uninterrupted peace, so that armies fell into disuse; and the new barbarism turned against science and technology, and turned towards myth and credulity, there would be nothing to prevent another witch-hunt. We have had a number of witch-hunts since the Second World War, both in America and here, which demonstrate that they are not a thing of the past; on the contrary they are a very present danger. So I never cease to give thanks to Almighty God, who in the words of Thomas Cranmer's collect, “shows his almighty power most chiefly in shewing mercy and pity”, for the sophistication in the conduct of war and for the success of natural science in helping to mould the pattern of society, which is the most reasonable assurance that those days will never return.
If the Church has not quite left behind the guilt of the Inquisition, because there has been no great act of atonement for it, does she have any advice or help to offer to those who have to thread their way through the labyrinth of our competitive world today? In the early days of the Inquisition the Church moulded large parts of the social life of European countries, and if she did not have much influence on the conduct of war, the Pope was in a position to bring great pressure on a sovereign either to wage, or to refrain from waging war. If a king was excommunicated, it was a decree which he found his people respected, and he had to submit. No king can defy his whole people, without losing his throne. What is the position today?
The impression created on the mind of the ordinary man is that the Church has no influence whatever on his life in our modern competitive commercial world. You only have to mention religion in conversation with ordinary people to appreciate the incredulity and condescension which greet your remarks. And the truth is that the Church has nothing to offer in a competitive world, other than consolation to the losers. For once appearances are truthful. There is no advice for those who want to avoid stumbling into an idolatry, such…