As elsewhere under Nazi occupation, French clergy faced intimidation and interference. In July 1940, the residence of Cardinal Suhard, Archbishop of Paris, along with those of Cardinal Baudrillart and Cardinal Liénart and other church offices were searched by the Gestapo for "evidence of collusion between the late Cardinal Verdier and the Jews".The Nazi War Against the Catholic Church; National Catholic Welfare Conference; Washington D.C.; 1942; p. 60 Verdier had described World War II as "a crusade ... We are struggling to preserve the freedom of people throughout the world, whether they be great or small peoples, and to preserve their possessions and their very lives. No other war has had aims that are more spiritual, moral, and, in sum, more Christian"."Crusade". Time. February 19, 1940. On September 9, the Bishop of Quimper was arrested for opposing Nazi plans for Brittany. The Bishop of Strasbourg was prevented from returning from Vichy France to his dioceses and his Cathedral was closed to the public. The Bishop of Metz was expelled from his diocese—which was itself later dissolved for "political reasons". In October, the Archbishop of Besançon and Vicar General Galen were jailed—the Archbishop for gathering food for French PoWs, and "turning people against Germans".The Nazi War Against the Catholic Church; National Catholic Welfare Conference; Washington D.C.; 1942; pp. 60–61 Vatican Radio denounced the treatment of the Church in predominantly Catholic Alsace-Lorraine. In March 1941, it announced in Alsace, Catholics were facing "cruel persecution". On April 4, Vatican Radio stated that:The Nazi War Against the Catholic Church; National Catholic Welfare Conference; Washington D.C.; 1942; p. 62
