ACTION QUERIED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21153, 22 July 1943, Page 3

ACTION QUERIED

CATHOLIC ATTITUDE

REFERENCES IN LORDS IRISH PRESS COMMENT LONDON, July 20. In the House of Lords to-day, Viscount Fitz Alan, the leading Catholic peer, asked: “Why was the bombing of Rome necessary? Has any damage been done other than damage to military objectives? I should like to be allowed to explain what I find to be not very generally known, that by treaty a large portion of the city of Rome belongs to the Vatican City. It includes an enormous number of buildings and institutions which are Ihe headquarters of various religious bodies throughout the world.” Viscount Cranborne, replying for the Government, regretted that no detailed information had yet been received about the result of the operation. He added: “The marshalling yards of Rome are a bottle neck through which most of the railway traffic from the north to the south of Italy must pass. It is of first importance to prevent the passage of reinforcements to the hard-pressed southern Axis forces.” The Dublin newspaper, Irish Press, owned by Mr. do Valera, appealed to Signor Mussolini to declare Rome an open city. The Irish Times suggested that Mr. de Valera should use his good offices with the Italian Government to declare Rome an open city and meanwhile approach the Governments of Britain and America with a request that their bombers should be withheld pending a reply from Rome. The Chinese Catholic newspaper Social Welfare, published in Chungking, expressed a hope that the bombing of Rome would stimulate the Italians to wake up and live for Italy and Roman civilisation. It advised heeding the Churchill-Roosevelt call for an honourable capitulation.