Evening star., 1946-06-02
Pope Calls on France
And Italy 10 Reject
State AbsoIutism'
By the Associaied Press

VATICAN CITY June l. Pope
Plus XII in a world broadcast on the
eve of critical Italian and French
elections, declared today that the
voters would choose between "the
champions or the wreckers of Chris
tian civilization" and urged church
followers to reject the spirit OF
state absolutism"
Reviewing the prospect for peace
a year after the wars end, the Pom
tiff said "the first sure and decisive
step toward just peace has not
been taken," and warned that pres
ent international instability might
Lead to "a violent explosion.
How premature, not to say illu-
sorry, appears today the hope that
all men of responsibility, without
exception. in view of the lessons
taught tkem in the bloody school OF
war, would show themselves really
animated by deep horror of all
Ideas of despotism, of every attempt
at forcible domination of other peo-
ples," the Pontiff said.
Z OluIS out EleCLlOn Issue.
The Pope said the issue in the
French and Italian elections tomor-
row was whether the two nations
would continue to rest on the firm
rock of Christianity" or would
choose to entrust their lot for the
future to the unfeeling omnipotence
OF materialiStic state without any
ideal beyond this without
religion and without God"
The one or the other of these
two possibilities will come to be ac-
cording as the names victorious at
the polling booths will be those of
the champions or the wreckers of
Christian civilization" he said The
answer is in the electors hands.
Theirs is the responsibility-and
how serious it is!
''On the one side there is the
spirit of domination-of domination
of state absolutism which claims
for itself all the controls of the
political, social and economic ma
chine of which men-living beings
made to Gods likeness and sharers
by adoption in Gods own life
would be only the soulless wheels.
"On its side the church rises,
serene and calm, but resolute and
prepared to resist any attack. She,
as a good, tender, charitable mother,
certainly does not seek fight, but
because she is a mother by the sole
moral force of her love, she is
f1rmer, more indomitable, more i'm
movable than all material forces
when there is question of defend
ing the dignity, the integrity, the
life, the honor, the liberty, the
eternal welfare of her children"
Answers Cardinals Greeting.
Not once in his 2O-minute address
did the Pope mention Communism
by name. The Communists are
strong contenders in both the Ital-
ian and French elections.
The pontiff spoke in response to
the greeting of 81 members of the
Sacred College of Cardinals on the
occasion of his name day, the feast
of st. Eugenio.
The passages in his address refer
ring to the two elections were in
cluded under the subtitle of The
Delicate Mission of the Church"
He referred to the plebiscite in
which Italy's 2S,O0O,00o voters to-
morrow will decide on the future of
the monarchy and select new con-
stituent assembly, and to the i'm
portant French election to choose
a constituent assembly which will
attempt to draw the constitution
for the Fourth French Republic.
The Pontiff told his followers
there was no reason why they should
become frightened or detected, be-
cause you are many, many more
than the appearances seem to indi-
cate, even though others, by their
bravado and arrogance, aim to
create a false impression of the
strength of their ranks"
You are strong, and stronger
than your adversaries, he told his
followers, because your intimate
convictions Git is they that count the
mosD are true, sincere, substantial,
founded on eternal principles and
not on false ideas, on erroneous sys-
TENS, on fallacious maxims, on