Matteotti and the Socialists were not as vocal as they had been in the past after the unconstitutionality case, because they had secretly approached Donadoni, who had resigned and returned home, and the latter was angry enough to tell them that the deal had been discovered, and that the Coalition had clear evidence in its hands, and that he suspected that there had been a leak within the Socialist Party. After all, the evidence of the Constitutional Court's trial is only a general intervention and administrative pressure, and if this evidence is poked out, it is difficult to guarantee that Mussolini will not use this as an article to launch a purge of the Socialist Party.

The Socialist Party's failure to boycott meant that the gap between Mussolini and the Holy See had begun to be bridged, but because of Mussolini's radical anti-papal attitude in his youth, he was suspicious of taking this step first, and Contini had to act as a pawn to meet the Pope.

The conflict between the Pope and the Italian government was not directed against Mussolini, but was actually a legacy of history since ancient times: in the 8th century, Pepin the Short, the leader of the Franks who ruled Italy at the time, handed over the former Byzantine governorate of Ravenna to the Pope in exchange for the Pope's support for the Frankish Empire, a measure that constituted the original source of the Papal States' territory.

These territories have changed in the following millennia of history with the continuous changes in the power of religion, secularity, aristocracy, and empire, and the peak of the territory was the Middle Ages, and with the awakening of national consciousness in modern times and the establishment of independent nation-states, the territory of the Papal States began to shrink one after another. However, no matter whether it is enlarged or reduced, all papal states are not political entities in the full sense of the word, they are only a number of territories led by the pope, including a series of fiefdoms, fiefdoms, city-states, free cities, etc., in other words, they do not have the national characteristics of a modern state.

With the rise of the Italian nationalist movement, especially the gradual unification of the Savoy dynasty, the contradictions between the Papal States and the secular power in Italy intensified, and the so-called Garibaldi Revolution was in fact largely the fate of the Papal States. By 1870, as the territory of the Papal States had been largely incorporated into the Kingdom of Savoy (Italy was unified in 1871), the Papal States existed in name only, with only the Vatican, Lateran and Fort Gondalf remaining under its jurisdiction, but Pius IX, who was then the Pope, refused to accept the agreement of the Italian government's papal guarantee law, that is, not to recognize the status quo of the loss of the territory of the Papal States, which limited the secular power of the Catholic Church in Rome, collectively known as the "Roman question".

(PS: The question of the Papal States can be written a monograph, the entanglement between political power and theocracy, religion and secularity constitutes a long picture of the entire European Middle Ages, not students who study this period are easy to be confused, because there are many seemingly conclusive evidence, documents are actually forged by later generations, it is not easy to distinguish clearly, even the classic "Cambridge Medieval History" There are many opinions and arguments that are wrong, the original version is so, and the mainland translated version has more shortcomings, At least I haven't seen a single amateur history buff who can fully understand the situation during this period, and if you are confident in your ability to study history, I suggest you try to challenge it, and solemnly remind you: learn a little Latin first, then a little French and Greek, and it may be easier to pass. ）

This problem has become a problem that every new pope has to face when succeeding to the throne, and it has not been resolved for half a century. Pius XI succeeded to the throne as pope in 1922, and unlike previous popes, he was not only a native of Milan, but also served in the Church for many years, and saw first-hand the development of the unification of Italy and the popular aspirations, believing that it was impossible to restore the former authority and secular power of the Papal States, and hoped to normalize relations with the Italian government.

Mussolini also hoped that Fascist would unite the forces of the Italian Catholic Party, and at the same time normalize relations between the Italian government and the Holy See to increase his prestige, so he also had the urge to take steps towards reform. A newly succeeded pope and a new prime minister both want to extract personal capital from this "normalization of relations" agreement, and Contini happens to act as a bridge in it.

This bridge is not so easy to act as a bridge, first of all, this person must have prestige and energy, but not too much political baggage - in the past, Italian politicians did not have no desire to break through, but they were afraid of their own political future and did not dare to go beyond the thunder pool, after the Coalition Bloc's successful performance and the unconstitutionality of the Socialist Party, Contini already had national prestige, but he was not yet a political figure, not to mention damaging public opinion and prestige - poor Socialists and Matteotti were Contini's stepping stones;

Secondly, this person must have a good relationship with the Pope and the Italian government, the Ziano family is an old aristocracy, a family in the circle of the Papal States, and now a cabinet minister in the Italian government, a hardcore confidant of Mussolini, and both sides can recognize this relationship;

Last but not least, a suitable opportunity was needed, and this opportunity happened to be provided by Contini, whose essay "Rupture and Inheritance" not only intellectually clarified the inseparable relationship between the Italian nation, history and the Pope, but also politically pointed out the new historical period, and that it is incorrect to continue this rigid logic between the Pope and the Italian government, and the last sentence of his essay is quite the finishing touch: "The Pope and the Italian government are so close geographically (both in Rome) To be so emotionally far away is not in line with the needs of historical inheritance, nor with the needs of the religious feelings of the 40 million people of Italy, it is time for a radical change and solution! ”

This sentence also happens to be acceptable to both parties.

On July 15, Contini visited the Vatican as the government's temporary diplomatic representative – in fact, the Vatican is just northwest of Rome, and the trip from the newspaper El Youth to the Vatican is closer than to the Roman base on the outskirts, but the meaning is not the same.

Upon arrival at the Vatican, Contini was greeted by the Pontifical Secretary of State, Peter Gaspari, who welcomed him with an official meeting between sovereign states and introduced him to other cardinals with whom he was acquainted, followed by the official meeting of Pope Pius XI.

Contini was very worried about the cause of this ceremony, because according to classical doctrine, it is considered a great honor for believers to kiss the dirt on the pope's shoes when they meet the pope, but Contini knows that this is absolutely impossible, of course he believes in Catholicism, but it is impossible for him to do this in his heart, even if he accepts it, he cannot act, because he is now an envoy on behalf of the Italian government, even if this title is temporary, he cannot grovel to the pope, Otherwise, what is the face of the Italian government?

However, Pius XI did not embarrass Contini so much, and laughed at the first sight: "Calais, I haven't seen you for a long time, the last time I saw you, it was the day you were baptized after birth, when you cried and made noise, and your voice was very loud, but at the moment of baptism you fell silent and showed a holy smile, I knew that you would achieve great things in the future......"

Contini bowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness to me, I didn't know there was such a thing...... Prime Minister Mussolini has entrusted me to convey his tribute to you! ”

Seeing him bow and say "Your Majesty", the other popes were greatly relieved, if this young man shook hands directly or performed other etiquette, this would be too much face, and bowing was finally a way to show respect, which meant that the talks between the two sides would have a good start......