Seymour Reich, president of B’nai B’rith International, suggested Sunday that John Cardinal O’Connor, the Archbishop of New York, urge Pope John Paul II to cancel his audience with Austrian President Kurt Waldheim, scheduled to take place at the Vatican June 25.
In a statement issued here, Reich said it was incredulous that Waldheim would be received at the Vatican because of his persistence in seeking an audience with the Pope.
“That is hardly a reason to bestow upon an unrepentant Nazi who lied for 40 years about his wartime activity the honor of being received by the Pope,” Reich said.
“I believe it would be appropriate for John Cardinal O’Connor to suggest that the audience be cancelled in view of the sense of outrage that the Jewish community feels at this invitation.
“Cardinal O’Connor might also wish to advise the Vatican that because our government has barred Waldheim from these shores, the granting of an audience will be seen by many Americans as a slap in the face to the United States. We trust that Cardinal O’Connor will exhibit no less insistence in urging the Pope to withdraw this incomprehensible invitation than those who sought it,” Reich said.
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