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The Papacy and the War

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Jan 28, 1915

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 92, No. 5.

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The Papacy and the War

By W. W. Prescott

(Concluded)

Some of the Benefits Likely to Accrue to the Holy See as the Result of This Great Struggle

W. W. PRESCOTT
VERY SOON after the breaking out of the great war in Europe last summer, the Vatican began to loom up conspicuously on the horizon of peace discussions and peace plans. Among the first intimations that appeared in the Roman Catholic press was the suggestion that one of the results of the war might be the restoration of the temporal power in some form. An article signed “Ex-Diplomat” appeared and was discussed in various Roman Catholic papers. The opening paragraph of this article, as printed in the Catholic Citizen, Aug. 15, 1914, runs thus:—
“Might not one of the unexpected results of the present conflict be the restoration, in some form, of the Pope’s temporal power?”
The same writer suggested the possibility that Germany might punish Italy for not maintaining her union with the Triple Alliance, and then as a stroke of policy to hold the support of the Center party in the Reichstag, the kaiser might “give Rome and a small strip of seashore to the Holy See.”
In the discussion on both sides of the Atlantic of the possible means for terminating the war and bringing about an agreement upon terms of peace, it has been declared over and over again by Roman Catholic writers that the Pope was the only one who could act as arbiter and impartially determine the conditions of peace. The following quotations from various papers will show how fully this idea has been exploited:—
“The Pope numbers his faithful children in every land. His authority is a moral authority resting on truth and justice, and not on fear or force. . . . When Europe is once more clothed and in a sane mind, its people may turn to the see of Peter and its august occupant, and look to the Father of the faithful in the hope of finding in him a sure protector of all faith and justice among men. Where would such a natural hope be more likely of fulfillment?”—The Catholic Times (London), Sept. 4, 1914.
“The new occupant of the chair of St. Peter is very different in many respects from his predecessor, Pius X. He is a brilliant scholar, and is accredited with a statesman’s point of view. If this be so, the conviction of many will be strengthened, that the Papacy will have no mean influence upon European affairs when the present fierce conflict comes to an end. . . . The Pope is the only potentate who can claim to speak with an international voice, as he owns the allegiance of millions of those who are now at war with each other.”—Pall Mall Gazette (London), Sept. 4, 1914.
“When the warring nations pause for breath and hesitate to renew the strife out of sheer exhaustion, all eyes will be turned to the Vatican and its humble prisoner, and he will be called on to say the last word that will send the bloody sword back into its scabbard not to be unsheathed again perhaps forever.”—Western Watchman, Sept. 17, 1914.
“Benedict the Fifteenth will surely be called on, as no pope for centuries, to exert the enormous moral power of the Papacy in favor of that universal peace which recent decades have so eloquently and persistently sought, but which was never so near a final collapse as in these days. . . . Benedict the Fifteenth is the ideal peacemaker, and would bring to this holiest of priestly offices the spirit of his glorious predecessor, the last Benedict, whose moderate and conciliatory temper was the admiration of all Europe. May Almighty God so guide the counsels of the contending peoples that they will seek the good offices of him whose ancient line represents so worthily through the ages the Prince of Peace!”—Rt. Rev. Mgr. Thomas J. Shahan, D. D., Rector of the Catholic University of America, in the Columbiad, October, 1914.
“That the prestige of the Papacy will be enormously enhanced by the European war is beyond doubt; nations will see there is but one man on earth who can be trusted in all trials, crises, and wars to be perfectly impartial. His training in diplomacy and his knowledge attained in foreign courts give at home a feeling of strength and security. This is welcome, particularly to those who recognize the need a pontiff has for keenness and determination when dealing with Italian and French anticlerical statesmen.”—Rome Letter of Oct. 8, 1914, printed in the Western Watchman, Oct. 29, 1914.
“Not since the Middle Ages, when the Pope was regarded as the arbiter of Europe, has the prestige of the vicar of Christ been so widely acknowledged. Even the enemies of the Catholic religion are now alive to the fact that the Roman pontiff is the only power from whom strict impartiality and scrupulous fairness can be obtained.”—Rome Letter to the Baltimore Catholic Review, Nov. 14, 1914.
“The vigorous manner in which the holy Father conjures rulers and nations to cease drenching Europe with blood is characteristic of the fifteenth Benedict. Changed though the attitude of several European nations is since they recognized the Pope in the light of a universal peacemaker, it is evident Christ’s vicar alone can claim to be hearkened to amid the clang of warfare.”—Rome Letter of Nov. 16, 1914, printed in the Baltimore Catholic Review, December 12, 1914.
“It is a noteworthy fact that the holy Father receives dozens of letters daily from prominent non-Catholics as well as Catholics, imploring him to use his good offices in favor of peaceful mediation.”—The Catholic Bulletin, Dec. 19, 1914.
“A very serious claim can be made for papal influence in world councils today, however much it may seem to be in a decline as compared with thirteenth-century conditions. In so far as any external human power may be looked to to be of avail in pacifying Europe, the Vatican must be reckoned with.”—New York Post, Jan. 2, 1915.
One of the first indications of the benefits which are likely to accrue to the Papacy as the result of the war was the appointment by the English government of Sir Henry Howard, envoy extraordinary to the Vatican. The announcement of this appointment was made in dispatches from Rome, dated Nov. 25, 1914.
This reversal of a policy established at the time of the Reformation and strictly maintained for four hundred years, caused a widespread comment both in the Roman Catholic and in the Protestant press. Its large significance was admitted on all sides. Some of the views of Roman Catholic writers will be found in the following quotations:—
“It is plain that a great change has come over the sentiment of Europe with regard to the Papacy, when Great Britain has requested recognition of a representative at the Vatican, and even Mohammedan Turkey has made a move of a similar kind, in order that the interests of the Porte shall not suffer loss should Italy throw her sword into the scale on the side of the Allies of the Entente.”—Catholic Standard and Times, Dec. 12, 1914.
“The announcement that England has accredited Sir Henry Howard as envoy to the Holy See is a matter of more than ordinary interest to all Catholics. . . . Russia also has renewed her former relations with the Holy See by sending an ambassador in the person of Baron Nelidow, who has just presented his credentials to the Holy Father. Prussia and Austria are officially represented there. Other countries, too, are considering the advisability of sending envoys to the Vatican. This world-wide recognition of the important part which the Holy See plays in international affairs is a matter of deep interest to Catholics in all countries. It shows that the Holy See is gradually coming into its own.”—Catholic Bulletin, Dec. 19, 1914.
“The importance of the news that the British government intends to accredit an ambassador to the Holy See at least for the duration of the war cannot easily be overestimated. She is now one of the very few powers, even though Protestant, that have not got a representative at the Vatican. Catholics have long wished to see their ambassador in Rome, and there is every reason to hope that, once commenced, the envoy will not be withdrawn at the close of the present terrible struggle.”—London Letter to the Morning Star (New Orleans), Dec. 19, 1914.
The comments of the Protestant press upon England’s act of appointing a representative at the Vatican have been rather conservative. A London paper, Truth, declared:—
“It affects the whole attitude of the Protestant states toward the Papacy. It may be wise or unwise. On that point we express no opinion because no information is vouchsafed as to the purpose of the mission, but it is certainly important and raises various considerations which are only slightly and temporarily connected with the war.”
The Protestant Alliance of London made an official protest to the foreign office against opening up diplomatic relations with the Vatican, but this only served to call out a reply justifying the step taken.
In behalf of Canadian Protestants, the Sentinel (Toronto), of Dec. 10, 1914, expressed regret at England’s departure from her well-established policy:—
“It is unfortunate that the government of Great Britain should have considered it necessary to send a diplomatic representative to the Vatican. No doubt the situation is one so unusual that it calls for extraordinary measures. But to reestablish relations with the Vatican, which have been suspended for many years, constitutes a recognition of the Papacy as a civil entity at which the vast majority of the people of Britain will be greatly disappointed.”
These expressions of opinion all emphasize one thing; namely, that the appointment by England of a representative to the Vatican is a very significant step which may involve large consequences.
During recent weeks Pope Benedict XV has made various suggestions to the several belligerent nations, beginning with a request for a three weeks’ truce at Christmas time, which was followed later by recommendations concerning exchange of prisoners. One of the recent events which has served to bring the Papacy into prominence was the reported arrest of the primate of Belgium by the governor-general of the Belgian territory occupied by the Germans. According to one dispatch, the Vatican officially asked for an explanation and reparation from Germany, it being understood that the Pope would make a public protest if Germany refused to accede to these demands. This incident was the occasion for quite a number of articles in the daily press, with prominent headings.
In this connection mention should be made of a striking proposal put forward by Rev. R. J. Campbell, minister of the City Temple, who, in his paper, the Christian Commonwealth, recommended that a general council of the Christian churches of the world be summoned to discuss the war, and named the Pope as the only one who could successfully issue the call for such a council. To quote his own words:—
“Who is to summon such a council? There is only one person who could, with any chance of success, and perhaps he would not dream of attempting it. I mean the Roman pontiff. The archbishop of Canterbury could not do it. Rome would not listen. The metropolitan of the Eastern Church, or the largest portion of it, could not do it. Rome holds the key to the situation. Let her try, and Protestants will think better of her than has been the case for nearly four hundred years.”
The mere fact that such a proposal as this should be made by professed Protestant clergymen of influence, and that it should be cabled to America as a matter of important news, shows a decided drift toward bridging the gulf between Romanism and Protestantism by acknowledging the supremacy of the Pope.
Thus in various ways the Pope and his plans have been kept before the public, the impression being deepened all the time that the Papacy is one of the great powers of earth which must be reckoned with in every matter of importance relating to the war and its conclusion.
The lessons from this whole war situation should not be lightly disregarded. According to Roman Catholic interpretation, God is sending his judgments upon the nations as a penalty for their disregard of the claims of his one true church in the earth. According to the same authority the only way to restore permanent peace will be for these nations to return to the Roman Catholic fold, and to recognize the Pope as the true vicar of Christ, with supreme authority upon earth. The fact that all the great powers of the world, with the one exception of the United States, are involved in this fierce conflict, naturally brings the Papacy into prominence and affords a favorable opportunity to advertise the Pope as the only available arbiter of peace. The new Pope, Benedict XV, is a diplomat by training and by experience, and seems more than willing to thrust himself into the breach in repeated efforts to establish in some way a claim to power over the nations in bringing about an adjustment of present difficulties. It is plain enough that this means a long step toward the exaltation of the Papacy, and the prestige which is thus gained in Europe will be used to further the interests of the Roman Catholic Church in all parts of the world. Those who claim to have special light for the people concerning the great apostasy, the man of sin, and the impending compromise between Protestantism and Romanism, ought now to lift up their voices like a trumpet in a sane but positive interpretation of present events, and to make an earnest effort to save as many as possible from the snare that is being set for them. The warning and instruction of the threefold message of Revelation 14 should now be given to the world with clearness and power.
Washington, D. C.