WORKS DEPENDENT ON THE ASSOCIATIONS OF ITALIAN CATHOLIC ACTION. — These are groupings of persons, specialized according to professional category, promoted directly or indirectly by the associations of Italian Catholic Action as an instrument for penetrating the various social environments. Art. 2 of the Statutes of Italian Catholic Action defines this organized form by declaring that «Italian Catholic Action may promote or recognize Catholic works dependent upon it».
To this end, therefore: I. The ITALIAN YOUTH OF CATHOLIC ACTION (G.I.A.C.) has promoted: 1. Italian Sports Centre (C. S. I., [v.]); 2. Youth Tourist Centre (C. T. G.). — The purpose of the C. T. G. is to resolve the problem of youth tourism in a Christian spirit and to use this means for the moral and intellectual, cultural and physical improvement of the individual, and as an instrument of apostolate.
More particularly, the purpose of the C.T.G. is to encourage, guide and assist the youth tourism movement according to the Christian spirit; to enhance the country’s natural resources; to undertake the study and promotion of everything connected with the tourist question; to facilitate and stimulate interest in travel, stays and exchanges; to link activities through information, to contribute through recommendations, and to promote through assistance the development of sound tourist activity; to cooperate with sporting activities, especially in those sports particularly connected with tourism (hiking, skiing, international meetings, etc.).
The C.T.G. is directed by a Central Executive Council, based in Rome. The Council consists of a general directorate and five specialized offices: for organization and propaganda; for permanent tourism; for itinerant tourism; for journeys, excursions and cruises; and for exchanges with foreign countries. At the regional and provincial levels, the C.T.G. is represented by an officer appointed by the general directorate.
At the international level, the C.T.G. is linked with Catholic youth organizations, with the «Colonies fraternelles de la jeunesse Gite d'étape» of Brussels, and with the travel and exchange commission of the W.A.J. (World Assembly of Youth).
It is also affiliated with the National Youth Secretariat, a public-law body recognized by decree of the President of the Republic dated 2 May 1949.
It publishes the bimonthly periodical Youth Tourism.
3. Student Youth (G. S.). — This is an organization founded in 1945 to gather the student body, with the aim of assisting students in the formation of their personality and bringing them a message of Christian life.
The leaders are called «secretaries» (section, area and national) and are charged with studying and coordinating, within their respective spheres of competence, the activities developed through the «services» (student sports championships in collaboration with the Italian Sports Centre): tourism activities, cultural and artistic competitions, inquiries on topics that vary annually, social initiatives, typical student activities, category congresses, film clubs, etc. The National Committee is based in Rome and oversees the publication of the organization’s newspaper, Student Youth. The badge consists of a small shield bearing a black rampant donkey on a white background, with the inscription G.S.
4. Italian Christian Working Youth (G. I. O. C.). — This is the movement promoted in 1944 by the Italian Youth of Catholic Action, which brings together and organizes young wor-
DEPENDENT WORKS OF THE ASSOCIATIONS OF ITALIAN CATHOLIC ACTION. - PONTIFICAL MISSIONARY WORKS.
workers of Catholic Action with all the other workers who are members or sympathizers. As such, the G.I.O.C. is a “school” for the advancement of young workers in the religious, social, physical, and cultural spheres; it is a “representative body” for the defense and assertion of their rights; it is a “service” for satisfying their cultural, social, and recreational needs.
The G.I.O.C. is organized into local sections (parish or workplace-based), district committees, and a National Committee based in Rome. The initiatives, all developed by young workers, among themselves and for themselves, consist chiefly of congresses, inquiries, social courses, vocational schools, sports and recreational championships, exhibitions, discounts, savings schemes, etc.
The movement’s newspaper is Gioventù Operaia, a monthly. The badge consists of a shield surrounded by a cogwheel and bearing, beneath the inscription G.I.O.C. in gold on a red background occupying the upper band of the shield, a red heraldic cross on a white field, between whose arms a golden ear of grain is intertwined.
5. Gioventù rurale (G. R.). - This is the organization promoted in 1947 by the Italian Catholic Action Youth movement, which unites the rural young people of the G. I. A. C. and those who sympathize with II. Its purpose is educational: the advancement of the rural classes from a physical, cultural, and spiritual point of view; particular attention is devoted to social education.
It is organized into parish sections, district committees, and a National Committee based in Rome. Gioventù Rurale is also the name of the organization’s newspaper. The badge consists of a sky-blue rectangle with an ear of grain in the center and the inscription G.R. in gold.
Initiatives of the G. R.: inquiries into various problems, agricultural and evening schools, social studies, sports championships, exhibitions of handicraft work, and national events (congresses).
II. THE WOMEN’S UNION OF CATHOLIC ACTION has promoted:
1. Associazione cattolica italiana infermiere professionali ed assistenti sanitarie visitatrici (A. C. I. P. A. S. V.). - Founded in 1947, it professes its adherence to the general apostolic aims of the Italian Catholic Action, with which it collaborates while remaining organically independent.
Its essential purpose is to foster the religious, moral, and cultural formation of its members and of the entire profession, studying the protection of their moral and material interests, and to imbue this delicate and humane profession with a spirit of mission according to the Christian conception of life. It is organized into groups established in provincial and municipal centers. The offices are elective. It publishes Fede e professione, a monthly journal, and is based in Rome.
2. Convegni Maria Cristina di Savoia. - A movement that seeks to promote Christian penetration in élite circles, in order to elevate their spirituality, improve their religious and social culture, and encourage the practice of social charity.
Organizationally, the Convegni operate through national and diocesan promoting and governing committees; liaison with the U.D.A.C. (Union of Catholic Action Women) is maintained by national and diocesan delegates. For the Convegni, there is no juridical or organizational bond linking the individual members either to the promoting committee or to the U.D.A.C.
It publishes a bimonthly bulletin: Rassegna dei convegni di Maria Cristina. It is based in Rome.
3. Unione Cattolica delle ostetriche. - It was founded in 1948. It professes its adherence to the general aims of the Italian Catholic Action, while remaining organically independent.
(from D. Lathoud M.P. Jaricot. Le secret des origines de la Propagation de la Foi, Paris 1917, p. 180)