THE CATHOLIC CRISIS

This may prove a sensation, if it gets by the censor, for it is a challenge to Catholics the world over to face the crisis in their church, to meet the charges of pro-fascism, of anti- Semitism, of anti-liberalism, of political and press censorship. It is an angry book, sometimes an ill-balanced book but there seems to be enough foundation for his charges to give them substance. There is a chapter on the menace of Father Coughlin. There is a chapter on the responsibility of the church for the failure to repeal the neutrality bill in time to save Spain; on the condoning of the Hague regime in Jersey City, on censorship of moving pictures, on the compromise with Mussolini, on the withdrawl from politics in Austria and Germany. He views the state of the church in Portugal, in Ireland, in Canada, in Latin America; shows the improvement of conditions in Mexico. He does not comdemn Plus XII but expresses his disappointment in his seeming supineness. Seldes' book on the Vatican is proof that he speaks from inside knowledge. He can be charged with lack of objectivity, but his points are well substantiated.