Jesuit Implies Hierarchy Blame

WITHOUT a question of doubt the Roman Catholic Church has been and is the most outspoken in denouncing communism as a threat to religion. Roman Catholic prelates from the pope down and Roman Catholic politicians from Senator McCarthy up are continually being quoted in this regard.

However, time and again the Watch Tower publications have put the blame for communism in such predominantly Roman Catholic lands as Poland, Italy and France squarely on the shoulders of the Roman Catholic Church. And time and again Roman Catholic apologists, such as Our Sunday Visitor, have argued that this was unjust. To prove their point they have cited Ireland, Portugal and Spain as examples of Roman Catholic countries where communism does not prevail, overlooking the fact, however, that in such lands communism has been kept down only by resorting to communistic methods of circumscribing liberty.

It is interesting, therefore, to note what the seniors of the Roman Catholic University of Fordham were told on June 5, 1955, by the associate editor of the Jesuit weekly, America, Vincent J. Kearney, as to how communism can be defeated: “The success or failure of the enemies of God and country, of the world which we know, will be determined by the way Christians not only live their Christianity but apply it to modern society.” He further stated that communism “will not disappear, only by denouncing it,” its final defeat can come about only when “we begin practicing Christian social principles that counteract the evils on which communism thrives.”

Since according to V. J. Kearney communism thrives where Christian principles are not applied to social problems, and it is in preponderantly Roman Catholic Poland, Italy and France where communism has thrived, what conclusion can one draw?