MASS TRIAL OF PRELATES

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 172, 17 April 1937, Page 9

MASS TRIAL OF PRELATES

German Possibility ROMAN CATHOLIC LEADERS Nazis Seek Withdrawal of Papal Encyclical By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. (Received April 16, 11.30 p.m.) Vienna, April 16. Well-informed Roman Catholic circles understand that Herr Hitler will bring all three German cardinals and the whole bench of Bishops to trial for high treason unless the recent Papal encyclical is withdrawn. The charges would be based on the alleged smuggling from Germany to Rome of the documents on which the encyclical was based. A cable published yesterday stated that Germany’s reply to the Papal Encyclical accusing the Nazis of violating the Concordat of 1933 and encouraging the antiChristian movement, was delivered at the Vatican by the German Minister to the Holy See, Dr. Diego von Bergen. It protests against judging Germany on democratic standards. The population of Germany, it states, is only one-third Roman Catholic. Nazism has saved the Church from Bolshevism. The obligation to preserve German unity docs not allow the clergy to be a separate class, and German laws do not tolerate special aspirations. The Note rejects encroachments on German internal life, and concludes witli a warning to the Vatican that peace will depend on the ability of the Church to live up to the changed situation.