Baltimore Peace

Whether the Baltimore Sun actually apologized to the Catholic Church last week for comparing Adolf Hitler to Ignatius Loyola, was a matter of opinion. Because the Baltimore Catholic Review assumed that it had, the six-week war between Archbishop Michael Joseph Curley and Sun Publisher Paul Patterson appeared to be at an end (TIME, July 23)

First gesture toward peace was a two-column statement in the Sun, its first public utterance concerning the controversy. It summarized events since mid-June when Correspondent Stephen Miles Bouton wrote of the "ruthlessness" and "brutality" of Hitler and the founder of the Society of Jesus. The Sun added:

"It goes without saying that any wounds which have been given by Mr. Bouton's reference are a cause of real regret to the Sun, but it goes equally without saying that these wounds were not intentionally caused. . . . But the Sun does not grant the truth of the allegations made against it in the Catholic Review, nor can it accede to demands which violate its general policy."

Next day the Catholic Review, which had rallied Catholics to boycott the Sun and Sun advertisers, reprinted the statement on its front page under the caption: "The Sun Apologizes." In a nearby column it spread an editorial of exactly the same length by Editor-in-Chief Monsignor Albert E. Smith. Excerpts:

"After 31 days the Sun has admitted publicly that it was wrong and expresses its regret. The way in which the Sun makes its admission is another matter. . . . The controversy, for The Review at least, is over."

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