VATICAN CITY STATE BY LATERAN TREATY

St. Peter's Basilica on St. Peter's Square, Vatican City. Benito Mussolini, the first of 20th Century Europe's Fascist dictators, made Vatican City an independent sovereign state on 07 June 1929 by ratifying the Lateran Treaty.

Mussolini was initially anticlerical, viewing the Church as a rival for power. He was an atheist in his youth. He recognized the Church’s influence over Italy’s population and harnessed it. The Lateran Pacts of 1929 were signed by the Fascist govt and the Vatican of Pope Pius XI. These resolved the "Roman Question," the dispute between the Italian state and the papacy since the unification of Italy in 1870, which stripped the Pope of power. The pacts established Vatican City Sovereign State, gave the Pope territorial autonomy, compensated the Church financially for territories lost during the unification, and recognized Catholicism as the state religion, with religious education in schools. The Vatican recognized the Fascist rule and agreed to stay out of politics without competing for political power. This was a win for Mussolini. It bolstered his regime’s legitimacy among Catholics and secured the support of the Church. But the Church was wary of Fascism’s totalitarian tendencies, which demanded absolute loyalty to the state, clashing with Catholic authority. Fascist youth organizations, Balilla, and others competed with Catholic youth organizations in education and youth indoctrination. Mussolini limited the Church’s influence in marriage and education. Catholic leaders in the Catholic Action Movement resisted Fascist attempts to dominate civil society. Pope Pius XI criticized Fascist policies, like suppressing Catholic Action, in his 1931 encyclical Non Abbiamo Bisogno. The Vatican maintained a pragmatic relationship with Mussolini without direct confrontation to preserve the gains of the Lateran Pacts. Mussolini’s alignment with the Church won him support among devout Italians, especially in rural areas. Catholics in anti-Fascist movements like the Popular Party (later known as Christian Democracy), opposed the regime. Mussolini’s relationship with  Roman Catholics was of mutual convenience. He used the Church to strengthen his regime and to achieve the Fascist goals.