What was the Roman question after the fall of the Papal States?

Following the fall of the Papal States and the occupation of Rome by Italian troops in 1870, the "Roman question" emerged as a protracted dispute between the church and the Italian state.12

The conflict centered on the papacy's refusal to recognize the loss of its temporal power and the legitimacy of the new Kingdom of Italy. Pope Pius IX and his successors viewed the seizure of their territories as an injustice, choosing to remain as self-described "prisoners in the Vatican" rather than acknowledge the Italian government's authority. While the Italian parliament passed laws attempting to define the pope's sovereignty and diplomatic status, the papacy maintained a hostile stance toward the state for decades.32

This impasse persisted until 1929, when the Lateran Treaty was signed. This agreement formally resolved the dispute by creating the independent state of Vatican City, thereby reconciling the papacy's need for sovereignty with the reality of a unified Italy.123