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ed to in the "Summi Pontificatus" as men without faith to th
 
                                                            
 
 
sm or wishful thinking in it. We are prepared for a long war
 
                                                            
 
 
In the first place, we are a nation united as never before in our
history. Axis propaganda had made itself felt in the United States as
elsewhere before our entry into the war, and we know they are boasting
of divisions among us. Let no one be deceived. Our very love of peace
made it difficult for some of our people to see the world menace of
Nazism. Pearl Harbor opened their eyes. The dishonorable attack of
Japan at the very moment when her special ambassador was talking peace
at Washington united overnight Americans of all shades of opinion.
Among the architects of this unity are the foremost Catholic leaders in
our country, the bishops and the prominent laymen of all racial
strains. Their public utterances and the editorial statements of
Catholic papers after the aggression of Pearl Harbor can be summed up
in these words: Prosecute the war to a victorious conclusion; and then
bend every effort for a peace that will be just, charitable and
lasting. Most notable of all Catholic pronouncements was that contained
in the letter of the Catholic Hierarchy to the President of the United
States pledging the whole-hearted cooperation of Catholics in the
national war effort. This letter, individually authorized by the
Bishops of the United States, solemnly engaged "the lives, the treasure
and the sacred honor" of American Catholics in the defense of their
freedom against aggression. The response of the President was historic:
"We shall win this war," wrote Mr. Roosevelt, "and in  
lishment of an international order in which the spirit of Ch
 
                                                            
 
 
 even though many may not be practical church-goers. The Axi