Covid-19 and Religious Freedom in Italy

The Spirit of Resilience of the State and the Church in the Face of the Challenge of the Pandemic

Abstract

The contribution analyses the measures that affected the exercise of religious freedom in Italy in times of pandemic throughout the 2020. These measures raised several legal issues. On the one hand, from the point of view of compliance with the principles of necessity, proportionality, reasonableness and temporariness, whose observance aims to ensure that the compression of rights, including that of religious freedom, takes place in accordance with the Constitution. On the other hand, with specific reference to possible violations of the principle of bilateralism. At the same time, the paper sought to investigate the way in which the ecclesiastical authority has dealt with the measures that have been adopted to contain the spread of the contagion, highlighting how Italian Church has tried to turn the terrible lesson of the pandemic into a propitious time with spirit of collaboration and sense of responsibility.