* * * * Church and State in Germany The
Pastoral Letter read in all Roman Catholic pulpits in Germany on Sunday was a courageous and notable utterance. ' Its significance is marked by the fact that its publication in the German PreSs' was forbidden by the authorities ; that it was read in the churches • in spite of an interview two days earlier between the Church leaders and Herr Kerrl, the Minister for Church Affairs ; • and that no steps have apparently been taken by the Government against any representatives of the Church. The letter, which emanated from the recent Conference of German Bishops at Fulda, -and must of course be assumed. to have the approval of the Vatican, was more than a mere defence of the Catholic Church. It openly challenged the new paganism sponsored by Dr. Rosenberg, and in language a paraphrase of apostolic words it declared dogmatically that " if the law of the State comes into conflict with the law of Nature and the Commandment of Cod, the Word applies : we must obey God rather than man." A definite challenge to the claim of Herr Baldur von Shiraeh and the Hitler Youth to exclusive authority over the children of Germany is contained in a declaration that " it is the sacred duty of parents to send their' children only into organisations where • religious convictions are respected, and where moral purity is not threatened." When the conference of the • Confessional Synod takes place a few days hence the importance of a simultaneous challenge presented by the Catholic and Protestant Churches of Germany to the. claims of a totalitarian State will be easier to determine.
Previous page
