1939: Maritain Better Not Return to Latin America. Vatican Concerns in an Unpublished Document (and more)

Abstract

1939: Maritain Better Not Return to Latin America. Vatican Concerns in an Unpublished Document (and more)

It had long been known that Maritain’s positions on the Spanish Civil War had irritated some conservative and traditionalist Catholic circles on the occasion of his trip to Latin America in the summer of 1936. Unknown until now, however, was the fact that three years later, on learning of a possible new trip by the philosopher, the same circles expressed strong concerns to the Holy See. This is revealed in a Pro-Memoria conserved in the Archives of the Vatican Secretariat of State, which shows how these concerns were received and how they were followed up immediately and up to the moment of Maritain’s appointment as ambassador to the Holy See.

Received: 10/05/2024

Admitted: 14/09/2024