Osservatore Romano, organ of the Vatican, sharply condemned today week-end attacks on the Jewish quarter of Rome attempted by fascist youth following a political rally, declaring that “they are offensive to the civil and Christian conscience of Rome and Italy.”
The journal recalled the Vatican’s denunciation of racial intolerance in America in September, 1956 and renewed its advocacy of suspension of civil and political rights for those found guilty of such crimes.
“The common law is inadequate in cleansing this moral stain,” Osservatore Romano declared. “Since they pretend to act for political reasons, they should be removed from political and public life, having demonstrated their unworthiness of it.”
The Movimento Sociale Italiano, the neo-fascist party whose members were accused of the attack on the Jewish quarter and of desecration of the memorial to the Jewish dead in the Ardeatine Caves massacre, has denied responsibility for the vandalism, asserting that “we are faced with an act committed for election purposes by instigators.”
Despite the statement, Jewish leaders here continued today to consider the fascists alone responsible for the outrages. A statement condemning them as “fascist aggression” was issued by the Italian Jewish Youth Center here.
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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.
