POPE’S GRAVE WARNING TO ITALIAN PEOPLE

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 March 1948, Page 6

POPE’S GRAVE WARNING TO ITALIAN PEOPLE

ROME, March 10. The Pope declared today all who abstained from voting in the Italian elections on April 18, from laziness or cowardice, were “guilty of a mortal sin.

He snicl: “Hoch must vote according to his own conscience, but it is evident that the voice of conscience obliges every sincere Roman Catholic to give his vote for-the candidates offerin sufficient guarantees that God’s rights and the welfare of persons, families, and society, according to God’s law and Christian morals, will be observed. “The Church, naturally, intends to remain outside and above political payti.es, but how can it be indifferent to the composition of a Parliament to which the constitution gives the right to legislate in matters directly affecting iho highest religious interests?”

The Vatican newspaper “Ossservntore Romano” claims that Left-Wing newspapers are unsuccessfully trying tn turn the arrest of Monsignor Prettner Cippico on forgery and fraud charges into a political scandal. It adds: “The Communists were in touch with Monsignor Cippico and were preparing to publicise the whole story on the eve of the election ‘unless Monsinor Cippico was willing to serve a foreign Power.’ The Vatican nt this point decided to issue the news of his arrest.”