In Primordio (1958.12.23)
This Latin letter of 23 December 1958, issued by John XXIII to Cardinal Frings, Cardinal Wendel, Cardinal Döpfner, and the German episcopate, formally responds to their collective letter to Pius XII. It praises German Catholic virtues, recalls concordats, expresses paternal concern for Catholics under communist domination and for refugees, extols obedience to the “Roman Pontiff,” and exhorts bishops to fidelity amidst trials while invoking Christmas peace and Christ’s Nativity.