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Communism and America's Churches
by Rev. Francis E. Fenton
Reverend Francis E. Fenton was born in Hartford, Connecticut,
on February 11, 1918. He studied for the priesthood at St. Thomas
Seminary in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and at the Catholic Uni-
versity in Washington, D.C. Father Fenton received his B.A.
degree in philosophy in 1940, and an S.T L. degree in theology
in 1944. He was ordained a priest in Hartford, Connecticut, on
May 18, 1944. At present Father Fenton is pastor of Blessed
Sacrament Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut. A deeply patriotic
American, an outstanding scholar, a much loved priest, and a truly noble man, and
does his utmost, in all little ways and ones within his power, ta make this-with
God's help-a better world.
Communism is an international, criminal, militant, material-
istic, atheistic conspiracy. Its aim is world domination. It will
use any and every conceivable means to realize that aim, and in
the last years, has made truly gigantic strides towards the
attainment of that objective. At the present time it has more than
one billion , some one-third of the human race, under its
tyrannical domination and some sixteen million square
miles of the earth's land surface — the largest number of people
and the most extensive territory ever brought under a single con-
trol in all mortal history. To say that the Communist conspiracy,
those who direct it and those who serve as a part of its diabolic
apparatus, constitutes the most powerful and sinister threat to
free men that the world has ever known is but to state a , a
stark fact which America and what's left of the free world can ig-
nore or minimize only at the cost of their very survival. Today
there are some twenty-five nations completely under Communist
control, and every other nation on earth is under its influence
( many of them to a very high degree) , including the United States
of America. This land is blessed by Almighty God as surely no
other land has ever been. The Communist conspirators will leave
no stone unturned, nor rest content until they have enslaved or
liquidated every single American who is not a part of their nefari-
ous plot to ugate the world.
So totally evil is the Communist conspiracy that there are
some who believe it to be, quite literally, diabolical (of the devil,
satanic). Whether or not this is in fact the case, I cannot
say, I do not know. But this I can say: If atheistic Communism
is not diabolical in any literal sense of the term, it most certain-
ly is the closest thing to it that has thus far appeared on a world-
wide scale within the scope of my knowledge. It is completely
amoral — that is to say it is utterly devoid of morality — and so
will stop at nothing; it will employ any and every method to real-
ize its objectives, however repulsive these may be to the sensi-
bilities of civilized men. They feel that whatever furthers their
cause is good and acceptable; whatever hinders that cause is bad
and unacceptable, with no consideration given to morality or to
moral standards. Expediency is their sole criterion. Anything
goes as long as the aims and purposes of Communism are ad-
vanced. And so the Communist conspirators have ruthlessly mur-
ered, starved, tortured, and unjustly imprisoned millions of hu-
man beings in country after country, to an extent unparalled in all
history. And so they will continue, if allowed, whenever and
wherever they deem it expedient for their ultimate purposes.
And what justifies their total brutality as well as their total
dishonesty? A Communist has absolutely no regard for truth in
word or in deed. He is a consummate liar, skillfully trained by
his mentors in the ways of Communist hypocrisy and deception,
to speak and to act always for the best interests of the conspira-
cy he so faithfully serves and to which he is so thoroughly dedi-
cated. The Communist quotation, "Promises are like pie crust,
made to be broken," quite concisely conveys the idea, while
Communism's all but "perfect" record of broken treaties down
through the years should be more than ample proof that the word
of a Communist is absolutely worthless.
First and foremost, however, among the several reasons for
the strongest opposition to, and unqualified condemnation of, the
conspiracy of Communism and, as I see it, the ultimate reason
for its utter depravity, is the fact that it is militantly atheistic.
Which is to say, it not only denies God but is unswervingly ded-
icated to the elimination of all belief in God, and to the extermi-
nation of all religions and religious institutions from the face of
the earth. Not only is it godless to the core, altogether materi-
alistic, and rejecting all belief in the spirituality and future life
of man, as in the moral. law, but it is fully committed to the abo-
lition of all that inspires, teaches, and sustains such beliefs in
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the minds and souls Qf men, and or all tnat prov1aes ror mu1 La1
man any mEilans whereby he can worship God, any means which
aid him in living a spiritual life and in working out his eternal
destiny. There is nothing to which it is more totally dedicated,
as its official documents and the statements of its leaders clearly
show. The ghastly record to date proves this beyond question.
In what follows I limit myself to the churches in America,
both because they are still free to speak out, expose, and op-
pose the Communist conspiracy and because the United States,
still the most powerful nation on earth, is the one remaining na-
tion that has the capacity, given the right leadership, effectively
to implement the demands of an enlightened and aroused people
for victory over that conspiracy. And so I ask: Where are the
churches of America in this life-and-death struggle of our day
against the militant atheism which is Communism? Where are the
voices of the religious leaders of our land warning their people,
exhorting them to acquaint themselves with the nature of this en-
emy that would destroy them, their homes, their loved ones, their
churches and their country, and encouraging them to take coura-
geous action against that enemy– where are those voices? And
especially, and for several reasons, where is the leadership of
the Catholic Church in America in the fight against Communism?
Yes , I well know that over the years the Catholic Church has
been a staunch opponent of Communism and has very likely spo-
ken out against it and condemned it more vehemently and more
frequently than any other authority in the world. It was over one
hundred years ago that Pope Pius IX so accurately described "that
infamous doctrine of so-called Communism which is absolutely
contrary to the natural law itself … and would utterly destroy the
rights, property and possessions of all men, and even society it-
self.11
And in 1878 Pope Leo XIII minced no words when he called
Communism "the fatal plague which insinuates itself into the very
marrow of society only to bring about its ruin. " And in 19 3 7 Pope
Pius XI wrote what has proven to be one of the most penetrating
analyses of the nature of Communism and most authoritative con-
demnations of it ever penned — his encyclical letter, DIVINI RE-
DEMPTORIS, wherein is found the famous quotation: "Communism
is intrinsically evil and no one who would save Christian civili-
zation may collaborate with it in any undertaking whatsoever. 11
And it was but three years ago that Pope Paul VI wrote his ECCLE-
SIAM SUAM, in which he referred to atheistic Communism as "the
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most serious problem of our time." All of which is so eminently
true. But where is the implementation of all this to be found in
the Catholic Church in America today? If Communism was the
mammoth evil it has been declared to be by the various leaders of
the Catholic Church one hundred or fifty or even thirty years ago,
is it not far more so at the present time? Does it not here and
now constitute a far greater danger to the world than ever before?
Why, then, are not the clear and solemn warnings of the Popes
for well over a century being heeded and acted upon today by the
Catholic Church and her leaders in America?
The churches of America, the various religious bodies in the
United States, with the rarest exceptions, have been, I contend,
resounding and inexcusable failures to date in the fight against
Communism. Communism is militant godlessness. It would com-
pletely destroy the freedom which is the God-given right of every
human being as a child of God and would reduce the human race
to absolute bondage. Through their press, then their schools,
their organizations and societies, their pulpits — the churches,
their leaders and spokesmen and teachers and editors and colum-
nists, ought to be in the forefront of the anti-Communist ranks,
instructing their readers and their students and their congrega-
tions on the nature of Communism and teaching them the ways
found most effective in combatting it and urging them to join and
to be active in sound anti-Communist movements and organiza-
tions currently functioning on the American scene. We are wit-
nessing today unprecedented undertakings in the area of interfaith
cooperation among the churches of America but, in all of this, I
have yet to hear of one attempt by those churches at united action
against godless Communism!
The "Church of Silence" is an expression commonly used in
reference to the churches in the Communist-controlled nations of
the world whose clergy and members are the victims of Communist
tyranny and enslavement. Yet, although their voices cannot be
heard, many of these do, in fact, cry out against their oppressors
and plead for help. Is not, then, the "Church of Silence" a term
more accurately applied to the churches of America whose hierar-
chy and clergy are still free to protest and to oppose and to con-
demn the Communist conspiracy but who, to their shame, remain
silent?
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Yes, the chµrches of America, wmcn coU1a ao so muvu Lu
turn b 9 ck an:~ to defeat the Communist conspiracy, have been, by
their inaction, dismal failures up to this point; a situation which,
to my mind, constitutes one of the paramount tragedies of our day;
which has been, and continues to be, a cause of tremendous dis-
appointment, and disillusionment to so many sincere, well in-
formed, devout members of those churches from coast to coast.
And I do not hesitate to say that the greatest tragedy of all in this
area, to my way of thinking, has been the failure of the Catholic
Church in America to do the job in the fight against godless Com-
munism which it is, or was, so singularly equipped to do. I be-
lieve it was the well-known former Communist, Mr. Louis Budenz
who declared some years ago: "Against the policy and plan of the
Soviet government .•. the Roman Catholic Church stands as the
chief bulwark of civilization. " I have no reason to doubt that his
words were true at the time he uttered them. I do not consider
them to be true today.
In relation to Communism, the Catholic Church in America
has been gradually neutralized in the intervening years, Nor, in
their continuing efforts effectively to combat the Communist men-
ace, do I think that the members of that church can look for any
real leadership from most of its hierarchy and clergy in the criti-
cal days ahead. In this, I will be delighted if time proves me to
have been wrong.
But as deplorable and inexcusable as is the inaction of the
churches of America towards that conspiracy which Senator Joseph
McCarthy once described as "a conspiracy so infamous, so im-
mense and an infamy so black as to dwarf any previous venture in
the history of man, "far more deplorable and indeed condemnable
are the many incidents of collaboration with Communist agents
and supporters on the part of clergymen and church institutions
and publications, which have occurred with increasing frequency
in our land over the past few years and which continue unabated.
How exceedingly tragic that those who, by virtue of the office
they hold and the beliefs they espouse, are supposed to be cham-
pions of the rights of God and of man. They in consequence ought
to be unalterably opposed to a conspiratorial system whose ad-
herents are the sworn enemies of God and of human freedom. How
very tragic that these men and women, of many denominations and
religious persuasions, have seen fit to cooperate with, to support
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and to lend respectability to the utterly vile and inhuman menace
of atheistic Communism! Instead of exposing its deceits and the
horrors it has perpetrated, instead of opposing it with all of the
legitimate means at their disposal, clergymen {priests, rabbis,
ministers) and religious have aided and abetted the advance of
Communism , made futile attempts to reconcile its tenets with
those of Christianity, and belittled and disparaged the efforts of
those sincere, informed, and patriotic members of their congrega-
tions who sought their advice and encouragement and support.
Thank God, those dedicated anti-Communist Americans seem
but seldom to have been dissuaded from their noble tasks by the
indifference , the ridicule , and the antagonism they have been
known to encounter from some of their clergy from time to time!
If, God forbid, the satanic Communist conspiracy were ever to
succeed in its plan to conquer our American republic, I would
place the blame for that catastrophe, next to the American govern-
ment and the press, upon the churches of America for their very
substantial contribution in making that conquest possible.
As for examples of the collaboration and support given to the
Communist cause by the clergy, religious, and church institu-
tions and publications, there is no shortage of them. To give a
few: There are the several thousand Protestant clergymen who
have been, or who are, affiliated with organizations which have
been officially identified as Communist fronts by Congressional
committees and by the Attorney General. Some of these clergy-
men have been affiliated with anywhere from twenty or thirty to
over one hundred of these fronts — quite innocently of course!
And there are the World and National Councils of Churches and
their notorious and disgusting record of collaboration with athe-
istic Communism over the years. It is a source of much encour-
agement that more and more Protestant clergymen and their con-
gregations are recognizing the National Council of Churches for
what it is, and disassociating themselves from it and its nefari-
ous activities. And then of course there are such "Reverends as
II
Martin Luther King and the Reverends allied with him. I have
II II
been asked, from time to time, if I thought Martin Luther King
was a Communist. And my answer has been that I honestly do
not know; I do believe that he has done a remarkable job to date
for the Communist cause; and I do not think he could have done
that job half as well were he known to be a Communist. And so
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it goes among J;ne .t'roi::esi::an-i: c1eryy, .1-1.YCiJ.!l Lt::L J.L us;;; ,nac,:;;;u J.UL
the record., however, that the overwhelming majority of the Prot-
estant ministry are loyal Americans who are making an honest ef-
fort to serve God and their congregations according to the lights
of their consciences. The several thousand to whom I have re-
ferred are but some three or four percent of the total. But on the
other hand, when such a percentage represents thousands of men
who, because they are clergymen, are in positions of more than
ordinary influence, it should be a matter of grave concern to all
Americans.
And I am sure the same can be said concerning the Jewish
clergy. While the large majority of rabbis are undoubtedly men
of God who are sincerely devoted to the pastoral needs and spiri-
tual welfare of those whom they serve, yet they too have their
share of "ultra-liberals" and Socialist and Communist dupes and
sympathizers and "what have you." However, I will by-pass
them, not because I have any fear that the Anti-Defamation
League will "get me if I don't watch out," but rather because I
would like to devote most of the remainder of the time at my dis-
posal to the subject of collaboration with Communism in relation
to that religious body which I know best, the Catholic Church.
In view of its structure, and organization, the size of its
membership, and the undeniably strong influence its clergy have
traditionally had with its members, the Catholic Church was in a
particularly strong position to make a major contribution in the
fight against the atheistic Communist conspiracy. And not having
done so, that church, in my opinion, is far more deserving of
criticism in this respect than are any of the others on the Ameri-
can scene. How often over the years have I heard the Catholic
Church described as the great bastion against Communism. How
often over the years, as I beheld the steady advance of the sa-
tanic Communist plague throughout the world and here in Ameri-
ca, have I reassured myself that the Catholic Church would speak
out and take action in due time, would rally her many millions of
members, and would inspire and lead the world to victory against
the godless and inhuman Communist enemy. But the hour is late;
that inspiration and that leadership have not been forthcoming.
Nor do I see any sign that it is likely to be forthcoming in the
forseeable future. The bishops and the priests have not spoken
out.
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Rare indeed is the Catholic pulpit from which an anti-Com-
munist sermon is delivered. I have probably heard about more
priests across the country talking from the pulpit about Christian
Communism than I have heard of priests exposing and condemning
the godless and murderous Communist conspiracy. There are pa-
thetically few Catholic schools where a sound course on Com-
munism is taught. No, that anti-Communist leadership from the
Catholic Church in America never did materialize.
But something else did. We have witnessed upon the Ameri-
can scene over the past several years the sorry spectacle of the
Catholic clergy, Catholic educational institutions, and the Cath-
olic press aiding and abetting, in various ways and degrees, the
cause of atheistic Communism, and furthering its power and in-
fluence across the nation. Despite the satanic nature of Com-
munism, despite its abhorrent and unparalled record of murder,
enslavement, torture and deceit, despite the fact that it aims to
destroy all religion and religious institutions, despite the warn-
ings of Popes for over one hundred years — the Catholic Church
in America, through those clergy and schools and press to which
I refer , has not merely not effectively opposed the Communist
conspiracy but has, in fact, done much to promote that conspira-
cy and facilitate the realization of its objectives.
For example: Communist spokesmen, to whom truth means
absolutely nothing, have been allowed to pour forth their lying
and poisonous propaganda upon the campuses of Catholic colleges
and universities across the country. The Catholic college role of
11
dishonor II to date, in this department, includes the following:
Loyola University of Los Angeles, Santa Clara University (Calif.),
St. Louis University, Notre Dame University, St. Vincent's Col-
lege (Latrobe, Penn.), Cathedral College (New York City) and
Fairfield University (Fairfield, Conn. } . A few years back I my-
self would not have dreamed that the day would come when the
Communist "masters of deceit" would actually be welcomed at
Catholic educational institutions, and thereby given a "respect-
ability" and an opportunity to be heard of which they are totally
undeserving. Only Communism, I am convinced, can benefit from
this type of thing and it is incomprehensible to me how those in
authority can justify or even tolerate its occurrence.
As for the Catholic press, with a few notable exceptions its
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ant1-c;ommun1sm 1s a patnenc tmng to oenow. 1naeea, mere are
a number of Catholic publications in America today which would
be more accurately described as pro-Communist. Seldom does
one find in most Catholic publications any article adequately ex-
posing any aspect of the evil of Communism, any piece informing
and alerting its readers concerning the nature, strategy, tactics
and objectives of Communism. By contrast, how often have I
read therein articles ridiculing, belittling, and maligning anti-
Communist organizations and leaders, and the dedicated efforts
of sincere, intelligent, patriotic, actively anti-Communist Amer-
icans, so many of whom have been among the most devoted mem-
bers of the Catholic Church for years. But even beyond this we
have the case of a Monsignor Charles Rice who, in the Catholic
paper of the diocese of Pittsburgh some months ago, wrote an ar-
ticle actually praising the Communist regime in Red China for the
order and stability it had established there while, in the same
article, writing in derogatory fashion of Catholic missionaries!
He is the same Monsignor Rice whose picture you may recall
seeing marching side by side with the "Reverend" Martin Luther
King in the anti-Vietnam demonstration in New York City last April
15. That figures, of course!
And so, to give credit where credit is due, I do not hesitate
to say that, all things considered, the Catholic press in America
has made, and continues to make, a significant contribution to
the Communist cause. As a youth I had been taught at home and
in church and in the Catholic schools I attended to have a high
regard for Catholic publications, to read them regularly, and to
accept more or less as the "Gospel truth" what I read therein.
Primarily because of the abominable failure of that press to tell
the truth about Communism over the past few years, and because
of the wretched treatment segments of that press have meted out
to those wonderful Americans whom I knew who were giving so
much of their lives in the fight against Communism, I have long
since lost that respect and, as long as this situation continues,
I for one refuse to support that press in any manner whatsoever.
Again I note for the record that there are Catholic publications
which are doing the job but they are very few.
I have no doubt that the overwhelming majority of the Ameri-
can clergy are men sincerely dedicated to the service of God and
conscientiously striving to perform the duties incumbent upon
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them in the particular area and work to which they have been as-
signed. But the fact is that there are priests in this country to-
day who are aiding and abetting the Communist cause in one way
or another, whether it be by their writings or lectures or sermons,
or in the classes they teach, or through the organizations to
which they lend their support. Could it be, that the Communist
conspiracy has succeeded in infiltrating the Catholic Church in
America? Yes, for several reasons, I think it could very well be,
Some few years ago the head of The John Birch Society, after giv-
,.
ing the background which prompted his statement, declared that,
in his opinion, less than one-half of one percent of the priests of
America were, knowingly or otherwise, promoting the Communist
cause to some degree. I was seated next to him when he made
the statement, in response to a question from the audience. I had I
no reason to disagree with him then and I certainly have no rea- i
son to disagree with that statement today except that I might now f
consider it to be a rather modest estimate! In any case there are
priests in America today who have done and are doing a signifi-
cant job for the Communist conspiracy. Whether any of them are,
in fact, Communists, I do not know; but I do know that it is es- <
sential for the effectiveness of the work of the Communists in I
certain areas that their identity be unknown. It has been well 1
said that priests do not become Communists but Communists do I
become priests.
Twenty years ago, on November 17, 194 7, a judge of the
Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia, The Hon. Clare Gerald
Fenerty, made the following statement at a Communion breakfast
in Brooklyn, New York: "The only obstacles to world domination
by Soviet Russia today are the potential military strength of the
United States of America and the spiritual power of the Vatican
and the Catholic Church." Such a statement most certainly ex-
pressed my conviction then and for many years thereafter. How-
ever, in reference to the Catholic Church, it is my firm belief that
this is no longer true. What was once the most powerful bastion
against Communism in the world has become but a shell of its
former self. From an implacable foe of the militantly atheistic
Communist conspiracy, the Catholic Church has, for all practical
purposes, abandoned the very grave responsibility which it had
and which it was so singularly equipped to carry out.
As a life-long Catholic, as a Catholic priest for. twenty-three
(10)
years, were I called upon to state the one thing that has been the
greatest disappointment of my life, to date, unquestionably it
would be this: The inexcusable failure of the Catholic Church in
America to take an unequivocal stand against the militant god-
lessness which is Communism, and courageously and persever-
ingly to implement that stand in any and every morally practicable
way at its disposal! That it has not done so is incomprehensible
to me and to innumerable Catholics and non-Catholics across the
land! That it has not done so is, I firmly believe, one of the
principal reasons for the steady and continuing advance of the
satanic Communist conspiracy upon the American scene!
As I have so often stated in speeches and in writing, the real
war today is not basically America against Soviet Russia, or the
free world against Communism; rather it is in one very true sense,
fundamentally, one of God against militant atheism, Christ versus
anti-Christ, the forces of truth and justice and freedom and mor-
ality against the powers of collectivism and injustice and slavery
and immorality — concentrated in the diabolical scourge of the
criminal conspiracy of Communism. And by every standard of mo-
rality and norm of logic that I have been taught, the churches of
America ought to be in the forefront of that war. Whatever the
reasons, they are not. How much longer will they remain silent?
"He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really
cooperating with it." (Henry Thoreau) "To sin by silence when
they should protest makes cowards of men." ( Benjamin Franklin)
How long before the religious leaders of America protest? How
long before they cry out in righteous indignation, and condemn
loudly, and clearly the diabolical Communist conspiracy, warn
their people against its steady encroachment, instruct them con-
cerning its insidious nature, and urge them to wage prayerful,
intelligent, courageous, and persevering warfare against it? How
long before they raise their voices in condemnation of the despi-
cable collaboration by their clergy with the Communist "masters
of deceit" which has occurred here in America, in recent years
especially, and which continues to occur? How long will reli-
gious leaders in America remain silent while brave men die in
vain in "no-win" wars, and one-third of the human race live out
their lives in chains and slavery under Communist tyranny?
There are today tens of thousands of Americans across the
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length and breadth of this great land of ours who, knowing all too
well the awful truth about Communism, are devoting a good part
of their lives to the fight against it, earnestly and indefatigably
striving, by every morally lawful means at their disposal, to turn
back the Communist tide which would engulf them, their homes,
their loved ones, their churches, their country and, indeed, the
entire world. For if America goes down — freedom will perish for
all mankind! These good people are confident, as I am, that H
they can recruit enough of the right calibre of their fellow Ameri-
cans into their dedicated ranks soon enough– and if God so wills
it — they are confident that victory will be theirs in God's own
good time. And they have this confidence because they know that
truth is on their side and that, if they work diligently enough to
disseminate that truth as widely as possible, it will ultimately
prevail. Nor do they have any illusions that the press of America
or the American government, as presently controlled and function-
ing will be on their side; sad and bitter experience has taught
them otherwise. But, hopefully, many of them still look to the
churches of America for help and leadership and encouragement.
Will that help and leadership and encouragement, at long last, be
forthcoming? I continue to pray that it will.
This speech "Communism And America's Churches" was first
given by Rev. Fenton on July 2, 1967, in Boston, at the fifth an-
nual New England Rally. It is available on tape for seven dollars.
Additional copies of this reprint are 1-99, seven for one dol-
lar; 100-999 copies, twelve cents each; l, 000 copies or more,
ten cents each.
Another talk given by Rev. Fenton at the New England Rally
is "Nothing But The Truth." This is available on record or tape
at five dollars each.
Purchase at any American Opinion Library, or order by mail,
postpaid from
New England Rally for God, Family and Country
265 Walnut Street, Dedham, Massachusetts 02026