Certificate, and a report by the papal nuncio on the German government's decision not to consider proposals or requests by the church concerning any territories beyond the old boundaries of the Reich

REPORT OF HIS EXCELLENCY THE MOST REV. CESARE
ORSENIGO, PAPAL NUNCIO IN GERMANY, TO HIS EMINENCE THE CARDINAL SECRETARY OF STATE OF HIS HOLINESS, JUNE 27th, 1942. '
His Excellency the Nuncio reports on the attitude of the Reich Government after the above referred Verbal Note of the Secretariate of State.
' 1015
; )
3262—PS
As your Eminence communicated to me in your esteemed dispatch n. 7214/41, on September 24th last, this Government in its Verbal Note of August 29th 1941 (sent to the Holy See through the German Embassy) officially put forward the request that it should be enabled, by being informed beforehand, to raise objections of a general political character in all cases of nominations of Archbishops, Bishops, Coadjutors with the right of succession, Prelates nullius, Apostolic Administrators,, Vicars Capitular (in the event of their governing beyond a reasonable time) or of other diocesan rulers; and this for "the entire new territory of the Reich together with Alsace, Lorraine, Luxemburg and the freed territories of Lower Steyer, Kaernten and Krain and also of the General-Government area". The same procedure was moreover sought for the territory of the old Reich in regard to nominations of Apostolic Administrators, Vicars Capitular (in the cases referred to above) and other diocesan rulers.
In your esteemed dispatch n. 610/42 of January 23rd last, your Eminence deigned to communicate to me, for my information and guidance, a copy of the Verbal Note which your Eminence had sent in reply on January 18th last to the German Embassy.
Up to yesterday the German Government had given me no indication of this Verbal Note sent as reply of the Holy See; but I had noted that business of whatever kind relating to the new territories or the Reich was submitted to unusual delays or was almost lost in the bureaucratic procedure to which it had to be submitted. Yesterday I expressed to the Secretary of State for the Foreign Ministry, Baron von Weizsaecker, a desire to have some news regarding the Professors of the? Leopoli University on whose behalf, as I reported in my respectful report n. 2034 (47.693) of the 17th instant, I had already interested this Government.
The Secretary of State, having courteously apologized for the fact that he djd not yet have the information requested from him about the Leopoli University Professors, added :
"In this regard however, as for all other business referring to the new territories of the Reich, i.e< not belonging to the old Reich is as well I should let you know something. It is about a decision taken by those competent to do so in connection with the Verbal Note of January 19th last, in which His Eminence the Cardinal Secretary of State replied to our Verbal Note of August 29th 1941, presented to the Cardinal Secretary of State by our Embassy to the Holy See. The decision is that no further consideration will be taken of proposals or requests concerning territoriës which did not belong to the old Reich". * '
1016
3262-PS
I tried first of all to get clear the territorial extent of this phrase, and asked him if in this exclusion were involved also Austria, the Protectorate and the Sudetens, and the Secretary answered : "All the territories that did not belong to the old Reich".
I strove then to point out that the request put forward by the German Government referred to a serious innovation in the prot-cedure for nominating diocesan rulers and that the Holy See had replied solely to this request according to its traditional practice; I observed besides that it is the traditional usage of the Holy See not to institute innovations in territories occupied during military operations until hostilites are over.
But the Secretary of State only said: "What can I do? This is the decision reached and it has already been sent to our appropriate offices". ,
I then asked if he wanted me to inform the Holy See, and he answered: "I leave you to judge!" "I asked if the Ambassador M. von Bergen was not doing so, and he said : "I think not, for he has not had any explicit instructions on this point". f
I concluded then by saying that I should think over the matter.
. One may foresee that in future requests referring to the new territories .of the Reich either will not be accepted or will be met with evasive answers.
I avail myself etc. etc. '