Folia Theologica et Canonica 9. 31/23 (2020)

Sacra theologia

FOLIA THEOLOGICA ET CANONICA (2020) 59-69

Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi, O.Praem.

POPE BENEDICT XV’S NEGOTIATIONS

AND THE LAST YEARS OF THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE*

Introductory Remarks; I. Difficult neutrality; II. Speeches, Peace and Humanitarian Actions; III. Interest in the survival of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; IV. Papal Peace Note of 1917; Conclusion

Keywords: First World War, Pope Benedict XV, Holy See, peace initiatives, humanitarian actions

The Vatican Insider published an impressive article on September 2nd 2014, under the title: A hundred years ago Benedict XV denounced the Great War as a “useless massacre I am convinced that no one could describe better the period of 1914-1918.'

Introductory Remarks

First: In order to understand the Holy See and Benedict XV’s negotiations and their effects during the Great War, we must consider the delicate status of the Holy See, without territorial sovereignty.

Second: If we take a glance at the general descriptions and timelines of World War I - even at the most current scholarly ones - those are still arguing based on the English, French and American point of view, listing important statistics and facts, making several contemporary political, military, economical, sociological, etc. analyses, but their conclusions essentially are far away * 1

* This paper has been written in the St. Michael’s Abbey of the Norbertine Fathers (Orange, CA), in the International Canon Law History Research Center (Budapest), and it was supplemented in the Robinson College (Cambridge, UK) and in the Cambridge University Library. This paper was presented at “Giomata di Studi”: La fine della Grande Guerra e la Chiesa nella Mitteleuropa. Aspetti politici, istituzionali, pastorali (October 19,h 2018, Venice), organized by Studium Generale Marcianum (Venice) in cooperation with Pontificio Istituto Ecclesiastico Ungherese in Roma (Rome) and with Ambasciata d'Ungheriapresso la Santa Sede.

1 http://www.lastampa.it/2014/09/02/vaticaninsider/a-hundred-years-ago-benedict-xv-denounced-the-great-war-as-a-useless-massacre-dol4eUAvGb9xTv79DoWWDN/pagina.html (visited: January 15th 2021).