Coronavirus Crisis in Italy: «a Stress Test» for the Faith and Trust of the Church

Abstract

The article analyzes main mechanisms of the relationship between the Catholic Church and believers in Italy in the context of the coronavirus crisis. The author concludes that Italy has showed itself as a country in which, despite the processes of secularization, the religious feeling is still alive. Interest in the «message» of the Vatican testifies to the preservation of the trust of the Church among the majority of Italian Catholics, including those who were disappointed with her position at certain stages of the pandemic. This was facilitated by the fact that the Catholic Church avoided association with the authorities of order and sanitary authorities, accepting the necessary, but not allowed lary measures of supervision and restrictions. The program of pastoral and psychotherapeutic assistance offered by the Italian Episcopal Conference undoubtedly contributed to the strengthening of the authority of the Church in extraordinary circumstances. It also seems that the techniques of psychological rehabilitation for victims of covid – narrative and storytelling – will be developed as an effective way of communication between believers in post-covid Europe.