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Cluster index: Dimitri Cavalli

John XXIII and the Cold War.

Dimitri Cavalli: ‘The relationship between the Soviet Union and the Vatican was altered in 1960 by the election of John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president and a vocal anti-communist. During the presidential campaign, Kennedy repeatedly made misleading statements about a “missile gap,” how President Dwight Eisenhower allowed the Soviet Union’s nuclear capabilities to surpass those of the United States. By suddenly embracing John XXIII as a voice for peace, Khrushchev hoped that the pontiff could be able to persuade the young Catholic president, directly or indirectly, to modify his policies and tone down his rhetoric. If not, Khrushchev could still reap the propaganda benefits of showing that, despite being an atheist, his views were actually closer to the pope’s than the Catholic Kennedy’s.’