"Prelude To Cold War: American Catholics And Communism"

Robert L. Frank recounts the conflict between Catholics and communism in the United States in his article, “Prelude To Cold War: American Catholics And Communism.” In this article, Robert L. Franks informs us how American Catholics were on the forefront in the battle against the communist uprising in the 1930s. America did not perceive the threat of communism in their homeland during this time, but American Catholics learned immediately that there were already thousands of members nationwide who were spreading propaganda. Moreover, Robert L. Frank notes that the communist threat was also an opportunity for the Catholic Church to prove to America that they were in accord with democratic values. Catholics proved that they agreed with American values by denouncing communism using doctrine.

In 1934, American Catholics were informed of the communist threat by Father Ledochowski, the father general of the Society of Jesus in Rome. American Catholics immediately began to combat this threat. Catholic presses published and sold millions of anti-communist pamphlets by 1936. However, non-Catholics did not join in this crusade, for “the Christian Century had repeatedly warned Protestants to stay clear of the Catholic drive against communism.”[1] The majority of Americans were Protestants, so most Americans ignored this matter. “Catholics lived in a nation in which Protestantism was generally regarded as the "national religion."[2] Therefore, Catholics were viewed as foreigners in America, and they were not trusted. Robert L. Frank understands that the Catholic crusade against communism was a way for Catholics to prove their patriotism: “…American Catholics mined the themes and strategies of the encyclical of Pope Pius XI on communism in an effort to simultaneously prove their loyalty to their church and country.”[3] Protestant America was suspicious of Catholics because they pledged allegiance to the Vatican. However, Catholics learned how to defend America from communism because of the pope. America was unaware of the evil of communism before Catholics began to speak out against it. Bishop Francis Noll stated that “Americans are asleep to the danger .... They are wide open to attack."[4] The Spanish Civil War in the 1930s demonstrated that Americans were ignorant. American Catholics, on the other hand, knew that the Loyalists were communists because they were against God and life. The Loyalist government in Spain was engaged in a bloody persecution against the Church. Most of America sided with the Loyalists because siding with Franco meant supporting fascism. “In their unceasing attacks on the "communist" nature of the Loyalist government in Spain, Catholics viewed themselves as lone defenders of those human rights that constitute the essence of democracy.”[5]

Furthermore, Robert L. Frank also tells us how Catholics learned to denounce communism using doctrine. Pope Pius XI “echoed the account of Leo XIII in Rerum Novarum of the origins of socialism: "the way had already been prepared" for communism "by the religious and moral destitution in which wage-earners had been left by liberal economics.”[6] American Catholics followed their pope by learning how to speak about the undemocratic nature of communism. They explained that communism stripped people of their rights, and that its aim was to banish everything that came from God like liberty and freedom. However, Catholics were viewed as supporters of fascism by Americans because they sided with Franco during the Spanish War, so “American Catholics developed an anti-fascist apologetic that defined fascism in terms of the ultimate evil -- communism.”[7] The evil of the Loyalist government was greater than that of the fascists. That is why Catholics sided with Franco, but they needed to explain to America that they were not supporters of fascism. In 1937, “Monsignor Sheen urged that "the choice before the world is not Communism or Fascism, for the two are not mutually exclusive; the choice is rather between a philosophy of life which rejects human dignity and a philosophy of life which destroys it."”[8]

American Catholics were the first to defend their homeland from the threat of Communism because they were the first to learn about this matter. Non-Catholic America was not aware of the evil of communism until Catholics began denouncing it using doctrine to demonstrate that it was against God, human beings, and democracy: “Liberalism acquired a special meaning for Catholics; as did capitalism, socialism, communism, fascism, and democracy. They were defined in accordance to their compatibility with Catholic doctrine. And that doctrine obtained its greatest rhetorical force in dialectical opposition to communism.”[9] As a result, Catholics proved that their values were in accordance with the American values of life, liberty, and justice. “In identifying Catholicism so closely with the reigning values of Americans, Catholic leaders helped ease the tension between "Catholicism" and "Americanism," paving the way for integration into the mainstream of American political and economic life.”[10]

I believe that the Catholic Church did good in defending the United States of America from the threat of communism in the 1930s. They proved themselves to be defenders of liberty, justice, and democracy to the rest of the world. Because Catholics based their denouncement of communism on doctrine, they demonstrated that Catholicism was in accord with American values. I do not believe, however, that they defended America from communism so they could fit in with the rest of America. I believe that the love of God moved them to defend their brothers and sisters who did not know about the communist threat. They moved quickly to inform everyone about the arrival of communism in the United Stated, but not all were convinced. We can still perceive the disbelief and denial of the many things that Catholics proclaim in modern- day America. We see the denial of the existence of Satan, for example, by many non-Catholic Americans in our day. We see the denial of sin and relativism as a popular view as well. I believe that the Catholic Church is still a foreigner in the United States. The words of Bishop Francis Noll can still be applied today: “Americans are asleep to the danger .... They are wide open to attack"[11] Modern-day America does not perceive that they are in grave danger due to so much evil. Moreover, many still see Catholics as foreigners because they are not like the rest of society; many do not like the idea of religion and/or strict moral codes. Catholics do not need to be informed by the Society of Jesus again to learn that their brothers and sisters are in danger. The Church is aware. Catholics need to learn to integrate themselves with modern society to prove that they are allies; they need to prove that they are for love, peace, and happiness because that is what modern-day Americans value. Modern-day Catholics need to learn to proclaim the Gospel in new ways like the American Catholics had to in 1930s America to protect the nation from the threat of evil.

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1. Frank, Robert L. "Prelude To Cold War: American Catholics And Communism." Journal of Church & State. Winter 1992, Vol. 34 Issue 1.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.