Italy
"Italy is not one state, but two"
Until 1860 Pope Pius IX ruled over his Papal States which stretched across the Italian peninsula, dividing it in two. Then ten years later Italy was finally unified by absorbing the Papal States. The Pope, now deposed as King of Rome, retreated behind the walls of the Vatican, where he continued to rule as an absolute monarch officially sanctioned by God.
The pope fought the Italian state with every means at his disposal. He excommunicated the King of Italy. In his 1864 Syllabus of Errors he condemned some ninety "errors and perverse doctrines" including rationalism, science, democracy, the liberty of the press, and secular education. Most Italians understood many of the Errors to be presented "as a none too oblique condemnation of the Italian Kingdom". And a few years later, when urged to accept a peaceful settlement he indignantly refused.
This is the barrel of a Papal States Remington Rifle, an 1868 model known as the Pontificio, and used by the Pope's army after he refused to negotiate the surrender of his kingdom. To the very end Pius IX maintained that he was still the King of Rome. He was unable to accept that his subjects could possibly question Church privileges on their own. In his encyclical Etsi multa, §28, he blamed nefarious outside forces, "the Synagogue of Satan", for perverting the traditionally faithful populace.
Nevertheless, the Church continued its social involvement, with the state relying upon the Catholic charities to alleviate poverty. "Italian governments from liberalism to fascism attempted to build a welfare state atop a charitable foundation that was fast set in the Middle Ages" [2]
When it became clear that the Vatican boycott of was simply depriving it of influence on Italian politics, this policy was changed. "Mussolini achieved an uneasy cohabitation with the church, but after the war the Vatican was back in power through the the Democristiani." (Christian Democrats) [3]
If the Church wants to retain its concordat privileges, it must also abide by the treaty’s limits on Church interference in politics. The Church can't have it all: a full bottle, a drunken wife, and also the grape on the vine. — Daniele Capezzone
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The Vatican's grip on Italy |
The Italian situation is unique. For one thing, we have the Vatican in the very heart of our capital. For another, we have it in our constitution. These combine to confer innumerable privileges on the Roman Catholic Church. | |
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Church, state and money : Groundbreaking series from La Repubblica |
The Vatican Secretary of State has objected to the publication of these revealing articles, but has not disputed their accuracy. Here is the complete series of ten articles, translated by Graeme Hunter for Concordat Watch. | |
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Church-tax scandal: Are secular Italians paying for Berlusconi's sins? |
Two-thirds of the taxes supposed to be allocated to secular good works have recently been redirected by Prime Minister Berlusconi to the Church. | |
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The new indulgences : Fly with us to purge your sins |
Indulgences are no longer sold directly, but the Vatican has found a new way to make them pay. The faithful are sent for the good of their souls to destinations served by the Vatican airline and Vatican hotels. In Italy the concordat and the laws which extend it together ensure that these five-star convents remain tax-exempt, so that the Italian taxpayer foots the bill. | |
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The crucifix ruling (3 November 2009) |
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the display of crucifixes in Italian public schools violates religious freedom and educational aims, thus obliging Italy to report back to the Council of Europe on how it intends to comply. In February 2010 the Italian government launched an appeal. Here are a selection of sources and commentary and reactions from governments of other countries. | |
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The Lateran Pacts: background |
Mussolini's boasted that the Lateran Treaty would “bury” the temporal power of the pope, but it has permitted just the opposite. | |
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Concordat negotiations: “God to Italy and Italy to God” |
Mussolini and the Pope bargained hard for this concordat, each vying for control of Italian society but, at the same time, each realising that he needed the support of the other. Mussolini is long since gone, but the effects of this concordat live on, as it has been revised but never revoked. Pius XI summed it up as: “God to Italy and Italy to God” This excerpt from the acclaimed scholarly work by T.H. Koon, Believe, obey, fight, looks at the negotiations. | |
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A profitable way to give up being the state church |
The concordat with Mussolini was revised in 1984, when it became clear that this was the only way to retain it. The Vatican was forced to relinquish the status of official state church, and with it, government salaries for priests. However, a clever bishop found a way for the Church to make a profit out of this “concession”. | |
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Lateran Conciliation Treaty (1929): text |
“The Lateran Treaty [...] settled the ‘Roman Question’, the conflict between the papacy and the kingdom of Italy (1861-1929). The treaty recognized the Holy See’s absolute, visible independence and sovereignty with the right of international and diplomatic relations with other states.” — Msgr. Pedro Lopez-Gallo* | |
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Lateran Financial Convention (1929): text |
“The financial settlement was immensely greater than the one previously proposed by the Law of Guarantees, which wanted to grant an annual sum of 3,224,000 lire. With the new agreement, Italy had to compensate the Holy See for the loss of its states by paying 750 million lire in cash and 1 billion lire in 5% negotiable government bonds.” — Msgr. Pedro Lopez-Gallo* | |
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Lateran Concordat (1929): text |
Much of this concordat between Pope Pius XI and the dictator Mussolini was retained in the post-Fascist amended version of 1984. Thus it still largely determines the role of the Catholic Church within the Italian state today. | |
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Modifications to the Lateran Concordat (1984): text |
The Lateran Pacts were revised in 1984, when it became clear that this was the only way to save them and that Catholicism could no longer be maintained as the state religion. To avoid disturbing these very favourable Pacts, the end of Catholicism as the state church in Italy — rather a major change, one would think — is only mentioned in an endnote to Article 1. |
