The Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs can be considered the political ‘think tank’ of the Roman Curia, the dicastery responsible for bilateral relations with the States, as well as treating the most delicate ecclesiastical issues in the Local Churches. It is the place that brings together the most infuential cardinals of the Roman Curia, the pope’s closest counsellors. The present study aims at clarifying the true operational space of this Congregation during a delicate...

The Mediterranean, both a sea and a theatre, has served throughout history as a fundamental crossroads for the political-religious dynamics and international tensions that characterize the various worlds, east and west, south and north, that meet in this basin. Starting from these premises, the present work examines - within a chronological span that goes from the conclusion of the Second World War to the end of Pius XII’s pontificate - the contribution offered by the Holy See and by Catho...