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| 63. COMMUNISM AND CATHOLICISM If these programs are to succeed, they mist be based on truth and sincerity* Propaganda against Communist lies must be factual, not merely emotional. Approach to the Negro, the Jew, and the worker must be sincere and based on the principles of the Gospel. No group is going to be won over if it feels that it is being used as a t*ol for some ulterior purposes. Particularly among workers mere nantiw programs are ineffective. This is not to say that there cannot be anti-Communist organizations* But these should be open and disinterested. They will be most successful if they are general in membership and based on the twin principles of safeguarding the dignity of man and protecting the welfare of the nation. With these general tbservations, it is possible to pass over to more concrete recommendations, The Present Investigation. The first problem which arises concerns the continuance of.the present investigation. It is not easy to decide upon recommendations in this regard* The facts thus far presented indicate a serious danger from world Communism and appreciable activity of American Communist fronts. It would seem imprudent to give up the effort to keep fa.dts current and to watch for important new developments. There'should be semiannual reports to the Bisfcpps on trends dn American Communism. The real difficulty, however, concerns the methods and machinery used to obtain such reports. Here there are two distinct possibilities. In the first place, it would be possible to organize a continuing investigation with a full-time director on the East Coast and another station- ed in Los Angeles to study the }7est Coast. The Eastern director would also cover the industrial Middle West* To carry this out, however, there must be trained personnel. Ultimately there would be publicity given to the work, since it is impossible to make the necessary contacts and still hope that the investigation would remain private. Both these considerations militate against the establishment of a formal office as an official agency of the Church. It is far more difficult than is generally realized.to obtain suitable personnel for this work. In the course of the present investigation, the writer had contact with many of the individuals and groups which were fighting against Communism, This includes private agencies, some of them un- doubtedly subsidized by newspapers or by wealthy groups; government agencies; such as city or state police or the intelligence forces of the Army and Navy, as well as the civil service investigation -forces of the federal government; and newspaper groups, such as certain New York writers and columnists and the editors of the New Leader. The diversity of reports about the same in~ dividuals and movements was alarming. Intelligent investigators were on the whole successful in labeling organizations and programs. Only the small minority with direct contacts inside the Communist Party were certain of facts in regard to individuals. The tactics used by the successful few would not be available to any agency connected with the Catholic Church, We cannot bribe Communists to be informers, nor could we place individuals within the Party for the same purpose* Hence it is impossible for us by methods available to the Church to obtain inner information as to Communist purposes or personnel* A good deal could be done by trained investigators using such public means as the study of Party publications and front organs. Much more could be done by contacts with individuals who do get the inner facts. But tfcrese |