Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver of Cleveland was reported here today as supporting President Truman’s nomination of the first United States Ambassador to the Vatican. Leaders of the Protestant church have criticized the President, declaring that the naming of an American envoy to the Vatican violates the American principle of the separation of church and state.
Dr. Silver was reported here as stating that the Vatican was an independent political state “whatever else it is and however small.” He was quoted as declaring that “I see no reason why the United States should not have a diplomatic representative at the Vatican.” The naming of General Mark Clark as Ambassador to the Vatican was opposed, among others, by President Truman’s own pastor, Rev. Dr. Edward H. Pruden.
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