 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|||
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
||||
|
||||
| 47 CQMMDNISM AND THE PUBLIC the' Church of inspiring Hitler's attack upon Russia. Boris Stein, former Soviet .Ambassador to Rome, was the author of many of these attacks. During the past summer (July 9, 1945), Pravda attacked the Catholic Press in the United States as "gangsters" trying to provoke a third world war. Even the Commonweal, not noted for "Red-baiting", was pilloried. Finally, the Kremlin is using the Orthodox Eastern Churches as a weapon against the Vatican, and a spearhead of Soviet Pan-Slavic imperialismf On Sept. 4, 1943, Stalin granted the Church permission to elect a new Patriarch* Persecution was ended and the militant atheists had to suspend publication "for want of paper." Paper was found, however, for printing Missals and' religions textbooks. In the conclave (sobor) held in Moscow in February, 1945, it was proposed that a V.*orld Council of Orthodox Churches be organized, primarily to unify these Churches against Rome (New Leader, April 7, 1945). Metropolitan Benjamin is the American representative of this group, but his bid and that of Patriarch Alexei was rejected by the Metropolitan Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in America (N.Y, Times)« The reason for rejection, it is interesting to note, is that the American Church refused to profess loyalty to the Soviet Union. Metropolitan Benjamin is less squeamish, and frequently leads attacks upon the Vatican. It is felt that he will make efforts to unite Protestant groups in similar tactics. Another function of the group was revealed in the Daily T'orker of October 19, 1945, where delegat- es of the Armenian Ecclesiastical Congress hailed Soviet Armenia. Rather significant was their indication that Armenians desired the return to the Soviet Union of the Armenian provinces of Kars and Ardahan, militarily strategic sections of Turkey. Unless Turkey yields to this pressure, these statements might be considered as prophecies of another invasion by the Soviet Union, to "protect itself" against its imperialistic neighbors. There was no public discussion of religion in the recent American Communist Conventions. Nevertheless, the trend back towards orthodox Commun- ism and the abandoning of the Browder conciliatory tactics might well indicate a more militant attack upon the Church. Communists realize, as do most other groups, that the Catholic Church is one of the few powerful groups which are alert to its evils and active against its machinations. It is reasonable to expect at least an intensifying of the activities outlined above. Beyond that, however, no information is currently available to this writer. Communism and Government. 1) General. The general subject of Communism in government is most difficult to write about at the present moment. There are two primary reasons for this problem. The first is that the Hatch Act, forbidding government employees to engage in political activity, forced the already secretive Communists to be even more under cover. They could not be ferretted out by means of their activities in front organizations, as was formerly the case. The second reason is that the Truman Administration is gradually cleaning house and shuffling bureaus, so that known Communists are lost temporarily in the process. It might even be suspected tuat one of the purposes of the proposed reorganization of government might be the elimination of precisely this type of person. It is known that the two key figures of the present Administration, Mr. Truman and Mr. Byrnes, are anti-Communist. A purge of such elements, provided they can be identified, would be not at all improbable. |