Evening star., 1953-12-24

MOS pTOooCoSt. poQe A-o
message to the world, in which
he warned that contemporary
man is being blinded by the
mechanical perfections of his
age.
Declaring that the time seems
mature" for the idea of Euro
pean union to become re-
atty" the Pope said:
Hence we exhort to action
first and foremost Christian
statesmen, deeming it sufficient
to recall to them that Chris
tianity always considered it's
task to promote every sort of
peaceful union between nations"
A strong encouragement to
such a union, he continued. is
the manifest failure of the
contrary policy"
Broadcast Around Globe.
| The Pope spoke in reply to
Christmas greetings brought to
him by the College of Cardinals.
His words were carried around
the globe by the Vatican radio
over an international hookup.
During the next two days the
radio will broadcast translations
of the speech in "a languages,
including Russian and Chinese.
Referring to mans preoccupa-
tion with technology, the Pope
said: Around the radiant circle
Of the Redeemer there remain
zones of darkness and men go
around with their eyes closed to
the heavenly light"
The Pontiff warned against
excessive and sometimes ex-
elusive esteem for what is called
progress in technology"
This dream" he continued,
'was first cherished as the
omnipotent myth and dispenser
of happiness"
But the Pope declared: 1T has
finally imposed itself on the
minds of men as the final end
of man and of life, substituting
itself therefore for every kind
of religious and spiritual ideal"
Blinded to Gods Work.
Undue exaltation of technical
progress, the Pontiff declared,
has blinded mems intelligence to-
ward Gods work.
Still more today" he con-
tinued. 1.-The supernatural world
and the redemption, which is
above all natural things and was
accomplished by Jesus Christ,
remain wrapped in total OBJ
scurity for those men who walk
in darkness"
The Pope made it clear, how
ever. that his words were not in
tended as a condemnation of
technical progress itself. 1.-The
church." he said, "loves and
favors human progress"
But he added: "technological
progress comes from God and so
it can and ought to lead to God"
The believer in God, the Pope
said, feels himself drawn to
adore the giver of those good
things which he admires and
uses. :. . He will even find it
natural to place beside the gold,
frankincense and h.Jrrh, offered
by the magi to tho infant God.
also the modern conquests of
technology"
AS in all his past Christmas
messages, the Pontiff appealed
for peace in the world. But he
warned that mo materialism
was ever an apt means to estab-
liSh peace. For peace is above
all an attitude of the mind, and
only secondarily a harmonious
equilibrium of external forces"
He warned that unless tech
nological thinking were kept
within right bounds, the hu-
man and Christian concept of
work necessarily becomes dis
tored" and men "come to con-
slider leisure time as an end in
itself instead Of using it as rea-
sonable rest and recreation"
The effect of the chronological
spirit on work was even more
evident, the Pope continued.
when Sunday loses it's unique
dignity as the day devoted to
worship of God or when
professional work becomes so de-
pendent on and subordinate to
the efficiency of the machine and
of tools of labor that the worker
is rapidly exhausted"
The Pope spoke for 35 min
uteS, concluding with a special
thought for the poor and op-
pressed and for those prosecuted
for their loyalty to the Catholic
church-an indirect reference to