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Epilogue
History and the ture
As WE SAID IN THE FIRST CHAPTER, his ry is the story of events which have made a di erence to the world. The writing of his ry requires the passage of time, so that the e ect of ents can be judged. There re, we cannot comment on current events because it is not yet possi­ ble to make historical judgments on these even .
But we can look to the ture, usi the knowledge we h e gained of the past. Though public life in many of the countries of the world has become anti-Christian, though politics are a matter of power ra er than of justice, though wars have become much more destructive of innocent persons than ever be , yet hope remains. Christianity grows rapidly in A ica, the Popes issue strong statements on doctrinal and moral questions, orthodox l people begin initiatives in education, pro-life and other areas. The West is declining, but other areas of the world m be rising to take its place. Or new sources of strength may be und in the countries that h e been the centers of Christian civilization r so long. Through it all, Christ the King, the Lord of Histo , will be bringing members of His Kingdom on earth to perfection. We m not always be able to understand how this is happening, but we ow that it will.
So we come to the end of a story which began ur ousand years ago in e plains of Sumeria when God spoke to Abraham. We have seen empires and conque rs come and go. We have seen great villains: eses II, Nero, Attila, Cecil, Richelieu, Robespierre, Napoleon, Lenin, Hitler, Ho Chi Minh. We have seen g at he es: Ab am, Moses, e early ma , Pope Leo the Great, St. Patrick, Charlemagne, Queen Isabel, Charles V, Philip II, Maria Teresa, the men and women of the Alcazar, the Hungarian Freedom F hters. The struggle between good and evil has gone on contin-
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