Cited:

“The pro-Turkish stance of the papal authorities in the current war has long been the target of harsh criticism, with the contrast between the Pope’s current policy and that of earlier centuries regarding Muslim rule being emphasized. This view was also expressed at a meeting held in Friuli in support of the Slavs, where there was a vehement attack against the pro-Turkish Roman See.

The Vatican correspondent for the Gazette d’Italia, who is not usually particularly sympathetic to the direction of the papal office, attempts on this occasion to dispel any animosity in the Pope’s behavior by examining the motives guiding the Pope and his entourage. According to the reporter for the Florentine newspaper, the fear of Russian influence is the driving force behind the actions of Pius IX.

The Turks are harmless to Catholicism, while the Russians are mercilessly fighting it in their empire and in the Balkan Peninsula. There may be some truth to the threat. Another question is whether the Slavs of Greek religion can draw sympathy for Catholicism from such a policy of the Papacy.”

Source

Salzburger Volksblatt: die unabhängige Tageszeitung für Stadt und Land Salzburg. Band 6 (1876).