Review article
POPE BENEDICT XV’S PEACE INITIATIVE OF 1917
Livia Kardum
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The three-year war seriously undermined religious solidarity on which Vatican’s political influence in the world was based. That is why Pope Benedict XV opted for a peace initiative hoping to find the base for a lasting peace. His sympathies lied with the Central Powers, so the Vatican’s peace note was composed in that vein. The note was supposed to be passed on by Great Britain to its allies. During these British-Vatican contacts, one had an impression that Great Britain was particularly interested in Belgian independence. The Vatican diplomacy strongly pressured Berlin to renounce Belgium as a stepping-stone to peace. The German military leadership was not in the mood for compromises regarding this, but on the basis of the Vatican’s counsel, the new German foreign minister Kühlmann tried to get into contact with Great Britain as the first step to universal peace talks. However, this attempt also led to an impasse because of the unreadiness of both warring parties to forego their war goals in favour of a compromising peace.
Keywords
World War One; year 1917; peace initiative; Vatican diplomacy; German diplomacy
Hrčak ID:
24374
URI
Publication date:
4.4.2002.
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