ROME, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Benito Mussolini, apparently angered over Adolf Hitler's annexation of Austria, asked the Pope to excommunicate Hitler, suggests an Italian professor.
The Italian dictator made the request to Pope Pius XI shortly before sealing an alliance with Hitler in 1938, the BBC reported.
Details of Mussolini's request were found in the Vatican's recently opened secret archive which is the basis of a book by Italian historian Emma Fattorini on the last days of Pius XI's papacy.
Fattorini suggests the demand reflected the Il Duce's anger over the Austrian annexation in March 1938. But she also notes Mussolini's actions may have been an attempt to set up the Roman Catholic Church, so that if it did not act, he could accuse it of failing to heed his warnings.
