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Paul a short time later said that at
times he feels "immensely alone" in
the face of a godless society. De–
scribing himself as a "witness who
shouts in tbe desert," Pope Paul
nevertheless is increasingly leery of
making papal pronouncements. He
speaks in such a low-key etfort that
many ofhis statements, even though
significant, receive very little recog–
nition.
No United Europe Without
the Ca thol ic Church
One way to bring about a united
church is to plunge it into a cause
that is bigger than itself. That cause
could be the unification of Europe.
Despite its interna! difficulties, the
Vatican maintains a vital interest in
Europe.
According to Malachi Martin's
book
Three Popes and the Cardinal,
a unified Europe with Germany at
the center has been uppermost in
the minds of those high up in the
Vatican. Europe is still considered
the center of the world by Rome,
but a permanently divided Ger–
many has proven a stumbling block
to the kind ofunity Rome desires.
With deep interna! dissent still
raging, the Catholic Church is not,
at the moment, in a position toenter
fully the realm of global politics.
Historically, however, Rome has
been involved in the atfairs of vari–
ous nations and is not a stranger to
the political arena. As Pope Paul
said in
L 'Osservatore Romano,
July
20, 1972, "The Church has the right
to pass moral judgments, even on
matters touching the política! or–
der...."
Europe is searching for a central
authority, one that can be looked
upon as neutral. Ancient prejudices
run deep among the nationalities of
Europe, and a German is not likely
to allow a Frenchman to rule over
him or vice versa. But the office at
Rome could accomplish an other–
wise seemingly impossible task.
The simplest and perhaps the
6
only way to bring about a United
States of Europe is by the binding
tie of religion. With the majority of
the present nine nations of the Eu–
ropean Community being Catholic,
such a union is a real possibility.
Once formed, this great third force
in the world could rival both the
United States and Russia in world
power politics.
Europe is moving ponderously
toward full economic union. A com–
mon currency is expected by 1980.
With the international monetary sit–
uation in disarray, sorne observers
feel that Europe's timetable will be
significantly speeded up.
Dr. Otto Von Habsburg, son of
Austria's last emperor, said in a
speech presented at London in
1970, " ... we must admit that this
decade will be quite a decisive one
in the future of this Continent. We
could even say that at the end of
this decade it will be already clear
whether this Europe will play the
role to which it is obviously called in
the world of tomorrow, a role of
peace, of understanding and of
progress. Or whether on the con–
trary we accept to live as we have
lived in the past 25 years, divided
between zones of influence, without
our own determination in politics
and economics, and that of course
might real/y mean a great danger for
the rest of humanity."
Under what banner could Europe
unite? Dr. Von Habsburg,
in
his
book
The Social Order ofTomorrow,
states: "Now we do possess a Euro–
pean symbol which belongs to all
nations equally. This is the Crown
of the Holy Roman Empire, which
embodies the tradition of Charle–
magne, the ruler of a united occi–
dent. This may sound romantic and
unrealistic. But one must keep in
mind that the Crown represents not
merely the sovereignty of the mon–
arch, but also the ties between au–
thority and the people...."
And what of the importance of
religion in the formation of a
United Europe? According to Dr.
Von Habsburg, the fact that sorne
northern European nations are Prot–
estant and that there has been a
decline of religion in these nations
in recent years does not portend
great difficulty for them in being in–
tegrated into a greater Europe. He
says, "The ecumenic spirit has
gained a great deal of ground, even
much more in the last 14 years since
this book was published. Of course
religion has been in the wane in
certain areas. I personally am rather
dubious whether this wane will Iast
very long.
1
rather expect in the fu–
ture a reverse influence. That is to
say,
1
expect that within the fore–
seeable future the influence of reli–
gion will become much greater than
it has been in the past."
Big Events in the 1970 's
If the Catholic Church is to play a
major role in the new Europe. pow–
erful and unusual events must take
place in the 1970's. A revitalized
Pope Paul or a strong successor will
be needed to effect this change. To
allow the continuing dissidence
within the church will bring it to
ruin.
Encounter With History
One thing is certain. The Catholic
Church is down but not out. Rome
is determined to play an important
part in the history of the world.
WiU
it be, as Dr. Von Habsburg
indicates, that the crown of Charle–
magne and the Holy Roman
Ero–
pire will again have a part to play in
Europe?
Big events are shaping up in Eu–
rope, Rome, and the Middle East.
Momentous decisions and actions in
these areas are foretold in Bible
prophecy and will atfect the entire
world in a way that wiJI astound
even seasoned observers.
Future issues of
The
PLAIN
TRUTH will keep our readers not
only abreast of but also in advance
of these events.
o
PLAIN TRUTH November 1973