Italian Catholic Action (A. C. I.)

ITALIAN CATHOLIC ACTION (A.C.I.). - It is the national organization of the Catholic laity for a special and direct collaboration with the hierarchical apostolate of the Church. It is therefore part of the great movement of laypeople who collaborate throughout the Catholic world with the ecclesiastical hierarchy for the coming of the kingdom of Christ, and whose modern organization is precisely called C. A. (v. AZIONE CATTOLICA).

I. ORIGIN AND EARLY DEVELOPMENTS

The conditions of Catholicism in Italy around the middle of the last century were particularly delicate. In the political field, the idea of Italian unity was gaining ever more ground, with the consequent elimination of the small states into which it was divided and therefore also of the Papal State. The promoters of this movement, faced with the resistance of the Holy See, launched an anticlerical campaign whose first objective was to detach the subjects of the Papal State from their sovereign, the Pope, but which, in the intentions of some leaders and in the expressed desire of the Masonic sects, aimed at the destruction of the papacy. The people remained attached to religion, but more out of a traditional form of religiosity than out of enlightened Christian conscience, since the fruits of the invasion of the "Josephinism" of the previous century had come to maturity, whereby an ignorant clergy and people were the most suited to being dominated. To these observations of a national order one must add the more general ones made on the subject of Catholic Action, and one has the picture of the conditions amid which at a certain moment the spark flashes that gives rise to the fire.

The spark was kindled after the Catholic Congress of Malines of 1863, in which the lawyer G. B. Casoni took part along with some others. On their return they launched the idea of a Catholic Association for the Freedom of the Church in Italy. Pius IX recognized it in 1866, with a brief of April 4, but the association lasted barely a month, and its leaders were persecuted with police measures. Not even a year later, in the same Bologna in which the previous initiative had been born and died, Count Mario Fani and Giovanni Acquaderni promoted the founding of the Society of Italian Catholic Youth (v.). Pius IX approved the new society on May 2, 1868; the first central seat was Bologna and Acquaderni its first president. This was like the signal for a manifold flowering of societies and works with different particular aims, but with a common yearning: to shake off the apathy of Catholics and make of them defenders of the rights of God and of the Church, and of the papacy.

As a consequence of this thrill of resurgence, the Society of Catholic Youth was able to make itself the promoter of a Congress of Italian Catholics, which was in fact held in Venice in 1874. The following year the new Congress was held, and in it the wish was expressed that the initiative should become stable and organic. Thus arose the Opera dei congressi e dei comitati cattolici in Italia (v.), which had this organization: a permanent General Committee in Rome, and regional, diocesan and parish Committees.

A twofold crisis occurred in the movement of organized Catholics in Italy when by then the Opera dei congressi, in 20 years of work, had become powerful in number of adherents and in the multiplicity of religious and social initiatives promoted, also as a valid counterweight to the rising sun of socialism.

The first crisis was brief and came from outside, namely the dissolution of Catholic works carried out by the minister the Hon. Di Rudini in the tumultuous year 1898.

More than 6,000 of these works were subject to the measure, under the charge of being "associations subversive of the State." Leo XIII protested with the letter to the bishops of Aug. 5, 1898, against the dissolution and the iniquitous motivation; public opinion was unfavorable to the government, so that when the state of siege throughout Italy ceased, Catholics were able to resume the activities that had been suspended.

But far more serious was the crisis that the A. C. I. experienced from within, which became polarized around the names of Paganuzzi, president of the Opera dei congressi, as representative of the old guard, and Fr. Romolo Murri, who led the young. These, who formed the left wing of the Italian Catholic movement, aimed above all at the social demands of the hour and, strong in the doctrine of the Rerum novarum and the halo of "Pope of democracy" that surrounded Leo XIII, they raised the banner of Christian Democracy (v.), and sought to hasten the time when, with the Non expedit removed, Catholics could have their representatives in the legislative bodies. Leo XIII intervened with the encyclical Graves de communi, in which, having cleared the ground of the extremist tendencies concealed under the names of Christian Socialism and Social Democracy, he defined the action of Christian Democracy as an action of elevation and assistance toward "the humble classes" without invading the political field. The more balanced Christian democrats such as Toniolo, Meda, Crispolti, Grosoli, welcomed the new encyclical as a justification and a confirmation of their work. Some of the young men, with Murri at their head, sought to force its meaning and to give it a petty partisan value, and accentuated their secessionist and autonomist tendencies also with regard to the Holy See. The crisis reached its peak at the Congress of Bologna, when the presidency found itself in a minority before the Murrian majority of the assembly. From this came bitter and painful polemics among Catholics. Meanwhile Leo XIII died and Pius X was elected, who saw the necessity of radical measures. On July 30, 1904, a letter from the Secretariat of State to the bishops of Italy declared the Opera dei congressi e comitati cattolici dissolved, including the Comitato generale permanente. The A. C. was placed in the diocese under the full authority of the bishops. The reform of Pius X followed almost a year later with the encyclical Il fermo proposito, which served as a guide to a restricted committee for drafting the new statutes. According to them the A. C. I. was organized into four great independent organizations: the Unione popolare for cultural propaganda; the Unione economico-sociale, for the direction of the economic and social movement; the Unione elettorale for the direction of electoral activity; the Società della gioventù cattolica italiana, with its natural functions and activities.

This organizational formula gave responsibilities and possibilities of growth and apostolate to the individual Unions, but presented a lack of general organic unity, and therefore of results adequate to the effort. It must be added that meanwhile new organizations had been and were being formed, such as the Federazione universitaria cattolica italiana (F.U.C.I.) in 1892, which in 1896 joined the Opera dei congressi, and the Unione fra le donne cattoliche italiane in 1908, which soon had wide diffusion. At the beginning of 1915 Benedict XV desired the creation of a higher organ of coordination, which was the Giunta direttiva dell'A. C. I., elected within the Directive Council of the Unione popolare and of which the presidents of the other organizations were members by right. There followed the constitution of the Giunte diocesane, on the model of the Giunta direttiva dell'A.C.I., while the Gruppi parrocchiali had a delegate or group leader.

After the end of the war of 1915-18, there followed years of social and political ferment. On Jan. 18, 1919, a group of militant Catholics, led by Fr. Luigi Sturzo, secretary of the Giunta direttiva dell'A. C. I., launched to the country an appeal for the founding of the Partito popolare italiano (v.), which had enormous success.

The Holy See declared the Non expedit lapsed and left the field of political activity open to Catholics. There followed the uselessness of the Unione elettorale cattolica, which was in fact suppressed in Feb. 1919. The economic and social works dependent on the Unione economico-sociale in the new political climate took on an autonomous course and gave rise to the Confederazione italiana dei lavoratori, the Confederazione cooperativa and the Confederazione della mutualità e previdenza. Therefore the Unione economico-sociale was dissolved and only an Segretariato economico-sociale remained with the Giunta direttiva. Since the Gioventù femminile cattolica italiana had arisen in 1918, first as a branch of the Unione donne, and then as an autonomous association, the necessity arose of a coordination among the organized feminine forces, and this was the Unione femminile cattolica italiana (U.F.C.I.), which in 1922 had a third section, namely the feminine F.U.C.I., detached from the masculine one.

There followed a period of weakening, if not of crisis, of the A.C.I. The new political and economic activities had required a great abundance of directing personnel from the A. C., not yet restored to strength after the wartime losses. Moreover, a certain sense of impatience with the patient formative work and apostolate proper to the A.C. had taken hold here and there in certain sectors.

II. THE NEW ORDER OF PIUS XI

The full recovery came with this great Pontiff, who from the very beginning of his pontificate wished to make Catholic Action, in Italy and in the world, a cornerstone of his program. In his first encyclical Ubi arcano Dei he clearly set out the nature, the purpose, the means, and the obligatory character of Catholic Action, and very soon he moved to reorganize it. There already existed three great and well-defined mass organizations, namely the Società della gioventù cattolica italiana, the Unione fra le donne cattoliche, the Gioventù femminile cattolica italiana, and in addition the F.U.C.I. The Unione popolare was dissolved and the Federazione italiana uomini cattolici arose.

The coordinating bodies were perfected, namely the Giunta centrale dell'A. C., the Giunta diocesana, and the Consiglio parrocchiale. Alongside the Giunta centrale, the new statutes provided for the establishment of special offices for the study of the problems of certain particular sectors of Catholic life, under the name of Segretariati. There were at first two of them, the Segretariato pro schola and the Segretariato per la moralità; later the one per la cultura was added. For economic and social activity, on the other hand, in place of the existing and little efficient secretariat of the same name, the Istituto cattolico di attività sociali arose, with a scientific task of studying and evaluating social problems and a practical task of assistance both to Catholic Action and to economic and social institutions.

Meanwhile Fascist totalitarianism advanced inexorably and destroyed all those bodies that would not allow themselves to be absorbed. Once the parties were dissolved, the free trade unions too were suppressed, and therefore also the Confederazione italiana dei lavoratori. The A. C. I. then set up what were called Sezioni professionali. These had no trade-union aims, jealously watched over by the state Syndicate, but religious, moral and study aims.

This organization, so clear and tightly knit, of the Catholic forces was the only bulwark capable of resisting Fascist pressure. Pius XI wanted it officially recognized in the Concordat and until his death was its undaunted defender. And this at certain moments gave rise to dramatic situations. In 1927 the Associazione scontistica cattolica italiana (A.S.C.I.) had in fact been suppressed in order to regiment all boys in the Opera nazionale Balilla (O.N.B.). Shortly afterwards the Federazione associazioni sportive cattoliche italiane (F.A.S.C.I.) dissolved itself. By now only the stronghold remained, Catholic Action properly so called, and the assault was launched in May 1931. After a violent press campaign, on the 30th of the month an ordinance of the Public Security dissolved all the youth associations of both sexes. Pius XI reacted with energy. He protested in every form and manner, entrusted to the bishops the care and protection of Catholic Action in the dioceses, and finally published a solemn letter «Non abbiamo bisogno» (29 June 1931) in which he fully defended Catholic Action and pointed out the illegality and the high-handedness of the act carried out by the government.

After laborious negotiations, the government had to yield.

In the agreement that followed, certain changes were introduced into the statutes of Catholic Action; the ecclesiastical and lay leaders would be appointed by the ecclesiastical authority and not elected by the members; the flag of the A. C. I. would be the national one; the circles would take the name of Associazioni of Catholic Action. After this painful interval, the whole Catholic organization was as it were placed under a more direct tutelage of the ecclesiastical authority; the assistant formed the Presidenza together with the president; the diocesan character was accentuated by suppressing the Giunta centrale and replacing it with a simple Ufficio generale which could convene a Consulta composed of the assistants and presidents of the national organizations. Shortly afterwards (1934) the Unione femminile cattolica italiana (U.F.C.I.) was also suppressed as a linking body between the Catholic women's organizations, entrusting that function to the Presidenza dell'Ufficio generale. The annual «Settimane sociali» were no longer held.

Yet amid such external difficulty of movement, the internal vitality of the A. C. I. was impressive. New specialized sections arose, namely the Sezione maestri and the Sezione laureati; the Ufficio del quotidiano was instituted; the Peregrinatio ad Petri sedem was organized as a permanent body to encourage and oversee the flow of pilgrims to Rome.

III. UNDER THE PONTIFICATE OF PIUS XII

The A.C.I., as a living and highly sensitive organism, carried out its activity and adapted its statutes and programs to the new possibilities and needs of the moment. From the very beginning of his governance Pius XII entrusted the "high direction" of the A.C.I. to a Commission composed of three residential cardinal bishops, namely Cardinal Lavitrano, archbishop of Palermo, as president, Cardinal Boetto, archbishop of Genoa, and Cardinal Piazza, patriarch of Venice, with Msgr. Colli, bishop of Parma, as secretary, having the functions of director general of the A.C.I. and of general ecclesiastical assistant. Also in the dioceses there were, in place of the Diocesan Juntas, and in the parishes in place of the Parish Councils, the Diocesan and Parish Consulte presided over respectively by the bishop and the parish priest and by their delegates.

Meanwhile the Second World War came, and the activity of the A.C.I. was entirely taken up by the effort to resist and survive the storm, and by an intense charitable activity toward all those in need. When the fortunes of war split Italy in two along the Gothic Line, Pius XII appointed a director ad interim for the center-south, while in the north the bishops arranged to establish certain provisional bodies such as the Consulta Alta Italia in Milan.

But the war was not yet over when organisms were already being created to adapt to the new climate of freedom and to the new possibilities of work. The need to have a representation before the state authority that would include the entire world of women organized also in other associations outside the A.C. gave rise to the Centro italiano femminile (C.I.F.) with precisely federative and representative functions. The Catholic Scouts arose again and resumed their name of Associazione Scoutistica cattolica italiana (A.S.C.I.). The sports movement was reorganized through the creation of the Centro sportivo italiano (C.S.I.), while the young women were also organized into the Federazione associazioni ricreative (F.A.R.I.). To the Centro cattolico cinematografico and radiofonico was added the Centro cattolico teatrale, thus forming all three centers into an Ente dello Spettacolo.

As soon as the liberation of Rome took place, Italian trade unionism gave life to the Confederazione generale italiana del lavoro (C.G.I.L.) of a unitary type, that is, with militant Catholic workers present within the same category union. To remedy the drawbacks of this coexistence, the Associazioni cristiane dei lavoratori italiani (A.C.L.I.) (v.) arose with pre-union and para-union aims, as well as religious-moral ones, and their function remained and expanded even when, through communist factionalism, trade union unity was broken (July 1948) and the Libera Confederazione generale italiana del lavoro (L.C.G.I.L.) was born.

The Statutes of 1946 were a further organic updating of the A.C.I. They had the following characteristics: the fundamental unity of the A.C.I. was reaffirmed even amid the articulation of the various branches (art. 3); greater responsibility of the laity in the field of practical direction and in the execution of the works of the apostolate; extension of the coordinating function of the A.C.I., as the "principal ordering of militant Catholics," to other "Catholic institutions of education, propaganda, charity, credit and in general of social utility, as qualified instruments of its apostolate" (art. 2). The relations between the A.C.I. properly so called and such Catholic institutions may be either of dependence or of coordination, or even of simple adherence. For the coordination of the activities of the social apostolate of the A.C. and of the Catholic works coordinated with it and possibly of the institutions adhering to it, the Consulta generale was instituted (art. 13) at the National Center, the Consulta diocesana in the diocese (art. 38) and the Consulta parrocchiale in the parish (art. 55).

Since the Sezioni maestri and laureati had obtained the full juridical status of associations, the organizational framework of the A.C.I. was thus composed: the Unione uomini, the Unione donne, the Gioventù maschile and the Gioventù femminile, which are on a national, diocesan and parish basis, the Federazione universitaria cattolica italiana, the Movimento laureati and the Movimento maestri, which are on a national and diocesan basis (art. 3).

Dependence on the ecclesiastical hierarchy was expressed at the National Center by an Episcopal Commission and for it by the "prelate secretary" of that same Commission, who also had the functions of "General Ecclesiastical Assistant" (art. 5); in the dioceses by their own bishop, who had a "delegate for the A.C." with the functions of "diocesan assistant of the A.C." (art. 34); in the parishes by the respective parish priest (art. 52). At the Central Presidency and at the diocesan ones, Secretariats are instituted with tasks of consultation and execution for particular sectors of activity, such as that of morality, of education, etc. The new statutes aimed to place the A.C. truly at the center of the entire movement of Christian restoration of individual and social life.

For the press of the A.C.I. v. STAMPA CATTOLICA ITALIANA. - See PLATES XXXVII-XXXVIII.

Luigi Cardini