Sta,-In your footnote to the letter from " Christianity Calling" which appeared in THE CATHOLIC Hews) of August 13, you offer an alternative suggestion of an Allied declaration of readiness to abide by Papal arbitration. Your suggestion is excellent, and we can only hope that the Allied Governments will have the wisdom to do so when the time comes. The whole point of the letter trom " Christianity Calling " is, however, that we should,not delay until the war reaches a stage when the Pope can usefully intervene, but that the British public (to whom their letter is actually addressed) should make a generous gesture of peace now, and thus avoid the appalling bloodshed (Allied as well as German) which is inevitable if the war continues. Such a gesture would not degrade but would enhance our national honour and would help to prepare the way for a lasting peace and would assuage some of the bitterness which has been caused by the increasieg severity of the air offensive.
May I suggest that with the permission of our Catholic Hierarchy the Catholics of this country could cooperate in this truly Christian proposal by organising a petition to the Government to make this gesture of peace?
HENRY COLDHAM.
30, St. Margaret's Street, Bradfordson-Avon, Wilts.
[There is no reason why people should not move now in the direction of pressing the Allied Governments to inform the Pope that the United Nations are willing to make peace on the sole condition that what the Pope himself has put forward in various war-time allocutions in guaranteed to the world.-Eim Loa, C.H