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| The Catholic Church at War: Fighting for God, the Pope and Mother Holy Church |
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| Particularly today, many people are confused about the principles of Christianity regarding warfare. It is well known that Pope John Paul II strongly opposed the recent invasion of Iraq, however, this should not be taken as a sign of weakness or an indication that Christians are pacifists. The Church has always upheld the right of any people to defend themselves from attack. In fact, there have been many occasions in history in which the Holy See itself came under attack and the Pope had to raise an army and go into battle like any other Christian monarch. The most famous of these is undoubtedly Pope Julius II, who was a much better general than he was a pontiff. However Pope St Pius V also sent in his own military forces to fight against the Muslim Turks at the battle of Lepanto, and from Poland to Austria priests and religious have at time found themselves forced to fight for their lives against an invading enemy. Papal troops saw action in the Napoleonic Wars against the French, however, the last time an army went into battle in the name of the Pope was during the wars of Italian unification, when Rome was threatened by revolutionaries. |
| Blessed Pope Pius IX |
| This was a period of great turmoil for the Church. The good will of Blessed Pope Pius IX had been taken advantage of, and Italy soon collapsed into rebellion through the efforts of such men as Giuseppe Mazzini, the republican leader of the liberal group "Young Italy" and his military commander Garibaldi. During the revolutions of 1848 they captured Rome, expelled the Pope and formed the short-lived Roman Republic. Later the Pope was restored by French troops sent by Emperor Napoleon III. However, problems continued. Sardinia came under the control of the liberal King Victor Emmanuel II and Prime Minister Count Cavour, who became leaders of the unification movement. Napoleon III (in typical Bonaparte fashion) double-crossed the Pope and allied with the liberals. The loyal Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria sent in troops but was out-matched. The liberals were able to slowly expand and annex most of the rest of Italy until only the Papal States remained in the way of their total conquest of Italy. |
| For what will hopefully be the last time in history, the Holy Father was forced to call upon the Faithful to defend the Church. Men flocked to the Papal States from around the world to join the Pope's army. One of the leaders was even a Prince of the Imperial House of Mexico. Naturally, there were far too few soldiers, too little support for them, and no military leader capable of matching Garibaldi. However, they did their duty and resisted as much as honor demanded. Rome was then taken and the Pope went into exile in the Vatican, a prisoner of the new united Kingdom of Italy. |
| Bl. Pope Pius IX blessing his troops before battle |
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| The Pope's Forces |