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Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 1882-1945

"The Fireside Chats of Franklin Delano Roosevelt"


God bless all of you who fight our battles on this Christmas Eve.
God bless us all. Keep us strong in our faith that we fight for a
better day for humankind--here and everywhere.

June 5, 1944.

My Friends:
Yesterday, on June fourth, 1944, Rome fell to American and Allied
troops. The first of the Axis capitals is now in our hands. One up
and two to go!
It is perhaps significant that the first of these capitals to fall
should have the longest history of all of them. The story of Rome
goes back to the time of the foundations of our civilization. We
can still see there monuments of the time when Rome and the Romans
controlled the whole of the then known world. That, too, is
significant, for the United Nations are determined that in the
future no one city and no one race will be able to control the
whole of the world.
In addition to the monuments of the older times, we also see in
Rome the great symbol of Christianity, which has reached into
almost every part of the world. There are other shrines and other
churches in many places, but the churches and shrines of Rome are
visible symbols of the faith and determination of the early saints
and martyrs that Christianity should live and become universal. And
tonight it will be a source of deep satisfaction that the freedom
of the Pope and the Vatican City is assured by the armies of the
United Nations.


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