Non Expedit

Non Expedit (Latin for "It is not expedient") were the words with which the Holy See enjoined upon Italian Catholics the policy of abstention from the polls in parliamentary elections.

History

The phrase, "it is not expedient," has long been used by the Roman curia to indicate a negative reply for reasons of opportuneness.

The papal policy was adopted after the promulgation of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Italy (1861), and the introduction of laws relating to the Catholic Church and, especially, to the religious orders (1865–66). The Holy Penitentiary made a decree on 29 February 1868, in which it sanctioned the motto; "Non expedit - Neither elector nor elected". Until then there had been in the young Italian Parliament a few eminent representatives of Catholic interests, e.g. Vito d'Ondes Reggio, Augusto Conti, Cesare Cantù.

Pius IX declared in an audience of 11 October 1874 that the principal motive of this decree was that the oath taken by deputies might be interpreted as an approval of the 'spoliation of the Holy See'. Also, in view of the electoral law of that day, by which the electorate was reduced to 650,000, it would have been hopeless to attempt to prevent the passage of laws the Vatican did not approve of.