Commentary by the Catholic Press Agency (IKA) - Zagreb on recent accusations against the Vatican

Zagreb, July 23, 1997 (IKA) – Today, a number of newspapers are carrying sensational reports that Pavelić#!s gold or Ustasha treasure was removed fifty-two years ago from Croatia and stored in the Vatican. As if there had been an agreement, various agencies from Los Angeles, Washington, London, Cologne and Vienna released the story simultaneously. It is not surprising that all these agencies learned of these allegations at the same time; however, it is significant that they published them in unison.
These agencies report that a formerly strictly classified document by an American C.I.A. agent, Emerson Bigelow, dated sometime in 1946 has been found. This document is said to state that Ustasha authorities fleeing Zagreb brought 350 million Swiss francs with them, 150 million of which the British Army confiscated at the Austrian-Swiss border, and the remaining 200 million were stored in the Vatican in 1945.
The American agency Associated Press claims that this discovery is the first reliable evidence of Vatican involvement in the controversy surrounding Nazi gold. However, the Zagreb weekly Globus states that it is investigating the background of this sensational story. Joakim Navaro Vals, spokesman for the Holy See, immediately denied everything. Nothing about this is known in the Vatican; there is no proof whatsoever. Interviewed Croatian political emigrants, for example Dr. Ivo Korski and Višnja Pavelić, daughter of the leader of the former Independent State of Croatia during World War II, have conflicting recollections of rumors about some gold that was or was not removed from the country, that had or did not have connection with Pavelić. In short, these rumors are without foundation. If this is the first reliable proof, as AP asserts, then all the similar rumors to date have obviously been unreliable, and this new one is the least worthy of credibility. In connection with the gold, it is claimed that the Ustasha authorities stole it from the Jews and other victims of the concentration camps, from the gold fillings and rings of these victims. There are other shocking allegations. Others state that a large part of this gold was from the Croatian State Treasury. However, Pavelić, according to his daughter, was living in poverty during his emigration. The famous Draganović, who indeed saved many Croatian refugees from starvation and death, mostly civilians fleeing in fear from Serbocommunist terror, is attributed with connection to this gold. It could be asked where the money came from for so many good deeds. In brief, there is no proof that the gold was taken, how much was taken or where it finished. It is also not possible to confirm the origin of this gold – least of all whether it was only or mostly Jewish.
What can be said with certainty about all this? Just now, someone wanted to initiate still another smear campaign, nominally an attack upon the W.W.II Ustasha regime but actually an attempt to discredit the reputations of Croatia and the Catholic Church, especially in reference to the Church#!s support of the Croatian people and their state, Whatever did or did not happen fifty-two years ago, what is happening now is an instance of deliberate pressure, such as we are also experiencing in connection with the Hague Tribunal and in other forms from America and Europe. They will not prove anything. They probably did not intend or hope to prove anything but will content themselves with systematic slander. All that remains for us is to wait for them to wear themselves out until they launch another similar sensation.