Pontiff and Others Join in Condemning of Romania

Pope John Paul II on Wednesday joined the condemnation of brutal repression of protesters in Romania, and prominent Britons demanded that hard-line President Nicolae Ceausescu be stripped of a knighthood that was bestowed on him.

“With deep pain we have all heard the news of dead and wounded in some Romanian cities,” the Pope said.

His comment on the violence, in which up thousands may have been killed, came at the end of his regular weekly audience.

Ceausescu, who has ruled Romania for 24 years, was given the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, the highest honor for a foreign leader, during a state visit in June 1978.

Lord Bethell, vice chairman of the European Parliament’s human rights subcommittee, said “the Order of the Bloodbath would have been more appropriate.”

In Geneva, leaders of the World Council of Churches and affiliated organizations expressed shock at the crackdown and said it revealed the “ruthlessness” of Romania’s leadership.

In Bulgaria, where the Communist leadership was equally rigid until last month, several thousand people gathered outside the Romanian Embassy in Sofia, shouting “Ceausescu is a shame for Europe!” “Fascists!” and “Murderers!” The embassy refused to accept a protest letter.

The independent Union of Democratic Forces, which organized the rally, urged Bulgaria to “dissolve all treaties” with the Romanian regime and recall the Bulgarian ambassador. The two nations are allies in the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact.

President Francesco Cossiga of Italy made his feelings clear during his annual Christmas meeting with diplomats, telling the Romanian ambassador, Constantin Tudor: “I was hoping this meeting would take place in a different atmosphere. We are very saddened and worried about what is happening in Romania.”

In Brussels, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Manfred Woerner said the 16 nations of the Western alliance expressed “their dismay at the serious loss of life.”

“The government’s use of massive brutal force to suppress these demonstrations illustrates that the Romanian regime does not rule with the consent of the people,” he said.

At the 35-nation Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna, Romanian envoys heard delegates condemned the killing.