amdg – Page 17 – Antipope John XXIII

A sedevacantist Catholic priest standing solemnly in front of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas in Manila, holding a copy of the ‘In extremis’ letter by John XXIII.

In extremis (1961.04.06) – A Manifesto of Academic Humanism in Manila

amdg / 2025-11-12

The letter “In extremis” of John XXIII congratulates the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas in Manila on its 350th anniversary, extols its historical merits for Church and nation, praises its role in the Christian formation of the Philippines, recalls earlier papal commendations, and confers an “Apostolic Blessing” on its authorities, professors, students, and civil powers, presenting the university as a bulwark of Christian culture and harmonious cooperation between Church, academy, and modern state. Its entire tone and structure, however, reveal the programmatic shift from the supernatural and confessional order to an academicist, nationalist, and humanistic paradigm that dissolves the integral Catholic mission into the preparatory rhetoric of the conciliar revolution.

Archbishop Joseph Beran in a prison cell, symbolizing persecution of the Church under communism with a traditional Catholic theme.

Letters

Tuus quinquagesimus (1961.05.30)

amdg / 2025-11-12

The letter is a congratulatory message of John XXIII to Joseph Beran on the fiftieth anniversary of his priesthood: it recalls Beran’s academic and pastoral work in Prague, laments his forced isolation under the communist regime, lists injustices suffered by the Church in Czechoslovakia (closure of religious houses, persecution of clergy, propaganda of atheism), offers Gospel consolations about persecution, invokes Czech saints, and concludes with blessings and pious wishes.

An elderly monk in the Vatican Library surrounded by ancient manuscripts, reflecting on the tension between scholarly devotion and the absence of Catholic militancy.

Letters

Quinque implenti (1961.06.12)

amdg / 2025-11-12

The text signed by John XXIII on 12 June 1961 is a short congratulatory letter addressed to Anselmo Albareda, O.S.B., on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his appointment as Prefect of the Vatican Library. It praises his diligence, his continuity with predecessors, the expansion and adornment of the Library, the promotion of critical editions, and the “cultivation of Christian humanism” radiating from this academic center. The author reminisces about his own historical studies there and ends with a spiritual commonplace, urging Albareda to make his heart a library of Christ through meditation and reading, promising an “Apostolic Blessing” for him and his collaborators.

Venerable Cardinal Eugenio Tisserant receiving a congratulatory letter from John XXIII in a Vatican hall, symbolizing the shift in the Church's focus from divine authority to worldly honors.

Apostolic Letters

Hoc mense quinque (1961.06.15)

amdg / 2025-11-12

Venerable Eugenio Tisserant is congratulated by John XXIII for the fiftieth anniversary of his elevation to the cardinalate, praised for his erudition, his work in the Apostolic Library, his services regarding the Eastern Churches, and for the prestigious recognition of membership in the Académie française; the letter concludes with benevolent wishes for further virtues and an “apostolic blessing.” This apparently innocuous panegyric is in fact a concentrated manifestation of the anthropocentric, naturalistic and proto-ecumenical mentality that paved the way for the conciliar revolution and the systematic erosion of the Catholic notion of authority, sanctity, and the reign of Christ the King.

Pope John XXIII holding a letter titled 'Nostra Patris' in a traditional papal study, surrounded by books on Catholic doctrine and a vintage film reel.

Letters

Nostra Patris (1961.06.29)

amdg / 2025-11-12

In this Latin letter of 29 June 1961, John XXIII addresses Martin John O’Connor, head of the Pontifical Council for Cinema, Radio and Television, on the 25th anniversary of Pius XI’s Vigilanti cura. He praises Pius XI’s concern for cinema, recalls the moral dangers of film (especially for youth), notes ecclesiastical initiatives to promote morally acceptable productions, commends national and international Catholic film organizations, and exhorts continued efforts so that cinema may serve education, culture, and “honest entertainment” under the guidance of competent ecclesiastical authorities. The entire text maintains a tone of pastoral encouragement toward collaboration with modern media and confidence that Catholic structures can elevate cinematic art for the moral and cultural benefit of society.

This apparently pious exhortation, however, is a paradigmatic document of the conciliar revolution: it subtly subordinates the supernatural mission of the Church to the naturalistic cult of culture, entertainment, and dialogue with the world, replacing the Kingship of Christ with managerial optimism about poisoned instruments that are objectively vehicles of apostasy.

Young seminarians in traditional cassocks praying and studying in a serene Philippine seminary chapel, reflecting the apparent orthodoxy of John XXIII's 1961 letter 'Pater Misericordiarum'

Letters

Pater Misericordiarum (1961.08.22)

amdg / 2025-11-12

John XXIII’s Latin letter “Pater Misericordiarum” (22 August 1961) addresses Rufino Santos and the other ordinaries of the Philippine Islands, congratulating them on the state of their seminaries after an apostolic visitation. He praises adequate buildings, growing numbers of candidates, the presence of spiritual directors, the emphasis on discipline, Latin, human letters, and the establishment of pre-seminaries, post-seminaries, and the Pontifical Philippine College in Rome. He exhorts bishops to select worthy candidates, appoint exemplary formators, and foster priestly vocations through parish-based works.

Pope John XXIII writing 'Semper exspectatus' letter in a papal study with Archbishop Barbieri and faithful in Montevideo cathedral.

Letters

Semper exspectatus (1961.10.12)

amdg / 2025-11-12

Dated 12 October 1961, this brief Latin letter of John XXIII (“Semper exspectatus”) is addressed to Antonio María Barbieri, “cardinal” and “archbishop” of Montevideo, on the 25th anniversary of his episcopal consecration. It congratulates him on his “merits,” his attachment to the Roman See, his preaching and social concern for the poor, encourages him to persevere as a “good shepherd” and Franciscan religious, grants him the faculty to impart, in the “pope’s” name, a blessing with a plenary indulgence to the faithful on a chosen day, and concludes with an Apostolic Benediction upon him, his auxiliary, and his flock. Behind this apparently harmless compliment letter stands a counterfeit authority, a manipulated notion of episcopal ministry, and a sacrilegious use of indulgences that presupposes the very conciliar revolution which would soon devastate the Church.

A reverent Latin American bishop in traditional vestments praying in a cathedral with faithful Catholics, symbolizing the region's Catholic heritage and the themes of Ad Dilectos (1961).

Letters

Ad Dilectos (1961.12.08)

amdg / 2025-11-12

The Latin text published under the name of John XXIII as “Ad Dilectos” (8 December 1961) is presented as a paternal letter to the hierarchy of Latin America: it praises the Catholic past of the continent, commends Marian devotion, calls for catechesis, sacramental life, promotion of so‑called “Catholic Action,” and urges collaboration with civil authorities on social, economic, and political questions, insisting that no stable order can exist without moral foundations supposedly articulated by “the Church.” It closes with assurances of prayer and a blessing upon peoples and rulers of Latin America, in the spirit of concord, social justice, and peace.

A reverent depiction of traditional Catholic liturgy with Gregorian chant in Latin, set in a grand basilica with a schola cantorum and an altar adorned with gold accents.

Letters

Iucunda laudatio (1961.12.08)

amdg / 2025-11-12

Dated 8 December 1961, this Latin letter of antipope John XXIII addresses Hyginus Anglés on the fiftieth anniversary of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome, offering praise for its service to “sacred music,” commending Gregorian chant, Latin liturgy, polyphony, and the training of church musicians, while aligning these with the liturgical directives of Pius X, Pius XI, Pius XII and the 1958 Instruction on sacred music and liturgy; beneath its apparently edifying celebration of chant and Latin, it functions as a cosmetic appropriation of pre‑conciliar language in order to legitimize the coming liturgical demolition and the wider conciliar apostasy that the author himself was orchestrating.

A traditional Catholic Eucharistic Congress in Bolivia with Bishop Luis Rodríguez Pardo leading devotion before the Blessed Sacrament.

Letters

Laetum allatum (1961.07.04)

amdg / 2025-11-12

In this brief Latin letter, John XXIII appoints Richard James Cushing as his legate to the National Eucharistic Congress in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. He praises the local hierarchy, extols Eucharistic devotion in Bolivia, proposes the Congress theme “Omnes unum sumus in Christo” (“We are all one in Christ”), links Eucharistic worship with unity, social justice, and benevolence toward the poor and indigenous, and concludes with an Apostolic Blessing. In doing so, he once more dresses the conciliar program of horizontalist humanism in Eucharistic language, subordinating the Unbloody Sacrifice of Calvary to the political-social narrative that will soon erupt at Vatican II.

Author name: amdg