Peace is the Fruit of Mutual Charity
Pope Benedict XV was elected pope a month after World War I began. Upon his shoulders was the task of peacemaking among warring nations.
A Pope for World War I
Pope Benedict XV (Cardinal Giacomo Della Chiesa, archbishop of Bologna) was elected pope on September 3, 1914, a month after the start of World War I. He is the pope to whom the late Pope emeritus Benedict XVI (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger) also referred to (in name succession) when he took the name of Benedict for his papacy (aside from referring primarily to St. Benedict of Nursia, a patron saint of Europe).
Working for peace
Pope Benedict XV wrote an encyclical that stressed the need to follow the rule of law so that the world can free itself from a direction towards violence. With this encyclical, he was preparing the grounds upon which peace would be built - a peace protected by the rights of people and not by force. A "Peace Plan" was readied by him on August 1917. It called for a negotiated peace - without winners or losers. This "Peace Plan" was based on six principles, the three major ones being:
- mutual condonation of the damages of war
- withdrawal from occupied territories
- special discussion on the territorial problems: Poland, the Balkans, and Armenia
This "Peace Plan" however failed because some governments did not approve it. Others were even hostile towards it.
Despite all that transpired, Pope Benedict XV worked hard to foster works of charity towards all the victims of war. Through his mediation, prisoners of war were interchanged by the warring nations so as to help them re-establish contacts with their families.
Appealing to Christ and His authority
All the diplomatic work and mediation efforts of Benedict XV were really based on what he wrote in that first encyclical entitled, "Ad Beatissimi Apostolorum". In this encyclical, he outlines the sad reality of a loss of charity among nations. He outlines this loss of charity in terms of race hatred, divisions wrought about by jealousies, class warfare within societies, and a self-love over-ruling law. He also states that another cause of war was the absence of respect for the authority of those exercising ruling powers. This cause, according to his encyclical, found its way also in the home - the natural origin of all ruling power. To solve this problem, Pope Benedict XV points to Romans 13:1 as a guide to all: "There is no power but from God: and those that are, are ordained of God". As regards the loss of charity among peoples, Pope Benedict XV points everyone to the universal message of Christ: "This is my commandment that you love one another" (John 15:12) [also Jn 14:34, Jn 15:17].
World War I is a lesson in history for all of us. Pope Benedict XV, as a world leader a the time, was involved a War through his peacemaking. That War had these statistics:
- 8 countries invaded
- 10 million dead
- 20 million wounded
That was World War I. World War II had even more damages. World War II's statistics are as follows:
- 70 nations involved
- 24 countries invaded
- 55 million dead
- 70 million wounded
- 40 million homeless
[source of statistics: J.L. Comellas Garcia-Llera, GER (Madrid: Ediciones Rialp, S.A., 1981), XI, 440-448]
Related resources:
- Theological Centrum Documentation Service, Vol IV, Number 3, "The Church Speaks on War and Peace"
- "Ad Beatissimi Apostolorum", by Pope Benedict XV
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