The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1960-01-01
POpe's Message.

PEACE IS NDIViS IBLE,
the Pope said, and none of
its lineaments can be ignored
or excluded.
"At all times, because peace
is indivisible in its various
aspects, it won't succeed in
establishing itself on the so.
cial and international plane
unless it is also, in the first
place, an interior fact" the
Pope declared. "This requires
then, before all else, men of
good WILL precisely those to
whom the angels of Bethle-
hem announced peace"
THE POPE inc
that if the leaders of people
remove themselves from obi
CATION to the eternal moral
laws, it will be repeatedly nee
essary to remove from the
path toward peace those OBJ
stacles which the malice of
man have put in its way.
Among these obstacles His
Holiness listed: propaganda
of immortality, social injustice,
forced unemployment, power
ty contrasted with luxury,
lack of proportion between
technical and moral progress
in nations and the unchecked
ornaments race.
Pope John said the Church's
proper function and office
toward attainment of peace is
one of prayer and teaching.
The Pope said:
THE CHURCH PRAYS
with confidence to Him who
rules the destinies of nations
and can direct the hearts of
governments to good -. Be-
sides prayer, the Church
makes available its material
offices, points to the incom-
parable treasure of its doc
trine, urges its children to
lend their active cooperation
for peace"
The Pontiff began his mes
sage by saying the road to
Bethlehem truly marks the
path for the right approach to
peace, but noted how many
other roads have been sought
which lead to nowhere.
In the world of today" he
said, chow many roads of
peace have been proposed and
imposed; and how many have
been suggested even to Us,
who rejoice indeed, with
Mary and Joseph, in the sure
knowledge of our path and
have no fear of the possibility
of going astray."
"FRoM THE SECOND
World War right up to this
present time" the Pope con.
tinued, what a variety OF ut
terances, what an abuse Of
this sacred word peace, peace
go. But human efforts in the
matter Of universal peacemak-
ing are still far from the
point where heaven and earth
meet.
The Pope concluded his
message with a wish and an
exhortation.
HIS WISH WAS that "all
men of good will will return
to Christ and listen to His di-
vine teaching which is the
teaching of His Vicar on earth
and of the lawful pastors, the
bishops"
His exhortation: "At Beth
lehem all men must find their
place. In the first rank should
be the Catholics. To-day espe-
cially, the Church wishes to
see them pledged to an effort
to make His message of peace
a part of themselves it
is completely intolerable for
Catholics to restrict them
selves to the position of mere
observers; they should feel
clothed, as it were. with a
mandate from on high"
BEFORE CLOSING, the
Pope described a painting
which he keeps in his chapel,
a painting which depicts the
Holy Family and young John
the Baptist in Sacred Con.
versation."
IDENTIFYING himself with
the John" of the painting,
Pope John said he likes to
consider himself in his uni
versal ministry" engaged in
sacred conve r S with
those whom he would name as
being particularly dear to
him. These are, he said,
"those who suffer from the
anxieties and miserieS of life
-. the sick and the infirm
-. those who are suffering
in spirit or in their hearts be-
cause of the uncertainties of
the future, economic hard
ships, humiliation imposed
upon them because of some
fault committed or presumed
-. the little children