May/June 2000 /$5.00

Magazine

The steady stream of photos of a smilingElian Gonzalez reunited with his fathercould well foster the impression of a

happy ending to the sad story of this youngCuban refugee. Were one naive enough tobelieve this, one might well conclude that theentire matter was a tempest in a Miami teapot.Moreover, one would think that Bernard Cardi-nal Law of Boston was quite right when he saidthe whole thing was nothing but a circus with asimple solution: returning the boy to his father.1

With possession regarded as nine points ofthe law, Elian’s is a closed case for many Ameri-cans. All too soon, this family affair will be yes-terday’s news. Father knows best, and Fidel —who in a candid moment described himself asthe true father of all Cubans — will have wonmore than meets the eye for his “new look.”Cuba’s baseball team has already come to theUnited States to play the Orioles, and Americantourists, in turn, are visiting the prison island ingrowing numbers. All’s well that ends well.

In this prevalent — if perverse — mindset,the valiant fight for Elian’s freedom is reducedto three elements: a nonsensical case ofparental rights, an emotional group of aginganticommunist Cubans, and a government thatoverreacted by using armed force to solve theproblem.

Is that its real meaning? Is that how we willsee it when we look back years from now? Doesthe fact that Elian appears to be happy with hisfather and stepmother end the story? We’re notso sure. Before the final chapter is written andthe camera lights go out, we have a few words tosay.

What is the real issue? Returning achild to his father, or dealing withCuba’s stark reality?

Of course, if the Elian case really concernedonly the father’s rights, there would have beenno case — and no story to consume so muchprinter’s ink and radio and television airtime.

Behind the question of the father looms thelarger problem of the fatherland, or rather, theunrepentant communist dictatorship. Thatdecrepit despotism lies at the heart of thematter — and everyone knows it.

A courageous group of priests on the islandrecently declared that Castro’s regime shows“diabolical efficacy” in its domination of the

Cuban people.2 Even the United Nations HumanRights Commission has again condemned Cubafor its human rights violations.3

There is no freedom in that island prison,where the most basic civil liberties — the free-dom to practice one’s faith, to own property, toassociate with friends of one’s choosing, toexpress one’s opinions openly, to travel in safety— are routinely denied.

Elian’s return to Cuba — forced orvoluntary — cannot alter that fundamentalreality. By holding on to him, the Cuban-Ameri-can community was fighting to defend himfrom a police state whose constitution decreesthat the government must see to “the formationof the communist personality of youths andchildren”.4

Let justice be restored in Cubaand we will restore friendly ties

If, like Cuban-Americans, all Americanshad a family member languishing in a Cubanprison (well out of sight of free-spendingtourists), we would soon join the anti-Castrochorus of our Cuban-American brothers andsisters. And instead of inviting Castro’s baseballteam to come and play in our cities, we woulddemand that Castro liberate our kinfolk beforeany improvement in relations. We would settlefor nothing less.

If, like Cuban-Americans, all Americanshad relatives subjected to the stifling oppres-sion in Cuba, earning a pittance for their hardlabors, eating whatever rations are distributed,while being forced to proclaim their allegianceto Marxist doctrine and policies, would we tol-erate any cozying up to Castro?

Of course not. Rather, the American peoplewould rise up as one to demand that the regimebranded by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as the“shame of our time”5 be overthrown, and thatfreedom, private property, free enterprise, andfamily life be restored.

If every American family had a relative insuch demeaning and unnatural conditions,would anyone dare raise the question ofloosening — much less lifting — the embargoagainst so cruel a regime? Obviously, no. Theonly acceptable option would be the totalrestoration of a free society under the rule of law.

c r u s a d e m a y / J u n e 2 0 0 0ii

Where Is Elian’s Journey Leading Us?This statement wasalso published in TheWashington Times andThe Wanderer.

Continued on page 29

1. Cf. Bernard Cardinal Law, “Endthe Circus: Let Elian Rejoin HisFather,” The Boston Globe, April 19,2000.2. “Cuba, su pueblo y su Iglesia decara al comienzo del tercer milenio,”El Nuevo Herald,Miami, September27, 1999.3. Pablo Alfonso, “Condena por dere-chos humanos aisla a Cuba en laONU,” El Nuevo Herald, Miami, April19, 2000.4. Chapters IV (“Family”) and V(“Education and Culture”), and theCode on Childhood and Youth, II.5. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger,“Instruction on Certain Aspects of the‘Theology of Liberation,’” Congrega-tion for the Doctrine of the Faith,August 6, 1984, no. XI, 10.

A message from the American TFP

Crusade Magazine is a publication of The American Society forthe Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP). Subscrip-tions in the United States and Canada, $30.00. Foreign sub-scriptions, $42.00. List of other TFP publications available uponrequest. Direct all subscription requests and inquiries to: Cru-sade Magazine, P.O. Box 341, Hanover, PA 17331 or e-mail to:Crusade@tfp.org Tel.: 888-317-5571, Fax: (717) 225-1675,Copyright 2000 by The Foundation for a Christian Civilization,Inc.This publication includes images from Dynamic Graphics, Corel,Corbis, and Art Today which are protected by Copyright laws ofthe U.S. and elsewhere.

ISSN 1096-3782LCCN 98-641433M-45

May-June 2000

Page 17In defense of Pius XII, indefense of the Church — acounter-thesis

ContentsED I TOR IA L 2Reacting to the Dilemma of Self-effacement

I N BR I E F 3

w Social status for beastsw Six thousand e-mails

FORGOT TEN TRUTHS 3

Outside the Church there is No Salvation

T FP I N ACT ION 4Our Latest Campaigns

CATHOL I C A POLOGET I C S 5Jesus Christ claimed to be God

I NDUSTR IA L R EVOLUT ION 8Beyond the Digital Divide

COVER S TORY 10The Snowshoe Priest

COMMENTARY 17

Pius XII and Totalitarianism

COMMENTARY 26

A Civilization Modeled on Christ

RE L IG ION 25“Thank you, Jacinta!”

TEACH ING OUR CH I LDREN 30The Preventive System

BAS I C H I S TORY COURSE 31The Advent of Feudalism and the Feudal Monarchies

FAM I LY S ER I E S 3 5The Flower Wreaths

Page 4The Divine institution of the family is under constant attack, so itmust be constantly defended and upheld. Call us now to see how youcan help — 1-888-317-5571.

Cover: Frederic Baraga as ayoung bishop

c r u s a d e m a y / J u n e 2 0 0 02

The American TFP

The American Societyfor the Defense of Tradi-tion, Family and Property(TFP) was founded in1973 to confront the pro-found crisis shaking themodern world. It is acivic, cultural and non-partisan organizationwhich, inspired by thetraditional teachings ofthe Supreme Magisteri-um of the RomanCatholic Church, worksin a legal and peacefulmanner in the realm ofideas to defend and pro-mote the principles ofprivate ownership, fami-ly and perennial Chris-tian values with theirtwofold function: indi-vidual and social. TheTFP’s words and effortshave always been faith-fully at the service ofChristian civilization.

The first TFP wasfounded in Brazil by thefamous intellectual andCatholic leader Prof.Plinio Corrêa de Oliveirain 1960. His work hasinspired the formation ofother autonomous TFPsin 26 countries acrossthe globe, thus constitut-ing the world’s largestanticommunist and anti-socialist network ofCatholic inspiration.

Editor: C. Preston Noell IIIAssociate Editors:Earl Appleby, ThomasBecket, Eugenia Guzman,Gary Isbell, Thomas J.McKennaPhotography: Gary J. IsbellCirculation: Jack BurnhamForeign Correspondents:Raymond de Souza, Aus-tralia; Charles E. Schaffer,Austria; Jose Carlos Sepul-veda, Brazil; Paul Foley,England; Benoit Bemel-mans, France; Beno Hof-schulte, Germany; Antoniode Azeredo, Portugal; JuanM. Montes, Italy; EdwardUrban, South Africa; FelipeBarandiarán, SpainSince the Second Vatican Council, rap-

prochement with other religions, dia-logue, and gestures of repentance for the

past deeds of Catholics and the Church Herselfhave become increasingly fashionable.

Traditional liturgical prayers on Good Fridayfor the Jews had already been suppressed byPope John XXIII. The terms “schismatic” and“heretic” had been replaced with “separatedbrethren” to stress the unity of Christians asopposed to their differences. As a gesturetoward the Greek Orthodox Church, Paul VI lift-ed the sentence of excommunication againstMichael Cerularius, the Patriarch of Constan-tinople who had been excommunicated in 1054.Later came the celebrated overtures toward theLutherans and other Protestant groups. Withthe inter-religious meetings at Assisi the term“ecumenical” seemed to take on a whole newmeaning, now indicating a convergence of allreligions rather than a conversion so “that allmight be one.” These largely unilateral acts ofreparation have been taken by the media to sig-nify a virtual admission by the Church that holi-ness is not always among Her attributes.

How can we, on the one hand, venerate aSaint Bernard of Clairvaux or a Blessed UrbanII, who preached the Crusades, while, on theother hand, renouncing that past as evil andmistaken? How can we pray to Saint Pius V,who promoted the Inquisition, and ask pardonfor it at the same time? It seems difficult tohave it both ways.

In this issue of Crusade, we present onefacet of this problem. How are Catholics toanswer the accusation that Pope Pius XII was“Hitler’s Pope?”

Roberto de Mattei, a scholar and ItalianCatholic leader, has taken up this challenge to

the Church by anti-Catholic British author JohnCornwell. In his book Hitler’s Pope: the SecretHistory of Pius XII, Cornwell argues that PiusXII did not do everything he could have doneto save the Jews during World War II.

It has become commonplace, even in someCatholic circles, to believe the myth that Pius XIIwas an accomplice of the Nazis. As the Vicar ofOur Lord Jesus Christ, he symbolized traditionand Catholic militancy. The name Pius harkenedback to the great Saint Pius X, who had blastedthe modernists and put the Church on a securefooting at the beginning of the century.

By accusing Pius XII of complicity withthe Nazis, liberals achieve two goals: They dis-credit the Church, and they perpetuate themyth that conservatism and orthodoxy tendedto support the horrors of the Nazis.

What Professor de Mattei does is a serviceto truth. Where liberal myths break down is atthe level of facts. By bringing out the details ofwhat happened, a testimony to the holiness ofthe Church shines through the clouded picturethat has been so uncritically accepted.

It is not difficult to debunk the complicitymyth, but voices of protest and reality have tomake themselves heard. The answer to thedilemma we face when confronted with thistype of accusation is to study the facts carefully.

Apologetics and polemics may havebecome bad words in a time when consensuspolitics and appeasement are in vogue, butadversaries of the Church know they can go along way when unopposed. A little bit of realitygoes a long way, too. When scholars again taketime to reexamine the history of the Churchwithout the constraints of political correct-ness, they will find, as Professor de Matteidoes, that its past is lily-white.

Reacting to the Dilemma ofSelf-effacementEditor’s

Corner

c r u s a d e M A Y / J U N E 2 0 0 0 3

Social status for beasts

Having a pet is certainly an innocent thingin itself. But an ever greater number ofAmericans are taking the matter to anabsurd extreme. Consider the most recentfindings of the American Animal HospitalAssociation. Their survey, covering 1,200pet-owners in the United States and Canada,provides the following statistics about manand beast relationships: 85 percent refer tothemselves as their pet’s “mom” or “dad”; 94percent keep a pet’s photo on display; 60percent hire pet-sitters; 63 percent celebratepet birthdays; two-thirds have sung to ordanced with pets; two-thirds take their pet to the vet moreoften than they see their own physicians.

When questioned about what they most frequentlyspoke about with co-workers, 20 percent said spouse, 23percent said children, and 34 percent said pets. Although 47percent say that their spouse or “significant other” under-stands them best, 31 percent say that their pets understandthem best. Only 11 percent chose friends, while another 11percent chose family members. Among married pet-owners,72 percent “greet their pet first when they return home.”

It is almost hard not to laugh, but the fact is this spells aserious breakdown of human social relationships. People arenow turning to unintelligent animals because they are losingor have lost genuine interest and concern for their own kind.

This situation takes on an even graver aspectwhen one considers the complete inversionof values this represents. While millions ofbabies are savagely aborted in their mothers’wombs, irrational animals are being treatedbetter than humans.

Six thousand e-mails

On March 22 the Mississippi Houseapproved a ban against adoption of childrenby homosexual couples. If the Senateapproves, Mississippi will join Florida as theonly states having such a ban.

Just six days earlier it had seemed thatthe ban was dead. After having gained the approval of theHouse judiciary committee, the bill had not come to thefloor in the House.

When this news reached members of the MississippiFamily Council, they decided to let the House membershear from their pro-family constituents. A brief announce-ment was aired every half hour on American Family Associ-ation radio. It provided information about the bill andencouraged people to call or e-mail the Speaker of theHouse and their local representatives.

The results: 6,000 e-mails and 9,000 telephone calls tothe state capitol demanding a vote on the bill. The Speakerof the House acquiesced, and the bill was voted upon. Itpassed by a huge majority, 107-8. Democracy at work — atleast when the majority makes enough noise.

ForgottenTruths

The problem is not in believing,but in belonging

inbrief

“No man can find salvation save in the Catholic Church. Outside the Catholic Church he can findeverything but salvation. He can have dignities; he can receive the sacraments; he can sing ‘Alleluia’and answer ‘Amen’; he can accept the Gospels, have faith in the Name of the Father, the Son and theHoly Ghost, and preach it too. But never, save in the Catholic Church, can he find salvation.”

— Saint Augustine, Sermon to the People of Caesarea, no. 6

The Catholic Church, the only true Church

“She is the Holy Church, the One Church, the True Church, the Catholic Church, the Church thatstrives against all heresies; She can fight, but She can never be conquered. All heresies have departed fromHer — like useless twigs lopped from the vine. She alone abides in Her root, in Her vine, in Her charity.”

— Saint Augustine, De Symbolo, 14

“God is one and Christ is one. His Church is one and His See is one, founded upon Peter by the voiceof the Lord. No other altar can be set up, no other priesthood instituted apart from that one altar andthat one Priesthood. Whosoever gathers elsewhere, scatters.”

— Saint Cyprian, Ep. 50, 5.

c r u s a d e m a y / J u n e 2 0 0 04

In the last few months, the American TFP has embarkedon four important campaigns on behalf of moralprinciples in our country and, more specifically, againstthe onslaught presently being waged against theCatholic faith and the American family.

“Civil unions” in Vermont

In response to the pending efforts in the Vermont Statelegislature to effectively grant homosexual couples thesame benefits as married couples, the TFP’s AmericaNeeds Fatima campaign launched a sweeping nationwideeffort urging Americans to voice their protest.Thousands of protest leaflets were handed out on thesidewalks of New York City and 150,000 were mailed toAmerica Needs Fatima campaign members in Vermontand across the country. Attached to each flyer were twopostcards, one addressed to the President of the VermontSenate and the other to the Speaker of the State’s Houseof Representatives, urging them to pass a constitutionalamendment to safeguard the natural concept of marriagebetween man and woman. The leaflet features a fictionalletter from an eight-year-old boy named Joseph,expressing his fears about his future in face of therelentless onslaught of the homosexual agenda intoday’s society. Joseph says he is too young to doanything and makes a plea to the reader to act onhis behalf. Many have answered his plea and sentprotest postcards to the Vermont legislativeauthorities. According to the press, “literallythousands of mass-produced postcards calling for aconstitutional amendment to ‘defend God’s law andthe American family’ from the ‘nightmare of same-sexmarriage’ have been burying the offices of HouseSpeaker Michael Obuchowski and Lieutenant GovernorDouglas Racine” (Rutland Herald, Mar. 31, 2000). We arehonored to make this strong contribution to the recentgroundswell of rejection of “civil unions.”

Disney boycott

The TFP’s second campaign is a call for an all-outboycott of the Walt Disney Company. Disney, onceconsidered a trusted source of wholesome familyentertainment, is now attacking the family’s veryexistence with immoral movies, TV programs, andbooks. Disney also hosts “Gay Day” festivities at itsOrlando theme park, celebrating the homosexual vice.

We are sending out millions of “Boycott Disney”leaflets enumerating some of Disney’s recent assaults on

our families and our faith and urging people to join theboycott against all Disney products. Recipients areasked to mail attached protest cards to Disney. Eachleaflet pictures two cute little children and asks,“Disney’s next victims?”

The 21st Century Rosary Campaign

We boycott Disney because as Catholics we cannot ingood conscience have anything to do with a company

that is so blatantly immoral and anti-Catholic. At the same time, we realizethat Our Lady’s help is absolutelynecessary for the conversion ofAmerica, aid which she promised atFatima if only we would pray theRosary, offer sacrifices, and makereparation to her Immaculate Heart.So, we are engaged in a redoubledeffort to promote the Rosary. Our

“21st Century Rosary Campaign” aimsto have ten million rosaries offered forgenuine world peace, the souls of poorsinners, America’s youth, and the urgentrealization of Our Lady of Fatima’sprophecies. In this effort, we hope to putfree rosary kits into the hands of millions of

families before Christmas 2000.

NO! to Dogma on video

The anti-blasphemy fight continues as theTFP launches a huge protest against Sony-

owned Columbia TriStar Home Video for producingand distributing the blasphemous movie Dogma onvideo and DVD. As Crusade readers will remember,Dogma portrays a supposed descendant of Holy Maryand St. Joseph working in an abortion clinic! It mockseverything we hold sacred — God, the Church, the Mass,Mary’s virginity, and more. And it blithely exhibits whatwe condemn — murder, obscenity, nudity, violence,profanity, drugs, drunkenness, and rebellion!

The TFP is spearheading the protest by askingpeople to sign and send two protest postcards, one toDogma’s producing studio, Columbia TriStar HomeVideo, and the other to Sony Pictures Entertainment, itsparent company. Postcards tell producers that they “willbe responsible for spreading blasphemy to homes allacross America and for advancing a culture in which theCatholic faith is wrongly ridiculed and scorned.”

Our Latest CampaignsTFP in

Action

To help with ourDisney Boycottcampaign, callus toll free 1-888-317-5571

B Y P A U L S L O B O D N I K

c r u s a d e M A Y / J U N E 2 0 0 0 5

Jesus Christ Claimed to Be GodB Y R A Y M O N D D E S O U Z A

Catholic

Apologetics

If Jesus’ claim of divinity is true, He hadmade a unique claim, which gives theReligion He founded an infinitely

greater degree of superiority over all oth-ers: He would be God Incarnate, the veryOne all men are called to worship. All otherreligions, regardless of the elements oftruth they may have, would be just man-made philosophies.But there are many who deny that Jesus

ever claimed divinity, including Jehovah’sWitnesses, Christadelphians, and modernistCatholics and Protestants of various sorts.Additionally, it has become rather com-

monplace these days, even among trendyCatholics, to say that Our Lord was notaware that He was God. (Recall the Aussiepriest in the previous article, for example.)Of course, they can never prove that, sincethey have no access to the Mind of Christ,but they claim to know it anyway. And,since they supposedly know better than we,we’ve got to take their word at face value.In this article, I aim to demonstrate

that, far beyond Our Lord’s awareness ofHis divinity, He actually claimed to be God— and, because of that claim, He was“betrayed to the chief priests and thescribes; and they condemned Him todeath, and delivered Him to the Gentiles tobe mocked and scourged and crucified” asHe Himself predicted (cf. Matt. 20:18-19).Below are some of the most evident

claims of divine attributes made by OurLord Jesus Christ.

He claimed to be God, the Judge of all mankind.

Matt. 25:31-32 — “The Son of Man shallcome in His majesty and all the angels withHim…and all nations shall be gatheredtogether before Him, and He shall separatethem one from another.” He thus claimed

to be God, the judge of mankind, Whoknows the minds, intentions, and deeds ofthe billions of people throughout history,from the first to the last, and apportions tothem their desserts.

He claimed to be God, the law-giver.

In the Sermon of the Mount (Matt. 21) Hereferred to the Law of God given to Moseson another Mount, Sinai, and He augment-ed those Commandments! For instance,

The 5th Commandment“You have heard that it was said to them

of old, thou shalt not kill, but I say to youthat whosoever is angry with his brother,shall be in danger of judgment.” He aug-mented the Fifth Commandment.Notice how He did not say: “But God

bids Me to tell you this,” or, “thus saith theLord.” No, He said, I say to you. — I, since Iam speaking on my own authority. So, Heclaimed divine authority to modify theCommandments, clarifying them, extend-ing them, applying them.Again: “You have heard that it was said, an

Part 2

Our Lord was“betrayed to the chiefpriests and the scribes;and they condemnedHim to death, anddelivered Him to theGentiles to be mockedand scourged andcrucified.”

- Matthew 20:18-19

This is the second article in a four-partseries on Our Lord’s divinity. The first arti-cle appeared in our March/April Crusade;the third will be published in theJuly/August issue.

c r u s a d e m a y / J u n e 2 0 0 06

eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But I say toyou…” and He went on to introduce anotherperfection in the Fifth Commandment.And again: “You have heard that it was

said, thou shalt love thy neighbor andshalt hate thy enemy. But I say to you…”— a further perfection of the FifthCommandment.

The 6th Commandment“You have heard that it was said

to the ancients, thou shalt not com-mit adultery.” It was God the FatherWho had said that to the ancients,that is, to Moses and the twelve tribes.“But I say to you, that anyone who somuch as looks with lust at a woman hasalready committed adultery with her inhis heart.” He thus perfected the SixthCommandment.“It was said, moreover, whoever puts

away his wife, let him give her a writtennotice of dismissal. But I say to you, thatevery one who puts away his wife, save onaccount of immorality, causes her to com-mit adultery; and he who marries awoman who has been put away commits

adultery” — a further perfectionof the Sixth Commandment.

The 8th Commandment“Again you have heard that it

was said to the ancients, “Thoushalt never swear falsely, but ful-

fill your oaths to the Lord. But I sayto you…” — thus perfecting the

Eighth commandment.Conclusion: “Do not think that I have

come to destroy the Law or the Prophets.I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill.”To fulfill means precisely what it says,that is, to fill to the full, to finish thework, to bring it to its final perfection.Hence He also said, “Be ye perfect, evenas your heavenly Father is perfect.”

He claimed to be God, the Lord of the Sabbath

When the Pharisees accused the disciplesof Jesus of having violated the Sabbath, Hesaid, “The Son of Man is Lord even of theSabbath” (Matt. 12:8). Now, the keeping ofthe Sabbath in Jewish theology and law hasto do with the 3rd Commandment, to keepholy the Sabbath day. Now Jahweh is theLord of the Sabbath — and Jesus claims tobe the Lord of the Sabbath as well!

He claimed to be God the Son, one in nature with the Father.

In Cesarea Philippi, when Peter said to OurLord that He was “Christ, the Son of theLiving God,” Jesus replied that Peter wasblessed, for it was not flesh and blood (thatis, men) who had revealed this to him, butthe Heavenly Father (cf. Matt. 16:15-17).He explicitly claims here that His filial

relationship with the Father was not likeeveryone else’s — not sons of God byadoption as we are — but a relationship thatwas so special that it required a revelationfrom God the Father. He was the Son parexcellence, sharing in the nature of HisFather, just as any son receives his naturefrom his father.In the parable of the vineyard (Luke

20:13-16), He makes the same claim, thatHe is the son of the lord of the vineyard.The Pharisees wanted to kill Him for this.Why? Because in their tradition, Israel wasthe “vineyard of the Lord,” and Jesusclaimed that the vineyard’s caretakers —the Jewish authorities — would betraytheir mission and kill the son of the lord ofthe vineyard, that is, the very Son of theLiving God.They tested Him when they asked Him

that precise question: “Art Thou theChrist, the son of the Living God?”“I am!” He replied. “And you shall see the

Son of Man sitting on the right hand of thepower of God and coming with the cloudsof heaven.”At that they accused Him of blasphe-

my, making Him punishable by death.Why? Because He claimed to be the Son ofGod, one in nature with the Father, havingmore than the mere sonship that all menhave (cf. Mark 14:61-64).

He claimed to be omnipotent and therefore equal to the Father

• “All power is given to Me inheaven and on earth (Matt.28:18).

• “All things are delivered to meby my Father. And no oneknoweth the Son but theFather: neither doth any oneknow the Father, but the Son,and he to whom it shall pleasethe Son to reveal Him” (Matt.

When the Phariseesaccused the disciples

of Jesus of havingviolated the Sabbath,He said, “The Son ofMan is Lord even of

the Sabbath” - Matthew 12:8

c r u s a d e M A Y / J U N E 2 0 0 0 7

“I am from above” –John 8:23

“From God I proceeded and came” –John 8:42

“I am come from heaven” –John 6:38

“I am the bread of Life”; “I am the living bread that came down from heaven” –John 6:48, 51

“All things have been delivered to Me by My Father” –Luke 10:22

“I and the Father are one” –John 10:30

“I am in the Father and the Father is in Me” –John 14:10

“All things whatsoever the Father has are Mine” –John 16:15

“He that sees Me sees the Father also” –John 14:9

“All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth” –Matt. 28:18

“Know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins” –Matt. 9:6

“Whatsoever the Father does, these the Son does in like manner” –John 5:19

“He that loves father and mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” –Matt. 10:37

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life” –John 14:6

“I am the resurrection and the life” –John 11:25

A few quotes from Our Lord in Sacred Scripture suffice to demonstrate thatHe claimed divine nature, titles, prerogatives, attributes, and names.

Biblical Foundation

11:27). • “Amen, amen, before Abrahamwas made, I am” (John 8:58).Notice, in this eminent pas-sage, that He uses not the pasttense was, but the presenttense am.

• The Father “hath given all judg-ment to the Son, that all menmay honor the Son, as theyhonor the Father.” — Howmust all men honor theFather? With divine worship,with adoration. That’s how wemust also honor Him, Heclaims (John 5:22-23).

• Jesus does not merely claim toknow the way to God (theking’s mission), or to teach thetruth (the prophet’s mission),or to be able to restore spiritu-al life (the priest’s mission).Rather, He affirms that He is“The way, the truth, and thelife” (John 14:6).

• He calls on God the Father toglorify Him with divine glory:“Glorify Thou me, O Father,with Thyself, with the glory

which I had, before the worldwas, with Thee…. And all Mythings are Thine, and Thineare mine” (John 17:5,10).

His enemies knew His claim of divinity and crucified Him precisely because of it

The Jews sought to kill Him because Hesaid that God was His father, thus makingHimself equal to God: “We have a law andaccording to that law He ought to die,because He made Himself the Son of God”(John 19:7).

His enemies admitted His claim to be divine, but rejected it

When He said, “I and the Father are one,” theythreatened to stone Him for blasphemy, say-ing, “Thou, being a man, makest Thyself God”(John 10:30, 33). In no way did Jesus seek todefend Himself from their threats by claimingthat they misunderstood His assertion.Our Lord made it clear that He has two

natures, one divine and one human. When

When the Jews tookoffense at Our Lord forcuring a man on theSabbath, He said, “MyFather works until nowand I work.”

– John 5:17

Continued on page 16

Internet use iscreating a broadnew wave ofsocial isolation,raising thedanger of anatomized worldwithout humancontact oremotion.

c r u s a d e m a y / J u n e 2 0 0 08

B Y J O H N H O R V A T I I

A huge geo-social gorge has suddenly appeared onthe nation’s political landscape, and nearly every-one is talking about it. This strange chasm unitespoliticians of all parties into demanding immedi-ate action. Educators, too, have placed it high ontheir agenda.

What is this yawning gash that must bebridged at all cost? It is a mysterious “digitaldivide” that separates the virtual haves and thenon-digital have-nots.

As little as a year ago no one really seemed tonotice. Computer have-nots scarcely realizedtheir downtrodden state. But as elections near,candidates all over the nation are focusing onInternet access, elevating it as if it were an innatehuman right. It has become a trendy nationalimperative to try to link everyone, willing or not,to the information superhighways.

Indeed, everyone seems to be surfing on thevirtual bandwagon. Some candidates are promis-ing free laptops to all eighth-graders. Ford MotorCompany is offering a computer and linkup to allits employees worldwide for a mere five dollars amonth. Companies that once gave free e-mailservice now offer free web access.

Looking beyond

In the headlong rush to bridge the digital divide,everyone seems so intent on getting across. Few,however, seem to worry about what lies beyond.Like so many technological developments thatenthralled the world, Internet access is often wel-comed with giddy optimism.

The Internet is a sort of digital wonderlandwhere one creates his own reality. A Nortel Net-works advertisement portrays it in the words of rockguitarist Carlos Santana as “a road to a world withno borders, no boundaries, no flags, no countries.Where the heart is the only passport you carry.”

In a technology measured in nano-seconds, the

tendency is to point and click impulsively on thefuture. There seems to be little time to stop and askwhat the world is going to be like once the divide isbridged and the Internet all-encompassing.

Losing the human touch

Some social scientists, however, are starting tomake projections about the virtual future. Theyare asking questions which they say must beraised about the psychological and emotionalimpact of the cyber-culture on the horizon.

Researchers point to a growing number ofhours spent on the Internet by all social and agecategories. No longer is the medium a mere educa-tional tool. Its amusement, shopping, and workingfunctions have invaded the home and diminishedthe time people spend on real human relationships.

They note that face-to-face family and socialconnections are suffering. Abstract and fleetingchats and keyboard conversations simply fail to fillthe emotional void in a topsy-turvy world where aliving room conversation is labeled “facemail.”

An August 1998 study at Carnegie Mellon Uni-versity reported that those who spent even a fewhours a week on the Internet experienced higherlevels of depression and loneliness.

A lonelier crowd

Recently, one of the first large-scale surveys of thesocietal impact of the Internet offered an evenmore sobering assessment.

Political scientist Norman Nie of Stanford Uni-versity claims that Internet use is creating a broadnew wave of social isolation, raising the danger of anatomized world without human contact or emotion.

His analysis, published by the Stanford Insti-tute for the Quantitative Study of Society, wasbased on a survey of 4,113 Americans. It has beencompared to the landmark sociological book The

Industrial

Revolution Beyond TDigitalD

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Notes1. John Markoff, “A Newer,Lonelier Crowd Emerges inInternet Study,” The New YorkTimes, Feb. 16, 2000, p. 1.2. John Naisbitt, Nana Nais-bitt, Douglas Philips, HighTouch, High Tech (New York,1999), p.21.3. Weekend edition, NationalPublic Radio, Mar. 4, 2000.

Lonely Crowd, written in 1950 by David Reismannwith Nathan Glazer and Reuel Denney.

Nie found that heavy Internet users areincreasingly “home, alone, and anonymous.” Theyare spending less time with family and friends,attending social events, or reading and shopping.Even television viewing is declining.

In a society already hampered by poor person-al communications, Nie warns, “there are going tobe millions of people with very minimal humaninteraction.”1

Trendwatcher John Naisbitt in his 1999 bookHigh Touch, High Tech echoes this finding when henotes that Internet technologies “can actually iso-late humans from each other, from nature, andfrom ourselves. Technology can create physical andemotional distance and distract us from our lives.”2

A cultural divide

Other Internet critics fear that bridging the digitaldivide may only create a gaping cultural divide.They cite waning interest in cultural pursuitswhich require effort, skill, and talent. This con-trasts sharply with the passive and effortless surf-ing in cyberspace.

The noble art of writing, for example, is atelling casualty of e-mail and chat rooms. Thesehave given rise to a written sub-dialect wherepunctuation and capitalization are casually dis-carded, acronyms replace phrases, and non-verbalsmiley faces abound.

Wired Style, a manual on digital English usage,advocates this development. Authors ConstanceHale and Jessie Scanlon openly advise e-writers:“Think blunt bursts and sentence fragments.Writing that is on-the-fly — even frantic.” Readersare further told to “appreciate unruliness” and“welcome inconsistency.”

Such trends send a message that cannot buthurt deteriorating personal and social relation-

ships. Moreover, declining reading, musical, andconversation skills point to a society that nolonger values or actively participates in the morespiritual delights of the soul.

Mapping the future

Some might object that the Internet is the wave ofthe future. All resistance is useless. Cultural con-siderations must yield to e-progress. Laggards willautomatically be condemned to a non-digitalDark Ages.

That is far from the case.In fact, only fourteen percent of Europeans

are connected to the web. Among the French,forty-two percent do not own, use, or intend tobuy a computer, and there is a reluctance to goonline. They claim that e-ties are corrosive tointer-personal relationships.

In an interview with National Public Radio,France’s Secretary of State for Industry, ChretienPierret, says the French value a well-roundedlifestyle with its emphasis on “the human condi-tion and the ability to achieve more equilibrium.”3

This lack of connectivity has not affected the sec-ond fastest growing economy in Europe.

Taking the leap

Perhaps the hype around the digital divide, (if itdoes exist) should be treated as just that: hype.After all, forty-five percent of Americans remainunconnected — and many of these are oblivious totheir “plight.”

While Internet use can provide helpful infor-mation, it is not a panacea. As recent studies havesuggested, there are definite dangers on the web,especially in the all-important field of humanrelationships. Perhaps it would be good to lookbeyond the digital divide and see what lurks therebefore making the leap.

TheDivide

THE SNOWSHOEBISHOP FREDERIC BARAGA

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n June 29, 1797, Frederic Baraga, the

fourth of five children, was born in

Malavas in the Austrian dukedom of

Carniola. His parents had him baptized as Irenaeus

Frederic that very day in the parish church of

Dobernice. From his earliest days, Frederic’s

parents were concerned not simply with his

academic education but with his spiritual and

moral formation. Warning her son of the need to

fight temptation, his godly mother admonished

him, “Be strong, trust in the Lord, and in the end

you will know victory.” Even while young, Frederic’s

faith was sorely tested. He saw the family estate

impoverished because of the Napoleonic wars in the

region and, worse, his mother died in 1808, and his

father in 1812. He often recalled his mother’s wise

counsel: “Look to your Heavenly Father for the

graces necessary to live a good life.”

CoverStory

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PRIEST B Y W A L T E R T H O M A S C A M I E R

For the next four years, Frederic attended aschool in Ljubljana, where he lived in thehome of Dr. George Dolinar, a lay professorat the diocesan seminary. He continued hiseducation, studying law at the University ofVienna. It was in Vienna that Frederic metthe Austrian priest Fr. Clement Maria Hof-bauer, who had been inspired by the writ-ings of Saint Alfonso de Liguori, thefounder of the Redemptorists. Frederic’sfriendship with Father Hofbauer awakenedhis vocation to the priesthood, and hedevoted himself more intensely to hisprayers and the sacraments, kindling theflame now burning in his soul — ardentdesire to serve God as a priest.During the summers, Frederic walked

throughout the Vienna countryside andneighboring countries. These walkingtours helped build the stamina he wouldfind indispensable in his later missionarylife. Frederic graduated from law school in1821 and was ordained a priest by thebishop of Ljubljana on September 21,1823. He was assigned to Saint Martin’sparish near Krainberg.Counteracting the abominable heresy

of Jansenism, which held a debased view ofman and denigrated the spiritual benefitsconferred by the sacraments, Father Baragaencouraged frequent confessions and wrotedevotional works to inspire the laity to livelives of prayer and holiness. As for himself,he embraced the cross through the practiceof penance, poverty, and service to the poor.After Father Baraga created a Sodality of

the Sacred Heart even though such associ-ations were forbidden atthe time by the emperor,his bishop banished himto a neglected parish inMetlika in Lower Carnio-la as the last amongthree assistant priests.Father Baraga remainedsteadfast in his resolve toserve the forgotten faith-ful, but his pastor andbrother curates opposedhim at every step.

Arbre Croche

While praying for divineguidance, Father Baragalearned of the need for

missionary priests in America. BishopEdward Fenwick of Cincinnati had sent anemissary to convince the Austrian Emper-or, Francis I, to support a missionary socie-ty to help spread the Gospel in the UnitedStates. The emperor agreed and the newsociety was named the Leopoldine Foun-dation after his late daughter, Leopoldina,who had been Empress of Brazil. TheAmerican emissary granted Father Bara-ga’s request to work in the Indian missions,and the bishop approved his transfer. OnOctober 29, 1830, he left his homeland to

spend the remainder of his life as a mis-sionary among American Indians.Arriving in New York on December 31,

1830, Father Baraga journeyed to Cincin-nati, which he reached on January 18, 1831.There he served the German Catholicsresiding in that area while beginning hisstudies of the Ottawa language under theinstruction of the son of an Ottawa chief,

who was attending the Cincinnati seminary. On May 28, 1831, Father Baraga arrived

in his first Indian mission, Arbre Croche,(near present-day Harbor Springs, Michi-gan), where the faithful, who had been con-verted by the Jesuit missionary Fr. PeterDejean, welcomed Bishop Fenwick andtheir new pastor with great affection. Dur-ing his four-day stay, the bishop confirmedthirty Ottawas. On his departure, BishopFenwick confided to Father Baraga, “Iwould gladly exchange my residence inCincinnati for a small hut and the happy lotof a missionary among these good Indi-ans.” In later years, Father Baraga wouldecho these words.The “happy lot” of the missionary was

not an easy one. A rough log cabin with abirch roof served as Father Baraga’s home.He had just one coat to protect himselfagainst the frigid winter winds, duringwhich he often had to warm the wine andwater before offering his morning Mass.Father Baraga was devoted to serving

the souls entrusted to his care. In 1831alone, he baptized eighty-seven Ottawaadults and forty-four children. During thetwo years and four months he would serve inArbre Croche, he would baptize 547 Ottawas.He strove to better the condition of thesepoor souls not only spiritually but physicallyas well. The woodland Indians had lived anomadic life, hunting, fishing, and gatheringsap and berries. Feast and famine alternated.Under his direction, the converts at ArbreCroche began turning to agriculture andstored their harvest to last the long winter.

Seeing that these Indianswere adept in mechanicalskills, he also establishedblacksmithing, carpentry,and book-binding shopsfor them.

Missionary journeys

Neither snow, wind, norrain could stop thisintrepid missionary fromhis apostolic labors, as heset out to evangelize theneighboring Indian tribes.He first focused his atten-tion across Lake Michi-gan to Beaver Island, butthe Indians there were

Frederic Baraga’s childhood home

Bishop Baraga began the manyjourneys that earned him thetitle of “Snowshoe Priest” in thewinter of 1832.

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hostile to the faith, so he turned to IndianLake on Lake Michigan’s north shore wherethe Indians were more receptive. All but onewere baptized, and a church dedicated tothe Blessed Virgin was built. Father Baragathen journeyed to Detroit to proofread Ani-mie-Misinaigan, his prayer book in theOttawa language, returning to Arbre Crochewith 2,000 bound copies. Father Baraga often traveled many

miles alone in the desolate wilderness and,finding nowhere to stay, he would lay downin the snow, pull his coat over himself, andfall asleep. More than once, he awoke tobrush several inches of snow off himselfbefore continuing his journey. Despitesuch hardships, he ate very little — per-haps, a small piece of bread with somewater. His energy came not from food, butfrom his love of God and of the souls Heentrusted to his care.In the spring of 1832, Father Baraga and

his Indian companions set out for LittleDetroit Island on Green Bay, 30 milesacross Lake Michigan. The Indians wouldnever have embarked on such a long jour-ney in a small canoe, save for their trust inthe priest’s faith and prayers. During theirvoyage a storm arose, tossing the canoe inits wake. As the Indians looked to the mis-sionary, he encouraged them to confide inGod. The storm passed and they reachedDetroit Island, where Father Baraga taughtand baptized for eight days, and selected asite on which to build a church.Low on supplies, the small mission

band then traversed the north shore. TheIndians admired Father Baraga’s willing-ness to sacrifice the little he had for others,but what would happen when the suppliesran out? After rising and praying in theearly morning hours, he pressed on.Toward nightfall, a flock of birds drew theircanoe to shore where Father Baraga andhis companions gathered 130 eggs.

Grand River

Rather than returning to Arbre Croche,Father Baraga, at the urging of the Indians,spent the winter 300 miles south at GrandRiver (now Grand Rapids, Michigan). In abuilding owned by the Catholic fur traderLouis Campall, he offered Mass andinstructed converts. Because his report tohis new bishop in Detroit, John B. Purcell,

noted eighty-six converts and the potentialfor more among the 900 Ottawa natives,the Bishop directed him to transfer toGrand River. A Redemptorist priest andtwo brothers were sent to serve the mis-sion at Arbre Croche.Father Baraga built a church and

school. He also confronted the fur traders,who exchanged cheap whiskey for thevaluable furs the Indians had trapped; hechallenged them for making their belliestheir god. The furious traders threatenedhis life and even went to his home to burnit down. It was only a visit of the sheriff —in response, no doubt, to his unceasingprayers — that saved the day.The Indians renewed their faith, aban-

doning their drunkenness to return to thesacraments to nourish their souls. Theyfound joy in their servant, Father Baraga.His speech was kind and his approach gen-tle, and an air of reverence pervaded allthat he did. His conduct induced the Indi-ans to trust him and believe in the Faith heprofessed.After the new church was dedicated,

other Catholics joined the native Catholicsfrom up and down the river.

La Pointe

In July 1835, Bishop Purcell sent FatherBaraga to La Pointe (near Bayfield, Wiscon-sin). This came about through the intriguesof a government agent angered that the

c r u s a d e M A Y / J U N E 2 0 0 0 13

For his motto, Baraga choseUnum est Necessarium — Onething is necessary. This one thingwas love of God and neighbor. Hisdevotion to the Blessed Motherwas part and parcel of this dedi-cation to her Divine Son.On the left field of the coat of

arms is “IHS” for Christ; on theright field is “AM” for Mary, whomhe hailed in his daily Ave Marias.The cross and three nails on

the left field symbolize the instru-ments of Christ’s crucifixion. Thesword that pierced Mary’s heart atthat crucifixion and the star thatsymbolizes her triumphant queen-ship appear in the right field.At the bottom half are the

signs of faith, hope, and charity: across, an anchor, and a heart.Frederic Baraga lived his entirelife in these theological virtues.

Frederic Baraga’scoat of arms

One of the first articles Fr. Baraga and the other missionaries acquired was a bell he used tocall his congregation to prayer. In this painting Bishop Baraga has just rung the bell and iswelcoming a family of Indians.

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saintly priest had used his legal training toaid Indians whom the government hadtreated unjustly. Suffering his own injusticewith heroic virtue, Father Baraga prayed foreven greater suffering so that he might offerit for the conversion of the Ojibway Indiansliving near Lake Superior. Both aspects ofhis prayers were answered. When the boatthat was to have brought his winter cloth-

ing failed to arrive, he was left to spend thefierce winter with just summer clothing.The suffering bore its fruit: Our Lord’s ser-vant baptized twenty adults and two chil-dren on Christmas Day.Father Baraga later traveled to Fond du

Lac, where he worked with a piousCatholic trader, Pierre Cotte. There he bap-tized another fifty-one members of the

Ojibway tribe.In 1836, Father Baraga returned to

Europe to seek priests and funds for themissionary work. While there, he printed aprayer book and a life of Christ in the Ojib-way and Ottawa languages. He was alsoreceived in audience by Pope Pius IX, wholistened intently to his account of theAmerican missions.Returning to La Pointe, Father Baraga

found his converts steadfastly practicingtheir faith. What joy filled his soul as a sec-ond, larger church and a school tookshape. In 1838, the church was dedicated,and the bishop confirmed 112 adults.

L’Anse

Always seeking new souls to save, FatherBaraga was asked by Pierre Crebassa,another Catholic fur trader, to come toL’Anse, on the shore of Keweenaw Bay offLake Superior, to set up a mission for theIndians living there. He arrived in 1843 tofind the village in drunken revelry. Never-theless, he saw excellent grounds in whichto plant the seeds of faith. He convertedmany souls and helped them build achurch and log homes for their families.During the winter and through the next

summer, Father Baraga visited the mis-sions he had founded, encouraging thefaithful to persevere in the faith. He waspleased to see that, thanks to their hardwork and sober living, the Indians werebetter prepared to endure the harsh win-ters. Continuing his solitary missionarytreks in the winter of 1845, he traveledsome 600 miles in just five weeks.

“We will be saved”

As evident from his life, Father Baraga hadabsolute confidence in divine Providence.Once he had to make a journey from SandIsland, off the Wisconsin shore, to GrandPortage, in present Minnesota. Rather thantravel 200 miles along the coast, he insistedon canoeing across the open waters of LakeSuperior. A storm arose, and Father Baragaand his Indian companion Lewis foundthemselves buffeted by the wind and waves.Turning to the priest, the Indian found himpraying calmly. Father Baraga looked up tohis friend and assured him, “We will be

Bishop Baraga’s body was originally buried in the ground beneath a chapel in theold Bishop’s residence in Marquette. From there it was translated to the cathedral,at which time the casket was opened for inspection. Msgr. Antoine Rezek, who was among those present, related what he had

observed to Msgr. Zryd of Bishop Baraga Association Headquarters. Msgr. Rezekfound the body still quite intact at that time. While the body had naturally decom-posed, the bones were intact and the skin and features were still recognizable. Ithad been buried in a purple cope that still held together. Msgrs. Rezek and Hagerwere able to move the remains into the new casket by lifting the cope.Later, when a new cathedral had replaced the previous one damaged by fire,

the Bishop’s remains were transferred to a new crypt. The coffin was again openedand Msgr. Zryd, then present, provided an eye-witness account. He said that thebody was found as previously described by Msgr. Rezek, that is, still dressed in thepurple cope and having the skull still intact and with sufficient patches of dry skinand hair to make the Bishop’s features recognizable in comparison with photo-graphs taken during his life.

Testimony regarding preservation of Bishop Baraga’s body

Left: Baraga as a youngbishop. Right: Bishop Bara-ga shortly before his death.A comparison of this photo-graph with pictures ofFather Baraga at the time ofhis arrival in America readi-ly reveals how he has takenon the features of the Indi-ans he served so faithfullyin life

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saved, go straight ahead.” Soon they sawa small, calm river, where they disem-barked, erecting a large cross in grati-tude to God and His Blessed Mother fortheir deliverance. To this day, the riveris known as Cross River.In the spring of 1850, Father Baraga

traveled from La Pointe to Ontonagon.His companions became alarmed whenthe ice they were walking on brokeapart and they were set adrift on an icefloe that moved farther and fartherfrom shore. Seeing their alarm, FatherBaraga comforted them. Scarcely hadhe spoken the words, “We will be safe,”when the wind shifted, driving themdirectly to the safety of the shore —close to their destination. As they leftthe floe, Father Baraga said with a gen-tle smile, “See, we have traveled a greatdistance, yet we have worked little.”

Heir of the Apostles

In May 1852, the First Council of Balti-more petitioned Pope Pius IX for abishop to serve the upper peninsula ofMichigan and adjacent areas of LakeSuperior. That fall, Father Baraga com-pleted his 1,700-page dictionary of theOjibway language, a labor of twentyyears. On November 1, 1853, FatherBaraga was preparing to leave forEurope to beg for priests and fundswhen he received word of his appoint-ment as bishop of the diocese of SaultSainte Marie.Arriving in Europe, Father Baraga

was greeted by crowds whohad read of his missionaryendeavors. They weremoved by the penitential lifewritten into every line of thetanned and weathered faceof the small and frail priest.During his year in Europe,five priests had promised tocome to his diocese, butonly two actually did so.Bishop Baraga resided in

Sault Sainte Marie for thenext twelve years. He regu-larly visited the outlyingmissions of his diocese, trav-eling by horse, sleigh, steam-

er, and on foot.

“Take up thy cross and follow Me.”

In 1855, Bishop Baraga lost his hearingdue to an illness. It was a cross to beunable to hear the confessions of theIndians he loved so much, but he bore itheroically. Eventually, Deo gratias, hishearing returned. When ungeneroussouls denigrated him for “spoiling” hisIndian converts with too many kind-nesses, he suffered their calumnies withhis customary patience and charity.In 1857, the stamina of Bishop Bara-

ga, now sixty, began to fail. Despite thecrippling pain he silently bore, he con-tinued to bring the consolation of thesacraments — and of his presence — tothe far-flung Indian missions, even inthe midst of winter. On one such jour-ney, Bishop Baraga was so wrackedwith fever that he could scarcely keepup with his Indian companions, butDivine Providence and his persever-ance saw him safely to his destination.

Saved by the Cross

In 1865, Father Baraga’s episcopal seatwas moved from Sault Sainte Marie toMarquette, Michigan. The followingyear, the Second Council of Baltimorerequired his attendance. As he waspreparing to depart, he suffered astroke. Nevertheless, he felt obliged toattend and traveled three long and gru-eling weeks, reaching Baltimore in seri-

The house in which Bishop Baraga died

In this connection I will explain how amissionary has to travel during winterin this Indian country. In winter a per-son cannot travel otherwise than onfoot. As the snow is generally deep andthere are no traveled roads, the only wayto travel is on snowshoes. The snow-shoes are from four to five feet long andone foot wide and are tied to one’s feet.With them a man can travel even in thedeepest snow without sinking in verymuch. But this style of walking is verytiresome, especially for Europeans, whoare not accustomed to it. When the per-son must walk upon such snowshoes allday long, and for that many days in suc-

cession, especially in these track-less North American forests,he cannot travel withoutextreme fatigue and almosttotal exhaustion.

Another hardship is sleeping in theopen air in a northern winter, for thereare no huts in which to stay overnight.Generally speaking, a man may travelfour or five days in this extensive andthinly settled country before coming toanother Indian settlement. It is true, alarge fire is made but this soon goes out,for the Indian guide who accompaniesus sleeps the whole night as if he werein a feather-bed, and then a person suf-fers much from the cold. It is especiallyhard to pass the night in such a waywhen it storms and snows all night andin the morning a person is covered allover with snow. But all these hardshipsthe missionary joyfully endures if there-by he can, through God’s help andgrace, save even one soul.This winter I have to make a far

longer journey, that is, from L’Anse to LaPointe and Fond du Lac and return, adistance of about 690 miles! I will beginthis journey, please God, on the 4th ofFebruary, and hope to be back hereagain before the end of March. I amgoing to Fond du Lac, Minnesota, tomake arrangements for the building of achurch there. I think, thereafter, I willnot go there anymore, as now a mission-ary has arrived for my assistance, name-ly Rev. Father Otto Skolla, who spendsthis winter at La Pointe, where I havebeen for eight years."

Why Snowshoes?Letter of Father Baraga, January 24, 1846

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He said, “I and the Father are one,” Hereferred to the divine nature, the sameas that of the Father; when He said,“The Father is greater than I,” Hereferred to His human nature, createdand necessarily inferior to the Father.When He cured a man on the Sab-

bath, the Jews took offense. He said:“My Father works until now and I work.”Their reaction? “They sought the moreto kill Him.” Why? Because He said thatGod was His father, thus “making Him-self equal to God” (cf. John 5:17-18).Far from saying they had misun-

derstood Him, Jesusreplied: “What things

whatsoever He [theFather] does, these theSon also does in likemanner…for as theFather raises up the deadand gives life, so the Sonalso gives life to whomHe will” ( John 5:19, 21).Here He claims as Hisown the power to do thethings the Father does,including giving life.When Pilate tried to

acquit Jesus, the Jews criedout, “We have a law, andaccording to that law He ought to die.”Why? “Because He made Himself the Sonof God.”He could easily have denied it or

explained it away. But He did not. EvenHis mother could have saved Him fromdeath simply by saying that His father washer deceased husband, Joseph. But shedid not.

He claims to be able to forgive sinsin His own name

To the man sick with the palsy, He said:“Son, thy sins are forgiven thee” (Mark2:5). The Pharisees objected: “Who canforgive sins but God only?”Indeed, only God can forgive sins.

Therefore, by claiming that He had thepower to forgive sins and by going to theextent of performing a miracle to provethat He was thus able, Jesus claimed thatHe was God, and publicly so.

The same happened when He said,first aboutMagdalene, “Many sins are for-given her because she has loved much,”and then to her, “Thy sins are forgiventhee” (Luke 7:47,48). Therefore, since it isthrough love of God that sins are forgiven,love of Him is love of God.

He delegated His power to forgive sins

To His closest disciples, the Apostles, Hedelegated this power to forgive sins!“Peace be to thee! As the Father has sentMe, I also send thee.” When He said this,He breathed upon them and said to them,

“Receive the Holy Spirit;whose sins thou shall for-give, they are forgiventhem. And whose sins thoushall retain, they areretained” (John 20:21-23).

Conclusion

That Jesus Christ claimedto be not only the Messiasbut God is self-evident,according to the historicalrecord left by the Apostles.That He died because ofthat claim is also evident.Now the claim is either

true or false. It cannot be a matter of opin-ion. In the next article we shall call on wit-nesses whose testimony supports thatclaim, that is, the prophets of the Hebrewpeople.Those are the men who, centuries

before His birth, show us that Jesus Christis the only founder of a religion whose lifewas prophesied in incredible detail by menliving in different places and in differenttimes — and all prophecies come true inHim, and in Him alone. All of the other“prophets” who founded different religionsobtained followers because they werebelieved at face value — or used the sword.None was prophesied before His birth.Even in this, Jesus Christ is unique.

ously weakened health. While attendingthe Council, he suffered another strokeand fell down a flight of stairs. Miraculous-ly, divine Providence intervened throughthe instrumentality of the bishop’s pec-toral cross, which punctured his chest andcaused bleeding that relieved the bloodpressure within his head. While his broth-er bishops urged him to stay, Bishop Bara-ga quietly left the Council to return to hisdiocese of Marquette to live his final daysin the company of the Indians for whom hehad given his life.For the next three years, despite the

increasing burdens imposed by his failinghealth, he continued his labors. On Janu-ary 19, 1868, after thirty-seven years of sac-rificial apostolate, Bishop Frederic Baragadied, trusting in God to his dying breath.How many of the converts this lover of

souls led to Christ are now with him, Godalone knows, but who can doubt thatthose who remained faithful are with theirbeloved snowshoe priest in the celestialcathedral we call heaven?As for us here below in the ranks of the

Church Militant, the cause for Bishop Bara-ga’s canonization having been approved byRome, we ardently long for the day that HolyMother Church will solemnly elevate thisnoble son to the lofty altars of Her saints.

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To become a member of the BishopBaraga Association or for moreinformation about Bishop Baraga pleasecall Elizabeth Delene at (906) 226-7024.

Bishop Frederic Baraga is buried in the crypt of StPeter’s Cathedral in the Marquette diocese, a dioceseformed largely through his missionary zeal, first as apriest and then as its first bishop.

CRUSADE readers who wish to hear thecomplete talk from which this article wastaken may obtain a tape-recording fromthe author at:

St Gabriel Communications PO Box 111Forrestfield, WA 6058 AUSTRALIA

(US $15.00, postpaid)Internet www.users.bigpond.com/saint-gabrielE-mail saintgabriel@bigpond.com

He claimed to beGod the judge of

all mankind,when He saidthat He would

judge all men inthe great Day of

Reckoning

[Continued from page7]

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Commentary

Pius XIIH I T L E R ’ S P O P E, O R H I T L E R ’ S A D V E R S A R Y ?

I N T R O D U C T I O N B Y A L B E R T O C A R O S A

by his alleged silence on Nazism and its horrors. DeMattei’s counter-thesis, focusing on Hitler’s Pope:The Secret History of Pius XII by British author JohnCornwell, is that these allegations are not simply anattack on Pius XII, but ought to be seen against thebackground of an unprecedented worldwide offen-sive against the Catholic Church and the principlesShe incarnates.

Prof. Roberto de Mattei is well known to manyof our readers both as a professional historian

and a brilliant Catholic leader. As an academic hehas authored Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: The Crusader of the 20th Century, the most insightfuland exhaustive biography of Prof. Corrêa de Oliveirathus far. The Centro Culturale Lepanto that Prof. DeMattei directs has scored resounding successes in Italy and in Europe by its uncompro-mising defense of natural and Christian law.

Prof. De Mattei was introduced by Mr. MarioNavarro da Costa, director of the TFP WashingtonBureau. In his introductory remarks, Mr. Da Costathanked Prof. De Mattei for coming and expressedhis joy in recalling how Prof. Plinio Corrêa deOliveira, the founder of the first TFP, had dedicatedgreat energy to opposing the rise and expansion ofNazism by pointing out its doctrinal likeness toCommunism and the fact that both are inimical tothe holy Catholic Church.

The lecture was held at Washington’s CosmosClub last February 16 before some 250 guests, includ-ing well-known figures of American Catholicism such

as Prof. MichaelNovak, the formerAmbassador to theHoly See ThomasMelady, and the Sov-ereign Order ofMalta’s Knight of Jus-tice Fra’ Michael vonStroebel. Many aca-demics were presentwith their students,attracted by the intel-lectual debate onCornwell’s controver-sial book. A summaryof the most signifi-cant excerpts fromProf. de Mattei’s lec-ture is presented onthe following pages.

Born in Rome in1948, Prof. Robertode Mattei holds thechair of ModernHistory at the Uni-versity of Cassinoin Italy. A journalistand writer, he isthe author of sever-al books includingFrom the Utopia ofProgress to theReign of Chaos, andPlinio Corrêa deOliveira — TheCrusader of the20th Century.

The American TFP recently invited Prof.Roberto de Mattei, president of the Rome-based Centro Culturale Lepanto,to present a lecture on the pontificate ofthe late Pope Pius XII. Professor de Mattei’saim was to refute the widespreadallegations that Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli,the future Pope Pius XII, was actually anaccomplice in Hitler’s rise to power

c r u s a d e m a y / J u n e 2 0 0 018

The “black legend”

By temperament and vocation, Pius XII wasa man of peace. The very name he chose,Pius, evokes the yearning for that Christianpeace which is not neutral indifference but,according to the renowned definition ofSaint Augustine, “tranquillity of order.”The Western democracies of his time

were not strong enough to restore the truepeace Pius XII sought. In Yalta, for example,with the endorsement of Western govern-ments, Soviet communism became theabsolute master of Eastern Europe and start-ed an aggressive policy of ideological imperi-alism aimed at seizing the entire free world.National Socialism and Communism,

the most violent expressions of contempo-rary totalitarianism, reached their greatesthistorical expansion during Pius XII’s pon-tificate. He opposed both of them with thedoctrinal Magisterium and administrativeaction, which made the twentieth centuryPapacy still the radiant “candle upon thecandle-stick,” the standard unfurled amongnations, signum levatum in nationes, the civ-itas supra montem posita, “a city set on ahill,” against whose foot the fury of sea-waves breaks down.1

The smear campaign against the memo-ry of Pius XII started just a few years afterhis death on October 9, 1958. It was occa-sioned by the appearance of Rolf Hochuth’splay The Deputy (Der Stellvertreter), firststaged in 1963 in Germany.Hochuth’s thesis is that Pius XII made

insufficient efforts to save European Jews

and refused to speak out about the Holo-caust despite detailed knowledge of thescale of Jewish suffering. Hochuth’s work,though devoid of any historic value,became internationally known thanks tomassive media coverage.In view of these accusations, which

implicated not only Pius XII but theCatholic Church as a whole, Pope Paul VIopened the Vatican diplomatic archives toshed full light on the Holy See’s activity dur-ing the Second World War. Three JesuitChurch historians, Pierre Blet, Angelo Mar-tini, and Burkhart Schneider, assumed theburden of research. Joining them later wasthe American Robert A. Graham.The labors resulted in the twelve vol-

umes of the Actes et Documents du SaintSiège relatifs à la Seconde Guerre Mondiale,published by the Vatican Press between1965 and 1981.2 These volumes containeddetails on every aspect of Vatican diploma-cy before and during the Second World Warand revealed that the Vatican, under PiusXII’s direction, had done a great deal toassist Jews attempting to flee Nazi persecu-tion. In the words of the historian EamonDuffy, the Acts and Documents “decisivelyestablished the falsehood of Hochuth’s spe-cific allegations.”3

But the accusations against Pius XII didnot subside. They were recently rekindledby Cornwell’s book, Hitler’s Pope: TheSecret History of Pius XII.Cornwell distances himself from

Hochuth, calling his book “historical fictionbased on scant documentation.” He pres-

ents himself as a historian who has hadaccess to “crucial” and “unseen” material inRome, and even claims to have changed hismind while his work was underway, havingfirst intended to defend Pius XII. His slan-dering purpose, however, does not differfrom that motivating Hochuth’s work and,in fact, is meant to be more far-reachingand radical than all those thus far wagedagainst Pius XII.The real target of Cornwell’s accusa-

tions, in reality, is not Pius XII, nor evenJohn Paul II, who surprisingly surfaces inthe last pages of the book as a sort of “PiusXII redivivus.” The Catholic Church isseverely indicted for Her rule and Magis-terium, the “centralized,” “pyramidal” and“monolithic” “Church model,” which Corn-well summarizes in the formula “Papalpower.” The pontificate of Pius XII, especial-ly in the postwar period, was “the apotheo-sis of that power.”4

From an academic point of view, Corn-well’s book would warrant no answer.Thanks to the mass media, however, hisbasic thesis pervades public opinion, evenCatholic public opinion.Cornwell is not a professional historian,

but a journalist, having no academicdegrees in history, law, or theology. He isknown for volumes that are anything but“scientific,” such as A Thief in the Night(1989) and the novel Strange Gods (1993).Even less can he be called a Catholic histo-rian. Even though he was formerly a semi-narian at the English College in Rome, hisearlier works invariably cast Catholic

Pius XII Totalitari

B Y R O B E R T O D E M A T T E I

morality and ecclesiastical structures in abad light. In face, he calls himself a“Catholic agnostic.”Before publication of Hitler’s Pope,

Cornwell claimed in an article in the Sun-day Times to be the only person ever grant-ed permission to visit the archive of theVatican Secretariat of State. He said he hadworked there for months on end and haddiscovered previously unknown docu-ments. An official and authoritative Vati-can statement published in L’OsservatoreRomano on October 13, 1999, denouncesall these claims as false.

Pius XII — silent?

On the alleged silence of Pius XII, the Vati-can Actes et Documents summarized byFather Blet speak definitively. His recon-struction of events suggests that no otherhead of State or religious leader of the1930s or 1940s did as much as Pius XII toaid Jews fleeing from Nazi persecution.“The degree of communication

between the Holy See and the Jewish com-munity in these years,” observed FatherGraham, “can be said to have no parallel inhistory.”5 The Holy See was constantlypresent in the unfolding drama. The Secre-tariat of State instructed his nuncios andapostolic delegates to intervene with gov-ernments and national episcopates toundertake relief actions whose efficacywas acknowledged at the time with repeat-ed gratitude by Jewish organizations.“Pius XII’s attention,” writes Father Blet,

andianism

The

Bettm

ann Archive

c r u s a d e m a y / J u n e 2 0 0 020

“extended to the War in all its breadth andunder all its aspects. Countries under mili-tary occupation, countries suffering fromstarvation, the civilian population, the eld-erly, the women and the children who per-ished by the thousands during the bombingof German cities, the Poles who weredestroyed, the Jews who were deported andmurdered, the combatants who fell on thefirst line of battle on both sides of the front,prisoners separated from their spouses andchildren, mothers, married couples, andchildren separated from these captives —all were the objects of his concern and,insofar as he could do something for them,of his tender care. To all these evils Pius XIIwanted to bring the remedy of peace.”6

However, as Father Gumpel observes,“many Jews were among those who coun-seled Pius to refrain from a public denunci-ation…. Hundreds of Jews who had fledBerlin and other German cities arrived inRome and came to the Vatican to persuadePius XII to refrain from making anyprotest. The same advice came from Ger-man bishops.”7

The Church in Holland learned this atgreat cost when the Nazis stepped up theirbarbaric outrages following an episcopalstatement of condemnation. When theDutch bishops publicly protested in July1942 against the deportation of their fellowJewish citizens, deportations were acceler-ated and extended to Jews who hadbecome Catholics.8 Pius XII said, “If theDutch bishops’ protest cost the lives of40,000 people, what would my denuncia-tion, which is sharper than theirs, cost?”

Mit brennender Sorge: the Vatican condemnation of Nazism

During its twelve-year tenure in Ger-many, National Socialism was never chal-lenged as radically as by Pius the XI’s 1937encyclical Mit brennender Sorge (“with

burning concern”).This encyclical has fallen into near

oblivion today. Yet it was one of the mostimportant documents ever publishedagainst Nazism, not only by virtue of thesupreme authority from which it came, butfor its profound refutation of the doctrinalfoundations of Nazism.Cornwell devotes just three pages to the

encyclical, downplays its significance, andcontrasts Pius XI’s document with the sub-sequent silence of Pius XII, thus contradict-ing his basic thesis that Pacelli had instigat-ed all the Vatican’s international moves thattook place while he was Secretary of State.9

History shows that Cardinal Pacelli’srole in drafting and propagating the docu-ment was pivotal. In this regard, FatherMartini says: “The encyclical certainly rep-resents the highlight of his diplomatic-reli-gious activity towards National SocialistGermany in his capacity as Secretary ofState of Pius XI.”10

It was Secretary of State Pacelli who onJanuary 16, 1937, while Pius XI was serious-ly ill, summoned to Rome in utmost secre-cy five of the most distinguished Germanprelates: Cardinals Faulhaber of Munich,Bertram of Breslau, and Schulte of

Cologne, and Bishops Preysing of Berlinand Galen of Münster. Despite his illness,Pius XI wanted to receive them in his roomand encourage their work.A first draft by Cardinal Faulhaber was

revised, partially re-written, and supple-mented by the Cardinal Secretary of StatePacelli, who changed its title from Mitgrosse Sorge to Mit brennender Sorge formore impact.The encyclical, dated March 14, was

published seven days later, on Palm Sun-day of 1937. The Secretary of State secretlyinstructed that the text be simultaneouslyread that very Sunday from every pulpit inGermany. The bishops had the documentprinted, and it was rapidly disseminatednationwide. In the diocese of Münsteralone, 120,000 copies were distributed. Theencyclical, issued in German in a very clearand forceful style, was “one of the mostsevere condemnations of a national regimeever made by the Vatican.”11

Mit brennender Sorge, for its clarity, forits invoking of the truths of the CatholicFaith and their opposition to Nazi neopa-ganism, for its condemnation of racismand the totalitarian State, caused a violentshock to Germany and in internationalpublic opinion. The surprised Führerexploded in frightful anger. But the encycli-cal had the effect of a threat.12 The encycli-cal rekindled German resistance toNazism, which was carried out byCatholics, and, indeed, all Christians.One may not pretend that Mit brennender

Sorge did not exist or that Cardinal Pacellidid not play a crucial role in its promulga-tion. The truth of the matter is that thisencyclical is an uncomfortable, politicallyincorrect document, like Divini Redemptorisagainst communism, since it proves that theChurch raised its voice, with a doctrinalstrength unknown to liberal democracies,against the double-headed monster of thetwentieth century. These two documents

Mit brennender Sorge: the Vatican condemnation of Nazism

The accusations againstPius XII did not subside.They were rekindled byJohn Cornwell’s bookHitler’s Pope: The SecretHistory of Pius XII.

c r u s a d e M A Y / J U N E 2 0 0 0 21

confirm that Catholicism’s incompatibilitywith Nazism and Communism is total andabsolute. These documents should suffice tooverthrow Cornwell’s thesis. Not only wasthere no connivance between Pius XII andHitler, between the Catholic Church andNazism, but in the twentieth century therewas no greater resistance to Nazi and Com-munist totalitarianism than that of theCatholic Church.

Pius XII’s Magisterium: family,State, Church

A point that should be highlighted is thatPius XII’s opposition to Nazism and totali-tarianism is not premised on diplomaticploys or his concrete help to the downtrod-den, but rather on his Magisterium, intrinsi-cally anti-totalitarian and therefore intrinsi-cally anti-Nazi and anti-Communist.The guidelines of this vision are set forth

in his encyclical Summi Pontificatus, on theState in the modern world), of October 20,1939, with which he opened his pontificate.This encyclical underscores the darknessbrewing over the earth on the eve of the Sec-ond World War. The root and ultimate causeof the imminent war and evils, which Pius XIIdeplores, in modern society “is the denial andrejection of a universal norm of morality aswell for individual and social life as for inter-national relations; We mean the disregard, socommon nowadays, and the forgetfulness ofthe natural law itself, which has its founda-tion in God, Almighty Creator and Father ofall, supreme and absolute Law-giver, all-wiseand just Judge of human actions. When Godis hated, every basis of morality is under-mined; the voice of conscience is stilled or atany rate grows very faint, that voice whichteaches even to the illiterate and to uncivi-lized tribes what is good and what is bad,what is lawful, what forbidden, and makesmen feel themselves responsible for theiractions to a Supreme Judge.”

This excerpt summarizes the guidelinesof Pius the XII’s Magisterium: the refusal ofa universal norm of morality leads to bar-barity and totalitarianism.There can be no effective battle against

totalitarianism outside the natural anddivine law, outside an absolute order ofprinciples. This order is reflected in what wecould call an absolute order of institutions.What are these institutions? Pius XII

saw the family and the State as the twomain pillars of human society.13 Within allStates, the family is the primary and essen-tial cell. Like the cells making up thehuman body, families in the social body areinterconnected. Everything that destabi-lizes the family threatens the stability ofthe State.Besides the domestic society of the fami-

ly and the political society of the State, how-ever, there exists a third society, the ecclesi-astical society embodied in the Church.The Church alone is able to dispel the

darkness of barbarity and totalitarianism,bringing the peace of Christ in the Reign ofChrist to the world. We can today repeatwhat Pius XII said in 1945: “One can say

that the entire world must be rebuilt; theuniversal order must be re-established. Thematerial order, the intellectual order, themoral order, the social order, theinternational order — all must be remadeand set back in a regular, constant motion.That tranquil order that is peace, that is theonly true peace, cannot be reborn andendure except by building human societyupon Christ, so as to gather, recapitulate,reunite everything in Him: Instaurareomnia in Christo” (Eph. 1:10).14

Totalitarianism and anti-totalitarianism

Totalitarianism is much talked abouttoday, but what does it consist of?When one thinks of totalitarianism,

Auschwitz or the Soviet gulags comereflexively to mind. But what is the specificessence of totalitarianism?The real question is whether there

exists a common totalitarian dimension inthese various ideological systems, a core, aseed of totalitarianism, so to speak, that isbound to produce different and seeminglyopposite results.The multitude of answers to this central

question can be reduced to two basic posi-tions.The first thesis says that totalitarian-

ism’s essence lies in its pretense of impos-ing a truth, a system of absolute values.Communism and Nazism are said to betotalitarian for their pretense of imposingan absolute truth in terms of a “religion”based on class or blood.In this light, the Catholic Church is the

totalitarian society par excellence. She istotalitarian to the extent that She profess-es to impose a universal faith, through anabsolute government, using tools such asCanon Law and Her hierarchy. This isCornwell’s thesis and that of Catholic pro-gressivists in general.

These allegations are notsimply an attack on PiusXII, but ought to be seenagainst the backgroundof an unprecedentedworldwide offensiveagainst the CatholicChurch.

Pius XII’s Magisterium:family, State, Church

c r u s a d e m a y / J u n e 2 0 0 022

In this view, the only antithesis to atotalitarianism which claims to impose atruth is a relativism which dissolves anytruth: an open society and a religion inwhich truth is demoted to opinion and allopinions are welcomed in a polytheisticsystem of values, as is in a pantheon.Complete relativism implies the denial of

natural and permanent institutions such asthe family, private property, the State. Thesebear a germ of totalitarianism inasmuch as

they claim to be stable and permanent.By the same token, relativism implies the

denial of natural law, of divine revelation, ofa true religion. Ultimately, what is not com-patible with relativism is not so much theidea of God, the Church, or religion, but theidea of a true God, a true Church, a true reli-gion, namely the metaphysical idea of truthbased on the principle of identity and non-contradiction, which is the foundation ofthe creation of the universe.

Now, if this is true, if real anti-totalitari-anism consists of this relativism which dis-solves any truth, how then can it beexplained that philosophical and moral rel-ativism constitutes the essence of the twomajor totalitarianisms of the twentieth cen-tury, National Socialism and Communism?If this common point indeed exists betweenNazism and Communism, as it does, how dowe explain that it is precisely relativism?Auschwitz is an evident fruit of Nazism,

Totalitarianism and anti-totalitarianism

c r u s a d e M A Y / J U N E 2 0 0 0 23

but Nazism was social Darwinism, evolu-tionist and relativist. The Gulags were afruit of Communism, but Communism washistorical and dialectical materialism, evo-lutionist and relativist. But why, whenspeaking of relativism, evoke Auschwitzand the gulags but forget, for example,about the massacres of unborn children inthe second half of the twentieth century?Abortion is the fruit of a democratic

and liberal civilization. Hedonism and

secularism — once again, philosophicaland moral relativism — are the ideologicalfoundations of our democratic and liberalcivilization, born of the French Revolution,like Nazism and Communism.Among the recent and most stringent

critics of “totalitarian democracy” is JohnPaul II himself, who says that its origin liesprecisely in its ethical relativism.In truth, an absolute system of values

constitutes an objective limitation on the

abuse and violence that are the core of total-itarianism. If certain juridical and socialnorms, such as the precepts not to kill andnot to steal, are rooted in a system ofabsolute principles, this clearly constitutesa much greater limit to abuse than a merelyconventional foundation, as may be thecase with parliamentary majority decisions.This is the second interpretation of

totalitarianism, our thesis, Pius XII’s thesis,John Paul II’s thesis.

Pope Pius XII imparts his Easter blessing on the overflow crowd at St. Peter’s Square on March 28, 1948.AP/ Wide World Photos

c r u s a d e m a y / J u n e 2 0 0 024

The essence of totalitarianism lies inrelativism. The only real antithesis to rela-tivism is the objective order of principles,the primacy of being, truth and good, thetranscendent vision of history.Only an absolute order of values can curb

the lust for power of an individual, a group, astate, a class, a race, a tribe, a lobby. Withouta system of absolute principles, society isbound to become a hotbed of conflicts and aglobal disorder — like our contemporarysociety, which is no less totalitarian thanNazi and Communist societies. Contempo-rary society is bogged down in chaos, andchaos is the supreme expression of totalitar-ianism. Chaos is a social hell.Relativism is a philosophical and moral

principle which denies the existence of anobjective truth and good and wants all to besubordinated to the whims and will of thepower of the individual. The core of rela-tivism is the individual’s self-determinationapart from any natural and moral norms.On the spiritual and moral level, the

opposite of self-determination is submis-sion to a moral law, namely the spirit ofsacrifice. The spirit of sacrifice can only bedrawn from meditation on the Passion ofOur Lord Jesus Christ, and most of all, theimplications of that terrible night whichpreceded His Resurrection.Pius XII invites us to do this in one of his

last speeches, his Easter message of April21, 1957.

“The night prior to Jesus’s resurrectionwas a night of desolation and weeping, anight of darkness…. Jesus is in the tomb.His body lies on the cold stone and is stillscourged; his lips are silent.”This silence appears to imply an

immense tragedy. “A real night,” Pius XII con-tinues, “a night of passion, anguish, anddarkness, yet a blessed night: ‘vere beata nox,’because He alone deserved to know the timewhen Christ resurrected from death, butmost of all because it was written about it:the night will shine like the day: ‘et nox sicutdies illuminabitur.’ A night which waspreparing the dawn and the splendor of abrightening day: an anguish, a darkness, anignominy, a passion which was preparing

joy, light, resurrection.“The night of the world,” Pius XII pro-

claimed, “bears the clear signs of a dawn tobe.”These are the words we repeat with him,

beholding Mary as the person who in thatterrible night of the Passion was the burningflame, the unfailing lamp, the star which, asPius XII recalled, enlightened darkness.It was she who, at Fatima, enlightened

the darkness of the twentieth century, thecentury of totalitarianism, and announcedthe dawn of the twenty-first century, thecentury of the reign of Mary and, webelieve, of the restoration of the naturaland Christian order.

Notes1 Pius XII, Address to the College of Cardinals, December 24, 1944.2 Father Blet subsequently published one-volume summaries of the work in several languages. TheEnglish edition is Pius XII and the Second World War. According to the Archives of the Vatican (N.Y.:1999).3 Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes (Yale: 1997), p. 264.4 J. Cornwell, Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII (N.Y.: 1999), p 7.5 Robert Graham, S. J., “What Pius XII did or did not do,” Inside the Vatican, October 1999, p. 4.6 P. Blet, S. J., Pius XII and the Second World War, p. 287.7 P. Gumpel, “Justice for Pius XII,” Interview, Inside the Vatican, June 1997, p. 24.8 P. Gumpel, “Cornwell’s Cheap Shot at Pius XII,” Crisis, December 1999, p. 24.9 J. Cornwell, Hitler’s Pope, pp. 181-184.10 Cited in Raimondo Spiazzi, Ed., Pio XII mezzo secolo dopo (Bologna: 1991), p. 59.11 Antony Rhodes, Il Vaticano e le dittature 1922-1945 (Milan: 1975), p. 211.12 Jean Chélini, L’Eglise sous Pie XII. La tourmente (1939-1945) (Paris: 1983), p. 87.13 Pius XII, Address of February 20, 1946.14 Pius XII, Allocution to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility, January 14, 1945, in Plinio Corrêa deOliveira, Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII, (York, Penn., 1993), p.444.

The restoration of the natural and Christian order

c r u s a d e M A Y / J U N E 2 0 0 0 25

This May 13, Francisco and Jacinta Martoare to be declared blessed by Pope JohnPaul II. The American TFP and its Ameri-

ca Needs Fatima campaign have followed theirprocess with interest and now rejoice withthe Catholic world at this step, which pavesthe way for their canonization.

In view of the beatification of the twoFatima seers, Crusade thought it opportuneto publish a report on a recent intervention

of Jacinta Marto on behalf ofa little girl, Molly JayneIvory. We share the storywith our readers with per-mission of the Ivory family.

In 1996 the TFP pub-lished the book Jacinta’sStory, a fully illustratedaccount of the Fatimaapparitions for children.It is because this bookreached the Ivorys andhas a bearing on thisstory that we learnedof Molly’s case.

Daniel and Moni-ca Ivory have sixchildren. Two of thechildren, MarkDaniel, age 3, andMolly Jayne, 2, wereborn with infirmi-

ties. Mark is hydrocephalic and has other severeimpairments. Molly was diagnosed a few daysafter her birth with respiratory illnesses andchronic asthma. For fifteen months the asthmawas constant. There was always a heavy wheez-ing in Molly’s chest and seldom a night thateither Daniel or Monica was not up with theirchild on account of the condition.In December of 1998, a friend gave the family

a copy of Jacinta’s Story. It was only some timein January that Monica began to read it to thechildren. As the reading progressed, Monica feltsomething of a “grace” or call to a deeper devo-tion and holiness. While attending Mass on Sunday, January 30,

1999, Monica felt that, in some unexplainableway, Jacinta was close. “I didn’t see or hear any-thing,” she told a representative from Crusade,“but I knew she was there. It was as if she wasclearly saying to me, ‘Pray to me’ ” Monicaimmediately prayed for Mark, whose cure wasforemost in her mind. She says that the inspira-tion again came very clearly to her: “No, not forMark, for Molly.” So, Monica prayed to Jacintafor Molly and then forgot the incident.Here we quote from Monica’s written

account: “Then, a few days later, I picked Mollyup out of her crib after a full night’s sleep,uncommon for her due to her constant wheez-ing, coughing, and choking. I realized right awaythat she was not wheezing! Although I do recallfeeling that Jacinta had interceded and God hadanswered, I kept this to myself for the next fewdays. I began confiding in close friends andfamily and, finally, the doctors…. One yearlater Molly remains in wonderful health….Thank you, sweet Jacinta.”Monica has sent a complete copy of her

account to Sister Lucy in hopes that it mightcontribute to the process of canonization of theyoungest of the Fatima seers.To the left we publish the statement of

Molly’s doctor attesting to the fact that, withoutmedical explanation, her asthma abruptlyceased.

Religion “Thank you, Jacinta”

Delaware River Pedi

atrics, P.C.

Dominique R. Bailey, M

D, FAAP

Thomas M. Bailey, MD

, FAAP

484 S. Nulton Avenue

Easton, PA 18045

(610) 250-6575

(610) 252-8712

FAX (610) 250-2766

RE: MOLLY IVORY D.O

.B. 11/16/97

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCER

N:

THE ABOVE FORENA

MED CHILD HAS BEE

N IN MY MEDICAL CA

RE

SINCE 11/16/97. HER M

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CESS. MOLLY, I CAN S

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HEALTHY, FULL OF L

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DOMINIQUE R. BAILE

Y

A CivilizationModeled on ChristA CivilizationModeled on Christ

Commentary

Whatmodernedifice can becomparedfavorablywith aGothiccathedral?

B Y L U I Z A. F R A G E L L I

A giant of stone, with its towering

presence, dwarfing the faithful beside

it, reminds us of how Our Lord said

that God watches over us as a hen

gathers her chicks under her wing.

How do you speak of an era in which you did not live, a time knownonly by means of books, an epoch that took place so many cen-turies ago?

It’s distant past notwithstanding, this era left such a mark that, afterthe lives of Our Lord Jesus and His Holy Family, no other period in humanhistory has made a more lasting impression on mankind. I am, of course,referring to the Middle Ages. To this day, Americans planning to visitEurope are sure to include cathedrals, castles, and other medieval won-ders in their itineraries. I do not know anyone — at least, in my circle offamily and friends — who travels to Europe to see its skyscrapers.What modern edifice can be compared favorably with a Gothic cathe-

dral? Its construction intrigues the architect; its power demands respect; itssacrality inspires veneration. The visitor of a such a cathedral leaves marvel-ling at its majestic proportions and bearing, and equally enchanted by thepaternal welcome that, by means of a thousand imponderables, exudes fromits massive walls. A giant of stone, defying time, it reminds us of a past longago and, at the same time, captivates us today. Its towering presence, dwarf-ing the faithful beside it, reminds me of how Our Lord said Godwatches over us as a hen gathers her chicks under her wing.Once, during a brief visit to Paris, I was praying in the

cathedral of Notre Dame, contemplating its interior.The impression I received was as a grace arisingfrom the soul of an angel or even Our Lord Him-self, dwelling within the holy tabernacle.Superlatively serious and elevated, it evokedaffection, serenity, and paternality. The fol-lowing day, as I was leaving the cathedralafter Mass, the organ began to play. Itscelestial notes echoing through thenaves were so sublime that my entirebeing felt as though I were beingtransported from this earth to heav-en. At that moment, I found it easyto imagine the heavenly anthemsthat welcome the souls of theblessed on their reception into Par-adise. To this day, I have no smallnostalgia for Notre Dame.One day, I was conveying my

impressions of Notre Dame toProf. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, therenowned professor of contempo-rary and medieval history andCatholic leader extraordinaire.Pointing to his right arm, he confid-ed with his customary calm, “Werethis arm not needed by the Catholicstruggle and were Our Lady to ask meto give it up so that Notre Dame mightnever be destroyed, I would offer itimmediately.” Indeed, Dr. Plinio’s appreci-ation for Notre Dame was such that oneday, while contemplating her, he affirmed

Opposite: Sainte Chapelle, France. Right: Christ Consolator, by Carl Bloch,Landskrona Church, Sweden

c r u s a d e M a y / j u n e 2 0 0 0

this worthy temple of the One True God to be“the joy of the entire world.”Let us imagine contemporary man, awak-

ening to a world beset with the problems thatpreoccupy his mind. Opening his window toadmit fresh air, he sees in the distance amedieval cathedral, always present, ever at hisdisposition, with a majesty that reminds himof God’s. Who can doubt, that if he has notalready hardened his heart, his soul will gainconfidence for the battles ahead?How blessed it would be to live near such a

cathedral! In contemplating her, we mightcome to see the Middle Ages more clearly thanby reading shelves of dusty tomes, for she isthe living embodiment of that noble era. Shespeaks to us of the spirit that created her, for awork reflects its author, and, in this case, theauthor was not a single man, but a civilization.The primary material of this civilization

were barbarians. After the decay, the decline,and the fall of the Roman Empire, only theHoly Church survived, and She aloneredeemed the barbarians from their darknesswith the light of Christ, Her Founder. It wasthese converted barbarians who built thegreat cathedrals and castles, created theorders of chivalry, and founded religiousorders, hospitals, and universities.The medieval knights championed the

defenseless, the nobles did battle to protecttheir subjects, and the king watched over hiscountrymen. The nuns cared for the poor,the monks taught the uneducated, andHoly Mother Church guided the faithfulto heaven. Men did not neglect thesupernatural in the course of their dailylives, nor did God remain aloof from theircares and labors in this vale of tears.Of course, evil remained to stain even

the Middle Ages. Its beauty was blem-ished with envies, passions, injustices,intrigues, revolts, and wars — the spoiledfruits of Original Sin — but these humanfailings were tempered by the spirit of anage in which man — from peasant to king— sought to live his life in imitation ofChrist. For medieval man knew that Godloved him personally and his love for Godlikewise arose from his very being. God’s love for man — and man’s love

for God — nurtured patience, pardon,charity, and compassion and inspiredhope and confidence — the confidence

of a child in the Father Who loves him. Withdeep reverence for God’s sovereignty andchildlike confidence in His love, medieval manopened his soul — and his society — to beshaped by God and modeled on Him. Thismodel produced a man who was strong yetmerciful, bold yet reflective, great yet good. More than anything else, medieval man

saw in Our Lord the Redeemer that took Hismission to its logical end in willingly embrac-ing the sacrifice of the Cross, avoiding noteven the least suffering for its fulfillment. Thissacrificial ideal embodied in the life — anddeath — of the God-Man burst the empty bub-ble of life as worldly pleasure, an illusion soprevalent in our day.Dr. Plinio once observed that it was evi-

dent that medieval society was born of anextraordinary grace, which he likenedmetaphorically as having flowed from the sideof Our Lord when pierced by the lance ofLonginus. In that moment in which Our Sav-ior, surrendering all, shed the last drop of Hissacred Blood, He made reparation to HisFather on our behalf for every sin that hadever been — or would be — committedagainst God. It is not difficult to imagine — indeed, for

my part, it is logical to believe — that in thatFrom the adoration

of Our Lord was

born the veneration

of Our Lady. Medieval

man understood that

there was an

inseparable bond

between Mother

and Son and that the

Blessed Virgin’s

role was not only to

bring her Son into

the world, but also to

bring the world

Our Lady of Paris

The façade of Notre Dame,Cathedral of Paris

c r u s a d e M A Y / J U N E 2 0 0 0 29

same moment, God’s only begotten Son purchased fromHis Father, with His life’s blood and His Mother’s tears, thegrace that gave birth to a civilization centered on Hisdivine Person — the glory of Christian civilization that werevere as the Middle Ages.Through this grace of discernment, medieval man

allowed himself to be formed by Our Lord and deeplymoved by the unfathomable perfection of His attributes, inparticular, His wisdom, for everything Christ taught waswise, judicious, forceful, and taken to its logical end.From the adoration of Our Lord was born the venera-

tion of Our Lady. Medieval man understood that there wasan inseparable bond between Mother and Son and that theBlessed Virgin’s role was not only to bring Her Son into theworld, but to bring the world to Her Son. No one knowsJesus Christ more intimately than His Mother, and it isthrough devotion to Our Lady that we grow in the knowl-edge of Our Lord. This is the heart of the Middle Age’s ven-eration of the Mother of God, who commonly graces therose windows of its cathedrals.The hatred that has inspired countless defamations

against the Middle Ages persists to our day. The world’senmity to a Christian civilization also endures and testifiesto the truths written in these pages. His Holiness Leo XIII, the pope of the great social encycli-

cals of the 20th century, confirms this with that assurancethat comes from the Chair of St. Peter. Referring to the Mid-dle Ages in his encyclical Immortale Dei, he declares: “THERE WAS ONCE A TIME when States were governed

by the philosophy of the Gospel. Then it was that the powerand divine virtue of Christian wisdom had diffused itselfthroughout the laws, institutions, and morals of the people,permeating all ranks and relations of civil society. Then, too,

the religion instituted by Jesus Christ, established firmly inbefitting dignity, flourished everywhere, by the favor ofprinces and the legitimate protection of magistrates; andChurch and State were happily united in concord and friendlyinterchange of good offices. The State, constituted in thiswise, bore fruits important beyond all expectation, whoseremembrance is still, and always will be, in renown, witnessedto as they are by countless proofs which can never be blottedout or ever obscured by any craft of any enemies. ChristianEurope had subdued barbarous nations, and changed themfrom a savage to a civilized condition, from superstition totrue worship. It victoriously rolled back the tide ofMohammedan conquest; retained the head ship of civiliza-tion; stood forth in the front rank as the leader and teacher ofall, in every branch of national culture; bestowed on the worldthe gift of true and many-sided liberty; and most wiselyfounded very numerous institutions for the solace of humansuffering. And if we inquire how it was able to bring about soaltered a condition of things, the answer is — beyond all ques-tion, in large measure, through religion, under whose auspicesso many great undertakings were set on foot, through whoseaid they were brought to completion.”As previously noted, the Middle Ages was not devoid of

defect. After all, it did not fall into the decay that led to theRenaissance because it was too good. Sin — doubtlesslyimmense sin — aborted the development of a civilizationsuch as God Himself intended for mankind, and a lamentabledecadence began, for the corruption of the best is the worst.For those who love Christ and therefore Christian civi-

lization one question yet remains: What would the world welive in be like now if the path of our medieval forefatherstowards the perfection of a civilization modeled on Christhad continued its ascent?

We must steer clear of this“psy-war” maneuver!

A crafty maneuver of revolutionarypsychological warfare is under way, seekingto exploit the good-hearted sentiments forwhich Americans are renowned and blindour eyes to a rabid wolf in sheep’s clothing.We are expected to accept as a legitimateruler a blood-stained despot — theunelected “President” Castro — while clos-ing our eyes to steps designed to normalizerelations with his police state. In short, weare being asked to endorse the NevilleChamberlains of our day—or at least tolook the other way at their betrayal.

Would we have agreed to cozy up toHitler in 1944? Unthinkable!

We must not forget that to uphold theprinciples of freedom, America waged warsagainst Nazism and its evil twin, commu-nism, sacrificing legions of her sons.

Are we not the same America? Whyshould we renounce our principles andconvictions now? The very principles thatmade America great?

The American TFP does not believeour nation will so dishonor itself. Rather, wecherish an abiding hope, nurtured in faith,that we will defeat these psy-war intriguesand work to restore the sound principles ofour nation’s glorious past that have madeAmerica known across the globe as the

“land of the free and the home of the brave.”Our future — and the future of the

world — depends to a great degree on ourfaithfulness to that heritage.

We turn our thoughts and prayers toGod Almighty and to Our Lady of Charity ofEl Cobre, who watches over Cuba as itspatron saint. Divine Providence saved Elianfrom the shark-infested waters of the Flori-da Straits. May Our Lady and Her DivineSon intervene soon to liberate the millionsof “Elians” still groaning under the commu-nist yoke and, above all, to keep Americafaithful to its noble ideals.

The American TFP

Where Is Elian’s Journey Leading Us? (Continued from inside front cover)

The Preventive SystemTeaching

ourChildren

There are two systems which have been in usethrough all ages in the education of youth: the pre-ventive and the repressive.The repressive system consists in making the law

known to the subjects, and afterwards watching to dis-cover the transgressors of these laws, and inflicting,when necessary, the punishment deserved. Accordingto this system, the words and looks of the superiormust always be severe and even threatening, and hemust avoid all familiarities with his dependents. Inorder to give weight to his authority the Rector mustrarely be found among his subjects, and as a rule onlywhen it is a question of punishing or threatening. Thissystem is easier, less troublesome, and especially suit-able in the army and in general among adults and thejudicious, who ought themselves to know and remem-ber what the law and regulations demand. Quite dif-ferent from this I might even say opposed to it, is thepreventive system. It consists in making the laws andregulations of an institute know, and then watchingcarefully so that the pupils may at all times be underthe vigilant eye of the Rector or the assistants, who likeloving fathers can converse with them, take the lead inevery movement and in a kindly way give advice andcorrection; in other words, this system places thepupils in the impossibility of committing faults. Thissystem is based entirely on reason and religion, andabove all on kindness; therefore it excludes all violentpunishment, and tries to do without even the slightestchastisement. This system seems preferable for the fol-lowing reasons:

1. Being forewarned the pupil does not losecourage on account of the faults he has committed,as is the case when they are brought to the noticeof the superior. nor does he resent the correc-tion he receives or the punishment threatenedor inflicted, because it is always accompaniedby a friendly preventive warning, whichappeals to his reason, and generally enlistshis accord, so that he sees the necessity ofthe chastisement and almost desires it.

2. The primary reason for this sys-tem is the thoughtlessness of theyoung, who in one moment forgetthe rules of discipline and the penal-ties for their infringement. Conse-

quently, a child often becomes culpable and deservingof punishment, which he had not even thought about,and which he had quite forgotten when heedlesslycommitting the fault he would certainly have avoided,had a friendly voice warned him.

3. The repressive system may stop a disorder, butcan hardly make the offenders better. Experienceteaches that the young do not easily forget the pun-ishments they have received, and for the most partfoster bitter feelings, along with the desire to throw offthe yoke and even to seek revenge. They may some-times appear to be quite unaffected but anyone whofollows them as they grow up knows that the reminis-cences of youth are terrible; they easily forget punish-ments by their parents but only with great difficultythose inflicted by their teachers, and some have evenbeen known in later years to have had recourse tobrutal vengeance for chastisements they had justlydeserved during the course of their education. In thepreventive system, on the contrary, the pupil becomesa friend, and the assistant, a benefactor who adviseshim, has his good at heart, and wishes to spare himvexation, punishment, and perhaps dishonor.

4. By the preventive system pupils acquire a betterunderstanding, so that an educator can always speakto them in the language of the heart, not only duringthe time of their education but even afterwards. Hav-ing once succeeded in gaining the confidence of hispupils he can subsequently exercise a great influenceover them, and counsel them, advise them, and evencorrect them, whatever position they may occupy inthe world later on.

The word and example ofthe saints especiallycalled by God to doapostolate with the youthprovide an excellentguide to any educator.Among these saintstowers John Bosco, thefounder of the Salesiansand the mentor of SaintDominic Savio. In Keysto the Hearts of Youth,Fr. Paul P. Avallone, adedicated andexperienced Salesian,presents the pedagogySaint John Bosco willedto his Congregation.With Father Avallone’skind permission, we herereproduce a passagewritten by the Saint onthe subject andappended to theConstitutions of hissociety.

B Y S A I N T J O H N B O S C O

c r u s a d e M a y / J u n e 2 0 0 0 31

For a hundred years ormore, Christendom hadundergone a savage,

relentless attack on all sides frompagan enemies of the second bar-barian invasion. In England, Alfredthe Great had at last soundly defeatedthe main Norse striking force in 878 and wasin process of converting the Vikings and subjectingthem to his authority. After Northern and WesternFrance had suffered complete devastation, the Frenchin 911 settled the converted Norse chieftain, Rollo, on awide stretch of coastal land bisected by the River Seine,the duchy of Normandy, where he successfully defend-ed the French coast. The Spanish had reclaimed aboutone fifth of their peninsula during several punishingcampaigns when the Moslems counterattacked andnearly drove them back to the mountains once again.From their base in Sicily, the Moslems occupied South-ern Italy for a period, even ravaging the tomb of SaintPeter in the Vatican Basilica.While a handful of brave souls were trying to over-

come the inertia of most Christians and hold the enemyin check, another predatory Asiatic horde from the mys-terious Russian Steppes, the Magyars, settled on theHungarian Plains. Ethnically and linguistically related tothe Finns, they fought and acted like Turks, from whomthey had adopted the tactic of swift, light cavalrymaneuvers. The plundering Asiatics would mercilesslydescend upon the hapless Christians, fire off a barrage ofarrows from horseback, steal what was available, andquickly move on to the next target. Each year from about900 the bold mounted archers ravaged Eastern Chris-tendom from North Italy throughout the German landsto Saxony with all the ruthless efficiency of the Vikings.Then, in 933, the Magyars, who usually avoided

pitched battles, foolishly con-fronted the Saxon King Henry Inear Merseburg. There, in the Bat-tle of Riade, the barbarians sufferedtheir first severe defeat when the

mail-clad German cavalry crushed thelightly armored Hungarians.

Twenty years later, the marauding Magyars,with their confidence restored, laid siege to Augsburg,which was defended by its valiant bishop, Saint Ulrich.Otto I, who always carried the Holy Lance that piercedthe side of Our Lord, rushed to his aid. The fierce bar-barians, who had a numerical advantage of 30,000 to8,000, broke off the siege and intercepted the Christiansas they marched along the River Lech. Otto, who like hisfather, Henry, fought under the standard of SaintMichael the Archangel, utilized the superior fightingcapacity of his heavily armed cavalry and completelysmashed the invaders. All their leaders were either killedor captured and hanged. After the Battle of Lechfeld, theAsiatic nomads never again threatened Western Europe.

Feudalism

Feudalism was a social and political arrangement thatbrought security and order to Christendom at a time ofextreme peril. Two oft-quoted observations sum up thewoeful conditions at the beginning of the tenth century.One monk lamented, “The Northmen cease not to slayand carry into captivity the Christian people, to destroythe churches and burn the towns. Everywhere there isnothing but dead bodies....” A local French synod notedin 909, “The towns are depopulated, the monasteriesruined and burned; the good land turned into desert.…Men devour one another like fishes in the sea.”In order to find protection, peasants and small

Historyof

westerncivil ization

The Advent of Feudalismand the Feudal Monarchies

Chapter XXIPart I: France and Germany

B Y J E R E M I A S W E L L S

c r u s a d e M a y / j u n e 2 0 0 032 32

landowners grouped themselves around a great familyin their neighborhood whose sons knew how to fight.The panic-stricken farmers would donate their land tothe head of the family, who would then lease it back tothem so that they could supply warriors or, in mostcases, the equipment and supplies necessary to sup-port them. The extended family, which included all therelatives, workmen, servants, and farmers living in asolid, devoted unit, fortified the manor or the estatefrom attack and developed the industries so that it wascompletely self-sufficient. In turn, these lesser noble-men would seek protection under similar circum-stances from the dukes and counts who controlledlarge areas. At the top of the pyramid sat the king who

was more of an overlord than an absolute monarch,but nevertheless, as feudalism developed, the kingreceived homage from the nobles underneath him.The warrior or vassal rendered service to his liege

lord either by serving directly on his manor in his elitebodyguard and protector of the non-combatant farmersor by receiving a smaller manor called a fief as paymentfor his support. The latter arrangement thus formedanother layer of lesser noblemen below the great feudalprincipalities. This interlocking chain, of which theguiding principle was military, kept society from disinte-gration. Fidelity and loyalty served as the adhesive thatbonded all the diverse personalities together. But the feudal warrior needed one more element to

provide the vitality and recuperative power necessaryto raise society above the barbarian level. That was theinstilling of Christian principles into the warrior ethic.Thus the fusion between lord and vassal through loyal-ty, combined with the teachings of Christ, transformeda crumbling society into medieval Christendom and itsemphasis on knighthood, chivalry, and the crusadingspirit. However, that ideal was not reached until thetwelfth and thirteenth centuries. During the lastdecades of the first millennium, the law of brute forcereigned more often than the law of Christ.

Feudal monarchy in France

The devastation of the Viking raids and the thoughtlesscivil wars of the later Carolingians had nearly strippedFrance of all central authority. Remarkably, the conceptof sovereign king to whom all must pay homage

remained. The civilizing influence of the Churchplayed a role in this, for in the ceremony of consecra-tion the king put on the short vestment of a subdeaconand was anointed in the manner appropriate to a bish-op. However, the great principalities of Normandy, Brit-tany, Flanders, Champagne, Aquitaine, and Toulouse,along with some others, possessed individually fargreater resources in land and men than the King ofFrance, who was reduced to a small ring of land aroundParis.Charlemagne’s grandson Charles the Bald commis-

sioned Robert the Strong to defend the lower coursesof the Seine and the Loire from the Vikings under thetitle of Duke of Francia, which Robert did with greatcourage. When the throne of France fell vacant in 887,his son Eude (Odo), who had distinguished himself by aheroic defense of Paris one year earlier, was electedking by the great noblemen of the country. After Eudedied in 898, the crown passed back and forth betweenthe family of Robert the Strong and the later Carolin-gians. Finally, in 987, Robert’s great grandson, HughCapet, succeeded by his political astuteness in estab-lishing the Capetian dynasty, which his descendantspassed on from father to son until 1328, fourteen suc-cessive kings in all.The whole political system was held together by a

chain of vassalage from the humblest tenant to thewealthiest and most powerful lord, yet all paid homage tothe king as their sovereign despite the fact that his ownestate lacked the resources of the wealthier duchies. Fun-damental to the king’s power was the support of the high-er clergy, who recognized that he, as the lord’s anointed,was the symbol of order and justice in the realm.

The Holy Roman Empire reestablished

When the last Carolingian monarch of Germany, Louisthe Child, died in 911, the Kingdom had virtually dis-solved into five mutually antagonistic, independentduchies: Saxony, Bavaria, Franconia, Swabia ( formallyAlemannia), and Lorraine (Lotharingia). The nobles, inorder to restore life to a nation exhausted by territorialstruggles from within and the savage raids of the Hun-garians from without, chose Conrad, Duke of Franco-nia, as their sovereign. Throughout his short reign ofseven years, the dukes of Saxony, Bavaria, and Swabiacontinually rebelled against him, to the great sorrow ofthe bishops, who yearned for the indispensable condi-tion of Christian unity. In a remarkable act of nobility,the dying king asked his most formidable enemy,Henry Duke of Saxony, to reverse the paralyzing stateof disorder that he left as a legacy.At his death, Conrad’s brother carried the royal

insignia to Henry I, who now conceived a wise andforceful policy for his rule. To establish peace withinhis borders, he insisted that the three magnates end

During the last decades of the firstmillennium, the law of brute force reigned

more often than the law of Christ.

their rebellion and submit themselves to him astheir sovereign. They refused. Henry then invadedSwabia with an imposing army. When that Dukemeasured the relative strength of the two armies, heprudently submitted. Bavaria and Lorraine experi-enced similar invasions from the determined andresourceful Henry and, without any blood beingshed, recognized Henry as their King. He in turngranted each of them the freedom to administertheir lands internally as they wished.Henry successfully defended the eastern frontier

against the Slavs and Magyars and reduced the men-ace of the latter as we have seen. Indifferent to reli-gion in the beginning, he eventually developed aworking union with the bishops. Nevertheless hegave too much latitude to his nobles, who regularlyexpropriated Church lands. Henry was succeeded byhis son Otto, one of those who truly deserved to becalled the Great.Otto determined from the very beginning to

establish a strong central government and to modelhis kingdom on the Empire of Charlemagne ratherthan the weaker federation of his father. But thenobility and people of different, non-Saxon traditionsresented the intrusion. Nor did the solution of plac-ing family members on the ducal thrones improvethe situation, for blood ties proved to be less endear-ing than personal ambition. The King then resortedto the one principle of unity that did succeed: themutual support of the crown and the cross. TheKing’s zeal for the welfare of the Church as well as theState was combined to create an alliance betweenthe two. From this alliance developed a strong king-dom which advanced the interests of both.The ardor of piety was everywhere in evidence.

Otto’s mother, Matilda, and his brother, the Arch-bishop of Cologne, were canonized, and his secondwife is listed among the German saints. He himselfrose every morning to hear Mass and the Office and,as we have noted, carried the Holy Lance into battle.In theory, he believed that spiritual power held ahigher position than the temporal because of itsmore exalted end. In practice, however, his ambitionand strong personality carried him into that guard-ed territory reserved for the Church which under aless pious emperor brought untold suffering to theChurch a century later.The fragmentation of the Empire reduced Italy to

factions of warring, dissatisfied nobles and theirimmoral, grasping wives and daughters. When theseinsatiable harridans turned their attention to thewealth of the Papal States, the Papacy fell to thedarkest days in its history, which we will detail in alater chapter.In order to put a stop to the anarchic Roman

behavior, Otto led two expeditions into Italy. During

the second, in 962, he was crowned Emperor. Thisact recreated the Holy Roman Empire whose origi-nal purpose was to protect the Holy See and WesternChristendom and which lasted until the nineteenth-century depredations of Napoleon. Through therobust action of Otto, Northern Italy and the landswatered by the Rhine and the Rhone were onceagain joined to the Western Empire.The action of several noble and clerical saints in

subsequent generations did much to create anatmosphere that brought about the conversion ofthe neighboring barbarian tribes to the north andeast and softened the hard materialistic tendenciesof the Germans themselves. Since Otto III acceded tothe throne at the age of three, the power was largelyshared by his grandmother, Saint Adelaide, and theArchbishop of Mainz, Saint Willigis. After Ottoreached the age of fourteen, he delegated authorityto a council of learned ecclesiastics which includedBishop Bernward of Hildesheim, Abbot Odilo ofCluny, and Archbishop Heribert of Cologne, all ofwhom have been canonized.Towards the end of his short life, Otto broke the

stranglehold the Italian nobles had on the Papacy byfirst making his cousin Gerbert, the most brilliantscholar of the age, Pope, who took the name ofSylvester II. From this partnership, there emerged anew universal concept of the Papacy and new Chris-tian kingdoms with direct dependence on Rome.Another friend of Otto’s, the Czech bishop of Prague,Saint Adalbert, combined the ideals of monasticreform with the missionary spirit by founding monas-teries in Poland and Hungary which greatly influencedthe development of Christendom in Eastern Europe.At the generous and idealistic inspiration of the

German Emperor, Boleslaus I, a powerful Polish

nobleman, organized a Church free of foreign entan-glements and directly submissive to the RomanPope, who eventually rewarded him with the HolyCrown which only the Pope could authorize. SaintStephen brought Hungary into Christendom duringa glorious reign lasting from 997 to 1038. Baptized atthe age of ten by Saint Adalbert, Stephen preservedhis faith by his marriage to Gisela, sister to the futureEmperor Saint Henry II; both monarchs becameardent reformers influenced by Odilo of Cluny.Stephen, who based his authority on papal approval,

c r u s a d e M a y / J u n e 2 0 0 0 33

In theory, Otto believed that spiritual powerheld a higher position than the temporal

because of its more exalted end.

Relic of the lance thatpierced the side of OurLord

c r u s a d e M a y / j u n e 2 0 0 034

promoted the religious and political wel-fare of his people by tirelessly overcomingthe resistance of the pagan barbarians inhis realm even though he was frequentlyafflicted by a painful illness.The incorporation of Poland and

Hungary — along with the Czech andSlavic lands in between — into Christiancivilization under the authority of Romeproved to be extremely important. Thelands further east and south, such as Rus-sia and Serbia, were converted by Con-stantinople and left the Catholic Churchduring the Greek Schism which began in1054 and remains to this day.However, history is not a fairy tale and

these kingdoms did not live happily everafter. Great conflicts arose due to humanweakness, pride, and ambition. In theninth century we have witnessed thatsome men and women led lives of greatselfishness and utter depravity, while oth-ers, more influential, led lives of great gen-erosity and heroic virtue. This contrastbetween the depths and heights of sanctitybecame even more pronounced in the fol-lowing decades as Christendom becamefirmly established. Notes1. Quoted in Christopher Dawson, The Forma-tion of Christendom (New York, 1967), p. 191.2.. Quoted in H. Daniel-Rops, The Church inthe Dark Ages (London, 1969), p. 483.A bibliography will follow part two.

Baptism of Saint Stephen by Saint Adalbert

FamilySeriesFlower

WreathsThe

B Y M I C H E L L E T A Y L O R

Little Angelo lived in a country that never knew winter. It was always pleasant and sunny, and always fragrantand colorful with all sorts of flowers that bloomed all year long. Angelo never saw snow or ice. He never hadto stay indoors to keep warm. He spent hours on end outdoors, and sleep at night came quick and heavy.

One day, however, Angelo fell very ill. For three weeks he had to remain in his house, and heseemed to grow worse each passing day. His good mother was very worried and nursed him nightand day, watching closely for the smallest sign of improvement. But it never came. The poorwoman cried and prayed, prayed and cried, until, one day, looking through the window at a stat-

ue of the Mother of God out in the garden, she had an inspiration. Taking her young boy in herarms, she rushed outside.

Kneeling in front of the blessed statue and setting Angelo on the ground before it, sheprayed : “Holy Mary, Mother of God, as thou canst see, my child is very sick. Please makehim well again. Thou didst love thy child Jesus, my Mother. Have pity on this motherwho also loves her child as thou didst love thine. Restore his health. Make him wellagain and I promise to teach him to love thee and serve thee and toshow his love for thee always.”

Just as she spoke these last words, Angelo openedhis eyes and smiled up at his mother. She perceived

immediately that her son was cured, and a floodof happiness filled her soul. She pickedhim up and kissed him: “The Motherof God has made you well again. Youmust always love her very much.”

After that, the good womantaught him to select flowers from the garden

and to make wreaths of them. He would then takethem to the beautiful statue of Our Lady and place them ather feet. Kneeling down, he would say: “Holy Mother of Jesus, and myMother, I give thee this wreath of flowers to show thee that I love thee. I

thank thee for all thou hast done for me. Help me to keep mysoul pure. Bless and keep my mother and my father.” Then hewould recite the “Hail Mary.”

When he had finished his prayer, he would sit down nearthe statue and just look at Our Lady. He liked to “keep hercompany” and think about her at length. He imagined how

c r u s a d e m a y / J u n e 2 0 0 036

beautiful and queenly she must be in person. Then, standing up,he would reverently bow and run on his way.

The years went by and Angelo grew up, and his love for OurLady grew as well. Now a young man, he loved Our Lady morethan ever. He had never ceased making her a wreath of flowersevery day. In the depths of his soul, he began to hear her callingto him, “Come, my son, up to the mountains, to my monastery ofSaint Dominic.”So one day, Angelo came in from the garden and said to his

mother: “Mother, I must speak with you. Having thought andprayed very much, I am convinced that Our Lady wishes me tojoin the fathers and brothers at the monastery of Saint Dominic inthe mountains, to spend my life praying and working with them.”His good mother was both happy and sad: happy that Our

Lady had done her the honor of choosing her sonfor her own service; sad because of the necessaryseparation. Yet, she blessed God and the dear Ladyfor this privilege.So, Angelo ascended the mountains one day to

be admitted as a novice in the great monastery ofSaint Dominic. He soon donned the white habit ofthe fathers and brothers. For a time he was clearlyvery happy. One day, however, the abbot, FatherJames, noticed that Brother Angelo was a bitdowncast. Approaching him, he commented:“Brother, till now you seemed to have been quitecontent here, but now I see a shadow of sadnessacross your face. Will you tell me the reason?”“Father,” answered the young friar as he stood

by a window, “look outside and tell me what yousee.” The abbot did as the young brother bid andsaid: “Well, I see the snow falling and being blownall around by the gusts of mountain air. I seemany snowy peaks and valleys. But I see nothingunusual. It is always thus up here.”“Exactly, Father. Where I came from it was

always green and flowers were abundant. When Iwas a small boy I was cured of a serious illnessafter my good mother placed me at the feet of astatue of the Mother of God that stood in our gar-den. From that day I had formed the habit of pre-senting a wreath of flowers to her each day. I feelamiss in being unable to do that now, for it was myhomage of gratitude to her. I believe that it keptme very close to her and always in her service.”Hearing this the abbot reached into a pocket of

his white habit and brought out a rosary. He heldit out to Brother Angelo.

“Take this rosary, my dear Brother, and be sad no longer. Thisis a wreath of flowers that Our Lady loves much more than thewreaths you used to give to her. When you pray the Rosary, every“Our Father” and every “Hail Mary” changes into a beautiful rosein Heaven. There, the angels gather them and weave them into acrown that they present to Our Lady. She is more pleased withthese heavenly flowers because they are much more beautifulthan the flowers on earth. Then, too, these flowers do not fadeaway but bloom forever.”Brother Angelo took the rosary and kissed it. Every day from

that day on, towards the end of the afternoon, as the sun began toset, the other brothers saw him seated in front of the queenly statueof Our Lady in the chapel, eyes fixed on her and fingers busy pass-ing the beads as his lips moved quietly. He was glad that he could

c r u s a d e M A Y / J U N E 2 0 0 0 37

once again make a daily wreathfor his Queen in Heaven.One day Abbot James had a

message to send to anothermonastery of Saint Dominic.After much thought, he decidedto send Brother Angelo andBrother Joseph with the impor-tant letter.So, Brother Angelo and

Brother Joseph set out fromtheir monastery and descendedthe snowy slopes. They walkedfor many days until they cameto a dense forest. As the sunbegan to sink below the horizon,they had almost reached theother side of the forest whenBrother Angelo spoke: “BrotherJoseph, let us sit here on this logfor a while and rest.” As they sat,Brother Angelo pulled out hisrosary and said: “This is the hour when I always make a wreathof flowers for Our Lady. Let us recite the Rosary.”And so they began to pray. Absorbed as the two friars were,

they did not hear two darkly clad men approaching them frombehind. These were highwaymen, armed each with a knife andapproaching them with the worst of intentions. As the two crim-inals raised their knives to strike, everything suddenly becamepitch dark for them. They could see nothing. As they stood para-lyzed, a great light appeared before them. Within it they saw notonly the two friars but also many magnificent angels. In themidst of all stood the most beautiful lady they had ever seen. Asthe friars prayed, the robbers noticed that the angels were mak-ing a wreath of white roses. When they finished, they presentedit to the lady, who received it with a radiant smile. Then theyheard Brother Angelo say: “Now, Brother Joseph, let us prayanother Rosary for evil men, those who are great sinners, so theymay come to realize their wrongdoing and turn back to God.”As they began reciting this Rosary, the robbers saw the angels

again busy at work weaving another wreath of roses. Theseroses, however, were blood-red. As the brothers prayed and theangels wove, the heavenly lady standing in their midst suddenlyraised her beautiful eyes and fixed them on the two astonishedcriminals. Immediately they fell to their knees, feeling as if theirhearts were pierced by a sword. Burying their faces in theirhands, they began to weep; the pain in their hearts was for theirhorrible sins. They understood how black their souls were and

how merciful God and Our Lady were to them. Hanging theirheads, they exclaimed: “O God, O good Lady, have mercy on usmiserable wretches!”When they raised their heads again, they saw only the two

friars. These, having heard the robbers’ prayer, had turnedaround. Now the two criminals were on their knees at the broth-ers’ feet, telling them of their crimes and their evil intentionstoward them and asking them forgiveness. They described thebeautiful vision of the Lady and the angels.When they had finished, Brother Angelo spoke: “My brothers,

God has been good to you. By His blood that He shed for you onthe Cross so long ago He has made you see the wrong you weredoing. And through the power of Our Lady’s Rosary you nowwish to be God’s friends again. Be sure that your souls will bemade white once more if you confess and promise never to com-mit these crimes again.”The robbers resolved to amend their lives. From that day

onward they did penance for their crimes and sins and complete-ly changed their ways. They, too, prayed the Rosary every day,which helped them stay on the good path and gave them thestrength to remain honest and upright for the rest of their lives.After that day, Brother Angelo was more devoted to the

Rosary than ever. He knew that he was not only making magnifi-cent daily wreaths for Our Lady but was also helping many a sin-ner to return to her. Certainly, these were a much better type ofwreath than the ones he had made as a child!

M O DER N M ANModernMan

As we watch the graceful bird move effortlessly throughspace, our admiration soars precipitously to the heights of itsflight, swaying with it, as we gaze upward admiringly, from

sheer pleasure to awe. Suddenly, as it swoops and comes to rest on its perch, weare suddenly rewarded by a glimpse of its major attraction: a powerful bird por-traying an impressive sense of self-confidence and stability.There is little optimism in its vigilant physiognomy. It seems per-

fectly poised and its look of self-confidence leads us to believe that it iscapable of dealing with any surprise, however unpleasant. This is a birdtotally master of itself. It has no passions, however threatening, nortemperamental weaknesses, nor unreasonable caprices. Were this birdto have a soul it could perhaps symbolize beatitude, a blessedness ofthose in total control of themselves. Could it have been thus created byGod to teach us how such control may lead to the serene dominion ofthe external circumstances in our lives, a control which leads to stability?We know that the eagle must hunt to live. However, even in the moment of

attack, wings wide open in full flight, it renounces nothing of its stability. Freeof any excitation, it dominates the air as well as it dominates its prey. It couldamply win the title of king of the skies. From the time that man was created until now, never has life been so unsta-

ble as in this century. Its rapid mutations accelerate ever more as styles andways of living change from one moment to the next. Amidst these dizzying mutations, man is drawn out of his ambience, the

family grows remote, and friendships become inconsistent. Thus, man losesthe foundation upon which his stability should rest. As king of nature, man was made to be served by all the elements of nature

laid out on earth by God. How much is to be learned by contemplative obser-vation! Perhaps, then, the eagle was created to nourish our souls. Do we notbenefit from its lesson of vigilance, tenacity, stability and self-control?

What is there inan eagle that socaptivates man?

The Eagle&

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