Last Updated on January 27, 2024 by pg@petergamma.org
Niklaus von Flue is said to have prevented a civil war in Switzerland
Political influence
Von Flüe is asked by Pastor Heimo to mediate (Stanser Verkommnis)
Niklaus von Flüe became widely known as a pastor and spiritual advisor not only to the rural population, but also as an advisor to foreign heads of state in 15th century Europe. A special envoy from the Duchy of Milan reported in a letter to Ludovico Sforza about visits to the hermit where he discussed political questions, and in the reply the Duke thanked him for his kind regards.[5]
As a mystic, Niklaus von Flüe was also interested in worldly things. He observed political events and was consulted on such matters.
According to the Historical Lexicon of Switzerland, his mediating influence on the Stans Verkommnis[6] is now proven: in 1481, at the Diet in Stans, there was a serious conflict between urban and rural towns: the cities of Lucerne, Zurich and Bern, which were subject to a “castle law », on the one hand, and the towns of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Glarus and Zug, which are linked in a “land law”, on the other side. There was a threat of the collapse of the Confederation. On the night of December 22nd, the pastor of Stans, Heimo Amgrund, went to Niklaus von Flüe and came back with advice that is still unknown to this day. The priest caused the councilors to meet again and told them the hermit’s secret message. The councilors then came to a solution after just two hours. There was a renewed federal agreement with the admission of the cantons of Freiburg and Solothurn into the Confederation.
The Marxist historian Konrad Farner provided a critical view of his role in connection with the Stanser Communion: This was “the sanction of lack of freedom and domination” in that it agreed on the joint action of the rulers against propertyless revolters. “It is no divine miracle that […] Niklaus von Flüe becomes the holy father of the country.”[7]
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niklaus_von_Fl%C3%BCe#Politischer_Einfluss
The advice “Don’t make the fence too wide!” and the neutrality policy maxim “Don’t get involved in other people’s affairs!” were attributed to him years after his death.
«Thich Nhat Hanh was exiled from South Vietnam in 1966 after expressing opposition to the war and refusing to take sides.»
«In the mid-1960s, Nhất Hạnh co-founded the School of Youth for Social Services and created the Order of Interbeing. He was exiled from South Vietnam in 1966 after expressing opposition to the war and refusing to take sides. In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize.»
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%ADch_Nh%E1%BA%A5t_H%E1%BA%A1nh
«The war is not only damaging to human life and property, but also to our morality,” Nhat Hanh said.
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1966/5/31/thich-nhat-hanh-on-vietnam-pthich/
«Hanh spoke and wrote against war in Vietnam and the violence perpetrated by all sides, making him unpopular among US military leaders»
https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/13092/Cooley-Freedom_jur11.pdf?sequence=1
Spiritual leaders have been honored:
- Niklaus von Flue was declaired a saint in in 1947.
- Martin Luther King, Jr., received the Nobel Peace Prize 1964
- Nobel laureate Martin Luther King Jr. nominated Nhất Hạnh for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967.
- The 14th Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace prize in 1989