 When the Second World War began in September 1939 , Lang saw his main duty as the preservation of spiritual values during what he deemed to be an honourable conflict . He opposed strategies such as indiscriminate bombing , and on 21 December 1940 , in a letter to The Times signed jointly with Temple and Cardinal Hinsley , Lang expressed support for the pope 's Five Peace Points initiative . Lang was sympathetic to the Sword of the Spirit campaign , founded by Cardinal Hinsley in 1940 to combat anti @-@ democratic tendencies among Catholics . In May 1941 Lambeth Palace , Lang 's London home , was hit by bombs and made uninhabitable . 
