Osservatore Romano (01/06/1960)

See also: Inclusion in the Index of Prohibited Books, Abolition of the Index of Prohibited Books.

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Osservatore Romano of January 6, 1960

On January 6, 1960, the Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper, published an article commenting on the decree dated December 16, 1959, about the Inclusion in the Index of Prohibited Books of the life of Jesus by Maria Valtorta. The article is unsigned, as is customary, but it appears to have been largely inspired by the reports of Father Alberto Vaccari and Cardinal Augustin Bea, whose arguments it reprises, although with some moderation.

Italian text

From L’Osservatore Romano Wednesday, January 6, 1960 A ROMANTICIZED LIFE OF JESUS

Elsewhere in our newspaper, the Decree of the Holy Office is reported, by which a work in four volumes, by an anonymous author (at least in this edition), published in Isola del Liri, is placed on the Index.

Although exclusively dealing with religious subjects, these volumes have no "imprimatur," as required by Canon 1385, § 1 no. 2 C.I.C.

The publisher, in a brief preface, writes that the Author, "in the likeness of Dante, has given us a work in which, framed by splendid descriptions of times and places, countless characters present themselves who address us their sweet, strong, or admonishing words. It has resulted in a humble and imposing work: the literary homage of a suffering invalid to the Great Consoler Jesus."

Instead, to a careful reader, these volumes appear to be nothing more than a long, verbose romanticized life of Jesus.

Apart from the vanity in the comparison with Dante and despite illustrious personalities (whose unquestionable good faith has been surprised) having supported the publication, the Holy Office judged it necessary to place it on the Index of Prohibited Books.

The reasons become clear to anyone patient enough to read the nearly four thousand pages of dense print.

First of all, the reader is struck by the length of the speeches attributed to Jesus and the Most Holy Virgin; by the endless dialogues among the numerous characters that populate those pages.

The four Gospels present Jesus as humble and reserved; his speeches are brief, incisive, but of the utmost effectiveness. Instead, in this kind of romanticized history, Jesus is extremely talkative, almost like an advertiser, always ready to proclaim himself Messiah and Son of God and to deliver theological lessons in the same terms a modern-day professor would use.

In the Gospel accounts, we admire the humility and silence of Jesus’ Mother; instead, for the author (or authoress) of this work, the Most Holy Virgin has the eloquence of a modern propagandist, is everywhere present, always ready to deliver lessons in Marian theology updated to the very latest studies of current specialists in the field.

The narrative unfolds slowly, almost gossipy; we find new facts, new parables, new characters, and many, many women following Jesus.

Some pages are rather risqué and recall certain descriptions and scenes from modern novels, such as, to cite just a few examples, the confession made to Mary by a certain Aglae, a woman of ill repute (vol. I, p. 790 ff.), the not very edifying account on p. 887 ff. of vol. I, a ballet performed, certainly not modestly, before Pilate, in the Praetorium (vol. IV, p. 75), etc.

At this point, a particular reflection naturally arises: the work, due to its nature and in accordance with the intentions of the author and the publisher, could easily fall into the hands of nuns and the pupils of their schools. In such a case, reading such passages as those cited could hardly be done without spiritual risk or harm.

Biblical studies experts will certainly find many historical, geographical, and similar blunders. But since it is a... novel, these inventions evidently increase the picturesque and fantastic nature of the book.

But amid so much flaunted theological culture, some... pearls can be found that certainly do not shine with Catholic orthodoxy.

Here and there, regarding the sin of Adam and Eve, a rather strange and inaccurate opinion is expressed.

In vol. I, p. 63, one reads this heading: "Mary can be called the 'second-born' of the Father": a statement repeated in the text on the following page. The explanation limits its meaning, avoiding an authentic heresy; but it does not remove the well-founded impression that a new Mariology is being constructed, which easily exceeds the bounds of propriety.

In vol. II, p. 772, it is written: "Paradise is Light, fragrance, and harmony. But if in it the Father does not rejoice in contemplating the All-Beautiful who makes Earth a paradise, and if in the future Paradise should not have the Living Lily in whose bosom are the Three fiery pistils of the divine Trinity, light, fragrance, harmony, and the joy of Paradise would be diminished by half."

Here a cryptic and most confused concept is expressed, fortunately; because if taken literally, it would not escape severe censure.

Finally, I mention another strange and imprecise statement, in which it says of the Madonna: "You, during the time you remain on Earth, 'second' to Peter 'as ecclesiastical hierarchy'..." (italics ours. Ed.).

The work, therefore, would have deserved condemnation even if it were only a novel, if only for reasons of irreverence.

But in reality, the author's intention goes further.

Browsing through the volumes, here and there one "reads" the words "Jesus says...", "Mary says..."; or: "I see..." and the like. Indeed, towards the end of volume IV (p. 839) the author reveals herself... an authoress and writes of being a witness of all the messianic time and calls herself Mary.

These words recall that, about ten years ago, there were circulating some voluminous typescripts that contained alleged visions and revelations. It is established that then the competent Ecclesiastical Authority had forbidden the printing of these typescripts and ordered them withdrawn from circulation.

Now we see them reproduced almost entirely in the present Work.

Therefore this public condemnation by the Supreme Sacred Congregation is all the more appropriate due to the grave disobedience.

French translation

(Unofficial translation)

Osservatore Romano, Wednesday, January 6, 1960 A LIFE OF Jesus POORLY ROMANTICIZED

"In another part of our newspaper, the Decree of the Holy Office placing on the Index a work in four volumes, by an anonymous author (at least in this edition) published at Isola del Liri, is reproduced. Although dealing exclusively with religious subjects, these volumes lack the slightest 'imprimatur' as required by Canon 1385, 1 no. 2 C.I.C. The publishers in a short preface write that the author, 'in the likeness of Dante has given us a work in which, amid splendid descriptions of times and places, countless characters address us their words, whether sweet, strong, or admonishing. It results in a humble and imposing work: the literary homage of a suffering sick person to the Great Consoler Jesus.' In reality, a careful reader sees nothing other than a long and verbose romanticized life of Jesus in these volumes. Apart from the presumptuous comparison with Dante and despite illustrious personalities (whose undisputed good faith was surprised) having supported the publication, the Holy Office deemed it necessary to place it on the Index of Prohibited Books. The reasons are clear for anyone with the patience of a Carthusian to read these almost four thousand pages.

First of all, the reader is struck by the length of the speeches attributed to Jesus and to the Most Holy Virgin; and the endless dialogues among the many characters who populate these pages. The four Gospels present Jesus as humble and reserved; his speeches are brief and incisive, but always highly effective. Instead, in this kind of romanticized history, Jesus is extremely loquacious, like an advertiser, always ready to proclaim himself Messiah and Son of God and to give theological lectures in the very terms a professor of our time would use. In the Gospel account, we admire the humility and silence of Jesus’ Mother; instead for the author (or authoress) of this work the Most Holy Virgin has the eloquence of a modern propagandist, is present everywhere, always ready to give lessons in Marian theology updated to the very latest studies of current specialists in the field.

The narrative unfolds at a slow, almost gossipy pace; we find new facts, new parables, new characters, and an entire retinue of women following Jesus. Some pages are rather risqué and, by certain descriptions and scenes, recall modern novels, such as, to mention only a few examples, the confession made to Mary by a certain Aglae, a woman of loose morals (vol. I, p. 790 ff.), the unedifying account on pp. 887 ff. of vol. I, a dance performed, certainly not modestly, before Pilate, in the Praetorium (vol. IV, p. 75), etc.

This naturally raises the particular observation: the work, by its nature and in accordance with the author’s and editors' intentions, could easily fall into the hands of nuns and female students in their colleges. In this case, reading passages of this kind... could hardly be undertaken without spiritual danger or harm. Biblical scholars will surely find many historical, geographical, and other errors. If it is only a... novel, these inventions obviously increase the picturesque and fantastic character of the book. Amid such a great display of theological knowledge, one can pick some … pearls that certainly do not shine by Catholic orthodoxy. Here and there, concerning the sin of Adam and Eve, a rather extravagant and inaccurate opinion is expressed. In volume 1, page 63, under the title: "Mary may be called the 'second-born' of the Father," a statement repeated at the head of the next page. The clarifications, while avoiding genuine heresy, do not remove the founded impression that a new Mariology is being constructed that easily passes the limits of theological propriety. In volume II, p. 772, it reads: "Paradise is light, fragrance, and harmony. But if the Father did not delight in contemplating the All-Beautiful who makes Earth a paradise, and if in the future Paradise should not have the living Lily in whose bosom are the three fiery pistils of the divine Trinity, the light, fragrance, harmony, and joy of Paradise would be diminished by half".

This presents a hermetic and more confused than ever notion, which is fortunate, because if it were taken literally, it would not escape severe censure. Finally, note another strange and imprecise statement, in which it says of the Madonna: "You, during the time that you remain on Earth, will be 'second' to Peter 'as ecclesiastical hierarchy'." (Italics ours. Ed.).

The work would thus have deserved condemnation even if it were only a novel, if only for reasons of irreverence. But in reality, the author's intention goes even further. Reading through the volumes, here and there one reads the words "Jesus says…," "Mary says…"; or even: "I see..." and others similar. And towards the end of volume IV (p. 839) the author reveals herself a woman who declares to have witnessed all the messianic time and to be called Mary (Valtorta).

These words evoke memories of about ten years ago, when some voluminous typescripts were circulating, containing alleged visions and revelations. It is known that the competent ecclesiastical authority then had forbidden the printing of these typescripts and had ordered them withdrawn from circulation. And now we see them reproduced almost in full in the present work.

This public condemnation of the work by the Supreme Sacred Congregation is therefore all the more appropriate because it involves grave disobedience.

In-depth research on God, faith, religious Doctrine.

In a Christian sense, study concerning God and divine things in the light of Revelation.

The branch of Christian theology that studies what concerns Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, her place in the mystery of the salvation of the world, always in connection with the mystery of Christ.

The branch of Christian theology that studies what concerns Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, her place in the mystery of the salvation of the world, always in connection with the mystery of Christ.

In a Christian sense, study concerning God and divine things in the light of Revelation.