The most forthright denunciation of race hatred issued by any Catholic organization in this country since the outbreak of the war is expressed in a resolution adopted by the 21st national convention of the National Council of Catholic Women released here today.
The resolution assails prejudice and hatred as being contrary to both Catholic teaching and American principles. It calls upon affiliated groups to combat all evidences and manifestations of discrimination and hatred, “particularly among those of our own faith, who have been misled by demagogues.”
This is the first time that a responsible national Catholic organization has referred to co-religionists “misled by demagogues.” The National Council of Catholic Women is the sister organization of the National Council of Catholic Men. Both groups are part of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, the agency acting under the authority of the Hierarchy of the United States to promote the welfare of the Catholics of the country.
The statement was one of a number of declarations condemning race hatred and anti-Semitism issued by Catholic sources, during the period preceding and following the Postmaster General’s ban on Social Justice magazine, of which Father Charles E. Coughlin was founder. Only a handful of Catholic publications have, so far, commented directly on the barring of Social Justice from the mails. But other journals have condemned intolerance and warned that if bigotry spreads Catholics and Protestants, as well as Jews, will suffer.
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