Crisis In Christendom, No. 8 of 17 No. 8 of 17

The National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with the National Council of Catholic Men presents the Catholic Army. Today's program will consist of music by a unit of the Polish Carresters and then addressed by Monsignor Fusenje Sheen. A group of the Polish Carresters open the Catholic hour with the beautiful hymn of St. Thomas Aquinas, a dot-o-tate vote. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. Music or setting is by Julia Bonson. The White House Conference of 1940 stated that of the 30 million children in the United States, between the ages of 5 and 17, 16 million received no religious education whatsoever. It was this growing, euligious element which worried and prompted President Roosevelt in 1940 to say, we are concerned about the children who are outside the reach of religious influences and are denied health in attaining faith in an honored universe and in the fatherhood of God. With the Smurry Butler President of Columbia University, commenting upon the fact that the pagan element alone in our population is given the benefits of tax money, said, even the formal prayer that opens each session of the United States Senate and each session of the House of Representatives, and which accompanies each inauguration of the President of the United States would not be permitted in a tax-supported school. That's from Dr. Butler. If this condition of ignoring religion and morality existed in less important matters, it would have been remedied long ago. If, for example, it had been discovered that the geography of Russia was left out of our schools, oh, how quickly it would be inscribed. Why is nothing done about that which our tradition says is the indispensable condition of democracy? And that brings us now to our third voice when the specialty of restoring religious education in order to preserve democracy. Democracy demands that education satisfy not only the atheist, but also the believer in God. For that reason, those interested in the preservation of democracy have suggested that some assistance be given those schools. Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Jewish, and others who are aiding democracy by teaching religion. As Dr. Hutchins put it, the states may, if they choose, assist pupils to attend the schools of their choice. Since we want all American children to get as good an education as they can, since we know that some children will not voluntarily attend public schools, and since we are not prepared to compel them to do so, it is in the public interest to give states permission to use federal grants to help them go to the schools they will attend and to make these schools as good as possible. What possible objection is there to this idea? To this democratic idea, the equal opportunities for education be given to all along religious and cultural lines. Well, there's one objection which is rather common. It is this. Education should be neutral. And by neutral, the intelligentsia mean that religion should not be taught. Now, this is a fallacy. The fact is, there is no such thing as neutral education. That is to say, an education without morality and religion. Religion and morality are not related to education like raisins to a cake, but like a soul who abud is, there can be a cake without raisins, but there cannot be a man without a soul. If education does not inculcate a moral outlook, it will inculcate a materialist, or a communist, or a fascist, or a Nazi outlook. Nutrality is absolutely impossible in education. By the mere fact that religious and moral training is neglected, none religious, none moral and in consequence, and I religious and anti-marial ideology is developed. No indoctrination of religion really means indoctrination, abdoubt and unbelief. Religion is either included or excluded in education, hence a school from which religion is excluded. He is found to become irreligious. Now there is a second objection against extending democracy in education to those who believe in God and morality. And it is this. America was founded on the principle of the separation of the Church in the States. This is absolutely true. And we have no desire to change this principle. But our country was not founded on the principle of the separation of religion and the States. Our pounding powers in tendance that no particular religion should be the national religion. But they never intended that the States should be devoid of religion. It never entered their minds that we would grow up to be a near religious nation. Nor did they ever think that education would one day be divorced from God and His commandments. This is evident from the fact that no signer of the Declaration of Independence was educated in a non-religious school. For a century, the United States did not have a president who was educated in a non-religious school. It is true that the First Amendment of the Constitution forbade the establishment of any religion as a national religion. But that was because there was an established religion in ten of the thirteen colonies, the congregational religion in three, and the Episcopalian in seven. But the disestablishment of a particular Church was not the disestablishment of religion. The fact is that religious schools, Methodist, Presbyterian, Jewish, Episcopalian, Catholic are in the tradition of true sounds on the Americanism. It is the non-religious schools that are outside of that glorious tradition. But why do we insist so much on religious education? Because, because we are entering into an era of history, wherein the grave threat to man's freedom will be from the only potent state. And once a nation ceases to believe, it begins to obey. As William Penn said, man must be governed by God, or he will be ruled by tyrants. We are coming into the days of omnipotence, where we will live either under the omnipotence of God or squirm under the omnipotence of the state. And Godless education has no power to restrain a Godless state. For example, when Hitler came into power in 1933, the very first to capitulate were the professors. But the one force which did not surrender was religion, as the Catholic bishops and pastor Nehmer bear witness. It was the professors who allowed the independent administration of the universities to be abolished. The universities offering no objection to state elected directors and deems who are forced to ponder by the Nazis. It was indeed a bitter disappointment for all who considered the German universities the defenders of rights and justice. But when one considers that specialization had been carried to such an extreme, and the unipyte philosophy of life so universally abandoned, it was no surprise that there was no one idea left around which the universities could rally. Given the crises in any country in the world, in which totalitarianism threatens the liberty of the citizens, and the first to capitulate will be the non-religious educators. How could it be other wires? For without a faith, how can they oppose a faith? There will be only those schools that recognize the soul and its creator that will challenge the state which attempts to absorb the soul. Why, therefore, I ask you, impose excessive burdens on those schools which are the safeguard of American freedom and democracy? There's no reason in the world why any school in the United States, which teaches religion and morality, should be penalized for being patriotic. Nor do I accept there all the expenses of giving to the nation, the two supports, the choice Washington told us a nation cannot endure. It is not fair. It is not democratic to cater only to the non-religious in education. The child who goes to a religious school may walk on the streets, maintained by public funds, but in many instances in the United States, he may not ride to school in a bus that is operated at public expense. The state will build a chapel for citizens when they get into a penitentiary. How about building a few schools to prevent them from getting into a penitentiary? We are preparing an army of at least seven and a half million men to defend Christian liberty and justice on the battlefields. How about telling them something about that Christian liberty before we give them a gun? A government of the people, for the people and by the people, could respect the will of those who believe in religion and morality, even though they'd be in the minority, for democracy is not the custodian of majority privileges. It is the preserver of minority rights. Would it not be a good idea for America to cease talking about the right to worship and to begin talking about the duty to worship? We may need God's help, we need it very badly before this war is over, and it's not too soon to begin asking for it now. For 150 years we have been celebrating our bill of rights. How about teaching the young our bill of duties? The first ten amendments to the Constitution are our bill of rights. The ten commandments of God are our bill of duties. To this end we beg the Jews and the Protestants and Catholics in the radio audience to spend an hour of day in prayer and meditation for victory and for peace. That our democracy may be preserved by a return to God. You do anyone who desires a prayer book suitable for wartime, right to us as we will send it to you free. Given another generation of Godless education and we will be in danger of tyranny. Given religion and morality in education and we will be the most potent government in flowings for peace in the world. Then will America be great? And we will love it not because it is great, but it will be great because we love it and the name of God. That makes anything great. Not very long ago, a Nazi soldier, a Nazi-fied friend took his French wife and expected mother into a hospital. Seeing a crucifix on the wall, the Nazi ordered the nun to take it down. She refused. He ordered her again, saying, I want no child of mine ever to look upon the image of Christ. So the nun under threat took it down. And the father's wish was fulfilled to the letter. The child was born blind. And God grants that we may never deny to our American children the right to gaze upon the image of the Savior of the world. God bless. O Lord Jesus Christ, win thy mercy herewith the prayers of sinners, or fall with the streets they all grace and blessing upon our country and its citizens. We pray in particular for the president, for our Congress, for all our soldiers, for all who defend us in ships, whether on the seas or in the skies, for all who are suffering the hardships of war. We pray for all who are in peril or in danger. Bring us all after the troubles of this life into the haven of peace. And reunite us all together forever, O dear Lord, in thy glorious heavenly kingdom. The address you have just heard was entitled, the Christian Order and Education, and was delivered by Monsignor Fulton J. Sheen of the Catholic University of America. This was the eighth in Monsignor Sheen series of seventeen addresses on the crisis in Christendom. A copy of today's talk, as well as a book that referred to by Monsignor Sheen, the Shield of Faith, may be obtained by writing to the National Council of Catholic Men, Washington DC, or to the station to which you are now listening. Incidentally, we're glad to announce that these booklets are now being mailed out as rapidly as possible to the thousands who have requested them. Next Sunday at this time, Monsignor Sheen will deliver another address in this series entitled, on whose side are we? Your announcer is John Patrick Costello. This program has been presented by the National Broadcasting Company and the Independent Radio Station associated with the NBC Network, in cooperation with the National Council of Catholic Men, and came to you from New York. This is the National Broadcasting Company.