Word from Christ to Roman Empire

I AM ENOUGH OF YOU

VATICAN


Ash Wednesday: charity, prayer and penance as ‘weapons’ against evil, says Pope ceremony marking the beginning of Lent, Benedict XVI emphasises the double meaning of the ritual, to conversion and as a reference to the precariousness of human existence its goal is to educate people to adopt those “beneficial renunciatory practices that free the believer from slavery of his own thinking”

Trained by the false church ashamed of God proud to be a Roman Catholic. This training from Rome comes from psychological training of the Roman Abuser of Christ during the "Stations of the Cross".

Teaching children if you open your mouth against the Roman Empire we crucify you{a not so subtle form of mind control to have the Roman Church replace God in hearts and minds of one billion people).

It worked until enough altar boys was raped started talking about how they was treated by a Panzer Cardinal Quote BBC day he was made Caesar during Cardinals conference of sexual,abuse by Roman Church

"The problem is not priests raping boys it is the American press reports it"

I spent the last 30 years of my life living for God, and God has spent every minute of that proving himself to me. God started to take me out of Hell in 1975, I studied religion until then.

THEN I STUDIED GOD TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.

What is the mark of the beast (666)

This mark acts as a seal for the followers of Antichrist and the false prophet (the spokesperson for the Antichrist). The false prophet (the second beast) is the one who causes people to take this mark. The mark is ON forehead.

The mark of the beast will be something given only to those who worship the Antichrist.

The mark of the beast will be an end-times identification required by the Antichrist in order to buy or sell, and it will be given only to those who worship the Antichrist.

Outlines economic, trade, scientific and military sanctions against Iran, which have been imposed by the U.S. government, or under U.S. pressure by the international community through the United Nations Security Council.

Currently the sanctions include a total embargo on dealings with Iran by U.S. citizens, threatening the world's oil and gas companies against investment in Iran, and a ban on selling aircraft and repair parts to Iranian aviation companies. One exception is that US-made goods can be supplied to Iran under certain circumstances as long as they are shipped to Iran from another country. This exception was a result of the original Executive Order restricting trade with Iran.

Revelation chapter 13, the number 666 identifies a person, not a date. Revelation 13:18 tells us,

“This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number.

His number is 666.” Somehow, the number 666 will identify the Antichrist.

For centuries Bible interpreters have been trying to identify certain individuals with 666.

When the Antichrist is revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), it will be clear who he is and how the number 666 identifies him.

666 count the words in red with the Panzer Cardinal

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Notice of Death Sentence

KNOW ONE AND ALL THAT NO FURTHER REQUIREMENT TO CHRIST CONCERNING MY RESPONSIBILITY REGARDING ALL DIVINE OFFICE HOLDERS THEY WILL RECEIVE THE DESERVED CORRECTION FROM CHRIST CAN MEAN SUDDEN VIOLENT DEATH AS AN ACT OF DISCIPLINE AND NOTIFICATION TO THE CHURCH AT LARGE OF HIS DIVINE DISPLEASURE.

THE DIVINE PROTECTION FOR ALL MEN OF GOD HAS BEEN LIFTED (lost the anointing due to foolish behavior and failure of leadership) THEY WILL BE NO MORE PROTECTED THAN ANY OTHER CHILD OF CHRIST.

This site is the staging area for the spiritual take over of the corrupt corporate church a prisoner of war to the twisted whorish representation in the Book of Revelations written by Apostle John under direction of The Lord Jesus Christ.

This book is the last written Instruction from CHRIST TO HIS BRIDE. MY COMMAND IS BACKED BY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND IS SCRIPTURE SOUND. READ ALL MESSAGES. THIS CHURCH IS SET UP (three different views of divine knowledge in three different church sites) FOR THE 144,000 OF CHRIST'S HONOR GUARD.

THE HIDDEN BOOK WAS INSTRUCTION FROM CHRIST FOR HIS 144,000 WARRIORS WHO WILL TAKE HIS BRIDE BACK FROM THE RULING DEMONS WHO ARE SHOWN IN IMAGES OF SPIRITUAL CARICATURE OF THE 3 DIMENSIONAL SYSTEM CONTROLLING HIS BRIDE TWISTED IT INTO A EVIL WHORISH IMAGE OF HIS CHURCH.

THE BOOK JOHN ATE TO PROTECT FROM THE DEMONS WAS THE INSTRUCTION TO 144,000 HOW TO DISMANTLE THE SPIRITUAL STRUCTURE AND REGAIN CONTROL OF FIRST THE CHURCH AND THEN THE WORLD SYSTEM

WHICH THE DEMONS ALSO CONTROLLED CHRIST GAVE ME THAT BOOK ARE YOU OF THE 144,000

IF SO SIGN IN. THIS CHURCH SHOULD GIVE EVERYONE ENOUGH INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE REAL GOD OF THIS WORLD IS NOT BEING REPRESENTED IN SPIRIT & IN TRUTH BY ALL OF ORGANIZED RELIGION (UNDERSTAND THIS AS CHRIST ILLUMINATES WHO IS THE REAL GOD OF THIS WORLD FROM REVELATIONS AND WHO RULES THE ROMAN WHORE)

WHO FOOLISHLY DEMANDED DONATIONS FROM CHRIST'S CHILDREN IN THE HOLY NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. NEVER GIVE MONEY TO ANYONE JUST BECAUSE THEY CLAIM A RIGHT TO IT FROM CHRIST. MEN HAVE MOST OF THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES DUE TO GENDER SELFISHNESS LET THE RULING CHAUVINIST DEMON CONTROLLING ORGANIZED CHARITIES GO ON A FINANCIAL DIET.

MINISTERS IF YOU KNOW CHRIST IS SPEAKING TO YOU THROUGH ME CONTACT ME ASAP TO BE SET FREE AND COVERED UNDER CHRIST PROVISION FOR YOU. BE PREPARED TO SEE THE CORRUPT CORPORATE CHURCH BE SET A BLAZE BY CHRIST PROVING IT WAS MADE OUT OF PAPER MACHETE AND GASOLINE





INSTEAD OF LIVING WATER.

UNDERSTAND MY OBLIGATION TO EVERY DIVINE OFFICE HOLDER IS COMPLETE IN CHRIST'S EYES. I AM ENOCH 1st OF 144,000 (CHOSEN) BY CHRIST FOR THIS GENERATION. Rejoice Christ told me April 4, 2002 he is returning to Earth VERY soon. He gave me a crown he calls me a new name My Name is Enoch, I have the honor of being the Lord Jesus Christ's closest friend. I am his advance man.

CHRIST GAVE ME THE GIFT THAT ADAM HAD IN THE GARDEN BEFORE THE FALL I KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT ANY MAN WHO EVER TOOK A DIME USING THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST TO CLAIM A RIGHT TO IT.

Anyone may read what I have received from the Lord Jesus Christ only those who understand how scripture is a closed book will understand my scriptural authority anyone who is a paid religionist and fails to understand how close to Death from The Living Jesus Christ he is deserves to die for being in the way of a useful man of God who deserves the money he collects from the children and they will die just to make a point about my being a prophet and them being a fool!

"Woe unto you Lawyers, you have been weighed, counted and found wanting" given an intellect to serve man you served only yourself. Now the"Logos" will tell the Truth and only the Truth.

"ALLAH is HE besides Whom there is none worthy of worship, the Living, the Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining. HE has sent down to thee the Book containing the truth and fulfilling that which precedes it; and HE has sent down the Torah (Law of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guidance to the people; and HE has sent

down the Discrimination (judgement between right and wrong)." -- Qur'an, Surah 3:3-4

associating partners with Allah. Shirk can also encompase any object that a person may hold in regard higher than Allah. It is the most severe of sins and will not be forgiven. The Idol of your Idea about God is still an Idol.

What Does the Koran Say about Jesus?

1. Jesus was the only person to be born of a virgin, distinguished from all humans and prophets without any exception: "She said, How shall I have a son, whom no mortal has touched, neither have I been unchased. He said, Even so thy Lord has said: Easy is that for Me; and that We may appoint him a sign unto men and a mercy from Us. It is a thing determined."(19) (Mary 16-24).

2. Jesus Christ alone was distinguished from all humans by being the Word of God, who is the very _expression of the Self of God end His eternal Being: "The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, God's Messenger, and His Word..." (4)The Women 171; (3)House of Imran 40).

3. Jesus Christ alone emanated from the spirit of God; for this reason He did not need a sexual, genetical birth. "The Messiah, Jesus Son of Mary, God's Messenger, and His Word that He committed to Mary, and a Spirit from Him." (4)The Women 169)

4. Jesus Christ alone, in exception to all humans, spoke while in the cradle (19)Mary 22-32). The Koran tells us that Christ needed no one to teach Him anything, not even how to speak. The Bible says: "Who hath directed the spirit of the Lord, or being His counselor hath taught Him knowledge and showed to Him the way of understanding." (Isaiah 40:1,13-14). Naturally, no one can teach the One who emanated from God's Spirit for He is the All-knowing.

5. Jesus Christ alone was distinguished from all prophets with His infallibility and was the only one to be singled out for His perfection; for all the prophets had sinned, and their sins were mentioned in the Koran. However, Christ was the only exception, for "High honored shall be in this world and the next." (3)House of Imran 45). Also, the Arab prophet (El-Bukhari) testified for the perfection of Christ and His infallibility, saying: "Satan pokes with his finger the side of every human at birth, except Jesus, son of Mary; when he went to poke Him, he poked the curtain."

6. Jesus Christ alone was distinguished from all others in the sense that He was the Creator: "I will create for you out of clay as the likeness of a bird; then I will breathe into it and it will be a bird." (3)House of Imran 42).

7. Jesus Christ alone was uniquely incomparable in knowing men's secrets: "I will inform you too of what things you eat, and what you treasure up in your houses. Surely, in that is a sign for you if you are believers." (3)House of Imran 48).

8. Jesus was matchless in making the miracles and the wonders which no other could make: "And I will also heal the blind and the leper..." (3)House of Imran 48).

9. Jesus Christ alone could raise the dead with the word of His blessed mouth: And I will bring life to the dead..." (3)House of Imran 48; (5)The Table 110).

10. Jesus Christ alone exclusively enjoyed the prophetical title of "the Messiah": "The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was God's Messenger, and His Word committed to Mary..." (4)Women 169). The Old Testament made known the real identity of the Messiah, saying: "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgement and justice in the earth... and this is the name whereby He shall be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Jeremiah 23:5-6)

11. Jesus Christ alone exchanged responsibility of authority with God: "And I was a witness over them, while I remained among them; but when thou didst take me to thy self, Thou wast Thyself the watcher over them." (5)Table 117).

12. Jesus was the only one to become a Sign unto men and Mercy from God (19)Mary 20) unto men who fell under the burden and the shackles of sin; for which, God's justice and holiness condemned them to eternal perdition. For this reason the only Savior, who can offer eternal salvation to men came to be a Mercy from God.

13. Only Jesus Christ could give His followers high honors and assurances concerning the day of Resurrection: "I will cause thee to die, and I will raise thee to Me, and I will purify thee of those who believe not. I will set thy followers above the unbelievers till the resurrection Day," (3)House of Imran 55)

14. Only Jesus will be the Judge who will come to this world to judge the living and the dead; the Arab prophet (El-Bukhari) confirmed this fact, saying: "The Last Hour will not come until the Son of Mary come down as the just Judge."

Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

What is this sin?

The sin only a paid religionist can committ it is called the curse of the Sanhedrin lifting up the source of income above the worship of God.

It caused the Sanhedrin to kill not only the Messiaah to many nations but most of the Prophets using words twisted to support the views of the rich and powerful over the voice of God's prophets..

Edward called Enoch by Christ writes:

I am sorry Mohammad; you don't understand that the Koran by itself is the icing on the cake without understanding the other ingredients of the cake you will die of diabetes...

Without the full knowledge of the God of Abraham's dealing with mankind you lack the ability of understanding what is going to happen in Palestine will forever keep your people under the thumb of those who serve the God of Abraham with a wiser and more balanced view.

I offered you and your people everything on a silver platter but you were too much involved with the idol of religion to see the hand of the God you claim you serve.

The price of any form of censorship is loss of authorization for any words written for any group or person doing the deleting, Censoring or Moderating period. So you may as well as Ban because the group (the national group) has lost the right for authorization thanks to those who chose to “Moderate censor or judge too religious" from someone because the demons in them could not stand to see the truth in black and white in front of them... The Blood of those who will die from lack of ability of a word fitly spoken will be required of you.

Compared to what the real Mohammad will do to any Islamic when he returns with the Christ who rejects the Hidden book messages I am a kindergarden teacher.

He told me when I saw him in heaven heads of Islamic leaders will roll on stone floors in 200,000 Mosques world wide if the are not ready willing and waiting for my messages.

Enoch rod of iron: I will reward those who stand by me now openly and make them the Nobility for the next thousand years. I will be ashamed of those who are ashamed of me and so will Christ. Count on it. Any man of God who received money teaching that God will reward the giver belongs to the rod of iron for one thousand years. Whether he be a administrator or a slave depends upon what he does now before Christ returns concerning the Hidden Book .

Because I have met the Real Mohammad in Heaven April 4 2002 and have been given all spiritual power in these last seven concerning the God of Abraham on Earth I charge you leaders below to take good Care Of Palestine protect it as you protect your children or answer to the Living God for not obeying his direct order. Palestine is a protectorate of Saudi Arabia. Until the Real Mohammad returns.

King Abdullah, Grand Mufti, Lebanese Leaders,

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Kingdom's Grand Mufti Shaikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-AsShaikh, who also chairs the Senior Commission of ulema (religious scholars).

The Holy Land historically a Jewish homeland. From which God drove them out for many crimes the biggest was usury failing to love God more than money.

The League of Nations granted some land to the Jews to re-form the homeland. The original grant was a small area.

They only needed a inch to steal the rest. Reason they received this was the Sanhedrin arranged the destruction of the German economy ending WW one

{as a payment for doing this they received the Balfour declaration plus desire punishing jewish people born in heartsof every man who fought for the german nation was born.}

The secret negotiation of the Zionist Sanhedrin caused the second world war.

death of 52 million people and they refuse to admit it.

Do you wonder why {those who Killed the messiah} in charge of the banking system refuse to acknowledge what they done much less repent of it angers the Living God?

GOD USED THE ANTI CHRIST HITLER TO PUNISH ISRAEL BECAUSE ONLY A RELATIVE OF CHRIST EXTENDED FAMILY COULD BE USED AS AN ANTI CHRIST BY SCRIPTURAL LAW. Also God wanted to be able to destroy the Nation which did it.

Zionism is the worship of the state in place of the Living God they funded the NAZI movement in germany because a facist state is easier to control.

Also Hitler had a jewish grandfather main reason he invaded Austria to get the written documentation why the race laws was so confusing about Jewish blood allowing those with a Jewish grandfather to fight in some SS Units.

Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich officially called Deutsches Reich ("German Reich") and later GroГџdeutsches Reich ("Greater German Reich") refers to Germany during the period from 1933 to 1945, when it was governed by the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers Party, or "Nazi Party"), with Adolf Hitler as chancellor and, from 1934, as head of state called the Fuјhrer (Leader).

The term Nazi Germany is not politically correct as it does not reflect the historic dates. In Germany, it is not a term used to describe that era. Rather it is the Third Reich.

The policies pursued by Nazi Germany were, based on the concept of Lebensraum; "Aryan" racial purity; anti-Semitism; revenge for Germany's territorial losses at the Treaty of Versailles and the perceived loss of pride because of it; and anti-communism directed at the Soviet Union were among the leading causes of the Second World War and the Nazi regime's systematic mass murder of millions of Jews, political opponents, and other minorities in the genocide known as the Holocaust or Shoah. By the end of the war, Germany's major infrastructure was destroyed — and many of its major cities were in ruin as the result of Allied bombings and intense urban warfare (especially in Berlin in 1945).

Under the Nazi regime, Germany, from a military and territorial standpoint, became the dominant nation state in Europe by the early 1940s. After the annexation of Austria in 1938, Nazi Germany became the first united German state since the Holy Roman Empire to include Austria within its boundaries which was ended after the Nazi regime's defeat in 1945. The fall of the Nazi regime also saw the complete dissolution of Prussia as a regional component of Germany.

enoch rod of iron wrote;

Sir Winston Churchill: Laws just or unjust may govern men's actions. Tyrannies may restrain or regulate their words. The machinery of propaganda may pack their minds with falsehood and deny them truth for many generations of time. But the soul of man thus held in trance or frozen in a long night can be awakened by a spark coming from God knows where and in a moment the whole structure of lies and oppression is on trial for its life.: Sir Winston Churchill .PM Olmert tells 2 billion Islamic which control the oil supply for half the world if you come kiss my ass now before the Zionist hard core do to me what they did for Christ I can live another day to wage another war against anybody who as a nicer place to visit than Israel Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

{most of the "jewish" people in Israel come from blood stock that has no Jewish Blood. They are from a warrior people who was forced to convert to Judaism by a King who used them as hired thugs for other nations they stopped the advance of the Muslims about the same time Charles Martel defeated the Muslims at the battle of Tours 732). If not for the Khazars the Muslims might have taken over Europe, and we might all be Mohammedans today;

THE CONVERSION TO JUDAISM of the Khazar king and his court about 740 A.D.

The Khazar Empire was located between the Caspian and Black Seas in what is now southern Russia. The empire flourished from about the 6th to the 10th centuries. They are mentioned in Arab, Jewish, Greek and Byzantine literature from mid-6th to mid-13th centuries. Where they came from is uncertain. Where they ended up after their fall is unknown for sure. The 2 Khazar contributions to history are:

THE KHAZAR CORRESPONDENCE," thought they were Jews (Jewish Encyclopedia

"According to another version (of the conversion), discovered by Solomon Schechter, the Jews who had sought refuge from persecution in the land of the Khazars had intermarried extensively with the indigenous peoples. The latter in those days always acclaimed the bravest of their generals as king.

It happened that A JEW once distinguished himself in battle and was raised to the throne; prompted by the urgings of his wife and father-in-law, he prepared to make public his adherence to the Jewish faith" (Universal Jewish Encyclopedia).

Demonic deception making the heirs of the God of Abraham slaves in their own land 90% of the Jews in Israel are either Levites which get no land or converts from over 1000 years ago which leave only the original people living their the last blood relatives of Christ Palestinians once you get rid of the PLO which is ruled by the children of King Herod: Hammas which are honest truthful and decent they just hate americans which is understandable.

Now think what more proof do you need that Lucifer the God of this world is trying to kill off the last blood family of Christ using a new sanhedrin and and a new roman army to do it?

Also do you want to tell Christ to his face that Mohammad which is the fourth elder in the holy of holies doesn't belong in Heaven? That I would like to see!All of the tribe of Levite have no land at all. Simple DNA testing can determine who belongs to which tribe because of the Mothers DNA the whole Basis for the Land rights to Israel which could eliminate most European Jews from ownership in favor of the Islamic people who may be the original land grantors anyway. " every forty nine years all debts cancelled and land returned to original Land Grantor Family from the Time of Moses forever remember?

But the High Priest always used money & moneychangers 2,000 years ago and today.. Concerning the high priest Caiaphas, Josephus mentions that his full name was Joseph Caiaphas. Archaeologists in 1990 discovered a burial cave on the outskirts of Jerusalem which contained a collection of bone boxes. During the first century, bodies of the dead were laid in caves. After the flesh had decomposed, the bones were gathered and put into boxes, indicating a belief in the resurrection. One of the casket-like boxes found in the cave was elaborately carved and is inscribed with the words: "Joseph, son of Caiaphas."

The box contains the actual remains of the Biblical figure Caiaphas. So we have the DNA, By the way Olmert name comes from a roott of the High Preist (omer) measurment he may be Levite aand since the Jewish people put a high respect on any KOHAN kohen (or cohen, Hebrew ëÌäï, "priest", pl. ëÌäðÄéí, kohanim or cohanim they usually use marriage within a tightt circle tto maintain wealth power and influence To the Jewish people the Sanhedrin is the Government for thousands of years..That is one family The rest of Jewish history, as we know it, is the story of the surviving tribes ...

The Messianic age will be heralded by a Messiah from the tribe of Joseph ...Remember Jewish Law says the Mother determines the blood line but Joseph was a type of Christ he could have supplied the male DNA for David DNA, According to Torah law, the first-born receives a "double portion" (pi sh'tayim) relative to his siblings.

Thus Joseph is entitled to two tribes who will have rights to two portions of land in the Land of Israel. This also fits in with the fact that because the Levites do not receive any portion in the land (they are to tend to the service of the Jewish Temple) that when the Tribe of Levi is omitted,

KNOWING HOW MANY WAYS THIS WORLD WILL DESTROY ITSELF?

KNOWING HOW MANY WAYS MANKIND USES GOD TO JUSTIFY KILLING EVERYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH THEM ?

UNLESS THIS WORLD SUBMITS TO THE MESSIAH BEFORE THE PEOPLE WITH MONEY TRIGGER A WAR LESS THAN HALF OF THE CIVILIZED WORLD WILL BE LEFT ALIVE.

CITIES UNTOUCABLE FOR THE REST OF MANKIND TIME ON EARTH

ONLY THE NATIVES WILL BE UNTOUCHED FOR THE MOST PART

I TOLD YOU GOD WAS JUST

Our economy will collapse whether I write why it will collapse or not

How about invading another country when you want to make an oil deal they don't want to make with you destroy that nation claim it was about weapons of mass destruction (which your nation sold them to fight Iran with) you was concerned about and the not really look for anything except oil wells and exploration contracts protecting the oil companies plants while letting a civil war rage around you (which you caused) until one million people are dead, four million running for the lives into former enemy nations?

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition (George Bush is the Anti Christ);

JUST I GOT INTO PUSHING IT OVER THE EDGE August 2008

U.S. House Speaker Pelosi IS BRINGING BAD NEWS TO JAPAN.

CONGRESS HAS HAD CLOSED DOOR MEETINGS ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM. PLANS WAS PUT IN PLACE FOR THE PROTECTION OF MEMBERS OF GOVERNMENT EXTENDED TO FAMILY ONLY.

THE ISLAMIC NATIONS HAVE JOINED TOGETHER WILL REFUSE TO SELL OIL FOR PAPER MONEY THEY WILL REQUIRE SILVER INSTEAD. ORDERS FROM THE HIDDEN IMAM.

http://drahmadinejadcyrus2009.blogspot.com/2008/07/decline-fall-of-united-states-by-us.html


On March 13th 2008 there was a secret closed door meeting of The United States House Of Representatives in Washington.

In the history of The United States this is only the fourth time a secret meeting was held by the house.

Even though Representatives are sworn to secrecy by House Rules XVII, some of the members were so shocked, horrified, furious, and concerned about the future of America by what was revealed to them inside the secret meeting, that they have started to leak this secret information to independent news agencies around the world.

The mass media said almost nothing about the secret meeting of the House, mentioning only one of the items being discussed.

(The new surveillance techniques that are going to be used by the U.S. Government to watch all American citizens).

The story was first released in a newspaper out of Brisbane, Australia revealing the contents of the secret U.S. Government meeting and plans for America including all of it's citizens.

Shortly there after, David J. Meyer from Last Trumpet Ministries found it and made it more available for the world to see. Here is what was revealed:The imminent collapse of the U.S. Economy to occur sometime in late 2008.

The imminent collapse of the U.S. Government finances sometime in mid 2009.

The possibility of Civil War inside the United States as a result of the collapse.The advance round-ups of 'insurgent U.S. Citizens' likely to move against the government.

The detention of those rounded up at The REX 84 Camps constructed throughout the United States.

The possibility of public retaliation against members of Congress for the collapses.The location of safe facilities for members of Congress and their families to reside during massive civil unrest'

THE VATICAN IN WORLD POLITICS

by Avro Manhattan, Copyright 1949 by Gaer Associations, Inc.
CHAPTER 9:

ITALY, THE VATICAN AND FASCISM


In 1922, during the election of Pope Pius XI, an Atheist Italian agitator, standing in St. Peter's Square, is said to have remarked:



"Look at this multitude of every country! How is it that the politicians who govern the nations do not realize the immense value of this international force, of this universal spiritual Power?" (Teeling, The Pope In Politics.)



In that same year that same man assumed office and then built the first Fascist dictatorship, on the pattern of which, in the following decade, so many European nations were to be established. It was the alliance of these two men, Pius XI and Mussolini, that influenced so greatly the social and political pattern, not only of Italy, but also of the rest of Europe in the years between the two world wars.



The fact that Fascism was born and first established in a Catholic country, and that it began its official career in the very seat of Roman Catholicism, is neither mere coincidence nor a freak of history. It was due to various important factors of a religious, social, economic, and political nature, not the least of which was the presence and co-operation of the Vatican in this first experiment of modern Totalitarianism.



Before proceeding farther, however, it would be of great help to glance briefly at the background against which Fascism was born, and particularly the part played by the Vatican in the social and political life of pre-Fascist Italy.



The history of the relationship between pre-Fascist Italy and the Vatican, as in the case of Spain and the Vatican, was one of bitter hostility between State and Church; the former trying to rid itself and the nation from the encroachment of the Catholic Church upon national life, and the latter attempting by all means to maintain or recapture those privileges to which it considered itself entitled. It was the same struggle that we have encountered in Spain and will encounter in many other countries, between the Catholic Church and the secular State conceived and sponsored by Liberalism and the democratic principles of the nineteenth century. The only difference was that in Italy the struggle was rendered even more bitter by the fact that, in order to achieve her unification, Italy had to despoil the Catholic Church of the Papal States, which included Rome itself.



The Italian people---with particular regard to South and Central Italy---had been used to complete submission to the Catholic Church, which controlled practically every aspect of their lives. In the Papal States, the illiteracy, ignorance, and misery of the people were amongst the worst in Europe.



When Italy was first unified the Italian Government proceeded to set its house in order, and began to do so guided by the principles of Liberalism. It secularized education and the Press; it proclaimed freedom of speech, religion, and so on. The Catholic Church fought every measure with the utmost ferocity, proclaiming to the Faithful that Liberalism was a sin and that whoever voted for the secular State would automatically purchase for himself eternal damnation.



This attitude was maintained not only because of the secular character of the new Italy, but because the Papacy claimed that its States, with Rome, belonged to the Pope. Therefore, until the State returned Central Italy and Rome to the Pope (thus preventing the unification of Italy), the State and all Italians supporting it were enemies of the Catholic Church, and the Catholic Church would have nothing to do with them. This in spite of the repeated efforts of the Italian Government, which on many occasions tried to open negotiations with the Vatican for an amicable settlement of the dispute.



Considering the times, circumstances, and the war that the Vatican continued to wage against the Italian State, the terms offered to the Vatican were more than generous, and should not have prevented the Church and State from reaching a satisfactory agreement. But the real motive behind the intractability of the Vatican, was that it wanted to harass, and eventually destroy, the newly born Liberal Italy, and substitute for it the Clerical Catholic Italy of the past. By keeping open the Roman question, as it was then called, it kept millions of Italians hostile to the Government and all its laws. By preventing the authorities from speaking with an overwhelming popular mandate it prevented them from making more drastic reforms in the programme of secularization.



This enmity of the Vatican to the Liberal Italy of the closing decades of the nineteenth century not only created a state of war, as it did in other countries in similar circumstances, but also forbade all Italians to participate in the democratic life of the nation and exercise their newly acquired right to vote. Pius XI issued a "Non expedit," which forbade Catholics, under pain of excommunication, to vote at the elections. But as millions of Catholics were leaving the Church and therefore did not obey, Leo XIII, in 1886, had to issue new instructions to the effect that this "Non expedit" did not permit any of the faithful to use their vote.



This extraordinary interference in the political life of a nation on the pretext of the Roman question was in reality the desperate effort of the Vatican to weaken the secularization of Italy and the Liberal forces, as well as all those other anti-clerical and revolutionary elements which were daily increasing throughout the country.



The Vatican's claim of the right to forbid Italians to vote was upheld well into the first decades of the twentieth century, and although it was slightly modified in 1905, and Catholic candidates participated in the elections of 1904, 1909, and 1913, the ban on Catholics taking part in the political life of the nation was not lifted until some time after the First World War. When the Vatican did grant Catholics the right to vote, it did not do so because it had been converted to democratic ideals, but because it had been forced by the changed times and the mood of the people. They not only continued to leave the Church en masse, but their anti-clericalist tendencies had increased a hundredfold since the first "Non expedit." This was due to the spreading of Anarchism and Socialism, which at the turn of the century began to take hold of the masses throughout the Peninsula, and which, by the time of the outbreak of the First World War, had already gained considerable political influence.



The principles of Socialism were fought with even greater ferocity than were those of Liberalism, with the result that those who embraced Socialism became even more anti-clerical than the Liberals. Italian Socialism, in fact, reached a point when it "made its very system and law out of opposition to the Church and religion" (Murri).



With Italy's entry into the First World War and the uprooting of millions of Italians who were sent to trenches and factories, Socialism took a greater hold of the country than ever before. When, immediately after the war had left its trail of economic, social, and political confusion and unrest, Socialism spread like wildfire, the Catholic Church became so alarmed that it searched desperately for some practical means by which to stop the surging Red tide.



The various anathemas of the Popes, the sermons of bishops and priests, and the devotion of the most backward stratum of society, were no longer enough. Something more up-to-date had to be found. So the Vatican at last reluctantly decided to allow Catholics to take part in the political life of the nation and organize themselves into a political party. The Party was created and led by a Sicilian priest, Don Sturzo, and it was called the Partito Popolare. The new Catholic Party soon spread all over Italy, becoming a powerful political factor to counter-oppose the Socialists.



Although a political means seemed to have been found by which the Red advance might be checked, the Vatican was far from having made up its mind on the best policy to pursue. For, as we have already said, there were two strong currents: one advocating battle against Socialism in the social and political field, the other advocating the adoption of more drastic measures.



The supporters of the second trend had become prominent since a new revolutionary Party appeared on the scene. It was led by an ex-Socialist Republican and Atheist, and was virulently anti-Socialist, anti-Bolshevist, anti-Liberal, and anti-democratic. It preached and practiced violence on a large scale, beating up and murdering all Socialists it came across and burning their property. Its name was Partito Fascista, and its leader was Mussolini. Its supporters consisted mainly of desperados organized into bands which undertook punitive expeditions against the Reds.



Soon all elements which had no reason to fear a social revolution---from super-nationalists to industrialists and, above all, the middle classes---began to support the new movement. In the Vatican a cardinal watched it with great interest, not so much because of its programme (for the movement was composed of numerous anti-clericals), but because it showed itself to be an instrument capable of fighting the Church's enemies with a weapon which the Church itself could not directly employ----namely, force. His name was Cardinal Ratti.



In 1922, just when the political forces of Socialism and of the Catholic Party were stabilizing themselves, having become the two great national parties, Benedict XV died. Cardinal Ratti, who was following Fascism with such keen interest, was elected Pope Pius XI.



With the coronation of Pius XI---who had a deep horror of Socialism and Bolshevism after having witnessed some of its aspects in Warsaw during the war, and who had no love for democracy---the Vatican's policy entered a new era. Pope Pius XI steered the political helm unhesitantly towards the new Party, making overtures by rendering it a great service even before its organized March on Rome.



The tragic plight of the Italian Parliament had a chance of being redressed by the formation of a coalition of all progressive (but not Radical) parties. Such a coalition would have been composed mainly of the Socialist Reformists and the Catholic Party. These could have formed a Government capable of checking all extremists, for the Catholic Party had social and political plans similar to those of other moderate movements.



The coalition would have had a reasonable chance of succeeding, and thus, by stabilizing the Government, would have prevented the Fascists from staging their march and seizing power. But Pius XI had decided otherwise. He determined to dissolve all Catholic political parties, not only in Italy, but all over Europe. He saw that Catholic parties, however strong, could not crush the Socialists, owing to the very fact that in a democratic State there exists freedom for political movements. Moreover, the progress of the Reds in Italy and other countries was becoming more and more alarming. New and drastic methods had to be employed. So when the coalition seemed on the point of giving concrete results and thus thwarting the march to power of the Fascists, the Vatican issued a circular letter to the Italian Hierarchy (October 2, 1922) bidding the clergy not to identify themselves with the Catholic Party, but to remain neutral. Such an order at such a moment could have only one meaning---repudiation of the Catholic Party and of its projected alliance.



This was the first direct move to come from the new Pope, directed towards paving the way for Fascism, which, after having organized a farcical march on Rome, assumed power on October 28, 1922, on the invitation of King Victor.



A few months later (January 20, 1923), Cardinal Gasparri, the Vatican Secretary of State, had the first of numerous secret interviews with Mussolini. During this meeting, the bargain between the Vatican and Fascism---as yet weak---was struck. The Vatican pledged itself to support the new regime indirectly by paralyzing the Catholic Party, which had become as serious an obstacle to Fascism as were the Socialists. This, providing the new Government continued its policy of destroying Socialism, protected the rights of the Catholic Church and rendered other services to Catholicism. Mussolini, aware of the Pope's goodwill towards his movement, tried to make of him an ally, and gave his promise. The Roman question was also discussed.



As first-fruit of the new alliance, Mussolini rendered a good service to the Vatican. The Bank of Rome, which was controlled by Catholics, and to which the Vatican's High Prelates and the Holy See itself had entrusted their funds, was on the brink of bankruptcy. Mussolini saved it---at the cost, it is believed, of approximately 1,500,000,000 lire, which the Italian State had to pay. Shortly afterwards, the first voices of the Italian Hierarchy in praise of the leader of Fascism could be heard. On February 21, 1923, Cardinal Vannutelli, Head of the Sacred College of Cardinals, paid public homage to Mussolini "for his energetic devotion to his country," adding that the Duce "had been chosen (by God) to save the nation and to restore her fortune."



Yet, while the Vatican was secretly bargaining with the Fascist Leader, and High Prelates were beginning to laud his movement, the Fascist squads were beating up and often murdering Catholic members of the Catholic Party who, throughout the country, went on opposing the undemocratic methods of Fascism, not stopping at murdering even priests (e.g., in August 1923 they murdered parish priest, Don Minzoni). Had the Socialists committed such an act, the Pope would have invoked the fulminations of God; but, as it was, he remained silent and uttered not a single word of protest against such outrages, continuing unperturbed along his new path of collaboration.



In the spring of 1923 Mussolini, planning to paralyze Parliament, wanted to compel the Chamber of Deputies to approve an electoral reform by which the Fascist Party would have been assured of at least two-thirds of the total votes in the future elections. Success in this would have been the first important step to open dictatorship. All democratic forces headed by the founder of the Catholic Party, the Popolari, Don Sturzo, followed by his 107 Catholic Deputies, refused to accept, and fought the proposal to their utmost. Catholic resistance in the Chamber seriously imperiled Mussolini's plan; indeed, it became one of the major obstacles barring his path to dictatorship. However, that was not all, for it gravely endangered the new policy on which the Vatican had embarked---namely, to help the new Fascist Party and to co-operate with it in clearing the way from any possible impediment to the creation of an Authoritarian State.



The Pope therefore wasted no time, and not many weeks had gone by since the Catholic Party's open opposition to Mussolini in the Chamber, when Don Sturzo received a peremptory order from the Vatican to resign and eventually to disband the Party (June 9,1923). Don Sturzo, although deeply shocked and for a time inclined to resist, finally bowed to the Pope's bidding, for besides being a member of the Church, he was also a priest. Although the Catholic Party was not dissolved, immediately, the loss of its founder and leader was a blow which gravely weakened it. With the disappearance of Don Sturzo and the sapping of his Party's strength, the first serious obstacle to Fascism's bid for blatant dictatorship was removed.



Immediately the most responsible members of the Catholic Hierarchy (particularly those who knew of the Pope's scheme) began a campaign of enthusiastic praise of Mussolini. This campaign reached its climax when Cardinal Mistrangelo, Archbishop of Florence, one of the supporters within the Vatican of the Pope's new policy, after a speech at a public reception in which he bestowed all the blessings of the Almighty on the Fascist leader and showered all the Catholic Church's thanks on him who had destroyed its enemies, in a moment of unbounded gratitude solemnly embraced the ex-Atheist Mussolini and kissed him on both cheeks.



The following year, under the direct personal instructions of the Duce, the Socialist leader, Matteotti, who was the bitterest opponent to Mussolini's bid for absolutism, was murdered by the Fascists. The indignation of the country was so great that the regime had never been so near to falling as it was during that crisis. In protest the Popular Party and the Socialists, after having withdrawn from the Lower House, asked the King for Mussolini's dismissal.



But, once again, the Vatican came to the rescue of the Fascist leader. At this juncture, when Socialists and Catholics were negotiating to bring into being a solid coalition and thus supplant the Fascist Government, Pope Pius XI came forward with a solemn warning to all Italian Catholics that any alliance with the Socialists, including the moderate brand, was strictly forbidden by the moral law, according to which co-operation with evil is a sin. The Pope said this, conveniently forgetting that such co-operation had taken and was taking place in Belgium and Germany.



Then, to complete the work of disruption, the Vatican ordered all priests to resign from the Catholic Party and from the political and administrative positions they held in it. This meant the complete disintegration of the Popolari, whose strength lay chiefly in rural districts held by priests.



In addition to this, the new Pope conceived what was to known as Catholic Action, which was placed under the direction of bishops and which was strictly forbidden to take part in politics. In other words, it was forbidden to fight the main actor in the political scene---namely, Fascism. Pope Pius XI asked all Catholics to join the new organization, thus inducing hundreds of thousands to withdraw their membership of the Popolari, which, besides being thus weakened by the Vatican, was mercilessly hammered by the triumphant Fascists.



These tactics of the Vatican lasted from 1923 until towards the end of 1926, when the Catholic Party, having lost its leader and having been continually rebuked by the Church and persecuted by the Fascists, was rendered illegal by Mussolini, and dissolved. From that movement the Fascist Government became what it had wanted to be---the first Fascist totalitarian dictatorship.



It was then (October 1926), and not by coincidence, that Pope Pius XI and Mussolini started on those negotiations which were concluded with the signature of the Lateran Treaty.



The Vatican and the new dictatorship, in spite of periodical misunderstandings, chiefly owing to the fact that the Fascists continued to beat up Catholics, irrespective of whether they were members of the old Catholic Party or of Catholic Action, praised one another openly and frequently. The following two quotations sum up the attitude of the Catholic Church towards Fascism at this period. On October 31, 1926, Cardinal Merry del Val, in his quality of Pontifical Legate, publicly declared:



"My thanks also go to him (Mussolini) who holds in his hands the reins of the Government in Italy, who with clear insight into reality has wished and wishes Religion to be respected, honored, practiced. Visibly protected by God, he has wisely improved the fortunes of the nation, increasing its prestige throughout the world."



And, to complete the picture, the Pope himself, on December 20, 1926, declared to all nations that "Mussolini is the man sent by Providence."



Such open praise and blessing by the Pope (who, incidentally, was one of the first to congratulate Mussolini on the failure of an attempt to assassinate him), the persistent help given to Fascism by the Vatican, and the liquidation of the Catholic Party at a moment when it might have prevented Mussolini from establishing himself in power had all cleared the way for a complete and unbridled dictatorship---the type of dictatorship, in fact, which Pope Pius XI wanted to see consolidated.



The Liberals with their secular laws, and the Socialists with their hatred for the Church---who, at the last election, in 1926, had been able, in spite of everything, to poll 2,494,685 votes or more than half of the total polling---had been entirely liquidated, their parties forbidden, their papers suppressed, their leaders imprisoned or exiled. The menace of the Red wave had been averted and the Church had been rendered safe, thanks to its new policy of alliance with a strong authoritarian regime.



Now, with all internal common enemies annihilated, the Church and Fascism undertook in earnest the task of improving their already excellent relationship. For, in spite of their de facto alliance, not everything was well between them. Clashes between Fascists and Catholics, often members of Catholic Action, and anti-clerical demonstrations continued to obscure the horizon. An official Pact between the Vatican and Fascism would have stabilized their respective spheres. A Concordat was therefore desirable. But the most important aim of the Pope at this juncture was that the Church should negotiate for settlement of the Papal States. Mussolini, who had already proclaimed that religion was entitled to respect, would agree to both a Pact and a Concordat.



The Duce, however, in spite of his success, was not yet very firmly established. Many ex-Popolari members and Catholics of the general public mistrusted him, and, in spite of the clear hint given to them by the Vatican, they hesitated to support him fully. Something that would appeal to the imagination of Catholic Italy was needed. And what better opportunity than to give freedom to the Pope to make a solemn alliance between Church and State, something that had been made impossible for half a century by the democratic Governments that had ruled the country? A Treaty and a Concordat would strengthen the regime in such a way that nothing short of social upheaval could then destroy it. In addition to internal consolidation, the prestige that it would gain abroad would raise the political status of Fascism throughout the Catholic world.



The negotiations which, significantly enough, were started with the dissolution of the Catholic Party in 1926 were concluded in 1929 with the signing of what has since been known as the Lateran Agreement.



We have already referred to the Lateran Treaty (Chapter 2), by which the Vatican was recognized as an independent sovereign State, and the Fascist Government undertook to pay a vast sum of money as compensation. The Agreement was acclaimed by the Catholic Church and Catholics throughout the world, and the prestige of Fascism grew by leaps and bounds everywhere.



But, in addition to acquiring its independence, which it had always refused under Liberal Governments, the Vatican had achieved another and no less important goal; it had restored the Catholic Church in Italy in accordance with Catholic principles that Church and State must not be separate, but, like body and soul, must co-operate together. A Concordat was signed by which the Catholic Church recovered all the former prominence which had been denied it by the secular State. Catholicism was at least proclaimed the only religion of the State; religious education was made compulsory in schools; teachers had to be approved by the Church, and only those textbooks "approved by the ecclesiastical Authority" could be used; religious marriage was made obligatory, "the civil effect of the Sacrament of matrimony being regulated by Canon Law"; divorce was forbidden; the clergy and religious Orders were subventioned by the State; books, Press and films against the Church were forbidden; and criticism or insult against Catholicism was made a penal offence. In short, the Catholic Church was reinstated as the dominant and absolute spiritual power over the whole nation.



The Vatican went farther. It again forbade all the clergy ( a good minority of whom, headed by the ex-leader of the Catholic Party, remained hostile to Fascism) to belong to or to support any political party whatsoever. Thus it was impossible for any clergy to join an anti-Fascist movement, and as all clergy were under the direct orders of the Vatican, the ally of Fascism, it is easy to imagine the meaning of the clause.



On the other hand, Fascism recognized Catholic Action, which "had to carry out its activity outside any political party and under the immediate dependence of the Hierarchy of the Catholic Church, for the diffusion and exercise of Catholic principles."



The meaning of these clauses forbidding the clergy and Catholic Action to take part in any political activity is made crystal clear by Article 20 of the Concordat; the Vatican undertook to prevent its clergy from being hostile to Fascism, and to see that its bishops should become watch-dogs for the safety of the regime itself.



Thus the Church became the religious weapon of the Fascist State, while the Fascist State became the secular arm of the Church. The Vatican had at last gathered the fruit of its new policy---annihilation of its great enemies (Secularism, Liberalism, Freemasonry, Socialism, Communism, Democracy); and restoration of the Catholic Church as the predominant spiritual power in the land.



As a proof of this after the Concordat was signed, Mussolini declared:



"We recognize the pre-eminent place the Catholic Church holds in the religious life of the Italian people---which is perfectly natural in a Catholic country such as ours, and under a regime as is the Fascist."



The Pope did not lag behind the Duce in the generosity of his praises. On February 13, 1929, Pius XI proclaimed to the world that Mussolini was "that man whom Divine Providence" had allowed him to meet, adding that the Lateran Treaty and the Concordat would have been impossible "if on the other side there had not been a man like the Prime Minister." On February 17, 1929, at a reception at the Vatican, the Papal Aristocracy and Hierarchy applauded Mussolini when he appeared in a film; and the following month all the cardinals in Rome declared in a film; and the following month all the cardinals in Rome declared in an address to the Pope that "that eminent statesman (Mussolini)" ruled Italy "by a decree of the Divine Providence." And, as a finishing touch, the Vatican Authorities ordered all priests to pray at the end of their daily Mass for the salvation of "the King and the Duce" ("Pro Rege et Duce").



Could there be a closer alliance between Church and State than that between the Vatican and the Fascist regime?



But soon clouds appeared once more on the horizon. Church and State, although fundamentally supporting each other, began to have serious quarrels. This was inevitable, for, each being totalitarian, they each wanted absolute and sole control over certain sections of Society---in this case youth. Pius XI claimed that, according to the Concordat, it was understood that the Church would have a bigger share in education, and that Catholic Action had to depend solely on the ecclesiastical authorities. Mussolini, on the other hand, wanted complete control over education and also wanted to control Catholic Action, as he did other organizations in the country.



The quarrel became so serious that Pius XI had to smuggle outside Italy an encyclical, Non Abbiamo Bisogno. In it the Pope did not, as was later asserted, condemn Fascism. Far from it. He simply denounced Fascist violence against Catholic Action and Fascist doctrines about the education of youth, which tended to place the supremacy of the State above everything, including the Catholic Church. The Pope then hastened to thank the Fascist regime for what it had done for the Catholic Church:



"We preserve and shall preserve both memory and perennial gratitude for what had been done in Italy, for the benefit of religion, even though no less and perhaps greater was the benefit derived by the Party and the regime."



Then he admitted that he had favored Fascism to such an extent that "others" had been surprised, thinking the Vatican had gone too far in reaching a compromise with the regime:



"We have not only refrained ourselves from formal and explicit condemnation (he declared) but on the contrary we have gone so far as to believe possible and to favor compromises which others would have deemed inadmissible. We have not intended to condemn the Party and the regime as such...We have intended to condemn only those things in the programme and in the activities of the Party which have been found to be contrary to Catholic doctrine and practice (Pius XI, Encyclical, Non Abbiamo Bisogno, 1931).



He admitted that the Fascist oath, being contrary to the fundamental doctrines of the Catholic Church, was to be condemned. But he soothed the conscience of any Catholic in doubt by saying that although the Church condemned the oath, Catholics should nevertheless swear allegiance to the Duce. They could do so, said the Pope, by taking the oath and, as they did so, mentally reserving the right not to do anything against "the Laws of God and His Church." The authorities who received the oath knew nothing about such mental reservations. Thus, hundreds of thousands of Catholics, assured by their supreme religious leader that they could swear to obey and defend the Fascist regime, gave their allegiance to Fascism without further ado.



Could the determination of the Vatican to support the Fascist regime, in spite of disagreements, go farther than that? We shall have occasion to see that the Vatican gave similar advice to German Catholics, easing their consciences with regard to their support of Hitler. No wonder that, in spite of everything, the Church and State gradually drew closer together and later co-operated even more openly than they had done before.



The first overtures came from Mussolini himself, when, in June 1931, he declared:



"I wish to see religion everywhere in the country. Let us teach the children their catechism...however young they may be..."



Mussolini could well afford to speak thus. The Catholic Church, after all, was more than co-operating with Fascism in schools, in camps, and in the Fascist Youth Institutions, where children had to say grace before each meal. The following is a typical sample, written, approved, and encouraged by the Church:



"Duce, I thank you for what you give me to make me grow healthy and strong. O Lord God, protect the Duce so that he may be long preserved for Fascist Italy (New York Times, January 20, 1938. See Towards the New Italy, T.L. Gardini).



The highest pillars of the Church began again to exalt the Duce and Fascism in the most blatant terms. Cardinal Gasparri, Italian Papal Legate, said in September 1932:



"The Fascist Government of Italy is the only exception to the political anarchy of governments, parliaments, and schools the world over... Mussolini is the man who saw first clearly in the present world chaos. He is now endeavoring to place the heavy Government machinery on its right track, namely to have it work in accordance with the moral laws of God."



At last the time for an official reconciliation was ripe. On February 11, 1932, Mussolini solemnly entered St. Peter's, and, after having been blessed with holy water, devoutly knelt and prayed. From then onwards the destiny of the Church and Fascism became more and more inseparable. The alliance was consolidated by the financial arrangements of the Lateran Treaty. About half the sum paid by Fascist Italy was in Government Bonds, which the Pope had promised not to sell for many years, and the Vatican's financial welfare therefore depended to a great extent on the preservation of Fascism.



Fascism and the Church worked hand in hand during the following two years, when all branches of life, especially youth, were subjected to a double bombardment by religious and Fascist teaching. In illustration, suffice it to say that textbooks in elementary schools had one-third of their space devoted entirely to religious subjects---catechism, prayers, etc.---while the remaining two-thirds consisted of praise for Fascism and war. Priests and Fascists leaders worked in with each other; the Pope and the Duce continued their mutual praise and became indeed two good companions bent on furthering the happiness of their peoples.



But Mussolini, who never gave anything for nothing, had not genuflected in St. Peter's because he had suddenly seen the Light. He had a plan for the success of which the help of the Catholic Church was needed. And in 1935 the first of a series of successive Fascist aggressions which finally led to the outbreak of the Second World War was ruthlessly carried out: Fascist Italy attacked and occupied Abyssinia.



It is not for us to discuss whether overcrowded Italy had or had not to seek for a "place in the sun." Undoubtedly her surplus population and other factors played a great role in the adventure, but what we are concerned with here is the part played by the Vatican, which once again became the great ally of Fascism. The reason by which Fascism tried to justify its aggression was the necessity for expansion. This had been the main thesis of Fascist propaganda for years, and was intensified during the summer of 1935, when Mussolini's intention to attack Abyssinia was already clear. As the Fascist version that Italy was within her rights to wage war seemed to be received by the Italian people with visible skepticism, and as their enthusiasm could not be greatly roused, the Vatican came to the help of the regime.



Once again Pius XI let his authority as a spiritual leader be used for a political purpose: that of tranquilizing those Italian Catholics who entertained doubts about whether the Duce's planned aggression should be supported. And so on August 27, 1935, when the campaign of preparation and propaganda was at its height, Pope Pius XI strengthened the specious Fascist excuse, stating that whilst it was true that the idea of war horrified him, a defensive war which had become necessary for the expansion of an increasing population could be just and right.



That was one of the first of a series of steps taken by the Vatican to support Fascist aggression, not only within Italy, but also abroad, and above all at the League of Nations, in whose hands lay the power to take appropriate measures to impede the attack. On September 5, 1935, the very day on which the League of Nations had to begin the debate on the Abyssinian problem, a nation-wide Eucharistic Congress was held in Teramo, attended by the Papal Legate, 19 archbishops, 57 bishops, and hundreds of other dignitaries of the Catholic Church.



Whether the date was mere coincidence is open to discussion. It was not coincidence, however, that these pillars of the Italian Catholic Church chose that day also to send a message to Mussolini (who at that time was being attacked by the League as well as by practically the whole world Press), in which they said: "Catholic Italy prays for the growing greatness of the beloved fatherland, rendered more united by your Government."



Not content with this, only two days later, while the discussions on the Italo-Ethiopian problem was at its most critical stage, the Pope himself put his weight on the side of Fascism. His timely intervention had two main objects in view: to help Fascism to arouse in the unwilling Italians a national enthusiasm for the approaching war, and, above all, to influence the proceedings of the League of Nations itself by indirectly making the Catholic representatives of the many Catholics countries who were members of the League understand that they should not vote against Fascist Italy. For, declared the Pope, although he was praying for peace, he wished that "the hopes, the rights, and the needs of the Italian people should be satisfied, recognized, and guaranteed with justice and peace."



On the following day, with the Pope's words still echoing in the ears of Catholic individuals and Catholic nations, the Duce himself declared to the world that Fascist Italy, while wanting peace, wanted a peace accompanied by justice. From then onwards Fascist propaganda quickened its drumming to a crescendo, seconded by the Vatican, until finally, on October 3, 1935, Abyssinia was invaded.



A cry of horror arose from all over the world, but not from the Vatican. The Pope kept his silence. As a Catholic writer stated afterwards, "practically without exception the whole world condemned Mussolini, all except the Pope" (Teeling, The Pope in Politics).



The Italian people received the news with very little enthusiasm, but Fascist propaganda tried to show that all nations were against Italy, not because of aggression, but because they wanted to keep the Italians in economic slavery. Urged by these arguments and the Vatican, they little by little began to support the adventure.



Fascist leaders harangued in public squares and Catholic priests and bishops in their churches, both busy asking the people to support the Duce. When Mussolini asked the Italian women to give up their gold and silver rings to the State, Catholic priests preached that they should give as much as they could. Many bishops and priests led the offering by giving to the Fascists the jewels and gold belonging to their churches, even offering the church bells so that they might be made into guns.



To quote only a few typical examples:



The Bishop of San Minato one day declared that "in order to contribute to the Victory of Fascist Italy" the clergy was "ready to melt the gold belonging to the churches, and the bells"; while the Bishop of Siena saluted and blessed "Italy, our great Duce, our soldiers who are achieving victory for the truth and for justice."



The Bishop of Nocera Umbra wrote a pastoral, which he ordered to be read in all his churches, in which he declared: "As an Italian citizen I consider this war just and holy."



The Bishop of Civita Castellana, speaking in the presence of Mussolini, thanked the Almighty "for having allowed me to see these epic and glorious days, sealing our union and our faith."



The Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Schuster, went farther and did all he could to bestow upon the Abyssinian War the nature of a holy crusade. "The Italian (Fascist) flag," he said, "is at the moment bringing in triumph the Cross of Christ in Ethiopia, to free the road for the emancipation of the slaves, opening it at the same time to our missionary propaganda." (T. L. Gardini, Towards the New Italy).



The Archbishop of Naples employed even the image of the Madonna, which was brought from Pompeii to Naples in a great procession. Ex-soldiers, war widows, war orphans, and Fascists all marched behind it, while Fascist war planes overhead showered down pamphlets in which the Virgin, Fascism, and Abyssinian War were all glorified at the same time. After this the Cardinal Archbishop himself jumped on a tank and solemnly blessed the excited crowd.



This was going on all over Italy. It has been reckoned by Professor Salvemini, of Harvard University, that at least 7 Italian cardinals, 29 archbishops, and 61 bishops gave immediate support to the aggression. And this, it should be remembered, when, according to the Concordat of 1929, bishops were strictly forbidden to take part in any political manifestation.



The Vatican's support of the first Fascist aggression did not stop there, for it organized support abroad as well. Almost all the Catholic Press the world over came out to support Fascist Italy, even in such countries as Great Britain and the United States of America. To quote a typical passage:



"The cause of civilization itself is involved, for the present at any rate, in the stability of the Fascist regime in Italy...The Fascist regime has done much for Italy...In spite of anti-clericalism...it has fostered the Catholic religion" (Catholic Herald).



And the Head of the Catholic Church in England went so far as to state:



"To speak plainly, the existing Fascist rule, in many respects unjust...prevents worse injustice, and if Fascism, which in principle I do not approve, goes under, nothing can save the country from chaos. God's cause goes under with it" (Catholic Times, October 18, 1935).



And finally, after the Abyssinians had been utterly subjugated, the Pope, to crown his continuous support of the war, after some sibylline remarks about a just and an unjust war, stated that he was partaking in "the triumphant joy of an entire, great and good people over a peace which, it is hoped and intended, will be an effective contribution and prelude to the true peace in Europe and the world" (Pope's speech, May 12, 1936).



With the conquest of Abyssinia a new country had been opened to both Fascism and the Church. Fascist armies were immediately followed by priests, missionaries, nuns, and the Catholic organizations, who began their work for the extinction of the religious creeds of the Abyssinians and their substitution by Catholicism. For, as the Cardinal of Milan had said, the Italian flag had opened "the road ....to our missionary propaganda." Or, as the Archbishop of Taranto declared, after having celebrated Mass on a submarine: "The war against Ethiopia should be considered as a holy war, a crusade," because the Italian victory would "open Ethiopia, a country of infidels and schismatics, to the expansion of the Catholic Faith."



The Abyssinian War gave the first mortal blow to the League of Nations and accelerated the process of a great venture which Fascism---Italian, German, and of other nations---in close alliance with the Vatican, initiated in a quest for Continental and World dominion. continue..... http://www.geocities.com/visplace/vatican9.htm