Show UlfQ® f0:i n m4 'V vS? c awe Vmb 9 da Documents point finger at Catholics By WILLIAM BOLE News Service Hckgous WASHINGTON — American olTicials in Rome advised against apprehending a notorious war criminal after World War II because of his contacts at the Vatican according to newly discovered US government documents The documents allege that Ante Pavclic leader of the fallen Nazi puppet state of Croatia was given places to hide and aided in his escape to Argentina by various segments of the church in Rome with the of Vatican officials knowledge "The US intelligence personnel in electing not to take action against Pavclic the papers say bowed to the wishes of the Vatican The allegations are contained in intelligence reports retrieved from the National Archives in Washington and Ft Md which stores Meade intelligence files The documents were obtained by former US Justice Department prosecutor John Loftus who released them to Religious News Service According to the reports filed by the US Army's Counter Intelligence Corps from 1945 to 1950 Pavclic and other top officials of his Nazi collaborationist government escaped to South America with the help of the Vatican The documents allege that Pevclic's contact with the church went as high as the Vatican's Secretariat of State "Pavclic's contacts arc so high and his present position is so compromising to the Vatican that any extradition of Subject (Pavclic) would deal a staggering blow to the Roman Catholic Church" says a Sept 12 1947 memorandum signed by three agents of the US Army's Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) detachment in Rome The report by the CIC which w as the chief American unit in charge of finding accused war criminals said the Vatican held that Pavelic could not possibly receive a fair trial in Yugoslavia which had been ruled by the Croatian government during the Second World War The agents recommended that the Vatican "views of Pavelic be appreciated and that no direct police action be taken against him" The authenticity of this report as well as others which originated in the Army unit in Rome were confirmed by the 6 Church News Ogdan freedom of Information Office of the US Intelligence Security Command at Ft Meade The documents shed new light on allegations which have surfaced in the past that the Catholic Church helped accused war criminals escape from Europe While previous revelations have centered primarily on the activities of priests in Rome the new documents detail the US government's assessment of the Vatican's role in the operations One Army CIC document which was in contact with Msgr Giovonni Battista Montini the Vatican's Under Secretary' of state Msgr Montini went on to become Pope Paul VI The document dated May 10 1946 cited "a serious confidential source" as reporting that Pavclic "is hidden in Rome in a building over which the Vatican state has jurisdiction He maintains frequent secret relations with Montini Under Secretary of State of the Holy See" or the first time we have a clear picture of the role of the Vatican in Nazi smuggling They (Croatian officials) could not have done it without the Vatican — John Loftus Although the reports make repeated references to what US agents viewed as Vatican help to fleeing Croatians was criminals only once — in the mention of Msgr Montini — is there any reference to a particular figure among Vatican officials According to the reports obtained by Loftus the Holy See intervened several times in behalf of former Croatian government officials who were being held by allied authorities and were wanted by Yugoslavia A cable from the American embassy in Rome states that the Secretariat of State acting in behalf of Pope Pius XII vouched for the character of several Croatian government officials urged that they not be repatriated to Yugoslavia Asked to comment on the latest findings Joaquin Navarro Vails Chief Vatican spokesman would say only that the "answer would be in the archives of the Secretariat (of State) since it is a question regarding history" he said "I don't think anyone working in the Secretariat of State was around then" In the past church officials have argued that even if some priests aided in the emigration of accused w ar criminals there is no evidence that they acted with the approval or knowledge of the Vatican Church officials have also pointed out that the Vatican helped thousands of legitimate refugees including Jews after the war These documents confirm and expand on points outlined in a 947 State Department report discovered three years ago by Charles Allen a historian of the Holocaust The report which renewed debate over the reported connections between the Vatican and wanted war criminals asserted that scores of fugitives made their way to South America through escape routes operated by Vatican clergy The document prepared by former US Foreign Service Officer Vincent La Vista stated that among those helped by the Vatican were former SS Colonel Walter Rauff wanted for the mass gassing of Jews and Klaus Barbie known as the "Butcher of Lyon" The latest documents obtained by Loftus offer details on the much disputed question of how high in the Vatican's ranks there was knowledge of the illegal emigration The documents also reveal for the first time what the US believed to be the church's role in the escape of leaders of the Pavelic government widely considered to have overseen some of the worst war crimes during World War II Pavclic is listed in the files as topping a list of alleged war criminals who the allies had fora mally agreed to return to He is purported to have been responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths during the Nazi occupation "For the first time we have a clear picture of the role of the Vatican in Nazi smuggling" said Loftus a Roman Catholic who serves as a prosecutor in the Office of Special Investigations the Justice Department's Nazi hunting unit from 1979 to 1982 "They (the Croatian government officials) could not have done it without the Vatican" According to the documents the main connection for the former officials of Pavclic's party was the Croatian clergy at the Vatican and in particular the Rev Kxunoslav ii: n it i f - Inmates wander the infill Dergen-Belse- " 'if concentration camp |