A Twentieth-Century Crusade

The Vatican's Battle to Remake Christian Europe

Giuliana Chamedes

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English

Harvard Uni.Press Academi
17 June 2019

European history; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Religion & beliefs; Religion: general; Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church; Politics & government

The first comprehensive history of the Vatican's agenda to defeat the forces of secular liberalism and communism through international law, cultural diplomacy, and a marriage of convenience with authoritarian and right-wing rulers.

After the United States entered World War I and the Russian Revolution exploded, the Vatican felt threatened by forces eager to reorganize the European international order and cast the Church out of the public sphere. In response, the papacy partnered with fascist and right-wing states as part of a broader crusade that made use of international law and cultural diplomacy to protect European countries from both liberal and socialist taint.

A Twentieth-Century Crusade reveals that papal officials opposed Woodrow Wilson's international liberal agenda by pressing governments to sign concordats assuring state protection of the Church in exchange for support from the masses of Catholic citizens. These agreements were implemented in Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany, as well as in countries like Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. In tandem, the papacy forged a Catholic International-a political and diplomatic foil to the Communist International-which spread a militant anticommunist message through grassroots organizations and new media outlets. It also suppressed Catholic antifascist tendencies, even within the Holy See itself.

Following World War II, the Church attempted to mute its role in strengthening fascist states, as it worked to advance its agenda in partnership with Christian Democratic parties and a generation of Cold War warriors. The papal mission came under fire after Vatican II, as Church-state ties weakened and antiliberalism and anticommunism lost their appeal. But-as Giuliana Chamedes shows in her groundbreaking exploration-by this point, the Vatican had already made a lasting mark on Eastern and Western European law, culture, and society.

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By: Giuliana Chamedes
Imprint: Harvard Uni.Press Academi
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780674983427
ISBN 10: 0674983424
Pages: 416
Publication Date: 17 June 2019
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Giuliana Chamedes is Assistant Professor of History and a faculty affiliate of the Religious Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During a stint as a journalist for ANSA, the Italian news agency based in Rome, she had the opportunity to observe the Vatican closely, and she returned as a scholar to probe its archives.

Reviews for A Twentieth-Century Crusade: The Vatican's Battle to Remake Christian Europe

Chamedes offers a pathbreaking study of twentieth-century Catholic internationalism and papal diplomacy that illuminates a vast terrain of hitherto unknown transnational activity. Her book is not just an eye-opening addition to the literature on internationalism, it reframes our understanding of twentieth-century modernity. An essential contribution.--Adam Tooze, author of Crashed This is transnational history at its best. In this impressively researched book, Giuliana Chamedes reaches into all corners of the European continent as she brings forth the crucial role of the Vatican and its particular brand of internationalism in Europe's tumultuous twentieth century. It is essential reading for those interested in modern Europe and in religion.--Elizabeth Foster, author of African Catholic This important book reveals the unknown story of the Vatican's efforts to reshape international relations in the twentieth century. Facing new competition from secularism, liberalism, and communism, the Church responded with an international program of its own: 'concordat diplomacy.' In recovering this lost history, Chamedes sheds new light on seemingly familiar terrain and enhances our understanding of a complicated past that continues to resonate today.--Andrew Preston, author of Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and Diplomacy

Joint winner of Michael H. Hunt Prize for International History 2020 (United States)
Nominated for Religion and International Relations Book Award (United States).
Nominated for Religion and International Relations Book Award 2020 (United States)
Winner of Helen and Howard R. Marraro Prize 2020 (United States)