By Stefan J. Bos
On Thursday, Aug 24, 1939, Pope Pius XII turned to the airwaves with a desperate call for peace. Speaking at 7.00pm Rome time, he urged leaders – and anyone willing to listen – to prevent a looming world war. His plea came just days after the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a pact dividing their spheres of influence.
Broadcasting through Vatican Radio from Castel Gandolfo near Rome, he told the world that the human family faced a critical hour:
“It was an hour of tremendous deliberation for which our hearts cannot remain indifferent.” He stressed that “Nothing is lost with peace. All may be lost with war.”
Despite the Pope’s impassioned appeal, his voice went unheard. On Sep 1, 1939, German troops invaded Poland, triggering World War II and six years of global conflict.
Yet his words continue to echo. His phrase “nothing is lost with peace” was recently cited by Pope Leo XIV as relevant to today’s world.
Wars are again raging in Ukraine – where Russia on Sunday claimed to take over two villages as part of new territorial gains in the eastern Donetsk region – as well as in Gaza, Ethiopia, Sudan, Haiti, Myanmar, and other hotspots. These armed conflicts are believed to have killed and injured at least hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.
Eighty-six years ago, Pius warned against such destruction:
“It is by the force of reason, not the force of arms, that justice makes its way. Empires not founded on justice are not blessed by God. Politics divorced from morality betrays those who promote it.”
His voice, in 1939, still carries a warning for today’s turbulent world. – Vatican News
