By Roberto Farinacci
For some time now we have been examining the statutes of the Italic Communes, in which the ecclesiastical authorities had uncontested dominion over all religious questions. Papal encyclicals, the canons of the councils and the pastoral letters of bishops all serve to demonstrate, without exception, how the Church persecuted the Jews, sometimes ruthlessly and cruelly. So when it is claimed today that the Vatican can not have an anti-Semitic spirit and indeed must be pro-Semitic — so they say in newspapers — we respond by invoking the words of the Jesuits, who were undoubtedly our precursors, since they followed our same thesis on the Jewish problem.
The Reverend Fathers never compromised on the Jewish problem. They considered the Jew a pest of mankind, they led an incessant doctrinaire and political struggle against the Jew, and they pointed out all the evil that the sons of Israel perpetrated in the various nations where they had lived. On August 30th, Il Regime Fascista briefly outlined a study published by La Civiltà Cattolica which, although it dates back to 1890, it is so fresh and current that one gets the impression that it could have been written yesterday. Until a few days ago, the leaders of the Jesuit magazine were pleased that we had heaped praise upon them and that we remembered and valued their very interesting historical and doctrinal material. In fact, they were so pleased that Mezzetti, author of the very recent book "The Jewish Question in a Century of Italian Culture", was given permission to reprint their well-known study on the Jewish Question in Europe.
Between us and the Reverend Fathers there was perfect love and respect, then suddenly the serenity was obscured by a dark cloud. Just the other day, on October 1st, La Civiltà Cattolica began to complain about the revival of their old study and emphasized that it was "inspired by the spectacle of Jewish invasion and arrogance half a century ago". What happened? Why are they doing a complete reversal? Clearly Fr. Tacchi Venturi, who oscillates between the Vatican Secretary of State and the Superior General of his Society, must have begged the journalists to pour a lot of Jewish water into Fascist wine. No doubt they must have been pressured by the Vatican's pro-Semitic attitude, which considers all earthly men to be brothers, all forming only one race, the human race, from the Zande of Africa to the first-born of France. We do not; we can not suddenly change our mentality, which was formed by the teachings of the Church which we believe to be excellent and always valid; you can not say they are valid one day and then deny them the next day. We can not accept such a glaring contradiction, especially when it bears the strong flavor of an anti-Fascist agenda.
The Jesuits' reversal however can not be regarded as an opportunistic maneuver, this does not add up to the honor of their historical intransigence, partly because this time the opportunism is based on elements that are too easy to counteract.
In fact, the Jesuit organ does not seem to take into account the fact that the invasion and arrogance of the Jews has grown even worse since the publication of their study a half century ago. The study in question did not have and does not have provisional value, rather it refers to the sad legacy left to our 20th century by victorious Jewish delinquency. Let us ask, are the "ethical-religious doctrines dictated and inculcated by the Talmud", the supreme code of the Jewish race, still valid among the Jews? Do they still and always constitute the "depraved madness" of the Jewish race? Yes or no? Are not the principles of liberty, equality, fraternity and the rights of man, in reality, the rights of the Jew? Yes or no?
Nor should the astute Jesuit Fathers forget that for the Church there is no history, but there is always an equal struggle between good and evil, truth and error, and that evil and error are and always will be evil and error, while good and truth are and will always be good and truth. So how dare the Reverend Fathers declare that what was good and true half a century ago is not good and true today? Do they want to become philosophically temerarious as well?
As for the means adopted in Italy, time will show that we will be more moderate—perhaps even too moderate—compared to the more serious means invoked by La Civiltà Cattolica, which advocated confiscation of property and expulsion. So far we have not made any martyrs, and the world is amazed at our wisdom.
It is surprising therefore that today, as world Jewry worsens and becomes even more dangerous, La Civiltà Cattolica becomes milder.
In the collection of La Civiltà Cattolica we find that as recently as October 1922 they published that famous document which the magazine said can be found in the Vatican Archive, namely the letter of J. B. Simonini to the Jesuit Father Barruel which reported the confessions of leading wealthy Jews. The fourth of these confessions said:
"In Italy alone we [Jews] have more than eight hundred ecclesiastics, both secular and regular clergy, including parish priests, public professors, some bishops and some cardinals, and we are confident that one day we will even have a pope in our party."And the tenth confession said:
"Consequently, the Jews promised themselves that in less than a century they would be masters of the world."132 years have passed since the day these confessions were made, and if the Jews have not yet become what La Civiltà Cattolica feared, who should we thank?
We await the answer to this question.
