The Curious Ideological Formula: Fascism, the Vatican, and Nationalism

The relationship between fascism and the Catholic Church was complex, evolving over time from the initial hostility of leaders like Mussolini to a pragmatic understanding. Nationalism, in turn, became intertwined with both forces, seeking legitimacy and support.

## From Anti-Clericalism to Alliance

Fascism, in its early stages, did not always maintain a friendly relationship with the Catholic Church. Key figures like **Benito Mussolini**, raised in a left-wing syndicalist environment, displayed a clear aversion to religion. In his youth, influenced by thinkers such as **Nietzsche**, Mussolini even delivered anti-Christian speeches, describing Christian ethics as the "sarracena of slaves" and viewing religion as an illness. In **1904**, he categorically declared that "God does not exist," ideas that shared similarities with Freudian and Soviet theories viewing believers as mentally ill. His 1913 work on **Hus** made his stance of free thought and rejection of the "spiritual or secular tyranny" clear. The **Vatican** was seen by him as a nest of "reaction and obscurantism."

## Mutual Expediency

However, over time, the dynamic shifted. The rise of fascism and the need to consolidate power led to a pragmatism that included the Church. The old guard of fascism, although initially reluctant, adapted to circumstances. Nationalism, for its part, found in these alliances fertile ground to expand its influence. The idea of a united Europe, as suggested by **Pierre Drieu La Rochelle**, emerged in a context where spiritual and cultural distinctions seemed to blur before economic categories—a scenario that could be exploited by movements seeking unification under a single banner, often with religious and nationalist undertones.

## Inner Fascism

The issue of fascism has also been examined on a more personal level. It has been suggested that fascism is not merely an external ideology, but something that can reside within each individual. The need to monitor and limit its emergence from the earliest stages of thought, preventing it from being given a "fertile environment in our minds," is a perspective that invites reflection on individual responsibility in preventing extreme ideologies. Nationalism, in this sense, can be a tool that, if misunderstood, exacerbates these tendencies.