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q The silence of Pius XII showed
the grave concern of the Church over a possible Nazi victory in Europe .
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Axis Now Regards
Vatican as Enemy Strained Relations With Mussolini Pius XII refused to commit himself when the Axis attacked Russia,
The Vatican is now regarded as an enemy by the Axis. This is the conclusion reached by the Rome correspondent of the "New York Times" in a special report he made on the religious situation in Italy on his arThe full account of this report empharival in New York recently. sises the fact that Fascist pressure on the Papacy has failed; and coming as it does from one of the world's most prominent secular newspapers it has unusual interest. Since Italy's intervention in the war the relations between the Vatican and the Fascist Government have become increasingly strained as a result of Premier Benito Mussolini's policy of curbing the "temporal activity" of the Pope, says the writer.
It would be an exaggeration to say that the Pope to -day is a prisoner in the Vatican, as was Pope Benedict XV during the first World War. Yet the fact remains that many important clauses of the 1929 Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy that were drawn with the -specific aim of safeguarding the temporal independenceof the Pontiff were systematically violated when they did not fit in with Signor Mussolini's plans. The situation has become worse in the past year, or, to be exact, since August, 1941, when Pope Pius refused to come out in favour of the Axis war against Bolshevist Russia. Signor Mussolini, the "New York Times" writer learned from reliable Vatican circles, suggested that the Pontiff sanz'tion what the Fascist press termed the "Christian crusade against the Russian atheists." Pope Pius, however, refused to commit himself. His silence showed more significantly than anything else up to that time the grave concern of the Church over a possible Nazi victory in Europe. An open breach between Italy and the Holy See has been avoided by the fact that the Catholic Church always tries to compromise on temporal questions as long as the tenets of the Faith are not menaced, and because Signor
Mussolini is fully aware of the worldwide moral power of the Church. Unlike during the first World War, the Vatican today has means with
The signing of the
which to
make
its
Lateran Treaty -which Mussolini has systematically violated,
attitude
clear
throughout the Catholic world. Pope Benedict XV was to some extent criticised by both belligerent factions during the 1914-18 war. This, Vatican circles told the writer, was due to the fact that the Pontiff's speeches were distorted to suit the con
THE SHOP FOR BETTER SERVICE. Any goods sent to country not satisfactory we pay freight. Om motto is: "We have it; we will get it, or it cannot be had."
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of the belligerent countries. Pope Pius to-day is in a much happier position. He is able through the Vatican radio station to speak directThe possibility of ly to all Catholics, misunderstandings has thus largely been eliminated,
venience of the Governments
In Spite of Fascist Opposition. Pops Pius' moral influence over the Italian people is greater to -day than at any other time during his pontificate. Copies of his speeches advocating peace and a new world order sell by the hundreds of thousands, The popular interest is so great that the, "Osservatore Romano," with its forcibly limited circulation, has been found inadequate. To remedy' this situation, a number of parish priests decided to publish a sheet they called the "Parole Del This Papa" (Word of the Pope). small newspaper, which appears only started speech, when the Pope makes a a year ago with a circulation of 5,000 copies. To-day it has reached a circulation of about 200,000 and is expected to top the half million before the end of this year. The "Parole Del Papa" is sent to parish priests throughout Italy, who distribute it among the faithful: In this way the masses have been kept fully informed of the activity of the Pope, and the favourable reaction of the people to his entreaties for peace has given the Church an accurate picture of the national feeling toward the conflict. Petty Fascist hierarchs in small provincial towns and villages have attempted to stop the distribution of this newspaper.-"Zealandia."