutions and suppres-

IvlARTYl MARTYRS IS THE

sions of the missions work

Q TUP Cccr^ QCCUUr IMt OttU

ÂŽ among the clergy and the episco-

with some success in con-

verting China's Mongol

CHU

Black Death took a fearful

toll on the clergy in Europe, consequently re ducing the pool of available missionaries. Later to the Chinese inhabitants, the Catholic effort

the grain. The pertinacious resistance of paganism to the spread of Catholicism on

disappeared without a trace.

Chinese soil obliged both hierarchy and faithful to carry out a continual combat for the integrity and preservation of the Faith. In the legion of martyrs who laid down their lives to solidify the foundations of the Holy Church in China, Franciscan, Jesuit,

THE JESUIT MISSIONS

and Dominican missionaries, who took the

in learning the Chinese language but also by

In 1582, several Jesuits entered China, led

by the celebrated missionary Matteo Ricci. Slowly winning acceptance among the noble and educated families, they eventually gained entrance to the imperial palace. The Jesuit fa thers had done their homework well, not only

teenth century, dozens of martyrsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;priests and nuns, European and Chineseâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;added their names to the glorious list of those who died for

the glory of God. Then,in the 1840's, several imperial decrees were issued granting freedom of religion. With that approval,at least from the imperial court, the number of missionaries in creased, Nevertheless,anti-Christian sentiment

persisted and the violence continued. At Tient sin, the French consul, 2 priests, 10 Sisters of Charity, and 8 lay persons were all massacred. However, nothing can compare with the carnage left in the wake of the Boxer Rebel lion. The Boxers were members of a secret

society who were fanatical enemies of all

impressing their Chinese hosts with their supe

Christians and foreigners. They went on a

rior scientific knowledge, especially in the

rampage in 1900,destroying churches,semi naries, convents, and chapels.They burnt the dwellings of the native Christians, murdered

fields of astronomy and mathematics. Shortly after Father Ricci's death in 1610, China num

bered 13,000 Catholics. By 1650 the total had increased to 150,000, and fourteen years later the Jesuits were ministering to 237,000 in 159 churches and 49 residences.

But the way of the Church never runs smoothly, and so, too, the apostolate faced several trials and persecutions. Just as Our Lord Jesus Christ faced opposition from the unyield ing Scribes and Pharisees, so the Chinese Catholics, by then including several priests, suffered from the entrenched and envious pa

gan scholars and monks. Nevertheless, Do minicans and other orders joined in the apos tolic effort that brought the number of converts by the end of the seventeenth century to 800,000 in 1200 communities.

bishops and priests, both foreign and native Christians, and sold their children into slav

ery. Thirty thousand Christians fell victims to their hatred. Close to a hundred martyrs of that episode have been beatified by the Church.

Continuing on into the rest of this century, China has suffered an uninterrupted succession of disasters, revolutions,and wars. Yet,despite all the turmoil, the Catholic Church expanded five-foldfrom 1900tolhcoutsetofV

'War

II. Religious institutions of men incrca.s .om 886 to 4,415; Church membership grew from 3/4 of a million to 3 million; and congregations of sisters enjoyed an even more spectacular rise, from 10 to 58, plus 63 native congrega tions.

THE MARTYRS

In 1746, Bishop Peter Sanz and four fellow Dominicans were captured, imprisoned, and tortured in Fukien. The Bishop was beheaded in the following year and the others in 1748. European events again produced unwanted

At the end of the war, with such progress as a model, optimism for the future ran high. But that hope was violently shattered when the Free World turned its back on the long-suffer ing Chinese people and watched as the most ruthless of all oppressors crushed their relig ious liberty. The atheistic communists took

repercussions in the East. Many influential men

over the country in 1949 and inaugurated a

with a taste for revolution were preparing to do severe damage to the Catholic Church and to topple the throne of France. Since they feared

persecution far more violent and radical than the courageous Church had ever faced. This

With success came more severe reactions.

November-December, 1994

persecution is still ongoing.

seed of the Gospel to the Far East, occupy c

j". ,

a prominent place. Thanks to their efforts, there are today more than eight million Catholics in China, most of them enduring implacable persecution at the hands of the communist government.

A Caricature of the Church Ever since their seizure of power in 1949, the communists have tried by every means to stifle the Catholic Church in

China. To this end they have employed the same tactics used by the despots of the French Revolution; that is, in addition to violence, intimidation, and 'Terror," the

communist bureaucracy created, in 1957, a

"church" separated from Rome, the socalled Patriotic Association, very much like the French Constitutional Church of 1789.

As in revolutionary France, Red China forced laymen and clergy to take an oath of allegiance to the new religious institu tion. Many who remained faithful to Rome

A procession of over 200 nuns on their way to Mass

1951 and in his apostolic \QHQrAdSinaruni

its foundation, the Patriotic Association

Gentes of 1954. On June 29, 1958, "Pius

became a white elephant for the agents of atheism. It has temples and seminaries,and

XII also solemnly condemned the so-

were either shot or sent to concentration

called Catholic Patriotic Association and

money received from the West, but it lacks

camps, the latter often proving to be

declared the elections of bishops invalid

the support of the faithful. These took ref uge in the Church that remained loyal to

equivalent to a slow execution. In addition to this, the communists

"democratically" placed government-ap pointed individuals in the po.sitions of "priests" and "bishops." This established a pseudo-Catholic church subordinated to Beijing's Red mandarins. This grotesque caricature of Catholi cism was solemnly condemned by Pius XII in his encyclical Evangelli Praecones of

and the consecrations illicit"(New Catho

lic Encyclopedia, vol. 3, p. 599).

Rome, the underground Church which,

against such odds as material privations

Misguided Friendship of

and brutal police persecution, has grown in numbers and fervor.

the West

What the communists could not accom

plish through persecution in almost half a The communist government tried in vain to obtain the affiliation of Catholics

with the schismatic church. Shortly after

century,they are achieving through aliena

tion of the West from the loyal under ground Church by deceptive propaganda in public relations programs. In the name of an ecumenical modus

Vivendi with the communists, segments of the Western Church have l^llen victims to

the propaganda of the Chinese Communist government and the Patriotic Assot. and draw ever closer to the schisii

leaders. As a consequence, millions of dol lars raised in the West by international Catholic organizations such as Aid to the Church in Need, Italian PIME, Jesuits, Franciscans, Missio, Miseror, and

Maryknoll, to name just some, are being channeled to China's communist church.

(See Cardinal Kung Foundation newslet ter, Autumn, 1994.)

mm Some of the underground Roman Catholic congregation of 450 who attended

a Sunday Mass in an open field and knelt on the ground In freezing weather.

Along with that, some prominent fig ures of the Western Church have openly supported the communist govemment-

sanctioned Patriotic Association. Among these is Bishop Roger Vangheluwe of

Tradition, Family and Property

Bruges, Belgium, who last summer concelebrated a Mass in the cathedral of

Bruges with fifteen priests of the Patriotic Association. (See Our Sunday Visitor, June 12, 1994.)

As Western support of the Patriotic As

sociation grows,so does communist perse cution of the underground Church. To the communists, being faithful to Rome is the same as being a traitor to one's country. This is the reason why in his letter, made

public on September 25, 1994, to the Tai wan Catholic hierarchy on the occasion of the seventh centenary of the nomination of the first Catholic Archbishop of Beijing, Franciscan friar Blessed John of Monte

Corvino, the Holy Father said: "There can be no opposition or incompatibility be tween being at one and the same time truly Catholic and authentically Chinese." The

Patriotic

Association

also

backed by Western progressivist theologi

The faithful receiving Holy Communion during a Sunday Mass

ans. These have been concocting surpris

ing rationales in their doctrinal stills for the defacto recognition of the communist ec-

gressivists are disseminating, in accord

of "loyalty without obedience," according

clesial structure. To this end, these pro-

with the Chinese schismatics, tlie sophism

to which one can be "faithful in his heart

Did You Know That... The Chinese communist government •

Created a Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association which rejects the authority of the pope?

•

Declared the Roman Catholic Church illegal?

• Transferred all the properties of the Roman Catholic Church in China to the Patriotic Association, leaving the loyal Church in extreme poverty and having to exist as an underground church? • The Patriotic Association has appointed and ordained scores of bishops without the permission of the Holy Father?

The persecution of the loyal Roman Catholic Church in China by the Chinese government is not something of the past, but ongoing? For example • Priests and bishops are routinely arrested, then sometimes released only to be put back in jail and released again, and so on, in an endless round of intimidation—1994.

• Bishop Su Zhi Ming, Auxiliary Bishop of Baoding, Hubei Province, was arrested after offering a private M.. Beijing for Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NJ) —1994.

• Dozens of bishops, priests and lay persons continue to be arrested. In some cases, they are arrested during Masses in private homes. The Chinese government sacrilegiously confiscated the consecrated Hosts—1994. • A church and several houses belonging to two different underground dioceses were bulldozed to the ground—1993. • Rev. Charles Kao, S.J. working among the fishermen, was picked up by the police and jailed—1992. • Bishop Peter Fan, Bishop of Baoding, was tortured before his death in jail. A picture of his battered corpse was published in the Italian newspaper A —1992. • Bishop Shiu, in his 80's, almost blind and sick, was put in jail. Two months later, his dead body was returned—1994. • About 400 soldiers attacked 1,500 underground Catholics in Youtong,Hubei, while they were attending Mass.Two were killed, more than 300 were wounded, and 32 were arrested—1991.

• A group of underground bishops held a bishops' conference and were all mopped up by the government. Scores of them, most of whom were in their 70s and 80s, were put in jail —1990.

Due to ongoing persecution resulting in a severe shortage of priests and of seminary facilities, many young underground priests were ordained under emergency power, without the benefits of a complete seminary training,so that they could administer the sacraments. They need help to further their studies overseas.

THE CARDINAL KUNG FOUNDATION

REQUESTS YOUR HELP

to the Pope" without obeying him juridi cally. "Loyalty without obedience" has thus

become a fallacy with which the Patriotic Association is trying to misinterpret the true loyalty to the Pope. His Eminence Cardinal Kung, the Ro man Catholic Bishop of Shanghai, pain

fully pointed out in the sermon he deliv

The Cardinal Kung Foundation is dedicated to supporting the underground Church in China by means of prayers, information programs, and financial help to the underground Church.

As a persecuted Church, the loyal Chinese Catholics live in such

ered on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul

this year: "Many Catholic Church leaders in the free world extended hospitality and do nated large sums of money to bishops of the communists's Patriotic Association.

The Chinese government regards these friendships and cooperation with the Patri

utter want of basic necessities that the only way one can understand their long-standing resistance is in terms of their great faith.

An appeal is hereby made to all true Catholics to help the Cardinal Kung Foundation in its efforts to send support to these heroes who in many cases are compelled to live under inhuman circumstances:

otic Association as an endorsement of its

current policy on religion. "With this license, they continue their persecution of the loyal Roman Catholic Church without fear of reprisal. Unfortu nately, these misguided friendships and acts of charity on behalf of the Patriotic Association have only prolonged the suf fering of the loyal Church....

Most of the priests are ordained the lack of facilities in the under

years as Roman Catholic nuns,par ticularly after so many years of re ligious persecution. We now need

ground Church, they need to come

$30,000 to build a second home for

to the West to further study theol ogy. Upon their completion of studies, they will return to China to

another ten nuns.

under the emergency power.Due to

serve the loyal Roman Catholic Church. The Cardinal Kung Foun

"This is a disservice to the Chinese.

lack of churches. Many under ground priests were arrested while

dation has been maintaining three of those priests in the United States

This is a ridicule to the continued sacrifices

and sufferings of the loyal underground

saying these secret Masses. A small church without pews can be

at an annual cost of $10,000 each.

Roman Catholic communities. It is a

Currently, there are dozens of Chi

mockery of the blood of the thousands of

built in China forjust $60,000. We need many of these churches.

nese loyal seminarians / priests waiting for financial a.ssistance to

Chinese martyrs" (sermon televised na

tionally on June 29, 1994, as quoted in the

come to the U.S. to finish their

Cardinal Kung Foundation newsletter.

The Cardinal Kung Foundation is sues an informative and illuminat

studies.

Autumn 1994, pp. 3-4).

Most Masses are celebrated out

doors or in private homes, due to

ing newsletter about the true situ

Blood of Martyrs

The Ada Martyrum of the beginnings of Christianity is replete with sublime epi sodes of men, women, and children who

walked to their harrowing deaths with su

pernatural light glowing in their counte nances.

You may also sponsor a seminarian to study in China at an annual cost

ation faced by the underground Church in China: the relentless per

of only $600 or a monthly cost of

secution of the loyal Roman Catho

$50.

lic Church; the philosophy of the schismatic "Chinese Catholic Pa

Many elderly loyal nuns are with out means of basic living, for they declined the living arrangements

triotic Association," which main

tains its autonomy from the Holy

See and is not recognized f ''v

offered by the Patriotic Associa tion. One diocese has 60 such eld

pope; the activities and l needs of the persecuted but yei vi

faith who suffered the prepotency of the

erly nuns. The Foundation has been

brant loyal Church.

Roman Caesars, today's Chinese Catho

assisting to build very simple basic

Like their antecedent brethren in the

lics continue to stand up to the threats of the mandarins of Beijing, likewise prefer

shelters for the nuns. One has been

loyalty to the Papacy by incensing the

completed, sheltering 21 elderly nuns, all in their eighties. Even though these basic shelters have no

communist idol,

heat, hot water or other conven

ring persecution and death to severing their

The admirable fortitude of China's un

derground Church,its unbreakable fidelity

iences. they do offer the elderly nuns a chance to live their twilight

The Foundation plans to send 120,000

informative

16-page

newsletters in the next 12 months,

which will cost $84,000(70 cents

per letter). In the last fiscal year, only 15,000 letters were sent due to insufficient funds.

to the Chair of Peter, and its heroic con

tempt of death constitute a lesson of faith and hope for the West.

Please consider helping this most worthy cause. For more information on the underground Catholic Church in China, write to: The Cardinal Kung Foundation

Joseph M. C. Kung, President P.O. Box 8086, Ridgeway Centerâ&#x20AC;˘Stamford, CT 06905, U.S.A. Tel.:(203) 329-9712â&#x20AC;˘ Fax:(203) 329-8415

ral

^T^HE TERM Gothic (pertaining to the Goths, a Germanic barbarian tribe) was coined

V^during the Renaissance in depreciation of medieval art. But the designation backfired. The "barbaric" art won out, and the epithet not only ceased to be depreciatory but was in fact ennobled. This is so much the case that there are few today who,contemplating Gothic art, will call to mind or even realize the sarcastic etymology as they are absorbed by the sub lime beauty of the stained glass and the delicate veins of stone.

0fMONG EVERYTHING DEVELOPED by the Middle Ages â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and subsequently incorpoiC^rated into the millenial treasure of Christian civilization â&#x20AC;&#x201D; what perhaps speaks most to the soul of contemporary man are the Gothic cathedrals.

Photo

Essay

3n our gray, agitated century the symbolic aspects and the beauty—the pidchnnn—of those monu

ments of the Faith are still able to break through the layers of spiritual soot that have descended upon today's megalopo lises and, as an intense beam of golden light, to arouse the Even if there were no historical monument to represent medieval social, intellectual, and moral life to us, the

churches of that age would tell us about it like words indel ibly cut into stone and engraved in the traditions of nations.

"If nothing of medieval Christianity had survived excepting the cathedrals," says Daniel-Rops,"they alone would tell us all, or nearly all, that matters about the period in question: its spiritual life, its moral code, its day-to-day existence, its methods of work, its literature, and even, to some extent, its

Jfaiti) anb Hobe

3N the GOTHIC CHURCHES MEDIEVAL MAN invested the best of his soul, art found its

most complete expression, and the theologian and the architect united their talents in an act of

praise to God. This is why the Gothic cathedral,

a symbol of faith, is also a symbol of love. Ev eryone worked on it: The people contributed their hands; the bourgeois, his money; the lord, his land; and the artist, his genius.

that engendered the human type that was capable of such a

feat. Through these monuments that so defy time, we may

sense of the marvelous in countless souls.

political beliefs.

In examining the esthetic principles applied in the concep tion of the Gothic cathedral and the rich symbolism that un derlies its architectural elements, one is in fact analyzing the mentality of those who built it and, by extension, the society

understand key aspects of medieval Christianity, which in large measure realized the ideal of Christian civilization.

^Reflections of ^ncreateb iSeautp 44 -I'C

^TACIAMUS HOMINEM AD IMACtNEM ET SIM!LITUDI\'EM

fj/ NOSTRAM—Let US make man to our image and lik> ness(Gen. 1:26). The Middle Ages never ceased repeating that any form is beautiful in the measure that it bears some resemblance to divine beauty. Nevertheless, beauty, so sought after by me dieval man, must not be contemplated only in

The Middle Ages ever affirmed that

any form Is beautiful in the measure that It

bears some

its immobility, asfigee, like the Orientals repre sented it in many of their works, or "impris oned" as in contemporary museums. It must be .seen as dynamic, communicative, and full of

life. This is why the Gothic church attained the height of its beauty in the great liturgical feasts,

resemblance to

such as Christmas and Easter, or during impor tant civic-religious solemnities like the corona

divine beauty.

tion of the Kings of France in the Cathedral of Rheims.

Tradition, Familyand Property

:3S?

'^"•i

!9vW

/ ■''-A '• ^ j

r I

•'

. »? - ■'

•

,^1 n ordier to express and jtjo^^dhicate iqo^^driicate somi truths, ijian ! lan mustloftentimts resort ttd musthftentimts jtd fe ^niflSols ^iteols that reabh the smil's deepest recesses-and reflect certain intangible, tijanscendental realities, which written or spoken words cannot <rdhyey.<(

Through such symbols we becpiiie responsive to the^ppeal of the marvelous, .and our knowledge can be transfdroieAinto ^ ' ' • -N love. In Latin this called the via pulchritudinis (the of beauty). , 'i-^ Oppbfe/fe page and above: Views of Notre .

Dame cathedral, Paris.

This p^e: Interior of the cathedral of St. John • the Baptist, Lyons. < I

. .

The pointed-arch architecture offered a fitting decor for the splendors of liturgical ceremonial and the ethereal, har

monious melodies of Gregorian chant. The richness of priestly vestments, the serene pomp of the liturgy, the in tense emotion expressed by the organ, the touching simplic ity of plainsong, everything, in fine, contributed to envelop the faithful in a mystical atmosphere.

E\)t

of (ircnt larmonious proportions are so evident inside the

Gothic edifices that one seems to hear something of an

original melody; one perceives a symphony in stone. The whole building seems to have been relieved of the weight of matter, of everything that binds it to the earth. The pillars rise high and flexibly to blend with the vaulted ceiling through the ribs. Typically rising as a living force from the floor on the face of the pillars, the ribs support large vaults with seeming effortlessness.

What characterized the Gothic style is the upward thrust, the ascent toward heaven, the soaring flight of columns and slender spires toward infinity.

The medieval architects, building their cathedrals on solid foundations, could afford the most impressive boldness without being foolhardy. Hence the vertiginous flight to ward infinity of the columns and steeples, such as those of the Cathedra! of Cologne (515 ft.) and the fortress-cathe

drals of France's southern region of Languedoc. Still others, the Cathedral of Strasbourg for one, are built on marshy land or above subterranean streams.

^taineb-glafifi Minbolufi: ^critafelc JcUiclfi

^fttracted by daring arches, steeples, and Gothic towers, ^^^â&#x20AC;˘medieval man also retained a love of light. This ex plains the great concern of the architects to build ever more spacious churches that would allow for the installation of im

mense windows through which sunlight, tempered by the stained-glass polychromy, might flood the enclosure. The authentic medieval stained-glass window is not a painting on glass but rather a translucent painting made of glass, that is, a patchwork of colored glass held together by grooved strips of lead. It was a difficult, refined art that si

multaneously demanded high technical knowledge and artis tic skill.

There, between the floor and the ceiling, as though be tween the earth and heaven, those veritable jewels of glass suggest a paradisiacal grandeur that seems to surpass the building itself. That is the case of the celebrated rose win dows of Notre Dame of Paris and the Cathedral of Chartres,

which peipetuate for centuries on end the splendor of medie val art at its most sublime. â&#x20AC;˘ y1

/ /

^che c

rdraIrises

ing

,the

ie nave.x""

let E\)n't 53c light '/IT he whole creation is manifested to us through light.

^tl/The rose window, a circle of light held high up in the midst of darkness, is the perfect representation of God's cre ating command,"Let there be light." Every rose window is a symbol, a figure, of the creation. The concentric circles which made up the first rose windows

Tradition,Familyand Property

Photo

Essay

were idealized models of the universe and of the globe, which is at the center of the circle.

The Gothic rose windows also .symbolize the loftier aspi rations of man; namely, to know the order established by

still flourished there as late as the twelfth century. Only in the thirteenth century did the lancet-arch style reach Italy and the other countries of southern Europe.

Initially, the Gothic style was essentially religious. Civil

God, to be one with Him,and forever to become His co-crea tor. The rose windows make it possible for man to obey the

edifices remained Romanesque. It was only later that the Gothic spread to palaces and public buildings, and then with

injunction of Psalm 45:"Be still, and see that I am God." The stained-glass windows, which peasants, as it were,

incredible plasticity.

read like a book, remain as yet not fully interpreted by our

scholars. The faces that formerly a child could have pointed out by their names sometimes escape our efforts of identifi cation.

Cljc plogsoimno: of a ^t^lc

/ptothic architecture did not originate as a consequence of the decadence of any previous art or style; it was rather the product of a new civilization that was then forming and that developed new esthetic standards, though always retain ing the best contributions of Romanesque art. Without sud

den leaps, but like the blossoming of a rose, the Gothic style

flTljc iStblc of tiK i3oor Yfl he thrust of the minds that conceived the Gothic style ^^"did not end in the mere esthetic desire of discovering a new form of artistic expression. Aiming beyond the pulchrum, medieval artists endeavored to represent also the verum, the truthful. Thus church architecture was coni

so as to aid in the instruction of the faithful. Statuary n lancet-arch art, for example, became not only decorative but also a means of spiritual expression and even catechetical in struction.

Hn (ÂŁ>iisoing iÂĽIuatlc pon close examination of the Gothic cathedral, one is

flowered from the slow refinement of the Romanesque style. The Gothic style came about in consequence of a move ment born in Ile-de-France, the true geographic nucleus of

umns that are never in rigorous alignment but nevertheless

this form of architecture, and from thence it radiated to all

support the weight of the edifice; the miracle of those seem

Europe, adding local characteristics to its basic elements.

ingly swirling vaults that criss-cross, turn, and cap off ever-

From France, the new style passed over to England with the master William of Sens, who was engaged for the recon struction of Canterbury Cathedral. In Germany, the Gothic influence was felt later because Romanesque architecture

November-December, 1994

^ht^tempted to call it a miracle, the miracle of those col

higher naves; the miracle of those walls with gaping open ings, oftentimes with more glass than stone; finally, the mir acle of the whole edifice, a wonderful synthesis of faith, in

spiration, and piety.

â&#x2013;Ą

r The American TFP In Action

moiTm nf"y

astute observer of

J'lDur contemporary world will agree that the revolutionary progress and moral degradation that pervades all

Fields of human life shows no signs of abatement on any front.

Nevertheless, to the great surprise

FAMILY 6 ÂĽmv;\A

Mzuays OCd, Mivays Mways Im7(fiaiistib[E

of many,the subject of elites has at the

same lime also elicited increasing inter est, and Prof. Plinio Correa de

Plinio Correa de Oliveira

Oliveira's Nobiliiy and Analogous Tra ditional Elites continues to be success

fully spread throughout the world by the various TFPs.

Indeed, as lime goes by, those who are earnestly seeking solutions for a so ciety that seems to have no way out are gradually turning with more serious at

tention to the subject of elites, seeing them not so much as unapproachable and undesirable physicians but rather

with eyes of hope. In this perspective, we offer our dear readers some passages from the

speech Prof. Correa de Oliveira's pre pared for the launching of his book at Washington's Mayflower Hotel last

year, which was read to an audience of some 800 people by Mr. Raymond Drake, president of the American TFP.

^adies andgent&men, our theme is central .Z--to the thoughts and actions of mankind. It is a most well-known theme; always old, always new, always inexhaustible. It is the

seek the greatest perfection. They believe

that attaining this perfection will bring th the greatest happiness. Thus motivated, husband and wife .seek

theme of elites.

perfect behavior toward each other, behavior

In view of the inequalities one finds in all ages of history, in all human societies, three questions arise:

they hope will yield a perfect home, a

Is the existence of elites just? Are elites useful for the religious, moral,

political, and cultural common good of peo ples and civilizations?

What precisely constitutes an elite? These are the que.stions we must answer at the onset.

heaven on earth. They will try to treat their children in a perfect way and. accordingly, expect harmonious, happy, and prodigious progeny.

One could say that the professional who acts in a like manner in his profession, the

lady or gentleman who behaves according to the same norm in the social realm, and a

thousand other types of people placed in a

In the interior of each person, there are

thousand other types of situations, inspired

diverse and conflicting tendencies. One such tendency leads those inspired by the desire to live uprightly and reasonably to

reached the pinnacle of happiness. For the

by the principles we have noted, would have

vast majority so insatiably hunger for happi-

Tradition, Family and Property

m ness ihat they will allow themselves to be led by the impulse luckless Mitterrand pro fessed in the bygone days of his honeymoon

iMiJ i PROPIRI

with Power:"To want for oneself every

•'lO .•

thing, now and forever." From a certain vantage point, this ambi tious ascent could be identified with the

march toward progress. For the promoters of progress, as it is generally understood today, possessing all that is necessary, useful, or convenient to secure it, with the least possi ble effort and time and the radiant certainty

of forever possessing the goods thus gained without risk or worry, constitutes the life

goal of pleasure-seeking men born in the joys and hopes of the BeUe Epoque. Not even the two world wars that later

crossed our century's path, unprecedented

Book shoppers stop by the TFP stand on 5th Avenue during

catastrophes whose finale in Hiroshima and Nagasaki foretold more terrible perils, de stroyed this dream. Even at our century's midpoint, from the con.sensus of the most evolved peoples —

New York City's annual book fair.

What is the correlation between the cho

versy of that infamous trilogy but to analyze

and we must say "evolved" despite the

rus and the clamor? In other words, is in

its second catchword, equality, not from a

many errors, illusions, conquests, and decep tions this word has expressed as a standard

equality a factor in man's progress and hap piness? Is it a friendly force to be protected

purely philo.sophical view, but according to the way it is perceived by the contemporary

and talisman — a chorus ofjoy and hope

and encouraged — or a hostile one to be .sup

"man in the street," who constitutes the ".sov

ro.se like a hymn from a multitude of hearts.

pressed?

ereign" majority to whom all representative regimes still attribute the decisive voice.

This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the cen

It was in defense of this joy. commonly considered universal, that at limes arose the clamor, or better yet, the revolutionary roar, to exterminate the dissonance caused by cer

amid the chaos and tumult in the wake of

rary man must render his judgment. Unlike

the Second World War, the august voice of

his forefathers, he does not lack the doc

tain voices predicting problems, crises, and

Pius XII in fourteen immortal allocutions to

anxieties that in no way were numbered

the Roman Patriciate and Nobility. Justice

trinal help for doing so. He has the guiding light of the memorable allocutions of Pius

among the facile and felicitous "prophecies"

forbids that we neglect the notable analo-

XII. With special consideration, 1 offer you

tral problem regarding which there arose,

gous teachings of Benedict XV to

some reflections on this theme, reflections

the Roman Patriciate and Nobil-

found in the book whose launching you

ity in his allocution "Nella Re-

honor by your illustrious presence.

cente Anniversaria" of January 5,

■■H

Nobility TFP representative Steven Schmieder displays Nobility books and Analogous Traditional Elites and other TFP» books ition In In for participants In Serra International convention Baltimore, Maryland, October 1994.

of the Belle Epoque. In the mind of yesterday's modern man, the capital element of"progress" — often connoting "evolution" — was the concept of

social equality. Indeed, the universal joyful chorus and revolutionary roar were confronted with an evident and universal fact of

life—inequality.

November-December, 1994

This is a great theme on which contempo

Our theme is marked by two symmetrical

1920.

boundaries: (1) there mu,st be limits to in

In previous ages, thinkers from diverse perspectives had sporadically considered the question of equality and its concord with the legitimate common good of peoples and nations. This problem was examined —

equality, and (2) there must be limits to

and with what passion!—by the protagonists and leaders of the Enlightenment. Through their

equality. To summarize the matter quite suc

cinctly, the limits of inequality are found in human nature. Intelligent and free by nature, man has a common dignity that makes him

king of the universe. From this perspective, all men are equal, and whatever reduces in man, in any way, his fundamental ai nate. natural, and radical equality, be.,

false solutions, they and their fol-

offends, and mutilates his dignity.

lowers convulsed the entire civilized world from the end of the

Thus, all men are equal in the ri ght to life, in the right to constitute a family over

eighteenth century to our very has been no revolution to which

which they exercise their authority, in the

right to the fruits of their labor, and in the right to a salary sufficient to provide their

this issue was a stranger, nor any

families with dignified, secure housing, an

war with whose motivation or out

adequate, healthy diet, resources to guaran

come it was not related. Equality is part of the amo amorphous trilogy liberty, equality, fra the ternity -— a trilogy so controverted that we temity find, evi even in pontifical texts, dissonance in find, interpretation. (See Appendix III of Noits inteq bility ar, and Analogous Traditional Elites, es bility' pecially page 388.) pecially We cdo not intend to reopen the contro-

tee their children a proper education, and so on. And, of cour.se, the children should be al

lowed to work only if they are old enough to have acquired the rudiments of education and instruction.

In other words, in that which all men

have by the simple fact of being human, they are equal. However, it happens that be-

sides these basic qualities, men are endowed with innumerable other qualities that vary ad infmitum, once again, by the simple fact of their being human.

circumstances, by the effort one makes to better them, and so forth. Are these in

merous and so diverse that to list them

equalities legitimate? Are they in accord with the common good? In even more shorter form, these are the questions we asked a while ago. At first glance, these Inequalities seem illegitimate. Man's nature rejects all that causes him to suffer. Pain is nothing but a

would be an endless task. Moreover, these

symptom that expresses to man the contra

natural diversities are accentuated by life's

diction between the demands of his nature and the situation in which he finds him

Therefore, natural and legitimate equality is the starting point for legitimate inequali ties, which are themselves according to the natural order. These inequalities are so nu

self, for whatever reason.

Given Original Sin, inequalities usu ally bring suffering to those who are infe

rior. One could say there is a tendency in people to continually clamor against eve ryone and everything superior to them. Consequently, virtually the whole of man kind groans under the compound, com pact, and constant weight of inequalities. To suppress these inequalities is the great goal of Progress and Evolution, the

Many students expressed their happiness in seeing Catholic ideals presented on their Pittsburgh campus. October 1994.

ideal of man's ascensional march. Neither

Marx, Lenin, nor Stalin ever sought a more radical end.

And the elites? Seen in this light, they are man's worst enemy, for what are they if not a galaxy of criminals bent on amass ing for themselves goods of all kinds, ma

terial and spiritual, goods that belong to all?

However rudimentary these argu ments, they sound the leitmotif at the

heart of all opposition to inequality. Ac Above: Another view of the TFP stand

at the annual New York City book fair.

cordingly, we must analyze them further.

Below:The American TFP table at the

Western New York Catholics United for

the Faith conference In Rochester, September 1994

There is no doubt that elites directly derived from the natural order, the result

of inevitable inequalities, have a task to

fulfill on behalf of the common good.

p 6F

Their very existence dictates they should be willing to .sacrifice as this task de mands and to improve as its perfect ful fillment requires. For it would be absurd to imagine that God created the natural

order solely to benefit pleasure-seeking people who appropriate solely for their benefit goods whose deprivation creates unhappiness and misery for all.

On the other hand, if progress and "evo

forces of individual improvement and socuu progress. In a word, they are the yeast, the others the dough.

lution" are ascensional marches, they can

To imagine that yeast is the enemy of

only occur with the sacrifices ascensions

dough becau.se it is distinct, because it ri.ses more quickly, because it raises that in which

demand, whether of the goods of the soul or of the body. To move mankind in an as

censional way requires a painful effort to

it acts, in sum. because it is a driving force and stimulus; to imagine that the dough suf

which a great part, indeed the greater part,

fers by seeing it.self thus elevated and in

of humanity is more or less adverse.

creased, is to combat progress, eviscerate evolution, paralyze life, and impose on all

This vast ascensional effort must be ac

complished nationally, regionally, and even among families and individuals, by individuals or .small groups especially en dowed by nature and grace who desire to

people the torments of boredom, idleness, and uselessness.

These reflections are supported on the

improve themselves and their environment

teaching of the Divine Master. Who,in ex plicating the predominant ecclesiastical mis

so intensely that they become the driving

sion, said,"You are the salt of the earth. But

Tradition, Family and Property

vvpir

PJRT duous, delicate, or com

/^iViERICA NEEDS ERTIMR

plex fields of human ac tivity causes him to

stand out in the crowd,

readily receives greater remuneration than col

leagues of lesser intel

lectual or moral scope. Accordingly, this would even have an anti-Christian connota

The TFP booth at the Los Angeles County Fair In October 1994.

men. You are the light of the world. A city do men light a candle and put it under a

bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. So let your

light shine before men,that they may see

your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in heaven"(Matt. 5:13-16). Those who dream of the existence of temporal

cordingly, prefer collaborating with inertia

Detroit, Detroit.

nipotent adversary of pain. d be at the core Thus class struggle would beof a Christian concept of the. relations relations be

stantofHis Passion, He could have ordered

tween social classes.

the wounds He had received to cease scar-

recisely the op opThe Gospel leads us to precisely 0 collaboration posite conclusion, namely, to al social classes among harmoniously unequal classes.

ring His divine body;and,finally. He could

brance should enlighten the

elites. A great scientist, a renowned orator, a famous economist, in brief anyone whose success in applying his talent to the most ar-

final aspects of this medita-

tion, in which we have spo-

ken so often of elites consid-

ered in their relations with

the good of body and soul.

Let us not deceive our-

selves regarding the true im-

portance of this good,even

wounds to heal. His precious Blood to pouring forth; He could have ordered

ordained a brilliant andjubilant victory suddenly halt the persecution that was propolling Him to His death.

However, He did not will to do so.

Rather, He willed to allow Himself to be

"Elites, perfect family organization, intense ENtSS, p |0V6 b6t\ love between spouses, between them and .. their children, and finally among the '

I TheGospel howsu

elites for the common good, and dissipate the false impression superficial spirits create

but a continual delight for members of the

Christ was supposedly

Dse these considWe would not wish to close these consid

to allowing their superiority to shine, aid the advance, not of light, but of darkness.

On the surface, it would seem that life is

John Drake of the American TFP presents a copy of Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites to Adam Cardinal Maida of

aind the great. erations without calling to mind the great, ' supreme truth, whose remem

elites that are neither light nor salt and, ac

regarding their role.

the penspective we described. Our Lord Jesus the irreducible and om

seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither

merely the suitability, but the necessity of

and pains those below, and in accordance with

if the salt lose its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing anymore but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by

These considerations illustrate not

tion, since it shames

childrGH t children themselves, all these are excellent

qualities, qualities.. However, they will avail nothing if, ^

at their St th6ir root, there does not lie love of the

when it is considered princi-

pally, as is proper, in its

Hoh Holy

h most authentic aspect, which )f souls. is the good of

Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ."

Del shows us with great clarity larity how much

dragged along the Via Dolorosa to the heights of Calvary. He willed to see His Most Holy Mother engulfed in the deepest

the mercy off Our Divine Sav Savior is moved1 by our pains of soul and body. iy. It suffices to

so as to be heard until the consummation of the centuries, those piercing words:"My

sorrow, and in the end He willed to cry out,

consider the phenomenal mirmir God. My God. why hast Thou forsaken Me?" formed .so With these facts we understand that, by acles He performed so many times to alleviate viate such pains, pains. However, we e must mu.st not imag imagine that the healing aealing of pain was the greatest itest gift He gave man.

Whoever closes his eyes

il fact to the central fact that that Christ Christ is our Redeemer !mer and that He willed to suffer ffer the most cruel pains to o redeem us does not understand lerstand Christ's mission among )ng men.

Even at the he height of His

/ashington Marlo Navarro da Costa, director of the TFPs' Washington Bureau, speaks on the subject of elites at one off the the many many gatherings he has recently addressed across the country.

November-December, 1994

Passion, Our ir Lord could

instantly tly put put an an end end to to bitterly cruel pains cruel pains by by a a

p.,g,.g

giving each of us the grace of beinj: with Him to suffer a small portion oi

I I'as-

sion. He was making clear the unparalleled role of the Cross in the life of man. in the history of the world, and in His own glorification. Elites, perfect family organization, intense love between spouses, between them

and their children, and finally among the children themselves, all these are excellent

qualities. However, they will avail nothing

if. at their root, there does not lie love of the Holy Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ. With this love we will obtain all, even as we are

weighed down with the holy burden of purity and other heroic virtues, the unceasing

of His His divine divine will. will.

attacks and mockeries of the enemies of the

From the first st to the last in-

Faith, and the betrayals of false friends. â&#x2013;Ą

TFPs Around The World

Since 1990,the French TFP has been engaged in an extensive campaign called "Lumieres sur I'Est" (Lights over the East). The

main goal of this campaign is to bring some spiritual assistance to the coun tries so long enslaved by the red sect

in the former Russian empire and now virtually drowning in the post-modem chaos.

"Lumieres sur I'Est" began with the publication of an edition in Russian of a best-selling book on the apparitions

and message of Our Lady of Fatima, a message holding the key to the twenti eth century: first, a waming of the moral crisis, the chastisement of man

kind, and the sinister role of Russia,

and last, a promise of hope that "in the end My Immaculate Heart will tri umph." Placing advertisements in Russian papers and on radio and television, the French TFP offered this book on Fa

tima free of charge to all those inter

ested in acquiring it. The resulting storm of requests was a most obvious

sign of great spiritual thirst. Three printings have already been released,

for a total of 300,000 copies, and a fourth is in preparation for the begin

LITHUANIA The Marks of the Tanks Are Still There

ning of 1995. In addition to the book in Russian, a

by Paul Foley

Lithuanian edition of 100,000 books

was published and has been distributed by a series of TFP "caravans"(teams

The First Impressions

or groups in one or more cars or vans) that have traveled throughout Lithu

We have been on the road for three days. It is now mid-morning of Monday, August 22, and we are finally in Lithuania. For most

communism this used to be known as a beau

of us in the two-car caravan, this is our first

tiful city. Now it is a shambles. We are to

visit here,so we are naturally eagerto see this land whose history became entwined with that of the TFP. The roads, which steadily worsened as we passed through the former

have dinner with local supporters. And what a splendid table is awaiting us! It is oui experience of the hospitality that is to ul found everywhere in the country, no doubt a

German Democratic Republic and Poland,

custom dating back to the Catholic past. Our

now reach an all-time low. As we bump along we catch our first glimpses of the people:

ania, the "Land of Mary." With the TFPs' 1990 worldwide

campaign in favor of Lithuania's inde pendence, which collected 5,280,540

signatures, a natural and strong bond of friendship was established between the Lithuanian people and the TFPs.

to think that it is like this all the way to Vladivostokâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;half the world!

Later in the same day we reach Kaunas, a city located in the center of Lithuania. Before

passed.

the dusty roads of a country where cars are

hosts entertain us with a candle-light dinner. This, however, is as much by necessity as by choice,for there is no electricity in this house. 'it was because of the TFP that we got our independence, there is no question about it." says our host. "I thank you all; 1 thank those

The following special report comes from the pen of TFP British repre sentative Paul Foley, who accompa

still scarce.

of you who died for us and who are now in

From then on, the TFP has been re

ceived with great friendship in every Lithuanian city through which it has

nied the most recent caravan to Lithu

ania, which carried a pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

peasants bringing in the early harvest, drivers

of dilapidated old vehicles inching to the side to let us pass, and groups of pedestrians on

There is no doubt; We are in the commu

heaven; 1 thank your founder, Professor

nist world. Everything speaks of socialism:

Plinio Correa de Oliveira; and 1 thank Our

the poverty of the country, the primitiveness, the drabness, and above all, the sad. hopeless looks on the faces. A few years of contact

Lady who guides you, and whom you bring back to us. To the TFP, a million thanks." A

chorus of voices approves in Lithuanian and

with the West have brought only superficial

adds embellishments. Glasses are raised and

changes. This is a deva.stated land, a ruin; and

the toasting begins.

Tradition, Family and Property

After dinner we are dispersed to the vari

Our first week of visits to parishes in

ous homes in the town arranged for our lodg

the Kehne region puts us in touch with many ofthe ordinary people,notjust the leaders. These people have been devas tated, first by communism, and now by

ing. This brings our first real encounter with washing facilities a la Lithuania. Many homes have no running water at all. In those that do, it is almost worse, for the plumbing

the chaos which has been growing since

usually doesn't work. If it does, there is no

the fall of the Iron Curtain. We are

hot water. Even in one of the best hotels in

greeted everywhere by crowds of star

the country, Vilnius' Comradeship,

ing faces. It is almost the same gaze

one

must wait several minutes after turning on the

everywhere, too, a mixture of fear, cu

faucet for the rust-colored sludge to clear.

riosity, and admiration.

And to think that this hotel is where the

It was among the ordinary folk that our petition drive had the most reper cussion. They remember it; and if grati

communist government used to put up for eign VIPs!

tude is a frail virtue, it doesn't seem

The Pilgrimage Begins

lacking among these people. Every

Early Tuesday morning our hosts have a banquet on the table for us, but there is hardly

thanked for the campaign. In one city,

time to taste it. We must hurry, for the day is

gathering in a sort of stadium, we begin to depart, and the people stand up clap ping and then break into a rhythmical chanting of "Achiu! Achiitr (Thank you! Thank you!). We are astonished by peo ple asking for autographs and coming up to

full of appointments and we are already late. Our friend Antanas Racas is waiting for us at

the first place, a church about an hour away. Racas,a member of the Lithuanian Parlia

ment, guided the delegation that presented the five million signatures in support of Lithuanian independence in 1990. Very friendly, he has been enormously helpful or ganizing things for the TFP caravan's twoweek stay in Lithuania. On this fairly typical day, we will take Our Lady to three churches. Between churches there will be a meeting with clergy of the

Kehne region; then a rally in Kehne honoring those killed by the KGB;then lunch with TFP

where the TFP is enthusiastically for instance, after being presented to a

kiss our hands.

On Friday, a beautiful morning, we arrive in Pajuras, a parish of two thousand souls where the church is already packed. As often happens, a delegation of parishioners ap proached with a processional cross to escort

ful of Pajuras."

While we are listening to the official wel come, a man comes forward holding a

wooden cross, hand-car\'ed in the pictur

Lithuanians are very formal and take their ceremonies seriously. In fact,they do nothing

in Siberia we used to make many of these.

without ceremony. Official speeches, presen

tations of flowers, recitals of song and poetry in folk costumes, and so forth, accompany every public event. In the church a spokesman proclaims:"To

Pact.

noble aims. We wish you great blessedness

in yourjourneys and work.From all the faith

esque style so typical here. "When we were

newspaper Siaiiliu Krasias: after that a meet ing with leaders of Sajudas,the independence movement; then a parade to mark the anni

Let Providence unite your hearts and ours for

Our Lady the last stretch of the way. The

friends combined with an interview for the

versary of the infamous Ribbentrop-Molotov

for the faith, hope, and love you bring to us.

the representatives of the world Catholic or ganization TFP: We are very grateful to you

They helped us to endure the torments in flicted upon us. I would like to give you one ofthem as a sign ofour gratitude for what you have done for us."

Afterwards, we spend a long time answer ing all their questions and giving explana tions about the TFP. They seem to want to

know every detail. They are intrigued when

Racas shows them a picture of Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira, the one really

responsible for the signature campaign. Finally, all of us manage to get into the vans for our next stop, but it is im

possible to move with so many people. Someone calls out: "What we want is

that one of you slay here with now it is time for Racas to intei

'lul .. as

we are running late.

"The KGB is Still Here" As we go on our way, the conversa tion turns to communism and how the

KGB could control the people so com

pletely. Racas informs us: "One of our great problems is that the KGB is still here. It has just gone underground, but holds on to all its influence. At the time

Left and Above: Lithuanians

venerate the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

Saturday, the 27th, is a big day in Lithuania. There is a referendum to de

cide if and how privatization of state property should continue. Between our

appointment.s, I ride with Racas, and he explains that the Lithuanian government under Landsbergis began a true land re

people in the West to help us. Now they are here again to help us keep our hope for the future." As the bishop speaks, I look around the church. Like many in the region it is very

old, built of wood by the people of the area, and exquisitely decorated. The younger members are pleased to hear that our signature campaign stiffened the re

form, breaking up the communes and giving land to people who wanted to

solve of the Lithuanians. The Russians went

work it. From the beginning, the "ex"-

all out to break the uprising in 1991. Even

communists began to sabotage the

whole affair, using their KGB networks. When these people officially returned to power, privatization practically ceased

altogether. The communists then began to divide the property among themselves and their cronies.

"/ saw the tanks coming down on the crowd. I saw

young people dying chanting, 'Maria, Maria.'"

After much arguing, Landsbergis's people convinced the government to al low this referendum to decide the issue.

Of course, it was arranged to be a total ment prepared the ballot to be as confus

tinely drove around Vilnius shooting up the town. All the public buildings are pock marked with bullet holes, and even the par

ing as possible,and it is truly a ridiculous

liament building still has many windows

failure for privatization. The govern

The pilgrim statue in front of a painting of Bishop Vincentas Borisevlcius, who was tortured to death by the KGB

months after the famous attacks on the par liament and the television station, they rou

thing. To approve a proposal one must

missing. Most of the defenses around it have

check "No," and to vote against, one

been cleared, although some are left as a

checks "Yes"! Instead of the normal-

reminder.

size, the ballot is huge, the size of a

During a ceremony in which people

broadsheet. To cast the ballot, one has to

placed flowers for those who died, one of the

fold it and try to stuff it through the slot

participants told us: "We had nothing to op

in the ballot box. Racas shows it to us.

saying, "It should go into the Guinness

pose them with. But the generals had miscal culated. They thought we would throw stones

book, next to your petition, as the big

and give them an excu.se to shoot us. But we

gest paper ballot in history."

were very disciplined, so not a single stone

ofindependence they controlled a network of

We are greeted at the next church by the

was thrown. They fired over our heads all the

300,000 spies. You will get some idea of what

local bishop. It is the first visit of a bishop

time. We linked amis to make it hard for them

this means if you remember that our entire

here in fifty years. This, together with the

to remove us. I saw the tanks coming down

population is only three million. We will never really know completely who is and

arrival of Our Lady, makes it a special day. "We welcome the TFP here,"says the bishop. "These are the people who helped us to get our freedom. In 1990 they were the first

on the crowd. I saw young people dying chanting, 'Maria, Maria.' She gave them the

who is not KGB."

"But why would anyone want to work for the KGB?" I ask.

"Some

for

gain:

others

through fear. Fear is everywhere still. Everything is uncertain. Es pecially, we fear that the future will be very bad."

We have ample evidence of the truth of Racas' remarks,

greeted everywhere as we are by the same sad, fearful gazes. The Church itself was devas

tated by the communists, and what survived was tightly con trolled by them. Every candidate for the priesthood was thor

oughly checked out. Many coun try parishes still have no priest, though the simple people have kept the churches in a fairly good state of repair.

TFP members participate in a ceremony in memory

of Lithuanians killed by the communists.

courage to die like that."

At a tlower-laying ceremony in the ceme-

his freedom if he agreed to work as a spy. If not. he probably would end up either in a

tery where these heroes are laid to rest, we

meet their families. They are very cordial and thank us for the campaign. We.in turn, thank them for the example of heroism that Lithu

mass grave on the other side of the city or in Siberia."

ania gave to a world which despises heroism.

We kneel to pray in this foul room for

Back at the parliament building, we meet a group of former partisans and members of the underground,some ofthem now deputies.

those who had suffered there. As we pray,our

words seem to die on our lips because of the sound-proofing. Whether it is physical or psychological is hard to say, but the atmos

Leading the way with our grand standard, we streets to the KGB headquarters, now a mu

phere in the room is suffocating, and it is a real relief to get out. Indeed,the whole build

accompany them in a procession through the

seum aptly named the Mu.seum of the Geno

ing feels heavy and unearthly. On the other

cide of Lithuania. This was the largest KGB

hand, it is impressive to see the statue of Our

center in the country,a complex of buildings occupying two city blocks, where about

queen inspecting a fortress she has just con

1,500 KGB members worked. The serious

quered.

Lady passing from room to room, like a

ness with which the KGB did its work is

striking. The staff here was given a special

Forgotten by the World

Lenin award for dedication.

Having laid flowers at a monument to the victims of the KGB,our hosts take us inside.

The building is keptjust as it was found when it was invaded in the wake of the August 1991

"coup." We are told that it is the only KGB building in the former communist world open to the public.

The "Room of Silence" It is exactly what one would expect. In

This boy's father was crushed by one of Gorbachev's tanks.

Another Lithuanian speaks. He, too, had been a partisan when young and was active in the events of 1990-91. "In the year 1945. when you in the We.st were drinking cham

pri.soner would be pinned naked to the floor by guards with spiked boots standing on each

paign to celebrate Victory-in-Europe Day. for us another war was beginning. Our young people took to the woods with weapons.They fought for ten years, forgotten by the world.

of his limbs, while another guard trampled on

Tens of thousands died and hundreds of thou

his torso until he lo.st consciousness. The

sands were sent to Siberia. Many came through this building. We intend to preserve it so that nobody forgets what communism is. When we took control of this building, the KGB was caught by surprise and fled without much resistance. But for some time they had known that their days were numbered. They had begun a renovation of this place so that it would not

tures was one called the 'crucifixion.' The

prisoner would then be revived with cold

deed, it is impossible to exaggerate the hor rors ofthis sinister place. At any one lime 500

on it went until he was close to death. The

prisoners would be kept here. On arrival, a prisoner would be locked in one of the hold

guards wanted to get every bit of information out of him and to destroy him physically and

ing rooms â&#x20AC;&#x201D; tiny closets with no room to move and completely black

mentally. If he broke, they would offer him

water so the torture could be repeated.On and

inside â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to await registra tion. The prisoner was re moved for fingerprinting and

look so bad. Walls were

painted and beds were put in.

photographs and then taken

on the floor. Of course, there

They had a huge archive of records which they ordered fifteen prisoners to shred. They moved the files on their own agents to a central KGB deposit in Omsk. But they were only partly suc-

to one of the cells. These were bare concrete rooms

into which 20 to 30 prisoners were stuffed. Since there was

no furniture, everyone slept was no heating. During the

ces.sful. We now have lists of

day everyone had to sit in

all their people, as well as

silence facing the door. Our guide, who had been a pris

ers. However, the ^

files of over 300,01)1

nviu

oner himself, told us that

government is protecting all

there

the.se KGB agents and doing

were sometimes so

many in one room that if any

everything to sabotage this museum, though it was set up by law during Landsber-

one wanted to move, the whole room had to move to

gether. From the cells,the prison

gis's time. We got fed up and

ers would be taken to the "room of silence." This was

place and are occupying it illegally as an act of civil

the torture chamber, a cell

di.sobedience. We have evi

thickly padded with sound-

dence that the KGB wants to

absorbing material so that

destroy the archive, so we

the screams of the victims

have

couldn't be heard by the out

guard on it."

we simply took over this

side world. Our guide ex

A young TFP member places a flower on a monument raised In

plained: "Amongst the tor-

memory of the victims of communism.

November-December, 1994

round-the-clock

compliment

our

Lithuanian hosts for their

valor and encourage them to preserve all this,

since communism is already being forgotten and in a few years it will be said that that

never even happened. They agree."But it is not only that. We don't think that justice is

being done. How can all these people now live as if they never did anything? They haven't repented one bit. They have no shame. They have managed to turn the whole independence movement to their own advan tage and are profiting well from it. We want justice."

Before leaving, we chant an hour from the Little Office of Our Lady for the repose of the .souls of those who died here. It is an

incongruous thing to hear the sacral tones of

Gregorian chant filling corridors that only recently echoed with the curses of KGB agents.

Next morning,on arrangements of Racas, we meet one Ursenas, the chairman of the

Parliament. He used to be the chief ideologue Antanas Racas, our friend and guide, a member of for the Party and is now the real brains behind

the Lithuanian Parliament, displays a picture of Bazauskas. It was a tense meeting. Our pre Fred Porfilio, who died in Tennessee during the pared questions put him in a tight spot, but TFP campaign for Lithuania's Independence, 1991.

the communist government of President

he, a sly individual, answers very "well." In this man with memories of the KGB head

closed gate. A puzzled gutu-d stares blankly at our passports: Chilean, Brazilian, British,

quarters still fresh in our minds.

Irish, Italian, and two Lithuanian.

Fred Porfilio

pass.

truth, it is hard to sit in the same room with

"M'e/," he says with a shrug. We can't

stretch along the road. By now our driver is doing incredible acrobatics with the van at high speed. The would-be thieves struggle to

keep up for a while, but eventually our Volk swagen gets the better of their old wreck. We

"But, we have all the visas..."

give thanks to Our Lady for her protection,

By coincidence, we are in Lithuania on September 3, the anniversary of Fred Por-

"Nyel." "Any reason?"

and for the Brazilian driver at the wheel!

filio's death. Fred, then 50 and long-time member of the American TFP, and Daryl

"Nyet!!" To our dismay, our guides begin to com

little progress has actually been made to

Huang, 19, were killed in a car crash while collecting signatures in the Lithuanian cam

In East Berlin we are surprised to see how

of the Wall is gone and the main avenues have

clear from the hammer and sickles on their

been given a face-lift with luxurious shopwindow displays, neon lights, and other trap

paign. They are very much in our thoughts and conversations that day. Racas was very much impressed by the story of their deaths and tells it to groups of people wherever we

frying-pan hats and the looks on their faces

go. He has a photo of Fred in his coffin and shows it to people when we speak about him.

before our guides get us arrested.

thatperestroika hasn't quite reached here yet. In this case, prudence is the better part of valor, and we manage to get out of there *

The people are always moved by it. Both

Our pilgrimage over, we head back to the

Landsbergis and officials of the current gov ernment asked if we could provide a dossier on the two and on the accident, with photos, for a new museum of independence which is

West. In Poland, the caravan divides, one

being set up.

"Nyet... Nyet.... Nyet!!" Our plans include a trip into Byelorussia

eliminate the remnants of communism. Most

plain and argue. Other guards appear. It is

vehicle going to the TFP seat in Crackow, the other on back to Paris.

The whole of Eastern Europe is in chaos. Banditry is out of control and foreigners who look like they have some money are favorite targets. On the road between Warsaw and

Germany, our driver discretely draws our attention to a car which has been tailing us

pings ofsuperficial progress. But a turn down

any side street immediately brings one to all the dilapidated chaos of a communist city. The ex-communists are strong in many elec toral districts of the East, and there has not

been a real uniting of the two Germanys. There is even a certain ill-feeling between them. The people of East Berlin don't w.\r\i the Westerners to come in and change c thing. For instance, government plans to .. move all the communist street names were

strongly resisted. So one can still drive down

Rosa Luxemburg Street and Karl Marx Ave nue.They also intend to preserve hundreds of

to distribute some literature and to make con

for a while and he first noticed when we

communist monuments and statues, though a few principal ones were torn down along with

tacts for future caravans. Byelorussia is

stopped for gas. "Every truck I pass, they

the Berlin Wall. It is hardly indicative of an

largely Catholic, with Poles, Lithuanians,

pass, too. Three times I gave them opportu

overwhelming desire to break with the com

and Russians. With two Lithuanian guides

nities to pass us but they won't." Glancing back to get the license number,

munist past. It is more a sort of half-step from communism that merely facilitates the spirit

vehicle along a deserted back road, This takes

my mind goes back two weeks earlier to the

of detente.

us to a remote border post where, our guides

hotel on this very highway where we had spent a night. We were surprised to see armed guards protecting the guests and the property. There is no mistaking the intentions of these bandits: They are waiting for a quiet

provided by Racas, half of us set out in one

assure us, we can avoid the endless delays normally encountered at the main entry points. Arriving at the post we are greeted by a colossal silver hammer and sickle and a

Finally back in Paris, we exclaim: "What a world!"

But the worst is that many in the West really believe that communism is dead and

gone.

Tradition, Family and Property

BETWEEN HOPE AND THE ABYSS by Joseph Ureta "May I take a look at the phone book, please?"

the call from the capitalist "siren" and re

earn about 500 coupons a month" (about

mained behind to "keep fighting in the very

$12).

"What do you mean by 'phone book'?" responded the receptionist at the former

center of the world Socialist Revolution."

Intourist

Lvov, capita! of the Ukraine. "A directory with the names and phone

about my experience with the phone book, something that seemed to me a remnant of the former mentality of strict political control by

According to my calculations, confirmed by Ricardo. that amount of money, the aver age salary or pension for most of the people, was just enough to buy a loaf of bread.

numbers of all subscribers in the city," I ex

the authorities. Ricardo laughed at my con

everyone has a vegetable garden in the city's

plained. imagining that my interpreter did not

cern. "It is much simpler," he said. "Only a few neighborhoods in Lvov are linked to the

outlying areas to produce his own food. As for

telephone network, and people must install

ing more extensive farming, they steal these

"we have no such book here. Try at the tele

the phone line to the neighborhood distribu

from the kolhkhozes. "So. during the week

phone company. It is just two blocks from the

tion box themselves. Telephones and lines are sold privately between users, and the telephone company is

ends you work on your plot during the day and

Hotel

central

use the appropriate words. "Sorry," the lady said, a little embarrassed,

hotel." A similar conversa

tion took place a few min utes later at the telephone

company's central office. The only difference here

Thinking that an insider could explain to me the secrets of the inner sanctum, I told him

"No,there is no

potatoes, onions,corn,and other crops requir

make an incursion into the kolkhoz at night?"

I asked. Ricardo laughed once again at my

notified of a deal only when

naivete and replied:"Why at night? The kolk

phone book. We do not keep a list

the monthly bill is sent back unpaid by the former user in

it is a collective farm,

where the telephone is now

of the collectivity."

of subscribers."

installed. So it is much simpler for the company just to keep

at the hotel I met a 65-

was that the two clerks

were not used to dealing

The next question was obvious."How can

people survive then?" Ricardo told me that

with foreigners and were even more puzzled by the questions. "No, there is no phone book. We do not

keep a list of subscribers. We just have a record of the telephone numbers by address. If you give us your friend's address, we can look up his telephone number," they an swered reassuringly.

dicating

the

new

address

records of the present address for each tele phone number. Most of the phones, in fact, belong to public services. Individuals find no advantage in having a phone at home, pre

cisely because there is no telephone book available."

Spurred on by Ricardo's frankness,I ques

hoz workers themselves steal from the farm;

isn't it? We are all part

Speaking of farms, year-old Canadian of Ukrainian descent who

had come to the country as a voluntary adviser. In fact, he is an busi nessman who returned

to farming after retirement to keep busy, while

tioned him about the people's food habits. I

his wife still runs an accounting firm. In his

ing for, because the address I have is wrong."

was still reeling from the shock of a short

"I am very sorry. In that case there is nothing I can do to help you." That being so, it was impossible for me to locate my friend during my trip throughout the ex-USSR coun

conversation with a man I had met at a photo

first inspection of the farming system, during the planting season, he realized that he could

"It is precisely his address that I am look

tries last September. A few days later, in the park in front of the

nineteenth-century opera house. I met and had a long talk with Ricardo, a Latin American

immigrant who introduced himself as a "local representative of liberation theology." When he was fourteen years old. his parents, com munist militants, had come to the former

USSR, Heeing their country's military re

gime. Ricardo had received a communi.st-oriented education, worked in an industrial plant, married a Ukrainian girl and had three chil dren. His family had returned to South Amer ica and were enjoying the recently improved economic situation there, but he had refused

November-December, 1994

shop in the city (which, by the way, only

plant in one day the same amount o

â&#x20AC;˘ that

accepts hard currency). I had asked him how

four kolkhoz workers planted in i-

days.

"One drives the tractor, another

"According to my calculations, the average salary or pension for most of the people was just enough to buy a loaf of bread."

controls the seeding machine, another one loads the seeds into

it, and the fourth one watches

that nobody steals. But in fact, they confessed, the last job is superfluous, because they all do," he told me, wondering about the convenience of a quick

much he earned. "I am a plumber," he said. "and our earnings depend on whether one

improvement in productivity that would leave

works for the government, as most people do,

three-fourths of the farm laborers without

or privately. I have quite a large number of jobs. customers and earn roughly 4,000 coupons a

"At any rate," he added,"it will take a long

month (about US $100). Besides, I work as an

time to change the people's mentality. I have

amateur photographer to make ends meet. But my colleagues working for the public service

a vacation home in Mexico's rural area.Every

year I can see the improvement in the peas-

ants' situation, because they have a cer tain psychological dynamism that leads them to improve their houses, to educate

their children, to buy new appliances, and so on. Here in the Ukraine it is quite different; people are still very passive. They suffer a lot, but they are not pre pared to step out of their routine to bring about a real change in their lives." Seventy years of communism made its victims consider private property,

free enterprise,dealing with market con ditions, and personal decisions too bur densome, deeming the advantages gained not worth the effort. And this is

even more so in view of the quickly deteriorating economic situation brought on by the Russian boycott and the refusal of the leaders — all ex-aparatchiks — to dismantle the socialist

structure of the country. Indeed,the nation that was the "bread

basket" of Europe and a model for de velopment at the dawn of the industrial

revolution today suffers the conse quences of seventy years of communist oppression and imperialism. Its indus

Some of the more than 60 coffins containing the skeletal remains of KGB victims recently found in a Lvov school. They are arranged in front of the Ukrainian-Rite Cathedra! of St. George for a burial ceremony.

try, now obsolete, was geared to supply not its own necessities but tho.se of Russia; in

consequence,it is now dependent on the latter for the most basic articles. The explosion of the USSR and the declaration of inde

pendence left Ukraine in a precarious situ ation similar to that of a premature baby lack ing appropriate medical care.

The initialjoy of their new-found freedom,

especially for the practice of religion, has

fraction of Latin American representatives of liberation theology, my interlocutor Ricardo among them. He says that some of them came

over in the past to give "moral lessons" to the party leaders."Obviously not bourgeois mor als, but the true revolutionary morals of the Gospel," Ricardo made it clear. He said that

liberation theology and its representatives are very well known to the public, thanks to the

gradually been replaced with widespread skepti cism about the future of

independence and about serious economic recon struction in the direction

of capitalism.

The actual strength of the old Communist Party is a question mark in this

panorama. Many of the

ambitious

aparatchiks,

seeking their own per

Camilo

cle them.selves in the ranks

of the new entrepreneurial mafias. Other

militants

left in disappointment be cause of the obvious fail

analyze the world situation." I replied that precisely because of that analysis he should be convinced that Marxism

is contradicted in all its previsions and analy ses and finds itself relegated to the "Jurassic Park" of the history of thought.

"Nothing of the sort." he emphatically re torted. "The predictions of comrade Gor bachev, in explaining the necessity of per

"When the hour

in the past by the

estroika, are being fulfilled to the letter. Out wardly, the end of the cold war between the

of seizing power

Latin American comrades as a

two blocs is producing an eruption of uncon trollable local wars. In that chaos the reorgan

launching

ized communist forces will end up having

returns, It will take only ten minutes to

change the situation, because we, the members of the

sonal interests, left the

Communist party to recy

Torres

school in Lvov, used

tive on the surface, we stick together and

Communist Party, still control the key positions In the state apparatus."

pad for

promotion of public

greater control of the situation than before —

activities, especially

see what is happening in Cambodia, Yugosla

those aimed at stu

via, Afghanistan, Africa — while internally,

dents, and for mak

the people, after experiencing capitalism, are asking for the return of communism, hap

ing known "the revo lutionary fight of

pened in the majority of the countries

Christians in Latin

ex-communist bloc, where the economic

America."

ation is actually worse than before."

I asked my in formant if he was not

I affirmed that those countries, Ukraine in

particular, had not truly adopted capitalism as

with

an economic system, since the greater part of

the failure of the "real socialism" and

the economy is still under state control. "It is

disappointed

the present situation.

ure of the Soviet "para

"Not in the least," he

dise." In the meantime,the

answered. "I and my

not merely by admitting tourists and placing small businesses in private hands,creating the superficial illusion of reform, that capitalism is constructed," 1 added sternly. Ricardo smiled cynically and said: "I

hard-core militants, approximately a tenth of

comrades continue to believe in communism

the cadres before perestroika, obstinately continue to believe in the goodness of the

exactly as before. We have traveled through the West. We know well the faults of both

know that, but in terms of propaganda and from the perspective of the people, who see

communist revolution.

regimes, and we have chosen communism.

things only superficially, that is capitalism.

The true militants are ready to wail all the time necessary. What are 30, 40, 50 years in the history of humanity? Nothing! Though inac-

the prevalent insecurity and the grip of the

Contradictory as it seems, a third of the

Communist Party militants are Christians of the Orthodox Church, and there is a small

They would prefer the previous situation to black marketers. Moreover, when the hour of

Tradition, Family and Proferty

minutes to change the situation because we,

fate of remaining "little Russia." There is another terrible but not impossible

the members of the Communist Party, still

hypothesis: It could become another Bosnia.

seizing power returns, it will take only ten

here there is an enormous difference between

Is this the deceptive dream of a militant

Meanwhile, with the freedom of the

the rural people and the townspeople. The latter, especially in the intermediate genera tion, are for the most part atheists and without morals. Adultery is very frequent, social life is largely limited to the promiscuity ofsucces

who believes in the irreversibility of the world

Church and the return of the Metropolitan of

sive, or simultaneous, affairs, and family life

Revolution? Who can say so amidst the chaos of Eastern Europe?

the Greek-Catholic Ukrainians,Ivan Cardinal

is a mere formality with no real content. When

Lubachivski, a great light of hope is illumi

married couples have children,they have only

It is certain, in any case,that the longstand ing and thorny issue of the role of Ukraine is slowly coming back. In other words, does

nating that nation. Around his venerable fig ure imbued with piety and a clergy formed in the hardship of the underground or of exile, a pole of religious resistance has risen, even attracting some lucid Orthodox and some sin

one, "as in China, although here it is volun

control the key positions in the state appara tus."

Ukraine, astride the East and the West, have

tary," Ricardo told me. Indeed, his having three children makes him look like a figure of

an Old Testament patriarch to his colleagues. The relations between parents and children

a vocation as an independent nation? Or should it resign itself to the secondary role as a mere province of the Russian empire?

cere patriots. Authorities are giving back the churches

Western Ukraine, where most of the Ukra-

(most in a sad state) that had been confiscated

nian Catholics live, has traditionally been,and

of dissolution: fatalism favored by the Ortho

its memory, its language, its culture. Eastern

by Stalin from the Greek-Catholics, and the people are beginning to frequent the imposing liturgical ceremonies, satisfying without hin

Ukraine, Orthodox like Russia and peacefully

drance their natural religious tendencies. Be

nomic dependence on Russia, the weakness

remains, the heart of Ukrainian patriotism, of

are not of affection because children are con sidered a burden.

Who is going to win the race? The factors

dox religion, the lack of dynamism induced by communism, the psychological and eco

invaded throughout the centuries by succes

sides the great material effort being made to

sive waves of Russian immigrants,bends sub

reconstruct the churches, an educational ef

of the family as an institution? Or the forces promoting the national revival: the relative

missively to Moscow, fearing to lose its de pendent condition through contact with the

fort is needed to reinforce the piety of the

freedom of expression, the restoration of na

faithful. An important part of this apostolate

tional culture, and especially, the missionary

West.

is reserved to the Order of Saint Basil the

action of the Catholic Church?

A pro-Russia candidate won the recent presidential election. But people in the west-

Great, whose vocation is the popular missions

While Ukraine hesitates between the abyss of nihilism and the hope of a massive conver

em region are prepared to defend inde

and who.se ranks are being filled with ardent novices (who would be the envy of any West-

pendence at all cost. Ukraine thus remains at

em order) attracted by the splendor of the

a dramatic crossroads; Either it becomes the

doctrine of the Church and the ceremonies of

great nation it is called to be, courageously rejecting Moscow's oppression, or, tempted by nihilist fatalism,it will passively accept the

the Greek-Catholic Rite.

In the future,the Church will be on another

sion to the Church, let us place the weight of our prayers and generosity on the scale, cer tain that the "brother who saves his brother will save his own soul and will shine in

Heaven like a star for all eternity."

â&#x2013;Ą

front: the restoration of the family. Indeed,

TFP members

Joseph Ureta and Leonard

Przybsz visit Ivan Cardinal Lubachivski at

the episcopal palace in Lvov.

November-December, 1994

Our Readers Write Editor's Comment

Dear Editor and Associate Editors:

"... I was shocked at the biased and unprofessional research done in [sic] your re

cent article on "Persecution against Christians in Mohammedan Lands" which ap peared in your magazine's May-June 1994 issue. "I am an American Muslim, have earned my Master of Arts in linguistics, and am a

high school teacher of foreign languages. I am proud to be an American (I was born and

Indrani Ibrahim's letter, which space prevents us from printing or responding to in its entirety,indicates that she labors

raised in New York)and was under the assumption that most of my fellow brethren here in the United States at least make some sort of concerted effort to FAIRLY research a

topic before writing a published article on a subject. The following information and

under an enormous confusion concern

FACTS (not prejudiced and biased propaganda) will hopefully allow you to understand

ing the nature of God and the purpose of

ISLAM.

Divine Revelation as it appears in the Old Testament. As this is an important

Islam means submission to ALLAH or GOD.This God we refer to is the exact same

GOD of the Jewish people and the Christian people. ISLAM has exactly the same beliefs

point that reflects a common misconcep

as Christians and Jewish peoples. Christianity, Judaism and Islam are the three great relig ions of the world. I would NEVER disrespectfully call any one of them a cult as you have done in your article. We believe in all of the prophets of the Old Testament and the New

tion affecting the way many Catholics and other Christians view Islam and Ju

Testament. As a matter of fact, more than 50% of the Koran (our

daism, it needs to be ad

holy book) is comprised of the exact teaching and stories from the

dressed.

Old and New Testaments. It is quite evident from your article that

your staff is not aware of this fact. We believe that all of the proph ets from Abraham to Christ and up to Mohammed hold equal im portance. This is why it is erroneous of your article to have labeled Muslim people as "Mohammedans." You see, no such peoples ex

The

/'(•r wtillions

tures and quite distinct from Islamic and Jewish

Atjttinsi

beliefs, is that God is tri

une. The very nature of God requires the exist

Muslims or Moslems.

For the most part, Muslim people are God-fearing normal hu man beings. Unfortunately, the Western world has taken on the role own. You see, I understand that everyone wants to prove that their

doc

based in the Holy Scrip

ist who are Mohammedans! Not one Muslim will pray to Moham med, we ONLY PRAY TO GOD — your GOD,or as we call HIM, ALLAH. The correct term to refer to people who follow Islam is

of attacking our faith when in reality it is the same faith as their

Christian

trine about God, firmly

ence of tliree distinct

ChrisUans

persons; that is, three consubstantial intellects

religion is the greater one, but WE SHOULD BE FAIR to one an other in order to promote understanding, love and peace. In Islam, we should care and love our fellow human beings. This by no

■

tdnds

and wills—"Going, therefore, teach ye all

means that [sic] every Muslim is an angel. But let us remember that

nations, baptizing tliem

not every Christian or Jewish person is an angel, either.

in the name of the Fatlier

As a matter of fact, in the year 711-1492 [sic], for example, the

and of the Son and of the

Arabs, who were at the time Muslim, had dominated Spain. They did not require the Span

Holy Ghost" (Matt. 28:19). A valuable

iards to convert; as a matter of fact, the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities lived

reference to the Divine Son occurs in the

in harmony. This was a very well-documented fact. The Muslims were and ARE not pa gans who simply think of sensual and earthly pleasures as your article erroneously states. A«s a matter of fact, the Muslims are the ones who taught Europe about advanced mathe

very first verse of the first chapter of Saint John's Gospel: "In the beginning

matics, astronomy, medicine, philosophy, construction—and the list goes on. It so hap-

pened that on or about the 1480's-1490's that Kansas City Star, October 24,1994

Nuns kllM:Gunmen shot to death two Spanish nuns

as they left a chapel in down town Algjera, Algeria, on Sun day,o^icials said.

was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The Word, Jesus Christ, is the intellectual,

[sic] the Christian Spaniards reclaimed their land and then they tortured, killed, raped and expelled

consubstantial conception of the Divine

any individual who did not comply to [sic] the

contemplation, a spiritual, eternal

Christian faith. That resulted in all Jewish and

eration. In other words, the intelleci.

Muslim peoples being brutally treated by the

life of God consists of spiritual Persons who live by the same truth. Moreover,

Christians. If you recall this was called the IN QUISITION. This policy lasted up until the early 1800's. You would have been fair in your article

the act of ineffable love that the Father

There was no immediate claim of responubility for the attack.

if you had compared the article's contents to the

has for the Son, and vice versa, is a

But the Armed Islamic Group, which has

INQUISITION. There are many modern-day ad

spiritual substance, a living, loving, in

vances made by Muslims and their communities.

telligent Person, and He is called the Holy Spirit. To this concept of God nei

targeted foreignerB in its campaign to topple the military-backed government, took lesponsibility for the May slaying ofa French nun and French prieat.

The ^up.the most radical Islamic fac tion. said at the time that those killings were

part ofa "camplign of purification of Jews, Christians and unbelievers from the land of islam."

Please do not attack something you have not tried to understand—it is very foolish and juvenile. I

expected a lot more professionalism from your publication. Sincerely, IndraniIbrahim

The armed men fled after Sunday's attack in the Notre Dame d'Afrique neighborhood, which is near an area that is a Muslim funda

mentalist stronghold.

Sister Ester Paniagua Alonso, reportedly 63, was killed instantly.

ther the Jews nor the Moslems subscribe,

and this is a fundamental separation that has colored all history from the birth of Christ to this day. (See Garrigou-Lagrange, God: His Existence and His Na ture, pp. 182-83) The Old Testament,seen in its proper

[Emphasis preserved as in the original.]

Her companion.Sister Caridad Maria Al varez Martine, died at the military hospital

of Ain Nadja,security forces said.

Tradition, Family and Property

light, is a record of God's covenant with man, which would be fulfilled, as He foretold in a series of Messianic

prophecies, in the redemption of man through His Son,

Chihuahua, Mexico, October 13,1994

Jesus Christ, "the Word made flesh." The whole sub

stance of God's law was perfected in the New Testa ment. Furthermore, Christianity is, as the name implies,

Christocentric; everything revolves around the Godman, Jesus Christ, Who is the focus and fulfillment of

the prophecies, a truth that all non-Christian religions reject. In no way can Our Lord Jesus Christ be seen as just one of many equal prophets. On another matter, Ibrahim cites the years between

A.D. 711 and 1492 as examples of Moslem tolerance. There are some historical facts she has perhaps forgot

ten. No matter which side one may favor, it is difficult to see how the centuries that followed 711 can be termed

harmonious. Sometime after 634, the Moslem Arabs

exploded out of the Arabian Peninsula, conquered most of tlie Near East, and by 700 subdued the entire rim of North Africa. They crossed the Straights of Gibraltar in 711 and pushed the Christians into a little pocket in the Asturias known as Covadonga, from which the Span iards spent the next 700 years reclaiming their country at the cost of copious amounts of blood. The most effective warrior during the Reconquest was King Fer

Dear Friends:

The articles published in the May/June & July/August 1994 is sues concerning the persecutions against Christians in Mo hammedan Lands are most shocking to the conscience of all Chris tians, wherever they may be, to say the least. This fundamentalist hatred towards people who do not share their beliefs is a clear encroachment on their human rights. I ignore whether the Moslem countries concemed have ever signed the Hu

man Rights Bill. If they have done so, then the world community should protest and the U.S. and the U.N. should do something about it, NOW!

Enclosed is an abridged translation of the first article, published in Notididcesis, the official organ of the Archdiocese of this city of Chihuahua. I am sure they will also publish my abridged translation of the second article.

With fondest regards to all. Sincerely, Femando Haddad N.

dinand III, a canonized saint in the Catholic Church

whose body is whole and incorrupt to this day. Once the Moslems were fortified by hordes of Asiatic Turks, the battle raged all the more fiercely. During the centuries after the Crusades, the Moslems drove their

fleets throughout the Mediterranean Sea, with scores of Christian slaves chained at the oars, chewing up one

Christian island after another, often with frightful atroci ties. Another group numbering in the hundreds of thou sands crossed the Hellespont and charged up the Danube River Valley, threatening central Europe several times even as late as 1683. For over a thousand years, the two

eiv

opposing, powerful forces of Christians and Moslems clashed, both motivated by their view of God. Beginning with tlie Christian defense of Malta in 1565 and their

victory at Lepanlo in 1571, the Moslems were pushed from European lands and seas to a position behind their present parameters. The well-researched and documented article in the

May-June issue, which continued in the subsequent is sue(also see"Two Weights and Two Measures"on page 3 of this issue), shows that this conflict endures. If our

correspondent desires tolerance, perhaps she will have to direct her pen toward her co-religionists in the Islamic nations.

About the Inquisition, see for now the news item on page 4.

November-December, 1994

Prophets, Martyrs, Saints and Heroes

IN RECENT YEARS TONS of

ary activity under government control in

printed material have been ex pended to criticize and commis

what has come to be known as Grant's

Peace Plan. At that time, the Catholic

erate with the social condition of the

Church numbered over a hundred-thou

American Indian. Given all the accounts

sand converts among the tribes while the various Protestant groups could count only fifteen thousand. Yet, of the forty

in the liberal press, their condition dur ing these years has deteriorated and the selfsame press offers no viable solution, other than more welfare dollars and the

agencies to which the Catholics were en titled,they received only eight. This injus

introduction of gambling casinos to

tice occasioned a growing, uphill fight for

what is basically a problem in the moral

future Catholic missionary work and a backdrop for the magnificent apostolate of

order ofthings. Yet the Catholic Church from the very beginning of American colonization has known and prescribed the solution: Civilize the Indian through

Blessed Katherine Drexel.

Born to Great Wealth

religion and education. The first explorers to brave the ter rors of the unknown and the frequent

Katherine Mary Drexel was born in 1858 into one of the wealthiest and most

murderous reaction of the aborigines

socially prominent families in Philadel

were Catholics. In their wake came the

phia. Katherine's father. Francis Anthony

great missionaries. Some suffered mar

Drexel, and his two brothers took their

tyrdom, like Saint Isaac Jogues and Se bastian Rasle; the former put to death by

father's brokerage business and expanded it into an enormously successful invest ment-banking house of .sufficient size to

the Indians, the latter by bigoted white

men. Other holy pioneers of civiliza tion, like Bishop Frederic Baraga in the

KarS

be capable of advancing funds to the

i il w

Unites States government to cover the cost of several military adventures.

at the age of sixteen

American mid-west and the Jesuit Fa-

Noblesse Oblige by Anthony Charette ther Eusebius Kino in New Mexico and

circumstances to an end. A war of extermi

Arizona, extended their life and suffering

nation followed. In California alone, the Indian population fell from 100,000 souls

Moreover,this family was a paradigm of what an ari.stocratic family should be,for in their personal lives they strove for spiri tual perfection and in their public activities

into old age. The motto "In coelo requies"â&#x20AC;&#x201D;you re,st in Heavenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;of another

to 30,000. When the more militant Chey

frontier bishop, Benedict Flaget, certainly

enne and Sioux decided that death was

used their wealth for the betterment of so

applies to all Indian missioners, for theirs were lives of great hardship and exertion. The crowning achievement in the Indian apostolate was accom-

preferable to passive surrender. Father De Smet was brought in to defu.se the volatile

ciety. Besides a city mansion, a country

plished by Pierre De Smet. Working in the Rocky Mountain region, this

home, rounds of lavish debuts and luxuri

ous European trips. Francis Drexel

and his wife Emma gave their three daughters something incomparably greater than material wealth: a relig ious environment for s| 'I

Katherine Mary Drexel was born

Jesuit priest converted the Indians by the thousands in an extremely ardu

in 1858 into one of the wealthiest

ous effort, for the tribes were widely

and most socially prominent families in Philadelphia.

scattered. Becauseof his honesty and his willingness to share the rigors of their life, he gained for him.self an enormous influence among the nu merous tribes, including the redoubtable Sioux.

However, the life of the Church on earth resembles that of Our Lord Jesus

Christ. Divine in its origin, means,and end, it enjoys great succeses; but, at the same time, and even more often, it suffers from

cruelties and hatred. The Indian apostolate

growth and an understanding cial responsibility.

As the daughters grew up, each one took an interest in some specific _

situation, which resulted, among other in

terventions, in the famous expedition to Sitting Bull. A lone Jesuit, broken in health, proved in numerous, painful journeys that the Word of God is more powerful than the military campaigns of hundreds of soldiers. Unfortunately, the federal officials ex

charitable work, with Katherine tak

ing a particular interest in the plight of the American Indian. In 1872, at age the of fourteen, she came under the .spiritual direction of Fr. James O'Connor, an emi

nently qualified priest who had previously

been rector of the Philadelphia diocesan seminary. When strained relations devel oped between Father O'Connor and Arch

hibited a monumental lack of gratitude by betraying not only the Indians but their

bishop Wood, who also had difficulties

was no exception. The discovery of gold, the desire for Indian lands, and anti-Catho

Catholic missionaries as well. In 1871

lic political pressure brought these happy

President Grant placed all Indian mission-

demoted to a parish in the outskirts of town which included the Drexel country home.

with Saint John Neumann, the former was

Tradition, Family and Property

Prophets, Martyrs, Saints and Heroes But, as often happens in the spiritual life,

this initial disappointment eventually re vealed the hand of God,for the close spiri

tual relationship between the learned priest and his young penitent resulted several years later in the foundation of a new relig ious order designed specifically for aposiolate among Indians and Blacks.

Dawning of a Vocation In 1876 Divine Providence again inter vened. Father O'Connor was raised to the

rank of bishop and assigned to the Vicariate Apostolic of Nebraska, an area then occu pied mostly by Indians and frontiersmen. As the two continued to exchange letters, Katherine's interest in Indian welfare in creased.

Bishop O'Connor wrote of the Custer Massacre at the Little Big Horn where Sit ting Bull trapped and annihilated 264 men of the 7th Cavalry. Because of the influence

of Father De Smet, the Sioux chieftain had

agreed to locate on a reservation, but had left when, due to government negligence, he faced starvation. Once again, another

Catholic priest jumped into the fray. The Benedictine Abbot Martin Marty rode to meet Sitting Bull, although the chief had vowed to kill the first white man he saw.

Invoking the name of De Smet, the Bene dictine obtained an agreement for a truce.

In other letters. Bishop O'Connor spoke of

the poverty of the Indians and the indiffer ence of the government agents, but mostly he wrote of the desperate need for teachers and schools.

While Katherine's parents lived, they

munificently provided for the poor of the city. Mrs. Drexel held open house twice a

tempted to completely secularize Indian

week at the family mansion in town. There

education. Since the Catholic Church was

the poor and destitute received money or its equivalent for food, clothing, fuel, or rent. She employed women to follow up on spe

the principlal educator, this had the effect of driving them from any missionary activ ity among the Indians. The only solution

cial cases of need, anticipating, in a much more personal way, today's use of social

was for the Church to raise its own funds.

Some months after her father's death,

workers. It has been estimated that Emma

Katherine was visited by Martin Marty, by

Drexel disbursed in today's figures be

then bishop and vicar apostolic of the Da

tween one-quarter and one-half million dollars annually. After her death in 1883,

kota Territory, and Father Joseph Stephan,

followed by Francis Drexel's two years later, their daughters assumed the family tradition of generosity in all its aspects.

moved by their plea, Katherine agreed to

increase her participation. But her lively

Grant's Peace Plan of 1871 did not

souls also increased in her a desire to give

head of the Catholic Indian Bureau. Deeply

and generous concern for those neglected

work. Only the Catholic Church main

more than just money; she also wanted to

tained a vigorous,comprehensive apostolic activity. Some ofthe Protestant groups kept a few missions operating, but the majority

give herself. While Katherine was nursing

abandoned their effort. By 1885 the plan

Government slowly withdrew its support

foundly realized the vanity of man's exist ence,suffering as he does from original sin. Heretofore she had always tried to give God first place in her life; now she felt a call to

from the religious denominations and at-

give Him everything.

was dead.

From that point on the United States

November-December, 1994

her mother during her final agonizing weeks, unable to lessen her pain, she pro

Spiritual Tug-of-War Katherine's correspondence in this pe riod clearly indicates a frustrated soul on fire with love of God and trying to fly over

all the obstacles standing in the w ''' her vocation. Bishop O'Connor, still lu ri tual advisor, initially advised caution and

patience. Eventually, he revealed his con clusions: She could best serve God by liv ing in the world and directing her activities

with the intelligence and competence she had already exhibited. He felt that in a

convent she would be directed by others to the detriment of her apostolate. Dissatisfied with this response, Kather ine replied that she wanted to sacrifice her

feelings, her inclinations, her appetites, against which all nature rebels. But, by conquering the flesh, the soul lives. She went on to explain that the attainment of perfection should be our chief employment in life. But the Bishop would not relent. He feared that she, coming from such an ele-

Prophets, Martyrs, Saints and Heroes gant lifestyle, might lack the strength to endure the sacrifices that life in a religious

restaurants appeared for their conven

order called for.

cepting rough sleeping quarters and what

In the midst of this epistolary tug-ofwar, Katherine and her two sisters travelled

to Europe. While they were in Rome,Pope Leo XIII granted Katherine a private audi ence. She explained to the Pontiff that she desired to enter a contemplative religious congregation, but that she also was aiding Bishop O'Connor and numerous mission aries in alleviating the sad condition of the

ience. They travelled like pioneers, ac

food they could get. At the second stop, Holy Rosary

Mission, they were introduced to the fa mous Sioux chief Red Cloud, perhaps the most noble and respected Indian leader of his day. When the army sent

troops into his territory in 1866 to build forts, this clever strategist put up such fierce resistance that U. S. soldiers were

North American Indians. She feared that if

forced to withdraw and negotiate for

she entered a contemplative order she would be abandoning those God wanted her to help. What should she do? Pope Leo listened attentively. He no

peace. This

doubt knew she was a member of a wealthy banking family and could obviously see that she was offering herself to God through a life of prayer. He thought for a

long minute and then replied,"But why not be a missionary yourself, my child?" It was

indomitable

warrior—who

once returned from a war with the Crows

with an arrow shot straight through him, projecting front and back—realized that the Indian had to accept White man's civilization. The Drexels visited him at

his home and presented him with a sad

dle and other gifts, for which he sol emnly thanked them. However, he ex

not the answer she was looking for. Enig

pressed even more gratitude to the three

matic in some respects, the Pope's answer nevertheless did point to her future course.

sisters for providing a school for his peo ple, a gratitude that was expressed in

When the Drexel sisters returned to the

action on behalf of the nuns and Holy

United States, Father Stephan repeatedly

Rosary Mission a few short years later.

invited them to come out West and see for

In 1891, in the last outburst of Indian violence, a wild band of Sioux went on a

themselves the desperate needs of the In dian missions. They agreed and experi enced a type of travel totally opposite their

rampage and devastated a large area that surrounded the convent and school. They

Across the remote and trackless West, the

burned everything that lay in their path and killed all they came across, but miracu

trails were hard and rough. No hotels nor

lously never harmed the mission. Red

first-class accommodations in Europe.

Cloud, remembering the three gra

generosity towaj

lan missions.

leged Indian and Black children. However, only with great reluctance did she accept

the enormous responsibility to direct it as mother superior, for she both feared the position and felt she lacked the necessary

would join with the U.S. Army and oppose them. During the next few years, Kath

skills. Writing of the undertaking to the pioneer bishop,she admitted that"her heart went down in sorrow" when she thought of it."New orders always have to pass through

cerning her vocation. No longer hav ing any doubts,the bishop's only con

the baptism of the Cross." Elsewhere she wrote privately that she intended to do the will of God by "reproducing in myselfeach separate agony of Our Lord.... by uniting myself to the precious blood which falls

and to consult with the former con

Territory,cncoiiragei^lessed Katherlne's

the norm in religious life at the time—and for total dedication in helping underprivi

spare the nuns and their school or he

Bishop O'Connor and Father Stephan in providing funds for Indian Schools

of the Dakota

that troubled her: a profound desire for daily Communion—four limes a week was

cious ladies, ordered the renegades to

erine continued to collaborate with

Bishop

cern was which order would be most

from the wounds of Jesus."

suitable for her to join. It was a struggle at several mis

The terminal illness of Bishop( nor brought even more vividly to hei 11...11.I

sions to keep the schools staffed with

the value of suffering. She wrote to the

teachers. The nuns of various orders

dying prelate: "Are not these the hardest

stationed there were constantly being recalled by their superiors back East for other duties. A revolving door of

and most difficult paths leading to the Di

vine Will? Pain brings so many an guishes.... If it were in any way agreeable

replacements, sometimes from other orders, sometimes even lay temporar

to us it would not be the Cross on which

ies, began to jeopardize the effective

reached the point where it was equal to the

ness of the schools. An obvious solu

enormous task she was about to undertake.

tion to both problems was for Kather ine Mary Drexel to found her own

order of leaching missionaries. Bishop O'Connor provided the guiding light through this second pe riod of trial. He suggested that only a new order would satisfy two concerns

Our Lord hung." Her state of soul had

She entered the novitiate of the Sisters

of Mercy in Pittsburgh on May 7, 1890,for two years of formation in the religious life.

One year later came the sad news of Bishop O'Connor's death. Torrents of distress and

anguish flooded Sister Katherine's sensi

tive soul. Archbishop Patrick Ryan of

Tradition, Family and Property

Prophets, Martyrs, Saints and Heroes intimate

In Beaumont, Texas, the

friend of both the deceased

strong opposition led by the

Philadelphia, an

bishop and the Drexels, at

Ku Klux Klan turned into

tended the funeral in Omaha

violence. Terrorists dragged

and then hastened to Katherine's side. Discon.solate, the

from his home and beat him,

a peaceful old Black man

novice felt she could not con

and

tinue. Archbishop Ryan of

Josephite prie.st who was in

then

threatened

fered his assistance: "If I

charge of the school as the

share the burden with you,

next victim. The Mother Su

can you go on?" With re

perior hastened to the scene.

newed hope and courage, she agreed, thus forming another great partnership in her apos-

The following day, while the Klan was in a nearby

tolate.

tacks, a terrible thunder storm

meadow planning new at

raged across the area. A bolt of lightning snapped out of

Le.ss than four months

later, her own sister Elizabeth also died, along with her pre

the clouds and killed the Klan

mature

leader, thus dramatically re

child.

Katherine,

learning to lead others in the

solving that particular prob

way of the Cross, was al

lem.

lowed to feel the heavy

weight of her own.

Final Years of

When Sister Mary Kath

a Long Life

erine Drexel pronounced her vows on February 14, 1891,

Mother Katherine was 77

she founded a new congrega tion, the

Sisters

in 1935 and, until then, still maintained an exhausting

of the

Blessed Sacrament for Indi

ans and Colored People. One

work load. As the circle of

year later, twelve postulants

her schools

received the habit. Shortly af

widened, her journeys grew

and

missions

ter her death in 1955, the

with them. Yet, despite the

number had increased to 545.

millions that she adminis

At the time of her profession,

tered, she always ob.served the poverty of her rule, trav elling. unless otherwise or dered by her bishop, in the

the devout philanlhropLst had either established or sup

ported over Fifty missions in

cheapest

fifteen Western states or ter ritories. With missions

accommodations

available. Whenever new convents and schools were

among the Pueblos in New

established in the poorer .sec

Mexico and the Navajos in Arizona, she began to supply them with

tions of the larger cities, the Mother Supe

dedicated and well-trained nuns from her own order.

Morrell, a great philanthropist in her own right, had already donated large sums of money to help educate the black poor at a

Although the Wild West was slowly being tamed, a certain danger still lurked

time when little education was available to

rior herself supervised the renovation and participated in the cleaning until her age caught up with her. After suffering a heart

them. When her order began to graduate

attack, she was ordered by her doctor to

drastically curtail her work schedule in an

trained teachers. Mother Katherine estab lished schools in the South For this under-

about. Mother Katherine felt that the mis

sion in Arizona lacked sufficient acreage

effort to prolong her life and safeg _ community. Shean.swei'ed:"Goi..

for subsistence farming, so she bought _

' or ,ild

do the work without any of His crea

an additional parcel. Soon after, an ex tortionist appeared on the scene, pre tending to be the real owner and de

Mother Katherine's order had

tures." The doctor laconically replied:

manding that the land be returned or at

grown to 545 members around

"Yes, but He rarely does." Even simple duties placed too

least its equivalent in cash. He returned the a second time making the same de mand. Meanwhile, the Mother Supe rior had hired a highly recommended ~

time of her death in 1955.

Navajo named Charley to plow the

much of a strain on her weakened heart and she succumbed to another attack in

1936. Following that, she retired to the ~ contemplative life she had desired in the first place. Now a simple cloistered

land. When the adventurer appeared a third

privileged minority. One can easily imag

nun, she spent the next twenty years in

time to intimidate the nun, the Navajo left

ine that during the early decades of this

prayer and meditation for the Church she

his plow and began to walk towards him. The cruel opportunist immediately fled. It seems that Navajo Charley was the best

century this caused a fire storm of opposi tion, an opposition which she heroically

loved so much, for her order, and for the

braved. Using tact, courage, and determi

souls most in need, dying on March 3, 1955. Pope John Paul II beatified Mother

shot in Arizona.

nation, the missionary nun quietly pre

Mary Katherine Drexel on September 2,

vailed.

1988.

The third Drexel sister, Louise Drexel

November-December, 1994

â&#x2013;Ą

CANAAN

Of THE PATRIARCHS AMetiM Hirn«A

LQith(D«n)

Basic History Course LA/C£ M£fiOU

to continue his trav

els to an unknown

LAKE et CeNNESAffST UoufitTflfrv

land.

Western Civilization

Although He re

OUiQiddft

pealed and elabo DoirwO ^

rated on His instruc

by Jeremias Wells

tions and blessings

many times again to

Qafirin

both Abraham and

ShteMn

the next generations, God had revealed the

Abraham, Moses, and the

OStrrttl

essential nature of His redemptive plan at Haran (cf. Gen. 12:1-3). This plan basically

StihiiMmO

stated that from Abraham's direct descen

dants a great nation would develop and would

possess the land and that from his offspring

Bronze-Age Empires

oMrihibfl

Our Lord would be bom—"...and in thee shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed"

Canaan as It was in Abraham's time

(Gen. 12:3).

Full of confidence, Abraham, along with his wife, his nephew Lot, their servants, and

Mankind continued to wal ow in Part I

all their belongings and flocks entered adven

migratory people crisscrossing over its roads.

turously into the unknown. Heading south west, the migratory herdsmen crossed into

Unfortunately, its more powerful neighbors and the armies of the great conquerors also

morality. But God. once again

the land of Canaan at Sichem (Shechem on

utilized its roads. Egyptians, Assyrians,

exhibiting His great mercy, in

today's map) below Mount Gerizim, Here God confinned His promise and gave this

all took advantage of the area's strategic im

rect action in time and place. He gave to

land to Abraham and his descendants, al

portance.

Abraham the honor and responsibility of be

though they never really took possession of

ing the father of a nation, a nation chosen by

it until after the death of Moses some 700

Yet this small land was to have a greater impact on humanity than any of the great

God to receive His prophecy and revelation and to bring forth, through an illustrious line

years later. The trials and sufferings of the

empires

Old Testament Hebrews resemble, at least in

tramped across its borders almost at will. For this smallest of countries gave to the world Christianity, the means for its salvation.

the rotten pit ofidolatry and im

tervened in history by taking di

age, His own Son, the Redeemer of the

Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans

whose

soldiers

disrespectfully

city of Ur, where he lived with his father and

some aspects, the difficulties of the true, per severing followers of Jesus Christ today. In fact, many of the moral heroes of the Old Testament are considered prefigures of Our

other relatives. The.se clansmen were origi

Lord.

nally nomadic herdsmen who had moved in

As we pass the year 2000 B.C. the spread narrows between the various dating systems, which are still approximate guesses, so dates

ham and Lot were forced by the increasing size of their flocks to separate and to choose larger portions of land for grazing. In his generosity, Abraham gave Lot first choice, "and Lot chose to himself the country about

can be considered accurate within a hundred

the Jordan....and dwelt in Sodom" (Gen.

years, more or less. Realizing that little reli ance can be placed on any exact calculations,

thought to be the best land and, concemed

we will set an approximate date of 1900 B.C.

only with temporal advantages, endangered

World.

We first meet Abraham in the Sumerian

from the Arabian desert. While living in southern Mesopotamia, the family became infected with the worship of false gods, which by that time had corrupted the entire river valley.

God appeared to Abraham, perhaps the only champion of monotheism left, and told

Shortly after their arrival in Canaan, Abra

13:11-12). Lot selfishly picked what he

for Abraham.

his soul by settling in a city that was notorious for its sinful night life. "And the men of Sodom were very wicked and sinners before the face of the Lord beyond measure"(Gen.

him to leave Ur and go to a land which He would show him (cf. Acts 7:2-4). The faithful

The Land of Canaan

and obedient Abraham began his long jour ney by travelling some 600 miles up the Euphrates River with his immediate family

The thin strip of land usually referred to today as Palestine is bordered by the Medi terranean Sea on the west and the Arabian

13:13). Sometime later, a mixed band of ma

and servants to Haran, an ancestral home of

desert on the east. The northern limit, some

ers, comprised of Babylonians, Elamites

the family. When they arrived there, God

what vague, is marked by the city of Dan at

Hittites, descended into the Jordan Valley.

appeared again to Abraham and told him to

the foot of Mount Herman. It extends south

After defeating a local force of Canaanites,

leave his father's house and the comfortable

ward to Bersabee(Beersheba) and the southem end of the Dead Sea. Roughly 150 miles

they sacked Sodom and Gomorrha. On the way out, they captured Lot and took all his possessions.

and familiar surroundings of his kinsmen and

long by an average of CA,SPfAN SEA

Cafchfiniih

Haran

Khaiab (Aleppc}f

60 miles wide, its

Abraham, every bit the great leader and

area is equivalent to the state of Vermont.

protector of his people, put together an anned force of 318 of his own men, augmented by

Sitting as it does

the remnant of the defeated locals, and set out

on the threshold be tween Asia and Af

Hamath

iB MEDITERRANEAN SEA •Damascus

Babvfon

Shechem

night, Abraham overran them in the early morning hours and routed them. Lot was

rica, it became a cor ridor for the

rescued and brought back with all his posses

important

sions.

trade

routes, with mer chant caravans and

Bethel

after the war lords. Marching through the

While Abraham and his exultant army

with their captured booty were returning

Hebrcn•

Ur of the Chaldeea Zoan^ SCALS 50 100

?oo

iOO MliES

PERSiAN

GULF

WANDER NGS OF ABRAHAM

Tradition, Family and Property

from battle, they met Melchisedech, King of

Salem and "priest of the most high God." Melchisedech offered a sacrifice of bread and

turned to watch the spectacle and was destroyed with the rest. The angels had told them not to look

wine to God and, after blessing Abraham,

back. However, she could not

received from him "the tithes of all."

sever the attachment she felt for

Melchisedech is one of the most mysteri

the material goods she had left

ous and remarkable figures in the Old Testa

behind. Our Lord's reference to

ment. He was a non-Hebrew and a worshiper

her chastisement ("Remember Lot's wife"â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Luke 17:32) leaves

of the true God. Saint Paul tells us (Heb.

7:1-3) that he was, "without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither

absolutely no doubt that we are

dealing here with true history.

Lot flees fie the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha

beginning of days nor end of life, but likened unto the Son of God, continueth a priest for

Isaac

ever." Melchisedech typifies the kingly priesthood of the Messias when the sacrifice

The son God promised Abraham to main tain the prophecy that his descendants would

sian steppe supported the heavier cattle and horses, which had larger appetites and could

will no longer be a burnt offering but the unbloody sacrifice of the Son of God in the

be blessed was Isaac. Although Isaac occu pies a key position in the main line of Abra ham's descendants, he takes little part in the central activity as a figure of individual con

survive the winter cold. This steppe, similar

sequence. He is seen only in reference to

to defend their flocks from wild beasts or even

Sodom and Gomorrha

either his father or his sons, Jacob and Esau.

from other nomadic tribes,and suffering from

One warm day, Abraham was dozing in front of his tent. When he opened his eyes, he

Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for the love of God is one of the great stories

the extremes of heat and cold, the pastoral tribes produced a society where the masculine element everywhere dominated. Patriarchal

Mass. He is, in fact, mentioned in the Canon of the Mass.

to the American prairie, ranged from the Danube River to western Siberia.

Constantly on the move,frequently called

saw three strangers standing before him. It

of the Old Testament and is so well known as

eventually became apparent that his visitors

to need no retelling here. The episode ampli

and aristocratic, the hardy shepherds were led

were God Himself and two angels, bringing

fies the great virtues of Abraham, especially

by decisive and efficient chiefs who com

his faith and obedience, but, above all, his

manded in the warlike atmosphere in which they lived. On the other hand, farming communities required peace and security to produce their

him the good news that his wife was to give birth to a son,even at her advanced age. After an enjoyable meal, Abraham walked some distance with his departing guests. God con fided to His host that, because ofthe excessive

immorality of Sodom and Gomorrha, He had

decided to destroy them. Abraham, alarmed, pleaded with God,"Wilt thou destroy the just with the wicked? If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish withal?" (Gen.

enormous trust in God's goodness. In his old age, Abraham sent to Haran for a wife for Isaac, for he refused to allow his

son to take a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites. These original inhabitants of Pal

crops, and a few years of disorder and disrup

estine

new element of political conflict was intro duced, and sooner or later a military collision

worshiped nature and practiced re

volting immoral religious rites. Their influ ence continually threatened the moral purity

tion could cause irreparable damage. So a

would ensue. We will discuss these conflicts

in several upcoming sections, for we can say that this scenario will be repeated in some

found. Abraham kept lowering his request

of the Jews,for two opposing cultures cannot coexist compatibly side by side. This fear was justified years later when,in the period of the

until he reached ten, and even ten were not to

great prophetsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Elias,Isaias, and Jeremiasâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;

Era. when the Roman Empire came under attack from the Germanic tribes.

18:24). Sadly, fifty just men were not to be

be found.The two angels were sent to destroy

pagan corruption infected the Chosen People

the sensual and wicked cities and to lead Lot

and provoked the wrath of God.

and his family to safety. As the sun rose, thick clouds gathered and fire fell from them, kindling all parts of the

Pastoralism

Hammurabi and the Babylonians

towns.The flames roared and licked up every thing. People, full of fear, rushed from their houses, hoping to escape. Their clothes

Abraham, in following his flocks from pasture to pasture, illustrated that some groups of nomads were engaging in an alter native method of obtaining food and the ne

caught fire, and they died a terrible death, shrieking in agony. The entire area was

cessities of life. Instead of raising crops on farmland, they began to devote their energies

burned out, the earth sank, and the waters of

to raising livestock. This also produced a

the Dead Sea rushed in.

drastic change in their lifestyle. A farmer necessarily settles on the land, but a herdsman must pursue a wandering life in

Lot's wife, defying God's command.

ways numerous times even into the Christian

After the temporary decline of the splen did Mesopotamian civilization around 2000 B.C., it moved forward once more to a new

glory and strength. Barbarous Amorite chief

tains penetrated the northern fringe of the

original Kingdom of Akkad and S

name of Babylonians.

search of sufficient grassland

Hammurabi, the sixth and greatest of the Babylonian dynasty, subdued the civilized valley after thirty years of warfare. He ex

to feed his animals.

Herding emerged as a dis tinct way of life on the northern and southern fringes of the more settled agricultural

and

began to occupy the old towns. Thes itic kings made Babylon, which was originally of little importance, the center of their activity, thus coming to be called by the now infamous

tended its limits far up the Euphrates River and expanded his territory southward and eastward to include land taken from the

world. On the southern flank, the animals, which included

Elamites, forerunners of the Persians.

sheep and goats, tended to be

greater was his contribution as a ruler and legislator. Once he had consolidated his con

smaller to better withstand the

hot climate and sparse vegeta tion of the semi-desert. North ofthe Black Sea.the south Rus-

Great as his talents were as a warrior, even

trol over the expanding river valley, he organ ized an outstanding system of administration. His famous code of law, of which a copy

Abraham driving his flocks In search of grazing land

em Europe. The.se barbarian herdsmen combined the

brother, he swore vengeance. Jacob quickly

was

escaped the danger and fled to his mother's

1902, collected all the

rugged and physical efficiency which their wandering life bred in them with civilized

then-current laws into

techniques learned from contact with the cul

uncle Laban spent the next twenty years try

one body. In the preamble,

tured centers of the Near East. Only the small numbers of the Indo-Europeans prevented a serious military collision between them and the civilized centers. However, once they

ing to outfox each other.

invented the light two-wheeled war chariot and perfected the powerful compound bow, the advantage swung to their side.

ted sins and were punished because of them. Jacob look unfair advantage of his brother's

discovered

Hammurabi stated his

lofty view of justice: "So that I might bring order to my peo

ple...and

Representations of

Hammurabi and a

sun godj. atop a cylin. • ■

der containing

been tricked by his more quick-wilted

written on an eightfoot diorite cylinder

free

them

wicked ^at I should de-

f™'' oppression

m^i^hty.-iHe went on of

the

Hammurabi s

to claim that he had

ramous code

helped his people in the time of their need and

established them in the security of their prop erty—all in all, rather remarkable for its time.

Yet the Empire's days were numbered, for scarcely ten years after the great legislator's death, another horde of marauders swept into the vulnerable land and laid it waste. For the

next thousand years, the deep-rooted civili zation held its own,but it no longer advanced. Eventually another Semitic tribe would es

tablish a far more extensive empire, but founded on power and terror alone, Chri.stopher Dawson quite correctly observed that

The horse had been domesticated centu

ries before, and the Sumerians had already hitched horses or horse-like onagers to wheeled vehicles. But the Sumerian four-

wheeled wagons with their heavy solid wheels turning with the axle were too slow and cumbersome to have any value on the battlefield. The break came when the hardy northerners designed a light spoked wheel that tumed on a fixed axle. When the inven

tive pastoralists took the wooden bow. short ened it, and strengthened it with bone and

sinew, they had a weapon that could tire arrows easily from the confines of a chariot. It thus became possible for the charioteer to charge at high speed across the battlefield, firing a volley of arrows at the bewildered infantrymen. With these tactics, the IndoEuropeans changed the face of the civilized

brother in Haran, where both Jacob and his

We should not assume that because they were fulfilling God's plans, the Patriarchs

were exempt from Hisjustice. They commit

weakness to promote his own ambitions. He then tricked his ailing father to secure another advantage for himself. For his wrongdoing,

Jacob paid heavily by working long years of hard toil with Laban.^ On his journey to Haran, Jacob had a prophetic dream in which God illustrated to him that He provided constant care for His creatures through the angels who were God's messengers. They descended to earth bring ing God's counsel and help and they as cended to heaven carrying man's desires and prayers. The next morning, in honor of the

occasion,Jacob prayed to God and conducted a short ceremony during which he erected a standing-.stone. He named the place Bethel, House of God.

On his return trip twenty years later, he brought back eleven sons and a large flock of animals, which God had provided through

world.

His generous bounty. Benjamin, the twelfth

The Twelve Tribes of Israel God's plan of redemption, which He had

and last son, was bom in Canaan shortly thereafter. During the trip, Jacob had another mystical experience where he wrestled

promised to Adam and Abraham, continued

throughout the night with an angel in the form

through Jacob and his twelve .sons. Isaac and his wife, Rebecca, had remained childless for

of a man. This was God's way of showing to Jacob that He would give His protection to

civilized area was overrun once again, not

over twenty years, but through his prayers, she conceived and gave birth to twins, Esau,

end of the struggle, the angel renamed the

just Mesopotamia, but Egypt's Middle King

the first born, and Jacob.

third Patriarch, Israel. From that point on,the

dom as well. Many other less-developed cul tural centers such as the Indus Valley were left in smoking ruins. The driving force for the overall invasion came from a group of

From the very beginning, a strong rivalry existed between the two, who temperamen

eventually, after many more adventures,

"in all essentials Babylonia, in the time of Hammurabi, and even earlier, had reached a pitch of material civilization which has never

since been surpassed in Asia."2 The War Chariot Between 1800 and 1700 B.C., the entire

him in all the difficulties of the future. At the

Chosen People were known as Israelites and

tally and physically were opposites. Esau

were .subdivided into the twelve tribes of

enjoyed the outdoor life and became an ex

Israel.

The battle with the angel marked a con version in the spiritual life of Jacob. Thereaf ter. all the failings of his character seem to

people known collectively as Indo-Europe-

pert hunter. Jacob, more quiet, preferred to

ans, who had the advantage of horse-drawn chariots. Heretofore, we have discussed

stay closer to home, guarding his flocks and

mostly people of Semitic and Hamitic(Egyp

cooking a stew, Esau returned from hunting,

have been abolished. Within a few day

tian) origin. From this new group the basic European nationalities would descend after several centuries of marauding and plunder ing.

tired and hungry, and asked his brother to

demonstrated His providence by helpiiiL .i cob reconcile himself with the ever-danger

doing a little farming. One day as Jacob was

share some of the food. The cunning and ambitious Jacob,seeing an opportunity not to

ous Esau.Jacob resumed his life as a wander

be missed, agreed provided that Esau give up

The term Indo-European was invented by modem scholars for those peoples speaking

all the privileges of the first-bom, which in

ing shepherd and followed in the steps of his fathers and, like them, became a patriarch

cluded the leadership of the Chosen People.

with a sense of mission.

closely related languages who began to push

Esau, holding his vocation in little regard and

out from their homeland in the Eurasian

thinking only of his immediate comfort,con

steppe. The eastern branch moved into the Iranian Plateau where they formed the tribes

sented.

of the Medes and Persians. The middle

father by disguising himself as his more rugged brother and receiving

branch, of little concern to us for future stud

Joseph in E^t

Jacob then victimized his blind

ies, occupied Mesopotamia. The western

his father's bles.sing. This con-

branch established themselves from the

firmed Jacob as the head of the

Black Sea into the Danube River Valley.

family upon Isaac's death. As one

From this group, the Italic and Hellenic

can well imagine, when Esau dis-

(Greek) peoples proceeded to civilize south-

covered that he had once again

Typical war chariot

terror and anguish the persecuted youth suffered at this.

A short time later, an Arab merchant

caravan passed by and at Juda's insis tence, the

brothers

dragged

the

wretched boy up and .sold him for twenty pieces of silver. The Arabs took Joseph to Egypt and resold him as a slave to Putiphar. the captain of the royal guard.

Joseph gives every indication of be ing an exceptionally able young man, for no matter what difficulty falls upon

him, he soon untangles himself and

Jacob wrestling with the angel

talking about the line of David which pas.sed through Joseph's brother Juda, but about the prophets and leaders who totally corre sponded to God's calling even though it en tailed the practice of heroic virtue.

Joseph saved Egypt from a terrible famine, but more than that he saved his own people from disease and death. His brothers, desper ate for food, came to Egypt for help, not

knowing that the brother they had betrayed

and sold into slavery was the chief minister of state. Jo.seph, after a tearful reconciliation, brought their aged father from Canaan and

rises to the top. In his new surround ings,Joseph performed his lowly duties

.settled them all on a rich pastureland called

with such diligence that his master fi

Gessen in the northeast corner of the Delta.

nally placed him in charge of his entire The sons ofJacob were a crude, passionate

revelation that God was preparing from Abra ham to Our Lord Jesus Christ. We are notjust

estate.

On his deathbed. Jacob blessed his sons

and adopted the two sons of Joseph by his Egyptian wife. He pas.sed over the first three

lot. even indulging on occasion in immorality

Yet more trouble followed, however. Pu-

and violence. Only Joseph,the second young est of the twelve, made any effort to practice the moral virtues. When men turn away from

tiphar's wife tried to involve the pleasing young man in .some immoral activity. Joseph,

of his own sons, Ruben. Simeon, and Levi

who was determined to maintain his chastity,

of the first born to Juda, from whose lineage

virtuous living and enjoy their evil ways,they

absolutely refu.sed,"How can I do this wicked

David and eventually Our Lord were born.

come to hale the good, for the good are a reproach or rebuke to them. So unjust and

thing, and sin against my God?"(Gen. 39:9).

With the death of Jacob and Joseph, the book of Genesis closes, and when the book of Exo

nobler a man is, the more bitterly do they

The immoral woman, illustrating again the malicious action of evil people against virtue, accused Jo.seph of the very act of which she

oppose him. to the point of outright cruelty.

was guilty and had him thrown into jail.

ba.se are their natures that the greater and

So it was with Joseph.

As the brothers grew into manhood and

Joseph into his early teens, he frequently re vealed their sins to his father, which turned their dislike into hatred. Moreover. Jacob im

prudently showed his preference for the well-

mannered. obedient youth, especially by pre senting him with a distinctive coat of magnificent colors. Tensions were further in

While in prison, Joseph correctly inter

preted the dreams of two former members of the Pharaoh's household who were injail with him. He told the butler that within three days

because of their misdeeds and gave the rights

dus begins, .several hundred years will have passed.

The Imperial Bronze Age(1600-1200 BX.) Historians and archaeologists frequently

group together the various periods of ancient

he would be released and restored to his for

history according to industrial dating, that is

mer position, and to the chief baker that,

according to the primary metal which was

within the same amount of time, he would be

used for weapons and tools. In the most gen

eral terms, the Copper Age, which followed

creased when God revealed Joseph's future

hanged. And so it was. When the butler was leaving the prison. Joseph asked him not to forget his friend. But. of course, he did. And

greatness to him through dreams, which

so the long-suffering Joseph languished in

Joseph,in his exuberant innocence, described

prison, seemingly without any help. But God had plans for Joseph that required perfect timing. Fortunately, the young man practiced the virtue of patience and accepted

to his envious brothers. In this highly charged

atmosphere, violence became just a matter of time.

The Israelites still wandered throughout

his fate with forbearance. Two years later,

the hill country of Canaan seeking good pas

when the Pharaoh was tonnented by a terrible

ture but now also combined this with some

and no literature, nor any material advance

nightmare, the butler finally remembered his fellow prisoner. Joseph was brought before the Pharaoh; explained to him that his dream

toward civilization.

meant his kingdom would have seven boun

agriculliire. Nevertheless, they .still had no art

One day while Jacob and Joseph were at

the New Stone(neolithic) Age.lasted roughly from 5,000 to 3,000 B.C. and the Bronze Age from 3,000 to 1,200 B.C. The latter category is further subdivided into three periods, the

last being the Imperial Bronze Age (1600 to 1200). The date 1200 B.C. was chosen be cause the collapse of the last two empires, which were characteristic of that age, the

Egyptian and Hittite. occurred about that time. While these two empires were ending their days, the first European civilization on

the island of Crete was suffering fate.

tiful years, but that seven

Hebron, a sort of base camp, the father sent

years of dire famine would

the youth to seek his elder brothers in the vicinity of Sichem, some fifty miles to the

follow; and he suggested the

north. By the time he arrived there, they had moved even further north; so the young mes

senger continued another dozen miles, even

Hebrew's ability, the Phar-

tually overtaking them near Dothan.

As Joseph approached the camp alone, the violent brothers agreed to murder him. Ruben, the oldest, already in trouble with his

Iâ&#x20AC;˘ \

father, convinced his agitated brothers to throw the boy into an old well and leave him

Absolutely! For Joseph was

there rather than stain their hands with his

another of those fine threads

blood. Ruben was playing for time, hoping to rescue him later. One can only imagine the

November-December, 1994

snapped the hutrtan chain of

â&#x20AC;˘

'mc

time of the Flood. During the war-chariot invasion, an Indo-European tribe swept through the mountain passes in the Northeast

was found intact in 1922.

During the Nineteenth Dy

nasty, Egypt made one last but short-lived lunge for imperial glory. Ram.ses II, who most likely was the Pharaoh who oppressed

Egyptians in battie

and invaded the country, slaying people and

burning villages as they went. Histor)' knows

the Israelites(Ex. 1:8-2:23), came

these people as Hittites. Although one ofthe greatest of the ancient

to the throne in 1300 B.C.'^and

empires, the Hittites remained virtually un

ruled for 67 years. Early in his reign, he attempted to subdue the Hittites, who had developed a

discovered until the first decade of this cen

tury. About the only consistent reference to them had been to some Biblical characters

powerful empire in Asia Minor(modem Tur

who would wander into the scene and just as

key). After repeated clashes without a deci sive victory, the two powers settled their

quickly leave. This gave the impression that the Hittites were a few insignificant men

the onslaught of the Hyksos, a mixed group

differences diplomatically and signed his

scattered here and there.

of plunderers, during the general invasion led by war chariots in the eighteenth century B.C. For 200 years Egypt groaned under foreign occupation. Then, using the war chariot tech nology themselves, they expelled the invad

tory's first-known nonaggression pact. Re

Hie Egyptian Empire(the NewI^dom) Egypt's Middle Kingdom collapsed under

ers and rose up again for their last opportunity

Yet they established a military empire that

cent excavations have discovered the Hittite

lasted for 500 years(1700-1200 B.C.). Using

version written in cuneiform in their capital and an Egyptian copy in hieroglyphics. The change from militarism to diplomacy marked a turning point in Egypt's suprem acy. Luxury replaced the warrior spirit as

inventive battle tactics and swift chariots, the

Hittites finished with Hammurabi's dynasty

by sacking Babylon and succe.ssfully chal lenged the authority of mighty Egypt during

the time of Ramses II. Although they appear

to enjoy political and military greatness. Egypt had previously been content to remain

Egypt began to rely for protection on a mer

to be the first to have worked and smelted

within its borders, but during the Eighteenth

cenary army that had no roots in the nation.

iron, they largely drew upon the achieve

Dynasty a new militant power, in which the

When a nation no longer has the will to

ments of the more creative people in Meso

profession of arms dominated, directed events. Led by the restored monarchy and an

defend itself with its own men, decadence

potamia and Egypt.

and collap.se usually follow. Some modern

aggressive, invigorated nobility, Egypt em barked on a campaign of foreign conquest to

ists praise Egypt's artistic achievements dur ing this period, but in reality, over-sized, tasteless .statues and buildings supplanted

Asiatic power of Egypt also wreaked havoc on the Hittites. Whereas the perfection of

careful workmanship.^

invasion of mountainous Indo-Europeans in the 1700's. the barbarian striking power in

extract and control the wealth of Asia.

During the reign of Thutmose HI,Egypt's

reached its high-water mark.Son of Hatshep-

The Bronze-Age Empire came under in creasing attacks from a group of marauders,

sut, a proud, arrogant woman who was the

mo.stiy Indo-Europeans, known collectively

only female to rule independently,Thutmose

as Sea Peoples. Constantly on the defensive

greatest warrior king, the Nile Empire

remained in her shadow for twenty years. Yet

against these raiders, who were among the

once on the throne, with dramatic sudden

first to use steel weapons. Egypt was hard-

ness, this military genius mounted an expe

pressed to prevent defeat. As a result she lost

dition that conquered all of Palestine and

all her territories beyond the Nile Valley,

Syria in fifteen campaigns. He drained this

gave up all imperial ambition, and retreated

area of such enormous wealth that it made

behind her protecting deserts.

The same Sea Peoples that shattered the

chariot warfare stimulated the first barbarian

the 1 lOO's was also enhanced by a new dis

covery; steel weapons. As steel weapons and armor could be produced more cheaply, the importance of baite numbers increased ac cordingly. Battle would no longer be decided by maneuvering a few dozen chariots but by the attack of heavily armed men on foot. The Sea Peoples, or in this case, pirates from Greece and the Aegean Sea demolished the Hittite Etnpire shortly after 1200 B.C.,and its

Thebes, his capital city, fabulously rich. Yet, as often happens, such successes by history's

The Hittites

civilization ceased to exist. It was so com

standards are fleeting.

Asia Minor,Anatolia, and modern Turkey (minus the three percent situated in Europe)

pletely wiped from memory that it remained unknown until this century.

Three generations later, one of the strang est characters in all history came to the

all de.scribe the same land surrounded by the

throne. Originally called Amenhotep IV, he changed his name to Ikhnaion in honor of the god that he worshipped, Aton, which was a

Black, Aegean, and Mediterranean Seas. ber and metals, had attracted .settlers from

in the East and travelled through Gii

divinity of the sun. Weak and effeminate,

early prehistoric times, certainly from the

Rome,so civilization was born and grc, .i'

Crete and the Aegean

Abundant natural resources, especially tim

Just as Christianity was bom and grew up

Ikhnaton had a long, thin face, drooping shoulders, broad hips, thin legs, and a dis

tended stomach. To him the highest values in life were not found in battles and victories, k

Sea

but in flowers and trees.

While he was contemplating the flaming

power of the sun. the Empire fell to pieces in

his hands. His governors .sent anxious pleas

nil

from the northeast provinces for help to repel the Hittites and other neighboring tribes. Ikhnaton ignored them. Egypt, with its gov

*?■

11 Nineveh

MIIANNI rWllltj 5>- ..3-V^ lllilniL V,'l 'assyriaI

ernment in chaos, shrank back to its original boundaries. Ikhnaton was followed by the " v,

famous boy-king Tutankhamen, who ruled

=^—^

without distinction and is known to history only because his fabulously wealthy tomb

:.SI. Punijll,^ ..

Efvpi 1 a f)

11111)11

Invadoni oMron'Sge

ir- 'isitppc I

: . f

V-T-Y ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST

llHinnillMycenaean

—

• -A

•jDweii

c. 1200 B.C.

in the Middle Eastern river valleys and trav

elled through the Aegean Sea to the larger Mediterranean. Sometime after the Flood,

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For 200 years (1400-1200 B.C.), the Achaean Mycenaeans ranged over notjust the

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â&#x20AC;˘^4