o Catholic Church's impacts on his Fascist Dictatorship Flashcards
How far did Mussolini’s relationship with the Catholic church impact on his Fascist Dictatorship?
The move away from anticlerical views
Pope Pius XI
The impacts of the Lateran Pacts
Church support for the regime
Church-state tensions in the 1930s
How far did Mussolini’s relationship with the Catholic church impact on his Fascist Dictatorship?
(The move away from anticlerical views)
M portrayed the church as a place of hypocrisy, violence and sexual activity.
As his move to the right M dropped his anticlerical rhetoric along with his anticapitalism and antimonarchism - as the church would help them in their quest for power.
May 1921 - M publicly declared fascists positive view of the Catholic church.
How far did Mussolini’s relationship with the Catholic church impact on his Fascist Dictatorship?
(Pope Pius XI)
Pope Pius XI - Cardinal Achille Ratti was also concerned with the communist threat in Italy and believed fascists were the only ones who could be saved from left-wing revolution.
M responded to the Pope’s positive view of Fascism by reintroducing religious education, crucifixes restored to public buildings, increased wages of priests.
M banned Freemasonry and anti-clerical journals, tax on church property.
Baptised his 3 children, married his wife in church ceremony. This relationship made Pius XI put his support for PNF undermining the PPI.
1923 Pope ordered Luigi Sturzo to resign and ordered the party to support the PNF.
How far did Mussolini’s relationship with the Catholic church impact on his Fascist Dictatorship?
(The impact of the Lateran Pacts)
Signed 11 February 1929; incorporating 3 sections: a treaty, financial convention and a concordat.
Key aspects:
- provided sovereign state of 44 hectares of land, with full diplomatic rights, designated in Rome as the state of the Vatican City controlled by the pope.
- pope provided with 750 million lire and 1000 million in Italian State bonds as compensation for the loss of his territories in 1870.
- Catholicism recognised as the sole religion, religious education re-established, church marriages given legal validity.
- youth group allowed to continue as long as they did not intervene in political activities. were the only non-fascist organisation with over 1 million northern members in the fascist state.
M’s great success as it solved the ‘Roman question’ bringing him admiration and prestige both in Italy and overseas - cemented his consolidation of power. Also a success for the Catholic church who could now increase their influence - showing the limits of his dictatorship as he had to share power.
How far did Mussolini’s relationship with the Catholic church impact on his Fascist Dictatorship?
(Church support for the Regime)
Pope Ratti called M ‘man sent by providence’.
M called a pebliscite to claim a broad consensus for his rule as Italian citizens could simply approve or reject a list of candidates from the PNF. Church mobilised catholic votes fro the fascists as promised 12 march 1929.
With 8.63 million votes. 98% of voters approved.
How far did Mussolini’s relationship with the Catholic church impact on his Fascist Dictatorship?
(Church-state tensions in the 1930s) 236
Relations were not completely peaceful - considerable tensions.
Non-fascist youth organisation with around 250,000 members was troubling.
Giovanni Giurati - party secretary and Carlo Scorza head of fascist youth organisation accused Catholic action of organising sport, under the leaders of the PPI, acting as a sanctuary for antifascist politics attempting to form trade unions. Fascist violence against catholic youth forced them to shut - pope criticised this move as an attempt to steal children from Christ so that they would only worship the state.
Pope and M came to a deal by summer of 1931. Catholic youth had to confine themselves to recreational and educational aspects strictly religious. Former PPI leaders not allowed to be youth leaders.
Both M and pope had mutual views on social and gender values and foreign policy toward the soviet union and communism.
Youth organisation grew in popularity with 388,000 members by 1939.
Minor disagreements between Pope and m over girls’ involvement in P.E - which the church worried would not prepare girls for maternity.
Fascist view on young men visiting brothel was a natural part of male culture, however, was condemned by the church.
1938 church concerned with M’s growing attack on the Jewish people and the adoption of anti-semitic laws as well as nationalism.
Fascists prohibited intermarriages, church asserted that Jews could convert to catholicism through marriage.
