Vatican, Under Fire, Calls Waldheim’s Invitation Routine

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican insisted again Wednesday that its invitation to Austrian President Kurt Waldheim was routine, while other sources in the Roman Catholic Church reported that the Austrian government had exerted heavy pressure on the church for the last six months to arrange the invitation.

Although under fire even from loyal Catholic clergymen for its plans to receive Waldheim, who has been largely ostracized by the international community, the Vatican held fast to its position that despite the public outcry, today’s meeting will be no different from the visit of any other head of state. It denied that there were any other reasons behind the invitation.

“Less than one year ago, Austria democratically elected a president in the person of Mr. Waldheim, and within the framework of historic ties between Austria and the Vatican, this man requested an audience,” said the Vatican spokesman, Joaquin Navarro Valls. He added that the pontiff felt “a moral responsibility” to grant the request because “the Holy Father and the Holy See have the same esteem and respect for every nation and people.”

In suggesting heavy pressure from the Austrian government, other church sources noted that predominantly Catholic Austria had embarked on a diplomatic campaign to win acceptance for Waldheim from the international community, much of which has shunned him because of revelations about his role as a German officer in the Balkans during World War II. The World Jewish Congress has linked him to the deaths of Yugoslav civilians as well as to the deportation of 40,000 Jews from Greece, and the government of Israel and Jewish groups worldwide have protested the Vatican invitation. Waldheim has denied the allegations.

The reasons, routine or not, why the Vatican decided to go ahead with Waldheim’s state visit continue to be a source of puzzlement even to many church supporters.

“I am seeking to understand the reasons for this visit, but I must say I haven’t understood,” French Cardinal Albert Decourtray was quoted as saying as he visited the Holocaust memorial in Lyon with the city’s chief rabbi. He said the meeting “demonstrates a misunderstanding of Jewish sensibility.”

At the Vatican, a specialist in church affairs who asked that his name not be used asked: “What is the Vatican getting out of this visit except grief? What can it possibly gain from Austria that is worth this cost? What is the quid pro quo for rehabilitating Kurt Waldheim?”

Navarro, the Vatican spokesman, said that as a matter of protocol, the pontiff routinely invites the head of state of every country he visits to pay a return visit to the Holy See. Although Waldheim was not president when the Pope last visited Austria in 1983, the invitation applied to the presidency itself, and it was Austria’s option to implement it, Navarro said. John Paul has scheduled another visit to Austria next June.