'Forgetful' Europe and 'useless massacres'

By Andrea Tornielli

Peace, negotiations, diplomatic work, honorable compromises. From Luxembourg, a small country at the crossroads of many European historical events, Pope Francis makes an appeal for peace to Europe, urging it not to repeat the mistakes of the past. He invites Europe not to be forgetful.

In his words, what strikes is the expression "useless massacre", an expression that recalls the one used by Pope Benedict XV to describe the carnage of the First World War.

Speaking to the authorities of Luxembourg, the Pope observed “the re-emergence, even on the European continent, of rifts and enmities that, instead of being resolved on the basis of mutual goodwill, negotiation and diplomatic efforts, are resulting in open hostilities, leading to destruction and death."

How can one not think of Ukraine, attacked by Russia, a war that has already cost a million victims between the dead and wounded, and has devastated the country? A war fought between Christians who share the same faith, the same baptism, and the same liturgy.

Pope Francis then lamented that the human heart seems incapable of "to remember.” Yes, it is indeed a forgetful Europe that risks returning to the paths of war. To avoid "new useless massacres," he added, we need "noble and profound spiritual values, which prevent reason from succumbing to foolishness and our lapsing into making the same mistakes of the past, mistakes made even worse by the greater technological power that human beings now possess."

The Bishop of Rome also spoke about the specific responsibility of leaders, those in authority, describing it as an "urgent need" to engage with perseverance and patience in honest negotiations aimed at resolving conflicts. He called for minds willing “to find honourable compromises, which undermine nothing and can instead build security and peace for all.”

Peace, negotiations, diplomatic work, honourable compromises: words that seem to have disappeared from the vocabulary of leaders, even European ones, in a time when the focus is solely on weapons and how many billions to invest in instruments of death. While some leaders threaten to use nuclear weapons, while the number of civilians killed under drone-guided bombs increases, and while states invest enormous sums in armaments, diverting resources from the fight against hunger, healthcare, education, and environmental protection, it is the people who must make their voices heard.

The words spoken by Paul VI on January 29, 1966, regarding a UN arbitration on the Vietnam War remain as relevant as ever: "It is a grave, very grave responsibility to reject negotiations, the only way now to end the conflict, without leaving the decision to weapons, to increasingly terrible weapons. The people are watching! And God will have to judge us!"