A War Prevented: Pope John XXIII and the Cuban Missile Crisis

At Crisis, friend of the show Ronald Rychlak recalls that Pope John XXIII played an important role in reducing Cold War tensions during the Cuban missile crisis.

With the US and USSR in a nuclear showdown, President Kennedy contacted the Pontiff, who issued a statement calling for leadership in the cause of peace. The public statement gave Nikita Khrushchev the opportunity cast himself in the role of peacemaker, Rychlak argues. Two days later the Soviet leader agreed to withdraw nuclear missiles from Cuba.

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