The Failed Project of a Catholic Neorealism. On Giulio Andreotti, Félix Morlion and Roberto Rossellini

This chapter examines the relationship between Giulio Andreotti and Father Félix Morlion, their involvement with the neorealist Roberto Rossellini and their ultimate failure to develop a ‘Catholic neorealism.’ Andreotti was undersecretary to the presidency of the Council of Ministers responsible for government intervention in film industry between 1947 and 1953, whose policy was closely linked to the Vatican’s interests. Father Morlion was a Belgian Dominican whose anti-Communist activity encouraged an ideological use of cinema. Andreotti assigned Morlion a key role in his policy aimed at moralizing neorealism, going as far as defending the Dominican’s action despite the disappointment of the pope himself. 1 Rossellini became involved with their aspirations for a Catholic neorealism, in spite of being considered scandalous by the Catholic Church due to his public love affairs, when they offered him a way to succeed in a changed political environment. Upon the recommendation of Morlion, and with the help of Andreotti’s institutional support, Rossellini directed two films on the occasion of the Holy Year in 1950. These two films-Stromboli, terra di Dio (Stromboli) and Francesco giullare di Dio (The Flowers of St. Francis)-were intended to establish a Catholic neorealism in its own right. Such a Catholic neorealism would meet with the approval of the Catholic Church and the Christian Democratic Party and offer an alternative to the neorealism Rossellini had helped develop. Furthermore, the Catholic critic Gian Luigi Rondi actively collaborated with the project by supporting the films with his reviews.