Evening star., 1938-12-25
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
VATICAN CITY. Dec. 24-Fol-
lowing is the text of Pope Plus an
nual Christmas address to the Col
lege of Cardinals:
With great and profound emotion
of the heart we have heard and en-
joyed the beautiful and good things
which the very eminent dean of the
Sacred College has just said, not
only in his name, but also in that
of the entire Sacred College and of
all the Roman prelates in &C
cordance with the simple and do
mestic rite which is at the same
time so solemn and magnificent, of
this holy eve of the nativity of the
Lord.
All this is good and filially pious
and takes place in such warm light
of filial piety, even if it recalls and
points out sad and painful things,
that we cannot but thank with all
our hearts-as We are doing-and
present to each and everyone of you,
very eminent cardinals, and to you,
very dear prelates, in exchange for
your wishes our wishes for good
Christmas, a good New Year and
everything good-just as each and
every one of you desire, not only
for you but also for all the dear
things and all the dear persons that
you carry in your minds and in your
hearts and which are dear to your
intimate affection and to your pas
toral and sacerdotal zeal.
Adds Apostolic Benediction.
We know and we think OF how
much precious aid we owe to you in
the government of the universal
church and in the culture of so many
works of individual and collective
santiflcation, especially in the re-
ligious community and in the Cath
olic action, always so dear to us, and
we seize with both hand the occa-
sion, so propitious, to thank you with
all our soul.
And now we could, without any
thing else, add that paternal apos-
tolic benediction which, as the good
sons you are, you so piously desire
and so fully deserve.
On one hand. here has already
nearly arrived together with that
of the Holy Nativity, another eve
to which from several parts we are
begged to devote thought and a
sign which we feel necessary. 1t is
the eve of the decennial of the con-
ciliation. On the other hand, here
is an audience which one can Ger
tainly not find or consider more
opportune. We mean the most in
telligent and enlightened, the most
appropriate in sum to a subject
already so important in itself and
rendered still more important, and
certainly not easier, by certain cir
cumstances.
Decennial Brings Sadness.
We hasten to say. or rather to
proclaim from this high place, that
our celebration of the aforesaid de-
cennial was to be very lively hymn
of thanks-our Magnif1cat, our
Nunc Dimittis. our and. your Te
Deum-to that divine goodness
which, since our first encyclical,
called to our mind and pen the beau
tiful words: Ego cogito cogita-
tiones pacis ct non aff1ictionis" and
almost forecast in our hearts that
hour which divine providence would
soon have strike and that it would
be for us not to let it strike in vain.
1t is hardly necessary to say, but
still we say loudly that after God
our appreciation and thanks go to
the very high persons-we mem the
very noble sovereign and his incom-
parable minister-to whom it is due
If the so important and beneficial
work could be crowned with a good
ending and happy success. We also
mean the honorable persons, Car
dinal Pietro Gasparri and the Mar
chese Francesca Pacelli, who as
sisted us with the heroic assiduous..
ness of the laborer which, perhaps,
hastened their death and it is for
this reason that with a grateful
spirit we recall the honored and
dear name.
Having done our duty long overdue
in expressing our gratitude toward
God and man and having also done
our duty in our cordial congratula-
tions to all our Italy, a particularly
dear one of all the dear parts of
the great Catholic family, we must
unfortunately say, as a duty of
apostolic sincerity and truth as we'll
as for the edif1cation for which we
are all debtors as also for our age,
we must unfortunately say that the
coming decennial, in its approach,
cannot bring the serene happiness
which we would welcome, but rather
bring real ana serious preoccupa-
tions and bitter sadness.
When it is a question of real and
numerous vexations-we do not say
general, but certainly very numer-
GUS, and in several places-against
Catholic action, this well-known ap-
pie of our eye. it had to be recognized
and confessed, even in the raiding
Of various headquarters and ar
chives, that Catholic action is not
in politics or in undesired compe-
tition but only wants to make good
Christians through christianism and
for that very reason elements of
the first class for public good, es-