Pio XI e la Cristiada. Fede, guerra e diplomazia in Messico (1926-1929)

The conflict between the secular Mexican state and the Catholic Church, which reached its heights with the Cristero war of 1926-1929, remains one of the least known chapters of Achille Ratti’s pontificate. Nevertheless, the conflict is of particular interest in an effort to identify certain underlying tendencies of Vatican politics at the time, with particular reference to the magisterium of the Pope and the Holy See’s concrete actions in defending the libertas Ecclesiae. The opening, in september 2006, of the Roman archival sources relative to the pontificate of Pius XI offered an exclusive opportunity to shed light on some unknown elements of the religious conflict in Revolutionary Mexico; newly consultable sources such as those contained in the Archive of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs and the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu allow for a precise and detailed reconstruction of the events surrounding the turning points of the conflict – i.e., the suspension of public worship in July 1926 and the peace agreement in June 1929 (known as the arreglos). Based on a broad analysis of this documentation the volume offers a look on one of the most controversial and less known religious conflicts of the 20th century. The aim is to analyse the position of the Holy See (and particularly that of Pope Pius XI) regarding the Cristero War, in order to follow up on issues like the religious legitimation of violence and the role of Catholics in a secularized society.