In September, 2014,
Pope Francis travelled to the far northeastern region of Friuli Venezia Giulia
on the northern border of Veneto, the region where Venice is located. The best known city in "Friuli," as
the Italian region is called, is the so-called "Middle European city"
of Trieste, annexed to Italy after the First World War. At the Austrian-Hungarian Military Cemetery of
Fogliano di Redipuglia, the Pope stood before the stone graves of the 14,550
soldiers buried there. The occasion of
that visit was the 100th Anniversary of the outbreak of World War I. At the Sacrario,
Italian for "military cemetery," Pope Francis offered a mass and
delivered a potent homily. Lately, I
keep reading opinions about the nature of these times. Many observers insist that the geopolitical circumstances
of 1914 and 2014 run along eerily similar lines. Without entering into the arguments, I'd
simply prefer to quote Pope Francis who continues to tell it like it is. Bearing flowers and wearing what looked like
a frown, he said in Italian, "After contemplating the beauty of the
landscape of this region, where men and women work to support their families,
where children play and the elderly dream. . . finding myself here, in this
place, the only words that come to me are:
War is madness." He was particularly focussed that day on the
words of Cain, the Bible's first assassin, who justified himself with a surly
response: "A me che importa?" That
is, "What does it have to do with me?
Why should I care?" Pope
Francis declared, "Greed, intolerance, the ambition for power, these are
the incentives behind the decision to wage war, and these incentives are often
justified by an ideology; but first, there's a passion, there's a twisted
impulse. 
The ideology is a
justification, and when there's no ideology, there's the answer of Cain: "'What's it to me? Am I supposed to be my
brother's keeper?'" Pope Francis continued,
"Even today, after the second failure, that of the Second World War,
perhaps we can talk about a Third World War now being fought 'in pieces,' with
crimes, massacres, destruction of every kind . . ." He practically pointed a finger when he said,
". . .these planners of terror, these organizers of conflict, along with
the manufacturers of arms, the 'businessmen of war' who have it written across
their hearts, 'Why should I care?'"
The Pope's disdain was clear as he repeated Cain's words. "Here there are so many victims. Today we remember them. There is weeping, there is sorrow. And from this place we remember all the
victims of all wars. Even today the
victims are so many. How is this possible? It is possible because even today behind the
scenes there are business interests, geopolitical plans, hunger for money and power,
and there is the arms industry that seems to be so important!" He then noted, "Wise men recognize error,
and they suffer for it, they regret it, they ask for forgiveness and weep. But with that 'What do I care?' attitude that
the businessmen of war have in their hearts, perhaps making a lot of profit,
but with corrupt hearts which have lost the capacity to weep." He said, "The shadow of Cain is hanging
over us here today, in this cemetery.
It's visible here. It can be seen
throughout history, from 1914 up to our times.
And it can be seen even in our very days." Pope Francis then launched a soulful plea,
"With the heart of a brother, a father, I ask from all of you, and for all
of us, a conversion from the heart: Go
from that 'Why should I care?' attitude to one of tears. For all the fallen in the 'senseless
conflagration,' for all the victims of the madness of war, in every time
period. Humanity needs to cry, and this
is the hour of tears." Before leaving
Redipuglia, the Pope was given a sad keepsake: the military enrollment papers of his paternal
grandfather, Giovanni Carlo Bergoglio, who died in the trenches near the Isonzo
River, not far from the Sacrario. Let us
pray that Pope Francis' many messages reach as many people as possible, especially
those who spend public money, and let's keep praying that another
"senseless conflagration" does not envelop the world. UN'AMERICANA A
VENEZIA
The ideology is a
justification, and when there's no ideology, there's the answer of Cain: "'What's it to me? Am I supposed to be my
brother's keeper?'" Pope Francis continued,
"Even today, after the second failure, that of the Second World War,
perhaps we can talk about a Third World War now being fought 'in pieces,' with
crimes, massacres, destruction of every kind . . ." He practically pointed a finger when he said,
". . .these planners of terror, these organizers of conflict, along with
the manufacturers of arms, the 'businessmen of war' who have it written across
their hearts, 'Why should I care?'"
The Pope's disdain was clear as he repeated Cain's words. "Here there are so many victims. Today we remember them. There is weeping, there is sorrow. And from this place we remember all the
victims of all wars. Even today the
victims are so many. How is this possible? It is possible because even today behind the
scenes there are business interests, geopolitical plans, hunger for money and power,
and there is the arms industry that seems to be so important!" He then noted, "Wise men recognize error,
and they suffer for it, they regret it, they ask for forgiveness and weep. But with that 'What do I care?' attitude that
the businessmen of war have in their hearts, perhaps making a lot of profit,
but with corrupt hearts which have lost the capacity to weep." He said, "The shadow of Cain is hanging
over us here today, in this cemetery.
It's visible here. It can be seen
throughout history, from 1914 up to our times.
And it can be seen even in our very days." Pope Francis then launched a soulful plea,
"With the heart of a brother, a father, I ask from all of you, and for all
of us, a conversion from the heart: Go
from that 'Why should I care?' attitude to one of tears. For all the fallen in the 'senseless
conflagration,' for all the victims of the madness of war, in every time
period. Humanity needs to cry, and this
is the hour of tears." Before leaving
Redipuglia, the Pope was given a sad keepsake: the military enrollment papers of his paternal
grandfather, Giovanni Carlo Bergoglio, who died in the trenches near the Isonzo
River, not far from the Sacrario. Let us
pray that Pope Francis' many messages reach as many people as possible, especially
those who spend public money, and let's keep praying that another
"senseless conflagration" does not envelop the world. UN'AMERICANA A
VENEZIA
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