Sunday, December 07, 2008

Un Papa en la tormenta

A new film about the life of G.B. Montini, Paul VI, dealing with his activity with FUCI to his papacy has just appeared on You Tube. In English it is entitled "A Pope in the Storm", the Italian title perhaps is a better summary of poor Pope Paul's life.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

May I ask whether you have altered anything on your Blog please? If not then it must be a fault on my computer. Instead of a video I have a blank white square - I returned several times yesterday to see if it was working but no luck.

I have always been able to view other videos you have put up in this way in the past but now see by scrolling down that others are white squares too including the starlings over the pier which I could see before but not any longer. Happily there is no problem with the text.

Fr Ray Blake said...

No, it should work.

Anonymous said...

Magnificent! Thank you very much, caro Padre.

alban said...

I remember vividly when Paul VI died, and hurrying back to Rome upon hearing the news. Il Papa Montini was a good and holy man, highly cultured, gentle of heart and a true shepherd. He bore a heavy cross on his fragile shoulders.

I believe that he never recovered from the negative reaction to Humanae Vitae (and how right and prophetic his words have proved). The murder of his good friend, Aldo Moro, was so very painful for him. I remember his words, full of anguish and almost accusatory towards God: "Why? Why?". He was a wonderful pope in so many ways.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for replying Father. I took a friend's advice and turned off the computer for a few hours for it to 'get some rest.' It worked!

This looks a most interesting film and very credibly acted. The Pope looks uncannily like his photos although the future Pope Paul is not so similar - at least the name Montini helped identification. As it is an Italian and not an
English production perhaps we can presume there will be no mistakes shown in Church protocol.

The scene of the bells tolling for the death of the previous Pope brought back memories for me of the night when Pope John-Paul II died. I had been watching the report from the Vatican in my hotel bedroom in Reims a short walk away from the Cathedral. Very tired I reluctantly turned off the television and shortly afterwards the bells of Reims cathedral started tolling - I knew then that his earthly suffering was over.

Early the following morning I went into the Cathedral. I had never before or since seen so many candles - every possible holder contained a lighted candle. I watched a young mother with three little girls come in and listened to her explain why they were there. They had knelt down solemnly just in front of me. A poignant moment indeed.

Adulio said...

The video is rather moving but it does seem to gloss over the fact of how Montini betrayed Pius XII when he was his Undersecretary of State, over the clandestine negotiations he had with Moscow. Alas, all the priests whom Pius XII had secretly sent to Russia were slaughtered because Montini's advisor Alighiero Tondi, S.J (later apostatised from the priesthood to join the Communist party) had leaked their where-abouts.

Paul VI may have had the right attitude to the Nazis but he certainly had a soft spot for Communism and Ostopolitik.

Mulier Fortis said...

You've been tagged!
;-)

Anonymous said...

Ottavaini, could you post some sources for those claims please.

Adulio said...

Sharon:

Here is an interview with Dr. Alice Von Hildebrand (wife of the famous philosopher Dietrich Von Hildebrand, an outspoken critic of Hilter's regime in the 1930s) given to the Latin Mass Magazine of the USA. You find in there the incident I have referred to.

You'll also find the incident documented in the books she refers to Paolo Sesto Beato? - if you can read Italian.

Anonymous said...

With respect to Dr Von Hildebrand this is only her say so. Do you have any primary sources?

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