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THE ATHANASIAN
A publication of Traditional Catholics of America -;- Editor: Fr. Francis E. Fenton. STL t Volume IX, No. 3 t April 15, 1988
SENATOR JOSEPH R. McCARTHY
Fr. Frands E. Fenton
O n May 2, 1957. death claimed the life of Senator Joseph
R. McCarthy of Wisconsin at the age of 49. In the course
of the 31 years since then. the caliber and the character of this
countless brainwashed Americans. Any infonned and unbiased
person in the 1950's who heard his speeches or viewed on
television (as I did) the hearings of his Senate Permanent
man have stood out more and more in stark contrast to the in- Investigations Subcommittee could not have failed to be im-
ferior quality of the vast majority of the members of the Cnited pressed by his courage, his sincerity, his fairness. I, for one,
States Senate and House of Representatives-and never has have never heard of a single innocent person whose reputation
that contrast been more striking than it is today. Indeed. in my suffered at the hands of Senator McCarthy. Those brought
opinion there is not a single individual in either branch of the before his Subcommittee for interrogation in public hearings
current American Congress who is of the stature of Senator were invariably individuals about whom there were well-
McCarthy-and most of them wouldn't be worthy to tie his founded suspicions of guilt in relation to Communism. Yes,
shoelaces. McCarthy was rough and tough with some of the witnesses he
confronted. So? It was. I believe, he who once said: "You don't
Although he was in the public spotlight for less than seven fight Communism with kid gloves."
years prior to his death, it is safe to state that no public figure in
our nation's history has been more unjustly treated. falsely There are a number of ways in which a person can make a
accused, maligned, vilified than Senator McCarthy. And why? usually reliable estimate of another's character. One is by the
Because he knew well the satanic evil of Communism and was enemies he has. Another (if he be a prominent figure) is by the
resolute in his purpose to oppose and expose it to the very best kind of treatment he receives from the national press (TV,
of his ability with the influence and resources that were his as a radio. the daily paper. etc.). For enemies McCarthy had the
member of the U.S. Senate. The Communists not only despised Communists and their various nefarious allies while the press
him but intensely feared him as well because of the incalculable constantly belittled and maligned and pilloried him. If I knew
harm which he could do in his prestigious position to their nothing about Joseph McCarthy other than the facts that the
plans for world domination. And so there developed an un- Communists detested him and the communications media
precedented campaign of smear and hate against McCarthy, a almost invariably treated him with contempt, I would readily
campaign instigated by the Communist conspiracy and aided conclude that he was probably a very sound and commendable
and abetted by its dupes and minions and fellow travelers-and individual indeed. He certainly must have led a morally upright
especially by the despicable American press. If Communism life because. had there been anything of a scandalous nature in
was to continue its advance in the USA-perhaps even if it were it. the holier-than-thou American press, be assured, would have
to survive-the reputation of Joseph McCarthy had to be a'e- dug that out and proclaimed its discovery to the world.
stroyed in one way or another.
Senator foseph McCarthy was a man who loved his God and his
How effectively that destruction was accomplished-and that country. He was a man of honor, of courage, of strong convic-
was 30 years ago-points up the power and influence in the tion-and he was a fighter. Clearly recognizing the grave
USA of the Communist conspiracy. Ask the average American danger posed by the satanic evil of Communism to the free
today his opinion of Senator McCarthy and, if the name rings a world and to the Christian ideals he cherished-and beholding
bell with him at all, the chances are very likely that that opinion with sorrow the steady progress that conspiracy was making
will be a negative one. And what else would we expect since, upon the American scene-McCarthy detennined to oppose
whenever the senator's name is mentioned in the communica- and to expose it with all of the power and influence at his
tions media or by leftist politicians, it is done so in a derogatory disposal. And so he did, displaying a finnness and tenacity
manner? And then there is the often heard term, McCarthyism, towards Communism which no member of the U.S. Senate has
which means the making of unsubstantiated charges against an ever approached before or since.
individual in order to destroy that person's reputation or
character. The word was coined by the senator's enemies, the God alone knows the extent to which the advance of the crim-
implication being that he employed such tactics. Nothing could inal, atheistic conspiracy of Communism towards the takeover
be further from the truth but, of course, the Communists and of America was at least slowed down by the noble efforts of
their allies couldn't care less about truth. Senator Joseph McCarthy. Please God, the reputation of this
outstanding American patriot will one day be vindicated and his
The real Senator McCarthy (a Roman Catholic) was a man quite name indelibly written in history as one of this nation's truly
the opposite from the false concept of him held today by great heroes. t
SAINT HELENA
Jill Wiesner
O n the third day of May the Church celebrates the feast
of the Founding of the Holy Cross. The person
responsible for finding this precious relic was an eighty-year-
granted complete freedom to the Church throughout the
world.
old woman who had been reared as a pagan and who did not The Empress Helena was baptized the same year at the age
enter the Church until she was in her sixties. But, once of sixty-three. From the moment of her baptism she was
having found the holy Catholic Faith, Helena, Empress of "incomparable in her faith and zeal." Her greatest delight
the Roman Empire, "became such a devout servant of God was to assist at Holy Mass. In Church her attire was always
that one might believe her to have been a disciple of the simple and modest, her manner quiet and unassuming. As
Savior from childhood." empress she used the riches at her disposal to aid those in
need and to build beautiful churches.
Born in Asia Minor about the year 250, Helena was the
daughter of an innkeeper. Though innkeepers were of lowly Eleven years after her conversion her son was obliged to go
social rank and did not fraternize with the ruling class, to war once more, this time against the eastern emperor
Helena was so beautiful and sweet-natured that, when she Licinius who had failed to abide by the Edict of Milan. After
was twenty, she won the heart of a powerful Roman general the defeat of Licinius, Constantine was the sole ruler of the
named Constantius Chlorus. Overlooking her humble entire empire and the Holy Land was finally free of pagan
status, Constantius married Helena and took her with him domination.
on his military campaigns. In 274, while they were stationed
in Serbia, their only son, Constantine, was born. Though nearly eighty years old, Helena resolved to travel to
Palestine to venerate the places made holy by the presence
In the year 292, Diocletian, Emperor of the Eastern Empire, of our Lord and to find the cross on which He had been
and Maximian Herculeus, Emperor of the Western Empire, crucified.
chose Caesars to govern the outer regions of the empires in
their names. Maximian's choice was Helena's husband, On her pilgrimage she provided for the construction of
Constantius. There was, however, a condition imposed by churches. At Bethlehem she commissioned the building of a
the emperor: Constantius Chlorus would have to divorce his church in the Grotto of the Nativity and, near Jerusalem, she
wife and marry Maximian's stepdaughter, Theodora. had a church erected on the Mount of the Ascension.
Repudiated by her husband, Helena withdrew quietly, her Her greatest efforts, however, were directed toward the
son, Constantine, remaining loyal to her. Helena's exile search for the holy cross. The Christians did not know where
lasted fourteen years. Upon the death of her husband, her to look because the pagans had covered the holy sepulchre
son was proclaimed Caesar by his troops and then Emperor and Calvary with mounds of rubbish and rocks. In the
of the West. He summoned his beloved mother to the im- second century Emperor Hadrian had topped that with a
perial court and gave her the title Augusta-honored mother three-hundred-foot terrace on which he had erected a
of the sovereign. temple of Venus and a statue of Jupiter.
As provincial governor and as emperor, Constantine had not Helena was informed that, if she could locate the sepulchre,
participated in the persecution of Christians. He even prayld she would also find the cross for it was the custom of the
to God when his authority to rule was challenged by his half- Jews to bury the instruments of execution near the place
brother, Maxentius. While en route to meeting Maxentius in where the body of a criminal was buried.
battle at the Milvian Bridge outside Rome, Constantine
begged God for His assistance. The night before the battle, a She ordered the destruction of the pagan temple and the
cross of light appeared in the sky, encircled by the words, excavation of the debris which supported it. After digging to
"In Hoc Signo Vinces"-"In this sign thou shalt conquer." a considerable depth her engineers located the holy
He promptly gave orders that the cross and motto be placed sepulchre. Three crosses were found nearby as well as the
on a standard and carried at the head of the army. In the nails which had fastened our Savior to the cross.
battle which followed, Constantine was victorious and
Maxentius was killed. Unable to determine which cross was the one on which Jesus
had been crucified, Helena asked the holy Bishop Macarius
Though his decisive victory did not result in the immediate for help. He suggested that she have a piece of each cross
conversion of either Constantine or his mother, they de- taken to the bedside of a lady who was gravely ill. Having
fended the Church more strongly than ever. At the com- prayed, Bishop Macarius applied them, one by one, to the
mand of Emperor Constantine, Christians throughout the patient. A miraculous recovery at the touch of the third cross
western empire were permitted to worship God without revealed its authenticity.
harassment. In 313, Constantine persuaded Licinius, then
Emperor of the East, to agree to the Edict of Milan, which continued on page 8
THE ATHANASIAN 2 APRIL 15, 1988
SAINT HELENA
Jill Wiesner
O n the third day of May the Church celebrates the feast
of the Founding of the Holy Cross. The person
responsible for finding this precious relic was an eighty-year-
granted complete freedom to the Church throughout the
world.
old woman who had been reared as a pagan and who did not The Empress Helena was baptized the same year at the age
enter the Church until she was in her sixties. But, once of sixty-three. From the moment of her baptism she was
having found the holy Catholic Faith, Helena, Empress of "incomparable in her faith and zeal." Her greatest delight
the Roman Empire, "became such a devout servant of God was to assist at Holy Mass. In Church her attire was always
that one might believe her to have been a disciple of the simple and modest, her manner quiet and unassuming. As
Savior from childhood." empress she used the riches at her disposal to aid those in
need and to build beautiful churches.
Born in Asia Minor about the year 250, Helena was the
daughter of an innkeeper. Though innkeepers were of lowly Eleven years after her conversion her son was obliged to go
social rank and did not fraternize with the ruling class, to war once more, this time against the eastern emperor
Helena was so beautiful and sweet-natured that, when she Licinius who had failed to abide by the Edict of Milan. After
was twenty, she won the heart of a powerful Roman general the defeat of Licinius, Constantine was the sole ruler of the
named Constantius Chlorus. Overlooking her humble entire empire and the Holy Land was finally free of pagan
status, Constantius married Helena and took her with him domination.
on his military campaigns. In 274, while they were stationed
in Serbia, their only son, Constantine, was born. Though nearly eighty years old, Helena resolved to travel to
Palestine to venerate the places made holy by the presence
In the year 292, Diocletian, Emperor of the Eastern Empire, of our Lord and to find the cross on which He had been
and Maximian Herculeus, Emperor of the Western Empire, crucified.
chose Caesars to govern the outer regions of the empires in
their names. Maximian's choice was Helena's husband, On her pilgrimage she provided for the construction of
Constantius. There was, however, a condition imposed by churches. At Bethlehem she commissioned the building of a
the emperor: Constantius Chlorus would have to divorce his church in the Grotto of the Nativity and, near Jerusalem, she
wife and marry Maximian's stepdaughter, Theodora. had a church erected on the Mount of the Ascension.
Repudiated by her husband, Helena withdrew quietly, her Her greatest efforts, however, were directed toward the
son, Constantine, remaining loyal to her. Helena's exile search for the holy cross. The Christians did not know where
lasted fourteen years. Upon the death of her husband, her to look because the pagans had covered the holy sepulchre
son was proclaimed Caesar by his troops and then Emperor and Calvary with mounds of rubbish and rocks. In the
of the West. He summoned his beloved mother to the im- second century Emperor Hadrian had topped that with a
perial court and gave her the title Augusta-honored mother three-hundred-foot terrace on which he had erected a
of the sovereign. temple of Venus and a statue of Jupiter.
As provincial governor and as emperor, Constantine had not Helena was infonned that, if she could locate the sepulchre,
participated in the persecution of Christians. He even pray;d she would also find the cross for it was the custom of the
to God when his authority to rule was challenged by his half- Jews to bury the instruments of execution near the place
brother, Maxentius. While en route to meeting Maxentius in where the body of a criminal was buried.
battle at the Milvian Bridge outside Rome, Constantine
begged God for His assistance. The night before the battle, a She ordered the destruction of the pagan temple and the
cross of light appeared in the sky, encircled by the words, excavation of the debris which supported it. After digging to
"In Hoc Signo Vinces"-"In this sign thou shalt conquer." a considerable depth her engineers located the holy
He promptly gave orders that the cross and motto be placed sepulchre. Three crosses were found nearby as well as the
on a standard and carried at the head of the anny. In the nails which had fastened our Savior to the cross.
battle which followed, Constantine was victorious and
Maxentius was killed. Unable to detennine which cross was the one on which Jesus
had been crucified, Helena asked the holy Bishop Macarius
Though his decisive victory did not result in the immediate for help. He suggested that she have a piece of each cross
conversion of either Constantine or his mother, they de- taken to the bedside of a lady who was gravely ill. Having
fended the Church more strongly than ever. At the com- prayed, Bishop Macarius applied them, one by one, to the
mand of Emperor Constantine, Christians throughout the patient. A miraculous recovery at the touch of the third cross
western empire were permitted to worship God without revealed its authenticity.
harassment. In 313, Constantine persuaded Licinius, then
Emperor of the East, to agree to the Edict of Milan, which continued on page 8
THE ATHANASIAN 2 APRIL 15, 1988
REAGAN, THE REDS AND THE RIGHT
John Kenneth Weiskittel
W hen Ronald Wilson Reagan became our fortieth
president in 1980, many conservative Americans felt
exhilaration and relief. At long last, they congratulated
Soviet schools and universities). Gorbachev and President
Reagan, who seemed to enjoy playing the role of cordial
host, posed together, smiling, for the army of press reporters
themselves, we've succeeded in placing a man in the White on hand to cover the meetings.
House who will bravely steer the Ship of State out of the
dangerous course it has taken for the better part of this On December 11, one day after the summit ended, Reagan
century. President Reagan shares our longing for a return to met with leaders of the Democrat-controlled Congress to
traditional American values, he'll fight to dismantle socialist brief them on the treaty. Senate Minority Leader Robert
big government and he won't take any guff from the Dole (R-KS), noting the enthusiasm of the briefing;
Commies either. described it as "sort of a love feast." But Senator Steve
Symms (R-ID), a critic of the treaty who joked that "the good
Ah, the best laid plans … As the months wind down on the news is that Gorbachev got out of town and didn't win the
Reagan presidency, some of those who had been his nomination," expressed concern: "It may make it harder to
staunchest supporters are finally beginning to awaken to the get a defense budget passed around here because there's an
Grand Canyon that separates his rhetoric from his actions. appearance the 'evil empire' is a partner in peace. Perhaps
17
The splash of ice water that roused many sleepers came last Senator Symms meant a subtle rebuke of Reagan by using
December in the form of the INF treaty. More confirmation the president's 1983 characterization of the Soviet r~gime. If
came earlier this year when Reagan unveiled a 1.1 trillion so, "the Gipper" wasn't listening. Proof of the changed
dollar federal budget. And in February two of his Supreme outlook can be seen in the title of a December 12 Tampa
Court appointees joined in an 8-0 decision that overturned a Tribune wire report: "Reagan sees no evil in 'new' Soviet
lower court ruling that awarded the Rev. Jerry Falwell Union." The article reveals a good deal of the president's
damages for a thinly disguised attack made by smut-peddler current attitude, manifested as he fielded reporters'
Larry Flint. (The newest justice, Daniel Kennedy, did not questions at the White House. When asked whether he
participate.) stood by his "evil empire" statement, Reagan remarked:
So what has become of Ronald Reagan, the steely-eyed anti- I meant it when I said it because under previous
Communist, the tight-fisted fiscal conservative, the shining leaders they have made it evident that they were
defender of the nation's morality? The question being asked based-that their program was based on expansion-
by some of the right is whether they erred in trusting him in ism, on going forwards toward the Marxian philosophy
the first place. This is a bitter pill to swallow, but one that of a one-world communist state … And it was true that it
needs to be taken, for any sober review of the Reagan Years was a philosophy then, and under previous leaders,
clearly shows that in its domestic affairs and as a world that there was no immorality in anything that furthered
power the United States has continued the same policies the cause, therefore permitting themselves to violate
against which he so skillfully campaigned. trust, to lie and so forth.
Moscow on the Potomac But under Gorbachev, he continued, "there seems to be an
For a few days in December our nation's capital resembled a entirely different relationship." Reagan says he developed a
set from Amerika, the ABC-TV miniseries about a Co~- "certain chemistry" with his Soviet counterpart and even
munist takeover. Bright red Soviet flags were in abundance told Gorbachev two jokes about the USSR, getting a "belly
everywhere, including the White House. In some cases they laugh from both of them." (There is already talk that
were hanging on the same flagpoles as American flags, but Reagan and Gorbachev will be sharing the Nobel Peace
hanging above Old Glory. Also in evidence were repro- Prize by year's end.)
ductions of the U.S.-Soviet logo, a design combining fea-
tures of both flags. Sad to say, the situation is far from funny. In the first place,
despite the public relations hype from the Westem news
This was the dubious protocol that greeted Soviet dictator media (and, now, from Reagan), Mikhail Gorbachev in no
Mikhail Gorbachev and his entourage when they arrived for way has deviated from his predecessors' goal of a One-World
arms reduction talks. Although the elimination of short and Communist State. Only a month before his Washington visit
intermediate range missiles based in Europe was at the top Gorbachev told Communist Party comrades: "In October,
of the summit agenda, representatives from the two nations 1917, we parted with the Old World, rejecting it once and
huddled together to lay the groundwork for joint space for all. We are moving toward a new world, the world of
projects, expanded trade (with the USSR receiving most- Communism. We shall never tum off that road." Second,
favored-nation status) and increased cultural and educa- the Soviets negotiate only to gain advantages over their
tional exchanges (including the broadcasting of Russian adversaries. In the 66 prior U.S.-Soviet treaties, all broken
propaganda over USA television and the National Academy by the Communists, the slow, steady, cumulative effect has
of Science's supplying one million personal computers to been the weakening of the American military to the point
THE ATHANASIAN 3 APRIL 15, 1988
that it now trails the Soviet Union in numerous areas. Third, anti-Communist groups fonned to defeat attempts to ratify
ratification of the INF treaty by the Senate will put U.S. allies the INF treaty.)
in Westem Europe at high risk since the Russians enjoy a
3-to-1 superiority of conventional forces in the region. Even more critical, if that is possible, is a special report,
Retired NATO Commander General Bernard Rogers ob- "Betrayal and Surrender: The Reagan Sellout to the
serves that "the Soviets are removing only eight percent of Soviets," that appeared soon after the summit in the
their warheads capable of hitting Western Europe and we McAlvany Intelligence Advisor, a monthly newsletter edited
are removing 100 percent of our European-based missiles by Donald S. McAlvany, a contributing editor to The New
capable of hitting the Soviet Union." Fourth, President American magazine. According to Mr. McAlvany, who in
Reagan, who in the past had never approved of a single arms October met with another treaty opponent in London (for-
treaty and who called the unratified SALT II a "fatally mer NATO Commander General Sir William Walker), the
flawed" treaty in 1980, will journey to Russia in May or June INF and SALT III treaties are "tantamount to unilateral dis-
to sign SALT III. Finally, if Gorbachev says he will never armament since the Soviets have systematically violated
leave the "road" his predecessors traveled, why should he be every such treaty we have ever signed with them, while we
trusted? have abided by same." For those who hope that Reagan will
back away from the ominous path he has been taking,
Thunder From The Right McAlvany suggests there is little reason for optimism since
For his part in the INF treaty negotiations and the "David Rockefeller, Annand Hammer, George Schultz, the
Washington summit, Reagan has received much praise and Liberal Eastern Establishment and the political left are
not a little criticism. What is interesting here is seeing who today in 100 percent control of Ronald Reagan and his
backs him and who blasts him. Those who usually are identi- Administration." A great part of today's political crisis, he
fied as being the opposition-liberals, "peace" activists and points out, stems from the stubborn conviction of many ill-
even radicals-have thrown their support his way. (Every infonned conservatives that President Reagan will yet mount
democratic presidential contender endorses the INF treaty.) his white horse and lead a glorious anti-Communist cavalry
And leveling some of the sharpest attacks have been charge. McAlvany writes:
conservatives, including some of those who helped him win
in 1980. America is being betrayed and the incredible thing is
that, because it is Ronald Reagan doing the betraying,
"It is tragic," said Howard Phillips, chainnan of the no one will believe it is really happening. Most Ameri-
Conservative Caucus, "that we have a president who is cans still cannot see the difference between his
nothing more than an instrument of Soviet propaganda." smooth, witty and "sincere" rhetoric and the reality of
Phillips warned that if the treaty is ratified "a major battle of what his Administration is doing to weaken America
World War III will have been lost by default." He glumly financially, morally and militarily. What a man says is
concluded that Reagan "is a very weak man with a strong not important-it is what he does. The Reagan Admin-
wife and a strong staff. He has become a useful idiot for istration … is today to the left of the Carter Admin-
Soviet propaganda." (It is significant that Mr. Phillips has istration when it left office.
seen fit to call Reagan a "useful idiot" for the tenn is taken
from Lenin's description of those in the West who would Mr. McAlvany backs this bald assertion by noting that "U.S.
blindly give the Bolsheviks the wherewithal needed for aid, trade and high technology transfers to the Soviets have
global domination.) nearly quadrupled under Ronald Reagan, and active sellouts
of the Contras, the Afghan Freedom Fighters, UNITA,
Richard Viguerie, veteran fundraiser for the so-called N~w Chile, South Korea, Taiwan, South Africa and Westem
Right, bitterly told the press that conservatives "feel Europe are in varying stages of completion. (Among the
alienated, abandoned and rejected by the president." summit talks were plans for a cutoff of funding to the
Reagan, he suggested, has become an "apologist for Contras and fonnal U.S. recognition of the Soviet-controlled
Gorbachev." Mr. Viguerie made this statement before the Afghan government.)"
summit but the president gave more evidence of its validity
during the talks by saying he didn't hold the Soviet leader Reagan And The Reds
responsible for the invasion of Afghanistan, that being an The strongest selling point for Ronald Reagan throughout
unfortunate state of affairs he "inherited" from earlier his political career has been his remarkable oratorical
Kremlin regimes. Yet this version of the Soviet's brutal talents. Helped along considerably by his work in films
occupation, while technically correct, fails to explain why spanning four decades, Reagan can "tum it on" for a camera
Mr. Gorbachev, who took over leadership in the USSR in better than any other politician of the television era. At his
1985 and who had been its de facto ruler the previous year best, he conveys the image of a man who is in complete com-
owing to the poor health of Konstantin Chernenko, saw fit mand of the situation at all times, up on his facts and ready
neither to withdraw his troops nor to bring to trial those to take charge-while at the same time narrowing the dis-
guilty of war crimes against the Afghan people. (Phillips and tance between himself and his constituents with his disann-
Viguerie have underscored what they see as Reagan's de- ing Irish wit and an "aw, shucks" sort of Midwestern whole-
fection from the conservative ranks by organizing the Anti- someness and accessibility that belie the fact that he is a
Appeasement Alliance, a coalition of 30 conservative, millionaire several times over. Most appealing has been the
THE ATHANASIAN 4 APRIL 15, 1988
way that he has been able to join to these skills a knack for In a speech entitled "Losing Freedoms by Installments,"
crystallizing the concerns of the American voter with one- given before the Fargo, North Dakota Chamber of Com-
liners that go to the heart of the matter, such as his often- merce in 1962, Reagan returned to the same point, stressing
repeated opposition to the Panama Canal giveaway: "We that, in this scenario, America would "move to the left in a
bought it, we paid for it, it's ours, and we're going to keep planned economy and the Soviets, reassured, would move to
it." the right to meet us and thus the lion and the lamb would lie
down together." (ibid., p. 549) And in the same speech he
What is not generally known by the public about Reagan is charged that the income tax is "a progressive system
the fact that he has been giving speeches and writing articles spawned by Karl Marx and declared by him to be the prime
about Communism for almost 40 years, dating back to his essential for a socialist state-the method for taxing the
days as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). To middle class out of existence." (ibid.) Why, then, it may be
better appreciate President Reagan's present thinking on asked, has President Reagan done nothing to dismantle our
the subject, a summary of his views from those times, as well socialist welfare state but rather has increased its·
as of his activities, is in order. Strangely, the first important might-and why hasn't he supported the Liberty Amend-
politically-oriented address by him was made for a Commu- ment which has as its goal the abolition of that great engine
nist front group: In 1945, he spoke at a mass meeting, of socialism, the federal income tax?
"Atomic Power and Foreign Policy," sponsored by the
Hollywood Independent Citizens Committee of Arts, Since becoming the nation's Chief Executive, Reagan has
Sciences and Professions. (see Anne Edwards, Early succeeded in the difficult task of sounding hard-line on
Reagan: The Rise to Power, Wi1liam Morrow, 1987, pp. Communism while, in substance, promoting a continuation
293, 305) At the time, Reagan was a Democrat and an ar- of the detente he claims to hold as anathema. When the
dent supporter of New Deal policies; later he would say that Korean airliner was shot down by the Soviets in 1983,
he had been a "hemophiliac liberal." (ibid., p. 293) He Reagan felt "anger," he told Time magazine (September 19,
belonged to HICCASP and another front, the American Vet- 1983), but in the same interview he turns right around and
erans' Committee, but quit both when their Red ties were says "there is no way you can avenge such a thing." A year
made known. (ibid .. p. 305-306.) later he referred to Red China as "so-called Communist."
(You can't get much more "so-called" than the Chinese
The anti-Communist image began to take shape in the fall of Reds.) And he claimed that the enslaved peoples behind the
1947 when, as SAG president, Reagan was called before the Iron and Bamboo Curtains "prefer Socialism or Commu-
House Committee on Un-American Activities as a friendly nism." (For the full quote, see "World Communism: Made in
witness during the hearings on Communist subversion in the the U.S.A.," The Athanasian, September 1, 1987.) How he
motion picture industry. The transcript of his testimony can state that those in the Captive Nations prefer living
shows Reagan admitting some infiltration had occurred but under such regimes boggles the imagination. The ines-
not volunteering information on who might be involved and capable conclusion, based on his speeches and writings, is
making what seemed to be a veiled criticism of the commit- that Ronald Reagan knows the score when it comes to Com-
.1-~e. (The full transcript is reproduced by Edwards, pp. munism but, for whatever reason, has opted to ignore it in
342-349.) carrying out his sworn duties as President.
In the early 1950's, Mr. Reagan began writing articles, Reagan And The Right
including one for labor columnist Victor Riesel in which he When Ronald Reagan ran for governor of California in
states: "I believe that all participants in the international 1966, it was as a conservative Republican. He blasted the
Communist conspiracy against our nation should be &- incumbent's spending binges and pledged to "cut, squeeze
posed for what they are-enemies of our country and our and trim" the size of government and to institute no new
form of government." (cited, Edwards, p. 404n) A decade taxes. After being elected, he sponsored a tax increase of
later he began touring the U.S. to give speeches sponsored one billion dollars the following year-the largest in state
by General Electric. He told audiences that "we are at war history up to that time. His cabinet included liberals and he
(with Communism) and we are losing that war simply be- would sign into law liberal abortion "reform" in 1967. Many
cause we don't or won't realize we are in it." (ibid., p. 475) conservatives must have asked themselves: Is this the man
Another passage indicates Reagan's knowledge of the Con- we helped to elect?
spiracy's plan to merge the USA and USSR:
Now, over 20 years later, they're asking the same question.
The Communists are supremely confident of victory. A clue to Reagan's true political identity emerged from the
They believe that you and I, under the constant 1966 gubernatorial campaign. When asked by White House
pressure of the cold war, will give up, one by one, our correspondent Lou Cannon about support from members of
democratic customs and traditions. We'll adopt The John Birch Society, he responded, "Any members of
emergency "temporary" totalitarian measures, until the society who support me will be buying my philosophy. I
one day we'll awaken to find we have grown so much won't be buying theirs." (Cannon, Reagan, Perigee, 1984, p.
like the enemy that we will no longer have any cause 115) And what is the philosophy of the Birch Society? It is
for conflict. (ibid.) precisely the one for which Reagan ostensibly stood: "less
government, more responsibility and, with God's help, a
THE ATHANASIAN 5 APRIL 15, 1988
better world" (the motto of the JBS). If he wasn't for oppose if a Democrat were in office- "must be good or
this-what was he for? Ronnie wouldn't sign it."
Also revealing was the following exchange between Lou The End Of The Line?
Cannon and a White House aide regarding Reagan allowing Is President Reagan a "useful idiot"? Or is he just weak and
himself to be photographed with March for Life leaders. easily manipulated? Or is he a conscious agent of a criminal
Cannon writes: conspiracy bent on merging the USA with the Soviet Union
to form the foundation of a New World Order? The reader is
"What do you want to give them?" I asked. "Sym- free to draw his own conclusion. In the final analysis, it really
bolism," he replied. He then offered an analogy drawn doesn't matter greatly how one answers because the destruc-
from the popular film, The Godfather, in which the tion of our nation continues unabated. It is difficult to see
criminal leader advises, "Hold your friends close, hold how Reagan can fully escape responsibility. He's had eight
your enemies closer." That, the aide said, was the years to fight for those values he has spoken so captivatingly
tactic which the administration would follow with its about and, almost without exception, he has presided over a
friends on the fringes of the right. "We want to keep greater erosion of them. Those policies that favor the Con-
the Moral Majority types so close to us they can't move spiracy have been followed by President Reagan in the same
their arms," he concluded. (ibid., p. 316) way they have been followed for much of this century.
Holding them as a boa constrictor holds its prey, perhaps? In a few more months Ronald Reagan will pass the scepter of
power to the next carefully-groomed Establishment lackey.
But if Reagan's real role is to neutralize the right by Then the script has him mount his steed, doff his cowboy hat
pretending to be a conservative, the strange distance to the camera and ride off into the sunset. And for America
between his words and deeds falls into place. When KAL and her freedoms, unless enough informed citizens are
007, carrying U.S. Congressman Larry McDonald and 268 aroused to action in time, that sunset is getting perilously
other civilians, was shot out of the sky by the USSR, near. t
conservatives implored President Reagan not to let this
atrocity go unpunished, to "get tough." In "Reagan: the
Wrong Stuff," an article that appeared in the February,
1984 issue of American Opinion magazine, the late Gary
Allen (author of None Dare Call It Conspiracy) wrote:
Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not
Upon hearing Conservative outrage at his failure mean to stand by the president or any other public
adequately to respond, Mr. Reagan actually asked with official save exactly to the degree in which he himself
fatuous irony if his critics wanted him to start a nuclear stands by the country …
war.
It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently
The national news media, of course, did not inform serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him
Americans that many on the right reasonably argued that, in to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he
retaliation for the KAL murders, the U.S. should close the fails in his duty to stand by the country …
Soviet embassy, expel their "diplomats," sever relations and
the like, the media saying only that the president had hinted (Theodore Roosevelt)
that they were nuts who wanted to start Armageddon. Mote
recently, when conservatives were assailing the INF treaty,
Reagan said: "Those people, basically, down in their deepest
thoughts, have accepted that war is inevitable." (White
House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater would actually tell the
press that individuals such as Howard Phillips and Richard
Viguerie had nothing to do with Reagan being elected.)
Some of the president's remarks can be written off, perhaps,
Pray
as being the result of misinformation, but the two above
have a calculated ring to them. What better way to destroy
the conservative movement in America than to have the
the Rosary
beloved president, thought to be a solid conservative,
ridicule its leaders as loonies and warmongers. An average
American, who gets his news only from the controlled
Daily
sources, hears the president attack and concludes, "These
guys must really be extremists if Reagan won't have
anything more to do with them." And it is just as easy for the
gullible citizen (who probably still has his "Reagan in '80"
lapel pin) to believe that the latest arms treaty-which he'd
THE ATHANASIAN 6 APRIL 15, 1988
SURSUM CORDA
''Lift Up Your Hearts"
D espite the nearly incredible state of disarray
to which its enemies have brought the
Church in their attempts totally to destroy it, we
traditional Sacraments and devotions (especially
the Rosary), in our fidelity to total Roman
Catholic orthodoxy in doctrine and morals, in our
traditional Roman Catholics must ever bear in adamant refusal to compromise our divine Faith
mind one of the basic doctrines of our Faith, for any reason-we know we are right and,
namely, that the Church is a divine institution consequently, by the grace of God we will never
which, by the will and power of God Himself, is abandon the principles we hold and the stand we
indestructible. No evil force or any combination of have taken!
such forces in all the world could possibly destroy
the Roman Catholic Church for it has the infall- Let us, then, never permit our sadness at the
ible guarantee of its divine Founder that it will last present woeful plight of the Church to become
until the end of time, until the world itself is no excessive and thereby discourage and divert us
more. It is today the same One, Holy, Catholic and from the noble apostolate to which we are
Apostolic Church that it was on the first Pentecost committed. Nor let the fact that we are but a
Sunday, the day of its birth: the Kingdom of God remnant, a small minority, deter us or tempt us to
on earth, the ever glorious Mystical Body of despair. Superior numbers do not determine
Christ. To be sure, that Body, as never before, has morality. If a course of action is morally right, it
been severely scarred and bruised and pierced remains morally right even if no one follows it; if a
both by her avowed enemies without and by her course of action is morally wrong, it remains
disguised, traitorous enemies within. But have no morally wrong even if everyone follows it. What is
fear. These wounds are not unto death. The supremely important is that the stand we take is a
Church will survive all. We have God's Word for morally right and just and logical one.
that.
So, "lift up your hearts"! Pray often and ardently
And there is a second reason why, in spite of all to the good Lord for the precious grace to remain
that has happened, we traditional Roman ever loyal and true to our beloved Faith until
Catholics should take heart, and that is the simple death! "For… the sufferings of the present time are
truth that we are holding fast, that we are not worthy to be compared with the glory to
remaining faithful to the one true Church. In our come … " (Saint Paul-Romans 8, 18)t
steadfast adherence to the True Mass and the
r
THE ATHANASIAN
Published by Traditional Catholics of America
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THE ATHANASIAN 7 APRIL 15, 1988
"Saint Helena" continued from page 2 temptations of worldly honors, "received her heavenly
crown." Before he died in 377, Constantine, following the
Helena had the cross divided into three parts. One was sent example of his mother, was baptized.
to Rome and placed in the Church of the Holy Cross of
Jerusalem; another was sent to the Emperor Constantine Though she had been brought up as a pagan, Saint Helena
in Constantinople. The remaining portion was placed in a gave herself unreservedly to God, once she had found the
silver shrine in the Basilica of the Holy Cross which the true Faith. Through her intercession may we also live our
Empress Helena had built over the spot where the cross Faith without reserve, carrying always in our hearts the
had been found. image of our crucified Lord. t
The elderly empress remained in Jerusalem where "she
continually resorted to church, appearing humbly dressed
among the praying women; and she adorned the sacred
buildings with rich ornaments and decorations, not passing
by the meanest towns." She continued to aid the poor, the SUBSCRIPTION RENEWALS
imprisoned and those condemned to the mines. Through
her efforts many were freed from chains and oppression. The date on the envelope address label indicates
She was kind to everyone, but especially to religious, and the month and year in which the recipient's sub-
took a particular delight in holding the water for the nuns scription is due for renewal. At the proper time, a
to wash their hands, regarding herself "as the handmaid of subscription envelope will be enclosed with the
the handmaids of Christ." newsletter. One may enter a new subscription at any
time, of course, and will then receive the eight
In 326 (the twentieth year of the reign of her son), Helena, following newsletter issues. t
who had rejoiced in humility while surrounded by the
Pray
the Rosary
Daily
r
To live in our great cities without the loss of faith I am only one but I am one; I can't do everything but
and purity requires no less heroism than was I can do something; what I can do, that I ought to
needed in the days of bloody persecution. do; and what I ought to do, that, by the grace of
God, I shall do.
(Pope Pius XII)
(Edward Everett Hale)
Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it
has been found difficult and left untried. Treason doth never prosper, what's the reason? For
if it prosper, none dare call it treason.
(G. K. Chesterton)
(Sir John Harrington)
Those people who are not governed by God will he
ruled by tyrants. All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that
good men do nothing.
(William Penn)
(Edmund Burke)