CIVILTÀ CATTOLICA, LA

With the blessing of Pope Pius IX, the Jesuit biweekly La Civiltà Cattolica was founded in 1850 by Carlo Maria Curci, SJ. It soon became Italy's most prestigious Catholic periodical, defending the pope and the Church against their philosophical and political opponents. In particular, it played an important role in the struggle against modernism in the early 1900s. Pius IX was convinced that in order to combat the liberal and agnostic ideas propagated by European journalism in the mid-19th century, the Church needed a journal of its own, which would defend the values of the traditional "Catholic civilization." Although the Jesuit superior at the time, Father Johannes roothaan, had misgivings about involving the society in political matters, the Jesuits complied with the pope's wish. After a few months in Naples, the journal moved to Rome, under the editorial control of a staff of Jesuit writers who consulted frequently with the Vatican. In 1868, this formula of a "college of writers" was confirmed by pontifical statute.

From the beginning, the magazine's tone was sharp and combative in defense of the faith and the papacy, during a historical period when both were perceived to be under siege in Italy. Among the early causes enjoined by La Civiltà Cattolica was the refusal of Pius IX to concede temporal power in the face of Italy's political unification movement. In the 20th century, it ran articles attacking the errors of liberalism, Modernism, and socialism, taking an uncompromising line even against more open positions within the Church. Although favorable to some of the religious positions of fascism in Italy, the magazine voiced increasing criticism of its totalitarian policies. In 1938, the magazine condemned Nazism as neopagan, anti-Christian, and imperialistic. In the post-World War II period, the journal called for Catholic unity at the Italian polls to counter the political threat posed by Socialist and Communist parties. In the 1960s, four writers from the Jesuit "Civiltà" college were chosen by the Vatican to review thousands of confidential Holy See documents dating from 1939–45 and pertaining to the question of whether Pope Pius XII had done enough to help Jews suffering from Nazi persecution.

With the Second Vatican Council the magazine began a more tolerant dialogue with modern culture. It also widened its sphere of editorial interest, writing on such varied topics as the existence of hell, the vivisection of animals, cinema, and literature. In the 1990s, it had a circulation of about 16,000 in more than 100 countries. Although never an official publication of the Holy See, its articles were reviewed before publication at the Vatican—by the pope himself until Pope John XXIII's pontificate, and subsequently by other high officials of the Secretariat of State. The stated policy was that articles would "harmonize" with the Vatican's positions and the church's teachings. Articles touching on theology, faith, and morality received additional review by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Sometimes "trial balloons" were floated in the magazine's pages on sensitive international questions, such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, offering Vatican diplomats an opportunity to gauge reactions to ideas or proposals before they were officially adopted by the Holy See.

[j. thavis]