St Ignatius College - Ignatian Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

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AN INTERVIEW WITH ARCHBISHOP HANNA 23 He paused, and remembering that an interviewer is sup- posed to make suggestions now and then, I asked: Isn't it of the greatest importance that the people should learn to sacrifice? Yes, indeed, he replied instantly. Wherever there has been a struggle for liberty there has always been a willing- ness to sacrifice. Sacrifice must be the spirit of the day. Men must be taught that the ideals for which we struggle cannot possibly be attained unless there exists in their hearts the spirit of sacrifice. The struggle of the early Christians for religious liberty is undoubtedly the most magnificent the world has ever witnessed. In this struggle a handful of men went out to set up their ideals as the ideals of a nation, nay more, as the ideals of the whole world. Their wonder- ful victory in the face of almost invincible opposition has been the glory of the Church for ages, and it should teach us a great lesson, since only through the greatest sacrifice was it obtained. Ever since that time the Catholic Church has infused into the hearts of the faithful that same spirit of sacrifice that was responsible for the triumph of her in- fancy. And so I say that the doctrine of the Church is what we need to teach the people that they must sacrifice if they would enjoy the fruits of victory and success. What about the struggle to spread democracy? I in- terposed. There is no possibility of universal democracy unless men are brought to the recognition of the dignity of men. But how may this be accomplished? Search if you will for a means, but in the end you will have to choose the doctrine of the Catholic Church. For centuries it has combated the theory that the men of a nation are but so many cogs in a vast machine, and has taught men their real dignity. Men, it proclaims, are not mere beings, but are the children of God, destined by the Creator for the supernatural happiness

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22 THE IGNATIAN ened his countenance so pleasant, that I immediately lost my uneasiness of a few minutes before. On what subject do you wish to interview me? the Archbishop asked. I shall leave the choice of a subject to you, I replied, trying to act as though I knew something about the art of interviewing. I thought that you would have something to say to the Catholics of San Francisco, something that you would desire to tell them. His hand went to his forehead, he thought for a moment, and then began. I believe that the most important thing for Catholics to understand is what we are striving for in this war, and how impossible it is to attain our end unless we have the old light and the old doctrine of the Catholic Church. We are fighting for liberty and for democracy. The story of the struggle for liberty is the most entrancing story contained in the annals of all time. It brings up before us pictures of the mighty heroes of the early ages, pictures of Washington and Lincoln and those beloved men who played such an im- portant part in our own great battles for right and for lib- erty. And we of to-day, who have taken our places in this momentous struggle, may learn from this story that which it is all important for us to realize, namely, that whenever democracy has failed, its downfall may be traced to greed. The doctrine of the Catholic Church is the only possible antidote for this consuming desire for gain. It teaches men the value of the spiritual. It brings them to a realization of the fact that the things that pass with time are naught in comparison with the wisdom that must remain forever. In short, it destroys their false ideals and reveals to them perhaps for the first time the possibility of winning some- thing the value of which cannot be measured by the stand- ard of the world. -

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24 THE IGNATIAN of another world. Only, then, through the recognition of this doctrine can we hope to establish democracy. We strive, therefore, not for territorial gains or huge indemnities, but for the things more precious, for liberty and democracy, for peace. We strive, however, not for peace that means preparation for war, but for enduring peace, the peace that springs from respect for law, from reverence of the rights of fellow menf, But how, I asked, may we obtain this peace ? There can be no such peace in the world until men rec- ognize the higher moralitiesf' he answered, until they aban- don the theory that might is right. There is an ever-increas- ing need of moral education. Democracy, above all other forms of government, must rest upon the moral law. There- fore it is evident that there will be no permanent abiding peace until the men who sway the destinies of nations recog- nize the great moral sanctions of life, until they recognize the higher code taught by Christ, in accordance with which men are ruled by moral force. We need, as I have said, or more correctly speaking, the world needs moralueducation. In order to inculcate sound moral principles we must spread the doctrine of the Catholic Church. The world must be brought to the realization that men have certain inalienable rights of which they can not lawfully be deprived, and that as they, for the sake of mutual protection and social inter- course, have come together to form groups under various leaders, the nations springing therefrom also possess certain rights that must not be violated. A conqueror can never compel the people of a vanquished nation to obey the moral law. The principal task of those who struggle in the cause of' liberty and democracy is to teach the people. When they have come to a profession of the principles of Catholicity, then and only then will the seed have been sown from which the world will reap the harvest of enduring peace. I hope that is about what you wanted, he said, by way