WOMEN'S UNION OF CATHOLIC ACTION. - The U. Donne di Azione Cattolica arose in 1908, when in Italy too women's forces were gradually asserting themselves with innovative programs and necessarily felt the influence of the anti-Christian social environment characteristic of that time.
It was the vote formulated by the Congress of Italian Women against religious teaching in schools that determined the clean break of Catholic women from that Association which, apparently neutral, was in fact hidden and influenced by Freemasonry. It therefore became necessary to give life to another organization which, while pursuing aims tending toward the elevation of the female masses, would nonetheless be Catholic-inspired, indeed would openly take its stand in defense of Christian rights against any oppression.
Pope Pius X, to whom Princess Cristina Giustiniani Bandini submitted the idea of constituting the Union among the Catholic women of Italy, blessed the new Association, annotated its statutes in his own hand and always supported it with his supreme authority. Pius X showed himself in this very clear-sighted, well understanding the degree of maturity by then reached by woman, who, grasping the gravity of the historical moment and the need of the Church, thus surpassed the age-old traditions that saw her in her place only in the home and was preparing to leave it, because, in order to defend the family, it was by then necessary to work on a broader scale, to rebuild a Christian society.
In the inaugural address of 21 Apr. 1909, he specified the purpose for which Italian Catholic women intended to unite "in order to govern the family in a Christian manner, educate the children and worthily fulfill a social mission." In other words, the salvation of the family was from that time the characteristic physiognomy of the U. Donne Cattoliche, even amid the many other charitable and social activities proper to woman. The Association therefore followed the vicissitudes, forms and programs of Catholic Action, by means of a presidency office in Rome and local committees in urban centers of all the regions of Italy.
The Messina earthquake of Dec. 1908 brought to light the generous commitment of the U. Donne Cattoliche, which hastened to assist the stricken population. The long years of the war of 1914-18 saw Catholic women take part in the Committees of Civil Preparation, procure religious assistance for the troops, organize courses for nurses, refreshment posts, military hospitals, information offices and various public and private initiatives of an assistance-related, economic, moral, charitable and even trade-union and professional character. From the very beginning, wherever a committee of Catholic women arose, an effort was made to bring about also a Women's Workers' Association, with its own mutual aid fund, to remove from the women workers the dread of old age and illness. An action by category was advocated, forming worker-apostles among their own companions. Professional unions (the present-day trade unions) were promoted for the defense of the rights, not only economic but also spiritual and moral, of working women.
Even in the sad hour of Caporetto, with its collapse in national spirit and the sorrowful procession of refugees and fugitives, the committees of Catholic women became for them a home, a family, a providence, an oasis of serenity, sources of courage, centers of faith, of prayer and of waiting for the day of recovery.
The postwar period, with its trail of material and moral miseries, with the demands of economic, social and political readjustment, presented to the U. Donne Cattoliche new problems to study and new activities to devote themselves to. And while the revolutionary forces of Bolshevik socialism pressed threateningly upon Italy, the U. Donne Cattoliche took its stand, in parallel with the other men's movements of Catholic Action, in defense of Christian principles in every field. To be remembered: the preparation of women for the exercise of the (administrative) vote, the resumption and clamorous victory of the anti-divorce campaign, collaboration with the Holy See for the international work of assistance to abandoned children, the legislative defense of the wives of those missing in war, the struggle against illiteracy, schools of domestic economy, the study of labor problems, etc.
When in the immediate postwar period (1919) it became urgent to gather the youthful forces for the battles of the hour and for preparation for the social life of the new era, it became necessary to organize the youth distinctly from the more mature women, and therefore (on a diocesan and parochial basis) the "Circoli della gioventù femminile" were instituted, alongside the U. Donne Cattoliche. To these two branches, constituting the U. femminile cattolica, was added that of the women's secretariat of the F.U.C.I.
As the years passed, the characteristic physiognomy of the U. Donne Cattoliche became ever more clearly defined, aiming particularly at the salvation of the family: by caring for the inner health of souls (with a deeper knowledge of religious truth), for external purification so that the social environment may not bring contagion to the family (concerning itself with public and private morality, abandoned infancy, juvenile delinquency, the redemption of fallen women, hospitals of every kind, prisons, etc.), and for legitimate claims so that the family may have enough for life and its normal development (specific activities in the social field).
In the cultural field, the study and work Congresses, begun in 1912 on social themes, became triennial after 1925 with "Social Weeks" for leaders and propagandists. There was the printing of the social organ In alto in various editions for leaders, members, older children, small children; of Incontro al fanciullo for spouses and mothers (later transformed into Mamme d'oggi); of Apostolato della culla for midwives; of Fede e Professione for nurses and health assistants; of monthly fascicles of bibliographic reviews such as All'erta. The "Casa Editrice Sales" was instituted (1931) for publications especially dedicated to youth and the family, whose bimonthly booklets bimonthly Sales replaced the old Rivista di cultura e attività femminile. Associated with these publications was the magazine Il Solco and then Donna e Vita on domestic, educational and social problems. Meanwhile, the presidency had passed in turn to Emma Vallauri Lombardi (1922-23), Angelina Paternò Castello (1923-24) and Maria Rimoldi (1925-1949).
CHILDREN OF CATHOLIC ACTION
Toward the end of 1925, at the wish of His Holiness Pius XI, the Boys of Catholic Action Association arose and was entrusted to the U. Women of A. C. At first it grouped together the little ones from 6 to 12 years of age; later the Children of Catholic Action from 4 to 6 years of age joined it, and the "passage" to the "aspirants" of the Italian Youth of Catholic Action was set at 10 years completed.
The purpose of the new Association was to integrate the religious, moral and social formation of the little ones and to start them on the apostolate, preparing the future young people of Catholic Action.
For this educational purpose, the little ones are divided into 3 sections: "White Flames" (from 4 to 6 years), "Green Flames" (from 6 to 8 years) and "Red Flames" (from 8 to 10 years), and the parish delegates to whom they are entrusted follow the "active method" for the education of children, carrying out a program full of ingenious initiatives.
On receiving the membership card, the boy of Catholic Action makes the solemn promise to serve God, the Church and the Fatherland; he further undertakes to observe the "Law" and to be a little apostle of Jesus Christ. The "Law" requires that the boy keep himself always pure in soul and body, loyal to all, courageous in trials, joyful in the fulfillment of duty. He must attend the catechism lessons and the special meetings which gradually impress upon him a Christ-centered and social formation, suitably following the various seasons of the liturgical year. The activity of the Boys Association has nothing heavy or forced about it, but takes place in an atmosphere of serene cheerfulness, with competitions, contests, and various interesting initiatives. The winners of the diocesan eliminatory competitions of study and activity are entitled to the "Rome Prize", that is, to a free three-day trip to and stay in Rome, during which they are received in audience by the Holy Father. During those days they may also compete for the much-coveted prize of "Heralds of the Pope" (one per region), who are decorated with the "Herald's Cross" by the hands of the Holy Father himself.
The Boys of Catholic Action also have their own organizational press (Fiamme Tricolori, a fortnightly for Boys; Noi Delegate, a monthly for the delegates) as well as Corrierino, an illustrated weekly for outreach, and numerous series of books for formation and pleasant reading.
In a few years the Boys of Catholic Action Association aroused such interest as to have an enormous number of members, which is still continually increasing. In 1936 the tenth anniversary of its founding was solemnly celebrated, and in 1952 the twenty-fifth.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS OF THE WOMEN OF CATHOLIC ACTION
The U. Women of Catholic Action, during the twenty years of the Fascist regime, despite more or less open hostilities and the difficulties of carrying out initiatives of a social character, succeeded in consolidating its organizational structure, in deepening the study of the principles of social Catholicism, and in extending its influence even outside Italy by establishing associations among Italian women abroad and in the colonies. The sectors of apostolic work in which woman's work is most precious and effective have come to be ever better defined: family, educational, moral, social activity, the press; and they have an ever more organic development, while various initiatives arise to flank them.
But the Second World War of 1940 brought back a long period of emergency. The U. Women of Catholic Action had to adapt its works to the new demands that committed it to doing everything possible to sustain the moral resistance of Italian women. It participates with all its strength in public assistance and supplements it with private initiatives of apostolate that reach even the concentration camps and the field hospitals. The then National Center becomes a very active "Section" of the Information Office of the Holy See and carries out a mighty work of millions of case files.
And after the devastation of the war, reconstruction finds the Catholic Women serenely ready and active: they take their place in work with admirable spirit of collaboration and self-denial, choosing those specific tasks that the very nature of woman makes them prefer. The reaction to the maneuvers of feminist currents and organizations of Marxist or secularist inspiration manifests itself with the constitution of the C.I.F. (Centro Italiano Femminile), but even more intense is the pacifying work of the Catholic Women to quell hatreds and calm the struggles that keep brothers divided, to check immorality and restore courage in the disastrous economic crisis that was devastating Italy. Once Fascism was eliminated, all fields were now open, and the Catholic Women feel the duty to be present and active also in the trade-union, civic and political field: excellent elements therefore pass to the new institutions that arise with these specific purposes (CIF, ACLI, Professional Unions, Trade Unions, Fronte della Famiglia, MIM). Again on the initiative of the U. Women of Catholic Action, the Professional Associations of Nurses and Health Assistants and Visitors, and of Midwives, are constituted.
In the elections for the Constituent Assembly and in the subsequent political elections of 1948, as many as 14 of its leaders succeeded in being elected deputies to Parliament, while numerous are the Women of Catholic Action who hold administrative offices in Italian municipalities.
Bibliography7 works
Maria Sola