Written by Petrit Latifi
In 1912 and 1913, the Pope Pius XII condemned the Serbian atrocities against the Albanian population. This can be read in the following italian publication. Quoted:
“Finally, some considerations by Pope about the massacres and cruelties of which the Serbs are accused. Since the beginning of the Serbian advance beyond the border, rumors have been circulating about acts of cruelty committed by them against the “Turkish populations” of the occupied territories and especially against the Albanians. It seems that the Serbian troops advancing in the Sanjak of Novi-Pazar proceeded to exterminate Albanian families to then make Serbian domination in those regions easier.
Pope has occasion to hear similar reports repeatedly, from “serious people”, the major therefore believes that events of this magnitude really did take place. He adds, however, that he does not exclude the tendency to exaggerate the gravity of the behavior of the Serbs. The Serbian daily Samoprava, for example, on January 3 denounced the tendentious news against Serbia that the Austrian press continually published and used this as a pretext to declare unfounded the accusation of massacres and atrocities that, according to this press, the Serbs had committed in the conquered countries.
In Mitrovica, Pope also has the opportunity to visit the hospital, which he finds well-equipped. Among the sick, there are many suffering from typhus and pneumonia, while there are now very few wounded. Among the latter is an old Albanian who has killed a Serbian soldier: the officers accompanying the Italian major on the visit insist on highlighting the care given to the old wounded Albanian, in order to refute the “tendentious” news accusing the Serbs of having committed massacres among the Albanian population.
Reference
Balkan Academia 