MESSAGE TO POPE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25275, 12 July 1943, Page 3

MESSAGE TO POPE

PRESIDENT’S DECLARATION (Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, July 11. President Roosevelt sent a message to the Pope, stating, according to a Washington message, that during the invasion of Italian soil churches and religious institutions would be spared the devastation of war and that the neutral status of the Vatican would oe respected. “Ey the time this message reaches your Holiness,” the message said, “a landing in force by American and British troops will have taken place on Italian soil. Our soldiers have come to rid Italy of Fascism and all its unhappy symbols and to, drive out the Nazi oppressors infesting her soil. There is no need to reaffirm that respect for religious beliefs and a free exercise of religious worship is fundamental to our ideals. Churches and religious institutions will, to the extent that it is in our power, be spared the devastations of war during the struggle ahead. Throughout the period of the operations the neutral status of Vatican City, as well as the Papal domains throughout Italy, will be respected, “ I look forward, as does your Holiness. to the bright day when the .peace of God will rbturn to the world. Wo are convinced that this will occur only when the forces of evil which now hold vast areas of Europe and Asia enslaved have been utterly destroyed.” When President Roosevelt addressed General Giraud and other guests at a White House dinner party just before 10 o’clock, American time, last night, he said he had just had word of the first attack against the soft under-belly of Axis Europe. He asked the guest's not to reveal the news of the invasion, because of previous arrangements for simultaneous announcements in Algiers, Washington, and London. President Roosevelt paid tribute to tire co-operation between the British, French, and Americans who had been working “in complete harmony.’ 1 After referring to Mr Churchill’s 11 end of the beginning ” statement last autumn, the President added: “ I think we can almost say that this action tonight is the beginning of the end. Wo arc going to be ashore in the naval, air, and military sense. Once there, we have the opportunity of going in different directions and we have not forgotten that France is in one of those directions. Even if the move is not directed at this moment against France itself, the ultimate objective is the liberation of the people of France, not merely in the south part, but also in northern France. We have not won the war yet, but one happy thing is that, with the help of General Giraud, we have unified the military situation. We want to help to rearm the French forces and build up French strength so that when the time comes from the military point of view, when we get into France itself and throw the Germans out, there will be a French army and French ships working with the British and ourselves.”