It is not as though the Pope had. acted in
a friendly way towards the Allies during the war. If he had done that, there might be a disposition here, out of gratitude or friendliness, to put it on no higher grounds, to welcome his representative. That would be a concession, however, made from human motives and not on grounds of principle. But even human motives for such a concession do not exist. It may be said that it was only natural for the Pope to stand in with Austria, where he found his chief religious support and strength. But what a confession of failure on the part of the Pope such an argument is, after all I It means that the Pope acted in accordance with his worldly interests, and not in accordance with any high spiritual concep- tion of his duty, or as the head of a mighty Church to direct the ways of erring men without an afterthought about the worldly results.
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