Not 'personal'

THE withdrawal of Vatican recognition of the Polish Ambassador to the Holy See came as no surprise to all those acquainted with Vatican diplomatic tradition and protocol.
It has actually nothing to do with the personal position of ambassador M. Papee, who was appointed before the last world war, or with relations between the Vatican and Polish emigre circles. The position of the ambassador became precarious immediately after the granting of international recognition to a new Polish Government in Warsaw in 1945 and the withdrawal of that recognition from the Polish government in exile in London. The new Warsaw Government already dominated by Communists lost little time in declaring the prewar Concordat between the Holy See and Poland void and showing no interest for relations with the Vatican.
Strained
The Vatican under the circumstances saw no reason for recognising that government and ambassador Papee remained at his post and became even the dean of the Diplomatic Corps. After 1946 the gradual Communisation of Poland was followed by more and more strained relations between Church and State. In their campaign against the
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Church, the Communists made more and more use of the existence of an emigre Embassy to the Vatican as alleged proof of the Pope's hostility to the Polish regime and of the Church's alleged links with enemies abroad "aiming at a 'counter-revolution' ". Both Polish Cardinals, the late Primate Archbishop Hlond and the late Archbishop Prince Sapieha felt greatly embarrassed by that situation and the latter during his visit to the Vatican in 1946 made no bones about its undesirability. With the growing persecution of religion in Poland, Pius XII did not feel apparently inclined to make any one-sided concession without any hope of improving the situation of the Church in Poland.
Change
Things, however, changed when in October 1956 Gomulka assumed power, freed Cardinal Wyszynski and agreed to the well known present modus vivendi. The Cardinal Primate on his first journey to Rome in 1957 told the late Pope, that the modus presence of an vivendi was precarious in the extreme and that the prese emigre Embassy at the Vatican was making things only more difficult. The Holy Father was considering the problem. In favour of keeping the Embassy was its symbolic character as the only remaining sign of the centuries old tradition of Catholic Poland's allegiance to the See of St. Peter. Against it was the apparent interest of the Polish Catholics in their own country. Even without any illusions about the modus vivendi it seemed unwise to provide the Communists with a pretext making it easier to resume a new persecution; things started worsening again in Poland as we know. The accession of John XXIII made it much easier for the Vatican to comply. Neither of both London Polish governments could be recognised as representing authorised Polish nation, and thus uthorised to provide ambassador Papee with new Credentials. So his recognition simply lapsed and ceased to exist. The consolation for all Catholic Poles should be the fact, that according to Polish tradition the Primate of Poland is "Interrex" or head of state when the office is vacant.