DEPARTMENT OF STATE Memorandum of Conversation
DATE: April 9, 1952
SUBJECT: Predictions of Hostilities between the USSR and the West in 1952
PARTICIPANTS: The Secretary Mr. Gordon W. Diesing W. Park Armstrong, Jr. - R
COPIES TO: G - Mr. Matthews C - Mr. Bohlen EE - Mr. Barbour
Mr. Diesing called on me at 12:15 PM, April 9, 1952, at the request of Congressman John McCormack of Massachusetts. He stated that he was an attorney and a member of the firm of Mecham, Stoehr, Moore, Mecham & Hills, in Omaha, Nebraska; that he is a Catholic, and has just returned from a trip to the Vatican where he had presented certain information to high officials of the Church. He said that the story which Mr. McCormack wished him to give me had already been presented to ex-Secretary of the Navy Matthews, a prominent Catholic, to General Guenther in Paris, and General Collins in Washington. He said that he had also told it to Under Secretary of Labor Galvin, who in turn had passed it to Secretary Tobin. In completing his introduction of the subject, he stated that he had a 10- minute film containing evidence to substantiate his remarks which he would be very glad to show and which he has promised to put on for General Collins upon the latter's return to Washington in a few weeks.
In brief, Mr. Diesing's story is that a young girl (now about 14 years old) in Denver, Colorado, has been for the last two years receiving visions similar to those experienced by Our Lady of Lourdes. In her periods of "suffering" the girl is visited by the Blessed Mother who apparently tells her and shows her things dealing with the future. He affirmed that the local Church authorities have employed every known means of determining whether the girl's visions are the product of her imagination, including the employment of psychologists and doctors, and are satisfied that such is not the case. The documentation of the girl's visions has been forwarded through the hierarchy of the Church to the Vatican for approval as a miracle. One of the phenomena
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which convinced the Church authorities of the authenticity of the miracle was the appearance on the girl some months ago of the stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi.
Mr. Diesing said that the important intelligence contained in the trance that the girl experienced from November 1st to November 4th 1951 in a vision of Our Lady concerned the imminence of a sudden attack by the USSR. on the US during the year 1952. The effort of the enemy in the first instance, he said, would be to paralyze the war industries of the US and then to over-run Western Europe. He asserted that this warning must be taken with the utmost seriousness in view of the accuracy of the predictive aspects of the girl's visions in the past, including the outbreak of war in Korea, the mishaps to US troops in Korea, etc. However, he believes that there will be a warning of about one month given to us through the girl before the actual hostile blow. He emphasized that the Catholic Church desires no publicity concerning these features of the girl's visions, but believes that warnings should be conveyed to the peoples of the world and that every conceivable defensive measure should be instituted. He stated that Congressman McCormack had the day before made a speech in which he had sounded a warning note for the record.
Mr. Diesing asked if I did not feel that he should tell his story to the President, and I replied that I did not think this would be necessary and would speak to the President about it myself. Mr. Diesing then said that he would be very glad to be appointed as a special assistant to myself to carry out a secret mission of conveying this most important information to the heads of other friendly governments, and he particularly mentioned Laurent of Canada and Churchill of England. I replied that I would consider the matter and get in touch with him if I thought that desirable.
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