Catholics, Sacred Space, and the Religiosity of Postwar Italian Politics, 1954-1969
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Occupying God’s House: Catholics, Sacred Space, and the Religiosity of Postwar Italian Politics, 1954-1969 by Trevor J. Kilgore A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) in the University of Michigan 2018 Doctoral Committee: Professor Dario Gaggio, Co-Chair Professor Brian A. Porter-Szűcs, Co-Chair Associate Professor Deirdre de la Cruz Professor Geoffrey H. Eley Professor Geneviève Zubrzycki Trevor J. Kilgore [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0002-1680-3014 © Trevor J. Kilgore 2018 Acknowledgements I would not have been able to complete this dissertation without the assistance and guidance of many people. First and foremost, the love, support, and inspiration of Alison and Grayson kept me going during the darkest moments of the dissertation process. Their belief in me means more than anything else. This dissertation is dedicated to them. I can only hope that I have many years ahead to spend encouraging them in their endeavors. My parents, Del Kilgore and Judy Kilgore, and my sister Alison F. Kilgore, have been my biggest backers, cheering me on as I pursued my wanderlust and passions. I will always be thankful to them for their unending patience and love, especially in those moments when I needed it the most. My parents were also my first academic role models. Growing up, I had a close and personal view of how teachers dedicate their lives to helping others grow. My thirst to read, write, learn, and share this knowledge with others is a product of their values and actions. Soon after I began graduate school a decade ago, I was welcomed into a new and fantastic family. It has been a joy to travel this path with the support and friendship of Dan and Megan Scofield, Brooke Scofield, Tim and Mitchell Gold, Ellen McPherson, and many more members of the Scofield clan. My amazing mother-in-law, Melly Scofield, has been a constant source of inspiration and intellectual support. She finished her History PhD before me, has published many more articles than I likely ever will, and landed her dream job. I look forward to many more conversations with Melly about history, historians, and the circus that is academic life. My success in completing this dissertation is due in large part to the efforts and guidance of the faculty and staff in the Department of History at the University of Montana. Returning to my alma ii mater to pursue a second bachelor’s degree in an effort to reshape my life path, I found an amazing community of scholars who pushed me to achieve my dreams. John Eglin and Linda S. Frey expanded my knowledge of European history and advocated for me as I applied to graduate programs. Anya Jabour guided me and served as a valuable resource during my first extensive research project on the life and political career of Missoula’s first female mayor. Finally, Diane Rapp provided crucial aid and a sympathetic ear throughout my tenure in the department. Without her friendly presence, the department would not have been such a wonderful academic home. Over the last decade at the University of Michigan, I have been fortunate to become friends with some brilliant and kind people who have made this journey much more rewarding. Gene Cassidy and Patrick Parker are the best friends, roommates, and colleagues anyone could ever want. They made me laugh throughout all the ups and downs of graduate life. While they are charting new paths with their families on opposite coasts, Bushwood in Kerrytown will always be our home. The staff of the History Department, especially Kathleen King, Lorna Altstetter, Diana Denney, Sheila Coley, Dawn Kapalla, and Terre Fisher, have not only helped me navigate the intricacies of funding, requirements, and deadlines with ease, they have always been willing to listen and offer guidance. During the last four years, I have received lots of encouragement and support from my colleagues in the Newnan Academic Advising Center. My mentor, compatriot, and friend Tim Webb has made coming to work and pushing the boundaries a pleasure. This dissertation would not exist without the guidance and encouragement of my committee. Dario Gaggio suggested I look into the actions of Catholics in Florence in the 1950s and 1960s, starting me down the path that led to formulation and completion of this project. Dario’s analytical expertise, and his knowledge of post-WWII Italian history, has helped me sharpen my arguments. Brian Porter- Szűcs has been an amazing mentor. Not only has he served as an invaluable guide as I sought to explore the history and historiography of the Catholic Church in the modern era, Brian has always iii encouraged my desire to write accessible history and my passion for teaching history. I would not be working with students in an advising capacity if it were not for Brian’s example and support. Geoff Eley, who possesses an expansive knowledge of European history, has consistently pushed me to think through my arguments and narratives in new and different ways. I have greatly appreciated the theoretical and analytical insights of Deirdre de la Cruz and Geneviève Zubrzycki at various stages throughout this project. I am a better historian thanks to the contributions of these five scholars. Any errors in the dissertation are my sole responsibility. Finally, I want to thank Richard Drake. When I began pursuing my undergraduate degree at the University of Montana, I planned on going to graduate school to specialize in the European exploration of the Pacific in the early modern era. However, after taking Professor Drake’s intellectual history of modern Europe class, my academic and personal life was forever changed. For the last fourteen years, I have sought to emulate Drake’s example as a historian, writer, and teacher. At many points during this project, Richard Drake had more faith in my ability to finish it than I did. Beyond his support and guidance, I will forever cherish Professor Drake’s friendship. It has meant a great deal to me. If every university student had a professor, mentor, and friend like Richard Drake, the world would be a much better place. Sempre avanti. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………………ii Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………..vi Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………1 Chapter I: The Poetics and Politics of Sacred Space in a Florentine Community………………….21 Chapter II: Occupying St. Peter’s Basilica………………………………………………………….73 Chapter III: The Second Vatican Councils in Florence……………………………………………..117 Chapter IV: Occupation, Protest, and Dialogue……………………………………………………..149 Chapter V: The Church is Not a church…….………………………………….…………………….188 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………...258 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………264 v Abstract Catholic churches in Italy were spaces of religious innovation and experimentation, social struggle, and political protests in the 1950s and 1960s. Actions undertaken by Catholics often led to conflicts with local ecclesiastical officials over who had the authority to claim the space of churches and define what could happen, and who could gather, within their walls. These disputes embodied the broader debates and challenges roiling the Catholic world over who represented the authentic core of the Church: the faithful or the hierarchy. By assembling in parish churches and urban cathedrals, Catholics projected their visions of a Church open to dialogue and devoted to the poor. This dissertation adds to our current understanding of how the Second Vatican Council grew out of local efforts to change the Church from below, instead of being thrust on lay Catholics from on high by theologians and religious officials. In their emphasis on the central role of the “people of God” in the global Church, Catholics who protested within, and occupied, churches in the late 1960s continued their religious experimentations that began in the years and decades before, and incorporated their lived experiences of, the Second Vatican Council. During the four sessions of the Council in Rome, conflicts among members of the Church hierarchy were fundamental to the experience, course, and later interpretations of Vatican II. At the heart of these clashes was a struggle for administrative and physical control over the space of the Council hall in St. Peter’s Basilica. Like the lay Catholics who occupied churches in the late 1960s, Council fathers sought to create a space for dialogue on global issues facing the Church. They resisted members of the Church hierarchy’s attempts to spatially inscribe power in the Council hall and limit discussion. Thus, the phenomenological characteristic of both the Council’s congregations and the vi church occupations in the late 1960s can be seen as a combination of attempted dialogue, repression, and struggle. This examination of the occupation, contestation, and refashioning of sacred spaces by lay Catholics complicates the narrative that the events of the long 1960s finalized a lengthy process of secularization in the modern world. Occupations of, and protests within, churches served as physical and symbolic acts that blurred the boundary between religion and politics. Catholics involved in these actions were driven by their religious beliefs and emphasized their faith, thus incorporating politics within their religious worldview This dissertation suggests that scholars should embrace a more inclusive conception of the role of religion in contemporary society, one that looks beyond traditional markers of religious activity and traces the diffusion and social significance of religious principles in unconventional settings and among diverse communities. vii Introduction In October 1968, a group of young Catholics in Padova, a city in northern Italy’s Veneto region, protested the preparations for an extravagant wedding that meant the local “church was literally occupied by decorators, musicians, electricians, florists” for three days. The Catholics complained to the parish priest that the faithful were unable to pray at the high altar or participate in other religious acts.