The Church and the Confederacy

[Guest Leah]

I've read that the Church supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. As a black person, this concerns me greatly? What should I make of this?

[Pio Nono]

JMJ
7/10 - Fifteenth Sunday

Leah,

Here's what I know about the situation - the Church did not officially support the Confederacy during the war, but one needs to understand where the Church was coming from to understand her historical attitudes towards the rebel states.

At the time of the Civil War, the Church was under heavy attack in Italy. Her traditional rights were being assaulted by the newborn Italian state. There was an analogous situation in America - the states' rights were being overlooked in favor of the national state. As a result, Pope Pius IX felt a certain brotherhood with President Jefferson Davis. This is why, in New Orleans, there is a crown of thorns sent to President Davis, woven by Pope Pius IX. This is also why the Vatican was one of the first nations to recognize the Confederacy as a legitimate nation.

Does this mean that the Vatican supported slavery? No, not at all - what they supported was what the Vatican saw as an attack on states' rights, similar to the attack on the Pope's rights in Europe at the time. Hope this helps.

Yours,
Pio Nono