Pope Pius XII and Poland - Policy of Pope Pius XII

Policy of Pope Pius XII

Unknown at the time were the extensive diplomatic activities of the Holy See on behalf of Poland. During World War II, the Vatican spent more political and diplomatic efforts on Polish matters, than any on other nation in the world: The eleven volumes of the Actes et documents du Saint Siège relatifs à la Seconde Guerre Mondiale list some five-hundred eightone documents on Poland. They include communication with German and allied authorities, the Polish government in London exile and of apostolic administrators in the “Warthegau” The Holy See was aware of complaints against its quiet diplomacy. Asked, why the Vatican had not published it documents and protests, Cardinal Secretary of State Luigi Maglione replied

• They have not made public so that the faithful are not subjected to even more fierce persecutions. Isn’t this what has to be done? Should the father of Christianity increase the misfortunes suffered by the Poles in their very own country

On September 30, 1939, the L'Osservatore Romano reported that the Pope had spoken to the Polish community in Rome:

• Thousands hundred of thousands of people are suffering at this very moment and a great many have already been sacrificed in this war, which, as you know, we have tried to prevent with all possible means.
• A vision of deep senseless horror and dark despair passes before our eyes, a multitude of fugitives and wanderers who have no motherland, no home anymore. We hear the heart-rending cry of mothers and brides, weeping for their loved ones, slain on the battlefield. We hear the desperate complaints of those of old age, and those who are week in health, deprived of all help and nursing.
• We hear the children weep for their parents, who are no more, the cry for help of the wounded and the death rattle of the dying, many of whom never belonged to the fighting forces. We feel their sufferings, their misery and their mourning as our own.
• The love of the Pope for his children knows no restriction or borders. He wishes that all children of the Church feel at home with the father who loves all equally. This paternal love cares for he afflicted and wishes to care too, for each one of you. This is however not the only comfort. In the eyes of God, of his Vicar, of all decent men, you possess other treasures, which are not kept in steel safes but in your heart and in your soul, first of all, the glory of military courage,....
• Moreover, in the darkness now hanging over Poland, there still remains the brilliant light of happy memories of your great national past. … In your history, people have known hours of agony and apparent death, but also of revival and resurrection….We do not say, wipe away your tears, Christ who wept over the death of Lazarus and the ruins of his own land, gathers the tears now, shed for your dead and for Poland in order to reward them later. Tears for Poland, that will never die. - L’Osservatore Romano, October 1, 1939

Pope Pius XII choose the solemn occasion of his first encyclical Summi Pontificatus, October 1939, in which he stated that all races and cultures are of equal value, because he creator did not create inequality. Turning to Poland he said:

• The blood of countless people, even non-combatants, gives rise to a harrowing funeral lament, especially over Poland, a dearly beloved country. Because of its glorious attainments on behalf of Christian civilization, attainments indelibly inscribed in the annals of history, Poland has a right to the world’s human and fraternal sympathy, and, confident in the powerful intercession of Mary, who is the Aid of All Christians, she awaits the hour of her resurrection in justice and peace.

The Polish episcopate led by Cardinal August Hlond, who had repeatedly urged the Holy See to issue protests, warnings, or condemnations, was "deeply grateful". Still, the papal protest, radio reports, L’Osservatore Romano documentaries and other protests issued later did little or nothing to alleviate the suffering of the Polish people and clergy in the following war years under German and Soviet occupation. In fact the persecutions got worse. The Pope therefore chose his words carefully, because of his basic belief, expressed later that became his policy during the war:

• Every word from Us should be carefully considered and weighted in the very interest of those who suffer, as not to make their position even more difficult and more intolerable than previously, even though inadvertently and unwillingly.

During the war, Stefan Wyszynski under the pseudonym Dr. Stefan Zuzelski, wrote several articles on this subject, such as Vatican and Poland and Pius XII and Poland,. He explained the position of the Vatican:

• If sometimes news about Poland were scarce and tragic moments were passed over in silence, this was done only on the request of Polish circles, who had discovered, that the Germans took revenge on our prisoners for programs about their exploits in Poland.

The Pope according to Wyszynski, never ceased to recognize Polish sovereignty and did not make any personal or territorial changes, while the frequent Vatican press reports continued to report about Poland “as a country standing with the free states fighting for a better future”. Still, State authorities tried to discredit Pope Pius XII in the eyes of Polish society. His actual speeches and messages to the people of Poland were not known in Poland. More than a generation later, during the first visit of Pope John Paul II in Warsaw, Stefan Wyszynski used the occasion to read one of these messages of Pope Pius XII to the Polish faithful. John Paul II explained, how Pope Paul VI, also maligned, had been barred from entering Poland.