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How did Camillo Benso, count di Cavour propose to separate the Catholic Church from the Italian state?
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Camillo Benso, count di Cavour, proposed to separate the Catholic Church from the Italian state through his advocacy of the formula, "a free church in a free state".1
Cavour believed that the liberty of the church should serve as the foundation for global renewal. To achieve this, he argued that the papacy must renounce its temporal power and surrender Rome to the Italian nation, allowing the church to become an entirely spiritual institution. Cavour viewed this separation as essential for the development of a unified Italy with Rome as its capital, though his proposals were rejected by Pope Pius IX.1