Raising the ghosts of the Papal States
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Rome
For an institution as deeply anchored in tradition as the Catholic church, debates over the past inevitably shape the present ? because how history is remembered often drives how today?s challenges are perceived.
That point was illustrated afresh on Saturday, Sept. 20, which marked the 138th anniversary of the papacy?s loss of temporal power. On that day, Republican forces under King Emmanuel II of Italy breached Porta Pia, one of the gates of Rome, and quickly overwhelmed what was left of the papal armies. That moment in 1870 marked the collapse of the Papal States and the unification of Italy under a civil power.