NON EXPEDIT. – This is the formula that forbade Italian Catholics from participating in political life, following the spoliations of territories suffered by the Holy See, which led to the destruction of the Papal States.
After the military occupation of the Marches and Umbria, papal lands, and the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, Cavour (v.) aimed above all to make Rome the capital of the new Kingdom, hoping to overcome through diplomatic means the international difficulties of the “Roman Question” and those posed by the resistance of the Holy See, supported by the majority of Catholics. Based on the formula dear to him—“Libera Chiesa in libero Stato” [Free Church in a Free State]—he delivered his famous speech of 25 March 1861 to the Turin Chamber, concluding that in any way, through agreements or not, Italy would reach Rome and make it its capital, guaranteeing the Pope absolute independence.
After Cavour’s death, the “Roman Question,” far from moving toward a solution, appeared ever more difficult and complicated. To guide Catholics toward a common and coherent line under unalterable norms, Fr. Margotti (v.), writer and polemicist, founded in 1862 in Turin the newspaper *L’Unità cattolica* and was the first to launch and uphold, in a long series of articles, the principle of a dutiful abstention of Italian Catholics from political life in the new situation created for the Pope and the Church, with his formula: “Né eletti né elettori” [Neither elected nor electors].
At first, this formula could only have the value of a personal opinion and advice; but with the capture of Rome in 1870, it took root in the conscience of many and found particular support in Catholic Action organizations. In that same year, some deputies, among them Baron Vito d’REGNO (v.) and Marquis Ottavio di Canossa, resigned their parliamentary mandates. Thus, one can virtually trace back to that time—in potency, if not in act—the *n. e.* that sanctioned the principle affirmed by Fr. Margotti. The first official declaration on the matter was a decree of the Sacred Penitentiary of 10 September 1874; discussions followed regarding its interpretation, since many believed that *n. e.* signified inopportunity rather than an absolute prohibition. There were even attempts to push Catholics to the polls in political elections, and some observed that the Pope had never directly pronounced on the matter. Pius IX himself then intervened, issuing on 29 January 1877 a brief to the Superior Council of Catholic Youth, reproving those who urged Catholics to participate in political elections while the Holy See had not yet defined whether it was licit or not, and under what conditions, to take part. This grave declaration put an end to the activity of the interventionist current, but not to the discussions about the advisability of acting on the parliamentary terrain in opposition to sectional influences and in the interest of the Holy See and Catholics themselves.
Only on 30 June 1888 did a decree of the Congregation of the Holy Office, approved by Leo XIII, decree that, for reasons of the highest order, *n. e.* included a true and proper prohibition; thus abstention became a command. Soon, however, a new phase began in the orientation of many among the Catholics, convinced that the evolution of Italian public life would render
(photo Orlandini)
NONANTOLA – Evangelary known as the “Countess Matilde’s Evangelary” (12th c.) – Seminary, Library.