Lateran+Accords



The Lateran Accords were written agreements between the leader of Italy, Benito Mussolini, and the Holy See. The Holy See refers to the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, which is what these accords were about. The head of the Catholic Church was Pope Pius XI, and the agreements were dealt mostly by Pietro Cardinal Gasparri, who signed the documents.

Catholicism was the main religion of Italy and most citizens were very devoted to it, which is why Mussolini made an agreement with the church instead of crushing his last real form of opposition. The Catholic Church governed the spiritual side of people's lives, while Mussolini had control of the political side. The Catholic Church was very eager to sign an agreement with Mussolini because of their endangered state under the reign of fascism.

AGREEMENTS

These agreements were signed in 1929, ratified on June 7. The pacts included two main documents. The first was an agreement on religious matters with the state, which is a concordat, and the second was a political treaty (the Concilation Treaty). This allowed the Vatican to be ruled by the Catholic Church as a separate state, and it had four annexes to it: a plan of the territory, a list of who got priveleges, who got tax exemptions, and a financial convention that settled the loss of any territory and such. The Catholic Church would get a yearly income of 3 250 000 lire (money) as compensation. The treaty formally asserted that the Vatican recognized Italy as it was, with Rome as its capital. In return, Italy recognized the Vatican as an independant state led by the pope. The

Vatican was officially recognized as the "centre of the Catholic world and place of pilgrimage". Bishops in the Vatican were to make an oath to Italy and be recognized as Italian citizens who spoke Italian.



HISTORY BEHIND THE ACCORDS

Benito Mussolini's father hated the Catholic Church, and so Mussolini was influenced to hate them too. He has been quoted referring to priests as "black germs". But, as Mussolini got older and more prominent, his opinion became much more reserved. He decided to work with the Catholic Church once he became a dictator so that the public's loyalty wouldn't be divided by opposing forces, and instead strengthened by the friendship of one. He gained the church's favour by supporting many of their ideals. He outlawed swearing, promoted mothers to be housewives, and even baptised his own children.

In 1926, Mussolini and the church began compromising on education matters because they had very different ideas of what should be taught. This lasted for three years until the signing of the treaty in 1929. It was an issue because usually fascist leaders control everything their citizens learn about, but the church had things to teach as well. It was agreed that religion would be taught in school.

The Papal States in Italy had been land owned by the Catholic Church, but it had been taken away by the government by the time these agreements began. To make up for this, Mussolini gave the Catholic Church a large sum of money and granted the church new territory, which would become the Vatican state. The Vatican was to be led by the pope, and they were allowed all the ammenities that a small town would be granted. This is how the Vatican was established separately from Italy.

The Concordat made Roman Catholicism the national faith of Italy. This formalized something that was already widely accepted. The pope would appoint bishops, but the government had to bless them. The Roman Catholic Church was also given the complete responsibility of marriage.

RESULTS The Lateran Accords were in effect from 1929 until 1985. Mussolini was successful in securing his position at the top, and gained more recognition. Those who may not have supported him before accepted Mussolini simply because the church approved. The relations between the church and Mussolini after the accords were signed remained peaceful, save minor details. The church, for example, did not approve of the way the Jewish population was treated in the late 30s. With that said, everyone was still on the same side. This treaty is very important because it established the Vatican as the Catholic center of the world.

THE ACCORDS

[|A Copy of the Lateran Accords]in English

by Bronwen Pollock

BIBLIOGRAPHY @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateran_Treaty @http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/331566/Lateran-Treaty @http://www.concordatwatch.eu/showtopic.php?kb_header_id=841 @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_Mussolini

IMAGE CREDIT @http://www.rometravelguide.info/wp-content/uploads/the-vatican.jpg @http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070511044439/uncyclopedia/images/5/5c/Mussolini.jpg @http://www.fscdena.org/images/history/2011/fall/Pope-Pius-XI.jpg @http://www.vaticandiplomacy.org/11228543892110_Signing_the_Lateran_Treaty_Picture.jpg @http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W2rap1ZMdTI/T51pLqOhsMI/AAAAAAAABg4/pSS8bBD_2aE/s400/31-Vatican-symbol.png