The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-03-11
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
AND PEACE MOVEMENTS
Rev, Or. Robinson Lectures On This
Subject.


A lecture was given OH March 1 at
the University Of Pennsylvania by
Rev. DIR. Paschal Robinson, o. +. NJ,
Professor of Medieval History at the
Catholic University. The lecture,
which was entitled: Some Medieval
| Peace Movements and Organizations"
had u timely interest on account of
the recent efforts of the Holy See to
lessen the horrors Of the present war
i'll Europe. The medieval period in
| history was, the speaker said, probably
the greatest era OF war the civilized
world has ever seen. Between the
death of Charlemagne and the close
| of the Crusades, war rather than
peace was the normal condition of
society Medieval warfare, however,
was not war as we understand it now
| adays, where, with some large purpose
| Ill view one great cohesive state
| directs it's entire military powers
| against another state, but rather pri,
vate war Of an essentially local char
| i
fact that under the feudal system the
| universal and common had very little
power and that political expediency
and national expansion were as yet
unknown doctrines, SO that almost
every war Of medieval times was
based Oh some local or private claim
| Upon the slightest pretext, often with
out any excuse at all, the feudal lord
| would sally forth from his castle to
carry fire and sword into the neighbor-
! ing territory. This lawless custom of
waging private war without legitimate
cause was the chief cause OF the
| instability of life in medieval times
The Wretched peasantry were, DR..
| Robinson pointed out, the chief suf-
ferers. Their villages were burned
and their crops destroyed, and not in
frequently famine and pestilence COM
pleted the work of destruction.
In the midst of this deplorable con-
dition of affairs the Church stepped
in and sought to protect the oppressed
/ by imposing measures calculated to
enforce respect for the public peace.
! These measures we're at first local
and took the form of the institution
| known as the peace of God" DR..
| Robinson traced the history of this
| institution from its first appearance
/ i'll the south of France in 989. Its
| object was to exempt certain classes
| of persons whose condition or profess
| sion forbade them to carry arms and
to mark off, as it were, a sphere Of
peace around non-combatants from the
surrounding sphere Of feud. SO
humane and beneficial an institution
was received with great favor and in
| the eleventh century a movement de-
velOped in France which aimed at
bringing about a general cessation of
all warfare amongst Christians. But
this movement ended in failure as the
| times were not yet ripe for the in
auguration of an era OF universal
| peace. The ecclesiastical authorities
had recognized this fact and cOnse-
| quently instead of advocating uniyer.
sal peace, they sought rather to miti-
| gate the ravages of private war by re-
Stricting the number of days, on which
| it might be carried on. Thus arose
| the Truce Of Cod" another celebrated
peace institution of the Middle Ages,
which imposed a temporary cessation
of hostilities on all parties. This
Truce Of God originally extended
only from noon on Saturday until day
break on Monday Of each week, but it
| was gradually extended by successive
| Church councils SO as to leave not
more than eighty days lii the year
available for private warfare. 1t was
finally adopted by the Lateran Coun-
ellis of 1889 and 1179, and was thus
| made a definite article OF Canon Law.
DIR. Robinson next dealt with the
means employed for the enforcement
| of this truce. These were I'D spiritual
penalties, such as accommodation
aud depriyaI OF Christian burial, (2)
| the organization of special peace
tribunals and parochial militia to
punish yiolators of the truce, and Cd.
assistance from the civil authorities.
These latter were for the most. part
powerless, however, up to the four
teenth century owing to- the domi-
nance OF feudalsm, and the task OF
| imposing and enforcing respects for
thc public peace devolved mainly
therefore. upon the Bishops and local
clergy Nothing rebounds more to the
credit Of the medieval eccleslastieH,
said DR.. Robinson, than their UNI
wearied striving during the turbulent
medieval period to protect the poor
and dcfeneclcss and 10 lessen the
Violence. oppression aud outrage