Vatican Threat To Excommunicate All Supporters Of Reds

Northern Advocate, 14 July 1949, Page 5

Vatican Threat To Excommunicate All Supporters Of Reds

VATICAN CITY, Wed. (1 p.m.).—'The Vatican 'tonight, threatened to excommunicate all Roman Catholics who are willing supporters of Communism. The Vatican also threatened to withhold the Holy Sacrament from all Roman Catholics who "apologised” for Communism ’or who printed, distributed or read its literature. This step was taken by the Supreme Sacred Congregation of. the Holy Office, the ruling body of the church on matters of faith. _ * „ The decision was announced in the "Acta Apostohcae Sedis, the official Vatican gazette promulgated personally by the Pope.

The Associated Press correspondent says Pope Pius has ordered major excommunication against militant Communists.

He approved the historic decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office ex-communicating all members of the Roman Catholic faith “who make profession the materialistic and anti-Christian doctrine of the Communists.”

The official English text of the excommunication decree says it is unlawful to enlist in or show favour to the Communis' Party.

It is not lawful to publish, read or disseminate books, newspapers, periodicals or leaflets in support of the Communist doctrine and practice, or write in them any articles/ Roman Catholics who knowingly and freely do these things may not be permitted to the sacraments. Roman Catholics who profess, and particularly those who defend and spread materialistic and anti-Christian doctrine of the Communists, incur excommunication. IMMEDIATE IN EFFECT Reuters says a high church dignitary said late tonight that the ex-com-munication ruling was "immediate in effect.” He added however, that it was “in the nature of a threat to those Roman Catholics who have not fully realised the sin in supporting a materialistic and anti-Christ doctrine.” The excommunication order appears to have no precedence in the 1900year history of the church. Pope Pius thus struck his heaviest blow against Communists who have openly declared ideological warfare against the. Church.

It will be an answer to the confusion which the Czech Government tried to create by setting up a Gov-ernment-sponsored Catholic Action group. CZECH MOVE A six-point programme designed to destroy completely the power of the Roman Catholic Church in Czechoslovakia, has been adopted by the central committee of the Czechoslovakia Communist Party, according to reliable diplomatic sources in Vienna, says the Associated Press. The programme calls for confiscation ol church property, the disgracing of clergy, censorship of all mail between Church authorities and the Vatican, and governmental control of all sermons and pastoral letters. Czech Communist leaders have been instructed to • have the programme ready to be put into effect by October 1.

One point in the programme says: “Immoral women, preferably from Roman Catholic families, must be used to ‘expose’ the immorality of Catholic Church leaders.

“Exposures should be by gossip and stories printed in the national press.”

According to reliable sources in Prague, members of the Czechoslovak Roman Catholic hierarchy are to be charged with high treason. The reports quoted a Communist Party circular dated June 28. ••