In a media-driven world where news becomes obsolete in a matter of hours and where work done to dig up the past is often overlooked, the glimpses of Church history offered by the Jesuit magazine Civiltà Cattolica are all the more precious.
Especially as they help disprove prejudices and falsehoods. Such is the case with the most recent essay by the historian Father Giovanni Sale in the upcoming issue of the prominent Jesuit journal. The article is on the subject of the Italian expedition to Libya in 1911.
Sale observes how "during the colonial wars of the 19th and 20th centuries major European powers were engaged in, religion was often used to convince the indigenous populations of the utility and historical necessity of their activities,” undertaken, he said, “to import into those countries Western civilization and culture, and the economic and social benefits connected to it."
In October 1911, the Italians arrived in Libya "with the belief that they would be welcomed by the indigenous population as liberators and 'civilizers.'"
What should have been a walk in the park, became a difficult and costly military operation lasting over twenty years as a result of Arab-Libyan resistance. On 13 October, immediately after the expedition corps disembarked, General Caneva made a solemn and official proclamation to the Arabs of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica "in the name of a forgiving and merciful God."
The proclamation stated that the Italian troops had been sent not to oppress the Libyan population, "but to restore their rights, to punish the usurpers, to make the Libyans free and self-ruling"; that the Italian army was there to put an end to Turkish domination and restore to Libyans their rights; that the Libyans would be ruled by their leaders and according to their laws; that the Islamic religion, its customs and local traditions would be entirely respected.
The proclamation was then supported - Father Sale wrote - by the recitation of two Koranic verses: "Remember that God said in the book: To those who do not make war on your religion and do not drive you from your country, you should do good. You should protect them because God loves benefactors and protectors."
"The religious element that the enemy sought to use to pacify the Libyans," historian Habib Wadaa Al-Hesnaw wrote, "instead became one of the most important elements of the opposition movement against the invasion, and caused them to unite with the Turks into a single bloc, forming a united Islamic front to face the Christian invading forces." Every Libyan who fought against the Italian invader became a Mujahideen - a defender of the cause of Allah.
General Caneva’s proclamation was criticized by the Holy See’s newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, and by Civiltà Cattolica, which published full commentaries on it. In an "ironic and provocative" tone, Father Sale observed, the Vatican newspaper wrote: "Readers who glance through those sentences, all radiating belief in God and in God's providence, informed by a sense of justice, political honesty and humanitarian sentiments, overflowing with holy intentions and promises, will surely experience a deep sense of satisfaction from it, a sense we ourselves felt upon reading it."
Indeed, the text was written by a government - the Kingdom of Italy – which, "in religious matters, could certainly not be viewed as delicate or tolerant in their dealings with the Catholic Church." The Vatican journal thus took the occasion to denounce in no uncertain terms the religious policy promoted by the recent liberal governments, and to show "the hypocrisy and ambiguity of the proclamation, in which it was clear that religion and sacred things were made the object of political bartering, or worse, tools to obtain native consent and obedience to an occupation imposed by force."
"Italian believers," L'Osservatore Romano continuedin its ironic tone, "at least know where they can go from now on to find a more healthy environment, to see the shadow of the national flag, the holy name of God, officially pronounced and revered by the public authorities, sacred people and things respected and protected, and the decorum of their women assured."
La Civiltà Cattolica also made some harsh comments about the proclamation: "In taking over Tripoli, the Government showed that it was using religion as a tool for its political ends, with which they may use any means to make an alliance with any party." "The abuse," concluded the Jesuit journal, "done to the name of God and of Providence is clear."
The controversy exploded over the following days. Thus, the Holy See felt compelled to prevent misunderstandings especially among Catholics, through a Te Deum, sung on 17 October 1911,in the Catholic Church in Tripoli, in the presence of Italian military and civil authorities. The next day, L'Osservatore Romano "responded with a brief but pointed editorial in response to the insinuations of the leftist parliamentarians, replying that the undertaking in Tripoli was 'an absolutely political affair in which religion...remains perfectly extraneous."
During the controversy, some men of the Church and representatives of Catholic journals (especially the "Grosoli group", largely financed by the Bank of Rome, which had interests in Libya) "released statements that were quite inappropriate, describing the war as an undertaking against the mortal enemy of Christianity, that is, the 'Turkish Peril'." Father Sale documents that Pius X wanted to clear things up personally. The Secretary of State wrote a note that was published on the opening page of L'Osservatore Romano on 21 October.
"A number of journals," the Vatican note read, "wanting Catholic military action, and some clerical and lay speakers who talk about the Italy-Turkey conflict, sound as if they believe we are in a holy war, carried out in the name and with the support of Religion and the Church. We are authorized to declare that the Holy See not only refuses any responsibility for such interpretations, but, desiring to remain outside the current conflict, can neither approve it nor condemn it." The note was sent to the bishops who had shown their support for the Italian war effort.
On 22 October, the Vatican daily acted again, with a reference to the Christians of that persuasion, making transparent once again the realism that distinguishes the Holy See: "There are many, many thousands of Christians in every nation, starting with these Italians, who have a vested interest in not being suspected and persecuted in hatred for being Christian," and so this conflict should not be seen as a religious war."
These facts, Father Sale concluded, show how Pius X "energetically and clearly denounced the use of religion for exclusively political ends. Furthermore, he did not want, as a full reading of the Note of 21 October 1911 shows, the Italian colonial war (as with those that other "Catholic nations" engaged in) to be understood as a religious war, that is, as a new crusade between Muslims and Christians."
This view was well understood by the Turks, so much so that an Ottoman parliamentary group with headquarters in the European district of Galata sent the Pope "a telegram of thanks for his attitude in favor of peace in the current war between Italy and Turkey."
Pope Sarto's attitude the Jesuit historian wrote, was "of great importance from a historic and moral point of view, as it influenced the position that the Holy See subsequently assumed during conflicts between States.
And, even in very different historical situations, Benedict XV and Pius XII echoed Pius X's sentiments during the First and Second World Wars."