THE POPE AND THE CRISIS
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] Sin,—Without pretending to precognition of His Holiness' intentions, I take leave to doubt whether the Pope. will -" dare " take the course indicated by Sir . Herbert Kealy in 'your last issue. The Popes have never been deflected from their purpose by threats to their prestige or to their personal safety. The history of the past 185 years is sufficient witness to that. But for , the Holy, Father, „to come down on one side, in this Italo-Abyssinian dispute, would be equivalent to the British Prime Minister's pronouncing judgement on an American gangster, without having heard the case either for the prosecution or for the defence, and
with no commission to act as judge. . .
There can be little doubt that the Pope, if there Appeared even a slender hope of acceptance,, would have offered to act as arbitrator in this unhappy affair. As such, he could call authoritatively for the submission, by each. party, of its, case against the other, and his decision would then be binding on both. His Holiness has, of course, defined publicly and quite plainly—so plainly that Italian papers have expunged the salient passages—the moral law of Christianity in matters of defence, aggression,. and the need for expansion. To do more would be to condemn without trial : to be led by, sentiment and not by reason. The Pope would not ." dare " do that.—I am, Sir, yours, &c.,
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