<P> In his Pastoral Letter of the 19th October (1935), the Bishop of Udine (Italy) wrote,' It is neither timely nor fitting for us to pronounce on the rights and wrongs of the case . Our duty as Italians, and still more as Christians is to contribute to the success of our arms .' The Bishop of Padua wrote on the 21st October,' In the difficult hours through which we are passing, we ask you to have faith in our statesmen and armed forces .' On the 24th October, the Bishop of Cremona consecrated a number of regimental flags and said' The blessing of God be upon these soldiers who, on African soil, will conquer new and fertile lands for the Italian genius, thereby bringing to them Roman and Christian culture . May Italy stand once again as the Christian mentor to the whole world .' </P> <P> Pope Pius XI had condemned totalitarianism in the encyclical Non abbiamo bisogno and made gestures to the Fascist regime, presenting the queen of Italy with the Golden Rose when she was made Empress of Ethiopia but despite great pressure from Mussolini refused to bless Italian armies . Pius may have refused to give absolute support to the regime but also failed to prevent Italian bishops doing it in his stead . This coincided with Mussolini's increasing anti-clericalism and he stated that "the Papacy was a malignant tumour in the body of Italy and must' be rooted out once and for all', because there was no room in Rome for both the Pope and (himself)". </P> <P> In December, Graziani declared the country to be pacified and under Italian control . Ethiopian resistance continued and the Italian occupation was marked by guerilla campaigns against the Italians and Italian reprisals, including mustard gas attacks against rebels and the summary execution of prisoners . On 19 February 1937, during a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace in Addis Ababa (the former Imperial residence), Abraha Deboch and Moges Asgedom attempted to kill Graziani with hand grenades . Italian security guard fired indiscriminately into the crowd and killed about 300 civilian onlookers; during the night, Blackshirts went through the Ethiopian quarter and murdered people with swords, knives, rifles and bombs . When the massacre ended on 22 February, thousands of Ethiopians had been killed . Over the next few weeks, the Italian colonial authorities executed about 30,000 civilians in reprisal . About half of the younger, educated Ethiopian population were killed in what became known as Yekatit 12 (the Ethiopian calendar equivalent of 19 February). In December, Ras Desta Damtew had been forced out of his base of operations in Irgalem and was executed on 24 February; Dejazmach Beyene Merid who had just joined forces with him was also killed . </P> <P> On 21 December 1937, Rome appointed Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta, as the new Viceroy and Governor General of AOI with instructions to take a more conciliatory line . Aosta instituted public works projects including 3,200 km (2,000 mi) of new paved roadways, 25 hospitals, 14 hotels, dozens of post offices, telephone exchanges, aqueducts, schools and shops . The Italians decreed miscegenation to be illegal . Racial separation, including residential segregation, was enforced as thoroughly as possible and the Italians showed favouritism to non-Christian groups . To isolate the dominant Amhara rulers of Ethiopia, who supported Selassie, the Italians granted the Oromos, the Somalis and other Muslims, many of whom had supported the invasion, autonomy and rights . The Italians also definitively abolished slavery and abrogated feudal laws that had been upheld by the Amharas . Early in 1938, a revolt broke out in Gojjam, led by the Committee of Unity and Collaboration, made up of some of the young, educated elite who had escaped reprisals after the assassination attempt on Graziani . The general oversaw another wave of reprisals and had all Ethiopians in administrative jobs murdered, some by being thrown from aircraft, after being taken on board under the pretext of visiting the King in Rome, leading to the saying "He went to Rome". </P>

When italy invaded ethiopia the league of nations