In volume 9 of Actes et Documents (pp. 275–277; below), there is a very strong letter of protest, dated May
5, 1943, from the Holy See (Pius XII) to Tiso’s Slovakian government, in which the Vatican explicitly
condemns “the forcible removal of persons belonging to the Jewish race . . . Th e Holy See would fail in its
Divine Mandate if it did not deplore these measures, which gravely damage man in his natural right, merely
for the reason that these people belong to a certain race.” It also lamented the fact that the wartime Slovakian
government considered itself Catholic, when, obviously, it was violating Catholic teaching every day—that
is as strong and direct an appeal on behalf of persecuted Jews by the Vatican that exists during the War, and
it is signifi cant that it was sent to people claiming to be Catholic.
176. Th e Secretariat of State to the Delegation of Slovakia from the Vatican, May 5, 1943
Protests by the Holy See against the anti-Semitic measures of the Slovak government Th e Secretariat of State of
His Holiness considers itself obliged to submit the following for the consideration of the most excellent Delegation
of the Slovak Republic to the Holy See:
By means of communiqué #8355/41, dated November 12, 1941, the Secretariat of State brought to the attention
of the Slovak Delegation the extreme displeasure of the Holy See at the publication, on the part of the Slovak
government, of an “Ordinance” which established a particular piece of “racial” legislation, containing numerous
directives which are openly opposed to Catholic principles, and expressed confi dence that until such time as
the aforesaid Ordinance was revoked and suitably re-drafted, these norms would be interpreted and applied in
such a way and such a manner that they would off end the demands of Catholic consciences to the least degree
possible.
Th e Holy See thus harbored the fi rm hope that the Slovak government, interpreting also the wishes of their people
(who are almost entirely Catholic), would never have proceeded to a forced expulsion/ transfer of people belonging
to the so-called “Jewish race.” It is therefore with real sorrow that the Holy See has learned that transfers of this
type have taken place from the territory of the Republic. Such sorrow has only deepened now since, according
to news received from various places, it would appear that the Slovak government intends to proceed with the
total transfer of the Jews residing in Slovakia, not sparing women and children, and not excluding those who
have professed the Catholic religion. A confi rmation of this could be seen in the speech that the Minister of the
Interior delivered on February 7 in Ruzenberok, in which he seemingly declared that “having proceeded with
the elimination of 80% of the Jews, it will now be necessary to transfer the other 20,000 Jews who remain in
Slovakia.” Such a grave threat places the Secretariat of State in the situation of needing to once again draw the
attention of the Delegation of Slovakia to the issues raised in the aforementioned communiqué, in which—among
other things—it was highlighted that the Catholic Church, since it welcomes into its very bosom persons of
whatever descent, thus looks with motherly concern [“maternal solicitude”] upon the whole of humanity, in
order to arouse and develop among all people sentiments of brotherhood and love, according to the teaching of
the Gospel. Th e Holy See, however, would be less than faithful to its divine mandate if it did not deplore those
directives and measures, which strike a grave blow against people as regards their natural rights, because of the
simple fact of belonging to a specifi ed descent. Above all, the Catholic Church cannot remain indiff erent to the
distressing situation of so many of its children who, having been taken (often violently) far from their own homes,
have been placed in particularly pitiful conditions, and so often are even without the necessary religious assistance,
coming to a point where even their faith is gravely endangered. Th e Holy Se’s sorrow is further heightened when
the previously mentioned measures have taken place in a nation of deep Catholic traditions, and on the part of
a government which has declared itself to be the follower and keeper of those traditions. Nevertheless, the Holy
See does not wish to abandon the hope that the Slovak government intends to review in a timely fashion, and
appropriately modify the “racial” directives which are in force, removing from these whatever is in contradiction
with the principles of natural and divine-positive law, and suspending, in the meantime, the transfers mentioned
above.
Note of Cardinal Maglione:
NB Last Saturday—May 1st—I expressed verbally to the Minister of Slovakia the ideas contained in this draft
communiqué, adding that I would also be writing to him in this regard. Th e Minister told me that he had spoken
about this to his government in recent days, having been obliged to return to his homeland. In the meantime,
he wished to assure me that the provisions which have been threatened by the Minister of the Interior will not
be translated into action.
Source: Pope Pius XII and World War II: The Documented Truth