NEGOCIERI PRIVIND REDESCHIDEREA BISERICII ITALIENE DIN BUCUREŞTI ÎN TIMPUL REGIMULUI ATEOCRAT
NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT REOPENING THE ITALIAN CHURCH IN BUCHAREST DURING THE ATHEOCRATIC REGIME

Summary/Abstract: The study covers a new subject in Romanian historiography: the issue of reopening the Italian Church in Bucharest in the context of the permissive attitude towards the West of the Ceauşescu regime during its first five years. Romanian-Italian relations were heavily tested in the years 1950−1955 with various spy scandals and political processes that damaged the Catholic Church in Romania and the Italian community gathered around the Italian Church in Bucharest. The latest priest of the church, Clemente Gatti, was arrested and sentenced to prison and was released before his death. After 1956 Romania make several attempts to get closer to the West and, in this context, after Ceauşescu came to power, tries to rebuilt the relations with Italy, both politically, from an economic point of view and culturally. In the cultural field Italians accept negotiations that were intended to reopening Accademia di Romania in Rome and that the Italian Church reopened for worship in Bucharest. The negotiations were led by Corneliu Mănescu, Foreign Minister of Romania and Amintore Fanfani, Foreign Minister of Italy and were directly supervised by Nicolae Ceauşescu. The negotiations were positive and the Italian Church in Bucharest could work from 1968 to the fall of communism during the main religious feasts of the year.

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