Pastoral Letter of Cardinal Seredi 29 June 1944

The origins of the June Pastoral Letter, referred to in ADSS 10.265,  lie in the increasing awareness among the Hungarian bishops as to the true nature of the deportation of the Hungarian Jews from May 1944.  More and more accounts of bestial and inhumane treatment of Jews from outside Hungary were now replicated from within Hungary.  The Catholic bishops could no longer avoid the reality of anti-Jewish persecution.  Many of them had acquiesced or tacitly supported the raft of anti-Jewish legislation passed in Hungary since 1938 even though some had raised some protest over the treatment of converted Jews. 

Sometime in June 1944 the document known as “The Auschwitz Protocol” arrived in Budapest via Switzerland and a copy was passed on to the Regent, Admiral Miklos Horthy.  The Regent passed on the information to Seredi.  The Primate had been under pressure from a number of bishops, especially Vilmos Apor and Endre Hamvas.  In addition the Cardinal was also under growing pressure from the Vatican, via Angelo Rotta, the nuncio, to act in a decisive and uncompromising statement condemning the persecution and deportation of the Jews.

The letter, “Successor to the Apostles” was distributed to the dioceses of Hungary, but government agents seized the 700 copies intended for the Archdiocese of Esztergom. The Minister of Justice, Istvan Antal, approached Seredi pleading with him to cancel the letter.  Seredi agreed to do so on condition that the Prime Minister, Dome Sztojay, write to him assuring him that the government would suspend deportations and make the “Jewish Question” a purely internal Hungarian issue.  Upon receipt of Sztojay’s letter on 8 July, Seredi ordered the pastoral letter be followed by a further pronouncement on 10 July (follows this text).

It would highly unlikely that the nuncio, Angelo Rotta, would not have passed on a copy of the letters to the Vatican.

Pastoral Letter of Cardinal Primate Justinian Seredi

on behalf of the Catholic Bishops of Hungary,

29 June 1944.

"The successors of the Apostles, that is, the visible head of the Church and all other bishops are the promoters and guardians of God's unwritten, natural, laws and of his written, revealed, laws, especially the Ten Commandments. In this country, all through the thousand years of its history, the Church leaders have always protested whenever someone tried to violate those divine laws, and defended the poor, the defenceless and the victims of persecutions. In these fateful times we, the members of the Episcopate, fulfil our duty when in the name of God we protest against the immoral way in which this war is being conducted. In a war which claims to be just, the killing of defenceless civilians, the bombardment of women and children from low-flying aircraft, the maiming of children through explosive toys dropped from the air, are all means of destruction which cannot be condoned, because they are against Christian moral laws.

"Alas, we also have to point out that whilst in this terrible world conflict we are most in need of God's help and, therefore, should avoid every word and deed which could draw God's wrath upon our nation. We have to admit with deep regret that in Christian Hungary successive measures are being taken which violate God's laws. We do not have to go into details of these measures, because you are very much aware of them yourselves... You know that many of your fellow-citizens — among those who share our faith — are being deprived of all human rights only because of their racial origin. Innocent individuals, none of whose guilt has been established by legal procedure, are subjected to humiliation and persecution. You would understand this thoroughly only if you yourselves were subjected to it.

"We, your bishops, always did and always will, keep aloof from party politics and the pursuit of personal gain. We cannot deny that some members of the Jewish community have had a subversive and destructive influence on the Hungarian economic, social and moral life, and fellow Jews made no protest against it. We do not doubt that the Jewish question has to be solved legally and justly. Therefore, we do not object to, but approve of, any necessary and justifiable reforms of the economic structures, which need to be undertaken for the abuses to be remedied. But it would be culpably defaulting on our moral and pastoral obligations if we failed to defend justice and to protect our citizens and our faithful from being abused solely on the ground of their racial origin. Therefore, during the past months we have incessantly tried by the spoken word and in writing to seek justice and to obtain the abolition of the offensive measures being taken against our fellow ­citizens.

"We are grateful for having been successful now and then in obtaining small concessions, but we have to state with sorrow and deep anguish that we did not get what we most insistently asked for: the suspension of the illegal deprivations and deportations. Confident in the Christian, Hungarian and humanitarian sentiments of the members of the Government, we waited patiently, and did not want to give up hope and refused until now to launch an official protest.

"Alas we see that all our efforts and discussions are ineffective on the most important issues. We, therefore, jointly raise our protesting voice and request the authorities to be conscious of their responsibilities before God and our nation, to respect divine law and remedy injustices immediately. The illegal measures they are making not only cause instability and divide the nation at the time of great tension, national calamity and struggle for survival, but turn public opinion of the Christian world against us and — what is most important — bring God's wrath upon us.

"As always we place our confidence in God and ask you, dear faithful people, to pray and act with us to obtain the triumph of Justice and of Christian love. Beware of taking on yourselves the fearful responsibility before God and mankind by approving of, or helping, the execution of the objectionable measures undertaken by the Government. Do not forget that you cannot serve your country's cause by condoning injustice. Pray and work for all our fellow­ citizens and especially for our Catholic brethren, for our Church and for our beloved country."

In the name of the Hungarian Episcopate
+ Justinian Serédi
Cardinal, Prince Primate, Archbishop of Esztergom

Budapest, 29 June 1944.

It is worth noting that while the tone of the letter demands action to stop the deportations, there is an underlying acceptance of the anti-Jewish laws as morally and legally valid.  

David Kertzer Book Panel: The Pope and Mussolini ▬ February 26, 2014

Professors Kevin Madigan, Suzanne Steward-Steinberg  and Kevin Spicer join Professor David Kertzer in a discussion about "The Pope and Mussolini", at the Watson Institute. 

Professor Kertzer opened his presentation with a reference to the February edition of "First Things" and quoted from an article on Pius XI by Filup Mazurczak.  Mazurczak's article is a somewhat "rose-tinted glasses" view of the papacy of Pius XI.  The truth, as Kertzer reminded us, is somewhat more complicated.

At the heart of the book is an extensive examination of the role of the church in keeping Mussolini in power.  It is the stuff of cloak and dagger crime fiction, except it is assuredly historical fact.  Kertzer's 16,000 words of references, notes and archival file numbers dispells any notion of flights of anti-Catholic or anti-papal fantasy.  Kertzer writes history.

One of the many characters who emerge in this story is the Jesuit Pietro Tacchi Venturi, the pope's private messenger to Mussolini.  This man was obsessed with ideas of Jewish plots and, without the pope's knowledge, "kept hectoring Mussolini that he was under threat by the Jews and he better take action against them".  Pius kept Tacchi Venturi because of his access to Il Duce not because of his antisemitic paranoia that was certainly not shared by the pope.  Tacchi Venturi proved himself so useful that Pius XII kept him in his position of unofficial mediator with Mussolini.

By mid-1930s Pius XI had doubts about Mussolini, but he was surrounded by curial officials who were determined to preserve the relationship between the Church and fascist state.  The most disturbing reality that emerges is the Italian government's reliance on the Secretariat of State and, in particular, the Secretary, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli to shape and steer Catholic opinion around the world in a pro-Italian fashion especially after the 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia.

Then there is the sad deal between Mussolini and the pope just before the passing of the first antisemitic laws in Italy.  In return for the silence of the Church over Italy's new anti-Jewish laws of July 1938, the regime would ensure a steady stream of benefits, gifts and privileges.

From the outset Kertzer underscored the importance of "triangulation" of archives in order to corroborate the thousands of documents from the ASV, Italian state archives and other sources.  No fact could be allowed to stand alone; it must be put into its context against other sources.  I interpret this to be David Kertzer's all too familiar experience with the tactics of those who seek, through thinly veiled smear campaigns, to impugn the academic and personal integrity of historians who set about to do their job, and do it well. It is a point that Kevin Madigan also makes.

The presentation of all speakers makes it clear that the historical narrative is far more nuanced and complex than the "official" narrative maintained by the Vatican and elements of restorationist and neo-conservative Catholic groups.  Kertzer's book makes for uncomfortable reading, and so it should.  However, if there is to be an honest and open discussion of the role of the church, the papacy and individuals within the Vatican, the acceptance of a less than perfect history must be the starting point.

At the end what David Kertzer's research has revealed is sadly simple.  Pius XI was a tragic figure, a man with a medieval world view, limited in his ability to respond and deal with the threat and seductive charm of fascism, who came to see too late in his life that he had indeed supped with the devil. 

ADSS 3.2 and the Jews

One of the principal aims of the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 was to destroy the fabric of Polish social, economic, political and religious life.  From the beginning of the war until the moment German forces were forced out by the Red Army, Poles lived under a system of terror that surpassed any other form of Nazi occupation anywhere else in Europe.  Other ethnic / racial / national groups were discriminated against, but only the Poles were singled out for a murderous racial reorganisation that, by war's end, left over six million Polish citizens dead.  Of this figure, half were Polish Jews, who, in the Nazi worldview, were to be murdered without exception.

The Catholic Church in Poland represented the only coherent organisation that remained intact after the German and Soviet invasions.  It comes as no surprise that the Church was an immediate target for both Nazi and Communist persecution.  Throughout ADSS 3.1 and 3.2 the details of the persecution of the Church is set out in stark details.  Because my focus is on what we can learn from ADSS about the Church's growing understanding of the German plans for the Jews of Eastern Europe, I add the following documents to give an appreciation of what the leadership of the Church was dealing with.  Jews were not the most important concern for the Polish bishops; they were battling to keep themselves and their people alive.

Catholic Poland was made up of twenty one Latin or Roman rite dioceses, one Armenian Catholic diocese and one Greek Catholic eparchy.  Under the German occupation many of the dioceses were left without bishops many of whom were forbidden to return to their dioceses.  For Catholics in the Soviet-occupied east of Poland the situation was also fraught with danger, though for the most part, the Soviet occupation was nowhere near as brutal as the Germans.  While some priests were arrested and deported by the NKVD, the Soviet occupation was not in place long enough to destroy Church structures before the June 1941 German invasion.

ADSS 3.2 covers the period 1942-1945 and contains over 250 documents covering most aspects of Church life.  References to Jews are few and far between.  Most comments are indirect and indicate an awareness of the mass murder operations, the presence of ghettos and the camps, the desperation of many Jews to obtain baptismal certificates and the risks taken by those who tried to help.  The language of many of the documents is stark and fearful.  The writers, most of them bishops, do not mince their words at the struggle to stay alive, the barbaric treatment meted out to Poles by the Germans and the engulfing fear that permeated everyday life.  Unintentionally, these texts confirm the awful isolation of the Jews of Poland, Ukraine and the rest of "the East".  Occasionally there are slips that reveal hostility and resentment towards the Jews.  These are relatively rare.

The turning of the war in the east after early 1943 and especially the beginning of the German retreat in the late summer of 1943 sees a marked decrease in the amount of information reaching Rome.  As the Red Army moved westwards contact between bishops and the Holy See was effectively cut off.  In ADSS 3.2.591, a note written in the Secretariat of State observes that information from Poland is very rare and nearly nothing was known of the situation in the dioceses now under Soviet control.




The documents that I will refer to are ADSS 3.2: 406, 413, 443, 444, 448, 477, 497, 507 and 591.

ADSS 3.2.406: 29-31.08.1942: Andrea Szeptyckyj to Pope Pius XII: Description of life in Lwow under the Germans – diabolical.  This document can be found here.

ADSS 3.2.413: 09.09.1942: Notes of Stanislaw Adamski, bishop of Katowice: Summary of the situation in the Polish dioceses. (Translation to follow in the next post.)

ADSS 3.2.443: 18.11.1942: Cardinal Maglione to Cesare Orsenigo: Restrictive measures taken against the church in the Warthegau especially related to adult baptism especially with regard to the Jews. (Translation to follow.)

ADSS 3.2.444: 23.11.1942: Fr Hilary Breitinger, Apostolic Administrator for German Catholics in the Warthegau to Pope Pius XII: Pessimistic report on Catholic life in the Warthegau. Catholics are astonished at the silence of the Pope. (Translation to follow.)

ADSS 3.2.448: 12.12.1942: Antonijs Springovics, bishop of Riga to Pope Pius XII: Report on the religious situation in Latvia with references to the ghetto in Riga – “terrible cruelty”. (Translation to follow.)

ADSS 3.2.477: 15.02.1943: Karol Radonski, bishop of Wloclawek, exiled in London to Cardinal Maglione: Anti-papal criticism encouraged by the Germans in Poland; the pope’s “silence” is hard to understand; papal protest for the Jews of France has not been matched for a protest for the Catholics of Poland.  Are the Poles worth less than the Jews? I have altered the last sentence.  The word "vile" was a misreading of the Latin text  (Translation to follow.)

ADSS 3.2.497: Casimir Papee, Polish ambassador to the Holy See to Cardinal Maglione: Extract from the Zurich Apologetische Blätter which describes the martyrdom of many priests interned in KL Dachau.

ADSS 3.2.507: Cardinal Eugene Tisserant, prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern [Catholic] Churches to Cardinal Maglione: report of the arrest of an Armenian Catholic priest, Diongi Kajetanowicz who had been denounced for supplying a baptismal certificate to a Jew in Warsaw.  The priest denied having acceded to the request.  He was eventually released.

ADSS 3.2.591: 12.02.1945: Notes of the Secretariat of State: news from Poland is rare.

James Felak on Pope Pius XII

There was a very interesting podcast produced on the Research on Religion site on 3 July 2012.  Tony Gill, professor of political science at the University of Washington, has been hosting the podcast since the northern autumn of 2009 and has covered a wide range of topics related to religion in all its expressions.  In this podcast he sits in conversation with James Felak on Pope Pius XII.

James Felak is professor Eastern European history at the University of Washington.  Felak is currently working on a history of the visits to Poland by Pope John Paul II.

I think Felak's discussion of the topic is very good.  He is clearly speaking for a non-specialist audience and is at pains to establish the appropriate historical contexts for Pius.  Gill is also a competent interviewer.  Between both men a fairly responsible and balanced view of Pius XII is reached.  There are some areas that I think could have been explored in greater depth, such as the possible reactions of Hitler to public protests either from the Vatican or other neutral organisations such as the Red Cross. Felak also points out the difficulties surrounding the role of historians with the use and abuse of documentation by both defenders and critics of the pope.  Nonetheless, Felak's examination of the impact of the 1960's anti-authority protests is compelling.

In a broad ranging sweep of issues, Felak comments on the historical contexts from the late 19th century through Italian history, fascism, the nature of the papacy, concordats, before moving into the specific issues surrounding the war and the Holocaust.  He comes out very clearly with the confronting question of "why, if you knew that bad things were happening, did you not speak out clearly?" and then proceeds to answer it.  I will not preempt Professor Felak by revealing his answer. 

The last part of the podcast treated the post-war years of Pius XII's pontificate including his role as a precursor of Vatican II.

The podcast can be accessed here.

Professor James Felak

Professor Tony Gill