And its image of itself as a religious regime declares it an enemy of both Western capitalism and atheistic Communism.

The Americans stubbornly persisted in their view that atheistic Communism was a world-threatening evil with which negotiations were impossible.

Khomeni called the USSR-the United States' principal antagonist during the Cold War-the "Lesser Satan" because of its atheistic Communism, and said that Iran should support neither side.

He, too, had a weakness for hellfire sermonizing -'There can be no compromise with atheistic Communism, no half way in the preservation of freedom or religion.

During the cold war, the papacy and the United States found a common enemy in atheistic Communism.

His broadcasts denounced President Franklin D. Roosevelt and America's military-political alliance with the USSR, and he blamed Jews for Soviet atheistic Communism.

A Hymn to Resilience It was a testament to the survival of what they deemed most important in their faith through the brutal repression and institutionalized hostility of 70 years of atheistic Communism.

The encounter this Friday in the sanctum of the Vatican will carry historic significance: For the first time, the leader of atheistic Soviet Communism meets the Vicar of Christ.

In this encyclical, the pope sets out to "expose once more in a brief synthesis the principles of atheistic Communism as they are manifested chiefly in bolshevism".

Now we had to save the world from "atheistic Communism."