Withdrawal of credentials a matter of law

THE Holy See no longer recognises the ambassador of the governmentin-exile of Poland and the Minister of Lithuania's similar government, though the Polish Embassy and the Lithuanian Legation to the Vatican will remain open under Charges d'Affaires.
The Osservatore Romano has stated that the decision is not a political one, but a technical legal conclusion.
"It is a painful situa-tion", commented the Vatican paper, "which the Holy See is the first to deplore, but notwithstanding it remains an unquestionable fact that the envoys cannot produce credentials acceptable under international law. As a result the Holy See finds itself unable to recognise the continuation of the title of chiefs
of the respective missions for the illustrious diplomats who have held it so far".
The Polish Ambassador. M. Casimir Papee, was Dean of the diplomatic corps under Pope Pius XII. The Lithuanian Minister is Mr. Stanislaus Girdvainis. Count Adam Romer, authority in London on Polish affairs, explains below the sequence of events which have led to the Holy See's action.