Faulhaber and Niem8ller Before a crowded congregation in the Cathedral
in Munich, the capital and birthplace of National Socialism, Cardinal Faulhaber once more protested on Sunday against the persecution of religion in Germany and especially against the closing of church schools and the rigid censorship exercised on declarations and encyclicals from the Vatican. The sermon, of course, inevitably lost much of its effect through being suppreasee by every German paper. The greatest evidence of persecution, however, is the trial of,the Protestant Pastor Niemoller in Berlin. The trial, both because of the immense interest it has aroused in Germany and abroad, and because of the principles Pastor Niemoller has formulated with such clarity in opposition to National- Socialism, has become a test-case for the regime. It is characteristic that, immediately after its opening, in camera, the prosecution should attempt to prejudice Pastor Niemoller's case, by accusing the defence of maintaining treasonable relations with foreign supporters, with the result that the defence counsel have withdrawn. There is some hope that Pastor Niemoller may benefit by an amnesty ; but in fact his freedom might be dangerous to the regime. The attack on him has two subsidiary aspects. Pastor Niemoller is connected by birth, training and temperament with the officer class; and, more important, the Protestant Church is the only institution in Germany in which democratic forms of government persist.
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