Date of Award
2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Benes, Carrie
Area of Concentration
History
Abstract
This thesis examines papal infallibility’s religious and political implications in the context of Pius IX’s papacy and the unification of Italy. In doing so, I argue that nineteenth-century infallibilists invoked medieval reasoning to garner support for their cause, and created a global base of support outside of Italy through a distinctly populist narrative of Catholic oppression. Although often reduced to a religious backlash to nationalist victories in Europe, infallibility as a political movement led the Catholic Church into permanent independence from the nation-state, with repercussions for the Church and the papacy that persist to this day.
Recommended Citation
Bynum, David, "APOSTOLIC INDEPENDENCE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF PAPAL INFALLIBILITY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY" (2020). Theses & ETDs. 5845.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/5845