ABSTRACT: The article offers a careful analysis on the way the end of the USSR and the growth of the Orthodox presence in the European Union have challenged the concept of canonical territory. In the West, this has produced a phenomenon of the territorialization of the exercise of religious freedom. It is examined how the potential access to the EU of Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Northern Macedonia will influence the relevance of these Churches in the relations that the Union maintains with them in application of art. 17 TFUE. Indeed, this relation is strengthened by the great consistency of the Orthodox diaspora in the West and by the development and growth of Eparchies abroad, created by the respective national Churches. Therefore, it is appropriate to reflect on the need for identifying self-preservation of all religions and in particular of the Orthodox one, in order to guarantee the balance and orderly development of the Union's institutional political system in a relationship compatible with the needs of separation and secularism of the States. Two key factors are the political crisis of the USSR and the granting of autocephaly to the ecclesiastical communities operating in the states which had become sovereign: this has weakened the Moscow Patriarchate and its role in the Orthodox ecumenical system; at the same time, the ecumenical patriarchate, which claims its exclusive right to grant autocephaly, has proceeded to “contractualize” the nature of his primacy through the structure of the Tomas.

The perspective of 'Praedicate Evangelium' regarding liturgical abuses

ABSTRACT: The paper examines the transformations made by the Ap. const. Praedicate Evangelium [= EP] regarding the contrast of liturgical abuses. Beginning with the problem of celebratory propriety that emerged in the context of postconciliar disbandment, it first examines the essential features of the case of abusiveness (the frequency of the conduct, the erroneous presumption of justification for the conduct, and the prominence of the authoritative condition) and, then, the main magisterial and papal directive interventions. Article 66 PB outlined a specific supervisory function on the part of the Congregation for Worship. PE, indulging the criterion of decentralizing co-responsibility, stimulates awareness of its own attributions and the specific responsibility of the bishops in ensuring the observance of liturgical norms. Article 96 EP therefore makes explicit the duties of the episcopal office and the supporting and assisting role of the Dicastery. The elimination of abusiveness is expressly linked with increased liturgical formation. The normative change does not change the essence of ecclesial discipline; however, it requires a qualitative leap in the pastoral solicitude of bishops (the most significant contribution is the deontological call). An in-depth theoretical and practical study of the problem of liturgical abusiveness, without trespassing on casuistry, can help complete the cultural and regulatory turnaround underway.

SOMMARIO: 1. Il sentito problema della correttezza celebrativa - 2. L’inquadramento della fattispecie abusiva - 3. Gli interventi magisteriali e direttivi pontifici - 4. La disciplina dell’art. 66 della ‘Pastor bonus’ - 5. Il nuovo approccio di ‘Praedicate Evangelium’ - 5.1. Il contesto della riforma curiale - 5.2. L’art. 96 di ‘Praedicate Evangelium’ - 5.3. La responsabilità episcopale - 6. L’opportuno collegamento con la formazione liturgica - 7. Un mutamento disciplinare o attitudinale?

Is it possible to measure religious or belief minority rights?

ABSTRACT: Is it possible to measure how much the legal systems of the European Union countries respect and promote the rights of religious or belief minorities? Based on the findings of the Atlas of religious or belief minority rights research project (https://atlasminorityrights.eu), this article answers the question in the affirmative. The paper is divided into three parts. The first briefly describes the methodology and techniques used to measure minority rights. They are determined by the answers given to some preliminary questions that are discussed in the second part of the contribution. The last section of the article outlines the purpose and value of measuring religious or belief minority rights.

SOMMARIO: 1. Introduzione - 2. La misurazione dei diritti delle minoranze di religione e convinzione - 3. L’oggetto e i confini della misurazione - 4. L’utilità della misurazione.

De Albanensium seu Græcorum peculiari cura habenda. The religious condition of the Italo-Albanians in Calabria during the post-Tridentine age. Historical and legal outlines

Abstract: The invasion of Albania by the Turks in 1478 forced many Albanians to emigrate in the Kingdom of Naples and, in particular, in the Calabrian provinces. These Albanian refugees continued to speak their language and most of all to profess the Catholic religion, but according to the Byzantine rite. The liturgical and doctrinal diversity of this rite led, over the years, Calabrian bishops and priests following the Roman rite to be wary and suspicious towards these canonical practices. Nevertheless, the Holy See was generally benevolent towards the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church allowing the devotes the free exercise of religious practice, protecting diversity and encouraging the education of clerics, by enacting a series of important measures over the Centuries. This paper aims to focus, from a legal-historical perspective, the events concerning the Byzantine rite in Calabria between the 16^th and the 18^th Centuries, through the analysis of the decrees of some diocesan synods and some of the most important papal measures that allowed the Albanians of Calabria (arbëreshë) to resist the attempts of “Latinization” and at the same time to confirm, despite the diversity, their belonging to the Catholic Church. 

SOMMARIO: 1. Una premessa - 2. Gli albanesi di rito greco nella Calabria post-tridentina fra sospetti di eterodossia e tentativi di latinizzazione: le disposizioni di alcuni sinodi diocesani - 3. I Pontefici di fronte alla ‘questione’ degli italo-albanesi: dal XVI Secolo alla fondazione del Collegio Corsini.

Environmental protection in the Catholic social teaching

ABSTRACT: This short essay aims to analyse the evolution of the Catholic social teaching regarding environmental protection. Starting from a famous article by T. Lynn White in 1966, the Judaic-Christian doctrine on the men-nature relationship has been frequently qualified as a strongly anthropocentric one, being also considered as an ideological premise of men's exploitation of the environment and, as a consequence, of the actual ecological crisis. This contribution, moving from the analysis of the Catholic social teaching on environmental safeguard and of some relevant theological, historical and social issues, explains why this idea needs to be rejected and try to imagine which role the Catholic Church, and Christianity in general, can have in facing the environmental crisis in the future.

SOMMARIO: 1. Introduzione - 2. Il rapporto uomo-ambiente nel contesto teologico contemporaneo - 3. Nascita e primo sviluppo del magistero pontificio in materia di tutela ambientale. - 4. Questione ambientale, interesse sociale e responsabilità morale - 5. Cultura, morale e rispetto dell’ambiente - 6. Le prospettive di una ecologia integrale - 7. Riflessioni conclusive.

The blanket of silence: fears and hopes

ABSTRACT: The silence of the parties governing the country and those belonging to the opposition persists. Their political orientation on the 'ecclesiastical matters' is yet to be shared, as well as their position on the need for a more general law on religious freedom. The new conservative government keeps silent. There are signs of a possible failure to comply with the pluralistic principle, which is the cornerstone of the secular nature of the State. Between hopes and fears, the latter could prevail.

A "bloodhound" at the “Last Supper”: religious references in commercial communication under scrutiny by the Italian Advertising Self-Regulation Institute

ABSTRACT: Since the birth of commercial advertising there has been a widespread use of religious references in the creation of promotional material, in some cases even distorting, trivializing, or exploiting the representations of the Sacred symbols. So, it is important to properly to understand whether and within what limits the use of religious references in advertising should be admitted, as well as the possible protection that can be granted to religious sentiment which may be harmed by such use. Starting from the recent case relating to the segugio.it commercial, this contribution examines the issue with regard to the provisions contained in an important soft law instrument of the Italian legal system, i.e. the Advertising Self-Regulatory Code, and the rulings made in its application by the decision-making bodies of the Advertising Self-Regulation Institute.

SOMMARIO: 1. I riferimenti religiosi nella pubblicità commerciale - 2. La disciplina italiana della pubblicità commerciale in relazione al sentimento religioso e il Codice di Autoregolamentazione della Comunicazione Commerciale - 3. Il concetto di offesa al sentimento religioso delineato dalle pronunce dell’I.A.P. - 4. I precedenti “usi” pubblicitari dell’Ultima Cena - 5. Un tentativo di conclusione.

ABSTRACT: Starting from the hermeneutic value played by the veil issue in analyzing the contemporary dynamics of the right to religious freedom in Europe, the paper will focus on the tension between the modern and contemporary paradigm of this right: a tension that makes its effects felt on the broader Mediterranean scale and that hints at new scenarios of a postmodern European right to religious freedom.

SOMMARIO: 1. Introduction - 2. Separation: The Matrix of Freedom of Religion as a Right of Modernity - 3. Islam and Separation: Modernity Stumbles - 4. A Broader Scenario: The Mediterranean Backdrop - 5. Prospects for a Post-modern Right to Freedom of Religion.

Financing of the Holy See, transparency of destination and patrimonial administration

ABSTRACT: The essay analyzes the topic of the economic and financial management of the Holy See’s patrimony and in particular the reforms implemented during the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Francis which ensure greater transparency of financial operations. In carrying out its universal mission, the Church relies on transparent and efficient asset management. All those who manage the Church’s patrimony must administer it wisely, avoiding the performance of speculative operations in order to preserve the economic value of the assets, which are instrumental to all Church activities. Because of this, the Vatican judicial system has also been strengthened to prevent and eventually repress abuses in the management of ecclesiastical patrimony. It must be stressed, however, that, excessive garantism in the management of Vatican finances could risk hindering the Holy See’s activities. In this sense, the essay also reflects on the advisability of bypassing the ordinary system of financial transparency in peculiar circumstances in order to guarantee the Holy See’s evangelization activities.

SOMMARIO: 1. Introduzione - 2. La gestione finanziaria - 3. Le norme di gestione patrimoniale della Santa Sede: dalla Pastor Bonus alla Praedicate Evangelium - 4. Riflessioni conclusive.

The art treasures of the Vatican in the Lateran Treaty

ABSTRACT: Drawing inspiration from a recent initiative by the Pontiff, the contribution focuses on the peculiar juridical condition of the art treasures kept in the Vatican City, resulting from a series of provisions of the Lateran Treaty, other international conventions and recent Vatican legislation on the protection of cultural heritage. The result is a complex and articulated regulatory framework that underlines the role of the Holy See as a custodian and guarantor of one of the greatest historical and artistic heritages of humanity.

SOMMARIO - 1. Un gesto ecumenico di papa Francesco - 2. L’art. 18 del Trattato lateranense - 3. L’articolato quadro normativo attuale - 4. Suggestioni e questioni emergenti - 5. I tesori d’arte del Vaticano e la loro peculiare condizione giuridica - 6. Osservazioni conclusive.