EUROPE: The Other Side of the Curtain

The Vatican reported last week that during the past five years, 12,000 Roman Catholic priests have been killed or imprisoned or exiled by Communist regimes. Some specifics:

¶ In the Soviet Ukraine, 3,600 priests were killed (and 1,000 churches closed or razed).

¶ In Poland, 1,000 priests were deported, chiefly to Siberia.

¶ Tito’s Yugoslavia put to death, arrested or deported 2,000 priests.

¶ In Bulgaria (where most of the clergy is Greek Orthodox), 120 Roman Catholic priests were arrested.

¶ In Esthonia, Latvia and Lithuania, 1,000 priests were killed or jailed.

Said the Vatican: “At a time when emissaries of Communism throughout the world are talking of what they wish to call the campaign for peace, it certainly is interesting to note some statistics that show what is thought of peace on the other side of the Iron Curtain.”