The World : Italy Cuts Link to Vatican
Italy’s Chamber of Deputies gave final approval to a new concordat between Rome and the Vatican that officially ends Roman Catholicism as Italy’s state religion. The vote, following approval by the Senate, was 350 to 75 with 39 abstentions. Prime Minister Bettino Craxi praised the agreement for ending “the forced cohabitation between constitutional guarantees and Lateran (church) privileges.” The agreement, establishing “freedom of religion and conscience,” replaces the so-called Lateran Pacts between the Vatican and Italy signed by Pope Pius XI and dictator Benito Mussolini in 1929.
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