Vatican, October 8, 1998 (IKA) — Since the beatification of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac on October 3 in Marija Bistrica, international commentary concerning this event continues. Thus, in yesterday#!s issue of Le Monde, the leading French daily newspaper, French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut, who is of Jewish ancestry, rose up in the defense of the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac against those who have attempted to stir up certain Jewish circles. In this article, Finkielkraut first expresses satisfaction that finally at the end of the 20th century a correct attitude by the Church and world community toward Jews has been achieved, although there are many who are insincere: “I would prefer that under the new circumstances there were more regard for the truth. The rancor in the media stirred up by the beatification of Cardinal Stepinac would have pleased me if he had servilely served the Ustasha regime. However, this was not the case,” states the French philosopher, demanding that journalists and writers inform themselves, using their own sources. He is of the opinion that the best documents about Stepinac are those in by English historians, not French and to even a lesser extent Serbian. “There are also testimonies from Croatian Jews that positively assess the activity of Cardinal Stepinac: his public protests in 1941 against the anti-Serbian and anti-Jewish laws, his activities concerning the organization of the escape of Jewish children to Hungary and Palestine, and attempts to hide those who were persecuted by the regime. There are also his sermons,” says Finkielkraut, “that were even broadcast on London radio, and used also by Tito#!s Partisans. (… ) Today#!s defenders of the Jews have not informed themselves where they had to because they are not interested in Jews.” According to Alain Finkielkraut, “they are interested in presenting themselves to the best advantage in the mirror of antifascism. Tito sentenced the archbishop of Zagreb to prison in 1946, and in 1948 also sentenced Bishop Mišić of Mostar to 11 years of forced labor, who had repeatedly condemned ethnic slaughter [during WWII],” emphasized the philosopher. Finkielkraut believes that some Croatian circles do not always successfully differentiate historical reality from manipulation. “During the fifty years of the communist regime, evil was equated with fascism. However, today it is necessary to settle accounts with the entire past,” concluded Alain Finkielkraut.