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

Sacra theologia

POPE BENEDICT XV’S NEGOTIATIONS

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within the international common sense, that the Entente Powers did not wish to give any room for the Holy See to take place at a possible peace treaty. France, Great Britain and even Russia opposed Papal representative’s presence on any peace negotiation.14 Italy also worried about any peace conference where the Holy See could appear, because the possibility the revising the explained “Roman Question”.

II. Speeches, Peace and Humanitarian Actions

After the above mentioned Ad Beatissimi Encyclical Letter on November 1st 1914 which was perfectly viciously misinterpreted by the Entente Powers, I should mention that active negotiation - initiated by the Holy See - which intended to prevent the war between Italy and Austro-Hungary (involving Emperor Franz-Joseph II15 and Card. John Chemoch, primate of Hungary) unfortunately without any success. It happened again right after the Caporetto defeat (October 24th November 19th 1917, where the Italian Army confronted with the central Austro-Hungarian Army, together with seven German divisions of land forces. This battle concluded into a terrible catastrophe for Italy: 300.000 dead and 250.000 captured soldiers - majority was wounded - at the Italian side). Pope Benedict XV’s intention to intercede for peace in this tragic moment was rejected by the Central Powers again. When the pope tried the same intervene almost a year later for favor of Austro-Hungary, he had received similar rejection by the Entente Powers.

These few examples sufficiently enlighten that the papal peace initiatives, but even his requests for ceasefire were doomed to failure since the beginning of the war, and the weak status of the Holy See - based on the “Law of Guaranties” - had determined this diplomatic situation. Nevertheless, Benedict was capable to use two other channels to express the Church’s opinion and also to arrange practical - humanitarian - help for indigents.

From December 23rd 1914 - through the L ’Osservatore Romano - he argued for spiritual and material aid to prisoners of the war. The central institute for organization by the Holy See was the Opera dei Prisoneieri. The statistic shows sufficiently that the Holy See had become some “second Red Cross” regarding the indigents, which meant investigation for missing persons, dealing with wounded and sick soldiers, and helping in letter-transmissions for families of prisoners. This activity had crystallized an internal system of the

14 Pollard, J. R, The Unknown Pope. Benedict XV, 102.

15 Pietro Gasparri’s dramatic letter through the nuncio of Vienna to the Emperor: “The salvation of the Empire requires the Emperor to make this painful sacrifice and to make it immediately.” (January 17th 1915).