Newspaper Page Text
New Light On Religious
Persecution In Russia
NEW YORK (NC)—New evi
dence of communist persecu
tion of Christians in the Soviet
Union is contained in a letter
smuggled out of Russia and ad
dressed to the Orthodox Patri
archs of Jerusalem, Antioch
and Constantinople.
► The letter, couched in sim
ple language, gives a portrait
of day-by-day harassment of
practicing Christians by the to
talitarian and officially atheis
tic state.
It tells of the closing of
churches and monasteries; of
aged monks imprisoned or turn
ed into vagrants; of parents
arrested in their homes for
rearing their children as Chris
tians; of public mockery of holy
things; of trumped up charges
against devout religious, and of
collaboration by many Orthodox
clergymen with their church’s
oppressors.
The 4,000-word document,
U written, perhaps, sometime af
ter Aug. 6, 1963—the latest date
it mentioned—was addressed to
the Orthodox Patriarchs by per
sons designating themselves
“parishoners and pilgrims of
the Orthodox Churches through
out Russia.”
Smuggled out of the Soviet Un
ion, the letter reached its inten
ded destination and copies were
sent to the New York offices of
the World Council of Churches.
This letter, an appeal for
assistance from non-Russian
patriarchs, documents its char-
' ges with names and places, but
^ these were omitted to protect
the writers and the Christian
communities they represent.
“Since 1959,” the letter
states, "the Antichrist in Rus
sia has been persecuting the
Orthodox Church dreadfully.”
It says at first children were
forbidden to serve as acolytes
to bishops everywhere in Russia,
in spite of protests by parents.
In 1960, government officials in
parts of the country banned the
consecration of graves during
Radovnitsa ( aperiod after Eas
ter) and later lowered the pri
ces of ikons and candles and
other religious objects to cut
off the church’s income.
In 1961, the letter says, lo
cal “authorities forbade Holy
Communion and church atten
dance by children from 3 to 18
years of age, giving as the rea
son for this that the school is
responsible for the education of
children. The mockery has gone
so far that the representative
stands next to the door of the
cathedral spying on the chil
dren. If he finds any children
in the church, he tells the
church warden and this ser
vant of Antichrist collars the
children and knocks their heads
against the wall.”
The letter’s accounts of per
secution of individual Chris
tians and of the heroic resis
tance offered by these believ
ers read like sections from a
novel by Dostoevsky.
It tells of the widow S., once
a partisan fighter, who sacre-
ficed her health in the fight
against Hitler and who, today,
is very ill. S. herself is very
devout, she attends the Ortho
dox church, gives her children
a religious upbringing and opens
her home to Christian pilgrims.
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“For this,” the letter de
clares, ”S. and her children
have been cruelly persecuted.
First, the investigator M. came
to her house, took all the ikons
from the walls, collected all her
religious books, all the tran
scribed prayers, took her last
sheet from the bed and tied all
the sacred things in it, intend
ing to carry off everything, in
cluding S. herself.
“But when the investigator
tried to take her to the pro
secuting attorney’s office, her
children began to scream and
pull her back. Hearing their
cries a neighbor interfered and
prevented this barbaric act.
After all this mockery, people
came to the S. house in the mid
dle of the night, banged on her
door, ripped the hook off the
corridor door and began to
break down the door of the room.
“The frightened children
again began to scream and they
vanished like evil spirits. After
all these unsuccessful attempts
to seize her, she was followed in
the streets, but her children al
ways accompanied her and the
plan to seize her secretly in the
street was foiled.”
The letter says every effort
is made to prevent the religious
education of children.
“Teachers and pupils alike,”
it says, “try to woo our chil
dren from the Church, to turn
children against their parents.”
It charges that when parents
forbid children to join the Young
Pioneers, or communist youth
group, teachers themselves ap
ply for membership for the
youngsters, buy them pioneer
ties and force them to wear them
in class.
“What can be worse for our
children,” the writers ask,
“than to be removed from the
source of eternal life, the
Church, the partaking of the
Body and Blood of Christ?”
The letter tells of the closing
of a famous monastery and
the expulsion of a 97-year-old
monk who had been a resident
there for more than 40 years.
Christians have been forbidden
to take in pilgrims, it states,
and the government summons
libelous witnesses to testify
against monks and religious
persons.
“In order to exterminate the
Orthodox faith and to speed up
the closing of the churches,”
the letter charges, “the gov
ernment is secretly training its
godless communists as priests.
They appoint them as heads of
churches and cathedrals and
make them bishops and priests.
Other priests, from weakness,
have become the servants of
Antichrist.” The letter names
a number of the collaborating
prelates.
“Most of our clergy do not
fulfill the traditions of the Apos
tles but the orders of Anti
christ,” the writers charge.
“The Antichrist prohibits ser
mons in the churches. The cler
gy that do uphold the traditions
of the Apostles are the object
of persecution by Antichrist and
by those priests who have sub
mitted to Antichrist.”
“The Orthodox Church is in
great danger,” they warn. “The
Antichrist may well convert the
Orthodox Church into a here
tical church. Antichrist will
think nothing of changing the
symbols of the faith . . . The
monks alone, and the clergy in
small numbers, stoutly defend
the traditions of the Apostles
and do not yield an inch to An
tichrist.
”Bqt. these true pastors
have a terrible life from per
secution by Antichrist. We can
not be silent. Our true pastors,
the monks of , in spite
of the terrible mockery of Anti-
Christ, have not and will not
abandon their monastery. They
strengthen the weak faith of us,
sinful and unworthy servants of
the Lord, by their courage and
patience. Like sunshine they
warm us with their prayers.
The writers conclude by ap
pealing to the Orthodox patri
archs to forbid local authori
ties from taking money belong
ing to the churches and monas
teries for the construction of
movie houses and theaters.
Teaching
Damaging
To Jews
PROVIDENCE, R. I. (NC)—
A Jewish leader said here that
the teaching most damaging to
Jews is the Christian indict
ment of the Jewish people for
deicide.
“Wherever there is evidence
of bias anywhere—in print, in
gesture, in habitual attitude—
it should be commented upon and
exposed for what it is,” said
Dr. Joseph L. Lichten, direc
tor of B’nai B’rith’s depart
ment of intercultural affairs.
He addressed a conference
(Nov. 17) at Providence Col
lege on Catholic-Jewish under
standing.
He said a paper entitled “The
Attitudes of Catholics Toward
non-Christians, Particularly
Toward the Jews,” has been
prepared for submission to the
hierarchy on the ecumenical
council. In the paper, he said,
Catholics are urged to absolve
Jews from guilt in the cruci
fixion of Christ.
“The responsibility for
Christ’s death falls upon sinful
mankind,” he quoted the paper
as saying.
“This point will have many
significant consequences,
among them changes in numbers
of catechisms and textbooks and
a new approach to teaching ma
terials, sermons and discus
sions,” Dr. Lichten said.
60 Visit
Gracewood
AUGUSTA—On Wednesday,
November 13th, sixty women
of the Savannah Diocesan Coun
cil of Catholic Women visited
Gracewood Hospital. The tour
was sponsored by the Commit
tee on Catholic Charities, Miss
Cassie White, diocesan chair
man.
The visitors were greatly
impressed by the cleanliness
and order in the home and hos
pital and by the excellent, lov
ing care the children and pat
ients received.
The tour began at 10 a.m.
through the hospital, followed
by lunch at the home, and then
an afternoon tour of the school
was conducted. Monsignor John
D. Toomey, spiritual director
of the Savannah Diocesan Coun
cil of Catholic Women, and
the Rev. Stephen Connolly ac
companied the women on the
tour.
PATRONIZE OUR
ADVERTISERS
Jewish Leader
Defends Pius XII
WASHINGTON (NC)—A na
tionally known Jewish leader
has defended Pope Pius XII
against the accusation that am
bition or expediency motivated
him in his attitude to the nazi
persecution of Jews.
“No one who reads the rec
ord of Pius XII’s actions on
behalf of Jews can subscribe to
this accusation,” says Dr. Jo
seph L. Lichten, director of the
B’Nai and B’Rith Anti-Defama
tion League’s intercultural af
fairs department.
Dr. Lichten says the assis
tance rendered by Pope Pius in
helping Jews escape from the
nazis, hiding them, and provid
ing for their material and spi
ritual needs was "of inesti
mable value.”
The Jewish leader’s analysis
is contained in a heavily docu
mented 40 page pamphlet—“A
Question of Judgment: Pius XII
and the Jews.” The pamphlet is
being published Nov. 29 by the
National Catholic Welfare Con
ference Publications Office,
1312 Massachusetts Ave.,
N. W., Washington, D. C. 20005.
Single copies will be available
at 25 cents each, with bulk rates
set at $2 for ten and $16 for
100 copies.
The immediate occasion of
the pamphlet is a controversial
and widely publicized play,
"The Deputy,” by German au
thor Rolf Hochhuth. Produced
in several European countries,
the play is scheduled for a
Broadway production next year.
However, Dr. Lichten had al
ready published in 1958 an arti
cle in the Anti-Defamation Lea
gue Bulletin, ‘‘Pope Pius XII
and the Jews,” which outlined
the aid given by the late Pope
to the Jewish people all over
nazi-occupied Europe. Dr.
Lichten has since been engaged
in extensive research on the
subject.
Dr. Lichten puts ‘‘the case
against Pius XII ” in these
words: “That as head of one of
the most powerful moral forces
on earth he committed an un
speakable sin of omission by not
issuing a formal statement con
demning the nazis’ genocidal
slaughter of the Jews, and that
his silence was motivated by
reasons considered in modern
times as base: political exi
gency, .economic interests, and
pesonal ambition.”
The casd’ for the late Pope,
he says, Is * “ That in relation
to the insane behavior of the
nazis, from overlords to self-
styled cogs like Eichmann, he
did everything humanly possi
ble to save lives and alleviate
suffering among the Jews; that
a formal statement would have
provoked the nazis to brutal re
taliation, and would substan
tially have thwarted further Ca
tholic action on behalf of Jews.”
Dr. Lichten, who was born in
Poland and is now an American
citizen, during the war served
with the embassy of the Polish
government in exile in Washing
ton. In recent years he has
written and lectured widely on
topics related to the improve
ment of Christian-Jewish rela
tions.
Quoting Ernst von Weizsack-
er, German ambassador to the
Vatican during World War II,
he says it was ‘ ‘precisely be
cause they wanted to help the
Jews” that such institutions as
the International Red Cross and
the Holy See ‘‘refrained from
making any general and public
appeals” against the nazi ex
termination program.
He says Pope Pius’ ” ‘ si
lence’ . . .extended to persecu
tions of Catholics as well.” In
this connection he quotes a mes
sage from the nazi Foreign
Secretary Joachim von Ribben-
trop to Von Weizsacker threat
ening ‘‘retaliatory measures”
if the Vatican were to oppose
Germany ‘ ‘either politically or
propagandistically.”
He suggests that there was an
object lesson for the Pope in
Holland, where a protest by the
Dutch Bishops against nazi sei
zures of Jews provoked the
nazis to round up and deport to
concentration camps all Ca
tholic priests and Religious of
‘ ‘Jewish blood.”
‘‘Pius and his Bishops and
nuncios in nazi-occupied or do
minated countries knew that,
like a sane man faced with a
gun carrier threatening to
shoot, Hitler and his cohorts
could not be considered civiliz
ed human beings,” Dr. Lichten
says.
He notes that Pope Pius’ ca
reer even before he became
pope showed him to be ‘ ‘deeply
antagonistic to the racism the
National Socialists advocated.”
He credits him having a hand in
the writing of Pius XI’s famous
anti-nazi encyclical Mit Bren-
nender Sorge (‘‘With Burning
Anxiety”).
Lichten details the wartime
aid to the Jews by Pope Pius
and his representatives in such
countries as Slovakia, Ruman
ia, Hungary, Holland, France,
and Germany. He quotes a let
ter from Pius to Bishop (later
Cardinal) von Preysing of Ber
lin in which the Pope said:
‘ ‘We leave it to the local bi
shops to weigh the circumstan
ces in deciding whether or not
to exercise restraint, admaiora
mala vitanda (to avoid greater
evil). This would be advisable
if the danger of retaliatory
and coercive measures would be
imminent in cases of public
statements by the bishops. Here
lies one of the reasons We Our
selves restrict Our public
statements.”
In Italy, Dr. Lichten says,
the Vatican Office of Informa
tion worked diligently to bring
refugee Jews in Italy news of
their relatives in other cou-
tries.
The St. Raphael Verein, an
emigrant aid organization, was
instructed by Pius to do all it
could to aid refugees without
regard to race or nationality,
he says, and by 1945 it had given
assistance to some 25,000 Jews.
The Vatican also ‘‘initiated and
lent its support to” many plans
for manufacturing false docu
ments for Jews, he states.
* ‘Perhaps the most extraor
dinary part” of this program,
Lichten says, was the so-called
Operation Baptism which, with
Vatican knowledge, provided
‘‘thousands” of false baptismal
certificates to Jews.
With the arrival of the Ger
mans in Italy in 1943,-he con
tinues, emigration operations
on behalf of Jews there came to
an end and efforts to hide Jews
began.
' ‘The Pope sent out the order
that religious buildings were to
give refuge to Jews, even at
the price of great personal sac
rifice on the part of their occu
pants. . .Thousands of Jews—
the figures run from 4,000 to
7,000—were hidden, fed, cloth
ed and bedded in the 180 known
places of refuge in Vatican Ci
ty” as well as in other parts
of Italy, including the Pope’s
summer residence at Castel-
gandolfo, Lichten writes.
Noting that some of those—
including Catholics—who eulo
gized Pope Pius at the time of
his death in 1958 have remained
silent or even agreed with Hoch
huth’s ‘ ‘slander,” Lithcen says.
* ‘Why is this? Were men
wrong then, or are they wrong
now? Are some of the Catholics
of Europe, who should be for
ever grateful to Pope Pius for
not putting them to the agoniz
ing choice between country and
church, perhaps relieved to see
blame heaped on another head?”
Although it remains ‘‘aques
tion of judgment” whether a
formal condemnation by Pope
Pius could have stopped the nazi
slaughter of Jews, nevertheless
‘‘no one who reads the record
of Pius XII’s actions on behalf
of Jews can subscribe to Hoch
huth’s accusation” against the
Pope’s motives, says Dr. Lich
ten.
Interracial Marriage
WASHINGTON (NC)—The ad
visory board of the Family Life
Bureau of the National Catholic
Conference has scored laws in
20 states prohibiting interra
cial marriages as “immoral.”
In a resolution adopted at its
annual three-day meeting, the
board also deplored “the atti
tudes and cruel behavior of
American society, which pe
nalizes and ostracizes those
persons who exercise their fun
damental human right to a free
choice of marital partner by en
tering into interracial marria
ges.”
Another resolution from the
75-member board drew atten
tion to the “pressing need” for
foster care and adoptive homes
for Negro, Puerto Rican and
other ethnic group children
"deprived of parental care.”
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A Good Address In Atlanta
The Southern Cross, November 28, 1963—PAGE 5
effectively raised on these is
sues when our politicians come
next year seeking our votes.
Sincerely yours,
James Singleton,
Savannah
Dear Editor,
Fr. O’Dwyer’s letter regard
ing aid to Catholic Schools is
very timely, but perhaps a trifle
naive. Surely he is aware that
Catholic politicians are notori
ous for flaunting their Catholi
cism when running forelection,
and are equally notorious for
their failure to speak out for
Catholic interests in any area
of legislation. This is of course,
due to their contempt for the
Catholics who voted for them,
since they are well aware of
the lamb-like docility with
which Catholics accept discri
minatory legislation. On a na
tional level we bring no pres
sure to bear on Catholic poli
ticians to represent our in
terests in the field of education.
We have shown a willingness to
pay taxes for public education
and pay also for our right to
have our children educated as
the tenets of our faith demand.
On a local level when our City
Council was so desparate for
finances that they decided to
add to our burden by forcing
us to pay water taxes no Catho
lic voice was raised in the
Council on our behalf. Our peo
ple and clergy were silent, with
the exception of Msgr. McNa
mara. His was the lone protest,
and he received no support. So
if Fr. O’Dwyer expects our Ca
tholic politicians to speak for
us when the legislature of Geor
gia proposes to raise our taxes
for public education, he is ask
ing them to follow a pattern to
tally unknown to them. Perhaps
a voice like that of Msgr. Mc
Namara or Fr. O’Dwyer will be
God Can’t
Be Expelled
From School
SAN FRANCISCO, (NC) —
God cannot be banished from
the public schools, Max Raf
ferty, California School Super
intendent, told several thousand
teachers here at the University
of San Francisco.
Raffety said that he mis
trusts and fears the present
campaign to get rid of God in
the schools.
‘ ‘At a time when national
morals are at a record low,”
he said, ' ‘I believe we need
more spiritual and moral values
in our schools, not less.”
It is impossible to teach mu
sic, literature, art and a num
ber of other subjects without
noting their religious content,
Rafferty said. He said he de
plored recent U. S. Supreme
Court decisions which would
eventually lead to the day when
‘ ‘the very mention of God will
be forbidden in the school.’”
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Bishop Tharayfl of Kottayam, India, Writes:
“KUTTUR MISSION in the midst of the Jacobites was started
21 years ago on March 1st, 1942 with the reunion of 50 families
received into the Church by the late
MAR ALEXANDER CHULUPi\-
RAMRIL, Bishop of KOTTAYAM.
A Mission House was built but still
the people have only a chapel in
M •“* the building, too small for the pres-
1/1 ent congregation. During the mon
soons, water often enters into the
chapel and the faithful cannot
I | v / I come to Mass. I am appealing to
If * |/' the generosity of our dear bene-
iy factors to help us buy land on a
The Holy Father’s Mission Aid level and to build a Church.
for the Oriental Church The cost would be $5,000. May God
bless our benefactors with His choicest gifts. This is my heart
felt prayer . . . Will you help this dedicated Bishop in a land of
such great poverty? Any amount is appreciated.
THE BEAUTIFUL POINSETTIA
So many Christmas legends concern flowers and children.
Recall the story of the* little Mexican girl on her way to visit
Baby Jesus on Christmas Eve. With no gift to give, her sadness
increased with every step. In dismay, she knelt and prayed,
Lo! A beautiful crimson poinsettia bloomed before her eyes.
“Flower of the Holy Night,” the Mexicans call it . . . We’ll send
a card of PRESSED FLOWERS from the Holy Land and a
CHRISTMAS GIFT CARD to those in whose name you wish to
send a gift. Suggestions:
□ A Mass said for them by one of our missionary priests.
□ A membership in our Association. Single person: $1 a year;
Family: $5 a year. They share in the graces of 15,000
Masses evei'y day. Perpetual Membership: Individual;
$20; Family $100.
□ A ST RING LESS GIFT for a most needed missionary work.
□ A MEMORIAL GIFT for a chapel:
Mass Kit ...
.$100
Chalice
. $40
Stations
$25
Altar
. 75
Ciborium .
. . 40
Censer
20
Vestments ..
. 50
Statue .
. 30
Sanct’y Lamp
15
Confessional
. 40
Tabernacle
25
Altar Linens
. . 15
Monstrance
. 40
Crucifix .
. 25
Sanct’y Bell
5
Just send us your donation and gift list and we’ll attend to it
right away. Your Christmas shopping worries will end.
THE FLOWERS ARE FOR CONTEMPLATION
Thus thought the mystics. Wheat and fruits were for the body
but the spirit needed the flowers. Hence the old proverb—If
you have two loaves, sell one and buy a lily . . . You can make
vocations flower in the NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST by helping
to educate a seminarian like NICOLA VILOTTA or a Sister-
to-be like SISTER MARY LUDUVINA. The cost: $100 a year
for six years for the seminarian. $150 a year for two years for
the Novice. May be paid in installments.
YOUR ADVENT WREATH
Four Sundays and four candles before Christmas will
heighten the anticipation of Christ’s coming. Christmas in
Christ’s own land won’t be pleasant for the million refugees
unless we come to their aid. $10 will procure a FOOD PACK
AGE, something to last a month. $2 will buy a BEDOUIN
FAMILY a warm Blanket. The refugees have had a long and
dismal wait of 15 years—a constant reminder of Christ’s words
to feed the hungry.
Dear Monsignor Ryan:
Enclosed please find for
Name • •
Street
City Zone .... State
I^Hear East (Dissionsj^tl
| FRANCIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN, President
j Msgr. Joseph T. Ryan. Nofl See*y
Send oil communications to:
CATHOLIC NEAR EAST WELFARE ASSOCIATION
j 480 Lexington Ave. at 46th St. New York 17, N. T.