"With Dismal Regularity"

Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it.--Psalms, 126:1 (Douay Version).

To the growing chorus of U.S. Protestants and Catholics who have urged that the Lord be allowed to help build the house of peace, the Roman Catholic hierarchy of England, Scotland and Wales last week added its voice. Some 25 bishops and archbishops specifically approved the punishment of war criminals and called for the just treatment of small nations. But in general their statement was an expression of broad principles (summed up in the warning of the 126th Psalm) which urged the peacemakers to substitute Christianity for secret diplomacy and power politics. Excerpt:

"We . . . consider it our solemn duty both to our flocks and to our own nations to express what in our view are the principles without which peace based on justice cannot be restored. . . .

"It is certain that it is against the public interest to make commitments in foreign affairs of which the citizens who will later be called upon to implement them are kept in ignorance. . . .

"With dismal regularity we have seen Christian families raise their heads in hope only to be crushed again by politicians determined to control their whole life and activities. The Christian virtue of patriotism in many lands has been dethroned in favor of political allegiance.

"We do not make the mistake of believing that ideas current among people of English-speaking races are necessarily more Christian than those of others. We do not consider that the democratic forms of government with which we are familiar must be most suited to the needs of all other peoples. We recognize, on the contrary, that a wide variety in forms of government is compatible with social justice. . . . Without a family spirit [among nations] renewed strife is inevitable. . . . If the treaty makers are genuinely desirous of creating the conditions for peace, they must bring to the conference table a determination not to further their own political creed, but to restore a sense of security to the people of all nations."

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