FOR PRISONERS OF WAR

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23417, 26 August 1941, Page 4

FOR PRISONERS OF WAR

* VATICAN SERVICE

TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION

Additional to existing official channels of communication between British prisoners of war in Italy and their families at home, a new service inaugurated by the Vatican promises to develop into one of the most important organisations brought into being by the war. Communciation is two-way, Ejid a feature of the service is its speed —radio and radio-telegram are the means of communication.

The Apostolic Delegation Prisoner of War Information Bureau—this is the official title of the organisation—was inaugurated by the Apostolic delegate to Egypt and Palestine, Archibishop G. Testa, in continuation of the tradition of the Vatican, which performed similar service during the Gi’eat War. The growth of the service rendered by the organisation has been related by Monsignor Charles Perico, secretary to,the Apostolic Delegate, in a special interview with an official war correspondent with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Foreseeing the scope such an organisation could cover, Archbishop Testa submitted suggestions to His Holiness the Pope, who readily agreed to the formation of the organisation. At the command of the Pope the powerful \ atican radio and telegraphic services were placed at the disposal of the bureau, and although the'service is yet in its infancy a large and ever-increas-ing volume of Inquiries is already being handled by the staff. With its headquarters at the Apostolic Delegation, Cairo, the bureau’s administration is carried out by. the Apostolic Delegate, his secretary, and a staff. The main burden of the work falls on Monsignor Perico, whose unbounded energy is responsible for the quick service rendered by those who avail themselves of the facilities offered by the bureau. Use of Vatican Radio Independent of any inquiries made by relatives, names of prisoners of war in Italy are announced over the Vatican radio in regular broadcasts, said Monsignor Perico. In each case a message concerning the man’s health accompanies the announcement, while the name of the camp where he is held is also given. These broadcasts on short-wave are made on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday of each week, from 1000 hours until 1130 hours, Egyptian time.

“A total list of names is sent to our headquarters here by the Vatican radio,” said Monsignor Perico. “The list is again grouped according to the countries concerned and sent to the Apostolic Delegate to that country. On the other hand, if anyone jn Britain or a British Dominion wishes to communicate with a relative a prisoner of war in Italy the reverse procedure is adopted. “For instance, if a mother in New Zealand or Australia wishes to send a message of a personal nature to her son, a prisoner of war in Italy, she just sends that message to the Apostolic Delegate at Sydney. The message is then sent by radio telegram to the Vatican. The Vatican passes the message to the Italian civil or ecclesiastical authorities, who see that it reaches the soldier concerned. The reply is sent to the Vatican, and from there it is sped to the Apostolic Delegate at' Sydney by radio and radio telegram. The same procedure is followed for- inquiries from England, Scotland, or any British country. The Apostolic Delegate to the particular country is the medium through which the message passes.” The service was readily given without any distinctions of creed, race or colour, explained Monsignor Perico. The main thing was that no money was asked and they had given this service free. It was a work of Christian charity in which the chief concern of the Pope was the families concerned. The Church had undertaken the work as it was part of her mission to alleviate as much as possible the sufferings of the war-stricken people of the world. The Catholic Church was able to carry out the work, because Vatican Citv was an indepeiident neutral State with its own diplomatic organisation functioning throughout the world. No Conflict of Interests In reply to a question concerning the relative positions of the International Red Cross Society and the Apostolic delegation bureau, Monsignor Perico said there was no conflict of interests nor was there extravagance of effort. Each organisation worked in its own sphere—the Church organisation was the complement of the other. Thte Red Cross Society was a body officially carrying out its work for prisoners of war, while the Apostolic Delegation organisation performed a particular service with the approval of the British military authorities and in cooperation with certain branches of G.H.Q., Middle East Forces. When the scheme was first launched .this' cooperation was fully, given by the

Middle East Forces authorities and received the encouragement of General Sir Archibald Wavell, then Com-mander-in-Chief, Middle East. "There are things we cannot do the Red Cross organisation can do,” said Monsignor Perico. "Other things the Red Cross organisation cannot do we are able, to do.” A study of the correspondence that has already accumulated through the operation of the personal message service indicates th; huge volume of work to be handled by Monsignor Perico and his staff. Inquiries are being made daily from all parts of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The homely and apparently trite messages have a wealth of meaning and the quick replies bring to the inquirers consolation that can never be assessed in monetary terms. Before the end of the Great War the Vatican had drawn to the full on its resources to provide a similar service and the resources were not sufficiently ample to meet the demands in the end. Although it has functioned for a short period as yet, appreciation has already been expressed by inquirers whose fears and anxieties have been quickly dispelled by prompt replies to their inquiries. Already there have been received letters that express the sincere gratitude of the inquirers—mothers and wives whose sons and husbands are prisoners of war in Italy.