[Pope John Paul II during his visit to…]

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Pope John Paul II during his visit to Nicaragua in March 1983. Scene from Special $8 pamphlet offer SOCIALIST ACTION NOVEMBER 1984 million. He charges Nicaragua with seeking to "destabilize our hemispherut we see the young men and young But we see the young men and young women of the militia learning to use their rifles against the contras who, organized, financed, and trained by the CIA, have struck cruel blows against the country.

Reagan asserts that the Sandinista government is "even worse than its predecessor,' whose reliance on the support of American imperialism was shown earlier in the film.

lar thing had happened in Jamaica with Michael Manley. There was one of two things to do: (1) explain internationally why certain things were being censored, or (2) explain, as exiles, why the revolution had been destroyed. mines.

We were told that one of the censored articles was titled, "Why there has been an increase in venereal disease among the women of the Sandinista Youth."

This article, which was to appear in La Prensa, had stated that the women of the Sandinista youth organization were having sexual relations with members of foreign solidarity delegations. Another censored article had claimed that there was going to be no milk available in Managua the following day.

It was explained to us that there is no At its August National Committee plenum, Socialist Action adopted a goal of obtaining 500 new subscriptions to our paper by November. In order to achieve this goal, we are offering a reduced-rate copy of "In Defense of Revolutionary Continuity"—Socialist Action pamphlet by Asocialist Action Pamellet $4 A huge crowd came to hear the Pope at an emotionally charged moment. Two days before, 17 young members of the militia, some of them asleep, had been killed in a surprise attack by the contras.

The crowd was deeply stirred by this event and expected the Pope to say a prayer for the souls of the slain, who had died without the confession and absolution that is so important for devout Catholics. It also hoped that he would say something critical of the war being waged against the country.

Instead, the Pope spoke about the need of upholding the authority of the hierarchy, which is in opposition to the government and to the "People's Church" of priests, nuns, and laymen who support the revolution. After the crowd stood listening to this for a long time in the hot sun, a spontaneous cry welled up from it that became a chant: "We want peace."

This was the "insult" of which Reagan spoke: a call for the Pope, who allegedly represents one whom the Church refers to as the Prince of Peace, to speak up for peace.

The film ends with Reagan saying, "There is no thought of sending American combat troops to Central America."

We then see once more the American military preparations in Honduras. The contrast between Reagan's words and his actions is ominous.

abstract idea of freedom of the press in