Wallowa County chieftain. [volume] (Enterprise, Or.) 1909-1911, 1910-04-07
ROOSEVELT WILL
NOT VISIT POPE
PoNTIFF WOULD AVOID REPETI-
TioN FAIRBANKS INCIDENT.
CONDITIONS ARE DECLINED
ex-President Urges Catholic as Well
as Protestant Friends in America
Not to Magnify Occurrence.

ROME, ApTll o. Inc duulence
which it was believed that ex-Presi-
dent Roosevelt would have with the
Pope did not take place, owing to
conditions which the Vatican imposed
and which Mr.. Roosevelt refused to
accept.
At Cairo Mr.. Roosevelt received the
following telegram from Ambassador
Leishman, dated March 23:
"Monsignor Kennedy, rector Of the
American Catholic College, in reply
to an inquiry which l caused to be
made, requests the following commu-
nication be transmitted to you: The
Holy Father will be delighted to grant
an audience to Mr.. Roosevelt on
April and hopes that nothing will
arise to prevent, such as the much
regretted incident which made the re-
ception of Mr.. Fairbanks impossible"
Declines to Accept Conditions.
Replying by cable to Ambassador
Leishman on March 25, Mr.. Roose-
welt said:
"It would be a real pleasure to me
to be presented to the Holy Father,
for whom / entertain high respect,
both personally and as the head of
great church. / fully recognize his
entire right to receive or not receive
whomsoever he chooses, for any rea-
son that seems good to him, and If
he does not receive me shall not for
moment question the propriety OF
his action. On the other hand, l.
IN my turn, decline to make any stip-
ulations or submit to any conditions
which in any way would limit my
freedom of conduct"
On March 2S Mr. Roosevelt received
cable message from Ambassador
Aeishman, which concluded by say
.Hg:
"The audience cannot take place ex-
Cepl Ou Tie uuucI eloAuih6 OAPiC CoScu
in the former message" To which
Mr.. Roosevelt replied:
"The proposed presentation is. of
course, impossible.
Mr.. Roosevelt particularly desired
the incident shall be regarded by his
friends, both Catholic and Protestant,
in America as personal, and cabled a
statement to The Outlook at New
York, in which he said:
Through The Outlook wish to
make statement to my fellow Amer
cans regarding what has occurred in
connection with the Vatican. am
sure that the great majority of my
fellow citizens-Catholics quite as
much as Protestants-will feel that
/ acted in the only way possible for
an American to act, and because OF
this very fact l most earnestly hope
that the incident will be treated in
matter-of-course way, as merely
personal, and above all, as not war
ranting the slightest exhibition of ran.
cor or bitterness.
Many Friends Are Catholics.
Among my best and closest friends
are many Catholics. The respect and
regard of those of my fellow Amer
leans who are Catholics are as dear
to me as the respect and regard of
those wins are Protestants."
In speaking of the incident Cardi.
nal Merry del Val. papal secretary Of
state, is reported to have said:
''It is not in any sense question
of religion. Mr.. Roosevelt might have
gone to an Episcopalian, Presbyte-
rian or any other church except the
Methodist, and delivered an address
there, and he would have been re-
ceived by the Pope, even on the same
day. But he could not be received
when it was suspected that after the
audience he intended to go to the
Methodist Church in Rome, which is
carrying on most offensive cam
paign of calumny and detraction
against the Pontiff."