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Show West can learn from Pope decade. He taught the church in Poland to demand recognition, while solidifying the bonds between it and Polish nationalism and culture. Also, he has helped to reunite the Slavic people of Eastern Europe under the spiritual umbrella of the Roman Catholic Church. The visit of Pope John Paul II to Poland earlier this month should serve as a lesson to those nations that would like to see the power of communism diminished to a level where respect for human rights might find Dolitica1 climate suitable for survival In past year, the West has fruitlessly attempted to reverse the trend toward communism, using military power and often secret subversive techniques as its weapons. This use of force against those who rule because of their mastery of force seems to be ineffective. It would seem more logical to look for weak spots. Soviet soft spot Paul's Poland venture may have exposed a Pope John soft spot in Eastern 'Europe that neither the Western leaders nor the Soviets bad seriously considered before. The borders of the Soviet bloc are virtually impervious to military invasion, but the pope proved that tanks and barbed wire are inadequate defenses against freedom and ' ' faith. 'r The pontiff's influence on the Catholic majority in Eastern Europe may prove to be a threat which Moscow must ultimately deal with to ensure its continuing control. Did the rapturous reception given to the Polish pope and his political demands surprise the Soviets? Stunned seems to be more accurate, for the communists have never given much credence to the power of religion. In aswering a question about the pope, Josef Stalin once sneered: "How many divisions does he have?" Stalin would have probably choked on those words, had he seen the throngs of Poles who enthusiastically cheered the pope when he called for the independence of Poland. He appears to possess divisions the Soviets forgot to count. Though the immediate effect of John Paul's visit is monumental, the real impact will be felt in the upcoming p. eg TllArAfA m m mwm wmm hk mmr m m mm mm u mm amam ma mm mm. I i Christianity and communism, because of their diametrically opposed ideologies, cannot visibly coexist in Eastern Europe. For years the churches have been silent. John Paul II has changed that. By preaching a creed of oneness in Christ, he has issued a basic challenge to the legitimacy of European communist governments. Polish government officials, who rule a nation that is 90 percent Catholic, may find the pope's challenge difficult to ignore. U.S. threat impotent The United States and other Western nations should examine the pope's success and contrast it with their own efforts. Present policies pose less danger to the Soviet Union than those in the past. In Moscow, the threat of a U.S. nuclear attack has become almost impotent. Also,' Eastern European borders are nearly fully secure against a NATO invasion. One area in which the Soviets are vulnerable, however, is in their inability to satisfy the human need for freedom, spirituality and faith. Communist leaders must deal with these needs, along with other basic human rights, or their governments may face an early demise. John Paul II has sounded the battle cry for basic human rights and religious freedom. Whether the looming ideological conflict will produce a revolt or just a compromise between church and state won't be known for some time. However, it seems likely that the Polish, government must eventually yield to the rights of all , churchgoers or face the possibility of being overwhelmed. -P- "i HIillT mr mi m - r mm m a a warn w Ik! .J.K. I DEMANDING .b m m ''V"v- R6L1Q10US mm hhiiv mm mm WIS. LETTERS LETTERS LETTERS a Notification before confiscation " Editor: This is to complain about the Physical Education Department's policy of removing student belongings from lockers in the HPER complex on the last day of classes. This past spring quarter I took a swimming class. Due to ill heal th I was unable to attend the class for the last two weeks of school. When I went to my locker on June 6, 1 found that my belongings had been removed. I was told that they had been safely removed, bagged, numbered with locker numbers and kept in the safekeeping of Dick Noll, person in charge of Page Four . , v .viV..... , locker rooms. On June 7, 1 contacted Noll and was told that only once or twice a week. Students have the legal right to at least one notice before their just that afternoon, the appropriated student belongings had belongings are appropriated. been sent to property redistribution. I was asked to contact Perhaps a fine can be levied for a period of a week, at least Paul Madsen at property redistribution. Madsen would not before property is confiscated. After all, we do pay a let me look through the bags or even look to sec carefully if substanual amount for Physical Education classes and as there was a bag with my locker number on it. My locker activity fees to use the facilities. It seems to me that someone contained two swim suits, a swim cap and some other things. somewhere is in an indecent hurry to make money from My complaint is that students should be permitted at least student belongings. . until the end of exam week to remove their things just like t Also, Ac sign in me locker room said lockers will be cleared they are permitted to keep library books until the end of exam one week after the last day of classes. This week. My second complaint is that students should be sign was taken down '" by Betty Lessig, in charge of women's locker room on informed reasonably in advance. To post notices on the walls June 11, after I filed a letter pf complaint with her. of the locker room two weeks before the end of the quarter is ' v not sufficient notice, particularly for those classes that meet .' '' Feroia Jussawalla The Summer Chronicle, Wednesday, June 27, 1979 : |