321.1163/21
The Ambassador in Colombia (Lane) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 24.]
Sir: With reference to the Department’s confidential instruction no. 1518 of August 19, 1943, I have the honor to report that according to information received by the American Consul in Cali,73 the Catholic priest of Silvia, Department of Cauca, recently delivered a rabidly anti-American speech which, beginning with a vigorous denunciation of American missionaries, developed into a general attack on the United States and its policies.
The Vice Consul at Bucaramanga,74 Department of Norte de Santander, reports that the Bucaramanga newspaper, El Frente, has published a series of articles during the past month attacking Protestant missionaries and alleging that these missionaries are being sent to South America in order to facilitate the absorption of the Latin-American countries by the United States. The Vice Consul reports that on August 14 a demonstration against Protestant missions was organized in Pamplona by a Father Mendoza, assistant to the Bishop. The Vice Consul also reports that on September 3 there took place at Bucaramanga a noisy demonstration against the activities of the Protestant missionaries on the part of local schoolboys who marched up and down the center of the town shouting “Vivas” and “Abajos,” and stoned several Protestant meeting places and the Masonic Temple. The two Conservative newspapers of Bucaramanga, El Deber and El Frente, are reported to have described the demonstration on the following day as a righteous manifestation on the part of the city’s youth, carried out in perfect order. According to the newspapers the marchers were inspiringly addressed by Fathers Sorzano and Jaimes. A similar description of the demonstration published in the Bogotá newspaper, El Siglo, on September 8th is enclosed.75
It appears that the immediate cause of the demonstration was an alleged reference by Mr. Baxter,76 an American missionary, to the Pope as the Beast of the Apocalypse. The City Council of Bucaramanga passed a resolution praising the Pope and protesting against the calumnies and disrespectful statements made against him by a “certain foreign lecturer.” Following the demonstration, the ladies of Bucaramanga, headed by the wife of the Governor of the Province, addressed telegrams to the Papal Nuncio and the President of the [Page 84] Republic protesting against the propaganda of “aggressive Protestant sects which are imperilling American cordiality”.
Mr. Baxter denies having said anything against the Pope. In response to an inquiry from the Vice Consul as to whether the matter should be taken up with the Colombian authorities, the Embassy advised the Vice Consul not to intervene with the Colombian authorities at this stage, but suggested that if in the meantime he came into contact with Baxter he should urge upon him the necessity for the greatest tact and discretion in dealing with the Colombians. The Vice Consul reports that according to information received from American missionaries there are now twenty Protestant missionaries in the Department of Norte-de Santander. Of these sixteen are American, two Canadian, and two Norwegian.
Respectfully yours,