Our President’s Collosal Blunder
‘The bowing of our Ckief Magistrate to that strange and pernicious mixture of politics and religion that is headed up at Rome”
Bj) Dr. R. A . TORREY Dean of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles
The writer of this article has been a great admirer of President Wilson. While he has had occasion to criticise his attitude and his action in some matters, on the whole he has been in the heartiest sympathy with President Wilson’s conduct of our national affairs and our international relations. He has considered him in many ways one of the wisest statesmen that we have ever had in America. But certainly President Wilson has made recently one of the most colossal blunders that was ever made by an Amer ican President. We refer, of course, to his visit to the Pope. Nothing could possibly be more foolish in itself and more injurious to the highest interests of this country than this visit. It was entirely unnecessary. Pope Benedict has done nothing to entitle him to any consideration from this country. He has played, as far as he dared, into the hands of the Kaiser and the Central Powers. This was so evident that President Wilson himself was compelled to treat his peace proposals with something of the scant courtesy that they deserved, and yet our President, not merely as an individual, but as he has repeatedly said in every country that he has visited, representing the United States, of America, has seen fit to do the subtle and wily eccle siastic an homage that he has rendered to none of the kings or leading states men among our allies who have fought so nobly with us at so great sacrifice. King George of England came to see the President first. King Albert of Belgium welcomed him with great honor. The King of Italy visited him first in Paris and afterwards went a long ways to meet him in Italy. But President Wilson went to see the Pope instead of the Pope coming to see him, and permitted the Pope to make the conditions under which alone he would receive him. We are filled with shame of face. This is no time to stir up religious antagonisms, antagonisms between Protestants and Roman Catholics in this country, but nothing could possibly be done more calculated to stir up such antagonisms than this action of our President. It is not likely that President Wilson could have been re-elected even if he had not taken this action; for the people of America have what is probably an ineradicable hostility to a third term on the part of any man, no matter how wise nor excellent his administration. But if there had been any prospect before, this will certainly kill it. This is a Protestant nation, and the nation as a whole will not tolerate the bowing of our Chief Magistrate to that strange and pernicious mixture of politics and religion that is headed up at Rome. The two great perils of this country at the present day are Anarchy, or Bolshevism, and Romanism. Rome is not concealing her aims regarding America. The following Roman Catholic utterance from the National Catholic Register is an illustration of th is: “Catholicism is, and always has been, a practical religion. There is no sin th a t it cannot forgive or absolve; th e re is no hum an soul so ignorant, lowly or degraded th a t cannot seek sh elter and peace under its divinely protecting wings.
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