REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES CECLASSIFIED Authority Statele Her hr by ML, NARS Cate 24 1811. the aegis of the Vanguardia Popular. therefore cussed Vanguardia first with the Archbishop and close a memorandum of our conversation, a summary of which is given below: Conversation with Archbishop Sanabria: Monseñor Sanabria said that in his opinion there were three types of communism: political, economic and theoretical. In the United States special empha being placed on the economic type, but in the Archbishop opinion the Vanguardia Popular group now partakes of none of the distinguishing characteristics of any of the types. He admitted that when the Vanguardistas were known as the Communist party they had followed the general party line. but added that at the present time Mora has accepted such non Communist principles as private property, the family, and Christian social justice. If such principles are now within the party line. a reconsideration of the whole question of communism may be in order The Archbishop reviewed the events leading up to the publication of his famous letter granting permission to Catholics to join the Vanguardia Popular and described the discussion with Manuel Mora which preceded the letter.
He stated that when Mora had agreed to the elimination of communism from his party and had agreed to adhere to Christian principles he felt there was no further obstacle to be placed in the way of Catholics who to join the movement.
The Archbishop described Manuel ivora as both an intelligent and sincere man and said that of all the politicians he knew he thought Manuel Mora the most sincere in his desire to help the poor. He added that there is no doubt that Mora and his followers are in sympathy with Russia, but said that he did not know whether or not.
tual contact between Russia and the Vanguardia Popular. He pointed out in this connection that when Mora made a visit to Mexico recently, he had not called on the Soviet Ambassador.
In conclusion the Archbishop referred to the Catholic Rerum Novarum Unions, which are being directed by Fathere Benjamin Nuñez. He stated that the Unions had been his ad idea and that the prûpose of them was not, as many people suppose, to combat Communism or the Vanguardia Popular, but rather to prevent any one party from having a monopoly in the labor field in Costa Rica. He emphasized that the organization was open not only to Catholics, and said that there were in fact even a few members of the Vanguardia Popular party who belonged to the Rerum Novarum. Father Nuñez, the leader of the rival union Rerum ed Novarum, is a bitter opponent of Mora and believes that the Vanguardia is still a Communist party. He is, however, a zealot and has suffered recently from a nervous breakdown due to his lack of success to compete effectively with the Vanguardia Unions. He has gone so far as to criticize