A Use for Calumny?

The world's biggest state and one of its smallest were last week busy with recrimination. To a series of charges in the Russian press that the Pope was pro-Hitler, antidemocratic, and trying to save the Germans from their just deserts, the Vatican had replied only unofficially, through the Catholic press. Finally came a Russian crack which was too much for Pius XII (ailing with laryngitis) and his Under Secretary of State, Monsignor Giovanni B. Montini. On their behalf. Osservatore Romano published an extraordinary, official protest:

"The Moscow radio in the Italian language affirmed on the afternoon of Feb. 16 that 'the Vatican is not contented with the results of the Crimea Conference because it was not invited to participate. . . .' We are authorized to declare that the Holy See never had even the slightest thought of participating in that conference. . . . It is a question of pure and simple calumny."

From all this, men wise in diplomacy and church affairs jumped to an apparently illogical conclusion: the Vatican and the Kremlin would probably make up. The Church is interested in the welfare of 82,000,000 Catholics in eastern Europe; Russia is interested in having the peaceful collaboration of those 82,000,000. Irritation had reached a point where bargaining and compromise were in order.

Perhaps the Kremlin and the Vatican were quarreling toward agreement.

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