Alfredo Ottaviani

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cardinal name=Alfredo Ottaviani
dipstyle=His Eminence
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Alfredo Ottaviani, PhD, STD, JCD (October 29, 1890—August 3, 1979) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII named him cardinal in 1953. He served as Secretary of the Holy Office in the Roman Curia from 1959 to 1966 when that dicastery was reorganized as the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, of which he was Pro-Prefect until 1968.

Ottaviani was a prominent figure in the Church during his time, and was the leading conservative voice at the Second Vatican Council.

Biography

Ottaviani was born in Rome; his father was a baker. He studied with the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Trastevere, at the Pontifical Roman Seminary and the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum "S. Apollinare", from where he received his doctorates in philosophy, theology, and canon law. He was ordained to the priesthood on March 18, 1916. On January 12, 1953, he was both appointed Pro-Secretary of the Holy Office and created Cardinal Deacon of "Santa Maria in Domnica" by Pope Pius XII.

On November 7, 1959, he was named the Vatican's chief doctrinal guardian as Secretary of the Holy Office. Ottaviani was appointed Titular Archbishop of "Berrhoea" on April 5, 1962, receiving his episcopal consecration on the following April 19 from Pope John XXIII himself, with Cardinals Giuseppe Pizzardo and Benedetto Aloisi Masella serving as co-consecrators. He later resigned his titular see in 1963.

He was the leader of the Curial conservatives during the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and worked with, amongst others, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, CSSp. During the last of the Council's preparatory sessions, Ottaviani engaged in a heated debated with Cardinal Augustin Bea over the subject of religious liberty. [SSPX. [http://www.sspx.org/miscellaneous/role_of_sspx_in_heart-church.htm The Role of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X in the Heart of the Church] January 1982] Ottaviani, while opposed to the separation of Church and State and granting equal rights to all religions, supported religious tolerance—suppressing public manifestations of non-Catholic religions when possible. Their confrontation became so intense that Cardinal Ernesto Ruffini had to intervene, noting his disappointment at such a "serious discussion". Ottaviani also argued during the debates on the liturgy [Time Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829504-1,00.html The Cardinal's Setback] November 23, 1962] [EWTN. [http://www.ewtn.com/library/Theology/SIPVAT2.HTM What Went Wrong With Vatican II] 1998] and on the sources of Divine Revelation, [Vatican II - Voice of the Church. [http://vatican2voice.org/symp/hurley.asp Council Reminiscences] January 22, 2007] which are understood as Scripture and Tradition in Catholic theology.

He was opposed in his movements for a rapid Council, by the intercession of the German Cardinal Joseph Frings. Frings was advised by then Fr. Joseph Ratzinger, who would later become Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and then Pope Benedict XVI.

Ottaviani was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 1963 papal conclave, which selected Giovanni Battista Montini as Pope Paul VI. He was also the "Protodeacon" (senior Cardinal Deacon) during the conclave, and as such, he had the honor of announcing Montini's election and crowning him on June 30 with the triregnum.

Upon the changing of the name of the Holy Office to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1965, Ottaviani was named Pro-Prefect of the congregation; the pope held the title of "Prefect" until 1968. He was raised to the rank of Cardinal Priest (with the same title) on June 26, 1967, and he resigned as Pro-Prefect on January 6, 1968.

Impacts and influences

The Ottaviani intervention

On 25 September 1969, together with Cardinal Antonio Bacci, he wrote a letter to Paul VI, supporting a study by a group of theologians under the direction of Archbishop Lefebvre criticizing the revision of the Roman Rite Mass, which had already been promulgated on 3 April of that year. This letter became widely known as the Ottaviani Intervention, and is often used by Traditionalist Catholics as support for their opposition to what they call the "Novus Ordo" Mass. [The title of the study was "A Short Critical Examination of the new Ordinary of the Mass" (TAN Books and Publishers, Inc, 1992). Also published was his address, "Duties of the Catholic State in Regard to Religion" (Angelus Press, 1954/93).]

Policy of silence on sex abuse

Lawyers representing victims of sex abuse have claimed that in 1962 Ottaviani wrote a policy that stated that anyone speaking out about sexual abuse (or attempted abuse) by priests could be expelled from the Roman Catholic Church. [Article on Ottaviani policy of silence [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/08/07/1060145760398.html] ] The "Crimen sollicitationis" document imposed absolute secrecy on the conduct of investigations of priests, even after it had ended and its verdict, favourable or unfavourable.

The 69 page document was titled, "On the Manner of Proceeding in Cases of the Crime of Solicitation" and was stored in the "secret archives" of the Vatican. It was discovered in the Vatican's archives by a lawyer pursuing cases on behalf of victims of abuse by Catholic priests. [The Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/aug/18/uk.religion] ] The document instructed Bishops to pursue these cases "in the most secretive way...restrained by a perpetual silence...and everyone (including the alleged victim) ...is to observe the strictest secret, which is commonly regarded as a secret of the Holy Office...under the penalty of excommunication." [CBS News [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/06/eveningnews/main566978.shtml] ] [Manila Times [http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/apr/30/yehey/opinion/20080430opi5.html] ]

Index of Forbidden Books

As a highly conservative Cardinal at the Holy Office, Ottaviani was responsible for the placement of a number of books on the Index of Forbidden Books [Paul Collins, 2001, "From Inquisition to Freedom" ISBN 0826454151] [Time Magazine http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,836269,00.html] .

The "Index" was abolished by Pope Paul VI in 1966 following the end of the Second Vatican Council, and is no longer enforceable under canonical law. However, various Catholic figures, including Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) have stated that it still holds some form of moral value, despite its being officially abolished. [Joseph Ratzinger, 1992 "Co-Workers of the Truth" ISBN 089870409X] Hence the stigma of being placed on the Index still follows some authors, long after the Index was abolished.

Ottaviani's actions regarding the Index have been critisized in some cases, e.g. that of Faustina Kowalska whose was later declared a saint, and whose reported conversations with Jesus Christ are now quoted on the Vatican website. [Vatican biography of Saint Faustina Kowalska http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20000430_faustina_en.html]

Faustina Kowalska

Ottaviani's conservative nature led him to be highly critical of works that reported visions of Jesus and Mary, although he would sometimes reverse his position later. [Catherine M. Odell, 1998 "Faustina" ISBN 0879739231]

In 1959, under Ottaviani's direction, the newly appointed Pope John XXIII was presented with a list of books to be placed on the Index of Forbidden Books and he signed the decree to that effect. Sister Faustina Kowalska's diary was among the banned books, and it remained on the Index for almost 20 years.

Officially, the ban is now attributed to misunderstandings created by a faulty Italian translation of Kowalska's Diary, but in fact it stemmed from more serious theological issues. For instance, her claim that Jesus had promised a complete remission of sin for certain devotional acts that only the sacraments can offer was rejected by the Holy Office. [A Saint despite the Vatican [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_37_38/ai_91210086] ] However, once Cardinal Wojtyla (later Pope John Paul II) started the push to reverse the verdict, Ottaviani became a supporter of the move to remove Kowalska from the Index. [Divine Mercy website [http://thedivinemercy.org/message/history/timeline.php] ]

Maria Valtorta

Ottaviani was also critical of the writings of the bed-ridden Italian mystic Maria Valtorta for like Faustina Kowalska she reported visions of Jesus and Mary. However, in this case, he played his cards much more deftly, after the Holy Office had been out-maneuvered once. This incident sheds light on Ottaviani's methods at the Holy Office.

When the typed version of the 15,000 handwritten pages of Maria Valtorta's notebooks was prepared by her priest, Father Romualdo Migliorini and Father Corrado Berti (both Servite priests) they used their contacts at the Vatican to bypass the Holy Office to deliver a copy to the Pope in 1947. Mnsgr Alphonso Carinci and Cardinal Augustin Bea (who was Pope Pius XII's confessor) facilitated a meeting between the Servite priests and Pope Pius XII, and it was recorded in "L'Osservatore Romano" . [L'Osservatore Romano February 27, 1948.]

Valtorta's notebooks were to be published as a book called the Poem of the Man God. Cardinal Bea was impressed with the book and later wrote that he found the Poem of the Man God "not only interesting and pleasing, but truly edifying". [Valtorta Publishing [http://www.valtorta.org/the_poem_of_the_man_god_reviews_and_critiques.asp] ]

During the papal audience, Pope Pius XII reportedly said: "Publish this work as it is. There is no need to give an opinion about its origin, whether it be extraordinary or not. Who reads it, will understand." Father Berti signed an affidavit to this effect, stating that he had a verbal papal approval. However, once he approached the Vatican Press, he was summoned to the Holy Office, was seriously rebuked, and the Holy Office attempted to confiscate the original copies of Valtorta's writings. [Valepic [http://www.bardstown.com/~brchrys/Valepic.htm] ]

While Pope Pius XII was alive, Cardinal Ottaviani (who was then Pro-Prefect at the the Holy Office) took no action against the Poem of the Man God or Maria Valtorta, but ordered Father Berti to silence. A year after the death of Pius XII Ottaviani placed the work among the list of books he presented to the newly appointed Pope John XXIII, who signed the decree banning all the books on the list he received. [Fr. Berti's annotations to Maria Valtorta's "Libro di Azaria" (Book of Azaria), Edizioni Pisani, 1972.]

Interestingly, years later, Cardinals Bea and Ottaviani were to disagree once again, at the Second Vatican Council, on more wide ranging issues. [Time Magazine article [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829504-1,00.html] ]

Trivia

* Ottaviani was nearly blind throughout the entire course of the Second Vatican Council and afterwards.
* His episcopal motto was: "Semper idem" ("Always the same"), which reflected his conservative theology.

References

Media

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title=Habemus Papam of Pope Paul VI|description=Cardinal Ottaviani announcing the election of Giovanni Battista Montini as Pope Paul VI (June 21, 1963)|format=Ogg

External links

* [http://vitwilderness.blogspot.com/2007/08/characters-of-intervention-ottaviani.html Characters of the Intervention: Ottaviani]