The New Wine Press vol 26 no 2 October 2017 | Page 8

Gaspar and Social Justice
by Fr. Keith Branson, c.pp.s. Chaplain for Avila University, Kansas City, Missouri
In late August, an Executive Order repealed a ban
on sharing surplus military hardware with local law
enforcement agencies. This ban was instituted in the
wake of the Ferguson, Missouri protests in 2014 when
peaceful protestors were met with armored person-
nel carriers and other advanced weaponry. It is a
clear sign of how the government views the needs of
law enforcement today: increased force equals more
security. Collateral damage does not need to be a
consideration, nor are the consequences of keeping
peace by intimidation.
It is not difficult to imagine what Gaspar Del Bufalo
would have thought of such methods. In his time, the
Papal States were prone to violence, especially with
the banditti, those who had taken advantage of the
chaos of the Napoleonic occupation to live by extor-
tion, robbery, and violence. When the Pope returned
in 1815, the situation in the central mountains was
beyond control. Many in the Curia advocated armed
repression to solve the problem, especially in the small
town of Sonnino south of Rome. There was an order
to destroy the village, leaving the inhabitants in more
desperate straits.
Gaspar Del Bufalo saw a different solution to the
crisis, and spoke out in a meeting in Rome against
repression, in particular the destruction of Sonnino.
The reasons he gave were:
1) the measure was delayed and, so, “less exem-
plary”; 2) the indiscriminate demolition will make the
brigands “rejoice”; it will be their victory, a surrender
for the government, because the bosses and their fol-
lowers will exult “for having as companions in their
disaster the innocent as well”; 3) the “ecclesiastical
meekness” of the Vicar of Christ must “spare the guilty
for the innocent” and not, on the other hand, “punish
the innocent for the guilty” as would happen with the
“destruction of an entire town of about 3000 souls” in-
cluding “churches, convents, monasteries and confra-
ternity's”; 4) destroying Sonnino is undemocratic, “it
would be fatal for agriculture”; the dispersed popula-
tion will constitute a serious and continuous danger
for public order; they will all be potential brigands or
their accomplices in a second front, much more than
they had been before; 5) if the blameless inhabitants
of Sonnino are not compensated, the destruction of
6 • The New Wine Press • October 2017
the town will be “an enormous injustice”; if they are,
the expense will turn out to be “insupportable to the
present resources of the treasury” and by making
that provision it will end up in “an excessive loss.” On
account of these reasons the Canon concludes, “Your
Holiness should direct his compassionate gaze on a
whole population to whom nothing is left but their
eyes to weep” (Mario Spinelli: No Turning Back: The
Life of St. Gaspar Del Bufalo 163-4).
Gaspar's missionaries conducted a Mission in
Sonnino—going without an armed escort—and suc-
ceeded in turning the people away from violence as
well as bringing them back to live in Christian har-
mony and justice. Their gratitude is remembered and
expressed today in many ways. Afterward, he and his
band conducted other missions to the banditti, helping
bring peace and reconciliation. He made a point of
training groups of laypeople in the practice of recon-
ciliation to continue the work of the Mission in set-
tling old grievances and helping establish schools. The
Missionaries of the Precious Blood did a lot to bring
peace to a troubled place in a troubled time.
Many of Gaspar's concerns about violent repression
are relevant today. A focus on law and order without
a larger focus on justice and peace does little to repair
the underlying injustices of society, as was seen in
Ferguson, and militarization of law enforcement does
not help bring peace. Frustration and hopelessness
continue to convince those with legitimate grievances
that there is no peaceful recourse to their problems,
and the myth of redemptive violence is perpetuated.
Militarization also creates peripheral damage, as the
rights of innocent individuals are trampled, and the
right of protest is restricted, if not eliminated. People
are more likely to turn against the law when the law
seems uncaring, not listening, and unjust.
I wish I could say Gaspar's program won the day,
and the Papal States were able to bring resolution to
the banditti situation following his lead. The military
faction in that government prevailed eventually, and
Pope Leo xii favored armed repression. The last of
the banditti were tricked into submitting to authority,
punished mercilessly, and little was done to improve
local poverty on a large scale. Over the next three
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