Un ponte tra il vecchio e il nuovo mondo
Il Messico nel pontificato di Pio XI
abstract
The conflict between the secular Mexican State and the Catholic Church, which reached its heights with the Cristero war of 1926-1929, was one of the most relevant issues in Pius XI’ pontificate. Even after the end of the Cristiada, Pope Pius XI and his Secretary of State Cardinal Pacelli sought to mediate between the unwillingness to compromise of many Mexican Catholics and the necessity to preserve religious freedom by means of Vatican Diplomacy. Based on an analysis of the wider context of Vatican politics, the paper focuses on the ideological and political connections between Mexico and Europe, with particular reference to the ‘Just War Theory’ and the Holy See’s concrete actions in defending the libertas Ecclesiae. With regard to this, the documentation held in the Vatican Archives permits to identify certain underlying tendencies of Vatican politics at the time, such as the rapprochement between the Holy See and the United States.
Keywords: Pius XI • Mexican Anticlericalism • Vatican Diplomacy • Church-State Conflict in Mexico