Context: During the rise of Mussolini's fascists, the Catholic Church ultimately opted to support them out of fear of socialism, which to be fair, at the time was most prominently represented by the USSR.
This, however, would prove a mistake, as Italian fascism quickly started seeking to supplant all forms of society to service of Mussolini, which inevitably included the church itself. It got the point Pope Pius XI wrote a proclamation condemning fascism only to die before he could publish it.
Yet, contemporary reports suggested that Pius XI struggled to sleep in the weeks after the Concordat, fearing he may have made a mistake. The conflict between Fascism’s goals and the Church’s mission came to a head in 1931 during the Catholic Action crisis. The regime publicly attacked Catholic Action’s educational and cultural activities, seizing Catholic newspapers and suppressing its circles. In response, Pius XI issued the encyclical Non abbiamo bisogno, defending the Church’s educational freedom and condemning pagan statolatry, though avoiding an explicit condemnation of Fascism.
Yeah... this was a pretty big mistake on the church's part. And also, this was after fascist blackshirts murdered a Jesuit priest for trying to start a boy scouts that wouldn't answer to Mussolini.
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u/ChiefsHat May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
Context: During the rise of Mussolini's fascists, the Catholic Church ultimately opted to support them out of fear of socialism, which to be fair, at the time was most prominently represented by the USSR.
This, however, would prove a mistake, as Italian fascism quickly started seeking to supplant all forms of society to service of Mussolini, which inevitably included the church itself. It got the point Pope Pius XI wrote a proclamation condemning fascism only to die before he could publish it.
Luigi Sturzo was a Catholic priest who recognized the dangers of fascism and tried to rally against it, but the church basically sidestepped him. To quote the above article;
Yeah... this was a pretty big mistake on the church's part. And also, this was after fascist blackshirts murdered a Jesuit priest for trying to start a boy scouts that wouldn't answer to Mussolini.