QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK

The Editor
Catholics and Politics IGNOkANCE about the Church's
attitude to politics is widespread, and there is some excuse for it. since ii is in itself a complex subject and one confused by the inevitable differences between theory and practice. None the less, the quickness with which commentators jump to extravagent conclusions argues something worse than mere ignorance and con luaon.
The Church, it cannot be too often repeated. leaves the Catholic citizen entirely free to adopt what political line he pleases so long as he is not thereby !evolved in adherence to views plainly. and indeed grossly, incompatible with Catholic faith and morals. In practice this means at the present time that the Catholic citizen is free to follow any line except the Communist one, or one which is dearly tantamount to supporting the Communist bid for power. But, of course, at different times different situations have to be lima When Socialism or Radicalism were openly and avowedly fighting to deny to Catholics the baste freedom of religion (now convenieatly incorporated in the Four Freedoms); then obviously the Church forbade Catholics to sup
port them, But the essence of the matter always remains the same: the Catholic's political freedom is only limited by a dear spisitual or moral consideration In terms of the perfectly well•known Catholic teaching in these matters.
Inevitably there have been abuses in the past, and inevitably there is the chance of abuses to-day. The ordinary Catholic does not necessarily understand the principle and may easily jump to the conclusion that, because a priest or a Catholic book or a Catholic newspaper takes a more elaborate political view which, in that individual opinion, represents a fuller or more perfect application of Catholic spirit and teaching, he is bound to agree and act upon it. Equally. members of the clergy, who arc sometimes men with political tastes and prejudices of their own, may on occasion stretch these delicate distinctions too tar and use spiritual authority for what is really a temporalpolitical end. But the plain fact is that to-day the Church is immensely conscious of the danger of any such abuse, and is far more disposed to limit her rightrul spiritual and flInral authority in its application to concrete political situations than to exageeiate it, Rome and Moscow : An "Economist" Article IN these conditions it is quite unpar• donable on the part of responsible
politicians and journalists to interpret the success of Christian parties in Continental countries as involving the danger of a clerical totalitarianism to be contrasted with Moscow's. We resent very particularly an interpretation of this kind in a leading article on foreign affairs in the L.conondst. This paper which. we can delin:tely say, knows better. says hi so many words that the leaders of the Church are encouraging what is tantamount to an illiberal, reactionary and potentially
Fascist crusade. (The full quotation will be found on page one of Tes CATHOLIC HERALD this week. and the reader may judge whether we are un
fair.) And in the sentence: " The worker may not relish direction from Moscow, but he prefers it to Rome," the writer allows the implication that the two leaderships ale comparable.
The Economist, better than most national papers. knows that the Cornmunist ideology is avowedly tomb tarian. Communism makes no dietinebon between the ideological order and the political order, between Church and State. (Thai is otte reason why it may seem so much more effective in the short run than Christianity: it dictates to the whole man on every point.) Catholicism always emphasises the distinction between Cherch and State. This great distinction, made by Our Lord. excluded thetx:racy and enabled Christendom to develop, i.e., a free culture in which men were enabled to pursue the highest ideal as persons. free and rational. By this distinction thc purity of religion was preserved and free society made possible. It is at the opposite pole to Communism or Fascism. Allowing for all possible abuse and misunderstandiags, there still could be no comparison between the spiritual authority of Rome and the
totalitarianism of Moscow. And we say nothing of the obvious difference between the moral content of the two ideologies. The Church, however much practical abuse may have evert hi at certain times in the past, has never once weakened on its high spiritual and moral teaching and message to mankind; Communism makes no bones about its essentially materialist cad.
In Paris AT the time of writing, it is still not possible to be certain whether the Paris Conference will overcome the deadlock in peace-making, hut the omens are poor. While Mr. Gromyko, in New York, seems more preoccup:ed in maintaining Russia's right of veto than with pursuing his own anti-Spanish interests (whereas Sir Alexander Cadogan shows precisely the opposite interests), Mr. Molotov remains intransigent over the first major disagreement, Italian reparations. Obviously Russia has been counting a great deal on the tricks which human memory can play. Just as human memory can keep alive, when it wants to, as in the case of Spain, old • and past grievances, so it can very quickly forget. when it wants to, old injustices. It is already, for example, becoming a sign of crankiness to suggest that the Government in Warsaw is not the legitimate and justly established Polish Government! It is in this memory trick that
Mr. Molotov has put his faith. By refusing to budge and by maintaining his stand for months. he hopes to put Britaie and America in the wrong. The extreme and long-standing Russian demands are expected to become the Starting point of discussion, and a moderate compromise on their basis is considered
only reasonable. But Mr. Bevin, a man who has had more experience of fair negotiation than most, has not been deceived. MT. yaws might have proved weaker had it not been tor the Russian clumsiness or stupidity in prypagenda, which has succeeded its alienating almost all American good will.
In these circumstances, the deadlock can only be brok i by a major Russian change of policy. and of this there is as yet no sign at all. The prospect is infinitely depressing, since it makes a divided world inevitable. Yet perhaps we deceive ourselves in expecting anything else so long as the spiritual and moral realities underlying the political differences are not squarely faced.
Need for Spanish Referendum IT has become almost pointless now "1to comment further on the farce which the Security Council is staging about Spain. Those who have listened to the debates on the B.B.C. Foreign Service must have understood something of the hypocrisy of speakers talking of a " police State " needing to he suppressed when police States arc the honouled members of that same Council and appointed judges over Spain. Scarcely less shameful arc the distinctions between " potentially " and '' actually aggressive States when the whole world knows and is deeply concerned about potential aggression which cats throw the what; world into a third war. The British Government, while carefully refraining from these references to reality, has at least attempted to maintain some vestige of legal decency, but to little purpose.
On the other hand. this behaviour in the name of the United Nations cannot absolve Spain itself from the need to riSC above the objectively unsatisfactory state of her regime. In so far as it is true that the present Government has been greatly strengthened internally by this foreign aggression and interference, a first-class opportunity for improvement has been offered. The best answer to U.N.0 would in fact be the presentation to the Spanish people of a Constitution guaranteeing the Four Freedoms and a Referendum to decide whether the people approve of the present leadership. It would be extremely amusing to watch U.N.O.'s reaction to the holding of such a Referendum with foreign observers, Food : Our Responsibility THERE is something rather pathetic d in some of the Press leactions to the continuing bad news from the Ministry of Food. One paper, commenting on the likelihood of bread rationing and the cut in soap and possibly fats. indignantly demands that this sort of thing must stop somewhere! Alas. it isn't a question of stopping it. The lest act of tree choice in the matter was in starting it. These things arc the inevitable consequences of modern wars and, still more, of the immorality with which these are waged. When we insisted on unconditional surrender and on the virtual destruction of the enemy because he was nest fit to live with such perfect creatures as ourselves, we set in motion a whole train of dire consequences of which the shortages to-day are one. It is true that a humanitarian motive is to be discerned in this country's willingness tb forego something to prevent starvation even among the enemy, but we know perfectly well that the stronger motivecomes from the tardy realisation that the ultimate situation would be immensely aggravated if we did nothing. It is as useless for an English paper to cry " 'This must stop somewhere!" as it would he for a German paper to cry out against the far greater misery of its seeders. We willed the causes which led to these evils, and we now have to hear them with as convincing a grill as we can manage.
Labour Evades Its Responsibilities REVIEWING the work of the Labour Party Conference as a whole, one is left with the sense that the greatest possible opportunity the Labour Party has had to make itself national, was missed. Whatever views may be taken about the detailed economic and industrial measures which the Government is putting into operation, everybody is agreed that the country's paramount need is an increase in production. The chance could have been taken of a great appeal by the workers themselves, to the workers in mine, factory, mill, workshop, transport, for a supreme effort to ensure this country's industrial and commercial future Such an opportunity would certainly not have been missed by the Soviet Union, but the Labour Party, while anxious to stand by international workers' solidarity, is extremely chary of imitating the Soviet Union's realisation that there can be no cake to divide if the effort to cook it is not forthcoming.
Labour's failure to seize a chance like this is largely ERIC to its tradition of safeguarding the workers' interests as against the capitalist partner in a common system. If it claims to have transcended this stage of industrial evolution and to have assumed power and leadership, it is high time it also tea, liscd the national responsibilities which this position entails.
International Trade . Unionists THE original application by the World Federation of Trade Unions, representing 60,000,000 trade unionists, for participation in the proceedings of the committee of the Economic and Social Council under U.N.O., has been turned down as violating the terms of the Charter. It has been modified, however, to a demand for the right to send observers to the Council and o consult with any of its committees and commissions, and in this form is under discussion. That the Council should be in close touch with this important organisation is certainly desirable. It should be recognised, however, that the granting of the Federation's demand would, as Mr. Noel-Baker pointed out, open the door to other organisations which might consider that they had a claim to be
hea d be said, for instance, on
Much ch could behalf of such a claim put forward by the, International Co-operative Alliance representing consumers. An Economic and Social Council has to take into consideration both producers and those for-whom they produce, and Mr. Noel-Baker was fully justified in referring, in this connection, to the Alliance. Equally justified, in the. same context, was his reference to religious bodies. It could be argued with force that no Council dealing on an international scale with economic and social questions should ignore the voice of
organised religion. But while trade unionists have been clamorous and persistent in putting forward their demand. there has been no corresponding attempt by these bottles to gain a hearing. Even as a gesture recognising the claim of the international conscience, their admission to consultation would be valuable.