Synopsis
Controversial Concordats offers an engaging survey of the relationship of the Roman Catholic Church with three dictatorial figures in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: Napoleon, Mussolini, and Hitler. The essays reveal that the papacy not only played a key role in determining church-state relations in particular countries, but also greatly influenced the general course of international relations and modern history from the era of the French Revolution to the age of dictators and World War II.
This volume examines the concordats signed by Pope Pius VII and his Secretary of State Consalvi with Napoleonic France in 1801; the concordat concluded by Pius XI and Cardinal Gasparri with Fascist Italy in 1929; and that signed by Pius XI and Cardinal Pacelli with the Third Reich in 1933. In addition to tracing the evolution of these crucial agreements, the contributors assess their consequences at home and abroad, their impact on the universal Church and the Catholic faith, and their effect on European and international developments.
A complete bibliography-divided into three parts corresponding to the periods examined-offers a historiographical overview of the sources for each of the agreements. It also provides important references on the broad issue of church-state relations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
In addition to the editor, the contributors are: Joseph A. Biesinger, William Roberts, Stewart A. Stehlin, and John Zeender.
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About the Author
Frank J. Coppa is professor of history and director of the doctoral program in modern world history at St. John's University, New York. He is the author or editor of numerous works, including The Origins of the Italian War of Independence, The Dictionary of Modern Italian History, and Modern Italian History: An Annotated Bibliography.
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