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The Vatican's
Ostpolitik
-
policy
toward Eastern Europe- has obviously
changed very drastically. So has Com–
munist thinking about Rome and its
"opiate." In actual fact, the recent
moves are not at all surprising, as vet–
eran observers are quick to point out.
They are simply the latest moves in the
globe-wide and millennia-long chess
game of world politics.
The term "Vatican politics" might
sound incongruous. Most people think
of the Vatican as only an ecclesiastical
establishment. This is especially true of
Americans, who have historical tradi–
tions of the separation of church aod
state.
But the Vatican is not just Church -
it is also
State.
In fact, Vatican City is
geographically the srnallest state or
nation in the world, occupying an area
of only 109 acres, with a population of
about 1000. Nevertheless, it sends and
receives envoys and ambassadors as any
other sovereign nation. In fact, for sev–
era! centuries, the Vatican controlled a
vast territory - the Papal States, which
included the city of Rome and other
lands in central Italy. All these were
lost by 1870.
Vatican Co-existence Probes
The Vatican is willing (for various
reasons, including its lack of mllitary
strength) to cooperate with any secular
government tbat will reciprocate. The
semi-official newspaper of the Vatican,
L'Osservatore Romano,
once com–
mented, "Tbe Holy See deals with $tates
as such to guarantee the rights and free–
dom of the Church, without regard to
aoy other consideration and appraisal."
This same article observed tbat people
have the freedom to choose the form of
goveroment which they believe to be
best.
Therefore, if it appears that the Vati–
can has not cooperated with the East, it
is because the East has not cooperated
with the Vatican! In fact, the U.S.S.R.
and the Vatican
did carry
on mutual
collaboration soon after the Bolshevik
takeover.
Pope Benedict XV organized a relief
program to help the Russians during
the 1921 famine. Pius XI, who came
into office in 1922, continued the ef–
forts, which included trying to establish
The
PLAIN TRUTH
contacts with the U.S.S.R. Just a few
days after the Pope's coronation, a
cardinal declared on behalf of the
Church at the start of an international
conference in Genoa:
"The ultimate principies of the
Church imply
no objection
on its part
against a Commuoist forrn of govern–
ment. . .. The Church merely demands
that the organization of the state, what–
ever oature it may be, must not interfere
with the freedom of religious w_orship,
nor with the freedom of the priests to
discharge the functions of their office."
So even a half century ago, the Cath–
olic Church dedared its willingness to
work with Communist goveroments, if
they would only al low religious free–
dom. Ooly the recalcitrance of tbe Com–
munists prevented this. In spite of the
Kremlin's brusque treat.ment, the Vati–
can has periodically attempted to ap–
proach various Communist nations in
Eastern Europe.
lron Curtain Rel igious
Oppression
The Vatican has good reason to be
concerned about Eastern Europe. Over
10 percent of the Catholics in the world
are behind the lron Curtain. One estí–
mate puts the present total number at
60 million. At the time of the Russian
Revolution, there were only about 4 to 6
million Roman Catholics in Russia (the
predominant religion was Russian Or–
thodox). But in other Eastern countries
taken over by Communism, a gteat
number of Catholics naturally carne
under persecution. There were an esti–
mated 20 million Catholics in Poland
befare its partition; Hungary and
Czechoslovaki a together had
15
million
more Catholics.
Another calculation put the total
number of Catholics, at the beginning
of Communist rule, around 45 million.
If
this figure is corred, one out of eight
Catholics went behind the Iron Curtain
(many of those have since been killed
in "purges" or "persuaded" to give up
their religion.
With such an enormous number of
Catholics, former Catholics and poten–
tia! Catholics under Moscow's in–
fluence, it is no wonder that Rome is
interested in Eastern Europe. It has a
vital interest at stake in the area.
Prestige for the Pope as
Peacemaker
So one of the prime reasons fot rap–
prochement attempts by the Vatican is
obvious: freedom for Catholics to prac–
tice their religion without interference.
But many observers consider that pur–
pose
.recondary
to the expansion of
Vatican influence in world politics.
Like aH política! and religious orga–
nizations, the Vatican wants
pacem in
terram
-
peace on earth. By such a
quest for peace, it seeks to extend its
influence over secular areas.
Such a campaign would give world
prestige to the Vatican as an inter–
national mediator and peacemaker. It
would establish the Pope as the chief
agent in bringing about worldwide
tranquility. Pope Paul himself recog–
nizes the importance of such a quest.
No other pope has even beguo to match
his unprecedented travels. For example,
Pope Paul has gone to Jerusalem, India,
Constantinople, the U.N. and Geneva.
All these trips have certainly cr.eated an
image of the Pope as a seeker of peace
among the nations of the earth.
One of the biggest roles desired by