That ‘Secret Line’ between the State and the Vatican. The background from De Gasperi to the Meloni government

Every time the Italian parliament addresses sensitive issues regarding personal, family, social ethics and culture in our country, dialogue with the Catholic Church is inevitable and indispensable. But Italy, from this point of view, is a truly unique case: it hosts, in the heart of its capital, a small state of enormous international importance: the Vatican City and the Supreme Pontiff, which is the point of reference for millions of Catholics. After “The Pope Had to Die” (2021) and “The Pope’s Smile” (2022), “Linea Segreta” arrives in bookstores. The background between the State and the Vatican”, the latest work by journalist Antonio Preziosi, director of Tg2 since 2023 and one of the most expert Italian journalists in the field of politics and institutions.

The author recounts the turning points, at certain dramatic moments, of this challenging relationship. Respect, dialogue, open collaboration for the common good have never failed, but not all Governments, not all Parliaments and not all tenants of the Quirinale have always had the same type of discussion. And some seasons have been particularly difficult: the referendums on divorce and abortion, the years of terrorism, the debate on the family, on immigration, on the great moral choices. A fascinating story, which concerns us all and which continues today, because the relationship between the two banks of the Tiber is an integral part of the history of the Republic.