Speeches – Page 14 – Antipope John XXIII

Pope John XXIII addressing cardinals during a secret consistory in 1961, reflecting the doctrinal shift towards humanitarian optimism and ecumenism.

Consistorium secretum (1961.01.16)

amdg / 2025-11-08

In this secret consistory of 16 January 1961, John XXIII addresses the assembled cardinals at the opening of the new year, laments persecutions and moral dangers in the world, expresses hope for peace and human concord, presents the coming ecumenical council as the privileged instrument for renewal and unity, praises the Curia, commemorates deceased cardinals, and concludes by creating four new cardinals from various nations as a sign of the universal character of the Church. In one word: the text ideologically discloses the emerging religion of the conciliar revolution – a humanitarian optimism which veils, rather than denounces, the apostasy that John XXIII himself was engineering.

Pope John XXIII delivering his 1960 allocution in St. Peter's Basilica, surrounded by cardinals and bishops in traditional liturgical garb.

Speeches

Allocutio Ioannis XXIII ad Commissiones praeparatorias (1960.11.14)

amdg / 2025-11-08

In this address of 14 November 1960 in St Peter’s Basilica, John XXIII opens the work of the preparatory commissions for what would become Vatican II. He invokes previous ecumenical councils as inspirations, praises the universal enthusiasm provoked by the announcement of the council, and proposes the central aim not as condemning errors or defining dogma, but as “updating” and presenting the faith with new clarity for the modern world. He insists that the Church must read the “signs of the times,” avoid pessimism about contemporary humanity, and radiate confidence, unity, and openness, including a disposition toward separated communities who allegedly “desire a return” to apostolic foundations. The address frames the coming council as a universally hopeful, pastoral endeavour marked by optimism about history and “dialogue,” more concerned with renewing methods and discipline than with dogmatic confrontation.

John XXIII addressing Olympic athletes in St. Peter's Square, highlighting the contrast between traditional Catholic values and conciliar naturalism.

Speeches

Allocutio Ioannis XXIII ad Athletas (1960.08.24)

amdg / 2025-11-08

The cited allocution of John XXIII to Olympic athletes (24 August 1960, St. Peter’s Square) offers a courteous welcome, recalls Pius X’s benevolent reception of Pierre de Coubertin, praises sport as formation of body and character, evokes “mens sana in corpore sano,” and alludes to Rome’s providential role as centre of empire and then Christianity, concluding with a general invocation of divine blessings.

A solemn scene in the Apostolic Palace in 1960 depicting John XXIII presiding over a semi-public consistory to announce the canonization of Juan de Ribera.

Speeches

Sacrum Consistorium of John XXIII (1960.05.30)

amdg / 2025-11-08

On 30 May 1960, in a semi-public consistory in the Apostolic Palace, John XXIII convened the assembled “cardinals” and “bishops” to receive their unanimous opinion on the proposed canonization of “Blessed” Juan de Ribera, Patriarch of Antioch and Archbishop of Valencia. The cited speech presents this act as the fulfillment of the “institute of the Apostolic See,” notes prior discussions in secret and public consistories, recalls the examination of virtues and miracles, and then, after soliciting and hearing the concordant votes, John XXIII declares his intention to inscribe Juan de Ribera among the saints on Trinity Sunday, 12 June 1960, in St Peter’s Basilica with great liturgical solemnity, exhorting prayers that this decision serve the glory of God and the good of the Christian people.

A solemn scene depicting the secret consistorial allocution of John XXIII on 28 March 1960 in the Apostolic Palace.

Speeches

Allocutio Ioannis XXIII (1960.03.28): Cardinalatial Engineering for the Conciliar Revolution

amdg / 2025-11-08

On 28 March 1960, in the Apostolic Palace, John XXIII delivered a secret consistorial allocution announcing the creation and publication of new members of the College of Cardinals, praising the Roman Curia, lamenting persecutions (notably recalling Aloysius Stepinac), exalting the recently concluded Roman Synod, and explicitly linking this new wave of cardinals from various continents with the preparation of the Second Vatican Council and the universal mission of the Church. He presents this expansion as a sign of unity, catholicity, and peace, and as an answer to contemporary social and political crises, concluding with the formal creation of several cardinals (including Traglia, Doi, Lefebvre, Alfrink, Santos, Rugambwa, Bacci) and three in pectore.

A solemn scene inside St. Peter's Basilica during the 1960 Roman Diocesan Synod, with Pope John XXIII delivering his closing allocution to cardinals, clergy, and laity.

Speeches

Ioannes XXIII – Romanae Dioecesis Prima Synodus (1960.01.31)

amdg / 2025-11-08

Laudatory address of John XXIII on the closing of the 1960 Roman Diocesan Synod in St Peter’s Basilica, exalting the Synod’s decrees as a “superabundant gift of God,” glorifying the Roman diocesan clergy and laity as proof of the vitality of the post-war Church, presenting the Synod’s eight thematic areas as a model of pastoral renewal, linking this local synod directly to the projected convocation of the Second Vatican Council, and proposing a program of “firm faith, invincible hope, and effusive charity” crowned by popular devotions (Name, Heart and Precious Blood of Christ) and Marian piety, in view of a universal aggiornamento.

A solemn depiction of antipope John XXIII addressing clerics at the Roman Synod in 1960, highlighting the tension between pious rhetoric and the emerging conciliar revolution.

Speeches

Allocutio Romanae Synodi (1960.01.27)

amdg / 2025-11-08

Vatican portal presents an allocution of antipope John XXIII (27 January 1960) delivered at the third session of the Roman Synod, a programmatic discourse on the priesthood, pastoral ministry in Rome, and the example of the “Good Shepherd,” framed as exhortation to the clergy and praise of “pastoral” service both direct (parochial) and indirect (curial and institutional). It exalts the dignity of the priesthood, honors administrative and institutional roles as true apostolate, invokes St Pius X and St Gregory the Great to legitimize this vision, and links Roman central structures with universal pastoral care in view of the coming council. This text, though clothed in pious language, lays out the embryonic ideology of the conciliar revolution, subtly displacing the sacrificial and dogmatic essence of the priesthood with functionalist pastoralism, bureaucratic activism, and a horizontal vision of the Church.

Traditional Catholic priest in a solemn church setting, holding the Council of Trent, with shadows suggesting modernist threats.

Speeches

Allocutio die XXVI Ianuarii A. D. MCMLX habita in secunda (1960.01.26)

amdg / 2025-11-08

Vatican portal publishes the Latin allocution of John XXIII from 26 January 1960, delivered at the second session of the Roman Synod, in which he exhorts clergy on the “virtues necessary to the dignity of priests,” organized under the rhetorical triad: “head, heart, and tongue.” He appeals to the Council of Trent, recommends study, defends discipline and clerical celibacy, calls for charity and prudence in speech, and frames all this as the ideal of the “true priest of Jesus Christ.” Behind a veneer of traditional vocabulary and citations, the text functions as a carefully calculated exercise: anchoring an already-planned revolution in a sentimental simulacrum of pre‑conciliar Catholicism.

A traditional Catholic priest kneeling in prayer before an ornate altar in a richly adorned chapel, reflecting on the sacrament of absolution and the teachings of the Roman Catechism.

Speeches

Allocutio Romanae Synodi (1960.01.25): The Pious Mask of an Approaching Revolution

amdg / 2025-11-08

Vatican portal publishes the Latin allocution of antipope John XXIII (25 January 1960) at the first session of the Roman Synod, in which he exhorts the Roman clergy to priestly holiness, derives their dignity from the Sacrifice and the power of absolution, invokes Saints Peter and Paul, praises the Roman Catechism of Trent, and recommends deeper liturgical and scriptural devotion as the foundation of sacerdotal life. Behind a language apparently saturated with Tradition, Scripture, Trent, and Eucharistic devotion, he constructs a carefully moderated, sentimental, and selective rhetoric that prepares minds for the imminent conciliar subversion, disguising the rupture against the integral Catholic faith under the guise of continuity and “renewal.”

Image depicting false pope John XXIII addressing clergy in the Lateran Basilica, with a somber and foreboding atmosphere reflecting the theological subversion of his speech.

Speeches

Ioannes XXIII: Sollemnis Romanae Synodi Inchoatio (1960.01.24)

amdg / 2025-11-08

Vatican portal publishes the allocution of antipope John XXIII in the Lateran Basilica (January 24, 1960), announcing and ideologically framing the Roman Diocesan Synod as a prelude and model for the coming so‑called Ecumenical Council. The speech exalts a supposed “new outpouring of grace,” presents a selective history of councils to justify aggiornamento, redefines discipline and praxis as a vast field of change under the pretext of “not to dissolve, but to fulfill,” and subtly displaces the immutable doctrinal primacy of the Church with pastoral experimentation and institutional self-celebration.