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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MARCH 2, 1984
PAGE 9
Although virtually every Italian is a baptized Catholic, church
attendance is not much greater than in Catholic and Protestant
regions elsewhere in Europe. Contrary to church doctrine, birth
control is widely practiced....
Pope John Paul II said Sunday that the new concordat was an ideal
inspiration for the church's contribution to Italy's moral good
and civil progress.
The new state-of-affairs could certainly benefit the Church of God.
Premier Craxi, for example, called the changes "a modern separation" of
church and state under which people "without distinctions of belief, in
full and consolidated liberty, can make conscious religious choices." And
since Rome no longer enjoys the status of a "sacred city," this means the
Catholic Church can no longer ban literature or films, etc., it considers
offensive. (Gear up the newsstand programl)
Then, too, one thinks of the future of the papacy itself. Given the loss in
stature of the "Eternal City,•• might it not be easier for the papacy to
someday relocate itself elsewhere�-like, say, Jerusalem?
America the Has-been Superpower: It's the Will that's Lacking
One of the most incisive American news analysts is Patrick J. Buchanan. In
his February 13 syndicated column, Mr. Buchanan looked at the U.S. role in
the world in the aftermath of the debacle in Lebanon:
As the Soviet missiles were withdrawn from Cuba, in resolution of
the 1962 crisis, Charles de Gaulle observed, "There is only one
superpower." Observing the Marine retreat from Beirut under the
covering fire of the Sixth Fleet, he might make the same observa
tion. If it remains the defining characteristic of a superpower
that, once its prestige and military are committed, it prevails,
the United States no longer belongs in the category.
The British and French debacle at Suez demonstrated that Britain
and France no longer qualified as great powers. So, the coming
debacle in Lebanon provides a clear and useful snapshot, dated
1984, of the true correlation of forces in the world. For a long,
+ ong time the United States has been living off the tremendous
inherI't"ecf capital of World W�II-.---The belie"'tburnTshed in the
minds of men everywhere that theUnited States was the most dan
gerous of enemies, that, once aroused, this sleeping giant would
mercilessly pound to rubble any nation that threatened its vital
interests. Americans were not to be trifled with. Today, in the
Chou£ [mountains of Lebanon J, Druse militia are echoing Mao's
taunt about the "paper tiger."
Consequences are certain to flow from the altered perception.
While important that the Americans recognize the new realities,
it is more critical that nations dependent upon American commit
ments adjust their policies accordingly.
For all its quality
weaponry, � United States � � nation today has nothing re
� otel a similar to the national determination, unity and stomach
it ha in 1861 or 1941, or even 1917 and 1965. If the Chinese 1n
Peking were astonished the Americans would abandon Vietnam after
only 50,000 dead, what must they think today?