Record

AAW - Archives of the Archbishop of Westminster
- DC - Deposited Collections
  - 2 - Deposited Collections
    - SOTS - Sword of the Spirit

Repository	Archives of the Archbishop of Westminster
Ref No	AAW/DC/2/SOTS/4
Title	Joint Pastoral Letter
Date	March-September 1942
Level	Sub series
Description	Inspired by editorials in the Catholic press, urging the Hierarchy to provide more dynamic social leadership in wartime, Professor A C F Beales convened a meeting with various editors of Catholic newspapers to try and form a small deputation of the laity to lobby the Hierarchy. At the time it was feared that the Spring Offensive of 1942 might result in Germany winning the war, but if Russia were to defeat Germany instead, this would raise the threat of Communism in place of Nazism. Beales wanted the Catholic Hierarchy of England and Wales to issue a Joint Pastoral Letter "to awaken Catholics to a sense of danger and to spur them to face the perils that threaten society" posed by the "new world orders". A Joint Pastoral Letter on the Social Question was duly issued at Westminster Cathedral on Whit Sunday, May 1942, and appointed to be read on the fourth Sunday after Pentecost in all the Catholic churches and chapels of England and Wales. Although jointly signed by the Archbishops of Westminster, Liverpool, Birmingham and Cardiff, it was largely the work of Thomas Williams, Archbishop of Birmingham (1877-1946) in close collaboration with Professor A C F Beales. The Joint Pastoral affirmed fundamental principles held by the Catholic church with respect to social order and social justice. The Letter proposed "minimum conditions for a Christian way of life", namely a living wage, good industrial relations, decent living accommodation, the banning of contraception and obscene publications, and a distribution of wealth as a means to end inequality. The Sword of the Spirit held three Public Meetings on the Joint Pastoral in September 1942, in Birmingham, Preston and London. Each meeting focused on a particular theme; 'The family and the family wage' (Birmingham), 'Education' (Preston), and 'The Catholic Citizen' (Westminster). Professor A C F Beales was responsible for much of the organisation and publicity for the 'Three September Meetings' as they came to be known.
Format	Printed document
Language	English

Hours of Marie de Rieux, The

Hours of Marie de Rieux, The

Hours of Marie de Rieux, The

Hours of Marie de Rieux, The

Talbot Hours, The

Talbot Hours, The

Album amicorum of George Strachan

Album amicorum of George Strachan

Rental Book

Explore Showcase