Watchtower 15 March 1999, pages 24 and 25
Building on Pagan Foundations
... [see scan of original below] ...
In a letter to a missionary bound for pagan Britain in 601 C.E., Gregory gave this direction: “The temples of the idols in the said country ought not to be broken; but the idols alone which be in them . . . If the said temples be well built, it is needful that they be altered from the worshipping of devils into the service of the true God.” Gregory’s idea was that if pagan peoples saw their former temples unspoiled, they might be more inclined to continue frequenting them. Whereas pagans used “to kill many oxen in sacrifice to the devils,” wrote the pope, it was now hoped that “they no more sacrifice animals to the devil but kill them to the refreshing of themselves to the praise of God.”
... [see scan of original below] ...