by Chuck Harding

Created on: November 11, 2008

Italy and the Vatican, Mussolini and Hitler, plus politics and money. Throw in a pending world disaster, World War II, and I'd say you'd have the makings of a darn good action adventure spy drama. The amazing part is... it isn't fiction. It was all very real in the year of 1929.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
So exactly what was the drama which was being played out? Power! Political control. Italy had a Fascist government in place and Mr. Mussolini was the dictator, a nasty little bugger. Like most dictators he resented not getting his way. What was his problem? The Vatican was too powerful throughout Italy, in his opinion, and he needed them out of the way. Which makes sense, most Italians are catholic, and the church had a tremendous amount of influence over the people. The Pope was stealing Mussolini's thunder, but the dictators hands were tied. He knew he couldn't make an enemy of the Vatican or the people would rebel. So he did what any smart business person would do. "If you can't beat them...buy them!" Make them an offer they can't refuse. Thus began the "Lateran Pact of 1929.

Mussolini needed to offer something exceptionally inviting to the Vatican, so he did. He offered sovereignty. That's right, the Vatican could become a sovereign state, a separate country, within the borders of Italy, within the city limits of Rome. All they had to do was shut-up about politics and quit causing trouble. There are 37 articles in the Lateran Pact of 1929 which define the agreement. They hashed it out, came to acceptable compromises and the Pact was implemented. The Vatican, "The Holy See", became a separate nation, self governing without interference from the Fascist dictator.
Question? Was the deal successful. The correct answer I believe is, yes and no. For the people of Italy at the time it took away their only advocate voice remaining in the country, they were at Mussolini's mercy. You could say the Pope sold them out. However I've been told popes have a way of being prophetic, perhaps he was. Maybe he realized or was informed of Mussolini's fate, the hangman's noose. For sometime thereafter the Vatican backed off and became a much more quiet voice and subtle voice throughout the world. Refraining from intervention in political affairs. Perhaps if they had spoken out, who knows, they could have used their power of persuasion to assist in averting some of the world's conflicts and problems, we'll never know. The good news is the church now is under a new management team, Vatican II has been implemented and "The Holy See" is once again active in the endeavor of creating a peaceful world. That's a good thing.
Looking at the situation today, the Vatican is a worldwide influential power not only in religion but in everything from human rights to a nations starving people. Currently they have diplomatic relations with 174 countries throughout the world. They are financial strong despite the recent scandals. One of the asides of the Pact was Mussolini agreed to pay the Vatican, in addition to all the other concessions, a sizable amount of money for taking the deal. The amount adjusted to today's value is estimated to be the equivalent to $500 million dollars. Can you imagine having $500 million dollars in 1929? Needless to say it solved any financial woes the Vatican may have had at the time.
The effects of the Pact took some time to blossom, there were some growing pains and lessons learned. But, all in all, history is showing it was a wise choice. Almost 80 years after the fact the world is a better place, and Mussolini, Hilter, Stalin and Tojo are dust.

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