The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1954-11-26

WhSh the neu war against MANKIND
Is being waged by means of slo
ganeerins about peace" and
peaceful coexistence.
Before he died, Father Drsgu.
tin told how two other priest-cap.
tives in Lepoglava had been tor
mented into signing false state.
ments against Archbishop Step
mac.
One OF the priests was the arch
bishops secretary. Father Ivan Sha-
Itch, He was tortured for eight
months.
FATHER SHALIcH Vas heroic
ally loyal to truth. Through the
eight months of agony, he reiter-
ated that the accusations against
his archbishop were lies.
Father Dragutin saw Father
Shalich now and then during those
eight months, which started in De
cember, 1945. BY the following
August, Father Shalich appeared
as one demented with suffering
AT THAT POINT, the Reds
struck their vilest blow They al
tackled Father Shalich at what we
might call his weakest point, al
though weakness was rooted in a
great virtue-his love of his fam
lily.
Father Shalich was awakened in
his cell and ordered to dress quick
ly. Thinking he was going to exc
cution, he obtained final sbsolu-
tion from a cellmste priest.
Instead of being led before a
firing squad, Father Shalich was
taken into a room and confronted
with his mother and sister, in
chains. They had been sentenced
TO death, he was told, for anti
state activities, but they would be
spared if he would sign state
ment that Archbishop Stepinsc had
supported terrorist groups.
Father Shalich signed.
BACK IN HIS CELL, he behaved
as one insane from worry and sor-
row over what he had done He
spoke of the statement as his pact
with the devil" He was warned
by the Communists that if he re
pudiated it, his mother and sister
would be murdered Ground be
tween the great stones of his love
for them and his love for his arch
bishop and for truth, Father Sha-
Itch stopped eating 1t was clear
that he intended to stsrye him
self.
AT this point, Father Dragutin,
the priest who told his story on
his deathbed, acted. F. those de
viouS channels which exist in ev-
cry prison, he got word to Arch
bishop Stepinac about what was
going on.
BY THAT TIME, Father Shalich,
desperately i'll both physically and
mentally, was in the prison hos
pltal. How Archbishop Stepinac OBJ
tanned permission to visit him, we
do not know. But he did.
Here is one of the great scenes
of history Archbishop Stepinsc
Primate OF Yugoslavia, successor
TO the Apostles, prisoner as st.
Peter once was prisoner -
Archbishop Stepinac approach
the bed where lay priest
whom, in all likelihood, he
had personally ordained, and who
had signed one of the lies that
were going to convict" MIN as a
common criminal,
Archbishop Stepinac stood look
ing down at poor Father Shalich.
He spoke with the vlgor and de-
cisiveness that are characteristic
of him. He said.
heard ell ABOUT your oroeai.
| forgive you. and God also will
forgive you. Now, not one more
word about the past. You cen be
sure that | shall never forget
you. and shall remain your friend
as before"
Look upon Archbishop Stepinac
in that moment And look upon
his captors, the me who had tor
tured Father Shalich beyond hu-
man endurance. II you want TO
know what is the difference be
tween a Christian and a Commun=
ist, you see before your eyes a
flaming answer.