January-February, 1995
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The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property - TFP
MARCH FOR LIFE
JANUARY 23, 1995
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CHOICE,
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Contents January-February, 1995 ❖ News Flashes
IS
3 Cover: Our future at stake
The American TFP in Action In the Pole Position of the 22nd March for Life
Abortion and Moral Relativism, The Personhood of the Unborn Child
Winter Wonderland
11
Cover Article The Destruction of a Nation
Through Its Youth
13
The Nature of Christian Education
17
The Long History of Education Subversion
18
Mario Navarre da Costa at the
Conservative Leadership Conference Interview
"We Have Just Begun to Fight"
21
Photo Essay A Pilgrimage Within a Gaze
25
❖ Tradition. Family and Property Inc. Co-Sponsors the Sixth Annual Conservative Leadership Conference 30 <♦ Beyond the New World Order
30
Cover Article:
❖ After the Elections: Framework for the Future
36
A portrait of a disintegrating education
❖ Our Readers Write
39
Prophets, Martyrs^ Saints and Heroes Venerable Maria Clotilde of Bourbon,
Queen of Sardinia
NTERVIEWS
40
TFPs Around the World
Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the Philippines
42
Rediscovering America Half a Century Before
45
Mrs. William Sutton: OBE in America
The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell; Framework for the Future
TRADITION, FAMILY and PROPERTY Magazine is a publication of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP). Subscription, US $18.00 in the United States and Canada. 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) 225-7382. Copyright© 1995. Permission
is granted to reproduce, in whole or in part, any article of this magazine with credit given to Tradition, Family and
Tradition,
Family and Property Magazine Editor:
The three articles in this issue dealing with our cover theme
C. Preston Noell III
love of God and neighbor, grace and prayer.
make numerous references to
the concept of truth. It is said that a student's most important objective is
As Jesus descended Mount
Moriah, crossed the Brook Kedron,
to arrive at the truth. And there is a
and climbed the Mount of Olives
warning that if socialistic ideas con trol our intellectual life, then society
toward Gethsemini, He poured out
determines what truth is. Yet. no pre
beautiful prayer for Himself, His
cise definition of truth is olfered.
There are some, perhaps, who consider truth undefinable; others
His heart to His Father in a most
Apostles, and for the whole Church.
He mentioned the spirit of the world that is eternally opposed to Him and
Associatk Editors:
Earl Appleby Gary Isbell
Eugenia Guzman Steven F. Schmieder Jack Bumham
Photography: Todd F. Kamuf Circulation:
Philip A. Moran Jr. Foreign Correspondents; AUSTRALIA: John S. Tucker
the hatred that the world will have for
BRAZIL; Orlando Lyra
deem it illusive; yet others, no doubt, see it as something subjective. And yet. tiiith is definable, obtainable, and
His followers. However, the teaching and authority of Our Lord are forever present to save men by the truth.
CANADA: John Misek
ab.solute. It can, however, cover a wide spectrum, from the study of
While Our Lord climbed the hill to
GERMANY: Beno Hofschulte
begin the Passion, He conferred on the Apostles the right to teach in His
PHILIPPINES: Allen Bandril
metaphysics and logic to theology and ethics. Here we are concerned
with those truths revealed by God and opposed by the school of naturalism.
CHILE: Nelson Farias Blanco FRANCE: Mario Beccar Varela
ROME: Juan M. Monies SOUTH AFRICA: John Horvat
Later on that morning. He
SPAIN: Felipe Barandiaran
appeared bound and bloody,
before the High Priest. In a malicious attempt to trap Our Lord, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the influ
ential revolutionary, admonished teachers to encourage pupils to wan
the latter asked Him about His teach-
ing.With majesty and fearlessness. He answered that he had spoken openly
der from the beaten paths of "accept
to the world. For this, He was vio
ed truths" in search of truths that
lently struck in the face. It seems
would be meaningful to them. For John Dewey, the pragmatist educator, truth was tentative and all knowledge
there is always a small but powerful
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 modern world. It is a
civic, cultural and nonpartisan orga
minority who, with great hatred, seek
nization which, inspired by the tra
not to know the truth but to condemn
ditional teachings of the Supreme
subject to constant revision.
Magisterium of the Roman Catholic
Nevertheless, the source of truth is
Church, works in a legal and peace
the Author of all truth, the first and greatest Teacher, the Word Incarnate.
defend and promote the principu
ful manner in the realm of idea
Just before noon, in order to com
After the Last Supper, Our Lord entered into a long, intimate, loving
of private ownership, family and
plete the torture and death of Our
perennial Christian values with
Lord, the perfidious Scribes and
discourse with His Apostles. Central
Pharisees dragged Him before
their twofold function: individual and social. The TFP's words and
to Our Lord's leaching was that human perfection consists in union with Him and, through Him, union
Pontius Pilate. The Roman procurator
efforts have always been faithfully
asked Our Lord if He were a king,
at the service of Christian civiliza tion. The first TFP was founded in
and in one of the most dramatic
with His Father in Heaven. In answer
moments in all history, Jesus replied,
to a question from Saint Thomas, He
"Thou sayest that I am a king. For
declared that He is the Way, the Truth
this was 1 born, and for this came I
and the Life. And to live rightly,
into the world, that 1 should give tes timony to the tnith. Every one that is of the truth, iieareth my voice." On that subject, what more can be said?
mankind must know the great truths that control human destiny. He has
given the laws respecting worship.
Brazil by the famous intellectual and Catholic leader Prof. Plinio Conea de Oliveira in 1960. His
work has inspired the formation of other autonomous TFPs in 26 coun
tries across the globe, thus consti
tuting the world's largest anticommunist and antisocialist network.
tradition, Family and property
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
(^onnen^ Tradition,
Family and Property Magazine Editor:
The three articles in this issue dealing with our cover theme
C. Preston Noel! Ill
love of God and neighbor, grace and
Associatk Editors:
Earl Appleby Gary Ishe11
prayer.
make numerous references to
the concept of truth. It is said that a student's most important objective is to arrive at the truth. And there is a
and climbed the Mount of Olives
warning that if socialistic ideas con trol our intellectual life, then society
toward Gethsemini, He poured out
determines what truth is. Yet, no pre
beautiful prayer for Himself, His Apostles, and for the whole Church. He mentioned the spirit of the world that is eternally opposed to Him and
cise definition of truth is offered.
There are some, perhaps, who
Eugenia Guznian
As Jesus descended Mount
Moriah, crossed the Brook Kedron,
Steven F. Schniieder Jack Burnham PnoTooRAi'iiv:
His heart to His Father in a most
Todd F. Kamiif Circulation:
Philip A. Moran Jr. Forkicn Corresponden'is: AUSTRALIA; John S. Tucker
consider truth undeHnable; others
the hatred that the world will have for
BRAZIL: Orlando Lyra
deem it illusive; yet others, no doubt, see it as something subjective. And yet, truth is definable, obtainable, and
His followers. However, the teaching and authority of Our Lord are forever present to save men by the truth.
CANADA: John Mi.sck
absolute. It can, however, cover a
While Our Lord climbed the hill to
GERMANY: Bcno Hofschultc
wide spectrum, from the study of metaphysics and logic to theology
begin the Passion, He conferred on
PHILIPPINES: Allen Bandril
the Apostles the right to teach in His
ROME: Juan M. Montes
and ethics. Here we are concerned
name.
SOUTH AFRICA: John Horvat
with those truths revealed by God and
Later on that morning. He
SPAIN: Felipe Barandiaran
opposed by the school of naturalism.
CHILE: Nelson Farias Blanco FRANCE: Mario Beccar Varela
appeared bound and bloody,
before the High Priest. In a malicious attempt to trap Our Lord, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the influ ential revolutionary, admonished
ing.With majesty and fearlessness. He
teachers to encourage pupils to wan der from the beaten paths of "accept
to the world. For this. He was vio
the latter asked Him about His teach-
answered that he had spoken openly
ed truths" in search of truths that
lently struck in the face. It seems
would be meaningful to them. For John Dewey, the pragmatist educator, truth was tentative and all knowledge
there is always a small but powerful minority who, with great hatred, seek
subject to constant revision.
it.
not to know the truth but to condemn
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 modern world. It is a
civic, cultural and nonpartisan orga nization which, inspired by the tra ditional teachings of the Supreme Magisterium of the Roman Catholic
Nevertheless, the source of truth is
Church, works in a legal and peace
the Author of all truth, the first and greatest Teacher, the Word Incarnate.
ful manner in the realm of idea
defend and promote the principK Just before noon, in order to com
After the Last Supper, Our Lord entered into a long, intimate, loving discourse with His Apostles. Central to Our Lord's teaching was that human perfection consists in union with Him and, through Him, union
plete the torture and death of Our Lord, the perfidious Scribes and Pharisees dragged Him before Pontius Pilate. The Roman procurator
with His Father in Heaven. In answer
to a question from Saint Thomas, He declared that He is the Way, the Truth
and the Life. And to live rightly, mankind must know the great truths that control human destiny. He has given the laws respecting worship.
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
asked Our Lord if He were a king,
at the service of Christian civiliza
and in one of the most dramatic
tion.
moments in all history, Jesus replied, "Thou sayest that I am a king. For
Brazil by the famous intellectual
this was I bom, and for this came I
into the world, that I should give tes timony to the truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice." On that subject, what more can be said?
The first TFP was founded in
and Catholic leader Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira in 1960. His
work has inspired the formation of other autonomous TFPs in 26 coun
tries across the globe, thus consti tuting the world's largest anticommunist and antisocialist network.
NEWS FLASHES In a desperate attempt to save their child's life, Ryan's parents obtained a restraining order, forcing the hospital to con tinue the treatment even if hopes for a cure
nativity scene in which the Child Jesus was represented in the manger as a kitten and the Most Holy Mother of God was shown as a plush cat dressed like the pornographic
Citing Russell Kirk, the
were minimal.
singer Madonna.
conservative
Munich, comments:
On the other hand, the hospital was so certain Ryan would die thpt administrators filed a child-abuse complaint against the parents with the State Child Protective
"The position we call
Services. The hospital cited a rarely used
scene before Christmas and ran an apology
conservative is more an ensemble of senti
amendment to the federal Child Abuse and
in one of its newspaper advertisements.
ments than a system of ideological dogmas.
Preventions Act that states futile and painful
Because of this, a conservative may be
treatment can be withheld.
0 Cynicism Opens the
defined as someone who considers himself
While this poor child's life hung by a thread, doctors from Legacy Children's
Doors to Corruption
German
magazine Criiicon (Summer, 1994) from
as such.
This blasphemy aroused the public's just indignation, and a radio campaign launched
in protest called for a boycott of the store. Feeling the pressure, the store removed the
Hospital took upon themselves the task of
A recent poll indicates that France is
sciousness that healthy change is always
fighting when hope seemed gone. They con tinued the kidney dialysis and a "miracle"
resigned to political corruption. L'Express magazine affirms that corruption dominates
necessary for maintaining certain principles. The continuity of a people's historical expe
occurred: Today, Ryan Nguyen is a healthy baby: his kidneys have recovered and the
all sectors of public life. Who is corrupt? The
riences is a better line of political conduct
alleged cerebral lesions are less severe than
than the abstract projects of the intellectuals. The conservative distrusts every ideology that tries to rule humanity on the basis of one unique abstract principle, be this princi ple equality or liberty. "To these citizens, the rupture with the
first imagined. Ryan will be able to walk
deputies, say 71% of the French; the businessmen,
normally.
say 69%; mayors and
"For the conservative, duration is more
important than change, despite his con
After the incident, which almost cost his child's life, Ryan's father, 31, commented: "By turning us in they could take away our
parental rights and do whatever they wanted.
American past is brutal, the pace of change
The hospital was harassing us."
too great, and the loss of continuity too painful. The propelling force behind
0 Ebola
renewed conservatism in the American pop ulation is not the desire to have more, but concern for the survival of a culture that feels threatened at the end of the twentieth
century."
It begins with a headache. The eyes become bloodshot. Fever strikes. Lucidity is lost. The skin becomes itchy and covered with sores. The flesh tears. The chest, arms, and face are covered with bruises. The stom
0 Hope
ach heaves up a black vomit and blood. Still
Dies l^a.st
turely in Portland, Oregon, on October 27 of
more blood oozes through all the body's pores and openings. Hair, pieces of the tongue, throat, and windpipe fall off. The genitals decompose. The brain liquefies.
last year, and con
Death ensues.
Young Ryan Nguyen was born prema
sequently, suffered brain and kidney
All this takes ten days.
local officials, 66%; high public officials,
damage that would
Such are the ravages visited upon a per son contaminated by the recently discovered
55%. Journalists bring up the end ' ''us shameful parade, being cited by 519(
result in life-long paralysis.
Ebola virus. Its first appearance was in 1967, in Marburg. Germany. In the 70s it
respondents.
decimated villages in three African coun
cynical in the poll: 77% of them say that
After a time of unsuccessful treat
tries. In
ment at the Sacred
(affecting only monkeys) were recorded six
1989 somewhat milder cases
Medical
miles from Washington. Two years ago it
Center, his doctors
appeared again in Italy under circumstances as yet undisclosed.
Heart
ordered a termina
tion of kidney dial
The youth showed themselves especially corruption is something analogous to a "genetic reality" and 55% prefer the "effi cient corrupt" in politics.
Morally, France is in collapse. 0 Political Refuge for
ysis since further
El Blasphemy Excites Public
prolongation of his
Protest
Homosexuals
The British tribunal dealing with immi
life was considered
uselessly "cruel and inhumane." In other
A Christmastime window display at a
gration granted political asylum last
words, a death sentence was pronounced on
leading clothing store on New York's
December to a former Rumanian soldier
little Ryan.
Madison Avenue included a blasphemous
who is a declared homosexual. The decision
JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1995
NEWS FLASHES set a precedent in Great Britain. The tribunal has declared that homosexu
als constitute "a distinctive social group, vic tims of repressive actions in many stales." They are thereby entitled to receive political asylum. Such an assertion makes it possible to provide legal protection in the future for any form of sexual aberration, such as sado
masochism, pedophilia, and child-pornogra phy. These abominable vices are generally
practiced by a depraved minority, which British law may consider a "distinct social group" whose members are "victims of repressive actions in many states." In view of this, to what abysses are we headed?
El Occultist Wave Sweeps Spain One who loses the
Faith usually turns
Precisely this is now occurring in once-Catholic Spain.
A wave of occultism, parapsychology, and satanism is sweeping the country.
Lengthy television and radio programs are being dedicated to the subject, with growing audiences. For example, at midnight on
cal cannibals" came by the thousands to the
Sunday, Radio I transmits its program
cafeterias, where human bodies were seen
"Supernatural" with the expressed intent
hanging like meat in a butcher shop, just as we see hams hanging by hooks in our butch
"that people will feel very good while feel
ing very bad." The program's drawing card is the Satanic terror portrayed. Radio EFE's "Nights of the Sun" is
broadcast to 79 municipal and private sta tions. Defined by its producer as"a New Age
in the town of Nafi.
On July 14, 1994, they were apprehend ed by the police and. in accordance with the
er shops.
Koran, received 80 lashes in punishment for having abandoned Islam. In prison they were
El Senators Defend Dog
death if they refused to abandon Our Lord
beaten and mistreated, then threatened with Jesus Christ.
While little Ryan's fight for survival
little
public
attention,
in
On August 10. 1994, the feast of Saint
program," it deals with such subjects as
awakened
alternative medicine, witchcraft, ecology, and non-governmental organizations
December of the same year, 40 Italian sena
these two Catholic converts died like their
tors and deputies signed a petition to save
Divine Master, nailed to crosses and expir
(NGOs).
"Smoky." an American dog that had been
ing after long and torturous agony.
condemned to death.
B Human Flesh
"Smoky," having terrorized mailmen and pedestrians in
Offered in China's Cafeterias
his
in
Toronto, carries
Maryland,
neighborhood, was decreed a menace and ordered destroyed by the local magistrate.
by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryi WuDunn that
recently appeared in shops
Dauville.
^
Their deaths arc not unique. Ni other Catholics are persecuted and
-mis er
death for their Faith in Islamic countries
today. Yet. as Tertullian affirmed,"the blood
of martyrs is the seed of new Christians"!
1^^^^ Ryland Dodson. A photograph of the lively animal in Italian
the
newspapers sufficed to elicit
spine-chilling revelation that governmentrun cafeterias in China are currently serving
the compassion of the .senators and deputies.
human flesh, since Communist Party leaders
Ef CathoUc.s Crucified by Muslims
decreed after the 1968 Cultural Revolution
Lawrence, a martyr of the early Church,
that "enemies of the people should be killed and devoured."
The. authors are eye-witnesses to this macabre practice, affirming that the "pojiti-
Abdulahi
Yosif
and
Mudhammed
Medani were two Sudanese converts to the
Catholic Church who lived among Muslims
tradition. â&#x2013; llLY AND PROPERTY
The American TFP In Action
Washington, D.C., was partly
indicates that this is laying the groundwork
Orchestrated Publicity
cloudy on the cold morning of for the future of this issue. The commitment January 23, Groups of people to the pro-life movement will be a life-long from all over the country gradually con issue in this country." verged on the Ellipse, the traditional ral Pro-lifers beseech God that He soon deliver
Neither the cold nor the weariness
lying point. Before long, a huge throng
America from such a transgression of His holy
had assembled around the speakers" ros
Law as abortion.
wave of enthusiasm that pervaded the nearly 100,000 pro-lifers gathered in the
accumulated from long distances traveled were able to dull the
trum.
nation's capital. Television cameras pro
Around 11 a.m. the music playing over the PA system stopped and a voice announced the first .speaker. This marked
vided at least glimpses of the parade to countless other defenders of pre-natal life across the Country.
the beginning of the most expressive yearly protest of Americans against the
Participants sensed an en
atmosphere that set this march apai
il
m
slaughter of innocents: the March for
previous ones, a result of the psycholog
Life.
ical pressure put on the pro-life move ment through the media in the wake of
Although this was the 22nd time, the
March for Life is always possessed of
the recent attacks on abortion clinics.
freshness, just like a newborn child. The
The pro-abortion lobby seized the
number of participating youths increases
every time, adding a special note of
opportunity to convey the idea that prolifers were becoming a band of fanatics
enthusiasm and ardor to the event.
ready to plunge the country into a civil
As Bishop William G. Curlin, of
war of sorts. The foreign media went .so
Charlotte, N.C., aptly pointed out, "one
far as to comment that the debate on
of the encouraging things about this par ticular day, and of this March, is the number of young people who are here.
abortion was making the United States
Last night the Basilica [the National
into a kind of Bosnia. The peaceful March for Life was threatened by this deprecatory campaign.
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception]
According to March for Life organiz
was filled with young people. I think that
er Nellie Gray, some people had urged
JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1995
5
i Thousands of pro-lifers march by the Supreme Court every year where 22 years ago the infamous Roe vs. Wade was decided. her to cancel the demonstration to cool emo
right to life. It's pretty
tions and prevent more violence at abortion mills. She sparked general cheers when she
obvious that most people in the US are against abortion.
told the crowd of participants. "Now, you
We know that the ban on
know I wasn't going to cancel this. The
abortion will happen; it's
babies need us, and the mothers need us!"
just a matter of lime."
jj
Most pro-lifers were undaunted by the
pressure from the pro-abortion lobby. On that memorable day, they marched, sang, and prayed as if a miracle were about to hap pen â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;˘ the reversal of the fateful Roe vs. Wade decision.
A Hopeful Event 'hile
Wi
knowing
that abortion is a
With the recent lamentable violence at the abortion clin
moral
ics, the abortionists were surely hoping that many prolifers would be intimidated from showlng-up at the March,
issue
"I am here because innocent babies are
whose solution is not the
being killed," stated William Cassidy, 35, an engineer from New Jersey. "I just want to be
exclusive competence of
here to say that Roe vs. Wade has not been forgotten and needs to be overturned. It's a
expressed the hope that the
crime to lake a life in a mother's womb."
on embryonic and fetal experimentation, fetal- tissue transplants, and RU 486, and
"The Administration is pro-abortion," pointed out Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua of Philadelphia, "but the Congress is pro-life.
the March for Life, Tom Clark, 30, from
that it will overturn the Freedom of Access
So I think that there is great hope that the
Rhode Island, said: "I am here to defend the
to Clinic Entrances act.
When asked why he was participating in
but quite to the contrary, nearly 100,000 gathered that morning in defense of the unborn.
politicians, many marchers
new Congress will void present legislation
pro-life cause will be advanced. It's not a hopeless cause. Eventually the pro-lifers will gain victory. And these marches are a demonstration of the commitment of so
.nioMi CHOICE
Right and above: Many of the passers-by read and appreciat ed the TFP message in its "Let's be Consistent!" flyer.
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
,1 mcDrannrrarnoEfinsF
OnilAOniON.FAMIiyAtll)P»OP£RTy
a
m The Holy Choirs of Angels Corps played patriotic hymns such as When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again, Battle Hymn of the Republic, and Anchors Aweigh throughout the march.
per day in the US,and that is where the 'Bosnia' is. I have been in Bosnia. I
have seen the killing in places like Sarajevo. It's horrible! The killing that goes on in abortion clin
has no part. You don't kill if you are pro-life. But we say to pro-abortionists that they've got to stop the 'Bosnia' that is going on in the abortion mills."
Among pro-lifers, the repudiation of abortion is accompanied by the profound
ics, likewise, is horrible.
conviction of the sanctity of nascent life. John Keats from Gaithersburg, Maryland, a
Babies are being killed
computer auditor for the Ameiican Red
and dismembered in horrible ways, but that
Cross, said: "I believe in the sanctity of
NJ)declared that "this witness for life today
does not justify the use of violence outside the clinics. And again, every responsible
is another step in the right direction, hope
pro-life leader has absolutely said that he
human life. I happen to be a father of four children. Each child is very precious. I have deep commitments to, and respect for, life."
many pro-lifers to the cause."
Representative Christopher H. Smith (R-
fully incrementally building up toward the majority in Congress protecting the unborn. Pro-life Americans
In Front of the Supreme Court
Around I p.m. the sun peered through the clouds, and a beam of light shone k. in the horizon. Slowly, the crowd
have realized that we need
to be politically active. My hope is that this is the down payment today; we are moving to protecting the unborn in 1996. I believe
shifted from the Ellipse to Constitution Avenue to get ready to begin the March itself.
A police motorcycle escort took posi
we can complete the task."
tions at the front to lead the way. At the head
A New Bosnia?
TFP standards added special coloi
of the march, the national flag and twelve
'he
demonstration. Immediately behind uestioned about the
|wave of violence
Q
against
c ciiniC5T linicS:
abortion
Mr. Smith
was
peremptory: "Every respon sible pro-life leader has absolutely repudiated the use of violence. We don't
the TFP band, stimulating everyone with marches and anthems.
It was not long before the huge crowd carrying signs, placards, banners, and stan
dards, dominated Capitol Hill. Scores of newspapers and television stations broadcast the event to the nation and the world.
At the end of the long procession, the
believe that two acts of vio
marchers paused in front of the Supreme
lence equal a right."
Court, where twenty-two years ago the mas sacre of innocents was legitimized. A promi
Regarding the compari son
between
USA
and
Bosnia, he pondered: "Children are being dis
nent placard bearing a photo of an aborted child was held up on the steps of the build ing. a few steps behind the line of police
membered; they are being
men. The placard bore just one telling word;
chemically poisoned 4000
"Shame."
JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1995
■
Abortion and Moral Relativism
by Orlando Lyra
What exactly is a human person?
determine the instant in which life becomes
essentially philosophical. They require an integration of our knowledge of certain
have to look somewhere else for an ade
human,' but "it does not pertain to the bio logical sciences to pass a decisive judgment about strictly philosophical and moral ques tions like the moment when a human person is constituted and the legitimacy of abor-
quate definition? Around this question is
tion."-
For a biologist as a biologist, you and 1 are
Everyone has a more-or-less
intuitive idea of what personhood is, but can we give it a precise meaning? Is it merely biological terminology? Or do we
centered much of the debate on abortion.
It is not the competence of natural sci ence to define personhood. Biology can
In the same vein, Robert Joyce points
basic data and conclusions in embryology. But they are not specifically scientific ques tions.... Biologically viewed, even an adult
human being cannot be said to be a person.
simply human organisms."-^
out that the questions "What is a person?"
and "When is a person a person?" "are
Personhood—Actual and Potential
Some abortionists distinguish two
forms of personhood. one potential
and another actual. To them, the baby
in the mother's womb is only a potential person, who lacks the degree of fullness proper to an actual person. This is, they say, because it does not seem likely that full per sonhood can be constituted suddenly at the moment of conception. Everything we attribute to the human person—the freedom to choose between different courses of
action, the ability to reason, to love, to com
municate—is not yet present, since it devel
\ '■m
ops gradually. Joseph Fletcher, considered the "father of situation ethics." suggested that the solu tion for the "moral justification" of abortion
"would be to deny the fetus the rigf based on that it is not a moral or \\
' fe ..il
being, since it lacks freedom, self-determi
nation, rationality, the capability to choose the means and the ends, as well as the
knowledge of circumstances.""'
\
If personhood is reached gradually, then no fetus will ever become a full person. He
or she will always remain a partial person, lacking some necessary elements for com
pletion. To be sure, at every instant of our lives we need to develop, whether in educa tion. in love, in the ability to communicate
and so on. If personhood depends on this, a full person is a chimera, an incessant
Does the child's personhood depend on the parents' acceptance? TR.'KDITION. F.^MILY AND PROPERTY
Abortion and Moral Relativism
"would be," not a recognizable enti
swimming against the current, we
ty. Furthermore, the seriousness of murder would depend on the age of
might be inclined to be satisfied
old boy, who does not yet enjoy the
with a relativistic perspective. Observing how the swimmer is not making any progress against
full use of reason, would not be as
the current, relative to the dock on
much of a murder as killing a fortyyear-old man. Guided by such a cheap
ence points on the shore, we would rightly say, 'He isn't mov
the victim. Killing, say, a five-year-
which we stand or to other refer
sophism, "Justifying" abortion or
ing.' But afterward, when the
euthanasia becomes an easy task.
swimmer drags himself onto the
The unborn, the mentally retarded,
dock, we might ask him, ^Were
the comatose may then be denied personhood and disposed of on a
you moving?' He would be quite rightly inclined to say yes. The
pragmatic basis. Today it is still relatively natural
difference between moving as a
to accept that this is an absurd posi
as a natural act becomes evident.
tion. But what fundamental error is
"Similarly, there is a great dif ference between the ideas of per
goal-striving behavior and moving
at the root of this misconception?
Sonogi^ of an unborn baby.
Simply put, just as a potential monkey does not exist, there is no
such thing as a potential person. Every person is actual. A person
sonhood as an achievement and
"Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee; and before thou earnest forth out of the womb, I sancti
fied thee." (Jer. 1:5)
may be a potential philosopher or author, but he is always actually a person. The potential-person argument confuses actual persons with the potential function of
personhood as an endowment. As the swimmer is essentially a swim
mer by his natural acts of being a swimmer, and not by his success or
from capability, is entirely preserved. Just as the degree of intelligence or the
failure at getting somewhere, the person is essentially a person by his being a person,
into the error of mistaking the sign for the
whether a human being is a person or not, the personhood of the unborn cannot be
and not by his success or failure at demon strating it. A rational definition Of person is rooted in the perception of a person's
thing signified, the symbol for the thing symbolized, the smoke for the fire.
measured by size, intelligence, or state of
nature.
physical development; these are accidents.
their faculties. Those who advance it fall
As Robert Joyce explains, "every poten
tial is itself an actuality. A person's potential
color of the skin is not what determines,
tion. Function revolves around nature.
essence: human nature.
Functions can come and go, but nature is dynamically stable."'
to walk across the street is an actuality that
"It would seem to be crucial," writes
the tree beside him does not have. A
Robert Joyce, "that we recognize a person as a natural being.and not simply as a func
woman's potential to give birth to a baby is
and talk is an actuality. Even the potential to receive actuation (called 'passive potency'
tional being. A person is one that has the natural, but not necessarily the functional, ability to know and to love in a transsensible or non-material way....
by traditional philosophers) is itself an actu ality that is not had by something lacking
"A person is,ian individual with a natur al capacity for these activities [reasoning,
an actuality that a man does not have. The
potential of a human 'conceptus' to think
willing, desiring, and relating to others] and
it."
relationships, whether this natural capacity Behind the Abortionist
Mentalityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Relativistic
"Nature does not revolve around func
Personhood can only be determined by their
is ever developed or notâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;i.e., whether he or she ever attains the functional capacity or
Every Human Being is a Person 'n addition to the issues that are philo
I
sophical properly speaking, there is a
.question linked to biology. How can it
be affirmed that the zygote, a cell measuring 1.5 mm,is a person? Some have written this off as biologismâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;wrongly so. This objec tion can only be made by those who are
ignorant of the essential process of
-'"p-
Utilitarianism
not. Individuals of a rational, volitional, self-conscious nature may never attain, or
ment of the human embryo. To equ le development of a child inside the uterus to the assembling of a machine in a factory is
4 4T "Underlying the common diffi
may lose, the functional capacity for fulfill ing this nature to any appreciable extent.
scientifically absurd. The living human begins to exist at the
But this inability to fulfill their nature does
moment of conception, even though only as a 1.5 mm cell. What is important to note here is not the accidents (size, weight, color,
u;
culty in seeing that the nature of a person is more basic than
its functional characteristics lurks the per
not negate or destroy the nature itself, even
spective of utilitarianism, says Joyce.
though it may, for us, render that nature more difficult to appreciate or love."'^
etc.), but the essence, which is human.
Summarizing the essentially relativistic character of utilitarianism with an eloquent example, Joyce further clarifies this point:
"Only artifacts," explains Joyce, "such as clocks and spaceships, come into exis tence part by part. Living beings come into
"The sharp difference in viewpoint between
existence all at once and then gradually
We act as human persons accidentally
because we are persons essentially. In sim
ple English, someone's acting like a person is a consequence of his already being a per son. Still, one can be a person and not act
like one. A person in deep sleep or one who is comatose is a straighforward example of
the utilitarian situation ethic and the tradi
unfold to themselves and to the world what
tional Judeo-Christian ethic might be
they already, but incipiently, are.
this. In these situations, human dignity,
glimpsed by watching a swimmer. If we are
which is derived from human nature and not
on the shore of a river watching somebody
"Moreover, tlie human zygote is much more than a genetic package. It is a living
JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1995
Abortion and Moral Relativism
being which has genes. We do not think that an adult is a package of organs, muscles and bones, but that he or she is a being who has these structures. The whole of a living being
is always, at every stage, much more than the sum of its parts."'' Just as the newly bom does not speak but has the psycho-physical conditions to do so, the zygote, the 1.5 mm. cell resulting from human fertilization, does not have a
brain yet, but has what in a short time will be transformed into a brain. He also has his
genetic individuality entirely programmed; sex, color of eyes, and even the smallest idiosyncrasies like a preference for certain foods.
his rights as a person have to be recognized to himâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;among them, and before any other,
the inalienable right to life of every innocent
term
human
being is not merely
biological, precisely because the reality it
designates is not merely biological, although it is that, too. To identify human beings as human persons is not biologism, but exact ly the opposite; it is
In turn, B. Quelquejeu believes that all
human being."'
"objective" criteria that consider the unborn as a being "all by itself, separated in abstract
The Relational Criterion
from the relations that men maintain with it
nother current of thinkers who favor
A-
abortion see personhood as a dyna
and apart from their free wills, which are the only ones that can recognize the moment of its humanity," must be overcome.'-' Now, this is a moral and philosophical
mic process of "social integration." They adopt relativistic criteria making per sonhood contingent upon "relational" or
absurdity. Life and human reproduction deserve an unconditional respect by virtue
"referential" qualifiers. In other words, the
of what they are; that is, by virtue of their
human embryo becomes a human person when the parents and society establish a relationship of
on earth that God wanted for its own
recognition
At the same time, the
human group.... To be man is always a rela-
tionship."'-
"The human being has to be respected and
treated as a person
and
human nature, because "man is the creature
sake,"'"* irrespective of any accidental rela tionship.
acceptance with him. When this happens,
A Hateful Discrimination
he passes from a purely biological
If we admit a relativistic criterion for the
state to a full human
definition of personhood, what are the
and personal state.
functional properties and accidents that
Pierre
de
Locht
will determine it? The IQ? Race or color of
from the moment of
says: "The idea that
skin? How can we decide? Who decides?
conception."
a
could be constituted
There is no way out: if we use the rela tivistic utilitarian approach, the dividing
an implicit statement that the human being, apart from his biological reality, has a spiri tual reality; that is, the soul, the substantial
form of the human body. The reason why human beings are loved and respected is that they are persons, enti ties with souls created in the image and likeness of God. If a robot could do every
spiritual
being
by a purely biologi cal act is flabbergast ing. Does not the parents' perception of the fetus as a human being condition his endowment as a human being, as a spiritual
line between "person" and "non-person" will be arbitrary. It will depend on those
being? Is it not necessary that a person-lo-
ceived "undesirables" like the unborn child
person relationship be established between the parents and the fetus for him to become a human person?"'"
or the elderly who have no "social func
who hold power.
This would easily become an instrument of hateful discrimination to liquidate per
tion." The monstrous Utopia imagined by George Bernard Shaw, where everyone
Following this same train of thought, L.
must appear before a government agency to
thing a person does, this would not make it
Beirnaert reaches the conclusion that the
Justify the social utility of his existence or
in any way a person, because it does not
conceptus does not become a child until the parents recognize him as a "subject."
come true.
have an immortal soul.
be "painlessly terminated," would have
For this reason, "the fruit of human gen
expressly calling him by a name. If the par
If we want to guarantee the survival of
eration, from the first moment of its exis
ents have the "moral certitude of the nega tive worth of the new being, the interruption
our country, tho.se who fight for life must
of pregnancy is not an evil because this action does not constitute the suppression of an existing child."" The same opinion is shared by P.
the culture of death by laying bare its moral
tence, that is, starting with the constitution of the zygote, demands the unconditional
respect that is morally due to the human being in his bodily and spiritual totality, The
human being has to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception,
Antoine, who considers that "to be man is to
and because of this, from that very moment
be recognized, to be accepted as such by a
relativism, the fundamental (law th.
>[
the root of the errors and fallacies
i
cause stands on.
Notes
4. J. Fletcher, Morals and Medicine. Boston;
Internationale
1. See chapter 3, TFP Magazine, JulyAugust 1994, pp. 16 ff. 2. Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of
Internationale Cardinal Suenens, Louvain.
3. Robert E. Joyce, "When does a person
Beacon Press, 1954, p. 152. 5. Op. cit., p. 346 6. Op.cit.. pp. 347. 340. 7. Op.cit.. p. 348. 8. Op.cit.. p. 354. 9. Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of
begin?" In Thomas W. Hilgers, Dennis J. Horan, David Mall, New Perspectives of
the Faith, Instruction Donum Vitae, 1987, I, 1.
the Faith, Declaration on Abortion on Demand, 1974, n. 13.
Human
Abortion,
Aletheia
Frederick. Maryland. 1981, p. 346.
10
denounce the haired and discrimination of
Books,
de
Sexologle
Centre
1968. p. 155;. 11. L. Beirnaert, L'avortenient est-il un
infanticide? Paris. Ed. Etudes, 1970. p. 523. 12. P. Antoine, Naitre a line vie d'homme,
Paris, Ed. Eludes, 1971, p.24:
13. B. Quelquejeu, La volont.e de Pivcreer,
10. Pieire de Locht. Discussion in I'avorte-
Paris, Ed. Luiniere et Vie, 1972, p.67. 14. Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of
menf:
the Faith, Instruction Donum Vitae, 1987 n. 5.
Actes
du
Xeme
CoUoque
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
The American TFP In Action
A Winte^
u
tint
Wonderla After Sunday Mass .The Dormitory
by Michael McKenna
Some people refer to them as the lost generation;
Meetings
we prefer to call them America's future. Thirty-five teenage boys from across the country spent Christmas at the TFP's headquarters where,for some, a page was turned in a new chapter of their lives. A wholesome environment,friendships forged, and plenty of Christmas cheer made for a truly Catholic winter wonderland and etched in their souls
fond memories that will be long lasting for sure.
A spacious room, neatly aligned beds, name tags on pillows, and spotless floors smacking of military precision welcomed the boys. Of course, morning inspection was necessary to maintain this image of British perfection. Pushups for beds not made or per
Skits
JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1995
sonal items out of place kept things ship-shape 1 Trumpeters playing reveille awakened the troop to a full day of activities. Spiritual, educational, andâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;especially for boysâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;recreationaTactivities were the pillars of the daily program. Every meeting, meal, and game began and ended with a prayer. To help forge a sound character and conscience, the days were filled with numerous meetings, captivating, short and lively. The subject matter ranged from Catholic Doctrine to analysis of today's decadent society. Always inter esting, most topics provoked heated but amiable dis11
JtT't
Medieval Games%
cussion.
Many
meetings were punctuat
ed by a theater skit or illustrative slide presen tations,
helping
to â&#x20AC;˘
accent the ideas being conveyed to a junior audience. No IF? youth program would be complete without its tra ditional Medieval games and banquet. The boys, divided into two groups, dubbed their teams with a Saint-warrior's name and a adopted a "battle-cry" to rally the team, creating a spirit of chivalrous comraderie. During the games, team Godfrey de Boullion's challenge of, "He who hasn't given everything, HASN'T GIVEN ANYTHING" was promptly answered by team St. Elias with "Advance, always! Retreat, NEVER!"
Competitions included "steal the bacon," relay races, an obstacle course, and a tug of war. When the last game was played and the winning team announced, it was time for a warrior's repast! The magnificent medieval banquet fed the soul as well as nour ished the body. With their strength replenished, the boys prepared to finish the course and head homeward the next day.
â&#x2013;
1 The Clostng Banquet
12
TRADITION. Family and property
Cover Article
The Destruction of a Nation
Through Its Youth
The psychological warfare that is being waged against American school children is deeply intertwined with a cultural revolution that aims at the very heart of Western civilization itself.
Pick up your local newspaper on any given day and what do you see: a story about a fifteen-year-old kicked in the head so severely that he had to leam how to talk and walk again; another about an eigh
increased teen pregnancy. What has happened to our Christian civilization? What has hap pened to our 2,000-year history of Christian culture and morali
teen-year-old raping an eleven-year-old girl
ty from the time Our Lord Jesus
in a school stairwell. The news magazines
Christ fulfilled the great lessons
inform us that approximately 525,000 phys
of the
ical attacks and robberies occur in public
showed us, by His example and suffering, the way to a most perfect life?
than one third could place the Civil War in the correct half-century and fewer than 60 percent could determine a sports team's
day. With a certain amount of horror, we
A Portrait of Disintegrating
must conclude that the moral climate in at
Education—Intellectual Decline
winning percentage if it won five of its twenty games.'
high schools every month and that about
Old
Testament
and
135,000 students carry guns to school every
international comparisons also ilu
least a sizable number of public schools resembles that of a back alley in the most violent section of town.
Continue on with a perusal of your favorite publications and you will see a steady stream of reports from the nation's schools about violence, drugs, and badly educated students. Parents across the coun
.ac
a declining intellectual level. The results of
No aspect of the public school system has escaped a deteriorating barrage that has
several studies that evaluated math and sci
been breaking down the intellectual and
ence competence conducted through the late
moral excellence of American youth for
1980s were summarized in 22 tables by the
decades. The intellectual decline has been
National Center for Educational Statistics.
reported continually, with numerous statis
The United States appeared at the very bot
tics to back up the contention. Forty-four
tom in seven tables and within two countries
try complain that they are losing confidence
percent of adult Americans cannot under
of the bottom in eight others. Of the remain
in what was once a great American
stand the language of want-ads well enough to determine if they have sufficient qualifi
four limes.-
Institution, the public school system. So deep is the malaise that many—parents and educators—see little hope of improvement. Outside the classroom, the desperate
plight of our youngsters brings on an even greater shock: a rapidly rising suicide rate, widespread use of drugs and alcohol. JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1995
cations for the advertised job. Twenty-two
ing seven, the U.S. was in the bottom half Employers have also registered dissatis
faction with the competence of American students. Fortune magazine published a
percent cannot address a letter properly to insure its delivery. These reports lend some credence to the frequent claim that one third of the population is functionally illiterate.
report showing that 58 percent of the top 500 companies complained about the diffi
Concerning American 17-year-oIds, fewer
culty of finding employees with basic skills. 13
Cover Article
One CEO complained that only four out of
observation of animals,
every ten candidates were
Skinner have been able to
able to pass an entry-level
influence the school sys
fProblems .identifiedN
behaviorists like B. F.
by teachers in
exam written at a sev
tems with the notion that
America's schools
enth-grade level.^
intelligence is a matter of
in 1940;
However, the great tragedy in all this is that the most gifted students have suffered the great
environment so when a
deficiency occurs, society is at fault. Using this Rousseauian illogic, he
• talking out of turn
• chewing gum
Sowell
and like-minded human
reports that in 1972 more
ists and educational psy
than
chologists decided to cor
est.
Thomas
116,000 students
scored above 600 in the
rect the deficiencies by
verbal
implementing
Scholastic
Aptitude Test (800=per-
public policies, including an overhaul of the public school system to achieve greater equality.
71,000 did so ten years later.^
Richard
J.
Herrnstein and Charles
• making noise • running in halls
several
fect score) but fewer than
• (jress-code infractions
ods was to "dumb down"
centage of decline over a longer period of time by studying students at the
elementary
and
sec
ondary education as a whole, making every thing easier for mediocre students and making no
higher level who exceed
j
V
One of the chief meth
Murray verify the per
V
Moral Decline
As bad as the decline in achievement is.
the moral damage is even more devastating
SATs. In 1972, 17,560
demand at all on the gift
college-bound students topped 700; whereas in 1993 only 10,407 scored higher despite a larger
ed. With the passage of
both to the students and society in general, for we are not dealing with superficial or cosmetic reforms but profound changes that
the Elemen-tary and Secondary Educ-ational
go to the very depth of our existence. Behind the philosophy of education and united with
Act of 1965 (ESEA), the
it is the philosophy of life inspired by Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. A battle is being
ed
700 in
the
verbal
number of students tak
IS our
priorities were complete ly turned around, and that shift continues to this day,
ing the exam.'' This decline of rough ly forty percentage points
as one can see from the
in both cases has enor
following table.
mous consequences for society since the verbal-
Please do not conclude
waged between the values and principles that gave birth to Christian civilization and. on the other hand, the New Age. socialist, and permissive beliefs that will plunge mankind into subhuman existence.
No
skills test measures the
ability to think through difficult
Educational Priorities for Fiscal 1993*^
problems, to
determine their essential
Programs for the disadvantaged
size
Programs that might benefit
information;
skills essential for leader
any student
ship and guidance in our
political, business, legal, and educational life. In
do
values, the
concept of right and wrong, and the Ten Command-ments pre-
elements, and to synthe the
longer
absolute
youth
short, we are devouring
92.2%
.... 5.6%
gists. whose n will discuss in an section, descended on
Support and administration of ESEA programs
.... 2.1%
Programs for the gifted
.... 0.1%
ourselves, all in the name The Bell Cane(6)
of equality as we shall
vail in our classrooms.
A series of psycholo
the educational scene
in
mid-century
influence
a
to
drastic
change in the school curriculum. Veiy few
see.
Coinciding with the socialist and psychologi-
from the third item that
examples can so clearly illustrate the lamen
administrative costs are
table results as the following comparison.
cal-behaviorist
low. That figure repre
In 1940, teachers identified the top prob lems in America's public school system as talking out of turn, chewing gum. making noise, running in halls, and dress-code infractions. When asked the same question in 1990, teachers listed drug abuse, alcohol abuse, pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery, and assault. Such a vivid juxtaposition elicits
move
ments in the early part of this century, there has
sents only the cost of dis bursing the funds and not
been a fundamental shift
administrating schools,
away from the traditional view that intelligence is
over
inherited. By drawing
spent.
conclusions 14
from
the
which usually eats up
falling ?
half the
money
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Cover Article
AProblems identified
motivating forces in behavior. They and
their faith that the order was secularized and
their followers introduced special curricu
broke its ties with the Catholic Church. Dr. Coulson later wrote:"When we started there
lum programs in order to reshape the values,
by teachers in
attitudes, and beliefs of young people.
America's schools
Under various names like "affective
in 1990;
domain" and "values clarification," these
were six hundred nuns and fifty-nine schools.... Four years later,...there are two schools left and no nuns."'
programs have been introduced in all grades and shift character education based on self•
drug abuse
•
alcohol abuse
restraint to what "feels good to the students."
Deliberate Undermining of Parental Authority
The classrooms become talk shows where
This enervating process has left enor
•
pregnancy
students offer their opinions on the most controversial and sensitive subjects without
•
suicide
reaching any conclusions. The only absolute is that everything is non-Judgmental. In sex-
mous wreckage in its wake, but there is no more ruinous casualty for civilization than the breakdown of family life. The process of
rape
education classes, every conceivable subject
undermining the parent-child relationship
•
•
robbery
is explored in the most degrading language.
begins in the earliest grades. One book,
Some textbooks have teenagers describing
designed for children from pre-school to third grade, constantly subverts parents'
their experiences in minute detail. The only assault
J
V
moral guide for these hapless youngsters is
moral authority with such statements as,
the behavior of their fellow classmates, who
"You have a right to tell Mommy or Daddy what you don't like about what they are
any number of questions that begin with the
are, of course, equally misguided. Even private schools have been bit by the
interrogatives who and how.
venomous snake. For example, the Sisters of
Among the more recent and foremost promoters of human liberation who intro
the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a teaching
duced humanist psychology into American
order, impressed by an article of Carl Rogers, decided to put his theories into
doing."" What we have here is socialistic economic equality transferred to family life. According to that textbook, the child enjoys a moral equality with the parents, if they are foolish enough to submit. The goal of reshaping young people's
schools were the psychotherapists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. They saw restraint, self-denial, the family, and the
effect. A colleague of Rogers, Dr. William Coulson, who later repented and now lec tures against progressivism, took charge as
non-academic courses and workshops like
Church as unhealthy carriers of mental dis
project coordinator. The sisters themselves
ability. To counter-balance these traditional virtues and entities, Maslow and Rogers
came under the influence of the program's "self-actualization." Teaching suffered, and
drug or sex education, or health classes. Teachers, in one popular exercise, give stu dents the assignment of keeping diaries
advocated feelings and emotions as the ideal
so did the order. So many of the sisters lost
emotions and attitudes is often included in
about personal problems and family rela tionships even if "they were bad." Since the greatest obstacle to the success of these pro grams is the parents whose traditional values are to be replaced, every effort is made to
J^or^otten nsutHs
keep them ignorant of its content. Parents, once informed, have brought pressure
against the offending programs and. in some cases, have forced them out of the schools.
Chastity the Only Solution Pope John Paul II, addressing thousands of youths in Nakibubo Stadium in Kampala, Uganda, stated:
"Purity of customs, the discipHner of sexual activity, is the only safe and virtuous way to bring an end to the
tragic plague of AIDS that has cut down so many youths." (See L'Ossermtore Romano, February 8-9, 1993.)
One may well see that the Holy Father teaches chastity as a precious virtue,
whose practice is within reach of all. Moreover, he affirms that the practice of purity, far from causing spiritual or physical deformation, results in priceless advantages. Were it otherwise, the Pontiff would not have given such advice to an entire nation of some 17 million people. JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1995
Phyllis Schlafly reports that in some psy chological-conditioning programs, the chil dren sit in a circle, known as the "magic cir
cle," where all they say is held dence. In other programs they are c
miHilly
told not to tell their parents what is said or done.'' One widely used text of the most dis
gusting and explicit variety describes par ents as "hung up." who "have a hard time letting go," who "go overboard," or "have
serious problems."'" These programs, to quote one mother, "eroded the parent-child relationship by inserting a wedge of doubt, distrust, and disrespect."" OBE
The
political
psychologists
who
designed "affective domain," which has
already produced anarchy and chaos in soci ety, have further refined the process in a pro15
Cover Article
standing or behavior. The faster learners must sit back and amuse themselves by
tutoring or some time-wasting activity until their slower classmates catch up. Obviously, the smarter students quickly adjust to the frustrating pace by doing only the minimum required. Because of the imprecise knowledge with which the students are dealing, stan dardized tests cannot objectively measure their academic achievement. This allows
the schools to avoid any accountability
for their egalitarian plan. It is not too dif ficult to conjecture what the future holds. The unbridled sensibilities and tenden
cies of youth will entirely dominate the
At Stake: the Sacred Institution
of the Famiiy and the Innocence of Our Children gram called Outcome-Based Education
intelligence and the will.
(OBE). They have combined the behavior modification techniques already mentioned
The irrationality and disor der we have already wit
with a destruction of the standard academic
nessed will in a few short
curriculum that eliminates the basic core
years sweep away whatev
subjects such as English, mathematics, and
er harmony and lucidity is
history. The principle promoter and publicist
left in society and carry us
of OBE, William Spady, has said, "The tra ditional subject-based curriculum disap
down to the abyss of deca
pears." OBE replaces the traditional curriculum with some vague program called "learning outcomes," which teach "higher-order think ing skills." The subjects are heavily laced with such politically correct material as training for world citizenship and govern
ment, environmentalism, and population control. The Washington State Education Act of 1993 includes "healthful living" and citizenship, which they define as "a multi
t
dence and great outrages. terious bonds
of material gen
One Final Word
This whole agonizing process is based on two erroneous suppositions: That the human intelligence is a blank sheet to be filled in by outside infiucnccs and that
state-controlled schools—along with day care centers and head-start programs—can supply all the elements necessary for intel
Pope Pius Xll enunciated an important
volume syllabus, "Learner Outcomes,"
principle that was emphasized by Professor
leaves no doubt that the basics are eliminat
Plinio Correa de Oliveira in Nobilitx and
ed for "the clearly defined outcomes." Learning the multiplication tables is not an
Analogous
outcome listed in any grade. For reading instruction, the Oklahoma plan replaces the standard phonics method with the word-
cussing the "true nature of heredity" and the reality of its "human and supernatural truth."
guessing system that has already failed so mi.serab!y.
existence of a material substratum in the
The evil geniuses who have designed this program have gone even further to achieve an egalitarian leveling down of all students.
because of "the intimate union of our soul
In order to eliminate competition in the next designated outcome until all in his group have mastered the required under16
the slow and profound formation of souls in the atmosphere of a hearth rich in high intel lectual. moral and especially Christian tradi ■
tions."'-
lectual and moral development.
cultural and world-view." Oklahoma's five-
classroom, no student can move on to the
eration as by the permanent action of that privileged environ ment that is the family, with
Traditional
Elites
in
the
Allocutions of Pius Xll. The Pope, in dis
affirms, "One certainly cannot deny the transmission of hereditary characteristics;"
with our body, and in what great measure our most spiritual activitie.s are themselves dependent upon our physical temperament." But he goes on to say, "Yet of greater import still is spiritual heredity, which is transmitted not so much through these mys-
NOTES 1. Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray.
The Bell Citrve(New York. 1994). p, 420. 2. Ibid., p. 421. 3. Thomas Sowell. Inside American Educadon
(New York. 1993), p.6.
4. Ibid., p. 8.
5. Hermsiein and Murray, p. 428. 6. Ibid., p. 434.
7. William K. Kilpalrick. Why Johnny Can't Tell Rightfrom (New York. 1992). p. 34. 8. Alvyn M. Freed. T.A. for Tots (Sacramento, 1976), p. 100. 9. Phyllis Schlafly (ed.). Child Abuse in the Clas.sroom (Wcslchesler 111., 1988).
10. Ruth Bell et al., Changing Bodies. Changing L'l'f.? (New York, 1987).
11. Schlafly. p. 277. 12. Pius Xll. Allocution to the Nobility and Pairician.s of Rome. January 5. 1941. TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Cover Article
The Nature of Christian Education concepts and is where thinking really begins.
Education provides the ideals, habits, and nat ural and supernatural motives to guide the
The determination of truth and falsehood
will. This is true freedom.
Judgment affirms the relationship between
belong to this stage. Reasoning differs from
judgment in that it discerns agreement or dis agreement through the medium of a third idea or concept, thus bringing us to the science of logic and its great mechanism of formal proof, the syllogism. Reasoning also involves deduc tion, induction, and analogy, but perhaps here we arc going too far beyond the immediate requirements of the study. The purpose of this necessarily brief devel
A indications are that the public school system in this country has been severely perverted to create a distorted individual that resembles a model more sensual and emotional then elevated and
responsible. Since we are "created by God to His image and likeness and destined for Him Who is infinite perfection," what should be the model for an educated youth to satisfy the demands of our Creator? The essential ele
ment of any educational system must be the end for which we are created; therefore, true
education should be entirely directed to man's last end.
We should always keep in mind Pope Pius XPs advice in his famous encyclical Christian Education of Youth, "the subject of Christian education is man whole and entire, soul united
to body in unity of nature, with all his faculties natural and supernatural." He goes on to say that "disorderly inclinations then must be cor
rected, good tendencies encouraged and regu lated from tender childhood, and above all the
mind must be enlightened by supernatural
truth and by the means of grace, without
Character Formation
The word "character" has been thrown
around by those who seek to destroy it with
careless
abandon.
Here
we
describe it as the intelligent direction and con trol of human conduct under the influence of
moral principles. The standard of these princi
ples is the Divine Will of God as expressed by
opment is to show that teaching is the art of
eternal and natural law and in supernatural
training pupils to think. The awesome respon
revelation.
sibility of the teacher consists in stimulating, guiding, and directing the growth of the intel
Character that man belongs to four realms of
lect to its fullest realization; and the student
being, "the physical, mental, social, and spiri
reaches his most important objective when he
tual." Modern education has only been con cerned with the first three, although lately it has been perverting an understanding of the mental and social realms. Unfortunately, it has
arrives at the truth.
Will
God created man and commanded him to obey the moral law. He promised rewards for observance and punish ments for violation. This can only be achieved if man has the power to freely determine his actions. The guiding force that moulds and directs man's life is his rational will. Since
thought precedes the deliberation of the will, an object must first be known by the intellect and then presented to the will as good or desir
Rudolph Allers states in Psychology of
completely ignored the fourth, unless one takes into account the present preoccupation with the New Age religion of Gaia, Mother Earth. Because of this failure, modem educa
tion has a distorted view of the destiny of man and the purpose of life. The chaotic, often savage, conditions of
our youth today attest to the necessity of train ing students in the exercise of self-control over their evil impulses. If the school is to serve the
A most urgent duty of the school is to fur nish guidance in the training of the will, to aid in developing self-control and bringing out in the student a perfect integration of all his pow
best interests of mankind, character training must be a primaiy function. How beautiful it is to see the results: a youth conscious of being a temple of the Holy Ghost, having respect for lawful authority, possessing dignity of bearing and modesty in manner and dress, and exhibit
ers. While a student should possess a strong
ing the angelic virtue of purity in thought and
will to resist impulses contrary to duty and
action. Upon such fomiation rests the preser
virtue, he also needs a good will, which involves moral excellence and righteousness.
vation of Christian civilization.
able.
â&#x2013;
which it is impossible to control evil impuls-
Intellect
In a well-ordered, functioning human being
or personality, the higher faculties of the intellect and the rational will, both of
which are spiritual powers, control the feeling and the emotions. Through the intellect, we acquire human knowledge, which consists of the formation of ideas. Judgment, and reason ing. In the first step, also called conception, the mind strips away all individuating or spe
cific aspects of a thing and forms a concept. For instance, take away the individual charac teristics of your pet poodle and you then have the concept of a dog. We rightly devote much attention to immaterial concepts like duty. Jus tice, virtue, truth, and goodness. JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1995
Mrs. Phyllis Schlafly receives an award from Congressman Duncan Hunter (R., OA) at the Conservative Political Action
Conference (CPAC) in Washington on Feb. 9. Long an
outspoken opponent of Outcome Based Education. Mrs. Schlafly's speech at CPAC addressed the importance of parents' teaching their children to read with phonics. She has just published a work book to make that easier. Contact
Eagle Forum at (202) 544-0353 for information.
Photo by Bob Knudsen
17
The Long History of Educational Subversion IN RECOUNTING THE repugnant tales of the deliberate destruction of
youthful innocence, we have actually broken into the middle of the storyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or perhaps even closer to the end. The planned corruption of American education and its collateral social disintegration are both interconnected with the larger
process that has as its aim the destruction of Christian civilization itself. The point
cooperated to found the universities, where all branches of knowledge, natural,
Rousseau revolted against the order of natural morality and exalted the primacy
moral, and judicial, were taught in perfect
of our sense-life. In his Treatise on
harmony between the secular and the reli gious. The medieval mind was occupied
Education, or Emile, he laid out his
with a passion for the truth. As the deviation developed, a conflict arose between those who accepted the Divine Will and those who rejected the oriented themselves toward man as the
the moral or natural law irksome.
humanists. When Protestantism rejected the principle of authority and broke into
supreme arbiterâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;thus incurring the name
innumerable divisions, it caused a rupture in the harmony between Church and
ples of Gospel leaching. Then it was that the power and divine virtue of Christian wisdom had diffused itself throughout the law, institutions, and morals of the peo ple." During this period, education, which
State. Once the schools became secular
ized, they fell under the influence of new
philosophies and theories of life and its values.
is defined as "the transmission of our
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and
intellectual and spiritual inheritance," was
Naturalism
in the hands of the monasteries, the Scholastics, and the universities. Schools
T\ HE DISEASE THAT IS attacking
were conducted in the first of these by
our public schools began to take on
men who had withdrawn from the world
an identifiable form in the late
and devoted their lives, under the guid-
The former declares that nature is the sole
through experience, not relying on the authority of others. Abraham Maslow
Locke, Rous.seau, and Voltaire, are
praised as great benefactors to society. Yet
Revolution and the permissiveness of modern education.
been used to deny absolute values.
pie learn through things, not books; a stu dent must learn everything himself
order. Pick a history text of any grade level in secondary schools or colleges and you will see that the innovators and caniers of this pathology, such as Hobbes,
inspired the violence of the French
Charles Darwin's evolutionism has
1600s and early 1700s and generally goes by the name of naturalism or rationalism.
source of all that exists. The latter, only slightly different, claims that human rea son or understanding is the final test of all truth; both deny supernatural revelation and our obligations to the supernatural
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose ideas
consist in teaching virtue and truth; peo-
absolute and immutable moral law and
of departure occurred during the height of the Middle Ages when man began to find Lamenting this point. Pope Leo XIII described the Middle Ages as a "time when states were governed by the princi
destructive principles, which have wide acceptance today: Education does not
could not have done belter. Marx and Freud
A S THE DECADES TICKED away
/\in the nineeenth century, the revoJLlutionary thinkers increased their assault against the supernatural order.
Having done extensive damage in the reli gious and political spheres, the innovators
their ideas contributed to a regressive
turned their attention to the cultural areas
revolt against authority that culminated in
of civilization. Three men, Charles
the French Revolution and the fall of the
Darwin, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freu '
French Monarchy. Jean-Jacques Rousseau's influence on
struck blows that did incalculable harm.
revolutionary thought has grown with the
an unsupported and fraudulent theory of man's origin that is forced down the throats of unsuspecting students world
centuries both in political action and. even more subversively, in educational philosophy. The followers of Rousseau
Charles Darwin's studies gave rise to
wide as a scientific fact. Although he
ance of religion, to educational work.
and a group of rationalists known collec tively as the Encyciopedisis. joined
tional philosophy, others have been able
Scholasticism, a philosophical system
together to construct a new world order,
to utilize his manufactured prestige to
himself has contributed little to educa
personified by Saint Thomas Aquinas that
and part of the plan of this powerful and
promote the concept of evolutionism and
harmonized faith and reason, revolved,
energetic minority was to strip the
apply it to ethics, man, and society, thus denying any absolute values.
for the most part, around such subjects as
Catholic Church of its schools and other
the nature of man, his destiny, and his
educational facilities. This was accom
However. Marx and Freud must be
relation to hi.s Creator and his fellow man.
plished in the first few months of the
Both the Pope and the secular rulers
Revolution.
singled out for special odium. Karl Marx lived and ended his days in failure. Yet he
inspired one of the greatest mass move
our existence and culture to base material
ing and most influential thinker in educa
ments of all time, for his radical ideas
economics, Freud viewed human nature
tional theory and practice in this country.
appealed to those promoting the next step
in terms of emotions and
in the revolutionary process. Marx saw
sexuality; our mental and
man only as an economic animal and
moral diseases are due to
stressed hatred of God, denial of the right
the inhibitions and repres-
of private property, and the necessity of
sion of the latter. His
class warfare, resulting in a complete lev eling of society to its lowest common
and vicious ideas on reli-
denominator.
Marxism or socialism, often consid
ered as merely an economic movement, intends to embrace all fields of activity in
% W
seling human beings, especially children. Freud has called religion the "universal obsessional
ment, it aims at the overthrow of our civi
neurosis" and a "mass
lization; as a philosophy, it adopts a con ception of a new world order that includes
delusion." To him, the
family is an institution
not only the de.struction of Christianity
ridden with incestuous
but of human culture in general. Any
cross currents. Free will is
portions in the social areas susceptible to
>
.
gion should render him unfit for any role in coun-
society, including a transformation of the
tives when circumstances permit. Sigmund Freud's influence on psy chology, education, and other related social disciplines reaches the same pro
r;
materialistic philosophy
family and education. As a social move
socialist who has ah educational agenda certainly intends to achieve these objec
r~~
a
Many see psychology
as some dark, mysterious HD^im area of medicine. Nothing Karl Marx sou ght to change all society by reducing every could be further from the one lev one to to the the lowest level. truth. Psychology in the Dewey combined his own philosophy of broadest meaning of the term is that
innovators and their followers indicates
branch of philosophy which studies the soul and its operations. In its restricted meaning, it is the study of human person ality, and in education there is a recogni
the direction they want to take our educa-
tion of the necessity for a proper forma
his vile influence as Marx. Since one pur
pose of this historical exposition is to show that the philosophy of life of these
pragmatism, often described by the state ment "if it works, do it." with the evolu tionism of Charles Darwin. Several
socialistic principles devolved from this synthesis. Whatever is of social benefit is
ing a new-born baby to Dracula for pedi-
good, while whatever is harmful is evil. In other words, society determines what is right and what is wrong. Furthermore, society created religion for its own pur
airic care.
pose and determined its truths. Social
Socialism in American Education
goals and continues unconsciously for the
IN THE TWENTIETH century several
society change, the content of education must also change to be consistent with the evolving realities of life.
tion of character, When parents allow socialists and Freudians to influence the
education of their children, it is like tak
progress proceeds without fixed ends or
socialists moved to the forefront in
betterment of mankind. As the values of
charting the course of education in the United States. It is beyond the .scope of
John Dewey accepted a professor'' at Columbia University in 1904. Whii
this review to discuss the distinctions of
conducting classes at the Teacher's College, he trained numerous associates
the various types of socialism (Marxist, communist, democratic, etc.), for in their
who went on to become deans of educa
essence they are all atheistic, materialis
tic, and evolutionary and differ only in
tional schools across the country, thus carrying the malignant infection to the
their methods of achieving control. To a
teachers who trained other teachers.
.socialist, whatever progress is made is
Sigmund Freud, who saw self-controi as a source of mental illness.
tionai system, we must delve into the abysmal depths of their thinking. Whereas Marx reduced all aspects of
due to society, and since man's environ ment fashions his beliefs, personality, and moral character, these must be brought
into conformity with ever-changing soci
Psychological Warfare
A S THE TRADITIONAL political
/Xstates and economic structures
ety.
X jLbegan to crumble in the early
Although equally famed as a philoso pher and psychologist, John Dewey, who died in 1952, is regarded as the outstand
decades of this century, two groups of political philosophers put forth works to
guide mankind. The Catholic hierarchy.
through largely neo-Thomistic papal
logical underpinnings of.socialism before
encyclicals, reiterated the doctrines of Original Sin and the Redemption, that is, salvation through the sufferings of Our
the seizure of state power is begun. The Frankfurt School designed an elaborate and eventually successful program of
Lord Jesus Christ, grace, and the practice of virtue. The Papacy saw the new philosophies as versions of old heresies. The world "through an insatiable craving for things perishable," was "rushing wild ly upon the straight road to destruction."
Society is intelligible only in the light of Christian revelation and a future life.
On the other side of the coin, an Italian Marxist, Antonio Gramsci, and
psychological warfare that infiltrated into the cultural and educational institutions in the United States. Institute for Social Research
IN 1923, A GROUP OF communistoriented intellectuals pos.sessing high
f V.
capabilities of analysis founded the
several other Marxists, known collective
Institute for Social Research at the
University of Frankfurt in Germany. The original impetus came from a Soviettrained literary theorist, Georg Lukacs, who possessed a particular hatred for
after World War I the communist revolu
J/M
(Frankfurt School)
ly as the Frankfurt School, who com bined socialist political philosophy with
Freudian sexology, modified their pro gram to satisfy new requirements. Specifically, they had to analyze why
Of^,
Western civilization. In order to destroy western man's reliance on his relationship
tions in Germany, Austria, Bavaria,
with God and the proper use of reason,
Hungary, and elsewhere had failed.
Lukacs worked up ways to induce in him
Gramsci, realizing that political seizure in itself was inadequate, advocated "a thor-
a state of hopelessness and alienation as a necessary prerequisite for social revolu tion and to determine new cultural forms
John Dewey trained teachers according to his own philosophy of evolutionism, socialism, and pragmatism.
to create a "new barbarian." Much of the
efforts of this group resulted in the depressing art and drama that became popular on both sides of the Atlantic between the World Wars.
Eleven years later, the Frankfurt group accepted an invitation to become affiliat
ed with Columbia University, where it was renamed the International Institute of
Social Research. Initially their influence
was confined to academia and the newlyburgeoning radio and eventually televi sion. But it was an inOucnce that had
grave repercussions because they quickly learned how to manipulate the tendencies of a sympathetic audience to achieve their pernicious goals. After World War II, the Frankfurt
group published many works dealing with psychology, character alteration, and the need to reeducate for social change. Using a typical revolutionary technique of building up an exaggerated, mythical villain, which they called the
"Authoritarian Personality." they were able to ridicule the patriarchal family
along with some others, were well pro moted by the news magazines and
Sunday supplements during the 60s and 70s. Erich Fromm, a psychoanalyst and professor at numerous American universi ties, can best seen be from his description of a revolutionary chtrracter whom, of course, he admires. "The revolutionary is the man who has emancipated himself from the ties of blood and soil, from his
mother and his father, from special loyal ties to state, class, race, party, or reli gion." Dr. Fromm guided Abraham Maslow in developing the educational
revolution in which young adults have their beliefs, character traits, and values
reshaped to insure that they are not potential "authoritarians." However, the Freudian-Marxist theo
ries of liberating the sexual instincts and the disorderly passions reached its full fruition in the works of Herbert Marcuse.
So successful was his appeal to youthful rebellion that he became the prophet of the revolutionary student movement in
Eric Fromm, a leading psychoanalyst in
with its "authoritarian" father who insist
the psychological revolution that has reshaped the traditional beliefs and val
the late 60s. which culminated in the
ed on "authoritarian" education and cul
ues of school children
ture. Abraham Maslow. whom we have
shattering Sorbonne uprising of 1968. This uprising, a preview of history,
oughgoing cultural revolution that sets
already shown to be one of the most inlluential modern educators, collaborat
out to transform all dimensions of every
ed in these projects.
day life and establish the social-psycho-
Two of the original Frankfurt crowd.
revealed to the world the anarchical
Utopia toward which the disorderly pas sions of total liberty and equality are directed.
â&#x2013;
TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Interview
^4
Begun to Fight" TFP Magazine editor Preston Noell recently interviewed
of a return to sound education, holds a bachelor's degree in
Mrs. William Sutton on the plight of American Education,
sociology and psychology and was trained in social work. She taught for a short time in Catholic schools and has sub
especially in light of the controversial Outcome Based Education plans being proposed and implemented across the country. Mrs. Sutton, a descendeht of Jean-Baptiste Prud'homme. who was sent from France to settle the pur
chase of Louisiana, is a long-time and well-known advocate
stituted in all 12 grades in public schools. She has lectured widely to college and high-school audiences and has appeared on television and radio, as well as on videos, all across the country. She Is also very active in the Pro-Life
Mr. Preston Noell: How exten sive is the introduction of Outcome
Based Education, nationwide and statewide?
Mrs. William Sutton: It actually is inter national. It is the method of choice to recre
ate the human being, to recreate the worker. It is being pushed internationally through UNESCO. They do not often talk about that locally, because it is overwhelming to peo
ple. But that is the truth. It is the interna tional method of choice to recreate the worker.
PN: How would you rate the effectiveness of the anti-OBE movement across the United States?
Mrs. Sutton: I think we have been very
effective first of all in reaching parents and empowering them to act in the name of their own children by taking them out of the pub lic schools or wherever they may be exposed to the restructuring of education and either
Mrs. William Sutton, leading anti-OBE activist, being interviewed by Preston Noell III.
every level. Obstacles, of course, from legis
order to deal successfully with the "counter
lators and from the executive branch in all
revolutionaries." It tells the local school
the states where they are implementing QBE. We also meet much opposition from
home-schooling their children or putting
the bureaucrats, because these are bureau
them in Christian schools. That has been one of the most obvious results of our move
cratic mandates coming down. The appoint ed agents of the State, like the secretaries of
ment, but we also have been able to influ
education, the commissioners of education,
ence the legislative processes on the state
they are the ones that most openly oppose us, putting out propaganda against us. This
and national levels. In some cases we have
is organized through the department of edu
board people, the teachers, the
\il.
how to deal with us, whom they c. ,he opposition," and how to get the national edu cational agenda through. PN: Would you say that these tool kits are having an effect? Mrs. Sutton: They are just beginning to
show up in circulation. Obviously they have
been able to retard the process, or we have actually been able to get laws passed in some states to protect parents' rights or to
cation and it filters on down to the local
done it because they see the need. They feel
school districts. The parents face great diffi
that we have been effective and have cut into
protect privacy.
culties when they go to the school board as
their progress. They want to better equip the local school districts now to fight this psy chological warfare.
PN: What kind of obstacles
have you encountered along the way? Mrs. Sutton: We encounter obstacles at
JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1995
individuals and oppose what is happening in the school.
of
I think that if the individual parent saw
Education has actually put out a tool kit that the local school officials can purchase in
this, no matter what side they were on, this
Now
the
Federal
Department
restructuring of educationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and by the way.
21
Interview
OBE is a significant part but it is only one
arm of the macro-educational establishment,
part of the restructuring â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they would be shocked to see how manipulative our gov ernment is and how they are beginning to control â&#x20AC;&#x201D; micro-manage â&#x20AC;&#x201D; every aspect of our lives. It is not something that is going to
trict. For a long time they would deny that there was such a thing, even though we had their "change agents'" manual way back in the '70s.
evolve naturally. It has to be enforced from above or it is not going to happen. They have
very free to identify themselves in the news
has its "change agents" in every school dis
Now the change agents themselves feel
no confidence that the local school districts
paper as "change agents." It is not just in
on their own are going to choose this revo lutionary restructuring of education, let
grade schools and high schools but in uni versities as well that they will identify them selves as change agents. Of course, the defi
alone choose to spend the money. PN: I sense from your commen tary that you may have some sort of personal stake in this in the sense that something prompted you to get involved.
nition of a change agent is one who will use education to change society or to change government and culture along with society. Their reason for participating in educa
tion is not to pursue the truth; it is to change the way we live. To "re-norm" society, is one
Mrs. Suitoii: Well, I have been involved,
of the terms that they use. I would say that
fighting, since 1966. That was philosophi cally. However, when your children get into school and experience the prevailing forces that restructure their faith, their philosophi
we are fighting an uphill battle in the sense that they certainly have gained position. They have the credentials on paper, they def
cal beliefs, and the values learned from
exactly what they are doing, while we are just discovering and unraveling what has been going on for the last 30 years, which all takes time. We have to mobilize; they are already organized and mobilized. So, cer tainly it is a problem.
home, then you hit the ceiling. You are shocked, you feel betrayed, and it is impos sible to ever totally walk away from it. I do
not think that you are ever the same again when you realize on a personal level what they are doing with your children at school. You have to react one way or another. Many people go into some form of denial and
initely control the media, and they know
PN: Considering what you just
said about this 30-year process of using change agents at all levels of
become very defensive. But, if you sit back a bit and take time to study it, you have to do something. I picked
education, with the support of the
up the paper one day in August of '91, I guess, and saw that they had passed a new set of regulations for the state of
our society and an even larger social disintegration of Western
media and government, do you see a link between the destruction of
civilization itself?
Pennsylvania. It stated there, speciilcaily, that the children would have to demonstrate
Mrs. Sution: Yes. First of all. let me
specific attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs
explain why 1 say the last 30 years. It was in
before they would be allowed to graduate. I said, "uh, oh!" and got involved in this par ticular fight. PN:So, definitely we should not surrender?
Mr.s. Siitton: Absolutely not! No. In fact, our message when we go to Harrisburg all the time is "We have just begun to fight." PN: Very good. Earlier, you mentioned the whole matter of
OBE not being merely one of state
1965 that they passed the first legislative act that provided federal money for education. With that infusion of federal money came all these programs to achieve the aims of the
liberal, leftist establishment. We could go way back, but for our purposes the damage began on the local level with the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Educational Act of 1965, which, by the way, was ju.st refinanced last year.
That is the date from which we began to assess the damage that is being done. In
or national level but one of interna
order to recreate the worker, or to change
tional level. How entrenched are
our society, they have to break down all the
these people?
values of the culture before that. They have done that by many different means. "Values
Mrs. Sinton: They are in power. They are in control of the media. They are in control of our educational establishment. They are in control of our local school districts, for
the most part. The NEA, which is just one
clarification," is just one example. The rug was pulled out from underneath the chil dren, and they would have to find their own value system. That is, to recreate their entire morality and inner structure. TRADITION. FAMLY AND PROPERTY
Interview
It was achieved through recreating these
going down and the productivity rate is
of them and go through the instruction
things, as well as through breaking with his tory. That is why there has been a tremen dous assault upon our history classes, so that they can destroy memories, break those links with the past. If you can do this suc
ascending to an all-time high. This is not lost on them. They know that the slave
again. They believe that if they put the child
economies are being most productive, and
you get passed on to the next outcome or you actually get a little reward. Through this
cessfully, it only takes one generation; then
that is where they are leading us. "Many companies have moved opera tions to places with cheap, relatively poorly
through this conditioning, the reward is that
they no longer know. Kids are dumber today
educated labor. What may be crucial, they
than they ever have been because they sim
say, is the dependability of the labor force,
system, they can make the child not only do what they want him to do but they can pre dict what he is going to do in a given situa tion. What it does is give them total control
ply do not know what you and I took for granted. And that is in our disciplines, but it
how well it can be managed and trained, and
over the input and the outcome.
not its general education level.
This psychological method has been used historically to change people's values, attitudes, and beliefs. They have experi
is also in our culture. I was hit over the head
by their lack of historical knowledge when I started home-schooling the girls. Little things that are part of our culture mean noth ing to the children.
"Ending discrimination and changing values are probably more important than reading and moving low income families into the middle class."' So, they know exact ly what they are doing. Business people say
mented to the point that they know what works. In the Soviet Union and Sweden they have noticed that behavior changes precede
There is a total void regarding the past in
those of attitude. I think Professor Flinio has
our society and it is not easy to go back and
a wonderful statement that we ought to live
make up for eight years of schooling. They do not even know this country. They do not know what we stand for. They have no idea
the way we think under pain of ending up thinking the way we live. That is exactly what will happen.
because it has never been taught to them.
Another area I would like to talk about is
Parents assumed they were getting this at
that affective education has actually destroyed legitimate feeling. What do we see in our society? We see kids who can go
school, but of course what they were getting
was entirely different.
out and beat up another youngster with a
One area where they have done a lot of damage is in the functions of the mind that handle abstract thinking, where one reasons
bat, beat him to a pulp, and feel nothing. We have judges and other people in authority saying these kids have no sense of right or wrong. They have no remorse for anything, so something has clearly happened in our society, and I believe that it has been caused by this affective education, all these psycho
about the absolutes and God. What happens
when you reduce the functions of the mind to the brain alone is that you only process material, like a computer. I think that we are
very, very close to that in this country, This
logical techniques which have been brought
is why teachers who want to teach want to get in there and shake the kids, because
into the school. Let's look at how it was
there is so little going on. The functions of
done.
Values clarification was supposed to be affective education with the emphasis on
the mind become rusty. I think this is one of things that has happened in the Soviet Union
that they want docile, compliant workers
and other countries behind the Iron Curtain.
cated worker that gives them trouble. They
feeling. But as soon as the student enters the
have conceived of a high technological soci
classroom he is told "no feelings here." he cannot express anger or any other emotion towards another student. He cannot express what he thinks is right or the truth because
PN: Since the education system is being destroyed, what is to keep
somebody who has an inquisitive mind from going to the library and
studying for himself?
rather than educated workers. It is the edu
ety where they only need a few educated
people. PN: Outcome Based Education seems
to
be
connected
with
Affective Domain and with other
Mrs. Button: You say the schools are
types of sensitivity training. How
everybody is entitled to his belief, even if he
is for killing babies. It makes no dif '"oe, Evei7thing is relative or subjective se
being destroyed. The truth is they are being perverted. The philosophy of education used
far does the psychological method
ology employed today go in the
are the ground-rules for all students from kindergarten on up. He is denied his proper
to be the disinterested pursuit of the truth. Now however with the introduction of psy
class room?
feelings because he is told there is no justi fication for them.
Mrs. Button: First of all. it definitely is in the private domain of the child. Outcome Based Education is a psychological method
. The psychological process is integrated throughout the entire curriculum, it is not just in drug education, AIDS education, or
the schools are not being destroyed; they are
in and of itself. It is a method of condition
sex education. Values-clarification exercises
being perverted. It is not to serve the tnith, it
ing the child that shows the student what is expected, gives the instructions, evaluates
lum. We know statistically that the more sex
chology and psychological methods into the school, they are no longer interested in edu cating but training for the work-force. So.
is to serve the State, or to serve the work
place.
the results, and then passes the child on to the next goal. If the child does not achieve or
are integrated throughout the entire curricu education, the higher the pregnancy rate;
with more promiscuity, all the sexually transmitted diseases have gone up. We don't
Now they want to say that we educate for productivity. But that has never been the relationship; your slave societies have
come, then the teachers have to rotate them
have cause and effect proof, but we know
always been the most productive. In this
through what they call a closed loop. They
there is obviously something going wrong in
country they are saying that literacy rales are
then have to be told what is to be expected
our society.
JANUARY-FEBRUARY. 1995
perform according to the goal or the out
Interview
Several years ago when I was giving talks on sex education, 1 just wanted to
. â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘
know what was happening in the classroom
-7^- - '
that was causing that. Different philoso phers I have dealt with directed me to Dr. John Haas at St. Charles Seminary. He explained it to me this way: The psycholog ical techniques that are used enter into the private domain of the child. For example, sex education gets so close to the very core of the child that the only way the child can handle it is to distance himself from reality.
This means that they are distancing them selves from their bodies. This alienation
from their bodies causes a disintegration. They are no longer a total, integrated per sonality. The child's ways of knowing are being entirely perverted and disordered, and the
child sees himself as an actor. It's not hap pening to him but to somebody else. They do not see themselves as participants. It is
like going to an opera. We don't see lago as lago but an actor playing him. One piece of evidence of this disintegration in our society is all the horrible murders being committed,
What is being put forth in education today is
make a break-down of that last
probably the biggest fraud ever perpetrated
third, which understands immedi
on the human race. If school officials came
all these terrible crimes, and with people
and told the truth, that these programs were going to cause children to use drugs, well
video taping them because they see them
then, of course the parents would react. But
ately, what portion of these people do you think would have the intel lectual means and the will to be
effective in opposing these kind of things?
selves as actors. We have caused a total dis
unfortunately, they do not want to believe
integration in our society. What we are seeing operating in the
that they are being betrayed. They don't
Mrs.Sutton: If I had to give a percentage
want to believe that their authority is being
classroom is clearly manipulative power. It
undermined. It is hard for them to do that.
I would probably say 5% from the last third will take a leadership role. Not very many
is a totally different force with a totally dif ferent result. All the questions are loaded and prearranged to achieve the desired result. Sex education aims to break down the inhibitions in a child and achieve total sexu
al freedom. And drug education; It is actual ly to get the children to take risks. And now they say that suicide education, death educa tion, ends in the very behavior it is supposed to stop.
PN: Do parents realize that
these programs undermine their authority? Mrs. Sutton: That is an interesting ques
PN: What you are saying is very interesting. My question is, 'do they realize,' but you are going beyond and saying that once they are presented with these facts they do not want to believe it.
denial right away; you can see it right in front of you when you are giving a talk. A third of them understand what is going on
but they are confused. They do not know which way to turn. And a third will be right
crushed. We have to be very careful efforts so that we mobilize people an
behind you at the next rally.
paralyze them. We have to pray to the Lord at least ten times a day because there are
can say a third of these parents go into
However, there are many who eventually
diocese when the schools were introducing comprehensive sex education programs, we
come to understand. There are people two years ago who did not believe a word I had to say. Now two years later, they are calling
were devoted to their children, stay-at-home moms, and everything. They could not grasp the subtleties of what was being done. They would see the statistics but because they could not conceive of their own children in
sex education, they just could not discern that
this was going to lead in the direction it has. Part of the problem is that these pro grams are being presented untruthfully.
It is interesting that you mention the will. When you study the Iron Curtain countries you realize how these people's wills have been just destroyed. They do not have the
resources to do anything more than survive, There are many parents who are simply so busy making a living that they just do not have the energy or the will to make a deci sion. Then there are others who, once they understand, are overwhelmed. They feel
MnSuiion: We like to put it this way: We
tion. When we were dealing with this in our
would talk to some wonderful parents who
have the background in philosophy and the ology to deal with these questions.
times when even we feel overwhelmed. This
process is so big that if we didn't pray to the Lord we couldn't handle it.
up in tears saying, "Everything you said has come true. What can I do?"
PN: Do these people tend to become leaders afterwards? Mrs.Sutton: Some of them become lead
ers; others are very good active followers. PN: Perhaps this is a little bit
n i
â&#x2013;
Note:
1. Thomas Sticht, President & senior scien
tist, Applied Behavioral Cognitive Sciences, Inc., San Diego, a member of the U.S.
Secretary of Labor's Comm. on Achieving Necessary Skills.
difficult to answer, but if you had to
tradition, Family and property
T'
•••
Photo Essay
Text by
Prof. Plinio Correa
■^Wm
de Oliveira Photos
The American TFP Archive • jP"
5^ \
m
^^9 w r
I
On Pilgrimage Within a Gaze Acountenance equal to this one I do not know. I have it well placed in front of me, and, moved by an inveterate habit of observing everything and then making it explicit for my own use, I fix my eyes on it attentively. Suddenly, 1 realize that I am entering it.
Yes, this unique physiognomy flows, in a manner of speaking, from the face and especially from the eyes. It envelops me in the ambience it creates and invites me to enter deep into her gaze.
26
What a gaze! No other is so limpid, so frank, so pure, so wel coming. In no other does one penetrate with such ease. Nevertheless, neither does any other contain depths which lose themselves in such a faraway horizon. The more one penetrates this gaze, the more one is attracted to an indescribable, interior, and sub lime summit.
What summit? A state of soul that I would be tempted to describe as being full of paradoxes if the word paradox, so abused
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
\4.
ery
E
perfectioi
8191
cholastics say,
sites.
Âť
balance of ha
/ no means is it a precarious bahince
between;
^
flagrant contradictions (and it1 saying
this I thi
Haling peace
the mod
e cost of so many
concessi
ch shame), but a supreme harmon
all forms of good.
It is 1precisely this peak, where all perfections meet, tha rising ir1 the depths of this gaze, a pealSRRfSRiTSfTKTiini than the columns that siiipport the firmam ent, a peak from > a crystanine, categoric;al, and iiresistible rule excludes
or small it nlay be. could spend a lifetime within 1his gaze withoui reaching; that peak. A iiseless journey? .Not at all Withi
form of evil, however silight One
gaze ont;does not walk. one flies. One is not strolling alon rather, nlaklng a pilgrinlage. The pilgrin"I, without every i
ing that
sacred mountalin. the sum of a 11
created perfec
sees it w/ith increasing cdaritv the more he flies toward hei
he sees the light in
/
r t
^
seem inexpressive. To an apt observer, it manifests a plenitude
of soul greater than history, because it touches on eternity; greater than the universe, because it reflects the infinite. The forehead seems to contain thoughts that begin with a
manger and end with a cross, taking in all human events. The entire face, the nose, whose line has a charm "more beautiful
than beauty" as a poet said. The silent lips, which nevertheless say everything at every moment, appear to praise God in every creature according to the characteristics of each one; to beseech
God on behalf of every misery as if sympathizing with the pecu liarities of each of them. These lips have an eloquence alongside which that of Demosthenes or Cicero would be nothing but bab
splendor, but from need to need, from misery to misery. If only I open myself to this gaze, it offers me a remedy for every defect, help for every obstacle, hope for every affliction. What, after all, do I have before me? A wooden statue like
so many others, without any special artistic value. Yet one need only fix one's eyes on it. and this statue, wii,. out moving, without the least transformation, begins to make all these splendors shine. How? I do not know either. But if the reader wishes, let him look and see...
This is the statue of Our Lady of Fatima that shed tears in New Orleans because of the sins of mankind and the chastise
bling. What shall we say of her skin: snow-white? The adjective
ments that men are calling upon themselves. Wherever this stat
says both everything and nothing, for in order to be truly descriptive, it would be necessary to imagine a snowiness that, with infinite discretion, reflected in its depths all the shades of the rainbow, thereby inspiring the soul that contemplates it with
ue goes, it attracts great numbers. I insist. If you accept the description I have made. I invite you in turn to make this magnificent pilgrimage within the gaze of the Virgin. If you do not believe it. look and see. I could not
all the wonders of purity. Yes, 1 am on a pilgrimage within this gaze, so full of sur prises. Unexpectedly, I perceive that the pilgrim gaze is also
offer you a better invitation. Pray then, for yourself. And pray for the Holy Church trou
inside me. A poor and merciful pilgrimage, not from splendor to
JANUARY-FEBRUARY. 1995
bled and tormented as never before.
â&#x2013;
Xradition, Fam
Following closely on the heels of last November's massive Republican landslide, the sixth annual Conservative Leadership Conference (CLC) provided early insights into the profile of the 104th Congress. Featuring Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA), the future Speaker of the House, and Rep. Dick Anney (R-TX), now Majority Leader in the House of Representatives, the conference offered a look at the future and a grounding in political tech nology for conservative neophytes and veterans alike.
Co-Sponsorj importance of maintaining traditional
moral
stan
Conservative Lea
dards, especially in regards to abortion and homosexuality. Other first-day speakers included Senator Paul Coverdell (R-GA), Senator-elect Spencer Abraham (R-MI), Congressman Robert K. Dornan (R-CA), Congressmen-elect Mike Flanagan (R-IL) and Steve Stockman (R-TX), Congresswomen-elect Andrea Seastrand (RCA) and Helen Chenoweth (R-ID), Lt. Gov.
Held from the first to the third of December,
Mike Huckabee (R-AR), Accuracy in Media's
1994 in the nation's capital, the CLC began in earnest with a day of lectures and panel discus sions, followed by a day of workshops focusing on state-of-the-art technology. The CLC is orga
Reed Irvine, and Phyllis Schlafly of Eagle Forum. The day ended with a banquet featuring a keynote address by the future House
nized every year under the directorship of the
distinguished conservative leaders Morton Blackwell, Paul Weyrich and Reed Irvine. Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP) has been a co-sponsor of the landmark conference since its inception.
Speaker.
The transmission of this vital information tc
conservative activists is the goal of the CLC and the secret of its success. This has been the con
stant and constructive message of Mortor Blackwell and his Leadership Institute to the conservative movement.
Outside the main conference hall were the
displays of the CLC's twenty-three co-sponsors Ideas abounded, in the ample literature and ir the lively exchanges that marked many booths Even behind the more ephemeral politica
_
Saturday's workshops dealt with a broad spectrum of issues focusing on the techniques of conservative activism. Environmentalism, children's rights, public speaking, and how to identify and discred it bias in the media were among the topics
0^
addressed.
Maintaining Our Standards Mr. Paul Weyrich, president of the Free Congress Foundation and of National Empowerment Television (NET), a twenty-four hour a day conservative television network, opened the first day of the conference. Presenting an overview of the panorama of chal lenges facing conservatives, he stressed the
Winning Ways Political battles are often won or lost at
the margin. The ability to get one's mes sage across and to mobilize public support is the essence of victory. Technologyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as
&/ i iW
strategy, not hardwareâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;is essential to win
ning electoral and other political battles.
Beyond the New WORLD Order by Mario Navarro da Costa
As is well known, neither Marx nor his most notorious followers con
sidered the dictatorship of the prole tariat to be the final phase of the revolution ary process. In the evolutionist mythology inherent to the thinking of Marx and his fol lowers, just as evolution will develop to infinity over the centuries, so also the Revolution will be endless. From revolution
Revolution, affirmed propheti
the center of the debate over
cally: "This revolution will
whether or not to increase
necessarily be the overthrow of
the authority of th> ''
the dictatorship of the prole
system to intervene i
tariat as a result of a new crisis.
internal affairs of nations
Pressured by this crisis, the hypertrophic state will be vic
being violated."
tim of its own hypertrophy. And it will disappear."
toward a one-world govern
where human rights are Are
to revolution, each in its turn will generate
we
then
headed
ment? Could this be the new
another.
Mario Navarro da Costa
In the beginning of the seventies, it
stage into which the corpse of Communism is metamor
became clear to the distinguished Catholic
In an article published in the winter
thinker Professor Plinio Correa de Oliveira
that a new phase in the Revolutionary
1992-93 issue of Foreign Affairs, United Nations Secretary General Boutros
process was about to begin. The prediction of what the next stage would be had already
Boutros-Gliali stated: "A major intellectual requirement of our time is to rethink the
been made by the Marxists themselves.
question of sovereignty."
phosing? The answer is yes and no. While we are headed toward a new world order,
something worse lurks beyond it.
In 1976, Professor Correa de Oliveira, in
The March, 1993 UN Chronicle noit&.
It is not difficult to see in the United
his seminal book Revolution and Counter-
"The question of national sovereignty lies at
Nations the ominous precursor and facilita-
30
TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
y, Property Inc.
Sixth Annual to traditional elites to
take up the challenge of
ership Conference
their rightful role as leaders and to fulfill
regalia—from buttons to t-shirts—a serious
message
could
be
readily
deduced:
Conservatives are in the battle with vitality and
their obligation to pro vide examples of integrity in their public and
private lives, no message could be more timely or more urgent.
with conviction.
Indeed, as we enter the new political era
marked by the conservative ascendancy in
Congress, the call proclaimed by this historic
A Timely Message The
American
TFP's
booth
featured
Professor Plinio Correa de Oliveira's monumen
tal Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions ofPius XI!. With its call to arms
masterpiece is paramount. Founded on Papal
teaching and documented by numerous socio logical studies, Nobility and Analogous
The Honorable Mike Huckabee, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Arkansas, receives a
Traditional Elites has stirred keen interest in
copy of Nobility and Analogous Traditional
readers of diverse faiths. It boldly overtums the egalitarian myth and debunks the liberal lie that Christianity teaches egalitar-
Elites from C. Preston Noel! III.
Washington Bureau, joined Ambassador
world history, Catholic social leaching, and the pro-life battle, with his extensive experience on today's frontlines, in particular at the Earth Summit in Rio, the speaker provided the unique illumination of the contemporary scene that is a hallmark of those who draw their inspiration from Professor Correa de Oliveira.(As a service to our readers, Mr. Navarro da Costa's enlight
Charles Lichtenstein in a panel entitled The
ening presentation accompanies this report.)
United Nations and the Cairo Conference.
The conference ended with a reception fea turing noted conservative commentator G. Gordon Liddy and a banquet at which Rep. Dick Armey gave the keynote speech. But as with all Conservative Leadership Conferences, the past is but a prologue.
ianism.
Beyond the New World Order
CaVSERVATIV-E: Leadebship
At Friday's plenary session, Mr. Mario
j
Navarro da Costa, director of the TFP
i. "W
Mr. Navarro da Costa's presentation broke new ground as he examined the even greater evil that lurks beyond the new world order—the anarchy of tribalism. Combining cogent insights regarding
Left to right: Joe Goulden; Mario Navarro da Costa; Mrs. Helen Blackwell; Congressman Robert K. Dornan; Grover Norquist; Morton C. Blackwell; Dr. Carl D. Herbster; C. Preston Noell 111.
Convention to the Senate for ratification on
November 12. 1980, only days after he lost tor of the dreaded one-world government. I
the presidential election. The Senate never
will give two examples to illustrate the
ratified the Convention. The issue was
direction in which we are headed. I would
like to thank my good friend Doug Phillips for the excellent job he has done, at the
revived when on September 14. 1994 Secretary of Stale Warren Christopher asked for the immediate ratification of the treaty.
National Center for Home Education, in
Let me note just a few points regarding
researching and compiling these powerful and compelling examples. UN Convention on Elimination of Discrimination
In a suiprise move, by a vote of 13-4. on September 29. 1994. the Senate Foreign Relations Committee acted to recommend
the
United
Nations
Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms
of
Discrimination
Against
the Convention's impact on the family: Curriculum
mandates:
The
Convention imposes the duly to
"Ecology is thus a pseudoscientific pretext to establish one-world government"
Women to the floor of the Senate for rat
dren.
Jurisdiction over families: The
United Nations gains substantive jurisdiction over the lives and free doms of our families. Moreover. Article 17 calls for the creatioi
UN Committee to police the poli^ . ^ of the signatory nations and ensure their compliance. Extensive government regula tion: The treaty would mandate laws which invade the sanctity of the home and discriminate against the
traditional family. The United States government will be obligated to enact "legislation to modify or abol
ish. existing...customs and practices" ditional family roles, but are per
leadership, it hasn't come up for a vote yet.
eliminate "sexual stereotypes" in all
The United Nation's General Assembly
forms of education. This means that
adopted the Convention on December 18,
home school programs, for instance, would be pressured by government
JANUARY-FEBRUARY. 1995
roles of fathers, mothers, and chil
(Art. 10. sec (c)) which reinforce tra
ification. Thanks to Sen. Jesse Helm's
1979. and President Carter transmitted the
to eliminate any teaching which
includes a presentation of traditional
ceived by a United Nations-con
trolled
international
panel
of
"experts" as being discriminatory. Elimination of God-given distinc tions: The United States taxpayers 31
are required to subsidize treaty-man dated government expenditures of money and power to eliminate the
idea that there are God-given distinc tions between men and women.
Children ly
rights treaty: By
adopting this Convention, the United States lays the groundwork for
Senate approval of the U. N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.
clothing could substantially undermine the authority of parents to exercise vital respon sibilities toward their children if these
duties
infringe on the child's "right" to
autonomy and self-expression as defined by a panel of UN-appointed "experts." The list of radical "fundamental rights" which would be primarily enforced against the parents include "the right to privacy," "the right to freedom of thought and associ ation," and the right to "freedom of expres
Subversion of the Constitution:
This treaty is worse than the discred ited Equal Rights Amendment, and it totally evades the proper process of amending the Constitution, yet has the same force and effect.
sion." A fundamental presumption of the treaty is that parental responsibility exists
only in .so far as parents are willing to fur ther the independent choices of the child. The U.S. House and Senate have intro
duced resolutions requesting that the President sign this UN Convention.
UNCED is that the present modelâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and the high levels of consumption it abetsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; are "unsustainable." They are polluting the
Earth excessively, they are depleting nature's limited resources, they are broad
ening the gap between the North and the South. If the planet is to survive, the present model of development has to be totally
revamped, and the levels of consumption drastically reduced. Ultimately, this would signal the end of the industrial era. Strong affirmed: "The model that pro
duced the affluent lifestyle that we, peoples of the industrialized world and a privileged
minority of the developing world, are enjoy ing is unsustainable." 3)In the past, the UN had a totally asep tic attitude with regard to religion. At the Earth Summit, the UN established the need
for a kind of New Age religiousness to help accompany and sustain the march to the new world order. It is the religion of Gaia,
Thinking Globally Nigerian women in front of
The previous examples show us how
the enigmatic "tree of life" â&#x2013;
on Flamengo Beach, Rio de Janeiro, during the Earth Summit.
m
In his opening address. Strong quoted
life is not the only area where he has his dirty hand. As the New Agers would say, 'Think globally, act locally." The truth is that Big Brother thinks and acts globally
extensively from the Declaration of the
and locally. Let's think globally for a The
1992 Second
Conference
for
United
Nations
Environment
and
Development (UNCED), better known as the Rio Earth Summit, was a milestone in
history. It was the largest meeting of heads of state in the history of the world, with 116 in attendance. The Earth Summit was a historic mile
1) Until that moment, the UN had not
The other example is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This Convention would redefine family law in America.
After years of debate within the interna
tional community between politicians and child-rights activists, an agreement was
the Mystical Conference of Religious Leaders. Strong Justified his attitude by say ing "the spiritual and religious participation so that the UN can move in the direction of
a common, sustainable future." The Dalai
Lama and Shirley McLaine were key fig ures during those days in Rio. 4) The Summit sanctioned a new mode
of UN operation in which not only official governmental delegations but also the non governmental organizations(NGOs) partic
ipate. NGOs are self-managing lobbies of
stone for at least four reasons:
UN Convention on the Rights of
Sacred Earth, prepared a week before by
in the Earth Summit is supremely necessary
moment.
the Child
Mother Earth.
close to home Big Brother is. But family
feminists, environmentalists, homosexuals.
dared to propose formally a one-world gov
New Agers, recycled communists, etc. that
ernment. The Summit proclaimed the exis
increasingly participate in drafting docu ments, pressuring delegates, and interven
tence of global environmental problems that could only be solved by the partial renunciation of national sovereignties to a supra-national governing body. The
ing in general assemblies. They receive fat budgets and all types of support from inter
national organizations dependent on the
Secretary-General of the Summit, the Canadian Mr. Maurice Strong, declared:
UN.
"In many areas it is no longer possible to speak of sovereignty exercised by nationstates. Environmental problems are global
accentuated in the World Conference on
and they cross national bound-
The participation of the NGOs
is
Human Rights (Vienna, 1993) and even more in the International Conference on
-ruo naiai Lama meets Brazilian Indians in the "Global The Dalai Forum" during ECO '92.
"Ecology is thus a pseudo-
reached in 1988, which created a compre
scientific pretext to establish
hensive charter advancing the agenda of the
one-world government," in the
children's "liberation" movement. What the
words of Plinio Correa de
child-rights advocates have for over two
Oliveira.
decades been unable to accomplish through
2) For centuries, there has
the normal legislative process may be real ized in one sweeping blow, should the Clinton Administration push the Senate to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This wolf in sheep's
been a consensus in favor of
progress. The Summit pro claimed the need to overhaul
the present model of develop ment. A guiding idea of TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Population and Development in Cairo (1994). The Cairo con ference furthered the cause of
one-world
government in the area of family and procre ation, or, more precise ly, destroying the fami
ly and promoting pop ulation control. In its
final 120-page docu
ment, only six pages deal with development and
the
remainder
establish an anti-birth
agenda that will be overseen by the UN
Fund for Population Activities. The NGOs
will have a vanguard
role in implementing this anti-life agenda. The Cairo program' can be summarized as follows:
General view of the opening session of the U.N. Popuiation Conference, Cairo, Sept. 5,1994.
Europe, like a phoenix, seems to rise from its ashes.
â&#x20AC;˘ First, impede the births of, and/or
and anti-natural forms. It approves in-vitro
Since the Program considers that popu
eliminate through abortion, more than 300 million human beings in the next 20 years.
fertilization and stimulates research to pro duce abundant and cheap contraceptives for
lation control campaigns promoted until
people of all ages and social conditions.
applied with due rigor, the budgets will be
â&#x20AC;˘ Second, bring world population to zero growth.
sex education in schools, at home, in the
pation of the feminist NGOs, pro-abortion
work place and places of leisure, and any other place where young people get togeth er. It sanctions giving contraceptives to
pressure groups, homosexual and ecologi
The Cairo document proposes explicit
now through government organs were not
divvied, up taking into account the partici
minors in having abortions without their parents' knowledge.
cal lobbies in these campaigns. These will be at the cutting-edge of the sexual revolu tion proposed by the Program, offering strategies, implementing the decisions, holding governments accountable to
and Development is the greatest plan ever connived to prevent birth and to extinguish the life of defenseless human beings. Its
The Program stimulates a cultural revo lution in the family and in society that will
crete results on the population.
undermine parental authority and subvert
A characteristic of the aborning new
goal surpasses in number the crimes con
the relationship between spouses, as well
world order was manifested in Cairo: a
demned in Nuremberg. The Program pro
as between these and their children.
controlling, centralized super-State that
motes methods that are profoundly antinatural and contrary to Christian morality,
The Program implies that families that do not contracept are public enemy number
overrides the nation-slates, while th' "^'GOs
under the guise of "family planning" and "reproductive health."
1 and that the Divine mandate to "increase
â&#x20AC;˘ Finally, bring world population to "negative growth."
children of both sexes and facilitates
The Cairo Program of Action of the UN International Conference on Population
The family, charged with the sacred mandate to multiply and fill the earth, was completely pushed aside. While the Program does not expressly
and multiply, and fill the earth"(Gen. 1:28) constitutes a curse.
The Program demands systems of con trol to ensure that, in the words of the
promises made, and controlling the con
devour in everyday life the areas of ^ )mental jurisdiction. The Program will cost a minimum of 17 billion dollars annually, to be increased at
constant value until the year 2015. And President Clinton's representatives
include abortion among the methods of birth control, it requests that it be decrimi
Secretary-General of the conference, Nafis Sadik, "no one is born unplanned." The application of these controls will stimulate
implementation outside the United States,
promised to supply one billion for its
nalized and that "safe" methods be used to
sterilization and infanticide, as the Chinese
within the U.S.
slaughter the innocent in public and private hospitals.
experience demonstrates.
It leaves the door open for homosexual concubinage, the constant, blatant practice
implement a world totalitarianism that is
not considering what is planned to be spent
Cairo produced an absurd attempt to Cultural Revolution
of a sin that cries to heaven for vengeance.
anti-birth and anti-Christian as regards family matters, analogous to the failed
It provides no restriction on bio-genetic
Soviet regime, This takes place precisely at
Is tins UN sponsored and facilitated new world order the worst thing that could
technology, not even in its most aberrant
the moment when Communism in Eastern
happen to us? If you think so, take a better
JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1995
are in the eye of the storm of a cultural rev
existing society....There is one thing we can say with complete assurance: the traditional
UN and the new world order? I am turning on the fasten-your-seat-belt-sign because it
olution.
idea of revolution and the traditional strate
is going to get a little bumpy now.
look at what is happening around you. We
As the Reagan-Bush years proved once
gy of revolution have ended. Those ideas
Is a one-world anti-Christian, socialistic
again, political power is not the only nor the principal vehicle for change in society.
are old-fashioned....What we must under
and tyrannical dictatorship the worst possi
take is a type of diffused and dispersed dis
Cultural revolution has been the driving
integration of the system."
ble scenario? There is something still worse. In a one-world dictatorship, as abhorrent as it might be, there is still a rem
force of social transformation in the United
In France, the bourgeoisie demanded a
States and will continue to be. As previ ously noted, Communist thinkers have always stated that communism does not rep resent the final stage of evolution, but will
return to normality. One million French marched down the Champs-EIysees in Paris to protest against the anarchist revolution. They did not. however, direct their indigna
be followed by anarchy, in which men will
tion against its ideological and tempera
nant of order.
Evil would like to destroy God. That not
being possible, second best is the destruc tion of God's image in His creation. In this diabolical quest for the destruction of every
mental root, which could be summed up in
thing that is good and God-like, even the lowest remnant of order has to disappear.
munism, but its metamorphosis. The path to its next stage is the gradual yet permanent
the slogan "It is forbidden to forbid." The "silent majority" in the United States had this same reaction in the late
like? We cannot but wonder if the tribal
transformation of social institutions, begin
'60s, electing Richard Nixon to the
ning with a change of mentalities effected by the cultural revolution.
Presidency. What was then left of the "spirit of the
society dreamed of by today's deep ecologists and New Agers provides the answer.
live without any authority over them.
We are witnessing not the death of com
The cultural revolution has a more pro
found effect on a country's life than a polit ical one. Great political revolutions are
always preceded by cultural transforma tions. For example, the French Revolution was prepared by the Illuminists and the Encyclopedists. What, then, is the cultural revolution? The noted French socialist thinker Pierre
world look
Cohesion among the members of tribes
'60s"?
is assured by a common way of thinking
On the immediate superficial plane, the radicals of the '60s failed to mobilize public opinion. On a more profound and longer
a common
term plane, the consequences of the rebel lion were astounding. Like a slow oil leak, they filtered throughout a society that did not seriously reject the ideological content of the rebellion, but only its extreme conse
Fougeyrollas explains: "The expression
quences. Almost twenty years later, in 1986,
'cultural revolution' truly means a revolu
a leader of the Sorbonne rebellion, Daniel
tion in the way of feeling, acting, and think
Cohn-Bendit, told the New York Times,
ing, a revolution in the ways of living (col lectively and individually), in short a revo
"The most visible features of 1968 appear [today] in people's behavior, in their habits,
lution of civilization."
in their everyday lives—in education, in
Charles Reich, the prophet of environmentalism, in his 1970 ground-breaking
feminism, in culture".
book The Greening of America, agrees.
"There is a revolution coming. It will not be like revolutions of the past. It will originate
What would this anarchic
and feeling, resulting in common habits and will. Individual
reason
is
reduced to virtually nothing; in other words, to the first and most elementary movements that this atrophied state permits. "Savage thought," the thought that does not think and is turned only to what is concrete—such is the price of the tribal collectivist fusion. It belongs to the witch doctor to maintain, on a mystical level, this collective psychic life by means of totemic cults charged with confused "messages" but rich in the fulgu-
rations emanating from the mysterious world of transpsychology or parapsycholo gy. This is the thought of Plinio Correa de Oliveira, expressed in Revolution and Counter-Revolution.
What does this cultural revolution have
We are not there yet. The UN-inspired
to do with the topic of this presentation, the
movement toward one-world government is
with the individual and with culture, and it
will change the political structure only as its final act. It will not require violence to suc ceed. and it cannot be successfully resisted
by violence... This is the revolution of the new generation... At the heart of every thing is what we shall call a change of conscious ness. This means a 'new head'—a new way of living—a new man." A profound tendency exists in modern
man toward a chimerical type of life, where in he can give full rein to his passions and be free from the constraints of duty, coer cion, effort, and pain.
In the '60s, Berkeley and Woodstock, as well as the student barricades at the
Sorbonne in Paris, signaled that the tenden
cy toward anarchical Utopia had erupted into violent disorder and sexual promiscu
ity. Herbert Marcuse, the philosopher of that rebellion, says:"One can rightfully speak of a cultural revolution, since the protest is directed
toward
the
whole
cultural
Establishment, including the morality of 34
TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
an absolutely necessary step in the direction of final anarchy. Totalitarian one-world gov ernment would destroy the nation-states we
know today. The resultant super-State
would be gradually dismantled by the forces
within
and
without,
on
that pillar of Second Wave civilization: the
nation-
of anarchy.
Using a concept of physics, we could call the unifying tendency of one-world
John Naisbitt,
government a centripetal force. The anar
billed
chical separatist tendency could then be
world's
called a centrifugal force. Both work simul taneously, but the the centrifugal force will
calls this simulta
trend
as
the
leading
forecaster,
gradually eat away at the super-State, once the super-State has destroyed the sovereign identity of the nation-states.
neous centripetal and centrifugal
You don't have to take my word for it. This is what best-selling futurologist Alvin Tofler had to say in his 1980 blockbuster
Paradox, the name of his latest best-seller, published in 1994.
"The larger the system, the smaller and
Portuguese explained, was that their coun try had done away with the old, traditional regions a long time ago, and that it would be
The Third Wave:
more powerful and important the parts," he
impossible to resurrect them now. "Not to
writes. Countries and companies are decon
worry," answered Brussels. "Just create North, Center, and South." The point is that
As the Third
Wave thunders
across the earth, the nation-state-the
key political unit of the Second Wave eraâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;is being squeezed by viselike
pressures from above and below.
action the Global
structing into smaller and smaller units. Multinational corporations are dramatically
changing the way they do business or falling by the wayside. Empires are crum
One set of forces seeks to transfer
bling while looser economic alliances are
political power down-ward from the
on the rise. Nationalist movements in
nation-state to subnational regions
Quebec, Scotland, and throughout the for
and groups. The others seek to shift
mer Soviet Bloc suddenly have a new,
power upward from the nation to
unprecedented vitality.
transnational agencies and organiza tions. Together they are leading toward a crack-up of the high-tech
they don't care what regions you have, as long as you have them! Brussels wants to by-pass the national capitals of London,
Paris, Lisbon, etc., to deal directly with newly-empowered regional capitals.
Naisbitt explains that the force shaking
What should American conservatives do
the foundations of economic and political
to fight this double-headed dragon? The
structures is tribalism: The more universal
first and foremost is to understand that one-
nology nations into smaller and less powerful units, as a look around the world quickly reveals.
we become, the more tribal we act.
world government, as bad as it would be, is
Tribalism will bring hundreds, perhaps
not the ultimate danger. To fight it we
thousands, of new countries into existence
should not engage in activities that foster
Mr. Tofler continues:
and will empower thousands of diverse,
the existing divisive tendencies in society.
tribally affiliated groups. In sum, therefore, at every level, from economics and politics to orga nization and ideology, we are wit
nessing a devastating attack, from
We should also understand that we can
world," Mr. Naisbitt
not bury our heads in the sand. Like it or
observes, "you had to choose between left and right. In the new world you choose global and tribalâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;both/and rather than
not.the United States is in a world that is in
essarily will reach and contaminate the
either/or."
U.S..
"In
the
old
a state of convulsion. This convulsion nec
Not to accept this would be the same as
a person who continues calmly
on a
Hawaiian beach after hearing the news that
The process, as we have described it.
place off the coast of Japan. He ih himself, "I have nothing to worry .
trifugal" another. Sometimes they are
since I am on firm ground on this island thousands of miles away." He simply
simultaneous, because the process will be
"centripetal" in one field and "centrifugal" in another. For example, at the same time that the Unified Europe of Maastricht is being built, false regionalism inside each nation-state is being fostered. Visiting
ignores the fact that a tsunami could
a.
be
approaching his island. Similarly, the United Slates cannot hope
to be an island of security and good order, more or less spontaneously, amid a world in
Portugal a few years ago. I was told by a conservative friend that Brussels (meaning the European Commission that runs the European.Union) wants them to create
convulsion.
regions in Portugal. The problem, the
tion. As fundamental as political victories are, they will not. by themselves, bring
Above: Mario Navarre da Costa delivers his speech at the Conservative Leadership Conference, as attendants, left, listened with keen attention.
JANUARY-FEBRUARY. 1995
a major submarine earthquake is taking
produces disorderly, convulsive movements that are "centripetal" at one time and "cen
Finally, we should not forget that the cultural crisis we are in is a moral crisis, and
that a moral problem needs a moral solu
about all the change that the United States and the world need.
nterview
r â&#x2013; '! f ChmiaW>
After the Elections:
Framework for the Future Interview with the Honorable Morton C. Blackwell
The Honorable Morton C. Blackweli at his
Republican landslides and conservative victories come and go with the tide of public opinion. But whatever the country's currents, few are greater navigators in political waters than the Honorable Morton C. Blackwell.
Both his wisdom and savvy have served the conservative movement over the nearly four decades that he has been involved in politics. Most conservative politicians worth their salt have been trained or influenced by him. Many young conservatives on campuses across the Nation who end up in politics as staffers on Capitol Hill or on the campaign trail have prob
desk at the Council for National Policy. is known as the conservative coalition. You have indicated that if the new
Republican majority, or, more precise ly, its leadership both in the Senate and the House, do not cooperate with this coalition the results of November could
ably been through his "boot-camp" of leadership skills conducted by his thriving Leadership
eventually have negative political con
Institute.
sequences.
The American TFP is honored to count him among its faithful friends. Over the years he has been a strong ally and has imparted his political knowledge in TFP seats world-wide. With the November 1994 elections still sending shock-waves through the political establish ment and the country, TFP Magazine asked Mr. Blackwell for his analysis and commentary. Always finding time for his friends, Mr. Blackwell opened a breach in his busy schedule to share his views with us .
Could you explain to our readers the relevance of this coalition and the
difference between what you have termed the Reagan and the Bush mod els of coalition relations?
Morton Blackwell: The Reagan model
that I refer to was the continued cooperation, TFPMagazine: I would like to begin by asking if you would please say a few words to our readers about your analy sis of the political dynamics of the Republican victory in November, 1994.
Morton Blackwell: In this election peo ple were not just upset. They were organized in a large number of effective groups. They were able to learn from media that were not
part of the liberal media establishment. Some people were active primarily in Right to Life organizations. Others were active against compulsory unionism. Still others took part through groups in favor of tax limitation or in favor of bolstering our national defense. There's much more to pol
itics than the political party organizations, as important as they are. Be it by radio, television, newsletters, magazines, or direct mail, groups concerned about specific conservative issues have developed alternative ways of communicat 36
collaboration, and involvement between
ing. The liberal media no longer has the
conservative leaders and the Reagan admin
opportunity to filter all the news to the
istration.
American public as it did in the past. It is possible now for the American pub
model.
lic to hear what is going on from conserva tive sources. This independent communica
three years of the Reagan administration I
tions infrastructure increased the number of
was the President's liai
I know first hand about the Reagan For
the
fi rst
conservative activists.
son to all the conserva
The vast majority of the people in any country are, generally speaking, not active politically. It is the number and effective
tive groups in America.
The good relationship
ness of the activists on the respective sides
only my doing. This
which determine who wins political battles.
model developed as a
In essence what happened is that conser
spirit within the Reagan
vatives activated a greater fraction of their base, thus outnumbering the liberals. That changed U.S. election results. TFP Magazine: The type of organi
was not by any means
Administration and was communicated
outside
to
the
supportive
groups.
The
Reagan
zations you just mentioned have worked together over the years to elect
Administration staffed
conservative politicians. This spirit of
itself, to a significant
cooperation led to the creation of what
degree,
with
move-
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Morton C. Blackwell Morton Blackwell is a long-time conservative ment-orienled conservatives committed to
and
limited government, free enterprise, a strong
allies.
national defense, and traditional values.
That would be very, very dangerous.
The Reagan administration also consult
effectiveness of their
ernment.
ed leaders of conservative activity with
TFPMagazine:XwovA
respect to policy decisions as well as the
on the "Contract With
wording
and
timing
of
proposed
Administration legislation.
America." In your opin ion, what would you con
The Bush Administration, on the other hand, was not interested in such a team con
sider
cept. Everyone who supported Reagan for
Contract and what strate
the nomination in 1980 over Bush was
promptly fired after George Bush became President in 1989, almost without exception. The Bush staff did not consult with the
conservative grassroots organizations that
had supported them. Instead, from time to time, they would decide what they wanted to do and simply say to the conservative groups
"Here is what we want you to support." Before long the conservative, grassroots organizations began to feel that George Bush had to be the object of their pressure rather than the object of their affection. In
large measure because of this, relatively few people felt they had a stake in the reelection
activist with wide experience both in and out of gov
to
be
the
most
important items in the
He began in 1960 to identify, train, and place bright young conservatives for activism in the public policy process and held his first national training seminar in 1968. In 1979 he founded the Leadership Institute, an educational foundation dedicated to furthering this work. In all, he has trained more than 7000 young con servatives.
Mr. Blackwell served for the first three years of the
gy should be used to get
Reagan Administration as Special Assistant to the
them passed?
President for Public Liaison.
Morton Blackwell: For the
safety of our country from easily foreseeable physical dangers. I believe that strategic missile defense is the most important part of the Contract.
While on the White
House Staff, he was the President's liaison with conser
vative, vative, veteran, and religious groups. He also served as
Project Officer for the White House Outreach Working Projec Group Group on Central America. He left the White House Staff in Staff i January 1984 to serve as full-time president of the Leadership Institute. the Le In 1964 Mr. Blackwell was the youngest Goldwater In
veto is badly needed and may.
delegate at the Republican National Convention. He delega served as a Reagan alternate delegate in 1968 and 1976, and as a Reagan delegate at tlie National Convention in 1980. He also oversaw the National Youth for Reagan
when there's a conservative
effort in 1980.
For breaking the Congress' uncontrolled spending habits, the line item
President, prove more valu-
Mi Mr. Blackwell has served on the Arlington County
of President Bush. He received only 38% of the popular vote in the 1992 presidential
able in the long run than any
Repub Republican Committee since 1972. In March, 1987, he
balanced budget amendment
election.
likely to pass.
was elected el Eastern Vice Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. In 1988, Mr. Blackwell was elected R< the Republican National Committeeman for Virginia; he was wa; re-elected in 1992. he In In 1991, he became Executive Director of the
successfully re-assembled in virtually all subsequent elections: the special and off-
In politics, the maxim is that you organize from strength towards weakness.
year elections and the 1994 Republican
You
But the conservative coalition has been
landslide.
To keep the coalition healthy and work ing together it is vital that the Republican Congressional leadership follow the Reagan
organize
your
best
corapt composed of 500 leaders of major U.S. conservative public public policy organizations, major donors to those orga
third best precincts and so on. That makes good sense in
nizatic and other noted conservative leaders. nization
model and not the Bush one.
The danger now is that the new
Legislatively,
the
Republican leadership will suddenly forget
Republican leadership should
how they won, start trying to set all of the
start with those aspects of the Contract easiest to pass. They would develop a certain amount of momentum as they
policy priorities without regard to their win ning coalition and destroy the enthusiasm
Cotinc for National Policy, an educational foundation Council
precincts first, then your second tier precincts, then your
Yoi Morton Blackwell continues to build the con Today servat servative movement through the programs of The
^eade Leadership
valuab
Institute. He works with America's most
valuable resourceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;her young people.
got major aspects of it passed.
between liberals and conservatives
Not only should the Republicans keep the commitments that were made, but they
next election the voters can make tliL
should make people understand that the commitments were kept. The Republicans
should make it crystal clear that a good faith
'he ^n
judgments. It is not necessary in politics to win every
battle you fight. It is often possible to win in the long run through losing in the short run.
effort is being made to pass all of those
You can then, in future elections, hold
items.
accountable people who voted wrong.
In every exposition of the Contract, the
Republican candidates stated that the pledge was to bring all the measures in the Contract to a vote. There was no explicit or implied guarantee that all items in the Contract were
TFP Magazine: You always insist that for the coalition to work, eco nomic-conservatives have to take into consideration the interest of socialconservatives and vice-versa.
going to be passed. Not all of the item.s in the Contract With
America are going to pass. But they should
JANUARY-FEBRUARY. 1995
Morton Blackwell: Yes.
TFP Magazine: In this regard,
be presented, debated, and voted on in such
there is no mention of the abortion
a way as to make clear the differences
issue
in
the
"Contract
With
Interview
America." Do you not think that social conservatives are going to be
One of the great joys that I had in get ting to know the TFP in other coun
frustrated if no action is taken on
tries is precisely this spirit of cooper
this question?
ation. I have had the pleasure of meet ing with the TFP people in the U.S..
Morton Blackwell: Absolutely. It is
England, France, Spain, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil.
true that the abortion question is not in the Contract. However, I would be very
shocked if there weren't specific actions
Members of the TFP are always a fine
taken this year.
and enthusiastic force working for the
There are certain things that can be done against abortion that are relatively easy to do. There is a Republican majority
they live.
betterment of the countries in which
responsibility for their families, for the com
TFP Magazine: One last point.
munity around them, and work within
You have been working over the
churches and other organizations now work ing to restore the culture.
Institute. It is necessary to say that it
can be done through the appropriations
TFP Magazine: Very briefly on foreign policy. In spite of the demise
process.
true conservative elites. I understand that the last few
of
The President cannot spend any money on matters that the Congress does not fund. I expect definite progress along those lines.
Communist empire in Eastern Europe, we still live in a very danger
currently in the Congress. Therefore, it is possible to turn back a great deal of the fed eral government's involvement with promot
ing abortion in this country and abroad. That
What can be done should be done and, I
believe, probably will be done.
the
Soviet
Union
and
the
has been foremost in the formation of
years have been very successful for the Institute. Could you say a word on that?
ous world.
The United States today is still the
first and really only bastion in tempo ral society against the total destruc
I do not think there is a two-thirds vote
years as president of the Leadership
tion
of
freedom
in
the
world.
Morton Blackwell: Unfortunately, the
word elite has been very much maligned. It is a word the Left has stigmatized. When I applied myself to the job of
currently possible in either house for a con
However there are some currents,
stitutional amendment to reverse the Roe v.
even within the conservative move
training conservative youth, I did not think
Wade decision that overturned all the laws
ment, that have taken an isolationist
against abortion in this country. But that's
position after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I would like your comments on
of myself as going out to create elites. The term leadership is precisely what came to mind, so I used it to name my organization.
no reason not to have votes on such an
that.
amendment in this Congress.
Of course, you use the word elite with its
TFP Magazine: A day after the
Morton Blackwell: The death of the
true meaning that Dr. Plinio deals with in his
elections, the New York Times asked
Soviet Union does not mean the death of the
book Nobility and Analogous Traditional
Speaker-to-be Gingrich, "Is it possi
leftist ideology. It's still out there and active. There are plenty of people who are now interested in making sure that in the next century the U.S. is not going to be able to
ble to change the character of the American people through politics?" Speaker Gingrich's reply was, "Absolutely." Do you agree with that?
play the role of fighting international leftwing activities that it did in the past.
cannot
The Left in this country, though, to the
change human nature. There are some things
extent that they are focused on these things,
which can be done through politics, and those ought to be done.
are in considerable disarray. They do not have an acknowledged spokesman; they are upset at the embarrassments of their political
Morton
Blackwell:
Politics
Man is by nature both an economic and a
spiritual being. Government (and govern ment actions in general)can have only a lim
ited role in combating spiritual afflictions. Some of the things which could be done are to have the government cease to be the
Each year at the Institute we train more
our services by placing more than public policy employment.
tional bodies and on treaties which would
We have also expanded our donor base. Late last year we purchased a five story building which will be able to accommodate
undermine national sovereignly. I think the Left's intention in this country is to continue
In many ways the application of govern
That is what I have been working on, pro viding training programs in many different areas of public policy activity.
Now they are focusing globally. The Left in this country is now focusing on interna
their long term policies of working to con solidate and centralize power, by working through international bodies like the United
ment resources and government policies are now destructive of that most stabilizing of cultural institutions, the family. That could be changed.
must increase the numbers and the effective
ness of people minded to do the right things.
leaders.
the denigrator of traditional morality, and ism.
Every society has leaders. They can be good leaders or they can be bad leaders. We
students than the last. Last year we trained 1,609 people in our schools. We expanded
enemy of religious observance, cease to be cease to be the promoter of secular human
Elites. In that sense, he is talking about lead ership.
Nations.
The international arena, however, is an
in
our staff, schools, and students. Now I'm
raising money to renovate it. Our revenue last year was over $4 mil
lion. My wonderful staff works very hard. I should have a very good staff because I have
area where conservatives generally speaking
lived so many years at the intersection of
do not do much. Conservatives tend to be
supply and demand in the young conserva
national in their concerns. There has never
tive job market. If I did not hire good ones, I
This would not be enough to solve the moral problems we are going through. But we could stop the government from being a
been enough international cooperation
would be a pretty poor observer of what I see passing before me every day.
major contributor to these moral problems. More important, people must take more
cussed this more than a decade ago in Sao
between conservatives. This is a terrible mistake which must be corrected. I dis
TFP Magazine: Thank you very much.
Paulo with Dr. Plinio Correa de Oliviera.
tradition,family and property
dutscriipe Today! tradition, #-
One yearsubscriplipn
Property -ikk' Magazine »■» r &
Send ehlk or woney The American TRP P.O. Box 1868 f
^
m • wr^i«
^
rk,\PA 17405
Our Readers Write
expressed in the faithful Lithuanians your
comment on though. It is the article on
Dear Friends, Your magazine is excellent, especially
men encountered. If love of God inspired medieval man to carve his love in Gothic
"Basic History Course of Western Civilization" by Jeremias Wells in your
the articles on the true church in China. We
stone, these Lithuanians demonstrated what
November-December 1994 issue.
were already aware of the situation there and were so glad to see your article.
this same Gothic can prove under the cross.
For a more Catholic narration, I suggest
Those young Lithuanians who died beneath the Russian tanks chanting. "Maria, Maria,"
Mr. Wells reads the chapter in St. Louis de
•Jan. 25, 1995
a-
Sincerely, Mr. & Mrs. Norman Resell
which I link to their Gothic past.
Reedsville, WI
just because the good God sends crosses and
For this realization, I want to thank •Jan. 21, 1995
a-
Monfort's book "True devotion to Mary" on the same subject. One is not necessarily being punished
teach us Westerners a heroic lesson, and one
Dear Editor:
I received your last issue this week, and
you,...for a moving history lesson on the
contradictions our way. Also Mr. Wells com
beauty and truth, of our Catholic past and
pletely leaves out Rebecca's part that she played in procuring for Jacob, his father's
present.
have just finished reading two articles on the
I owe this new-found knowledge to you.
Gothic Cathedrals and on Lithuania. Both
Gratefully yours,
offer entirely different perspectives of life, the Gothic being of a medieval era, and
Mary Williamson
blessing.
It would be very good and commendable if this were put in a more Catholic light. Other than that this one article I have
thoroughly enjoyed
Lithuania of our days,—yet, both have lefta
S
deep impression on my souh and I feel quite moved by the similarity of spirit which they
Dear Sirs, ' I came to know about you from one of
\
seem to share, and which are so beautifully
my close friends. I am happy to inform you
\\ I /
presented by your columnists.
that the contents of your maga^itie are very
The essay "A symbol of a Civilization" is one of the most concise and beautiful rev
elations of life in the Middle Ages I've ever
read! In history cla^s, it was referred "to as the Dark ages, and there's plenty of negativist literature to enhance this view; howev
er, after reading such a description, and here
I'll quote from the text, "in Gothic Churches
—
Jan. I, 1994
informative and helpful to. tne and to my clients.
A single-copy regularly is enough and more to get a vast readership. So, be good enough to include our address in your next mailing list. I hope you may do the needful. Thanking you.
medieval man invested the best of his soul...
your magazine and
look forward to your next issue. ji
^
In Jesus and Mary,
Mr. & Mrs. Garry Brodman
H
Nov. 15. 1994
Dear American TFP,
Tliank you for the excellent article on "The Holy Shroud and the Ca 14 Dating" (Nov.-Dec. 1993) repriniCL, 'in "30 Days." Sept. 8 1993. Since I am a High School CCD teacher. 1 have used the mater
ial presented in this article to update my class of 30 students. Many of them had lost
Yours faithfully.
hope that the Holy Shroud was genuine.
just assisted, not only a substantial history
Dr. G. Dilleep Chamlran
They had believed the secular news media,
lesson, but also a profound religious class,
Peroor, Kollam India
that the Shroud was a hoax. I have made
in an act of praise to God." I felt as if I have
and have come away with a full and enlight E
ened heart.
After reading the impressive eye-witness report of the TFP's caravan activities in Lithuania, I was moved by the following
realization: the spirit which built those Gothic
Cathedrals
was
also
clearly
Feb. 5, 1995
Dear Sirs,
any additional information that comes out
My brother-in-law lent me a couple past issues of your magazine to read and I found them very interesting and uplifting in this age of apostasy in which we live.
on the Holy Shroud in your magazine.
There is one article that I would like to
JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1995
many copies of the article to pass around to traditional Catholic friends. Please pass on
Sincerely in His Service, Mr. James G. Miller & Family 39
Prophets, Martyrs, Saints and Heroes the catechism daily. Soon after,
seeing her aunt. Mme. Louise, daughter of Louis XV,
exchanging the life of the
Venerable
court
for
a
Carmelite
habit, she wished to imi
tate her. Nevertheless, reasons
Maria Clotilde
of Bourbony Queen of
of
state
reserved another des
tiny for this princess. In 1775, when only 16, she was united
in
matrimony
Charles
to
Emmanuel
of Savoy, Prince of
I.
Piedmont, and heir to the throne of Sardinia.
Sardinia
She moved to Turin,
the capital of her new
V.
realm. Providence
was
good to her, for her royal consort was also most pious
by Julio Loredo
On a recent visit to a modern church
siasm for this queen
in Naples, my attention was drawn to the homily being given by the officiating priest. He spoke of a holy queen who was buried in that same city. Intrigued by the theme, I approached instinctively.
Revolution."
persecuted by the French "To what do you attribute this explosion. Father?" 1 asked curiously.
ly inclined. Maria Clotilde was quick to capture the hearts of her new subjects, who were soon edified in seeing so much piety in the young princess come to them from beyond
the Alps. The memoirs of the period are
queen," affirmed the celebrant in his strong meridional accent. "Besides, she was ugly
"We are living in a very special historic hour," answered the priest. "Several preju dices and preconceptions against nobility are disappearing. People are beginning to see and understand that great sanctity can
and that is why she was able to practice the
exist and, in fact, did exist among the nobles
church or to some public or social function,
virtues."
and even among those of royal lineage. I myself am understanding and seeing more
see our saint passing by!" The Prince of
"She became a saint in spite of being a
"Seh! Chi buo fa'fesso!" exclaimed a
nearby lady in her picturesque Neapolitan accent. "That's a good one! Now only the ugly and the plebeians can be saints." She obviously disagreed with the fiery
preacher, and so did the great majority of the faithful who, after Mass, spared no words in manifesting their admiration and affection for the "holy queen." 1 became keenly interested in this per
sonage who elicited .so much popular devo tion. Someone finally led me to the old church of Santa Caterina a Chiaia, which
unanimous in pointing out her great refine ment and grandeur as well as her extraordi
nary humility and spirit of mortification.
When the royal family made its way to the people assembled and shouted: "Let's go
and more clearly the connection between
Piedmont himself frequently asked people
nobility and sanctity. Venerable Maria Clotilde was not a saint despite being a queen; she was a saint and a queen. She passed her life as a queen in a profound spir
to recommend themselves to his wife, for
"she is enlightened and supported by Heaven."
"So much .spirituality in a princess and a
it of faith and sacrifice. We now hope to see
queen should not surprise us," writes Father
her elevated to the honors of the altar."
Giovanni Parisi. "The high aristocracy and nobility in general still preserved intact the principles of morality, rectitude, and devo tion to the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;even amidst the
Maria Clotilde Adelaide of Bourbon
pensable splendors of court life. li. amply demonstrated by the long list of
has been drawing an ever increasing number
came into the world on September 23, 1759, amidst the splendors of the Palace of
saints and blessed among the royal houses of
of faithful who venerate the remains of she
Versailles. She was a granddaughter of
Europe. In this, the House of Savoy was by
who in life was Maria Clotilde of Bourbon,
Louis XV, daughter of the Dauphin Louis of
no means in last place."'
Queen of Sardinia (1759-1802), and who is now in process of beatification.
France, and sister of the future Louis XVI.
At only 24 years of age, having lost all hope of ever bearing an heir to the throne of
The destiny which awaited Maria Clotilde
was worthy of her status as a royal princess. The little princess was a ray of sunshine
Savoy and in agreement with her consort,
mother, the Empress Maria Theresa, com
Maria Clotilde made a vow of chastity and agreed to live with her spouse in a bond of purely spiritual love. Both persevered in this
Providence." explained Father Antonino
ments about Clotilde, her sister-in-law:
state till their deaths,
d'Chiara, the young, dynamic pastor of
in the court. Marie Antoinette, writing to her "This is an evident work of Divine
to the
"Clotilde is sweetness personified. She is self-possessed, sensitive, and always ready
Venerable Clotilde of Bourbon was practi cally dead. Nevertheless, these few past
to bestow a smile of goodness." Already at an early age she manifested a
The Princess's via crucis began in 1789.
years have seen a literal explosion of enthu-
rare piety. When but three years old she read
It was in that year that the French
Santa
40
Caterina. "The devotion
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Prophets, Martyrs, Saints and Heroes Revolution exploded and began to persecute
Emmanuel was forced to abdicate his throne
her family and work for the ruin of the monarchy of the First-born Daughter of the Church in the name of liberty, equality and fraternity. Maria Clotilde was profoundly
under direct pressure from France. After having placed the Holy Shroud—an heir loom of the House of Savoy—in a safe place, the royal family fled southward
devoted to the monarchical and aristocratic
amidst the rigors of winter.
principles of the Ancien-Regime and, there
rifice sounded. Much weakened by mortifi cations and struck in her deepest recesses by so much bad news that reached her from all
comers of Europe concerning the advance of the revolutionary ideals. Queen Maria Clotilde of Bourbon surrendered her soul to
In Florence they had the sad joy of meet-
God on March 7, 1802. when only 42 years
fore, even though distant, she lived all the devastations brought about by that
of age. The news spread at once through the streets of Naples: "A saint has died! Happy
Revolution.
is she who went to Paradise!" -
In August of 1789, the revolutionary Assembly voted for the abolition of feudal
Maria Clotilde immediately became the
Buried in the Church of Santa Caterina,
rights. In 1791, the throne was over thrown. Under the impulse and pressure of
object of popular veneration. Pope Pius VII
Robespierre, the prisons began to fill with
process for her beatification developed easi
innocent victims whose only "crime" was toward the aristocracy. The Terror had
ly and swiftly until 1844 when it was brusquely interrupted for political reasons linked to the role played by the House of
begun, and its echoes were to .seriously
Savoy in the unification of Italy.
declared her "venerable" in
being aristocrats or harboring sympathies
1808. The
But the inexorable dust of time fell on
affect Venerable Clotilde's health.
Towards the end of Jariuary. 1793, she received terrible news: Her brother. King
these events. The cause was once again
Louis XVI, had been guillotined! With admirable resignation, Maria Clotilde
close ten years later by the indefatigable
retired to her chambers to weep alone. It
General for the cau.ses of Franciscan ter-
opened in 1972 and brought to a felicitous Father
Gabriele
Andreozzi, Postulator
was the end of an epoch. Some months
tiaries. In that year the Holy See promulgat
later came the ominous news that her sis
ed the decree on the heroic virtues of the
ter-in-law, Queen Marie Antoinette, had
Venerable Maria Clotilde of Bourbon, thus
also been sacrificed to the Revolution's
opening the way for her beatification. Meanwhile, in this climate of renewed
Satanic haired.
veneration for the nobility, which can be noticed a little everywhere, the influx of the
Maria Clotilde had barely recovered from these blows when she was told that
Mme. Elizabeth, the little sister whom she
faithful to the church of Santa Caterina con
had reared as a mother after the premature death of their parents, had also been massa
tinues to increase. An Honor Committee, to
which, among others, belong outstanding
cred by the revolutionary executioners for
ing Pope Pius VI, who was also fleeing from
members of the Neapolitan nobility, has
the simple "crime" of having been born a
the revolutionary troops who had invaded Rome and proclaimed the loathsome Roman Republic. Falling on his knees before the Pontiff, the King exclaimed: "Ah, Holy
taken up the task of spreading devotion to
princess of royal blood. The Prince of Piedmont himself broke the devastating
news to her, On hearing it, she let her head drop over her breast and simply sighed:
the illustrious queen. In reality, many are there in this most beautiful city, sprawling on the slopes of
Father, blessed are these our misfortunes
Mount Vesuvius, who wish to see this sister
"The sacrifice is done!" She then fell sense
which have brought us to the feet of Christ's
of Louis XVl. the Martyr King of the French
less to the floor.
Vicar!"
Revolution, elevated to the honors of the
In 1796, after the death of King Victor
After endless misadventures that con
altar. And they are joined by thousands of
Amadeus HI. the pious couple ascended to
curred to break the Queen's health, the cou
souls throughout the world for wh
the throne of Piedmont. A man of combative
ple settled in Naples,capital of the Kingdom
Venerable Maria Clotilde of Bourbon
nature, Victor Amadeus died in great sorrow on seeing his kingdom beginning to crumble as a consequence of the French Revolution
of the Two Sicilies, where they were offi cially received by King Ferdinand, who was by then already triumphant over the revolu
represents a sublime synthesis of highest bom aristocracy and Christian virtue, the
and the subsequent Napoleonic policy,
tionary forces that had earlier obliged him to take temporary refuge in Sicily.
limits of sanctity.
which spread the revolutionary ideals
throughout Europe, bringing down ancient thrones and dynasties. The new king, Charles Emmanuel IV,
In Naples, Maria Clotilde developed a special affection for the church of Santa
soon became a target of Jacobin conspira
Order of Saint Francis, and there she
became
attempts against his life. The secret .societies planned his ruin unceasingly. To this was
Neapolitans, a pious and enthusiastic peo
double internal and external threat, Charles
JANUARY-FEBRUARY. 1995
magnificent fruit of a piety raised to the very
Notes
Caterina a Chiaia, of the Fathers of the Third
cies and miraculously survived several
added the constant external pressure of the revolutionary French troops. On December 8, 1798, yielding to this
bo
a
Franciscan
tertiary.
The
1. Giovanni Parisi. T.O.R.. La Venerahile
Maria
Clotilde, Regina
di Sardegna
ple, already venerated her as a living saint.
(Messina; Tipografia Samperi, 1992). p. 5. 2. King Charles Emmanuel later retired
To those who came to visit her, Charles
to Rome where he lived a life of recollection
Emmanuel would say: "Come, 1 will show you my angel."
and prayer in the novitiate of the Jesuits at S.
Meanwhile, the hour of the supreme sac
Andrea al Quirinale. He had an edifying death in 1819.
■ 41
TFPs Around the World
Angels, Or-egor-ian Cliant, and Nobility cind J^nalogous Traditional Elitos By Beno Hofschultel
X-'
Tt he Frankfurt Book Fair at the end of last year attracted more than 230,000 visitors. Among the 321,975 books exhibited were 88,891 new releases, accord
ing to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
A colorful and prominent booth featured publications of several TFPs, with a special
place given to Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira's Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions ofPius XII.
The TFP booth attracted the most varied
Of course, not lacking in the two days of the exhibition were manifestations of deep displeasure from people who evidently do not like the TFP.
An unusual feature of the fair, given these modem times, was the "Raum der
Stelli," or Comer for Tranquillity. Here the Catholic publishing house Paul Pattloch of Aschaffenburg in Franconia projected
slides, many of them truly magnificent, at intervals of a few minutes throughout the day. Some of the slides showed the daily
people from numerous countries and races: Hungarians, Chinese, Norwegians, Polish,
conventual
and Germans stopped to browse and to com
from Munich and another from the abbey of Saint Hildegard von Bingen, accompanied
ment on the publications with the TFP members. Since the theme of this year's fair was Brazil, Brazilians were not lacking.
Recognizing the TFP and Plinio Correa de Oliveira's picture, they approached the booth to exchange a few words. An English lady employed by Sotheby's of London paged attentively through
Nobility, a group of Frenchmen avidly read the brochures with the letters of approbation
life
of
monks
and
nuns.
Gregorian chant, excellently sung by a choir
the slides. Excerpts from the Rule of Saint Benedict appeared in some of the photos. In a feature section on the fair, the news
and The Boy. the Angel, and the Dog.
Munich photographer Isolde Ohibaum presented a collection of beautiful pictures of angels titled "Light and Shadows." â&#x2013;
paper Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung carried an article headlined "Angels in All the Halls of the Fair," commenting that many books about angels were being presented. These included The Great Book of Angels, Angels From Another Star, Agenda of the Angels,
of the book from vari
ous
Cardinals;
an
]VIajesty Queen
employee of the Namibian embassy was
Sophia of Spain
delighted with what he saw, as was a Spanish
lady passing by with he Spanish TFP-Covadonga, facing
her daughters who pur chased the last available
Spanish copy of Nobility at the booth; a
the
i
imminent discussion
in
the
Cortes, Spain's legislature, of a pro posed law that would widen the grounds
representative of a pub lishing house in Taiwan
for legalized abortion, has launched a cam
commended the TFP
tion, asking all its associates, supporters, and the public in general to join in a plea addressed to Her Majesty the Queen, as a woman and mother, to make her august voice resound in the hearts of the legisla
members for their dedi cation to their work.
Members of the TFP Bureau in
Frankfurt display the vast array of publica tions from the various
paign through its "S.O.S. Familia" associa
tors.
The new excuse for abortion that the
socialists want to add to the previous three
TFPs throughout the world.
42
TRADITION,Family and property
TFPs Around the World
Tx^cx-Gstslm^ Repercussion of The Book of Nohility in Bortugal
The Portuguese TFP, like the other TFPs around the world, is continuing its very successful campaign spread
great responsibilities of the nobility in face of today's decadent society, not only for
what they are but above all for what they should be.
Also among the speakers were the Count the
American
edition
of the
book
in
Washington, D.C., on September 28, 1993,
of Cartaxo and the young lawyer Augusto de Athayde. Mr. Nelson Fragelli spoke on
and the presence of the Countess of San
behalf of the Brazilian TFP, and Mr. Antonio
ing Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira's most
Isidrio.
recent book, Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius
Carlos de Azeredo, as president of the Portuguese TFP, had the honor of reading
the book and its author in a very eloquent
Professor Correa de Oliveira's admirable
Xll.
and brilliant speech, commenting on the
speech prepared for the occasion.
The Count of Proen^a Veiha presented
â&#x2013;
Formal presentations of the book in var ious cities, with open invitations to the pub
lic, have proven to be most attractive to the Portuguese nobility and the people in gener al.
The most recent of these presentations took place late last year in the prestigious and traditional Hotel Palacio of Estoril, a
city a few miles south of Lisbon. The audience, made up predominantly of Portuguese and Spanish nobles, was espe cially honored by the presence of the Duke of Maqueda, who attended the launching of
Conference room at the
Hotel Palacio during the
latest Portuguese TFP
presentation of Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites.
is
a
woman s
simple
feeling
that her pregnan cy
may
cause
Text of the letter sent to Her Majesty, Queen Sophia of Spain by more than 50,000 Spaniards
personal, family, or
social
con
flict. For this she
of Spain
such a great sin, which could only withdraw God's blessings from outdear Spain.
death penalty for
izen I am concerned about the pro posal under discussion in tlie Cortes
her own
child
to extend the grounds for legaliza
within the first
tion of abortion. I wish, then, with
trimester of preg
out any intention of political partial ity, to express my plea that Your
eral associations in defense of child
Majesty intercede on behalf of those
can decree the
Queen Sophia
Your Majesty: As a Catholic and a Spanish cit
nancy. Spain's Supreme Council of the Judiciary rejected this proposal as uncon
As Your Majesty is the most rep resentative woman in today's Spain and holds honorary positions in sev
hood, I feel certain that this plea
stitutional, but the Minister of Justice
who are most in need of protection,
declared that the government's ideology could not be replaced by the ideology of the Supreme Court and that the bill would
the unborn, so that the voice of Your resound, at this decisive moment for
will be well received by Your Majesty's royal and motherly heart. May God bestow on Your Majesty the invaluable gift of His grace, as on His Majesty the King
be sent to the Cortes.
thousands of innocent children, in
and the Royal Family.
Majesty, as a woman and mother,
S.O.S. Familia estimated that 50,000
the hearts of the members of the
cards were received at the Palace of la
Cortes to prevent the legalization of
Yours very respectfully,
Zarziiela in just the first few days of the cam paign.
JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1995
â&#x2013;
43
TFPs Around the World
Book Launching:
/V Great Success!
Abortion: The Womb
Professional
Regulatory Board]
Becomes a Tomb, first
published
by
is because for every
the
thousand new doc
American TFP in 1992, was
introduced to the Filipino pub
T\mA5 Aquinas Y
lic in an excellent reception recently held at Cebu Midtown
Christian
tors who pass their medical board, only twenty percent will take their oath. And for me, it is very important. Once you
undergo your oath-taking, you are mak
Hotel, Cebu City's second largest.
ing a covenant between God, your Creator, and between Hippocrates, the
The presentation, spon sored by the St. Thomas
father of medicine, that we doctors are
Aquinas Youth Association for
here to defend life, to promote life, to
a
Christian
protect life, to sustain life, and never to
Civilization
destroy life."
(STAYACC), afforded a timely
and propitious occasion to decry the ever-increasing moral and religious relativism of our day, caused by so many sins of unnatural vice.
Msgr. Romualdo Kintanar,
presiding over the event, opened it with a short prayer
Above: Al berto Selera of the Saint Thomas Aquinas Youth
Association presents an overview of The Womb Becomes a
He finished his remarks reiterating the need of Christian valor as the solution: "You don't have to be a doctor to be a
Tomb.
Below left: Msgr. Romualdo Kintanar blesses the food
pro-lifer. You don't have to be a nurse to
before the reception for the attendees.
care for life. What we need are simple,
Below right: Participants purchase numerous copies of The
humble, courageous Christians like you
Womb Becomes a Tomb.
who will stand up for life, who will defend life and stand up for Jesus.... We
directed to God the Father: "The launching
er Moloch.
are all here members of the privileged few. We are so privileged to be here tonight....
"In effect, this mentality, accepted consciously or subconsciously by so
The challenge here is right on your shoul ders. What happens once you get out of this
jfl many people, has so many conse^ quences that result in the indirect mur
building?" The event was formally closed with the singing of the Marian hymn "O
the end, it turns man into a god, into anoth
der caused by the taking of abortifacicnt pills, which condition the womb to expel the zygotc. As for political sys tems. the same mentality has produced Nazism and Communism, which have
Sanclissima." after which cocktails were
served while speakers and participants
exchanged ideas about various means of action and follow-up activities. â&#x2013;
coldly eliminated millions upon mil lions of innocent lives."
of this book is most providential. For its tim ing, it is most opportune; for its content, it is most helpful.... We ask You to bless in a very special way the publisher. May these people [continue to] produce books not only for the
The guest speaker for the afternoon affair, Mr. Jaime Picornell. the Honorary
Consul of Spain, outlined some of the inter national aims and ramifications of the 1994
U.N. Cairo Conference, such as the propos als of the conference reagarding birth con
sake of literature and culture but for nour
trol, abortion. legal recognition of all types
ishing the people, the Church." Explaining the atheistic character of
of marriages, entitling adolescents and chil
abortion, St. Thomas
sex education, and much more.
Aquinas Youth
dren to "sexual freedom" through moral-free
Association president Allen A. Bandril
Rene Josef Bullicer, M.D.. one of the
addressed the audience in these illuminating
most outspoken opponents of abortion in the
terms: "This contraception-abortion mental ity instills in the mind that man is the author of life, not God. It delegates to man the power to begin and end life according to his own criteria. It sees man as the sole con
troller of the world, the great judge to decide who should live and who should not live. In 44
Philippines, expressed his concerns about the role of doctors in the problem of abor tion:
"It is really unfortunate to know that the majority of abortionists worldwide are doc tors.... One reason why some doctors become abortionists, according to PRC [the TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Rediscovering America here that the main reason for this settle
ments was to bring souls to the Catholic faith, not as we have read in so many
schoolbooks, to destroy the people that were here and to harvest their gold as per sonal booty.
As Saint Augustine was founded 42 years
before
the
English
colony
at
Jamestown, Virginia, and 55 years before the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, it stands as the oldest per manent European settlement on the North American continent.
Maintaining Saint Augustine became a
mighty task over the next two centuries. In 1586, the English corsair Sir Francis Drake attacked and burned the town. Then in
1668, the pirate Captain John Davis plun dered it, killing 60 inhabitants. Without the courage, perseverance, and faith of Its early
settlers it is doubtful that Saint Augustine would have survived.
After the British established colonies in
By Walter Camier
When thinking back to our early
colonize the territory, and also to drive out any pirates or settlers of other nations that
studies of American history, what first comes to mind regarding the initial settlers of this country are the pil grims who settled at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, in 1620. After all, isn't this
he found there.
where the celebration of thanksgiving began? So, quite naturally, we have a year
ly reminder of this historic event that so marked the tradition of the American peo ple. A lesser known but greater event took
Menendez reached the coast of Florida
on August 28, 1565, the feast day of Saint Augustine. Eleven days later, he and his 600 soldiers and settlers came ashore at the site
of the Timucuan Indian village of Seloy with banners flying and trumpets sounding. He hastily fortified the settlement and
Georgia and the Carolinas, Spain autho rized the building of a stone fort to protect Saint Augustine as assaults from the north became more frequent. The fort, the Castillo de San Marcos, took 23 years to build and, once in place, stood as the town's stalwart defense. Major attacks were made
against the fort in 1702 by Governor James Moore of South Carolina and in 1740 by General James Ogelthorpe of Georgia.
named it Saint Augustine. It was here that
Neither siege was successful, however, and, in fact, the fort has never fallen to enemy
the first Catholic Mass was celebrated in
attack.
this country.
Remaining to this day, the fort is one of
place in our history 55 years prior to the
Saint Augustine's major attractions,
landing of the pilgrims when, in 1565, a small group of Catholic Spanish explorers
along with the oldest house in the
landed on the shores of what we know today as Saint Augustine, Florida. Let's go back and review the events leading up to this his
Spain held Florida until
United States, built in 1599. 1763 when she ceded it to
England
toric discovery.
in
order to
regain the capital of
Cuba. Thus begai
The mainland of the North American
continent was first sighted by the Spanish
years of British rulv Florida. This period
explorer Don Juan Ponce de Leon on Easter, March 27, 1513. He claimed the
coincided
land for Spain and named it Florida, mean
American
ing "Land of Flowers." Between 1513 and
with
the
Revolution,
during which Florida remained loyal to the Crown.
1563 the government of Spain launched six
expeditions to settle Florida, but all failed. The French succeeded in establishing a fort
In 1783, under the Treaty of Paris, Florida
was
returned
to
and colony on the Saint Johns River in 1564 and, in doing so, threatened Spanish fleets
Leading brilliant military maneuvers,
last time when, after 37 years, Spain sold
sailing along Florida's shoreline on their return to Spain. As a result of this French
Men,ndez destroyed the French garrison on the Saint Johns River and, with the help of
Florida to the United States. At a colorful
incursion into Florida, King Philip 11 named Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, Spain's most experienced admiral, as governor of
a hurricane, also defeated the French fleet.
relinquished control of Florida forever.
With the coast of Florida firmly in Spanish hands, he set to work building up the settle
Today Saint Augustine remains very much as it was in 1565. And today as well.
Florida.
ment, exploring the land, and establishing
Saint Augustine remains in the hearts of all
missions for the Indians. It must be said
Catholic Americans.
Menendez was instructed to explore and 45
Spanish rule. The Spanish departed for the
military ceremony on July 10. 1821, Spain
â&#x2013;
TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
* V^-
. 'i •.*
Com<
'■
'
V
%
• I
Spirit, come!
^
blissful h<^e ^
''.Ra^B^f*beaIing light imbaft.
r!^
me Thou Father of the pocu:,
^e of giftd that will endure jht oT*e^rv human lieart. f *• Thou of *all consolers best, 'W
X)f the soil most kindly Guest,^ Quickening courage dqst bestow. In hard labor Thou art rest, in the heat refreshestJ^est,
solace givest in our woe.
O most blessed'Light divihe,... Let Thy radiance in us shine. And our inmost being fill.
Nothing good by man is thbught, nothing right by him is wrought,
/ When he spurns Thy gracious Will^>.f,?.«'^Cleanse our souls from sinful stain;^'* * *" Lave our dryness with
Heal our wounds andhriehd .our way. " Bend the stubborn heart aqd will,
Melt the frozen, warn^iy^ ibhill,
Guide the'steps that ^^fitray; •
f r-
On the faithful who ititThee,'
Trust with"childlike piety, Deign Thy sevenfold gift to sFnd. Give them virtue's rich increase, Saving grace to die in peace. Give them joys that never end. Amen. Statue of Our Ladv of Graces veneratdd at The AmeriGan TFP Neariniiartei«. Snrinn Gmue Pa
*
March-April, 199
Magazine
erican Society for the Defense of Tradition, Famity and Property â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
The American TFP In Action
"Atmrica 9{eeds
Jatima" campaign and its QOALfor the year 2000
fatima
Look deep into Her cyc.s and let Her look into yours!
Ep[i inin Her r)« and er look IdIo}
nder the dynamic di deep into Her eyes and Her look Into yours!
rection of Fr. Kevin J.
Beaton, supporters and vol unteers of the American TFP have embarked on a
historic
ookdccp into Her cyc.s and let Her look Into yours!
campaign—the
"America Needs Fatima"
project—to capture the heart and soul of
America for Our Blessed Moiher. We plan to get a copy of our fu )k deep into Her eyes and et Her look into yours!
i. instant-
impact Fatima flyer with Oui i.ady's mov ing countenance and a summary of Her timely Fatima message to every American before the year 2000. Our next goal is to get at least one copy of our best-sell er, Fatima: Message of Tragedy or Hope, to at least one of every ten families.
The America Needs Fatima project is off to a running start. ■V
From California to New York, from Minnesota to Texas,
• *
635.000 "instant-impact " Fatima flyers have been hand distributed, and over 50,000
books have been sold. Avalanches of book orders arrive everyday, necessitating a third printing to meet the demand.
America desperately needs the Blessed Mother! The touching narration.s we receive
from suffering .souls while spreading Our Lady's message are ample proof. They reveal the sad moral state of our society, and some are enough to melt the hardest of hearts. Encountering such spiritual suffering and desolation pushes us forward with all the more resolution and
energy, for we have Our Lady's promise at Fatima: "In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph." For more information on how you can participate in this history-making project, please contact Robert Ritchie at (717) 225-7147.
Contents March-April, 1995 ❖ News Flashes
:
3
Cover: Crime is threaten
ing the stability of
Forgotten Truths
our country.
Can Catholic Morals Change?
4
The American TFP in Action "I'm not a Catholic, but I came out to manifest my disgust with this movie" ❖ The Cultural Revolution
❖ The Rolling Stones, Communism, and Anarchy ....
5 .6 10
Book Review
The Celestine Prophecy
The Cultural Revolution: A revolution that
11
changes man
Cover Article Putting the "R" word back into the Crime Question
12
Interview
"Getting out of the way of the law-abiding and putting the screws on the law breakers."
15
Ambiences, Customs and Civilizations Old Age: Decrepitude or Glory?
18
Commentary Dressed up and Down
20 I*
Harmonious Society: Antithesi.s of Today's Chaos
21 The crime problem is unsolvable in the absence of positive
Abortion and Moral Relativism—
The Right to Life, a Mere Social Concession?
22
morality.
Photo Essay And God Said: "Let There Be Light"
P
24
❖ Our Readers Write
28
❖ Conservative Conference Gathers Massive Support
29
Religion It is appointed unto man once to die,
and after this, the Judgment
30
Basic History Course of Western Civilization Abraham, Moses, and the Bronze-Age Empires ....
34
Family Series Grigio, Saint John Bosco's Dog
The Judgment: "In all thy works, remember thy last
IBM—Suits, ties, and wingtip.s are no more.
end, and thou shall never sin."
39
\TRADmON, FAMILY and PROPERTY Magazine is a publication of the American Society for the Defense of iTraditlon, Family and Property (TFP). Subscription, US $18.00 in the United States and Canada. Foreign subscriptions.
|$25.00. List of other TFP publications availabie upon request. Direct all subscription requests and inquiries to: The lAmerican TFP, P.O. Box 1868, York, PA17405. Tel.: (717) 225-7147, Fax:(717) 225-7382. Copyright © 1995. Permission lis granted to reproduce, In whole or in part, any article of this magazine with credit given to Tradition, Family and #14
7^
^ Tradition,
Family and Property Magazine
to Nightmare
Editor: C. Preston Noell 111 Associ.atk Editors:
OUTRAGE AT THE killing of parents by Pennsylvania skin
free of tragedy? Nothing indicated that
Jack Burnham Photography:
a film would be made of him, the O. J.
What has happened to the
Simpson case, and on and on... It
American Dream?
would seem that the American dream
Steven F. Schmieder
she would kill her children.
heads, the story of a youth who killed his mother in the hope that
has become a nightmare.
Earl Appleby Gary Isbell Eugenia Guzman
The world seems turned
Todd F. Kamuf Circulation:
Philip A. Moran Jr. Forkign Corre.sponi)Ents;
AUSTRALIA: John S. Tucker
upside down when children turn on their parents and par
BRAZIL: Orlando Lyra
tics is the perception that criminality
ents on their children. So what has
CANADA: John Misek
has a face and that the face is not the
happened to the Dream?
CHILE: Nelson Fan'as Blanco
In some way worse than the statis
FRANCE: Mario Beccar Varela
contorted and revolted face of the clas
sic criminal but might just be your
GERMANY: Beno Hofschulle
In a dream one lives an ideal situa
tion; things work out for the best. The dream may not be a mere excursion
PHILIPPINES: Allen Bandril
There was a time when the Charles
into the ethereal realm of the unreal. It
SOUTH AFRICA: John Horvat
Man.sons of the world looked the part.
can be a guide that lights the way if it is in accordance with morality and
SPAIN: Felipe Barandiaran
neighbor's.
They had records of turbulent pasts that could give some indication of their futures. But this perception no longer holds true. The innocent-look ing child might be the victim or the
perpetrator. His young mother might be his killer or his prey.
reason. For the millions who immi
grated here, the United States repre sented the realization of such a dream.
The American TFP
A nightmare, on the other hand, is a horrifying corruption of the real,
The American Society for the Defense of Tradition. Family and Property (TFP) was founded in 1973 to confront the profound crisis shaking the modern world. It is a civic, cultural and nonpartisan orga nization which, inspired by the tra ditional teachings of the Supreme
wherein the dreamer experiences the absurd, the terrible, and the insane. He
is relieved only upon waking and Last November the country was stunned as the drama surrounding
ROME: Juan M. Montes
returning to reality.
Criminality is rapidly making life a
Susan Smith unfolded. From sympa thy to suspicion to outrage, public sen
nightmare from which their is no
timent experienced one of its greatest bewilderments. "Baby Killer!" "Mur
awakening. Who has not considered carrying Mace or even a handgun?
derer!" screamed the angry crowds in
Who,today, does not make certain that
Union, South Carolina, and these echoed round the country. What most
the door has been double-locked at
night or the car alarm turned on?
Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church, works in a legal and peace ful manner in the realm of ide:
defend and promote the princii of private ownership, family aiui perennial Christian values with
shocked Americans was not the vio
their twofold function; individual and social. The TFP's words and
lent deaths of two young children or
efforts have always been faithfully at the service of Christian civiliza
even that it was their own mother who
committed the heinous crime, but that
It is a dream-tumed-nightmare in which "nice people" do horrible things
tion.
The first TFP was founded in
Mrs. Smith looked just like someone who might live next door. Her past
and where there is no safe haven.
Brazil by the famous intellectual
sounded remarkably like everyone
Already psychologically assaulted by
and Catholic leader Prof. Plinio
else's. She was a "nice person." It is
Correa de Oliveira in 1960. His
true that there were several tragedies
the constant tensions of modem daily existence, Americans now add crime
in her life, but whose life is entirely
to their personal concerns.
other autonomous TFPs in 26 coun
work has inspired the formation of
tries across the globe, thus consti tuting the world's largest anticommunist and antisocialist network.
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
NEWS FLASHES E[ Nauseating
0 Murderous Television Sinful Stories! We're looking for devilishly
Once reflections of inno
cence and beauty, toys have now become repre sentations hideous
of
the and
grotesque. Some of the new toys
presented 'at the recent Toy Fair held
According to "Italy Report '95," put together by Eurispes Research Institute, the
good short stories based on any of the Seven Deadly Sins: stories of explosive rage
murder of relatives increased by 70% last
(Anger), insurmountable greed (Avarice),
year.
unbridled lust (Lechery), lackluster indif ference (Sloth), bottomless hunger
Veronese
psychiatrist
Vittorio
Andreoli advances an explanation for the
phenomenon: the noxious influence of tele vision.
(Gluttony), all-consuming jealousy (Envy), and unabashed arrogance (Pride)."
an enormous influence upon general behav
It appears that all aspects of culture are reaching out to make their peace with the demonic.
In Dr. Andreoli's view, "television has
in New York City prove
ior. The dramatization of homicides, which
the point. Louis the Snotty is a
take a few minutes to accomplish on televi sion, is a factor. On the tube, death-tumed-
child that is "more than
spectacle has nothing to do with real pain
repugnant," according to Shane Smith, public relations director for Pressman Toy Corporation, the makers of
and suffering. Television and newspapers go on showing that the act of killing is triv
0 Reduction of
ial." Whence the frightening escalation of
Stockpile
the new doll.
murder in Italy.
Louis has a brightly painted plastic head approximately 12 inches high, with an enor mous nose. Louis is actually a game that is played by pulling long, thick, greenish
our Nuclear
President Clinton
Another Setback for Equality
announced last March the removal of 200 tons of nuclear
strands of secretion from the doll's over
The mad march towards total equality received a significant setback last month.
sized nose without bursting its head. If a
The journal Nature reported in February
tion for this decision was to show the White
House's commitment to reducing the
material from the United States'
strategic stockpile. The alleged justifica
player pulls too hard, Louis's head
that the brains of men and women are con
explodes, spewing forth a blood-like liquid,
structed differently, resulting in a different
nuclear stockpile and military spending in
and the player is eliminated from the game. The last player left without exploding the
approach toward perception, emotion, and behavior. While any mature observer could have discerned this centuries ago, scientific
general.
evidence now confirms it. The physical matter in the skull is biologically different
discarded material.
in men and women.
0 UN:"Aborigines of the
doll's head is the winner.
Chinese Genocide
Over the last
20 years, the family-planning poli
'
Not surprisingly, the femi nist movement has already denied that any gender differ
cy of China has
ences exist, apparently not wanting to be confused by the
prevented
truth.
million
300 births.
One more piece of informa
A
spokesman
for
the
Administration said thousands of nuclear
weapons could be manufactured with the
World, Unite"
The first version of the proposed Universal Declaration of the Rights of Aborigines, a document that aims to estab lish "self-determination" for 250 million
aborigines in the jungles of the world, is
According to the
tion needs to be acknowledged
ready. Negotiations on the terms of the text,
Catholic agency
to complete our intellectual
written by five UN experts, are to begin
Asia News, the
understanding: human intelli
soon with the gov
communist
gence is not in gray matter,
ernments in\ â&#x2013;
authorities,
but in the soul.
in
their campaign against births, are spreading the slogan,
0 Promoting the Seven
"It's better to have more graves than more
Deadly Sins
Brazil, alont India
Bangladesh, is at the head of a group
children."
However, children are not the only "unwanted" in China. Asia News reports
that Roman Catholics in the province of Hubei are being persecuted for the faith.
The communists have set up a tribunal-on-
wheels and a prison-on-wheels equipped with the latest instruments of torture, the
preferred method being electric shock.
Thousands of Catholic Chinese peasants have died or been crippled by such torture.
that intends to over
One of the saddest aspects of our liter ary decadence is that many normally stal wart, respectable institutions are partici pating in the sickening decline. Encyclopaedia Britannica, once the last word in responsible and comprehensive
research material, recently announced its spon.sorship of a short-story competition for Story magazine based on the glorification of the seven deadly sins.
A flyer promoting the competition asks the contestants to "Send Us Your Most
MARCH-APRIL, 1995
n and
turn the main and more controversial
suggestions
made
in the text, such as that of ".self-deter
mination." The
Brazilian
government
alleges that this notion is linked to indepen
dence, and it could one day be used by the Yanomani Indians, for example, who occu py an immense portion of territory in the Amazon region, as justification for seces sion from Brazil.
3
— NEWS FLASHES SI Youths Condemn Immorality on TV
"We were sincerely aston ished by the way American youths answered our poll; they said that their moral val
J^orgotten
ues are shaped by the media,
and that consequently they want higher moral values on TV," said James Steyer, pres
Can Catholic
ident of Children Now, a '■* nationwide children's advo
Morals Change?
cacy organization. The poll was conducted last March by a Los Angeles firm. When
asked
about
the
values
and
beliefs they learned on TV, respondents (ages 10 to 16) answered in a much more conservative way than expected. For exam
AX-'
Far too com mon
ple, a large majority, 77%, decried sex scenes, and 82% said that TV programs ought to teach right from Wrong.
is
Pius XI
the
sion
on
error of those
Sex Education
who with dangerous
to
teach
and
who have the grace of state, every pre caution
must
be
taken. Such precau-
assurance and under
0 Thousands Celebrate
an ugly tefm-^propagate a so-called
tioiiS are.^ll knowi^-tr^ditional
Wedding of Princess Elena of Spain
sex-education, falsely imagining
Christian education, and ai^ade-
the/can forearm youth against the
quately described by Antonifflip
dangers of sensuality by means
cited above, when he says:
In an atmosphere perfumed with the essence of oranges and resonant with the gallant music of Mozart and Handel, Princess Elena, 31, the first
child of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, was married on the
purely natural, such as a foolhardy initiation
and
precautionary
instruction for ®h^discriminately, even in public; aii»S^rse still, by
Jaime de Marichalar, 32, of the
exposing thpflMt^ cmiv age to the occasionlmiJmler/^^SLStom
Spanish aristocracy. Elegant and smiling, Princess
to harden them agSmst such da
18th of March, to the economist
Elena walked the 600 feet that
Alcazares to the Gothic cathe
dral of Seville at King Juan Carlos'side. Unimpeded by her
nation to sin, that often in the very things considere be remedies against sin, occasions tor and indt
gers.
/ Such persons grie
sin \itself.
lest ^por-
Henct
them/so it is argi^^/Sjid as it
go from the Royal Palace The
_ f
"Such is our misery and incli
lat a]
ler, whilC'dis\
[Ssing witr son a matter'so ite, should be well on his\ ^ ^t descend to details,,
^rious ways in \
refusing to r weakness ofj
Ira destroys
33-foot train, the bride waved
law of whil
la portion of
in response to the shouted
fighting a|
greetings of "Ole! Ole!" from the enthusiastic crowd. Kings,
mind; and^s^^^gnoring e)tperience of facts, from whichj
queens, princes, and princesses from 38 royal houses of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East headed the 1300 guests assem bled in the cathedral for the royal wedding, the first in Spain in 89 years. The ceremony was enhanced with high
lights from Mozart's "Coronation Mass" performed by the National Choir of Spain and the Symphonic Orchestra of Seville. From the cathedral, the newlyweds went to El Salvador's Church in an eighteenth-cen
tury carriage drawn by six chestnut horses. The hosts treated their guests to a recep tion in The Alcazares, an ensemble of
Moorish-style buildings, with patios and
)■
r
is clear that, particularly in youl
lay happen
rtiiiguishing thi
|;e, he unwittingly stirs or kindles in the simple and tender heart of
people, evil practices are the effect not so much of ignorance of intel
the child. Speaking generally, dur ing the period of childhood it suf
lect as of weakness of a will
fices to employ thQse remedies which produce the double effect of
exposed to dangerous occasions, and unsupported by the means of grace.
In this extremely delicate mat
opening the door to the virtue of purity and closing the door upon -vice."
ter, if, all things considered, some
private instruction is found neces sary and opportune, from those
Encyclical letter of Pope Pius XI on
who hold from God the commis-
Edition.s. pp. 36-37.
"Christian Education ofYouth," St. Paul
gardens. TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Protest
not a Catholic, hut t
came out to
disgust ^vitli by Robert Ritchie
The practice of catholic morality has edified mankind for the past 2000 years, yet the recently launched film Priest suggests the contrary, that moral disorders result from the obser
vance of traditional Catholic morality. Hiding behind the portrayal of a "real-life situation," it insinuates that the vow of
celibacy and the silence maintained by Catholic priests regarding the seal of con fession are overburdening and cannot be
durably sustained by frail human nature. As is quite clear, this blasphemous pro jection is nothing but one more attack upon the Holy Roman Catholic Church, since positing such an absurdity is tantamount to
blaming the Church itself for the disorderly moral behavior of some members of the
clergy. Thus, Priest, distributed by Merimax
Films, hits a high tension wire and has jolt
ed America's moral conscience. Religious and conservative groups across the Nation are up in arms, and rightly so! Even the nonreligious, disgusted with the movie's vilification of Catholic clergymen, are speaking out. Cineplex Odeon's projectionist in
Washington, D.C., speaking to protesters at a showing of the film, put it in a nutshell: "I can't
handle
this.... I'm
not a
TFP volunteers write out placards in protest against the film Priest
Catholic, but 1 came out to manifest my dis
Promoters of such dishonorable "entertain
gust with this movie. I've seen just about
ment" must be held accountable for their
everything, and 1 must say that this is absolutely sickening. I fully understand why you are out here protesting." It's time to proudly remind our fellow
actions. That's why the American TFP is mobilizing its volunteers for a full-scale
protest of Priest with public acts of repara tion and prayer outside theaters across the
Americans how traditional Catholic morali
country.
â&#x2013;
ty has edified mankind for 2000 years.
The American TFP protests against the showing of the film Priest eX Cineplex Odeon In Washington, D.C.
T!, y-
V of
CATHOa.
MARCH-APRIL. 1995
I.
Society
THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION by John Horvat
With the fall of the Berlin Wall, many were under the mistaken
consider itself safe from this threat.
thetized" public opinion undergoes a
Western socialists borrowed the expres
type of psychosurgery that profoundly
impression that communism
sion cultural revolution from Chinese
modifies mentalities and national charac
was dead. Instead, the ever-adaptive
communism's attempt to accelerate the
teristics to fit a nation into the collectivist
Marxist movement underwent major and
revolutionary process and erase China's
radical changes.
rich cultural past. By means of new tactics calculated to
One of these was the more intensive
"self-managing" world of the future. What is the cultural revolution? How
use of a silent revolution, a cultural revo
avoid sparking reactions, this revolution
lution that aims to overthrow the rem
aims to change mentalities, or modes of
does it work? Tradition, Family and Property Magazine explores the basic
nants of Christian civilization in every sphere of human activity. No country can
thought, and create a new human type.
tenets of this revolution, and its methods
It is a process in which an "anaes
for changing society.
What is the Cultural Revolution? in
1. A revolution to change man Aiming to change the way man feels, acts, and thinks, it is a revolution of both collective and individual lives. In short, it is a
revolution of society and of civilization. 2. A revolution that takes precedence over socioeconomic transformations
the
field
of
ideas. This means
not only redefin ing elaborate con cepts and formu lations, but also,
and especially, reshaping values,
"This neo-revolution, however, emphasizes changes in customs, feelings and mentalities."
The classical revolution emphasized socioeconomic transfor mations. This neo-revolution, however, emphasizes changes in customs, feelings, and mentalities. While the mutual influence of
changes in society must be made both in production systems and
the two spheres is not denied, the cultural revolution is the more
in thought and behavior.
This is the new revolution's primary objective: to transform
important.
It is fundamentally important for socialism to achieve victory
FkEE
}0MTm
y/lRl/lfl'
attitudes, mentalities, sensibilities, and ways of life. Thus,
ILUOHS Of
everyday life in society. Neither politics nor politicians are able to
"These changes must be effected only when
public opinion is ready to accept them. It would be political suicide to attempt such structural changes before that time." do this. They can only legislate on matters
radical change of strategy.
that people have claimed as their inalien
The classic methods of the
able rights.
revolution no longer apply.
These changes must be effected only when public opinion is ready to accept them. It would be political suicide to
4. A radical revolution
attempt such structural changes before that
that thrives in a festive
atmosphere The classical revolution
time. A nation's reaction when its tradi
used violence and terror as
tions and customs are being attacked can cause a serious setback in the revolutionary
tion and persuasion. On the
process.
other hand, the neo-revolu-
3. A revolution using psychological means, which seeks the disintegration of the present order of things
tion stakes its hopes on measures that will not pro duce traumatic upheavals in
In this strategy, psychologyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the knowledge of the human soulâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;becomes an overriding revolutionary preoccupation,
methods of both intimida
the public. A carefree and festive
atmosphere is a fertile
to such an extent that the distinction
ground. This atmosphere
between politics and psychology becomes blurred. It is indispensable that the neorevolution resort to psychology and espe
facilitates the transition to a "liberated
cially psychoanalysis and psychiatry. It must fight to convert minds and reach the
society" in which a new sensitivity may develop. As a consequence, the revolution shreds its terrifying character of
the macabre days of the Terror in
roots of society by targeting the individual.
the French Revolution or the sin
In other words, a revolutionary society is created by changing individual tastes,
ister activities of the KGB and
habits, and convictions.
assumes instead the aspect of a peaceful revolution.
revolution radically alters the family through various means."
It is indeed a cultural revolution, since it includes the destruction of morals and
"To transform society, this
A ^'Peaceful" Revolution
existing ways of life in society. In short, it is aimed at the whole cultural establish ment.
This recourse to psychology signifies a
In the silent maneuvering of this "peaceful" revolution, a number of subtle
measures are adopted.
I
Society
jfnstabilii
Revolutionary Psychosurgery 1. Destruction of the Institutional foundations of
the family, and subversion in the home
In its efforts to destroy all remnants of Christian social order, the cultural revolution cannot but attack
the family. The Christian family instills a respect for legiti
mate inequalities and inculcates a sense of duty and
"Those who know how to
manipulate this consensus can
discipline. It directs souls towards virtue and order, preserving them
from the spirit of revolt, egalitarian-
The cultural revolution uses schools as instru
ments of social transformation, conquering the souls of children and revolutionizing their consciences and spirits. The aim is to produce an individual adapted to a progressively immoral and egalitarian world. So, as the principles and habits of Christian civi lization fade away, the use of traditional methods of
undeniable decadence, the family is
teaching, based on discipline and logic, gradually die
still an obstacle to the destructive
out. Devoid of Christian principles, the individual is
advance of the revolution in minds
governed by his social instincts, and lives according to
and institutions.To transform society,
a general consensus that grows increasingly more rev
this revolution radically alters the
olutionary. Those who know how to manipiil ' ^ 'his
family through various means:
consensus can take where they please a whok
a) Abortion. All resistance is
generation
accepts its complete liberalization
gradually eroded until the public
please."
talities of children
ism, and anarchy. Even in our days of
take a whole
where they
purity, virginity, honor and Christian morality, all of which are presented as myths. 2. Self-managing schooling, to transform the men
without major upset.
b) Feminism. While vociferously demanding the rights that are suppos
r-
ation formed in this manner.
3. Total immorality For this revolution, total sexual freedom is seen as
an integral part of a general movement towards
democratization. Anyone who opposes divorce, abor
tion, contraception, sex education, pornography, or
edly denied women, feminism, in
homosexuality is immediately labeled as un-democra-
reality, subverts traditional family
tic.
values. The movement's most radical
proponents go so far as to urge the complete destruc tion of the family, c) Sex education. It would be more accurate to
speak of sexual corruption, since this education is based on unbridled hedonism, a doctrine which teach
Leading up to the decriminalization of homosexu
ality and other aberrations, homosexual groups become ever more active and vocal, promoting public
parades and gatherings. In this way, they break down the barrier of horror that separates them from the gen eral public, and condition this same public to accept
es that the pursuit of and indulgence in pleasures is the
them as normal.
highest good. Furthermore it debunks the notions of
4. Relativization of private property as the first TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Society step towards collectivization
As part of its "peaceful" nature, the cultural revolution is willing to march with capitalism for a while by promot
ing a moderate economic policy. It also declares that it has discarded Marxist dogma regarding large scale nationaliza tion and expropriations.
consensus rather than a carefully developed program. People follow the path. Changes are accepted because
they are presented as part of"modernization"—an ambigu ous, undefined phenomenon seen as unavoidable. Normally the majority would disagree with
However, a process is begun whereby the concept of
these changes, but it fails to react
private ownership is slowly relativized and modified in
due to widespread apathy and
order to serve the will of the State.
sophisticated
During this process, a cautious strategy is adopted
which avoids awakening people from their slumber. The proprietors are made to feel that the ownership of private properly is futile and burdensome. Laws curtailing proper ty rights are enacted and excessive taxes are levied, espe
psychological
manipulation.
This process prepares the way for revolutionary legal reforms.
With
time,
these
"As in an
operating room, a dormant nation
is subject to psychosurgery."
changes are considered normal
cially in the field of rural land reform. Eventually this is
and legal changes can then be
extended to include urban real estate reform and even busi
enacted. This can be observed in new education laws, abor tion, legalization of homosexuality, and the like. This gradual process avoids creating the impression
ness reform.
5. The psychological role of unrest and instability Rampant crime and generalized instability (e.g., illegal
strikes, boycotts, and the like) also play a role in the cul tural revolution. Such an atmosphere contributes to the idea that people have no choice but to live in permanent tension.
of planned action. Sudden changes, the collapse of tradi tional institutions, and social disintegration happen so as not to awaken public opinion.
Anaesthetized, public opinion is manipulated. As in
It conditions them to believe their country is chronically ill
an operating room, a dormant nation is subjected to psy
and that its present constitutional structure is slowly
chosurgery.
becoming non-viable. In this way, public opinion is pre
The final result is an attempt to create a totally new man, a man that would be calmly integrated into a pacifist, permissivist, new socialist world. ■
pared to make painful concessions at a later stage. These concessions involve the eventual fading away of political and ideological structures, mak ing way for a unity of regions under a new wider political umbrella.
Analogously, new economic systems emerge, bom of the convergence of the old capitalism and "restructured" com
Clialleiiging the Cultural Revolution
munism.
6. Blasphemy and sacrilege In the eyes of the average person, blasphemy and sacrilege appear to repre sent a brutal explosion of "liberation"
that arises spontaneously against reli gion, dogmas, devotions, and the sacred, but in reality such acts are the product of
a carefully cultivated program. Revolutionary psychosurgery What effect does all of the above
have on the soul of a country?
by Profl
Jorrea
As mentioned before, this revolution
Oliveira
ary process is a peaceful one. It does not
impose acceptance of the state of things it is creating. Rather it induces public opinion to swallow its program amid drowsiness and apathy, The nation is like an anaesthetized victim on the operating
Amid the general chaos of our days, there is a growing cry for leadership. It is no wonder, since a country without authentic elites is like a ship without a rudder. Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira's book puts together a harmonious set of guiding principles for those who yeam for order. It is written with the intention of providing tools for those who seek to weave a renewed social fabric.
table.
The process of psychosurgery in volves a number of steps. One of these
is the use of mass media to promote immorality, vulgarity, atheism, and blas phemy.
The
consequent
pictures. Highly recommended by three Cardinals.
Get your copy today!Availablefor only $49.95.
de-
Christianizing offensive is presented as the fruit of a spontaneous and general MARCH-APRIL, 1995
A book noble in theme, style, and design. Hard-bound. 545 pages with 64 color
The American TFP — P.O. Box 1868 — York, PA 17405
XRP Ststement on the Rolling Stones Tour
IIMM Press Release of the South African TFP
The performance of the Rolling
^
1
y\ not vanished but has simply taken a
{ )/ different form; namely, programmed
Stones in Johannesburg this week
anarchy, which according to revolu-
end, as part of the group's "Voodoo
Lounge" world tour, is a step forward in the accelerating moral and social breakdown of our
^ tionary logic is a more radical form of commu nism itself.
This is confirmed by the leading communist ide
country.
Shocking behaviour and rebellion have been
ologues, who assert that the collectivist State is just
a Rolling Stones trademark since the 60's.
a mere step in a process that swings from one
Many of their songs clearly glorify amorality,
extreme to another—from state control to anarchy.
In rejecting authority, morals, and religion, the
violence and lewdness—including the worst
Rolling Stones are a most forceful expression of
sexual aberrations.
This particular tour has been especially con
this anarchy. They appear in the forefront of a cul tural revolution which ultimately
troversial. During the supporting
^
act at the Stones' concerts in
THE JRAL CULTURAL
Brazil, local singer Rita Lee, masquerading as the Virgin Mary
of Aparecida, the country's Patroness, performed a blasphe mous strip show before the crowd. Outrage from Catholics have marked the group's perfor mances in Brazil, Argentina, and
seeks to destroy all civilized values and norms. In this way, the Stones'
tour is clearly detrimental and
must surely contribute to the ii
REVOLUTION [JTION
psychological chaos increas
ingly afflicting our country.
\ A If
The Young South Africans for a
f I TODAY
Chile.
However, the Stones' tour should be seen in
'
Christian Civilisation (TFP)regis ters its most vigourous protest against the Rolling Stones'tour and
their performances, which offend both Christian and
a wider perspective. It can be considered in
civilised values. We call upon all South Africans
light of the communist threat that emerged at
who cherish order and who fear God to unite their
the beginning of this century and that later
voices in protest against this undesirable tour, one
materialized and produced tragic devastations.
that can hardly bring God's much-needed blessing
Now, at the end of the century, that threat has
upon this land.
■
Book Review
New Age Best Seller MttW•aite(hk Woakw*
•p hlil^ll^
A »«ii^lari)i ^Md
E«*.
CtLESTlNE PROPHECY
The Celestine Prophecy A not so subtle foray into pantheism with an anti-Catholic twist by Thomas Beckei
]ames Redfield I •X6hJo«>iediakeei«ipeeeroii|Me-leU*rt|ie ■*!■•"
\
Eliul>ntiUUn.RAu.U.D.
Occasionally a book becomes a best seller and we begin to hear praises
of it from all over. The Celest'me
Prophecy, by James Redfield, made the best-seller lists almost a year ago and is cur rently at the top. A kind of fictionalized ver sion of The Aquarian Conspiracy for the 90s, it is the talk of New Agers everywhere.
The story centers on an Aramaic manu
tioned more and more. The odd thing is that the connection between the God spoken
ronmentalism to the New Testament and
about and the "energy" that, according to
Marx, something of a New Age unified the
the story, makes up the universe is left
ory of everything.
implicit, no doubt purposely. The gnostic or pantheistic equation between God and mat
The hero goes on a quest to discover the "insights" contained in the manuscript. He meets people along the way who initiate
ter, between creation and God, is complete. Our Lord Jesus Christ is brought into the
him step by step in its doctrine. He is told
picture as one who
For those of us who don't have the time
about the various secrets in the document
or patience to sit down and study the ins and outs of New Age philosophy and mysticism,
only when he is ready to progress to the next step. These esoteric teachings unfold
this will seem just another weird book full
amidst the attention-getting action of the
of esoteric messages and the same old pseu
story.
do-religious drivel. And that it is. But it is
The initiatory process begins rather
worth our while to keep half an eye on the of the millions of individuals still hooked
innocuously with the victim becoming aware of coincidences in his life that might have meaning. He is led to understand that
into the rehashed 1960s hippy counter-cul
the essence of everything is "energy." This
ture.
energy takes on the characteristics of the pantheistic equation between the universe
kind of things that make up the spiritual diet
The Celestine Prophecy manages to
achieve something mo.st books on the sub ject of New Age mysticism have trouble doing—keeping the attention of the reader. The trick is that this is a spiritual manual in the form of a novel. Its plot is little more than a chase in which the bad guys jump out at the reader whenever his attention is about
and God, without yet speaking directly of
government
in
Spanish
A foray into the psychological problems of this baby boomer in a mid-life crisis
iar with the Church in Latin America or
for inter-personal conflicts, war, and the breakdown of the family promises to be
with the Peruvian government, it is difficult
almost as frustrating a way out as the drugs
not to be amused at the stereotypes por
it is an alternative for.
trayed here and their complete lack of cor
By the end of the process, Redfield attempts to reconcile this New Age doctrine
Inquisition style. For anyone vaguely famil
respondence to reality.
MARCH-APRIL, 1995
Earth, and was the first to cross over,
to expand the physical world into the spiritual. His life demonstrated how to do this, and if we connect with the same source we can head the same
way, step by step. At some point everyone will vibrate highly enough so that we can walk into heaven, in our same form.
doctrine with Christianity. The most basic
"Connecting with the energy" as a solution
Peruvian
transcended death right here on
who get psychedelic experiences of the "energy" by meditating on plants.
the
Of course, the bad guys are the hierar
so light he could walk on water. He
A degree in theology is not requ see the complete incompatibility o
chy of the Catholic Church, manipulating
message.
opened up to the energy until he was
religion. His initiation is taken up at a cer tain stage by a bunch of renegade priests
gives the story an appeal to experience. But the description of the problem is met only by the answer offered by the phony New Age spirituality promoted by the author.
to fade from the often repetitive religious
with Christianity. God comes to be men
script discovered in Peru, tying together everything from quantum physics to envi-
'
and fundamental belief about God held by Christianity, His transcendence and dis
tinctness from creation, is blatantly glossed over. The notion that Our Lord was merely the recipient of a quantity of divine "ener
gy" contradicts His divine nature as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. The lack of religious instruction and the consequent religious ignorance and rela
tivism so widespread today, coupled with
the real sentiment that any mention of Our Lord Jesus Christ still provokes, unfortu nately makes this sort of stuff appealing to many. ■
11
'' r.'^'55f'Cover Article . . \.?k-%[ •-
Afew days ago a friend of mine dri ving down from Canada was
notice. Violent crime
is
seem to touch us personally,
no
longer something that happens
so
kStartled as he spotted a man beating a woman with a stick by the side of the road. He slopped his car and rushed towards the scene. As he approached, the
to other people in far away
man turned on him. In his hand was not a
to tell ourselves that it is restrict-
stick but a machete. The man had been
ed to some geographic area or;^
i
hacking the woman to death. As numerous
some ethnic group, either. Rather,^
h
motorists simply drove by, pointing and gawking, but not stopping, my friend man aged to flag down two other men. After a
it is a deadly reality close to home^ a fact of life affecting all of us and increasingly influencing our psychological profiles.
violent
struggle,
they
subdued
\^
remain
places, a remote headline, the
mere statistics. The emo tions these events cause in
and television. It is not much use
us are not phantasms but
real symptoms of a deep
f
Lur^g id the back of peo^^^
minds is a fundamental uneasiness.
"Will it happen to me?" Or perhaps,"how many more times will' it happen to me'2" "Is there a way out?"
assailant. Their efforts were too late to
Crime impacts on our lives and
save the woman'—(he man's wife.
attitudes
The episode brought to mind a story
12
cannot
exclusive domain of newspapers
the
told to me by an aunt who was raised in
we
aloof as we might with
Sbphists seek to cpnvincc us th ' ho
.
are just more aware of dtp statistics i | thanks to the marvels of our information
Like terrorism, once a drama that
society. Television transports crime reports
New York City in the 1920.S and 30s. On
played itself out in the Middle East but that
into our livrng rooms at an evermore effi-
one occasion, as we were riding by an old
is now an American problem, crinje has
cient speed that borders on instantaneous,
^
house, she said that a murder had been
moved from out there somewhere mto our
creating stronger emotional impres.sions.
committed there when she was a child. For
very homes and now impacts on our lives
years afterwards children would hold their
and attitudes.
breath as they passed that house. The crime had so stigmatized the location that
Our experience tells us that its no use pretending. We are not merely the victims
Hype and commercialism add to this per ception; the blood of the victims is hardly dry before the ink on the Hollywood con
it was still etched indelibly in my aunt's
of some kind of "future shock" impinging
ginaj improvement here or there gjvesa^^^J
mind after all those years.
on our old-world mind-sets. The tragic
flicker of hope, but this is immediately^^^^
Today, almost every street corner and alley could call to mind such revulsion—
tales surrounding the Jeffrey Dahraers and Susan Smiths of the world do heighten our
were it not for a profound change in men tality that has occured almost without
sensibilities because of the highly charged atmosphere that surrounds them. They
snuffed out by the next wave of horFOiSf«MlftMm The feeling of unease remains, and crime is seen by the electorate as a num
tract for the next TV thriller. Then, a mar-
ber-one issue. It is of concern to both Left
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
j
Cover Artie 0
Sentenced prisoners in State and Federal Institutions. Source: U.S. Department ot Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics
into the Crime Question
Washington, D.C., have the highest mur der rate and yet have the highest policing. We are apparently locked into a futile
somehow forgotten when it comes to pub
dialectic and do not see a light at the end
to make laws and penalize transgressors,
ing from political solutions that vacillate
of the tunnel. We withdraw and become
compelling the population to obey by
between the liberal myth that to open
despondent. Like an alcoholic in the grip of a drink
means of an extensive bureaucracy and a coercive police force. At best, one can govern a prison in this way, but not a peoplef-Tiotes Professor Plinio Correa de
and Right in politics. Crime bills are the consensus
of
both
Democrats
and
Republicans. But here we are caught in a kind of ideological schizophrenia, choos
schools is to close prisons and the more
"conservative" approach of providing
more prisons, increasing police powers, legislating longer sentences, and making greater use of the death penalty. More policing and longer sentences are the pil
ing problem that is destroying his life, half the problem is solved by recognizing that one has a problem. If we can break away from the delusions we have been operating
lars around which the basic philosophy
under for more than a century now, we will be well on our way to a solution. If
revolves. So, politicai solutions are not
not, we are con^mned to the slow decline
lacking in number. But, do they work?
into oblivion
the logical term of the
lic policy.
"To govern is not only, nor principally,
Oliveira.' In short, society cannot be run
like a jail. Leadership, example, moral authority, and a consensus about morality are necessary.
These things cannot be pn^' ided by technology, social psychology.
ocr-'
Richard Moran of the New York Times
process we are^'Štperiencing. With much
cion. We have to face it. Religion is the^
thinks not."The awful truth is that there is
tough-talk abd^t how to stop crime,
source of morality, not the economy, stu-^
no law enforcement solution to the crime
America is missing the point. Why aren't
problem; it is embedded in the social and moral fiber of our society. An insufficient
we focusing on the truth about a nation morally plundered? If man is merely an animal that can be
pidâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or any of the other scapegoats. Pope Pius XII once asked: "Has histo-
police presence did not cause the problem,
ty not already cruelly proved that any human society without a religious founda tion rushes inevitably toward its dissolu
and more officers will not solve it."
controlled by cleverly designed security systems and sense stimuli that provoke the
Cities having the highest
desired behavior, then these approaches
murder rate also have the
might be valid. But he is a rational crea
modem world: society minus religion plus
highest policing
ture endowed with a free will. He is there
a short amount of time equals dissolution
fore a moral creature. This simple fact,
and tenor.
Moraii^gues that there appears to be ftt) cbifgifm^ betWeen the amount of policing and crime rates. Cities like
MARCH-APRIL, 1995
subscribed to by everyone but a few lunatic lefty intellectuals who still find
sanctuary in American universities, is
tion and ends up in terror?"- His words are
almost like an equation describing the
Why. then, do we persist with crime policies we know are doomed to fail? That the problem is a moral and, therefore, a
13
Cover Article
vation by a moral and
religious authority, the be reinstated. As long as the
instead of creating favor
eighteenth century.
m 14
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Interview
"Getting out of the way of the law-abiding and putting the screws on the law breakers."
ThomasL.JIPPING is vice presidentfor policy and director of the Center for Law and Democracy at the Free Congress
Foundation, a leading public policy research institute headquar tered in Washington, D.C. Mr.lipping has contributed published works of scholarship and commentary to law journals, including Buffalo Law Review, Case Western Reserve Law Review, and University of
Richmond Law Review, as well as to public policy journals and periodicals. He currently serves as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. lipping holds a B.A. in political science, a J.D. cum laude, and an M.A. in political science, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in political science at SUNY-Buffalo.
deny the right to protect oneself; for exam ple, gun-control laws, which effectively prohibit the law-abiding citizen from pro tecting him or herself. Criminals do not
obey the law by definition; therefore, crim inals do not obey gun-control laws. The vast majority of effects of gun control are on the
law-abiding citizen. Then also, laws, or legal decisions for that matter, that prohibit the community
from protecting itself, whether these be court decisions that have denied the com
munity the ability to ban adult bookstores, for example, or which grant certain kinds of rights to criminals that allow them to live where they want after they get out of jail. These types of things allow the community to defend itself.
Those are two different categories of
TFP Magazine: The only real
must punish. They are retribution: they are
solution to the crime problem is obviously a moral solution, for a
not rehabilitation. So, therefore, there has to
be certainty and severity of punishment.
viduals and communities need the freedom
moral problem demands a moral
Criminal laws and criminal statutes should
to defend themselves against the lav '-'•-•ik-
solution. That notwithstanding, obviously our lawmakers need to deal with many dilUcuIt problems in the legal arena and society itself.
address both of those things. Certainty of
ers. In a way, 1 think, it is a matter ol ,
punishment, which would close the loop
the focus again where it belongs; getting out
So first of all, what kind of crime
legislation would you like to see enacted?
legislation, but I think the law-abiding indi
holes, speed-up the appeals process, proce
of the way of the law-abiding and putting
dural-type things. But then also .severity of punishment, whether it be the death penalty
the screws on the law breakers.
or incarceration or other forms of punish ment — incarceration is not the only form
TFP Magazine: In his farewell
address,
George
Washington
trol anti-social behavior. And that is essen
tain and it has to be severe. Those two fac
asked, "Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation
tially the slice of the pie that the state is
tors must be addressed by any criminal jus tice legislation. More specific than that would be Just hypothetical, but I think tho.se
instruments of investigation in courts ofjustice?" Yet today, when
are the principles that it must follow.
one considers that the abortion
Thomas L Jipping: The state has to con
involved in, and it has to make it possible for other institutions in society — the
Church, the family, and so on — to address the moral underpinnings of the current
of punishment either — but it has to be cer
TFP Magazine: What laws
problem. First, the state has to do what the state is supposed to do, which is control and
would you like to see repealed?
punish anti-social behavior. Criminal laws
T. Jipping: Well, laws which in effect
MARCH-APRIL, 1995
ig
desert the oaths which are the
mentality has influenced not only many in government but a large sector of society as well, what role
does the moral and religious 15
Interview
dimension really play in legal bat
about, or in favor of per se, but
tles when many of the courts, pros
the punishment of death is not automatically by definition inap
ecutors, lawmakers, and jurors
alike deny â&#x20AC;&#x201D; at least in practice â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the humanity of the unborn child?
propriate or illegitimate. People are capable of doing things to each other in the most
T. Jipping: Well, to the extent that the criminal law, for example, has its roots, which it most certainly does, in Biblical morality â&#x20AC;&#x201D; if you really argue it back, I
footage for the evening news. They are for one purpose and that purpose only. To choose a group of people who can best
serve that proper function is for the two lawyers representing the two sides to battle out, to ask their questions and dismiss the
horrible and despicable ways,
people they don't like and to get a group of
where the only appropriate pun ishment is death. There are no
people they can both agree on. That is the best way we have come up with so far in
two ways about that. And, there
human history. That is why courts tinkering
you really argue it backwards, you
fore, the death penalty must be on the state's listed options for pun
challenges on the basis of race or gender,
put people to their proof, you make
ishing criminals. The death
and things along this line, are completely
them define their terms and you
penalty
inappropriate. That is why they should be left alone; jury selection should be left
don't care who you are talking to, if
should
be
rarely
make them identify their sources of ideas, that's where it gets you. You can't
applied, only to a small catego ry of cases, first-degree inten
end up at the right place unless you start
tional murder. I believe.
at the right place, and when you start with...the passions of the moment, when you start with whoever, it is almost like
The purpose for the death penalty, the justification for the
with jury selection, denying peremptory
alone to the province of the two people who are representing the two sides in a criminal case and for that purpose alone.
I do not support cameras in the court
the survival of the fittest. That is, those
death penalty, is punishment in retribution, period. It is not deter
who happen to speak the loudest, or those
rence in my opinion. We will
room; I do not support getting in the way of the only purpose of a criminal trial, which is to try the innocence or guilt of the accused,
who happen to know the right people, or
debate until Christ comes again whether the death penalty is a
period. Anything that gets in the way of that, whether it is the jury or anything else,
those who happen to grease the skids, get the benefits, rather than starting from the basic moral principles of who should
deterrent; I don't know if it is, I don't know if it isn't. But to
be defended and who arc the innocent
me it is not moral to take the
in our .society, who should be pro
life of person A in the hope
tected, who have the inalienable
of affecting the behavior of person B. That should not be the purpose behind the death penalty; if that is the
rights, and so on and so forth.
Death
When that connection is cut
loose, the balloon just drifts and
that is exactly where we are
Penalty
today. The idea that we should be
discussing whether the state has an obligation to protect the lives of innocent human beings is absolutely, incredibly absurd. It is like "Alice in Wonderland" of the
"Twilight Zone." The idea...is even more
absurd that the right to kill innocent human beings with impunity is a constitutional right, when our constitution explicitly
should not be permitted. TFP Magazine: Do you think that the banning of so-called assault weapons will result in a decrease in crime?
T. Jipping: First of all, we do not know
what assault weapons are. Everything in
effect, then I think it is
politics and legislation rises and falls by
fine. But the purpose of capita! punishment is a
definitions. The way liberal politicians in Washington have chosen to define assault weapons is so fungible as to include weapons which your average truck driver wouldn't think were assault weapons. The basic question is
very grave and a very dif
ficult thing of executing someone because his behav
ior deserves death. And I think that must be available to the state to mete out.
TFP Magazine: In trials today
not
whether
assault weapons, whatever
that
great efforts are often made to
means, will have
acknowledges the Creator Who gives us an inalienable right to life. The scenario I just
select what is called an impartial Jury, while many of the media seek to transform the jury thus selected
some kind of a
described is like a never-ending loop of
into what seems to be a politically
ning guns will,
absurdity. Now, what do you do when you are in a situation like that? Well, that cycle
correct rendering of an unbiased
because there is
has to be broken, and the roots have to be
population or, on the other hand,a balanced grouping of people based
ence. bottom line,
plugged back in for us to really get any
on racial and class characteristics.
between what we
where positively in our society.
Could you please comment on the
call
media feeding-frenzy in the O.J.
weapons
Simpson murder trial and what it says about our society?
what
TFP Magazine: What do you think about the death penalty and
its application today?
dent on crime; it is whether ban
really no differ
assault we
and don't.
Assault weapons
"People are capable of doing things to each other in the
most ho.
de and
despicable ways, where the only appropriate punishment is death"
are used in far
T. Jipping: The death penalty itself is not
death penalty talk about. I don't think death and the ultimate punishment of death is
T. Jipping: Juries are for one purpose and for one purpose only, and that is to determine the fact.s in a criminal case. They are not to be a microcosm of society; they are not to be educative of the rest of us; they
something that I am pleased with, happy
are not to provide good sound-bites or nice
per se inappropriate. It is not an affirmative good, which I think people in favor of the
16
fewer homicides and murders than, for
example, knives or fists, and yet we don't
have knife control in this country. Gun con trol. and especially gun prohibition, is noth
ing more than the denial of the right to defend oneself. And in fact, the availability TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
nterview
ing at whether the programs we have are
of guns, and supporting the right of selfdefense of law-abiding citizens will deter
rehabilitative, or whether the notion of
crime far more than banning guns will. It is
rehabilitation
simple, but not simplistic, to say that if you
requires looking at different
outlaw guns only the outlaws will have guns, and that is the truth. A society that thinks it will be safer by only allowing crim
groups of criminals. In other words, at first-time offenders, non-violent offenders, those
director of the Center for
inals to have guns is a society on its way to
who may have been convicted
Free Congress Foundation.
suicide.
of a first-time drug offense, for example, and I will say
TFP Magazine: What role does
poverty play, if any, in exacerbat ing crime?
T. Jipping: Poverty by itself plays little role, if any, in the crime picture. To the extent that there is a correlation between
is
realistic,
Thomas L. Jipping, is vice president for policy and Law and Democracy at the
s
that I don't believe we tailor
programs well enough to tho.se different groups of peo ple. If we simply toss the firsttime youthful drug offender in
poverty and church going, for example I
with the habitual, violent adult
would think that poor people — if that's the only difference between them and other peo
offender, the first will turn out like the .second. And on that
ple — would actually commit fewer crimes.
we don't do well enough —-1 will be the
I don't think that poverty by itself, either logically or empirically, has much to do with
first one to say that, and I am on the staff
crime at ail.
TFP Magazine: We often hear about prison overcrowding. Is it really a problem, and, if so, what should be done about it?
T. Jipping: Words like overcrowding demand that we identify what the bench
of a long-term residential rehabilitation
facility for delinquent teenagers, and I know that programs that do not rely on incarceration can be very productive and very appropriate for certain categories of offenders. So we definitely have to do that. Then you can have some success at what we loosely call rehabilitation. It wouldn't then be called rehabilitation, it
mark is. How full should prisons be, so that we know if they are too full? At least in this country, when we talk about prison over
habitual criminal.
crowding, an overcrowded prison is simply a prison that some judge says is overcrowded.
violent criminal, the idea of rehabilitat
would just be called diversion, or pre venting someone from becoming a
If we are talking about the habitual,
In the majority of states in this country, the
ing that kind of person is almost non
prison systems are under judicial control. If the prisons are full, build more prisons. And that's a very simple solution. If prisons are
existent, but that's a fairly small catego ry of people, too. If we are better at
full, have smaller cells. If prisons are full,
looking at different groups of people, I
use military bases. We have a base-closure
think that the notion of diverting them or keeping them from going further down
commission which is closing hundreds of
the path toward habitual crime could be
military bases; use those. We have judges
You can eliminate prison overcrowding by simply redefining your terms. You don't
more successful than it is. But for peo ple who are far down that path, I don't believe it is possible without almost a program that is solidly and almost pure ly based on a spiritual perspective, which has that component in it.
have to do any more than that. But if prisons are genuinely full, build more.
Probably nothing short of that will do anything for rehabilitation.
using their own personal ideas of the relative comfort that convicted criminals should live
in who are causing prison overcrowding,
TFP Magazine: What percent
age of prisoners are really rehabili tated and after serving their terms go on to become moral, productive members of society? How success ful is rehabilitation?
TFP Magazine: What is the root cause of criminal behavior?
T. Jipping: The depraved nature of
man. Sin. Man's heart is despicably wicked. That's what the Bible tells us,
The fallen nature of man and his sin,
T. Jipping: I have absolutely no idea regarding percentages. About rehabilitation, if you are talking about all convicted crimi nals in all prisons, whether they be habitual offenders, first-time offenders, I think look MARCH-APRIL, 1995
of man and his
without being in a right relationship with God, is what causes crime. That is
what causes the behavior which society designates as crime.
■
being m a right
Ambiences, Customs and Civilizations
Old Age: Decrepitude or HOW the modem world,caught up in sensuality, deceives itself when it sees only decadence in
growing old. When one knows how to prize the values of the spirit more high ly than those of the body, to grow old is to grow in what is most noble, the soul. Although aging does entail decadence of the body, this is but the material ele
ment in the human person. And what a decadence! The body may indeed lose
its beauty and its vigor, but it may enrich itself with the translucence of a
soul that knew how to develop and grow along the course of life. This
translucence constitutes the highest beauty the human face may acquire.
Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, bom in 1796 in the region of La Vendee,
France, founded a teaching congrega tion of women. She died in 1868, and
her feast is celebrated on April 24. Nothing representing beauty was lacking to her youth: the correctness of her features, the beauty of her eyes and
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
i by Plinio Correa de Oliveira
skin, the distinction of her face, the nobili
ty of her bearing, the vigor and grace of youth. Moreover, the splendor of a clear,
logical, vigorous, and pure soul was reflected on her face. She was a magnifi cent example of a young Christian maid en.
Now behold her in her old age. There remains but a vague perfume of the charm
of her early days. But another beauty, a higher one, shines in that admirable face.
Her gaze has grown in profundity; a noble
..
i
and imperturbable serenity appears to foretell something of the transcendental
and definitive nobility of the blessed in heavenly glory! Her face conserves the marks of the arduous battles of the interior
and apostolic life of the saints. It has
attained a form of strength, of complete ness, of the immutable; it is maturity in the most beautiful sense of the word. The
mouth is a straight feature, finely expres sive, conveying the typical note of a tem per of iron. Great peace and kindness with neither romanticism nor illusion, but with
some remnant of the former beauty, still
The body has declined, but the soul has grown so much that now it is all in God, leading one to recall the statement of Saint Augustine:"Thou hast made us for
Le^;MaryEupii.uiia Pelletier as a young woman,
Thyself, Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee."
Who would dare affirm that for Saint
Mary Euphrasia growing old was growing
Above: Sister Mary Euphrasia
Pelletier in her old age
decadent?
shines in this face.
MARCH-APRIL, 1995 19
Commentary
by Michael McKenna
Dressing up has always been part of good taste and profit-making. The neat image showed respect for
For some, the move was shock
ing. IBM has always reflected neat ness in both its product line and its
clients and colleagues. It ultimately
attire. However, its shift is not as
enhanced productivity and made for a hefty bottom line. It was rooted in a past
spontaneous and isolated as it might seem. "It's symbolic, I guess, when IBM headquarters executives start shedding their ties," said Rob Wilson, spokesman for IBM. Symbolic of what?
of tradition. It was elegant and refined. It
was professional. It was anti-egalitarian,
separating the intellectual from the manu al. Though it existed as different rites, each with its own raiments and rubrics,
Wilson hints that IBM's dressing
the infallibility of its usage was never, ever to be challenged. Until now.
At the beginning of February, suits, ties, and wingtips went the way of the
down is only a question of form, the tradition of professional dress ing having disappeared from the spirit of the institution for some
typewriter at IBM. Employees can now
time.
freely interpret the company dress code
Now hollow and perfunctory, elite fashion protocol fell to the
and be more relaxed. IBM has set a mile
stone in the casual phenomenon already well advanced in Corporate America. Many places of business instituted "casual days" some years ago to make employees feel liberated and cozy. "Dressing down" has usually been limited to a specific day of the
week, frequently
Friday.
But
IBM's
move could make it the
daily norm. It is already making man
agement scramble to write casual dress codes, with
some companies even consid ering hiring consultants to design new manuals com
plete with regulations and photographic examples of "proper" casual
the already defacto change in men talities wrought by today's cultural
revolution.
Dressing in shorts and
tank-tops seems to be
accepted "Sundaybest" for churchgo ers, so why not cardi gans and khakis in the cor
porate cubicle? Just as sequoias do not grow to be giants overnight, neither do great oaks like IBM fall
in a day. The break down of societal norms is
a process rooted in decades of erosion of moral and cultur
attire. But let's be real istic.
Maoist axe of conformity. Going
casual is just de jure acceptance of
Once
the
al behavior. Big Blue went to bluejeans not in February 1995, but
the tie is loosened
when the generation of the six ties began sitting in corner
and the top button
offices. It was with the six-
principle behind
is
Brooks Brothers to dressed down with
Levi Strauss reflects the change in men talities behind the starched shirts that
were already in jogging suits before casu
al days began.
â&#x2013;
unbuttoned,
how do you regu late how far and
how many? 20
ties tie-dye that the tie died in the nineties at IBM. By unleashing a revolution of "feelings and vibes," the iconoclast hip pies of the Vietnam era raised the fia" mcl started a following. Slowly it perm society. Through a generation of meta morphosis, yesterday's university flower child is today's New Age corporate exec utive. IBM going from dressed up with
"But as Sequoias do not grow to be giants overnight, neither do great oaks like IBM fall in a day." TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Commentary
Harmonious Society: Antithesis of Today's Chaos
heat up with irritable husbands forced to watch wretched soap operas. Other more distressing symptoms have attracted the attention of astute observers.
Criminal violence is reaching an unsur passed level—with nearly 2,000 people murdered in New York City alone in 1993. A rapidly rising prison population and increased civil litigation have also pro voked concern.
by Anthony Charette
Some recent books from academia
One of the overriding features of many recent news stories is the
while the other side accused the first of
argue that democracy as presently practiced needs some invigorating infusion. Robert D. Putnam, although liberal in some
increased tension between the vari
looking for an argument. These stories,
respects, suggests in Making Democracy
ous elements that compose American soci
which we can multiply endlessly, show that
Work that more traditional institutions from
ety. The United Slates is breaking down into
the training ground for our future leaders is ever more frequently embroiled in con
the past, such as the guilds, might help.
historically to incite anti-Semitic violence
a backdrop of gunfire, and in others, in
Christopher Lasch, professor of history at the University of Rochester until his recent death, argued In The Revolt of the Elites
physical confrontations that stop just short
that the upper classes have abdicated their
irreconcilable groups where, in some cases, the differences are being played out against
frontations—confrontations by race, by
duties. He wrote that the intellectual and
of violence.
economic elites have a responsibility to the
At a recent basketball game between
Rutgers
University and the
visiting
classes below them.
Clearly, any attempt to offer solutions
University of Massachusetts, a female stu dent came out of the stands at half-time, sat
on the periphery of the problem without
on the tap-off circle at mid-court, and refused to move. Immediately, a hundred protesters descended on the court, complete with placards. Because of the dis
going to the heart of the matter will only result in cosmetic face-lifting. In Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites, Professor Plinio Correa de Oliveira, analyz
meeting the Rutgers president,
ing the allocutions of Pope Pius XII to the Roman nobility and patriciate, carefully presents the interworking of the essential elements of a harmonious society—the direct antithesis of today's chaos.
when discussing Black students, mentioned that they were a "disad-
The Ideal Society — harmony,
vantaged population that doesn't
not division
have that genetic, hereditary back
The essential social class in any soci
turbance, the rest of the game was postponed.
It had been reported that some weeks earlier in a small, closed
ground" to score well on aptitude tests. The campus confrontations followed to force the president to resign, and at this writing the agita
ety is the community of families that place their energies at the service of
the common good and the administration of government. This group generally is referred to as the aristocracy, the d'* or
tion continues unabated.
The purpose of this report is not to analyze the merits of the case but
the upper classes. Even in demo
down. Reading the newspaper account, one gets the eerie impres sion of a hidden force behind the
s
with no record of titled nobility, an aristoc racy naturally forms to achieve this pur
to show how easily and quickly campus life can be turned upside Sports: No longer jus! recreation, but an antagonistic experience
scene ready to pounce on any opportunity to cause disruption,
pose. In our country, the great lineage of colonizers, pioneers, and planters con
tributed to our progress and have constitut ed a precious moral resource.
religion, by gender, and by a loud immoral minority seeking special privileges.
of abrasive, fractious elements but rather
Another symptom of divisiveness in society is the baseball strike, which mirrors
have all its pans working together toward a harmonious functioning of the whole.
mance of the baroque masterpiece by
increased friction in what we pragmatically
Johann Sebastian Bach, 5/. John's Passion. The offended students felt that Bach and
call employer-employee relations. Instead of watching baseball games, the fans can
Saint John maligned the Jews, intentionally or otherwise. As the controversy height
read about the insults one side hurls against the other. If the strike continues throughout
ened, one side claimed the texts were used
the summer, the gender war will probably
Coupled with the efficient functioning of society is the puipose of life, which is to give glory to God through spiritual perfec tion. If society follows natural and super natural law, as it has in several past histori cal eras, many families with superior per-
One week after that incident, several members of the 100-student chorus at
Swarthmore College boycotted a perfor
MARCH-APRIL, 1995
Human society should not be composed
21
Abortion
Commentary sonal qualities who perform arduous actions for the benefit of society as a whole
and Moral Relativism
will have an important impact on the com
mon good. Over generations these families, through the practice of Christian virtue and an aspiration for the Christian ideal, will exert an
enormous influence
on
true
The Right to Life, a
progress.
By a responsible elite, we mean a social class that is motivated by a sense of duty
Mere Social Concession? by Orlando Lyra
"Human society should not be composed of abrasive, fractious elements, but rather have
all its parts working together toward a harmonious functioning
The universal consensus on the invi olability of innocent human life is one of the most profound charac teristics of man's moral and juridical con science.
Although violations of this principle have occurred since the dawn of history,
ENCYCLICAL LETTER EVANCELIUM VITAE
beginning with the fratricide narrated in chapter four of Genesis, voluntary homi
ADDRESSED BY THE SUPREME PONTIFF
JOHN PAUL II
cide was always considered a moral aber ration. Through a negative formulation,
TO THE BISHOPS
the biblical commandment "Thou shall
PRIESTS AND DEACONS
not kill"' is guarantor of the principle according to which innocent human life is a sacred good. We had to reach the
of the whole." and obligation. In countries blessed with an upright aristocracy, relationships were as
personal as possible, and influences going
twentieth century to witness an appalling, general fading of such an evident princi ple.
MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS LAY FAITHFUL AND ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL ON THE VALUE AND INVIOLABILITY
I
OF HUMAN LIFE
atmosphere of Christian affection and not
As Pope John Paul II points out in his recent encyclical Evangeliuni Vitae, "a
the anonymous, alienated massification of
new cultural climate is developing and
The cover of the English-language edition of Evangelium Vitae.
the modem state that excludes human
taking hold, which gives crime against life a new and—if possible—even more
Consequently,
up and down the social scale produced an
warmth. Members of the higher classes came to know the families of their subordi
nates as these in turn came to know the
families of their superiors. Sentiments of sympathy, benevolence, and charity pro
ceeded from the higher to the lower classes, while gratitude, affection, and admiration ascended from the latter.
No doubt, by now some readers will
have reached a slate of infuriated exaspera tion. They will argue that superiority arous es feelings of humiliation and sadness and is opposed to evangelical sweetness. This hostility towards the traditional elites lies in
the revolutionary notion that any inequality is contrary to justice. Pope Pius XII, in his
1942 allocution to the Roman nobility,
sinister character, giving rise to further grave concern: broad sectors of public
opinion justify certain crimes against life in the name of the rights of individual freedom, and on this basis they claim not only exemption from punishment, but even authorization by the state so that these things can be done with total free
millions
of
human
beings—the unborn—end their brief existence in the trash cans of abortion clinics or research labs. In the view of advocates of abortion on
demand, the new human life in the womb
is no more than "potentially human bio logical material." He or she is a life from the biological standpoint, but not from
dom and indeed with the free assistance
the cultural and philosophical stand'
of health care systems." Another point strongly denounced in
It follows that to suppress the life fetus is to suppress a biological, not a
Evagelium Vitae is the moral relativism that permeates the "new cultural cli mate": "Not only is the fact of the destruction of so many human lives still to be born or in their final stage extreme
human, life.
tivism and thus affirm that there is no
To provide a philosophical foundation for this absurd notion, the theoreticians of
abortion resort to philosophical rela
answered this by remarking that "to a mind
ly grave and disturbing, but no less grave
such thing as immutable human nature.
instructed and educated in a Christian way these disparities can only be considered a disposition willed by God with the same
and disturbing is the fact that conscience itself, darkened as it were by such wide
say, are but historical, philosophical con
spread conditioning, is finding it increas
cepts that do not correspond to any objec
wisdom as the inequalities within the fami
ingly difficult to distinguish between
tive truth simply because objective truth
ly. Hence, they are destined to bring men
good and evil." The moral relativism reigning today
does not exist. Everything is subjective. Therefore, being and person are relative notions that may be defined arbitrarily, quite like the rules of a game. And those notions undergo the same process of evo-
more closely together on their present life's
journey toward the Kingdom of Heaven,
has managed to muddle common sense as
with some helping others in a way a father
regards the value of human life; life and death have become trifling matters.
helps the mother and the children." 22
•
Being human and a human person, they
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Abortion
lution as do culture and peoples.
unopposed; the 'right' ceases to be such,
proclaimed by the Church."
"In this way," asserts John Paul II, "any
because it is no longer firmly founded on
This abominable crime shall always be
reference to common values and to a truth
the inviolable dignity of the person, but it is made subject to the will of the stronger part.
condemnable irrespective of appalling widespread practice. Even approval of abor
In this way, democracy, contradicting its own principles, effectively moves towards a
tive, primary, and inalienable right to life.
tion by a majority of the population could not make it justifiable. Pope John Paul II has stated that truth cannot be measured by the opinion of the majority.^ To be sure, a change of mind in the people concerning unborn human nature cannot in any way make abortion justifi able. Rather, it would only show the degree
Inalienable Right to Life
and profundity of a tragic phenomenon: a general dulling of the moral sense. Again in
absolutely binding on everyone is lost, and social life ventures on to the shifting sands
of complete relativism. At that point, every thing is negotiable, everything is open to bargaining: even the first of the fundamen tal rights, the right to life." Cultural Totalitarianism
form of totalitarianism."
Now,the life of every human being ought
to be respected because of what it is, not by virtue of a mere social concession, for every human individual is the holder of an objec
This relativistic conception of man and the universe is the doctrinal mainstay of abortion, which con-
"Democracy cannot be idolized to the point of Behind this reasonmaking it a substitute ing lurks the modem â&#x20AC;&#x17E; Leviathan of cultural for morality or a totalitarianism, of
panacea for immorality."â&#x20AC;&#x201D;John Paul II, in cians replace natural EvangeliumVitae reality with their
This is what the Magisterium of the Church affirms when teaching that:
Evangelium Vitae, the Pope ponders: "Everyone's conscience rightly rejects
those crimes against humanity of which our
"There are precisely a certain number of rights which society is not in a position to
century has had such sad experience. But
grant since these rights precede society; but
instead of being committed by unscrupu
would these crimes cease to be crimes if,
society has the function to preserve and to
lous tyrants, they were legitimated by popu
enforce thein. These are the greater part of those which are today called "human
lar consensus?
rights," and which our age boasts of having
point of making it a substitute for morality
formulated.
or a panacea for immorality." But relativistic as they are, abortionists
"The first right of the human person is his
"Democracy cannot be idolized to the
own ideas. Ceasing
life. He has other goods, and some are more precious, but this one is fundamentalâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the
to be the instrument
condition of all the others. Hence it must be
incongruencies
that allows us to know what man is, reason
protected above all others. It does not
observable, one of them
presumes to take upon itself the task of cre ating or inventing man. He who invents the
abortion would ever agree
idea man invents man; and he who invents
belong to society, nor does it belong to pub lic authority, in any form to recognize this right for some and not for others: all dis
man has dominion over him and disposes of
crimination is evil, whether it be founded on
him as he wishes, since he invents man to
race, sex, color or religion. It is not recogni
the "image and likeness" of his arbitrary thoughts and will.
tion by another that constitutes this right. This right is antecedent to its recognition; it
Still in accordance with moral relativism,
demands recognition, and it is strictly
the right to life of the conceived child in the womb stems from a mere constitutive con
unjust to refuse it,"
The respect for innocent human life is a
cession from the parents and society, which
moral constraint from which no one may be
will be granted in the measure required by personal demands and those of professional
released. So we are dealing here with a prin ciple that admits no exceptions or legitimiz
scientific research. So-called Inalienable
ing presuppositions. In other words, no pre
rights do not exist, because every right is a
text, whether personal advantage, genetic flaws, another's right, health, a mother's life
social fabrication, the artificial fruit of mere juridical conventions. As a consequence of such flawed con
ceptions, the life of the weakest and most innocent of human beings, the conceptus, is left to the mercy of the stronger, the parents and the State.
could not fail to be contradic
tory. The most strident are
%
being that no advocate of
to suffer what they are will ing and ready to have the unborn suffer. They are right with respect to themselves. They are dead wwrong with respect to the unborn.
IS
or blemished honor, or so-called overpopu
lation, can morally justify procured abor
WOMAN,
tion.
Writes the Pope in Evangelium Vitae: "No circumstance, no purpose, no law
RIGHT
whatsoever can ever make licit an act which
This is what John Paul II says in
is intrinsically illicit, since it is contrary to
Evangelium Vitae when he refers to the
the law of God which is written in every
But
"sinister result of a relativism which reigns
human heart, knowable by reason itself, and
I (6n)iS6 2SH
NOTES:
1. See Exodus 20:13; Deut 5:17; Matt 19:18; Mark 10:19.
2. The Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, instruction "On Procured Abortion," November 18, 1974, nn. 10-13, in Social Justice Review, November 1974, p. 207.
3. John Paul n, "Allocution on the Twentieth Anniversary of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae, in L'Ossen'atore Romano [Italian Ed.], March 17, 1988, p. 11.
MARCH-APRIL, 1995
Abortionists would never allow someone to
do to them what they are ready to do to the unborn.
OwTffR
Photo Essay
Text: Excerptsfrom Genesis, chapters 1 and 2 Photos: The American TFP Archive
IN THE BEGINNING,GOD CREATED HEAVEN AND EARTH.
And the earth was void and empty. And darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.
And God said; Let there be light. And there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and He divided the light from the darkness.
And God said: Let there be afirmament made amidst the waters: and let it divide the watersfrom the waters. God also said: Let the waters that are under the heaven be
gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear And it was so done.
And God called the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters. He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
Thf Grand Teton Range at dusk
"Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park
9
^ Photo Essay
JH
And He said: Let the earth
bringforth the green herb, and such as may seed, and thefruit tree yieldingfruit after its kind, which may have seed in itself upon the earth. And it was so done.
And God said: Let there be
lights made in thefirmament of heaven, to divide the day and the night, and let them befor signs, andfor seasons, andfor days and years to shine in the firmament of heaven and to give light upon the earth. And it was so done.
t"
Upper Falls, Yellowstone River, Yellowstone National Park
4
^V -f"
God also said: Let the waters bring forth the creeping creature having life, and thefowl that mayfly over the earth under thefirmament of heaven.
And God created the great whales, and every living and moving crea ture, which the waters brought forth, according to their kinds, and every
winged fowl according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth, according to their kinds. And it was so done. And God made the beasts of the
earth according to their kinds, and
cattle, and every thing that creepth on the earth after its kind. And God
saw that it was good. And He said: Let us make man to
our image and likeness: and let him have dominion over thefishes of the sea, and thefowls ofthe air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth. And God created man to His o\
The Badlands, North Dakota
image: to the image of God He creat ed him: male and female He created them.
,
..JP
And God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, andfill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over
thefishes of the sea, and thefowls ofthe air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth.
it^l 'â&#x2013; â&#x2013; Mi
And God saw all the things that He had made, and they were very good.
^
Our Readers Write S
s"ALWAYS OLD,ALWAYS NEW,
Respected Sir,
ALWAYS INEXHAUSTIBLE
Received your maga
Dear Prof. Correa de Oliveira:
zine and reply letter. Thanking you several
Permit me to congratulate you on your
times for sending me
first-cIass analysis on the nature of "equali ty" in your last issue of "Tradition, Family
your magazine. I requested a free publica
and Property"(November-December 1994). As you state, the otherwise "amorphous triology of liberty, equality, fraternity" needs elucidating. Equality is "marked by two symmetrical boundaries:(1) there must be limits to inequality: and (2)there must be
tion because I thought
that your magazine was a
free
publication.
I
learned from your letter that you have replaced "The Bulletin of 15 TFP'.s" and started the
the very worthy Ven. Maria Clotilde. By the way, Ven. Marie Clotilde's martyred sister.
limits to equality." Your analysis is right on the mark and
"TFP Magazine."
I can gladly pay for your magazine in
Princess Elizabeth's (1760-1794) cause for
unique. Once again, my congratulations. Now, I have a question: Do you have
Indian rupees. I can't pay in U.S. dollars
possible beatification was introduced before Pope Pius XI on September 25, 1929, by
reprints of this article? I should like to use it
because I have to pay a large fee to get 12 U.S. dollars. Your magazine also attracted
far and wide.
many of my friends. One of my friends is
affiliated tertiary of the Pius IX Carmel at
interested in your magazine. He can also
Meaux, France....
pay the subscription in Indian rupees. Some of my friends asked more details about your magazine. I am very very thankful to you
As always, the articles on other subjects were excellently written and did much to
1 look forward to your early reply, H. Jan RUscher
Chestnut Ridge, New York H
Sister Marie Aimee of the Sacred Heart,
expose the hidden corruptions and false
for sending me a sample copy of your mag
propaganda concerned with such momen
azine.
tous topics as modem U.S. education (or is
Wishing you good future work,
To the editors
Just dropping a note to let you know
Rajeesh TR.
how much your magazine means to my hu.sband and me. We look forward to receiving
Kerala, India
it mis-education?!) and the continuing abomination of abortion and all its ensuing evils.
Thank God for the TFP and its wonder
ful magazine. That your prospects grow is
it every other month. There is not another
my very devout hope for you. Through the
Catholic Magazine publi.shcd that "tells it
Immaculate Heart of Mary.
like it is." We know when we read articles in
a
it, that article has been researched thor
To: American TFP,
James Madden
oughly and will only be printed after it pass es the litmus test for truth and accuracy. Nowhere will you find articles that show the contrast between the actions of the
"youth of days gone by" and the notions of "youth of today." The TFP has a .set of stan dards that the young men can relate to and
I'm glad I subscribed to TFP! It's a col lege course in the development of the idea of progress. Plea.se bill me if there is a Walt Adams
Dear Mr. Noell, Thank you for the magazine. Again, let
me appreciate the fine editing job of you Jacksonville, Florida
unsupervised any hour of the day or night. I especially enjoy the beautiful pictures
and your staff, It's not easy to transit'
It's such an honor to be included in such a
truly remarkable magazine. The education
Dear Sir,
articles preceding mine are some of the best coverage of the education crisis I have read
I just had to get this brief letter to you to
Plinio Correa de Oliveira. Having met him when we were in Brazil, it's like receiving a
let you know how pleasantly surprised I
personal letter from a friend.
was, by the fine article on Venerable Marie Clotilde (born a Princess of France and sis
to date. Gen Yvetie Siitton
Redding, Pennsylvania
Property—is a work of art and we enjoy it very much. To you the editors and all your associates we say "thank you" for a job well
ter to the future royal martyr of blessed
done.
XVIll, and Charles, Comte d' Artois, the
Tradition, Family and
last anointed Catholic King of France as his most Christian majesty. King Charles X). I hope you will keep us informed about any progress in the canonization process for
Property Magazine'l
Mrs. Thomas F. Kamuf Owensboro, Kentucky
28
"iv
meandering trains of thought into an a
on the cover, which I find suitable for fram
The magazine—Tradition, Family and
s
charge for these extra copies.
they know what is expected of them in con tradiction to the young men who roam
ing and hanging on a wall. You cannot pur chase this type of picture today. There is always an article by Professor
Howell, New Jersey
I need 3 more copies of Nov.-Dec. '94 issue.
memory. King Louis XVI and his younger
Send us your comments!
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What do you think about
Letters to the Editor
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TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
A
I American IBElE
I Coniervalhte Union
The 22nd annual Conser vative
Political
eoneervetive
political confB
Action
Conference (CPAC), held
February 9-11, gathered over 1,600 conservative activists at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in
Washington, D.C. Organized by the
American
Conservative
Union (ACU) and co-sponsored by
numerous
'7 ■* V
conservative
groups, CPAC'95 is the continu ation of a long tradition. This
year's event was upbeat and hopeful compared to those of the last few years, which have been overshadowed by a Democratic Presidency and a Congress still in the hands of the left.
The 22nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference
Conservative Conference Gathers
CPAC'95 brought together
the nation's biggest names in the conservative
movement.
IVfassive Support
Presidential-hopefuls for 1996 Patrick Buchanan, Bob Dole, Robert
Dornan, and Phil Gramm made appear ances. Speaker Newt Gingrich received standing ovations. Recently converted Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama was
warmly received when he spoke of his "Private Property Owners' Bill of Rights." The general tone of the talks reflected
The question, however, did not turn out to be a major bone of contention at CPAC. For the most part, all the key presidential hopefuls have assumed clearly pro-life positions. The point was nonetheless well made. No one can forget the bitter past experience of pro-lifers who, for political
lobbyists, political consultants, and reli gious groups. Drawn together by a common
enemy, the liberal-left that is destroying America, they have a common agenda. The CPAC resource guide asserts: "It is extremely rare for a Republican candidate to lose an election if the campaign becomes
purposes, had taken a backseat and not
an ideological conte.st." This is one of the
the change in the political panorama. It is
insisted on giving the issue a prominent
no longer a question of what we would do if we were in office, but of what we are
place at election lime, only to find them
great conclusions drawn from the last elec tion. "The standard politically correct
selves all but abandoned later on.
dogma appears to be for candidates to move
At the Heart of the Conservative Movement
The truth is, conservative issue positions in
going to do now that we are here. "By no means has the war been won. We've got a long war ahead of us and now is not the time to rest on any laurels," said radio host
toward the 'main.stream' and the 'center.'
stream." The multitude of sound conserva
0. Gordon Liddy. Presidential-hopeful Gramm indicated his commitment to con
tent as opposed to rhetoric by paraphrasing former President Bush, "read my record." He derided federal policies, asking,"Do we
the last few decades have become the main
|he experience of the last few years has shown that the grass-roots
tives who do the groundwork, write books and publish articles, keep the movement
activism of the conservative move
headed in the right direction and are the key
T:
ment is fundamental to its success. CPAC's
to success. CPAC is a well-established
forum for such people.
need for Congress to write another 1,000page education bill?" He criticized federal
wide variety of co-sponsoring organizations typifies this. They are not necessarily in the headlines or visible in electoral campaigns,
crime bills and racially-based scholarship
are often educational in nature, and work
co-sponsors CPAC'95
rules and spoke against abortion.
largely behind the scenes. They are individuals who have been "mugged by reality," like Mrs. Calhleen
^
The Pro-Life Plank
The notable omission of the pro-life
Marquardt, chairman of Putting People First, a mother who began her crusade
'States" was the Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. (TFP) theme for its
against the radical environmentalists after
participation as a co-sponsor at the 22nd
her young daughter returned home from school one day to accuse her of murder
Conservative Political Action Conference. TFP volunteers manned a booth where
because she hunts. They are foundations
Weyrich, who has broken the Liberal black
they spoke to many conference participants about the TFP's methods and goals. The booth featured Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius
out of conservative issues in the media by
XII by Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira.
starting
Based on Papal teachings and Catholic phi
issue
from
the
"Contract
with
America" and the possibility of hav
ing a presidential candidate with a running mate favorable to abortion was taken up by Ralph Reed, executive director of the
Christian Coalition. He noted that the keys to the Republican landslide were evangeli cal Protestants and pro-life Catholics, who voted 69-percent Republican. "One third of the electorate will not support a party that
like the Free Congress Foundation/NET under the able directorship of Mr, Paul
his
own
network.
National
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.,
ighting the way to a Christian
l:
and Happy Future in the United
Empowerment Television. They are educa
losophy, the work has stirred interest in
retreats from its noble and historic defense
tional
Morton
diverse quarters and is the TFP's answer to
of traditional values," he said.
Blackwell's Leadership Institute. They are
the current leadership crisis in our society. ■
MARCH-APRIL, 1995
organizations
like
■29
The Four Last Things
The present article is the second
Judgment
of a series of four meditations on the last ends of man. The first
was published in our July-August, 1994 issue.
The importance of meditation on
death, judgment, heaven, and hell is clearly demonstrated by the words of the Holy Ghost, "In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt
^
never sin"(Ecclus. 7:40).
These words of Sacred Scripture constitute a promise that all those who meditate on the last things will not sin and will thereby attain eternal salvation.
These topics may seem foreign to our greedy, sensual, secularist, and pragmatic society, yet if there ever was a time when these truths needed to be
remembered, it is indeed now.
Ulti,
J
works remember thy I last end, and thou shall never
J-sin" (Ecclus, 7:40). With these
And after that, with the last ringing of the cemetery bells, his memory also fades, in
words the Holy Ghost urges us to have constantly before our eyes the reality
accordance with David, the Royal Prophet: "Their memory hath perished with a
that each one of us will die some day and
noise" (Ps. 9:7).
will be immediately judged. Each will then go to Heaven—directly or, more commonly, passing first through Purgatory—or to hell, with no possibili ty of appeal. On this account, whoever wishes to avoid being condemned should think about the last things: death, judgment, Heaven, and hell. If he re
Finally, he is buried. His remains will lie in a dark and horrible sepulcher. And he who was so haughty, swollen with vanity and malice, now transformed into a corpse,
flects on them, he will be saved. It is the
infallible
promise
of the
Sacred
Scriptures.
"IT IS
We continue, then, the important sub
ject we began in our July-August 1994 issue. Having presented the article on death, the first of the four last things, we
APPOINTED
was a great man, and he left many riches.
now present the subject of the judgment. In subsequent issues we will consider the remaining last things. Heaven and hell.
will lie six feet underground; his mattress will consist of mold and rottenness, and
the worms will be his covering, as the
prophet Isaias says. The priest will pronounce the final
prayers—when the family has faith—con cluding with "may his soul rest in peace." Yes, his place will be in peace if he died
in peace with God, having obtained, by a sincere repentance and confession, the par don of his sins and divine grace, or if— ever more rare in our days—he habitually
remained in the state of grace, which means he may truly be considered a son of God.
UNTO MAN
The Condition of the Body is
"there shall be no rest among them" (Ezech. 7:II; cf. Isa. 48:22), and he will be
^ ^Tt is appointed unto men once to
cast into a place of "misery and dark ness,...and no order, but everlasting hor
i;
die," says St, Paul (Heb. 9:27).
.Death is terrible, but even more so
is what the Apostle adds: "and after this, the judgment." We know well what will happen with the body after death. It will become so dis
THIS,THE JUDGMENT." (HEBREWS 9:27)
30
On the contrary, for the iniquitous
Miserable
figured and so horrible, and it will emit such a foul smell until it completely decomposes that everyone will flee from it. The best friends are frequently the first
ror"(Job 10:22).
Alone, racing Christ the Judge
T1he condition of the body is miser able, no doubt! But could not the
destiny of the soul be incomparably more miserable? At that same moment in
which the soul will be separated from the
to turn their backs on it, not even daring to remain close to the dead person for one
body, at that same place, in that same
night. The relatives, even the closest of them, will try to cast it from the house so
room, on that same bed on which he might have many times offended God, the soul
as to be delivered from the horror that the
will see the tribunal of Divine Justice
presence of the deceased causes them.
erected. There, with no attorney to plead in
And this departed soul will take with
his favor, having his guardian angel at one
him to the next life nothing of the riches he
side as a witness and the devil at the other
had collected with so much care and work.
Telephones ring, mourning is announced,
as an accuser, the soul, trembling and full of anguish, will be presented before the
the news is spread: So-and-so has died. He
supreme, impartial, and imposing Judge, TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Religion
Himself, Who sees, knows, and judges
Whence we can deduce the great
everything truthfully and justly. The
rashness on our part when we,
much more terrible it will be when He
famous sequence of the Requiem Mass expresses this situation very appropriate ly: "Dies irae, dies ilia, solvet saechim in
knowing by infallible faith that
confronts us with the abuse we made of
at life's end we will have to appear before such a formidable judge, dare revile Him
the divine graces! Then we will clearly
and provoke His anger with so many
been bom within the Catholic Church or
that is, in front of Our Lord Jesus Christ
favilla: teste David cum Sibylla. Quantus tremor est futurus, quando judex est ven-
Rashness in our lives
offenses!
Moreover, if merely looking at the sovereign Judge will be terrible, how
know the great gift of Faith, of having having converted to It, of having been
discussurus!
What man, petitioning the civil court
instructed in the evangelical truths and
(Dreaded day, that day of ire, when the
about goods that belong to him or plead ing for his own life in a criminal court, would dare revile and irritate the judge? Is
nourished with the holy Sacraments. We will then more clearly see our
turus,
cimcta
stricte
world shall melt in fire, told by Sibyl and David's lyre. Fright men's hearts shall
rudely shift, as the Judge through gleaming rift, comes
enormous ingratitude and perfidy, and that, being Christians, we are worse than many gentiles, and more dissolute than many barbar
each soul to closely sift.)
ians. Truly, there is so much indif
Where will be those rela tives for whom so much work
ference in the practice of the Ten
was endured and so much per spiration shed that they might
Commandments of the Law of
be left an inheritance—even
attention to those who try to fight
when they were transgressing God's law? Where will be
for the good and who should be supported by us, so much laziness
those friends who led the
in fulfilling daily duty, so much
deceased to offend God in
human respect when it is neces sary to break away from persons,
God, so much impurity, so little
order to gain their friendship, causing him the loss of grace
environments, or occasions that
and divine friendship?
lead us to sin, so much fear of say ing "no."
Let them now come forth
to help you, to defend and pro
Above all, above all, how
tect you. But not one of them appears to say a word in your
much lukewarmness in beseeching Our Lady, who was given to us as the Mother of Mercy, who can
defense; you are left standing
alone in this moment of great est necessity. Your guardian angel, who was your helper
obtain everything in Her incom mensurable motherly kindness, who can separate us from our
^
for good works, will become a prosecutor of both your good and bad actions, relating
children and protect us from the
everything with precise impar tiality. Your patron saints, your
obtaining for us the practice of Christian virtues, a good death,
guardian
and eternal salvation.
angel,
and
vices, take us as Her well-beloved action of the infernal demons,
the
Mother of God will not succor
How embarrassed we will be
you then either, because it is
for having been unfaithful to so many special graces which God
no longer the time for interces
granted us, without our i them, in trying to lead u
sion. The Mother of God—the
very Mother of Mercy— who tried to help you with graces and favors during your whole life until your last breath so you would repent, so you would convert, so you would do penance, She, Herself, will not be the sweet Mother of Clemency at that hour. This beneficial
Alone, facing Christ the Judge
So many illustrations with which
it that the petition for heavenly goods and
books that showed us the evils of the mod
em world, and attracted us to virtue. So
Moon, from whom so much grace
be our judge and yet to despise Him and
influx at that time.
offend Him, breaking His Divine Law before His very eyes!
irritated! He would rather throw himself
in hell than look at the angry face of Christ, stern Judge. M ARCH-APRIL. 1995
thoughts given by the reading of spiritual
the case of our eternal life are less impor
emanated, will not communicate the least
trembling will the hardened sinner appear in the presence of Jesus Christ, so justly
from tepidity and from bad ways! God enlightened our understanding and excited our wills. So many good
tant? Oh, what a contradiction! Oh, what audacity to believe firmly that Christ will
Consequently, with what fear and
''ug ty
Thus, Bishop Salvian, in astonish ment, very rightly used to pose this ques tion: "How do you say that you believe in the future Judge when you more than any body else despise that same Judge?"
many good wishes stirred up by words or writings of courageous Catholics to
amend our lives. So many good examples to move us to imitation. In a word, from
the beginning of life until its end, a con
stant series of numberless supernatural gifts, all negated, all rejected, all despised with an enormous ingratitude! The pre sent situation of the Church itself, the suf31
Religion and to give you a currency for purchasing eternal glory. How much they show
the
immense
benevolence
with
which I loved you! Tell Me, could you
you and throw you into the abyss of hell." Begone from Me, ye accursed, into the everlasting fire
To this you were cer tainly obliged to correspond
At the end of the examination, all
with all of your love. Yet, how much attention did you give Me? How did you show your gratitude for such immense love and such prodigious graces? What does such an enormous
the sins having been declared and the accused one being convinced
deserve?"
After confronting the soul with the
graces and ingratitude, the examina tion of the sins will proceed and each one
of our actions, words, and
thoughts, will be examined distinctly.
of his guilt, Our Lord will pronounce the sentence, terrible for the sinner, because it will be of eternal death!
History relates that some criminals at the moment of hearing their death sen tences fell to the ground; others, being
young, suddenly became old, their hair turning white; yet others have sweat bloodâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and this from fear of mere tempo ral death. What will happen when it is for
Since our childhood
eternal death?
we knew sin before
The words God will pronounce in exercising justiceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;"Depart from Me, you
virtue,
throwing
through the window the invaluable gift of innocence of soul. Lies,
disobediences,
envies,
thefts followed. We pervert ed our friends with so much malice. We were dissolute at
school, disrespectful in church, scandalous in conversation. Our
youth was spent in licentious games and recreation, reading immoral
books, practicing impure actions, perhaps even taking drugs, committing sins against nature and other grave crimes. And, as we ridiculed religious practices
accursed, you who do not deserve to be
with me nor to enjoy My glory: cursed by My justice, because you did not fulfill My laws, and by My mercy because you abused My graces. You wanted the curses; they will be your eternal companions. Depart from Me, then, your Creator, your Redeemer, and your God. Depart from Me and remain separated from your heav
enly country forever,from the company of the blessed, and from all kinds of good. Go away, go to etemal fire, as your sins deserve. Go to the company of the demons whom you served so well. Go and bury yourself in hell, where you will be
and those who were fighting for the Church, we separated one from frequent
burning in that terrible fire forever.
reception of the Sacraments, another from reading good spiritual books, yet another from staying in ambiences that do not agree with the bad spirit of today's world.
will be completely in the hands of the
Then, the sovereign Judge will say to Adamant interrogation by the
my indignation, repressed until now, will
crucified for your love?
ingratitude and barbarous impiety
of Christ, leave us indifferent. We see It
else? The stem Judge will say again: "I always kept silent and had patience. Now come out with more force. I will banish
more?"
today disfigured, demolished within, almost unrecognizable, yet we do not care. As long as our own lives are not disturbed, our small pleasures not ended, our mediocrity not bothered, the Church should not trouble us with Its sufferings and Its pains.
your confessions, but without repentance
of sins and purpose of amendment." What
ask for more than a God
Say, if it were possible, how I could love you
ferings It is undergoing, similar to those
envious of your superiors; impolite in words, dissolute in actions. You made
With that awful thunder, the s.
i
devil, who will call all of the other infer
nal furies, saying, "God abandoned him, chase him and grab him, because no one will free him,"
Judge
us: "You committed such and such sins, and I always remained silent and excused
What will we be able to answer
them; however, now is the moment to pre sent them to you, to show you that you
rounded with demons. What will his fright
when the Redeemer shows us
had eyes to see them and hands to punish
His Most Sacred Wounds, say
them. But, let us continue the process. As
ble place of torments and feeling himself burning in that devouring fire, with the
ing,"Look to what lengths My love went
an adult you engaged in friendships for
to save you! These wounds were opened
personal reasons and not for the cause of
not so much by the hatred of the Jews as
by my love for you. My wounds and My
the Church, you searched for illicit prof its; you insulted your equals without rea
blood were given to wash you of your sins
son, were unbearable to your inferiors and
32
Suddenly hell will open its mouth and will swallow that unfortunate soul, sur
and pain be, seeing himself in that horri
certainty of the eternity of his torments, torments without end, without respite, without any alleviation whatsoever!
TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Religion this: "What can be worse than that
'begone'and what more pleasant than that 'come'? They are merely two words, but one is the most horrible and the other the most desirable." These two words that the
Supreme Judge will utter resounded in and impressed the heart of that Doctor of the Church. These same words were the
trumpet sound that always kept Saint Jerome vigilant in the spiritual combats, even when old in the desert, disfigured by penances and so meritorious in his defense of the Church.
Although the fateful trumpet will only resound in the general judgment,* this personal judgment will be, for each one, like the general. Thus, we must rernember both judgments in all our words, all our
recreations, in every place, as Thomas a Kempis says. So this meditation concludes with the
divine counsel with which it began: "Remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin eternally." And with this you
will infallibly conquer the heavenly Paradise.
â&#x2013;
*After death, each one will undergo a Come ye blessed ol" My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.
On the contrary, how joyful will
temptations he so bravely overcame; for
particular judgment, which is the subject
the insults he so firmly faced and so gen
of this meditation. But at the end of the
erously forgave; for the tribulations he so courageously suffered; for the inspirations he so faithfully followed; for the battles
ment, which will not alter the sentences of
world there will also be a general judg the particularjudgments but will judge the whole world and the history of men as a whole. Everything that was hidden will be
be the sentence for the just soul, whether "Come ye blessed of My
he waged for the sake of the Holy Church,
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34), or "Rejoice, good and
he, without human respect, knew how to
known for the glory of God, the happiness
say "no" to the attractions of this world;
of the just, and the confusion of the
for having supported everything that is
damned.
with neither laziness nor softness because
faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (cf. Matt. 25:21).
good.
And,thus the Angel, rejoicing with the
NOTE: This article is largely based on
If the seraphic Saint Francis, upon receiving the revelation from an angel that he was predestined, was transported with such great joy as to virtually burst with pleasure and almost die choking with the
soul itself, will accompany it to Heaven
the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius and
and introduce it to the Beatific Vision with
on a lecture given by Professor Plinio
excessive happiness he felt, how content will a just man be in perceiving that his God, with a friendly countenance, gazes
remain
the words of Isaias: "Contemplate Sion,
Correa de Oliveira for associates and collab
the city of our triumph" (cf. Isa. 33:20).
orators of the TFP on November 21. 1987.
With that first vision, the blessed soul will ineffable
engrossed and
in
eternal
Above left and below: Details of Fra Angelico's Last Judgment, depicting angeis rejoicing with the saved souls, and devils tormenting the damned in hell
bliss.
benignly on him and invites him with lov
ing words, saying, "Come, blessed one, from weariness to rest, from spiritual
"Remember your last things and
poverty to riches, from tears to pleasures,
you will never sin"
from suffering to enjoyment, from death to life, from contempt to glory, from bat
Compare now that
tles to the crown you deserve for victory!" Oh, what a joyful "Come"! Oh, what a fortunate blessing! Our Lady, whose
terrible "Begone from me, you accursed, into everlast
prayers and blessings secured the soul's salvation, will rejoice with him and receive him as a loving mother. Then the Guardian Angel, with festive
dom."
applause, will rejoice with the soul for the
Augustine writes about
MARCH-APRIL, 1995
ing fire" with "Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the king As
Saint
33
Basic History Course of
Western Civilization by Jeremias Wells
Abraham,Moses, and the Bronze-Age Empires — Part II —
Moses and Egypt
After the death of Joseph, the Israelites enjoyed a pleasant life for several
generations in the land of Gessen (Goshen). Located in the Delta region, their land produced abundant grass for grazing, and its isolation from the rest of Egypt allowed the Hebrew tradition to grow unhindered.
A schoolboy writing to his teacher during that time aptly described the joys of life in the Delta: "To live here is a glorious life. The countryside supplies a wealth of glorious things. Everyday they get fresh provisions and meat. Their pools are full of fish, their lagoons are thick with birds, their meadows are cov
ered with green grass, the fruit from their well-tilled fields has the taste of honey. Their storehouses are full of barley and corn and tower up to the sky. There are onions and
the increasing suspicion of the Egyptian authorities. The Sons of Israel originally set tled in Egypt during the Hyksos occupation. After the latter were expelled, the Egyptians began to persecute the friends of their hated enemy. The Semite herdsmen, under the
whip of overseers, were forced to make bricks during the burning heat of the day in order to supply new construction projects in
won out.
the Delta.
project, Moses witnessed an Egyptian
It is not easy for a people who are forced to undergo humiliation and wearisome toil to see how they benefit from such suffering. Nevertheless their common religion and trials drew the Chosen People together and pro duced in them a realization that they belonged
taskmaster beating an Israelite. Rising up in indignation, Moses killed him. When the news
to a special national and religious group. formed.
The Pharaoh of the persecution, most like
ly Ramses II, originally ordered the midwives
also pomegranates, apples, olives, and figs
who assisted at the Israelite births to kill all
the
Sweet
orchards.
wine
Kenkeme, tastes
from
which
nicer
than
honey."''
the male children. When this failed to have the desired effect because the midwives feared
God more than Pharaoh, the latter gave a more general order to all Egyptians to murder all the new-bom males.
While the Egyptians were inflicting this
All this came to
cruel persecution on God's people. He brought
an abrupt end.
their great liberator and prophet into the world. Moses survived the impending death sentence through the clever and well-known planning of his mother. As part of the plan,
For some time the
Israelites
were incurring
reached Pharaoh, he ordered that Moses
should be put to death, but the latter had already crossed the frontier into the land of Madian, where he spent the next forty years tending flocks. The Call of Moses
At this point, God began a ser' •■'f remarkable apparitions and ri tions to His Chosen People, perhaps unequaled in His direct dealings with mankind until the time of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and
Moses, after eighty years on earth, jumps into history as the champion of God's divine mis sion. The years that Moses spent leading the simple life of a shepherd in the desert afford ed him an opportunity to meditate on the sor rows of his people and the power of God, for
God loves to speak to the heart of man while he is in solitude and seclusion.
Moses was brought up at the royal court where
One day, while Moses was pasturing his
he received the best education the world could
sheep on the slopes of Mt. Horeb, he was attracted by a burning bush, the flames burn
offer. At this point in his career, he was torn Ramses II
One day while inspecting a construction
God's kingdom on earth was slowly being
chives to season the food,
from
Moses breaking the tablets of the Law
between the suffering of his people and a life
ing yet not consuming the bush. As he drew
of ease and pleasure. The devotion to principle
nearer, a voice came from the flames: "Moses, TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
History sion, put together an army of fast-moving chariots, and pursued the children of Israel. The Egyptians caught up with them as they
Moses....! am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob...." Immediately, Moses hid his face for he did not dare to look at God. And for good
were camped for the night against the Red Sea. The protective column then took up a position separating the two to prevent an Egyptian attack. Trapped between a vengeful enemy and an impassable body of water, the children of God approached Moses with a wail of despair: "Hast thou brought us to die in the wilderness." And Moses said to the people: "Fear not; stand and see the great wonders of the Lord, which He will do this day; for the Egyptians, whom you see now, you shall see
reason, because it had been revealed to
Abraham that He was "the most high God" and "possessor of heaven and earth." In other words, He declared that His dominion was universal and absolute. The Lord continued: "I
have seen the affliction of My people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry. And know ing their sorrow, I have come down to deliver
them out of the hands of the Egyptians"
Moses speaking to God In the
(Exod. 3:7-8).
Burning Bush
Not only had God showed His goodness by promising to release the Israelites from bondage, but He intended to show His power by intervening directly in temporal affairs by miraculously assisting them whenever neces
sary. The Hebrew nation was His special instrument in the execution of His plan for the redemption of mankind, and Moses was given
no more forever."
intended to illustrate His power on behalf of the Israelites and His divine judgment on Pharaoh and his subjects; so He struck dead the first-bom of all the Egyptians, both human and animal. The next morning the Israelites were on their way.ÂŽ
the prophetic mission to be the savior and
The Passage of the Red Sea
leader of that nation.
Leaving the city of Ramses, the
Moses, who, like the prophets and evange lists after him, has recorded these marvelous
Israelites
events for us, asked God how He was to be
instruction. The more direct route
known. God replied, "I AM WHO AM." What a magnificent moment in the life of mankind. God declared that it was in His very nature to always exist. He was the self-existent Being, or more accurately, the self-subsistent Being. Only He had the nature of timeless existence and complete self-sufficiency for action. Moses was quite reluctant to accept such responsibility. In order to overcome his timid ity, God gave him miraculous powers to change his shepherd's staff into a snake and back again; to make his hand leprous, then clean; and to change river water into blood.
headed
south
culty in their attempt to persuade the Pharaoh to cooperate. Then they employed God's power to persuade him. In the first of ten plagues, Aaron struck the waters of the Nile, and at once the river turned into blood, killing all the fish. After that, frogs infested the whole
God's
with walls of water on both sides. The
Egyptians in fast pursuit went in after them. Moses, again at God's command, stretched forth his hand and the waves came smashing down on the trapped Egyptians, drowning the entire army to the man.
would have carried them to the northeast, but
Authenticity of Miracles
that would have provoked a conflict with the Philistines. After a century or more of being subjected to slave labor, the demoralized emi grants were in no condition for battle. "And the Lord went before them to show the way,
Thisis as good a time as any to enter into
by day in a pillar of cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire, that He might be the guide of their joumey"(Exod. 13:21). A few days later, they came to the Red Sea, probably at the head of the Gulf of Suez near the city of the same name.
Meanwhile, Pharaoh regretted his deci-
God then chose Moses' brother, Aaron, to act
as his spokesman and sent the two of them off into history to liberate His suffering people. The two brothers encountered great diffi
at
Moses, at God's command, stretched forth
his hand over the sea. Throughout the night a strong and burning wind divided the waters and made a passageway of dry ground. In the morning the Israelites passed through the sea
a brief discussion of the miraculous in
the Old Testament. No competent writer of history today denies that Moses existed and fled from Egypt through the Red Sea. But like the Pharisees of the New
Testament, who kept the idea of the spiritual character of Our Lord from the people, the rationalists and liberals, who are the Pharisees
of our day, try to keep from us the spiritual character of the Red Sea passage, and all miraculous events in the Bible for that matter.
Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh
IMI
In the crossing of the Red Sea, many mir acles have been mentioned and many more will be described in the next few paragraphs. These are real historical events and God's intervention in the world. Mo-
'"ns of .>r-
tantly, these undoubted facts show that God is constantly present and speaking to us. The miracles narrated here were public events that were so intimately bound up with
country, even jumping into the Egyptians'
the course of history that they actually influ
beds while they were sleeping, and then mos quitoes made life unbearable. God allowed intervals between these plagues to allow the proud and obstinate Pharaoh time to repent,
enced it. Each of these events, the Exodus
from Egypt, the revelation on Mount Sinai, and the settlement in Canaan, lead from one to
crop-destroying hail, locusts, and a darkness
the next. "To deny the historical reality of the miracles is to destroy the foundation of histo ry itself."ÂŽ Moreover, we have the testimony of Moses
so terrible that nobody could move for three days. In each case Pharaoh relented briefly
that Moses wrote the first five books of the
but to no avail. In succession came more
insects, a cattle disease, disgusting skin sores,
himself, for the Catholic Church has declared
and then hardened his heart again. One plague
Old Testament (the Pentateuch). Numerous
more terrible than all the rest remained. God
times, Moses has recorded that God had
CH-APRIL, 1995
35
History instructed him to write down various
world
accounts. The great biblical analyst Cornelius h Lapide states; "Moses wrote the Pentateuch simply by the way of a diary or annals, but Josue or some one similar put the annals of Moses into order, divided them up, and added and
Moments later God personally gave
the
Ten
Commandments.
Moses a longer explanation of the Law. When the children of God had pro claimed, "All that the Lord hath spo ken, we will do; we will be obedient,"
inserted some sentences."'" However,
they, on their part, agreed to the Covenant with God in the most impor
the greatest confirmation comes from
tant use of their free will until 1200
Jesus Christ Himself, Who said of
years later when they were given a
Moses:"He wrote of Me. But if you do
choice
not believe his writings, how will you
Barabbas. The Covenant was estab
believe My words?""
lished by a solemn sacrifice, during which Moses, while sprinkling blood
On the Road to Sinai
on the altar, declared: "This is the
Once the sea had been crossed,
blood of the Covenant which the Lord
between
Jesus
Christ and
hath made with you...." Moses then
the Israelites pushed on in the
went up to the mountain for forty days
direction of Mount Sinai. The
for a further clarification of the Mosaic
country through which the fugitives now travelled and lived for a generation
of Sinai is truly symbolic of his historic
Law. His climbing to the lofty heights
magnitude. The great prophet who had
has often been called a desert, but in
Above: The Egyptians being drowned in the Red Sea reality it more closely resembled a dry Below: Wanderings of the Israelites steppe, with what we would call scrub The Ten Commandments vegetation. From the outset, God's children, ever forgetful of His Providence, complained hree months after their departure, the bitterly to Moses for their lack of food and Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai and water. Meekly, Moses accepted their grum camped in front of it. Moses immedi bling and asked God to supply their needs. ately climbed the 7,000-foot mountain to hear Miracle followed upon miracle. At night God provided them with quails and in the God's instructions: "Tell the children of Israel,
Ti
morning manna, something like crystallized honey. To answer their exaggerated murmur-
you have seen what 1 have done to the Egyptians, how I have carried you upon the
wings of eagles, and have taken you to Myself. If therefore you will ^^jpicho " hear My voice and keep My Ncbo " ■ covenant, you shall be My peculiar possession above all people, for all the earth is
ings about dying in the desert of thirst, God ansjir ssjt
Mine"(Exod. 19:4-5).
After Moses rejoined the peo ple, he related the Lord's mes sage. They all agreed. "All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do." Again Moses went up to
Tht Croning oflhtfifdS»a
MountSidi
God, and the Lord declared to
t ijnt!di His Pfoptf
saved his people from bondage and made them into a nation now became a channel of divine revelation and divine law.
The history of Israel, like that of
mankind in general, from that time forward will be a record of its faithfulness or failure in fulfillment
of
its
divine
mission.
Unfortunately, a serious violation of the Commandments—and that against the most important, the first—occurred almost before the blood of the Covenant was dry. While Moses was on Sinai with God, the Israelites convinced a weak Aaron, more
concerned with human respect than God's love, to make a golden calf. Many gathered together, bowed down and adored the disgust ing image. They began to eat and drink and
fall deeper into the rottenness of pagan idola try. God warned Moses, "Get thee down; thy people hath sinned." Moses stormed off the mountain full of righteous anger. When he reached the bottom, he smashed the
' 's
containing the Commandments, be,. e offending idol into powder, added water, and
commanded Moses to strike a rock with his
him that the people must purify themselves for three days inwardly and out
staff. Water flowed out in abundance. This
wardly and to assemble at the foot of the
often has been associated with the Sacraments
of the Church through which God's graces
mountain within certain boundaries, beyond which none might pass under the pain of
flow into our souls. In addition to the natural
death.
putting the guilty idolaters to death by the
difficulties, military problems arose. A
That morning God provided an awesome display of His power and presence. Lightning and thunder crashed all over the blue-green granite mountain. The top was shrouded in a
thousands.
thick cloud from which fire and smoke crack
considered the toleration of False ideas suici
Bedouin tribe known as the Amalecites
attacked them. With Josue commanding the fighting men in the field and Moses praying to
God on the height of a hill with his staff raised, the Israelites prevailed. The latter cer tainly would not have succeeded in overcom ing all these difficulties had not God repeated ly intervened. 36
forced the children of Israel to drink it. Then
standing at the gate to the camp, he said to the sons of Levi, "If any man be on the Lord's side, let him join with me." The Levites raised
their swords and moved through the camp,
This may seem to be overly stern justice to one with twentieth-century sensibilities. But
Moses, who acted under divine inspiration,
led outward. The mountain shook and a trum
dal, especially to a young nation just formed.
pet blast grew louder by degrees, and a pow
Only the holy truth could bring mankind back
erful, penetrating voice declared, "1 am the
to communion with God, which was lost
Lord, thy God," and He proceeded to give the
through disobedience. Moses valued this highTRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
History er than life itself. He returned to the mountain
where, after pleading for his people, he
deceivers and fell into an excited state of anx
Two hundred and fifty malcontents led by Core, Dathan, and Abiron revolted against Moses. The following day at God's command, Moses ordered the peo ple to separate them
iety. They tried to stone Moses and shouted at
selves from the malcon
When they returned forty days later, most of the scouts grossly exaggerated the defen
received new instructions and two more
sive strength of the native tribes. Josue and
tablets containing the Law.
Caleb, then two faithful scouts, vigorously protested. The people chose to believe the
him to find a new leader to take them back to
tents.
Egypt. Finally God, obviously disgusted with their continual moral relapses, decided to intervene and destroy the entire rebellious
earth
Punishment in the Wilderness
The Israelites remained at the foot of Sinai for almost a year where they built a tabernacle, a large tent which served as a portable temple, and the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the two stone tablets
inscribed
with
the
Ten
Commandments. On leaving Sinai, they trekked for eleven days towards the Promised Land. Throughout the trip, the Israelites con stantly grumbled and complained. Before crossing over into Canaan, Moses sent twelve
under the feet of the lat
with their wives, chil
dren, and
ing to the greatness of His mercy. God agreed to pardon the nation as a whole, but the faith less scouts who incited the people to rebellion "died and were struck in the sight of the Lord" (Num. 14:37). As a further punishment, all those over twenty years of age, with the exception of Josue and Caleb, were to be excluded from entering the promised Land and condemned to wander for forty years in the desert until the last of the seditious gener ation had died.
The wandering began with a curtain slow ly being drawn over the activities of the frac
land.
remained before the curtain closed.
â&#x2013;
n the midst of the dark
I night of paganism, God ^flL.the Creator, showing His
their
went down alive into
hell, the ground closing upon them" (Num. 16:33). After another brief
incident, a mysterious silence enveloped the Chosen People. The next thirty-eight years of punishment passed
given.
tious Israelites. One final mutinous scene
T
all
belongings. "And they
for which no details are
scouts, one from each tribe, to reconnoiter the
n Summary
the
asunder
ter and devoured them
race. Moses prayed to God with great elo quence and fervor to forgive their sins accord
Mount Sinai
Suddenly broke
B
Core, Dathan, and Abiron are condemned to hell
famine. He brought his family
large-scale invasion by Indo-
who had the advantage of iron
down into Egypt and provided
Europcans overran the entire area which had been occupied
weapons.
largely by Semitic people and the Egyptians, who were at least partially Hamitic. The invaders, who possessed skills
expelled
rich grazing lands for them in the delta region. The last advances in civi
love and mercy, chose a certain group of people for a special mission. He gave them superior natural qualities and priceless revelations in order to begin the
lization in Mesopotamia were made by the Babylonians at the beginning of the second millen nium. They reached their height
After
the the
Egyptians
Hyksos, they
enslaved the Israelites who were friends of their hated
lejimed from their more civi
enemy. At one of the darkest hours in history. God chose
under Hammurabi (c. 1800
lized neighbors, utilized the war chariot and the compound
People out of bondage to the
long process to redeem mankind. Abraham, the father
B.C.), who excelled at govern
bow.
ment administration and the
Three groups emerged from
Moses
to
lead
the
Chosen
Promised Land and restore their
divine mission. During the jour ney, God. using Moses as a divine channel, gave to the
of the Chosen People, migrated
codification of law. After his
the conflict to dominate the
from his home in Sumer and
dynasty felt, the land between
Imperial Bronze Age (1600 to
travelled up the Euphrates
the Rivers remained conquered
1200). The Egyptians, adopting
world the Ten Commandments.
River into (I^anaan. Here God
territory until the ri.se of the Assyrians in the ninth century
the war chariot themselves,
reclaimed their land. Although
slowly revealed His redemptive
B.C. Mankind's
plan over the next two genera
towards softness, relaxation,
Unfortunately, the sons Israel paid little attention to u... moral law given them by God for them to perfect their love of Him. to guide their behavior in pursuing just relations with
established a special and inti mate relationship with him and
tions.
His grandson Jacob had
inclination
and decadence, especially in the more luxurious cities, creat
expelled their conquerors and their great tulistic and engineer ing achievements lay behind them, they created a noteworthy military empire. Moving away from the river valleys for the
each other, and to create an
twelve sons who became the leaders of twelve subdivisions known as the Tribes of Israel.
ed a pattern that lasted for cen turies. Sitting on the fringes of civilization, a hardy group of
Joseph, the second youngest, valiantly overcame a series of misfortunes in Egypt and even
herdsmen who developed the toughness and military spirit
on
rivaled Egypt's fertile lands.
geous act of disobedience too
tually became Pharaoh's prime
common to the life of nomads descended on the soft inner
Creator condemned the con
internal order individually in
first lime, the Hittites devel
themselves. When the essential
oped an empire in Asia Minor
order is not observed, chaos is
rain-watered
land
that
sure to follow. After one outra
minister during the occupation
core of civilization to enjoy its
The first civilization in Europe grew on the island of Crete and spread to the mainland of
government of the Hyksos. In
fruits, often corrupting them
Greece. Around 1200 B.C., all
wander in the wilderness until
that position, he not only saved
selves in the process. During
three suffered from attacks by a
all the adults died off. which
Egypt, but also his family, from
the eighteenth century B.C., a
new wave of Indo-Europeans
was to take nearly forty years.
MARCH-APRIL, 1995
many,
the
long-suffering
stantly rebellious Lsraclites to
37
Moses, man of God and
History
prophet for the Israelites
Bibliographical Essay
In trying to produce an understanding of the historical aspects of the Old Testament narrative, we are forced to
thread a passage between the Scylta and the Charybdis. On the one hand, we would like
Course, May-June. 1994) has identified Dr. William F. Albright not only as an evolu tionist but also as believing in the genuine ness of the fraudulent Peking Man and Java Man.Yet the usually excellent and scholarly CCHS fully admits (p. 64)that Dr. Albright
to utilize the more recent discoveries in the
was the mo.st influential leader in American
field of archaeology, but on the other, the
archaeological studies at the time of its pub lication in 1951 and has. furthermore, pub
interpretation of these findings is greatly influenced by the evolutionist philosophy.
Unfortunately, much of the Catholic litera ture on the subject is tinted with the mod ernist spirit of compromise. Father Cornelius Hagerty, writing as recently as 1969 (The Authority of the Sacred Scriptures, p. 195), went even further when he stated: "Some Catholic scholars were so
deeply influenced by the erudition and sophistication of Rationalists and Modernists that they were themselves led to
%
lished his interpretations in several sections. In this era of good fellowship and ecu menism, they fail to .see that the historical view of the evolutionists can only be colored by their underlying philosophical presuppo sitions. The CCHS and the first three titles listed below, to their credit, all defend the
inerrancy and divine inspiration of the Bible. A mo.st orthodox and scholarly work is Giuseppe Ricciotti, The Histoiy of Israel. 2 vols.(Milwaukee, 1955). A handy little vol
minimize the supernatural authorship and to
ume by two contributors to the CCHS that
magnify the influence of natural evolution in
gives good guidelines is Robert A. Dy.son
the sacred documents...with the result that
and Alexander Jones, The Kingdom of
they called into question the inerrancy of the
Promise (London, 1965). Henri Daniel-
Bible and its total divine inspiration."
Rops, a prolific author of 70 books, wrote
"Moses," and Christopher Dawson, The Formation of Christendom (New York,
under this pen name in order not to jeopar
1967), ch. 5,"The Christian and Jewish Idea
sial first eleven chapters of Genesis. Most Catholic commentators feel impelled to
dize hisjob as a public school teacher in pre-
of Revelation."
World War II France, and therein lies the
accept the opinion of the scientists even in
tale. His works, like the incisive, dramatic
areas that conflict with the traditional
Catholic view. We can best illustrate this by
Sacred Histoiy(New York, 1949), are infor mative and interc.sting and, unfortunately,
The early chapters of William T. McNeill, The Rise of the West (Chicago, 1963), pre.sent an excellent sweeping survey of the developing Middle Eastern civiliza
using as an example a valuable Catholic
always calculated to take the middle position
tion and its transfer to the Aegean and
work used in preparing this chapter. A Catholic Coiwiientaty on the Holy
between surrender and militancy. Two books by non-Catholics use .science and archaeology to confirm the biblical sto ries: Jack Finegati. Light from the Ancient
This Is especially true of the controver
Scriptuivs (CCHS) is a huge volume of prodigious scholarship. Running to over 1300 pages with more than 40 contributors, it not only interprets the Sacred Scriptures but adds many enlightening articles of his torical interest. Yet, the dangers of smashing into the rocks on one side or being engulfed in a whirlpool on the other are very real.
The Bible as History(New York. 1964). Two chapters by two stalwart, entirely reliable historians provide a deeper understanding of God's intervention in history: â&#x20AC;˘William Thomas Walsh, Characters of the
Father Patrick O'Connell (.see Basic History
Inquisition (New York, 1940), ch. 1,
Notes
the Gods(London. 1928), p.299.
Past (Princeton. 1946), and Werner Keller,
Mediterranean Seas. Beware, however, of
the. later chapters. McNeill places little sig nificance on Our Lord and Christianity in the shaping of world history. Carlton J. H. Hayes and James H. Hanscom, Ancient Civilizations(New York, 1968)also presents
a well-defined overview of early civiliza tion. Since Hayes is a Roman Catholic, his colleague must have authored the .scuirilous remarks on the Hebrews and the authentici
ty of the Old Testament.
iitrnififfiiW-TFr
6. For the date of 6000 B.C. sec Brandon,
Ancient Empires (New York, 1970) pp.
p. 33, and Hayes and Hanscom. p. 73. This is another case where an isolated date by estab
26,27.
lishment historians confinns the 7000 B.C.
2. Christopher Dawson. Enquiries into Religion and Culture (New York, 1936) p.
flood date in ch. 1 and the dating system used in this series in general. 7. Keller, p. 104. 8. There are two reasonable options
1. Quoted in S. G. F. Brandon, ed.,
107.
11. John 5:46,47. There are four refer ences to Our Lord in the Pentateuch: (1)
Gen. 3:15, the famous passage, "1 will put enmities between thy seed and her seed";(2) Gen.22:18. God's promise to Abraham, "in
3. For this scriptural analysis see CCHS, p. 197 (sect. I53q).
available for the date of the Exodus. The
thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be
4. From this point on, dates will be
internal evidence seems to indicate a date of
blessed"; (3) Gen. 49:10, "....till He come
adjusted to conform with the Table of Dales listed in CC//.S, pp. 161-163.
C, 1440 B.C.. However, an analysis of Egyptian history and recent discoveries pro
that is to be sent, and He shall be the expec
5. This opinion is shared by McNeill, p.
vide an even more persuasive argument for c. 1225. At the moment proponents for both
144, and Christopher Dawson, The Age of
38
dates agree that the information for a defini tive conclusion is lacking. 9. CCHS, p. 118 (sect. 88a). 10. ibid., p. 166 (sect. 130a).
tation of nations"; and (4) Deut. 18:15."The Lord thy God will raise up to thee a PROPHET...."
TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Family Series
GRIGIO Saint John Bosco's
Dog Many stories and even books have been written about special dogs.
i
around him, and was a true and
pointed, and
great saint, there were many bad people who
he stood a little over
There were dogs who saved their
hated him and wanted to see him dead. He had
three feet high."
owner's lives, dogs who helped to bring crim inals to justice, dogs who "fought" in wars,
already been attacked more than once, and on
One night, Don Bosco was making his way back to the Oratory in the company of a good friend. They walked together for most of the journey, but at a certain point they had to
and served them so well that their stories were
this particular day, as he walked through the deserted streets of Turin, he was prudently afraid, even though he was an extraordinarily
told and articles were written about them.
strong man.
and dogs who were so loyal to their masters
go their separate ways. Before the two men parted company. Don Bosco prayed to Our Lady for Her protection and recommended the
Such was a dog named "Grigio." Grigio was very much like all other dogs we have
approaching him. In size and appearance it
read about, with Just this difference; no one
looked like an Irish wolfhound and a mastiff.
ever knew where he came from, and no one
At first, Don Bosco thought the dog would
will ever know for sure where he went. Let me
attack him, but as the dog came near
rest of the trip to his Guardian Angel. No sooner had he said this prayer than Grigio trot ted up to them. At the sight of the dog, Don
tell you his story. One day. Saint John Bosco, the beloved
it showed every sign of being
Bosco's friend was terrified.
founder of schools for boys and of an order of priests and brothers called the Salesians, was
returning home very late in the city of Turin, in northern Italy. Because he did
only goodâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and much goodâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;all
Suddenly, he saw a great big dog
extremely friendly. It wagged its tail, snuggled its nose into
"Don't worry," said Don Bosco,"Grigio is my friend."
Don Bosco's hand, and
Unconvinced, his companion tried to
pawed gently at his
chase the dog away and even hurled a few
cassock. For the rest
stones at him. Despite being struck several
of the Saint's homeward
times, Grigio did not show the slighic'^f reac
journey the great hound walked
tion. Don Bosco's friend was amazed.
behind him, right up to the gate
be a real dog, Don Bosco! It's a ghost! The man was so intrigued that he accompanied Don Bosco to the entrance of the Oratory. There, all of a sudden, Grigio was gone.
of the Oratory of Saint Francis de Sales. And then it vanished!
From then on, every time Don
Bosco was out late, Grigio always
t
"What's this?" the man wanted to know.
appeared out of nowhere and fol lowed him to and fro. Don Bosco him
"Where did he go? Was he a real dog?!" By this time he was so upset and so fright
self named him Grigio, which means
ened that he began to tremble. Don Bosco had
gray, because that was the color of the
to ask two of his bigger boys to accompany his
dog's fur. One of the boys at the Oratory,
friend all the way home! Now we shall see Grigio in action. Don
Don Bosco's school, described him: "I saw
a large, strong-looking beast that made
Bosco himself tells us about it.
me think of a wolf. He had gray fur and a big head; his ears were straight and
"Around the end of November of 1854, one dark and rainy night,I was returning home
MARCH-APRIL, 1995 39
Family Series from the city. Avoiding the desolate and lone ly places, I took the road that leads from the Consolaia to the Cottolengo. At a certain point I realized that two men were walking a short distance In front of me. When I quickened my
steps, they quickened theirs; when I slowed down, they slowed down. When I tried to pass them, they deftly barred my way. I then tried to retrace my steps but it was too late; sudden ly, taking two leaps towards me, they quietly threw a dark cloak over my face. I struggled to
he kept coming back." "You don't have to worry about Grigio," said Don Bosco. "Now I can leave without
fear. Let's go, Grigio!" Instead of following Don Bosco as he always did, Grigio stiffened, his lips curled into a menacing snarl, and he let out a deep
ly a very unusual dog. Another thing about Grigio is that he would never take any food that was offered to him. One evening, Don Bosco had arrived at the Oratory much earlier than expected because a friend, the Marquis Fassaii, had lent Don Bosco his coach. Don Bosco was having
supper when he overheard someone outside say, "Leave him alone! That's Don Bosco's dog!" A little later some of the boys led the mastiff into the dining room. He immediately dashed to Don Bosco, bounding around his chair in delight. The saint offered him some thing to eat but the dog paid no attention to it. "You are a very proud dog," Don
free myself, but it was useless. One was trying to gag me. I tried to shout but couldn't. At that moment, Grigio appeared and, growl ing like a bear, sprang with his paws
Bosco chided. "If you won't eat this, what will you eat?" Placing his front
towards the face of one and with his
fangs towards the other in such a way that they were entangling the hound
paws on the table, Grigio looked mutely at Don Bosco for a moment.
instead of me.
That done, he trotted to the back of
'"Call off your dog! Call off your
dog!'they screamed in fright.
the room and ran out the door. It
seems he had expected to find Don Bosco on the road that day. Since our saint had come by coach, Grigio had
"'Yes, I will, but you must leave travelers alone.'
'"Alright, alright,'said the bandits,
only wanted to make sure that he was
'but call him, call him now!'
safely home. Grigio accompanied Don Bosco for many years, so many years that a lady
"Grigio continued howling like a furious wolf or bear. I called him and he
immediately left them. They went their way and Grigio, walking beside me, kept me company until we reached the Cottolengo."
one day told Don Bosco that it was impos
Every time Don Bosco went out, as soon as he left houses and buildings behind and
sible for a dog to live that long. Don Bosco only smiled and said,"Maybe he is the son or the grandson of the first one." But, as Grigio had come, Grigio left. One
began to tread lonely regions, he saw Grigio
day, Don Bosco went to visit an old friend,
coming to meet him. Many times he was seen
Luis Moglia. He had been invited to dinner, but having been detained he started out later
by the boys at the Oratory, and they even played with him and stroked his gray coat. He
growl. Don Bosco was surprised. He nudged the dog lightly with the tip of his shoe, and
was known among them as Don Bosco's dog
Grigio growled a second time. Don Bosco
and, therefore, much liked. And he liked them.
tried to climb over him but the dog retreated and kept on growling, and when Don Bosco
began to set and suddenly he found himself wishing that Grigio was by his side. At that moment, he spied the dog joyfully running
tried to go around him the dog rose up and
towards him!
With Don Bosco's friends he was the gentlest of creatures, but with the enemies of the saint he was like a lion.
Not only did Grigio escort Don Bosco on dangerous trips, he also stopped him from set ting out on them. One evening Don Bosco had to go into the city for something important. His saintly mother. Mamma Margarita, who lived with him until her death, insisted that it
was too late and, therefore, too dangerous to
attempt such a trip. Bound by his sense of duty, Don Bosco insisted on going. Calling a couple of his boys, he set out, but at the gate of the Oratory lay Grigio. "He has been there quite a while," explained some of the boys."We tried to make him go away and even took a stick to him, but 40
than he had wished. As he walked, the sun
blocked his path. The boys shouted at the mas tiff but would not dare anything further against an angry Grigio. Hearing the noise, Mamma Margarita came out to see what was happening. "The dog has more sense than you, John!" she scolded. "I wouldn't go out if I were you!"
Upon reaching his friend's hous.
n
while someone remembered the dog and said, "We should give Grigio something to eat." The
Don Bosco was finally persuaded to stay
person took some food to him, but the comer
Bosco and his friend visited and talked, and
then the whole family went into the dining room for dinner. Grigio came in with them and lay down in one comer of the room. After a
home. A little later he heard a commotion out
where he had been lying was empty. They
side. Someone was saying, "Don't let Don Bosco out tonight! Some men are hiding in the old house at the end of the road and they have
looked for him all over the room and then
sworn to kill him as soon as he leaves the
Oratory!" How did Grigio know? Grigio was certain
throughout the house, but he was nowhere to be found. Everyone was amazed, for neither the door nor any window had been opened and the other dogs outside had never barked. And
Grigio was never seen again!
â&#x2013;
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
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^J
$18.00
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r-:
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m
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^ stride his horse and dressed in an elab
/derate silken garb enhanced with gold thread embroidery, a bullfighter salutes the public with his three-pointed hat as he enters the arena to take on the bull.
rightrequires momentato goad the Tstudy his actofofthedaring careful bull to charge, and the decisive moment comes in a flash. Furiously attacking with
its 1,400-poimd mass of muscles as the bull fighter gallops to meet it, the bull is an instant away from hurling rider and horse through the air. The bullfighter, in turn, has but a fraction of a second to attach the har
poon-pointed bancierilla just behind the W
bull's neck muscle as he clears the animal's horns.
W' Portuguese greatly prefer bullfights JL on horseback rather than on foot. The technique demands much agility from both the rider and his mount. The two must com
bine to, form as it were one single body to outwit the bullâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and outwit the bull they do.
mm
Ambiences, Customs and Civilizations
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem ... '' by Plinio Correa de Olive ira
.. . ¡
A
n anti-egalitarian consideration of che u niverse manifests co us chat it is a veritable court full o f unequal nobles. Som e creatures are m ore noble because they have more no bility in cheir very
being, while ochers are less noble because chey have less
nobility in their being. Someone m ay ask, "Can you give an example?" I shall give a simple example: the peacock and the chicken . N obility in che peacock is very evide n t: in che fanning of che tail, in the admirable handsomeness of its plu mage, in che beautiful iridescent blue-green feathe rs of its neck. Everything abou t the peacock is grand except its head, bur chis is the sm all and lively center that gives movem ent co all
the rest, as much as can befit a creature withou t reason. lcs m anner of m oving is that o f a queen. It walks nobly, calmly, nor alarmed by anythi ng. W h en it runs, ic ru ns with a certain digni ty; when ic scops, it does so without gasping. On the o cher hand, the chicken is a misery inso far as nobility goes. Rid iculous in its way of clucking, ridiculous in its way of running, it runs as if terror-stricken. The repulsive wo rms it Finds o n the ground are d evoured rapaciously; its contentment is a gluttono us contentment. T he hen has just one noble side: It is the m aternal love with which ic defends, even at the risk of its own life, each o ne of its chicks. And it was in respect co chis chat the very GodM an deigned co compare Himself when H e said, "Jerusalem , Jerusalem ... how often would I have gathered thy child ren as the hen doth her brood under her wings, and thou wouldesc not?" (Luke 13:34). True, the hen and the peacock are irrational beings. They have no intelligence, so chey have no nobility in che t rue sense of the word, bu r o nly analogously.
If even simple birds can refle~t a hig her perfection, how many other things ~round us-in our daily life-also reflect a higher pe,fection? 'The editor
Contents July-August, 1995
Cover: The nuclear fam ily
in the post-nuclear era
❖
News Flashes ............................ . . .... 3
Prophets, Martyrs, Saints and Heroes St. Theresa of the Andes ................ . ........ . 4 Saint Theresa of the Andes:
Forgotten Truths
a star in the sky of the 20th
On Catholic Journalism .................. .. .... . 10
Debate Abortion and the Argument of Viability .......... . .. . 11
Cover Article Surviv ing the Meltdown of the Nuclear Fam ily . ..... . . 12
Interview The Family: A Natural Institution Ordained by God ... . 16 ❖
Communism Still a Menace to Christian Civilizat ion ... 19
❖
American TFP Receives Reply from President Clinton .. 20
Commentary
Fam ily: Under attack
Anti-Consumerism: Exaltation of Sloth . .. . ..... . . .. . 22
Society The Heart of a Fami ly .. . ....... . .. . .. . .. . .. .. .. . 24
Basic History Course of Western Civilization Chapter Four: Judges and Kings .. .............. . .. 26
Theology of History Destroyers and Creators by St. T heresa of the Andes ..... . . . .. .. . .. . . . . . . . . 3 1
Interview: Robert Kni ght
Abortion: Viable or not,
from The Family Researc h Council
human life is the same.
TRADITION, FAMILY and PROPERTY Magazine is a publication of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP). Subscription, US $24.00 in the United States and Canada. Foreign subscriptions, $30.00. 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) 225-7382. Copyright © 1995. Permission is granted to reproduce, in whole or in part, any article of this magazine with credit given to Tradition, Family and Property.
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Family and Society
D
ESTRUCTIVE FORCES SURROUND
today's family. The adversaries? Divorce, especially no-fault d ivorce laws; widespread
advocacy of permissiveness; educational programs that impart a new " mo rality" and foster rebelliousness among the young; coldly managed State-legislated " rights" that displace parental authority...are some lines of attack. Sociolog is ts, politicians, and o thers bent on creating a new society without authority, re lig ion, or any inequality even carry the assault so far as to redefine the family to include all sorts of " unions" until recently dee med illicit. Yet, when it comes to preserving social o rder, the evide nce is clearly on the side of the trad itional fami ly. For example, overwhe lming evidence establishes direct correlation between the breakup of the famj ly and vio lent crime. Study after sn,dy removes any doubt that by far the best and safest place to grow up, is wi thin the old- fas hioned, ever-marri ed, two-parent, mothe r-father-chil-
distinct context, a past, that distinguishes him from the rest of society. Each generation receives and passes onward a world of values, concepts, tastes, and habits. Belonging to a particular family-of w hatever level-confers a particular social and cultural patrimony. This irks the egalitarian. As Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira notes in discussing the relation of the fam ily to other elements of society, "None of these bodies can exerc ise over the fam ily an influence equal to that w hich the family can exercise over the m."¡ The fami ly thus has a potential for good that s tands firml y in the way of those who would flatte n society into an egalitarian utopia.
It is because the role of the family is so crucial to the resto ration and preservation of Christian civilization that this institutio n has lo ng been part of our name, Tradition, Family and Property. And it is for the same reason that we dedicate the cover article of this issue of TFP Magazine
dren family. C urious paradox, then,
to look at some facets of the dangero us erosio n o f the family today. We
that the anti-family league wishes to see this natural ins titution transformed into something essentially different. Why?
hope that by contributing to an understanding of the processes of destructio n, a s tep is thereby taken toward a restoration. â&#x2013;
One answer is that the family is a milie u in which many of the natural and healthy inequalities and diversities of society are born and passed on. No o ne begins as a mere dot in the Universe. The family g ives the
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individ ual a s tarting point within a
Plinio Correa de Oliviera,
Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the
A/locutions of Pius Xll, p. 89.
The American TFP The American Society for the Defense of Traditio n, Family and Property (TFP) was founded in 1973 to confront the profound crisis shaking the modern world. It is a civic, cultural and nonpartisan organizatio n which, inspired by the traditional teachings of the Supreme Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church, works in a legal and peacefu l manner in the realm of ideas to defe nd and promote the principk, of pri vate ownership. fam ily a1 perennial Christian values with the11 twofold function: individual and social. The TFP's words and efforts have always been faithfully at the service of Chri stian civilization. The first TFP was founded in Brazil by the famous intellectual and Catholic leader Prof. Plinio Correa 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 anticommun ist and antisocialist network.
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TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
NEWS FLASHES Abortion: Obligatory p ractice in the USA The Medical Licensing Board of the United States, which regulates the pedagogic conten t of medical schoo ls, ordered that all obstetric students are obliged to learn and practice abortions. The Board, consisting of 23 doctors, voted unanimously in favor of this measure. The reason g iven was the increasing number of university hospitals that refuse to teach abortion for ethical or moral reasons.
Live Donors A recent decision of the American Medical Association crosses a crucial /_ line in the field of medical ethics . It authorizes the withdrawal of organs from live newborn anencepha lic babies, that is, infants without part of the central nervous system. In spite of having all maj or biological functions, the anencephalic doesn' t have the organic substratum to experience conscienceness. Nearly 2,000 anencephalics are born each year in the USA. To take the li fe of a newborn baby with the sole purpose of us ing as soon as possible the baby's organs, was naturally forbidden until now by American jurisprudence. The AMA in this recent "authorization" altered the universally recognized fronti ers of death.
pudding, favorites of the rocker. The holy shrine of the followers of the new religion is Graceland, the mansion where the singer lived in Memphis, Tennessee.
Nuclear Missles out of Control American survei ll ance experts believe Russian President Boris Yeltsin has lost the technical , capacity to prevent a Russian intercont inental ballistic missile from being fired. Indications of his losing grip were first detected tJ1ree years ago. Military disc ipline in Russia has eased and there is no longer a precise chain of command over missiles, whether on land or on board submarines. Russ ia has been reducing its arsenal somewhat, as agreed, but still has thousands of nuclear warheads for long- and mediumrange missiles. Western experts have noted that much of the destroyed weaponry was already obsolete, which means the Russians are actually cutting out the deadwood from their war machi ne. The U.S. Department of Energy, which oversees U.S. nuclear weapon programs, has ended its secret monitoring of Ru ssian atomic weapons. Its findings were clashing with government policy, which still believes in Yelts in's personal capacity to cont rol nuclear missiles.
Fans deify Elvis Pre sley A Presbyterian Church of the Divine E lvis has just been created in New York. The new "church" is consecrated to the ido latric cult of the King o f Rock who died in 1977. The fou nders of the new sect, Karl Edwards and Mort Farndu , claim to have been "ordained priests" by Elvis Presley himself. They await " miracles" and messages from the singer. By the end of the year, they intend to launch "the gospel according to Elvis." Duties of the fai thful include pray ing once a day in the direction of Las Vegas and to eat "holy food" like hamburgers and banana
JULY-AUGUST, 1995
Drean1 Bec omes Nightma reNAFTA Beware The promised prosperity that the European Com munity was to bring its member natio ns is disappearing as quickly as ice in the Sahara. A July Gallup survey shows that 50% of Austrians would vote against entering the European Market if a vote were held today. In Sweden, the percentage is even greater: 6 1% of Swedes would vote against their country's membership. Since the entry of these countries into the European Union (EU), interest rates have increased, their national currency has devalued, and food prices have not fa llen. T he chorus of discon tent has grown j ust as the EU is about to strengthen its European institutions. The anti-Union wave might
wash away the dream of a single European currency, called the ECU. As disappointment mounts in the richer countries, and as the poorer countries grow more demanding of bail-outs, the tensions give rise to more committees, more reports, and more budgets for the modern Tower of Babel. The gradual economic and political transition from European Common Market to Eu ropean Economic Community, to European Commun ity, to European Union has run into construction problems. Flaws in the 1950s dream for a United States of Europe are showing up as nightmarish realities in the building blocks. There is a lesson in this. Will the dreams for a Pan-American Union with NAFTA heading the way lead to yet another unfinished Tower of Babel?
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Dancing wi th death
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Going out at night ~ in Sarajevo is like going for a dance in He ll with lottery tickets to the cemetery in the pocket. Nevertheless the city's young people do not stop going to the busy discotheque called BB, just 20 yards from "Death 's Crossing". In spite of bullets from Bosni an-Serb snipers, the youths of Sarajevo experience the strange thrill of risking death by going out to night clubs. "We dance, dance and dance, because life could end in an instant" said Leila, one of the "BB maniacs".
Women in the A rmed Forces Nearly one third of the women , Un ited States armed forces have been raped, and a great percentage of those under 50 have been victims of sexual harassment. These are conclusio ns from a report compiled by the American Medical Association. The report states that the number of assaults against women in military li fe is higher than in civilian li fe. The study was based o n anonymous questionnaires handed out to 333 military women. According to the survey, 90% of women-soldiers un der 50 years of age allege that they have been victims of sexual harassment and 29% of rape.
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Prophets, Martyrs, Saints and Heroes
SAINT THERESA OF THE ANDES AStar in the Sky of the 20th Century by Eugenia Guz man
When contradicted, she was wont to be violent in answering or striking back. Nevertheless, as soon as she committed a fa ult, she of Juanita Fernandez Solar, it would have to be either the showed a deep and heartfe lt repentance. Having heard one day solidity or the Catholicity of her family formation. Tradition, about the forgiveness that came through the confessional, she heritage and religion made one sole environment, renected begged one of the priests at the ranch to hear her confeseven in her full name: Juana after her maternal grandmother, sion. He explained to her that this was impossible in view of her age, but encouraged her to talk to Our Lord and Enriq ueta for her paternal grandmother, Josefina after Saint Arica• ask Him to help her dominate her character. Joseph, and "of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary" in a special ) gesture of consecration to the goodness of these two most sacred Juanita began to pray. She felt such a necessity o f comhearts. From her earliest years she saw her grandfather, whom municat ing with God that at night she would cry for everyone looked up to as the " Patriarch," always with a Ofelia, one of the maids, to help her say her prayers; otherw ise, she could not sleep. rosary in his hand, slowly and consistently slipping the Antofagast beads between his fingers. • In 1907, Juanita began to attend school at the Juanita was born on July I3, I900. She was j oyfu l, commuSacred Hean Institute with Rebeca. There, under the nicative and headstrong; a beau ti ful girl with a perfectly oval face, guidance of the nuns, she developed a deep and lasting flawless skin, luminous blue eyes; and abundant golden-brown hai r. devotion to the Sacred Heart. It was in the month o f Her parents, Miguel Fernandez Jaraquemada and Lucia Solar the Sacred Heart that she resolved to change completeArmstrong, both belonged to Chile's aristocracy. They had seven ly and start dominating her temper for the love of Jesus children: Lucia, Migue l, Luis, Juana (who died shortly after birth), alone and not because she irritated people. Slowly but Juanita, Rebeca and Ignacio, and lived with Dona Lucia's surely she began to curb her defects. Whenever she father, Don Eulogio Solar Quiroga, in his patriarchal manoffended someone in the house, she would not go to sion in Santiago, Chile's capital. Don Eulogio was a bed before asking them for forgiveness. And retired physician whose skill and industry had further whenever a household servant fell sick, the he Andes inc reased the fami ly's large patrimony. young girl made it a point to visit her, keep her Every year the entire fami ly of aunts, uncles company and bring her remedies and food. Concepcion and cousins included, spent the hot summer Around the time when Juanita made her first confession, months at the family ranch. A chaplain always she began to receive favo rs from Our Lord. Years later she accompanied the famil y, ministering not only wrote in her diary: "Jesus showed me His grandeur and to the ir spiritual needs but also to those of the told me that I had been chosen as a victim. that He wantranch hands, the hired help, and even the ed me to follow Him to Calvary. Together. we wo11ld ~ct neighborhood peasantry. out to conquer souls: He as the Captain, I the sold,, weapon. the cross: our motto, love." Juanita's Character " I cannot describe what I fe lt. .." As a little girl, Juanita fo llowed the chaplain everywhere. She wanted to understand everything: the prayers. the Mass. Holy At ten years of age she made her First Communion. Communi on, the Blessed Virgin, Jesus crucified. The idea of ,/~\. after a whole year of preparation and a week of retreat. Heaven enthralled her. She always helped in the preparati on of ·'f-{ During this retreat. she meditated. prayed. and, during the missions, accompanied the priests in their visits to the sick ,:'\\ her meals. deprived herself of what she most liked. peasants, and followed her older brothers and cousins when they t1r\-_\ The night after 1he retreat ended. she knelt in taught catechism to the chi ldren of the farm hands. Wherever iil.:,¼\._ front of her parents. brothers, and sisters to ask God was ment ioned, there was Juanita. Even without under'~_, ..!__,,,~.,,) the ir fo rgiveness for all her disobedience and standi ng, she began to assimilate divine concepts and. wit h the '\3._~_ \ tamrums. Then she went to the kitchen and simplicily and innocence of a child, made them her own. , ~~t humbly asked pardon of all the serNot everything was harmonious in Juanit a. The child was impavants. all of whom wept before such tient. temperamental, wi llful and proud, with a tendency to laziness. a beautiful gesture.
I
F ONE HA D TO SELECT THE OUT STANDING FEAT URE OF T l IE EARLY LIFE
CHILE
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TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Juanita Fernandez Solar, shortly before she entered the convent at the age of 18.
She wanted to make sure that her soul was absolutely free of any of the stains of her childhood, that it would be as pure as it could possibly be, so that Jesus would not find any blemish the re and would wish to stay in her heart forever. That night she prayed with even greater fervor, asking the Blessed Mothe r to lead her by the hand to the sacred table. The next day she approached the altar rai l and received he r God in the Sacred Species. She later wrote: " I cannot describe what I felt . in my soul wi th Jesus. I asked Him a thousand times to take me to Him, and I felt His dear voice fo r the first time." He r soul was so pure and so transparent that she was able to hear Him: " My daughte r, give me your heart because I wish to make it My temple." From that moment she gave Him her heart, and her soul became the temple o f God. From that day forward , He took her to Himself and never left her, for she would not leave Him. In her ingenuity, she thought everyone heard Our Lord as she did . About this she was to write later to Father Falgueras, her confessor: "Since I made my First Communion, Our Lord spoke to me afte r each Communion. He told me things of which I had no idea, and He would tell me things that were to come to pass, and they happened. I continued to think that thi s happened to every person who received Communion and one ti me I told my mother something that O ur Lord had told me. She to ld me to tell it to Father Colom, but I was e mba rrassed."
Dona Lucia's Motherly Vigilance When Juanita was around fifteen, her mother decided to take her and Rebeca out of the day school and e nroll the m in the
boarding school. It was a sudden and seemingly po intless Lil ,, sion, since the school of the Sacred Heart was so near the ir home. But Dona Lucia, a n ever vigil ant mother, had been to ld by Ofelia, who always accompanied the girls to and from school, that the young boys from the nearby St. Ignatius School were starting to approach the girl s to talk. They especially looked for Juanita, who was now tall a nd beautiful, with a sunny, communicative personality. She knew very well that she had these c harms and though she was pleased with the attentio n and smiled answering them kindly, she never lost sight of her vocation and her promise to God, made at 12 years, to belong on ly to Him. In any case, Dona Lucia considered he r girls too young a nd not needing suc h attention unt il their formation was comple te, their judgment fully fo rmed, and their virtue firm. Juan ita was later to thank her mother for this vigi lance even
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Prophets, Martyrs, Saints and Heroes
"But, what did I see? Miss Juana, suspended about six inches in the air, wit/ though it caused her much grief. At first she was averse to the boarding school, call ing it " the prison." But hiding her heartaches, she turned to her younger sister Rebeca, who was taking it even harder than she, and strived to make it easier for he r. Gradually, they became accustomed to the ir new situatio n. Juanita was universally loved by the girls. By her habit of curbing her defects she molded her character from natural impatience and irritabi lity to patience and sweetness. She came to love that school, w hich had suc h an importa nt role in further molding her Catholic personality. She was to thank her parents for having afforded her thi s education, discipline a nd formation , and admitted to the Mother Principal that had she stayed in the day school, it would surely have harmed her. Juanita had ce rtainly been called by Our Lord. Moreover, she a lways had a premonition that she would not live long. He r soul longed for heaven. Every year, she asked Our Lord to take he r o n December 8, the feast of the Immacul ate Conception. Every year around that date she wou ld fa ll serio us ly, at times mortally, ill. But she a lways recovered. S he unde rstood that He wanted to g rant her request, but that she was not quite ready yet. So she
Excerpts of a lette r from St. Theresa of the Andes to h er father
D
ADDY, FOR A LONG TIM E
I have been wishing to confide to you a secret I have kept all my life in the innermost depths of my soul. I do not know why fear rook hold of me whenever I wanred to confide it ro yo u. I was always very reserved toward everyone regarding it. Bue now I want co confide it ro you wirh full trust chat you will keep my secret. I have longed to be happy, and I have sought happiness everywhere. 1 have d reamed of being very rich, bur I have seen cha t the ri ch becom e poor overnight. Although at rimes chis does nor happen, one sees [material] riches and the poverty of affectio n and unio n reigning side by side. I have sought it [happiness] in rhe possession of the tenderness of a t rustworthy young man, but the very idea chat o ne day he might not love me with the same enthusiasm, or chat he m ay d ie, leaving me alo ne in the struggles of life, leads me ro
rej ect the thought that I should be happy 111 marriage. All chat does not satisfy me. My happiness is not there. Where is it, then? I wondered . Then 1 understood rhac l was not born fo r rhe things of rhe earth, bur for chose of etern ity. W hy deny it any longer? My heart has only fo und rest in God. My soul has felt fully satisfied with Hi m, and to such extent chat I desire nothing in this wo rld but belo nging to Him entirely. Most dear Father, the great favor chat God has accorded me is no t hidden ro me. Altho ugh I am rhc most unwo rthy of His daughters, the infinite love of God has bridged the imme nse chasm rha c stands berween Him and H is wretched creature. He has sroopcd down to me to raise me ro the dignity of a spouse. Who am 1 but a wretched creature? Bur H e has no r paid attention to my misery. In His infinite good ness, and despite my
renewed her resolutions, continued praying, meditating every morning, and asking Him to grant her another greatly desired favor: to ente r the Carmelite Order. She had heard a priest speak of a Carmelite convent that had lost three sisters to an e pide mic. This was the Monastery of the Holy G host in the Andes. The Andes ! That word a lways appealed to what was most intimate and best in her. She felt interiorly called to it; called to replace those nu ns whom Our Lord had called to Hi mself. She co nfided thi s wish only to her mother and a very close friend at school. S he dared not speak of it to anyone e lse for fear of meeting much o pposition. She was most afraid of tell ing her fathe r. When she fin a lly did so, it was by le tter (see below), since he r father was then working in a c ity some 200 miles from Santiago.
Preparation for the Carmel Knowing of Juanita 's wish to ente r the Carmel, Do na Luc ia took her o ut of schoo l a full year before the completion o f the course, bringing he r home and
lowliness, He has loved me with infinite love. Yes, Daddy, only in God have I found an eternal love. H ow can I thank Him? How can I pay Him back except wi th love? W ho can love me more t han Our Lord, Who is eternal and unchanging? ... Srill, I am subjecr ro you, my dear Father. Ir is necessary, therefore, rhac you also bequeath me. 1 know perfectly well t har if you did not d eny Lucia to C hiro, because your heart is exceedingly gene rous, why should I doubt that you will give me your consent to be God's, considering chat from that "yes" of your fa therly heart will fl ow a fo untain of happiness fo r your daughter? Yes. I know you. Yo u wo uld no t deny me this, because I know that you have never refused any sac rifice for the happiness of yo ur children. .1 can appreciate that it is going ro be hard, as on earth there is nothing dearer to a
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fath er than his cb ild re n. Nevertheless, Daddy, it is Our Lord W ho claims me. Would you deprive Him of me whi le He would not deprive you even of a single drop of His blood on the cross? Ir is the Virgin, who asks a daughter from you ro make he r a spouse of he r adorable So n. Will you not surrender me? Daddy, do no r chink that all I am tell ing you does no t rend my heart. You know me well, and you know rhat I am incapable of will fully causing you any suffering. But even if the heart shed blood , we musr follow the voice of God; we 1 abandon chose creatures , which the so ul is intim ately linked in o rder to dwell wi th the God of love, W ho knows how to rewa rd the smallest sacri fices. How muc h mo re He must reward the grear ones. Your daughter must leave you. Bur bear in mi nd, it is not fo r a man, but for God . How could anyone do rhis except for Him W ho has an absolute righr over us? T his will be your consolatio n, that it was not fo r a man,
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Prophets, Martyrs, Saints and Heroes
,ither knees nor arms touching the kneeler, adoring the Blessed Sacrament!" putting her in charge of running the household in place of her older sister Lucia, who was soon to marry. Her main intention was to prepare her daughter for the hardships of convent li fe, but she also wanted to introduce her to society to ascertain her vocation. At home, everyone was amazed at the exactness with which Juanita fulfilled the new duties entrusted to her. These included controlling the accounts for the large household, supplying the kitchen, directing the servants, arranging schedules, and planning meals. And she herself worked so as not to overburden the servants. Juanita worked incessantly. But, amidst all her chores, she never neglected her daily meditation and prayer, though admitting in a letter that at times she knew not how she found the time. One of her family remarked, "It was admirable to see how she knew how to make herself obeyed and how efficiency and peace reigned in her household." At the invitation of a cousin or fri end , Juanita occasionally spent some time at their ranches with the intent of also helping in the missions. Father Felix Henle, a Redemptorist at the missions, has left us the following account: "One day... when
and char after God, you and mother will be the creatures chat I most loved on earth. The Blessed Virgin has desired chat I belong co the O rder of Mou1:1t Carmel, because it was the fi rst community char reverenced and honored her. She never fai ls co favor her Carmelire daughters. Therefore, Daddy, your daughter has chosen the best part. I shall be entirely God's, and H e shall be everything co me. There will not exist any separation between you and your daughter. T hose who love one another never become separated. So, Daddy, when you apply yourself co the arduous labor of farming; when, tired of so many sacrifices, you feel fatigued and lonely, not having anyone in whom co rest, it will suffice for you co direct your mind co the altar. There you will find your daughter, also alone, directing her voice in supplication co the Divine Prisoner, asking Him co accept your sacrifice, as also hers, and co return you encouragement, valor in coil, and comfort in sorrow. How could H e
turn a deaf ear co the supplication of her who has abandoned everything and has no ocher creature to resort co in her poverty? Yes, Daddy, God is generous. Besides, the constancy of my steadfast prayer will move Him to crown your sacrifices. Daddy, I know you will not deny me your permission. The Blessed Virgin will be my advocate. She will know better than I how to make you understand chat the life of prayer and penance I wish co embrace contains for me all the ideal of happiness in chis life and will guarantee for me that of eternity. I understand that the whole of society will reprove my decision, bur chat is because their eyes are closed co the light of faith. The souls they call "unfo rtunate" are the only ones who can pride themselves on being happy, because they find everything in God. In the world there is always horrible suffering; no
everyone had gone in for the siesta, I si lently entered the oratory without expecting to find anyone there. But, what did I see? Miss Juana, suspended about six inches in the air, with neither knees nor arms touching the kneeler, adoring the Blessed Sacrament with folded hands. Her face was aglow and her eyes were fi xed on the tabernacle .... At meals she was always full of joy; she spent long stretches of time at the oratory." On January I I, 1919, Juanita, accompanied by her mother, paid her first visit to the Monastery of the Holy Ghost in the Andes. There she met and spoke at length with the superior, Mother Angelica Theresa of the Blessed Sacrament. The superior assured the young girl that from her first letter she had realized that Juanita had "been born a Carmelite." After this conversation, the Mother Superior invited Dona Lucia and Juanita to attend the Divine Office. "I could not pray," she said. "My whole being bowed before my God. My soul wept in thanksgiving. I was happy, satisfied. I saw Our Lord with a smiling countenance and it seemed to me He was saying that He was pleased hearing the praises of His spouses .... Afterwards I went to the parlor. It is impossible for me to explain the peace
one can sincerely say, "I am happy." Within che cloisters, however, these very words are heard in each cell, and they are sincere, because they would nor exchan ge th eir solitude or the way of life they embraced for anything in the world. A proof of chis is that they remain forever in the convenes. This is understandable, as the world is all egoism, inconstancy, and hypocrisy. You have experience in chis matter, Daddy. Could anything better be expected from such miserable creatures? Give me your quick consent, dear Daddy. "H e who gives quickly, gives twice." Be generous with God, W ho will then reward you in chis life and in the next. Do not oblige me to mix with society. Well do I know that kind of life, which leaves in the soul a feeli ng of emptiness char none bur God can fi ll. Many rimes it makes one remorseful. Do not put me in
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the midst of so much corruption as exists today. My resolution is made. I will reject even che most advantageous suitor. Who can compare co God? Yes, ic is necessary char I soon consecrate myself to God before the world can stain me. Daddy, will you refuse co give me permission for May? True, char is close, but I will beseech God and the Blessed Virgin co give you strength to grant me che "yes" that will make me happy. You have said on many an occasion chat you would nor refuse your permission, because it would be a consolation co you co have a n daughter. I will be anxiously awaiting your answer. Meanwhile, I ask O ur Lord and the Blessed Virgin co offer you Their help to make this sacrifice. Indeed, without T hem I would not have had enough courage to part with you. Receive many kisses and caresses from che daughter who loves you the most, Juana
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and happiness I fe lt. I saw clearly that God wanted me there, and I fel t the strength to overcome every obstacle to become a Cannelite and lock myself in there fo rever." She felt totall y at home; her soul had found port. The only th ing missing now was her father's consent. She had writte n her letter and anxiously awaited his answe r but no answer came. Finally she received the news that her father was coming to meet his first granddaughte r, Lucia's ne wborn c hild. She could scarcely bear the thought of facing him and seeing the inevitab le counte nance fu ll of gri e f. " O my Jesus," she wrote, " what a cruel martyrdom I But all is for Thy love. Were it not for T hee, I would never have dared to cause h im this pain; but for Thee, all disappears ." ¡ He r fathe r arrived, hugged everyone, was imme nsely happy to see his granddaughter but avoided Juanita. She could bear it no longer; she was to leave for the missions within two days and must know. She prayed . Finally the time came fo r her to leave with he r fri ends. Asking God for stre ngth, she took her fathe r by the arm and, leading him to her room, begged him amidst tears fo r his consent. Don Mig uel, also sobbing, finally consented: " If this be God's will, I do not oppose it, since it will mean your happiness." Juanita fell at his feet to beg his forgiveness for having caused h im such ang ui sh . "The re is noth ing to forg ive," he answered, hugging he r affec tionate ly and giving he r his fatherly blessing. That was j ust the first heartbreak ing scene. Re beca suffe red so much that at times she wou ld simply pass out. Lu is was at fi rst indignant and wanted to dissuade he r, but Don Miguel to ld him, "To oppose her vocation is the same as to try to stop a torrent." Arter read ing he r le tte r to her fathe r, the o lde r brother broke down a nd wept. For Miguel it was also very hard; he also could do nothing but cry. J uan ita only withstood this ordeal supported by grace.
to the door of the cloister, where, making no effort to conceal their grief, they bade farewe ll. Juanita said goodbye to each one w ith a n effusive hug. To Luis, hugging hi m a nd ho lding hi m close. she whispered, "God exists, Brothe r, never forge t." As he r mo the r hu gged he r again. she said, " Don' t worry abo ut me, Mama, because O ur Lord supports me. Think of yourse lf and the others.'' The new postula nt the n called at the revolving window, " Praised be Jesus Christ." " May He be praised forever." " Mother, I am the new postulant; I a m ready and wish to ente r the cloiste r.'' "Approac h the door. It will soon be opened ." As it ope ned. the voices of the nuns, sing ing "O glorious virgin," could be heard within. The n the door of the cloiste r closed be hind he r. Juan ita Fernandez Solar had died to the world. He r way had not been easy. From chi ldhood she had chosen the way of the Cross. Rebeca describes the scene in a letter to he r fa ther: .;Juanita knelt before the Carmelite priest to receive his blessing. She the n fe ll at Ma ma's feet and asked her pardon a nd her blessi ng. begging he r to g ive it also in your name. Yes. dearest Papa, her last thought was o f you. Following this, she crossed the thresho ld, knelt, a nd ki ssed that blessed ground. The n. back o n her Feet, she again fell to her knees before the c ruc ifix. Papa, 1 thi nk at that mome nt he r soul w;, far from this earth ; she was outside herself, holdi ng close he r ' "" ) Good. Oh, 1 shall never fo rget that entrance ! At that moment. she appeared her true self: strong. g reat, ho ly. " Her moveme nts were not solely natural. she seemed to be compelled by something divine. supernatural. She wrenched herself from the arms o f her fami ly to fa ll into the arms of Goel." He r life in the convent was exe mpl ary. Mother Angelica T heresa. real izing the treasure that had been placed in her hands, did her utmost to guard it. As Mothe r Superior and Novice Mistress, she watched her close ly and with true motherly affect ion helped her c li mb higher. Juanita received from her the name of Theresa of Jesus, after the g reat St. Theresa o f Avila, fo undress and reformer o f Carme l. She felt unwo rthy of the name. T he sub-priors. Mothe r Maria Theresa of St. John, was one of the s iste rs who had most prayed for Jua nita to decide for the Carmel
Theresa of the Andes was Beatified on April 3, 1987 and Canonized on March 21 , 1993 by His Holiness John Paul II.
"I am ready and wish to enter the cloister." Finally, the day fo r de pa rture a rrived. Dona Lucia, Lui s, and Re beca accompanied Jua nita to the Andes. He r father had not the heart to do so. A lay s ister received the m kindly at the door. Juanita was taken to a room to c hange into her postulant 's c lothes. She was then led to the parlor to greet the Mother Superior. Then all were led
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TRAD[TION. FAM ILY AND PROPERTY
Prophets, Martyrs, Saints and Heroes
"Her movements were not solely natural, she seemed to be compelled by something divine, supernatural. She wrenched herself from the arms of her family to fall into the arms of God." when she was beset by doubts as to which order to c hoose, the Carmel or the Sacred Heart. This sister also followed our T heresa closely and has left us a precious account of he r virtues. " What most amazed me was her abil ity to hide her virtues and the graces she received from God. I knew she was extraordinary and so I obse rved he r whe neve r an occasion presented itself. I would especially watch her during recreations on feast days, whe n the novices participated with the Community. Afte r spe nding the morning in choir totally absorbed in God and ofte ntimes receiving ma ny graces, she be haved with great naturalness and equ ity, always talking and smi ling with those who talked to her without calling the least attention lo he rself. One day during recreation, the subject of the extraordinary favors granted to the Italian mystic Be nigna Consolata arose. Some admired her fami liarity with Our Lord , and the conversation was quite e nthusiastic with everyone contributing comments . She did not give her opi nion; despite he r own knowledge and lights regarding the matter, she asked questions as if she knew nothing of these things. " I was also amazed at her e nergy in controll ing hersel f. The day she arri ved, after she said good-bye to her fa mi ly, I accompanied her to recreation. She was j oyful , smili ng, and asking me questions about the Community. Later, she said in confidence to our Mother S uperior tha t on leav ing he r fam ily she had suffe red a ve ritable agony, that she thought she could neve r suffe r more than she had suffered a t that mome nt. " She was a most hu mble soul who stri ved to hide the favors God granted he r, considering herself to be the least of the s isters." O n O ctobe r 14, 19 19, The resa received the habit. thus beg in ning her novitiate. He r e ntire fami ly was present. The resa had co me to the Carme l o nly to finish the perfecting o f he r soul a nd he r sac rifice. He r entire life had been an immo lation for soul s, for priests, for the C hurc h, fo r the world, fo r the salvati on o f her own. Now, as she reac hed the ze nith and, the refore, cal vary, he r union with God was total: " In praye r someth ing that ne ver ha ppened to me before is happening now: I feel totally penetrated by G od. I cannot even reflec t; it is as if I fa ll asleep in Him ... it seems to me I a m complete ly permeated by the Divinity." On the othe r hand, she also s uffe red te rrib le te mptations against the Faith a nd e xperie nced excruciating pe riods of spiritua l dryness. All her li fe Theresa knew tha t she would die young. In fac t, around the midd le of March o f I920 she to ld he r confessor that O ur Lord had communicated to her that she would d ie in about a month. afte r g reat sufferi ng. He r confessor re plied tha t she should not worry about thi s, since
JULY-AUGUST, 1995 - - - - - - -- - --
every Carmelite should always be ready fo r that eventuality. On April 2, Good Friday, she performed all the conventual disciplines, prayers, and pena nces prescribed for such a day. Late r, in the afternoon, the mi stress of novices noticed that her face was greatly flushed. She was found to be running a high te mperature and was ordered to lie down.
T h e F ina l Struggle Then began her last ordeal. She knew she would suffer much and ba ttle much with the devi l, so she asked the Mothe r Superior for many relics and medals, which she placed around her neck. Meanwhi le, he r mothe r, having bee n advised of her daughter's illness, obtai ned special pe rmission fro m the A postol ic Nuncio to ente r the cloister to nurse Theresa. Although bowing to the Nuncio's decision, the Mother Superior re monstrated that suc h would establish a precede nt, since no relative of any sister had eve r e ntered the cloister. From her cell, Theresa also begged her mother to offer this sacrifice, " because I am on the cross with O ur Lord, a nd th is way I will be able to offe r Him a complete sacrifice." Do na Luc ia he roically accepted this request and stayed in the parlor. T heresa e ntered a period of tre me ndo us consola tions and tre me ndous bau les. On receiving Holy Communion she would go into ecstasy. Toward the end o f he r illness. on April 9, having e ntered a g reat crisis, it seemed to those around her that she was about to expire. S udde nly. she sat up and with grea t e nergy tried to wre nc h the scapular from around he r neck and to push away all the pious obj ects around he r. In vain did o ne o f the s isters try lo have her hold the crucifix. At the least contact with it she shuddered and refused it. T hey Left: Dona Lucia- St. Theresa's mother Below: The body of St. Theresa exposed in the Convent's Chapel shortly after her flight to eternity
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heard her say in a strong, angu ished, and cavernous voice: " It is true that God has granted me great graces, but I have not corresponded to them and am now damned." Father Blanch ex horted her to confidence, telling her that she was going to Heaven, and he began to implore the protection of the Blessed Virgin by repeating the Hail Mary to her. Theresa still shuddered, pleading, " No, no, please don' t pray for me." And in a heartrending tone, she cried, " I never thought the Blessed Mother would abandon me!" Before this terrible scene, all her sisters prayed unceasingly. By and by she grew calmer, and at acerta in point she exclaimed, as if seeing someone, "My Spouse!" And then, with moving humility, she said, "My Jesus, mercy. Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation." On April 12, at the same moment that a Carmelite in another convent had a vision of an angel piercing the heart of a young Carmelite nun, Theresa of Jesus, who had earlier pronounced her perpetual vows in articu/o morris, was slowly, almost imperceptibly, departing. She opened her eyes to receive the priest's absolution and then calmly closed them forever. Dona Lucia and Luis had been waiting in the parlor, she praying and he pacing the floor. Suddenly, three bells tolled, then another three, then three more. Dona Lucia gripped her rosary and two notes Theresa had written her from her deathbed. Lu is stopped. A sister came to the window. "Senora Lucia, are you there?" "My T heresa has just left, isn' t it so, Sister?" " Your daughter took up her homeward flight like an angel." Theresa's body, covered with flowers and with a crown of white roses on her head, was placed behind the grill facing the chapel. As the curtains were drawn, the Fernandez Solar famil y saw their Teresita, beautiful and majestic as a queen, peace ful and pure as an angel. Suddenly, the chapel began to 1111. All wanted to see the "holy girl" who had just died. All wanted rosaries and holy pictures touched to her body. The procession was interminable. How could they have known ? No one knew about Theresa. What voice had spread the message? What voice had added to her name that of "saint"? But another miracle of grace was performed and we in this sad twenti eth century have one more shining star to guide us. St. Theresa of the Andes, pray for us. â&#x2013;
forgotten rJrutlis
On Catholic Journalism by Pope John Paul II
0
ne of the tasks char you must keep very much ~r h eart today is the promotion and safeguardmg of moral values. In face, in today's climate
of permissiveness, which nor rarely is carried to extreme excesses even by the organs of the advertiser, this functi'on of ethic order takes on a very great significance which by itself would already suffice to justify the presence of the Catholic press. With the courage and the vigor which are second nature co journalises and which are indispensable for swimming
against the current and for overcoming the temptation to demagogic attractions, today m ore than in the past it is necessary co advocate, honor and defend virtue and oood ¡ t> to demonstrate untiringly how they are in harmony with the truth of man and the quality of life, which the degradation of morals and the connivance of vice instead subject to various forms of painful slavery. Address of Pope John Paul II co the participants of the Seventh Congress of the Italian Federation of Catholic Weeklies, December 3, 1983. The Pope Speaks, Vol. 29, p.195, (Huntington, IN)
10 - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
ABORTION and
THE ARGUMENT OF
IABIL by Orlando Lyra
W
ITH THE NOTORIOUS
RoÂŁ V.
WADE
decision of 1973, the Supreme Court departed from reality to embrace legal fiction, denying that human life begins at the moment of conception. In the Court's view, the human life of the growing, moving, pain-conscious, and pain-sensitive fetus in the womb is theoretical, an abstraction, nil. This cockeyed perception has been forced upon every . federal judge and shields large numbers of citizens, and the Court itself, from facing the very real fact that abortion is the taki ng of the life of a human infant. According to current American law, human life does not begin before viability. But what is viability after all? It is that stage of fetal development when the new being is "potenti ally able to live f that is, survive] outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial help" (Roe v. Wade, n. 45). Now, is viabi lity a valid requireme nt for determining the legal existence of human life? It is evident that the embryo cannot survive by itself outside the womb, although
its life is totally distinct from that of the mother. The vital principle which makes it grow does not come fro m the mother, but rather has its own independent impulse. In view of this indisputable and objective biological fact, when does an embryo become viable? As applied to embryonic life, what has viability come to mean? ln the last century, premature babies born before the seventh month were generally doomed to death for lack of adequate technical means to keep them alive. Today it is possible to save a baby born after the twentieth week, and scientists are currently seeking to develop an artificial placenta that would make ten-week-old embryos "viable." "Neonatal medicine," points out Dr. Stuart Koiner, "has decreased the risks associated with premature birth. The World Health Organization adopted the standard of twenty-two weeks as being the dividing line between spontaneous abortion and birth, and newborns as you ng as twenty-weeks gestational age have survived. Since abortions arc routinely perfo rmed as late as twenty-four weeks, one can no longer justi fy such procedures on grounds of fetal non-viability."* Viab le or not, human life is the same. What has changed are the technical means for protecting and improving human gestation. Viability is measured by the sophistication of the life-support syste ms
Viability is being measured by the sophistication of the life-support systems around the baby; not by the humanity or life of the baby itself.
JULY-AUGUST, 1995 - - - -- - -- --
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around the baby; not by the humanness or aliveness of the baby itself. By the criterion of viability, the senile old person rendered incompetent by a stroke, the completely psychotic individual, or even the quadriplegic war veteran, are not "viable," since they are not capable of an independent existence. From the philosophical point of view, the argument of viability confuses physical independence with ontological independence. A human individual always has ontological independence, although his or her physical independence varies with the different stages and circumstances of biological life. The law, as much as it may desire otherwise, can neither create a human life nor decree that a human life is not such. The law must limit itself to acknowledging natural reality. In order to ascertain whether there is life or death. the lawmaker is obliged to have recourse to the biologist and the physician, never the otl 1Y around. Only arbitrariness could ma t, legality prevail over natural reality. The inviolable right to life of every innocent human individual constitu tes one of the fundamental ri ghts of civil society and its juridical order. From the moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings-the most innocent at that-of legal protection, the sound ru le of law is threate ned at its very foundations. â&#x2013; (*) Stuart James Koiner. ¡'Maternal vs. Fetal Rights," About Issues (American Life League). August-September 199 1, p. 35.
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of the Nuc1 by Thomas Becket_
marriage, followed by a dual-career marriage with no children, the n a homosexual marriage with children." 1 ni que among institutions, the family permeates all others. Its innuence far outweighs that of the school, the company, even the State. As the crad le of an individual's religious and moral life, the family forms his outlook, mentality, and psychological characteristics. The dissolution or transformation of the family is thus of primordial concern. What is the current state of the fami ly? Where is it headed? Arc the transformations in society that erode the fo undation of the fa mil y inevitable? Can the fa mily as we know it survive the storm ? More pertinently, how can it survive? These questi ons and others like them are the stock of perplexi ties that prese nt themselves repeatedly to many Americans.
U
The c risis in the fami ly goes all t he way back to d efinition
The crisis shaking the famil y even raises defi ni tional proble ms. When as ked about the phases of famil y life in the futu re, social commentators like Alvin Toffl er can speak in one breath of a ··trial
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Tomer affirms: The technologicall y advanced nations today are honeycombed with a bewildering array of family forms: Homosexual marriages, communes, groups of elderly people banding togethe r to share expenses (and sometimes sex), tribal groupi ngs among certain ethnic minorities, and many other forms coexist as never before. There arc co ntrac t marriages. seria l ma rriages. famil y clusters, and a variety of intimate networks wit h or without shared sex, as well as families in which mother and father li ve and work in two d iffere nt cities.' This type of language runs deep in the jargon of today's commentators on the fam ily. It is convenie nt for politicians because o f its relati vism and ambiguity. It provides the opportunity to please conservatives by speaking about "family va lues" at the sa me time that it neatly skirts around moral issues by extending the
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notion of family far beyond its natural meaning. The term "fami ly values" becomes a talisman3 that leads toward a totally new concept of "famil y." If the common understanding of what a fami ly is can be broadened, the possibilities are endless. Slight nuances and forms of speech that creep into contemporary vocabulary pave the way for an acceptance of rad ical transformation. On the ideological plane, the importance of definition and clear universal notions founded on natural law are essential. If the battle of defi nition is lost the rest falls. What use is it to speak of "family values" if there is no common 1 standing of what a fa mily is in the 111~1 place•J Families are not groups of individuals li ving together for "shared sex." They are not economically based communes. These are not forms of •'family" as Alvin Toffler would have us accept without question. And these type of human agglomerations do not share in •'famil y values ... Nor is the existence of families accidental to human society. Rather, the fa mily is founded on natural law and reinforced by Divine law, Ecclesiastical law an9, until recently. civil law. The fa mi ly is the basic unit of society, as his Holiness
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TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
T
G -the
own
EAR FAMILY John Paul 11 reaffirms: "Since the Creator of all things has established the conjugal partnership as the beginning and basis of huma n socie ty," the fam ily is ''lhe first and vital cell of society."4 Pius XI drew this point out in his encyclical On Christian Marriage. Eve n by the light of reason alone a nd particu larly if the ancie nt records of history are investigated, if the unwavering popu lar conscie nce is inte rrogated a nd the manne rs and institutions of all races examined, it is suffic iently obvio us that there is a certain sacredness and religious characte r a ttac hing even to the purely natural union of man a nd woman, " no t something added by c hance but innate, not imposed by me n but involved in the nature of things," since it has "God for its author and has been even from the beginning a foreshadowing o f the Incarnation of the Word of God" 5
The degenerative process w ithin the family Almost half of the maiTi ages that take place in the United States today will end
in divorce. Twenty-seven percent of American children are born out of wedlock. Thirty-o ne pe rcent of one-parent fa milies today are headed by never-married women, compared to 6.5 pe rcent in 1970. The percentage of people living alone has tri pled since 1950. The degenerative process affecting the family did not occ ur overnight. Its most startl ing recent phase began in the 1960s. The sexual revolution of the sixties facilita ted the steady loss of morals. DeChristian ization and the development of effective contraceptives led to the legalization of abortion and furt her liberalization of divorce, thus giving an appare nt coup de grace to the traditi onal family's legal foundation. The notion of the famil y that is suffering this blow is, however, al ready a minimali st one. The nuclear fami ly, as it is known, is a product of a long-standing process of decadence. The fam ily has already been reduced to its lowest common de nominator, a tomized to the point where any further breakdown would mean a substa ntial cha nge in the nature of the entity. T his reduction to the bare essenti als of the fam ily is not its natural sta te . The traditional concept of the fam ily is wha t is now generally referred to as the
extended fam ily. It went back generati ons include grandparents and even greatgrandpare nts, vene rated a nd supported within the family; and the n outwards to e ncompass the complex and multiple inlaw re lations, forming the basis o f growth both c ulturall y and economically. Further, the natural and healthy expansions of the family ofte n included domestic servants and others in a natural social support structure that served for the preservation of the marriage bond a nd the pe rmane nce of authe ntic fam ily relations. Alvin Toffler sees the destruction of the exte nded fam ily as a conseque nce of the historical laws emanating fm transforma tion of an agric ultural SOLi cly to an industrial society, the standard ized nuclear fami ly being the by-produc t of industrializati on. He sees the spli tting of the nuclear fam ily and the e nd o f the traditio nal notion of the famil y as an inevitable consequence of post-industrial society. To resist th is a nd to defend the traditional fami ly is, to his way o f thinking and tha t of many others, utopian, as absurd as wishing to return to the horsedriven plow. Are we merely the victims of historical de termini sm? If th is view is accepted, there is apparently only one option for the
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"I have already ~
have already bel
advocate of the traditional family structure: d ivorce oneself from the reality of the rest of the world, form an enclave, enclose o neself in a kind of ghetto, and resist the tide of change. But this is an option that does not exist for most. We live in the twentieth century and are surrounded by its institutions and influences. Even if we ourselves can abstract from our surroundings, it is too much to expect that everyone in our fam ilies and related to us can.
strate the ineffectiveness of the current anti-crime po licies based on soc ial welfare programs. Evidence also suggests that areas of greater religiosity and famil y solidarity, not surprising ly, show marked decreases in crime. Patrick F. Fagan, Senior Policy Analyst of the Heritage Foundation, concludes that "The professional literature of criminology is surprisingly consistent on the real root causes of violent crime: the breakdown of Fission within the nuclear family the fam ily and community stability. The sequence has its deepest roots in the absence of stable marriage." 6 Like the atom in physics, the basic unit from which things are made, the smallest The vacuum created by the lack of the particle that still qualifies as a substance, fa mily is often filled by gang membership the famjly is the basic or adherence to extravaunit from which socigant religious sec ts. Percentage of Births eties are made. As the Out-Of-Wedlock: 1960-1990 Crime is often proceeded by its perpetrator becomdestruction o f the Percentage ol births, avorago rates per 100,000 ato m unleashes 30 ing involved with a gang. Within the gang the forces of nature that are destructive, so the detached youngster finds splitting of the fa mily the emotio nal support unl eashes terrible and fri endship he lacked sociological forces of in a dysfunctional family. destruction. He might even find the It is questionable rel ig ious message he did whether there is a sinnot receive at home. This g le more important tendency finds its worst 10 expression in the conflufactor to which the modern world's most ence of satanic cultism, trying problems can drugs, and gangs. Drugs, 5 promiscuity, a nd crime be traced than the destruction of the take on the characteristics 0 fa mily. Numerous of sacraments. In life, and 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 studies demonstrate often in death, the roleSource: U.S. Center for Health Statistics that broken famil ies models presented by the lead to crime. popular mu sic industry Contrary to conventi onal wisdom, race, are followed. An "artistic" death from an poverty, and the lack of social services have overdose or from AIDS is the crown o f martyrdom. no clear correlation with the waves of destruction in society. Divorce, illegitimacy, and pare ntal neglect clearly do. A recent Band-a id solutions and government intervention study by the Heritage Foundation, a Washi ngton-based think -tank, brings together numerous data that demonstrate At the beginning of the century there was no government financia l support for thi s correlatio n. The study fu rni shes a unwed mothers or for their childre n. There litany of parallels between crime and areas of fami ly breakdown. The figures demonwas also an extremely low incidence of
illegitim acy. The few cases o f "fallen women" were generally and sufficiently helped by diverse private initiatives. As the decay of the family set in, a welfare mentality grew concomitantly. In 1935, the government's Aid to Families with Dependent C hildren (AFDC) program changed its policy, allowing cash aid to never-married women who ha.cl children. The floodgates were opened. Young unwed women now had a financial incentive to have children. The trend ever since has been a constant and dramatic increase in illegi timate births. The amount o f government intervention has not, however, been red uced. Despite the President 's promise to "end welfare as we know it," very little or nothing has been done . Worse still , initiatives like the United Nations Charter of Childre n's Rights are po ised to take effect, opening the way for mo re intervention. *
*
*
If the destruction of the family unleashes a disintegra ting fo ¡â&#x20AC;˘Âˇ in society, its integrity is a condition of true progress. To fully grasp the significance of what is happening with the fami ly, it is necessary to understand its potential as a creative force in society. A brief look at the connection between the integrity of the fam ily and the health of society reveals clearly that the destructive forces loose in society have their worst effect when they reach the fami ly. On the other hand, while the fam ily remains intact, the bad influences that abound are for the most part repelled by the natural immunity system of society, which rests mainly in the famjly.
14 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
!n other winds, I
release form idable energies capable of taking man out of his anonymity, keeping him conscious of his personal dignity, enriching him with deep humanity, and actively placing him, in his uniqueTeenage Violent Crime: 1965-1992 ness and unrepeatability, 7 within the fabric of society. Violent Crime: Teenagers 18 and under Arrosl Rates per 100,000 250 Pope John Paul 11 has emphasized the importance of the famil y in society as a means for curing the evils of the day. The family is thus, as the synod fathers recalled, the place of origin and the most effective means for humanizing and personalizi ng society: It makes an original contribution in depth to building up the world, by maki ng possible a life that is properl y speaking human , in particular by guarding and transmitting virtues and "values." As the Second Vatican Council_states, in the family " the vario us ge nera tions come together and help one another to grow wiser and to harmonize personal rights with the other requ irements of social living" (Gaudium et Spes, 52). Consequently, faced with a society that is running the risk of becoming more and more depersonalized and standardized and , therefore, inhuman and dehumanizing, with the negative resu lts of many fo rms of escapism- such as alcoho lism, drugs, and even terrori sm- the family possesses and continues still to
The survival of the institu2001-------------------' tion of the fami ly, then, is not a utopia dream but a necessity. Having been estab li shed by Divine Law, it is historically and sociologicall y inev itable 100 that it wi ll recover. The permanence of our own families depends on our adher50 ence to principle and to Faith. Like many other things that are 90 92 70 75 80 85 65 threatened by the turbulence of Source: FBI, Uniform Crime Report the modern world, a good part December 1993 of the so lution rests in a clear ideo log ical understandin g of what is going on. Agi lity of thought and custom must be combined with intrans igence. Hypocrisy and compromise with the current re lativism, o n the other hand, are a sure road to destructio n. With faith, especially devo1960-1992: Steady Growth in Abandoned tion to the Blessed Virg in and Mothers and Children Millions ot Never-~-\arried Mothers Sai nt Joseph, o ur families will 6 weather the crisis and will be able to say "Alias ego vidi ve11tos: alias prospexi animo procellas"- 1 have already seen other winds, I have already 31------------beheld other storms.8 â&#x2013; 2 _ _ _ _ _ __ ____,_
Notes I. A lvin Toffler, The Third Wave. p.2I 6, (his emphasis(. 2 . Ibid., p. 2 15. 3. Sec Plinio Correa de Oliveira, " Unperceived Ideological Transshipment and Dialogue," Crusade for a Christian Civilizatio11, Oct.-Dec.. 1982, fo r a discussion of the revolutionary use of words as talismans. 4. Encyclical Familiaris Consortia. in The Pope Speaks Vol. 27, no. I, p. 37.
JULY-AUGUST, 1995
5. Pope Pius X I, Casti Co111111bii. December 3 1. 1930, no. 83. quoting Pope L eo X IIJ's encyclical on marriage Arcanum. 6. ''The Real Root Causes of Violent Crime: T he Breakdown of Marriage, Family, and Community," The
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
92
Source: Bureau of the Census, Current Population ReportsMarital Status and Living Arrangements, March 1992, Series P20, No. 466 and earlier
Heritage Fo1111da1io11 Backgro1111der. No. I 026, M arch 17, 1995. p. 36. 7. " Familiaris Consortio" The Pope Speaks. Vol. 27, No. I, pp, 37-38, 8. Cicero, Familiaris, 12, 2 5, 5.
15
The Family.¡ ANatural Institution Ordained by God destruc tive to famil ies. The c hallenges come primarily from the recently interviewed by Tradition, Family and feminist a nd homosexProperty Magazine on of the present sta tus o f the American ua l movements and the Family. sexual revo luti o n in gene ral , w hi ch has Mr. Robert H. Knight is the D irector of C ultural Studies raised appetites a lmost for the Family Research Council. As Senior Fe llow for lo the leve l of a re liCultural Policy Studies a t the Heritage Foundation, he g ious pursuit, instead examined fede ral policies unde rmining s uch traditional valof the pursuit of virtue and the old verities tha t ues as fami ly sovereignty, re ligious freedom, property have sustained a ll c ulrights, individua l responsibility and limited governme nt. H e tures. The homosexuhas written for major publications, including the Wall Street als, who want to have Journal and Naiional Review. two men de fined as a marriage unit, are the c ulling edge of the razor blade trying to TFP Magazine: Today we see that rip through the fa mily, for if they succeed in there is a serious threat, not just a redefining the fam ily, redefi ning marriage, superficial one, to the very notion and ac hieving legal access to c hildre n. the n of the family. When people refer to the protection built into the law for fami lies family values, they can mean almost anything. Does the tradiwill not stand. tional idea of family still exist in O nce you aba ndon the ac tua l de fi nition our country and is there still an o f marri age as the unification o f the two enduring definition of the family? sexes, soc iall y, legally, spiritually, economically, the n you have abandoned truth itself. Mr. Knight: The one thing we have because marriage necessaril y involves both going for us is tha t the fa mily is a nalllral sexes, that is w hat marriage is a ll about. So institution. a n institution ordained by God. you can¡ 1 call some thi ng a marriage that has The famil y has survived because it is the a n entire sex missi ng. I think tha t this sort o f best e nvironment in whic h to civi lize man counterfe it breeds cynic ism. and woman and in which to raise c hil dren. We arc approaching a situa tion in whic h It centers a ro und having c hildre n, but a lso the Sovie t Unio n and other tyrannical states all ows people to realize the gifts God gave found the mselves. whe re the official truth is them as adu lts . Marriage is the framework so much at varia nce with what people know that a llows those tale nts to fl ourish and to be true. Certa inly that is the case in the whe re in God c ivili zes man. Man submits to American military w he re wome n are be ing marriage because of hi s obedie nce to God, thrust into combat roles and homosexuality and also because it is part of God's natural is now be ing ope nly a llowed by the Cl inton law that fa milies be established. Ad mini stration. The main de fe nse of the There are many forces at work tha t a re proponents o f these polic ies is. " Hey. no
M
R. ROBERT KNIGHT, AN EXPERT IN FAMILY MATTERS, WAS
one is objec ting." But anyone w ho knows the military knows that it would be the e nd of a career to speak the truth about the havoc that has been caused by these polic ies. So you have two levels of truth- ac tua lly one level of lying and then the tru th. which are the grumbl es, the w hispered remarks, and the underground pub lications tha t are findin g the ir way into the military. So the campaig n to re de fine _a nd the reby destroy the fam ily by capturing institutions such as the military and the media, academi a a nd other trans mitters of values, is having a w ide r e ffect tha n mere ly hurting families; it is hurting the very cause o f truth.
TFP Magazine: How, then, is the family being redefined from a legal point of view and how do you see that developing in the future? Mr. Knig ht: The United States Supreme Court has been at war with the fam ily for two decades now. It began wit h the Warre n cou rt in wh ich c hi ldren were seen as individual moral agents, inde pe ndent of the parents, a nd through the Supre me Court the state has come be tween husband and w ife. and then between the pare nts a nd 11 drc n. A w ho le series of dec isions arou1,, .i.: Warren era fac ilitated this; the birt h-control decisions and the abort io n decisio ns completed the process. T he father was regarded as dispensab le and as hav ing no rights to his offspring. The so-called right of a woman to a n aborti on trumped all rights the fat he r had . That made ma ny me n cynical and a llowed the m to rationa lize fleeing the ir responsibil ities as husbands and fathers. The li beral courts. I think. knew tha t this agenda would be so destructive, de mo nstrably so. We have seen the result in divorce sta tistics. in unwe d pregnancies, a nd the rest, so that I can't believe that the liberals
16 - - - - - -- - - - - -- - -- - -- - - - - -- -- - - - - - - TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
. are surprised a t the outcome. l used to think that liberals we re we ll-inte ntioned and me rely pushed the wrong butto ns. But hav ing several decades of ex perie nce in disastrous results and seeing very few signs of their conversion to a more reasonable stance, I have to wonder a bo ut the ir mo ti ves . I would like to be charitable and say: "These guys were wrong but well-inte ntioned," but at this point I have to charge the m with malice. There is a hard-core resista nce to the truth , to a ny respect for tradition that has sus tained the fami ly unit and othe r institut ions th at have proved to be the foundation of o ur civilization. These are cultural termites we are talking about, busily eati'ng the social structure, while all the time say ing, "Well, we are the on ly ones try ing to improve them."
TFP Magazine: Do you think that this trend of adoption of children by homosexuals is irreversible? Mr. Knight: They hope it will be irreversible, because more and more homosexua l couples, mostl y lesbians, are having c hildre n through _artific ial inseminatio n or gaining access to adoption. But, no, I don' t think it is inevitable, because I think America is waking up to the greater threat. For years Ame ricans were becoming more tolerant towards homosexuality and fe mini sm as a result of a great deal of pressure from the media, w hich I see is the major instrume nt of policy c ha nge in the United S ta tes. Far mo re powe rful than Congress a nd even the preside ncy; the media is wha t is wrong with thi s country, and I can say tha t from having been inside the media for 15 years. These fo lks are activists masque rad ing as re porters; they have abandoned almost all sembla nce of objectivity. The re are a few brave souls, o ld-sty le j ourna lists w ho, though having libe ral biases. manage to put them aside a nd try to seek an objecti ve account, but they are fewer a nd fewer. When I saw the new crop of reporters come to the Los Angeles Times, I was amazed how brazen they were in foisting thei r views o n the public without any consc ie nce. T hey thought, " We a re right; there is no othe r side to
Interview
Once you abandon the actual definition of marriage as the unification of the two sexes, socially, legally, spiritually, economically, then you have abandoned truth itself. these issues, so why not te ll the people what is right?" The arrogance was just stunning. I would try gently as an editor to tell them, "Well, regardless of your feelings, we have to report both sides," and they wou ld look at me as if I were fro m Mars. You can see thi s by the use of the new parla nce, the politically correct terms. Prochoice is the most promine nt; they can ' t bring the mselves to use the word abortion. They do n' t even like the word ho111osex11al; they call it a loaded term, so they use gay. The twin g rinding stones of activist judges and libe ral j ournalists have c reated a situation in which traditional values and institutions are almost continuously under assault in the c ulture. I don' t despair because I think that people are waking up. People are turning to alterna tive sources of info rmation, radi o talk shows a nd conservative magazines. Conservati ve publications a re flourishing, because people understa nd they are being lied to on a daily basis by the
There is a hardcore resistance to the truth, to any respect for tradition that has sustained the family unit and other institutions that have proved to be the foundation of our civilization.
JULY-AUGUST, 1995 - - - - - - - - - -- - -- - - -- -- --
major media; that is, being lied to by o mission. The stories about the fa mily and famil y struc ture a nd traditional values often contain ma ny facts that are indisputable, but it is the fac ts they leave out tha t would be most revealing. For insta nce, any disc ussion of homosexual ac tivism never includes discuss ion of ho mosexual behavior and its conseque nces. It is portrayed entirely as an a bstract civil issue a pa rt fro m wh at is actually going on. Similarly, the abortion debate has been framed only as a refe rendum on a woman's right to c hoose. No maj or media outfit has ventured into abortion clinics to report on what is actually occurring in these buildings. They know that if they did so, Ame rica would become . to tally disgusted and might eve:n reverse the unprecede nted protection fo r abortion in the law and in the media. During the Oliver North hearings several years ago, when I was working for the Los Angeles Times, I was staying home because I had the flu . I watc hed the hearings fro m morning to evening in their e ntirety on C-SPAN, and the n I switched to the evening news and saw accounts that were totally a t variance with what I had seen unfold. It is as if there were two di ffere nt hearings. It struck me at the time tha t the media were not me rely bi ased, but ac tively at war with those of us who believe in traditional values.
I - - -- - - - -- - -- - 17
Interview
Another blow against the family is the selfrealization movement that is dovetailing with the revival of the New Age religion.
TFP Magazine: How much have they been able to erode from the notion of the traditional family, and how strong do you see that it still is?
Mr. Knight: Well I think that the greatest blow against the traditional fam ily has been no-fault di vorce, because it made fa therhood seem trivial and dispensable. A lot of wome n have fo und otherw ise, because a divorce is quite traumatic and a tragedy for all involved. At the Family Research Council we are promoting divorce reform to make it a lot more difficult to end th at significant bond . Another blow against the famil y is the self-realization movement that is dovetailing with the revival of the New Age relig ion . Thi s essenti ally wate red-dow n Hindui sm and paganism is absolutely at war with C hristianity. You see it in self-esteem movements and in educational methods that emphasize that children are independent moral actors and their parents are merely consultants, not autho ri ties. TFP Magazine: Leftists today conclude that the practical solution for the breakup of the family is to throw money at it to provide financial support for unwed mothers and other hard-case situations. Do these programs work or are they simply incentives for young women to have children out of wedlock?
Mr. Knight: We believe that the evidence is irrefutable that government policies encourage out-of-wed lock births. We have more single-parent fam ilies as a resul t of these welfare policies than we had before these policies began. The "Great Society" shattered the black famil y in particular. In 1960, more than 80% of children in the bl ack community were in two-parent households. Now in some cities it is upwards of 80% living in a sing le-parent home, and overall I believe it is approaching 50% for blacks, so it has even effected the midd le c lass. The out-of-wedl ock fi gu re for America as a who le is up to 25%, and that includes many white fa mi lies as we ll.
Charles Murray did everyone a service when he wrote an article for the Wall Srreer Jo11mal about the growing single-parent phenomenon in the white suburbs. T his was a service because it gave the lie to the essentially racist notion that something is intri nsically wrong with blacks, that they were incli ned toward not forming fa milies. In fact, the black fami ly had survived even a century of slavery and deliberate efforts to break it up. It was very strong up until the Great Society, when black men were driven out of their homes by welfare checks. Now some white men are being driven out o f their ho mes for the same reason. We have subsidized out-of-wedlock births and we are getting more o f them. I wish the Republicans were more interested in welfare reform, because I think that is the heart of our social problems. Unless we get a handle on the pol icies that encourage illegit imacy, all the other reforms are meaningless. I think that the welfare debate should be central. But the feminists are lighting it because they seem to think women are liberated if they manage to get government checks instead of support from a husband. And the homosexuals are all for the welfare, because that is one more cultural support for the idea that no one has ultimate responsibil ity for their sexual actions. That's why you find homosexuals heavily involved in the abortion movement. It severs the tie between sex and procreation and reinforces the idea that sex ual behavior should not have personal consequences. So they identify very much with the abortion movement. Also a lot of them are wou nded individuals who honestly believe that li fe is so hard that some people o ught not be brought into this li fe. It is a very sad phenomenon. â&#x2013;
Unless we get a handle on the policies that encourage illegitimacy, all the other reforn1s are meaningless.
18 - - - - - -- - - - -- - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - - TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
unism St' enace to Ch Civilization
.'
by Anthony Charette
T
HE RAVAGES OF COMMUNISM GIVE EVERY
sign of increasing rather than abating. Nor should civili zed Christians be surprised, for at the core of the communist germ is a hatred of humanity created in the likeness of God. Not only is communism not dead, but it is acting as one would expect a godless tyranny to act: belligerent toward other nations and oppressive toward its own un fo rtun ate populati ons. When North Korea's menacing nuclear program brought on rumblings of war, the United States "solved" the problem by allocating $4 billion in aid for only a promise of future docility. A few weeks later the North Koreans shot down a U.S. Army helicopter that had acc identally strayed into its territory. After 36 years of tyranny, freedom-loving Cubans are still attempting to escape their island-prison, even at the ri sk of their li ves on the high seas. Unfortunately a change in our customary sympathetic attitude had added more grief to the burden of Cuban suffering. At President C linton's command, the U.S. fleet will now assist Fidel Castro in imprisoning thousands of potential ex iles by forcibly returning the refugees to Castro 's police. Any appreciable Russian governmental move away from communism is difficult to detect. In Moscow earlier this year, Russian militiamen brutally expelled Roma n Catholic parishioners from their church, which the govern ment had confi scated, indicating that their hatred for the Catholic Church has not abated. Even more extensive is Russia's effort to
JULY-AUGUST, 1995
reclaim the newly independent States that were once part of its communist empire. The ruthless bombardment of Chechnya has shocked Western sensibilities for some time. However, other break-away states have suffered from interference in their internal affairs, from deliberately incited rebellions to outright occupation in Tajikstan by a Russian infantry division. But by far the most appalling attack on the fundamental dignity of human beings c reated by God has occurred in Red China. For several years the communist government has pursued a massive campaign to reduce the birthrate by allowing only one child per couple. This repressive "famil y planning program" has been imposed through forced abortions and sterilizations. Since Catholics strongly resist such poli tical coercion, the whole affair has taken on the tone of a religious persecution. Authorities constantly raid Catholic homes, confiscate fami ly property, and indiscriminately beat those who are unable to escape. Forced abortions are performed on women in their last weeks of pregnancy. Couples with more than one
19
American TFF Rec epl~ lin
Commentary c hild mu st pay outrageous fines that exceed the average annual income. Bad as this c rue lty is, the communists vow even toughe r e nforce me nt, if suc h is possible. In face of this ordeal one wo uld expect some compass ionate response from our gove rnment, but such is not Clinton's way. He has denied asylum to thirteen Chinese women who have fled China to avoid abortio n and ste rilization and conside rs them criminals because they have violated Chinese law. Rep. Chris S mith of New Je rsey has introduced leg isla tion in Co ngress to protect these wome n who refuse to submit to the killing o f their unborn children. At the moment the affair is being played out in the political and legal are na. Preside nt Clinton has also shown his partiality to the Red Chinese governme nt by recently re-exte nding its most favored nation status. Another affront to human dignity to say nothing of its gross injustice is China's traffi cking in human organs, especially kidneys, for transplants. An estimated 2,000 kidney transpla nts a re performed each year by victimi zing executed prisoners and, in some cases, even re moving the organs before death to insure tha t the kidneys are "fresh." There is some statistical evide nce to suggest that as the number of transplants has inc reased, the number of exec utions has risen proportionately. Harry Wu, a Chi11ese-born U.S. c itizen, who is the director o f the Laogai Research Foundation in California, has done extensive researc h on the subjec t and has compiled impressive docume ntation. The Chinese gove rnme nt receives a bout $ 30,000 for eac h transplant, a fortune in that poverty-stricke n na tion. Since the conde mned, often only a political prisone r, is shot immedi ately after sente ncing, consent forms are neve r obtained. In the communist view, a dead prisone r is not a human being, only a thing. Such a sorry tale of inhuma nity and sufferin g in numerous godless societies c ries out for at least some public conde mnation, but indignation is lulled to sleep by the a ppa rent disma ntling of the scorpion 's oppressive appara tus. Howeve r, a great deal of sting is left in its poisonous tail.
Editor's Note: Ha rry Wu recently returned to China to continue his investigation . Predictably he has been detained and inte rrogated in a coercive atmosphe re. At this writing he is still incarcerated, a n incide nt which is increasingly straining our relationship with Red China. â&#x2013;
O
N MAY 25 , 1995, THE AMERICAN TFP published a state ment in Th e Washi11gto11 Times on the U.S. Governme nt's recent policy change regarding Cuban re fugees see king freedom fro m Co mmunist tyranny. (see TFP Magazine, May-June, 1995, Tropical Gulag, p. 23). The TFP's state ment was published in support of the clear and firm de nunciation of this abrupt policy reversal by the Miamibased Cubanos Desterrados organizatio n, which said, in part: "Attorney Ge neral Jane t Re no has in formed the American people o f a fund ame ntal c hange in the policy of our governme nt towards Cuban refugees fleeing the communist regime occupying their homela nd . T he new directive requiring U.S . authorities to intercept the fragi le boats o f those seeking to escape that island-prison and to forcibly return the freedom loving refugees they bear bac k to Castro's po lice state evokes our utte r a mazement. "The new policy is a crushing blow to the hopes of countless Cubans, ready to risk their lives on the high seas, rather than sacrifice anothe r minute of freedom in the isla nd-prison to which Castro has degraded the former ' Pearl of the Antilles."' At the same time, Ame rican TF P preside nt Raymond Drake addressed the fo llowing le tte r on this matter to Pres ide nt
Clinton. The Preside nt 's reply appears on the opposite page. Dear Mr. Preside nt, I consider it a vita l pa triotic duty to convey to you The A merican TFP's great a mazeme nt and profound displeasure with yo ur decision to order A merican naval vessels 10 intercept re fugees from Cuba in the Caribbean and hand the m over to the authorities o f that unfornmate island-prison. I respectfully suggest that this dec is ion vio lates ma n's natural and basic rights and unexpectedly breaks with thirty-five years of our counu¡y's lucid conduct regarding the communist domination of C uba. By so doing, the United States sacrifices the valuable goodwill it e njoys inte rnationally in return for the dubi ous a nd inconseque ntial fri e ndship of c rypto-communists ac ross the g lobe. Respectfully, Raymo nd Drake President, The A merican Socie ty for the Defense o f Tradition, Family and Property (T FP)
20 - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - -- - -- - -- - -
TRADITION. FAM ILY AND PROPERTY
JI 1,,- llSl
fro on
d1r1aro1; m,~:;"8 agrr,"'"r111
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'"'
THE WHITE HOUSE W.\SHlNOT ON
July 24, 1995
Mr . Raymond E. Drake .t'tt::~.i.de:-:.c.
The American Society For the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property Post Office Box 1868 York, Pennsylvania 17405 Dear Raymond: Thank you for sharing your views regarding U.S. policy toward Cuba. As you know, my Administration has acted to address the issue of Cuban migration . The steps we have taken address the hwnanitarian problem at Guantanamo and will deter illegal migration, protect political refugees, and enable at least 20,000 Cubans to enter the United States legally every year. In addition, the regularization of our migration relationship will enable the United States to focus on its fundamental ob j ectives in Cuba: a peaceful transition to democracy, respect for the hwnan rights of the Cuban people, and an open economy with opportunity for all. Taken alone , the measure of allowing migrants at Guantanamo into the United States might well have triggered another mass migration. endancierinq lives and imoa irj nq our c1bil icy to cont.r el our borders. I concl uded that the only way to forestall such a dangerous exodus was t o signal our d e t e rmina t ion to put an end to i llegal migration from Cuba while maintaining expanded oppo r tu nities for legal admission . I appreciate knowing your thoughts on these important i s s ue s. Sincere ly,
JULY-AUGUST. 1995
21
-
Commentary
Anti-Consumerism: the idea that hard work to produce much does not make up for the drudgery, the worries o f developing a business, or the risks of loss that are usually incurred by bad deals. According to the apologists for laziness, the burden of toil and apprehens ion weighs upon man and is not worth the effort it de mands. Women workers cleaning Red Square Better to work as little as poss iduring the communist regime ble and likewi se eat as little as possible, to rest very much, to drink very much ... instead of working hard, HE INDOLENCE SO CHARACTERISTIC OF consumi ng abundantly, a nd co nstantly many of the nations that lived fo r 50 improving one's condition in life. years or more under the yoke of communist tyranny was aggravated by the fact The Indispensa ble, the Use ful, that everyone had to work more o r less graand the Superfluous tuitously fo r the State. In compensation, no one had to work very much and the work What does it mean to consume? was done without rirnch concern, since no one-except the privileged no111e11k/aturaThe first thing that comes to mind is eating, which is certainly contained in the conhad any right to systematically better hi s living conditions by either qualitatively or cept of consuming . However, to consume quantitatively increasing his work. The way also means to have other pleasures in life, to live, then, was to vegetate . But, fro m a not necessaril y those o f the magnates of certain point o f view, to vegetate is to rest. Mammon for whom the doors o f high conAnd mere rest, even if it be in poverty, is a sumerism are open, but those that bring way of enjoying life for many individuals well-being to man in a greater or lesser and for many nations. degree according to the appetencies of his Thus was introduced into these peoples nature. The word co11s11111e, then, encom-
T
passes all of the things that appeal to the upright temperances of human nature. There may be many items within the scope of a city 's consumption that are by no means necessary for eliminating hunger or indispensable for li fe itself, as for example, th ree or four great theaters with on-going quality artistic exhibitio ns that a portio n of the population who enjoy these productions will go to see. An excellent museum, an art gallery, and a very good subway system would all fall within this category. The idea of consumption thus includes everything indispensable for life as well as things that are usefu l and, withi n.the useful, even the superfluous things that make life pleasant. A mother of a famil y may enter a store and see a porcelain figurine of a shepherdess lead ing her sheep. The mother thinks it would go well as a centerpiece on the coffee table in the living room, so she purchases it, she "consumes." She is not going to eat the porcelain object, but acquires it merely for everyone to look at. Nevertheless, this is true consumption.
A Ty pical S ocia lis t Thesis There is a thesis ari sing today, and if we pay close attention we will discern its
Useful
22
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Commentary
[xaltation of Sloth by Plinio Correa d e Oliveira
the disad vantage of the authentic workers, sociali stic character right from the beginof the various social classes. In a society ning: like thi s, abundance will practically disapGiven that some people have much and pear. others little, it is necessary that the first Voltaire-an evi l man , a despicable keep only what is indispensable for them to atheist, and a bloodthirsty promoter of the live and that they give their surplus to the principles of the Revolution, but a man of others. For, if the former obtain and keep in some cleverness (with which he did much their possession items of lu xury and comharm to European tradition)-once uttered fort, they will be consuming much. They this at once clever and profound expression: will eat much, drink much, enjoy pleasur"The superfluous, a very necessary thing! " able vacations. When they travel they wi ll It is the contrary of the anti-consumerist go by plane, preferably the ir own airplane; doctrine. they will land at their ow n airstrip on their In order to provide working incentive, own property and they will have a landing those who work must receive due remunerpad for their helicopter in their backyard; ation. For society to take full benefit from and so forth. the more capable, the more effic ient , the Now, according to the anti-conmore productive-in one word, the better sumerists, no one should have more than he o nes-it is necessary for them to earn more. absolutely needs. Therefore, no one has the Otherwise, society softens and fa lls into right to spend money on helicopters, trips, non-consumerism. From this it slides into a or fi gurines. Everyone sho uld spend for the state of chronic, lazy, and moldy poverty advantage of all. A man gifted by God with that, in its turn, tends toward barbarism. a great capacity for work behaves well if he gives the fruit of his work to others, but if he Rich and Poor Nations: A keeps what he earns for his own consumpSpecious Dichotomy tion or for his fam ily, he is a big egoist. The result: In a society where no one A current, widespread idea-advocated gai ns any advantage from working more by not a few of the participants in the Cairo than the others, no one will work mo re than Conference not long ago-is that the world the others ! It will be a society structured is divided in two parts: the rich nations and according to the advantage of the lazy and - - - - - -- - - -- -- - - - - - - -- -- --, the poor natio ns. The rich Superfluous nations-the Un ited States, Canada, the countries of Western Europe, Japan-consume. On the other side are the nations of Lati n America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, which do not have the econo mic leve l o f Europe and North America. According to the upholders o f anti-cons umeris m, North America, Western Europe, and Japan-a.II consu mers-oppress the poor nations, depriving them of a ll ty pes of bus iness. Co nseque ntl y, the ex pl oited countries- the non-consumers-
JULY-AUGUST, 1995
must launch a counter-offensive against the consumer world, forcing it lo lower its level of consumption and descend to the level o f the poor world. With this, all will fall into a situatio n like that inflic ted on Russia and the satellite countries o f the former Soviet empire by the communist dictators and analogous to the one to which the old tyrant in Cuba subjects his unhappy countrymen.
In Favor of Judicious and Proportional Consumerism In face of this regressi_ve anti-consumerism , we must advocate a judicious and proportional consumerism in which the rich nations, far from imposing almost unbearabl e conditions upon the poor nations, strive to stimulate the production of their poor brethren by helping them provide proportional salaries and levels o f existence that will give them a taste for a p leasant and savory consumerism and stimulate them to work even harder. "We will give you money as long as you work," the rich nations should say. "Be productive and strive to obtain fo r yourselves through your efforts a ll the goods you desire. If, through no fault of your own, your meritorious efforts fai l, you may then extend your hand for help. We acknowledge, in this case, that it will be 0 1 ¡gation to fulfill your j ust request in sue, . 11 ay that we will renounce with pleasure our surplus in order to g ive you what you require." To make o f world relationships a league in which the more capable peoples work uselessly, without any personal advant age, for the incapable, the lazy, and the loafers, is unacceptable. T he exaltat ion of idleness is proper to socialism and communism, not to C hri stian civili zati on and Catho lic Doctrine. However, this is where anti-consu merism- idle and hard-drinking, enemy of civilizat io n, com fort and well-being o f all men- leads to. â&#x2013;
23
Society
The Heart of the Family by Cardinal Segura of Seville
P
AGANISM CONTAINS
nvo
GRAVE
errors regarding the condition of women in human society. Prior to the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ, ancient paganism treated women like slaves, subjecting them to the whi ms and caprices of men and reducing the m to the condition of being the most despicable objects in the home. On the other hand, today's modern paganism- which is much more culpable than ancie nt paganism due to its varied aspects o f apostasy from the Fa ith , its di sdai n for Reve lation, and its incredulity and indi fference-has trie d to make women complete ly equal or superior to men , called to di rect the future destiny of huma nkind.
The Doctrine of the Church Both of these e rrors are equa lly e xecrable a nd both of them are condemned by the Church. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Gospel accordin g to St. Ma tthew, c hapter 19, verse 4, said to the multitude following Him, " He who made man from the beginning, made the m male and female." And the Apostle St. Pau l in chapter 2 o f his first le tter to Timothy states, "For Adam was lirst formed: then Eve." In the sacred book of Genesis we are told in what manner God c reated man and in what manne r He create d woma n. It is upon these words o f Our Lord Jesus Chri st that we must base ourse lves in order to know the c ondition of woman. This cannot be changed in any way whatsoever under threat of the destruc tion or human society.
Man is the Head, Woman is the Heart If the e rroneo us te nde ncy o f a nc ie nt paganism was dangerous. the heretical tendency of modern pagani sm is no less so. The g re at Doctor of the C hurc h St. Thomas Aqui nas examines the following hi ghly important question in his S11111111a Theotoiica: "Why did God not crea te woman from the foot of man, nor from the head o r man. but. instead from the side of man?"'
Wi th muc h truth and propriety. the Angelic Doctor ex plains that God's havi ng c reated woman from man's rib has a very hi gh signilicance that we must take into cons ideration. God did not c reate woman from man 's foot, he afli nns. the re by s ig nify in g tha t woman was no t meant to be su bject to man ¡s conte mpt as hi s slave; ne ither did He c reate woman from man¡s he ad. thus indicating tha t woman is not ma n's dominator. nor is she the director o f the famil y. Rathe r, as S t. Paul
24 - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - - - - - -- -- - - - - TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
A Prayer ofa Wife and
Society affirms, she is to be subject to man, who is' the head of the family. Why then, continues the Holy Doctor, did God make woman from a rib of man? And he answers that thi s was done to indicate that she was formed as the heart of man, for she was to have in the soc iety of the fami ly-which is a divine society founded by God Himself- the place of the heart. Man would provide the intelligence and strength to defend the family from external danger; the woman would be the love and the heart to oversee the family's intimate life. Ah, if me n and women were to always have in mind this doctrinal consideration of the Angelic Doctor Aquinas, how different they would behave in theory and especially in pract ice.
The Head is Raised, The Heart is P rotected The woman, therefore, is called by God to be the heart o f the family. The head is to be carried aloft in the activities o f governing and directing; the heart is hidden in the bosom and is the source of life for the human being. How we defend our heart! If our heart is seriously wo unded, we run a serious danger of losing our li fe. It is necessary _to preserve the heart from corrupti on, and from hence, we can see that it is also the target of many of the attacks of the enemies of human society, for they know that to corrupt the heart o f the fami ly is to mortally wound the family. Let us cons ider with respect and veneration the words of the Holy Doctor, the Angel of the Schools: The miss ion God has confided to thee, C hri stian women, is to preserve through family life the moral and material life of socie ty.
Mother to the Blessed
Virgin ·
·•
The White Virgin of Toledo, Spain·
·
Mary, Pure and Immaculate Virgin, C haste Spouse of Saint Joseph, most tender Mother of Jesus, perfect model of wives and mothers, full of respect and co nfidence, I have recourse co thee, and, w ith most profound sent iments of veneration, I prostrate at thy feet co implore thy help. See, 0 Pure Mary, m y need s and the needs of my family. H ear the desires of my heart, because it is to thy so tender and so good heart that I del iver them. I hope that, by thine intercession, I w ill obtain from Jesus the g race to fulfill m y o bligations as a wife and mother as I should. Obtain for m e holy fear of God, love of work and good d eeds, of holy things and of prayer, sweetness, patience, wisdom, and, finally, all the virtues chat the Apostle reco mmends for C hristian women, and that constitute the happiness and adornment of families. Teach m e to ho no r m y husband , as tho u didst honor Saint Joseph and as the C hurch honors Jesus Christ. May m y husband find in m e the wife according co his heart; may the holy union we co ntracted on earth continue eternally in heaven. Protect m y husba nd; guide him along the path of goodness and justice, because his happ iness is as dear co me as mine. I also entrust m y poor children
Corr upt the Heart and Death will Ensue
co thy m aternal heart. Be their mother; incline their hearcs coward piety. not allow them to stray fro m the path of vircue. Make chem happy, and afte r
The heart is always protected. It is not carried out in the open exposed to exte rnal danger as is the head. And here we encounter o ne of the great defects o f the modern age, which desires to make a head out of the heart, thereby making life impossible and bringing about immediate death.
o ur deaths m ake them rem ember their father and m o ther, praying to God fo r them and honoring their memory with their virtues. Tender Mother, make them pious, charitable and always good C hristians, so that their lives, full of good deeds, will be crowned with holy d eaths. 0 Mary, grant chat one d ay we w ill be united in heaven, a nd there we can contemplate thy glory, celebrate thy goodness, enjoy thy love and eternally pra ise thy beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus
Based on the doctrinal instruction g iven during Lent, 1948. - the 7 th Centenary of the Conquest of Seville.
Christ. Amen.
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BASIC HIST' y COURSE
WESTE
MLIZATION by Jeremias Wells
CHAPTER FOUR
JUDGES AND KING s 1. Palestine-Promise of God
A
VEIL HAS BEEN DRAWN OVER ISRAEL'S
four decades of wandering in the wilderness. With the exception of a couple of rebellious incidents in the first year or so, the Scriptures say nothing of the long years of punishment. The rabble that had left Egypt had been replaced by strong, zealous young men who longed for fertile land of their own. The time had come to move on and take¡ the land that God had promised to them. The promise made to Abraham that his descendants would possess territory was about to be fulfilled. The clan had become a people; and the people were about to become a nation, but the Israelites would have to fight for it militarily and spiritually by controlling their unruly tendencies. The Promised Land with its constantly shifting boundaries, which had been called Canaan and is known today as Israel, is generally referred to as Palestine in its biblical connection. With the Egyptian Empire on the decline and the Hittite Empire destroyed, the crucial Palestinian corridor enjoyed a brief interval of rest from the attack of its more powerful neighbors. As the Israelites grouped for its move north, the immediate opposition would come from the Canaanite natives who occupied a string of fortress-like cities in the central highlands. Conquest of Palestine The staging area for the conquest lay just south of Palestine in Cades (Kadesh).
The direct route north offered many military disadvantages. The better-equipped Philistines occupied the coastal plains and certainly would have barred the way. Travelling strung along the narrow mountain passes would have exposed them to the danger of being cutoff piecemeal. For these reasons Moses decided to pass around the Dead Sea and approach the Holy Land by crossing the Jordan River from the east. The great prophet sent a message to the Edomites requesting passage through their territory. The sons of Esau, perhaps still smarting from the cleverness of Jacob, refused. At God's command the Israelites circled around Edom and marched north. One by one three different Semitic armies attempted to intercept them. All three suffered severe defeats. The Israelites found themselves in possession of all the territory east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan River up to Mount Hermon. Moses distributed the captured land to the tribes of Ruben, Gad and Manasses. The first step in the conquest of the Holy Land had been taken. What cannot be won on the battlefield, can frequently be achieved through treachery and corruption. When Moses had encamped on the east side of the Jordan opposite Jericho, two neighboring desert tribes, the Moabites and the Madianites, who had completely given themselves over to the filthy worship of Baal, attempted to corrupt the Israelites. The Madianites lured some of the Israelites into the pagan, immoral rites of their degrading worship. Moses, moved by zeal for God's justice and at His command, sent twelve thousand men
against them, and all the Madianite men were killed by the sword. Perhaps the most revolting aspect of the Canaanite paganism, which spread to the related Phoenicians and Carthaginians, was the sacrifice of their own children to the god Baal, especially the first born, as bumtofferings. In these lessons we have seen several examples of divine justice that seem to be somewhat rigorous by modem standards, and we shall see more examples in the upcoming battles. The Israelites were fighting a Holy War. A ban or anathemaâ&#x20AC;˘ was placed on several cities by God with different degrees of severity from outright extermination to more limited destruction. This was achieved not only to fulfill promises made to the Patriarchs and to punish the depraved but, more important, to preserve the holiness and purity of God's Chosen People. History will show that God's plan, as things turned out, was only barely successful due to man's unfaithfulness. When large numbers of impenitent and outrageous sinners perish in some catastrophe, God rarely, if ever, takes an active hand, but works through human or natural agents or simply withdraws grace. Nor should we be surprised at the ~trictness of His justice. We have the benefit of the Flood, the violent extermination of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha, examples from the period now under study, and the devastating Fall of Jerusalem in the Christian Era where over one million died at the hands of the Romans, a punishment predicted by Our Lord. 2 Death of Moses A short time earlier, God had determined that Moses was not to set foot in the Promised Land. During one of those recurring incidents when the Israelites were harassing Moses with their constant complaints about insufficient water, God told Moses to strike a rock. Moses, app. weighed down by the ill-treatment, :-.l, , ... 1-.. the rock twice. Because he did not believe in God's mercy, he was punished. After Moses passed the leadership to Josue, the faithful scout, he climbed Mount Nebo where God showed him the Promised Land. The Almighty then took his earthly life and buried him in the valley below. Few in this world have suffered so much in saving an ungrateful people in order to pursue God's plan for our salvation. Humble, forgiving, patient, he lived solely for God's glory and His Kingdom on earth, but at times the burden became too heavy for him. So intense was his affliction
26 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TRADIDON. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
History that once death seeme d preferable. Nevertheless, he did not cast off his burden, but continued to fulfill his mission as one of the world's greatest leaders of men.
2. The conquests of Josue
T
HE
I SRAELITES
HAD ALREADY
BEEN
only had the walls collapsed with violent sudde nness but an intense fire had accompa nie d the destruction . Father Hugues Vincent, one of the most successful investigators into Palestine's ancient past, dated the destruc tion between 1250 and 1200 B.C.3 After that, the victorious army climbed into the central highlands and in three sweeping actio ns conque red the territory from Debir and Hebron in the South up to Merom in the north. First they cut their way to the very heart of the land and subdued it; next they overthrew a coalition of five Canaanite kings from the south; finally, they swung around to the north and defe ated the northern kings at Merom. Josue left the coastal strip occupied by the Philistines
the m together as a nation loosened. They lost their crusading spirit in the comfort of c ivilized li fe and their intermarriages with the idolatrous pagans sapped their re ligious strength. When the ir religious fe rvor cooled, God allowed the m to be tormented by their neighbors. Suffe ring in the throes of punishment, the Israe lites repente d and turned to God for help. God in answer to their prayers, always raised a dedicated leader to c hampion their cause. These leaders or "Judges" usually only had authori ty over the harassed tribe and o nly for the duration of the problem. Of the dozen or so Judges listed in the Old Testament, two stand out and illustrate how God held the Chosen People during the pe riod.
assure d of God's a ll-powerful assistance in their conquest of the land that He had promised them. This divine assistance was particularly needed in the assault against Jeric ho. The well-fortified city guarded the pass that gave access to the hill country beyond, but Josue's army, that excelled in open-field battle, was illequipped to engage in s iege warfare. Furthermore, the first obstacle, the Jordan River, was swollen by the Gedeon me lting snow fro m the di sta nt M ount Hermo n. Anot he r band of Following God 's instrucM ad ia nites fro m the tions, Josue placed the Ark Arabian desert had tamed of the Covenant, carried by the came l. With the awkit s Levite bearers, at the ward-looking but fleet foothead of the army. When they ed beast, they were able to reached the river, the water swoop clown upon the stac ked up on the high s ide Israe lite towns and villages and drained off on the low at harvest time and ste al the side, leaving a dry passagework of a w hole year. The way for cross in g. After tribe of Manasses that had Josue established hi s base settled in central Pa lestine. camp, he set out for Jeric ho . west o f the Jordan , suffe red When the Israelite general greatly from these raids for arrived at the target c ity, he Gedeon leads his soldiers to water. He dismissed those seven years until they crie d sat in the fi e ld outsi de who lacked dignity and drank like animals. to the Lord seeking he lp. studyin g the impressive G od raised up Gedeo n, a double set of walls. At one humble but idealistic young farmer and point , he looked up a nd saw a man standing untouched. He bypassed the c ity of Jerusale m and other pockets o f Canaa nites re inforced his courage. Gedeon put togethove r him , ho lding a draw n sword. In e r an army of 32.000 men. but God said w ho o ffe re d no oppositio n. especially in answer to Josue·s obvious question of ide nthe ferti le plai ns. He the n di vide d the conthat was far too many. ·'Send away the timtity. the stranger replied. ··1 am prince or the quered terri tory among the remain ing orous and fe arful:· and 22.000 we nt home. host of Lord." (Jos. 5: 14) T he apparitio n o f tri bes. G ideon the n led the remainder to a pool to Saint M ichae l the Archangel once more drink. Most of the m jumped down t>n to all guara nteed di vine assistance and promised fo urs and lapped the water li ke dog, the addit iona l he lp from Satan's g reat 3. The Judges ing a lack of proper restrai nt. Three· ,.,11 1adversary. dred cu pped the wate r w ith the ir hand~ a nd Afte r marc hi ng around the form idable II E PER IOD OF THE J UDGES, WIIICII exte nded roughly from 1200 to I 050 brought the wate r to the ir mouths. God to ld walls the prescribed amo unt of times and foll owing God's d irectio ns care fully. the B.C.. illustrates once again the te nGideon that thcse three hundred were the walls co llapsed. leaving a breach through dency or God"s favored peop le toward soft only warriors he would need. He intended ness a nd compromi se wi th the su rrounding to prove that wi th His Grace a few dedicatwhi ch the Israelites rushed into the ci ty. pagans, the me n of the world . The southe rn They put the conque red strongho ld to the ed men with c haracter were quite sufficoast and plains remained in the hands o f c ie nt. By tru sting in God's assi stance. sword a nd the torch . All the inhabitant s we re kill ed w ith the except ion or Rahab the aggressive Phil istines. The Canaanites Gedeon success full y routed the Macliani tes and he r fam il y as a reward for he r ass isstill controlled several of the larger c ities in a comma ndo raid a nd forever removed tance in protecti ng Josue ·s spies some clays and the c ulti vate d pla ins . and several the m as a threat. Bedouin tribes roamed the desert frin ges. earlie r. The c ity afte rward re mained ruined T he Israelites by settling in amo ngs t the and deserted for centuries becau se of the The Philistines now peacefu l Canaanites became separated curse Josue pronounce d on it. and the re fo re saw the bonds that once tied As we have already pointed out. about Archaeologists have di scovere d that not
T
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. -- -- -~-- -~·~..~ --
.:
History unity. Samuel, a judge and prophet, complained to God, but He replied, '·Hearken to the voice of the people ....for they have not rejected thee but Me, that I should not rule over them." ( 1 Kgs. 8:7) Nevertheless, the monarchy became part of God's plan for man's salvation and the king represented God's ru le on earth. Unfortunately, many kings frequently have forgotten that all authority comes from God and prete nded that they were the source of their own power as we shall see.
-
a •
.::-~-::· ~ -
the same time ( 1200 B.C.) that Josue was clearing out the high country in Palestine, a wave of lndo-Europeans was descending upon the eastern Mediterranean. Aided by the use of iron weapons, they travelled through the Balkan Peninsula and across the straights that separate the Black Sea from the Aegean. One branch the Achaean Greeks, tricked the Trojans into rolling that famous wooden horse full of their soldiers into the city of Troy. Further inland in Asia Minor, their cousins under the name of Phrygians were breaking up the Hittite Empire. While all this is going on, other Greek relatives, referred to as the Sea People unsuccessfull y tried to invade Egypt. After their defeat a group of these fierce pirates moved up the coast of the eastern Mediterranean and settled in southwestern Palestine acquiring the name of Philistines. Their greatest practical advantage lay in the secret of mak ing iron which they kept from their neighbors for quite some time. Equipped with the most up-to-date weapons and organized into efficient military and political groups, the experienced Phili stine fighters had the same goal as the Israelites, the land Of Canaan. Samson More and more the Philistines began to expand their territory at the expense of Israel. Whatever they wanted; they took. Slowly they pushed the Israelites back up into the hills. Since the children of God lacked iron weapons and chariots that their enemies used to great advantage, they were forced to submit to the humil iati ng oppression. Then Samson from the tribe of Dan mou nted a counter-attack. Samson operated as a one-man commando team. A clever, resourceful, and powerful man, he began to punish the
28
~ . ------~
. --
• -','t....:_;_
:,. .
•~ -
Philistines for their arrogance and injustice. When the latter became irritated and threatened reprisals, some of his own countrymen captured and surrendered him. Samson, not wanting to hurt his own people, timid as they were, and trusting in the Lord, declined to protect himself. When the Philistines saw that he was safe ly tied up, they rushed forward to collect their prize. At that moment, Samson in a burst of energy broke the bounds, picked up the jawbone of an ass, and slew 1,000 Philistines single-handedly. What a thousand Philistines couldn't do, one deceitful woman did. The source of Samson's strength was in his long hair which, being a Nazari te, he was forbidden to cut. Dalila, a Philistine whom Samson loved, worked her way into his confidence and through trickery discovered his secret. While he was sleeping she arranged to have his head shaved. Wit h his hair gone, Samson was powerless and easily captured. The Philistines ri pped out his eyes and cast him into prison. Many months later his captors, during one of their pagan feasts, had Samson brought into a stadium so that they could watch him being tormented. Samson, who was familiar with the construction of the building, stopped to rest between two pillars that supported the whole structure. He asked God to restore his strength and mete out justice to His enemies. Placing himself between the two pillars, he pushed them aside, bringing the entire stadium down. Thousa nds of Philistines were killed, including all the princes and Samson himself. 4 . The Kings
T
Saul
. '---=.!
HE I SRAELITES BEGAN TO DEMAND A
king for a leader as other nations had in order to give them strength and
Samuel anointed the first King, Saul, to indicate that the new sovereign was the prince chosen by God over His inheritance. In Samuel we see the true function of a prophet, not necessarily to predict the future, but to announce messages from God. Ill-equipped and outnumbered, Saul attacked Israel's enemies by using the guerrilla tactics of ambush and deception. Unfortunately, excited by his spectacular victories, Saul gave into his arrogant and headstrong nature and became· ungrateful and disobedient towards God. After he disregarded Samuel's instructions, the fai thful prophet totally abandoned him. Samuel told the un repentant King that. since he rejected the word of God. God would reject him and give the kingdom to another. A melancholic by temperament, Saul began to suffer from bouts with depression and irritability. David Samuel travelled to Beth lehem to anoint secretly a young. rugged shepherd. thus establishi ng the royal seat of power in Juda and providing the ancestors to the promised Messias. David, the virtuous youth ,, di in his midd le to late teens, had already , exceptional physical prowess and courag~ by his attacks on wild animals in defense of his flock. Since he showed musical abi lity. he was sent to Saul 's court to soothe the increasing depressions of the King. The war with the Philistines continued. As they were marching into Israelite territory, Saul brought his army up to oppose them and took along David as his armorbearer. With the two sides faci ng each other, a giant Philistine warrior challenged the Israelites to send out their champion to fig ht him. Terrified by his size and strength, all refused including Saul. David stepped forward and accepted the challenge, armed
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
History
¡
death. However, David 's love o f God saved only with his shepherd's staff and sling . The giant, clad in armor fro m head to foot, ' him. Unlike Saul , he begged for forgiveness and was genuinely sorrowful for havcursed him in the na me o f his pagan gods. ing offended God. God forgave him, but David placed a stone in his sling, whirled it wa rned tha t as punishme nt, He would arou nd a nd around, and nung the stone in allow hi s c hild re n to cause him muc h sufthe direction o f hi s head. It found its mark fe ring. and sunk into the giant's fore head. David David's most seve re trial was the trearan up to the body, grabbed his sword and son o f his eldest son. Whe n the young man struc k o ff hi s head. The bew ilde red was killed in battle, David 's grief was Philistines fled. beyond consolation. The King mourned his Dav id 's heroic victory bro ught him son ma ny days. Worn out by a long li fe o f instant popularity a nd advanced military successes, trials, and suffering, David died rank. Saul 's prestige slipped and he sank in I 072 B .C. after reig ning for forty years . dee per into hi s black moods. The more Saul turned away from God ; the more he T he Significance o f D avid's Life was punished. The more he was punished; the more o bstinate he became. In his David certainly ranks with the othe r fevered brain, killing David became a n obsess ion. One day while Davi d was playgreat mo na rc hs and soldiers of hi s day. However, within two gene rations, the kinging the harp to soothe him , Saul pic ked up dom that he established began to come a lance a nd tried to nail him to the wall. apart. It is hi s religious contributions to the Only David's quick ag ility saved him. world that have proved most enduring. His C learly he had to leave the court. passionate loyalty to God a nd his zeal fo r Saul rel e ntl ess ly pursued Dav id God 's glory revived the relig ious e nthusithroug hout the kingdom. Showing the marks of g reatness David never c herished asm o f hi s people. Accord ing to the Septuagint version a ny ha tred towards him because he was (Greek trans lation) o f the Old Testame nt, God's ano inted. When the Philistines marched through David wrote e ighty-seven o f the 150 psalms in the Psalter. These magnificent the Plain of Esdraelon (Jezrael) cutting prayers indicate, despite hi s lapses, a Palestine in hal f, Saul called o ff the c hase tre mendous love o f God, a realization of a nd rushed to meet his country's ene mies. His constant presence, and a certainty of Instead of resorting to gue rrill a warfare His ete rnal power to assist fall e n mankind whic h required pa tie nce and a strength of whe n asked . David, always sensitive to the soul, the u¡agic King confronted the e nemy in a pitched battle. Hi s fo rces were cominspiration of the Ho ly Ghost also reveals a pletely routed and three of his sons were prophetic ability in predicting Our Lord 's killed. In despair, Saul deliberately fe ll on divinity, suffe ring, and Resurrection. In fac t, Jesus descended from the royal his own sword. Davidic line and was on occasio n called the David as King Son o f David, altho ugh Dav id called Him ' Lord ' and foretold that the Mess ias would triDavid eventually united a ll the twe lve umph ove r His e ne mies tribes into one kingdom a nd subdued the ( Ps / 09). In the fullness Philistines, the Syria ns of Damascus, and the troubleso me Bedo uin tribes. He of time what the kings and crowned all this military ac tivity by capturprophets wanted to see ing the las t strong hold of the nati ve came to pass. The One Canaanites, Jerusale m, whic h he nceforth whom David called hi s became the g reat capital o f the undi vided ' Lord' was born in the kingdom . Israel had reac hed the greatest city of David and o f His ex te nt of its power and its highest degree of kingdom the re is no end. organizatio n for David was also a n excellen t administrator that it was ever to see. T h e Phoenicians Unfortunately ble mishes mar this great man's record. fo r he succumbed to his He mmed in by the weaknesses whic h became even more o f a hi gh peaks of the proble m in the next generation. David fell Lebano n range a nd the in love with a no the r man's wife a nd Medite rranean Sea. severordered the husband to be dangerously al scatte red se ttl ements along the rocky coast exposed in a battle w hich resulted in his
banded togethe r in a loose arrangeme nt based on a common la nguage and a common industry, seafaring. These seamen, eventually call ed Phoenic ia ns by the Greeks, we re cl osely rela ted to the Hebrews, Canaanites a nd the Aram aeans who, at the beginning of the Iron Age ( 1200 B.C.), all spoke di ffe rent dialects of the same language. However, the unique geographical position between the mountains and the sea set them apart from the rest of the Near East a nd allowed the m to become the greatest sea traders and most celebrated navigators of the ancie nt world. Since the great overland trade routes intersected with the growing sea trade in this corne r of the Mediterranean, commercial interests prevailed over farming a nd pastoral pursuits. To facilitate the keeping of records in many languages, scribes began to develop a writing system whe re a symbol re presented a single sound rathe r than a whole syllable, thus giving birth to the mode rn alphabet. The Phoen icians taught the alphabet to the Greeks who were responsible for refin ing and spreadi ng it to the West. The Phoe nicians adversely influe nced civilization with pagan worship ~f Baal and the child-devouring Moloch a nd, since they we re a llies of both Dav id and his son Solo mon, spread that conta mination among the Israelites. Their colony in Carthage on the North Afri can coast developed into a world power during the centuries immediately before the birth o f Our Lord and for a time rivaled the Roma n Empire.
Solomon and the beginning of the decline. Solomon, whose name is synonymous
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History with wisdom, began his reign in brilliance and ended it with disaster. He inherited from his warrior-father, King David, a powerful and wealthy kingdom and added to it glory and splendor. Moreover the young King began his life on a high spiritual level, "and Solomon loved the Lord." The Lord appeared to Solomo n saying, "Ask what thou wilt that I should give thee." To God's immense satisfaction, Solomon, instead of riches and other selfish desires, requested wisdom, an understanding heart in order to discern between good and evil. So great was the powerful military machine bequeathed by his father that the mere threat of retaliation insured the peaceful intentions oflsrael's neighbors, allowing Solomon to collect tribute from many. Instead of arduous campaigns, the talented King pursued commercial interests which greatly enriched the nation and entered on enormous construction projects which added to its prestige. Israel reached the height of its grandeur with the construction of the magnificent Temple of Solomon. Seven years in the making with thousands of workmen and the richest material available, the sumptuous edifice rose on the heights of Jerusalem to give glory to God for hundreds of years. Unfortunate ly Solomon drifted into sensuality and pagan worship. The Lo rd after warning Solomon about his spiritual decay finally appeared to him and declared, "Because thou hast done this, and hast not kept my covenant and my precepts, which I have commanded thee, I will divide and rend thy kingdom." The Lord went
IN
SUMMARY
W
HEN
M OSES
AND
THE
NEWLY
formed Israelite Nation emerged from the desert, the great Middle Eastern empires of the second millennium had entered into a period of decline, if they were not oblitered entirely. The IndoEuropeans from the Eurasia n ste ppes, relentless and aggressive, who had been moving in search of better hunting or crop land, more water, o r somebody else 's wealth, were beginning to settle on the European peninsulas and the fertile valleys to the north they were soon to make famous. The more settled Semitic people in Mesopotamia and the adjacent lands on the Mediterranean shore had broken down into smaller units which still fought the usual territorial battles while the seaports were amassing enormous wealth soon to be plundered. In the midst of all this migratio n and turmoil, God led His Chosen people into the Promised Land in preparation for the Redemption of mankind.
to say that for the sake of his father, David, he would wait until Solomon had died. And so the once promising King whose reig n began in glory, power and righteousness saw it dissipate into degradation, weakness and infidelity which brought on a catastrophic division that had a profo und effect on the course of world history. ■
Norns: 1) In the Old Testament, anathema
generally meant extermination. The Catholic Church has used the term, especially in the doctrinal decrees of the Councils, to signify the excommunication of heretics. See Catholic Encyclopedia ( 1907) art. ''Anathema" vol. I, p. 456. 2) For the predictions o f Our Lord which include the end of the world
Moses brought them to the borders of Palestine, passed the baton to Josue and then died. God provided miraculous assistance to the new warrior-chief in preparation for an attack on the impregnable town of Jericho. Josue led by the Angel of Wrath confidently followed God's instructions and saw the walls crumble before him. Josue then in a series of rapid attacks wiped out numerous Canaanite towns and gained a foothold for the Israelites. But they failed to complete the subjugation of Canaan. After Josue's death , two dangers threatened the invaders: inter-marriage with the idolatrous Canaanites and oppression from the expanding Philistines. The destiny that set the Jews apart from the rest of the ancient world required an uncompromising hostility to the pagan religio ns which unfortunately in a spirit of compromise they neglected. The Philistines, part of the Greek-related invas ion of the eastern Mediterranean possessed the iro n weapons and chariots that the Jews lacked. The former had occupied the coastal area and were
sec Mt. 24: 1-5 1, Mk. 13:1 -37. Lk. 2 1:5-38. 3) Although popular histories attempt to give the impression that the biblical facts just related have not been archaeologically proved. the historicity of Josue has been vindicated by modern research. See a·catholic Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, p. 283 and Giuseppi Riccioti, The History of Israel, pp. 68-71.
subduing the hill country while the latter were conquering from the east. Throughout the period of the Judges the conflict went against the Israelites until King David defeated the Philistines so severely that they disappeared from history. After the Judges, who were basically short-term military leaders, the Israelites entered into the period of the undivided monarchy, its high-water mark of materi al prosperity. However only Dav id tru l. · d in the name of God and loved H.im fro,,. .1 1e depths of his soul. Far more important, though, than his earthly s plendor, David, who was a king according to God's own heart, prophesied in the Psalms the suffering, persecution and the triumphal resurrection of Christ. Solomon after a pious beginning succumbed to his vices and, with the great Assyrian, Babylonian and Greek empires ready to burst forth on history, opened the way to disaster and ruin.
For the bibliography see the preceding article in this series
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Theology of History
In I 9 I 8, Juanita Fernandez Solar, whose story is told in this issue, presented three prize-winning essays in the public competition organized by the diocesan chance1y. "Darkness and Ligh, in the Modern Age: Destroyers and Creators" was the expressive title of the first of these essays, which reveals admirable traits of her thought and personality. Her outlook on the decisive historical events of the last centuries shows that the future St. Theresa of the Andes was already clearly imbued with a prescient notion of the crisis that has long been at work destroying Christian civilization. At I 8 years of age she foresaw the course events of our day would take and understood that being Catholic demands facing great battles. Saint Theresa of the Andes was not a young lady without strength of soul. Not the type, therefore, favored by proponents ofa chimerical consensus and unity embracing eve,yone through abolition ofdoctrinal and religious differences. Although she truly knew how to proclaim love with words and examples of admirable sweetness, she likewise knew how to proclaim, with words and examples of no less admirable firmness and magnificence, the duties of vigilance, of sagacity, of open and intransigent wa,fare against those enemies of the Holy Church whom sweetness cannot disarm.
DESTROYERS AND CREATORS by Saint Theresa of the Andes
gle will not end, because the antagonism between the darkness and the light is eternal. While the sons of darkness demolish, the sons of light regenerate. Whence the title we have chosen: " Destroyers and Creators."
Luthe r scream s a ga ins t the a uthority o f the C hurc h
Cornelis Jansen
T
HERE IS A POWER THAT FOREVER REIGNS,
a dynasty that knows no sunset, a light that is never exti ngu ished. This power has always been opposed, thi s dynasty always persecuted, this ljght continuous ly surrounded by darkness. Such is the enduring history of the power of the Church, of the dynasty of the Papacy, of the light, of truth. Whi le she sees everything pass and perish, the C hurch ever stands, for she is sustained by the Power from on high. Let us draw the curtains from the stage of the modern nations. We see that in each century the sons of the Church have to raise to their lips the trumpet of war. This strug-
What occurs in the sixteenth century? The countries of Europe blaze with fratricidal war. In Germany a sinister star stands between souls and the sun of truth: Luther and his partisans raise their war cry. The target of their attacks is the authority of the C hurch. "Believe what you want! ..." What fruit grows fro m thi s rebellion? The destruction of the communion of ideas. Nations find themselves drenched in blood, souls enveloped in the darkness of error. Like an overflowing river, heresy sweeps away the populace, the nobility, the thrones, even the ministers of the altar. The chan nels through which God pours His grace over souls are poisoned.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola r ises up as a warrior of God But is it possible that the world perish? No. A new star rises on the horizon, the wounded soldier of Pamplona, Ignatius of Loyola. He fell as a soldier of an earthly
king but rises up as a warrior of the King of Heaven. Watch him enlist a regiment that will not fire cannons nor brandish swords. Do you want to know his weapons? The crucifix! His motto? "To the greater g lory of God!" His soldiers will spread everywhere, and as bearers of the light of truth will leave behind a trail of light. They pour light over Europe, in apologetics, in preaching, in teaching . They pour out light in the Indies with Francis Xavier, who regenerates millions of souls in the waters of baptism. The soldiers of the new militia pour out light wherever they direct their steps.
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Theology of History
Jansenius brings ice and darkness We turn the page from the sixteenth century, a nd we see in the following century the same spectacle of darkness and light, of destroye rs and c reators. In the seventeenth we see a figure of sti ff and severe appearance standing in the dark shadows: It is Jansenius, leaving ice and darkness whe reve r he passes. The flam es of love flicker and gradually die out at hi s impious cry: "Christ did not die for all!" He no longer presents the cruc ifi x with the arms extended to receive all without exception, but with halfopened arms to receive some and refuse the rest. "Flee from the God of the Blessed Sacrament, because you may alie nate His goodwill by your unworthiness. Flee, flee!" proclaim the seventeenth-century destroyers. And terrified souls flee, freeze, and perish!
Another resplendent and lifegiving s u n rises God is wounded in the most deli cate aspect of His love. But the Divine Word once again pronounces the c reative word that will shine amidst the darkness. In Paray-le-Monial _the re arises a resplendent and life-giving sun. Jesus Christ shows a humbl e Visitation nun His exposed heart , ablaze in fl ames of love. He complains of the forgetfulness of me n and calls them all with insiste nce. Where the Ja nseni st legion c ri es, " flee, flee!" the voice o f Paray- leMonial beckons "come, come !" The black banner of terror g ives way to the beautifu l standard o f love. ls that all? No, there is also the great apostle of charity, Sai nt Vincent de Paul, who in imita tion o f the Divine Maste r, call s the poor, the sic k, the children ; the re is room in his heart for al l. His beautiful legion of Siste rs of Charity snatc hes thousands of soul s from the clutches of hell at the last moment. The ex iled love revives souls; the li ght frees minds fro m the darkness. The divine heart of Jesus and the divinized heart o f Vincent de Paul both speak o f love, the first of infinite love, and the la tter, of heroic compassion for others.
·
Rousseau, appear. The forme r comes with derisive smiles on his lips a nd blasphemy dripping from hi s pe n, the latter with sophisms and confusion of ideas; both bear corruption in their hearts. The supposed philosophers want to explain everything rationally and proclaim to the world that there is no God. They wrest Christ from the hearts of nobles and commoners, and dare to wrest Him even from children's hearts. Stop, you infamous ones! Your measure is full to the brim. This sanc tuary o f innocence cannot be trespassed ; these c hildre n belong to Jesus Chri st! An apostle arises in the name of the God of children: John Baptist de La Salle establishes the Christian schools, preservi ng in the hearts of the helpless children the spark o f faith that is everywhe re being extinguished.
T he French Revolution : work o f impious demolition " War on the Pope!" c ries the murderous phalanx, which boasts in its fren zied e nthusiasm tha t no one will succeed Pius Y I, ma rtyred victim of its impiety. But do not boast so loudly, for God has affirmed that the gates o f hell shall not prevail , and He wi ll frustrate your plans. Be ho ld. seated and establi shed on the throne o f St. Peter, a new Pope. You throw your noble nation again st the patrimo ny o r St. Pete r, and behold the sc hi smatics unwittingly fulfill their mi ssion: They ex pel the invader, and unde r the severity of their tri umphant a rms, the Churc h names a new pilot, Pius Vil!
Darkne s s once again c overs the world
Where the Jansenist legion cries, "flee, flee!" the voice of Paray-le-Monial beckons "come, come!" Word
0 Church, Thy power wi ll never be destroyed! Darkness covered the face of the universe at the dawn of time, but at the moment of the "fiat lux" (cf. Gen. 1:3), it fled, vanquished. Later,
The Illuminati, new d estroyers
the shadow of idolatry fell over the
The struggle is not over; the e ne my ever lies in wait for the Church. The storm is more terrible tha n ever in the e ighteenth century. The heralds o f evil, Voltaire and
ancient world; the Divine Word came and dispelled the darkness, for the
1s
the Light. Today da•·1 nr1,s
once agam covers the Chri ~11an world; but the word of Christ, the eternal Truth, is there: "He that followeth Me, walketl1 not in darkness" (John 8: 12). 0 Word of life! To Thee, eternal love; to Thee, eternal fidelity!"
■
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American TFP Holds Summer Program The American TFP held a twoweek regional summer program for boys during July at its center in Herndon, Pennsylvania. The program featured talks, a daily Rosary and other prayers, games, and outings.
Above: After an arduous hike through
Pennsylvania's Ricketts Glen State Park... Right: Participants In the 1995 Summer program pose with Monsignor Henry Ortero at the American TFP's headquarters In Spring Grove, Pennsylvania.
Left: Msgr. Ortero blessing rosaries for the boys.
1sten to me What I have to tell you will refresh your soul, rest and enrich it. My voice is heard as much in the gentle serenity ~f the C hapel as in the austere simplicity of the C loister. My voice is the rushing spring of thought and reflection. As it speaks to you now, it invites yo u to marvellous solitudes-solitudes that speak of
T he Franciscan Monastery, Washingto n, D .C.
affection and sometimes of paternal severi ty. U nderstand m e. Nothing will give you so much peace.
Listen to me. M y words bring to your soul comfo rt, light, peace. H ad you fo rgotten their existence? H as your soul yearned for chem ? Listen to me. T he ri ng of my vo ice is both grave and gentle. U nderstand me. Nothing will raise you to such spiritual heights. U nderstand me. Nothi ng will give yo u as much nobility of soul as my language without words. I am the voice of monastic silence. Listen to me!
T
hroughout America there are cloistered co nvents and monastaries where noble souls, faithfu l to the spi ri t of their holy founders, listen and pray within the voice of silence. If you are fortuna te to live near such a spiritual oasis, take your fa mily, children, and friends for a visit. Take a moment to leave rhe whi rlwind of life behind. Listen for the vo ice of God within char cloistered silence.
Contents September-October, 1995
•!•
Cover: Rue du Bae chapel in Pari s, where O ur Lady appeared to St. Catherine Laboure
News Flashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Cover Article The M iraculou s Medal Revealed to St. Cathe ri ne Laboure . . . . ..... . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Most Rev. Donald W. Montrose on the dangers of demonic influence, page 15.
Interview Dr. Thomas Hilge rs: We Are Witnessing an Attempt at " Religious C leansing" in the Medical Profession . . . . . . . . I 2 •!•
Our Readers Write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
J4
Religion The Spirit of Da rkness a nd Our Spiritual Warfare . . . . . . . . 15
Society Johnn y a nd the Cultural Revolutio n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The American TFP in Action The Reig n o f M ary: A Bette r World ... . . . ............ 22 Elitism vs. Egal itarianism ........ .. .. ............. . 22
TFPs Around the World
Cover Article: T he Miraculous Medal: More necessa ry than ever, page 4.
Colombia-Cyclone o f Violence Revolution izes a Nat ion . . 23 Spain- TFP-Covadonga vs. Socialist Abo11ionists . .. . ... 25
Commentary The Dark Ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Family Series Cha nt icleer ..... .... ............. .. . ... . ...... .. 30
Rediscovering America A n Era, A Family. A Ho use .. . . . ... ..... . .. ........ 33
Dr. Thomas Hilgers: A strong a nti-Cathol ic sentime nt permeates the medical profession, page 12.
Some people a re sti ll in the dark about the M iddle Ages. page 28.
TRADITION, FAMILY and PROPERTY Magazine is a publication of the American Society fo r the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) . Subscription, $24.00 in the United States and Canada. Foreign subscriptions, $30.00. 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) 225-7 147, Fax: (717) 225-7382. Copyright© 1995. Permission is granted to reproduce, in whole or in part, any article of thi s magazine with credit given to Tradition, Family and Property. ,11
ACurrent anO Prorlletic Me~~a~e s our dear readers will see in this issue of TFP Magazine, the apparitions of Our Lady to St. Catherine Laboure tha t took place in the chapel of the Rue du Bae beginning on July 19, 1830, are closely linked with events that changed the course of history.
A
This historical connection shows the Rue du Bae apparitions as prophetic, just as the appari tions of Our Lady in Fatima were prophetic. To St. Catherine, .the Most Hol y Virg in fore told the Revolutions of 1830 and 1848 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. In the Cova da Iria, Our Lady foreto ld the explosion of World War 11 as well as the expansion and collapse of the communist e mpire. Even though the historic contex t of these appariti ons has c hanged , the essence of O ur Lady's prophetic message nevertheless remains curre nt. Our world today suffe rs the effects of a te rrible c ultural revoluti on that subverts traditional values, ann ihilates sacred institutio ns - especially the famil y - and rende rs our youth easy prey to drugs, pornography, and violence. But this c ultural revolution is not the fruit of huma n ma li ce alone. Human malice ope ns the doors to the " power of darkness," allowing it, in turn , to further stimul ate a nd direct
human malice. Such extre mes of c ruelty, impiety, and cynicism as man has reac hed at this end of the century, would scarcely have been attained without the involvement of the spirit of evil. To provide our readers with a palpable idea of how the power of darkness expresses itself, we present in this issue e nlightening extracts from a pastoral le tte r o f Bishop Donald W. Montrose, o f Stockton, California, on the diabolical influences that pervade conte mporary society. Now, how to counteract this power o f da rkness except with the power o f light? How to crush the head of the Serpent except by the immacul ate heel o f the Virg in? In th is contex t o f spiritual war, o f c ultural revolution a nd counter-revolution, we can offer our reade rs nothing bette r than "The Miraculous Medal Revea led to St. Cathe rine Laboure." More than ever before, we need the maternal protec ti on of the Ho ly Mo the r of God to vanqui sh the power o f darkness tha t seeks a t every mo me nt to smother the appeals of di vine grace in o ur souls. â&#x2013;
The American TFP The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Fami ly and Prope rty (TFP) was fo unded in 1973 to confront the profound crisis shaking the modern world. It is a civic, cu ltural and nonpartisan organization whic h, inspired by the traditional teachings of the Supre me Magiste rium of the Roman Catho lic Church, works in a legal and peaceful manner in the realm of ideas to defend a nd promote the principl of private ownership. famil y a1 , pere nnial Christian va lues with thei r twofold fun c ti on: indi vidua l and soc ial. The T FP's words a nd efforts have always been fa ith fu lly at the service of Christi an civilization. The first TFP was fo unded in Brazil by the famous inte llectual and Catholic leader Prof. Plinio Correa de O li veira in 1960. His work has inspired the formation o f othe r autonomous TFPs in 26 countries across the globe, thus constituting the world's la rgest anticommuni st and anlisocialist ne twork.
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TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
NE WS FLAS HES 0 C le rical Marriage Fails A nat ional survey of Protestant clergy, conducted in 1993 and 1994 by the Hartford Seminary, found that 25 percent of clergywomen and 20 percent of clergymen have been divorced. The study is based on the responses of 2,086 clergymen and 2,458 clergywomen in 15 denominations across the country. Among those with the highest divorce rates were the Unitarian-Universalists with 47 percent of the women and 44 percent of the men and the Episcopalians with 25 percent and 30 percent respectively. The lowest rate was the Southern Baptists with 4 percent of the men and 17 percent of the women.
0 Gorbachev No Longer Wanted Former Soviet chief Mikhail Gorbachev's fortunes seem to be go ing from bad to worst. His syndicated columns simply aren' t appealing to the masses. At least I 00 newspapers including all but one major American publication have dropped Gorbache v's month ly column. Only The New York Times will continue carrying the boring and often repetitious articles.
0
Staying in Control
How many people does it take to control a country? Plenty. Russian historian Dimitri Yolkogonov, who has done extensive research in the Kremlin, concluded that more than 11 million people-one for each 18 inhabitantswere used as spies and informers during Stalin's dictatorship. During the same period more than 2 1 million citize ns were either ki lled or imprisoned in the Soviet police state.
0
prison. Italy's "Band Aids' " gang has been doing just that, taking advantage of a 1992 law. For "humanitarian" reasons, prisoners with AIDS must immediately be set free. Some 3,000 have been released to date. Brandishing kitchen knives with AIDS contaminated blood, the Band Aids' have robbed several Italian banks (including one $ 19 million heist) as a means to "call attention to their problem."
0 Taking it W ith You One of the hottest selling items in the insurance business is what brokers call "viatical settlements." In vestors can now purchase the life insurance policies of the terminally ill at a fraction of the full value. The $300 mi llion-a-year industry is supposed to supply money to termina lly ill people who desperately need money or who want to bank on their fut ure payments. The buyer becomes the seller's beneficiary. Many critics however, claim brokers are preying on a vulnerable market segment in deal ing wi th death fut ures. The industry main ly targets AIDS patients wi th an eye towards cancer suff~Jers.
li'.1 New Orlean s Defends "The Holy Ma iden" Recalling the glorious past of France, the first-born daughter of the Church, a beautiful gold-plated equestrian statue of St. Joan of Arc graces the central square of New Orleans. The statue was presented to the ,. city by Gen. Charles de Gaulle. This heroine of yesteryear
@' F lag Still A Burning Issue The 1989 Supreme Court rul ing protecting flag-burn ing as a First Amendment issue is still a raging controversy. The House of Representati ves for example has overwhelmi ngly passed a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning and 49 state legislatures have indicated their read iness to approve it.
Unaided Crimes
0 Imagine a robbery where unmasked robbers calmly walk into a bank, ask for money and nonchalantl y walk out. Later, the same criminals repeat the performance and even grant newspaper interviews without the least fear of being thrown in
themes at the Ariana Gallery in Royal Oak, Michigan. Among the "art works" is " Born Again," a blasphemous parody of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel painting of the creation of man, depicting Hitler's fi nger touching the State capitol building. Another is "Nearer My God to Thee," which shows a man trying not to fall into an abyss. "Brotherhood" depicts Satan in the midst of faces of all races. In "For He is Raised," Easter bunnies make a puppet of Christ.
"Death Art"
Jack Kevorkian, the Michiga n doctor who has assisted over 20 suicides to challenge that state ¡s laws, is once again provoki ng outrage and controversy. This time, he is exhibiting eight oil paintings with radically anti-Christian
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1995 - - -- -- - --
is embattled again today, trying to hold her ground in the city's Place de France <:inn: the beginning of this year, Harrah J;, ,. wanted to destroy the square and remove the statue of the " Pucelle" to make way for a casmo. The sai nt's allies in New Orleans, opposing this strange decision, launched a j udicial campaign to stop what they consider "an insult to the city's religious and histori c past." They wo n their fi rst clash against the iconoclasts when a Federal Judge suspended the demolition of the square. At the moment, the case awaits a decision from the Department of the Interi or, which will decide either for the heroine or the cas ino.
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Cover Article
The Miraculous Medal Revealed to St. Catherine Laboure I by Benoit Benzelma,zs
N THE REGION OF B URGUNDY, FRANCE,
in 1806, Divine Providence brought into this world a girl whose mission would play an important counter-revolutionary role in her own lifetime and in future centuries, perhaps even to the end of the world. It was the same year in which Napoleo n's armies spread the ideas of the French Revolution throug h the whole o f Europe, destroying the Ho ly Roman Empire that had been founded I 006 years before by Charlemagne. The process of demolition of Christendom, already in ruins, was thus clearly proclaimed . Catherine Laboure's mother, of disting ui shed lineage, belonged to the lower nobility of Fain-les-Moutiers, in France. She died when the girl was only nine years old. On the death of her mother, the little Catherine climbing on a piece of furniture, tearfully embraced an image of Our Lady and said, "You will now be my mother." And, in fact, the Most Holy Mary, responding to this affection, became a mother to Catherine. Catherine was deeply impressed by a dream she had when still young, where in she saw an unknown elderly priest who, after celebrating Mass in the small church of Fain-les- Moutiers, motio ned to her to approach him. Frig htened, she stepped back, yet remained fasc111ated by his gaze. As she continued dreaming, she left the church to vis it a sick lady and again saw the o ld priest, who said to her, "My daughter, you are fleeing fro m me now, but one day ou will be happy to come to me. God has yplans for you. Do not forget t h.1s. "
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1995
Catherine did not then understand the dream, but at eighteen years of age she had a great surprise: Entering the parlor of the house o f the Daughters o f Charity in C hatillon-sur-Seine, whe re she attended school with her cousin, she was struck by a painting of that elderly priest, whose gaze she had never forgotten. It was St. Vincent de Paul, founder o f the Daughters o f Charity, who had indicated and confirmed Catherine's religious vocation in this special way. Only when she was 23 did she fin ally obta in her father's permission to enter the house of the Daughte rs of C harity in C hatillon-sur-Seine as a postulant. It was a victory over all her fath er 's attempts to di vert her from the way that God had traced for her. Three mo nths later, on April 21, 1830, she crossed for the first time the thresho ld of the noviti ate of the Daughters of Charit y, on the Rue du Bae in Paris. Some days later, the re lics of St. Vincent de Paul were translated in a splendid silver reliqu ary, from the cathedral of Notre Dame to the chapel of Saint-Lazare. The King of France, Charles X , participated in the ceremonies held in the presence of Archbishop de Quelen o f Pari s.
Apparitions of the heart of St. Vincent Foll owing that g lori ous occas ion, the Daughters of Charity prayed a novena to their founder in front of his relics in the chapel o f the Lazarists nearby. It was during the novena that Cat herine had her first
visions at the Rue du Bae convent. The heart of St. Vincent appeared to her under three different forms, during three successive days. The first three days she saw it as "white, flesh color, bespeaking peace, calm, innocence, and concord." During the next three days it was " red as fire, as if to signify the charity that, by enkindling all hearts, should," it seemed to her, "renew the entire community and enable it to spread to the remotest parts o f the earth." "Finally, I saw it as dark red, which caused me great sadness that seemed to me nearly insurmountable and, I know not why, linked to a change in the government." But her confessor, Abbe Jean-Marie Aladel, told her: " Do not li sten to those temptations. A Daug hter of Charity is made to serve the poor, not to dream ."
Our Lord appears to St. Catherine Providence, in the meantime, prepared Catherine's soul for Our Lady's revelations that were to fo llow, raising her thoughts to the great interests o f the cause of the Church and o f Christian civili zation: " I was," the saint tells us, "favored with another grace, that of seeing Our Lord in the most Blessed Sacrament during the whole time of my novitiate, except when I doubted. " On Trinity Sunday, June 6, 1830, "Our Lord appeared to me as a king, with a cross on His breast. At the moment of the Gospel, it seemed to me that O ur Lord was bereft o f His vestments, as they fe ll to the ground.
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lA PROTECTION DE DIEUestTOWOURS L
Above:The chair in which Our Lady sat when speaking to St. Catherine Laboure Right: Statues above the doorway at the Rue du Bae, show Our Lady conversing with St. Catherine
The n I had the d arkest and saddest tho ughts: the earthl y king would be de throned and despoiled of his royal ornaments." Catherine a pp lied the vision to King Cha rles X o f France a nd confided her worries to Abbe A lade l, who took them very lightl y.
The first apparition of Our Lady A little more than a mo nth late r, on the eve of the feast of St. Vincent, J ul y 19, Catherine saw the Queen of Heaven and earth for the first ti me. The novices had received a piece o f S t. Vincent's linen surplice. I c ut mine in ha lf and swallowed one piece, then went 10 sleep w ith the thought that he would obta in for me the grace to see the Most Ho ly Virgin. At e leven th irty I awoke, hearing my na me being called: "My s iste r ' My sister '" I drew aside the c urtain and saw a little boy of about four o r five years o f age a nd dressed in wh ite and s urrounded by a radiant halo . "Come to the chapel. O ur Lady is there waiting for you," he said. I dressed in haste and went to the side of the little boy, who had remained standing there. He accom-
pa nied me, always at my left side . All the places we went through were illuminated, which much surprised me. However, I was even more surprised at the door of the chape l, for it ope ned at once whe n the boy just bare ly touched it with the tip of his fi nger. A nd my surprise was even more comple te when I saw that all the candles were lig hted, reminding me of the midnight Mass .... Fina lly, the mome nt came. The boy advised me, " The holy Virgin is coming; he re she is." I her¡ J some thing like the rustling of a silk dress, coming from beside the pulpit near the picture of St. Joseph and ceasing over the ste ps of the altar on the Gospe l side, on a cha ir like that of St. A nn .... IA picture o f the saint hung j ust above the cha ir. I Al that mome nt, seeing the most holy Virgin, I rushed forward, knelt before her, and placed my hands on her knees. It was the sweetest mo me nt of my life, but I cannot express a ll that I fe lt. Our Lady said to me. " My daughte r, the good God wants to give you a mi ssio n. You will suffer muc h, but you will overcome those sufferings by considering that you wi ll do so for the glory of God ... . You will be con-
tradic ted, but you w ill receive grace; do not fear.... You w ill be inspired in your prayers .... "The times are very ev il; great calamities w ill befall France. The throne will be overthrown, and the whole world w ill be disturbed with evil s of all sorts.'' T he Most Holy Virgin had a very sad expression when saying this. " But come to the foot of thi s a ltar. Here graces wi ll be poured out. ..over a ll pe rsons, great or sma ll , espec ia ll y over those who request them .... The danger w ill be great, but do not fear. the good God and S t. Vincent w ill protect the Comm unity." Let us inte rrupt he re -for a mome ntthe words of O ur Lady, to see how they were ful fi lled over the next 2 1 years.
Charles X, Louis Philippe, Napoleon III A week afte r this a pparition. the Revolution of July 1830 exploded. proving the prophe tic scope of St. Cathe rine's visions. This was a new explos ion of the spiri t of 1789. maneuvered by the insurrectionist republican com mittees and the Carbonari.
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TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
The Rue du Bae chapel as it is today, and where the Miraculous Medal apparitions took place
Waving the tri-colored nag of the Fre nch Revolution, they overthrew King C harles X. A savage antic le ri cali sm appeared: C hurc hes we re desecrated ; crosses thrown down ; re ligio us communities invaded , devastated , and di spe rsed; priests harasse d and abused . In the meantime, the prom ises of Our Lady we re faith fully fulfilled : the Lazari sts and the Daughters of C harity, both founded by St. Vince nt de Pau l, survived that turbule nt period unscathed. Powe rl ess to take the egalita rian principles to their last co nseq ue nces, the Revolution placed an illeg itima te king, tho ugh a true prince, o n the throne of St. Louis. Lo uis Philippe, son of the regic ide Philippe Egalite, was the man chosen to li nk the esta blishme nt o f a pseudo-order with the libertarian idea ls within the shake n Pa ri s. He was made king on Aug us t 7, 1830. E ig hteen years later, the Revolution not sa ti sfi ed wi th the removal of the legitimate dynasty. but lo nging to reach its anarchica l aoal , pu lle d down even the illegitimate ~hro ne of Lo ui s Philippe, the ''c itizen-king ." St. Catherine, w ho feared and suffered C harles X, 11 uch with the fall of King SO I . "fâ&#x20AC;˘ oave ne ithe r the same s1gn1 rcance no r ; howed the sam e suffering at the fall of L o ui s Philippe.
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1995
The n the Second Republic was proc laimed. The new regime was first led by a temporary government, amid chaos and barricades, then by an elected preside nt , Louis Napo leon, who made himself e mpero r unde r the title of Napoleon Ill three years later, in December of 185 1.
The narration of Our Lady's first appearance continues But. le t us re lllrn to w he re St. Catherine te lls about the first apparition o f the most holy Vi rgin, o n that night fro m July 18 to I 9. 1830. Our Lady warns: My daughte r, I am pl eased to po ur g races over this communit y, fo r I love it very m uch. But I am saddened to see the great abuses that exist regard ing regula rity, for the Rule is no t ke pi. There has been too muc h relaxatio n in bo th communi ties [the Sisters of C harity a nd the Lazarists] . Re late thi s to your director, even tho ug h he is not yet the supe rior. Later, whe n he is g iven c harge of the comm unity, he sho uld do everything in his power to restore the Rule again. Te ll him that I say this. He must g uard aga inst bad reading matte r, against the wasting of time. and agai nst useless visits .... Yo u w ill know my visit and the protecli on of God and St. Vincent
over the two Communities. But this w ill not happen with o the r congregations, among whom there will be many victims. (When saying th is, the Most Ho ly Virgin had tears in he r eyes.) The re wi ll be victims am o ng the c le rgy of Paris. T he Archbi shop himself will die. (At these words, she again wept. ) My daughter. the c ross wi ll be despised and thrown down. Blood w ill n ow in the streets. The side o f Our Lord will be reopened. T he Archbishop wi ll be deprived o f hi s vestme nts. ( He re the Most Ho ly Virgin could not speak a ny more; suffering appeared o n her face .) My daughte r, the whole world wi ll be in suffering. At these words I wondered to myself when this would happen. I understood Our Lady's reply very well: in forty years. Indeed, four decades late r. ..
The Franco-Prussian War and the Commune France and Ge rmany e ntered into war in 1870. O n Septe mbe r 2, a devasta ting and humiliating defeat obliged Napoleon Ill to surre nde r in Sedan. Days afterward, in Pari s, the Republic
7
was proclaimed anew and headed by a national defense government whose sectarian s pirit was characterized by Gambetta's cry: "The enemy is clericalism." The following March, 187 1, with France still co vered with blood , a revo lutio n, known as the Commune, exploded in the capital. The republican government was obliged to move to Versailles and the capital lived seventy days under the tyranny o f a general council comprised of ferocious anarchists. When, o n May 18, the church of Notre Dame des Victoires was invaded by the " avengers of the Republic," who committed infamo us sacrileges, St. Catherine dec lared: "They have touched Notre Dame des Victo ires. That is their defeat. They will not go further." Indeed, three days later the French regular army entered Paris, defeating the revoluti onary insurrection but not yet controlling the whole city. By order of the executive committee of the Commune, Archbishop Darboy of Paris was shot in the jail of La Roquette, as Our Lady had warned . Two days later, the rebels, already in their last agony, murdered twenty Dominicans and other hostages, both clerics and soldiers. It was known as The Bloody Week. In the meantime, the Lazarists and the Daughters o f Charity, under the protection o f Our Lady, once more weathered a revolution unharmed. During the Commune, while all the sisters-surrounded dai ly by insults and threats of the Commun ards-were
full of terror, St. Catherine was the only one who was not afraid: "Wait, the Virgin will watch over us, no harm will result." When the revolutionaries invaded the convent of the Daughte rs o f C harity and expelled them, St. Catherine foresaw that they would be back in a month, on May 3 1. She reassured the superior that Our Lady would keep the house intact. When leaving, St. Catherine took the crown from the statue in the garden to prevent its profanati on, saying to Our Lady: " I will be back to crown Thee on May 3 1." This and many other forewarnings about the seventy days of the Commune were fu lfilled with complete accuracy. The Commune be ing fina lly defeated in August, 187 1, Adolph Thiers was appointed first president of the Thi rd Republic, thus replacing the Empire of Napoleon III. Everything that th e heart o f St. Vincent, o ur Eucharistic Lord , and the Most Holy Virg in had foretold in the ir apparitions to St. Catherine in 1830 was fulfilled in a three-stage process over forty years.
Charles X, the king whose overthrow was revealed to St. Catherine as the beginning of a series of calamities that would befall France
The second apparition of Our Ladythe Miraculous Medal Let us return to the chapel of Rue du Bae. It is still 1830. Four mo nths have passed since the fi rst apparition o f O ur Lady. leaving St. Catherine with a deep
longing and immense desire to see the Mother of God again. The novice herself in her manuscripts narrates the second apparition as fo llows: O n November 27, I 830... I saw the Most Ho ly Virgi n. o f medium height, standing and dressed in a silk robe, as white as the glow of the
The figure of Our Lady on the Medal There is a delicate controversy regard ing the figure of O ur Lady, with her arms extended, as it appears on the Miraculous Medal. We learn fro m the manu scr ipts o f S t. Catheri ne that O ur Lady appeared to her three times. O n two of these occas ions she o ffered the globe to O ur Lord. without her arms and most vi rg inal hands outstretched as she is shown on the Miraculous Medal. T his difference between St. Catheri ne's descriptio ns and the Miraculous Medal's representation was poi nted out by Msgr. Chevalier, a biographer of St. Catherine, when he gave his depos ition in 1896 for her process of beatification: " I cannot understand why Abbe Aladel suppressed the g lobe that the Servant of God always stated to me she had seen in the hands of the Most Ho ly
8
Vi rgin. I am led to believe he did that to simp lify the medal.'' Though this "simplification" made by Abbe Aladel is regrettable. it is by no means cause for alarm . The blessing of O ur Lady was bestowed on the Miraculous Medal as the whole world knows and vene rates it. This is concluded, withou t any danger of sophism, from the cou ntless impo rtant graces and the innumerable miracles the Medal has brought. There is also St. Catherine's reactio n on receiving the fi rst medals minted by the Vachette company two years after the apparitions: ¡'Now, we must spread it." And , fi nally. a decis ive declaration establishes complete certainty on the question: In 1876. shortly before dyi ng. St. Catherine categorica lly answered the question o f her Superior, Sister Jeanne Dufes, about the g lobe not appear ing on the Medal: "Oh! the Mirac ulous Medal should not be touched."
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Cover Article dawn, of a kind called "d la Vierge" (fitting close to the neck and follow- ' ing the lines of the shoulders and arms). She wore a white veil on her head that extended to her feet, covering her all over. Through this veil, I saw her hair parted in the middle and held by a piece of lace of about an inch in width. Her face was uncovered but of such beauty that I could not describe it. She stood on a half sphere and held in her hands a golden sphere, representing the globe. Her hands were raised to the height of her waist in a very natural way and her eyes looked up to Heaven.... And then, suddenly, I saw rings appear on her fi ngers, covered with stones, some more beautiful than the others, some larger and some smaller, and shedding rays, each more beautiful than the rest. The most beautiful rays came from the largest stones, always extend ing downward, fillin g the lower area. I could no longer see her feet.... At that mo ment, as I was contemplating her, the Most Holy Virgin lowered her eyes and looked at me. A voice s poke within me: "The sphere you see represents the who le world, part ic ularl y France ... and everyone in it...." Here I do not know how to express what I felt and saw, the beauty, the brilli ancy, the splendid rays ... "The rays of light from My hands are the graces I shower on those who ask the most," making me understand how pleasing it is to pray to the Most Ho ly Virgin and how generous she is to those who pray to
the Most Holy Virgin. I was fu ll of good feel ings, when all di sappeared as something that was being effaced, and I remained full of joy and consolat ion.
her, how many graces she grants to the persons who pray for them, the joy she feels granting them .... At that moment a sort of oval frame formed around the Most Ho ly Virgin , with the following words on the upper part: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee," written in gold letters .... Then, a voice said: " Have a medal struck after this model. Everyone who wears it, b lessed, around their necks will receive great g races. The graces will be abundant for those who wear it with confidence .... " At that instant, the picture seemed to reverse itself and I saw the other side of the medal.
The striking of the first medals At the closing of the series o f apparitions of the Most Ho ly Virgi n to St. Catherine, in September o f 183 1, she received a consoling message: "My daughter, you wi ll not see Me anymore in the futu re, but you will hear My voice during your prayers." But, Abbe Aladel, 10 who m she told everything, was cold and unbelieving, considering her a dreamer, a visio nary, hallucinated. Two years of torment went by: " Our Lady wants ... O ur Lady is displeased ... It is necessary to strike the medal," the Sai nt told him. Finally, after consulting with Archbishop de Quelen of Paris, who encouraged him to go ahead with the enterprise, Abbe Aladel pl aced an order for the first 20,000 medals at the Vachette house in 1832. The medals were about to be struck when a cholera epidemic, spreading from Russia by way of Poland, invaded Paris on March 26, in the midst o f the carnival, cutting down li ves in immense numbers. In j ust one day there were 86 1 deaths. Altogether there were 18,400 officially registered deaths but, in reality, the number surpassed 20,000. The descriptions of the time are frightening: in four or fi ve ho urs, the body of a
The third apparition of Our Lady A few days later, in December 1830, the Most Holy Virg in visited Catherine again. She appeared wearing the same white dress and the same veil and holding the golden g lobe with a small cross on top. The same light came from the rings covered with prec ious stones, but with d ifferent intensities. It is impossible to express what I felt and understood at the moment when the Most Ho ly Vi rg in offered the globe to O ur Lord. As I was enraptured in contemplating the Most Holy Virgin, a voice resou nded at the bottom o f my heart: "These rays symbolize the graces that the Most Ho ly Virgin obtains for those people who ask for them." Those lines should be placed under
St. Catherine attempts to convert members of the Commune by distributing Miraculous Medals
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Cover Article man in perfect health was reduced to skin ' and bones. In the blinking of an eye, young people full of life took on the appearance of consumed old ones and shortly after were nothing but corpses. In the last days of May, the epidemic seemed to wane. Finally, the first medals were struck. In the second half of June, however, a resurgence of the awful punishment increased the people's panic. But, finally, on the 30th the Vachette house delivered the first 1,500 medals, which were distributed by the Daughters of Charity and launched the endless procession of graces and miracles.
had been spread ove r the fi ve continents, and reports of miracles came from the whole world: the United States, Poland, China, Ethiopia... In 1842, a report printed by all the press spread like a trail of gunpowder: a young banker, Jewish by race and religion, and engaged to be married, having gone to Rome with critical views of Catholicism, had suddenly converted in the church of Sant' Andre delle Fratte. The Most Holy Virgin appeared to him with the same characteristics as on the Miraculous Medal: "She did not say anything, but I understood everything," Tobias Alphonse Ratisbonne declared. Soon after, he broke his engagement of marriage to enter a Jesuit novitiate that same year. He was later ordained a The wonders passed priest under the name of by word of mouth Father Marie A. Ratisthroughout France, then bonne. crossed the borders and Four days before, very the oceans. In just a few much against his will and years it became common for pride's sake under the knowledge in the pressure of a friend, the Catholic world that Our Baron de Bussieres, Lady had personally preRatisbonne had promised sented to a nun, a to recite the Memorare Daughter of Charity, the and wear a Miraculous model of the medal that Medal around hi s neck. soon was being called He had it with him when "miraculous." Its fame as Our Lady appeared to the "miraculous medal" him. spread far and wide for This s pectacular conFr. Alphonse Ratisbonne conthe great and abundant version touched all the verted by the Miraculous Medal graces obtained by those European ari stocracy and who wore it with confihad a worldwide reperdence, as the Most Holy Virgin had cussion, making the medal better known, promised.¡ sought, and venerated. In the meantime, By 1839 more than ten million medals neither the Superior of the Rue du Bae con-
The conversion of Ratisbonne
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"Madonna de/ Miracolo" in the church of S. Andrea delle Fratte a painting representing the .Mother of God as Fr. Ratisbonne remembered seeing her
vent, nor even the Pope, knew who it was who had been chosen by Our Lady as the channel for so many graces. Excepting only Abbe Aladel, who wrapped everything in anonymity, St. Catherine, out o f humility, kept her whole life in absolute discretion, never letting transpire the heavenly privilege she enjoyed. The only important thing for her was the spreading of the medal; that was her mission , and it was fulfilled.
The incorrupt body of St. Catherine Laboure, under the side altar in the chapel of Rue du Bae
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Cover Article
Perspectives of the Reign of Mary St. Catherine Laboure d ied o n December 3 1, 1876. The apparitions of Our Lady of Grace (or of the Miraculous Medal), just as the subseq ue nt appar itio ns at La Salette, Lourdes, and Falima, opened a splendid Marian perspective for the future, in spite of lhe horrors in which we presently fi nd ourse lves. Regardi ng this, Professor Plini o Correa de Ol iveira commented, " Bes ide the supremely probable punishments in whose di reclion we walk, we have before us the sacral light of the dawn of the Reign o f Mary: ' Finally, my Immaculate Heart wi ll triumph.' It is a grand perspective of the uni versal victory of the royal and maternal Heart of the Most Ho ly Virgin. It is a promise that is comfo rti ng, attractive and, above all, maj estic and inspiring" (Ca10/icis1110, May, 1967). The Reign of Mary spoken of by St. Louis Grignion de Montfort-and presented by Our Lady in Fatima after the pu nishments she pred icted- was also foreseen by St. Catherine Laboure in 1876 a month before she went to Heaven: "Great catastrophes will come ... blood will be shed on the streets. For a moment everythi ng will seem lost. But all wi ll be fo r the best. The Most Holy Virgi n will · save us. Yes, when th is Virgin offering the worl d to the Eternal Father is honored , we will have peace." ■
The Virgin and the Globe I
t is always opportune to say a word about how St. Catherine looked at the trials and martyrdom of her li fe. The Most Holy Virgin had a globe in her hands but, in spite of St. Catheri ne's insistence with Abbe Aladel and her subsequent confessor, no statue ever represented her like that. Only during the year of her death, 1876, would St. Catherine contemplatebut without being able to hide her disappointment- lhe first statue representing Mary Most Holy as she really appeared. However, it did n' t show the rays of light extending from her virginal hands. "Our Lady," St. Catherine exclaimed, "was much more beautiful than th is!" What would St. Catherine say if she were to see the statue present in the chapel of the apparitions, now so modernized? Our Lady with lhe g lobe conveys supernatural domjnion, power, lordship, and authority over the world. This is exactly as St. Louis Grignion de Montfort desired and prophesied regarding lhe last times: an era in which the Queen o f All Hearts must shi ne as never before in mercy, in strength, and in grace, that is, a Reign of Mar y over the whole uni verse.
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Works consulted Aladcl. Fr., The Miraculous Medal: its Origin, History, Promotion, and Results ( 1884). Correa de Oliveira, Plinio, Re11ol11tio11 and Co1111terRe11ol111io11 ( 1993) Englebert, Father Omer. C(l(heri11e labour,! 011d the modem apparitions of Our Lady ( 1959). Fullerton, Lady Georgiana, The Miraculous Medal: the life a11d 11isio11s of C(l(heri11e labo,m! ( 1895). Laurentin. R. Vie de Catheri11e Labo111·e: Recit ( 1980). - , Vie de C(l(heri11e la/Jo11re: Pre111•es ( 1980). . Catheri11e Labo11n! et la Meda ille Miracu/euse: Proces de Catherine ( 1979). - - . and Fr. Roche. C.M., C(l(herine Labo11re et la Medaille Miraculeuse: Docu111e11ts A111he11tiq11es (1976). Louis Grignion de Montfort. Saint, 7i·11e Devotion to the Most Holy Virgi11. Weiss, Johann Baptist. Historia Universal ( 1933), vols. 20. 24.
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1995
Throughout her almost half a century o f religious li fe, St. Catherine was so desirous for the makjng of that statue and o f an altar where the Ho ly Molher of God (represented like that) should be espec ially venerated , that she left various manuscripts of the greatest sig nificance, from whjch we have selected two. One of them, probably from 184 1, reads: "Now, during the last two years I have felt tormented and compelled to tell you that, as I have asked , an altar should be erected o n the same s pot where Our Lady appeared." In another manuscript, with no date, St. Catherine states: "The image must be life-s ize, with a vei l over her head and extending all the way down; her face should be uncovered and, in her hands, at the heig ht of her waist, there shou ld be a golden g lobe, as if she is o ffering it to God. The fingers
The first "Virgin with the Globe,'' kept in the house of the Daughters of Charity in Reuilly. St. Catherine did not hide her disappointment when she saw it.
should be adorned with precious stones, most o f which should shed rays extending down to her feet, covering everylhi ng on the lower part. "The following lines should be placed under lhe column: ' My daughter, this globe represents the whole world, particularly France and each person. T hese stones that do not shed anything are the graces that men forget to ask of me."'
* * * Immediately after this, giving a more prophetic tone to the mission that Our Lady gave her, S t. Catherine sounds something of a precursor note of the Reign of Mary: "Oh, how beautifu l it will be to hear: Mary is the Queen of the Universe, particular ly o f France! And the children, with transports of joy, will cry, 'and of each person in particular!' Th is will be an era of peace, of joy, and happiness that will last a long time. The Most Ho ly Virgin will be taken on her standards and will go around the world." ■
II
Interview
DR. THOMAS HILGERS: WE ARE WITNESSING AN "RELIGIOUS CLEANSING" IN THE 1\1
T
HOMAS
w.
HILGERS
M.D.,
Director of the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of
Human Reproduction and Associate
Clinical Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Creighton
University
School
of
Medicine, in Omaha, Nebraska, was recently interviewed by Tradition,
Family and Property Magazine on a decision he considered a "religious cleansing" of the medical profession. The Accreditation Council fo r Graduate Medical Education, the group which accredits medical programs in the United States, has ruled that all medical schools must reach the techniques of surgical abortion, or lose the official license char makes it possible for them to receive govern ment gran ts and student loans. The decision came in response to heavy pressure from the American abortion lobby, which¡has complained about the shortage of doctors willing to specialize in abortion. Dr. Hilgers and his wife, Sue, were nominated by Pope John Paul II ro the Pontifical Council for rhe Family. Dr. Hilgers has been also appointed ro rhe newly established Pontifical Academy for Life.
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TFP Magazine: As you know Dr. Hilgers, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education recently enacted a regulation that would require all medical schools in the United States to train future obstetricians and gynecologists in the methods of performing procured abortions. How did this occur? Dr. Hilgers: W hile I was not privy to the exact machinatio ns involved in this instance, I have observed the developme nt of the process by which a bortion has been promoted and defe nded over the past three decades in our Natio n. Fro m th is perspective, it seems to me tha t this initi ative arose fro m a ce rta in circle of pro-abortion physicians who have complained that the re is a s hortage of adequate ly trained obste tric ia ns a nd gynecologists available to perform abortions. O f course, the fac t that the re are fewer a nd fewer doctors willi ng to perform abortions rellects a growing realization and abhorre nce on the par t of an inc reasing number of physicians to the disgusting and dehumanizing nature of being a professional abortion ist. Exte rnal opposition a nd environme ntal obstac les to the a bortionists trade have played a part as well. As one in the profession of obstetrics
and gynecology for nearly 25 years, I can say that it is also true that a strong antiCatholic sentime nt permeates the fi eld . T he origin of this bias lies in opposition to the Church's teac hing on contraception. T he obstetrician-gynecologist, of course, is the medical specialist most direct ly involved in contraceptio n. T hus the very nature of their profess ion as presently prac ticed c reates a ntagonism with the Churc h, which rem inds them and all men of the immora lity of cont raceptive practices. Moreover, there is a remarkably close link between contraceptio n and abortio n. A connection which ma ny have failed to recognize and still more have preferred to ignore, if not reject. Nevertheless, o nce contraception is accepted. abortion will fo llow inevitabl y. Hence the developme nt a bout " hir h you inquired. It seems to me th,ll the ACGME's la test act io n is the outgrowth of an ongoing campaign to cleanse the profession of physicia ns strengthe ned by their un ion wi th the Catholic Churc h and her a uthe ntic teach ing a nd, of course, Protestants and othe rs who share a b ib lically-based reverence for the sanctity of li fe. Indeed, it is ironic that whi le the world is quite properly horrified at the ethnic cleansing p laguing the forme r
A strong antiCatholic sentiment permeates the field.
TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Interview
ATTEMPT AT
:EDICAL PROFESSION Thomas W. Hilgers, M.D., Director of the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction.
Yugoslavia, we are witnessing a blatalll attempt at religious cleansing within the medical profession here in the United States through the calculated elimination of practitioners who recognize a moral authority higher than the State. TFP Magazine: The long• term impact of such policies are obvious and frightening. In concrete terms, ·it means that soon no American family will be able to find an obstetrician or a gynecologist whose hands have not been bloodied by abortion. Has there been any reaction within the medical profession? Dr.
Hilgers: Vigorous objections have
been ra ised to the ACGME action. Many physicians, Catholics and others, have written letters of protest. The Catholic Health Association has contemplated legal action, while the Ameri can Association of Pro-life Obstetrician-Gynecologists has registered a formal objecti on. The most promising development to date has been the effort in Congress to enac t legislat ion preventin g the ACGME's pro-abortion regulation from being implemented. Since the ACGM E's acti on does not take effect until January I, 1996, I hope we may prevent the harm it would otherwise inflict on our profession and our Nation. Ameri can fami lies need a greater
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1995
When life is not held sacred, what is? awareness of what is taki ng place within the medical profession. They should ask their doctors where they stand on abortion, contraception, sterili zation, and euthanasia. They should not patronize phys icians who participate in these moral and social abominations. I should point out that the quality of care received by a patient cannot be di vorced entirely from the moral values of the physician providing it. Too often I have seen pro-contraception/pro-abortion doctors neglect basic evaluation tools and techniques. Too often I have heard of incorrect diagnoses and imprope r treatments, accompanied by a cavalier allitude of arrogance that is incompatible with qu ali ty medical care. When life is not held sacred, what is?
Dr.
Hilgers: That is a million-dollar
question! Regrettably, their track record in such matters is uni versally deficient in courage. The obvious example is co111raception. All Catholic medical schools provide at least training in contraception and sterilization; in part, because their uni versities fear the loss of such federal fu nding. If a rule were to require them to provide abortion training, I' m afraid I could envisage them complying with the same rationale. To their credi t, many Catholic schools have spoken out against the ACGME proposal. They said they would not abide by it. But again the track record has not been encouraging and I hope people will encourage Catholic institutions to provide the public leadershi p the~ , hnuld on th is issue ACGME's ac1 1u11 and the religiouscleansing it imposes - violates our religious freedom as American citizens. It violates the civil rights of physicians. nurses and other health care professionals. The next civil rights battle may well be waged within the halls of medicine.
The next civil rights battle may be waged within the halls of medicine.
TFP Magazine: How will Catholic universities receiving government grants and student loans resist a regulation requiring them to teach abortion to their medical studen ts as a condition of accreditation?
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Dear Editor, Soon we will celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Persian Gulf War or "Desert Storm." This international "crusade," led by the United States, liberated Kuwait (and protected Saudi Arabia and other Moslem countries, as well as Israel) from invasion by the terrible Iraqi army of Saddam Hussein. It surely deserves an anniversary celebration. However, one of the best-kept secrets in the U.S. occurred on October 13, 1990, just before " Desert Shield" became "Desert Storm." This was the day the terrorist-supporting, anti-Western, Moslem "peace-keeping" dictator-state of Syria somehow got the green light to bombard, invade, and outright take over the final Christian enclave ("Free Area") of Lebanon, centered around East Beirut. Actually, this was the last Christian stronghold and truly democratic country in the entire Middle East. That awful day left many Lebanese soldiers and officers dead or imprisoned in Syria; a number of Christian clergy missing and executed; churches, institutions, and businesses damaged or destroyed; homes looted; tombs desecrated; civilians murdered and massacred; women violated; etc. And while the atrocity of that occupation was made known at the time in countries throughout Europe, especially the Vatican and France, the U.S. was virtually silent.
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If we are truly committed to democracy (and really a "Chri stian" nation), then it's high time for the Syrian-occupied and subsequently annexed (as well as Israeli-occupied) country of Lebanon to receive as much media coverage and political attention as does the Israel-Palestinian issue, the Bosnian-Serbian-Croatian confl ict, the Haitian situation, and so forth. So as we near the 5th anniversary of the Persian Gulf War or Desert Storm "crusade," let us demand the expedient liberation and independence of the once sovereign, democratic cou ntry o f Lebanon (which consists of both Christians and Moslems who for the most part coexisted peacefully until the PLO began using Lebanon as a commando base against Israel, and vice-versa). Lebano n, its people, and its economy have been exploited (and now de-Christianized) for too long! Thank you very much. Steve Neef Lafayette,
Dear TFP,
Dear Sir, I read th rough " Morality and Crime." The articles are quite interesting and needed so much today with so much crime, destruction o f fam ily li fe, lack of morals and apathy. Yes, the article about Saint Mary Pelletier was informati ve. Sister Mary Clifford
Pittsburgh, PA
Send us your comrncn1s! Whal do you think aboul Tradition. Famil_,, and Prop erty Maga:.in e?
Letters to the Editor
P.O. Box 1868 York. PA 17405
I could not help but take a few moments to write down my thoughts on your excellent magazi ne. During my life I have looked into a number of magazines of a Cathol ic nature and have fo und none that I was totally sati sfied with unt il now. Your last issue in homage to the Crusades was for me particularl y enl ightening. I always had an ad miration for the many Sai nts and warriors who risked their lives for the common good of Christi anity and the Holy Sepulcher, but could find very few apologies for the heroic things they did. Praying for your marvelous work in prov id ing the truth admist so much darkness.
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Dear Editor, Over the years 1 have subscribed to many magazines-but none have covered so many wonderfu l subjects such as Church history, current affairs and problems facing our world today. This is o ne magazine I' m proud to display in my home. It has a distinct quality that attracts the eye but holds your interest on so many subjects. May God bless you for making the world a little better place to live.
Theresa Bowman
Betty Miles
Hazleton, PA
Kansas City, MO
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Religion
The Spirit of Darkness and our Spiritual Warfare Abridged, with permission, from Spiritual Warfare: The Occult Has Demonic Infl11e11ce, a pastoral letter of the Most Rev. Donald W. Montrose, Bishop of Stockton, California
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Bishop Donald W. Montrose The Most Reverend Donald W. Mo ntro se, Bishop of Stockton, Californi a, has a long ca reer of service to Holy Mother Church. Born in Denver, Colorado, h is fami ly moved to Cali fornia in 1936. O rdained in St. Yibian a Cathedral, Los Angeles, by Archbishop James McIntyre in 1949, he has spent many years of his priestly li fe as a school teacher and parish priest. His educatio nal work gave him much experi ence with youth and family li fe in Californ ia. Fluent in Spanish, he has a deep pastora l commitme nt to Spani sh-speaking Catholics as we ll as a great appreciation for our Catholic heritage in Southwestern United S tates, whi ch owes so much 10 Spain. Was named an auxi liary bishop o f Los Angeles by Pope John Paul II in 1983 and consecrated by Cardina l Manning. In 1985, he was named diocesan bishop of Stockton. Since 1986 he has served o n the Board of Directors of the Catho lic Hispan ic Institute of California and on the Education Committee of the U.S. Catho lic Conference of Bishops.
Y THE "OCCULT," WE MEAN A SUPRA-HUMAN OR A PRETERNATURAL INFLUENCE
is not from God. We commonly associate the occult with that which has demonic influence. The occult is much more popular in the Uni ted States today than it was twenty years ago. Popular Satanic music, Satanic street gangs, an increase in Satanic worship, more widespread use of horoscopes and study of the signs of the zodiac, and Satanic games that can be purchased all attest to th is. Yet, many people do not take the occult seriously. They laugh off the notion of the power of evil as actually being a part of the " real" world in which we live. I bel ieve that demonic influence is very real and that it constitutes a dangerous threat to our spiritual well-being. What is written here is, at best, a brief summary of a reality that I have no desire to spend much time exploring. My purpose is simply to g ive you enough knowledge to enable you to at least suspect the presence of the occult so that you can avoid it completely. In the letter to the Ephesians ( I :3-10), St. Pau l tells us that God chose us in Jesus C hrist before the world began. We are called to be ho ly and without s in in His sight. We are baptized and confirmed Christians. In both of these sacraments we have renounced Satan, all his works, and the empty promises of the kingdom of darkness. In our baptismal pro mises we profess our fai th in Jesus Christ and in the Church. Now, the ki ngdom of God is absolutely opposed to Satan's kingdom. Sal vation in Jesus Christ presupposes our rejectio n of the kingdom of darkness. Our li fe is a spiritual warfare. The Evil O ne can tempt us. but he cannot touch us directly unless we open the door to him. We should not fear Satan nor should we be constantly looking for him in the ordinary happeni ngs of our life. Do not concentrate on the evi l spirits, but fix your eyes and your fa ith upo n O ur Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are saved by Jesus Christ alone, through prayer, adherence to the Word of God in the Bible, and the sacraments, especially the Ho ly Eucharist through the presence of Jesus. In our prayer we should not forget to involve Mary, the Mother of God, who has crushed the head of the ancient serpent (Gen. 3: 15). Devotion to Mary is a powerfu l means of protection in our daily li fe. THAT
The Kingdom of Satan What is the ki ngdom o f Satan, the kingdo m of darkness like? It is a lie that seeks to resemble the Kingdom of God. Therefore, Satan wants in h is kingdom everything that is in the Kingdom o f Goel. But his kingdom is a lie; it is false. In the kingdom of darkness there is false worship and adoration; there is evil prayer. T he devil offers us fa lse happiness and peace. He ho lds out to us dark wisdom and knowledge. This is how he tempted Adam and Eve (Gen.3:5). Satan offers us a
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Religion A s trology and Horos copes health that is unto death, a nd a protection ' that is false. Just as we picture the a ngels of heaven si nging and worshipping God, there is also a special evi l music in the kingdom of darkness. St. Paul tells us to be on our guard: "The Spirit says clearly that some me n will abandon their faith in later times. They will obey ly ing spirits and follow the teaching o f de mons" ( I Tim. 4: I). Whe n the Israelites were about to ente r into the promised land, the Lord God gave the m many commandments regarding the true worship that He desired and the false worship that He hated. These same commandments ho ld for us today. When you come into the land whic h the Lord your God is giving you , you shall not learn to imitate the abom ina tions of the peoples there. Let there not be found among you a nyone who immo lates hi s son or daughter in the fire, nor a fortun e teller, soothsayer, charmer, diviner, or caster of spells, nor one w ho consults ghosts and spirits or seeks oracles fro m the dead. Anyone who does such things is an abomination to the Lord , and because of s uch abominations to the Lord, your God is dri ving these natio ns out of your way. You, however, must be altogethe r since re toward ihe Lord , you r God" (De ut. 18:9- 13). The Lord says here that we must be sincere with Him.
Forbidden Knowledge and Forbidden Powe r Let us now consider some examples o f forb idde n knowledge and power. When we talk about forbidde n know ledge, we s im ply mean knowledge that is obtained outside of God 's influe nce o r the norma l way th at hu man be in gs obtain knowledge. None o f us knows the future. From our know ledge of partic ul ar circumstances we can know what might possibl y happe n. This is one thing . But to seek know ledge of the future or intimate knowledge about anothe r person, apart from God and through the help of c lai rvoyance o r spi rits is what is meant by forb idden knowledge. Forbidde n power is a kind of magical power that produces effects apart from God and in a way that is beyond ordinary human means.
Astrology and horoscopes are pagan customs. It is forbidde n to seek knowledge o f the future by using playing cards, tarot cards, Ouija boards, or crystal balls; studying the hand or the stars; examining the livers of dead animals ; shooting arrows; or by any other superstitious means. In I Samuel, chapte r 3, read how King Saul consulted a medium and died the next day. In I Chronicles I 0: 13 it is said that Saul died because of this sin. Daily reading o f horoscopes, even for pe rsonal enjoyme nt, can easily influe nce us. It is one of the ways in which we open ourselves to the occult.
Witchcraft Witchcraft or superstitious mag ic is used to produce effects that are beyond the power of man. These effects may be good or bad and are brought about by the use of mag ic words or gestures, or the use o f magic he rbs, powde rs, liquids. or similar things. There is ofte n a specifi c invocation of the devi l. Physical ev ils are directed against indi vidu als because o f hatred or j ealousy. Today, witches can be fo und al most everywhere, a nd o fte n they are presented in a positive light. There is an increased interest in Afri can witc hcraft and voodoois m. In voodooism a nd witchcraft, Catho lic objects suc h as images of saints, c rucifi xes, candles, holy wate r, and Catholic prayers are some times used , as well as othe r objects a nd prayers. Do not be fooled by the appare nt religious nature of w hat happens. If you have any objects o r w ritte n prayers that have been used in witchc raft o r g iven you by a witc h, they should be complete ly destroyed. If you have bee n in volved in witc hc raft you must re nounce the devil. re nounce the witc hcraft in w hic h you have been invo lved, and all wi tchc raft , ask for God's pardon, and confess your si n to a priest. In confession there is Divine Power that is needed to free o ne from the influence of ev il.
some thing used in witc hcraft. All objects used in a superstitious way should be effectively disposed o f or destroyed. Wearing something that represents the occult, even in an innocent way, is symbolic of our being under the power of darkness. We should not hesitate to get rid of this type of j ewelry. Either we want to be in the Kingdom of God or we don' t.
Spiritualists and Spiritualistic Sects Spiritual ism involves communication with the dead or with the spi rit world by some psychic or occult means. Sometimes spiritualists are involved in healing, witc hcraft, fortune telling, or even blessing of homes to protect the m. They often also bel ieve in re incarnation. Many people are foo led by spiritualists because some of the m are Christian or even Catholic and because, as in voodooism, use may be made o f the Bible, ho ly wate r. statues of sa ints, and Catho lic hy mns. Spiri tualists often be lieve in the Fa therhood o f God, doi ng good to others. personal respo ns ibility for one's actions, reward for good deeds a nd punishment for evi l deeds. But there is always the d a ngerous atte mpt to communicate with the dead or with spirits in some way. whether through a seam:e or trances. Anyone invo lved with spiritualists must renounce Satan and spiritualism, ask God 's pardon. and confess the ir sin to a pri est.
C harms or A mulets C harms o r amulets are forms o f magic in which the pa rtic ular obj ect is believed to have power to attract good or to ward o ff ev il. Muc h o f the mode rn j ewelry worn a bo ut the neck, whic h people usually wear innocently, is actually re presenta ti ve of
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Religion R e incarnatio n Re incarnation is the be lief that the soul, after death, passes into the body of another human being, an animal, a plant, or even an object. Many O riental relig io ns or cults believe this, as does theosophy, which is drawn fro m them. In Hinduism, for example, the god Vishnu is believed to have had several reincarnations, as a fish, a dwarf, as the person of Rama, and as Krishna, in the different ages of the worl d. Belief in reincarnation is contrary to the Bible and to all Christian belief in the afterli fe. "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the j udgment" (Heb. 9:27).
Supe rs titious Hea ling
It does not matter if there are statues, holy water, crucifixes, prayers to Jesus, Mary. and the saints; if there is any superstitious practice, it is evil. Sometimes "c11rc111deros" or "sa111eros" [medicine men or witch doctors] prescribe "Catholic" prayers to be said. None o f these " prayers" should be said in these c ircumstances because they were prepared under the infl uence of ev il. Many times God does not heal through prayers or doctors because He wants the soul to be healed first of hatred, jealousy, or some other sin. God knows what He is doing. We have to choose either the power of God or the power of ev il.
The danger today is that sin has become very "respectable" in our society. Sex before marriage, adultery, heavy social drinking, abortion, and homosexuality have all attained a certain "respectability." Hypnotis m Although hypnotism is now sometimes used by respectable doctors, dentists, and therapists, it was linked in the past with the occult and with superstition. Even when it is legitimate, there are certain real dangers that must be very carefully considered . In hypnotism, one surrenders for a time his own capacity to reason; there is a dependence of the one hypnotized on the will o f the hypnotist; and there can be unfortunate aftereffects resulting from this technique. Except for a very serious reason, avoid submitting to a hypnotist; never do so for the purpose of entertainment.
Music In our day, hard rock pl ayed by "satanic" musical groups presents additional proble ms. This music often glori fies Satan and also, at times, awakens desires to commit suicide, to use drugs, and to misuse sex. Hell is even proposed as a desired end of li fe. The evil is found in the musical combination of words, rhythm, and noise. Records or tapes of thi s kind should not be kept in the home but should be destroyed, even if they have cost a considerable amount of mo ney. Choose the Kingdom of God! It goes without sayi ng that praying to the devil, worshipping Satan, reading the Satanic bible, o r taking part in a Black Mass, which mocks the cruci fi xion of Jesus and the Euchari st, are amo ng the most serious sins that one can comm it.
The New Age Move m e n t O n the surface the New Age movement appears to be a " peace'' move ment, but it de fin ite ly be longs to the occu lt, even though Satan is not mentioned. For example, the "god" of the New Age is not the God of Christianity. The New Age god is more like an impersonal energy or force which comprises the whole universe. T his is a form of pantheism. When we talk SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1995
about any power that is not fro m God and beyond ourselves, we are really talking about the occult. Do not be deceived by the talk about ecology, the beauty of the natural world, and the fundamental goodness of the apparent goals of this movement. It is not a spiritual power that comes from God, but from the kingdom o f fa lse light and darkness.
The King d o m o f D a rkness This kingdom offers false peace and happiness in s in. T hi s false joy is offered in the sin o f drunkenness or drug abuse and in the sins of sex before marriage, adu ltery after marriage, or ho mosexuaiity. When people are deeply involved in these sins, they are really living in the ki ngdom of darkness and can open themse lves to the possibility of direct attacks from the evil spirits. The danger today is that sin has become very â&#x20AC;˘'respectable" in our society. Sex before marriage, adu ltery, heavy soc ial drinking, abortio n. and homosex uali ty have all attained a certain "respectabil ity.'' They do not seem so bad. T his is because they are not bad in the kingdom of darkness.
E liminating the King dom of Darkness Our ho mes sho uld be sacred, 1 â&#x20AC;˘ii places in wh ich to li ve. Our home~ ,Id be c lean. We should not let them become di rty or allow disorder by havi ng junk and filt h accumulate in our drawers and closets. The power of evil abho rs cleanliness. Remove from your home anything that has had somethi ng to do with witchcraft, a spiritualist, a curcmdero, a medium. an oriental religion o r cult, or that has been used in a superstitious way. Destroy it or see to it that it is destroyed. Do not keep jewelry that is symbolic o f witchcraft or a s ign of the Zodiac. Remove and burn all pornographic pictures and magazines. Get rid of all religious literature that does not agree with the
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basic truth of our faith that Jesus Christ is divine. Remove and destroy literature from Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Christian Scientists, Unity, Science of Mind, Scientology, Hare Kri shna, Yoga, Transcendental Meditation, Divine Light Mission, Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon , the Children of God, and the Way International. Do not allow the influence of ev il to come into your home through television. The values taught by television adverti sing are not the values preached by Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapters 5 , 6, and 7.
unless, through fear, we open the door to his influence. Sanctifying Grace means that we share in a mysterious way in the li fe of God Himself and He is dwelling in our souls (Ro m. 5:5, 2 Cor. 6: 16, John 14:23). However, when we com mit a mortal sin, a serious s in, then we lose Sanctifying Grace and begin to live in the kingdom of darkness. As we persist, unrepentant in serio us sin, we become vulnerable to the influence of Satan. When we are li ving in the Kingdom of Light, in the state of S anctifying Grace, we should simply reject all fear and place our confidence in God and in Our Lady, an d then li ve accord ing ly. Again, however, there is the difficulty of defining sin in our present age. We have to define sin according to the Gospel and the official teaching of the Church as it has been handed down by tl~e Church 's Magisterium. We cannot define it in the viewpoint of the modern age, which has been contaminated . Many people li ve in sin and have false peace, because their consciences have been fo rmed, not by the Gospel, bu t by the spirit of thi s age. T hey may be lead ing very respectable lives. be law-abiding citizens and , in the estimatio n of others, leading good li ves. But if they are not living according to the Ten Commandments, the Gospel, and the moral teaching of the Church, even in just one area that concerns serious sin, they are probably living in the kingdom o f darkness. The sacrament of reconc ili atio n and the Eucharist are very special weapon~ that Jesus gave to Hi s C hurch to overcon kingdom of s in and darkness.
There needs to be a place in the home where the members of the family come together to pray.
In the HomeSeekin g God 's P resence As baptized Catholics, even those of us who are not priests, we have a power that we do no t realize. We can ask God to protect and bless o ur homes. We shou ld keep blessed water in our homes and use it frequently. The consecration of the family and the ho me to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is another beautiful Catholic custo m. We need to have a crucifi x and pictures of the Sacred Heart and Our Blessed Lady in our homes. We want our homes to be sacred places. There needs to be a place in the home where the members of the family come together to pray.
Freeing Ourselves from th e Power of E vil Through Hi s passion, death , and resurrection, Jesus Christ has broken the power of the Evi l O ne. When the influence o f evil is perceived in one's own li fe, it most frequently comes abou t from personal sin. Family members suffer because o f the sin of an indi vidual member of the fam ily. It is through the sacred power the Lord has placed in Hi s Church that the evil of sin is conquered. Throu gh medi cine, psycho logy, and other human means, suffering can often be
alleviated. But Jesus, in His Church, has given us basic helps that are often neglected. In our day the sacrament of reconciliation has fallen into disuse. There exists a power in this sacrament to break the power of the Evil O ne and of sin that is not possible otherwise. Our faith in the Eucharist is weakened today. In this sacrament is the power and presence of Jesus Himself. Persons who have actually needed exorcism from the power of the Evil One have bee n cured by sitting in church in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament , an ho ur each day for o ne or two months. And these were very difficult cases. Our Blessed Mother has been designated by God as the o ne who crushes the head of the serpent (Gen. 3: 15). The Rosary is a very powerful means of protection and salvation. Many sons and daughters have been saved from the power of sin and the loss of faith through the perseverance o f their parents in saying the Holy Rosary.
The "Evil Eye" or "Hex": A Special Note O nce in a while people are fearful because they believe that someone has looked upo n them with an "evil eye," placed a "hex" upon them, or has done something by means of witchcraft to bring them under the destructive power o f the enemy. If we are baptized and li ving in the Kingdom of Li ght in the s tate of Sanctify ing Grace, Satan has no domini on over us
Conclus ion There are many and varied ways in which sin and evil are presented to us in an attracti ve way. Thi s pastoral letter presents some ways that many of us rarely think about. I pray that it wi ll be a source o f knowledge and help for those who read it. â&#x2013;
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Society
Johnny and the Cultural Revolution by Thomas B eck et
It touches everyone, it invades everything we do, how we eat, dress, play. But do we understand it? Have we noticed how we are changing?
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IS HAIR JUTS OUT IN ALL DIRECTIONS
from the top of his head. An inchand-a-half overhang ends abruptly at ear level, giving way to closely shaved back and sides and creating an impression of recent brain surgery. Rap from yellow ear-phones pounds frustration, revolt, and sensuality directly into his head. He is the spitting image of Bart Simpson, the fran tic cartoon kid stenciled on his bright green T-shirt. Purple knee- length shorts end in s kinny legs that disappear into disproportionately large running shoes. After school he plunges into virtual reality at the home computer, running through underground passageways. Demons pop out at him fro m every ang le, screaming as he
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wastes them with weapons rangi ng from chain saw to plasma gun. Johnny is a pretty average kid. He is not in trouble with the police. He gets good marks at school. He is into sports. He likes the same things that most kids his age do. Yet at twelve he is exposed to a world of in fluences in reality and in virtual reality that his counterparts of just a few decades ago could only fantasize about during their teen years.
A refle ction on the p ast thirty yea rs Writing on his own experience of this change, a celebrated American affirms:
In my entire high school there were only two or three guys who drank beer or smoked cigarettes. And while we certainly talked about girls, nobody I knew actually did anything. My three daughters and my son have been relatively sheltered, but they all know teenagers who have had abortions, and others who have been arrested for drugs, and still others who were the victims of violence, parental abuse, and even suicide (Oliver L. North in Under Fire). This testifies to a broad cultural transformation, one which has d irection, unity, and a philosophy. Does Johnny know that there is a doctri ne behind the way he is? Do his parents know that he is the battlefield in a cultural war? Johnny is not only the battlefield but the casualty. His future depends on his becoming aware of this. O ne day he wil l 1 , to make a consc ious and informed chu. â&#x20AC;˘r the good. If no one explains where he comes from, where he is headed, and what it all means, how will he know which way to turn? It has been said that a person's education begins two hundred years before he is born. To understand Johnny you need not go back so far. W hat shaped h is mentality started in the l 950's. He is the product of vast cultural changes that are wreaking havoc now and have been for more than four decades.
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Society The first symptoms The Beat movement of the I 950's gave notice that maj or changes were taking place in the United States. The Beats did not espouse a clearly defined political agenda. Their program for mankind was much more radical. It was characterized by a way of looking at life, a new approach to morality, and a disdain for the social norms of the day. Allen Ginsberg, one of the movement's mentors, had grown up in an atmosphere saturated with political revolution. In a poem titled "America" he says, " when I was seven momma took me to Communist Cell meetings." Sympathy for the extreme left, Marxist-Leninism, and the wide range of quasi- or crypto-Marxist movements ran deep in his circles. But the cultural phenomenon that was giving rise to the Beat movement in the fifties and would spawn the counter-cultural hippy current of the sixties was not merely a leftist political tendency. Although sympathetic toward communism, the spirit of the Beatnik movement looked much beyond the mere redistribution of wealth and the creation of a society where everyone is economically leveled. The beatniks rented cheap apartments called "pads," where both sexes often lived together. The ir furni shings consisted of bare mattresses, a few books and records, and little e lse. They wore beards and dressed in simple, worn clothes. The docu-ines o f Freud played a major
part in their life-style. It took a year of psychoanalysis to "liberate" Ginsberg from his bourgeois aspirations so he could write his poem " Howl," which put him on the scene as a major inspiration of the Beat movement. Novelist Jack Kerouac, another notorio us Beat pro tagonist, said , " We love everything - Bill Graham , the Big Ten, Rock and Ro ll, Zen, app le pie, Eisenhower - we dig it all. We' re in the vanguard of the new re ligion." Alle n Ginsberg described his friend Kerouac as "a French Canadian Hinayana Buddhist Beat Catholic savant."
Zen They adopted Zen Buddhism as a source o f inspiration. It had the advantage of an origin distincv from the heritage of Western Christian civilization and at the same time matched well with the re bellion against ratio nal thoug ht th at would become a major earmark of the generatio ns to come. Time-Life's This Fabulous Century series tells o f the reading material of the Beatniks: " ... the books were often about Zen, a Buddhist offshoot which taught that enlightenment could be achieved by abando ning rational , wo rd-ori ented thought. .. Although few Beats really understood Zen, it seemed to fit in with the ir long ing for exotic experiences and instant inspiration." They were interested in a fund amental change within man himself th at we nt beyond the in version o f the social order. It
would invert the psychological order of man , di splacing his reason. The references to Buddhism are not red herrings to be put down to the incons istenc ies o f a deviant fringe group. In the years·ahead the subject of Eastern mysticism and the abandonment of reason became a constant theme. The search for a " higher state of conscio usness"
"...characterized by the spontaneity of the primary reactions, without the control of the intelligence or the effective participation of the will, and by the predominance of fantasy and feelings over the methodical analysis of reality."
promised by popular versions of Eastern religions and later by the neo-pagani sm of the New Age Movement led the way to the acceptance o f the occult. At this early date, the elements that form the cultural background of Johnny's psychology become apparent. Observing these pheno mena in 1959, Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira described the new generati on in Revolution and Coun ter-Revolution as "characterized by the spontaneity o f the primary reactions, without the control of the intelligence or the effecti ve participation of the will, and by the predo minance of fantasy and feelings over the method ical analysis of reality.'' The attack on reason began tendentiall y with the introduction of s lang and then profanity into the l ·m guage o f youths. In the I 950's I' lar words often changed mean ing d1 "'matically. The word in to mean ••in fashion" was replaced with 0111 and then way 0111. In Beat slang like. sti ll used extensively today, became a universal pause word. Cool. hot, dig , cat. et al., burst onto the scene at the time. Jack Kerouac repeatedly used fo ul language in 0 11 the Road, the novel that set the to ne for the Beat movement.
Beyond the fringe The changes in mentality were not limited to the fringe Bohem ian com -
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TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Society munity. In art, Jackson Pollock characterized the new spirit. He dribbled paint onto a canvas from a stick or directly from the can in a mad rush. No form or meaning could be distinguished. However, by 1960 hi s success was confirmed when one of his paintings sold for $ 100,000. Music saw the combining of AfricanAmerican rhythm and blues with countrywestern in "rock and roll." The new beat found its idol in Elvis Presley. Many were not ready for it. Ed Sullivan first refused to present him on his program, deeming him unfit for televis ion, but later contracted him to appear providing that the cameras would only show him fro m the waist up. Today this fact may strike many as amusing, but it reveals a vast change in mentality tak ing place at an incredible rate. At the onset, rock stars seemed relatively conservative, performing in suits and ties. On American Band Stand, a television prog ram that was instrumental in promoting the new style, young ladies could be seen dancing in ankle-length skirts with smartly dressed young men. They look mo re conservative then most ladies at a Sunday Mass today. Yet by the end of the decade the appearances were beginning to chan ge. The teenage gang began to emerge as a fo rm o f social organization to be taken note of in the fi fties. Adopting a tribal structure, engagi ng in violence and criminal activities, a new type of role mode l eme rged fo r youth. James Dean typified the new " Rebel Without a Cause."
Woodstock Nation In the fo llowing decade the rebellio n against the cultural restra ints inherited from a Christian past become more explicit. The seed sown took deep root and fru cti fied.
consequently spontaneity have more value than intellectual re fl ectio n (The Great Bazaar).
The Beat style would come to look almost o ld fas hioned in this decade marked by the hippies. By 1969 Abbie Hoffman would be able to describe himself in the book Woodstock Nation as a "cultural revolutionary," desiring a revolution that "requires people to change the way they live and act." Speaking o f his trouble with the law, he described how he wanted to be tried. "Not because I support the National Liberation Movement - which I do - but because I have long hair. Not because I support the Black Liberation movement, but because I s moke dope ... Not because I am trying to organize the worki ng class, but because I think kids should kill their parents. Finally, I want to be tried fo r having a good time and not for being serious." The gathering of 400,000 in the muddy, overcrowded fields at Woodstock, about which Hoffman was writing, raised a standard that attracted the rebellious young . It came conveniently at a time when similar events were occurring around the world. The year 1968 saw the student revolution at the Sorbonne in Paris. The message was the same: liberation from the restrains of reason and morality, "Imagination into power," "It is forbidden to forbid." Cohn-Bendit, leader o f the student revolt, later wrote about the revolution in the following terms:
The years ahead would see the consolidation of the Woodstock mentality. The barriers that had been broken with the introduction of the mini-skirt , rock and roll, drugs, and the rest, became the standards of a new morality. Abortion was generally legalized , contracepti on widespread. By 1992, the radical fringe environmentalism o f the sixties received the imprimatur of the world 's leaders at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The recent UN conference on women in Communist China foreshadows the implementatio n of the most radical innovations demanded by feminists.
Johnny Aga in Johnny, meanwhile, is still running through underg round passageways o n Mars. He ducks as a fireball from the hand of a demon screeches by. He is safe this time in his virtual Kevlar suit. lf he can hack, stab, chainsaw, and shoot his way through enough demons, he might even be granted another life. His mindless, min imum-strategy but extremely popular game is teaching him to react and live in the absurd . If he were asked if men should be women and women men, if the Bible should be rewritlen to be nice to women or animals, if people should be gene tically redesig ned so they can graze o n grass to save the world from hunger, or if he would li ke to be frozen so he can li ve forever, would he laugh or take these questions seriously? As he turns off the game, a message pops up telling him to register and fin d ou t what hell is really like before he goes there for an "extended stay." â&#x2013;
This pheno menon mani fes ted a yearning for liberty and solidarity. More profoundly, it manifested a transformatio n in inter-personal re lations, a search for multi-d imension in communications, where logical thought becomes merely one of the possib le forms o f exchange, while the imaginatio n, articulated to the psychedelic, reaches a level at which the ordinary fades away to give place to the vibrations; where fee lings and
One of the screen messages in the game "Doom" says: " Once you beat the big bad**** and clean out the moon base you're supposed to win, aren't you? Aren't you? Where's your fat reward and ticket home? What the hell is this? It's not supposed to end this way! "It stinks like rotte n meat, but looks like the lost Deimos Base . Looks like you're stuck on the shores of hell. The only way out Is through. "To continue the doom exper ience, play the sh o res o f hell and its amazing s e que l, Inferno!"
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The American TFP in Action
ELITISM VERSUS
EGALITARIANISM â&#x20AC;˘
. I ', - I
.l\loi,i -
Above: The audience at Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church, Sterling Heights, one of three Michigan stops of Mr. da Costa's August 12-16 trip. Left: Mr. Mario Navarro da Costa.
The Reign of Mary: A Better World by John Drake
T
he great Marian apostle St. Louis de Montfort ( 1673-1 7 16) prophesied a period in wh ich mankind , influenced by graces abundantly granted by Mary Most Holy, will organize its life in accordance with Catholic doctrine. The beneficent action of the Church will shine as never before. Just 200 years after the death o f St. Louis, Our Lady herself pred icted the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart in her Fatima message - "which is directed in a special way to this century" (words of Pope John Paul II at Fatima, May 13, 1982). In an August lectu re tour honoring Our Lady's glorious Assumption a:1d the 78th anniversary of the fourth Fatima apparition, Mario Navarro da Costa spoke to audiences in the Cleveland and Detroit areas o n this triumph's reflection in the temporal order. Drawing o n the Church's doctrinal treasury, he showed what the Church really says about the proper organization of society. His sources included contemporary Catholic scholars such as Prof. Plinio Correa de Oli veira, Saints, and Popes, especially Pope Pius XII, who canonized Lo uis de Montfort in 1947 and defi ned the dogma of the Assumption in 1950. Mr. Navarro da Costa, a lawyer and journalist with advanced studies in history, religion, and political science, has been head of the Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) bureau in Washington, D.C., since 198 1. Fluent in five languages, he has lectured in numerous countries. While head of the TFPs ' representati ve office in Rome in 1978, he covered the conclaves that elected John Paul I and John Paul II to the Papacy. â&#x2013;
In his allocutions to the noble families of Rome, Pope Pius XII made clear that elites are to society what the head is to the body. In other words, no matter what society we live in, there will necessarily be elites; and they will lead, for good or for bad. If these elites are virtuous, they will promote the spiritual and material uplifting of society. lf not, they will lead society to decadence. Given the current predominance of elites that do not provide propefleadership, what are we to do? Embrace egalitarianism? Or understand and apply the concepts of equality and inequality in a Catholic sense and in this way foster true leadership? These were some of the questions addressed by Jerome V. Brown, Ph.D., in two TFP-sponsored presentations in the Detroit area this past summer. Dr. Brown, a graduate of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto, is a professor of philosophy at the University of Windsor (Ontario). His presentations revealed not only scholarship but also a special love of Holy Scriptures accompanied by a deep insight into human nature.
Right: Reception following Mr. Navarro da Costa's presentation in Sterling Heights.
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TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Tf Ps Around the World
Colombia Cyclone of violence revolutionizes a nation by Victor Rodriguez and the Colombian TFP Commission of Studies
T
he media overflows with it: drugs, crime, terror, guerrillas, and the inability of politicians to do anything about it. Such is the picture of Colombia. But could this not also be the picture of many American cities? Another thought: Isn' t Colombia one of the main suppliers for drug consumption in America? In the past, a label with " Produc t of Colombia" evoked the c risp aroma of highgrade coffee. Today, it's more likely to be high-grade cocaine. How did this change come about?
M ore than a decade of warnings For many years the Colombian TFP has been warn ing success ive govern ments and Churc h leaders of the inhere nt dangers to their country if indole nce was not replaced with firm action. Unheeded , the inevitable happe ned: Colo mbia has seen a crescendo of murder, violence, and corruption to sha ke even the most skeptical. The crescendo was s low at first; life didn ' t seem to c hange much. As it quickened however, it took o n the air of inevitabi lity. But a ll along, had the re been the moral fiber and the will power, it could have been ste mm ed. It could still be ste mmed. Ye t, those who had it in thei r power and authority to stand up to the cri sis as duty and public opinion demand, instead sought to dialogue and compromise with the drug barons and Cuban-sponsored guerrilla warlords who are destroying the country. With such policies, how much longer before the country would drown under the waves of chaos? This hav ing been the case for so many
years, the Colombian TFP, at great risk (TFP centers there have s uffered four bombings so far), again appealed to the Colombian public. The effect has been greater than ever imag ined. The repercussion is being felt not only in Colombia, but in Mexico and on the streets of New York, Detroit, and Los Angeles (see New York Times, Sept. 15, 1995).
T he W ords o f Jon as The TFP's message, "The Colombian Governme nt Will Be Overpowered Unless It Fights Drug-Traffickers and Guerrilla Viole nce," describes the abyss faced by this large Catholic nation, as well as the measures needed to halt the plunge toward that abyss. Adapting the words of the Prophet Jonas to the people of Nineve (Jonas 3: 110), this "Call to the Nation" was published in three major dai lies of Colombia.* This in itself was no small achieveme nt. Soon after, it was published in Washington . ** A Colombian TFP delegation visited Rome, Wash ington, and Miami. Their docume nted presentation s moved Vatican pre lates, Washington diplomats and political advisers, and Miami commu nity leaders. The Colombians sought not only to save their own country from s inking into anarchy, but to advocate a sol ution to w hat is now an inte rnational problem.
deaths a year, the highest toll on the continent. And for more than a decade the government has indu lged the guerrilla and drugtrafficking groups. These grew, became rich, gained accomplices, and enjoyed great impunity even as they moved to unite to overcome the authorities and control society.
G u e rrillas nee d a llies o r impunity for s u rviva l Communist guerrillas have afflicted Latin America for over 40 years,- but have been continually rejected by the people. They triumphed in Cuba and Nicaragua only because many who opposed communism, le nt them a helpi ng hand by joining forces against dictatorships o ppressing those countries. But the misery and other ev ils Marxism brought about there prevented the same strategy from being successful elsewhe re. Colombia has never had a dictatorship, but a lo ng tradition of democratic government. Yet Marxist guerrillas sought to gain power as in Cuba and Nicaragua by ally ing the mselves with the Catholic left and Establishment liberals. But they utterly failed in m uste ring
Drug cartels and Marxist gue rrillas For mo re tha n a decade, the alliance of drug traffickers and Marxist guerrill as has throttled Colombi a. Some analysts ca ll it a " marriage-of- co nvenie nce," ide nti cal to what is seen in the exSoviet e mpire between loca l mafias a nd communist party bosses. The hard truth is that this drug-Marxist all iance has boosted violent crime to 35,000
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For many years the Colombian TFP- by means of newspaper ads and public street campaigns- has been warning successive governments and Church leaders of the inherent dangers to their country if indolence was not replaced with firm action. American Concer n s
ca111pesi110
supthey po rt, so an adopted approac h mo re like that of the Khmer Rouge. In other Latin American nations, communism organi zed massacres, but these massacres never carried it to power. Colo mbia is becoming an exception. The systemati c murders or the kidnapping ( 1,400 a year) of anyone who stands out in Colombian society - farmers, university professors, even middle-class businessmen - is virtually decapitating the nation. The strategy is simple: The leadership vacuum is easily filled by Marxists. With the co llapse o f Soviet bankrolling of the Cuban expansionist adventure, the Co lombi an gue rrill as could not ex pect Castro to provide the same help as before. Having no popular support either, the communi st guerrillas needed new partners.
Guerrillas protect drug pla nta tions By the end o f 1994, what had grown increasingly obvious for ten years had become indisputable : The Marxist g uerrillas and the drug cartels had joined forces. According to Army sources, some 4,000 guerrillas - half the estimated number in Colo mbia - are in the narco-guerrilla alliance. From November 1994 to January of thi s year, the guerrillas forced tens of thousands of campesinos to demo nstrate in c iti es of the states of Guav iare, Putumayo, Meta,
and Caqueta against government spraying of drug fields. More than fifty pl anes or helicopters spraying herbicides on drug crops were shot down in the past two years by guerrillas guarding the coca plantatio ns. The same guerrillas ambush and prevent the army and police from approaching these plantations. The guerrilla control of these states is now so complete and ruthless th at the police and military do not dare appear outside the state capitals. Yet, none of this seemed to concern the government. Rather than confro nting the guerrillas with superior force, the government curtailed police and military action and continued its indolent policy of appeasement toward the guerrillas and drug traffickers. Moreover, it even reached out to the guerrillas with the offer of co-government in these four states. Early thi s year, Bogota's El Tie111po reported that the government plans to hand these regions over to gue1Tilla rule. People li ving in these areas are in great fear. The obsession with making concessions to the drug-guerrilla alliance led to governmen t proposals, which were to have been di scussed in nego ti atio ns last June. to appoint the guerrillas as de Jure "jungle police." The presidentially appointed governor o f G uaviare has dec lared that he had already taken steps in that direction. He received no presidential reprimand.
Church suffers in Colombia T he Blood of Marty rdom Colombia, the second most populo us country o f South America, is solid ly Catho lic. The Church undoubtedly has great influence in the li fe of Colombia, but what role have Chu rch leaders pl ayed in the present crisis? Regrettably, not enough has come from the spiritual leaders o f Colombia on the moral dangers res ulting fro m the influence of these unlawful organ izations. In fact, the bishops o f Florencio and
For years AmeFican specialists in the drug battle have been urging the Colombian governme nt to take stronger measures. Other alarms have been sounded about the drug-guerrilla alliance, but the American med ia has apparently decided not to highlight this. The hand-wringing explanations of Colombian authorities have been accepted at face value.
A helicopter shot down by the guerrillas
The Colomb ian TFP saw that this had to change if Colombia was to survive. After addressing itself directly to Colo mbian public opinion and visiting key dec ision-makers abroad , there has been a encouraging turn fo r the better. One week after the Colombian TFP' s "Call to the Natio n," things began to change: Colo mbian po liticians who had been competing to negotiate concessions with guerrillas suddenl y changed their minds. Drug-cartel leaders, despite terrorist bombings by their guerrilla allies, are being captured. New vigor has gone into investi-
San Jose del G uaviare, for example, recently advocated the le!!alization of coca pl antations o n the grounds that destroying would impoverish the workers. Such reasoning has little appe,.11, for everyone knows that workers' conditions as dictated by drug cartels cannot be very pleasant. There are, fo rtunate ly, some heroic exceptions, such as Bishop Jaramillo Monsalve of Arauca, tortured and executed by Marxist guerrill as in 1989. B ishop Jaramillo Monsalve was on a pastoral visit in his diocese, together with three priests and a seminarian, when his vehicle was stopped on a bridge by a guerrilla roadblock. Bishop Jaramillo and one of the priests were forced to accompany tl1e guerrillas, who identified themselves as being of the pro-Castro ELN (Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional - National Liberation Army). The others were released. Both the bishop and priest had a foreboding o f death and confessed to each o ther. T he gue1Tillas
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TFPs Around the World gations of scandals of drug-money financing presidential campaigns. And the judiciary is pursuing the trails of cartel cash payments to politicians and others whose indolence in defending their country was being amply repaid. A salutary reaction has awakened Colombia's energies. Even if late, those whose li fe is guided by faith and strong moral principles can still triumph. The saying that "evil triumphs because good men do nothing" is as true now as when the English statesman Edmund Burke first said it during the French Revolution. And what can happen in Colombia, can also happen in American cities. ■
Notes:
* These include:
El.7iempo. Bogota, 3 1 May 1995; El /,iformador. Santa Marta, 31 May 1995; El Universal, Cartagena, 6 June 1995; u, Prensa Libre, San Jose de Costarrica. 15 June 1995. ** Washi11gto11 Times, Washington D.C.. 22 June 1995, pg. A l3; El Nuevo Hera/do. Miami. 2 1 July 1995 ; Diario Las Americas, Miami, 2 July 1995.
-Spain
TFP-Covadonga_vs. Socialist Abortionists
S
PAIN - Land of chivalrous traditio ns, dramatic contrasts, intense piety. Land of saints: St. Teresa of Avila, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Dominic, and so many others. Land to which the Church and the Americas owe so much. But thirteen years of rule by the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, SSWP (Partido Socialista Obrero Espcuiol) have radically altered Spain. The SSWP under Felipe Gonzalez has engineered a methodical cultural revolution·. As one socialist "social eng ineer," Jose Borbolla, put it: "We are going to turn Spain inside out, like a sock." And such is happening to Catholic Spain: government-sponsored "erotic festi vals" that promote blasphemy, immorality, and sacrilege as "art"; homosexuality and public nudity ; a rewriting of Spanish history according to canons of political correctness; Islamic rituals in Catholic churches. These are but a few expressions of the profound social " psychosurgery" taking place in Spanish society. Spanish socialist thinkers clearly see the social acceptance o f abortion as essential to this change.
A bortion in Spain In October 1982, on the eve of national elections, TFP-Covadonga perceived that
began insulting Bishop Jarami llo, known for his oppos ition to Marxism and the violence it inm cted on hi s flock of 17 years. Accusing hi m of being a tool o f American imperialism, a traitor to the revolu tion, and a hindrance to their triumph, they began to torture him. Later, his tortured and wounded body, covered with just a sheet, was found on the roadside with six bullet wounds, the bones of his hands and wrists crushed, his fingernails pulled out. They had taken his pectoral cross and ring . The guerrilla unit that martyred him was commanded by a Spanish ex-priest, Fr. Alfredo de la Fuente. The E LN, made famous in the sixties by Fr. Carnillo Torres, the first guerrilJapriest, is also led by an apostate Spanish priest, Fr. Manuel Perez. Its national command includes three priests. The Colombian hierarchy did pronounce the excommunication for the ir crime. In a letter to His Holiness John Paul II, the Colombian TFP
From our Madrid Corres pondent, Felipe Barandiara n
the SSWP, in its ideological efforts to revamp the family, would introduce abortion in Spain - "for extreme cases" despite assurances and statements to the contrary. TFP-Covadonga immediately issued an "Open Letter to the Spanish Socialist Workers Party of Seiior Felipe Gonzalez," publishing it in ABC, Spain's leading newspaper, and hand-distributing 150,000 copies all over Spain. The letter questioned the SSWP on fi ve vital family issues: I) defend ing homosexuality and a " new morality"; 2) legalizing and state-financing of abortion; 3) teaching of b irth control methods and sex education in the schools; 4) promoting contraception by S tate authorities at all levels; 5) promoting liberal divorce laws and equating marriage with other kinds of umons. All of these policies were found in party documents and resolutio ns. Yet, to all and sundry, the Span ish Socialists were affinning their prog ram's complete compatibility with Catho lic teachings. And several bishops even endorsed thi s claim.
mentioned that all the circumstances of Bishop Jaramillo's d•-~th indicated solid grounds for his being declared a martyr fo1 Faith. He was tortured and killed because of a hatred of the Faith and fo r his firm stand for the Church and his flock. S imilar words were directed to Cardinal Trujillo, pres ident of the Colombian Conference of Bishops. For several days, TFP standards around the world were draped in black as a s ign of mourning . The liberal Catholic world, however, was strangely s ilent on this matter. No protests, no placards, no petitions. No word about the multitudes at his funeral , nor the lamentations o f the flock, poor and rich alike, of this tireless spiritual father. Nor are we likely to see a Hollywood rendeling of Bishop Jaramillo's life, like Norman Stone's Oscar Romero. But, then, in this case we know who the murderers were.
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TFPs Around the World quashed. The "Open Letter" had national impact. ' unborn - an attempt was made in the Cortes (Spain's leg islature) in the fall of From the Cortes the bill went to the Many voters said they would no longer supConstitutional Court, which held it fo r a 1983 to legalize abortion by a secret vote. port the Socialists. Nevertheless, the SSWP year. When the Court eventually modified won the elections, and after seven weeks in TFP-Co vadonga responded forcefull y, power introduced an abortion bill. appealing to politicians in the opposition to the measure, the Socialists cunningly introIt was April 1983. TFP-Covadonga stop this travesty of parli amentary democraduced further grounds for abortion and moved into high gear with a nationwide cy. Nevertheless, the soc ialist and commurammed these through the Cortes. There campaign to stop the Socialist attempt to ni st alliance was able to ram the bill was national suspense when the matter then impose abortion on Catholic Spain. TFPthrough. went to the hands of the King, Juan Carlos. Covadonga's detailed study, 111 the Face of Since the media was curiously silent He could have vetoed the bill, called a pubduring the Cortes debate, it was difficult for lic debate o r even a re ferendum. After some the Killing of the Innocents - Within law and Order: Holy Indignation! laid bare the hesitation, he signed the abortio n critical situation facing Spain and proposed bill into law in July of 1985. to the bishops, clergy, and people concrete Abortion came into effect in Since its foundation in 1971, the steps to take. December 1985. The King of This study, spanning six newspaper Spain failed to obey the King of Spanish TFP has not spared pages, appeared in Madrid's ABC and in kings, and Spain's monarchy efforts in defense of the newspapers of five other main cities. This bearer of the title "The Most Catholic Kings" - was tainted. perennial principles of Christian
civilization, with a special emphasis in favor of the unborn.
was a printed circulation of 870,000 copies. Further, as silent marches are not a feature of Spanish life, nine-member teams from TFP-Covadonga crisscrossed Spain during two spring months, handing out a total of 950 ,000 copies of the study person-to-person - a figure which compares favorably with the 250,000 circulat ion of ABC, Spain's most widely circulated newspaper.
Spanish democracy gagged Fully aware of S panish feelings on the matter - and few politic ians are willing to face their constituencies on killing the
the public to know who voted for what. So, on December 28, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, TFP-Covadonga published a full-page advertisement in the Madrid press listing the names of all the Spanish senators and congressmen with the record of the ir vote. A fu ror erupted. TFP-Covadonga's argument was unassailable: Does a voter in a democracy not have the right to know how his or her representative voted on a matter of such national importance as the slaughter of the innocents? Is this socialist democracy? The threatened suit against TFP-Covadonga by the Socialist Speakers of the Cortes was
Abortion adva nces in Spain
With consummate ability, the Socialists have been broadening the abortion statutes in Spain every few years. This in spite of vocal opposition from medical doctors, nurses, and hospital staffs. Suffering from large-scale corruption, political discredit, and the widespread demise of socialism, the party of Felipe Gonzalez is still trying to institutionali ze abortion-on-demand. When a new bill was recently introduced in the Cortes to allow State-funded abortion on "social and economic grounds for the fi rst trimester," TFPCovadonga once again went d irectly to the Spanish public. Leaflets containing extensive quotations fro m the recent encycli cal Eva11geli11111 Vitae were handed o ut in Mad rid , Barcelona, and the main provincial capitals of Spain. Some 100,000 copies were distribu ted in a few days. The leaflet called o n Catholics to exercise their moral , r defending, within the law, the innocern " , .:~ of the unborn. The leaflets included an insert wi th the names and pho ne numbers of the pol iticians of each area for the public to contact. In Valencia, a gentleman received the leaflet. When handed the insert, he said, "Oh, I'm on it, you don' t need to give me one." He was the local cong ress man , President of the Uni6n Valenciana, and he emphatically rejects abortion. In Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, the Catho lic public was also given the opportunity to write to Senor Jordi Pujol, whose center-right Catalan Party keeps the Socialists in power. In the last elections, the
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TFPs Around the World SSWP lost many seats and therefore depends on its junior coalition partner to remain in government. The letter asked Senor Pujol to wi thdraw his party from the Social ist-Catalan coalition. This would force elections, which could prevent the abortion bill from passing. The Catalan party is now reconsidering its support. A mailing, wi th a further I 00,000 pieces, has also gone out. With this, nearly 200,000 househo lds have been certainly reached.
Personal Note on th e Campaign As TFP Maga zine goes to press, Lhe Spani sh campaign continues. The challenging life of a T FP member standing in the public foru m, whether in a historic or modern setting, in the heat or shade, with crowds milling around, while heated discussions are in progress (Spain, after all), and TFP-Covadonga's band striking up lively traditional Spanish tunes, shows that Spanish hero ism is not dead. As one distingui shedlook ing lady in Madrid said between tears, "You are the only brave ones in Spain! God bless you for it 1" Another lady solemnly said: "When I see you, then I know it is the hour to act. As my sister says, 'Spain wi ll be saved by TFP-Covadonga and the clo istered nuns !"' However, much action and much prayer are s till needed if Spain is LO regain her fame as the "cradle of reli gious founders and orders." But to God, nothing is impossible. ■
Excerpts of Pope John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium Vitae contained in TFP-Covadonga's campaign flyer: • Nothing and no one can in any way permit the killing of an innocent human being, whether a fetus or an embryo, an infant or an adult, an old person, or one suffering from an incurable disease, or a person who is dying. (para. 57) • T he Church's canonical discipline, from the earliest centuries, has inflicted penal sanclions on those guilty of abortion. This practice, with more or less severe penallies, has been confirmed in various periods of history. The 19 17 Code of Canon Law punished abortion with excommunication. The revised canonical legislation continues this tradition when it decrees that "a person who actually procures an abortion incurs automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication. The excommu nication affects aU those who commit this crime with knowledge of the penalty attached, and thus includes those accomplices without whose help the crime would not have been committed. (para.
.f
Notes * Cultural Revolution, sometimes called "the Quiet Revolution," is defined by French Socialise Pierre Fougueyrollas as "a revolution in ways of feeling. acting, and chinking; a revolution in the way of living (collec1ively and individually); in a word, a revolution of civilization". (Marx, Freud and Total Re vo/11tio11, p. 390) How is it done? Ignacio Sotelo, leading Spanish
This brief article could cite only a few of the many campaigns of TFP-Covadonga against the evil of abortion in Spain. Therefore we did not include some important ones such as the fund-raising campaign in 1986 for mothers choosing not to abort their children or the very recent "Plea to Her Majesty Queen Sophia of Spain" reported in TFP Magazine, January-February 1995. Justice demands, however, that mention be made of the international publication of a pastoral letter of Bishop Jose Guerra Campos of C uenca when abortion became law. In those critical moments of 1985, Bishop Guerra Campos set a fearless and
62) • Laws wh ich authorize and promote abortion and euthanasia are therefore radically opposed not only to the good of the individual but also to the common good; as such they are completely lacking in authentic juridical validity. (para. 72) • A civil law authorizing abortion or euthanasia ceases by that very fact to be a true, morally binding civil Jaw. (para.72) Abortion and euthanasia are thus crimes which no human law can claim to legitimize. There is no obligation in conscience to obey such laws; instead there is a grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection. 1 ·\.~ (para. 73) _r • In the case of an intrinsically unjust Jaw, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or vote for it. (para. 73)
<-~ :I'
Socialist Party intellectual, says that socialists achieve "cultural revolution" by finding, interpreting, and stimulating the cultural tendencies in today's society, 1ha1 con1es1the old traditional morality and its social projection. So, Revolution now has linlc 10 do with 1v. movemen1s and economics; much 10 do with changing society's morals.
courageous example with his words: "Catholics in public o ffice who...promote or facilitate ... the crime of abortion, cannot escape the moral qualification of public sinners. They shall be treated as such - particularly regarding the sacraments - as long as they do not repair within their power the most grave damage and scandal they caused." Not hid ing behind ambiguities, his words struck loud and clear in those moments. Translated to several languages, this pastoral letter was published in the United States by the Ame rican T FP (TFP Newsletter, Vol. IV no. 17 - 1986) Copies available on request.
Timely Pastoral Letter
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Commentary
by Orlando Lyra
The deformed and twisted view of the Middle Ages is now definitely buried under the weight of historic erudition.
O
J encountered a former classmate while on my way to the library at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., where I was planning to do some research on medieval history. I clearly remembered that my old companion always stood out in class for his enthusiasm for Antiquity and for his uncontrolled aversion to everything medieval. In his opinion, the Middle Ages-was nothing more than the "dark ages," a "fossil" of religious obscurantism, superstition. and witchcraft stuck between Classical civilization and the Renaissance. His criticism o f Georgetown 's neoGothic architecture thus came as no surprise to me as we walked along the pathway toward the library. Georgetown's architects and builders, he asserted, had had the bad taste of choosing the Gothic style, markedly out of harmony with the Graeco-Roman style of the majority of buildings and historic monuments in the Dis trict of Columbia. I retorted that uni versities were conceived by medieval man and not by the ancients. Universities, born in the shadow of Gothic cathedra ls, were the pride of the Christian Middle Ages, the "light that shines in the NE SUNNY SUMMER AFfERNOON,
house of the Lord," according to the maxim of the time. True citadels of learning, medieval universities were the foci of intense intellectual irradiation and the forums where great spirits faced off in passionate debates in philosophy and theology, both of which reached extraordinary heights at that time. Nothing is further from historical reality than that the Middle Ages was a time when human thought went stagnant, so I was surprised that my classmate was ignorant of such elementary knowledge. As for his critic ism of Georgetown's Gothic style, of course he has all the right in the world to prefer the Roman arch to the Gothic one, or the Ro man dome to the Gothic vault. But he does not have the right to label a civilization which saw such blossoming of cathedrals and universities as "obscuranti st. " Indeed , from an architectonic po int of view, the Gothic arch represented a considerable tec hno log ical advance over the Ro man arch. Without the pointed arch, for example, which transferred the center of gravity to the sides of the Gothic building, it would have been imposs ible to construct the enormous stained-glass windows so char-
Nothing is further from historical reality than that the Middle Ages was a time when human thought was stagnant.
actenst1c of the cathedrals of the Middle Ages. A black legend about the Middle Ages was concocted in the seventeenth century by the Renaissance, which, among other things, labeled medieval art as "barbaric" or "gothic," alluding to the barbarian Goths. The rationalists of the eighteenth century 0 nly blackened the picture when they began using and popu larizing the term "dark ages." The deformed and twisted view that the Renaissance and the Encyclopedists propagated about the Middle Ages, however, is now de finitively buried under the weight of historic erudition. Jacques le Goff, a French historian who, being Marxist in orientation, cannot be charged with bias towards an age so suffu sed with the Catholic Faith, writes: The twentieth century expanded the passion for the Middle Ages with new developments in the domains of sensibility, t< ' ¡ nique, and thought. Stimulateu the Catholic restoration and by a more general religious sense at the end of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, med ieval thought sudden ly found itself vindicated. The century and a half since elapsed reveals, thanks principally to the labor of hi storians, archivi sts, archaeologis ts, and philolog ists, a most auract ive Middle Ages. In addition, the most up-to-date research methods continuall y enrich the image, showing us vestiges and monuments that we could only suppose
28 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - TRADITION, FAMLLY AND PROPERTY
Commentary
Should it have been designed as a copy of the Acropolis in Greece or inspired on a medieval model? had disappeared forever. And thus has been born a ne w Middle Ages (A Civilizar;iio do Ocid ente M edie val.) It is true that our civilization is rooted both in the Middle Ages a nd in the Classical period, but it is also true that the Med ieval roots freque ntly furnish more sap tha n those of Antiquity. H ilaire Belloc comments : The culture and civilization of Christendom - what was called for centuries in gene ral te rm s "Euro pe," was made by the Catholic Churc h gathering up the social traditions of the GraecoRo man Empire, inspiring them and giving the whole of that g reat body a new li fe. It was the Catho lic Church which made us, gave us o ur un ity and our whole philosophy of life, and formed the nature of the white world (The Crisis of Civi/izatio11). Walte r Ullm an , professor o f me dieval histo ry at C ambridge, a lso states: This entity which was called E uropa was that bod y po liti c whic h received its ce me nti ng bond from the Christi an fa ith as ex pounded by the Ro man Church. Europa and ecclesia are, within thi s framework, identical: they constitute the political expressio n o f the uni on of a ll La tin Chri stians, that is, the union of all "Ro mans·• (The Growll1 of Papal Govem111ent i11 the Middle Ages). To e nd o ur conversatio n, I asked my c lassmate if he had ever de posited
mo ney in a bank or gone to the hospita l. Receiving a positi ve answer, I re minded hi m that bo th o f these inst itutio ns, just like the uni versities, were bo rn during his so-calle d d ark age. And by the way, our E ng lish language,
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1995 - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - --
as we ll as the othe r modern European languages, were products of the " barbari ans" and not o f the "classicals." Preconceived ideas aside, Med ieval culture was the m atrix of the European human ty pe and the spiritual fount ain of Western C hristian c ivilization. ■
- - - - - - -- -- -- - - - - --
29
IHIAN1rll(CICOOE
nee upon a time, in a crowded chicken coop in France, there lived a rooster. He was a modest rooster, gold in color, with a fine tuft of red feathers on his head. Known throughout the region as "Chanticleer," he was the king and protecto r of his farmyard. ¡ Every mo rning before the sun rose, Chanticleer mounted the rooftop and heralded the morning with his loud and clear "cock-a-doodle-doooo!" When he crowed, his fig ure seemed trumpet-shaped, and the Patou, the old watch dog sound of his voice matched this bugle-like contour. For Chanticleer, light meant everything. He li ved to see the sun rise and bathe every niche and corner of the farmyard, every flower and tree, every li ving and nonli ving o bject, with its light. Quite naturall y, since the sun rose simultaneously with his call, he tho ught it would not rise if he were not there to call it. He had doubts at times, fearing that this may not be true, but in the face of the uncertainty, he never failed to get up ahead of the sun and sing hi s rising song"Cock-a-dood le-doooo !" Now, this was Chanticleer's big secret. He never told anyone about raisi ng the sun. Patou, the old watch dog, was the onl y o ne who had long ago guessed his The turkey
0
secret. Patou's favorite occupatio n was basking in the sun and watching it light up the farmyard. Because of their mutual adm iration for the lig ht, the old dog and the rooster The owls were the best of frie nds. No one else in the chicken coop seemed to care about such things. The hens were too busy clucking away and pecking at grain to notice anything else. The blackbird spent his time sarcastically poking fun at every ~ li ving and non li ving thing. The cat lay in quiet idleness o n a branch, but with an eye on everything. The guinea hen busied herself try ing to be ¡ impressive. The ducks were content waddling awkwardly to and fro m the pond. The turkey stayed in his own corner of the barnyard, deeply gobbling occasio nally to remind the others of his importance. One day, a frighte ned pheasant flew into the chicken coop and collapsed in a heap of exhaustion. "Oh!" it cried, "please hide me fro m the hunters who are seeking to kill me!" Chanticleer, hearing her c ry, gallantly hid her in Pato u's house until the danger had passed. Chanticleer was much taken with
The guinea hen
The chickens
30 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Family Series
the beautiful pheasant. She told him o( the forest and a ll the marvels there. She certainly was much more interesting than the other hens, who o nly cared about pecking grain. At times, the beautiful pheasant lo nged fo r her own surroundings but, un able to part fro m he r friend Chanticleer, she remained in the farmyard. And so, one more fo und a place in the crowded chicken coop. However, there were some, within the farmyard and outside, that did not like Chanticleer. The owls outside especially disliked him, fo r they disliked the light and dreaded the sun that Chanticleer raised. The cat, the ~ , ducks, the turkey, and the blackbird all envied him for ~ one reason or another. And so, o ne starless night, while Chanticleer, Patou, and the golden pheasant slept, a secret meeting was held. Deep in an ugly nearby thicket, twenty owls and the " Yes," put in an old owl, discontented farmyard animals got together. "tomorrow, the guinea fowl will One after anothe r, the owls cried out the wrongs they have her yearly get-together by the believed the cock had done them. scarecrow in the vegetable garden, and all are invited, "As for me," the cat whined after silence was once including the exotic cocks from over the hill. The pheasant more restored, " I don't like the cock because the dog will never miss such a chance to show off her beauty." likes him!" And so, everything was set. "My reason for not li king him," said the turkey, " is When the next day dawned, the guinea hen was in a flusthat I knew him when he was a mere chick, and I ter of preparations, running here and there, beside herself The blackbird will not acknowledge him as Cock !" with excitement. "And I," quacked the duck, "don' t like him because he As time approached for the guests to arri ve, the blackhas no webs o n his feet so that when he walks he le~ ves bird waited at the gate , watching the horizon . Finally, a 14 star prints in his path." line of fa ncy cocks could be seen approaching in the disSo, o ne a fte¡r the othe r, they gave the ir tance. weighty reasons fo r hating Chanticleer and "Oh, dear! " squealed the guinea hen, The dove decided that he must di e. In the darkness, a plan stretching her neck. was made. Soc n the blackbird began announc ing In the farm over the hill lived a man who raised exotic the strange cocks: birds, cocks of the most splendid and extraordinary kin d. "The Cock of Braekel !" A mo ng these, there was an ug ly almost feathe rless rooster "The Wyandotte Cock !" who was known as the champion of the fig hting ri ng. It was 'T he Cock of India!" arranged that he would challenge Chanticleer to a fi ght. "Of And o ne after the other, they strutted The geese course," every one chuckled, "we know who will win ... " into the garden with all their airs of great But, the blackbird objected, "The cock won ' t go!" importance. "Oh, yes he will!" responded the cat. "If the pheasant Finally, Chanticleer appeared. goes, he wi ll go." "But how should I introduce you?" asked the bewildered blackbird. "Simply as ' the Cock,"' returned C han ticleer. "The Cock!" announced the blackbird. At this, everyone fell silent. "So, you are ' the Cock,"' the fighting rooster said, pushing his way through the crowd. "I am the great champion of the fighting ring, who has defeated many and all." "And I am the Cock, the o ne who defends and protects many and all," replied C hanticleer. "Pfuff! !" the gamecock jeered. "I li ve to kill and trample on those that don' t deserve to live!" The gamecock suddenly lunged forward and struck Chanticleer SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1995 - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - - - - -- --
- - - 31
Family Series " And I..." retorted Chanticleer, hesitating for a moment. Then, in an act of faith, he continued in his clear loud voice, "I live to raise the sun, so that its rays may fill the world with its glorious lig ht!" " Ha, ha, ha, ha!" the gamecock jeered, with everyo ne j oining in. "You think you make the sun rise? Ha, ha, ha! That's too much!" While all the animals laughed, the gamecock suddenly lunged fo rward and struck Chanticleer. A roar went up from the crowd. Chanticleer looked around and saw all the animals, including those fro m his o wn farmyard, gathered with eager faces, their necks stretched out and the ir eyes gleam ing in antic ipation. They were hideous. It was a terribl e moment for poor Chanticleer. Sadly he bowed his head. He understood. For the first time, he knew all of them for what they were . He felt entirely alone and deserted. Savagely, the gamecock struck again, throwing Chanticleer to the ground. A terribl e struggle for life and death began, but Chanticleer 's disappointment and sadness sapped his spirit. The gamecock attacked harder and harder, q ui ckl y d rawing blood. Chantic leer defended himself as bes t as he could, while all around screamed, " Kill him! Kill him, Gamecock!" At a certain mo me nt, Chanticleer looked up. He noticed the sky filled with a glory of co lo rs and the rays from the setting sun glistening on the trumpet-like shape of the cock of France atop the cathedra l spire. At this sight, his who le being exulted, and with renewed strength he flung himself at the gamecock. A t the tremendous impact, the gamecock was hurled into the air and crashed down o n his own dead ly spurs. He fell back, shook a bit, cackled, and d ied. Then Chanticleer turned away from the fa ke appl ause and walked off. Only the pheasant followed him. "Come with me to the woods, dear Chanticleer," she said, "there you can fo rget the fa rm yard and we can li ve happily together." Chanti c leer nodded and followed the beautiful pheasant. But, as time we nt o n,
Chanticleer began to feel restless. The pheasant began to worry. Was not her love enough? Cc_)Uld Chanticleer love the sun and his duty at the farmyard more than he loved her? She had to prove to him that the sun could rise by itself. But, how? One day, when the sun was still behind the hills and the stars could still be seen in their lofty home, Chanticleer felt especially sad as he awa ited his time to herald the sun. At the pheasant's insinuatio ns, his o ld doubt had returned : Was it really he who raised the sun? Realizing his state of mind, the pheasant approached him and covered him with her wing, trying to conso le him: "Dear Chanticleer, you must not be so sad. You have me ! Don' t the other animals here li ke you too?" While speaking in these sweet to nes, she watched the ris ing sun. F or Chanticleer, everything was still dark under her warm mantle of feathers. Slowly the sun rose hi gher and hi gher. Suddenl y the pheasant withdrew her wing. " See?" she cried crue lly, "the sun has risen without you!" At that, Chantic leer started vio lently. " Oh, no! No ! Wait! Not without me!" he cried in a voice of agony, rus hing towards the lig ht. But the horizon grew ever more golden, and he staggered backward. She watched him c losely. " Yo u see , Chan tic leer, loving one another is mo re than raising a sun that can' t feel o r think !" There was a moment of :: ..,__ silence . Then, raising himself, he turned to her with a distant look. " No," he said, "love is only true lo ve in the light of a greater Light. Good-bye, Pheasant. T he sun may rise without me but it will never ri· · ;,hout being heralded by my vo ice. " l see now. I am the servant of the Iight. I am the one w ho calls the others to see the light. I am the hera ld of the light and so I have become a symbol, a symbol of this great valley, o f this great France, which has placed me at the top of her cathedrals ! May I re mai n as s imple and lofty as that cock !" W ith this, he turned and made his way back to his fa rmyard. To this day, follo wing his example, every barnyard cock announces the glo rious rays of the rising sun. ■ TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Rediscovering America
An Era, a Family, a House Co11till11c1/ from back cmâ&#x20AC;˘er
by Jack Burnham
T
he guests begi n arriving in ho rse-drawn carriages. Gentlemen in dinner cloches, ladies in evening gowns and glittering jewels, fore ign m ili tary officers in medalbedecked uniforms; all exchange amiable greetings and pleasantries in the Great Hall. C ivilized manners,
Does The Breakers- in me splendor of its ambiences-portrays something other than the fam ily that lived in it? O r the era in which it was built? Does America still benefit from its preservation? The Breakers mansion, more than being just a roo f fo r che family char buil t ic, performed an impor-
rooted in centuries o ld C hristian charity, still prevail. The murmur of conversation grows in volume as guests continue arriving. Before dinner an informal tour of the house moves from room to room, each decorated in different style. Th is one has the flavor of the conquistadorsPhil ip II cou ld have stood here; Marie Antoinette still reigns in chat one, of delica te eighteenth-centu ry French style; and here is a cozy corner from Marco Polo's Venice. O ur wandering guests find somethi ng in each roo m to attract tl1eir admiration, or even to secrecly disapprove. T heir own preferences of taste and decorative expression are subtly revealed.
tant social fun ctio n. For, the ho me and ambiences created by one lead ing American family played a role important to society as a whole. It motivated other families to build stately homes chat best reflected their aspirations. Ir was a sign chat distinction, refinement, and culture ranked higher than money as indicators of success. This ennobling of social aspirations showed a maturing of leading American families and contributed to the rising prominence of our then young country. From being in a cultural bacbvater com pared to its older European cousins, America began to reflect is coming-of-age with sp lendor and magnificence. America was ready to fulfi ll a lead ing role in the world.
W itho ut speeches, lectures, or debate, the family of any house can proclaim its credo by its cho ice of decor: its preference fo r certain countries, eras, o r styles are as clear as any political mani festo.
N
ewport, Rhode Island, is the si te of many mansions. From the I 860's onward, palatial residences established it as an undisputed social capital of the United Scates. O ld planter fa mi lies fro m the
H ow? By che ambience its creates for itself. Because an ambience conveys ideas, choices, ideals of life. An ambience is what turns a house into a home. An am bience actually expresses the soul of the home- and of its owners. Now, the home rarely illustrates a single individual, but rather a fam i-
Carolinas and Geo rgia were among the ,,
If you happen to be in the area, don't miss the NEWPORT
MANSIONS
The Breaker fill Hunter House ~ Kingscore [El T he Elms C hareau-Sur-Mcr 0 Rosecliff 2D The Marble House C hinese House 1.:11 Green An imals T h e Preser vatio n Society of Newport County 424 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI 02840 Telephone: (40 1) 847-1 000 Fax: (40 1) 847- 136 1
ly and its li fe. As such, it frequently gives historians a "portrait" of a family, a region, a society, an era. This is as viral to understand ing the "mind" of an individual, a family, or a society, as a photo or painti ng is to understanding their physical appearance.
,.....
establish su 111111cr ho mes here- cottages to begin wiili, then elegant villas, and fina lly, mansions, chareaux, and palaces. Today, some of these noble build ing house institutions instead of fam ilies. Ochers have
suffered the ignominious face of being torn clown to make way fo r rea l estate of much lesser glory. among those still preserved is the splendid summer home of the Cornelius Van derbil t family, open to the public from April through October. T he ho use is in the care of T he Preservatio n Society of Newport County.
November-December, 1995
4 Nv
Property Magazine
' "I
I
i * •■
•
v- ■*■
m
y Comforted by the 1 Sacraments of the \
Catholic Church and
having received the V
' Papal Blessing, JProf. Piinio Correa de
^jiveira,founder of the jai "Brazilian Society for the Defense of Tradition,
Famiiy and Property
(TFP)and inspirer of 24 other TFPs and kindred
:r i associations around the The funeral procession to Consola^ao Cemetery in
worid, rendered his soui
downtown Sao Paulo
to God on October 3 in
IJ Sao Pauio, Brazii.
â&#x2013; *ri
. Tndiiiuii,, ^
* 'fJauJtjimil j
/'wpcrtj
Contents November-December, 1995
Cover: Plinio Conea de
Oliveira, who died on Octobers, 1995
Plinio Correa de Oliveira: Crusader of the 20'^ Century
2
A Truly Catholic Mother: Dona Luci'lia Ribeiro dos Santos Correa de Oliveira
4
Plinio Correa de Oliveira: A Man of Faith and Action
12
The Last Days of Plinio Correa de Oliveira
27
"Our Lady...the Light of My Life"
32
Requiem Masses in Rome, Washington, and Sao Paulo
34
The Doctrinal Works of Plinio Correa de Oliveira
36
Tradition,
A Tribute of
Tradition, Family and Property Magazine to
Family and Property Magazine Editor: C. Preston Noell III
Associate Editors:
Earl Appleby Gary Isbell Eugenia Guzman Steven F. Schmieder Jack Bumham
the Great
Photography:
Todd F. Kamuf Circulation:
Counter-Revolutionary
Steven A. Herrera Foreign Correspondents; AUSTRALIA: John S. Tticker
Leader
BRAZIL; Orlando Lyra CANADA: John Misek CHILE: Nelson Farias Blanco FRANCE: Mario Beccar Varela
GERMANY: Beno Hofschulte
Plinio Correa de Oliveira
PHILIPPINES: Allen Bandril ROME: Juan M. Monies SOUTH AFRICA: Michael McKenna
SPAIN: Felipe Barandiardn
TRADITION, FAMILY and PROPERTY Magazine is a publication of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP). Subscriptions in the United States and Canada, $24.00. Foreign subscriptions, $30.00. 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) 225-7382. Copyright © 1995. Permission is
granted to reproduce, in whole or in part, any article of this magazine with credit given to Tradition, Family and Property.
10 CO
Crusader
//rwn
I he Reign of Christ is the
^ supreme ideal of Catholics and therefore our constant aim....
"In the designs of Providence, there
fully Catholic social atmosphere. A Catholic must long for a Christian civi lization just as a man imprisoned in a dungeon wants fresh air and a caged
is a close connection between earthly
bird yearns after the infinite expanses
life and eternal life. Earthly life is the
of the sky.
way: eternal life is the goal. The Kingdom of Christ does not belong to this world, but the way to it lies in this
of the
"And this is our puipose. our great ideal.
world,
"It can thus be said that the Reign of Christ becomes effective on earth, indi
vidually and socially, when men, in the depths of their souls and in their actions, and when societies, in their institutions, laws, cus
Century
toms, culture and artistic expressions, comply with Christ's Law....
"Since Jesus Christ is the true ideal of perfection for men
We
advance
toward
the
Christian civilization that may arise from the ruins of today's world, as the civilization of the Middle Ages was born from the mins of the Roman world.
We advance to the conquest of this ideal with the same courage, the same persever ance. the same will to face and overcome all
obstacles with which the Crusaders marched
toward Jerusalem. For. if our forebears were capable of
dying to reconquer the Sepulcher of Christ, how could we—
and since a society that observes all His laws has to be a per
sons o( the Church as they—not want to struggle and die to
fect society, the culture and civilization born from the Church
restore something that is infinitely more valuable than the most precious Sepulcher of the Sav ior, that is. His Reign over
of Christ must forcibly be not only the best civilization but also the only true one. Thus does Pope Saint Pius X stale that
the souls and societies He created and saved that they may
there is no true civilization without moral civilization, and no
love Him eternally'.'"
true moral civilization without true religion (cf. Apostolic let ter to the French Bishops on the Sillon. August 28. 1910). So it can be inferred with crystalline clarity that there is no true civilization except as the result and fruit of the true Religion....
With these words. Plinio Coirea de Oliveira described the
for their cdillcation and salvation, when they arc Catholic....
ideal for which he lived, fought, and died. This ideal is set lorth in detail and applied to our limes in his masterpiece Rcvoluiion and Coiinter-Revolniion. the guiding light for Tradiiian. Family and Properly Magazine and for TFP mem bers. supporters, and friends around the globe. It is thcrelore with special gratitude that we dedicate this
"It is characteristic of the Church to produce a Christian culture and civilization, and to produce all of her fruits in a
life was entirely devoted to the "good Imht."
"Culture and civilization act very forcefully on souls— for their ruin when the culture and civilization are heathen:
issue to the great paladin of the Counter-Revolution, who.se
TRADITION. Family and prophrty
Liberalism, Communism, and the counter-cultural revolution.
ast September, Plinio Correa de Olivcira,
To this denunciation, Plinio Correa de Oliveira added
the founder of the TFP movement, completed
the conviction that the swamp of sin the modern world
67 years of uninterrupted Catholic militancy.
has sunk into would not only destroy it, but would
His sublime enterprise of a lifetime had begun when, still a
also result in an extraordinary intervention of God,
young university student, he attended the September 9-16,
as Our Lady predicted at Fatima.
1928 Catholic Youth Congress in his native Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Without this premise that divine grace influ
Anyone who follows his life, whicli spanned most of this
ences history, none of Plinio Correa de Oliveira's
turbulent century, necessarily wonders: Why, deep down,
work would make any sense. Evil is so powerful
did he make this enormous life-long effort?
today that any action against it, no matter
The answer is in his essay Revolution ami
how extensive, is insignificant in compar
CoiDitcr-Revoliilioii, a "prophetic
ison. But Plinio Correa de Oliveira
work" in the opinion of an emi
was a man of deep Faith. He
nent ecclesiastic. (See letter of world-
placed all his trust in Divine
renowned canonist Fr. Anastasio
Providence, not in his
Gutierrez, C.M.F., TFP Mn;^azi)ie, March-April,
own efforts.
1994.)
This absolute confidence gave
From the premise that the course of histo ry varies according to mankind's response to
meaning to his whole life, filling him
divine grace, in Revoliiiion and Coiinler-
with unshakable certainty of the
Rc-oolntkm he denounces a five-centuries-old
eventual victory of the Church over
process with origins in the most profound
the Revolution, according to the
problems of the soul of Western man. This
promise of Our Lady at Fatima:
process—"Revolution"—is propelled by
"Finally, My Immaculate Heart will
pride and sensuality.
triumph." The staff of Tradition, Faniili/ and
Pride leads to hatred of all superiority, generating egalitarianism; sensualitv
Propcrti/ Magazine is likewise sure of
demands the abi>lition of all moral
that victory. By honoring our maga
restraints, giving rise to liberalism.
zine's unforgettable inspirer, we wish
to express our firm resolve to contin
Absolute equality and complete lib
ue holding high the standard of the
erty are modern man's deepest desires.
cause for which Plinio Correa de
But these desires are anarchic and are
Oliveira waged noble combat. We truly
hurling the world into chaos. In view of the magnitude and the
consequences of this chaos, Plinio Correa de Oliveira's action had one
aim. The evil of the day he confronted
might vary, but his sole aim was to denounce the fundamental meta
physical errors of the Revolution
(pride and sensuality) and the com mon roots of the four onslaughts
against Christendom: Protestantism, NOVEMBER-DECEMBER. 1995
believe what he wn>te in his as-vet
.■y.
unpublished "Philosophical SelfPortrait":
'T am certain the principles 1 dedicated
my life to are more timely today than ever.
I am also certain they indicate the path the world will follow for the coming centuries. "The skeptics may smile, but the smile of skeptics has never been able to detain the victi>rious advance of those who have Faith."
3
nseparable from the figure of Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira stands his
kind, serene and warmhearted mother.
Dona Lucflia. For six decades, she graced with tender affection, nurtured with unceasing care, and illuminated with admirable virtue the ways of this exemplary Catholic gentleman.
In rendering our poor homage in these pages to our beloved and dearly missed founder and abiding inspira
tion, we would be remiss were we to fail to provide our readers a few memories of a loving mother who led her son along the path of virtue from his most lender years.
Dona Lucflia's goodness and patience, her resigna tion and resoluteness, in short, her uprightness, served her son as a sure support, a forceful example, and a prov idential aid. She exercised such a lasting influence over the formation of Plinio Correa de Oliveira's character that he remained forever linked to her with the closest bonds of filial devotion.
Professor Correa de Oliveira did not take the initia
tive in speaking publicly about his mother; yet, when urged to do so, profound respect permeated his every word. He spoke of Dona Lucflia not only with natural
sentiment, but with a spirit that evoked a higher plane, for the ultimate foundation of their mutual affection was
the Holy. Catholic, and Apostolic Faith they lived.
Catholic Mother:
"She was a truly Catholic lady." Referring to his beloved mother, on one such occa sion, Profes.sor Correa de Oliveira affirmed:
She was a truly Catholic lady... No one can
imagine how much she inspired me... I continually
Dona Lucflia
studied her beautiful soul with close attention and
always came to the same conclusion. That is why 1 loved her so. Were she not my mother, but someone else's, I would have loved her just the same and would have found a way of living close to her. Mother taught me to love Our Lord Jesus Christ: she
taught me to love the Holy Catholic Church.
Santos Correa
Dona Lucflia's greatest gift to her son was her Faith. She did not limit herself to taking him to the baptismal font or leading him to the First Holy Communion rail. From the very beginning of his life, she gave him a solid religious formation that would ser\e as the foundation
for his extraordinary apostolate. Later, when Plinio Correa de Oliveira was already a
veteran combatant engaged in arduous stiaiggles in defense of Holy Mother Church and the Christian ci\'i-
lization it engendered, his mother's presence would remain a suave and reiin igorating balm.
Tradition,
and property
"That is not a question you ask a mother!"
Shortly before the birth of her second child. Dona Lucflia was subjected to a trial that demanded of her an act of heroic virtue.
Upon examining her, her physician determined that the delivery would be very risky, and that if the baby were to survive, the mother would most likely die. He asked Dona Lucflia if she would prefer to have an abor
"Mother taught me to love Our Lord Jesus
tion in order to save her own life.
She was outraged at his infamous inquiry. "Doctor,
that is not a question you ask a mother! It should never even have crossed your mind!" she admonished him,
Christ; she taught me
before storming Heaven with her prayers. Plinio was born on December 13, 1908, a Sunday
morning, as Dona Lucflia was hearing the church bells of St. Cecilia calling the faithful to Mass. The newborn was so small that the crib she had painstakingly prepared
was too large for the tiny infant. Relatives recount that she once expressed concern to her father that her son did not seem very healthy. Her
to love the Holy Catholic Church."
father took little Plinio in his arms and carried him to the
window for a better look. Gazing lovingly into his grandson's eyes, he eased his daughter's heart by pro claiming. "This boy will live many years!"
"Where is Jesus?"
The crystalline depths of Dona Lucflia's soul were reflected with great clarity in her vocation as educator of her children. Roscc and Plinio. With their first glimmer
of reason, she strove to teach them to distinguish two statues in their home that were objects of her particular devotion: the Sacred Heail of Jesus and Our Lady of Grace.
In response to their mother's frequent questions. "Where is Jesus?... Where is Mary?" the children would
point eagerly to Our Lord or Our Lady. Thus, a little
later, the first words from their young lips were the sweet names of Jesus. Our Redeemer, and Mary. Our Blessed Mother.
Writing to her son when he was already a young man. Dona Lucflia would remind him:
As you know, you and Rosee were entrusted to God before birth. Therefore, with faith and love of
God. you cannot but be happy, all the more so because 1 pray for you day and night, and it is natur al that the prayers of a Catholic mother, even with so little merit, be answered by Our Lady, a mother also,
and by Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Preparing her children for the path of duty Dona Lucflia's solicitude for her children's educa
tion. marked by an outpouring of goodness, affection.
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER. 1995
Plinio at age 8
and sweetness, did not exclude the comple
mentary virtues of justice and of severity and intransigence against evil. When there was a duty to be fultllled no matter how difficult, or an evil to be reject ed no mailer how beguiling, .she would not
yield an inch, while always maintaining her gentle conduct.
For example, she would never permit a frivolous change in .schedule. She insisted on daily morning and evening prayers, on grace before and after every meal, and on
regular times for rising, naps, and going to bed. By seeing that her children attended to these daily obligations, she prepared them to choose the path of duty, even during life's most difficult moments.
"I also pray very much for you..." PImio, a keen observer from
a very early age
Dona Lucilia's intense affection for her
children was not merely natural, but super natural. It was rooted in her devotion to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Whom she prayed so fervently and faithfully. Years later, she would write to her son;
1 was immensely pleased to know that when you miss me you pray
before my oratory! I also pray very much for you. The Sacred Heart of Jesus, our love, will he your guardian and protector! beloved son of my heart.
This devotion, together with the recol lected spirit Dona Lucilia maintained in her home, inspired young Plinio to live a life of prayer and contemplation. Professor Correa de Oliveira often
; j
recalled that on entering home after a walk or a party as a child, he would find an ambi ence that evoked the solemn, noble, and
rich sounds of the bells of Sao Paulo's
Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. This ambience was a total contrast to
Pllnio dressed as a
maharajah for a costume party
r
â&#x2013;
%
The soul of Dona Lucilia was never tainted by joy over another's misfortune. Her friendship, once given, was never broken, and her compassion for those who suffered had the fullness counseled by the Divine Savior in the Holy Gospel. TRADITION,FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Tribute
the growing superndallly and dissipation that already marked society, and it helped
deeply impressed to see Dona Luci'iia's complete rejection of the devil, the enemy
him to belter understand and appreciate his
of the human race. She held his very name
mother's orderly and calm way of being. "That is why I resolved to also live like
in repugnance, pronouncing it only when it
this," he confided. Professor Correa de Oliveira still
remembered the long-gone time when, at
was indispensable and only with an expres sion that showed her distinct disgust. She would say. and rightly so. that the mere mention of such an abject being without
six or seven years of age, he deepened his
absolute need could be interpreted as
reflections about Our Lord Jesus Christ
invoking him.
a
while contemplating the statues at home and at church and reading Catholic books "The Church is everything and
for children.
worth everything." When 1 was very young I was already convinced that He was the
On Sundays, Dona Lucilia would take
God-Man because Mother made this
the children to Mass at Sacred Heart of
very clear in her nairations of Sacred
Jesus Church, whose tasteful interior
History.
included real works of art.
Dona Luci'iia's influence upon her chil
One morning, when Plinio was attend ing Mass with his mother, he was moved by an impression of the church's totality: the
dren was so profound that Plinio, when but four years old, used to stand on a table and
beauty of the statues of the saints; the noble
teach catechism to the household servants,
and nuanced colors of the stained-glass
passing on to them what he had heard from his mother's pious lips.
and affable melodies of the organ; the
On the other hand, the children were
solemn vestments of the celebrant; the
windows, in harmony with the majestic
Plinio on the day of hia First Holy Communion,1917
Pilnlo's parents: Dr. Joao Paulo Correa de Oliveira and Lucllla Rlbelro dos Santos Corrda de Oliveira
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1995
Tribute
sacral splendors of ihe liturgy, all invited his soul to piety. Through this magnificent
ensemble. Plinio vividly sensed the reli gious and supernatural in that ambience. His gaze came to rest on the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Divine archetype
of his deepest yearnings, and he understood the Church's ambience was a faithful and
glorious reflection of God Himself. An act of faith and love issued from his .soul: "The
Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic
Church! She is everything and worth every thing. Nothing can compare to Her thou sands of perfections!" While meditating on this, he turned his gaze to his mother at his side and perceived the consonance of her soul with that ambi
ence. The reflection he saw in his pious mother forever enriched his understanding and love for Holy Mother Church.
In the light of the Salve Regina
Keeping in mind the infinite distance separating the creature from the Creator and the immense distance between the rest
of the human race and the Most Holy Virgin, one could see in Dona Lucilia a likeness to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and
Our Lady. This was her greatest contribu tion to her children's formation, albeit a
subconscious one. because, in her humility,
she did not allov\ herself any such thought. However. Professor Correa de 01i\eira
acknowledged it with deep lo\e: Mtnlicr \\as an excellent consoler. Whene\er I had recourse to her in some ainiction or wiili some difficult
problem. I needed but hear her inquire. "My son. what is it'.'" and half the problem was soKed.
Frequently. I had struggled to find a sc)lution m)self. 1 would look at her
and wail: "I want to see how she gets out of this one."
She would KH)k at me pensively, ne\er Irowning and alwavs extremely calm. She would then sax. "Well, let us solxe it like this..."
Hxen
before 1 knew
what she
would do. I was certain the problem would be resolxed. With an act of
gooilness. an act ol mercx. .in act of pardon, a bit of ailx icc a little later, she
would alwaxs proxide a judicious and complete solution, naturally w iih some sacrifice on her part. I would ieaxc absoluielx enchanted!
Mother's affection was cnxeloping and
constant. Somclitnes
1
wouki
awaken diirinc the ninhi and notice she
TRADITION. Family and property
Tribute
was beside my bed. caressing me and making Signs of the Cross on my fore head before going to bed. It was like a
perfumed and comforting balm that did me lots of good. It never dimin ished in the least, no matter the day, the hour, the circumstances, the stale
of her health. I always felt I could count on her until the end, no matter what I did.
She valued greatly the friendship of others, but if someone did not like her, her attitude remained the same.
She never bore resentment against anyone.
I perceived that the source of her way of life was her devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the
>
intercession of Our Lady.
When Our Lady granted me the grace to truly listen to the Salve Retina for the first time, I understood Mother
thoroughly, because my eyes were opened to that utterly celestial and indescribably higher and more perfect Mother. Thus was born my devotion to Our Lady.
True friendship means compassion Toward the end of her life. Dona
Luci'lia's character as a devoted mother shone as never before in her countenance
and manner. Through the continuous work of a lifetime, she had prepared her children
to correspond selHessly to the sanctifying action of Christ's Church.
She had taught them to understand and lo\ e the fundamental importance of treating others with gentleness and compassion, for the love of God. without which there is no
true friendship. The soul of Dona Luci'lia was never
tainted by joy over another's misfortune. Her friendship, once given, was never bni-
ken. and her compassion for those who suf
fered had the fullness counseled by the Divine Savior in the Holy Gospel. Thus, gentleness was one of the first virtues that Dona Luci'lia retlected, in an
exemplary way. to all who were graced to know her.
No "tolerance"
In the abundant garden of her qualities,
the gentleness of Dona Luci'lia's heart blos somed beside the intransigence of her soul.
For example, when correcting her chil dren. she sought to show them the gravity of their action and to emphasize how it
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER. 199.5
Pllnlo with his sister, Rosee
offended God, instilling in them a profound horror of sin.
Through her fidelity to Catholic princi ples, she rejected the spirit of tolerance infesting the attitudes of so many of her contemporaries, and staunchly defended our Holy Church and our Holy Faith when ever they were attacked or belittled in her The statue of the Sacred Heart
presence.
before which Dona L.ucnia spent hour upon hour in prayer
Admirer of others' qualities
Dona Lucflia was generous in her admi ration of the qualities of others and, through her magnanimous example, she inspired her children to emulate her. She made a
special point of praising the gifts God had given to other children, even when their
parents ignored the qualities of Rosee and Plinio. She zealously maintained this atti tude of soul, so lacking today. At the same time, she would never compare herself with anyone, never refer to any praise she had received, never try to call attention to her
self. not even indirectly through her own qualities.
Recalling the past to illustrate the present Dona Lucflia taught her children moral Dona Lucilia's living room
lessons through stories. It was the peda gogy u.sed by the God-Man Himself.
Whose parables enrich the pages of the Holy Gospel. Dona Lucflia was blessed with a keen
memory and an extraordinary gift for trans
mitting her feelings, revealing the depths of her thoughts through delicate nuances. She would consider events from the Catholic
viewpoint she had received from her ances
tors and had enriched by her piety. She expressed herself with a simplicity that was clear, harmonious, and correct.
A traditional Catholic lady of her time. Dona Lucflia's world was her family, and the pages of their li\'es. her history. She recounted innumerable facts from the life
ol her lather, whom she considered the
archetype of a perfect man. She would also relate tacts from the lives of relati\'es and
Iriends in Sao Paulo society. By recalling the past she wtuild illustrate the present, Professor Corrยงa de Olivelra's office at his home
subtly shi>wing what was censurable in the present and laudable in the past. As she spoke she would highlight the
lessons of life lor her children: "Pay atien-
tradition. Family and property
Tribute
tion, this is how one should be. A person
should act this way. See what happened with Uncle So-and-So, or to Cousin So-
and-So." She would especially insist that they always strive to be honorable, without avaricious ambition.
She believed the family name should be borne as a standard,just as a soldier carries
his flag into battle. It is an honor to carry it high and a dishonor to let it fall into the hands of the enemy through cowardice or sloth.
Life is made not for pleasure, but for the Cross
Dona Lucilia sought to teach detach
ment through her narratives. One must be
prepared to sacrifice social status or fortune if necessary for the fulfillment of duty.
Life, after all, is made not for pleasure, but for shouldering the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ. She loved this principle and prac ticed it in her daily life, not only with res
ignation. but with resoluteness in face of adversity.
The good, the true, the beautiful She spoke almost exclusively of the
good, the true, and the beautiful. One could almost say she viewed life through those
prisms. However, her sense of Justice did not permit her to ever fail in condemning
*
evil when necessary.
Dona Luci'lia's greatest concern was the
path her children would choose in life as they grew older. She confided to Plinio: My son, the times are very evil and
you are very young. No one knows what a person might do when he goes
astray. I want you to understand that it is because 1 love you that 1 would rather see you lose your life than lose
your soul.
Dona Lucflia remained by her son's side
until separated by death. But even death could not sever the bonds of their love. Nor did it end the solicitude of this loving mother,
which strengthened and comforted a loving
son every day of his life, a life, above all. of the Cross. â&#x2013;
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER. 1995
Dona Lucilia in 1967,six months before her death
I
I
t
'f
87 Years of Life,67 Years of Militancy in Favor of Tradition, Family, and Private Property
The Ll -li OI- Pl.lNKJ CORUEA DE Ol.lVEIRA spanned most of our convulsed cen tury, indelibly marking it with his unblemished example; his consistent and
Oliveira. and his mother. Dona Lucilia
Paulo. Several of her ancestors were famous
Ribeiro dos Santos, had distinguished lin
bauiieinmiL's, the armed explorers of Brazil's colonization. Her ancestor Prof.
eages.
Sugar plantation owners in the State of
vibrant thought; his steadfast Roman
Pernambuco. the
Catholic Faith: his intrepid defense of the
descended from heroes of the seventeenth-
principles he professed; and his deep devo
century war against the Dutch. Family members included such outstanding public
tion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom he consecrated himself in his early youth as a slave of love according to the teaching of
Correa
de
Oliveiras
llgurcs as Councillor Joao Alfredo Correa de Oliveira. life senator of the Empire and
Gabriel Jose Rodrigues dos Santos, who
distinguished himself during the reign of Emperor Pedro II. held a chair at the Law School of Sao Paulo and was a renowned
orator and congressman. An incomparable educator.
Dona
Lucilia. with her characteristic gentleness,
Saint Louis de Montforl. In her he placed ail
member of Emperor Pedro IPs Privy
nourished in the soul of her son a devotion
his hopes.
Council. As Prime Minister. Joao Alfredo
to the Roman Catholic Faith, for which he
enacted the "Golden Law." which abolished
would battle throughout his life. When sur rendering her soul to God. this traditional
On this sorrowful occasion, filled with
the hope engendered by the Faith, the direc tors. members, and supporters of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition. Family and Property (TFP). with the other 24 autonomous TFPs and kindred
organizations on 6 continents, wish to ren der him grateful homage. His writings and
slavery in Brazil, on May 13. 1888. Plinio Correa de Oliveira's grandfather Leodegario Correa de Oliveira was this famous statesman's brother. His mother. Dona Lucilia. was one of
Paitlisia lady received a son's greatest eulo gy: "Mother taught me to love Our Lord Jesus Christ; she taught me to love the Holy Catholic Church."
the "400-Year PauHstas," descendants of
the founders or .settlers of the city of Sao
work inspired the founding of all these organizations, and in these troubled times he guided, above all by his example, the
"'When Still Very Young'"
ideological light for Christian civilization.
gaze of his mother. Plinio Correa de
Simply but eloquently, the facts speak for themselves in the rendering of this homage. We present here, therefore, high lights of the lile and work of this gifted man. whose merits and valor history will
After a childhood under the solicitous
Oliveira entered the Jesuit Colegio Sao Luiz in Sao Paulo.
Already much given to logic, he devel oped there a life-long admiration for the
methods of formation of Saint Ignatius of
honor.
Loyola, Unfortunately, he also encountered
An Illustriou.s Family
ianism in a significant number of class
moral dissoluteness, vulgarity, and egalitarmates.
Plinio Correa de Oliveira was born in
Confronted with the contrast between
Sao Paulo. Brazil, on December 13, 1908.
their way of life and the chaste and tradi tional atmosphere of his home, he resolved
His father. Dr. Joao Paulo Correa de
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER. 1995
13
iii/^717fl
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^ J':.■«•-='-«w... ^-i,, ;-•%!' - .t»-'-,,a&v.;a, .•.Vft#'' T' ..'SV v*t.%
to dedicate his life to the defense of the
was
Church and the restoration of Christian civ
Congregations, then
ilization.
expand. In them he found an ambience rccepti\'e to the ideals and ideas that had
suspected of bias in his favor provides an
who. with a rosy future before him. chose a
been taking shape in his spirit from child
idea of his decisive role at this crossroads of
life consecrated to principles brutally con
hood. Here began the noble feats of his pub
Brazilian history.
tested by many?
lic life.
How could anyone not admire a person
Plinio Coirea de Oiiveira clearly pos
his
first
contact
with
the
Marian
just beginning to
Sao Paulo. He served as one of the leaders of
the Catholic congressional bloc.
The testimony of people who cannot be
In the words of Osvaldo Aranha. who
Noted for the talents Divine Providence
headed several ministries and later served as
sessed the prerequisites for material success in intellectual, political, and professional
had given him. he nourished as an orator
ambassador to the United States and presi
and man of action, becoming the leading
pursuits. In him. lineage and personal qual ities of mind and soul were harmoniously
figure of Brazil's Catholic movement. In 1929. joined by a few fellow students who also belonged to the Marian
dent of the U.N. General Assembly. "Brazil would be definitively to the Left today if the
linked. Had he coiilormed to the prevailing winds of moral decline and religious indif-
Congregations,
he
founded
Catholic
Catholics had not united to intervene in the
elections of 193.T' (Leiiiondrio. December 12. 1936). Much later. Former Minister of Justice
ferentism. all the doors to a brilliant career
University Action (CUA) at the historic
would have been open.
Law School of Sao Paulo, a secularist bas
Paulo Brossard would affirm: "In the histo
ry ol Brazil, no independent political orga
charted another course for his life. He sum
tion. CUA grew in numbers and infiuence. and quickly spread to the other universities
marized his decision in resounding words:
in Sao Paiilo.
the Catliolic Electoral League" {Jonuil dc
With his Catholic Faith and courage, he
When still very young, / marveled at the ruins of Christendom, Gave them my heart,
Turned my back on all I could expect. And made oj that past full of blessings My future. Early Public Action
Minus. June 3. 1986).
The Youngest C<nigressman Prufes.sor, and Director of When elections were called at the end of
Legioiidrio
19.'^2 for Brazil's Constitutitmal Convention.
Plinio Correa de Oli\eira proposed and helped organize the Catholic Electoral League. With its support, he was elected to
Congress as the country's youngest repre In September of 1928. Plinio Correa de
sentative at the age of 24. He received the
Oiiveira. a 19-year-old university student, attended a Catholic Youth Congress. This
largest number of votes—twice as many as
14
nization had more electoral infiuence than
the next successful candidate in the State of
At the etui t)f his congressional term. Plinio Correa de Oiiveira devoted himself to
university teaching. He assumed the chair
of History of Civilization at the University College ol' the University of Sao Paulo L.aw
School and. subsequently, the chair of Modern and Contemporary History in the
tradition. Family and property
Tribute
Pontifical Catholic University of Sao
As the Nazi-Communisi
Paulo's Sao Bento and Sedes Sapientiae
collaboration
Departments of Philosophy, Science, and
Plinio Correa de Oliveira
Literature.
warned:
He also dedicated himself to philosoph
intensified.
"The
Germano-
Russian pact was a mistake
ical and religious analysis of the contempo rary crises. Le^iondrio. a parish paper that
[for it unmasked Nazism's
became the semi-official weekly organ of
Soon enough. Hitler and
pseudo-anticommunisml-
the Archdiocese of Sao Paulo under his
Stalin might once again play
direction, records many of his penetrating
enemies—to scare the bour
insights. His critical obscr\'ation of the
geois and fool the public" (Li'^iondrio. September 17.
march of events often led him to foretell the
future with uncanny accuracy. For instance, at the peak of Nazism's
1939).
political clash with communism—when
months
even most opponents of Nazism considered
Germany's stunning inva
it a true enemy of communism—few would
sion of Russia, he insisted:
On December 8. 1940. before
Nazi
have dared predict an agreement between
"Leyiondrio has repeatedly
Hitler and Stalin, Consequently. Plinio Correa de Oliveira surprised readers when
affirmed that the Nazi-Soviet
he categorically anticipated this approxima tion; "As the various camps define them
masquerade may start anew at any time and that today or tomorrow
Moscow
At age 24, Brazil's youngest congressman
and
selves. one movement becomes clearer;
Berlin may well reenact the
namely, the doctrinal fusion of Nazism with
farce of mutual antagonism that brought
communism. In our view. 1939 will see the
them such sizable advantages."
completion of this fusion" {Le^iondrio,
Plinio Correa de Oliveira maintained a
January 1. 1939). Eight months later, Germany and Russia signed the Ribbentrop-Molotov non-aggres
vigorous editorial policy against Nazism and fascism at a time when they had numer ous and influential sympathizers in Brazil, even in the ranks of the clergy. Against the
sion pact as well as secret protocols on the
harmonious inequalities and advocated class struggle. In a few years, events confirmed the book's thesis. For example, the leftist infil
tration of sectors of the Brazilian clergy
cism. 447 of them written by
reached enormous proportions. The Holy See eloquently validated the book's denunciations. Msgr. Giovanni B. Montini, then Substitute Secretary of Stale of the Holy See and later Pope Paul VI.
Plinio Correa de Oliveira himself.
wrote the author in the name of Pius XII:
German and Soviet spheres of influence in
prevailing fashion. Legiondrio published
Eastern Europe.
2,489 articles attacking Nazism and fas
In Defense of Catholic Action
His Holiness is very pleased with you for having explained and defended Catholic Action...with pen etration and clarity....
The August Pontiff hopes with all In 1943, as President of the Archdiocesan Board of Catholic
results in rich and mature fruits and
Action in Sao Paulo. Prof. Plinio
that from it you may harvest neither
Correa de Oliveira published his first book. In Defense of Ciiiholic
small nor few consolations. And as a
Action, with a foreword by the Papal Nuncio to Brazil. Bento Aloisi Masella (later Cardinal and
Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church). A keen analysis of (he first stages of the progressivist and leftist
infiltration
of Catholic
pledge that it be so. he grants you the Apostolic Blessing. Paradoxically, even though twenty prominent Brazilian bishops praised the book in writing, the harshest criticism of it came from other members of the ecclesias
tical hierarchy, whose rights and authority
Action, the work denounces a
the author was defending.
movement among the laity to undermine the Church's principle
Progressivism was definitively unmasked in
The book achieved its author's goal.
Graduate of the Sao Paulo Law
Brazil and would never again advance under the guise of piety. Catholic publicopinion thenceforth viewed progressivism with suspicion. Lacking arguments to refute the hook,
School,1930
progressivists among the clergy resorted to
of authority. In the social realm, this movement repudiated just and
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1995
his heart that this work of yours
15
darkness of the contemporary chaos. In 25 countries. TFP organizations unceasingly proclaim that only in
fidelity to the eternal principles of revealed truth, taught by the Holy Catholic Church, can one build an authentic civilization: Christian civi lization.
B Revolution and Counter-
I Revolution is Plin o Cor ea de Revolution'. "A Prophetic
•.
Work"
Revolution
and
Counter-
"Revolution
and
Counter-
Revolution" is a masterful work
whose teachings should be dissemi nated 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 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 cen ters of higher education.... This letter would not be com
Oliveira's magnum opus. First pub lished in 1959. and expanded in 1976
plete unless I congratulated the TFP for the stature and quality of its
and 1992. it has appeared in numerous
founder. Prof. Plinio. I foresee a vast
editions in the Americas and Europe.
development and a future full of
It is the handbook of the directors,
counter-revolutionary successes for
members, and supporters of the TFPs and like organizations around the
world, all of them inspired by this magistral work and the singular Plinio Correa de Oliveira, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History
Claretianum of Rome and consultant to sev eral Vatican dicasteries. wrote:
example of its author. Revolution and Counter-Revolution
is a philosophical, historical, and socio
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 a pro foundly Christian spirit, one with a passionate love for the Church. This
book is an authentic product of
destroying Plinio Correa de Oliveira's
logical analysis of the cri.ses of the Western
means of action. He suffered a .storm of
world, from the advent of Humanism, the
calumnies, was removed from leadership
Renaissance, and Protestantism to our day.
tion to the Mother of Jesus and
positions among the Catholic laity and. finally, lost one of his main forums.
It decisively demonstrates the correlation
ours—a clear sign of predestination.
Legiondrio.
between these movements and the French Revolution of 1789. the Russian Revolution
Christian wisdom. It is moving to find in a layman such a sincere devo
The doctrines expounded in Revolution
of 1917. the student rebellions of the 1960s
and Counter-Revolution are the most faith
(with their espousal of sexual freedom along with sociopolitical and economic
ful expression of the ideal and goals Plinio Correa dc Oliveira strove for throughout his
Little did these progressivists realize
concepts later pi'omoted as "self-managing socialism") and the present transforma
that best define Plinio Correa dc Oliveira.
the counter-revolutionary par excellence:
The First TFP
that they were creating conditions for the
tions in the former Soviet bloc and in the
founding of the TFP. With his few associ
West.
ates from Legiondho gathered around him. cultural monthly Caiolicismo. whose prin
These developments are but stages of a single gnostic and egalitarian process, which for five centuries has been destroying
cipal contributor he would remain until his
Christian civilization and the benefic tem
last days.
poral influence of the Holy Catholic
Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira launched the
long and fruitful life. In it we find the words
The real counter-revolutionary is one who:
• knows the Revolution, order,
ami the Counter-Rexolution in their
respective spirits, doctrines, and
Caiolicismo soon became one of the
Church. Plinio Correa dc Oliveira named
methods; • loves the Counter-Revolution
poles of thought of the Brazilian Catholic press, and its renown crossed the borders of the country and even the oceans. The expansion of the Lcgiondrio rem nant gave rise in 1960 to the Brazilian
this process "Revolution." and responds to it with the Counter-Revolution. whose goals
and Christian order, and hates the
Society for the Defense of Tradition. Family and Property. In a materialistic world that had iiirned
its back on the past, raising a standard around this trilogy was so daring that many deemed it fatal madness. Yet today, the triad Tradition. Family. Properly is a point of ref erence on six continents, a beacon amid the
Revolution and "anti-order";
and methods he outlines. It is a noble ideal
• makes of this love and this
that calls contemporary man to reject the
hatred the axis around which rcvoKe
Revolution
in
loio
and
to restore
the
Christian spiritual and temporal orders to their full splendor. Many distinguished figures from the clergy and the laity have highly recom mended
Revolution
and
all his ideals, preferences, and activ ities,
Decl.sive Role in Brazilian
History
Counter-
Revolution. The internationally-renowned
Plinio Correa de Oliveira actualized this
canonist Fr. Anastasio Gutichre/. C.M.F.. cofounder of the Institutum luridicum
lile-long ideal. For instance, as president of the Brazilian TFP. he had a decisive role in
TRADITION, FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Tribute
the contemporary history of Brazil, alerting and directing public opinion at crucial
t.'V
H
moments.
His many public stands against social
ist-inspired conflscatory "land reforms,"
beginning in 1960 with the best-seller Land Reform: A Question of Conscience, were decisive in awakening the vital forces of the nation. Brazil is an agricultural giant
dependent on farming and in need of more farmers to cultivate its immense empty fer
tile lands. Preventing the enemie.s of pri vate ownership from implementing their disastrous policies and destroying Brazil's farming base, Plinio Correa de Oliveira saved Brazil from communism. Land reforms like those he defeated in Brazil
have inflicted untold misery on the popula tions of Cuba, Nicaragua. Ukraine, and so
many other countries once behind the Iron Curtain.
Likewise, his timely denunciations of communist infiltration of the Church alert
ed Catholic public opinion, thwarting com munism's only chance to gain popular influence in Catholic Brazil.
One of these denunciations is particu
larly memorable; the 1968 petition to Pope Paul Vl. signed by over 1.6 million
Brazilians, requesting measures against leftist infiltration of Catholic circles. With
the signatures collected in other South American countries, the total surpassed 2 million.
In 1976. given communism's renewed activity in Brazil and especially the magni tude of its infiltration of Catholic circles.
Plinio Correa de Oliveira published The Church in Face of the Growing Communist of action)Prof. Plinio
Threat: An Appeal to the Silent Bishops.
if^pwn above) personally
Distributed throughout the country, the
directed campaigns in defense of tradition,family
book revived the anlicommunist sentiment
of important sectors of public opinion. According to the Rome-based journalist
and property.
Rocco Morabito. the book was to be seen
the Brazilian TFP's 1970
At left is the parade opening campaign to collect
on Vatican desks as well (cf. O Estado de
Christmas gifts and food for the poor
Sao Paulo. April 8. 1977). Another of Prof. Correa de Oliveira's
works merits special mention. Indian Tribalism: Communist-Missionary Ideal
i
for Brazil in the 21st Century. Published in 1977. it denounces a new development of
progressivism: the neo-missiology of com munist-structuralist orientation,
which
advocates a system even more radical than the failed Soviet-style state capitalism. In this work. Plinio Correa de Oliveira fore saw the radical environmentalist demands
made 1.5 years later by NGOs at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio.
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER. 1995
17
, ''".v
Plinio Correa de Oliveira founded the
j
Brazilian IFF and inspired 24 other TFPs and I'
l
l
•
••
1
.1
1 1
9t»lkk
i r
*mC««
%
r
UftfiAi
AAfiff.<A
*5.- -
/
i
§
TFPs Around the World The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) Sociedade Brasileira de Defesa da
Tradi^ao, Familia e Propriedade
Sociedad Paraguaya de Defensa de la
Canadienne pour la Defense de ia
Tradicion, Familia y Propiedad Sociedad Uruguaya de Defensa de la Tradicion. Familia y Propiedad
Tradition, de la Familie et de la Propriete
Societe Frangaise pour ia Defense de ia
The Canadian Society for the Defence of Tradition. Family and Property/Societe
Sociedad Argentina de Defensa de la Tradicion, Familia y Propiedad Sociedad Chilena de Defensa de ia Tradicion, Familia y Propiedad Sociedad Coiombiana de Defensa de la Tradicion, Famiiia y Propiedad Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Defensa de la
^
Sociedad Espahola de Defensa de ia Tradicion, Familia y Propiedad— Covadonga
Tradicion, Familia y Propiedad
Tradition, Famiile et Propriete Nucieo Peruano Tradicion, Familia, Propiedad
Centro Cultural Reconquista—TFP Lusa (Portugal) TFP Biiro Deutschland
The Australian TFP Bureau
Tradicion Familia Propiedad—Costa Rica
Tradition Family Property—Bureau for the United Kingdom Tradition Family Property New Zealand UfficioTradizione, Famiglia, Proprieta (Italy) Aeterni Patris Cultural Centre (India)
Associacion Civil Resistencia (Venezuela) Fundacja Polska dia Kultury Chrzescijanskiej Jovenes Bolivianos pro Civilizacion Cristiana
Saint Thomas Aquinas Youth Association (Philippines) Young South Africans for a Christian Civilization
Tribute
bring the world, and especially the
Targeting Self-Managing
and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions ofPius Xll. Based on the teach
Socialism
Prof. Correa de Oliveira's mosl widely
ings of this Pontiff to the Roman Patriciate
published work was What Does Self-
and Nobility, the work is a bold response to the liberal pseudo-elites at the forefront of today's cultural revolution. It amply
Managing Socialism Meanfor Communism? A Barrier or a Bridgehead? This 1981
Christian world'?
For the time being, the latter is
not engulfed in the triple drama of a seemingly peaceful invasion from the East, a probably less peaceful invasion from Africa, and an eventu
newly-elected French President Mitterrand
demonstrates the duty of authentic elites— bearers of invaluable religious and cultural
al worldwide conflagration. How ever, the fatal outcome of the long
appeared in full or summary in magazines
traditions—to make a decisive contribution
revolutionary process...is already
and newspapers in 52 countries. Some 33.5 million copies circulated internationally.
to solving the contemporary crises by ful
within sight.
expose and analysis of the platform of
Prior to Mitterrand's election the expres
sion "self-managing socialism" had become
the rage in leftist circles worldwide, virtual ly assuming the qualities of a talisman. The French Socialist Party affirmed its determination to use France's prestige and
cultural influence to promote self-managing socialism around the globe. Mitterrand
elaborated a foreign policy of ideological expansionism and political interventionism.
The repercussion of Prof. Correa de Oliveira's expose, according to political and historical commentators, was certainly a
factor, perhaps the greatest, in the decline of self-managing socialism. Its proponents contented themselves with the enjoyment of office, lacking the dynamism to attain their grandiose goals of 1981.
...Under its pressure the former
filling their leadership role.
This widely acclaimed book has been published in five languages. Its American edition, which features a comprehensive .study of the role of elites in American his tory, was launched at the prestigious Mayflower Hotel in Washington. D.C.. in September of 1993. The many letters of approbation received by the author include those of Cardinals Silvio Oddi. Mario Luigi Ciappi, Alfons Stickler, and Bernardino Echevem'a Ruiz; Fr. Anastasio Gutierrez, C.M.F.: and
the renowned Dominican theologians Fr. Raimondo Spiazzi and Fr. Viciorino Rodriguez y Rodriguez. Prof. Correa de Oliveira concludes the
first part of his final book with a thought-
U.S.S.R. lies in ruins—sinister, mys terious, and rotten like a fruit longsince fallen from the branch. ...And what is this most recent
ruin generating if not a general con fusion that constantly threatens imminent and contradictory catastro phes. which disintegrate before
falling upon the world, thus beget ting prospects of new catastrophes even more imminent and contradic
tory? These may vanish in turn, only to give way to new monsters. Or they
may become frightful realities, like the migration of Slavic hordes from the East to the West, or Moslem hordes from the South to the North.
Who knows? Will this actually
provoking and potentially prophetic com
happen? Will this be all? Will it be
mentary;
even worse than this?
Such a picture would discourage History's Largest Petition Drive
At the moment of this writing, the nations that constituted the U.S.S.R.
In his 1965 address to the Third Latin
American Lithuanian Congress convened in Sao Paulo. Plinio Correa de Oliveira suggest ed an international petition asking President Lyndon Johnson to make Baltic indepen dence a condition for dialogue with Soviet
Russia. Nothing came of the idea at the time. Twenty-live years later, however, at a decisive moment in the Soviet crisis, the Brazilian
TFP,
under
his
direction,
have separated. Frictions among them are increasing, deepened as they arc by the fact that some of these
nations have the
means to
unleash an atomic war.
It is not improbable that an armed conflict within the former U.S.S.R. would lead to the involvement of
major Western nations, with conse quences of apocalyptic dimension.
One of these consequences could
embarked on a campaign in support of a
easily be the migration of entire pop
free Lithuania. Its sister organizations immediately joined the effort, extending it across six continents. The resulting petition
actual famine to Central and Western
drive, which gathered over 5.2 million sig natures. is registered in the 1993 Guinness Book of Records as history's largest. More importantly, this campaign, according to the Lithuanian government, undeniably aided the Baltic nation's successful quest for independence from Soviet occupation.
ulations pressed by fear of war and Europe.
This
migration
all men who lack Faith. Those with
Faith, however, can already hear a voice coming from beyond this con fused and grim horizon. The voice, capable of inspiring the most encour aging confidence, says; "Finally, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!" So there are reasons for hope.
Hope for what? For the help of
Providence in any work performed with vision, rigor, and method to defend the world from the threats
hanging o\er mankind like so many swords of Damocles.
It behooves us. then, to pray, con fide in Providence, and act.
could
assume a critical character of unpre dictable scope.... To complete this panorama, we should consider the possible reaction of the Maghreb in face of a Western Europe enmeshed in problems of this
"A Mo.st Faithful Echo of All the
Document.s of the Supreme Magi.sterium"
magnitude, as well as developments
Though the TFP achievements due to
throughout northern Africa and the
the incentive of Plinio Correa de Oliveira
profound impact of the immense
are too numerous to even list here, it was
Nobility and Analogous
fundamentalist wave sweeping the
not action that niost characterized his life.
Traditional Elites
peoples of Islam, of which the
Before all else, he was a man of Faith—
Maghreb is an integral part. Who can predict with certainty the extremes to
not a common faith, but a profound, rever ent, enthusiastic, and abiding faith in the
which these factors of instability will
one true Church of the one true God; the
In 1993, Plinio Correa de Oliveira pub lished what was to be his last book; Nobilit^'
20
tradition. Family and property
i.--.
•
- •
S Champion of Christian civilization, Plinio Correa de Oliveira dedicated his
life to the ^'gOOdfight^^ (1 Tim. 6:12)
•iV
f
'i
•''"'irW ' 5,J
r Plinio Correa de Oliveira, regarded as Brazil's leading conservative figure, was frequently interviewed by newspapers, magazines,and television. He is shown here during a TV Capital interview on land reform on September 10,1985.
Holy Roman Catholic Church. His Faith
Church. As he reaffirmed in one of his last
and his deep love for Holy Mother Church
conferences to TFP youth, his final breath
ited the recognition of the Sacred Congregation for Seminaries and Universi
shine in this meditationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;chosen from
would be an act of love, veneration, and
ties. In a letter acclaiming Plinio Correa de
among so manyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;on the Way of the Cross.
fidelity to the Papacy.
The representation of the Divine Face was made on the veil [of
Veronica] as in a painting. In the Holy, Roman, Catholic, and apos tolic Church, His Face is reflected as in a mirror.
In her institutions, in her doc
Stole: The Impossible Coexistence (1963),
wrote Revolution and Counrer-Revoliition.
Cardinal Giuseppe Pizzardo, Prefect of the
He did not want to close that work
Congregation, wrote:
without a tribute of filial devotion
and unrestricted obedience to the
"sweet Christ on earth," the pillar
We congratulate...the eminent author, justly celebrated for his philosophical, historical, and socio
of the
logical knowledge, and we wish the widest circulation for this compact booklet, which is a most faithful echo of all the Documents of the
reflected. Furthermore, she is the
^'Ubi Ecclc'sia ibi Chrislus, ubi Petrus ibi Ecclesia" ("Where the Church is, there is Christ: where Peter is, there is the Church"). It is
very Mystical Body of Christ....
then to the Holy Father that we direct
including the luminous encyclicals "Mater et Magistra" of John XXllI
our love, our enthusiasm, our dedica
and "Ecclesiam Suam" of Paul VI.
trine, in her laws, in her unity, in her universality, in her unsurpassable
catholicity, the Church is a true mir ror in which our Divine Savior is
Belonging to the Church is a very
and
infallible foundation
Truth....
great and very demanding thing. We
tion....
must think as the Church thinks,
have the mind of the Church, pro
We have not the slightest doubt in our heart about any of the theses that
ceed as the Church wishes in all the
constitute this work. Nevertheless,
circumstances of our lives. This sup poses a real Catholic sense, an
we subject them unrestrictedly to the
authentic and complete purity of cus toms. and a profound and sincere piety. In other words, it supposes the sacrifice of an entire lifetime (Calolicismo, March 1951).
Constant devotion to the Supreme Pontiff was a corollary of Plinio Correa de Oliveira's profound love of the Holy
22
Oliveira's The Church in the Conwiunisi
This same spirit guided his pen as he
judgment of the Vicar of Christ and are disposed to renounce immediate ly any one of them if it depail even
slightly from the teaching of the Holy (Thurch, our Mother, the Ark of Salvation, and the Gate of Heaven. This unconditional submission to the
Supreme Magisterium of the Church,
The Church in the Communist Stale was read around the world, with editions in 10
languages, more than 40 printings, and 340,000 copies sold. Like the preceding work. his Unperceived Ideological Transshipment
and Dialogue (1965) provoked polemics even behind the Iron Curtain. It denounces
a cunning process of subconscious persua sion adopted in communist propaganda,
where talismanic words such as "dialogue."
Supreme Magisterium of the Church, mani
"peaceful
fest in all his acts, words, and writings, mer
acquire capital importance.
coexistence," and
"peace"
tradition. Family and property
Tribute become as he that serveth." said the
Profound Marian and
Plinio Correa de Oliveira. thunderously
Eucharistic Devotion
Redeemer. Brazil will not be great by
applauded by hundreds of thousands, stat
conquest, but by the Faith; it will not be rich so much by money as by its
ed:
Brazil's providential mission
generosity. In truth, if we know how
ing. and speech reflected the intimate union
consists in growing within its bor ders. developing here the splendors
Popes, our city can be a new
a Catholic should have with the Mother of
of a civilization that is genuinely
God. the mediatrix of all graces. Tireless in recommending constant
Roman. Catholic, and apostolic, and
Plinio Correa de Oliveira was a paladin of devotion to Our Lady. His conduct, writ
world with the rays of this great
opportunity to gain for her another devotee, to exalt her name, to place her image in some fitting location, to suggest an act of
light, which is but the "lumen
Many were the times that TFP youths
Jerusalem, of perfect beauty, honor,
glory, and joy for the whole world.
lovingly illuminating the whole
recourse to Our Lady, he never lost an
Marian piety.
to be faithful to the Rome of the
Cliri.'iii" that the Church radiates....
Founder and Father
If one day Brazil is great, it will be for the good of the entire world:
Although civic associations, the TFPs
"He that is the greater, let him
are somewhat analogous to religious orders
requesting a counsel heard him say. "Have more devotion to Our Lady." The Rosary, the renewal of his conse cration as a sla\'e to Mary, the Litany and Little Office of the Blessed Virgin were
among his daily devotions. His pious prac tices included the use of the Scapular and Miraculous Medal and visits to Marian shrines.
While the Marian Congregations, to tlic mislbrtunc of Brazil and the world, have
declined over the past years, the flour ishing devotion to Mary that characterized them in their springtime continued to grow in Plinio Correa de Oliveira.
His Eucharistic piety was no less ardent. From the time of his entry into the Catholic movement, he assiduously
encouraged daily Communion, a source of strength for him in his counter-revolution ary ideological struggle.
A True Brazilian
The largest Brazilian daily once termed Plinio Correa de Oliveira "the embodiment
of Brazilian cordiality" {Follui ile Sao
Paulo, iixiw-iry 1 1- 1979). His kindness and
affability caplivtiled those who knew him: his intelligence was agile and intuitive. He was truly the personification of the Brazilian people's best qualities. He loved his country. Beyond Brazil's
present crisis—which he regarded as pri marily religious and moral—he saw a mag nificent future, proportional tt) the generos
ity of siiul <9' its people and the immensity of its territory. This future would he a civ ilization under the sign of the Cross—sym
bolized by the Southern Cross admirably set in the austral skies as though to remind Brazilians of their calling.
In an outdoor speech at the Fourth National Eucharistic Congress in 1942.
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER. 1995
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary was one of the main pillars of Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira's spiritual life. He is shown here before the miraculous fresco of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy, during a pilgrimage in 1988.
2.^
An Admirer of the True
America
Plinio Correa de Oliveira's spirit was universal and all-embracing, quick to recognize and admire the
qualities of other nations, especially those where Christian civilization had
shone with greater splendor. He saw that the Revolution's cen
turies-long attempt to overthrow ven erable traditions and the basic princi ples of Christian civilization had
Over 850 people, including guests from around the world, attended the bril
liant launching of the American edition of Nobility and Analogous Traditional advanced as much in the United States as else
Elites at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC,on September 28,1993.
where. However, here, more than anywhere,
he saw the growth, especially in the last 15
or congregations. Consequently, the relationship between Plinio Correa
years, of such wholesome attitudes among
de Oiiveira and TFP members was
large sectors of the public as opposition to moral decadence, appreciation for refined manners, and readiness for heroism.
Observing this phenomenon, he elaborated one of his favorite theses: Just as before World
analogous to that between the
founder of a religious institution and his disciples. His exemplary life, his unshak able Faith, his intense piety sus tained and still sustain all TFP mem bers. Not a few of them owe him
their perseverance in the Faith; many
War I the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the
bulwark of the principles and traditions of Christian civilization, so today the United States is the bastion against the Revolution's
others, modern-day prodigal sons lost down worldly paths, owe him their return to the Faith.
His solicitude for each and every associate of the TFPs seemed unlim
ited. He was a father to every TFP effort to immerse the world in chaos. This
explains the enmity of the adversaries of Christian civilization toward our country,
member. Never was his solicitude
greater than when the spiritual wel fare of those placed by Providence under his care was involved. Never
which they wish to see destroyed like the
did he neglect an opportunity to
Habsburg Empire.
offer a word of counsel or encour
He used to counsel Americans: You will be
victorious only if you add to extreme vigilance
If his 16 major works and his other published writingsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;more than 2.500â&#x20AC;&#x201D;reflect his dynamism, more impressive still is the number
of meetings and conferences he held for TFP associates during the last 35 years. It exceeds 20.000.
The
Linforgenablc
weekly
Saturday meeting on world news was one of the highlights of the internal life of the TFP. This meeting had its origin in the limes of Le^iom'ino. when Plinio Correa de
Oiiveira. using articles from the Brazilian and international press,
kindness.
Christian doctrines.
On these occasions it was espe cially patent that he had been
sound Catholic pedagogy, he diver
obtaining brilliant military victories or daz
and his keen discernment of charac
zling the world with your temporal wealth,
ter and even thoughts, were testimo ny to this pi'odigious grace.
Over the decades, following
favored by Providence with an extra
sified his themes and methods of
ordinary supernatural gift; a knowl
exposition, adapting them to his lis teners. who were captivated by his
you have the mission of using your enormous
24
missions. As a result, his work day usually lasted until 3 a.m.
agement or to perform an act of
edge of the secrets of hearts, The unfailing soundness of his counsel,
mote the restoration of Christian civilization.
daily meetings with members of \'arious TFP task forces or study com
instructed his first companions with penetrating insights on current events in the light of timeless
and perspicacity the conviction of your high mission. More than extending your industrial, commercial, and financial might, more than
worldwide influence to bar the path of the gnostic and egalitarian Revolution and to pro
the end. His week included four gen
eral meetings for TFP members and
impeccable logic, crystalline clarity, and beauty of expression.
A School of Thought and Memorable Conferences
Action
Plinio Correa de Oiiveira found
in the life of Plinio Correa de
ed a school of thought and action. It is characterized, above all. by total
Oiiveira, who worked tirelessly until
and enthusiastic adhesion to the doc-
These are some of the milestones
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; tradition. Family and property
Tribute
Twentieth-Century Crusader trine of the One. Holy. Catholic, and
and human respect, he had the courage to
Apostolic Church, expressed in the teach ings of the Roman Pontiffs and the ecclesi
According to the medieval chronicles,
navigate alone against the tide of what was
Godfrey of Bouillon, leader of the First
reckoned modem and to nobly confront
astical magisteriuni in general.
Crusade, was incredibly strong.
many persecutions.
"I am a convinced Thomist." reads the
When asked about the source of his
He found fortitude to wage this struggle
simple, clear, and categorical sentence that opens his yet unpublished "Philosophical
strength, he would reply; "1 am strong
From an analysis of reality in the light of
de Oliveira idealized demanded of him a
the Faith, he deduced a series of theoretico-
strength of soul superior in many ways to
above all in the aid of the Blessed Virgin, but like Godfrey of Bouillon he could affirm: "1 am strong because I am chaste." Combative chastity, fearless chastity, was an ideal he transmitted to his disciples
practical principles, which permeate his
Duke Godfrey's. Disregarding servile fear
in the Counter-Revolution.
because I am chaste."
The ideological crusade Plinio Correa
Self-Portrait."
writings. A synopsis of many of these principles can be found in Revolution
and
Counter-
Aristocrat by his birth, and
noble by his life, Plinio Correa de Oliveira projected what Pope Pius XII saw as a
Revolution.
One of his foremost interests
noble's principal attributes;
was the explication of the prin
strength of soul, readiness for
ciples that should guide the development of a society
action, generous adherence to the tenets of Christian doc
inspired by Catholic doctrine.
trine
Revolution
chivalrous
and
Counler-
Revolution presents his conclu sion in concise terms;
and
life, aristocratic conduct,
and
humility with grandeur. To his sense of honor and gentil ity were added the tact and
If the Revolution is disor
der. the Counter-Revolution is the restoration of order.
And by order we mean the
peace of Christ in the Reign of Christ, that is. Christian civilization, austere and hier
archical.
fundamentally
sacral, anti-egalitarian, and antiliberal.
prudence of a diplomat and the perspicacity of a strate gist. Those qualities led him to devise a unique means of publicity, now used by all the TFPs; street campaigns with red capes and tall red banners
emblazoned with a golden lion. TFP members on cam-
'Mik
One of the many national and international congresses held In Sao Paulo for supporters of the TFPs.
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER. 1995
25
"Unto Thee I Lift Up My Eyes"
paign, in direct contact with the public, bring to mind medieval chivalry. This once prompted a well-known
Despite the radical changes in outlooks and lifestyles
Brazilian journalist to remark on "the grand charm of the
over the 87 years of his life, Plinio Correa de Oliveira remained faithful to his early ideals. His consistency mer
IFF."
In view of Plinio Correa de Oliveira's tireless fight
ited him respect even among his adversaries. In success
against all the causes of moral disintegration in today's society, we can truthfully call him the Crusader of the
and in reversal, in advance and in retreat, unbending even in the worst of storms, always holding high the standard
twentieth century.
of his convictions and proclaiming them with spirited bravery, he was true to his vocation.
Edified by his life's luminous course, which points to true solutions for the contemporary crises, we express in this sorrowful hour, filled with inex tinguishable yearnings, our admiration and gratitude for everything Plinio Correa de Oliveira was and did in 87 years of life
A Victim Soul
Plinio Correa de Oliveira, who was wont to affirm, "The Holy Catholic
Church is the light of my life,"
and 67 years of heroic endeavors.
was deeply distressed by the cri sis
that
has
afflicted
In union with the devotion at
the
Mystical Spouse of Christ
the core of the soul of this peer
less champion, we turn to the
over the last 30 years. The gravity of this crisis led
Blessed
She—the Star of the Sea,
also alluding to it, stated: "Outright heresies in the dog and
the Morning Star that guided his life—gave him a hero's strength. Determined to perse vere in his path, we make
I
moral
fields have been dis
seminated, creating doubt,
confusion,
our own the words with
i
which
he
closes
Revolution and Counter-
and rebellion" (allo
Revolution:
cution of February 6.
Amid
198!).
today's
chaos, only one thing
To Plinio Correa
will not fail, namely, the prayer...which is in my heart and on my lip.s. Just as it is in the
de Oliveira, the Holy Church's
Mary, to
gratitude are ultimately due.
"self-destruction" (allo cution of December 7, 1968). John Paul II,
matic
Virgin
whom our admiration and
Paul VI to liken it to a
sad
situa
tion—which aggravates the already acute prob lems of Western society—
heart of all who see and think as I do: "Unto thee I
lift up my eyes, unto thee,
seemed insoluble without
who dwcllest in the heavens.
the aid of Heaven. To him,
See how the eyes of servants
the hastening of the triumph of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary—
promised by Our Lady herself at Fatima—required souls who would
offer to take on heroic sufferings, according to the 2.000-year-old custom of the Church.
During a TFP meeting on the night of February I,
are fixed on the hands of their
masters, the eyes of a handmaid on the hand of her mistress"(Psalm
122:1-2). So our eyes are fixed on Our
Lady and Mother, waiting for her to have mercy on us.
Behold the affirmation of unvarying confi dence of the Catholic soul, which kneels but
1975, he explicitly offered himself as a victim soul for this intention. Thirty-six hours later he was seriously injured
remains firm amid the general convulsion—firm
in a car accident. Its effects lasted the rest of his life.
and with a strength of soul even greater than it.
with all the firmness of those who, in the storm,
For 20 years, he bore multiple sufferings with admirable resolution. These culminated in a grave infir mity, for which he was admitted to Sao Paulo's Hospital
"Credo in Unam, Sanclam, Catholicam, et Apostolicam Ecclesiam," that is, I believe in the
Alemao Oswaldo Cruz on September 1 of this year. After more than a month of indescribable suffering, the hand of God took him to celestial glory.
Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church, against which, as promised to Saint Peter, the gates of hell will never prevail.
26
continue to affirm from the bottom of their heart:
tradition,family and property
Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira lies before the
altar during his funeral Mass.
The rosi ry beads thai had pas ed ti roi gi his lingers so often in life eneireled his hands. His rec|iicst to the Most
Blessed Virgin, repeated thousands and timusands of times
iliroughoLil his life in the words of the Hail Mary. "Pray for us sin ners. now and at the hour of our death." had eome true. His counte
However, if e\'eryone was surprised at the news of the fatal ill ness that took him from us in a month, he certainly was not. For sev
nance showed that Our l,ady had heeded Ins prayer. TFP members, supporters, and friends from six continents who eaihcred at the headquarters of the Brazilian TFP for the wake for Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira keenly felt the pain of a sudden sep aration from one they esteemed more than words can express, Wiien
vitality, such was the intensity of his activity, that no one grasped the full meaning of his hints. They were taken as simple and hum
tliey approached his cotTm. however, something like a delicate ray
ble figures <d' speech.
illumined tlieir souls, imparting to them some of the serenity and
In a letter he had sent this year to a gravely ill TFP member. Professor Correa de Oliveira. besides encouraging him. remarked
peace that shone in his face. .Still, this serenity did not exclude a point of perplexity: How could Professor Correa de Oliveira have passed away so quickly? Just recently he had been giving his customary weekly lectures in the Auditorium of Mary Help of Christians!
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER. 1995
eral months he had felt that his days were drawing to a close, and he had said so in discreet terms to closer associates. But such was his
that the letter was from one dying person to another. And not lonu
ago. he told a clo.se associate, in a slightly playful lone, that the
associate would soon visit him at Sao Paulo's Consolayilo Cemetery,
27
Tribute
Q Despite his premonition, he did not
alter his schedule of activities; he diligent ly continued to perform his apostolic works, with ever-increasing perfection. Only one change was noticed: He spent more time in prayer. Someone who did not witnes.s Plinio
Correa de Oliveira's daily life may find it difficult to believe that a person of his advanced age was able to bear so much activity. Without fail, he gave lour weekly lec
I
tures in the Auditorium of Mary Help of Christians. These lasted an hour and a half
on average and were attended by any and all TFP members from the various TFPs who rvi-
happened to be in Sao Paulo. In addition, he gave six weekly meetings to smaller groups. With the passing years and the growth of the TFPs, his free time had become scarcer and scarcer. So he sacrificed some of his
remaining rest periods. For example, his afternoon tea break became an opportunity
for young TFP volunteers from all over the world to visit with him. They would pro
pose a subject for conversation, and he would speak to them while having his tea. Afterwards, he received people who had work or other matters to discuss with him in
private. Not infrequently, these appoint ments lasted almost until midnight, when he would have dinner. In his last years, even some of his lunches and dinners had become TFP work sessions.
But his day's work did not end there. From I to 3 a.m. he would work on his cor
respondence. He received letters from peo ple throughout Brazil and the world who
wanted advice on the most varied subjects. No letter ever went unanswered.
28
I
\
Tribute
Totally dedicated to a cause, he would not allow himself the
rest to which anyone, even if young, feels entitled. If he caught a flu or some other slight sickness, he would not stay in bed even if he had a fever; he simply remained indoors, following his usual work routine.
3
Even with a terminal illness undermining his strength, he man
aged to maintain this rhythm of activity until mid-August, giving no grounds for anyone to suspect he was sick. But he was notice ably tired and therefore decided to spend some days in the coun
tryside. As he had often done in the course of his adult life, he
%
travelled to a rural property called "Our Lady of Mon'o Alto." a few hours from Sao Paulo.
During the last week of August, his doctor noticed some dis quieting changes in his health and proposed that he undergo thor ough clinical testing. It was too late. On the night of Friday.
September 1. he had to be rushed to the Hospital Oswaldo Cruz in Sao Paulo.
Tests soon revealed his illness: advanced liver cancer. The can
cer had affected most of his liver, and metastases were found in
both lungs. Medicine could do nothing. The only thing left was to place himself in the hands of Divine Providence. This is what
Plinio Con'ea de Oliveira did, as indeed he had already done before hearing the fateful news from the Very Rev. Canon Jose
Lui'z Marinho Villac, whose priestly training he had sponsored many years before. Over 2,000 people attended the funeral Mass celebrated in Sao Paulo's Church of
Our Lady of Consolation on October 5.
m
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER. 1945
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 29
He received the news with the serenity that characterized his life and that was to
become even more patent in his last moments. Not a word of inconfonnity or
complaint escaped his lips during the countless sufferings he endured. On the contrary, whenever he spoke to those around him—which he did with great diffi culty due to his extreme weakness—he
always encouraged them and urged them to have total confidence in Our Lady, whose
image reigned over his hospital room. In December of 1967. while convalesc
ing from another life-threatening illness, he had been given a beautiful picture of Our Lady of Good Counsel. Ever since then, in thanksgiving for an extraordinary grace, he
had always kept this picture of Our Lady in his room. She continued to watch over him
as his end approached. The rapid course of events prevented him from taking leave of his numberless
spiritual children. In any case, his spiritual will, had he written one. could be summed Canon Jose Luiz Villac recites the prayers at the foot of the altar
to begin the Requiem Mass for Professor Correa de Oiiveira.
up in a single word, coiifulciice. Indeed, that was the subject of his last meetings for TFP members. His words, full of fire and
unction, still resound like a celestial harmo The Absolution following the Mass
ny in the souls of so many of us. The time when tragedies did not happen has passed. Tragedies are the norm in our days, and they must be faced with heroic courage: with the heroism of a Catholic who confides, contldes. confides; and when there is
nothing more to trust than arid contldence in God. confidence still stands, like the confidence of Job. The hour of the e\enls foreseen at
Faiima. the hour of great sufferings, of great dangers, of great uncertainties, of great acts of confidence, indeed of extraordinary acts of confidence, is arriving. Those who confide will win. Job trusted, and because he trusted, he did not rebel: because he did not rebel, he adored God. When God bran
dished the scourge that wounded him. he said. "Lord. I am thine: do with me
as Thou pleasest. I revere the w hip that
Hogs me." That is the history of the TFP in several respects. Bui that is also, in a certain sense, our individual hisioiy. No matter liow
difficult the cir
cumstances—even if we seem defeat
ed. even if we seem cast to the last
places of the earth—there is one mis
take we cannot make, namely, to give up confidence. 1 would almost dare to say that the essential thing is to not
30
TR,EDITION, F.A.MILY .\ND PROPERTY
Tribute
doubt, to liave confidence; the rest will follow.
Come what may. with the protec tion of Our Lady, let us not de.spair, let us not fear being abandoned. The more we suffer, the more we will be glori fied. And when our suffering reaches the unfathomable, let us sing the Magnificat, for God's hour is near. Therefore, no matter what happens from now on, we must confide, con
fide. confide; Our Lady will provide the rest.
The day after being hospitalized, Profes.sor Correa de Ollveira expressed the desire to receive Extreme Unction. The
Sacrament was administered by the Very Reverend Canon Villac, who accompanied
him zealously up to the last moments, tak
ing him Holy Communion every day until the illness prevented him from receiving the Sacred Species. On the morning of October 3, the feast
day of St. Thercse of the Infant Jesus, Professor Correa de Oiiveira gave sure
signs that his agony was approaching. It began about 4 p.m.
Prof. Correa de Oliveira's body enters Consola^ao Cemetery to be laid next to the remains of his mother and father.
Canon Villac recited the prayers for the
dying, accompanied by some of the oldest
Canon Villac blesses the coffin for the last time.
TFP members. He then slowly read the
Passion from the Gospel. Professor Correa de Oliveira's breathing
gradually slowed, signalling the end. In one of his hands he held a cmciform reliquary
containing a piece of the True Cross on which Our Lord Jesus Christ died. In keeping with the custom of the Church, a lighted can
dle. symbol of the Faith infused in him at Baptism, was placed in his hands. Some moments later, almost imperceptibly, and without any convulsion, he fell asleep in the Lord. His face, until then deeply marked by
suffering, relaxed, and a faint smile appeared
on his lip^. giving him a suave and joyful
aspect that greatly impressed those who had the happiness of venerating his mortal remains. The words of Sacred Scripture can well be applied Ui him:"Blessed arc the dead who die in the Lord"(Apoc. 14:13).
Twi) months after his death, the sorrow at
so ''reat a loss still pierces our hearts. But at
the same lime we are comforted by the jubi lant hope of having a powerful heavenly intercessor, who before the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary will not cease to advocate our cause in these troubled days for the Catholic Church and the world. â&#x2013;
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1995
Itir 31
m
Our Lady was always the Light of my life" Excerpts from the Sealed Testament of Plinio Correa de
Oliveira
I
Llk\ '
Above: Prof. Plinio Corrga de Oliveira
next to the International Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatlma
iIf
s: ir-mJ .
Right; The Room of the Reign of Mary, the principal meeting room at the Seat of the Reign of Mary, headquarters of the Brazilian TFP. All the rooms in this TFP center were decorated under Prof. Correa de Oilveira's direction.
TRADirrON,FAMILY AND PROPERTY
rr
In
n the name of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and of the Blessed Virgin Mary, my Mother and Lady. Amen. I, Plinio Correa de Oliveira, legitimate son of Dr. Joao Paulo Correa de Oliveira and of Dona Lucflia Ribeiro Correa de Oliveira, both now deceased, a Brazilian, native of this Capital of the State of Sao Paulo, where I was born on December 13, 1908, single, a lawyer and university professor, a resident
in this same city, in full possession of my faculties, freely and voluntarily resolve to make this testament, for the disposition of my possessions after my death and for the recording of other final determinations, in the following form:
I declare that I have lived and hope to die in the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Faith, which I hold with all the strength of my soul. I cannot find sufficient words to thank Our Lady for the privi lege of having lived since my very first days and of dying, as I hope, in the Holy Church. To it I have
always devoted, currently devote, and hope to devote until my last breath absolutely all my love. All the persons, institutions, and doctrines I have loved in the course of my life and currently love, I have loved
and love solely because they were or are in accord with the Holy Church, and in the measure to which they were or are in accord with the Holy Church. Likewise, I never opposed institutions, persons, or
doctrines except insofar as they were opposed to the Holy Catholic Church. In the same manner, I thank Our Lady—without being able to find adequate words—for the grace of having read and disseminated the Treatise of True Devotion to the Most Holy Virgin, of St. Louis Marie Grignion of Montfort, and of having consecrated myself to Her as Her perpetual slave. Our Lady was always the Light of my life and from Her clemency I hope She will continue to be my Light and my Help until the last moment of my existence.
Again I thank Our Lady—and with what emotion—for having granted me to be born of Dona
Lucilia. I revered and loved her to the utmost of my capacity and, after her death, not a single day passed without my remembering her with unspeakable longings. Of her soul I also ask that she assist me until my last moment with her ineffable goodness. I hope to meet her in Heaven amidst the lumi nous cohort of souls who most specially loved Our Lady. 1 am fully conscious of having fulfilled my duty by having founded and directed my glorious and dear TFP. In spirit, I kiss the standard of the TFP that hangs in the Room of the Reign of Mary. The spir itual link that unites me to each member of the Brazilian TFP, as well as to those of the other TFPs, is
such that it is impossible to mention any one in particular to express to him my affection. I ask Our Lady to bless each and every one of them. After death, I hope to be near Her, praying for all of them, thus helping them more efficaciously than in this earthly life. I forgive with my whole soul those who have given me cause for complaint.... I have no instructions to give for the eventuality of my death; Our Lady will provide better than I. In any event, from the depth of my soul and on my knees, 1 beseech each and every one to be
completely devoted to Our Lady all the days of their lives ...
Sao Paulo, January 10, 1978 Plinio Correa de Oliveira
1
Right:TFP members
ROME:
with Cardinal
Stickler after Mass
On November 11, Cardinal Alfons Stickler celebrated a Pontifical
Requiem Mass "in faldistorio," \r\ the Tridentine rite, for the repose of the soul of Prof. Plinio Correa de
Oliveira, in the Church of Santo
Spirito in Sassia, just a block from St. Peter's Basilica.
TFP acolytes in solemn dress assisted Cardinal Stickler, and the choir of St. Peter's Basilica,
directed by the Spanish maestro Msgr. Pablo Colino, sang the liturgical chants.
In addition to the official presence of the organizations Alleanza Cattolica, Lepanto, and Famiglia
a
Domani,over 300 friends and
supporters of theTFPs were in attendance. We note also the
distinguished presence of representatives of the Constantinian Order of St. George,
I
as well as members of the Roman
Patriciate and Nobility. The Mass concluded with the
singing of the Papal Anthem accompanied by trumpet and organ.
34
tradition. Family and property
WASHINGTON: Over 200 TFP.metnbers,friends,and s ers attended the isofemn Month's Miric
|pr the soul of Prof; Plinio Correa d^C
l^^rated In theJTHdentineirite by FrJ
I
^nway in St. Ma'ixMother.of God cK iwe>^ber-4.
,7
Several other Requiem Masses were offered in other countries where the
TFPs are represented. We regret not having space to devote to them.
SAO PAULO: Below: A solemn Seventh-Day Mass cele brated in Our Lady of Fatima Church by Canon Jose Luiz Villac
1
THE DOCTRINAL WORKS OF
PLINIO CORREA DE OLIVEIRA â&#x2122;Ś Principal published works
Following is a chronological listing of Plinio Correa de Oliveira's books and major essays. The titles are given in
the original Portuguese with the English equivalent in brackets, or in English if a translation has been published. The figures are for copies distributed. Many of his works were written for a specific time and public and were sold almost entirely by TFP members in
street campaigns, a means Professor Correa de Oliveira devised to reach the public despite silence or opposition on the part of the mass media. Em Defesa daAgao Catolica (1943) [In Defense of Catholic Action] 4,500 copies
Revolution and Counter-Revolution (1959)
5 Portuguese printings, with translations in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish; nearly 135,000
copies
Reforma Agrdria: Questao de Consciencia (1961) [Land Reform; A Question of Conscience]
Several printings in Portuguese and Spanish; 41,000 copies
The Church in the Communist State: The Impossible Coexistence (1963)
Published in 38 magazines or newspapers in 13 nations and in numerous booklet editions; English.
TFP Street
campaigns
French. German. Hungarian, Italian. Polish, Spanish, and Vietnamese translations; nearly 340.000 copies Declaragao do Morro Alto (1964) [Declaration of Morro Alto (on land reform)] 32,500 copies
Unperccived Ideological Transshipment and Dialogue (1965)
136,500 copies in Portuguese. English. German, Italian, and Spanish "Semi-Secret Groups Plot to Subvert the Church"(1969) Published in TFP magazines in 10 countries: 256.000
copies A Igreja Ante a Escalada do Ameago Comunista â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Apelo aos Bispos Silenciosos (1976)
[The Church in Face of the Rising Communist Threat: An Appeal to the Silent Bishops] 51,000 copies
36
TRADITION. FAMILY AND PROPERTY
Indian Tribalism: Communist-
Missionary Idealfor Brazil in the 21st Century (1977) 87,500 copies
"Na 'Noite Sandinista': O
Incitamento a Guerrillia"(1980) [The "Sandinista Night":
Incitement to Guerrilla Warfare] Published in TFP magazines in
I
nine countries; 77,400 copies Sou Catolico: Posso Ser Contra a Reforma Agrdria?(1981) [I Am Catholic: Can I Be
Against Land Reform?]
Prof. Correa de Oltveira wrote and published 16 major works and more than 2,500 articles.
29,000 copies
What Does Self-Managing Socialism Mean for Communism? A Barrier or a Bridgehead?(1981)
Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII(1993)
Published in full or summary in magazines and newspa pers of 52 countries in 13 languages; some 33.5 million copies circulated internationally As CEBs...das Quais Muito se Fala, Pouco se Conhece A TFP As Descreve Como Sao (1982) [The Grassroots Church Communities... Much Talked
About But Little Known: The TFP Describes Them As They Are]
43,000 copies in Portuguese, English, French, Italian, and Spanish.
♦ Articles
Over the course of his long life as a Catholic journalist. Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira wrote over 2,500 articles. Especially notable are his con
tributions to the weekly Legiondrio (1933-1947)
72,000 copies
A Propriedade Privada e a Livre Iniciativa, no Tu^o Agro-Reformista (1985) [Private Property and Free Enterprise in the Windstorm of Land Reform] 34,000 copies
and the monthly Catolicismo (1950 until his death), as well as his weekly columns in Brazil's major daily newspaper, the Folha de S. Paulo, beginning in 1969.
♦ Books written under his direction
Professor Correa de Oliveira also personally directed or contributed to the preparation of numer Segredos (1985)
[The Reply of Authenticity: The TFP Without Secrets] 1,500 copies
No Brasil: A Reforma Agrdria Leva a Miseria ao
ous other works of the Brazilian and the various
other TFPs. Together, the TFPs have published over 100 books in 20 languages, for a total of nearly 42 million copies.
♦ Lectures, meetings, and study commissions
Campo e d Cidade (1986)
[In Brazil, Land Reform Begets Misery in the Countryside and in the City] 55,200 copies
Another important aspect of Professor Correa de
Oliveira's work must be highlighted: his more than
20,000 lectures and academic meetings and his direction of several study commissions, whose papers are available for research.
Projeto de Constituigdo Angustia o Pais (1987)
[Proposed Constitution Troubles the Nation] 73,000 copies
These lectures and meetings, running to a mil
lion pages, and his published works place Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira among the most prolific of Catholic scholars,
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1995 - 37
\
'1
TFP members from several countries in front of St. Peter's Basilica after the Requiem Mass celebrated in the Church of Santo Spirlto in Sassia.
"I cannotfind sufficient words to thank Our Ladyfor the privilege of having lived since my very first days and of dying, as I hope, in the Holy Church. To it I have always devoted, currently devote, and hope to devote until my final breath absolutely all my love." From the last will and testament of Plinio Correa de Oliveira