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Show Pope PiusXII, Diplomat and Ecclesiast, Brings Modern Statecraft to Vatican i Unchanged Foreign Policy Expected Under New Pontiff's Reign By JOSEPH W. LaBINE In no living man's memory-had memory-had a pope been chosen in 24 hours. Many years had passed since all 62 cardinals walked into the secret conclave con-clave from which one must emerge supreme pontiff; in less urgent times some of the sacred college might be absent. ab-sent. Most important, not since the resolute monk Hildebrand was elected Pope Gregory VII in 1073 had a papal secretary secre-tary of state become the vicar of Christ. But it was no accident that the Roman Catholic church presented a solid front, or that its college of cardinals acted quickly to choose Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, statesman and ecclesiast, as Pius XII. In a day that demands strong men the church could find none stronger, none better fitted by experience and instinct to carry on with greater emphasis the policies of international interna-tional statecraft which first found expression under the late Pius XI. Since 1929 the new. pope has engineered engi-neered Vatican foreign policy from behind scenes as papal secretary of state. Since 1917, when Benedict XV sent him to war-torn Germany in a vain peace gesture, Eugenio Pacelli has been what any nation but the Vatican would term a "career "ca-reer diplomat." Comes From Vatican Family. Forty years ago Pius XII disregarded disre-garded a century-old family tradition tradi-tion which has made the Pacelli family esteemed memVrK of the old Vatican aristocracy. Bis;, grandfather grand-father was undersecretary .? B interior in-terior from 1851 to 1870. His tather was an attorney at the papal court, as his brother, Francesco, is today. Eugenio Pacelli entered the priesthood, priest-hood, but the statesman in him has shone brightly as the churchman. Since the day he began writing rough letter drafts for papal diplomats diplo-mats in 1889, his life has been that of the state secretariat. Step by step he climbed under the eyes of Cardinal Gasparri, whom he was destined one day to succeed. In 1917 came the appointment as papal nuncio to Germany, a peacemaking peace-making effort which failed, but so impressed the former Kaiser Wil-helm Wil-helm that he devoted a full chapter in his memoirs to the future cardinal cardi-nal and pope. From this first diplomatic diplo-matic role it was but a short step to re-establishment of relations between be-tween the Vatican and Protestant Germany. In 1924 the nuncio's seven-year German mission was climaxed cli-maxed by the famous concordat. Re- if t i 7.. Mr-" ; Pius XII is the first supreme pontiff to have flown. Above photo teas taken as he stepped from an airliner at Burbank, Calif., in 1936. hi! A H A Mr t I & - II II: I ;? - 1 k"- ! If l: I IE' I j;r J h . : j - I 1 I il if" 2'C 1 'I h i h if i 1 11 i THE POPE IN AMERICA Pope Pius XII, neic head of the Roman Catholic church, when, as Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, he spoke at Catholic University in Washington during his visit in 1936. turning to Rome, Pacelli was honored hon-ored by elevation to the college of cardinals. The subsequent years have been far from happy for the Vatican or its chief diplomat. Early in 1929 the Lateran agreement with Italy allowed Pius XI to end his voluntary volun-tary exile in Vatican City. Since then old treaties have been renewed with Austria, Germany and Yugoslavia, Yugo-slavia, while Rumania signed a new pact. And though Cardinal Pacelli could take heart from these accomplishments, accom-plishments, he must have frowned over less happy developments which placed the Catholic church diametrically diamet-rically opposite the anti-Christ spectres spec-tres of totalitarianism. Under Adolf Hitler the church has suffered first in Germany and later in Austria. In both Italy and Germany Ger-many there have arisen neo-pagan-ism movements for "racial purification" purifi-cation" and persecution of minorities. minori-ties. Mexico's religious foundations have been rocked, and the Spanish civil war came in the eyes of 350,-000,000 350,-000,000 Catholics closer than any since the crusades to being a holy war. Changed Attitude Seen. This was initiation under fire, but the cardinal rose to his task. So well, in fact, that democracies which had long frowned on the Vatican's "interference" now discovered dis-covered a strong ally for the inevitable inevita-ble showdown with dictators. Typical Typi-cal was the reaction in Protestant England, where for 500 years the pope has been something to fear. But the election of Pius XII brought editorial praise for "the wisdom of the sacred college." No nation can claim the Vatican's political support against another nation, na-tion, but the spiritual influence of Catholic upon Catholic, as voiced through the pope, is a potent force in the Twentieth century battle between be-tween Christianity and paganism. England cannot forget this, nor has Hitler forgotten it, if we may believe be-lieve his reported comment on the new pope several years ago: "It isn't the pope (then Pius XI) who is making all the trouble for Germany. He is too old and sick to busy himself him-self with such affairs. It is Cardinal Pacelli, it is Cardinal Facelli!" There is still another lesson in the choice of a papal diplomat. One of the Catholic church's proudest stories concerns the aforementioned monk Hildebrand, last secretary of state to become pope. As Gregory VII he, too, had trouble with a German; Ger-man; ruler. The last pope who felt he must obtain imperial ratification for his election, Gregory was blocked by Germany's Emperor Henry IV. Gregory had demanded that. -Henry cease dictatorial rule over the Catholic church in Germany. Ger-many. Henry replied by summoning summon-ing several high German prelates and declaring Gregory deposed. Emperor Finally Absolved. This , game ended when Gregory publicly absolved Henry's subjects of allegiance to him. The climax came when Gregory, stopping at the castle of Canossa on his trip northward north-ward into Germany, kept Henry waiting barefoot in the snow for three days, dressed as a penitent. Finally he granted absolution and Henry's authority was restored. Rome and Berlin may not be led to Canossa by Pius XII, but this modern counterpart of Gregory VII includes both Italy and Germany among his problems. A pope's chief duty, naturally, is to maintain the Catholic religion where it already has root, and to evangelize it in new lands. But this is an age where extraordinary duties sometimes seem more vital at the moment. Catholics and Protestants alike recognize rec-ognize their need for a united Christian Chris-tian front against political doctrines which they believe are working to place mankind's every action and thought under state domination. That is why Pius XII will be a popular pop-ular pope, especially among democracies. democ-racies. Whereas Pius XI described himself him-self as a "library mouse," the new pontiff has led a more worldly life. As cardinal legate he traveled through the United Spates and South America. On the latter trip he did penitence for the honors heaped on his shoulders by removing the soft mattress from his bed and sleeping on the blanket-covered springs. New Pope Popular Here. On his trip to the United States he crossed the continent by air; he thereby becomes the first pope to have flown. At that time the new pontiff lunched with President Roosevelt and "his truly American family." So far as is known; no previous pope has visited this country, coun-try, and this coupled with the recent re-cent date of his visit makes him especially popular here. There is good reason to believe it may lead the United States to send a minister to the Vatican. Already there are conciliatory signs in the air as Germany and Italy begin recognizing the new pontiff's pon-tiff's vigor. This is especially marked in Italy, where even the mighty Premier Mussolini dares not Count open defiance of the Catholic church in a strongly Catholic country. coun-try. But while Italy attempts to make ' the most of Cardinal Pacelli's clec- tion. which was openly opposed by j II Te'.cgrafo. the newspaper of For- ! eign Minister Count Ciano. Germany : i has pursued a policy of watchful j . waiting- : V""scrn Ncw3p .per L"r..on. j |