B. The Church during the Two World Wars
The struggle between the Secular Nationalism and the Church was soon overwhelmed by the advent of
World War I & II.
 These wars were unprecedented in history in terms of participants, weaponry, cost, and lives.
The Church had to react to this global disaster at a time when many thought its influence was on a steep
decline.
1) Benedict XV (1914-1922) and World War I
o St. Pius X died on the eve of the outbreak of WWI on August 20, 1914; some say he died of grief
over what was to happen.
o His place was taken by one of the cardinals created by Pius X: Giacomo della Chiesa, who took the
name of Benedict XV.
o Immediately, the Church had to rely on his skills as a diplomat to guide it through these difficult
times.
o Unfortunately, Benedict was facing a near obsessive mentality in all the world’s leaders because of
Secular Nationalism.
a) Secular Nationalism and World War I.
 Secular Nationalism demanded that everyone put the interests of the nation first over everything
else, as Bismarck did in Prussia.
 This implied that anything conflicting with the interests of the nation had to be opposed, especially
if this opposition came from another nation.
 This led to the network of alliances that turned Europe and its colonies into an armed camp with
Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire in alliance against Britain, France, and Russia.
 In diplomacy, Germany, Britain and France made it their ultimate goal to outmaneuver each other.
 When the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand made diplomacy impossible, this obsession to
outdo their rivals translated into defeating them completely in war.
 So, once the War started, Secular Nationalism made the complete and utter defeat of the enemy
the epitome of patriotism; unless this was achieved, no talk of truce would be considered.
b) "Victorious Peace" vs. "Peace without Victory"
 WWI began in 1914; most thought it would end by the next year at the most, as most wars did.
 By 1916, with the attrition caused by trenches and machine guns, it was clear that this war would be
much longer, but because of Secular Nationalism, neither side wanted to discuss peace.
 What the world leaders wanted was a "Victorious Peace" in which one side was totally vanquished.
 Benedict made several appeals to world leaders for a "Peace without Victory", which called for an
immediate end to the War without consideration of who won or lost and how. The following are
excerpts of his exhortations.
- "The rulers of the peoples should be satisfied with the ruin already wrought."
- "Who could realize that they are brethren, children of the same Father in Heaven?"
- While pressured by both sides to condemn the other, Benedict instead condemned the war itself
as an "unparalleled scourge," a "carnage which is without example," a "horrible plague," and "that
monstrous spectacle."
- As early as Christmas 1914, Benedict said the following in his homily: "May the fratricidal weapons
fall to the ground! Already they are too bloodstained; let them at last fall! And may the hands of
those how have to wield them return to the labours of industry and commerce, to the works of
civilization and peace."
- In Holy Week of 1915: "In this hour made terrible with burning hate, with bloodshed and with
slaughter, once more may Thy divine Heart be moved to pity…Inspire rulers and peoples with
counsels of meekness…heal the discords that tear nations asunder…hear our trustful prayer, and
give back to the world peace and tranquility."
- To 5000 children who received First Communion at the Vatican in July 1916: "[You know], my
children, how for two long years men who were once innocent and affectionate like you, and are so
no longer, have been tearing and killing each other…We desire that mankind may cease from
hatred and slaughter…May God…spare you and your household and the entire world every further
shedding of blood by the merits of [the Precious Blood of Christ]…"
- In August 1917, Benedict recommended a Peace Plan on the basis of 7 principles:
1. The "moral force of right" instead of the "material force of arms."
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2. Limitation of armaments.
3. Compulsory arbitration of international disputes.
4. Full freedom of the seas.
5. Renunciation of all claims to war reparations.
6. Evacuation and restoration of all territories conquered during the war.
7. Review of any border territorial disputes like Alsace-Lorraine in a "conciliatory spirit."
 His appeals my have resonated with ordinary Catholics, but it didn’t do much with world leaders.
 Only the new Emperor of Austria-Hungary, Charles I of Hapsburg, was willing to seek a "Peace
without Victory." He too was ignored and died in exile in 1922, but he was beatified for his efforts
by Pope John Paul II in 2004.
 Other world leaders were less than polite:
- A young Benito Mussolini, in the initial stages of dominating Italian politics, publicly condemned
Benedict’s Holy Week prayer.
- The French Police called the Holy Week prayer "subversive".
- British Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour refused to consider Benedict’s 7-Point Peace Plan because
it didn’t make Germany admit war guilt.
- French Foreign Minister Alexandre Ribot and Italian Foreign Minister Sidney Sonnino objected to
having any written correspondence with the Pope on matters of war and peace.
- Any hope of this plan accepted in Germany was destroyed by General Erich Ludendorff.
- U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s first reaction to Benedict’s Peace Plan was the following quote:
"What does he want to butt in for?"
c) After the War
 When the war ended, and the victors were negotiating the Treaty Versailles, Benedict tried to warn
the Allied Powers not to humiliate Germany: "Remember that nations do not die; humbled and
oppressed, they chafe under the yoke imposed upon them, preparing a renewal of the combat, and
passing down from generation to generation a mournful heritage of revenge."
 Of course, the world leaders ignored him, and the Treaty of Versailles imposed harsh conditions on
Germany which included accepting guilt for the war and a paying all reparations.
 Many historians agree that these harsh terms were a direct cause of the rise of the Nazis and the
start of World War II.
 Benedict, in the meantime, gave huge sums of Vatican money for the relief of thousands of war
refugees.
 By the time Benedict died on Jan. 22, 1922, the Vatican treasury couldn’t afford the expenses to pay
for the next conclave; eventually, the conclave was able to elect Cardinal Achille Ratti a few weeks
later.
 It was up to Cardinal Ratti—who took the name Pius XI—to deal with the crises left by World War I.
2) Pius XI (1922-1939) and the world between wars
a) The Lateran Treaty of 1929
 The Popes were still the "Prisoners of the Vatican" from the times of Bd. Pius IX.
 By 1919, Mussolini and his Fascists were gradually taking control of Italy by some harsh measures,
but he still could not afford the condemnation of the Church; consequently, he opened
negotiations with the Vatican.
 The result of these negotiations was the Lateran Treaty signed in 1929.
- The Italian government recognized the Vatican State as an independent nation, it gave legal
standing to religious orders and other Catholic institutions in Italy, and Catholicism could be taught
in Italian schools.
- The Vatican would give up territorial claims in Italy, recognize the ruling royal dynasty as
legitimate, and stay out of Italian politics
b) Pius XI vs. unrestrained capitalism
 In the West, the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century had evolved to the unbridled Capitalism
of the 20th century.
 Companies and corporations made profit the ultimate goal of business, and a dog-eat-dog
mentality ensued. This was merged with Darwin’s idea of "survival of the fittest" in which the strong
companies survived and the weak ones were eliminated.
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Low wages, bankruptcy, unemployment, and dangerous working conditions were often seen as
merely "the cost of doing business."
 In response, Pius XI wrote the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, where he reiterated the Church’s
insistence of social justice in the realm of economics:
- "Every effort must therefore be made that fathers of families receive a wage large enough to meet
ordinary family needs adequately. But if this cannot always be done under existing circumstances,
social justice demands that changes be introduced as soon as possible whereby such a wage will be
assured to every adult workingman."
- "The riches that economic-social developments constantly increase ought to be so distributed
among individual persons and classes that ... the common good of all society will be kept inviolate."
- It follows from the twofold character of ownership, which we have termed individual and social,
that men must take into account in this matter not only their own advantage but also the common
good."
c) Pius XI vs. Atheistic Communism
 Karl Marx's ideas of a proletariat revolution were established in Russia during the Russian
Revolution of 1917.
 Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown and eventually executed, while Lenin proclaimed a "Workers'
State" with the Communist Party in control.
 Because Marx believed that religion was "the opiate of the people" and a means for the rich to
control the proletariat, the Communists under Lenin and later Josef Stalin aimed to supress it by
confiscating church lands and limiting religious freedom.
 Under Stalin, Communist Russia became a totalitarian state ( = a single party led by a dictator
controls all aspects of life), which is the ultimate form of Secular Nationalism; outright persecution
was just a matter of time.
 In response, Pius XI wrote the encyclical Divini Redemptoris in which he condemned the errors of
Communism.
-"Communism is by its nature anti-religious. It considers religion as "the opiate of the people"
because the principles of religion which speak of a life beyond the grave dissuade the proletariat
from the dream of a Soviet paradise which is of this world."
- "After all, even the sphere of economics needs some morality, some moral sense of responsibility,
which can find no place in a system so thoroughly materialistic as Communism. Terrorism is the only
possible substitute, and it is terrorism that reigns today in Russia, where former comrades in
revolution are exterminating each other. Terrorism, having failed despite all to stem the tide of
moral corruption, cannot even prevent the dissolution of society itself."
d) Pius XI vs. the Fascists
 Pius also had to deal with the other form of totalitarianism--Fascism
 He already dealt with Italian fascists under Mussolini; this resulted in the Lateran Treaty.
 In Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), Pius XI faced a dilemma with Generalissimo
Francisco Franco, whose group included Nationalists and Fascists who were backed by Hitler and
Mussolini. Franco was a Fascist and totalitarian, but:
- Franco claimed to be a practicing Catholic who was defending the Spanish Church, and he openly
guaranteed that Catholicism would be recognized and protected under his government.
- Pius was still worried about the spread of Communism, and the Communists had joined the Civil
War on the side of the Republicans against Franco's coalition.
- Spain's Republican government turned a blind eye to the Spanish Communists' anti-Catholic
activities in which they burned churches and killed religious; in 1936 alone 10 bishops, 6000 priests,
and 16 000 religious and lay leaders were killed by the Spanish Communists.
- What does Pius XI do? Does he support Franco as a defender of Catholics or condemn him as a
fascist dictator?
 The biggest challenge was Germany where Adolf Hitler and the Nazis established another
totalitarian state.
- Hitler’s policies were aggressive and brutal against minorities like Jews and Slavs.
- Hitler, the ultimate Secular Nationalist, also took measures to suppress the Church.
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Pius XI responded by publishing an Encyclical specifically to the Church in Germany: Mit
Brennender Sorge (“With Great Anxiety”), which condemned the Nazis’ racist actions in Germany
and was ordered to be read at Sunday Mass everywhere in Germany.
Hitler angrily reacted by suppressing the Church even more:
- He threw priests and laypeople in prison.
- He closed the presses that printed Mit Brennender Sorge.
- He forced Catholic schools and clergy to teach the Nazi party line but forbade them to participate
in political activities.
- In all of this, he threatened the Pope not to criticize the Nazis further or risk even more reprisals.
This gave Pius XI a dilemma:
- As pope, he was obliged to criticize what Hitler was doing not only to the Church, but to the
others being persecuted (Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, etc.).
- At the same time, Pius knew that criticism not only would cause more suffering to the Church in
Germany, but Hitler could easily convince his ally Mussolini to break the Lateran Treaty and invade
the Vatican itself.
Pius XI would die on February 10, 1939; World War II would break out less than 7 months later
which only added to the dilemma.
This dilemma would be placed in the hands of the Cardinal who had experience as Secretary of
State and Papal Nuncio to Germany since World War I—Eugenio Pacelli.
Assignment
1. What form of Secular Nationalism did Benedict XV face, and how did he meet that challenge? How
successful was he?
2. How did Pius XI’s writings promote social and economic justice against the errors of capitalism and
communism?
3. Totalitarianism was another form of Secular Nationalism. How did Pius XI meet the challenges of the two
kinds of totalitarianism?
4. [Opinion question] Based what you learned about Benedict XV here and in Unit 4 about St. Benedict of
Nursia (who wrote the Rule of St. Benedict), is there any significance in the fact that Cardinal Josef Ratzinger
chose the name Benedict XVI when he was elected in 2005? [Bonus +2]
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