Fascism & the Catholic Church

Question 1

Who were the Lateran Pacts between

Answer 1

The Lateran Pacts were agreements between Mussolini and the Catholic Church

Question 2

When were the Lateran pacts signed

Answer 2

After 3 years of negotiations, on the 11 February 1929

Question 3

What is the time signficance of the lateral pacts

Answer 3

• Lateran Pacts which officially ended the conflict between church and state that had existed since 187

Question 4

What was the significance of the Lateran Pacts for Mussolini’s prestige?

Answer 4

• Mussolini’s personal prestige increased as he was admired for bringing an end to the Roman question

Question 5

What did the Lateran Pacts recognize about the Vatican City and Catholicism?

Answer 5

• The Pope agreed to recognise the Italian state and its possession of Rome and the old Papal states.
• The Vatican City was established as an independent state, & Catholicism was recognized as the sole religion of Italy

Question 6

How did the Pacts address financial compensation?

Answer 6

• The Pope received £30 million in financial compensation for surrendering his claim to Rome.
• The state would pay the salaries of the clergy

Question 7

What privileges were given to the Catholic Church in state schools?

Answer 7

• Religious education of a Catholic nature was made compulsory in state schools.

Question 8

What was the terms for youth groups in the Lateran pacts

Answer 8

• Catholic youth groups would be allowed to continue as long as they did not carry out any political activity
• Catholic Action was the only non-fascist organisation allowed to continue

Question 9

What youth organizations did the Church sponsor that rivaled Fascist groups?

Answer 9

• The Church sponsored Catholic Action,
• which had 250,000 members
• and rivaled Fascism’s own youth and leisure organizations

Question 10

How did Catholic youth organizations grow by 1939?

Answer 10

Catholic youth organizations had 388,000 members by 1939.

Question 11

How did the Church resist Fascism’s totalitarian claims?

Answer 11

• The Church resisted through the Radio Vatican show
• broadcasting alternative news and the Pope’s condemnation of Fascism’s attempts to control Catholic youth organizations.

Question 12

What was the Church’s stance on girls’ involvement in Fascist youth activities?
.

Answer 12

• The Church condemned girls’ involvement in physical activities of Fascist youth organizations, as it went against gender roles

Question 13

What happened when Mussolini tried to close Catholic Action in 1931?

Answer 13

• The Pope publicly criticized Mussolini,
• leading to a compromise where Catholic Action youth groups could remain open with restrictions on sports - shows limitations on his dictatorship

Question 14

How did Pope Pius XI react to Mussolini’s anti-Semitic decrees in 1938?

Answer 14

• Pope Pius XI openly criticized Mussolini’s anti-Semitic decrees,
• which conflicted with the Church’s right to allow Jews to convert to Catholicism.
• But the Vatican did not take practical action to limit persecution of Italian Jews

Question 15

What shared views did Mussolini and the Catholic Church have?

Answer 15

• Both had a desire for stability, respect for hierarchy, hostility to liberal and socialist views, and valued family and marriage

Question 16

How did Mussolini show support for the Catholic Church early in his regime 1920s?

Answer 16

• Mussolini introduced policies favorable to the Church,
• such as reintroducing religious education,
• restoring crucifixes to public buildings,
• & upporting the Bank of Rome

Question 17

How did the Church support Mussolini’s regime in 1929?

Answer 17

The Church mobilized support for the Fascists in a plebiscite and Catholic Action appealed to voters to support the Lateran Pacts.

Question 18

What event highlighted Mussolini’s cooperation with the Church in foreign policy?

Answer 18

• Mussolini and Pope Pius XI confirmed their mutual views on societal and gender values and foreign policy towards the Soviet Union and communism in February 1932.

Question 19

How did the Lateran Pacts show the limitations of Mussolini’s totalitarian regime?

Answer 19

• The Pacts represented a power-sharing agreement between the PNF and the Church, showing Mussolini’s need to compromise

Question 20

How did the Church’s influence affect Fascism’s totalitarian aims

Answer 20

• The Church’s support for Catholic Action and resistance to certain Fascist policies limited Mussolini’s control over all aspects of life

Question 21

The Lateran pacts led to a religious ….. as the numbers of Catholic ………………..increased.

Answer 21

It led to a religious revival as the numbers of Catholic marriages and schools increased.

Question 22

What was Mussolini’s take on the church in 1919

Answer 22

• The first programme of the PNF had called for the confiscation of all church property (1919)
• but Mussolini soon came to the realisation that fascism must compromise in order to secure support

Question 23

What did Mussolini establish about the Church in the New programme in 1920

Answer 23

Mussolini declared that Catholicism could be used as a political force to drive Italian unity and nationalism

Question 24

By 1922, what was Mussolini’s stance on the church

Answer 24

• By the time Mussolini became PM in 1922 he had moved away from his early, anti-Catholic views
• & had realised having a good relationship with the church would strengthen the fascists’ position

Question 25

Demonstrate how Pius XI was important for Mussolini’s power

Answer 25

• All these measures helped to undermine the PPI as the Pope had put his support behind the PNF instead of his own party
• Pius XI ordered the PPI leader, Sturzo to resign in 1923.

Question 26

Whats the signficance of Mussolini using the Bank of Rome to calm relations in the 1920s

Answer 26

• The Vatican also had a huge stake in the Bank of Rome and Mussolini guaranteed that his government would bail out the bank in January 1923.

Question 27

What was the significance of Non Abbiamo Bisogno?

Answer 27

• The Pope condemned Fascism’s attempt to control children and criticized the closure of Catholic youth organizations

Question 28

What did Mussolini and Pope Pius XI confirm during their 1932 meeting?

Answer 28

They confirmed their mutual views on societal and gender values and foreign policy towards the Soviet Union and communism

Question 29

Evidence resiatnce to Mussolini from the church in the late 1930s

Answer 29

• Pius had prepared an encyclical letter which condemned racism, anti-semitism & aggressive German nationalism,
• but he died before it could be published in 1939