NEWS OF THE WEEK
AFTER the formal vote of the Sacred College upon the canonization of Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas More, the Pope made happy allusions to the English nation and the forthcoming Jubilee celebrations ; and thence turned to world affairs and the menace of war. If, he said, anyone did commit the crime of driving the nations to war, "we shall not be able to do otherwise than pray God with bitterness of heart to 'scatter the peoples who desire war ' " ; and he went on to announce a three days' period of public prayer at Lourdes. His pronouncement was thus both a denunciation of war- makers and an appeal to men in the spirit of religion to spread the cause of peace. Just as the organizers of the Peace Ballot in Britain are endeavouring to mobilize the moral forces in the community for the defence of peace, so the Roman Catholic Church is endeavouring to use its spiritual influence to the same end. In the one ease as in the other the object aimed at is the organization of the forces of civilization for the prevention of war.
