17 JANUARY 1936, Page 20

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—The refusal of the

Pope to co-operate with the " peace advocacy " of the Churches is no matter for surprise or regret. It would be a tragedy if the representative of Catholicism were deluded by the political-religious hybrid pacifism which is used so successfully by a Socialist junta to mask their determination to make the people give up their political rights by an appeal to their religious convictions.

Since the League of Nations has no political authority it must be exalted by the Church, and its Covenant, which was signed without the consent of the people, has been presented as an obligation more sacred than Divine Law, and they have been threatened with some world catastrophe if they violate it, comparable to the Day of Doom.