The Quieting of Voices and Bells – Folha de S. Paulo, October 28, 1973

 

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

 

Other pressing issues have prevented me from giving the speech by Mr. João Alves (Arena–BA) against birth control in the House of Representatives the due praise.

After energetically and deservedly censuring the US government for promoting birth control, the congressman pointed out the campaign’s materialistic and anti-Christian roots in opposing the free development of the human species. He rightly stated that, in certain circumstances, this can lead to “bloodless and refined genocide.”

Mr. João Alves concluded by arguing that the solution to the problem of hunger does not lie in restricting birth rates but in increasing production and per capita income and in adopting measures “to favor marriage and the family, which are the basis of society.”

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On a pilgrimage to Telgte in North Rhine-Westphalia, eight thousand nuns, doctors, and nurses protested against a bill to legalize abortion in West Germany.

The statement by Most Rev. Heinrich Tenhumberg, Bishop of Munster, was both edifying and forceful: “We would rather close our hospitals than tolerate a law contrary to ethics.”

Camões wrote, “A weak king makes a strong people weak.” Conversely, through word and example, a strong bishop can instill remarkable courage in his diocesans. The pilgrims surrounded communists distributing pro-abortion pamphlets and destroyed the ignoble propaganda, shouting: “Abortion is murder.”

Magnificent!

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On the contrary, we can only regret the fact reported a few weeks ago by Rio de Janeiro’s Jornal do Comercio newspaper: the government of the state of Rio Grande do Norte continues to distribute free contraceptives as part of its family planning policy.

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A delightful and inspiring scene took place a few days ago in the small Italian town of Calcata (Lazio), in the province of Rome, still imbued with the traditional principles of Christian civilization.

Two movie actors —a man and a woman—appeared there, completely naked, to be filmed by a group of technicians. The reaction of popular modesty was not long in coming. Feeling rightly attacked in their morality, the townspeople set out in pursuit of the shameless couple, putting the immodest actress to flight and giving a well-deserved beating not only to the naked man but also to the technicians in charge of filming.

Meanwhile, at the initiative of the zealous parish priest, the bell of the little church in Calcata rang out in protest.

Ah! If only all the bells of the churches bordering all the beaches would ring whenever young girls or old women appeared in monokinis or bikinis, how many consciences would be alerted, how many people would be held back from the precipice!

Oh! The tragedy of bells that fall silent when they should ring, the tragedy of voices that fall silent when they should speak! Even worse is the tragedy of voices that say what they should not say! What dark and painful pages will Church’s historians write about this subject fifty or a hundred years from now!

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Below is a concrete example of a voice that says the opposite of what it should say.

I recently came across an issue of The Herald of Freedom dated August 17. The American magazine reports that at the end of April, Archbishop Camara led a retreat in Tucson, Arizona, for sixty priests. I highlight this statement by the Red Archbishop: “Both Catholicism and Marxism are progressing in Latin America. Both have much to learn from each other. … We should look to Marx for seeds of truth, and Marxists should not just repeat what Marx said a hundred years ago, but what he would say if he were here today.”

No comment.

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With all due respect, we cannot fail to point out that Vatican Radio is a voice that speaks contrary to the truth. In its September 27 broadcast, it delivered a broad and unrestricted eulogy of the recently deceased Brazilian sociologist Josué de Castro.

As everyone knows, he was one of the most prominent figures in Brazilian subversion. His biased assessment of the national situation led to his exile from the country. It is therefore difficult to understand how the Vatican radio station could have praised Josué de Castro’s books, “in which passion and scrupulous scientific analysis resulted in a denunciation of the living conditions of millions and millions of people in developing countries” (cf. Jornal do Brasil, July 28, 1973).

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In writing this commentary, I sense discomfort among certain readers who will find it irreverent. That is because they judge with double standards.

They themselves have probably read the commentary by Cardinal Silva Henriquez, Archbishop of Santiago, on Paul VI’s recent statements regarding the situation in Chile.

The pontiff stated that “irrational and inhuman” executions are occurring in Chile and condemned the “blindness and cruelty of the murderous weapons wielded, supposedly, to restore law and order.”

In this regard, the Archbishop of Santiago did not hesitate to say that Paul VI was misled by religious men and women who had to leave Chile (cf. Folha de São Paulo, October 11 and 21, 1973).

The Chilean cardinal’s statement should come as no surprise to readers displeased with our commentary on Vatican Radio’s unreserved praise of Josué de Castro. They are accustomed to believing that everything Cardinal Silva Henrique says or does is good.

The truth, however, is that if Paul VI may be wrong in his assessment of the concrete situation in Chile, then Vatican Radio may be misinformed about the work and actions of a Brazilian sociologist.