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JoMaCC | Vol. 1 | Issue 2 | October 2022

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Research Article

The US Catholic Church after World War II: Reflections on the relationes ad limina (1949-54)

Valentina Ciciliot    Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia    

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abstract

The article analyses the content of the relationes ad limina submitted to the Vatican by US bishops between 1949 and 1954. These documents shed light on the episcopate’s views and actions during the second post-war period, emphasising the growth of the US Catholic Church and its gradual advance within the US society as a relevant religious force. The US bishops’ main concerns appear to be secularism (or indifferentism), their competitive relationship with Protestant denominations, the educational system, and the use of new media, such as radio and television. The racial question also emerged.

Published
Dec. 13, 2022
Accepted
Nov. 10, 2022
Submitted
Oct. 13, 2022
Language
EN

Keywords: US dioceses • US Catholicism • Catholic Church • Relatio ad limina • Pius XII

permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/JoMaCC/2785-6046/2022/02/007

Copyright: © 2022 Valentina Ciciliot. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.