Editing Pope Benedict XV (section)

=== Peace efforts ===
{{Main|Peace efforts during the First World War}}
[[File:PioXIIgernamia1917.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Eugenio Pacelli]] at the Imperial Headquarters with the peace proposal of Benedict XV to Emperor [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]]]]
Benedict XV's pontificate was dominated by [[World War I]], which he termed, along with its turbulent aftermath, "the suicide of Europe."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/justice/world-war-pope-benedict-xv-and-pursuit-peace|title=World War I's Pope Benedict XV and the pursuit of peace|publisher=[[National Catholic Reporter]]|author=Terry Philpot|date=19 July 2014|access-date=18 February 2022}}</ref> Benedict's first encyclical extended a heartfelt plea for an end to hostilities. His early call for a general [[Christmas truce]] in 1914 was ignored, although informal truces were organized. Late in the war, in May–October 1917, the [[Marian apparition|apparitions]] of [[Our Lady of Fatima]] occurred in [[Fatima, Portugal]], apparitions that would be declared "worthy of belief" in 1930 during the papacy of his successor, [[Pius XI]].{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

[[File:Papa Benedetto XV.jpeg|thumb|Pope Benedict XV during his reign]]

The national antagonisms between the warring parties were accentuated by religious differences before the war, with France, Italy and Belgium being largely Catholic. Vatican relations with Great Britain were good, while neither [[Prussia]] nor [[Imperial Germany]] had any official relations with the Vatican.  In Protestant circles of Germany, the notion was popular that the Catholic Pope was neutral on paper only, strongly favoring the allies instead.<ref name="Conrad Gröber 1937">Conrad Gröber, ''Handbuch der Religiösen Gegenwartsfragen'', Herder Freiburg, [[Germany|DE]] 1937, 493</ref> Benedict was said to have prompted [[Austria-Hungary]] to go to war in order to weaken the German war machine. Also, allegedly, the Papal Nuncio in Paris{{clarify|There was no Papal Nuncio in Paris between 1904–21|date=April 2024}} explained in a meeting of the ''[[Catholic University of Paris|Institut Catholique]]'', "to fight against France is to fight against God",<ref name="Conrad Gröber 1937" /> and the Pope was said to have exclaimed that he was sorry not to be a Frenchman.<ref name="Conrad Gröber 1937" /> The Belgian Cardinal [[Désiré-Joseph Mercier]], known as a brave patriot during German occupation but also famous for his anti-German propaganda, was said to have been favored by Benedict XV for his enmity to the German cause. After the war, Benedict also allegedly praised the [[Treaty of Versailles]], which humiliated the Germans.<ref name="Conrad Gröber 1937" />

These allegations were rejected by the Vatican's [[Cardinal Secretary of State]] [[Pietro Gasparri]], who wrote on 4 March 1916 that the Holy See is completely impartial and does not favor the allied side. This was even more important, so Gasparri noted, after the diplomatic representatives of Germany and Austria-Hungary to the Vatican were expelled from Rome by Italian authorities.<ref name="Gröber 495">Gröber 495</ref> However, considering all this, German Protestants rejected any "Papal Peace", calling it insulting. French politician [[Georges Clemenceau]], a fierce anti-clerical, claimed to regard the Vatican initiative as anti-French. Benedict made many unsuccessful attempts to negotiate peace, but these pleas for a negotiated peace made him unpopular, even in Catholic countries like Italy, among many supporters of the war who were determined to accept nothing less than total victory.<ref name="Pollard, 136">Pollard, 136</ref>

On 1 August 1917, Benedict issued a seven-point peace plan stating that:
# "the moral force of right… be substituted for the material force of arms,"
# there must be "simultaneous and reciprocal diminution of armaments,"
# a mechanism for "international arbitration must be established,"
# "true liberty and common rights over the sea" should exist,
# there should be a "renunciation of war indemnities,"
# occupied territories should be evacuated, and
# there should be "an examination… of rival claims."

Great Britain reacted favorably though popular opinion was mixed.<ref>Youssef Taouk, 'The Pope's Peace Note of 1917: the British response', [http://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/pdfs/2017/achs%20journal%202016%2037-2%20for%20internet.pdf ''Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society'' 37 (2) (2016)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226064106/http://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/pdfs/2017/achs%20journal%202016%2037-2%20for%20internet.pdf |date=26 February 2019 }}, 193–207.</ref> [[President of the United States]] [[Woodrow Wilson]] rejected the plan. [[Kingdom of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] and Austria-Hungary were also favorable, but Germany replied ambiguously.<ref>John R. Smestad Jr., [http://www.loyno.edu/history/journal/1994-5/1994-5.htm  'Europe 1914–1945: Attempts at Peace'] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090708105049/http://www.loyno.edu/history/journal/1994-5/1994-5.htm |date=8 July 2009}}, [[Loyola University New Orleans]] ''The Student Historical Journal 1994–1995'' Vol XXVI.</ref><ref>{{Citation | publisher = Brigham Young university | url = http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Pope_Benedict_XV%27s_Peace_Proposal | title = Five of seven points of Benedict XV's peace plan}}.</ref> Benedict also called for outlawing conscription,<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/09/23/102366187.pdf "Pope in New Note to Ban Conscription"], ''New York Times'', 23 September 1917, A1.</ref> a call he repeated in 1921.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/11/16/103568068.pdf "Pope would clinch peace. Urges abolition of conscription as way to disarmament], ''[[New York Times]]'', 16 November 1921, from [[Associated Press]] report.</ref>

Some of the proposals eventually were included in Woodrow Wilson's [[Fourteen Points]] call for peace in January 1918.<ref name="Pollard, 136" /><ref>[http://wcbstv.com/national/Pope.s.Name.2.251671.html Pope's Name Pays Homage To Benedict XV, Took Inspiration From An Anti-War Pontiff]{{dead link |date= November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted= yes}}, [http://wcbstv.com/ WCBSTV], 20 April 2005.</ref>

In Europe, each side saw him as biased in favor of the other and was unwilling to accept the terms he proposed. Still, although unsuccessful, his diplomatic efforts during the war are credited with an increase of papal prestige and served as a model in the 20th century for the peace efforts of [[Pius XII]] before and during [[World War II]], the policies of [[Paul VI]] during the [[Vietnam War]], and the position of [[John Paul II]] before and during the [[Iraq War]].<ref name= "Pollard, 136" />

In addition to his efforts in the field of international diplomacy Pope Benedict also tried to bring about peace through Christian faith, as he published a special prayer in 1915 to be spoken by Catholics throughout the world.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1915/03/14/page/3/article/prayer-for-peace-from-pope-benedict |title= Prayer for Peace from Pope Benedict |work=Chicago Tribune |date= 14 March 1915 |access-date= 1 March 2015}}</ref>