Azione Cattolica

Members believe that priests have an ethical and religious duty to support the rights of the oppressed and the poor.

[1] In Italy in 1905, Azione Cattolica was established as a non-political lay organization under the direct control of bishops.

The set of events which brought to the foundation of the Azione Cattolica was critical in the excommunication of modernism in 1907 and a prelude to it.

In the thirties, the original strongly anti-modernist stance of the organization started changing.

Since the organization was forbidden by the Vatican to participate in politics, it was not as much opposed by the fascist regime as it was by the Partito Popolare.