Italian archdiocese pays tribute to anti-Catholic socialist thinker during Marian procession

TURIN, Italy (LifeSiteNews) — The Archdiocese of Turin has drawn sharp criticism after incorporating a prayer stop honoring anti-Catholic socialist Piero Gobetti into the city’s centuries-old “Consolata” procession.

On June 20, the annual procession in honor of Our Lady of Consolation, patroness of Turin, took place in the city center. For the first time, as reported by La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, it included a stop dedicated to the liberal-socialist philosopher Piero Gobetti, alongside references to Catholic figures connected with the city’s religious heritage.

According to the official booklet prepared for the event from the Archdiocese of Turin, participants were invited to pray for Gobetti and to remember his contribution to the civic life of Turin and Italy during a route that passed through several locations of historical significance.

“Piero Gobetti spent his young life spreading the values of freedom, social justice and democracy,” the procession booklet stated. “Remembering him during this procession is a way of recognizing that our city is a place of encounter among all those who, despite their differences, seek to live those shared values of freedom, democracy and mutual respect that form our common heritage.”

On the same page, the booklet includes some prayers inspired by the socialist figure: “Give us, Holy Spirit, the ability to work together with all people, believers and non‑believers alike, who dedicate their lives to values such as social justice and democracy.”

And again: “We thank you, Father, for Piero Gobetti, whom you gave to our city and to our nation so that we might all become more aware of our economic, social, and political duties.”

The prayer also equates Gobetti to the recently canonized Piergiorgio Frassati, an important Catholic figure linked to the city of Turin.

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The procession formed part of the celebrations associated with the feast of the Consolata, a devotion that has occupied a central place in Turin’s traditional Catholic piety for centuries. Along the route, participants stopped at sites linked to the city’s history, including places connected with Catholic institutions and cultural heritage.

Piero Gobetti, born in Turin in 1901, was known for his opposition to fascism and for his work as a writer, editor, and political thinker. Through publications such as Energie Nove and Rivoluzione Liberale, he developed a body of thought that linked Italy’s political and economic development to the growth of liberal institutions and civic participation.

Gobetti’s thought centers on the idea of a “liberal revolution” – a moral and cultural awakening through which Italians would become responsible, autonomous individuals, free from any imposed authority, whether political or religious, including influence from the pope.

He viewed Catholicism as a “conservative force” that hindered personal conscience and civic maturity. For Gobetti, freedom was not a gift of grace but the fruit of struggle, conflict, and self‑education; the human being must forge his own dignity through resistance and effort rather than submission to divine or institutional order.

This vision is incompatible with the teachings of the Catholic faith. Gobetti’s anthropology replaces the Christian notion of freedom as rooted in truth and grace with the secular ideal of autonomy detached from God. His emphasis on conflict as the engine of progress contradicts the Christian understanding of charity and communion. Moreover, his portrayal of the Catholic Church as an obstacle to “renewal” denies its role as the guardian of divine revelation and moral order.

The current archbishop of Turin who permitted this stop in the procession is Cardinal Roberto Repole. Pope Francis appointed him on February 19, 2022, and created him cardinal on December 7, 2024. Repole is associated with a circle of progressive Italian clergy shaped by Father Sergio Boarino, known for promoting an approach to faith centered on dialogue, social engagement, and aggiornamento (“updating”) following the Second Vatican Council.

In 2018, Repole edited a multi-volume series titled La Teologia di Papa Francesco (“Pope Francis’ Theology”). The inclusion of theologians such as Peter Hünermann and Marko Rupnik – figures associated with dissent or later scandal – sparked widespread criticism in the Church.