Language:
English
Year of publication:
2019
Titel der Quelle:
Journal of Modern Italian Studies
Angaben zur Quelle:
24,1 (2019) 14-31
Keywords:
Catholic Church Relations
;
Judaism
;
Civiltà cattolica
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Press coverage
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Press coverage
;
Christianity and antisemitism History 20th century
Abstract:
This article examines the Catholic responses to the Fascist Racial Laws in a transatlantic and comparative perspective. It looks specifically at two foremost publications of the Jesuit press in Rome and New York: Civiltà Cattolica and America, respectively. The comparative approach helps to comprehend the variety of factors behind editorial choices: readership, political context, Vatican directions, censorship, and silence. Jesuits on both sides of the Atlantic interpreted the anti-Semitic turn of the Fascist regime as an imitation of Nazi Germany and with the persistent hope that Italian policies would be milder and more "civilized". The shaping of the myth of the "good Italian" was an early process in which Church voices, including the Pope himself, took a significant part. This article argues that despite contextual differences, both Jesuit publications demonstrated a transnational pattern of Catholic relation to the Jews: endorsing Pius XI's statements, they spoke out against racism but did not extend their condemnations to a full rejection of anti-Semitism in its religious and secular components. The disapproval of Italy's Racial Laws was not a defense of the Jews of Italy.
DOI:
10.1080/1354571X.2019.1550696
URL:
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