The Pariah and the Pope

St. Peter's Square was sealed off. On a nearby avenue, while police watched intently, dozens of demonstrators cried "Shame!" and "Assassin!" Soon the object of their fury, Austrian President Kurt Waldheim, emerged from the Basilica wearing a red-and-white sash and a large smile. He had just spent 35 minutes in private with Pope John Paul II.

It was Waldheim's first official trip outside Austria since his election in June 1986. His European neighbors had shunned him, and the U.S. has barred | visits by the former United Nations Secretary-General because of allegations that he was an accomplice to Nazi war crimes and knew of the 1944 deportation of 40,000 Greek Jews to death camps. Waldheim has denied the charges. Papal aides insisted that Austria had pressed hard for the visit. Said Vatican Spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls: "Because ((Waldheim)) represents Austria, he has the right to be received."

In his public remarks after the meeting, the Pope made no mention of the war-crimes allegations, referring only to Waldheim's devotion "to ensuring peace " while at the U.N. Later, Waldheim revealed that they had discussed the charges "in a marginal way." Israel condemned the visit, noting that it hurt already fragile ties between Jews and the Vatican. In the U.S., Jewish groups threatened to boycott a meeting with the Pope in Florida next September. Nonetheless, Waldheim could barely contain his satisfaction. Said he: "The fact alone that the Pope did receive me in such a cordial way speaks for itself."