The Roman Curia and the German 'Integralist Controversy' in the European Context (1900-1914)

1900年后，德国天主教经历了一场深刻的危机：天主教俗人在政治、文化和社会上的自主活动受到威胁，这与对新教的新开放相一致。这种相对自治和开放的拥护者遭到了“整合派”神学家、平信徒、主教，以及罗马教廷的反对，后者倾向于严格的忏悔主义，并对天主教生活的所有领域实行等级控制。教皇庇护十世（Pope Pius x）在意大利（通过解散平信徒的“opera dei congress”）和法国（通过禁止基督教民主的“西永”运动）实施了这种整合主义立场。然而，在德国，与罗马当局在所有争论领域都做出了妥协：关于基督教联盟的跨宗派特征，中央党从等级制度中独立出来，以及关于“天主教文学”的争议。例如，在教皇的通谕“Singulari quadam”（1912）中，基督教联盟至少是“被容忍的”。该项目将这些争议置于欧洲的背景下，并在整个可访问的档案文件的基础上，首次在这种“整合主义争议”中重建罗马教廷的内部决策过程。“整合争议”的结果对20世纪德国天主教在社会中的定位产生了决定性的影响。

German Catholicism lived through a deep crisis in the years after 1900: At stake was the autonomous activity of the Catholic laity in politics, culture and society which coincided with a new openness towards protestantism. The champions of such a relativ autonomy and opening were opposed by 'integralist' theologians, laymen, bishops, and last not least by the Roman Curia, which favoured a strict confessionalism and a hierarchical control over all fields of Catholic life. Pope Pius X. enforced this integralist position in Italy (by dissolving the 'opera dei congressi' of the laity) and in France (by banning the christian democratic 'Sillon'-movement). In Germany, however, compromises with the Roman authorities were made on all fields of contention: concerning the interdenominational character of the Christian Unions, the independence of the Centre Party from the hierarchy and also concerning the controversy about 'Catholic literature'. In the papal encyclical 'Singulari quadam' (1912), for instance, the Christian Unions were at least 'tolerated'. The project puts these controversies in a European context and reconstructs the internal decision-making process of the Roman Curia in this 'integralist controversy' for the first time on the basis of the entire accessible archival documentation. The outcome of the 'integralist controversy' had a decisive bearing on the positioning of German Catholicism within society during the 20th century.