Dear CMF Friends:

Once again we celebrate the Birth of Christ, the Prince of Peace. The Son of God became Man in order to give peace to the world and to every individual. I pray that we have peace in the world, in our beloved U.S.A., in our families and in our hearts. But we will never have lasting peace unless we bring Christ into our lives by living a good Christian life. The Angels sang, 'Peace to men of good will," not "Peace and good will to men."

The Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation has been founded to fight against the enemies of peace under the patronage of a great defender of peace, Cardinal Mindszenty. What a remarkable history the CMF has had since its beginning! It has consistently opposed Communism following Church teaching with Pope Pius XI's encyclical on Atheistic Communism and our Blessed Mother's requests at Fatima to overcome Communism with prayer, penance and sacrifice.

And CMF continues to fight the good battle against atheism for all of us! That is the reason why I joined the Cardinal Mindszenty Council and now beg you to support the glorious work of the Foundation.

I was a missionary in Nicaragua for nineteen years. I witnessed Nicaragua suffer its Way of the Cross in 1979 when the Communist-led Sandinista revolutionaries brought havoc to the nation and destroyed all of our Missions. But now the Capuchins have the first two Indians ordained to the priesthood and six Indian Sisters! A great blessing!

So, my dear friends, I deeply appreciate the Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation and its remarkable battle against the enemies of peace.

At this blessed season of Christmas, be assured of my prayers...as I commemorate 60 years of religious life in the Capuchins...and my remembrance of you especially at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Fr. Charles Repole O.F.M. Cap.
CMF Council