1. We take the liberty of drawing the attention of the Swiss Federation of Churches, which is the spokesman of the Swiss Churches to the Federal Authorities, to the alarming position of the Evangelical Reformed Church. 2. The press-censor has repeatedly taken severe measures against men who, as representatives of the Evangelical Church, have raised their voices to inform public opinion. These measures have aroused deep and widespread concern in many circles to whose notice they have come, despite the ban on the publication of such matters, and have led to the opinion that the Evangelical Church is no longer allowed to pronounce the truth entrusted to its care... 3. We especially bear in mind the silence imposed on us by our censorship concerning the injustice of the bloody murders of hostages and the persecution of Jews. When mentioning this subject, we should certainly not shout about it from the roof tops, but under no circumstances should our sense of justice and injustice be blunted within our national conscience. Otherwise we shall invoke God's heavy punishment on our country. Therefore, we take exception to the reproach levied at us by some, that such intrepid talk of injustice by a foreign nation, is a misjudgement. 4. The apprehension we bring to your notice particularly gains alarming weight by the fact that we, as Evangelical and democratic citizens of Switzerland, have to look on while un-Christian and undemocratic ideologies and deeds cross our borders unhindered in the form of many foreign newspapers and illustrated periodicals, which are thus able to exert their influence on young and old. Does not this give rise to the impression that our highest authorities do not sufficiently recognize the danger of a moral and spiritual capitulation on our part, or consider it to be of only secondary importance? We therefore request the Federation of Churches: a. That it remonstrate with the highest responsible authorities of our country and draw their attention to the deep concern and alarm which these measures by our censorship have aroused in large circles of our Evangelical Church. b. That it publicly voice its opinion on the matter and unequivocally make known its stand, with the full weight of its authority. c. That it emphatically take a stand on behalf of all persons in our Church, whose freedom of speech is endangered or impaired, and that it encourage our Church authorities and Synods to make use of their divinely authorized right of freedom of speech. [459]