36 GERALD P. FOGARTY
any action on his part might bear fruit, and this came from the
Andover participants’ assurance that both Kennedy and Khrush-
chev would welcome a papal intervention. He now began to pre-
pare his speech.
But first, he paved the way. On October 24, he spoke to a
group of Portuguese pilgrims. He concluded the audience with
what appeared to be an afterthought:
The Pope always speaks well of all men of state who are concerned,
here, there, and everywhere, with meeting amongst themselves to
avoid the reality of war and to procure a bit of peace for human-
kind.... Nevertheless, let it be well understood, only the Spirit of the
Lord can accomplish this miracle, since, obviously, where the sub-
stance—true spiritual life—is lacking, many things cannot be imag-
ined nor obtained. 20Here was the pope’s first signal to the two leaders. While main-
taining the need for “spiritual life,” the pope nevertheless praised
“all men of state” who sought to avoid war through negotiation.
The pope’s next step was his formal address, dispatched ahead of
time to both the Soviet and U.S. embassies in Rome.
Speaking in French in an unscheduled broadcast at noon on
October 25, the pope made no mention of Kennedy, Khrushchev,
or Castro by name, nor did he mention the Soviet Union, the
United States, or Cuba. It was typical “Pope-speak”—using gen-
eralities rather than specifics—and thus applicable to similar cir-
cumstances. But all the contemporary listeners knew whom he
meant. He began by noting, “While the Second Vatican ecumeni-
cal Council has just been opened, amidst the joy and the hopes
of all men of goodwill, threatening clouds now come to darken
again the international horizon, and to show fear in millions of
families.” He begged “all rulers not to remain deaf to the cry of
mankind,” but to “do everything in their power to save peace.”
“Let them continue to negotiate,” he declared, for “to promote,
- Zizola, Utopia, 7.