WARTIME CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND POPE PIUS XII

107398

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Wartime Correspondence
between

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT

and
POPE PIUS XII

WARTIME
CORRESPONDENCE

BETWEEN

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT

AND

POPE PIUS XII

With an Introduction <&* Explanatory Notes

fy MYRON C. TAYLOR

Personal Representative of the President

of the United States of America

to His Holiness Pope Pius XII

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY- New York

1947

COPYRIGHT, I947> BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

rights reserved no part of this look may "be reproduced in any form
without permission in writingfrom the publisher -, except by a reviewer who
wishes to quote "brief passages in connection with a review written for
inclusion in magazine or newspaper.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Designed by Oscar

By Courtesy of Frank 0. Salisbury

The Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt

By Courtesy ofFabbrica

His Holiness Pope Pius XII

CONTENTS

PAGE

Preface by The Honorable Harry S. Truman,

President of the United States xi

Preface by His Holiness Pope Pius XII xiii

Introduction by Myron C. Taylor I

THE FIRST EXCHANGE OF MESSAGES

Explanatory Note 15

Letter from President Roosevelt to His Holiness 17

DECEMBER 23, 1939

Reply of His Holiness to President Roosevelt 21

JANUARY 7, 1940

THE DARK DAYS OF 1940

Explanatory Note 27

Letter from President Roosevelt to His Holiness 3 1

FEBRUARY 14, 1940

Reply of His Holiness to President Roosevelt 3 3

MARCH 16, 1940

Letter from His Holiness to President Roosevelt 35

AUGUST 22, 1940

Reply of President Roosevelt to His Holiness 37

OCTOBER I, 1940

"THE SEEKERS OF LIGHT AND
THE SEEKERS OF PEACE"

Explanatory Note 41

Letter from His Holiness to President Roosevelt 43

DECEMBER 20, 1940

Reply of President Roosevelt to His Holiness 45

MARCH 3, 1941

Vll

EASTER-APRIL, 1941

Explanatory Note 49

Message from President Roosevelt to His Holiness 51

[TELEGRAM] EASTERAPRIL, 1941

Message from His Holiness to President Roosevelt 53

[TELEGRAM] EASTER APRIL, 1941

ASSISTANCE TO THE SOVIET UNION

Explanatory Note 57

Letter from President Roosevelt to His Holiness 61

SEPTEMBER 3, 194!

Reply of His Holiness to President Roosevelt 63

SEPTEMBER 20, 194!

AMERICA AT WAR

Explanatory Note 67

Letter from President Roosevelt to His Holiness 71

SEPTEMBER 3, 1942

Reply of His Holiness to President Roosevelt 73

SEPTEMBER 25, 1942

THE TURNING POINT OF THE WAR

Explanatory Note 77

Message from President Roosevelt to His Holiness 79

DECEMBER 31, 1942

Reply of His Holiness to President Roosevelt 81

JANUARY 5, 1943

THE INVASION OF ITALY

Explanatory Note 85

Letter from His Holiness to President Roosevelt 89

MAY 18, 1943

Vlii

Reply of President Roosevelt to His Holiness 91

JUNE 16, 1943

Message from President Roosevelt to His Holiness 93

[TELEGRAM] JULY 10, 1943

Reply of His Holiness to President Roosevelt 95

JULY 19, 1943

Letter from His Holiness to President Roosevelt 99

AUGUST 30, 1943

TOWARD "TRUE AND ENDURING PEACE"

Explanatory Note 103

Message from President Roosevelt to His Holiness 109

[TELEGRAM] JUNE 14, 1944

Message from His Holiness to President Roosevelt in

[TELEGRAM] JUNE 19, 1944

Message for His Holiness Conveyed in Instruction
from President Roosevelt to Mr. Taylor 113

AUGUST 3, 1944

Reply of His Holiness to President Roosevelt
through Mr. Taylor 115

AUGUST 7, 1944

Message from His Holiness to President Roosevelt 117

[TELEGRAM] NOVEMBER 9, 1944

Message from President Roosevelt to His Holiness 119

[TELEGRAM] NOVEMBER 17, 1944

THE DEATH OF THE PRESIDENT

Explanatory Note 123

Message from His Holiness to
President Harry S. Truman 125

[TELEGRAM] APRIL 13, 1945

Message fiom His Holiness to
Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt 127

[TELEGRAM] APRIL 13, 1945

IX

By Courtesy oj Frank 0. Salisbury

The Honorable Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America

PREFACE
BY

THE HONORABLE HARRY S.TRUMAN

President of the United States

It is in the American tradition of open diplomacy that the
world should be given the texts of the messages exchanged
between my lamented predecessor and His Holiness the Pope.
This correspondence began in the dark days of December
1939, when President Roosevelt, animated by the desire to
work for peace and the alleviation of human suffering more
effectively through parallel efforts by those in government and
those in religion, sent Honorable Myron C. Taylor on a
Special Mission as his Personal Representative to His Holiness.

Mr. Taylor arrived in Italy for his first visit in the dangerous
and uncertain days of 1940, days which were the forerunner
of even more tragic sorrows to come as the war widened and
suffering overspread the world. Thereafter he has gone to
Rome from time to time as circumstances warranted.

The objectives and accomplishments of these great en'
deavors, alike in the field of humanitarian activity and in
seeking an enduring peace, are reflected in the messages ex'
changed between the late President and His Holiness, the
texts of which are now given publication.

These messages, written during a momentous period of
history, constitute a record of incalculable value. That record
belongs to all who sought through victory, and continue to
seek, the blessings of universal peace and security and well'
being. It will be read with interest and appreciation by our
contemporaries and will have a permanent place in the history
of the greatest war in the annals of mankind.

THE WHITE HOUSE, October i, 1^6 HARRY S. TRUMAN

xi

PREFACE
BY

HIS HOLINESS POPE PIUS XH

The late Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the
United States, in his letter addressed to Us on the I4th ofFebru'
ary 1940 clearly set forth the purpose he had in mind in sending
his Personal Representative to the Holy See. It was that the one
so designated by him would be "the channel of communication
for any views You and I might wish to exchange in the interest
of concord among the peoples of the world."

The correspondence published herewith and the observa/
tions and references to be found therein, brief though they be
at times and occasioned by circumstances, show how well the
appointment has served the purpose intended. Its full signify
cance however was much more far/reaching than this, as may
be gathered from a perusal of the letters themselves.

The fortunate outcome of numberless occurrences which
arose both during the course of the war and in the post/war
period, the solution of urgent problems, the interchange of inv
portant information, the organization of American relief which
flowed in such generous streams to alleviate the misery begotten
of the war, all these would have been well nigh unthinkable
and almost impossible, were it not for the designation of a Per'
sonal Representative of the President and the magnanimous
cooperation and achievements of His Excellency, Mr. Myron
Taylor.

PIUS PP. XII

FROM THE VATICAN, Ai4U$t 6, 1^6

X1U

Introduction by
Myron C. Taylor

INTRODUCTION
BY

MYRON C. TAYLOR

The publication on the second anniversary of President
Roosevelt's death of the wartime correspondence between him
and Pope Pius XII is undertaken, with the authority and ap'
proval of President Truman and of His Holiness, as a tribute
to oneextremelyimportant manifestation oftheforwardxlooking
leadership of the great War President. Messages were exchanged
over the period from December, I939> whenPresidentRoosevelt
decided to send a Personal Representative to His Holiness,
until the end of 1944. The last messages in this volume are the
Pope's poignant condolences sent to President Truman and to
Mrs. Roosevelt on April 1 3 , 1945, the day after the sudden and
untimely ending of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's life shocked
the entire civilized world.

In all his efforts for world peace and the betterment of man'
kind, President Roosevelt was always conscious of the funda^
mental strength in human affairs of moral and spiritual forces.
Throughout the early years of his Presidency, aided by the far/-
seeing statesmanship of Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Mr.
Roosevelt placed every resource of his gifted talents, his unusual
personality, and his high office in the service of the preservation
of peace, of amity and understanding among nations, and of the
material and spiritual advancement of the individual human
being. The vision the hope of Franklin D. Roosevelt was
a world order built upon firm moral and political foundations,
upon the principle of the Good Neighbor, upon economic
progress and social justice, upon the essential human freedoms,

and upon respect for the dignity of the human soul. Toward
the attainment of that hope he exercised his highest powers of
constructive leadership. As the moral and political bulwarks
of world peace collapsed one by one in the swiftly deteriorating
circumstances of the late thirties, he sought to stay the hands
raised against peace and to clarify for the peoples of his own
and of other lands the true character of the perils which threat*
ened them.

The outbreak of war in Europe put a ruthless ending to all
efforts for the preservation of peace. It became necessary for our
own country to place itself in a position of adequate self/defense
in the face of increasing uncertainties and of emerging dangers
to our own peaceful existence. It also became imperative for us
in our own best national interest to exercise our influence and
leadership to prevent, if possible, the spread of war; to explore
all possibilities of bringing the war to a quick and just con'
elusion; to assuage the human suffering caused by the hostili^
ties; and to lay the foundations for a better world after the termi'
nation of the conflict. It was to these great tasks of self-defense,
of humanity, and of peace that President Roosevelt turned his
attention after Hitler's mechanized forces hurled themselves
upon Poland on September i, 1939.

The President was convinced that a closer association in all
parts of the free world between those in government and those
in religion who shared common ideals was essential to the end
that their thought and action could be brought unitedly to bear
upon the vast problems of peace and of the suffering that loomed
ahead. Accordingly, on December 23, 1939, in messages to
leaders of the Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish faiths, he pro'
posed that political and religious forces undertake to re/enforce,
by direct discussions, their respective endeavors for peace and
the alleviation of human suffering.

In these letters, addressed to His Holiness Pope Pius XII, to
the President of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ

in America, Dr. George A. Buttrick, and to the President of
the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Rabbi Cyrus
Adler, the President expressed his deep hope "that all of the
churches of the world which believe in a common God will
throw the great weight of their influence into this great cause."
Looking to parallel action for the re/establishment of peace
when the day for that came, and for the alleviation of suffering
during the war, he invited the leaders of the Protestant and
Jewish faiths resident in the United States to come to Wash/
ington from time to time to discuss problems with him person/
ally. To His Holiness in Rome, with whom personal exchanges
of views were possible only through correspondence and a
trusted intermediary, he suggested sending a Personal Repre/
sentative to act as a channel of communication and an instru/
ment of similar discussions.

These letters met with immediate and cordial acceptance
by the leaders of the three faiths, and the ensuing years witnessed
a mobilization of the moral and spiritual forces of mankind on
a scale of widespread influence never before seen in history.
This glorious effort will ever be a monument to the memory of
President Roosevelt.

It was my great privilege and honor to have been chosen as the
President's Personal Representative to the Pope. When the
President telephoned on the evening of December 22, 1939, to
ask me to undertake this task of high trust and responsibility,
I was serving as his Personal Representative on the Intergovern/
mental Committee on Political Refugees, to the work of which
he had called me in April of the preceding year shortly after
my retirement from business activities. On a number of occa/
sions during my service on the Intergovernmental Committee,
I had been in touch with the Vatican which was likewise
active in carrying forward that great humanitarian work. It

appeared to the President that the new responsibility which he
desired to entrust to me if agreeable also to the Pope, would be
both a continuation and an extension of the vital field of en^
deavor in which I was already engaged.

On the morning of December 23 I undertook to carry out
the new mission to the best of my ability, and to leave for Rome
as soon as health permitted. The agreeability of this choice to
His Holiness was conveyed to the President by the Apostolic
Delegate in Washington, Archbishop Amleto Giovanni
Cicognani, through the services of Archbishop Francis J.
Spellman. His Holiness wrote personally to the President on
January 7, 1940, responding with appreciation to all of the
President's suggestions.

Happily for the friendly association thus begun, His Holi'
ness was not a stranger to the President, or to me. In the autumn
of 1936, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who three years later was
elected Pope and who was then Secretary of State under Pope
Pius XI, had visited the United States and had talked with
the President at Hyde Park. The basis of their mutual respect
was laid and their mutual appreciation of each other's qualities
of leadership was begun in those talks. During the same trip
Cardinal Pacelli had been a guest in my home in New York.
The President had visited Italy, and I had frequently spent
brief periods of time there, particularly in Florence, where I had
maintained a home for many years. Most fortunate conditions for
readily undertaking personal discussions accordingly existed
at the very beginning of the exchange of views between the
President and the Pope. While both the President and I were
of Episcopalian faith, we, with America as a whole, regarded
the cause of peace and the amelioration ofhuman distress during
the war as in no sense either sectarian or partisan, but instead
as universal to all men seeking the well/being of mankind in a
peaceful world under moral law.

The activities initiated at the end of 1939 began at a time

when, under dire threat to their peace and even survival, na/
tions in or near the theater of war in Europe faced the future
without a shred of dependable security against attack. Some
responded with passive hope, some with determination, all
with weakness compared with the ready forces of the enemy.
Nations farther away were not only affected in nearly every
aspect of daily individual and national life, but were confronted
with the grave possibilities of witnessing aggression once again
crowned with victory and even of attack eventually upon them/
selves. Our own country's hope of living at peace in a world of
friendly neighbors was gravely in jeopardy.

The President had made every practicable effort to prevent
the onset of the war. His Holiness had done likewise in the
sphere of the Church. Both now sought to prevent the war
from spreading, as well as to commence the consideration of
the bases of an enduring peace in the future, which would lift
the burdens of warring and distress from the backs of all men.
Efforts toward the first objective had long been under way in
the Department of State, and Secretary of State Cordell Hull
had just organized an Advisory Committee on Problems of
Foreign Relations, composed of his associates in the Depart-'
ment, to assist him in considering problems of peace.

The President asked me, just before my departure for Rome
on February 16, to undertake discussions especially on four
bases of peace which he had been turning over in his mind.
These were freedom of religion, freedom of communication of
news and knowledge, reduction of armament, and freedom of
trade between nations. It was also desired that estimates and
impressions concerning a possible early ending of the war should
be explored in all quarters with which I would come in touch.
I carried with me for His Holiness a letter of credence, dated
February 14, in which the President laid stress upon his hope
that through parallel endeavors "the common ideals of religion
and of humanity itself can have united expression for the re/

establishment of a more permanent peace . . /* His Holiness
received me on February 27, and asked me to convey His
warmest personal regards to President Roosevelt. Thus began
the first of seven visits. Two were as brief as one or two weeks.
Four were as long as a month or longer. One was a year in

duration.

*

It was necessary promptly to organize a small office for the
conduct of work. Although as earlier in connection with the
special work for refugees the President had conferred on me
the honorary rank of Ambassador in order to facilitate adex
quately the official representationabroad of our ChiefExecutive,
he desired to distinguish all aspects of my office from those of a
diplomatic embassy. He equally desired to make clear that the
Personal Representative's mission was to His Holiness person^
ally rather than to the Vatican as such. The office, therefore,
was established in my own apartment in Kome, and continued
there excepting during the emergency period while Italy was
at war with the United States, which temporarily required its
location in Vatican City.

The staff consisted of an assistant, Mr. Harold H. Tittmann,
detached for special duty from the American Foreign Service,
and, in due course, a personal secretary and a clerk. Subset
quently, during the crowded year between the liberation of
Rome and the establishment again of a fully functioning
American diplomatic mission to the Government of Italy,
when for a time my office was the only civilian American
agency in Italy, the staff was augmented by a second assistant,
Mr. Franklin C. Gowen, who afterward remained as sole
assistant, and temporarily also by three additional clerks.

The work of the office with respect both to the American
Embassy in Rome and to the Department of State in Wash'
ington was so organized as to provide, apart from such matters
as the President or His Holiness regarded as of reserved confi"

dence, for the fullest exchange of information and other co/
operation concerning its work. The reports submitted to Pres'
ident Roosevelt were customarily transmitted by him to the
Secretary of State. Usually, while in Rome or while travelling
to and from Rome, opportunity was taken at the same time, on
the President's request, for personal discussions with foreign
officials on the currents of thought in their countries and in ours,
andwithAmericanofficialsespeciallyondevelopmentsathome.

While naturally the main subjects of discussion contem/
plated within the purposes of the mission were considered di'
rectly between His Holiness and the Personal Representative
of the President, other matters, particularly detailed relief prob/
lems and arrangements for presentation of visiting Americans
requesting to be received by His Holiness, were largely raised
with the officials of the Secretariat of State of His Holiness.
Among these officials were the able and always helpful Secret
tary of State, Cardinal Luigi Maglione (until his regrettable
decease soon after the liberation of Rome), and the two prin'
cipal Under Secretaries of State, Monsignor Domenico Tardini
and Monsignor Giovanni B. Montini, on both of whom it was
always possible to depend for sympathetic and intelligent con'
sideration of problems, whether burdensome or not. In the
periods between my visits to Rome, matters needing attention
were referred to my assistant there or were considered by me in
the United States by telegraph or through the distinguished
Apostolic Delegate in Washington, Archbishop Cicognani.

In the first audience, His Holiness extended to me a gracious
invitation to call without formal appointment in order that our
conversations could occur whenever mutual convenience served
and as often as circumstances warranted. In view of the vast
and complex problems raised in considering the bases of world
peace, and the manifold problems which the attempts to relieve
the war's human suffering entailed, discussions between us were
held frequently throughout the periods of my various visits to

Rome. To this may be attributed in some degree that accumu-
lation of mutual understanding and clarification of common
views which gradually resulted and which equally gratified
President Roosevelt and His Holiness.

I wish in these pages to express my lasting gratitude to my
associates for their superb devotion to duty, oftentimes in con'
ditions of personal danger, and to my wife, Anabel Taylor,
whose courageous and ever-thoughtful assistance and support
eased for me many of the difficulties which I gladly faced in
the discharge of my responsibilities.

*

President Roosevelt and Pope Pius XII carried on their parallel
endeavors for more than five years, which all but covered the
entire span of the most deadly attack on the foundations of
Christian civilization and the most exhausting strife in man'
kind's annals. Upon the outcome of that war the future course
of mankind had been staked. Its issues were ultimate and un/
compromising, and their true character had been discerned
almost too late. Victory had come perilously close to being lost
throughout the first half of these years. It was finally won only
by the aroused and united strength and will of every force in
the world, armed and unarmed, determined to survive and
build at last for mankind a peace with security, justice, and
moral and material well/being & peace to be guarded vigil/
andy, and enforced when need be.

For "this great cause" President Roosevelt had striven with
all his life's strength. The co/work between him and Pope Pius
XII and others in the spiritual and humanitarian spheres of
like devotion to this cause at home and abroad, was a mani'
festation of his inspired efforts to give to the world's moral
forces, during these years of fateful crisis, unity of goal and
plan, leadership in concerting their influence, encouragement
for their humanitarian services to alleviate suffering, and conv
mon expression of their hopes and purposes in the future de->

cisions as to the peace and welfare of mankind. While their
leadership was from a national position on one hand and a
religious position on the other, the challenge they confronted
and accepted was, at bottom, a moral one, and their respective
efforts were for moral objectives.

The respect and friendship between tne President and His
Holiness allowed them freely to exchange views and to labor,
with failures and successes, for the accomplishment of their
common purposes. Despite the most constructive efforts each
could make, their independent efforts, made without prior
consultation but for the same ends, to prevent the outbreak of
the world war had been defeated by circumstances not alter-'
able except by prepared military power. After the war had
begun, their efforts to prevent its spread, particularly as regards
Italy, had likewise failed. But their further labors were fruitful
of constructive results: the lifting of the weight of suffering in
all places that the hands of sympathy and help could reach to
bring succor and comfort; the avoidance of misunderstanding
of the spirit and intentions of the United Nations in the fighting
in Italy; the ending of the war without confusion among the
many moral forces which had found expression in these en>
deavors; the hope and encouragement to strive for a better life
for men and nations in the future, which helped to provide
firm purpose and steadiness of courage in an era of upheaval
and profound questioning; and the widening of areas of com'
mon views concerning the bases on which to build just and
enduring peace.

The world was fortunate indeed to have had in its darkest
hour the vitality of leadership of which the parallel endeavors
were a part a leadership which placed these vital activities
upon so high a moral, spiritual and humanitarian plane.

The opportunity of representing President Roosevelt in his
exchanges of views with Pope Pius XII in the service of the
great cause to which they were both dedicated is the source for

me of most cherished reflection. It was my good fortune to have
been chosen to be the means for conveying from one to the
other the innermost thoughts of two men of such eminence of
world stature and of such talent and devotion as President
Franklin D. Roosevelt and His Holiness Pope Pius XII. It is
my hope that the inspiration that one could not fail to receive
from long and intimate talks with President Roosevelt and
His Holiness on mankind's great problems may in some mea^
sure be shared by all men through the reading and study of the
messages which they exchanged.

These messages are the essential record of the fruitful dis'
cussions and efforts carried on by two great leaders. They do
not of themselves, of course, reflect all the circumstances of the
time or present fully all the specific problems to which they
refer. While not assuming the privilege of supplementing them,
I have nevertheless taken the liberty of making a few explana^
tory notes in order to place these notable messages within the
framework of the continuing relationship in which they were
written. The messages, period by period, comprise ten groups
of exchanges of views, and are so arranged here.

*

The efforts in course when the untimely death of President
Roosevelt intervened were continued without interruption by
President Harry S. Truman. At that time, in 1945, the ardent
hopes of mankind for friendly understanding and real neigh'
borliness, for the binding up of the wounds of war, for reconx
sanction of conditions of material and moral well/being, and
for the establishment of true peace and security in the world,
were yet to be realized. The path was obscured by the shadows
of past events, the perplexities of the present, and the uncertain^
ties of the future. Faith alone could look to the horizon of the
better day all mankind yearned to see. The war had conse^
quences too far/reaching and penetrating in all aspects of social,
economicand political lifeforthese hopes to be attained quickly.

10

Profound conflicts of principle and policy continued to persist
in many quarters of the globe.

In the spring of 1946, President Truman requested me to
visit Rome again for further exchanges of views with His Holi'
ness. On that occasion, he gave expression both to the world's
need and to his own convictions that every resource must be
employed to bring enduring peace to the troubled peoples of
the world. He said:

"There is no minimizing the gravity of the days in which
we live. I feel the necessity of having for my guidance
the counsel and cooperation of all men and women of
good will whether in religion, in government, or in the
pursuits of everyday life. I have therefore sought the
advice of leaders in religion of various convictions and
allegiances not only in this country but from abroad. I
feel that all have a vital contribution to make. I shall
continue to welcome the counsel of such leaders to the
end that the voice of conscience may be heard in the
councils of nations as they seek a solution of that age'
old problem: the government of man.'*

It was with these noble thoughts to guide me that I pro/
ceeded to Rome last summer and again in the late autumn for
brief visits.

No better opportunity will perhaps ever come to express
my deep sense of the honor extended me by the confidence of
President Roosevelt and President Truman and by the trust
and friendliness of His Holiness the Pope. It is my prayerful
hope that, with God's help, our President and Pope Pius XII
and all men of good will may continue to seek and to accomx
plish, within the limit of human capacity, the realization of the
great ideals for the vindication of which mankind so heroically
endured its greatest trial of war.

WASHINGTON, D. c., January iS t 1947

ii

The First Exchange.

of

Messages

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The two messages which follow represent the fast exchange in the
correspondence between President Roosevelt and Pope Pius XII.
Reference has already been made in the Introduction to the circum**
stances under which this correspondence was initiated.

These messages set forth at length the thoughts which actuated the
two men in embarking upon their parallel endeavors for peace and the
alleviation of human suffering through a mobilization of the moral
forces of mankind. M. c. T.

Letter from President Roosevelt to His Holiness

DECEMBER 23,1939

Your Holiness:

Because, at this Christmas time, the world is in sorrow, it is espex
cially fitting that I send you a message of greeting and of faith.

The world has created for itself a civilization capable of
giving to mankind security and peace firmly set in the founds*
tions of religious teachings. Yet, though it has conquered the
earth, the sea, and even the air, civilization today passes through
war and travail.

I take heart in remembering that in a similar time, Isaiah
first prophesied the birth of Christ. Then, several centuries
before His coming, the condition of the world was not unlike
that which we see today. Then, as now, a conflagration had
been set; and nations walked dangerously in the light of the
fires they had themselves kindled. But in that very moment a
spiritual rebirth was foreseen, a new day which was to loose
the captives and to consume the conquerors in the fire of their
own kindling; and those who had taken the sword were to
perish by the sword. There was promised a new age wherein
through renewed faith the upward progress of the human race
would become more secure.

Again, during the several centuries which we refer to as the
Dark Ages, the flame and sword of barbarians swept over
Western civilization; and, again, through a re>kindling of the
inherent spiritual spark in mankind, another rebirth brought
back order and culture and religion.

I believe that the travail of today is a new form of these old
conflicts. Because the tempo of all worldly things has been so

17

greatly accelerated in these modern days we can hope that the
period of darkness and destruction will be vastly shorter than
in the olden times.

In their hearts men decline to accept, for long, the law of
destructionforced upon them by wieldersofbrute force. Always
they seek, sometimes in silence, to find again the faith without
which the welfare of nations and the peace of the world cannot
be rebuilt.

I have the rare privilege of reading the letters and confidences
of thousands of humble people, living in scores of different
nations. Their names are not known to history, but their daily
work and courage carry on the life of the world. I know that
these, and uncounted numbers like them in every country, are
looking for a guiding light. We remember that the Christinas
Star was first seen by shepherds in the hills, long before the
leaders knew of the Great Light which had entered the world.

I believe that while statesmen are considering a new order
of things, the new order may well be at hand. I believe that it is
even now being built, silently but inevitably, in the hearts of
masses whose voices are not heard, but whose common faith
will write the final history of our time. They know that unless
there is belief in some guiding principle and some trust in a
divine plan, nations are without light, and peoples perish. They
know that the civilization handed down to us by our fathers
was built by men and women who knew in their hearts that all
were brothers because they were children of God. They believe
that by His will enmities can be healed; that in His mercy the
weak can find deliverance, and the strong can find grace in
helping the weak.

In the grief and terror of the hour, these quiet voices, if they
can be heard, may yet tell of the re/building of the world.

It is well that the world should think of this at Christmas.

Because the people of this nation have come to a realization
that time and distance no longer exist in the older sense, they

18 .

understand that that which harms one segment of humanity
harms all the rest. They know that only by friendly association
between the seekers of light and the seekers of peace everywhere
can the forces of evil be overcome.

In these present moments, no spiritual leader, no civil leader
can move forward on a specific plan to terminate destruction
and build anew. Yet the time for that will surely come.

It is, therefore, my thought that though no given action or
given time may now be prophesied, it is well that we encourage
a closer association between those in every part of the world
those in religion and those in government who have a conv
mon purpose.

I am, therefore, suggesting to Your Holiness that it would
give me great satisfaction to send to You my personal repre'
sentative in order that our parallel endeavors for peace and the
alleviation of suffering may be assisted.

When the time shall come for the re/establishment of world
peace on a surer foundation, it is of the utmost importance to
humanity and to religion thar common ideals shall have united
expression.

Furthermore, when that happy day shall dawn, great prob"
lems of practical import will face us all. Millions of people of
all races, all nationalities and all religions may seek new lives
by migration to other lands or by re^establishment of old homes.
Here, too, common ideals call for parallel action.

I trust, therefore, that all of the churches of the world which
believe in a common God will throw the great weight of their
influence into this great cause.

To You, whom I have the privilege of calling a good friend
md an old friend, I send my respectful greetings at this
Christmas Season.

Cordially yours,

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT
19

II

Reply of His Holiness to President Roosevelt

JANUARY 7, 1940

Your Excellency:

The memorable message that Your Excellency was pleased
to have forwarded to Us on the eve of the Holy Feast of Christ/
mas has brightened with a ray of consolation, of hope and
confidence, the suffering, the heart/rending fear and the bitter/
ness of the peoples caught up in the vortex of war. For this all
right/minded men have paid you the spontaneous tribute of
their sincere gratitude.

We have been deeply moved by the noble thought con/
tained in your note, in which the spirit of Christmas and the
desire to see it applied to the great human problems have found
such eloquent expression; and fully persuaded of its extra/
ordinary importance We lost no time in communicating it to
the distinguished gathering present that very morning in the
Consistorial Hall of this Apostolic Vatican Palace, solemnly
expressing before the world, Catholic and non/Catholic alike,
Our appreciation of this courageous document, inspired by a
far/seeing statesmanship and a profound human sympathy.

We have been particularly impressed by one characteristic
feature of Your Excellency's message; the vital, spiritual contact
with the thoughts and the feelings, the hopes and the aspirations
of the masses of the people, of those classes, namely, on whom
more than others, and in a measure never felt before, weighs the
burden of sorrow and sacrifice imposed by the present restless
and tempestuous hour. Also for this reason none perhaps better
than We can understand the meaning, the revealing power and
the warmth of feeling manifest in this act of Your Excellency.

21

In fact Our own daily experience tells Us of the deep->seated
yearning for peace that fills the hearts of the common people.
In the measure that the war with its direct and indirect reper-
cussions spreads; and the more economic, social and family
life is forcibly wrenched from its normal bases by the continue
ation of the war, and is forced along the way of sacrifice and
every kind of privation, the bitter need of which is not always
plain to all; so much the more intense is the longing for peace
that pervades the hearts of men and their determination to find
and to apply the means that lead to peace.

When that day dawns and We would like to hope that
it is not too far distant on which the roar of battle will lapse
into silence and there will arise the possibility of establishing a
true and sound peace dictated by the principles of justice and
equity, only he will be able to discern the path that should be
followed who unites with high political power a clear under-
standing of the voice of humanity along with a sincere reverence
for the divine precepts of life as found in the Gospel of Christ.
Only men of such moral stature will be able to create the peace,
that will compensate for the incalculable sacrifices of this war
and clear the way for a comity of nations, fair to all, efficacious
and sustained by mutual confidence.

We are fully aware of how stubborn the obstacles are that
stand in the way of attaining this goal, and how they become
daily more difficult to surmount. And if the friends of peace
do not wish their labors to be in vain, they should visualize
distinctly the seriousness of these obstacles, and the consequently
slight probability of immediate success so long as the present
state of the opposing forces remains essentially unchanged.

As Vicar on earth of the Prince of Peace, from the first days
of Our Pontificate We have dedicated Our efforts and Our
solicitude to the purpose of maintaining peace, and afterwards
of re-establishing it. Heedless of momentary lack of success and
of the difficulties involved, We are continuing to follow along

22

the path marked out for Us by Our Apostolic mission. As
We walk this path, often rough and thorny, the echo which
reaches Us from countless souls, both wichin and outside the
Church together with the consciousness of duty done, is for
Us abundant and consoling reward.

And now that in this hour of world/wide pain and mis/
giving the Chief Magistrate of the great Northern American
Federation, under the spell of the Holy Night of Christmas,
should have taken such a prominent place in the vanguard of
those who would promote peace and generously succor the
victims of the war, bespeaks a providential help, which We
acknowledge with grateful joy and increased confidence. It is
an exemplary act of fraternal and hearty solidarity between the
New and the Old World in defence against the chilling breath
of aggressive and deadly godless and antichristian tendencies,
that threaten to dry up the fbuntainhead whence civilization
has come and drawn its strength.

In such circumstances We shall find a special satisfaction,
as We have already informed Your Excellency, in receiving
with all the honor due to his well/known qualifications and
to the dignity of his important mission, the representative who
is to be sent to Us as the faithful interpreter of your mind re/
garding the procuring of peace and the alleviation of sufferings
consequent upon the war.

Recalling with keen joy the pleasant memories left Us after
Our unforgettable visit to your great nation, and living over
again the sincere pleasure that personal acquaintance with Your
Excellency brought Us, We express in turn Our hearty good
wishes, with a most fervent prayer for the prosperity of Your
Excellency and of all the people of the United States.

PIUS PP. XII

Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, the 7th day of
January, 1940, the First Year of Our Pontificate.

The Dark Days
0/1940

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The four messages (III'VI) in this group relate to the fast visit to
Rome of the President's Personal Representative to the Pope. That
visit lasted from February 27 to August 22, 1940.

Message No. Ill is the text of a handwritten letter from President
Roosevelt to His Holiness, which I presented at myfrst audience.
Message No. IV is the Pope's reply, banded to me for transmission to
the President on March 16, 1940.

By that time, conversations with His Holiness and with various

foreign officials at the Vatican had confirmed the view that there was no

hope of reestablishing peace. Any effort of mediation by neutral states

would be untimely and would surely be rebuffed by the Axis Govern*

ments, whose position currently was whollyfavorable to their ambitions.

Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles was arriving at the same

conclusion from the direct conversations he was then having with heads

of governments in Europe. The message of His Holiness to the Presi<>

dent was accordingly written in conditions filed with depression and

foreboding.

Since the Government of Italy under Mussolini was just then
committing itself to early action against France and Great Britain,
a decision being indicated by numerous reports and activities, the only
possibility that remained of keeping the war from spreading in the Medi"
terranean area lay in an appeal to him. It was evident that if any such
appeal could persuade Mussolini to remain a non'billigerent, it must
come from the President or His Holiness. In these circumstances, the
President appealed immediately to Mussolini, and when unsuccessful,
appealed again.

By mid' April, both the President and the Pope felt that the strongest
possible urging was imperative. This action toward the same objective
was undertaken promptly with prior arrangement though independently
and without consultation as to the substance of the communications. The
Pope wrote to Mussolini on April 24. The President addressed bis
further appeals immediately afterward, and again on May 14. Mussolini,

however, believing that Italy was imprisoned in the Mediterranean,
wanted ee windows on the Atlantic on the one band and the Red Sea
and the Indian Ocean on the other." The appeals were summarily re<>
jected.

Meanwhile, on April $, German forces invaded Denmark and
Norway and, on May 9, Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands.
By May 30, British forces began to evacuate Dunkirk and France con*
fronted imminent disastrous defeat. On a schedule known six weeks in
advance, undeterred to the end by the far-sighted arguments that had been
made to him, Mussolini on June 10 led Italy into war against France
and Britain. France surrendered to Germany on June 22 and to Italy
on June 24. Britain fought on under heavy attack from the air and on
the seas with her weakness desperately concealed, and with her stamina
fortified by immediate threat to her survival

As these events were occurring, the President condemned the
new aggressions. His Holiness wrote messages of sympathy to the Low
Countries. A crucial stage had been reached. The strongest efforts to
prevent the spread of war had failed.

There remained for action at the moment only two constructive
lines of work. To provide for relief of suffering was the first. In Poland,
where hostilities had ceased, the plight of millions of people had become
tragic, and His Holiness expressed anxiety over the failure of all relief
efforts so far. Elsewhere in the active combat areas distress was mounting
lut the possibilities of relief were as yet scant In this field the United
States Government, lacking controls over organized relief efforts aside
from those of the American Red Cross, could only encourage action hy
others. President Roosevelt asked me in July to convey to His Holiness
his hopes that maximum relief could he extended to all the stricken
civilian populations, and that relief agencies would he encouraged to co<>
ordinate their activities as effectively as possible.

The second field of work was to consider, as and when developing
thought might warrant, the bases of an enduring peace. The altered
circumstances of the war and the resulting confusion as to the future
suggested, however, the need of consultation at home before proceeding

28

further. A recurrence of ill health on my part also rendered return
advisable.

I took my departure on August 22, carrying to the President a letter
from His Holiness (Message No. V) reflecting his continuing faith as
to the future despite the discouragements of the hour. Following my re<>
port to the President, the President wrote to His Holiness on October i
(Message No. VI) expressing his ownfrm intention not to abandon,
despite the grim outlook, the search for the way to a truly peaceful
world order. M.C.T.

2.9

Ill

Letter from President Roosevelt to His Holiness

FEBRUARY 14, 1940

Your Holiness:

In my letter of December 23, 1939 1 had the honor to suggest
that it would give me great satisfaction to send to You my own
representative in order that our parallel endeavors for peace and
the alleviation of suffering might be assisted. Your Holiness
was good enough to reply that the choice of Mr. Myron C.
Taylor as my representative was acceptable and that You would
receive him.

I am entrusting this special mission to Mr. Taylor who is a
very old friend of mine, and in whom I repose the utmost con'
fidence. His humanitarian efforts in behalf of those whom politic
cal disruption has rendered homeless are well known to Your
Holiness. I shall be happy to feel that he may be the channel of
communications for any views You and I may wish to exchange
in the interest of concord among the peoples of the world.

I am asking Mr. Taylor to convey my cordial greetings to
You, my old and good friend, and my sincere hope that the
common ideals of religion and humanity itself can have united
expression for the re/establishment of a more permanent peace
on the foundations of freedom and an assurance of life and in'
tegrity of all nations under God.

Cordially Your friend,
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

IV

Reply of His Holiness to President Roosevelt

MARCH 1 6, 1940

Your Excellency:

The pleasure which was Ours on the twenty/seventh day of
February as We received in Solemn Audience the Represent
tative of Your Excellency was enhanced by the autograph letter
which he bore from you and placed into Our hands. We are
sincerely grateful for this further evidence of your solicitude for
the restoration of peace among nations now estranged as well
as for the expressions of cordial greeting which you have been
pleased to use in Our regard.

We confess to have been sensibly affected as We beheld
before Us your own Representative come upon a noble mission
of peace and healing, to seek with Us ways and means of giving
back to a warring world its rightful heritage of concord and
the freedom to pursue in justice and tranquility its temporal
and eternal happiness. In a moment of universal travail, when
hope contends with fear in the souls of so many millions of
men, We have been greatly encouraged by the vision of new
possibilities of beneficent action opened up to us through the
presence near Us of your distinguished Representative. Since
the obligations of Christian charity towards the needy and the
dispossessed have ever constituted a prior claim upon Our affec^
tions and resources as they have upon those of Our Prede/
cessors, it is with particular satisfaction that We welcome Your
Excellency's endeavors for the alleviation of suffering. Our
contemporaries follow with their heartfelt prayers, and posterity
will hold in honored memory, all those who, undeterred by
immense difficulties, dedicate themselves to the sacred task of

33

staunching the flow of youthful blood upon the fields of battle,
and to the comforting of civilian victims despoiled and afflicted
by the cruel conditions of our day. Blessed, indeed, are the
peacemakers.

And although one who with discerning eye surveys the
present international scene can have no illusions as to the magx
nitude of the role which has been undertaken, We are con'
vinced that it is in the interest of all that We should go forward
with Our labors to the end that the days of grievous trial be
shortened, preparing and straightening the way, levelling the
mountains of anger which bar the road to understanding and
filling up the valleys of distrust and suspicion which divide
man from man and nation from nation. Thus may We hope
that the natural law, graven by the Creator on the hearts of
men, may soon, as it must ultimately, prevail as the universal
rule of human conduct over arbitrary whim and sordid interest
which here and there have usurped its place, and that in con'
sequence the rising generation may be saved from the moral
illiteracy with which they are threatened. And thus, when all
shall have come finally to realize that violence is futile and that
hatred is a sterile force, a wearied world may rejoice in a peace
builded upon the solid foundation of justice and firmly held
together by the bonds of fraternal charity.

We renew to Your Excellency the expression of Our grati'
tude for your greeting while, in the light of happy remembrance,
We pray for your continued well-being and for that of the
American people.

PIUS PP. XII

Given at Rome, from St. Peter's, the I6th day of
March, 1940, the Second Year of Our Pontificate.

34

V

Letter from His Holiness to President Roosevelt

AUGUST 22,I94O

Your Excellency:

The return to the United States of Your Excellency's Personal
Representative to Us, for the purpose of recruiting in the home'
land the forces so generously spent in the fulfilment of his noble
mission, affords Us a welcome opportunity of sending .you
Our cordial greetings, and of reiterating Our appreciation for
the presence of Your Envoy near Us. In the light of experience,
We now have further and ampler proof of the wisdom which
inspired Your Excellency to despatch your Representative to
Us, as We also have cause to rejoice at the felicity of choice
which led you to entrust this important post to the Honorable
Myron C. Taylor.

These first months of the mission have occasioned Us great
satisfaction and, in spite of the dark forebodings of the hour,
We express Our hope in a future which shall see the re/estab'
lishment of a general and enduring peace. Although the horrors
of the war increase and Our sorrow deepens with every passing
day, We are redoubling Our prayers and Our endeavors to
find a practicable way to such a peace as will bear within it
the promise of permanency, and free men from the heavy incu<>
bus of insecurity and of perpetual alarms. In Our unceasing
search for that peace which will be no longer, as so often in
the past, a parenthesis of exhaustion between two phases of
conflict, but rather, by the grace of God, a golden era of
Christian concord dedicated to the spiritual and material im/
provement of humanity, We feel a distinct sense of comfort in

35

the thought that We shall not be without the powerful support
of the President of the United States.

It is therefore with heartfelt good will that We again assure
Your Excellency of Our prayers for your continued health and
happiness and for the prosperity and progress of the American
people.

PIUS PP. XII

Given at Rome, from St. Peter's, the 22nd day of
August, 1940, the Second Year of Our Pontificate.

VI

Reply of President Roosevelt to His Holiness

OCTOBER I, 1940

Your Holiness,

Upon his return to the United States, Mr. Myron C. Taylor
duly delivered to me Your message of August twentysecond
and I am deeply gratified by Your Holiness* expression of satis'
faction concerning Mr. Taylor's mission.

Particular note has been taken of the assurance of Your
Holiness* continuing efforts to find the way to a peace which
bears promise not only of permanency, but also of freedom
from perpetual alarm and opportunity for the spiritual and
material improvement of humanity. It seems imperative that
this search shall not be abandoned, no matter how deep may
be the shadow of the present strife. It is equally necessary to
realize that peace as Your Holiness conceives it must be based
upon the re/establishment of Christian law and doctrine as the
guiding principles which govern the relations of free men and
free nations. The spiritual freedom and political independence
which alone make possible this rebuilding of the structure of
peace thus become a necessary part of our common goal. In the
search of it, the Government and people of the United States
are glad to lend their sympathy and to devote their efforts.

May I assure Your Holiness of my profound appreciation
of the reception accorded to Mr. Taylor and of Your message
of good will.

May I also take this occasion to send to Your Holiness my
very deep personal good wishes and to express iny hope and

37

wish for Your continued good health. The whole world needs
You in its search for peace and good will.

Faithfully yours,

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

38

"The Seekers of Light

and the
Seekers of Peace"

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The next occasion for an exchange of messages was President Roosevelt's
re-election in November, 1940. The Pope's message of congratulation,
dated December 2o,and the President's reply on March 3, 1941, reflected
the profound developments which occurred in the course of the war during
the last few months of the year 1940 and the early months of 1941.

Great Britain, standing almost alone, continued to sustain the vio*
lence of full German attack The United States had extended to her the
help of fifty destroyers in return for leases of needed lasts in the North
Atlantic and the Caribbean.

Germany, Italy and Japan had entered into a tensyear military pact.
The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and the eastern
part of Rumania had been incorporated into the Soviet Union. France
under the Vichy regime had broken with Britain on the issue ofpre*
serving the Frenchfeetfrom enemy use, and had then underttkenfuller
cooperation with Nazi Germany.

The war began to spread into the Balkans with Italy's attack on
Greece and with preparatory moves by Germany after the failure of
plans to crush Britain by September, 1940. Japan created new tensions
in the Pacific with repeated indications of military interest in Thailand
and other parts of Asia and the Southern Pacific, and of political boss
tility to American embargoes on military materials.

United States defenses were being strengthened on a widening scale,
and manpower was being trained. At last, in crucial crisis, the democrat
cies were developing an arsenal of the instruments vital to their continue
ance as free peoples.

The Pope's letter of congratulation (Message No. VII) conveyed
prayerful encouragement to continue to strive for universal order, justice
and peace. President Roosevelt responded (Message No. VIII) with
the hope that lasting concord between men and nations would again he
established through friendly association among all who sought peace,
stressing anew that an enduring peace must be founded upon Christian
principles and upon freedom from the threat of aggression. M.C.T.

41

VII

Letter from His Holiness to President Roosevelt

DECEMBER 2O, 1940

His Excellency Franklin D. Roosevelt
President of the United States of America
Washington, D. C.

In being elected for a third term to the Presidency of the United
States of America, at a time of such grave moment for the life
of nations, Your Excellency has received from your country a
singular proof of confidence.

The personal relations had with Your Excellency on the
occasion of Our visit to the United States, when We were
Cardinal Secretary of State to the late lamented Supreme Pon'
tiff, and the gracious reception you extended to Us, put Us in
the way to appreciate your generous spirit; and today, while We
offer you congratulations, We pray Almighty God to guide
your mind and heart in the noble and arduous task of leading
a free and vigorous people for the greater stability of universal
order, justice and peace.

A tangible proof of these generous dispositions We have
had in your sending His Excellency Mr. Myron Taylor ;o Us,
as your Personal Representative with rank of Ambassador
Extraordinary. Special circumstances have interrupted his pres^
ence with Us; but We like to hope that the plan for the attain^
ment of those high ideals you had in mind may yet be realized.

Indeed, We are not unaware of the efforts which you made
to prevent the catastrophic struggle that is heaping up ruin and
sorrow for a great part of the Old World; and in Our paternal
solicitude for suffering humanity there is nothing We desire
more ardently than to see true peace return at long last among

43

peoples, who have been too long and too painfully stricken
and afflicted: that true peace, We mean, that will adjust all
wrongs, that will recognize with well-judged equity the vital
necessities of all, and thus mark for the world the beginning of
a new era of tranquility, collaboration and progress among
peoples under the longed-for reign of Christian justice and
charity.

While We renew the expression of Our good wishes for
you personally and for the nation over which you preside, We
invoke on both an abundance of God's blessings.

PIUS PP. XII

Given at Rome, from the Palace of the Vatican, the twentieth
day of December, 1940, the Second Year of Our Pontificate.

44

VIII

Reply of President Roosevelt to His Holiness

MARCH 3, 1941

Your Holiness:

Your Holiness has been good enough to send me a message
upon the occasion of my re/election to the Presidency of the
United States of America and to recall the cordial relations I
had with Your Holiness when, as Cardinal Secretary of State,
You visited this country.

I take this occasion not only to express my profound appre'
ciation of Your message but to reiterate the hope that through
friendly association between the seekers of light and the seekers
of peace everywhere a firm basis oflasting concord between men
and nations can be established throughout the world once
again. Only when the principles of Christianity and the right
of all peoples to live free from the threat of external aggression
are established can that peace which Your Holiness and I so
ardently desire be found.

To my deep regret Mr. Myron Taylor has been obliged to
interrupt his mission in Italy but I hope that his health may
soon be sufficiently restored to enable him to return to Rome.

Believe me, with the assurances of my highest regard,

Yours very sincerely,

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

45

Easter April

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Eastertide, 1941, provided the next occasion for an exchange of messages.
By that time, the war had moved into all parts of southeastern Europe
and its repercussions began sharply to affect parts of the Near and
Middle East. The Axis leaders continued to possess all initiative of
action, and their success had been hampered seriously only in Greece,
and denied beyond the coasts of the continent. Hitler decided to attack
the Soviet Union forewarning of which, when intelligence was re*
ported in January and in March to the American Government, was
promptly communicated to the Soviet Government.

But, darkening as the prospect was, determined resistance continued
and the necessary means of defense were being provided increasingly.
The President on January 6 had recommended, and in a few weeks the
Congress had approved in the interest of our own security, the passage
of legislation to lendAease supplies and materials to nations defending
themselves from aggression.

At the same time the President declared that for a secure future,
America looked forward to a world founded upon four essential frees
doms freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion, freedom
from want, and freedom from fear. In his Easter greeting to His Holiness
(Message No. IX), he further explained his views on these freedoms.
This message reflected the Presidents deep reliance upon the moral
sense of humanity, and his faith that the freedoms essential to a moral
world order were attainable.

As he had said in an address a year earlier:

"Today we seek a moral basis for peace. It cannot be a real
peace if it fails to recognize brotherhood. It cannot be a lasting
peace if the fruit of it is oppression, or starvation, or cruelty, or
human life dominated by armed camps. It cannot be a sound
peace if small nations must live in fear of powerful neighbors.
It cannot be a moral peace if freedom from invasion is sold for
tribute. It cannot be an intelligent peace if it denies free passage

49

to that knowledge of those ideals which permit men tofnd cow
mon ground. It cannot be a righteous peace if worship of God
is denied."

The message from the Pope replying immediately to the President
(Message No. X) was written in sadness over the human misery and
the devastation brought by the spreading conflict in the spring of 1941.
Its words reflected in turn the unflagging will of His Holiness then,
and constantly despite all obstacles, to persevere in efforts to ameliorate
the suffering during the war and to plead to the thought and conscience
of the world for a true peace. These Easter messages bore eloquent
testimony to the developing harmony of views concerning thefunda*
mental goals of the peace toward which the President and Pope Pius
XII were each so firmly striving. M.C.T.

IX

Message from President Roosevelt to His Holiness

[TELEGRAM] EASTER APRIL, 1941

His Holiness Pope Pius XII
Vatican City

Your Holiness:

I send You my most cordial greetings at Easter. The time is
admittedly full of pain and danger. Yet from all parts of the
world messages reach me which justify the high hope that the
light of the world is being rekindled. These messages make it
plain that courageous spirits are everywhere arising above fear,
and that ever/increasing numbers of brave souls refuse to be
separated from their Father in Heaven or from their brothers
on earth by force or by falsehoods or by fear. So long as the
human spirit is undefeated, the great elementary human free'
doms will inevitably be triumphant. Here in the United States
we believe that freedom of worship is the first and greatest need
of us all. For that reason we have exerted all of our influence
against religious persecutions, which for the first rime in cen^
turies again threaten the brotherhood of man in many parts of
the world. We have likewise sought freedom of information
so that no conqueror can enslave men's minds or prevent them
from finding their way to the truth. We have set our minds to
attaining freedom from fear, so that no man, no family, no
nation, need live perpetually under the shadow of danger from
bombs, invasion, and ensuing devastation. And we propose to
forward the cause of freedom from want by direct relief where
this is possible and necessary and by so improving the economic
processes of life that children may be born and families may be

51

reared iri safety and comfort. I am convinced that such a rebirth
of the moral sense of humanity can muster a force infinitely
greater than that of a transient parade of arms with nothing
behind it save the confusion and corruption of a group which
has lost all spiritual values, and solely lust for power. Only the
most short-sighted of statesmen can fail to see this. Let me in-
cude in my greetings this Easter not merely a sense of hope
which reaches me from many lands, but also my considered
conviction that these great freedoms are once more attainable.
Their achievement only awaits the resolute action of men who
answer bravely the clear call to their ancient fidelity to the Lord
and to their fellowmen.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

X

Message from His Holiness to President Roosevelt

[TELEGRAM] EASTER APRiL,i94i

His Excellency Franklin D. Roosevelt
President of the United States of America
Washington, D. C.

We thank Your Excellency for the greetings which you have
so kindly sent Us for Easter. In these festive days of joyful
commemoration Our heart is particularly saddened by the
thought of the massacre and widespread devastation which the
present conflict is leaving in its wake. In the name of human
civilization and above all inspired by that divine love brought
to man by the Redeemer We have not failed and We shall not
fail to do everything possible to alleviate the sufferings of those
in need and in carrying out this beneficent work of charity We
have found unbounded sympathy and generous cooperation
among Our beloved children of the United States. Not con'
tent with this We have felt and We feel it Our duty to raise
Our voice, the voice of a Father not moved by any earthly in^
terests but animated only by a desire for the common good of
all, in a plea for a peace that will be genuine, just, honorable,
and lasting; a peace that will respect individuals, families and
nations and safeguard their rights to life, to a reasonable liberty,
to a conscientious and fervent practice of religion, to true pnv
gress, and to an equitable participation in the riches which
providence has distributed with largess over the earth; a peace
whose spirit and provisions will tend to revitalize and revig'
orate through new and enlightened organization the true spirit
of brotherhood among men today so tragically alienated one
from another. With these hopes which find expression in Our

53

fervent prayer to the Divine Goodness We are happy in turn
to assure Your Excellency at this Eastertide of Our good wishes
not only for your personal welfare but also for the prosperity of
the great and cherished people of the United States.

PIUS PP. XII

54

Assistance to the Soviet Union

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Two events of profound significance occurred during the summer of
1941. Thefrst was the German attack on the Soviet Union in June.
The second was the meeting, in August, of President Roosevelt and
Prime Minister Winston Churchill, which gave rise to their joint
declaration known as the "Atlantic Charter".

Thefrst event immediately posed the problem of whether or not
aid should be given to the Soviet Union, reeling in retreat under the vio*
lence of the Nazi onslaught. By reason of the Communist philosophy
of the Soviet Government, the answer to that problem involved the
fundamental attitudes of most of the worlds peoples and institutions
regarding some of the most treasured values and aspirations of human
society which Communism had rejected. The issue as it swiftly emerged,
however, was in stark fact whether Hitler's intended conquest of Russia,
so essential to the success of his plans for putting the world under domi'
nation of a Nazi order in which democracy could not survive, would be
thwarted or not.

The Government and people of the United States, as did the
Government and people of Great Britain, immediately determined to
give every practicable form of assistance not to Communism, alien
alike to America's and Britain's faith and way of life, but toward pw
venting Nazi Germany from conquering the Russian people and thus
securing the wheat and oil and other means necessary to carry on further
aggression. To this measured decision was added, as time went on, an
increasing admiration for the Russian people who despite immense suffers
ing fought tenaciously in defense of their homeland.

A problem so posed and so answered was one not only for govern'
ments and nations but for all churches. This was true in a special way
for Americans of Catholic faith, who were aware of the encyclical
issued by Pope Pius XI in 1922 which contained a broad condemnation
of atheistic communism and forbade collaboration with it, while ex*
pressing compassion for the suffering and oppression of the Russian
people. Consequently, clarifications of American feeling and opinion to

57

His Holiness regarding aid to the Soviet Union and of the views of
His Holiness in the same regard, were desirable. The next exchange of
views between the President and His Holiness was directed to that
purpose and was the occasion of my second visit to Rome.

The opportunity to exchange views in connection with the Atlantic
Charter also made a visit desirable. That document contained, as is well
known, eight far reaching statements of policy and common principles
on which its authors based their hope for a better future.

Since that joint declaration represented a substantial advance over
the views as to the bases of future peace which had already been discussed
with the Pope, the President wished me to ascertain whether He found
its views in harmony with His own. He hoped that if the Charter
commended itself, as he believe? it would, the Pope would make His
impressions known to the world.

The Presidents letter of September 5 (Message No. XI) was
banded to His Holiness in audience on September $.

His Holiness confirmed the view that the Holy See condemned
atheistic communism and Soviet practices regarding individual liberty,
but that, as at all times, the Holy See continued to regard the Russian
people with paternal affection. This view was stated in an allocution
immediately thereafter and again in His Holiness' Christmas Eve
broadcast the same year.

While the freedom of conscience and religious worship which was
assured to the Russian people in Article 124 of the Constitution of the
U.S.S.R.. was in practice not honored in many essential respects, the
President had the hope that religious freedom would ultimately be fully
respected. This hope was fortified at that time by the more favorable
official Soviet attitude toward religious worship being expressed currently
in the Soviet press and in an address by the Soviet Ambassador in
London. Nevertheless, reports of conditions continued to cast doubt on
whether improvement was progressing, and so this hope necessarily bad
to continue to rest in the slow processes of time.

A number of President Roosevelt's views relating to the Atlantic
Charter were conveyed in the same discussions. The President believed

that accomplishment of disarmament would take many years. The peace*
loving nations must be able by police power to prevent aggression.
Peaceful self 'determination both territorial and political was a con*
timing process which worked toward elimination of war. He depended
much upon freedom to trade to contribute to prosperity generally. In
the existing world confusion the principle of trusteeship unselfish ser*
vice might well be utilized more widely in international affairs than
solely in regard to mandates as in the past. Freedom of religion and
freedom of expression were necessary in every aspect of the future peace
and called for spiritual leadership in opposition to the pagan views and
objectives of the Axis powers.

These views were received with much pleasure by the Pope. The
notable address by the Pope on the following Christmas, concerning the
essential conditions of world order under moral law, reflected still further
growth of harmony of views on the bases of future world peace.

The letter of His Holiness, dated September 20 (Message No.
XII), together with His views corresponding to the foregoing, were
carried to the President upon my return. M.C.T.

59

XI

Letter from President Roosevelt to His Holiness

SEPTEMBER 3, 1941

Your Holiness:

At my request, Mr. Myron Taylor will discuss with Your
Holiness certain matters with regard to which I am very desir'
ous that he explain my feelings and American opinion. These
are matters in regard to which I feel very strongly.

The first of these relates to the problem of the attitude of the
Russian Government and the Russian people toward religion.
In so far as I am informed, churches in Russia are open. I be'
lieve there is a real possibility that Russia may as a result of the
present conflict recognize freedom of religion in Russia, al'
though, of course, without recognition of any official inter'
vention on the part of any church in education or political
matters within Russia. I feel that if this can be accomplished
it will put the possibility of the restoration of real religious
liberty in Russia on a much better footing than religious free'
dom is in Germany today.

There are in the United States many people in all churches
who have the feeling that Russia is governed completely by a
communistic form of society. In my opinion, the fact is that
Russia is governed by a dictatorship, as rigid in its manner of
being as is the dictatorship in Germany. I believe, however,
that this Russian dictatorship is less dangerous to the safety of
other nations than is the German form of dictatorship. The
only weapon which the Russian dictatorship uses outside of its
own borders is communist propaganda which I, of course,
recognize has in the past been utilized for the purpose of break'
ing down the form of government in other countries, religious

-61

belief, et cetera. Germany, however, not only has utilized, but
is utilizing, this kind of propaganda as well and has also under'
taken the employment of every form of military aggression out'
side of its borders for the purpose of world conquest by force of
arms and by force of propaganda. I believe that the survival of
Russia is less dangerous to religion, to the church as such, and
to humanity in general than would be the survival of the
German form of dictatorship. Furthermore, it is my belief that
the leaders of all churches in the United States should recognize
these facts clearly and should not close their eyes to these basic
questions and by their present attitude on this question directly
assist Germany in her present objectives.

Bearing in mind the common desire which Your Holiness
and I share that a firm basis for lasting concord between men
and nations founded on the principles of Christianity can again
be established, I have asked Mr. Taylor to explain my feelings
in this matter in order that Your Holiness may understand my
position in this respect.

Believe me, with the assurances of my highest regard,

Yours very sincerely,

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

XII

Reply of His Holiness to President Roosevelt

SEPTEMBER 20, 1941

Your Excellency:

We have received with satisfaction and pleasure your esteemed
letter of September third and we gladly avail Ourselves of the
return to Washington of His Excellency Mr. Myron C. Tay
lor to forward to you this note of cordial acknowledgment.

We learned with gratification of the coining of your Per-"
sonal Representative, who has always been a devoted and con-*
scientious bearer of tidings from Your Excellency and who re^
mains a welcome link between you and Us.

Mr. Taylor has called upon Us several times and We have
been very happy to receive him on each occasion. He has pre^
sented to Us a full exposition of those matters which are upper*
most in the mind of Your Excellency at the present time and
he has graciously informed Us of your personal feelings and of
the general sentiment of your people. We, in turn, have ex."
pressed to Mr. Taylor Our point of view regarding the im^
portant matters which were dealt with in our conversations.
He has assured Us that, upon his return to Washington, he
will give Your Excellency an accurate report in this regard.

It is Our constant prayer and sincere hope that Almighty
God may hasten the day when men and nations now at war
will enjoy the blessings of a true and enduring peace a peace
in which We confidently foresee embodied those fundamental
Christian principles, whose application can assure the victory
of love over hate, right over might, justice over egoism, and in
which the search for eternal values will prevail over the quest
for merely temporal goods. Meanwhile We find Ourselves,

however, face to face with the appalling and heart'sickening
consequences of modern warfare. In these tragic circumstances
We are endeavoring, with all the forces at Our disposal, to
bring material and spiritual comfort to countless thousands
who are numbered amongst the innocent and helpless victims.
We should like, on this occasion, to express to Your Excellency
Our cordial appreciation of the magnificent assistance which
the American people have given, and continue to offer, in this
mission of mercy. They are, indeed, demonstrating once again
a charitable understanding of the needs of their suffering fellow
men and a noble desire to alleviate their misery.

In reassuring you of Our ceaseless and untiring efforts in
the cause of peace, We renew to Your Excellency the expression
of Our heartfelt good wishes, with a fervent prayer for the per-'
sonal welfare of Your Excellency and for the prosperity of the
cherished people of the United States.

PIUS PP. XII

From the Vatican,
September 20th, 1941.

America At War

EXPLANATORY NOTE

A year elapsed before the next exchange of messages. In the early
months of this interval, American relations with Japan progressively
became more tense, though negotiations for adjustment of the gravely
deepening crisis in the Far East proceeded almost continuously. On
December 7, 1941, by surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, war came to
the United States in the Pacific. Within four days, by the declarations
of war on the United States by Germany and Italy, the war at last
girded the entire globe.

The ultimate issue whether the philosophy of militarism and aggress
sion or the philosophy of peaceful democracy would have the opportunity
to be conferred by victory to mold the world's future now rested in the
arbitrament of battle throughout all continents and on all seas. Almost
no neutrals remained in the world, but only enemy or ally. The enemy
states possessed the preponderance of ready force. The states allied in
war immediately joined together in a Declaration by United Nations to
cooperate in the prosecution of the conflict and not to make a separate
armistice or peace with the enemies.

The developments of the war during the spring and summer of
1942 are still vivid in the memory of all. These were months of retreat,
of organization of plans and forces, of costly decision as to what forces
were "expendable". They were months when courage and faith in ulti'
mate victory were tested by multiplied defeats and the tolls of military
campaigns.

Yet, as the United States took up the gage of war, peace no less
than victory was in the mind of President Roosevelt. "We shall win
this war", he wrote, "and in victory we shall seek not vengeance but the
establishment of an international order in which the Spirit of Christ
shall rule the hearts of men and of nations"

By September i, 1942 it appeared that the Italian Government
would permit transit of the Presidents Personal Representative through
the Kingdom of Italy. The President at once wrote to His Holiness
(Message No. XIII) to initiate my third visit. This letter waspre*

sented in audience on September 19. As proposed by the President, an
explanation was at once made as to Americas views concerning the
war, and beyond, along the following lines:

The Japanese attack bad consolidated the American people into a
single entity to win tbe war. America would choose its own time and
place to bring its forces to bear. Meanwhile we believed Russia would
not surrender even though pressed at this time to the limit of strength.
The first principal adversary to be defeated would be Germany, and
then in due course, and in America's own way, Japan.

America's interest was in defense of an ideal of government and a
way of life for itself and for mankind. It sought no political, financial or
territorial aggrandisement. It was moving and would move in harmony
with all those who would defend human rights and justice under the
moral law. America had no hatred for the Italian people. Even yet it
was not too late for Italy s people to find their eventual position de*
terminedby their conducthenceforth. Nor did America hate the German
people though our feeling was affected by apprehension that they upheld
the aggressions of their leaders.

The United States was determined to carry through until complete
victory had been won. The American people were united in that deter*
mination regardless of any normal differences of interest or belief among
them. No indecisive or compromised victory would suffice; it would
signify a partial victory for the Axis and could only lead to later re*
sumption of conflict. After full victory, a just and lasting peace must be
made. Until victory, no peace was possible. The war aims of the United
States were peace aims aims known to His Holiness and to the world.

These refections met with happy response from His Holiness. At
my request, He later provided for the information of the President a
copy of a personal memorandum in which He had set forth His views
to me in regard to several of these vital matters.

The memorandum envisaged an eventual peace worthy of mans
personal dignity and of his high destiny, a peace which took into consid'
eration the vital needs of all nations and which bore within itself the
seeds of longevity. A first requisite was that the relations between gov /

68

ernments and their people, and between all governments and peoples,
must be based on the fulfillment of contracts, on the observance of justice
and law tempered by Christian charity and brotherly love, and on rever*
encefor the dignity of the human person and resvectfor religious con*
victions. The worship of God must again exercise its due influence in
individual and national life. The Pope again stated, as in earlier public
utterances, that certain principles of right and justice have their founda*
tion deep in the moral order of the universe, and that on such principles
there can never he compromise. He was greatly heartened to know that the
peace aims of the United States fully recognized these basic moral
principles. These principles would unswervingly point the direction of
His own path of duty.

Occasion was taken, with the approval of the President and Secret
tary Hull, to describe in general terms the significant efforts being made
hy the Advisory Committee on Post'War Foreign Policy, which had
been established early in the preceding February, and in the work of
which I was participating. This Committee, under Secretary Hull's
Chairmanship and with participation by members of the public and of
the Congress and by officials, was intensively engaged in exploring
post-war problems with a view to making recommendations to the Presi'
dent. Itsfelds of work concerned transitional problems of relief, re*
establishment of order, and reconstruction, as well as all the complex
and far 'reaching aspects of post-war international security; long-range
political, territorial, and economic problems; and international organizas
tion. No conclusions had as yet been drawn and none would be until
long and serious study had been given to the problems.

While the Pope, in accord with the traditional policy of the Holy
See to abstain from participating in controversial problems between
states outside the spiritual sphere, commented upon this information only
as to its bearing upon the establishment of just and enduring peace, He
expressed gratification that the application of American peace aims had
become so quickly the subject of responsible preparations.

When I took leave His Holiness handed to me the letter addressed
by Him to President Roosevelt under date of September 25 (Message

No. XIV) manifesting confidence tbat a new spirit of collaboration
among men and nations would unite men after the war, and conveying
to the President, now as leader not of a neutral but of a belligerent
state, His desire for continuance of parallel endeavors for the allevi*
ation of suffering and for peace. M.C.T.

70

XIII

Letter from President Roosevelt to His Holiness

SEPTEMBER 3, 1942

Your Holiness:

I am very happy that Mr. Myron C. Taylor is going back to
the Vatican to see You and that apparently the passage has
been assured.

He will tell You of all that has gone on in America since
he last saw You,and he will tell You howimportant I believe it
to be that we maintain close contacts and close understandings.

I well know what great difficulties surround You and I
know that You are praying for us in the United States just as
You are praying for all humanity.

I hope especially that Your health is good and that You
will take care of Yourselffor we all need You in this critical
time.

With my warm regards,

Faithfully Yours,

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

XIV

Reply of His Holiness to President Roosevelt

SEPTEMBER 25, 1942

Your Excellency:

Once again We have welcomed with especial satisfaction your
Personal Representative, His Excellency Mr. Myron C. Jay
lor, whose untiring and devoted efforts serve so effectively to
foster the relations between Your Excellency and Us.

We continue to strive, with every means at Our disposal,
for the foundation of a world order that will have as its basis
the fundamental principles of justice and charity, and it is Our
confident prayer that in the postwar world men and nations
may unite in a new spirit of understanding and collaboration.
As Your Excellency has remarked, Our labors for the allevi'
ation of suffering and for peace encounter obstacles and difE"
culties, but We place Our trust in God and are confident that
We shall enjoy the understanding collaboration of all good
people.

In renewing to Your Excellency the expression of Our
good wishes, We assure you of Our fervent prayers for your
personal welfare and for that of the people of the United States
of America.

PIUS PP. xn

From the Vatican,
September 25, 1942.

73

The Turning Point
of the War

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The three months that passed between the President's receipt of the
reply dated September 2$, 1942, and his next message (No. XV)
were, in many ways, the most crucial months of the war. In retrospect,
the developments which occurred then marked, though tentatively and
with reverses still to come, the decisive turn in the trend of world events.
American armies with the cooperation of British forces landed in North
Africa in a campaign attended by immediate successes toward freeing
North Africa from Axis forces. A Soviet offensive in the area of
Stalingrad and another in the Caucasus evidenced that reserve of power
and determination which were capable at last of checking the forward
thrust of Nazi forces on the Eastern Front. And in the Pacific, at the
farthest point of Japanese advance, Japan's greatest naval effort to re*
capture Guadalcanal failed. The ebb of the tide of aggressive expansion
by the Axis bad set in.

The message from President Roosevelt to His Holiness dated
December 31, 1942 was written as this crucial moment in the war was
reached. With a profound sense of the responsibility that his leadership
conferred, the President wrote in deep feeling of the necessity to banish
war as an instrument of national policy and to replace it by an intelli'
gent system to achieve unbroken peace.

Responding in the same spirit of complete dedication to duty in days
of violent crisis, January 5, 1943 (Message No. XVI), His Holiness
expressed His longing for the return of peace and His readiness to
collaborate in fullest measure whenever well-founded hope would appear.
Meanwhile He was seeking to relieve the suffering of prisoners of war,
of the families of soldiers, and of the millions of men, women and chil'
dren who were being subjected to privation, and to keep prayerful watch
on the matters of peace.

The efforts to provide relief to which the Pope referred encompassed,
among many others, the establishment of arrangements for exchange of
information concerning prisoners of war in Eastern Europe, which ens
countered difficulties that largely remained unresolved, andforcommuni"

77

XV
Message from President Roosevelt to His Holiness

DECEMBER 31, 1942

Your Holiness:

As the Christmas season once more sheds its beatific influence
upon the world, I send my greetings and the expression of my
earnest hope for the continued health and well-being of Your
Holiness. In past years our voices have jointly and severally
been raised in behalf of the maintenance of peace. Our appeals
have unfortunately fallen upon deaf ears.

We face the new year now upon us with the task to uphold
by our deeds and to fulfill in our day the obligations civiliza-
tion has laid upon us to crush those who refuse to honor the
basic principles of Christian conduct. In this spirit we gird
ourselves to the task, free from designs upon our neighbors and
moved by ideals of humanity, charity and justice under moral
law. This consecration knows no limits of effort or sacrifice by
our people. Your recent letter brought to me by my Personal
Representative has given me the greatest pleasure, as did also a
memorandum by Your Holiness in response to his explana-
tion of the position and objectives of this Government and
people and of their accomplishments and preparations for de-
fensive war. In modern times war is an especially ominous
word. The present war has developed on a world-wide scale,
spreading into the most remote places. Its very spread clearly
shows that it must be banished as an instrument of national
policy by every nation, that it must be replaced by an intelli-
gent system evolved from the skill and courage of those who
are entrusted with leadership to find other ways to adjust dis-
putes and to achieve continual peace.

79

It has given me the greatest satisfaction and I am greatly
heartened again to receive from Your Holiness such positive
assurances which will enable us to continue our efforts along
parallel lines. May I take advantage of this opportunity to re^
iteratethehopethat Your Holiness may continue in good health
and spirit and that these tragic times may soon come to an end.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

XVI

Keplv of His Holiness to President Roosevelt

JANUARY 5, 1943

Your Excellency:

The greetings and good wishes which Your Excellency has so
kindly extended to Us for the holy season of Christmas have
been a source of particular pleasure to Us.

Our heart, too, is saddened by the thought that once again
the serene light that radiates from Bethlehem shines upon a
world troubled and ensanguined by the war.

We derive comfort, however, from the certainty that, in
homage to the duty which Our universal paternity and the
very feeling of humanity imposed upon Us, We have not
spared Ourselves in Our efforts as Your Excellency has so
courteously recalled in order, first of all, that the world might
continue to enjoy the inestimable benefits of peace and, later,
that the conflagration, once it had broken out, might not spread
to other countries.

And now, as the clash of arms sombrely resounds from
hemisphere to hemisphere, it remains for Us onlyto hasten, with
longing desire, the return of peace and, above all, to implore
it of God through the persevering insistence of prayer, ready
always to offer Our fullest collaboration when, through the
overhanging clouds of sorrow and destruction, there may shine
upon this warworn world even a faint ray of encouraging and
well-founded hope.

While maintaining this prayerful watch, which, though it
adds to Our sorrows, does not diminish Our courage, We are
not inactive. Your Excellency is aware of the fact particularly
because you have given Us your support for which We shaU

8l

be ever grateful that it is Our undeviating program to do
everything in Our power to alleviate the countless sufferings
arising from this tragic conflict: sufferings of the prisoners and
of the wounded, of families in fear and trembling over the fate
of their loved ones, of entire peoples subjected to limitless pri'
vations and hardships: sufferings of the aged, of women and
children who at a moment's notice find themselves deprived of
hone and possessions.

For Our part, We shall continue to recall to men's minds,
as We have done so many times, from this Rome, Holy City,
center of the Catholic world and Our Episcopal See, those
higher principles of justice and Christian morality without
which there is no salvation, and to draw men's spirits anew
towards those sentiments of charity and brotherhood without
which there can be no peace.

In the ceaseless furtherance of this, Our program, We feel
certain that We may count upon the efficacious comprehen^
sion of the noble American people and upon the valid collab'
oration of Your Excellency.

It is in this spirit that, while extending Our fervent good
wishes to Your Excellency, at the beginning of this New Year,
We pray to God for the prosperity of Your Excellency and
that of the great Nation over which you preside.

PIUS PP. XII

The Invasion of Italy

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The jive messages contained in this group relate to the summer months
of 1943* in the course of which the Allied offensive moved inexorably
toward Italy and, f natty, into Italy. The plainly foreseeable invasion of
Europe from the south foreshadowed new sufferings for Italian civilians
and threat of destruction of treasured monuments of the history, religion
and culture of the Western World. In deep anxiety the Pope appealed
to the President on May 18, 1943 (Message No. XVII). In moving
words reflecting the calls for protection and intercession being made to
Him, and expressing His grief and apprehension over what might befall
the innocent victims of the struggle and civilization's precious heritage
when war would rage over a land filled with cultural and religious
buildings and shrines, the Pope pleaded that these he spared.

The President replied (Message No. XVIII) with sympathetic
appreciation of the deep feeling of His Holiness. Nevertheless, cow
petted as leader of a warring nation to prosecute the war with all force
against any legitimate military objective, be could only promise that
warfare would not be made against civilians or against non^military
objectives. Allied aviators had been instructed to prevent bombs from
falling on Vatican City.

On July 10 the Allies began the invasion of Sicily. The President
at once informed His Holiness (Message No. XIX) of the landing of
American and British troops on Italian soil Though mindful of "the
grim duties of war", he reaffirmed that religious institutions would be
protected so far as this could be done, and promised that the neutral
status of Papal domains would be respected.

The first bombing of Rome occurred as the Pope composed His
reply to this message, sent on July 19 (Message No. XX). He had
seen its effects, among them that an ancient cultural and religious
sanctuary bad been struck by a miscarrying bomb. Speaking from vision
above the armed conflict of the nations, He again pressingly pleaded that
Italy and especially Rome not be bombed. As a foundation of the peace

85

to fa built later, He prayed that not alone human charity, hut Christian
charity, would be shown in the war.

During the next six weeks Mussolini met Hitler for the last time
before his resignation, forced by the Grand Council on July 2$. Field
Marshal Pietro Badoglio took the reins of government as Premier, and
the Facist party was immediately dissolved. The Allied conquest of
Sicily was completed on August 17. It was in the midst of these de*
cisive developments only a few days before the invasion of Italy proper
hy Allied forces anljust before German forces occupied Rome that
His Holiness wrote again (Message No. XXI), making a last appeal
that innocent civilians and religious institutions he protected from mili*
tary actions. At the same time He indicated to the Presidenthow greatly
His hopes to this end were sustained hy the intention expressed hy the
President in his previous message to act in accord with this plea to the
extent humanly possible.

A turbulentperiod ofchangesfollowed Italy s surrender on Septem*
her 8. Five weeks later that country joined in the war against Germany.
The struggle against Nazi forces in Italy continued month after month
in the campaigns at the foothold of the Allied troops not far from Rome
in the region ofAnzio and in central Italy. Many emergency problems
arose in the combat zones, and my mission gave such help as it could
in meeting them. A number came from the difficulties of distinguishing
true fact from false in confusing reports. Sometimes religious buildings
were used by the enemy and so made military objectives. Our own forces
on occasion requisitioned religious property during the battles. The risk
was always present that, despite all cart, bombs would strike Vatican
City, as happened three times, happily with but minor damage. Beyond
these were problems of arrangements to assure civil order and to meet
medical and other relief needs in Ijiome and elsewhere as German forces
were drwen back.

During the winter, Soviet forces continued to regain vast areas lost
earlier. They entered the land of pre-war Poland at the turn of the year
and broke into Rumania in the spring of 1944- In the Pacific, Japanese
forces were attacked and overwhelmed in island after island, and by May

86

American forces were at Biak Island, goo miles from fat Philippines.

No less favorable advances were made in United Nations collabor*
ation for peace, beginning with the Declaration of Moscow in October
1943 in which the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union and
China pledged the continuance of their cooperation in the establishment
of the peace. Various decisions were made as to the treatment to be ac*
corded Germany and Japan immediately after their surrender. A United
Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was being estab'
lished, and steps toward permanent international organizations were
being taken infields such as food and agriculture, monetary stabilization,
investment and development, and civil aviation. Moreover, the four
major nations fighting the Axis were preparing to formulate at Duw
barton Oaks their proposals for a general world organization to main*
tain international peace and security.

By summer 1944, the cause of the United Nations, both in the war
and toward the use of victory for the highest constructive purposes, en*
joyed a most hopeful prospect.

Rome, fortunately not damaged extensively, was liberated on June
4, i<)44, and the battles in Italy moved northward. Two days later Allied
forces successfully landed in France and swept irresistibly onward to
liberate Western Europe. "Yet the issue of the titanic struggle in all its
theaters in Europe and in the Far East, certain though it appeared, res
mained far from final decision, and excepting the cooperation among the
major nations already pledged, the basic problems of future world peace
remained to be solved by necessary agreements and action. M.C.T.

87

XVII

Letter from His Holiness to President Roosevelt

MAY 1 8, 1943

Your Excellency,

Almost four years have now passed since, in the name of the
God the Father of all and with the utmost earnestness at Our
command, We appealed (August 24, 1939) to the responsible
leaders of peoples to hold back the threatening avalanche of in'
ternational strife and to settle their differences in the calm, serene
atmosphere of mutual understanding. "Nothing was to be lost
by peace; everything might be lost by war/* And when the
awful powers of destruction broke loose and swept over a large
part of Europe, though Our Apostolic Office places Us above
and beyond all participation in armed conflicts, We did not
fail to do what We could to keep out of the war nations not yet
involved and to mitigate as far as possible for millions of inno'
cent men, women and children, defenceless against the circum^
stances in which they have to live, the sorrows and sufferings
that would inevitably follow along the constantly widening
swath of desolation and death cut by the machines of modern
warfare.

The succeeding years unfortunately have seen heartrending
tragedies increase and multiply; yet We have not for that reason,
as Our conscience bears witness, given over Our hopes and
Our efforts in behalf of the afflicted members of the great human
family everywhere. And as the Episcopal See of the Popes is
Rome, from where through these long centuries they have ruled
the flock entrusted to them by the divine Shepherd of souls, it
is natural that amid all the vicissitudes of their complex and
chequered history the faithful of Italy should feel themselves

39

bound by more than ordinary ties to this Holy See, and have
learned to look to it for protection and comfort especially in
hours of crisis.

In such an hour today their pleading voices reach Us
carried on their steady confidence that they will not go un/
answered. Fathers and mothers, old and young every day are
appealing for Our help; and We, whose paternal heart beats
in unison with the sufferings and sorrows of all mankind,
cannot but respond with the deepest feelings of Our soul to
such insistent prayers, lest the poor and humble shall have
placed their confidence in Us in vain.

And so very sincerely and confidently We address Oiuy
selves to Your Excellency, sure that no one will recognize more
clearly than the Chief Executive of the great American nation
the voice of humanity that speaks in these appeals to Us, and
the affection of a father that inspires Our response.

The assurance given to Us in 1941 by Your Excellency's
esteemed Ambassador Mr. Myron Taylor and spontaneously
repeated by him in 1942 that "America has no hatred of the
Italian people" gives Us confidence that they will be treated
with consideration and understanding; and if they have had to
mourn the untimely death of dear ones, they will yet in their
present circumstances be spared as far as possible further pain
and devastation, and their many treasured shrines of Religion
and Art, precious heritage not of one people but of all human
and Christian civilization will be saved from irreparable ruin.
This is a hope and prayer very dear to Our paternal heart, and
We have thought that its realization could not be more effec^
tively ensured than by expressing it very simply to Your
Excellency.

With heartfelt prayer We beg God's blessings on Your
Excellency and the people of the United States.

From the Vatican, PIUS PP. XII

May 19, 1943-

90

XVIII

Reply of President Koosevelt to His Holiness

JUNE 16, 1943

Your Holiness:

The communication of May 19, 1943 from Your Holiness
setting forth in eloquent language the deep feelings of emotion
with which Your Holiness views the devastating effects of war
on Italy strikes a very responsive chord in my heart. No one
appreciates more than I the ceaseless efforts of Your Holiness
to prevent the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939 and subse'
quently to limit its contagion. Your Holiness is familiar with
the repeated efforts which were made in 1940 by this Govern'
ment, and by many elements within the United States to deter
the Chief of the Italian Government from plunging his country
and countrymen into a ruinous war whose outcome, I reminded
him even at that time, could only prove disastrous.

The sympathetic response of Your Holiness to the many
appeals of the Italian people on behalf of their country is under'
stood and appreciated by me. May I say that Americans are
among those who value most the religious shrines and the his'
torical monuments of Italy. However, my countrymen are like'
wise united in their determination to win the war which has
been thrust upon them and for which the present government
of Italy must share its full responsibility. My countrymen and
I deplore the loss of life on both sides which must result and
the destruction of property and resources.

Attacks against Italy are limited, to the extent humanly
possible, to military objectives. We have not and will not make
warfare on civilians or against non'inilitary objectives. In the
event it should be found militarily necessary for Allied planes

to operate over Rome our aviators are thoroughly informed as
to the location of the Vatican and have been specifically in^
structed to prevent bombs from falling within the Vatican
City. This may be an opportune time to warn Your Holiness
that I have no reason to feel assured that Axis planes would
not make an opportunity to bomb Vatican City with the pur^
pose of charging Allied planes with the outrages they them-'
selves had committed.

My country has no choice but to prosecute the war with all
force against the enemy until every resistance has been over'
come. Your Holiness will understand, I am confident, that in
this struggle for human liberty no exception can be made to
the full prosecution of the war against any legitimate military
enemy objective. Any other course would only delay the ful^
fillment of that desire in which Your Holiness and the govern^
ments and peoples of the United Nations and I believe the
people of Italy likewise are joined the return of peace on
earth.

Believe me, with the assurances of my highest regard,

Yours very sincerely,
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

XIX

Message from President Roosevelt to His Holiness

[TELEGRAM] JULY 10, 1943

His Holiness Pope Pius XII

Vatican City

Your Holiness:

By the time this message reaches Your Holiness a landing force
by American and British troops will have taken place on
Italian soil. The soldiers of the United Nations have come to
rid Italy of Fascism and of its unhappy symbols and to drive
out the Nazi oppressors who are infesting her.

There is no need for me to reaffirm that respect for religious
beliefs and for the free exercise of religious worship is funda^
mental to our ideas. Churches and religious institutions will,
to the extent that it is within our power, be spared the devastax
tions of war during the struggle ahead. Throughout the period
of operations the neutral status of the Vatican City as well as
of the Papal domains throughout Italy will be respected.

I look forward as does Your Holiness to that bright day
when the Peace of God returns totheworld. Weare 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. On that day we will joyfully turn our energies from
the grim duties of war to the fruitful tasks of reconstruction. In
common with all other nations and forces imbued with the
spirit of good will toward men and with the help of Almighty
God we will turn our hearts and our minds to the exacting
task of building a just and enduring peace on earth.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
93

XX

Reply of His Holiness to President Roosevelt

JULY 19, 1943

Your Excellency:

Our Secretary of State acknowledged at once by telegram the
receipt of Your Excellency's message of the tenth instant and
he expressed Our grateful appreciation of the assurances given
that "the neutral status of the Vatican City as well as of the
Papal domains throughout Italy will be respected*' during the
military operations ahead.

The neutrality of the Holy See strikes its roots deep in the
very nature of Our Apostolic Ministry, which places Us above
any armed conflict between nations. Yet it is this same God'
given mission to safeguard and defend the eternal, spiritual in'
terests of all men redeemed by Christ that makes Us the more
sensible of human pain and sorrow. The war continues to
multiply these sufferings a hundred/fold for so many millions
of peace-loving, innocent men and women that Our paternal
heart can find no rest except in constant, increasing efforts to
dry the tears of aging mothers, of widows and orphaned chil-
dren, and to hold back by every means at Our disposal the
mounting flood that threatens to bury completely beneath its
raging waters once fair lands of Europe and Asia.

Moved by this strong, insistent love for humankind We
cannot but take this occasion of the message which Your Ex-
cellency has kindly addressed to Us to repeat an appeal made
by Us more than once in these past few years. It is a prayer that
everywhere, as far as humanly possible, the civil populations
be spared the horrors of war; that the homes of God's poor be
not laid in ashes; that the little ones and youth, a nation's hope,

95

be preserved from all harm how Our heart bleeds when We
hear of helpless children made victims of cruel war ; that
churches dedicated to the worship of God and monuments
that enshrine the memory and masterpieces of human genius
be protected from destruction.

We repeat this appeal unwilling to yield to any thought of
its hopelessness, although almost daily We must continue to
deplore the evils against which We pray. And now even in
Rome, parent of western civilization and for well nigh two
thousand years centre of the Catholic world, to which millions,
one may risk the assertion, hundreds of millions of men through'
out the world have recently been turning their anxious gaze.
We have had to witness the harrowing scene of death leaping
from the skies and stalking pitilessly through unsuspecting
homes striking down women and children; and in person We
have visited and with sorrow contemplated the gaping ruins of
that ancient and priceless Papal basilica of St. Lawrence, one
of the most treasured and loved sanctuaries of Romans, espe^
cially close to the heart of all Supreme Pontiffs, and visited with
devotion by pilgrims from all countries of the world. God
knows how much We have suffered from the first days of the
war for the lot of all those cities that have been exposed to aerial
bombardments, especially for those that have been bombed not
for a day, but for weeks and months without respite. But since
divine Providence has placed Us head over the Catholic
Church and Bishop of this city so rich in sacred shrines and
hallowed, immortal memories, We feel it Our duty to voice a
particular prayer and hope that all may recognize that a city,
whose every district, in some districts every street has its irre^
placeable monuments of faith or art and Christian culture,
cannot be attacked without inflicting an incomparable loss on
the patrimony of Religion and Civilization.

Meanwhile the war proceeds at a quickened pace; and as
the peoples of the world are being told to prepare themselves

96

for increasingly destructive battles that will drain the life-blood
of mrny thousands of the armed forces and, to our grief be it
said, of civilians, Our own soul makes ready for a more grievous
ordeal of sorrow and anxiety. But it is with no diminished
hope and confidence that in this very hour We call on God,
Our sole stay and comfort, to hasten the dawn of that day
when His peace will erect the glorious temple builded of living
stones, the nations of the earth, wherein all members of the vast
human family will find tranquillity, security in justice, and
freedom and inspiration to worship their Creator and to love
their fellow-men. It is the day, as Your Excellency says, longed
for by all men of good will. But not all realize that that temple
will stand and endure only if set on the foundation of Christian,
more than mere human charity, not alloyed with vindictive
passion or any elements of hate. Such charity the divine Re-
deemer of mankind proclaimed as His commandment, illus-
trated by His example and sealed with His blood. Through it
men can once again be united as loved and loving children of
their divine Father in heaven. We avail Ourselves of this oc-
casion to renew Our good wishes, while we pray God to pro-
tect Your Person and the people of the United States.

PIUS PP. XII
From the Vatican,
July 19, 1943.

XXI

Letter from His Holiness to President Roosevelt

AUGUST 30, 1943

Your Excellency:

Recent events have naturally focused the world's attention for
the moment on Italy, and much has been said and written on
what policy she would or should now follow for her own best
interests. Too many, We fear, take for granted that she is en'
tirely free to follow the policy of her choice; and We have
wished to express to Your Excellency Our conviction that
this is far from true. Of her desire for peace and to be done with
the war, there can be no doubt; but in the presence of formid^
able forces opposing the actuation or even the official declara^
tion of that desire she finds herself shackled and quite without
the necessary means of defending herself.

If under such circumstances Italy is to be forced still to
bear devastating blows against which she is practically de^
fenceless, We hope and pray that the military leaders will find
it possible to spare innocent civil populations and in particular
churches and religious institutions the ravages of war. Already,
We must recount with deep sorrow and regret, these figure
very prominently among the ruins of Italy's most populous
and important cities. But the message of assurance addressed
to Us by Your Excellency sustains Our hope, even in the face
of bitter experience, that God's temples and the homes erected
by Christian charity for the poor and sick and abandoned
members of Christ's flock may survive the terrible onslaught.
May God in His merciful pity and love hearken to the univer^
sal cry of His children and let them hear once more the voice of
Christ say: Peace!

99

We are happy of this occasion to renew the expression of
Our sincere good wishes to Your Excellency.

PIUS PP. XII

From the Vatican.
August 30, 1943

100

Toward "True and Enduring Peace"

EXPLANATORY NOTE

For nearly two years after September, 1942, a further visit to Rome
bad been prevented by the opposition of Mussolini. When the Allied
forces freed Rome, President Roosevelt desired me to renew discussions
with the Pope at once. In answer to the Presidents telegram of inquiry
and greeting, the Pope immediately extended His welcome (Messages
Nos. XXII and XXIII). I was received June 21, 1944, in the fast of
many audiences during a visit lasting until victory was won in Europe.

Exchanges of views were desired on several major subjects, of which
the necessity of continuing hostilities until Germany surrendered un*
conditionally was the fast. The American view was explained as pre*
eluding the negotiation of any armistice with Germany. Absolute defeat
of German forces on German soil was vital not only for victory hut for
a lasting change of heart on the part of the German people with regard
to militarism and aggressive expansion. In contrast to Italy, in which a
functioning government freely repudiating Fascism had existed at the
time of surrender, no government would exist in Germany of a character
warranting recognition by the United Nations for the purpose ofdis*
cussing conditions of armistice. There would be no negotiation ofsw
render terms.

Any reports questioning whether the American people bad hen
entertaining any other views on this matter lacked substance in fact.
Any approaches on the part of the Nazi rulers of Germany toward
seeking settlement of the war short of unconditional surrender would
equally lack foundation in realistic facts and would have no bearing.
Individuals guilty of war crimes would be held accountable. However,
the objectives of the United States after victory envisaged progressive
advancement of the German people to self-government and a peaceful
and satisfying life. The nations which were to have the responsibilities
conferred by the surrender were obligated to discharge them together.

His Holiness, while maintaining the neutrality and impartiality

103

constantly followed by the Holy See regarding civil antagonisms be*
tween states, appreciated the consideration that had ken given to the
long range aspects of these matters. He expressed great pleasure that no
vindictive motives were present in the views of the United States. Al'
though individual leaders were accountable to just punishment for
wrongful actions, His paternal affection extended to all peoples, and the
welfare of the German people must be protected and assured, as must
also be the welfare of other peoples, in the interest of moral and peaceful
relations permanently among men and peoples everywhere. He believed
that the solution of all postwar problems must be considered parties
larly in the light of the principle of the unity of mankind and of the
family of peoples. Accordingly, apart from any controversial questions
involved. He was pleased that the United States contemplated that
Germany, as other enemy states, after demonstrating the intention to he
peace-loving, might he associated with the community of nations in
maintaining peace and security.

Discussion of organized international cooperation to keep peace in
the future was the second subject, and necessarily was in the broadest
terms until the views of the major powers had been clarified in the
Dumbarton Oaks Proposals. The President and Secretary Hull had
already suggested, however, many essential features of a desirable inter*
national organization to maintain peace and security and to promote the
conditions of stability and of well-being necessary for peaceful and
friendly relations. The President hoped that creation of such an inter-
national organization during the war, by guaranteeing security in the
future for all nations, would solve or help to solve many problems left
by the war, and aid in hastening reconstruction.

The Pope expressed His desire to encourage any project which gave
firm promise of the furtherance of a just and enduring peace by being
founded on international agreement andon the moral law. American views
as so far developed concorded with His own in basic respects, including
the necessity that peace be supported by armed power. He emphasized,
as in His subsequent Christmas address, that peace required a return to
belief in the solidarity of all peoples. It also required full recognition of

104

the equal right of sovereignty among member states, mutual guarantees,
and assurance of justice whenever sanction had to be employed.

While these discussions were proceeding. His Holiness was making
all possible effort to succor the refugees who had survived the period of
Nazi control in Italy or who could be assisted in other lands. The
President referred specially to this in his message of August 3, 1944
(Message No.XXIV). The reply ofthePope (Message No. XXV)
reflected the comfort He found in the Presidents realization of the dffi'
culties and hardships which beset all peoples in or near the scenes of
combat and of His resulting concerns and problems.

These concerns and problems relatedj aside from those above, to re*
ligious freedom, to stability and order after hostilities, and to relief.

Delay in the coming of the time when full and unrestricted right to
worship God as conscience dictated would be respected in all countries
continued to urge His Holiness to explore every possibiUtity of cons
structive steps to that end. He especially felt that, following the social
and economic distress, the breakdown of human standards, and the dis*
organization consequent from prolonged war, doctrines of communistic
character might impede the respect for freedom of religion, a human right
fundamental to a peaceful and enduring world order. When in due course
the purposes embodied in the Charter of the United Nations included
the promotion of respect for human rights and for fundamental frees
domsfor all without distinction as to religion, progress toward this
great goal was substantially advanced.

Seeking to encourage the taking of measures of foresight toward
assuring stability and order in the many countries confronting serious
dislocation after their ordeal of war, He hoped that the United States
would participate with other United Nations so long as necessary in
assisting Italy and the other countries until stable governments express '
ing the will of the people could be constituted. In response, assurance
was extended on the President's behalf that the United States intended
to give appropriate assistance to that end.

The relief needs of the millions of displaced peoples, prisoners of
war, men and women engaged in forced labor away from their home

105

lands, and civilian internees in all parts of Europe were matters of deep
feeling to His Holiness , and of tireless activity. To these were added
the great temporary needs of liberated peoples for medicines and foods and
other essential supplies to maintain health. In Italy this problem had
hen increasing steadily beyond the probable capabilities of UNR.RA,
then still organizing and unable to help for many months. Almost all
of the need had to be met otherwise. Consequently, American Relief
for Italy was organized in April 1944, at the President's request, to
send materials and supplies voluntarily given by the American people
for distribution free to those in need.

To distribute these supplies, the resources of the Italian Govern*
ment, the Italian Red Cross and organized Labor, with the active co*
operation of the Vatican at all times, were temporarily combined in a
National Agency for the Distribution of Relief in Italy. This collabs
oration proved so effective that it became the basis subsequently for per*
manent welfare organization in Italy. President Roosevelt could an*
nounce in this same autumn, when speaking of American relief assis*
tance as an influential factor in enabling the Italian people to throw their
full resources into the war against Germany and Japan, that the Italian
people were already making significant contributions toward the defeat
of the enemy and the attainment of the aims of the United Nations.

During these autumn months of 1944, the advance of the United
Nations on the long hard road to victory proceeded step by step. In
August, Paris and Marseilles were freed and in September, Brussels
and Luxembourg. At the same time Finland and Rumania accepted
armistices, followed shortly by Bulgaria. On September 14, Allied
forces crossed into German territory. In the Pacific the liberation of the
Philippine Islands was begun.

At home, in an electoral campaign marked by nonspartisanship
concerning the crucial problems of America's world relations, Franklin
D. Roosevelt was re-elected for a fourth term. A message of best
wishes and prayer for Divine help to him was at once sent by His
Holiness (Message No. XXVI). The response of the President
(Message No. XXVII) expressed Us dedication to the responsibility

106

which the American people had continued to entrust to him toward
Winging about a better world.

These were the last messages exchanged between His Holiness and
President Roosevelt. M.C.T.

107

XXII

Message from the President to His Holiness

[TELEGRAM] JUNE 14, 1944

His Holiness Pope Pius XII
Vatican City

As the onmarch of freedom flung open the gates of Rome, one
of my first thoughts was to send back to Your Holiness my
trusted representative, Mr. Myron Taylor. I am sure that Your
Holiness will welcome him as in the past, knowing that he
brings with him not only my personal greetings but also the
prayers of the people of the United States for a swift end to this
tragic conflict and their resolve to help build a friendly world
in which men may live in peace and righteousness.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

109

XXIII

Message from His Holiness to President Roosevelt

[TELEGRAM] JUNE 19, 1944

Your Excellency:

We shall very happily welcome once again your esteemed rep'
resentative, His Excellency Mr. Myron Taylor, and from this
moment We thank Your Excellency for your kind greetings
which We are glad to reciprocate. With Our heart profoundly
distressed by this appalling tragedy which covers the world
with blood and ruin We raise Our fervent prayers to Almighty
God beseeching him to hasten the hour of true and durable
peace, which will unite all men as brothers in justice and

charity.

PIUS PP. XII

XXIV

Message for His Holiness Conveyed In Instruction
from President Roosevelt to Mr. Taylor

AUGUST 3, 1944

Dear Myron:

Please be good enough to convey to His Holiness my warm
personal regards and the assurance of my desire to cooperate
with Him as fully as possible in all matters of mutual concern
and interest. I should like you to take the occasion to express to
His Holiness my deeplyfelt appreciation of the frequent action
which the Holy See has taken on its own initiative in its gen'
erous and merciful efforts to render assistance to the victims of
racial and religious persecutions.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

113

XXV

Reply of His Holiness to President Roosevelt
through Mr. Taylor

AUGUST 7, 1944

Your Excellency:

We are deeply appreciative of your cordial comforting message.
We pray that soon in God's providence peace with justice will
come to our heart-broken world, that Christian civilization
will be preserved as the basis and incentive of worlds-order, and
that love of God and neighbor will be thegoverningprinciples
both of nations and of men. We are asking Mr. Taylor who is
always most considerate to tell you of some of Our concerns
and problems. With heartfelt prayer We beg God's blessings
on Your Excellency and the people of the United States.

PIUS PP. XII

XXVI

Message from His Holiness to President Roosevelt

[TELEGRAM] NOVEMBER 9, 1944

His Excellency Franklin D. Roosevelt
President of the United States of America
Washington, D. C.

We extend to Your Excellency Our heartfelt congratulations
on your re/election as President of the United States, assuring
you of Our best wishes for your well-being and success and of
Our earnest prayer that Almighty God may aid you in the
discharge of your high responsibilities.

PIUS PP. XII

117

XXVII

Message from President Koosevelt to His Holiness

[TELEGRAM] NOVEMBER 17, 1944

His Holiness Pope Pius XII
Vatican City

I deeply appreciate the good wishes of Your Holiness for the
successful prosecution of the grave tasks entrusted to me by the
American people who are resolved with God's help to do all
they can to bring about a better world for all.

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

The Death of tie President

EXPLANATORY NOTE

As the tremendous decisions required in concluding the war and in deter*
mining the lasic lines of action as to postwar transition and the inter*
national organization to maintain peace and security pressed upon the
Presidents attention, bis health progressively weakened. While the
victory for which he had striven so mightily approached nearer week by
week, it was painfully apparent that the awful strain was exacting an
intolerable personal toll from him. Yet, not sparing himself, despite
medical warning, he carried through the extraordinary burdens of the
conference in the Crimea during February, 194$, with Prime Minister
Winston Churchill and Premier Josef Stalin, and met the increasing
demands upon his strength in the weeks at home afterward.

The President had all but finished the "grim duties of war" by the
beginning of April German forces would surrender unconditionally
in Europe within a month. Complete victory would be won in the
Pacific within four months. The duties of war settlement and fecon*
struction by specific understandings and agreed cooperative action among
the victor powers, and of the founding of the world's peace by the United
Nations that had fought for the common victory, were the unfinished
tasks. The first conference of all the United Nations, large and small,
to prepare the Charter of the new international organization to main*
tain their, and the world's, peace and security was about to convene in
San Francisco.

The decisive years of the war were ending; those of the peace were
beginning. Here death came, on the afternoon of April 12, 194$.

The innumerable millions of men and women in Us own and in
other lands, who had responded to his magnificent leadership in the de*
fense of the values and ideals of democracy and the way of peaceful life,
felt in a personal sense the loss of a friend. It was with the deepest sor*
row that His Holiness received the news. The following day, voicing
His poignant grief over the passing of a Moved friend, He sent to Presi'
dent Harry S. Truman and to Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt the messages
which conclude this correspondence. M.C.T.

123

XXVIII
Message from His Holiness to President Harry S.Truman

[TELEGRAM] APRIL 13, 1945

His Excellency Harry S. Truman
President of the United States of America
Washington, D. C.

The unexpected and sorrowful word of the passing of the
President brings to Our heart a profound sense of grief born of
the high esteem in which We held this renowned Statesman
and of the friendly relations which he fostered and maintained
with Us and with the Holy See.

To the expression of Our condolences We join the assur-*
ance of Our prayers for the entire American people and for
their new President to whom We extend Our fervent good
wishes that his labors may be efficacious in leading the Nations
at war to an early peace that will be just and Christian.

PIUS PP. XII

125

XXIX
Message from His Holiness to Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

[TELEGRAM] APRIL 13, 1945

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt
The White House,
Washington, D. C.

In this your hour of greatest sorrow We hasten to convey to
you the expression of Our profound sympathy and condolence
and invoke for you and the members of your bereaved family
the consolation of abounding heavenly comfort.

. PIUS PP. XII

127