From Cycling Priests to the ‘Sportsman's Pope’. Italy, Sport and the Catholic Church

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Martin
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Tour De France ◽  
Alternative Culture ◽  
National Life ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Church ◽  
Regime Analysis

This article surveys the Catholic Church's exploitation of sport in Liberal (1861–1922), Fascist (1922–1943), and post-war Italy. It examines how and why the Church overcame its initial reticence to embrace sport and turn it into a fundamental pillar of an alternative culture that challenged the monopoly of national sporting federations. Following the rise of Fascism, sport became one of the principal means by which the Church resisted a complete takeover by the regime. Analysis of the devout Catholic cyclist Gino Bartali reveals how the Church maintained its identity and tradition of sporting independence despite the inevitable suppression of Catholic sporting organisations. Culminating in an examination of the ‘immortalisation’ of Bartali after his win in the 1948 Tour De France – a victory popularly credited with saving Italy from civil war – the article illuminates the processes by which sport became a central feature of Catholicism in national life. It highlights the Church's contribution to the development of Italian sport, assesses the wider impact of sport's role in forming alternative cultures, and argues that sport perfectly positioned the Church to respond to the demands of Reconstruction Italy and provided opportunities to secure a post-war Christian Democratic society.

Revolutionary Exhumations in Spain, July 1936

1985 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Lincoln
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Spanish Civil War ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

In the first weeks of the Spanish civil war, there occurred massive popular assaults against the Catholic Church in those cities which did not fall to the Nationalists rising, the Church having been widely (and correctly) perceived as hostile to the Republic and sympathetic to the generals who sought its overthrow. As rumors of priests firing on the populace from church towers circulated wildly, churches and convents were rapidly sacked and burnt. Supporters of the Republic killed religious personnel in large numbers—certainly well into the thousands—while desecrating and destroying church paraphernalia and cultic objects en masse.

scholarly journals State policy of division of Catholic Church priests in Bosnia and Herzegovina into „positive“ and „reactionary“ (1945-1963)

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 71-92
Author(s):  
Denis Bećirović ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Social Order ◽  
State Policy ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
The State ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

The illumination of the state policy of separating „positive“ from „negative“ priests of the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the most important issues in the scientific understanding of the position of this religious community during the first decades of existence of AVNOJ Yugoslavia. The post-war government in Bosnia and Herzegovina treated a large number of priests of the Catholic Church as real or potential enemies of the state. In addition to ideological reasons, which were more or less similar in all communist parties, the negative attitude of the CPY towards the Catholic Church was influenced by the fact that some priests supported the Ustasha movement during World War II. The justification for the negative attitude of party structures towards priests was argued most often in the documents of the Commission for Religious Affairs with the following reasons: that most priests supported the occupier and domestic traitors during the war; that they spread hostile propaganda against the national liberation movement; that they actively participated in the fight against the new social order; that they had committed war crimes and persecuted members of other faiths, and that they had been linked to criminal Ustasha emigration abroad. In addition to „negative“ priests, there were „positive“ priests that also acted in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as they were reported in the documents of the Commission for Religious Affairs. They did not agree to the policy of confrontation with the state and demanded the establishment of dialogue and co-operation between the Church and the state. Some of the most prominent representatives of this group of priests were: Fr Bono Ostojić, Ph.D. Karlo Karin, Fr Mile Leko, Fr Josip Markušić, Fr Serafin Dodig, Fr Kruno Misilo and others. Holders of „positive tendencies“ among the clergy, according to the Commission for Religious Affairs, understood the importance of establishing communication and contacts with state authorities and the harmfulness of the negative attitude of the Catholic Church towards the state. Their goal was to change the methods of solving problems between the Church and the state, and to build a path that would suit the interests of the priests of the Catholic Church and the interests of the state community, without interfering with the church's dogmatic canonical principles. The „differentiation“ of priests was treated as a positive result of the work of the new government, because, according to their assessments, in the first post-war years, representatives of religious communities had a hostile attitude towards the newly created socialist Yugoslav state. Therefore, the Commission for Religious Affairs (federal and republican) has continuously pointed out the importance of implementing a policy of „stratification and differentiation“ within religious communities. According to the observations of the Federal Commission for Religious Affairs, the post-war „differentiation“ among the priests happened primarily due to their attitudes regarding the relationship between the state and the Catholic Church. Some considered it desirable and useful to establish communication with the newly created authorities, while others maintained a negative attitude. In addition to these two groups, there was a third group that was undecided. When considering the biographical data of the priests of the Catholic Church proposed for state decorations, it can be stated that the authorities carefully took into account which priests would be on the list of candidates recommended for awards. A positive attitude towards the new socialist social order, active participation in the establishment of the Association of Catholic Priests in Bosnia and Herzegovina, loyalty, patriotism towards socialist Yugoslavia, and contribution to the development of the Association of Catholic Priests in Bosnia and Herzegovina, are some of the most important reasons for choosing candidates for awards. In the article, based on unpublished archival sources, the author contextualises the political circumstances and the circumstances in which the state policy of differentiation of „positive“ from „reactionary“ priests of the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina took place, points out the reasons for and bearers of such policy, and analyses its expression and results. Also, the author presents the policy of awarding state recognitions and decorations to individual priests in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

scholarly journals The Idea of Patriarchate of the UGCC in the Ukrainian Diaspora on the Eve of the Second Vatican Council

2020 ◽  
pp. 71-87
Author(s):  
Anatolii Babynskyi
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
The United States ◽  
Third Wave ◽  
The Third ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
The Face ◽  
Post War ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Church

The article covers the development of the idea of ​​patriarchal status in 1945-1962 within the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the diaspora, focusing mainly on the third wave of Ukrainian emigration. After the Second World War, about 250,000 Ukrainian refugees found themselves in Western Europe (DP camps), from where in 1947-1955, they moved to the countries of North and South America, Western Europe and Australia. The growing role of the Church, which continued to play a significant role in their lives after their resettlement to the countries mentioned above, marked the experience of their stay in the DP camps. The DP camps became a place of a closer rapprochement between Ukrainian Greek Catholics and Orthodox Christians, one consequence of which was the appeals of a Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishops with a proposal to create a joint patriarchate with Ukrainian Orthodox, which would be in unity with Rome. On the other hand, the expansion of the geography of the presence of the UGCC and the founding of new metropolises in Canada and the United States brought to the fore the question of the unity of all structural units of this Church at the global level, which, as some believed, could have been secured by the patriarchal institution. Finally, the patriarchate was considered by the post-war Ukrainian emigration as a means of preserving the unity of the diaspora in the face of assimilation and disintegration. Furthermore, in the future, as an institution that could effectively help the Church revive at home after independence. The last aspect of the patriarchal idea had a significant impact on the emergence of the Ukrainian patriarchal movement, and its closeness to the goals set by the third wave of Ukrainian emigration provided that movement with a high level of massiveness and passionate vigorousness for the movement.

The Polemics of John Heigham and Richard Montagu and the Rise of English Arminianism

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-27
Author(s):  
Thomas Scheck
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
English Civil War ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Anglican Church ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Religious Controversy ◽  
The Church

The English Catholic apologist John Heigham (1568–1632) deserves to be better known in light of the significant historical consequences of his efforts in the field of Catholic apologetics. Heigham’s tract, The Gagge of the Reformed Gospel (1623) accused the Reformed Church in England of heresy and innovation and summoned the readers back to the Roman Catholic Church. This work was answered by Richard Montagu (1577–1641), the future bishop of Chichester and Norwich in his book, A New Gagg for an Old Goose (1624). Montagu’s book provoked a storm of controversy within the Church of England because the author simultaneously replied to Heigham’s Catholic arguments and attacked Calvinism within the Church of England, which he labelled ‘Puritanism’. A series of books attacking Montagu were then published by English Calvinists who accused Montagu of popery and of betrayal of the Reformed cause. These disputes contributed to the Calvinist/Arminian division within the Anglican Church, a religious controversy that was one of the contributing causes of the English Civil War. Thus the seed planted by Heigham’s tract grew into a forest of religious controversies and ended in a war. This article summarizes the content of Heigham’s tract and the principal ideas of his Catholic apologetics, after recounting the main events of Heigham’s little known life. Then Montagu’s response will be surveyed and the reactions it spawned.

scholarly journals El proyecto religioso del cardenal Montini a la vanguardia de la arquitectura milanesa. El caso de Mater Misericordiae, icono de la modernidad | Cardinal Montini´s Religious Project, on the avant-garde of Milanese architecture. The study case of Mater Misericordiae, an icon of modernity

ZARCH ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. 300
Author(s):  
María Belén Gómez Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Sacred Architecture ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
New Churches ◽  
Liturgical Renewal ◽  
Peripheral Areas ◽  
Post War ◽  
High Level ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church

Durante la década de los años cincuenta del pasado siglo la ciudad de Milán creció a un ritmo acelerado al tratar de acomodar a la población que, como consecuencia de los movimientos migratorios acaecidos al final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, se había ido alojando en la periferia. Algunas entidades, como la Diócesis de esta ciudad, trataron de dar ayuda espiritual a los habitantes de estas áreas en crecimiento, consolidándose esta iniciativa en un plan de construcción de nuevos complejos parroquiales en los alrededores de la ciudad. En el año 1955 es nombrado Arzobispo de Milán Giovanni Battista Montini, futuro Papa Pablo VI, que será una figura clave, el verdadero artífice tanto de este plan de construcción de iglesias como de la modernización de la imagen de la arquitectura sacra en Milán. Montini encargó muchos de los proyectos a arquitectos innovadores de experiencia probada, que trabajaban habitualmente en Milán o en otras zonas de Italia, pero también solicitó la redacción de algunos proyectos a jóvenes arquitectos que apenas tenían experiencia en el campo de la arquitectura eclesiástica. Con él, el ritmo de construcción de iglesias se incrementó considerablemente en los alrededores de la ciudad, llegando a levantarse en esos años más de cien nuevos edificios sacros. La intención de este texto es señalar, a través de una serie de ejemplos relevantes, entre los que destaca la iglesia Mater Misericoridae, cómo la Diócesis de Milán contribuyó, mediante una renovación de la imagen de la Iglesia como institución a través de su arquitectura, a definir la identidad de algunos barrios periféricos de la ciudad. En ellos, las nuevas construcciones eclesiásticas se convirtieron en hitos, símbolos de una importante renovación litúrgica que se había iniciado unas décadas antes en otros puntos de Europa Algunas de las nuevas propuestas arquitectónicas, en las que la Iglesia Católica apostó por apoyar la reconciliación entre arte moderno y arte sacro, se convirtieron en modelos de referencia en los que confluían tradición y modernidad. El caso concreto de la Iglesia Mater Misericordiae permite reconocer un alto grado de experimentación, muy por encima de otras arquitecturas coetáneas, tanto religiosas como civiles, muestra de la apuesta que la Diócesis milanesa, y en concreto el Cardenal Montini, hizo al apoyar la construcción de un proyecto renovador de verdadero carácter vanguardista.PALABRAS CLAVE: Milán de posguerra, arquitectura sacra, renovación litúrgica, iglesia y modernidad. During the 50s’ the city of Milan experienced a fast growth to accommodate the population that arrived into the city as a consequence of the migratory movements that took place at the end of the Second World War. Some organizations, such as the Archbishopric of the city, tried to provide with spiritual help to the inhabitants of this developing areas. This initiative turned into a plan for the construction of new parish churches in the settlements around the city. In the year 1955 Giovanni Battista Montini - who a few years later would become pope Paulus VI- Became archbishop of Milan and took over the management and planning for the construction of new churches. He was responsible for the modern image of sacred architecture in this city. Montini commissioned a group of innovative architects with proven experience that had already worked in Milan or other parts of Italy to deliver some of the Projects. At the same time, he appointed a group of young architects with relatively little experience in the field of ecclesiastical architecture and put them in charge of a second group of projects projects. Under Montini the rhythm of churches construction in the neighborhoods around Milan increased considerably and more than one hundred churches were constructed during this period and the following years. This paper discusses the contribution of the Diocese of Milan, within the renovation of the church as an institution through its architecture, to define the identity of some of the new peripheral areas of the city. For this purpose, some of the most interesting examples of architecture constructed during this period have been selected. Among all this constructions the church of Mater Misericordiae can be singled out for a number of reasons. These new sacred constructions became symbols of the important Liturgical renewal that had started a few decades before in some other parts of Europe. Some of these new architectural proposals, in which the Catholic Church tried to reconcile modern and sacred art, became new models of reference in which tradition and modernity went hand by hand. In the case of the church of Mater Misericordiae a high level of experimentation, well above some other contemporary sacred and civil constructions, can be recognized. This is an evidence of Montini’s commitment, to support a really avant-garde renewal project.KEYWORDS: Post-war Milan, Sacred Architecture, Liturgical renewal, church and modernity.

scholarly journals THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CATALONIA. FROM CATACLYSM IN THE CIVIL WAR TO THE “EUPHORIA” OF THE 1950S

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-100
Author(s):  
Andrew Dowling
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Spanish Civil War ◽  
Cultural Activity ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
National Catholicism ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

In the summer of 1936, with the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, the Catalan Church underwent a ferocious assault, without precedent in modern European history. Catalan society in the early decades of the twentieth century had been divided over its relationship to the Catholic Church, with some sectors being profoundly anti-clerical. Yet by the early 1960s, attitudes towards the Catholic Church had changed. This article is concerned with reconstructing Catalan and Catalanist Catholicism from one of profound crisis during the Civil War to its re-emergence from the confines of Spanish National Catholicism. Francoist victory in the Spanish Civil War meant the ending of indigenous Catholic traditions. However, from the mid-1940s we can trace the slow reconstruction of Catalan traditions, language and culture. All of the major expressions of Catalan identity until the 1960s were enabled due to this Catholic patronage. Whilst the Church was unable to reverse secularization trends, this involvement in cultural activity would transform its place within wider Catalan society. By the end of the period examined in this article, historic and deep rooted anti-clericalism in Catalonia was ending.

scholarly journals Activities of Greek Catholics in the Second Half of the 1960s - the First Half of the 1980s as an Expression of Anti-Soviet Opposition in the Society of Western Regions of Ukraine

2009 ◽  
pp. 215-224
Author(s):  
R.Yu. Boyko
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Soviet System ◽  
Soviet Power ◽  
Systemic Crisis ◽  
Post War ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Church

One of the components of anti-Soviet opposition in post-war Ukraine is resistance of believers to the policies of Soviet power. Particularly specific is the resistance of Greek Catholics formed under the conditions of prohibition of the activities of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (hereinafter referred to as the UGCC). Despite the government's harassment, the church continued to operate underground. Of interest to researchers is the period of the second half of the 1960s - the first half of the 1980s - the time of the growing systemic crisis of the Soviet system.

Polish Revolutionaries of the Nineteenth Century and the Catholic Church

1990 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 147-159
Author(s):  
Stefan Kieniewicz
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Spiritual Life ◽  
Political Role ◽  
National Life ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

The subject of my paper lies in a field of studies seldom pursued in Church historiography. Catholic historians in Poland are concerned principally with the study of the Church itself: its spiritual life, organization, political role, and contribution to national life. Much less attention is given to adversaries of the Church; so that, generally speaking, the study of non-Catholic (and non-Christian) trends or sectors in society is currently left to Marxist or liberal scholars. This is a pity.

scholarly journals Archival heritage of Sheptytskyi family in the Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Lviv: the issue of establishing archival collections

2020 ◽  
pp. 220-237
Author(s):  
Galyna Gromova
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Central State ◽  
Scientific Institutions ◽  
Historical Archives ◽  
Internal Structures ◽  
History Of ◽  
Post War ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church

The article demonstrates, based on valid sources, that archives of Metropolitan Bishop Sheptytskyi and his closest associates, as well as collections of documents from church institutions, which existed on St. George Hill, were in 1946 divided into at least three parts. The biggest part (that had a potential investigative basis), was moved to the accounting and archival department of NKVD, and from there in 1954, 1972 and 1976 it was transferred to CSHAL. Route of the second part is closely related to archival institutions specifically. During the first post-WWII years documents of the abolished UGCC ended up in the State Archive of Lviv Oblast, as during that time it was a central archival foundation in Lviv. Further movement of these materials to archival institutions in Kyiv (namely, CSHAK, VNLU) during the second half of 1940s and their return to Lviv at the beginning of 1950s is well traced due to accompanying documentation present. Third part of documents essentially didn’t leave Lviv. It was kept in the Metropolitan Palace during 1946–1951, and was later moved to CSHAL for safekeeping. Some parts of it were and still are in various libraries and museums throughout the city. Constant migration of documents, related to the figure of Metropolitan Bishop Andrey Sheptytskyi and the history of UGCC, as well as barbaric treatment of this archival heritage from people not qualified to handle it during first post-war years led to quite negative consequences — internal structures of collections of documents were damaged, their integrity violated, and as a result — loses were imminent. Due to documents arriving at CSHAL haphazardly at different times, they were assembled into newly created fonds using an intricate thematic and chronological approach. Highlighting the problem of moved documents of the church allows not only for further search for scattered archival fonds and collections, but in a larger sense — for a new look at the history of scientific institutions that kept and are still keeping safe the handwritten heritage of the past. Keywords: Metropolitan Bishop A. Sheptytskyi, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, archive fonds, moved materials.

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