The Osservatore Romano, official organ of the Vatican, quoted last night a statement of condemnation by the late Pope Pius XI of Hitler’s persecution of the Jews as “another demonstration” that charges that the Vatican was indifferent toward such persecutions were unfounded. The charges were voiced against Pope Pius XII, successor of Pope Pius XI.
The issue was raised when two French books on the role of Pope Pius XII during World War II, reached Rome and were widely reviewed and discussed. The looks contained documentation on the Vatican’s efforts to save Jews of Rome from deportation during the German wartime control of Italy, but charged Pope Pius XII with adopting an attitude of non-involvement.
The Osservatore Romano quoted from the memoirs recently published in England of Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick when he was British Charge d’Affaires in the Vatican. The British diplomat, recalling his meetings with Pope Pius XI, wrote that “once with sharp words, the Pope expressed his opinion of Hitler’s persecution of the Jews.”
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