The Papacy and Peace
468 THE COMMONWEAL September 23, 1925 It is characteristic ,of ,the American poor—particularly those whom immigration has recently brought to us—to reverence education. They want it for...
...The most sensational matter taken up by von Lama in his first section is the treatment by the German Chancellor, Georg Michaelis, of the preliminary peace parley which the Holy Father transmitted to Germany at the request of the British ambassador to the Vatican...
...In the first place, Benedict XV conceded a point and authorized official visits from crowned heads and presidents...
...in the second place, the newspapers of Italy began gradually to assert that the arrangement of 1870 ought not to stand and that the Roman question must be settled anew...
...During the course of President Wilson's visit to the Vatican, in 1919, many papers supposed that he would be asked to urge the Holy See's case at Versailles...
...But every document in the case proves anew the rigid aloofness of the Papacy from nationalistic enthusiasms...
...He and his Evangelical Bund could not take even peace from the hands of the papal "Anti-christ...
...The Commonweal will, therefore, publish brief resumes of von Lama's work as it appears...
...He was requested—during that year of the Luther anniversary, in honor of which he wrote an eloquent manuscript, "not to get entangled in the devil's yarn...
...This clause, of course, barred the door to papal diplomacy...
...His work has official approval and is especially trustworthy because it is based on documents placed at his disposal by the Curia...
...THE PAPACY AND PEACE ONCORD between peoples, prevention of war, ^ social reconstruction—these goals, recognized by all men as fundamental to the welfare of our own and future generations, are the constant objects of what may be termed papal diplomacy...
...The great war convinced the world that Pius X and his successors were, in a magnificent sense, custodians of conscience and masters of charity...
...The inference is therefore clear...
...Italy demanded such an agreement because she feared the Roman question might come before a peace conference for settlement...
...but most of all they concede the educated man's right to give counsel and assume control...
...For instance, the letter of Benedict XV, dated November 8, 1918, characterizes the Italian victory as "fortunati successi...
...Can we afford to squander the opportunity latent in this attitude...
...but the fact that he had come, that various other rulers called at the Vatican, and that the diplomatic representatives of many nations were in attendance there, brought about a profound modification of the whole issue...
...They want it for their children, and they regret having missed it themselves...
...Fortunately, a German student of history, Friedrich Ritter von Lama, has begun to publish in a series of little books what will be a complete account of the international effort of the Holy See...
...There can be no doubt of the official character of the invitation...
...Her pre-war liberal leaders, Sonnino particularly, would brook no modification of the status of 1870...
...But though the parley was presented by the papal nuncio in Munich, it met with evasive answers only...
...Because, says our historian, using ample evidence to sustain his contention, Michaelis was the representative of those who treasured the ancient antipathy of Protestant Germany to the Vatican and its mission...
...Why did Michaelis wreak this cosmic blunder...
...It will be recalled that this parley asked three questions—what reparations Germany would make, what guarantees of future European peace would be offered, and whether Germany would agree to the liberation of Belgium with appropriate indemnities...
...Those of us whom the training of mind and eye has given a relatively deep insight into the laws and structure of society, have no finer chance to amount to something in this world than is afforded by the opportunity to join hands with the social action department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference and win over crowds to the doctrine of Pope Leo and his disciples...
...During the course of the war, the Holy See was necessarily obligated to the difficult task of maintaining absolute neutrality...
...Of course he was suffered to depart without having been embarrassed with any such request...
...The fact that such occasions could be seized only seldom is accounted for by von Lama in a searching study of the well known clause in the London Agreement which pledged the support of England and France to Italian opposition to "every proposal tending to introduce a papal representative into any of the negotiations for peace, or for the settlement of questions raised by the present war...
...It was the Holy See which labored for Germany's weal and the world's peace— and it was, in all probability, the German Chancellor who added another holocaust to the catastrophe...
...It has since been made clear that Michaelis, though his emperor had urged manoeuvering for peace and had ruled that Belgium was to be restored inviolate, did not mention the papal letter to the German leaders...
...if this be translated, as it frequently was, as "fortunate successes," an implication of rejoicing would be given...
...Such a settlement has not, however, been arrived at as yet...
...but the Italian word "fortunati" means "caused by fortune...
...But though many governments have been led to establish or reassume diplomatic relations with the Vatican, the public knows little about what has been the actual character of the Pope's endeavor...
...Ribot agreed to it, in the name of France, because he feared the possibility that his country might have to carry on the conflict alone...
...Often it seemed to the Catholics of various countries that their church was showing favor to the enemy—a conclusion to which a protagonist is almost always brought by a display of genuine impartiality...
...Of course there were occasions when the Papacy might have attempted to right a moral wrong without violating neutrality...
...Ludendorff did not hear of it until the war was over...
Vol. 2 • September 1925 • No. 20
