SOCIETÀ DELLA CROCE ROSSA SIA

SOCIETY OF THE RED CROSS

The Red Cross (C. R.) is an international organization of universal scope, operating in all the States of the world, legally regulated by conventions signed by all governments, and possessing its own statutes approved at various international conferences. Its emblem, consisting of a red cross of five squares on a white field, recognized as a sign of the privilege of neutrality in time of war and a symbol of human solidarity in time of peace, above all racial, political, and religious considerations, is formed by the inverted colors of the flag of the Swiss Confederation, the nation which gave rise to the juridical formation of this movement and which currently hosts its international organizations. For Muslim countries, it has been permitted that the sign of neutrality be represented by the red crescent or by the red lion and sun; but resolutions are under study to achieve the unification of the symbol of neutrality in the sign of the red cross on a white field.

### 1. ORIGIN

It was not until the second half of the 19th century that the first timid affirmations emerged of the concept that the wounded in war could no longer be considered an enemy and, as such, had the right to assistance and respect. The Italian Ferdinando Palasciano, a surgeon in the Bourbon army of Naples, may be considered the first advocate of the concept of the neutrality of the wounded in war; a concept which he upheld at the cost of personal sacrifice as early as 1848 during the siege of Messina and which he solemnly reaffirmed in 1861 at the Pontanian Academy of Naples.

This idea found vigorous implementation in the Genevan Henri Dunant, recognized as the founder of the Red Cross. Alongside him should be remembered the priest Don Lorenzo Barzizza, who headed the civic commission that at Castiglione delle Stiviere addressed the problems of medical assistance for the wounded of the Battle of Solferino. The example of Barzizza and the terrifying spectacle of thousands of wounded impressed Dunant, who was then a tourist in that area (cf. L. Barzizza, *Il dimenticato animatore della C. R.*, Brescia 1952). A volume by Dunant, *Un souvenir de Solferino* (1862), had a great and profound echo throughout the world, and its humanitarian conclusions, examined and discussed by the philanthropic Society of Public Utility of Geneva, led to the establishment of a committee whose work culminated in a meeting held from 26 to 29 October 1863 in the Athenaeum of Geneva, with the participation of representatives from 16 States. This meeting ("Preliminary Conference of Geneva") approved, among other things, a Resolution which, having established the principle of respect and care for the sick and wounded in war, stipulated that communications between the relief committees of the various nations should be conducted through the Geneva Committee, which thus assumed the title of "International Committee."

In June 1864, the Swiss government convened in Geneva an international conference, open to all States, which resulted in the "Geneva Convention" of 22 August 1864 for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded and sick of armies in the field. The Italian State, by Royal Decree no. 2514 of 23 September 1865, gave full and complete execution to the aforementioned Convention.

Following the Geneva Convention came those of The Hague of 29 July 1899 for the application to maritime warfare of the principles of the Convention of 22 August 1864; that of The Hague of 21 December 1904 concerning hospital ships; that of Geneva of 6 July 1906 for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded and sick of armies in war; that of Geneva of 27 July 1929 for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded in war; and that of Geneva of 12 August 1949, which is not a number of four (having added to the previous Conventions that relating to the protection of civilians in time of war), are a revision and updating of the existing Conventions. The Italian State ratified them by Law no. 1739 of 27 October 1951.

### 2. ORGANIZATION

The structure of the Red Cross comprises: the International Conference of the Red Cross, which is the highest deliberative authority of the Red Cross, composed of delegates from the International Committee of the Red Cross, the National Red Cross Societies, the League of Red Cross Societies, and delegates from States party to the Geneva Conventions. The Conference normally meets every four years. During the intervening periods, a Permanent Commission of the International Conference ensures the coordination and unity of efforts of the international Red Cross.

The most recent International Conference of the Red Cross, the 18th, was held in Toronto (Canada) in August 1952. The organization also includes: the National Red Cross Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the League of Red Cross Societies.

The International Committee of the Red Cross is entirely composed of Swiss citizens. It is the guardian of the principles of the Red Cross, oversees compliance with the Geneva Conventions, and acts as a neutral intermediary, especially in time of war. It also maintains and develops relations between the various Red Cross Societies worldwide, safeguarding the fundamental and permanent principles of the Red Cross, namely impartiality, apoliticism, religious and economic independence, universality of the Red Cross, and equality among the various national Red Cross Societies. It assumes the functions devolved upon it by virtue of international conventions, proposes and organizes a "Central Agency for Information on Prisoners of War," and performs other important fundamental tasks.

The National Red Cross Societies are not only valuable auxiliaries of the armed forces in wartime but also carry out their work at all times in every field where it is necessary to alleviate human suffering and improve health. After the end of the war of 1914–18, it was recognized that the relief program of the Red Cross, already exercised in wartime, could be transferred and implemented in peacetime, as indeed was already the case in ways and fields consonant with the principles and aims of the Red Cross, through an organization founded in 1919 called the League of Red Cross Societies. Its purpose was to help the National Red Cross Societies develop at the national level and facilitate their international collaboration. The League stands among the National Red Cross Societies as a permanent body for liaison, coordination, and study, designed to assist them in the preparation and execution of their activities at the national and international levels. The League collaborates with the International Committee of the Red Cross. The international, faithful, and representative character of the League is clearly affirmed by the composition of its governing bodies, which are: the Council of Governors and the Executive Committee. The Secretary of the League is the body responsible for implementing the decisions of the League.

The General Assembly of the United Nations, in its session of 19 November 1946, unanimously approved a resolution inviting all governments to favor and encourage the creation, development, and cooperation of Red Cross organizations. This recommendation was reiterated in a letter from the UN Secretary-General dated 30 November 1949, addressed to the member governments of the United Nations.

**RED CROSS SOCIETY** – General view of the hospital unit, ready for departure, sent by the Italian Red Cross to Korea, with medicines of Italian manufacture, intended for civilians and prisoners of war.

### III. The Italian Red Cross

The Convention of Geneva of 22 August 1864 led to the establishment in Italy of a Central Committee of Milan of the Association for Aid to Sick and Wounded Soldiers. This committee, after participating with its own medical organizations in the 1866 campaign, ceded its prerogative as a central body to the Committee established in Rome following the events that had led to the unification of Italy.

Erected as a moral body by Royal Decree of 7 February 1884, no. 1243, it is governed by numerous legislative provisions that determine its internal and institutional organization. The Association, represented by a General President and administered by a Central Committee, is organized peripherally into provincial committees—some of which function as regional committees and mobilization centers—into subcommittees and municipal delegations, as well as abroad, in delegations for each State.

#### 1. The Italian Red Cross in peacetime

Its purpose (see Decree of the Provisional Head of State of 13 November 1947, no. 1256) is to provide assistance to the civilian population, especially its needy classes, by supplementing with its own means, institutions, formations, and services the direct action of the State and local authorities against disease and public calamities. To this end, it promotes and organizes the voluntary energies and private activities of the country and also channels aid from abroad to secure the necessary financial and material means. In particular, the following supplementary tasks are entrusted to the Italian Red Cross:

a) to set up and operate, in cases of emergency and public calamities, tent hospitals and field hospitals, infirmaries, hospital trains and ships, motorized medical units, railway and port aid stations, and territorial medical formations;

b) to organize and carry out, on a national level, first aid and the transport of the sick and injured through its own directly managed services and by coordinating and regulating those provided by other local associations, with a view to maximum efficiency of service, even in cases of general necessity;

c) to contribute to the technical and professional training of auxiliary health care personnel through instruction and training courses with specialized schools;

d) to collaborate in the dissemination, among all social classes and especially in schools, of knowledge of hygiene and first aid.

The Association is empowered, within the limits of its financial and organizational capacity and with the prior consent of the supervisory authority, to extend its activities to:

a) the establishment and management of permanent welfare works to meet particular social needs;

b) the supplementation of the health protection action for children carried out by the bodies specifically called to this task, through periodic and permanent colonies with medical-social assistance via school clinics;

c) the distribution of aid to the civilian population and to charitable and welfare institutions;

d) intervention in all those cases and circumstances in which its services are requested by the competent supervisory authorities.

#### 2. The Italian Red Cross in wartime

It must contribute (see Royal Decree-Law of 12 February 1930, no. 84), with its own personnel and means, to the evacuation and care of sick and wounded soldiers; to organize and carry out air-raid and gas defense; and to perform the service for prisoners of war, in accordance with the Geneva International Convention.

With the exception of the evacuation of sick and wounded in war, the performance of these tasks is, in principle, limited to territory not included in the zone of operations; but it may also be extended to localities within that zone, as determined by the military authority. In the zone of operations (see Royal Decree of 30 December 1940, no. 2024), the Italian Red Cross contributes to the evacuation of the sick and wounded by setting up field ambulances, tent hospitals, and lagoon ambulances, and by organizing aid stations at railway stations and ports.

In the territorial zone, the Italian Red Cross contributes to the organization of the medical service by:

a) establishing and operating aid stations at railway stations;

b) establishing and operating military hospitals;

c) establishing and operating air-raid protection measures (central direction, first-aid teams, first-aid and triage facilities, specialized treatment centers, human decontamination and infected zone clearance teams).

To carry out its peacetime and wartime services, the Italian Red Cross recruits its own command personnel (officers) and support personnel (non-commissioned officers and enlisted men), who form a special voluntary corps, auxiliary to the armed forces of the State (Royal Decree of 10 February 1936, no. 484).

Assimilated in rank to the command military personnel of the Association are the voluntary nurses of the Italian Red Cross, whose Corps, established in 1908, is part of the Association’s personnel and is governed by a specific regulation (approved by Royal Decree of 12 May 1942, no. 918). Since its foundation, the Corps has included approximately 20,000 voluntary nurses, and over 12,000 are still enrolled. Twenty of them died in service; 200 were decorated for military valor, and 600 were awarded the War Merit Cross.

The Italian Red Cross also runs boarding schools for the professional training of professional nurses and specialized schools for the professional training of visiting health assistants. The boarding schools have graduated several thousand professional nurses and visiting health assistants.

In 1889, the Italian Red Cross followed the troops to Eritrea, and in 1905 and 1908 it effectively intervened in aid of the victims of the earthquake in Calabria and the Siculo-Calabrian earthquake. It participated in the Libyan War (1911–13), earning the Silver Medal of Military Valor, as well as in the Balkan campaign, and in 1915 it came to the aid of the victims of the Marsica earthquake. Another Silver Medal of Military Valor was awarded for its conduct during the World War of 1915–18, in which it took part on a large scale with a Corps of over 22,000 men and 10,000 nurses, and made a considerable contribution in blood.

The Garfagnana and Lunigiana earthquake of 1920, the Smyrna fire, and the terrible Russian famine of 1922, as well as the Japan earthquake of 1923, found the Italian Red Cross ready to intervene with its emergency organization to aid the victims of public calamities. Particularly meritorious is the work that the Italian Red Cross has carried out in the field of malaria control in the Agro Pontino, Sardinia, Sicily, and southern Italy.

During the last war, it performed tasks of the utmost importance, once again making a heavy contribution in blood with approximately 12,000 men and 5,000 voluntary nurses in air-raid protection services, in the care of wounded and sick soldiers, and in the service for prisoners of war. It also carried out delicate international missions, such as the repatriation of Italians left in East Africa and the exchange of sick prisoners with Greece and England.

The Italian Red Cross was not spared the repercussions of the tragic events that occurred in September 1943; despite its prerogative as a neutral entity recognized by international conventions, it was not respected either in its means or, even less, in its personnel. It was in June 1944 that the Rome Committee resumed its function as the central headquarters.

The Italian Red Cross carries out activities structured around the following elements: ambulances for first aid and patient transport, sanatoriums and institutes for the treatment of tuberculosis, general hospitals, supervised preventoria, permanent colonies, temporary colonies, and children's convalescent homes. The necessary means for the intervention of the Italian Red Cross's voluntary military corps and its emergency services are collected and prepared in regional and secondary warehouses that ensure the perfect storage of its mobile units. The Italian Red Cross has tent hospitals, tent aid stations, tent ambulances, various types of units, and diverse rescue materials to deal with potential disasters. Other activities of the Italian Red Cross include: the International Social Service, which assists without distinction of nationality, religion, or race, all those who have problems to resolve in at least two different nations; the Legal Assistance to Foreigners (AGIUS), which handles special and various types of personal and family matters for foreigners in Italy (refugees, stateless persons, etc.); the Maternity Homes, which have assisted and continue to assist, through shelter and other means, children who are victims of war; and finally, the Italian Red Cross Youth, a parascholastic institution that carries out educational, social, hygienic, and welfare work in schools and, through international school correspondence, unites children of every nation in a spiritual bond.

Società dell'Agostolato Cattolico (Pallottini) – Mother House of the Lambroso Province. A complex comprising printing establishments, agricultural and livestock farms, the provincial headquarters, and a novitiate for lay brothers.

In 1920, the Italian Red Cross Youth had 130,000 collective member classes, 600,000 individual student members, and 5,000,000 organized children.

In addition to hygienic and first aid propaganda, welfare and social activities, and educational and cultural initiatives, the Italian Red Cross Youth also runs courses for colony supervisors and for Pioneers of Fraternity, its direct offshoot. V. tav. LIV.

Società dell'Agostolato Cattolico (Pallottini). – A secular priestly society, without vows, founded in Rome on April 4, 1835, by Bl. Vincenzo Pallotti.

Incorporation is effected through a public consecration, which includes six promises: perseverance, obedience, chastity, poverty, common life, and the refusal of ecclesiastical dignities. There is a two-year novitiate. The Superior General is elected for six years; provincial and local superiors for three years. The aim is the education and formation of apostolic souls and the direction of the Association of Catholic Apostolate. From 1837, and permanently from 1843, the priestly Congregation of the Catholic Apostolate emerged from the rest of the society composed of laity and priests, forming its central and driving force. The Holy See definitively approved the Constitutions in 1910. Known as the Pia Società delle Missioni from 1854 to 1947, the Institute has borne the title Società dell’Agostolato Cattolico since 1947; it is entrusted with five missions (Africa, Australia, India) and, as of December 31, 1950, consisted of 16 provinces or regions with 247 houses or stations, 899 priests, 492 clerics, and 447 lay coadjutor brothers.

Società delle Figlie di San Francesco di Sales (Paris). – Founded in Paris in 1872 by Abbé Chaumont and the Venerable Carré de Molberg.

It received papal approval on April 18, 1911, and has as its special aim the support of all Catholic works, diocesan and parochial, as well as missions, under the authority of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.

The Institute does not require vows. Married women (with the consent of their husbands) and widows are also admitted.