Romolo Murri

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Romolo Murri

Romolo Murri (born August 27, 1870 in Monte San Pietrangeli near Ancona , Italy ; † March 12, 1944 in Rome ) was a Catholic theologian and was assigned to Catholic modernism in Italy, he was also a publicist and politician .

Life

He studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1893 , and was a student of Antonio Labriola , from whom he took over the socialist ideas. After his excommunication, he married in 1912 and lived as a freelance journalist and writer for the next 30 years .

The modernist movement

Murri belonged to a modernist movement that demanded a change in the relationship between state and church , but also a revival of Christian values ​​in society. This modern orientation led to a conflict with the official church teaching office, because it not only demanded improved conditions from the state, but also pursued democratic change within the church. He called for an ecclesiastical hierarchy which allowed independent lay work (see Catholic Action ) to work independently in the social sector and which should fulfill different tasks to the clergy . With Cardinal Antonio Agliardi , who was installed as nuncio in Austria, he found a supporter of Christian democracy, the cardinal also supported the socialist parties in Austria and Germany .

Catholicism and Socialism

His demands boiled down to permitting the permeability of Catholicism and socialism , which should, however, be based on reciprocity. With this, Murri connected the idea that socialism could be brought into connection with the values ​​of Catholicism, which he hoped would turn socialism away from its atheistic tendencies, but also a leveling of socio-political conditions that could be supportive for Catholic action.

The publicist and politician

Murri soon realized that he had to publish his idea of ​​a Christian democracy if it was to become known. He founded the magazines Vita Nuova and Cultura Sociale and explained in many articles how to achieve a democratic breakthrough. On July 2, 1904, Pope Pius X ordered the dissolution of the “Opera dei congressi”, whose leadership had meanwhile passed to Romolo Murri. As a result, Murri founded the first confessional party “Lega democratica nazionale” in 1905. Accession was forbidden to all priests under the penalty of suspension and candidates for the priesthood under exclusion from ordination.

Suspension and excommunication

In the encyclical Pieni l'animo (1906), Pope Pius X condemned the followers of modernism and called for the cessation of all their activities, especially those of the clergy and the seminaries . On April 15, 1907, Romolo Murri was suspended - although he was open to certain concessions, he did not want to completely abandon his ideas. This was followed by his excommunication on March 19, 1909 .

Politician and MP

In 1909 he was elected as a member of the Italian Parliament and joined the “Left Group”. He was an excellent publicist and continued to pursue the reconciliation between the Church and the modern state with great zeal, and Murri also called for the expansion of a democratic style in the Church.

Works (selection)

  • Today's Fights (Battaglie d'oggi). Diederichs, Jena
    • 1. Christian life at the beginning of the twentieth century (La vita christiana al principio del secolo XX). 1910
(The original "Battaglie d'oggi" comprises four volumes, but has not been published in German)
  • About religion, the church and the state (Della religione, della chiesa e dello stato). 1910.
  • Church and Democracy or Political Modernism . In: Paul Sabatier , Romolo Murri, Alfred Lilley , Philipp Funk : The Modernism. Four lectures at the 5th World Congress for Free Christianity and Religious Progress, Berlin 1910 . Protestant publications, Berlin 1911

literature

personal data
SURNAME Murri, Romolo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian theologian, politician, member of the Camera dei Deputati and publicist
DATE OF BIRTH August 27, 1870
PLACE OF BIRTH Monte San Pietrangeli
DATE OF DEATH March 12, 1944
Place of death Rome