La Civiltà Cattolica

La Civiltà Cattolica

Cover of the issue of 5 August 2006.
Categories	national press
Frequency	biweekly
Circulation	15,000
Publisher	GianPaolo Salvini S.I.
First issue	6 April 1850
Country	Italy
Based in	Rome, Italy
Language	Italian
Website	laciviltacattolica.it
ISSN	0009-8167

La Civiltà Cattolica (Italian for The Catholic Civilization) is a Rome based Italian biweekly magazine (or periodical) printed by the Jesuits.^[1] The bimonthly journal was founded in 1850 with papal funding by order of the Pope and readers have recognised it as representing contemporary Vatican opinion.^[2] It has been praised and highly regarded by readers of Catholic magazines. The magazine strives to appeal to a general audience, rather than any specific audience.^[3]

History

Papal influence

The bimonthly journal was founded in 1850 with papal funding by order of Pope Pius IX and readers recognised it as representing contemporary Vatican opinion^[4] Papal influence was demonstrated by the dismissal of it's first editor by Pius IX in 1875.^[5] A special 50th anniversary edition of the journal asserted "More than a simple journal [La Civiltà Cattolica] is an institution desired and created by the Holy See and placed at it's exclusive service for the defense of the Sacred doctrine and the rights of the Church".^[6] During the papacy of Pius X the editor of the journal began to be appointed by the pope or with his approval.^[7] During the 1920s and 30's the journal has been described as "extremely authoritative...because of its tight ties with the [Vatican] Secretary of State."^[8] The historian Richard Webster described its influence in 1938 as reflecting the views of the Pontiff.^[9] During the papacy of Pius XII all articles were reviewed prior to publication by the Secretariat of State.^[10]

The founding of the periodical

La Civiltà Cattolica was first published in Naples by a local group of Jesuits. The magazine was conceived by a Jesuit priest named Carlo Maria Curci. Curci would become the first director of the Catholic magazine. His aim in publishing magazine was to defend what he called "catholic civilization" in modern society and in response to the perceived growing influence of liberals and freemasons The first issue was released on April 6, 1850. Father Curci had it published in Italian instead of Latin, which his superiors would have preferred. Father Curci earned the full support of Pope Pius IX, who wanted to have an effective means of defending Catholic thought, and of Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli. The then Superior General of the Jesuits, Father Joannes Philippe Roothaan (1783–1853), did not give the same support to the periodical, fearing that if they were to get involved in political issues, the reputation of the Society of Jesus would be damaged. Among the first editors are the following Jesuits:

• Luigi Taparelli D'Azeglio (1793–1862), philosopher of law.
• Matteo Liberatore (1810–1892), scholar of Thomist philosophy, he was also on the cutting edge of the social teaching of the Church, to the point that Pope Leo XIII will ask him to write the Papal Encyclical Rerum Novarum.
• Antonio Bresciani (1798–1862), scholar of literature.
• Giovanni Battista Pianciani (1784–1862), scholar of Natural science.

Jesuit fathers Carlo Piccirillo (1821–1888) and Giuseppe Oreglia di Santo Stefano (1823–1895) contributed to the magazine while they were students. Many of these fathers would eventually form the first College of Writers, established on February 12, 1866 with the Apostolic Brief Gravissimum supremi of Pope Pius IX. Until 1933, the writers stayed anonymous. From that year on, the articles were then signed. The magazine initially had a polemic tone to it, which it retained for several years. This was a typical way of writing in the 19th century (see also "Christian apologetics"), a style which was also typical of the adversaries of the Church.

Because of censorship by the House of Bourbon, the editorial office was transferred to Rome in 1850. After Rome was annexed to Italy in 1870 the journal moved to Florence before returning back to Rome in 1870.^[11] It was after the move back to Rome, and being placed under paricularly close papal supervision, that a fresh batch of articles dennouncing the Jews appeared in the journal.</ref> Kertzer, p. 311, fn. 19</ref>

The 19th century battles

As a major figure of the cultural debate that took place in the Roman Catholic Church during the second half of the 19th century, La Civiltà Cattolica contributed to the Syllabus of Errors, the First Vatican Council (1869–1870) and to the task of restoring Thomist philosophy, which flourished during the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903). A consistently aggressively anti-evolution position was taken by the journal, which was generally believed to have accurate information about the views of Vatican authorities.^[12] The opening in 1998 of the Archive of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (in the 19th century called the Holy Office and the Congregation of the Index) has revealed that on many crucial points this belief was mistaken, and the journal's accounts of specific cases, often the only ones made public, were not accurate. The original documents show the Vatican's attitude was much less fixed than appeared to be the case at the time.^[13] It also held a prominent role in the Italian political arena, following up closely on the events that led up to the unification of Italy and the Roman Question. After the Capture of Rome in 1870, it was an obstacle for the liberalist political party, who were a minority in the country. It also opposed modernism.

The first half of the 20th century

At the beginning of the 20th century the magazine content was aimed at building up a Catholic ruling class, especially after the decline brought about by non expedit.^[14] In 1930, in the aftermath of the signing of the Lateran treaty and the debate about relations between Church and State, the then director of the magazine, Father Enrico Rosa, had discussions with Alleanza Nazionale (an anti-fascist) group of Catholic monarchists. In 1936 La Civiltà Cattolica dealt with the legitimacy of the colonial annexations. The article was written by Father Antonio Messineo (1897–1968) when Italy was conquering Ethiopia and in opposition to the League of Nations. In 1937 the joint letter with which the Spanish bishops released on July 1 of the same year relating to the civil war was published.^[15] In 1938 the journal published details of the new Italian race laws which revoked the citizenship of anyone "of Jewish race" who had acquired Italian citizenship after 1918, ordering those who were not citizens to leave the country within six months.^[16] The journal also described the expulsion of Jewish teachers and children from schools and Jews from academic occupations.^[17] After making some distinctions between the Church's and fascist approach to the "Jewish problem" the journal concluded that the battle against the Jews "is to be understood as a struggle inspired solely by the need for legitimate defense of Christian people against a foreign nation..the sworn enemy of their well-being.^[18] David Kertzer notes that the only protest from the Pope regarding the new race laws related to the marital status of Jewish Catholic converts but none were issued relating to the persecution of Jews.^[19] According to the opinions of some Catholic historians La Civiltà Cattolica denounced all of the totalitarianisms that marked the 20th century. This interpretation is not shared by other historians. The journal won the praise of fascist leaders such as Roberto Farinacci who described it in 1939 as "the most authorative of all the Catholic periodicals", citing in particular an 1890 article which described the Jews as "a depraved race" and how "the reverend Jesuit fathers call for the annulment of all laws that give the Jews political and civil equality" and approving of a recent article that described Judaism as "profoundly corrupted" and that Jews sought "world domination".^[20] In the second post-war era it cautioned against the danger of communism in Italy and in the Eastern European countries. Very strong articles, such as those signed by Father Riccardo Lombardi (1908–1979), warned Catholics of the necessity of getting organized to combat the Left in the campaign of 1948. There was disagreement in the College of Writers as to whether it was opportune for Catholics to be allied with different parties. The director of the magazine, Father James Martegnani (1902–1981), was favorable towards a right-wing coalition between the Front of the Ordinary Man, the Italian Social Movement and a part of the Christian Democracy party, and together with the bishop of Pompei, Monsignor Roberto Ronca (1901–1978), helped to create the Christian political movement Civiltà Italica. However, a policy which was to conform to, though critical of, the strategies of Alcide De Gasperi (1881–1954) prevailed, represented by Father Anthony Messineo and by Father Salvatore Lener (1907–1983). In the late 20th century The father Robert Graham published articles which sought to refute the accusations relating to the "silence" of Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust.

The stemma of the Company of Jesus

After the Second Vatican Council

Ecclesial outlooks

The magazine gave abundant reports on the Second Vatican Council with some of its writers participating as experts. Due to the Council the magazine no longer took on a tone of opposition, but rather of dialogue with the modern world, whilst holding to the truth it held in the teachings of Roman Catholicism. Pope John Paul II influenced the Society of Jesus and it's magazine during his pontificate, promoting a missionary perspective and the revival of apologetical articles, and the work of the New Evangelization.

In the Italian political arena

At the time of the Historic Compromise, the magazine was consistent in calling for Catholic political activity, in particular the reestablishment of Christian Democracy at a time when secularism was spreading throughout Italy, witnessed in the referendum defeats on issues such as divorce and abortion, with practicing Catholics becoming a minority in the country and thus weakening their political strength.

Anti-Judaism/Semitism

According to Zuccotti (2000) anti-Semitism in the form of discrimination based on purely racial grounds has rarely featured in Roman Catholicism and during the 1920s and 30's it was condemned by Church spokesmen, though Pinchas Lapide describes the Jesuits, like Himmlers SS, not admitting to its membership anyone with even an eighth part Jewish blood until after 1945, when the Vatican finally stepped in.^[21] In contrast, anti-Judaism involves a hostility or prejudice towards Jews for religious or cultural reasons. However, anti-Judaism is commonly treated as a synonym for anti-Semitism. When this definition is used the Church's pronouncements which they regarded as anti-Judaism are described by others as being anti-Semitic.^[22] Examples of permissible anti-Judaism from the past which are commonly treated as anti-Semitic by others would be the justification of segregation of Jews in the form of Ghetto's, emancipation from the ghetto as a privilege, and holding Jews responsible for many of societies ills.^[23] La Civiltà Cattolica condemned anti-Semitism based on race but did promote religious discrimination based on their perception of Jews as being responsible for deicide, ritual murder and their influence on society. The journal never approved of violence against Jews.^[24] In 1907 Hitler visited Vienna to "study the Jewish problem" under the guidance of the zealous Roman Catholic Karl Lueger who was the city's mayor and leader of the "rabidly anti-Semitic" Christian Socialist Party.^[25] Hitler greatly admired Lueger and purchased his first anti-Semitic pamphlets published by the Christian Socialists which reprinted several articles from " La Civiltà Cattolica".^[26] Lapide (1967) thinks that Hitler may well have got some of his ideas from the Jesuit journal.^[27] With the rise of Hitler in the 1930s the journal described the Jews as the "relentless irreconcilable enemies of Christ and of Christianity, particularly of integral and pure Christianity, the Catholicism of the Roman Church" ^[28] In 1936 the journal reported that not a few Jews posed a grave and permanent danger to society because of their economic and political influence.^[29] In 1936 the Nazi "hate sheet" Der Stürmer printed a special edition dedicated to "Jewish ritual murder" which included extensive quotations from "La Civiltà Cattolica".^[30] In 1937 the journal returned to the "Jewish Problem" and affirmed Hillaire Bellocs opinion that the problem could only be solved by "elimination or segregation". The unidentified writer favoured means of achieving this was "a friendly and gentle manner, through absorption", the only method compatible with Christian principles, but Zuccotti (2000) describes language of elimination as being "so ominous in retrospect". The writer didn't dispute Bellocs proposal for "friendly segregation" at a time when Hitler was carrying out segregation in Germany^[31]

In his history of the journal De Rosa expressed regret at the journals century-long campaign against the Jews and that the journal only changed its stance through the influence of the Second Vatican Council^[32] De Rosa in his history seeks to draw a distinction between anti-Semitism based on race, which he believes the journal never sanctioned, and anti-Judaism based on religious factors which he acknowledges the journal did promote, including charges of ritual murder and undue economic-political influence ^[33] David Kertzer see a disturbing trend in De Rosa's history and also We Remember the Shoah that seeks to distance the Church from having influenced hatred towards the Jews that helped make the Holocaust possible.^[34] Kertzer points out that the anti-Judaism that the Church describes involved denunciation of the Jews not purely on religious grounds but also for socio-political reasons and thus "the whole carefully constructed anti-Semitic/anti-Judaism distinction evaporates^[35]

Notes

1. ^ Zuccotti, p. 11
2. ^ Zuccotti, p. 11
3. ^ The official website says in this regard:

   “

   Gli argomenti vi sono trattati in modo che possano essere compresi anche da persone non specializzate in quella materia; ma la trattazione è, per quanto possibile, scientificamente rigorosa e seriamente approfondita.

   ”

   (Translates: "The topics are treated in such a way that they can be understood even by people who are not specialized in that area; and yet they are treated, as far as possible, in such a way as to be rigorously scientific and seriously examined.")
4. ^ Zuccotti, p. 11
5. ^ Zuccotti, p. 11
6. ^ Kertzer, p. 311 fn. 4
7. ^ Zuccotti, p. 11
8. ^ Zuccotti, p. 11, quoting Giovanni Miccoli
9. ^ Zuccotti, p. 11
10. ^ Zuccotti, p. 11
11. ^ Kertzer, p. 311, fn. 19
12. ^ Artigas, 2,5,
13. ^ Artigas, 2,5,7-9,220 etc.
14. ^ This was a document promulgated by Pope Pius IX in which Catholics were discouraged from taking active part in political elections
15. ^ See [1]. This letter, supporting the dictatorial movement of general Francisco Franco was ignored by the Osservatore Romano
16. ^ Kertzer, p. 286-287
17. ^ Kertzer, p. 286-287
18. ^ Kertzer, p. 286-287
19. ^ Kertzer, p. 286-287
20. ^ Kertzer, p. 283-284
21. ^ Zuccotti, p. 10-11,15; Lapide, "Three Popes and the Jews", p. 108 (1967)
22. ^ Zuccotti, p. 11; see p. 332 fn. 9 for elaboration including terms such as religious, political, social, and economic varieties of anti-Semitism
23. ^ Zuccotti, p. 11
24. ^ Zuccotti, p. 9
25. ^ Lapide, p. 81
26. ^ Lapide, p. 82
27. ^ Lapide, p. 82
28. ^ Zuccotti, p. 9
29. ^ Zuccotti, p. 12
30. ^ Lapide, p. 82
31. ^ Zuccotti, p. 12-14
32. ^ Kertzer, p. 7
33. ^ Kertzer, p. 7-8
34. ^ Kertzer, p. 8
35. ^ Kertzer, p. 8-9

See also

• Luigi Taparelli
• Periodical publication
• Holy See

References

• Artigas, Mariano; Glick, Thomas F., Martínez, Rafael A.; Negotiating Darwin: the Vatican confronts evolution, 1877-1902, JHU Press, 2006, ISBN 0-8018-8389-X, 9780801883897, Google books
• Pollard, John F. (2005). Money and the Rise of the Modern Papacy: Financing the Vatican, 1850–1950. Cambridge University Press
• Susan Zuccotti, "Under His Very Windows: The Vatican and the Holocaust in Italy", 2000, Yale University Press, ISBN 9780300093100
• Pinchas Lapide, "Three Popes and the Jews", Pinchas Lapide, 1967, Hawthorn Books
• David Kertzer, "Unholy war: the Vatican's role in the rise of modern anti-semitism", 2003, ISBN 9780330390491

Bibliography

Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent Italian-language Wikipedia article. The following sources are provided by that Italian-language article:

• (Italian)Francesco Dante, Storia della "Civiltà Cattolica" (1850–1891). Il laboratorio del Papa, Studium, Roma 1990

• (Italian)Giovanni Sale S.J., "La Civiltà Cattolica" nei suoi primi anni di vita, in La Civiltà cattolica, anno 150°, volume I, quaderno 3570, 20-3-1999, pp. 544–557.

• (Italian)Giuseppe De Rosa S.J., La Civiltà Cattolica. 150 anni al servizio della Chiesa. 1850-1999, La Civiltà Cattolica, Roma 1999

• (Italian)Marco Invernizzi, Il movimento cattolico in Italia dalla fondazione dell'Opera dei Congressi all'inizio della Seconda Guerra Mondiale (1874–1939), Mimep-Docete, Pessano (MI) 1995

External links

Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent Italian-language Wikipedia article. The following links are provided by that Italian-language article:

• (Italian) La Civiltà Cattolica official website: contains extracts of all articles, and some articles for each issue in full
• (Italian) Analytical index for research on issues from the year 1999 (issue 3565) onwards.
• (Italian) Article La Civiltà Cattolica from Dizionario del pensiero forte ("Dictionary of strong thought")
• (Italian) Speech of Pope John Paul II to La Civiltà Cattolica (April 22 1999)
• (Italian) Study on the Holy See and World War II by Matteo Luigi Napolitano (Original title: La Santa Sede e la seconda guerra mondiale. Memoria e ricerca storica nelle pagine della "Civiltà Cattolica")
• (Italian) Article from 1938 in which La Civiltà Cattolica magazine takes a stance regarding a presumed anti-Jewish attitude that some interpreted it as having
• (Italian) Article from La Civiltà Cattolica by Antonio Spadaro S.I., that analyzes Wikipedia and the idea of an "open encyclopedia"

Coordinates: 41°54′22″N 12°29′12″E / 41.90611°N 12.48667°E / 41.90611; 12.48667