Second Thought

New York's Roman Catholic Archbishop Spellman got back to the U.S. last August from a 46,000-mile visit to 34 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, thousands of U.S. fighting men, Pope Pius XII, practically every top-flight Allied statesman and military leader, and Generalissimo Franco, and promptly published the highlights of his trip in Collier's.*

As soon as installment No. 1 appeared, the Archbishop found himself raked fore & aft by the U.S. Protestant, liberal and leftish press for his praise of Franco. Wrote Archbishop Spellman in Collier's: "My impressions of him are in accordance with his reputation as a very sincere, serious and intelligent man. . . . Whatever general criticism has been made of General Franco (and it has been considerable) I cannot doubt that he is a man loyal to his God, devoted to his country's welfare, and definitely willing to sacrifice himself in any capacity and to any extent for Spain."

This week the Archbishop's Collier's articles appeared in book form (Action This Day; Scribner; $2.75). His former opinions of Franco have been somewhat edited, are now attributed to hearsay: "I had been told by some who had known him all through his life that the Generalissimo was a Godfearing, serious and intelligent man, striving to do what he thought was best for Spain."

* For Roman Catholics in the U.S. Archbishop Spellman is also Military Vicar of the Armed Forces, an ecclesiastical but not a military title. But Army Chief of Chaplains, Brigadier General William R. Arnold, is a Roman Catholic Monsignor.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.