The Vietnam War, the Church, the Christian Democratic Party and the Italian Left Catholics

Daniela Saresella

doi:10.3390/socsci7040055

Abstract

Over the years of the Cold War, the conflict in Vietnam assumed the significance of a clash between two civilizations, the West and communism. Italian Catholics thus found themselves not only invoking the end of the conflict, but also expressing their evaluations on the choices made in international politics by the two superpowers. The positions assumed by the ecclesiastic Institution, the Christian Democrats and the Catholic world in Italy towards the war in Indochina were not identical: in fact, if—with a few exceptions—the ecclesiastic hierarchy was distinguished by its extreme caution, in the Catholic party different positions became manifest. It was mainly in Catholic associations, and in general amongst believers closer to the experience of the Vatican Council, that a radical sense of aversion to U.S. foreign policy developed.

Highlights

The Italian ChurchThe sixties saw a period of profound change, in the West but in other continents, too: the civil rights movement in the United States, the battles against oppressive regimes in Latin
Over the years of the Cold War, the conflict in Vietnam assumed the significance of a clash between two civilizations, the West and communism
Important voices from the world of Italian Catholics came from the intellectuals who gravitated around the journals, some of which linked to the ecclesiastic Institution (La Civiltà cattolica was the Jesuit journal, founded in 1850), with others appearing in the second post-war period, often as an expression of the more open and progressive elements of the Catholic world

Summary

The Italian Church

The sixties saw a period of profound change, in the West but in other continents, too: the civil rights movement in the United States, the battles against oppressive regimes in Latin. It is aware that the road to peace is still a long one filled with obstacles: it knows that this path demands first and foremost, but , the inner purification of our hearts; it absolutely demands practical choices, as well, mutually agreeing to give up certain privileged interests or certain pre-conceived attitudes, imposing profound and liberating modifications in structures and institutions, inventive efforts converging in collective works, in particular at the service of the less fortunate masses and people who are still victims of the economic predominance and economic strategy of others.5 Another significant figure amongst the Italian Bishops was Luigi Bettazzi, appointed Bishop in. Too, did not fail to express his criticism of American foreign policy, in particular the U.S involvement in Vietnam, and in the second half of the seventies he was to become one of the Italian Catholics most involved in close talks with the leader of the Italian Communist Party, Enrico Berlinguer (Barbagallo 2014)

Christian Democracy

The Catholic World

Conclusions