Evening star., 1948-03-13
Plus to the ltuIiuns

1t is striking measure of the crucial
nature of next months elections in Italy
that Pope Plus XII has placed all his
great personal and spiritual influence be-
hind the effort to prevent Communist
victory. In doing so, he has departed from
the usual papal practice of remaining
aloof from mundane politics. But actually,
from the standpoint of the Catholic
Church, the voting on April 18 will involve
so much more than temporal issues and
will bear so Importantly on matters OF
faith and morals that his role in the
campaign is by no means surprising.
In the Pope's judgment-and no one
can speak more authoritatively on the sub
ject-the existence and mission Of the
Catholic Church will be gravely menaced
If the Communists win or If they gain
enough to pave the way for an eventual
coup that would enchain Rome to Moscow.
Accordingly, without mentioning the name
of any particular party, but making his
meaning unmistakably clear, he has in
structed all of Italy's bishops and priests
to impress upon every member OF the
Italian laity the Importance of voting for
offer truly sufficient guarantees for the
safeguarding of Gods rights and of souls,
for the true welfare of individuals, of
families and Of society in keeping with
Gods law and moral Christian doctrine" !"
This is another way of saying that the
Pope has called upon all Italian Catholics
to form united front at the polls against
the antireligious Communists and the col
laborating left-wing extremists. With the
greatest solemnity, moreover, he has de-
clared this to be the "strict duty" of every
man and woman entitled to vote, and he
has warned that anybody who abstains,
especially because of laziness or cowardice,
commits grave sin-a mortal transgres-
sion." In other words, he appears to have
made individual participation in the elec-
tions mandatory matter of faith and
morals-a sphere in which his voice is
infallible insofar as a Catholic is con-
cerned
The significance of this can be best
understood when it is remembered that
the population of Italy is almost 100 per
cent Catholic. What the. Pope seems to
have done, in effect, is to direct some
27,00O,000 Italian voters to 60 to the polls
on April 18 and vote against the Com
munists or be guilty of a mortal sin-a
moral offense so grave, according to
Catholic doctrine, that it carries with it
the punishment of eternal damnation if
the offender-failing to repent, confess
and be absolved by priest-dies with it
on his soul. The words from the Vatican
thus have an extraordinary and powerful
. meaning.
1t would be mistake, however, to as
sumo that they are enough in themselves
to bring about Communist defeat. N,Actu-
ally although overwhelmingly Catholic the
Italian people are not all perfectly ardent
in their faith in the sense of living up
invariably to such papal admonitions, and
many probably will either fail to go to the
polls or will cast their votes to the Reds
One reason for this is the existence of
considerable indifference to the current
situation, and another is Red intimidation
in the factory towns and isolated rural dis
tricts in Northern and Central Italy.
Nevertheless what Plus has said is bound
to carry weight, and free men everywhere
must hope that it will be great enough to
hold back the Soviet tide.