By Francesca Merlo

It was 5 November 1943, World War II was raging and Vatican City was, and remained, a neutral state. This is partly why the attack came as such a surprise: five bombs (one of which did not detonate) were dropped into the Vatican gardens from an unidentified aircraft. Luckily no one was hurt, but many of the buildings suffered huge damage, and guards were left dazed and confused after the explosions knocked them to the ground.

One gendarme, Luigi Turchetto, wrote a note to the Vatican’s Noble Guards, in which he recounted what happened that night. He was on duty at the Vatican train station:

“I distinctly heard the continuous noise of an aircraft flying at low altitude. I could not see it, prevented by the darkness. From the noise of the engine it seemed to me that the aircraft was coming from the northeast. It flew over the Vatican Railway Station and then went a little further away and immediately turned back. I almost immediately heard a hiss and a prolonged burst that gave me the impression of the almost simultaneous explosion of several bombs. The first of them fell on the escarpment near the boundary wall of the Vatican City State on the side of St. Peter’s Station; the second one fell on the terrace of the Mosaic Studio; a third one behind the Governorate Palace and a fourth one in the Vatican Gardens in a location that I could not identify at the moment.”

Pope’s reaction

Pope Pius XII commented, in private, that “there was more respect in Cairo, as the religious center of Islam, than in Rome. And more concretely, we are struck by the need to recognise… that there no longer exists, I do not say Christian conscience, but even the minimum of human understanding and a sense of loyalty in acting that should be enough to leave the successor of St. Peter in the narrow strip of land that still remains.”

Who dropped the bombs?

Nobody took responsibility for the bombs. The Allies and Axis powers accused each other. One of the theories, following certain clues, was published in the 2010 Italian book “1943: Bombe in Vaticano” by Augusto Ferrari. It describes the possibility that the attack had been orchestrated by the Germans and coordinated by the Fascist Roberto Farinacci, whose aim was to bomb Vatican Radio, that was suspected of transmitting valuable military information to the Anglo-Americans. It is believed that the pilot was “a certain Parmeggiani”, and that the plane had been flown from Viterbo, some 50km from Rome.  

This claim was contested one year later, in 2011, by subsequent research (such as that of Gregory Alegi and that of Pietro Cappellari). Ferrari claimed that the plane used was a Savoia Marchetti S.M. 79; yet Alegi and Cappellari claim that the Italian Aeronautica only possessed one of these planes and that it could not, at that time, have been geographically located in Viterbo under German control. Ferrari also claimed that the only two pilots with the name Parmeggiani were elsewhere, and working with the Allies.

In America, a new theory was developed soon after. Again, soon after that.. clues led to ideas and ideas to theories: from the idea that the bombs had been manufactured in the UK to an intercepted phone call between two priests. But each theory, still remains just a theory…

Protection through neutrality

Upon learning of the possible motivation behind the attack, Pope Pius XII asked that the reasons for the attack not be spread by the media, in an attempt to maintain the neutrality of the State.

Throught the war the Pope and the Vatican helped many members of the Italian resistance. It was not easy to hide in Rome, and the Vatican offered protection and exile to those who needed it most. The intermediary position of the Church allowed it to move better to defend and help those in need.  

It still remains unclear as to who dropped those first bombs on the Vatican.

Bombs were dropped again on Vatican City State on 1 March 1944, killing one person and injuring another.

By Vatican News staff writer

During the month of November, Pope Francis draws our attention to the epochal change that humanity is experiencing thanks to advances in artificial intelligence.  He, therefore, invites us to pray that this progress always “serve humankind,” respecting human dignity and taking care of Creation.

True progress

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made exponential advances, as evidenced by its many applications in different fields of knowledge. Today, 37% of organizations in the world have implemented AI in some way (which represents a 270% increase in the past four years).

In “The Pope Video” this month, Pope Francis clarifies that this progress in robotics and AI “can make a better world possible if it is joined to the common good.”  In this sense, he hopes for technological progress that does not increase the inequalities in society.  If it does, the Pope says, it will not be “true progress”.  Such progress does not take into account the dignity of the human person and care for Creation.

Benefits

AI is capable of addressing many problems facing humanity, such as in evaluating the learning capacity of students, in order to detect opportunities for improvement.  It can help people with visual or hearing impairments by developing better communication tools (such as converting text to speech or speech to text).  AI can also speed up the collection, processing and diffusion of health data to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients, especially those living in remote areas.

The same applies to the field of ecology. Through AI, it is possible to analyze data on climate change and create models that can help predict natural disasters. It can also be used to create intelligent and sustainable cities by reducing urban spending, improving the resilience of highways and increasing energy efficiency.  There are vast possibilities for using this technological progress for the common good, and “The Pope Video” uses images from the Italian Institute of Technology and the Italian multinational energy company, Enel, to show some of these benefits.

Serving humanity 

“Innovation,” says Enel’s CEO, Francesco Starace, “has placed at our disposition extraordinary tools that we need to be capable of using in the best possible way.” 

He continues, “As Pope Francis reaffirms, it is our task to ensure that the resulting benefits are distributed fairly and create opportunities and wellbeing.” Starace says, “In order to give a positive orientation to our actions and choices regarding the present and the future, we must put respect for people and for the environment at the centre, adopting a vision based on sustainability. Only in this way can technological evolution be an ally of humanity and create opportunities which, up until a few years ago, we couldn’t even imagine.”

The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is responsible for the diffusion of the Pope’s monthly prayer intentions.  In comments on the Holy Father’s prayer intention for November, the network’s international director, Jesuit Father Frédéric Fornos also speaks of the need to channel these rapid technological changes for the “good of all.”

“This month’s prayer intention,” he says, “reinforces the idea that the benefit that humanity has obtained (and will continue to obtain) from technological progress must always take into account as well, and in parallel, ‘adequate development of responsibility and values’.”  This, Fr Fornos says, has been underscored by the Pope in his encyclical Laudato si’ and now in his third encyclical, Fratelli tutti, where he says, “How wonderful it would be if the growth of scientific and technological innovation could come with more equality and social inclusion!”

AI, robotics, and other applications of technology, says Fr Fornos, open great challenges for ethics and social justice. “This is why the Pope’s most recent petition is important: to pray that this progress will always ‘be human.’”

The text of the November 2020 prayer intention:

Artificial intelligence is at the heart of the epochal change we are experiencing.  Robotics can make a better world possible if it is joined to the common good.  Indeed, if technological progress increases inequalities, it is not true progress.  Future advances should be oriented towards respecting the dignity of the person and of Creation. 

Let us pray that the progress of robotics and artificial intelligence may always serve humankind… we could say, may it “be human.”

From the Gospel according to Matthew
MT 25:1-13

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep. Read more