The author demonstrates that the first encyclical of Pius XI has ideological elements that are used in the narratives of some actors within modern European fascism. The geopolitical context in which the first encyclical of this pope was written is elaborated to understand the interests of the Catholic Church in the interwar period and its attitude towards fascist regimes. The novelty of these results is that the perception of modern European fascists of an ideological war waged by the globalist left similar to what Pius XI called a “holy battle” to defend Catholicism from secularism is supported by the studied document. Though any positive perception of fascism by Pius XI is not clearly demonstrated in the encyclical there are evident accusations against socialism and the Italian government of the time. This position can be used by modern European far-right ideologues to present the Church in a manipulated and equivocal rigid dichotomy between rejecting socialism and approving fascism. As exposed by this work, Pius XI tried to position the Church as a political institution capable of providing the conditions for a durable peace in Europe and as a third political way that rejected socialism, but also nationalism. The significance of these results can serve to clarify how European far-right extremists use historical religious texts taken out of context to justify and promote their political ideology.
Key words: encyclical, Catholic Church, fascism, globalism, Pius XI, ideological war
DOI: 10.22250/20728662-2025-1-122-127
About the author
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Joel Ivan Gonzalez Cedillo – Researcher / teacher-researcher, teaching assistant at the Department of Foreign Languages in the Sphere of International Relations, St. Petersburg State University; 5 Mendeleevskaya liniya, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |