The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-12-09
VATICAN DENIES
UNDERMINING ARMY
Calls "strOs.ious Gsiunuy" Assertion
Made in London Morning Post
Against Catholic PontiG.
DEFENDS PoPEs LAST NOTE
Was Not Intended for Publication.
tsasparrt Says---iondon Paper Re-
pcats It's charges With Emphasis.

London, Dec. s.--Cardinal Gasparri,
papai secretary OF state, has transmit
ted 10 the Morning Post, through Car
dinai Bourne denial ef the charges
4; made iu a recent editorial with re-
gard Ia he Vaticaa's attitude toward
tlat. allies
Mgr. GasparrIs disclaimer which IS
addressed Tn Cardinal Rourne, includes
the following
1T is nothing short of AZ atrocious
calumuy TO assert. AS has lately been
done tn the columns 81 the Morning
Post that the Vatican is implicated in
the descriptive propaganda to which
the recent Italian reverses have been
attributed"
Cardinal Rourue in giving this mes
sage to a representative Of The Morn
ing post. whom hr received. went over
the Nasicaa's defense as 1t wat= out
lined in the official statement recently
issued by MEr Gasparri ID Rome,
pointing out the labors of the clerkS
TO counteract the destructive props
sands which had begun 10 affect the
morale of the Italian army. As re-
CARDS the eject of the papal note 70
the heliRerent powers upon the troops,
he said;
II was after is publication that one
~ the greatest successes of the Italian
army the is.snsizza victory, was
achieved aud as regards the note
itself which - said 10 have been de-
signed to ugsettle the soldiers and
weaken their war spirit Cardinal Gsts-
parri repeats his declaration that the
note Was not addressed 20 the peoples.
hsr o.. ,y,t..s,-,r ~, ,szfs Of bs halIty-
erent nations. and that Il was not in
tended for publication, Proof Of this
Is that the DSservstore Romano did
not publish the note untii it had be
come public property and was being
discussed everywhere
Mgr RourUe added
"g"Se Moruiu& Post asserts that the
Vatican has Eurtl4elk- hut actively
espouSed the Austrian cause, and that
The plea OF neutrality no longer holds.
= r-Tr;;tr5T jC-IoT7 n E1en 5sssTttU s.
Cardinal Gasparr. af3rms once more
the fan and correct neutrality Of the
Holy see.
From central Europe complaints
more than once have been heard that
The vatican ts gazing excessively to-
ward the west, and that the papal poll
icy has been alternately controlled bE
4 desire to regain It's former position
ttf e AtANt anu f't it3bGS 81 =" t9EI AllAA~
enee In England and North America
Cardinal @asparrt in his communication
20 ms declares that II some nations
seemed 70 De Iore favored IMAM others
ny the note. these certainly were not
t't' ill@''' ana A1stt a tat more OF 'he
t"le''t' pa '''"''' ~ 't+iies aHu De =
80, l'.'' we - ""i "ue :" 'l's :,
-, - 20. -
-, -.
q.nr Afnrutt,-- Pc. 4eaf5.... ..,f..,,tot,,.
,t-itA Sf.pacer ,.se..srrfs denial asya
,Tr.-rl- 0rIc- thlls,g-
~. hzvs IN asf ts4sseea4af ,,ta,
sgs he .Aave 10 le accurate information
that the parish priests In the country
districts OF. italy 81 geTted to the peo-
10 make such hetter terms with Aus,
RIA than the king Of italy, and that
when wounded returned the prlsst'
asked them what they had been fight
3ng Tor ara t"la them mat ihe fifh and
%eli-to-o' t"PH care 10 escape military
service
Is notorious tnat the black
Tf'stocfajN or Rome *ef" from the
beginning against the Wal VIII
Srf~naI l'AS 74'fJl deny that she Ser
man emperor gave N zoe 10 the "a
tican ostenFjhsN Tor the purpose OF
"etraylng the e'~~'enSe ~ repairing
garden waIts2 The imp ession IN q
wore, spread abroad by the priests
~ss that the Vatican Wax far from
approving gf the Italian campaign.