Quirinus XIII: All totalitarianism is abhorrent
Recently returned to Selucia from Ville-des-Saints, the Arch-Patriarch condemned all totalitarianism, singling out Fascism as well as violent forms of Communism
Empyrean City - Recently returned to Selucia after what the Church strongly denies is anything else than a routine visit to Ville-des-Saints, the Arch-Patriarch used his first Angelus homily after his return home to strongly criticise all totalitarian ideology, slamming Fascist regimes like the one that dared to invade the Empyrean to take him prisoner as well as violent exponents of Communism. Prominently, he refused to endorse the Anti-Communist League, which was supported by parties which had recently committed violence against Communist sympathisers: "The freedom of though is essential to the existence of faith. Without the privacy of the mind and of the conscience, faith cannot grow. It would be like the grain of wheat which was sown but left uncovered so it could be looked at. The regime in Selucia - thank God it has been ousted - had the hubris to attack the sacred ground of the Empyrean because I dared to question their wicked actions. I dare not wish it on anyone."
"Any ideology that extends so deeply that it seeks to rewrite all aspects of personal life is against the will of God," the pontiff argued. "For if man cannot decide freely upon his deeply-held values, he cannot discover and follow the call of the Lord. If a man must watch over his shoulder constantly, he cannot see His Revelation. However similar the end such ideologies propose might sound to the Annunciation, they are anathema if they involve along the way any infringement on the basic dignity and free will of human beings. Beloved brothers and sisters, there is no need for pain or violence or punishment to attain such ends! Our Lord has gone to hell and back and let all that be done to Him for the sake of that world. He has both enabled us to build that world in perfect joy and given us a perfect example of the kind of charity that is necessary to build God's Kingdom step by step. The end never justifies the means, certainly not while Our Lord has justified us through His grace. Therefore, let us respect the basic dignity and free will of all human beings, of whatever beliefs, as the bit of spirit put in all of us by God, willing us to maintain what is good and reject what is evil." He called on regimes which had committed acts of violence against Communists for being Communists to desist immediately, addressing Deltaria immediately: "I know you have been led astray by the anti-Hosios in Cachtiche with his pagan Gods. But if you are who you claim you are, a follower of Our Lord, you will stop condoning this violence, for He told even Michael to sheathe his sword."
The Empyrean denied it was purposely siding against the Terran Patriarchal "Church", which it regards as un-Hosian, in the Arch-Patriarch's stance against Anti-Communist violence.