The regulation of public morality and eugenics: a productive alliance between the Catholic Church and Italian Fascism

Modern Italy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-331
Author(s):  
Lucia Pozzi
Keyword(s):  
Birth Control ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
The State ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Public Morality ◽  
Italian Fascism ◽  
Gender Hierarchy ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Catholic Church

Historical research acknowledges only cursorily the Catholic contribution to eugenics. Yet there is a substantial link between Catholic discourses on morality and the emergence of Italian eugenics. In this essay I argue that sexual normalisation was a key source of consensus. Masculine and patriarchal values strengthened the strategic collaboration between Fascist demographic policies, the Italian interpretation of eugenics, and Catholic doctrine. I draw on archival and printed material to show that the control of public morality and the support for reproduction met both Catholic and Fascist interests. In particular, I focus on the alliance between the State and the Catholic Church working against ‘the contraceptive mentality’. Mussolini wanted to stimulate religious sentiment as a basis for the fight against depopulation. The Catholic Church desired a set of laws against immorality, birth control and abortion. In this way, Fascism and the Catholic Church found a solid cultural agreement around restoring traditional mores, patriarchal values, and gender hierarchy.

Prologue

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Breandán Mac Suibhne
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
The State ◽  
Seasonal Migration ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
Traditional Beliefs ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
The People ◽  
The Catholic Church

Observing the abandonment of traditional beliefs and practices in the 1830s, the scholar John O’Donovan remarked that ‘a different era—the era of infidelity—is fast approaching!’ In west Donegal, that era finally arrived c.1880, when, over much of the district, English replaced Irish as the language of the home. Yet it had been coming into view since the mid-1700s, as the district came to be fitted—through the cattle trade, seasonal migration, and protoindustrialization—into regional and global economic systems. In addition to the market, an expansion of the administrative and coercive capacity of the state and an improvement in the plant and personnel of the Catholic Church—processes that intensified in the mid-1800s—proved vital factors, as the population dwindled after the Famine, in the people breaking faith with the old and familiar and adopting the new.

scholarly journals The Mission of the Catholic Church for the State in the Discourse of “Gosc Niedzielny” during Poland’s Interwar Period

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 188
Author(s):  
Rafał Śpiewak ◽  
Wiktor Widera
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Common Good ◽  
The State ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Level Of Involvement ◽  
Historical Reflection ◽  
The Catholic Church

The essence of the Catholic Church implemented in the modern world is of crucial importance for the understanding its mission towards the state, especially when developing appropriate civil attitudes. One sources of cognition is the historical reflection made on an analytical basis of Catholic media content. This article presents the discourse analysis of Gość Niedzielny (i.e., Sunday Guest), which was one of the most important Catholic publications in Poland, during the reconstruction of the Polish statehood. The pro-state mission of the Catholic Church was an expression of responsibility for common good, was nonpartisan and was connected with the promotion of values that condition the social order. It was believed that the condition of the state is determined by the moral form of its citizens and their level of involvement in social life. Christian values were though to secure and protect also the good of non-Catholic citizens. Here, the research and discourse analysis allows us to define the conclusions regarding contemporary relations between Church and the state in Poland. The key thoughts included in the publications of Sunday Guest, have contemporary application and their message is extremely up-to-date.

A „Katolikus Akció” néven társult szervezkedés Marosvásárhelyen és Ágotha Endre papi életútja

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-176
Author(s):  
Mária Csatlós
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
The State ◽  
Peace Movement ◽  
Catholic Action ◽  
Holy See ◽  
Parish Priest ◽  
Political Actions ◽  
The Church ◽  
Life Work ◽  
The Catholic Church

With the available archival resources and through exploring the life, work and political actions of Endre Ágotha, the dean and parish priest of Nyárádselye I trace the unfolding and failing of the schismatic catholic peace movement legitimated in Marosvásárhely in the period 1950-1956. The state backed “Catholic Action” did not succeed in severing the Catholic Church in Romania from Rome by settling the “pending cases” between the church and the state and only a small portion of the clergy joined the movement, yet it has made significant moral damages by dividing the believers and the clergy. The Holy See condemned the movement and it’s key figure Endre Ágotha has brought upon himself the harshest punishment of the Catholic Church: excommunicates vitandus. He received absolution only on his deathbed.

scholarly journals Abortion, embryos, euthanasia, and gender theory: an anthropological analysis of the Catholic Church’s Bioethics Manual at World Youth Day

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naara Luna
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Embryo Research ◽  
National Commission ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
Gender Theory ◽  
Medically Assisted Reproduction ◽  
The World ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Catholic Church

Abstract The present article analyzes the Keys to Bioethics - JMJ Rio 2013 handbook, produced by the Jerôme Lejeune Foundation and the National Commission for Family Pastoral Care, linked to the National Conference of Bishops in Brazil. This booklet was offered to people attending the World Youth Day that took place in Rio de Janeiro in 2013. It is a student’s guide, created to educate young people about the doctrines of the Catholic Church. The text presents bioethical arguments against abortion in any situation, and defends the human rights of embryos and fetuses through topics such as: prenatal diagnosis, medically assisted reproduction, pre-implantation diagnosis, and embryo research (stem cells). The text also condemns euthanasia and repudiates ‘gender theory’ as false. In essence, it questions individual autonomy. The distribution of this booklet is an example of the activities of the Catholic Church in public spaces.

scholarly journals Wywiad wojskowy czy polityczny? Zainteresowanie Zarządu II Sztabu Generalnego Wojska Polskiego „kierunkiem watykańskim”

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-119
Author(s):  
Bartosz Kapuściak
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
The State ◽  
Primary Task ◽  
Military Intelligence ◽  
General Staff ◽  
Martial Law ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

The primary task of the military intelligence in the People’s Republic of Poland was to acquire materials on the armament and stationing of NATO troops. However, due to the demand of the communist authorities, it also conducted political activities aimed at, among others, the Catholic Church. The interest of the state authorities increased especially during the pontificate of John Paul II. According to the assessment of military intelligence, the election of Karol Wojtyła as Bishop of Rome stimulated the Catholic Church both in Poland and in the Vatican. In this way, the activities of the Second Directorate of the General Staff of the Polish Army were within the scope of civil intelligence interests. The article aims to show the role played by intelligence officers and informers operating in Rome undercover as military attachés or in civilian institutions. Their actions resulted in the establishment of contacts with the church environment and acquisition of voluntary and involuntary informants. In this way, the Second Directorate of the General Staff of the Polish Army provided the party and political apparatus with interesting news and materials. Following the introduction of martial law in Poland, the church from the Rome area started sending parcels of food, clothes and medicines to Poland. This aid for the country was used to establish contact with the Polish clergy thanks to the initiative of Colonel Franciszek Mazurek.

scholarly journals Propozycja obrzędów Pierwszej Komunii Świętej dzieci w parafii

2009 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 213
Author(s):  
Jan Szczepański
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
First Communion ◽  
Original Concept ◽  
The Catholic Church

The article contains an outline for the ceremony of the First Communion of children in the parochial church. It is based on historical research investigating the ways of preparing children for the First Communion in the Catholic Church of Western Europe and in Poland. The goal of this article is to create a new, original concept of this ceremony in order to improve the participation of children and all the faithful in a better and deeper experience of the First Communion. The liturgy is meant to be easier to comprehend by the children. In the rites, one of the ways of supporting those attempts will be through children’s gestures performed during the renewal of baptismal promises.

scholarly journals The multiplier nature of the European Reformation and the peculiarities of its perception in Ukraine

2017 ◽  
pp. 80-94
Author(s):  
Petro Yarotskiy
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
State Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Formation ◽  
The Catholic Church

The 500th anniversary of theReformation (1517 - 2017), which is celebrated in Ukraine at the state level, gives an opportunity to evaluate this event in various dimensions of its foundation, development and transformation in the context of the European transition from feudal relations and their citadel - the Catholic Church to the establishment of protestantism as an innovation faith and ideologiy of a new social formation. The process of the spread of early protestantism in Ukraine an its perception by the Ukrainian mentality and modern functionality in independent Ukraine are researched

Images of the Priesthood: An Analysis of Catholic Sermons from the Late Seventeenth Century

2000 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renate Dürr
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Pastoral Care ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
The State ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Council Of Trent ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Catholic Church

“All, therefore, who consider themselves Christians may be absolutely certain that we are all equally priests.”1 With this declaration Martin Luther categorically repudiated the Catholic understanding of priesthood as a holy estate with indelible marks bestowed at consecration. According to the reformers all Christians, in principle, have the same authority in word and sacrament, but only those authorized by the respective community of believers may wield it. This assessment not only reflected certain irregularities within the clergy but also signified a completely new definition of the priesthood. It cannot be understood outside the context of existing contemporary criticism—not only from reformatory circles—of the state of numerous parishes who suffered under poorly educated, morally unacceptable (from a contemporary point of view) or indeed absent clergymen. The Catholic Church's answer to this challenge, therefore, had two aims: plans for far-reaching reforms were intended to renew the image of priests and, primarily, to provide effective pastoral care. Polemical theological debates against Protestants and discussions within the Catholic Church were intended not only to strengthen the certainty of the fundamental essence of priestly identity but also to facilitate a differentiation of Catholic from Protestant understanding. The decisions of the Council of Trent also touched both areas. At the 23rd session both the theological basis of the sacrament of consecration and the plans to reform the rules concerning the bishops' obligatory residence in their parishes were debated.2

Conclusions of a Tentative Post-Conciliar Theology of the Jewish People

2019 ◽  
pp. 188-190
Author(s):  
Gavin D'Costa
Keyword(s):  
State Government ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Jewish People ◽  
The State ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Counter Current ◽  
The Catholic Church

Chapter 6 systematically draws together all doctrinal teachings developed in this book related to Jewish cultic rituals, the land, and mission. Regarding Jewish cultic rituals it summarizes why the Catholic Church is not going against earlier magisterial teachings that apparently teach that Jewish rituals are dead and deadly. Those very documents provide a counter current which suggests the opposite reading. Regarding the land it summarizes why the Catholic Church can support a minimalist Zionism that interprets the Jewish return as biblical, while refusing to endorse the state government or its various decisions, while also affirming the rights of Palestinians to a homeland and to justice. Regarding mission, it argues that a grass roots Hebrew Catholic community can offer witness to the reality that Judaism is not eradicated and superseded were a Jewish person to accept Christ and the truth of the Catholic Church. This is a form of mission.

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