In November 1941, the Vatican radio broad-
cast in German a letter by the Pope, which said :
“If people arise and allege that they are the
bearers of a new belief or a new gospel which is
not Christ’s gospel, and if they make the Holy
Church and its Head, the Pope, the target of
unheard-of attacks; if they attempt to create an
artificial and unreal contradiction between loyalty
to God and loyalty to the Fatherland — then the
hour has come when the bishops must raise their
voices because of their vows. It is the duty of the
bishops to repeat without fear the apostle’s
words: ‘We must obey God rather than men!'”
At the close of the year 1941, the Holy Father
said, in his Christmas Eve broadcast to the
world :
Digitized by
Original from
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
144
“In its place (the place of the true
faith) they have fashioned Christianity
to their liking a new idol which does not
save, which is not opposed to the pas-
sions of carnal desires nor to the greed
for gold and silver which fascinates, nor
to the pride of life ; a new religion with-
out a soul or a soul without .a religion, a
mask of dead Christianity without the
spirit of Christ. And they have pro-
claimed that Christianity has failed in its
mission !”