Evening star., 1940-03-11
Rome
Continued From First Page.)

leaving LOT vatican CiCy.
Received With Full Hon0rs.
Won Ribbentrop was received at
the Vatican with full honors ac-
corded foreign ministers. Greeted
by high papal dignitaries, he and
seven members of his staff were
taken from the German Embassy to
the Holy See in papal automobiles.
The German foreign minister was
presented to the Pontiff by Diego
Won Bergen, German Ambassador to
the Vatican.
The Vatican ceremony spared Won
Ribbentrop the question of deciding
whether to kneel before the Pope.
In the case of statesmen, the Pontiff
extends his hand in a manner to in
dicate that obeisance is not expected.
Won Ribbentrop was said to have
bowed three times.
He talked with the Pope for an
hour in German, which the pontiff
speaks fluently. Won Ribbentrop
also paid the customary call of visit
ing diplomats to Cardinal Maglione
In all, the Germans visit to the
Vatican lasted two hours and is
minutes.
Won Ribbentrop and the Pope
were believed to have discussed re-
ports Of seizures of church property,
closings OF many churches and al
legged mistreatment of clerics and
lay Catholics in German-occupied
territories.
The audience was arranged for
Won .Ribhentrop by the German en-
bassy at the Vatican and he was be-
ieved to have had an oral message
for the Pope from the Fuehrer.
Financial Guarantee Opposed.
Since nothing was known of the
nature of Won Ribbentrop's talk
with Mussolini yesterday, foreign
reports that they concerned them
selves with guarantee of Finland S
frontiers if Helsinki accepted Rus
sian peace terms lacked confirma-
ton.
But authoritative Fascists said
that If proposal for the joint guar
antee were made, 1t was out of the
question for Italy to become a guar
antor because of geographical diff
culties.
The only other strong indication
as result of Won Ribbentrop's first
meeting with Premier Mussolini yes
terday was that the Fascist govern
ment intends to remain nom
belligerent, at least until there is
some upset in Europe's military
stalemate.
May Seek Concordat Change.
Liberal credence was given in
foreign circles to rumors that Hitler
seeks revision of the German con-
cordat with the Vatican.
The concordat was ratified Sep
tember 10, 1888, before the German
expansion, and prescribed the sep
arate fields of the church and gov
ernment in Germany. Church state
friction has led to belief on several
occasions that relations between
Germany and the Vatican might be
severed.
ewly-acquired German territory,
furthermore, is in an uncertain
status. The concordat between the
Vatican and independent Austria,
for instance, became void after Ger
many's annexation of Austria In
March, 1888, and the German
Vatican concordat was never ex-
tended there.
Aside from serving as friendly
gesture which might impress Ger
many's 100000 Catholics, Won
Ribbentrop's visit to the Pope was
expected to settle the question
whether a papal investigator would
be allowed to look into church con-
ditions in German n-occupied Poland,
where mistreatment Of Catholics has
been reported.
After II Duce and the German
foreign minister talked for more
than an hour yesterday Giovanni
Ansaldo wrote in II TELEGRAPH of
Leghorn, Count Ciano's newspaper,
that the German emissary was too
wise to ask II Duce to change Italy's
acknowledgement status and would
recognize her absolute liberty Of
action and decision"
Yesterday, when news that Brit
ain had released 13 italian colliers
carrying German coal was first told,
the Italian press generally gave set
tlement Of the controversy more
space than the Won Ribbentrop
visit.
Virginio Gayda. editor who often
speaks for Mussolini, declared In La
Voce d'Italia that peace between
Finland and Russia concerns ex-
clusively" those two governments.
He said 1t seemed inevitable that
nYNyHS