2A.3 Mussolini's relationship with the church Flashcards
How did the Fascists initially view the Church? WW1
Fascist movement and their original founders were largely anticlerical
–> Mussolini had published several articles where he contrasted the life of Jesus with the wealth and corruption of the Catholic Church and had even published a book titled The Cardinal’s Mistress (portrayed Church as hypocritical, violent and sexual
–> Mussolini’s anger increased during WW1
What did the Church do during WW1 that angered Mussolini?
Pope Benedict XV’s attempt at ending war through the Peace Note of August 1917 angered M since he though it had helped spread pacifism and defeatism, especially after defeat at Caporetto
How did anticlerical views develop in the Fascist programme
first programme of the Fasci di Combattimento in 1919 called for the confiscation of all church property. However, M quickly realised that radical anticlericalism would not allow for him to take power easily.
–> dropped all anticlerical ideologies, alongside his anticapitalism and anti-monarchism
What did Mussolini announce in his May 1920 Fascist congress?
as the new programme was set out, Mussolini declared that Catholicism could be used as a political force that would drive Italian unity and nationalism
–> some groups like futurists were angered. but most fasci leadership understood that dropping anticlericalism would be more beneficial for gaining power.
During his maiden speech to parliament in May 1921, Mussolini publicly asserted fascism’s positive view of the Church
How was Mussolini’s relationship with the Church strengthened?
By the death of Benedict XV in 1922 January, position was taken over by Pope Pius XI
–> very different policy towards fascists: had a predominant concern with the communist threat in Italy and believed that a government of ‘National Concentration’ was the only means to save Italy from the left wing.
–>
What policies did Mussolini bring once he became prime minister and after Pope Pius XI was in power? (1)
- Religious education was reintroduced into Italian state secondary schools
- Crucifixes were restored to public buildings and priests had a pay increase
- Vatican had a substantial stake in bank of Rome (In 1923 Jan, M guaranteed that his gov would bail out the bank)
- banned Freemasonry and anticlerical journals, dropped proposed liberal policies on taxing church property
- made gesture of baptising his 3 kids and marrying his wife in a Church ceremony
How did the 5 policies affect relationship? (1)
Close relationship with church allowed PPI to be undermined.
1923: Pope ordered PPI leader Luigi Sturzo to resign and called on party to support PNF
–> during Matteotti crisis, Pope Pius strongly supported M believing PNF were best option against left wing revolution
What is Freemasonry
a world wide organisation made up of secretive clubs known as lodges, which initiate new members through a series of secret rituals
–> Members can gain advantageous links between lodge members that can help with employment or social connections
–> members had to pledge allegiance to a supreme being which is seen as sacrilegious
–> As as result, mussolini’s ban on freemasonry was very popular
After 3 years of negotiations on Feb 11 1929, what did Mussolini and the Catholic Church decide on?
signed the lantern Pacts, incorporating 3 sections: a treaty, financial convention and a concordat. Key aspects:
–> solution to territorial problems concerning the pope and rome by providing sovereign state of 44 hectares of land, with full diplomatic rights. designated in Rome (state of Vatican City to be controlled by pope)
–> financial convention that provides the pope with 750 million lire and 1000 million in Italian State Bonds as compensation for loss of his territories in 1870
–> Catholicism recognised as sole religion of Italy and granted significant privileges to Church with religious education established in primary and secondary & church marriages given legal validity
–> Catholic youth groups(Catholic action) was allowed to continue as long as they did not carry out political activities (substantial concession to Church given Fascism’s dictatorship on youth
How did the Lantern pacts of 1929 result for Mussolini and the Church
great success as a he had finally solved the issue of Italy’s catholic troubles, gaining admiration of Italian people and foreign prestige
Also success for catholic church who could extend role and influence into Italian life
Church’s support for the Fasci regime
1928 M introduced new electoral law which established a plebiscite would be held no later than April 1929 (allowed M to claim a broad consensus for his rule as Italian citizens could only approve or reject from a list
–> promised support during election and so did the Vatican
Catholic action officially appealed to voters to ‘yes’ in the plebiscite (12 March 1929)
March 12 1929. Plebiscite stats
total of 8.63 million voters participated about 90% of electorate
–> Fascist list was approved by around 98% of vote
Church State tensions in the 1930s
main area of confrontation focused on Catholic Action’s youth organisations. These groups and the influence they brought were a major aspect for both groups to ensure the loyalty of future Italians
–> Fascist aims clashed with the existence of a rival youth organisation with 250k members
–>1931: conflict became a serious political issue, driven by changes in leadership to
the PNF (Giovanni Giurati became Party secretary and Carlo Scorza given responsibility for fascist youth groups in Oct 1930). Both accused Catholic action of organising sport, of being led by PPI leaders, of acting as a sanctuary for antifascist politics and of attempting to form trade unions
How did the Church respond to all the accusations from the Fascists in 1931?
Police raids and considerable fascist violence took place on Catholic youth organisations and were shut down by state
–> Pope Pius XI responded with an attack on fascism and the PNF (strong encyclical entitled Non abbiamo bisogno
–> Pope argued that fascism’s ideal about youths belonging to state could not be reconciled with being a catholic, condemned idea of stealing children
Restoring Church state tension in 1930s
By summer 1931, they had come to a deal where Action Youth groups could be reinstated but not allowed to organise sporting activities, had to confine themselves to recreational and educational aspects that were strictly religious
Former PPI members could not be youth leaders. Feb 1932: Mussolini visited pope in Rome (both expressed mutual views on societal & gender values and foreign policy towards communism and Soviet Union
