50 Years Ago: Dietrich von Hildebrand Confronts Pope Paul VI

Rorate Caeli ^ | 6/20/15 | Peter Kwasniewski

[markomalley]

The following excerpts are taken from a fascinating 2001 interview with Dr. Alice von Hildebrand (the full text is available here) that is required reading for every Catholic who wants to understand what has happened in the Church since the mid-20th century. I found myself thinking once again about this interview because Alice mentions a private meeting that her husband had with Pope Paul VI on June 21, 1965, 50 years ago this Sunday (right before the very last, October-December session of the Second Vatican Council), which was followed up with a manuscript that really ought to be published someday. Read on…

* * *

TLM: Dr. von Hildebrand, at the time that Pope John XXIII summoned the Second Vatican Council, did you perceive a need for a reform within the Church?

AVH: Most of the insights about this come from my husband. He always said that the members of the Church, due to the effects of original sin and actual sin, are always in need of reform. The Church’s teaching, however, is from God. Not one iota is to be changed or considered in need of reform.

TLM: In terms of the present crisis, when did you first perceive something was terribly wrong?

AVH: It was in February 1965. I was taking a sabbatical year in Florence. My husband was reading a theological journal, and suddenly I heard him burst into tears. I ran to him, fearful that his heart condition had suddenly caused him pain. I asked him if he was all right. He told me that the article that he had been reading had provided him with the certain insight that the devil had entered the Church. Remember, my husband was the first prominent German to speak out publicly against Hitler and the Nazis. His insights were always prescient.

[…]

TLM: Did your husband think that the decline in a sense of the supernatural began around that time, and if so, how did he explain it?

AVH: No, he believed that after Pius X’s condemnation of the heresy of Modernism, its proponents merely went underground. He would say that they then took a much more subtle and practical approach. They spread doubt simply by raising questions about the great supernatural interventions throughout salvation history, such as the Virgin Birth and Our Lady’s perpetual virginity, as well as the Resurrection, and the Holy Eucharist. They knew that once faith – the foundation – totters, the liturgy and the moral teachings of the Church would follow suit. My husband entitled one of his books The Devastated Vineyard. After Vatican II, a tornado seemed to have hit the Church. … The aversion to sacrifice and redemption has assisted the secularization of the Church from within. We have been hearing for many years from priests and bishops about the need for the Church to adapt herself to the world. Great popes like St. Pius X said just the opposite: the world must adapt itself to the Church. …

There have been two books published in Italy in recent years that confirm what my husband had been suspecting for some time; namely, that there has been a systematic infiltration of the Church by diabolical enemies for much of this century. My husband was a very sanguine man and optimistic by nature. During the last ten years of his life, however, I witnessed him many times in moments of great sorrow, and frequently repeating, “They have desecrated the Holy Bride of Christ.” He was referring to the “abomination of desolation” of which the prophet Daniel speaks.

TLM: This is a critical admission, Dr. von Hildebrand. Your husband had been called a twentieth-century Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII. If he felt so strongly, didn’t he have access to the Vatican to tell Pope Paul VI of his fears?

AVH: But he did! I shall never forget the private audience we had with Paul VI just before the end of the Council. It was on June 21, 1965. As soon as my husband started pleading with him to condemn the heresies that were rampant, the Pope interrupted him with the words, “Lo scriva, lo scriva.” (“Write it down.”) A few moments later, for the second time, my husband drew the gravity of the situation to the Pope’s attention. Same answer. His Holiness received us standing. It was clear that the Pope was feeling very uncomfortable. The audience lasted only a few minutes. Paul VI immediately gave a sign to his secretary, Fr. Capovilla, to bring us rosaries and medals. We then went back to Florence where my husband wrote a long document (unpublished today) that was delivered to Paul VI just the day before the last session of the Council. It was September of 1965. After reading my husband’s document, he [the Pope] said to my husband’s nephew, Dieter Sattler, who had become the German ambassador to the Holy See, that he had read the document carefully, but that “it was a bit harsh.” The reason was obvious: my husband had humbly requested a clear condemnation of heretical statements.

TLM: You realize, of course, Doctor, that as soon as you mention this idea of infiltration, there will be those who roll their eyes in exasperation and remark, “Not another conspiracy theory!”

AVH: I can only tell you what I know. It is a matter of public record, for instance, that Bella Dodd, the ex-Communist who reconverted to the Church, openly spoke of the Communist Party’s deliberate infiltration of agents into the seminaries. She told my husband and me that when she was an active party member, she had dealt with no fewer than four cardinals within the Vatican “who were working for us.”

Many a time I have heard Americans say that Europeans “smell conspiracy wherever they go.” But from the beginning, the Evil One has “conspired” against the Church – and has always aimed in particular at destroying the Mass and sapping belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. That some people are tempted to blow this undeniable fact out of proportion is no reason for denying its reality. On the other hand, I, European born, am tempted to say that many Americans are naïve; living in a country that has been blessed by peace, and knowing little about history, they are more likely than Europeans (whose history is a tumultuous one) to fall prey to illusions. Rousseau has had an enormous influence in the United States. When Christ said to His apostles at the Last Supper that “one of you will betray Me,” the apostles were stunned. Judas had played his hand so artfully that no one suspected him, for a cunning conspirator knows how to cover his tracks with a show of orthodoxy.

TLM: Do the two books by the Italian priest you mentioned before the interview contain documentation that would provide evidence of this infiltration?

AVH: The two books I mentioned were published in 1998 and 2000 by an Italian priest, Don Luigi Villa of the diocese of Brescia, who at the request of Padre Pio has devoted many years of his life to the investigation of the possible infiltration of both Freemasons and Communists into the Church. My husband and I met Don Villa in the sixties. He claims that he does not make any statement that he cannot substantiate. When Paulo Sesto Beato? (1998) was published, the book was sent to every single Italian bishop. None of them acknowledged receipt; none challenged any of Don Villa’s claims.

In this book, he relates something that no ecclesiastical authority has refuted or asked to be retracted – even though he names particular personalities in regard to the incident. It pertains to the rift between Pope Pius XII and the then Bishop Montini (the future Paul VI) who was his Undersecretary of State. Pius XII, conscious of the threat of Communism, which in the aftermath of World War II was dominating nearly half of Europe, had prohibited the Vatican staff from dealing with Moscow. To his dismay, he was informed one day through the Bishop of Upsala (Sweden) that his strict order had been contravened. The Pope resisted giving credence to this rumor until he was given incontrovertible evidence that Montini had been corresponding with various Soviet agencies. Meanwhile, Pope Pius XII (as had Pius XI) had been sending priests clandestinely into Russia to give comfort to Catholics behind the Iron Curtain. Every one of them had been systematically arrested, tortured, and either executed or sent to the gulag. Eventually a Vatican mole was discovered: Alighiero Tondi, S.J., who was a close advisor to Montini. Tondi was an agent working for Stalin whose mission was to keep Moscow informed about initiatives such as the sending of priests into the Soviet Union.

Add to this Pope Paul’s treatment of Cardinal Mindszenty. Against his will, Mindszenty was ordered by the Vatican to leave Budapest. As most everyone knows, he had escaped the Communists and sought refuge in the American embassy compound. The Pope had given him his solemn promise that he would remain primate of Hungary as long as he lived. When the Cardinal (who had been tortured by the Communists) arrived in Rome, Paul VI embraced him warmly, but then sent him into exile in Vienna. Shortly afterwards, this holy prelate was informed that he had been demoted, and had been replaced by someone more acceptable to the Hungarian Communist government. More puzzling, and tragically sad, is the fact that when Mindszenty died, no Church representative was present at his burial.

Another of Don Villa’s illustrations of infiltration is one related to him by Cardinal Gagnon. Paul VI had asked Gagnon to head an investigation concerning the infiltration of the Church by powerful enemies. Cardinal Gagnon (at that time an Archbishop) accepted this unpleasant task, and compiled a long dossier, rich in worrisome facts. When the work was completed, he requested an audience with Pope Paul in order to deliver personally the manuscript to the Pontiff. This request for a meeting was denied. The Pope sent word that the document should be placed in the offices of the Congregation for the Clergy, specifically in a safe with a double lock. This was done, but the very next day the safe deposit box was broken and the manuscript mysteriously disappeared. The usual policy of the Vatican is to make sure that news of such incidents never sees the light of day. Nevertheless, this theft was reported even in L’Osservatore Romano (perhaps under pressure because it had been reported in the secular press). Cardinal Gagnon, of course, had a copy, and once again asked the Pope for a private audience. Once again his request was denied. He then decided to leave Rome and return to his homeland in Canada. Later, he was called back to Rome by Pope John Paul II and made a cardinal.

TLM: Why did Don Villa write these works singling out Paul VI for criticism?

AVH: Don Villa reluctantly decided to publish the books to which I have alluded. But when several bishops pushed for the beatification of Paul VI, this priest perceived it as a clarion call to print the information he had gathered through the years. In so doing, he was following the guidelines of a Roman Congregation, informing the faithful that it was their duty as members of the Church to relay to the Congregation any information that might militate against the candidate’s qualifications for beatification.

Considering the tumultuous pontificate of Paul VI, and the confusing signals he was giving, e.g.: speaking about the “smoke of Satan that had entered the Church,” yet refusing to condemn heresies officially; his promulgation of Humanae Vitae (the glory of his pontificate), yet his careful avoidance of proclaiming it ex cathedra; delivering his Credo of the People of God in Piazza San Pietro in 1968, and once again failing to declare it binding on all Catholics; disobeying the strict orders of Pius XII to have no contact with Moscow, and appeasing the Hungarian Communist government by reneging on the solemn promise he had made to Cardinal Mindszenty; his treatment of holy Cardinal Slipyj, who had spent seventeen years in a Gulag, only to be made a virtual prisoner in the Vatican by Paul VI; and finally asking Archbishop Gagnon to investigate possible infiltration in the Vatican, only to refuse him an audience when his work was completed – all these speak strongly against the beatification of Paolo VI, dubbed in Rome, “Paolo Sesto, Mesto” (Paul VI, the sad one). …

God alone is the judge of Paul VI. But it cannot be denied that his pontificate was a very complex and tragic one. It was under him that, in the course of fifteen years, more changes were introduced in the Church than in all preceding centuries combined. What is worrisome is that when we read the testimony of ex-Communists like Bella Dodd, and study Freemasonic documents (dating from the nineteenth century, and usually penned by fallen-away priests like Paul Roca), we can see that, to a large extent, their agenda has been carried out: the exodus of priests and nuns after Vatican II, dissenting theologians not censured, feminism, the pressure put on Rome to abolish priestly celibacy, immorality in the clergy, blasphemous liturgies (see the article by David Hart in First Things, April 2001, “The Future of the Papacy”), the radical changes that have been introduced into the sacred liturgy (see Cardinal Ratzinger’s book Milestones, pp. 126 and 148), and a misleading ecumenism. Only a blind person could deny that many of the Enemy’s plans have been perfectly carried out.

[Rashputin]

IMHo, every Catholic should read, "Trojan Horse in The City of God", by Hildebrand.

[RitaOK]

Mark, thank you for posting this.

Ping to thread.

[wtd]

Another angle for your consideration is presented in part IX of

• Stephen Coughlin: Part 9 of the Red Pill Briefing — The Collapse of Faith

  The following video is the ninth part of the “Red Pill” briefing given by Maj. Stephen Coughlin to the Wiener Akademikerbund on May 23 under the auspices of Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa, following his participation with the team at the OSCE conference in Vienna. Previously:

• Parts I and II
• Part III,
• Part IV,
• Part V,
• Part VI,
• Part VII,
• Part VIII.

• Stephen Coughlin Red Pill Brief video No. X (Final) via VladTepes

  In this latest clip [part IX], Maj. Coughlin continues his examination of the doctrinal incompatibility of Christianity and Islam, based on the core scriptures of each religion. Rationally speaking, no one could believe in both religions simultaneously. A Christian can only find Islam compatible with Christianity if his own faith has in fact collapsed. “Interfaith” that includes Islam can only be made possible if all other religions except for Islam have been hollowed out and rendered meaningless.

• video clip of Steven Coughlin's Red Pill Brief part IX

  Maj. Stephen Coughlin is a retired U.S. Army officer and the author of Catastrophic Failure: Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad, which incorporates material from the “Red Pill” brief, as well as much additional material on the Muslim Brotherhood’s penetration of Western governments, transnational bodies, NGOs, and the “interfaith” industry.

  NOTE:

  "Mr. Coughlin ends part IX with a mention of a difficult to obtain book titled, “School of Darkness” by Dr. Bella Dodd. Google reveals a nearly two hour video (audio) clip of Dr. Bella Dodd discussing this here:

• Communist Leader, Dr. Bella Dodd, Confesses to Infiltrating the Church and USA uploaded April 2013.

  Many thanks to blogs Gates of Vienna and Vlad Tepes for all their efforts which span across Western civilization to preserve Western Civilizational values.

[ebb tide]

When Paulo Sesto Beato? (1998) was published, the book was sent to every single Italian bishop. None of them acknowledged receipt; none challenged any of Don Villa’s claims.

Here is the book:

Paul VI Beatified?

And what did Francis do?

At closing Mass for the Synod Pope Francis beatifies Paul VI

[sneakers]

Thanks for posting this. I have been praying for discernment, and it has led me in this direction. I grieve for our church but remember that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”.

[piusv]

All of the post-Vatican II popes will be canonized (with probably the exception of JPI). This way Vatican II is canonized by NewChurch.

[GreyFriar]

FYI

[Dqban22]

As Alice Von Hildebrand stated: “It is a matter of public record, for instance, that Bella Dodd, the ex-Communist who reconverted to the Church, openly spoke of the Communist Party’s deliberate infiltration of agents into the seminaries. She told my husband and me that when she was an active party member, she had dealt with no fewer than four cardinals within the Vatican “who were working for us.”

We witnessed how those seeds flourished in the 1960 and 70’s among many of the religious orders and diocesan clergy, inciting armed revolution all around Latin America with the support of the Cuban Stalinist regime under the false pretense of liberating the oppressed and exploited masses.

Francis is the first and only Pope that has been against the Magisterium of the Church on the constant condemnation of communism and opened the doors of the Vatican to the theologians who corrupted the Gospels with the doctrine of Marx. Most importantly, the Pope has backed his words with actions. During his visit to Brazil in 2013, the Pope held meetings with Liberation Theologians on preparing a new doctrine for the church.

The Marxist liberation theology was the spearhead of the Communist infiltration of the Church and when it was unmasked by John Paul II and Benedict XVI they entered in hibernation until Pope Francis was elected and they resurged with strong impetus reaching the zenith of the Marxist infiltration under his papacy.

Pope Francis is more radical and dangerous than Obama. As soon as he took power he rescued from the trash bin of History the Marxist liberation theology after was proscribed by John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Now Francis is embracing another of the Communists front movements, the hoax of the global warming. Francis called the most radical of the Marxist liberation leaders, Leonardo Boff, who was silenced by H.H. Pope John Paul II, as one of his adviser for his encyclical that tries to give moral support to the global warming fraud, but instead Francis destroys his credibility and demeans the respect for the Catholic Church.

“Socialist societies are very ethical, clean, physically and morally. If it weren’t for his materialist doctrine it could be argued that they carried out the ethical teaching of the social doctrine of the Church.” Leonardo Boff on his return from a trip to Moscow, cfr.ABC, 16-VII-87, p.45

Father Gustavo Gutierrez, father of the liberation theology embraced by Francis, explained: “What we mean here regarding liberation theology is the involvement of the revolutionary political process”. (10) Gutiérrez also explains the sense of this involvement: “Only by going beyond a society divided into classes. (…) Only eliminating private property of the wealth created by human work, will we be able to lay down the bases for a more just society. It is for this that the efforts to project a new society in Latin America are tending more and more towards socialism”.

“The national planning of the Society of Jesus in the United States should, following the example of China, become an international planning. Towards the convergence of problems in all areas of the world around a single theme: the construction in different times and forms of a world Communist society.” Strategic document of a group of Dutch Jesuits - in collaboration with other Jesuit revolutionaries—published for internal debate in the official journal of the society of Jesus in the United States, National Jesuit News, April 1972.

Francis rescued Marxist liberation theology from the trash bin of history, now he wants to exhume Mao’s Cultural Revolution.

In Pope Francis’ call for a “bold cultural revolution” to confront climate change, he is using classic Marxist terms (Mao’s Cultural Revolution and Marxist liberation theology) to promote a political agenda aimed toward the advance of “collectivism, redistribution of wealth, and global government.”

[ebb tide]

What follows is an excerpt from the preface in the book, “Paul VI Beatified?”

It perfectly describes Pope Francis, also.

“Paul VI was always an enigma to all, as Pope John XXIII him- self observed. But today, after his death, I believe that can no longer be said, in light of the fact that in his numerous writings, speeches and actions, the figure of Paul VI is clear of any ambiguity. Even if proving this point is not so easy or simple, since he was a very com- plex character, both when speaking of his “preferences”, by way of suggestions and insinuations, and also for his jumping abruptly from one idea to another, and when he opted for Tradition, but then im- mediately preferred “novelty”; the whole thing in a language that was often very inaccurate.”