First Months of The Papacy
After his March 1939 election to the papacy, Pope Pius XII was mostly concerned with the possible outbreak of a new war, starting with the Polish-German conflicts.
- “Nothing is lost with peace, everything may be lost in a war”, was his message immediately after his election.
Consequently he tried to mediate, not by engaging in border or other disputes, but by creating a readiness to communicate and negotiate on all sides. . The Pope himself attempted to invoke a conference of five belligerents, Poland, Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy, excluding the Soviet Union. Italy was willing, Germany showed little interests, France and Great Britain were open but hesitant. Poland felt safe and informed the Holy See, that she managed to keep the Soviet Union disinterested in the dispute with Germany, thus strengthening the Polish position. The Vatican disagreed with this optimistic assessment, and urged communication and caution. After the media reports of a surprising arrangement between Germany and the Soviet Union, the Polish Ambassador Kazimierz Papée informs the Vatican, that Hitler-Stalin Pact actually strengthens the Polish position, because the Soviet Union shows no more interests in European conflicts.
Read more about this topic: Pope Pius XII And Poland
Famous quotes containing the words months and/or papacy:
“What a vast fraternity it is,—that of ‘Hearts that Ache.’ For the last three months it has seemed to me as though all society were coming to me, to drop its mask for a moment and initiate me into the mystery. How we do suffer! And we go on laughing; for, as a practical joke at our expense, life is a success.”
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“The Papacy is no other than the ghost of the deceased Roman empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof.”
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