The Law of Guarantees on 13 May 1871 and decrees applying to this required that for newly appointed bishops to enter into possession – the so-called temporalities – they had to present the Minister with the original decree of appointment and formally ask for the exequatur to be granted. This act, in the Holy See’s judgement, implied recognising the Kingdom of Italy which came into being in 1861, and included part of the Papal States ‘illegally’ taken from the Pontiff.
One of the most difficult conflicts to resolve in relationships between the Holy
See and the new Kingdom of Italy was that of the dozens of Episcopal sees left vacant
for political reasons. Both parties were aware of the seriousness of the situation, but
attempts to exit from the situation were shipwrecked by the persistent serious friction
brought about by proclaiming a Kingdom which comprised territories taken from
the Papal States (1861). Only in 1865-1867 did a process of détente coming
into place, where, having overcome mutual resistance, the Holy See succeeded in
appointing many bishops with the agreement of authorities of the Kingdom.
In the years immediately preceding and following Italian Unity (1858-1866), Don Bosco kept constantly in touch with Pius IX by letter. He did this not only for interests directly relating to his work, but also in reference to the worrying situation the Church was going through in Piedmont, to encourage him in his defence of the faith against the enemies of religion, and to pass on to him any likely reserved information in his possession. As already indicated, Don Bosco was with Pius IX and his Secretary of State, Card. Antonelli, on the Roman question. Slowly however, he became convinced that a too vigorous resistance to the “revolution” was becoming ever more pointless, even risked worsening the situation, so after the capture of Rome he chose, also politically, the principle of doing whatever good could be done.
The theme of this reflection, entitled: “Encounter of the Salesian Charism: South Asian Context, is self-explanatory. Drawing out its implications, the topic can be articulated in three focal points, implied in the very title, that is, “Salesian charism,” “South Asia,” and finally, the issue of the “Encounter…”.
Continue reading “Dominic Veliath – Encounter of the salesian charism. South Asian context”
Roche offers us a reflection on Salesian evangelization and how this is seen to share with the Church and the global community the precise and specific gifts that the Salesian Spirituality of accompaniment offers the world of youth ministry and education.
This article examines the theological meaning of the term “secularity” in Salesian official documents. It begins with a survey of the meanings of secularity in recent theological dictionaries, then shows how these meanings are present in reflection by the sons of Don Bosco.
Continue reading “John Rasor – The concept of Secularity in salesian documents”
As early as 1989 Pope John Paul II alerted the Church to the pastoral possibilities that technology presented to those who had concern for young people.
Continue reading “Anthony Bailey – Salesians and the Internet”
The Letture Cattoliche or the Catholic Readings was St. John Bosco’s imaginative brainchild in his effort to bring good, decent and inspiring reading into the home. It appealed to a wide spectrum of persons from young to old, from commoners to high-born.
Continue reading “Stephen Whelan – The Catholic Readings: writing for the masses”
Perhaps of all the leading political personages of the Italian Risorgimento with whom Don Bosco enjoyed some measure of friendship, Urbano Rattazzi’s name, like Abou Ben Adam’s, led the rest.
“If Don Bosco during his student years had one special preference, it was for reading history,” noted Father Alberto Caviglia in his exhaustive study of Don Bosco’s Storia d’ Italia. “In fact, one can say he had a predilection for historical studies”.
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