The Catholic Church has as much right as Jewish organizations to demand restitution from the Austrian Government, since it represents many thousands of former Jews who had converted to Christianity and had suffered from the Hitler regime, Archbishop Coadjutor Franz Joachim declared here.
The Catholic Archbishop stated his view to this effect in the weekly “Furche,” a publication usually considered as reflecting the Vatican’s viewpoint in this country, The article demands that Catholic Church be permitted to participate in the drafting of a new restitution law. It points out that no Jewish organization has intervened to obtain compensation for “Christian Jews” who are in need. Archbishop Joachim, in his statement, urges world Jewish organizations to have patience in the face of the “difficulties” facing the Austrian Government.
(In Brussels Foreign Minister Paul Henri Speak said that Belgium would support Jewish restitution claims against Austria “as far as possible.” He made this promise to Dr. M. Marinower, representative of the World Jewish Congress, who called on him for a general discussion of a number of problems.)
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
