One the most famous naval engagements in history pitted forces of the Holy League, Christians supported by Pope Pius V, against the invading Ottoman Turks. It was the first major victory for a Christian naval force over a Turkish fleet, a victory driven, by, among other things, technological advances in weaponry.

This week, Pope Francis informed an audience in Turin that gun manufacturers—and those invested in the weapons industries—were hypocrites if they called themselves Christians. Francis, who earlier this year accused weapons makers of participating in an “industry of death,” explained: “It makes me think of … people, managers, businessmen who call themselves Christian and they manufacture weapons. That leads to a bit a distrust, doesn’t it?”

Well, not really.

This piece comes with customary caveat that English-speaking media tends to tweak the translation of the Pope’s messages just enough to mislead or strip it of proper context—or sometimes, miss the point entirely. But let’s just say his position is not compatible with the conventional American view that peace can be achieved through superior firepower. Of course, no one should expect the Pope to mollycoddle arms dealers (and I leave the theological discussion about his comments to those more invested in what he says) but, as a historical matter, the Pope may consider that some weapon makers can be a force for good.

For starters, if you consider that self-defense is a civil right— and, to some extent, most Americans still give this notion some lip service—a quick reading of European history tells us it can be perilous for minorities to be denied the right to bear arms. Being defenseless can be even more dangerous than owning an air conditioner, in some instances. And since the Pope brings it up, let’s consider the Jews, who were left without any means of defending themselves not that long ago.

Here’s the Pope on the topic in that Turin talk:

He spoke of the “tragedy of the Shoah,” using the Hebrew term for the Holocaust “The great powers had the pictures of the railway lines that brought the
trains to the concentration camps like Auschwitz to kill Jews, Christians, homosexuals, everybody. Why didn’t they bomb (the railway lines)?”

A thought-provoking question. Also mystifying, considering Francis’ other contention. If the Allies had disrupted the rail lines to concentration camps, wouldn’t those who manufactured the bombs that made saving them possible be engaged in a moral pursuit? One imagines the Jews, Christians, homosexuals, and everybody else involved, would have thought so. In 1948 and 1967, when Jews were armed (with weapons sold to them by predominantly French Catholics) they were able to insure that comparable cruelty was not visited on them again.

But let’s make it more personal, and point out that the Pope has been protected by the Swiss Guard since the 1500s— and those guys pack an array of high-powered contemporary weaponry to gets the job done. Because, unless everyone in the world retires their weapons there’s always going to be some malicious types with plans.

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