Evening star., 1942-12-26

1ulIlcSS, because - ''';@@'
1t strikes at the David Lawrence.
root of the evils that brought on the
war and the stubbornness of the bar
riers that must be removed if a
lasting peace is to be achieved.
Sentence after sentence Is filled
with meaning if the statesmen OF
the world will only examine them
selves with the yardsticks OF prin-
ciple indicated by the Pope.
Those who aim at building new
world must fight" he said, "for the
right Of free choice of government
and Of religious order. They must
refuse that the state should make
Of individuals herd of whom the
state disposes as If they were life
less things"
His Holiness condemned the legal
positivism" which exaggerates the
value Of purely human laws and
seeks to establish the supremacy of
. particular nation, race or class,
and he went on to say that such
theories were of nature which
considered the state or its represent
atives "as the absolute authority,
exempt from any criticism, even if
their acts are in violation OF Chris
tian and human laws"
Double Edged Shaft.
But II this seems to be shaft
aimed at the totalitarianism of
European states, 1t might in its
broadest sense represent a warning
also to other states where class war
:are. originated by the MARKHAM
philosophy Of socialism, still man.
ages to promote friction and mutual
distrusts.
'Peace." said the Pope. must be
not only an external peace among
the nations Of the world but internal
peace. Inside each nation there
must be unity and love"
The Pope remarked that the
church has always condemned
Marxist socialism and today it re-
lfnrms that statement"
There is in the Popes message a
direct plea for constitutionalism-
the maintenance Of government Of
law as against regime of arbitrary
power. Thus he declares:
whoever wants peace must COL
taborate for the deepest reintegra-
ton of the social and iuridical
order. AS the juridical rules given
by God assure every human being
of protection against arbitrary at
tacks, new and effective measures
must be taken to this effect. namely,
the juridical safety of individuals
This may be obtained only by the
creation of legal tribunals"
The Pope spoke especially of the
causes of internal strife and stated
that the existing legal rules should
not be changed by internal revolu-
tions, but that the state should
adhere strictly to rules protecting
the individual.
There Is in these passages an
admonition against the all-too-fre-
quent tendency among the govern
mental officers Of various states
and their adherents to argue that
the end justifies the means and
that II the maximum good, theo-
retical though 1t be- is attainable by
overriding legal rules, that action
is valid. On the contrary, such
revolutionary tactics are decried as
being the wrong way to remove
injustices.
Conscious Of Injustices.
That the Pope is deeply conscious
Of social injustices and believes they
can be removed by proper methods
is evidenced by the comment that
whoever wants peace must give
back to work the place assigned
to 1t by God and protect the worker
and his family with all the means
modern society is able to provide"
Continuing on the same point,
his holiness said the church can
not ignore the fact that the worker
is still fighting against some ma
chinery which is not a natural
obstacle but an obstacle created by
other human beings He declared
that "the worker must be assured
Of some private property, especially
. father with big family"
There can be no doubt that the
emphasis placed by the Pope on the
penetrating problems of internal
economics serves as reminder that
visions Of world peace can be real
lied only if on the home front,
among the countless millions whose
neglect OF duty brings on wars,
regeneration of the individual can
be achieved-for institutions, wheth-
er governments or churches or
organized bodies of any kind, fail
If the individuals who comprise
them fail
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