Annunciation High School - Annunciata Yearbook (Buffalo, NY)

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Again, when Atheistic Freemasonry in Belgium sought to withdraw the children from the vigilant influence of the Church and place them in State schools, with rightful indignation Pope Leo addressed himself to Leopold of Belgium, and pointed out the dangers of a secular education to the Belgian youth. Throughout his long pontificate Leo XIII issued twenty-two famous Eucyclicals in which 'he pointed out the existing evils, and offered solutions for the correction of abuses. With clear vision he gazed into the future and warned that unless reforms were made, disaster would envelop the world. Of all the triumphs of Leo XIII, the greatest was his work in the field of sociology. He was far in advance of his generation and fully aware of the injustices inflicted on the working class by the capitalistic system spreading its tentacles over the whole world. In his most famous Encyclical, Rerum Novarum , on the condition of the work- ing class, he courageously pointed out how the present economic system was the cause of unrest, of strikes and labor troubles throughout the world. When publishing this Magna Charta of Catholicism, Leo XIII declared that the Church should once more become the guide of the worker in non-Catholic as well as in Catholic nations. Pope Pius X who succeeded the great Pope Leo was no less vigilant. Anti- clerical laws were once again being enacted in France. The unwary were being misled by the so-called intelligentsia, under the plea of Modernism and Liberalism. To counteract their false writing and pseudo-scientific theories, Pius X published a Syllabus of Errors, which contained 65 erroneous doctrines. A storm of indignation and verbose protests met the accusation of the Pontiff. He was accused of being reactionary and narrow-minded. Science not religion was the need of the hour. But Pius X, guardian of truth, anad divinely inspired leader, stood adamant against their protesta- tions, and time proved, that the Godless science which the Modernists extolled, led the world into the chaotic upheaval of 1914. In this fateful year Pope Pius addressed a personal letter to Francis Joseph of Austria, begging him to abandon this impious war, this fearful iniquity, this scandal of the gospel. Francis joseph did not answer this letter for it was intercepted by high ofhcials. Benedict XV donned the tiara at a time when the nations of the world were en- gaged in a useless and bloody conflict. Throughout the long war he successfully pur- sued a policy of strict neutrality. Untiringly he worked to restore peace to the world, but in every nation voices were raised in resentment of Papal interference in secular affairs. As the third year of the war approached its close, Pope Benedict carefully prepared a program, a workable basis for peace negotiations. This plan called for a cessation of hostilities, and gave points for arbitration. Some nations received this gesture for peace with deference, others ignored it. Benedict had foreseen, and had tried to avert the catastrophe of this second world war in which we are now engaged. It is gratifying, that, though European nations ignored his plans, his work has been immortalized by the Mohammedans of Turkey who carved a statue in his honor to commemorate his kindly ministrations to their suffering people. On the day of his election, Pius XI reiterated Pope Benedict's desire for peace, and seven years later that desire became a reality when he signed the concordat with the government of Italy, thus insuring to the Papacy political freedom. 34

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THE POPE IN MCDDERN TIMES This Addrerf war written by Frawrir Llzcra, and delivered by him at the Annual Knights of Columbus Oratorictzl Contest on May 9, 1943. Since historians disagree about the actual date when Medieval gave way to Modern times, I feel at liberty to begin my discussion with the accession of Pope Leo XIII and to trace the influence of the Papacy down through the ages to the present Pontiif, Pope Pius XII. Leo XIII ascended the Papal throne at a time when the world was rampant with a wide subversion of truth on which the foundations of human society must repose. Contempt for the laws of morality and justice, and insatiable greed for worldly power, obscured the vision of man and led him to ignore his eternal destiny. Civil disobedi- ence and license reached a climax in the assassination of Alexander II of Russia. Almost every government in the world was either covertly or openly hostile to the Holy See. In Germany, the Kulturkampf of Bismarck violently attacked Holy Mother Church, and that man of blood and iron declared he would never follow the road to Canossa , and that the Church in Germany wouldnot be ruled by any foreign potentate. Leo, with majestic calmness, wise diplomacy, and indomitable courage won freedom of con- science for the German Catholics. Later he was called on by the Kaiser to act as arbitrator in the dispute with Spain over the Carolina Islands. With the brutality peculiar to petty tyrants, a like persecution of the Church was raging in Switzerland. In France, the government was markedly anti-clerical, and those who opposed the Republic, chiefly Monarchists and Conservatives persisted in identifying their cause with that of the Church. Leo, perceiving future harm to the Church through this movement, urged the Catholics of France to resign themselves to the existing govern- ment. The Church whose mission is divine, and embraces all times and places is against no system of government which guarantees the rights of the individual. Later, the Pope addressed an Encyclical to the French people in which he reiterated the same principle, namely, that the individual has full liberty to prefer one form of government to another, provided none is opposed to sound reason or the teachings of the Church. Leo XIII was a sovereign without a kingdom, yet his vigilance and concern for the welfare of God's children embraced all lands. In Africa, the infamous slave traffic was still in existence, so Leo embarked on a new adventure to break the abominable power of the Arab slave traders. He dispatched more and more missionaries to that Dark Continent, and appealed to the sense of justice of the- European Powers who were exploiting the natives. Gradually champions of human liberty rallied to the call of the Pope, and worked for this common cause until slavery was abolished. When the United States took over the Philippine Islands, the secularization of the schools did not escape the watchful eye of Pope Leo. He requested the President of the United States to send a delegate to Rome to arbitrate concerning the property of the Church and of the monastic orders. 33

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On many occasions since that memorable day, the voice of Pope Pius XI has been raised against doctrines which exalt nationalism and raceism. When Italy invaded Ethiopia, Pius XI signalled his alarm and disapproval. He said, Any war which is a war of conquest must be considered an unjust war. The Pope spoke in vain, nations and individuals blamed him for not using coercion against Mussolini, but Pius XI, realizing fully that the voices in the Democracies that called upon him to take aggres- sive action against Italy would be the hrst to resent Papal interference in the affairs of their country. The advent of Hitler and the return of the Nazi Party to ancient German pagan- ism brought sorrow to the father of Christendom. With anxiety, Pope Pius watched closely over the church in Germany. He noted each oppressive law, and each effort to strangle the faith of the German Catholics. Then he issued his famous Encyclical. In it he said: No one would think of preventing young Germans from establishing a true ethnical community in a noble love of freedom and loyalty to their country, but what we do object to is the willed and systematic antagonism raised between national education and religious duty. Sing your songs of freedom but do not forget the freedom of the children of God. Anti-clericalism in Mexico and in Spain led to the confiscation of church prop- erty, and to the expulsion of religious orders. The concern of the Pope must not only be for the church of today, but he must also look beyond and guide the destinies of the Church in the future. Pius XI un- doubtedly did this when he stressed the importance of native clergy in every mission field. The greatest contribution of Pius XI to the modern world was Quadragesimo Anno , this was in close harmony with the Rerum Novarum of Leo XIII, and stressed the importance of a re-adjustment of the economic world. The influence of this document has spread far and wide, and has placed Pius XI among the great social reformers, and champions of the working man. In his first message to the world, Pius XII revealed that the policies of Pius XI would also be his interest. He would pursue the policy of peace, work for the estab- lishment of social justice, and for a moral code which would govern not only the conduct of the individual but of governments as well. To the nations about to enter the Second World Conflict he said: Nothing is lost by peace , but, everything may be lost by war. Shortly after the outbreak of hostilities in 1939, Pius XII issued his Encyclical, aptly styled, Darkness Over the Earth . Then on Christmas Eve came his Five Point Plan for Peace, a plan in close harmony with the Atlantic Charter. Today all the continents of the earth are marked by the scourge of a war which the Holy Father tried so perseveringly to avert. In no period of history has a Pope faced a graver crisis. Pius XII stands in the midst of a world which bears slight resemblance to the Kingdom of God on earth. In him alone lies the hope of world peace, not in Geneva, not in Versailles, not in the Kremlin, nor in any capital of the world is to be found the hope of the future, but in Vatican City, where is glorious- ly reigning Eugenio Pacelli, Pius XII. -FRANCIS LUCCA. 35