Totalitarian Regimes and the Holy See in the 20th Century

The Holy See and 20th Century Totalitarianism

In the 20th century, a striking fact was the proliferation of pacts signed by the Holy See (e.g., with Lithuania, Portugal, Russia, Czechoslovakia). Concordats, therefore, became a crucial tool and a counterpoint to the liberal policy of religious hostility. Following World War II, new challenges and sanctions emerged, further increasing the Holy See's international prestige.

Defining Totalitarianism in the 20th Century

The 20th century also witnessed the emergence in Europe of a series of totalitarian movements. These ideologies stood in stark opposition to individualism and liberalism, which championed the exaltation of the individual. Totalitarianism, by contrast, asserts that the community, the state, or society overrides individual action and freedom.

Characteristics of Totalitarian States

In a totalitarian state, the state is supreme; individual freedoms are severely restricted, and the state dictates solutions even for a person's private life. Totalitarian ideologies are characterized by dogmatic statements that do not support plurality, especially in the religious sphere. This inherent conflict often led to clashes between the totalitarian state and the Church.

Types of Totalitarianism

• Marxist Totalitarianism: The result of the Bolshevik Revolution.
• National Socialist or Fascist Totalitarianism: Seen in Italy and Germany.

Marxist Totalitarianism

Marxist totalitarianism possesses a specific ideology regarding religious matters, actively seeking to implant atheism in society. This stance was formally enshrined in some legal texts, such as the 1976 Constitution of Albania. The prototype of the totalitarian Marxist state is not merely a secular state, but an atheist state.

Italian Fascism

Italian Fascism was a more pragmatic movement with a lower doctrinal burden, lacking the strong ideological baggage of other totalitarian systems. Consequently, its confrontation with the Church was initially less severe. Mussolini even attempted to ingratiate himself with the religious Italian population, signing a concordat that resolved the issue of the Vatican City State's creation. However, relations with the Church eventually worsened. The Holy See issued an encyclical warning of the dangers posed by totalitarian states and alleging constraints suffered by religious congregations.

German National Socialism

When the German National Socialist Party gained power in the early 1930s, it initially received support from many Germans. However, this support waned significantly as Hitler's policies became overtly racist and totalitarian. Strong tensions arose with both the Lutheran and Catholic Churches. In the period between 1933 and 1934, the Holy See explicitly denounced Nazi totalitarianism.