Giuseppe Dossetti
Encyclopedia
Giuseppe Dossetti was an Italian
jurist, a politician and from 1958 onward a Catholic
priest.
.
When he was young he joined Azione Cattolica
("Catholic Action
") and he obtained a law degree at 21 years of age. Moved by profound political and moral beliefs, antifascist, he joined the Italian Resistance under the name of "Benigno" and became President of the Committee for National Liberation of Reggio Emilia
, even if he always refused to use weapons.
When fascist dictatorship in Italy ended, he became professor of Ecclesiastic law at University of Modena.
His political career was very fast. In 1945 he became vice-secretary of Democrazia Cristiana and on 2 June 1946 was elected to become part of the "Costituente" (the political body in charge of drafting the new Italian republican constitution), of which he became one of the most active members. Exactly he took part of the first Subcommission in charge of the "rights and duties of the citizens". On 1946, with Amintore Fanfani
, Giorgio La Pira
and Giuseppe Lazzati (described, not without a bit of deprecation, as "little professors") he founded the association Civitas Human.
Dossetti was anyway an atypical politician. He decided to not rerun for the 1948 elections and changed idea only to obey to Monsignor Montini (Pope
Paolo VI). His evangelist positions were more or less opposed to the Alcide De Gasperi
's more pragmatic ones. He was against NATO accession of Italy
, which he considered dangerous, and in favour of social reforms aimed at helping the poorer parts of the population. Dossetti was presented to the Congress with over one third consesus. The contraposition with De Gasperi was very clear. He accepted the challenge and returned as Vicesecretary of the party
. During the following years he was actively involved in working at many reforms, including the Cassa del Mezzogiorno.
He left politics in 1951 and he returned for a while in 1956 just to run for mayor in Bologna
, in which City Council
he will stay for the following two years.
During the Sixties he contributed as a collaborator of Cardinal Lercaro but since his presence was not welcome by some sectors of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, he chose to retire in silence. According to Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, Dosseti's personal role during the Second Vatican Council
was of great importance, because he contributed to making the Council less conservative and traditional than what was originally planned.
During the following years his community expanded: from the first section near Bologna
, in Terrasanta, to Giordania
in Casaglia di Montesole.
He reappeared in public in 1994, when he expressed publicly his worries for the proposed modifications of the Italian constitution.
Dossetti died two years later, on 15 December, 1996.
Credo in un solo Dio padre onnipotente. Il problema di Dio, il mondo spirituale e l'idolatria, il fine soprannaturale dell'uomo, San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1990
Credo in un solo Signore Gesù Cristo, San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1991
Credo in un solo Signore Gesù Cristo. Figlio di Dio crocifisso, San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1992
Il Vaticano II. Frammenti di una riflessione, Il Mulino, 1996
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
jurist, a politician and from 1958 onward a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priest.
The antifascist and politician
Dossetti was born in GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
.
When he was young he joined Azione Cattolica
Azione Cattolica
The Azione Cattolica Italiana, or Azione Cattolica for short, is a widespread lay Roman Catholic association in Italy.-History:...
("Catholic Action
Catholic Action
Catholic Action was the name of many groups of lay Catholics who were attempting to encourage a Catholic influence on society.They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries that fell under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, Italy, Bavaria, France, and...
") and he obtained a law degree at 21 years of age. Moved by profound political and moral beliefs, antifascist, he joined the Italian Resistance under the name of "Benigno" and became President of the Committee for National Liberation of Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
, even if he always refused to use weapons.
When fascist dictatorship in Italy ended, he became professor of Ecclesiastic law at University of Modena.
His political career was very fast. In 1945 he became vice-secretary of Democrazia Cristiana and on 2 June 1946 was elected to become part of the "Costituente" (the political body in charge of drafting the new Italian republican constitution), of which he became one of the most active members. Exactly he took part of the first Subcommission in charge of the "rights and duties of the citizens". On 1946, with Amintore Fanfani
Amintore Fanfani
Amintore Fanfani was an Italian career politician and the 33rd man to serve the office of Prime Minister of the State. He was one of the well-known Italian politicians after the Second World War, and a historical figure of the Christian Democracy .Fanfani and Giovanni Giolitti are still actually...
, Giorgio La Pira
Giorgio La Pira
Giorgio La Pira was an Italian politician who served as mayor of Florence twice . He also served as deputy of the Christian Democratic Party and participated in the assembly that wrote the Constitution of Italy after World War II...
and Giuseppe Lazzati (described, not without a bit of deprecation, as "little professors") he founded the association Civitas Human.
Dossetti was anyway an atypical politician. He decided to not rerun for the 1948 elections and changed idea only to obey to Monsignor Montini (Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
Paolo VI). His evangelist positions were more or less opposed to the Alcide De Gasperi
Alcide De Gasperi
Alcide De Gasperi was an Italian statesman and politician and founder of the Christian Democratic Party. From 1945 to 1953 he was the prime minister of eight successive coalition governments. His eight-year rule remains a landmark of political longevity for a leader in modern Italian politics...
's more pragmatic ones. He was against NATO accession of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, which he considered dangerous, and in favour of social reforms aimed at helping the poorer parts of the population. Dossetti was presented to the Congress with over one third consesus. The contraposition with De Gasperi was very clear. He accepted the challenge and returned as Vicesecretary of the party
Party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, or recreation. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing as well....
. During the following years he was actively involved in working at many reforms, including the Cassa del Mezzogiorno.
He left politics in 1951 and he returned for a while in 1956 just to run for mayor in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, in which City Council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
he will stay for the following two years.
The priest
In the meantime, on 6 January 1956, he became priest after that, some months before, the Church authorities approved the monastic community of the "Piccola famiglia dell'Annunziata", founded by him and based on "silence, prayer, work and poverty". After three years he received the Ordine Sacro Sacerdotale.During the Sixties he contributed as a collaborator of Cardinal Lercaro but since his presence was not welcome by some sectors of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, he chose to retire in silence. According to Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, Dosseti's personal role during the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
was of great importance, because he contributed to making the Council less conservative and traditional than what was originally planned.
During the following years his community expanded: from the first section near Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, in Terrasanta, to Giordania
Giordania
Giordania is a malagasy genus of potter wasps....
in Casaglia di Montesole.
He reappeared in public in 1994, when he expressed publicly his worries for the proposed modifications of the Italian constitution.
Dossetti died two years later, on 15 December, 1996.
Books about politics
Sentinella, quanto resta della notte? Commemorazione di G. Lazzati nell'anniversario della morte, San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1994- A. Melloni (cur.), La ricerca costituente (1945-1952), Il Mulino, Bologna, 1994
- I valori della Costituzione, San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1995
- G. Trotta (a cura di), Scritti politici (1943-1951), San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1995
- R. Villa (a cura di), Giuseppe Dossetti. Due anni a Palazzo d'Accursio. Discorsi a Bologna 1956-1958, Aliberti editore, Reggio Emilia, 2004
Books about religion
- A. Alberigo - G. Alberigo (a cura di), Con Dio e con la storia. Una vicenda di cristiano e di uomo, Marietti, 1986
- Non restare in silenzio, mio Dio, San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1987
- G. Dossetti - U. Neri, La gioia del cristiano, San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1987
Credo in un solo Dio padre onnipotente. Il problema di Dio, il mondo spirituale e l'idolatria, il fine soprannaturale dell'uomo, San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1990
Credo in un solo Signore Gesù Cristo, San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1991
Credo in un solo Signore Gesù Cristo. Figlio di Dio crocifisso, San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1992
- C. M. Martini - G. Dossetti - U. Neri, Come un bambino in braccio alla madre. Atti del Convegno (il 17 febbraio 1993), San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1993
- Conversazioni, In Dialogo, 1994
- L' esegesi spirituale secondo d. Divo Barsotti, San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1995
- Il concilio ecumenico Vaticano II. Prolusione inaugurale per l'anno accademico 1994-'95 dello Studio teologico interdiocesano di Reggio Emilia, San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia, 1995
Il Vaticano II. Frammenti di una riflessione, Il Mulino, 1996
- Piccola famiglia dell'Annunziata (a cura di), La parola e il silenzio. Discorsi e scritti 1986-1995, Il Mulino, Bologna, 1997
- Eucaristia e città, AVE, 1997
- Piccola famiglia dell'Annunziata (a cura di), Un solo Signore. Esercizi spirituali, EDB, 2001
- Piccola famiglia dell'Annunziata (a cura di), L' identità del cristiano, EDB, 2001
- G. Alberigo - G. Ruggieri (a cura di), Per una «Chiesa eucaristica». Rilettura della portata dottrinale della costituzione liturgica del Vaticano II. Lezioni del 1965, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2002
- Piccola famiglia dell'Annunziata (a cura di), La parola di Dio seme di vita e di fede incorruttibile, EDB, 2002
- Il viaggio della vita. Un cammino spirituale per uscire dalla tossicodipendenza e diventare uomini, EDB, 2003
- La piccola famiglia dell'Annunziata. Le origini e i testi fondativi 1953-1986, Paoline Editoriale Libri, 2004
- Omelie del tempo di Natale, Paoline Editoriale Libri, 2004
- Piccola famiglia dell'Annunziata (a cura di), Omelie e istruzioni pasquali 1968-1974, Paoline Editoriale Libri, 2005
Books about law
- Grandezza e miseria del diritto della Chiesa (raccolta di scritti), Il Mulino, Bologna, 1996