L’evoluzione del dibattito sul «non expedit» all’interno della Curia romana tra il 1860 e il 1888

This study proposes the reconstruction of the whole debate within the Roman Curia about the participation of Italian Catholics to general elections, since 1860 until 1888. New elements therefore integrate the acquisitions of classical and recent historiography upon this theme. They are drawn from a rich and unpublished documentary heritage not yet systematically examined, in particular reports and documentation of three of the most important ministries of the Holy See’s government: the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Inquisition and the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs. Following this documentation, it is clear how the Vatican’s “closed” position on the involvement of Italian Catholics in national political life was neither effective nor definitive, even after the Holy Offi ce officially proclaimed the non expedit as a prohibition, in 1886.