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* By NCWC News Service
Cardinal Van Roey, Primate of Belgium *Defends Rights of Catholics be kept in the future even to the end of the world. "Therefore, we may be sure that the Church will arise victorious from any difficulty whatsoever. "But this must be understood: the promise has to do with the Church in mass. The Catholic Church will exist throughout the centuries despite persecutions, despite all the disasters that But this does may befall humanity. not necessarily apply to this or that country: the divine promise as such does not contain specifically the assurance that the Catholic Church will be preserved always, for example, in Belgium. France, or in this or that nation: and on this point, often one errs. To maintain the contrary would be to
Defines Relations Between CHURCH AND STATE
contradict history. "One has only to review the history to realise immediately f the church "Catholics have the right to proclaim. to teach, to defend, and to practise the Catholic religion, and Catholic principles in all fields, not only individually, but also from the family viewpoint, in the State, in public life and international life, and with all the means placed at the disposition of man." This declaration of the rights of Catholics is contained in an address by His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Van Roey-successor to the great Cardinal Mercier as Archbishop of Malines, Primate of Belgium, and defender of the rights of his fellow Belgians against the invader-the text of which was published in full in the L'Osservatore Romano." "In the present situation, in the profound moral crisis of this hour, what is the position of the Catholic "That is what I am going to Church?" Cardinal Van Roey asked. set forth in this address, since I wish to direct your attention to certain points of actuality. -
"The Church evidently is exposed to grave perils. Will she arise victorious Will she overfrom this cataclysm? come these dangers? The reply is: The Church is indefectible, and has the div-
ine promise of perpetuity: 'The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' That is the promise of Our Lord to St. Peter. 'I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world,' is another solemn promise which He made to His Apostles before departing for Heaven. This promise, as history demonstrates, has been kept and will
that the promise of perpetuity does not apply to the Church in this or that country, no matter how Catholic rr ibristian it may have been. "Let us consider the early days. In
Asia Minor, where the Apostles laboured in the regions close to Palestine, and later in North Africa, Christianity
spread magnificently. Then came the time when everything was blotted out and nothing remained; when Mohammedanism invaded North Africa awl the Near East and destroyed absolutely everything that was left of the early Furthermore, in certain Christianity. countries of the Occident cruel perseWhat was cutions were unleashed.
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left of the Catholic Church in those countries until such time as liberty was When Protestantism arose, restored? in many sections Catholic worship and all the activity of the Church were suppressed entirely. Suppression in Europe. "Therefore we need not assume that we are sure of remaining Catholics because Our Lord has made great promises to His Church; but I believe that it can be affirmed that a mass of nations can have the assurance, the certainty of being saved according to the Catholic viewpoint. I cannot imagine, 1),,'iderre for example, that
would permit the suppression of the Catholic Church in Europe, in that group of countries which truly have constituted the hearthstone of the Church in those countries in such a way as to suppress the influence of the Catholic Church; and there is ample reason for believing this. "On this point I find a difference of opinion in many circles and current in the Press. There are some, even Catholic's, who say: 'It is of little concern to the Church what the fate of our country will be after the war, or what regimen will be imposed! because'-so they say-'the Church adapts herself to all regimens.' What are we to think about such an opinion? "Evidently there is need to distinguish. The Catholic Church adapts herself to all regimens on condition that these regimens safeguard her liberty, do not violate or suppress the rights of conscience; but as to adapting herself to regimens that oppress the rights of conscience, to regimens that persecute the Catholic Church, that cannot be. The more or less tolerable regimens to which the Church is adaptable are comparatively few, and not of many cateIf these regimens do safegories. guard and uphold the rights of the Church and permit her to fulfil her Divine mission, which is to do everythingpossible for the salvation of souls, the Church accepts them, does not oppose them and adapts her activity in those places. "But it is quite evidently impossible' for her to adapt herself to all regimens_ Let us refer to history. Was the Church adapted to Mahommedanism? She was simply suppressed in countries where it dominated. Is the Church adaptable to regimens of persecution? No.
"Therefore it is absolutely false to say that the Church is adaptable to all regimens. The Church fares as do Men can live human organisations. (Continued on Back Cover.)