Dalla parte del re. La Santa Sede di fronte alla questione catalana e basca nei primi tre decenni del Novecento

Based on nuncios’ reports, further documentation from the Vatican archives and
updated historiography, this article examines the Holy See’s attitude in front of the
Basque and Catalan nationalisms birth and development. In this two movements,
Euskera and Catalan language had a fundamental relevance. The Secretariat of
State and the pontiffs were constantly informed about the situation in the Basque
Country and Catalonia; they approved the use the two languages for the predication;
they considered the diffusion of Basque and Catalan nationalism within the
clergy as a form of politicization, condemning it since 1913. On the contrary, they
did not embrace the same attitude in front of the Spanish nationalist clergy, who
was not less politicized. The article demonstrates that along these three decades the
Holy See shared the unionist vision of Spain proper of the Monarchy and the fear
that autonomy would eventually lead to independence.