Mr. President: 
 
     
 
 
I have just received Your Excellency's communication containing a   
response to the message from His Holiness which was forwarded by me in a   
letter of June 15th.  In the name of the Holy Father I wish to express   
deepest gratitude for the consideration which has been given to this appeal.
 
     
 
 
With hope and firm confidence I have always noted in the pronouncements   
of Your Excellency the resolve to give the Italian people an opportunity to   
choose the kind of government based on democratic principles which they may   
wish to establish, and I have not failed to call it to the attention of the   
Holy See.  It is my conviction that the Holy Father will be gratified to   
learn of the hope that is fostered by Your Excellency for the restoration   
of Itlay as a respected member of the European family of nations.
 
     
 
 
In regard to the possibility of bombardment of Rome, the Holy See has   
been informed of the efforts made by the government of the United States to   
reduce this possibility to a minimum.  In this regard nevertheless I recently   
received a communication from His Eminence, the cardinal Secretary of State,   
and in a letter to Mr. Myron C. Taylor, under date of June 28th, I had the   
honor to present further considerations of His Eminence on the demilitarization   
of Rome, and on the precarious situation facing the Vatican now, and especially   
in the event of a bombardment of Rome.
 
 
 
The President,  
The White House