Our Daily News Letter

(By Our Rome Correspondent, David Kleinlerer)

The Catholics of America, through Cardinal Hayes, have refused, according to a story circulating here, to join the widespread movement which has been launched under the aegis of the Vatican for the conversion of the Jews en masse, on the ground that if such an activity were started in America the Jews would cease to support Catholic charitable institutions.

This latest conversionist movement seeking to accomplish through the medium of friendship and conciliation what the Inquisition failed to achieve through the torture rack and the autoda-fe, is part of a programme to revive the former power and influence of the Catholic Church. It is headed by a Catholic prelate and is actually led and inspired by an apostate Jewess. It had its impetus in the “Holy Year” of 1925. It is interesting to see its background.

The “Holy Year” of 1925 constituted an important stage in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. The growth of religius feeling among the masses of the peoples who went through the war and its aftermath, contributed a great deal to the increase of the authority of the Church and its influence throughout the world. Over two million believers from every corner of the globe, belonging to all nations and races, made the pilgrimage to Rome during the course of “Holy Year”, to see the Pope, to obtain his blessing and to contribute their mite to the Apostolic Church.

The friendly attitude of the Fascist Government towards the Vatican helped to a very large extent to make the “Holy Year” an imposing and impressive function. And this success has revived in Vatican circles the desire to make the Catholic Church again the universal Church by bringing into it those peoples who still stand outside — primarily the Russians and — the Jews, God’s Chosen People.

The representatives of numerous missionary organizations who assembled in Rome during “Holy Year” did their utmost to urge on the Church its duty to bring into the fold the “Lost Sheep of Israel.” They submitted figures to official Vatican circles, who were inclined to take the view that it is not possible to convert the Jews, claiming that in the last few years over 250,000 Jews had become baptized and that in general the religious feeling of the Jews was dying out, especially among the younger generation.

A big campaign in this direction was carried on by the French Order of Notre Dome de Sion. One of the members of the Order. Count de Naillat, even influenced the Pope to make a reference to the Jews in his message at the close of “Holy Year”, in which the Pope prayed that they might at last come to “accept Christ.”

Only a week or two before, the first meeting had been held in Rome of a new organization known as the “Friends of Israel”, which was formed on the initiative of a Dutch Prelate, Monsignore Van Asseldonk, and which enjoys the patronage and support of several of the Cardinals.

At the first public meeting of the Friends of Israel” which took place in Rome, Monsignore Van Asseldonk called on all Catholies “to fill their hearts with love for the Jews.” He was followed by a converted Jewes, Miss Van Leer of Amsterdam who spoke enthusiastically of Zionism, Miss Van Leer is a remarkable woman whose career has been followed with immense interest in the Catholic press. She is one of the leaders of the “Friends of Israel”, to whose work she devotes the whole of her time and enthusiasm. While still a young girl she ran away from her parents’ home. She went to Berlin where she fell in with advanced artistic circles and worked on a futurist publication. Later she went on the land and lived among the villagers as a disciple of Tolstoy. When the war broke out she became a nurse and while tending the wounded, kept writing letters to the ex-Kaiser Wilhelm pleading with him to stop the bloodshed. After the war, she joined the Communist movement in Bavaria and took an active part in it and when Kurt Eisner’s Government fell, she was sentenced to death.

In a remarkable manner, she made her escape and then she became converted to Roman Catholicism and went to Rome. She obtained permission from the Pope, it is rumored, to go to Palestine as a Halutza, as she assures one, not to do missionary propaganda but to work for the upbuilding of Palestine. She had to leave her Kvuzah, however, because of the objections which were made against her fiery religious zeal. She returned to Rome and since then has thrown herself devotedly into the work of the “Friends of Israel.” She lectures, holds conferences with leading Prelates, writes articles and conducts the whole of the organizational activity of the “Friends of Israel.”

It is obvious, of course, that the essential underlying purpose of the “Friends of Israel” is to bring about the conversion of the Jews. The organization, however, is not of the usual type of “soul-catchers.” It seeks to develop among the Catholic clergy a missionary spirit, which, it contends, is impossible, unless the Catholic world is filled with love towards the people of Israel. The combating of anti-Semitism is declared to be the main aim of the organization. In an atmosphere of love it will be possible to bring about the conversion of Israel, is its belief.

The “Friends of Israel” includes seven Cardinals and eighty Bishops and other Prelates in all the countries of Europe. The founder himself, Monsignore Van Asseldonk went to Poland with the object of winning over the Catholic Clergy of Poland to this campaign of love for the Jews. It seems that his mission has been without success, because the Polish Clergy is outspokenly anti-Semitic and will have nothing to do with such movements. I am told that during his stay in Poland, Monsignore Van Asseldonk visited Rabbi Perlmutter who said that he was glad that the Catholic Church was lending its authority to the fight against anti-Semitism.

An attempt to carry the movement across the Atlantic to the United States failed, as stated before. It is said that on the eve of Cardinal Bonzano’s departure for the United States to attend the Eucharist Congress in Chicago, several leaders of the “Friends of Israel” consulted him as to the possibility of establishing a branch in America. Cardinal Bonzano wrote to Cardinal Hayes and asked his opinion. Cardinal Hayes replied that he did not think the idea advisable. If the American Jews saw that the Catholic Church in America was starting a conversionalist campaign, they would cease to support the Catholic charitable institutions, hospitals, childrens’ homes, etc. So there is no “Friends of Israel” movement in America.

The “Friends of Israel” assume a friendly attitude to Zionism, despite the fact that the Vatican has been generally believed to be unfriendly to the Zionist aims. The leaders of the organization have expressed themselves in sympathetic terms regarding the return of God’s people to their ancient country, which, in their view is taking place in accordance with the will of God. The present Apostolic Visitor to Palestine, Monsignore Robinson, recently, while he was staying in Rome, said that the Jewish colonization work would he successful only with the consent of God. “Human endeavors were only the instruments in God’s Hand. The country is being rebuilt in accordance with God’s will,” he said.

There are also voices among the leaders of the “Friends of Israel” who urge a more active support of Zionism. Not long ago, the Bulletin of the Catholic Missions, a publication which is in close contace with official Vatican circles and is issued by the Benedictine Order, wrote the following: “Think not that you serve God if you oppose Zionism. You do not know what Zionism is unless you see it in Palestine. The aim of the Jews is not to oppress the Christians. They are seeking the fulfillment of their ideal. Yet without knowing it, they are at the same time seeking Christ. And they will find him when they are again in their Fatherland. Christ will lead his people back to their land, for he is the King of the Jews.”

It is alleged that the Pope, Pius XI, is to a large extent responsible for this sympathetic attitude towards Zionism. It is said he follows with close interest the activity of the “Friends of Israel” and in an audience with its founder, Monsignore Van Asseldonk, he urged him to go on with the work of fighting anti-Semitism, which, it is stated, he denounced as a heresy against the Catholic Church.