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"The Roman Catholic hierarchy is engaged in a deliberate attempt to take away from the Protestant churches of America [their] leadership in religious life . . . and are seeking ultimately to take the leadership in the political life of the country. . . ."
Dr. Vale insists that he is not conducting a campaign against the Catholics and is merely answering issues which they have raised at a time when unity is imperative. But some felt that his sermons narrowly skirt the kind of anti-Catholic talk which incites religious intolerance. The coincidence of Dr. Vale's campaign with a series of Christian Century articles on Catholic strength in the U.S. (TIME, Jan. 22) indicated not only Protestant concern over the rise of U.S. Catholicism, but a possibly dangerous trend toward anti-Catholicism. The second possibility disturbs many thoughtful Protestants, who know that intolerance is a boomerang.