«For the Victims of War»

Abstract

Informal representation given to Cardinal Gomá in December 1936, sending Ildebrando Antoniutti as apostolic delegate in humanitarian mission in July, remained at its lowest level relations between the Holy See with the government of Franco. The situation changed in 1937. The nuncio Gaetano Cicognani did not arrive until June 1938. Discrete steps of a secret diplomacy advised in September 1937 to formalize the relationship, at its lowest. Antoniutti and Pablo de Churruca were named Responsible of Affairs, in Burgos, and to the Holy See, in a respective way. The collective letter of the bishops helped to improve the image of «national» Spain before the Catholics in other countries. The doctrinal position in which these facts were inserted was fixed at three encyclicals published in March 1937. They condemned the religious persecution of communism, nazism and the fear of a desire to runaway of the persecution forgiving people and fighting for justice for the working classes