Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani and Maria Valtorta

Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani

Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani (1890–1979) was born into a modest family in Rome where his father was a baker. He was ordained a priest at 26, after earning doctorates in philosophy, theology, and canon law. He taught at the Pontifical Urbaniana University and the Lateran University before joining, in 1929, the Secretariat of State and then, in 1935, the Holy Office, of which he became an assessor. In this role, he directly assisted the Secretary of the congregation, Cardinal Donato Raffaele Sbarretti, who led it by delegation of the pope. His position required him to regularly engage with the Holy Father or his services (Secretariat of State). Alfredo Ottaviani was thus, from this time, an essential administrative pivot of the Holy Office, holding a prestigious rank. His influence stemmed from his closeness to the highest authorities, especially since the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office was nicknamed the "Supreme." This nickname came from its function emanating directly from the pope, above the bishops. Father Alfredo Ottaviani was made cardinal on January 12, 1953, and then bishop on April 19, 1962.

From Ascendance to Contestation

This prelate was a prominent figure of his era. However, his manner of exercising power (he was nicknamed "the policeman of the Church") caused contestation, which led to his being stripped of his nearly discretionary power and his resignation.

Assessor to Cardinal Francesco Marchetti-Saltvaggiani (1939–1951)

This was the period of confrontation with the Holy Office. According to Emilio Pisani, Father Alfredo Ottaviani "already held authority at the Holy Office when the Work was 'blocked' in 1949"."

Maria Valtorta, recalling this period, protests: "Why do His Eminence Mgr Siri, and Mgr Raffa, Mgr Crovella, and Mgr Carinci, etc., not lend their support? Because they are all deathly afraid of the Holy Office and of Their Eminences Marchetti-Saltvaggiani and Ottaviani, who make the rain and the bWeather, even in disregard of the will of His Holiness."

In 1950, as reported by Luigia Sinapi (Luciana), Pope Pius XII, upon learning that the work was not published as he believed, summoned Father Alfredo Ottaviani and not the cardinal in charge of the Holy Office: "But His Holiness replied: 'No. I do not want to act by intimidation. I will call them in to make them reflect, and if they oppose, I will take matters into my own hands.' Indeed, he summoned Mgr Ottaviani, Counselor of the Holy Office, but the latter would not listen.""

Cardinal Francesco Marchetti-Saltvaggiani, a childhood friend of Pius XII, died of cerebral thrombosis (stroke) on January 13, 1951, the day when, according to the old calendar, the Baptism of the Lord was commemorated within the octave of Epiphany.

Deputy to Cardinal Giuseppe Pizzardo (1951–1959)

Cardinal Giuseppe Pizzardo (1877–1970), known for his loyalty and expertise in education and Doctrine, had a long career in the Roman Curia. It was Pius XII, then Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who ordained him bishop on April 27, 1930. He then served at the Secretariat of State as Substitute for relations with States, playing a crucial role in coordinating the Curia's efforts during World War II and the post-conflict reconstruction. He became Secretary of the Holy Office on February 16, 1951. His direct collaborator was Father Alfredo Ottaviani, initially as Assessor and then as Pro-Secretary. While the Assessor was a legal and theological advisor to the Secretary, the Pro-Secretary acted as an interim Secretary or direct deputy to the Secretary of the Holy Office. He carried out the Secretary's functions in his absence or in preparation for his definitive appointment, which occurred in November 1959 upon Cardinal Pizzardo's resignation at an advanced age (82 years).

Assessor (1951–1953)

During this period, only the petition to the Holy Father is noted. Prepared by Mgr Alfonso Carinci, it was signed by nine personalities. It reached the Holy Office, which later mocked it after the death of Pius XII, denouncing in the Osservatore Romano: "the illustrious personalities (whose unquestionable good faith was surprised) who supported the publication." But for the time being, there was no follow-up.

The Holy Office, however, commissioned a report to Father Bea, who, although a petitioner signatory, this time issued a very cautious conclusion. There was no follow-up.

Pro-Secretary (1953–1959)

There was also no follow-up during the period of the first editions of Maria Valtorta's work (1956–1958). Yet, at this time, Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani functioned as Secretary of the Holy Office. Only the constitution in 1958 (under protocol 144/58) of a new file is noted, apparently expurgated of certain documents, including the decrees from February 1949 which included the attempt to condemn Maria Valtorta’s work but also the rejection of this proposal by Pius XII. The Osservatore Romano is only able to mention "memories" without a precise date.

Everything would quickly change with the official appointment of Cardinal Alfredo to the post of Secretary of the Holy Office.

Secretary of the Holy Office (1959–1965)

Under John XXIII

On November 7, 1959, Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani was appointed to this position of full responsibility after the resignation of Cardinal Giuseppe Pizzardo. Thirty-nine days later, on December 16, 1959, Maria Valtorta’s work was placed on the Index. However, times were changing: they would lead to contestation of the Holy Office’s methods and its practices as "objects of Scandal."

In December 1960, Father Corrado Berti was again summoned to the Holy Office, where he was received in a more favorable atmosphere. After several interviews, he obtained verbal authorization to continue the second edition.

On December 1, 1961, a brief note extended the placing of the second edition on the Index. What should have triggered sanctions for public and explicit disobedience had no consequence.

It was around this time that tensions grew between Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, defender of a conservative line, and Cardinal Augustin Bea, an emerging figure promoting a reformist line.

Under Paul VI

On June 30, 1963, it was Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, as protodeacon (dean of the Roman cardinals), who crowned Pope Paul VI after his pontifical election.

On November 8, 1963, Cardinal Josef Frings denounced, during a plenary session, the procedures of the Holy Office: "No one can be condemned without having been heard, without the chance to defend himself and also to correct himself. The procedure of the Holy Office no longer corresponds to our times and is for many an object of Scandal." This declaration was greeted with applause. "But at the Council, from the first session, Ottaviani noticed that he aroused clear hostility. Thus, when, exceeding the ten minutes allotted to each speaker, the presiding officer cut his microphone, some bishops applauded; as a result, the cardinal boycotted the Council for two weeks."

On December 7, 1965, Paul VI issued the motu proprio Integrae servandae, replacing the Holy Office with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. While it did not fundamentally change the Mission, it profoundly renewed its Spirit. The Index was no longer mentioned.

Pro-Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1965–1968)

Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, maintained in his post, received questions about this suppression. On June 14, 1966, he published a notification announcing that "the Index no longer has ecclesiastical legal force with the censures attached to it."

On January 26, 1968, he submitted his resignation to Pope Paul VI. The official reason was advanced age and physical decline, but the unofficial reason concerned deep disagreements with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and possible pressure to modernize the Congregation. It had transitioned from a repressive institution (the historical Inquisition) to an entity actively promoting the faith.

Encounter at Father Gabriel Roschini’s Funeral

Emilio Pisani recounts the episode where Father Corrado Berti and Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani found themselves face-to-face at Father Gabriel Roschini’s funeral:

"Throughout the entire history of Maria Valtorta's Work, the names Ottaviani and the Holy Office were identified to the point of forming a kind of monster; Father Berti was constantly trying to take shelter from it like a mouse from a cat. He feared the summons to the austere Holy Office palace so much that, when another came in December 1961 — the atmosphere was still quite different from that of 1949 — it caused him stomach pain.

The image I had formed of him through Father Berti’s fears made any request for an audience unthinkable.

Well, the one whom Father Berti had feared for twenty years, never confronting except through intermediaries, was at the funeral of Father Roschini, sitting opposite him, now harmless, also a victim of events.

The coffin rested in the center of the transept of the Church of San Marcello. There was no sign recalling Father Roschini the scholar and authority, but only his religious habit and priest’s stole. On both sides, parallel to the coffin, rows of chairs and benches had been placed for relatives and dignitaries. Father Berti was seated on the right side, Cardinal Ottaviani on the left, facing each other.

All awaited with sadness and reverence the entrance of the celebrants’ procession, who were to come from the Servite Fathers' general headquarters on the adjoining square and enter through the back of the Church. The moment was conducive to memories. The old cardinal’s sightless gaze searched the void for his friend’s coffin to recall, I'm sure, moments known only to him. Opposite, Father Berti was unaware, but his eyes fixed on the coffin seemed to remind him that the glories of this world pass away. Two equally tired looks, destined to confront each other around the mystery of death…

Also present in the Church was the new prefect of the reformed Congregation, the Slavic Cardinal Franjo Seper, Ottaviani’s first successor. But the two men were not together; it seemed to me they avoided each other.

At the end of the ceremony, while the assembly began to leave, Cardinal Ottaviani advanced supported by a lay escort and made a sign of blessing at the foot of the coffin. Then I saw him leave, his step heavy with years, depending on his guide, towards the Church door opening onto a bright Roman morning.

Later, I met up with Father Berti at the College. Neither of us mentioned the presence of the much-feared cardinal at Father Roschini’s funeral. It symbolically closed a chapter in our history, after definitively closing his own."."

Note of Convergence

One month after the abolition of the Index of prohibited books by the Holy Office, on July 24, 1966, Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani published a "Letter to the Presidents of Episcopal Conferences on Certain Abuses and Erroneous Opinions in the Interpretation of the Doctrine of the Second Vatican Council." This text strikingly echoes the words of Jesus reported by Maria Valtorta (The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me,EMV 652) in which He forcefully affirms that the Gospel, the Church, and the Sacraments cannot be reduced to mere evolving human constructions: they are, on the contrary, divine gifts entrusted by God into the care of men.

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