Before and during WWII there were exchanges between President Roosevelt and Pope Pius concerning their mutual desire for peace in the world. Below are a few excerpts from Roosevelt's letters.
October 1, 1940
"It is equally necessary to realize that peace as Your Holiness conceives it must be based upon the re/establishment of Christian law and doctrine as the guiding principles which govern the relations of free men and free nations. The spiritual freedom and political independence which alone make possible this rebuilding of the structure of peace thus become a necessary part of our common goal. In the search of it, the Government and people of the United States are glad to lend their sympathy and to devote their efforts."
Letter from March 3, 1941
"Only when the principles of Christianity and the right of all peoples to live free from the threat of external aggression are established can that peace which Your Holiness and I so ardently desire be found."
December 31, 1942
"We face the new year now upon us with the task to uphold by our deeds and to fulfill in our day the obligations civilization has laid upon us to crush those who refuse to honor the basic principles of Christian conduct. In this spirit we gird ourselves to the task, free from designs upon our neighbors and moved by ideals of humanity, charity and justice under moral law."
Read much more from these letters in the book Wartime Correspondence Between President Roosevelt And Pope Pius XII
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