The afterword to the work was written by the Vaticanist Aldo Maria Valli who explains, with frankness and simplicity, how he discovered Tradition: “The post-Conciliar context in which I grew up – in my case, that of the Ambrosian Rite, never confronted me with extreme forms of modernism.”
“I have known good priests and good religious, respectful of the liturgy, careful not to miss the sacrament of penance, full of reverence for Marian worship, attentive to Eucharistic adoration. I began to experience degeneracy and abuse personally in the 1990s, when I moved to Rome for my job.”
It was in Rome that he met the Society of Saint Pius X: “In 2000, on the occasion of the Jubilee, I met for the first time the disciples of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and I was impressed positively. I also began to study the figure of the founder of the Society of Saint Pius X and, little by little, I realized that he had immediately manifested, with regard to the Council, the perplexities, criticisms and doubts that I experienced myself.”
About Vatican II, Aldo Maria Valli writes: “The problem is precisely the Council, and it is not true that Vatican II was a good thing, but that it was misinterpreted and instrumentalized. It is not true, as Pope Ratzinger maintained, that there was a ‘Council of the Fathers’ and a ‘Council of the Media,’ and that the deviations arose from the latter.”
“Of course, the Council has been and is largely exploited by neo-modernism, but the evil is in the Council itself, that is to say in its illusion of giving birth to a Church which can please the world. Illusion and deviation, because the Church must not please the world. The Church must not dialogue with the world. The Church must convert the world. Jesus did not say ‘Go into all the world and dialogue.’ He said, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.’”
On the situation caused by the current pontificate, the Italian Vaticanist states bluntly: “Francis’s pontificate has provoked a situation of deep anguish in the Church,” and “we can’t wait for this disaster to end.” He denounces the effects of the Peronist authoritarianism of the Argentine Pope: “In the Sacred Palaces, people live in a climate of confusion, uncertainty, and fear, with a government exposed to the whims of the South American caudillo.”
“In this situation, most play dead, so as not to be noticed by the chief, while the courtiers weave their web, but at their own risk, because the tyrant can take you from the stars to the stables in the blink of an eye. In turn, the bishops are fatigued. We talk a lot about synodality, but the reality is that of a capricious centralism. The consequence is that even bishops try to be invisible.”
Aldo Maria Valli explains: “The cardinals do not know each other, because Pope Bergoglio has carefully avoided offering them opportunities for real meetings. Due to his demagogic appointments, the quality of the College of Cardinals has never been lower. When the late Cardinal George Pell, in his Memorandum signed as ‘Demos,” wrote that ‘this pontificate is a disaster, in many ways a catastrophe,’ he knew what he was saying.”
And to complete the picture: “Most of the faithful are still unaware [of the disaster] and let themselves be guided by a progressive propaganda and by priests whose formation cannot no longer be called Catholic. However, even for progressives, it has become difficult to exalt this pope and this pontificate.”
“Francis is just repeating the same mediocre concepts. Not only does he not confirm his brothers in the faith, but he does not even offer real lines of thought. With him, the pontificate itself, as an institution, has suffered a terrible blow.”
And the Italian Vaticanist concludes: “Finally, there is a minority of the faithful (but it is a minority that is constantly growing) who have opened or who are opening their eyes, but who often find themselves in disarray, because there has been an almost total lack of reference points among the pastors.”
Don Daniele Di Sorco, Parole chiare sulla Chiesa. Perché c’è una crisi, dove nasce e come uscirne. Edition Radio Spada, 192 pages, €19.50 (plus shipping)
Don Daniele Di Sorco, priest of the Society of Saint Pius X in Italy, has published a book entitled Parole chiare sulla Chiesa. Perché c’è una crisi, dove nasce e come uscirne [Clear words on the Church: Why there is a crisis, where is it born, and how to get out of it], published by Radio Spada.
