When the Vatican Stood in the Way of the British Mandate In 1922, Pope Pius XI insisted that religious places of worship in Palestine be ‘kept entirely under Christian control.’ What happened next still impacts the Holy Land today https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-07-28/ty-article-magazine/.premium/when-the-vatican-stood-in-theway-of-the-british-mandate/00000182-44d2-d70e-abde-47df04de0000
The world was focused a century ago this week on the League of Nations, which officially approved the British Mandate for Palestine. While we take for granted the event that paved the way for the establishment of the State of Israel, few are aware of the drama that preceded the final decision on July 24, 1922. Britain would have received the mandate much earlier were it not for the interference of the Americans and the Vatican. Both of those stories still reverberate today: the American one more narrowly and the Vatican one more globally. Indeed, the head of the Catholic Church was powerful enough at the time to force the British to amend their mandate. The British had released their draft mandate plan in early 1921, but objections by the United States held up its approval for over a year. The Americans wanted to protect the oil rights that the Standard Oil Company had secured in the region from the Turks before World War I. Such rights were not guaranteed by the mandate because the United States was not a member of the League of Nations. The Republicans had kept America out of the international body – the predecessor to the United Nations, and which existed from 1920 to 1946 – because of their isolationism. But then, as now, they still wanted to assert U.S. power abroad.
The British, who still needed U.S. support, finally pledged in early May 1922 to maintain Standard Oil’s rights. The Americans were on board. However, just when looked as if the mandate was set for approval, the Vatican stepped in. A day before the scheduled vote on May 11, Pope Pius XI – who had become the pontiff three months earlier – insisted, according to The New York Times, that religious places of worship in Palestine be kept entirely under Christian control, free from any influence which the Jewish national state might wield. The pope’s opinion mattered, because five of the council members – Belgium, Brazil, Spain, France and Italy – were predominantly Catholic and the council (unlike the subsequent UN Security Council) required a unanimous vote. In wake of the pope’s objections, the Catholic nations were not prepared to approve the mandate and the vote had to be postponed. Pius XI wasn’t the first pope to express discomfort with the idea of Jewish sovereignty in Palestine. His predecessor, Benedict XV, had criticized the Jews in June 1921 for “taking advantage of the sufferings of the inhabitants due to” World War I. He deplored “the privileged position enjoyed by the Jews in Palestine, which is dangerous for Christians,” again according to The New York Times. The Vatican submitted its formal objection in late May 1922. Its main bone of contention was the wording of Article 14, which dealt with the holy sites in Palestine. The article was problematic for the pope because it effectively placed the British in charge of a commission that would regulate the claims of the various religious communities and oversee all of the holy sites. According to the Brits, this commission would be subject to the approval of the mandatory power. In other words, Britain. However, the Vatican did not trust Britain – a Protestant nation that split from the Catholic Church some 400 years earlier – to protect Catholic interests. The following month, the Vatican sharpened its rhetoric, accusing the mandate of favoring the Jews. The Holy See argued that giving “absolute Jewish preponderance over all other peoples of Palestine” seemingly constituted “a grave breach of existing rights of other nationalities,” The New York Times reported at the time.
The Vatican argued that this situation violated the 1919 Treaty of Versailles regarding the “nature and purpose of each mandate.” It noted that the purpose of the mandate system was to assist indigenous peoples who were “not yet able to stand by themselves.” The Vatican predicted that given the mandate’s favoritism of the Jews, “one can sorrowfully foresee that a bitter conflict will arise.” The British finally relented on Article 14 in early July 1922. They proposed an impartial body that would be subject to the approval of the Council of the League of Nations rather than the mandatory power. They also proposed that any report made by this international body, which would include Christians, Muslims and Jews, would be submitted to the council for confirmation. This conciliatory gesture satisfied the Vatican, which then fell silent on the issue of Jewish power in Palestine.
With the Vatican placated, the Catholic council members at the League of Nations could support the mandate and the vote could go ahead later that month. Article 14 was duly amended, making the council responsible for approving the makeup of the special commission. Its duties were “to study, define and determine the rights and claims in connection with the Holy Places and the rights and claims relating to the different religious communities in Palestine.” A separate clause, Article 28, put the League of Nations council in charge of safeguarding religious rights in Palestine “in perpetuity” upon expiration of the mandate. What the Vatican could not foresee, however, was that the holy places commission called for by Article 14 was never established. The British proposed a complex mix of Catholics, Orthodox and Protestant Christians, and agreement on the exact composition was never reached. Between the establishment of the State of Israel and the reunification of Jerusalem, the international community lost its voice over the management of the holy sites. To this day, the Vatican continues to press Israel on the matter. As recently as this April, Pope Francis called for “free access” to the holy sites in his annual Easter address.
“On this glorious day, let us ask for peace upon Jerusalem and peace upon all those who love her, Christians, Jews and Muslims alike,” he said. “May Israelis, Palestinians and all who dwell in the Holy City, together with the pilgrims, experience the beauty of peace, dwell in fraternity and enjoy free access to the Holy Places in mutual respect for the rights of each.”