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Last Actor Standing Against Populism? The Role of the Catholic Church in Italy and its Defence of Social Assistance and Migration Policies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 January 2021

Emmanuele Pavolini ,
Marco Arlotti  and
Ugo Ascoli
Emmanuele Pavolini
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Communication and International Relations, University of Macerata, Italy E-mail: [email protected]
Marco Arlotti
Affiliation:
Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Polytechnic Milan, Italy E-mail: [email protected]
Ugo Ascoli
Affiliation:
Department of Economic and Social Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Italy E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Churches’ positions and preferences in social policy are often described in the literature as fixed over time. The article challenges this assumption. In particular, it shows how the Italian Catholic Church (CC) changed over time its position toward social assistance and migration policies. In relation to social assistance, the CC has shifted from an antagonist approach to public intervention to the support of a universal public minimum income scheme. At a time of increasing aversion towards migrants, the Catholic Church has also become one of the few core actors in Italian society advocating explicitly for more welcoming migration policies and criticising national governments, especially the populist ones. Four factors explain these changes: the way institutions have worked in this policy field, CC material interests, how new ideas on social rights and social justice have been re-elaborated within the CC and its moral authority in politics.

Keywords

Social policyItalyreligionsocial assistancemigration policies
Type
Themed Section: Populism, Religion and Social Policy
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , April 2021 , pp. 340 - 355
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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