WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA

BY

REV. JAMES A. CLEARY. C.SS.R.• M.A.

Third Edition

b,o.lte .c.t;,o. Ctl,o.t;: DUBLJN: C01i11,UCL n,o. r1Rmne CALoltlCe 1 nelRe,o.nn, CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY OF IRELAND. VERITAS HOUSE 7 & 8 LOWER ABBEY STREET CONTENTS

CHAPTER ,PAGE I. Introductory 3

II. The Last of the Czars 7

III. Lenin 9

IV. Bolshevism at Work 11

V. "By Their Fruits You Shall Know Them" 14 VI. The Holy Father's Appeal ... 17

Prayer for Russia 20

Permissu Superiorum. Permissu Ordinarii Dioec. Dublinen, die 190 Feb. anno 1931. WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA

CHAPTER 1.

INTRODUCTORY

HE Creator of the World speaks not merely by words, but by deeds also. Every action performed by Our T Blessed Lord was a lesson as well. The events which God wills or permits to happen in the world have all a message for men, and so the Revolution in Russia is in itself a sermon-a gigantic sermon preached by God to mankind. It contains two lessons: first, that revolutions are the result of abuses, and this lesson is for govern­ ments; secondly, that the revolutions are often infinitely worse than the abuses, and this lesson is for peoples. The Russian Revolution is a subject on which the historians of . future times will be engaged for generations. But it is not merely a subject of investigation, an event of past history. Bolshevism is a fact, an actual insistent fact of the present time. It is a challenge to the Christian system of civilisa­ tion. It is a reality, not merely a Russian reality, but an international reality; for Bolshevism is not merely in absolute control of Russia; its leaders were and are resolved to control the world. There is not a country in the world where its agents have not made their way to prepare in secret the ground for open and violent class war, wQrld revolution and universal Bolshevism. These agents are openly encouraged by the Russian Government; many of them are paid by the Russian Government. Even Ireland is. not despised by them; there are in Ireland men who have openly declared themselves as friends of Russian Bolshe­ vism; there are others who advocate Bolshevism in articles in the Press, public meetings and letters to the papers, and it is extremely likely that some of these persons are receiving money from Russia. They are Bolshevists and at the same 4 WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA Hme they claim to be Catholics; they are anti-clerics, and if it were safe they would reveal themselves as anti-. Christians. But it is. not safe in Ireland to stand openly against God, and so the wolf must put on the clothing of the sheep. It has been often so before, and it will be so to the end. For has not the Master warned us? " Beware of false prophets who come to you in the clothing of sheep but inwardly they are ravening wolves; by their fruits you shall know them." It is said by the friends of Russian Revolution that Bolshevism has been and is calumniated; that the crimes of which Bolshevism is accused are only the inventions of the capitalists of the world; and that the truth of Bolshevism is hidden from the world by the lying propaganda of the rich and the powerful. It cannot be denied that the Govern­ ments of several countries and the powers of high finance have spread lying propaganda against Russia. It is true also that the Russian Government itself has spent and is spending immense sums on propaganda to defend itself and propagate Bolshevism in every part of the world; and in its propaganda it is not afraid to publish open and unscrupulous falsehood. There is propaganda then on both sides; but also there is truth, and the truth can be discovered. And for a Catholic it is easy to discover the truth with regard to the religious and moral ideas and the results of Russian Bolshevism. There is available abundant evidence, and a multitude of witnesses from whom we can discover the truth about Bolshevism.

THE WITNESSES. First Witness-The books written by the leaders of Bolshevism-chiefly Lenin and Trotsky-both before and after they had attained power. Lenin is dead, and Trotsky has been banished by his former companions, but their ideas, plans and ambitions are in their books. Second Witness-The laws passed by the Russian Government and published officially to the world for all to read. Third Witness-The newspapers officially subsidised or authorii5ed by the Russian Government. These newspapers WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA 5 are to be judged not by one or other article but by their constant and consistent style of writing. Fourth Witness-The public acts of the Russian Govern­ ment; for example, the trial, banishment and execution of Catholic priests and prelates. Fifth Witness-The Roman Catholic priesthood. There are Catholic priests-American, French, Russian and Polish, with knowledge of the Russian language, who have spent, not a few days but years, and even long years, in Russia. These men have travelled through Russia, have met persons of every rank and condition, and realising their great respon­ sibility have sent information to His Holiness the Pope; and have, moreover, published their account of what they saw, especially with regard to the religious condition of the c0untry. TRADE UNION DELEGATIONS. How dilierent is the value of their testimony from that of the delegations that went from various European countries recently, who stayed a few weeks in Russia, understood scarcely anything of the language, were conducted by agents of the RusSIan Government, saw only what it was arranged they were to see, and heard only what the Russian Government consented they should hear. Now, all these witnesses-the books of the Bolshevists, their laws, their official papers, their public acts, and in addition the Catholic priest-witnesses-all agree that Bolshevism is bent on deter­ mined and desperate warfare against private property, against the Catholic religion and against God. But there is one other, who is not a mere witness, but the final and supreme Judge on earth.

THE JUDGE. The voice of all Catholic ages is heard in the thunderous sentence attributed to Augustine :-" Roma locuta est, causa finita est "-" Rome has spoken, the case is finished." Rome is impartial, for rich and poor are its children. Rome is well informed; it has sources of information in every part of Russia and from every class in Russia. Rome does not speak to the world lightly. It carefully weighs' facts 6 WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA before passing judgment. And on Russia Rome has spoken not once or twice, but over and over again; not one Pope, but two; not merely six or seven years ago, but every year, and several times this year. The friends of Bolshevism say there is no persecution in Russia, but the Pope declared there was and is; not merely persecution of religion, but a most determined attempt to destroy all morality. The friends of Soviet Russia declare that the Catholic Church is free in Russia, but the Pope declares to the world that there are Catholic laymen, women and priests, and not merely priests but at least two Catholic Bishops, at this moment undergoing sentences of penal servitude. Some of these are confined in the island of Solivetskv-a hell on earth, up near the North Pole, where there is darkness for almost five months of the year; where the prisoners undergo a slow torture; where death is practically the only penalty for offending prison officials by word or deed. Half of the Roman Catholic priests have disappeared in Russia under the rule of the Bolshevists, either through execution, exile, starvation or banishment.

IRISH ORATORS. It is sometimes alleged that those condemned by the Bolshevists were condemned because they were opposed to the law. It is true; but the laws were such that no Catholic priest or layman could in conscience obey them. They opposed the law as the martyrs of ancient Rome opposed the law when they refused to offer to the Roman Emperor the honour of sacrifice which is due to God alone. They opposed the law as the priest who said Mass in Ireland in penal days opposed the law. And yet, sad to say, that while Catholic laymen and women, nuns and priests are dying a living death for the Faith in Russia, Irish men and women who call themselves Catholics, congratulate their murderers and heap calumny upon the unhappy victims. How sad that there are Irish writers who despise and ridicule the solemn declarations of the Supreme Pontiff; and scarcely either in Press or party meeting is ther:e ·a public voice raised to shame them into silence. WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA 7

CHAPTER II.

THE LAST OF THE CZARS The subject of the Bolshevism of Russia is a vast and interesting one from many aspects. The purpose, however, of this pamphlet is merely to give a short account of its general course, and its consequences from the religious and moral point of view. The territory ruled for the last ten years by the Russian Government contains eight and a-half million square miles, about one-sixth of the land surface of the earth. It is thus nearly three hundred times the size of Ireland, and it is twice the size of all the countries of Europe combined. It contains 150 millions of people, a population almost equal to that of the United States and England together. This immense population contains peoples of 200 different nationalities, ranging from highly civilised Europeans to Mongoli;tn and Siberian barbarians, speaking many different languages and dialects. As regards religion, before the Bolshevist revolution there were 12 millions of Roman Catholics; the vast majority of the remaining population calling themselves Orthodox Catholics. The remarkable thing about the Orthodox Catholic Church is that it is not orthodox. Long centuries ago they broke away from the true Church; but even now the Orthodox Catholics. hold almost every point of our religion, except that they refuse to acknowledge the Pope. They have a true priesthood validly ordained. They have the Sacraments as we have. They have the Mass; and are remarkable for their devotion to the Blessed Virgin, showing the greatest veneration to her pictures or ikons, which generally represent her as she appears in the well-known picture ,of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. When the Great European War broke out in 1914, Russia had been for centuries in a state of political and religious slavery. The supreme ruler was the Czar or Emperor, who had complete and absolute power of life and death. There was no Parliament, no Cabinet Council, nothing to restrict or limit the power of the Czar. And not merely was he the 8 WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA ruler of the State, he was also supreme in the Russian Schismatical Orthodox Church. The result was that degradation and demoralization had spread through Church and State. The citizen had no freedom, and those who dared to claim the slightest liberty were arrested, imprisoned, and. without any trial, exiled to prisons in Siberia, the land of ice and snow, there to spend. a miserable exi~tence, thousands of miles from civilization. .

The unfortunate peasants in the country were no better than slaves, under the cruel lash of the landlord. No religion was tolerated except the national schismatical religion, and the Catholic religion in particular was perse­ cuted with the greatest severity. Such was Russia when the Great War began. Russia was under the absolute dominion of the Czar, and the Czar, a weak and feeble­ minded man, was under the absolute dominion of his wife­ the Czarina; and she in turn was under the absolute dominion of an unprincipled adventurer, by name Rasputin. And who was Rasputin and what was the secret of his influence over the Czarina? He was a coarse and depraved Siberian, notorious for his public immorality, and with a long criminal record. He was not a priest of the Russian church; but he posed as an Orthodox Russian monk. And his .influence over the Czarina was due to a remarkable power, which has not yet been fully explained. The Czar had only one son, who was to inherit the mighty Empire of Russia. On this child all the affections of the Czar and Czarina were set, but this boy suffered from a strange disease, which is often found amongst royal children in Europe. This disease is called hremophilia. Victims of this disease are known in medicine as hremo­ philics or " bleeders." It shows itself in a certain weakness of the veins and arteries so great that the sufferer is liable at the slightest injury to begin to bleed, and even to bleed to death. The slightest scratch, a knock of hand or foot against a chair or table; will cause .this terrible bleeding. Everything known to medical science was done for the heir to the Russian throne, but all in vain. Only one man in"the world could cure the fits of bleeding of the son of the Czar; that man was Rasputin. Whether he did so through hypnotism WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA 9 or diabolical power, or some unknown medical remedy* cannot now be discovered. All that is certain is, that he alone could stop the attacks of bleedmg and telievethe excruciating pain of the heir to the Russian throne; and so Rasputin was indispensable. He claimed to be a prophet from on high; he ruled Russia throughout the Great War. For his influence over the Czarina was supreme, and the Czar weakly yielded to her will. During the war Rasputin appointed and dismissed the Ministers of State; placed traitors in command of armies, and laid down the plans of campaign. As a result of his interference millions of Russian lives were lost at the front. The people, maddened by the conduct of the Imperial family, broke into revolt, organised great strikes, and prepared for revolution. Still Rasputin held on his reckless course. At last he was assassinated in December, 1916, by a group of Russian princes. He had foretold that his own death would be followed by the death of the Czarina. And in this at least, he proved to be a prophet. Tyranny, in its insane course, had gone too far. Insane tyranny was followed by insane revolt. Rioting in the streets of the Russian cities was followed by mutinies of the troops and open rebellion. The Czar was compelled to resign his throne, and in May, 1917, was imprisoned with all his family. A Provisional Government of men of faIrly moderate views was established. But once disorder had begun the most violent and unscrupulous began to come to ~ the front. And amidst the general turmoil Lenin, the mastermind of Bolshevism, realised and seized his opportunity.

CHAPTER III.

LENIN

In April, 1917, the German military authorities .locked and sealed a railway train to pass from Switzerland to Russia; and in that train was a man of 47 years of age, the man who

".*A few months ago a famous American physician claimed that be had discovered a remedy for hremophilia. 10 WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA will go down to history as the founder of Bolshevism, a man with. a will of iron and a heart of stone-Nicholas Lenin. Lenin was a Russian of good family, and had received an excellent e4ucation. But his experience of life was destined to be more bitter and more painful than falls to the lot of most men. When Nicholas was 17 years of age, his brother joined a conspiracy to assassinate the Czar, but was betrayed and hanged. From that day Lenin was an unbending and implacable rebel, living on hate, determined on vengeance. .He was banished from Russia by the Czarist Government. and afterwards from various other countries of Europe. In poverty, loneliness and starvation, for twenty years by word and writing and action he plotted and planned the destruction. first of the Czar, and then of all modern civilization. As the years advanced his heart became harder, and his will more adamant and his hate more intense; hate of Russian misgovernment, hate of modern social systems, hatred of all religion, hatred of God. In 1917, the German military authorities, hoping that his presence in Russia would demoralise the Russian armies and force them to peace, oftered him a passage from Switzer­ land back to Russia, forbidding him to speak while passing through, lest he might infect Germany with the poison of his doctrines. Lenin reached Russia with his mind perfectly clear on what he was to do, and his will bent on the doing. He was to overthrow the whole social system, establish an extreme form of Communism, thus ensuring the destruction of all private right, all private property, and all religion. He urged the soldiers to abandon the front, and the workmen to take over all factories, and the peasants to take over all the land of Russia. It was a clear policy, and it won the day. The landlords throughout Russia were massacred in thousands and their lands taken over by the peasants. Factories were seized and controlled by the workmen. Bolshevism was the ruler of Russia. . On Tuesday night, July 16, 1918, shHtly after midnight, the Czar and the members of his family were awakened from sleep. He and his wife, his only son of 14 years, his four daughters and four servants were led downstairs from their prison cells to an underground cellar, and there WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA 11 all the eleven were instantly shot by twelve soldiers, acting on the orders of the BolshevIst Government. Their bodies were sprinkled with petrol and burnt tQ ashes. The Czar of RusSIa was no more. Bolshevism was in control and Nicholas Lenin was at the helm. And yet, if a certain boy of 14 years had not suffered from an incurable disease, Nicholas Lenin would probably have died unknown in his lonely lodgings in Switzerland, and the history of Russia and the world would have been far different. On such slight accidents do great events depend.

CHAPTER IV.

BOLSHEVISM AT WORK

And now we may pause for a few moments to explain the system of Bolshevism. The word Bolshevists or Bolshiviki is simply the Russian for "majority," and the extreme Communists received that name because by Lenin's efforts in a Communist Congress in 1903 the Russian Com­ munists by a solid majority decided to work for open and direct revolution rather than for reform by more peaceful means. Bolshevist then means an extreme or revolutionary Communist. They are men of every class-nobles, business­ men, professors, students, professiona.l men-but all agreeing in holding extreme Communist viewo.. There are, perhaps, half a million of members, and these are the rulers of the remaining 150 millions of Russians. The Bolshevists maintain that all private property in every state, beginning with Russia, should be abolished. Those who have no property should arm and prepare in secret, continually fan the flames of class war, especially by general strikes, and finally seize the opportunity to dispossess and disarm all other citizens and take possession of the powers of Government At present, in Russia, the workers in city factories, the Trades Unions and the military regiments appoint delegates. This group of delegates constitutes a soviet, something like our council-town or rural. All these soviets send dele­ gates to the all Russian Congress, which is the supreme 12 WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA

authority o~ 'the State; but this Congress is so composed that the, peasants, who fonn three-fourths of the population of Russia, have scarcely any representation in the' Congress. The reason for excluding the Russian peasantry from a voice in government is clear enough. The country­ people of Russia, having obtained the land, want to be let alone, to, possess it in peace and to practise their, religicm. Amongst' these there are scarcely any Bolshevists. Thus, a, constant struggle is going on in Russia between the Bolshevist leaders and the peasants; the leaders trying to force the fanners to hand over their fanns to be amalgamated into huge State fanns on which they are to work as State servants, the farmers on the other hand trying to hold to the farms and work them as their private property. And if Bolshevism at any time goes down, it will be due. in all probability, to the opposition of the country workers. In Russia, no priest, monk or nun has a vote. All who have any income, all who keep a servant or workman or employee of any kind whatever, are deprived of the vote; and, in practice, this means that all are without a vote who belonged to any of these classes before the Revolution. Each local soviet is in full local control, and can even decide who are to be allowed to vote at the next election. Voting is open, so that the Bolshevist may know who is for and who is against him. The Supreme Congress rules Russia through a group of eighteen Cabinet Ministers or "Com­ missars." There is no liberty of the Press and no paper is allowed to hold opinions contrary to the Government policy. Moreover, all public privileges are reserved for Communist workers. The Bolshevists rule by terror, and make no secret of it ; their secret police being extremely numerous and efficient, aild having power practically of life and death. According to Soviet official papers, 1,800,000 persons have been executed by their secret police force. ". Now, no thinking man could deny that in endeavouring to proVide reasonable facilities for the education,' health, recreation, good housing and comfort of' the workers, the' Bolshevist 'Government, if it had followed right principles;' WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA 13 would have set a headline for the rest of the world, and have done what so many capitalistic governments have shamefully neglected to do. Russia has made theatres, -cinemas, art schools, educational advantages, creches and kindergarten schools avanable to all manual workers, even the poorest. Arid has not Pope Leo declared that every govern­ ment is bound to take special care of the wage-earners, since those who have money have many ways of looking after their own interests? Nor can it be denied that gigantic efforts should be made in every country of the world, as Pope Leo declared, to provide reasonable means of health and comfort for all the citizens, especially the workers. But, alas! in Russia the manual wage earners in towns have received certain temporal benefits, at the cost of the enslave­ ment of other classes of the people. And all, even the workers, are subject to a despotism and tyranny far more effective, penetrating and widespread than even the tyranny of the Czar. So despotic is the rule of the Bolshevists, that every citizen is liable, under the law, to conscription for ·compulsory. labour. The Soviet Press of 1929 reported 247 executions in two months. About 300,000 have been exiled to the everlasting ice of Siberia, most of them for political and. economic offences. Many social workers--even extreme Socialists­ declare that the Russian worker is, on the whole, worse off than under the Czarist Government. But even granting that the Russian workers' temporal condition has been improved, have not his spiritual interests suffered-have not his rulers

THE DUTY OF CATHOLICS. Surely no drop of genuine Irish Catholic blood CGuld have flowed in the veins of those men and women who praised the Soviet Government for its treatment vf the worker! Would .any genume Irishman praise the Protestant tyrants of the penal days who offered the poor Catholic man riches and land if he abandoned his faith? Would any genuine Christian praise the souper who makes the poor child rich at the -cost of stealing from him his faith? Surely only treacherous WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA f~sehood could have dared to say that the (Bolshevist Government treated the worker well, when it gave him bread on condition of abandoning his God. Is it not time that Catholic public men should make their voices heard, and protest in Dublin against their party-platforms and party,papers being used to help on the Russian anti-God campaign? Is it not time also that all true Christians in Ireland should obey the call of Christ's Vicar, and work w:ith earnest energy to Improve the housing, food, health and social conditions of the workers of the country?

CHAPTER V.

"BY THEIR FRUITS yqu SHALL KNOW THEM" BolshevIsm, then, has given the workman bread, and deprived him of the right to adore his God. It has gone further. It has set itself to eradicate the very idea of God from the hearts of Russia's millions. Bolshevist ambassadors in foreign c0untries deny that the Russian Government persecutes religion; but at home in Russia the Bolshevist Government not merely admits but boasts of its determination to destroy all belief in God. Bolshevism stands self­ condemned; and its own public leaders and public actions bear testimony to the truth of the accusation of religious persecution. First Witness-The writings of Bolshevist leaders. In his various books the prophet of Bolshevism, Lenin, maintains that there is no God and nG hereafter. "The root of all evil," he says, " is private property. Religion is opium to drug and stupefy the people into submission to the Capitali~.t. Religion must be destroyed with the Capitalist.» ( The Bolshevist system is unthinkable without terrorism." Trotsky, the former Military Chief of the Bolshevists, wrote in his book, Between Red and White-" Bolshevism main­ tains there is no standard of morality." "The A.B.C. of Communism," an official publication of the Soviet Govern­ ment, declares-" The Soviet power must exert every energy against religion. All religions are one and the same poison. WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA 15 intoxicating and deadening the mind, the will and thE' con­ science; a fight to the death must be declared against them. Our task is not to reform but to destroy all kinds of religion, .all kinds of morality." Again-" It is the duty of the State to wage war without mercy on religion." "Religion is the -opium of the people." A pamphlet published by the Soviet Government in 1923 says-" The anti-religious war is not for Russia alone; it must be carried on throughout the world, even in Catholic countries." Second Witness-Laws of the Russian Government. 1st-All ecclesiastical goods and buildings are declared to belong to the State. 2nd-Law of April, 1929-" All anti-religious propaganda is allowed. No religious pamphlets, papers or books are to be published. No act is lawful in public or private which tends to invite others to religious services." Thus parents can be punished if they ask their c.hildren to say prayers or go to church, and can be even deprived of their children who may then be 'placed in State orphanages. Any priest is liable to imprisonment who exhorts his people to go to church. 3rd-" No organised church is recognised, but only separate local bodies." This is to destroy the authority of Bishops. 4th-Any church may be closed on the demand of any group of workers who sign a request for its use as a club Qr recreation hall. 5th-Sunday is abolished, the workers' week to consist of five days. . 6th-The sale of Christmas trees is forbidden, also the making of Christmas dinners. 7th-No private schools are permitted. All children must ·attend public schools. No person can teach religion, either publicly or privately, to those under eighteen years of age. 8th-Divorce is lawful at the wish of either party, with or without cause stated. Marriage requires no ceremony. Divorce can take place the same day. Before the law all cohabitation is reckoned as equivalent to marriage. .' 9th~No' religious body can have'special' serVices for . children, young men and women; normaiIitain: reading fooms PI: libraries, hospitals·:.or· Ghani-table institutions. ' 16 WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA Th~d Witness-The official Soviet newspapers. Two or three statements will suffice. The Pravda, the Government paper, of May 7th, 1925-" Middle-class morality must be trampled under foot." The Pravda, of April 8th, 1928-" Anti-religious war must be compulsory. All forces must be called to the anti-God front. A war to the death against all religion." In the Government paper, Bezbojnik, Lounatcharsky, the Minister for Education, wrote in the very first number the dreadful words-" With. all my heart I wish the paper succes:> in its war against the revolting image of God, who throughout the whole of history has caused such diabolic evil to mankind." And within the last few months the Bolshevist system of education has been praised on public platforms in Ireland! Fourth Witness-The Public Acts of it the Russian Government- (1) Between 1918 and 1920, 26 Bishops and 7,000 priests of the Orthodox Church were put to death. Some were hanged, some drowned, some cut to pieces. The Archbishop of Perm was buried alive. The Bishop of Yourief had his nose and ears cut off, and, after prolonged tortures, was cut to pieces. The Archbishop of Varoneje was hanged before the altar of his Church. In the Province of Cherson several priests were crucified. (2) Many Roman Catholic priests have been executed. Many at present are in the mines of Siberia-some already for 8 years-some for teaching catechism to children. (3) In the last two years more than 3,500 churches have been closed. (4) The Government organises public anti-God celebrations at Christmas and Easter. (5) There are eighteen publicly financed schools for training atheist propagandists. (6) A public trial of Almighty God was held under Government auspices, in which figures representing the three Divine persons were put in the dock

THE CHILDREN. (7) Worst of all is the persecution of children. Atheism is systematically taught in all the schools, and children are forced to take part in anti-religious demonstrations. More- WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA 17 over, children are taught to despise morality, especially sex morality. The result is that boys and girls are taught that there is no sex-morality. The dreadful consequence of such bestial doctrine can be more easily imagined than described.

CHAPTER VI.

THE HOLY FATHER'S APPEAL

The evidence which has been already cited proves conclusively the existence and intensity of the war which Bolshevism is waging against God. But no Catholic, even should he be so obstinate as to reject the overwhelming evidence of so many witnesses, can be deaf to the voice of him who is Vicar of Christ, who speaks in the name of God, and who is appointed to enlighten the conscience of humanity. On the feast of the Purification of Our Blessed Lady, February 2nd, 1930, Our Holy Father, Pope Pius XI, called upon all Christians to join with him in prayer for the persecuted Christians of Russia. This letter was addressed to His Eminence Cardinal Pompili, Vicar of Rome. It read, in part, as follows :-

"My LORD CARDINAL. "We are deeply moved by the horrible and sacrilegious crimes that are repeated every day with increasing wicked­ ness against God and against the souls of the vast population of Russia, all of whom are dear to Our heart because of the greatness of their sufferings and because so many sons and servants of this Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church, devoted and generous even to heroism and martyrdom, are num)Jered among them. "From the very beginning of Our Pontificate, following the example of Our Predecessor of holy memory, Benedict XV, We multiplied Our efforts to put an end to this terrible persecution and to avert the grievous evils that press upon these people. " This sacrilegious impiety rages against all priests and the 18 WAR ON GOD IN' RUSSIA

adult faithful, amongst whom, in addition to other victims faithful to the service of God, We hail in a particular manner, Our most beloved sons, Catholic priests and religious, imprisoned, deported, and condemned to forced labour, with two of their bishops, Our venerable brethren Boleslao Sloskan and Alessandro Frison, and with Our representative for the Slav rite, the Catholic Exarch Leonida Fiodorov. But the organizers of the campaign of Atheism and the 'anti-religious front,' wish above all to pervert youth, abusing their simplicity and ignorance. For instead of imparting instruction, science and culture, which like honesty, justice and goodness itself, cannot prosper and flourish without religion, they organize the 'Militant No- . God League.' They deceitfully hide their moral, cultural and even economic decadence by an agitation as barren as it is inhuman, in which children are urged to denounce their parents, to destroy and defile sacred buildings and emblems, and, above all, to dishonour their own souls with every vice and the most shameful excesses. The authors of these things wish to destroy religion and God Himself: what they effect is rather the ruin of intelligence and even of human nature.

" But the fresh outbreak of blasphemies-and sacrileges, now officially published, demands a universal and solemn repara­ tion. During the feast of last Christmas, not only were many hundreds of churches closed, numerous ikons burnt, all the workers forced to work, the children compelled to attend school, and the Sundays suppressed; but things have come to such a pass, that those employed in the workshops, both men and women, are forced to sign a declaration of formal apostasy and hatred of God, under pain of being deprived of their tickets for food, clothing and lodging, without which every inhabitant of that unhappy country must die of hunger, distress and cold. Moreover, there were organized in all towns and many villages infamous carnival pageants, similar to those which the foreign diplomats beheld last Christmas in Moscow itself, in the very centre of their capital. Lorries were seen going by, on which were nu,mbers of youths, dressed in sacred vestments, holding crosses which they spat upon. On other lorries there were WAR ON GOD IN RUSSIA 19 erected large Christmas trees, on which numerous dolls dressed to represent Catholic and Orthodox Bishops, were hung by the neck. Then, in the middle of the city, other youths performed acts of sacrilege of every kind against the Cross. "We are sure that Divine Providence will, at the time determined by Itself, provide the means necessary to repair the moral and material ruin of this vast territory, which makes up one-sixth of the entire world. We, till then, shall continue with all the strength of Our soul, in this prayer of reparation and propitiation, which will draw down, as We trust, Divine Mercy on the people of Russia. " And in this confidence We bestow from Our heart on you Lord Cardinal, and on all those who will unite them­ selves with Us in this crusade of prayer, the Apostolic benediction, as a pledge of heavenly graces." A few months after the publication of this Letter, in a Consistory held on June 30, 1930, the Holy Father declared that the three Hail Marys and the other prayers recited after Low Mass, were to be offered henceforth for peace and religious liberty in Russia. He expressed his desire that the faithful should be frequently reminded of the intention with which He wished them to recite these prayers. During the 'Christmas of 1930, in response to his appeal for prayers for Russia, the school-children in many parts of America were urged by their teachers to offer Communions of Reparation for the sins of Russia and of intercession for its persecuted people. There is surely no reason why we in Ireland should lag behind Catholics else­ where, in responding to the Pope's appeal. With a little encouragement from their teachers, the school-children of Ireland-and indeed the adult Catholics as well-would gladly offer Holy Masses, Communions, and Rosaries for the Church afflicted and persecuted in Russia. 20 WAR ON GOn;IN RUSSIA

PRAYER TO THE LITTLE FLOWER FOR RUSSIA

Loving and merciful Saint, deign to succour our Russian brethren, victims of a long and cruel anti-Christian persecution, and obtain for them perseverance in the Faith. progress In the love of God and of their neighbour, and confidence in the Most Holy Mother of God. Send them fervent priests to offer reparation for blasphemies and sacrileges committed against the Most Holy Eucharist. May angelical purity and Christian virtues blossom forth again, especially amongst the young, so that a noble people, free from all servitude, may spontaneously return to the fold that the loving heart of the living Christ entrusted in its entirety to Saint Peter and his successors, and thus taste at last the joy of glorifying, in the communion of the Holy Catholic Church, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Indulgences. 1.-300 days, each time, to all who recite this prayer with devotion. 2.-Plenary, on the usual conditions, to all who recite it every day for a month. (S. Pen, 19 August, 1929).