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| 45 CHAPTER IV ' COMMDNISK AND 3HE HJBLIC ' ' The title of this chapter is not particularly happy. "What is sought Js a trayal of Communist influence in threader spheres than those discuss-* ed in the two preceding chapters* The movements discussed thus far have appealed to fairly distinct groups and have tended to confine themselves to specific issues. In this chapter a miscellaneous set of subjects will be treated, having in common a more universal appeal than those hitherto analysed. Commmism and Religion* Little need be said about the theoretical Communist attitude towards religion- Marxism is essentially materialistic and atheistic* Any temporary accomodation on the part of the Soviet Union is a deviation from this basic principle, usually because of some motive of expediency. In the United States, however, the Communist Party does not stress this aspect ff its teaching* It is not customary in the regular Party Engli sublanguage press to attack religion. At the most, there are in- direct snipings, such as letters to the editor complaining of the clergy and the hierarchy, attacks on Father Coughlin or individual Churchmen, but rarely attacks on the Church itself* Esren the Soviet attacks on the Vatican are portrayed as rebuffs to "political Catholicism", not to religion itself* It took heroic restraint to preserve this attitude when Mr. Louis Budenz returned to the Church, but the public abuse was reserved to their former editor, rather than the Catholic Church. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, in The Worker, Oct. 21, 1945, indulged in a restrained (for her) attack on Msgr» Sheen, but this was mild compared, to the actual private reactions within Party circles. Earlier this same Miss Flynn had a charming article entitled "What is a Red, Mr, Murphy?"'which proved that good Irishmen could be Communists. On Dec, 3, 1944, The Worker reprinted in full a speech by Bishop Sheil. On Sept. 23, 1943, Israel Amter wrote a lengthy article in The Daily Worker to prove that Catholics and Communists can work together in trade unions. Even when it was necessary to attack the Pope, (Sept* 1944) or the American Bishops (April 17, 1945), the attack was on political Catholicism. Thus the pretense is carried on* In the United States, Catholicism is attacked in three principal ways; the foreign-slanguage press; front groups, such as the Protestant; and through other Churches, particularly the Orthodox Eastern Church. Attacks in the foreign-language press are more feasible, partly because anti- clericalism might be more indigenous in such groups, and partly because there is less danger of publicity and exposure of the backers of such pro- paganda. Attacks, particularly upon the Vatican, appear regularly in most of the publications noted in Chapter I and Appendix I (conclusion) and are digested by the Overseas News Agency. Occasionally, however, these attacks are found in English language publications for foreign groups. One of th'e most vicious was the Nov-Dec. 1944 issue of War and Post-War (now Trends and Tides), edited by Louis Adamic, The article dealt with the "danger" that the U* S* might become a Catholic State, It continued with a subtle collection of truths and half-truths, arranged and distorted to prove that the Church is dictating over the most important phases of American life. There was enough material in this brief article to furnish the basis of a |