Abstract
Autore:
Musselli Luciano
Titolo:
"Concordati. Vicende dei rapporti tra Stato e Chiesa nei centocinquant´anni di unità nazionale"
The essay examines the historical and political events that led to the overcoming of the bitter clash between the Church and the State in Italy in the 2nd half of the 19th century mainly due to the occupation of Rome carried out by the Italian troops in 1870 and to the annexation of the town to Italy (the so called «Roman Question»). The thesis of the author is that after the taking of Rome the Papacy and the Holy See immediately realized that coming back to the previous situation was nearly impossible. They could only hope to get a particular position of «favour» for the Catholic Church in the economic and socio-legal field (Ecclesiastical authority, matrimony, school system) and guarantees of autonomy for the Pope and the Holy See. This purpose is reached in 1929 thanks to the Lateran Pacts which set up a new little State, whose sovereign is the Pope: the Vatican City. It has the main purpose of granting the independence of the Pope from the Italian State. In turn the fascist State obtained prestige and legitimation worldwide. The consequences of the Italian Concordat as regards the confessionalism of the State will be evident after the fall of the fascist dictatorship and the rule of the leaders of the Democrazia Cristiana after the 1st half of the 20th century. Afterwards great historical events, such as the Vatican Council and the student protest, will produce a favourable atmosphere for the reform and the revision of the Concordat. They will reach agreements upon the revision in 1984 and the Concordat in force. The scheme of the Concordat is also adopted in the relations with non Catholic Churches with which agreements in accordance with the article n. 8 of the Italian Constitution are stipulated. At the present time the system of agreements between the State and the Church is one of the main features of the Italian political and constitutional system even if for some religions and in particular as regards Islam, the achievement of such agreements seem very difficult because of several complicated reasons.
