Posted on 02/15/2008 5:07:55 PM PST by markomalley
.- In an article published by L’Osservatore Romano, Italian historian Francesco Guglietta, an expert on the life of Pius IX, revealed how the Pontiff decided to consult with the bishops of the world to proclaim the dogma of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 1854.
Guglietta points out that the revolution that ended with the proclamation of the “Roman Republic” in 1848 and that forced the Pope to take up residence for nine months in Gaeta, south of Rome, had a profound effect on the Pontiff, who like Cardinal Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti, had openly sympathized with the European revolutionary movements.
“During this lapse of time, in fact, Pius IX progressively lost trust in the processes of the ‘revolution’ that were taking place in Europe and distanced himself from the liberal Catholic environment, beginning to see in the insurrection movement, as well as in the ‘modernity’ of that time, a dangerous snare for the life of the Church,” Guglietta writes.
The expert points out that “understanding what happened with the thinking of Pius IX in Gaeta is of significant historic relevance” and is an “area of research not yet explored.” Nevertheless, he said, the Pope’s sojourn in Gaeta was fundamental for his decision of proclaiming the Marian dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
According to tradition, Pope Pius IX spent a long period in prayer in Gaeta before a painting of the Immaculate Conception by Scipione Pulzone preserved in the so-called Chapel of Gold, and that moment of encounter with God convinced him to proclaim the dogma.
However, French historian and professor Louis Baunard said that while gazing upon the Mediterranean from the city, “the Pope mediated on remarks made to him by Cardinal Luigi Lambruschini: Holy Father, you will not be able to heal the world unless you proclaim the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Only this dogmatic definition will reestablish the meaning of the Christian truths and bring minds back from the paths of naturalism upon which they have become lost.”
According to Guglietta, naturalism, which rejected all supernatural truth, could be considered the “backdrop” for the Pope’s proclamation of the dogma. “The affirmation of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin laid a strong foundation for affirming and strengthening the certainty of the primacy of grace and the work of Providence in the lives of men.”
He said Pius IX, despite his enthusiasm, welcomed the idea of consulting with the bishops of the world, who expressed their agreement, leading him to finally proclaim the dogma.
Thanks for this history.
I wasn’t aware of such details nor the timing.
Blessings,
Ping to read later
The trouble this guy caused!
He decided to get all modern and trendy with his social and democratic policies, influencing even the likes of Catholic College Boys like Chris Matthews, O'Reilly, .. but at heart and at home in the Papal States he was quite the autocrat, throwing folks into Papal jails willy-nilly for not paying taxes, etc. etc.
If Iwere you, I'd switch to the Pio Decimo fan club immediately.
WHAT?
Rah rah X, rah rah X :o)
Oh, I like Pius X, too. (Good anachronism, btw, cute all around :-).
......French historian and professor Louis Baunard said that while gazing upon the Mediterranean from the city, “the Pope mediated on remarks made to him by Cardinal Luigi Lambruschini: Holy Father, you will not be able to heal the world unless you proclaim the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Only this dogmatic definition will reestablish the meaning of the Christian truths and bring minds back from the paths of naturalism upon which they have become lost.”
You may recall that the modernists were just about to seize on the publication of "Origin of the Species," as a definite repudiation of the supernatural. Against this was the decision by the pope to hurl into the teeth of this repudiation of Divine Providence the claim that God became man as the child of a devout Jewish girl in an obscure village in a backward province. A pure soul was created in an ordinary human being who was thereby able to greet the Holy Spirit with that unconditional love that God had wished to receive from our first parents and to bear the most extraordinary child every born, the flesh of her flesh ,who was God's love made manifest ways that even you and I can understand.
Sorry that some people are not reading “Catholic Caucus” here. What to do?
Hopefully they will remember they are attending to a closed caucus thread.
Immaculate Conception Novena -- starts November 30th [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Blessed John Duns Scotus Champion Of Mary's Immaculate Conception (CATHOLIC CAUCUS)
The Crusade of Mary Immaculate - St. Maximilian Kolbe (Catholic Caucus)
The Early Church Fathers on the Immaculate Conception - Catholic/Orthodox Caucus
Three Reasons the Church’s Enemies Hate The Immaculate Conception
Her saving grace - the origins of the Immaculate Conception
Mary Is a Model Who Works With Us and in Us
U.S. Catholic bishops to renew consecration of nation to Immaculate Conception
Catholic Meditation: To the Immaculate Conception on this Election Day
My visit to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
On Solemnity of Immaculate Conception - "In Mary Shines the Eternal Goodness of the Creator"
Pope makes pilgrimage to Mary statue in Rome, marking the feast of the Immaculate Conception
Pope: Mary the Immaculate Conception... (text of BXVI speech)
"Tota pulchra es, Maria, et macula originalis non est in te" (The Immaculate Conception)
The Immaculate Conception — Essential to the Faith
"Who Are You, Immaculate Conception?"
TURKEY Ephesus: The Feast of the Immaculate Conception at Mary’s House
Coming Dec 8th. Feast of the "Immaculate Conception"
Why the Immaculate Conception?
Catholic Encyclopedia: Immaculate Conception (The Doctrine and Its Roots)
The Immaculate Conception of Our Lady December 8
Mary's Immaculate Conception: A Memorable Anniversary
Ineffabilis Deus: 8 December 1854 (Dogma of the Immaculate Conception)
Why do we believe in the Immaculate Conception?
John Paul II goes to Lourdes; reflections on the Immaculate Conception
Your Praises We Sing--on the Dogma of the Proclamation of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8th
Eastern Christianity and the Immaculate Conception (Q&A From EWTN)
I'm using Firefox and "(Catholic Caucus)" shows up in the title/window bar.
We are celebrating the 150 year Anniversary of when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette and told Bernadette that she was the Immaculate COnception.
Bernadette, who had trouble rememmbering things, and did not understand the meaning of what the Lady from Heaven said, was almost clobbered by her parish priest. He initially thought that Bernadette was claiming to be the Immaculate Conception.
Berndatte was just repeating exactly what the woman from heaven said: "Je Suis Immaculate Conception!" or "I am the Immaculate Conception"...
Posters who are not Catholic should either leave the thread or behave here as if it were a meeting behind the closed doors of a Catholic church.
The one thing wrong with Jennifer Jones’ portrayal of Bernardette in the movie was that she made Bernadette into a clever girl when she was in fact somewhat dull.
My question was posed as a legitimate question to catholics. It was not offensive or in any way out of place. I would have asked the question "behind closed doors" of a catholic church.
Am I not allowed to ask questions?
In Christ...Alone!
Sunday School Bible Study – “Practice Genuine Purity” Matthew 15:1-20 [Bible Study Caucus]
As you can see by this thread, NYer and Salvation were allowed to "ask questions" regarding my regular worship practices without retribution or having their questions pulled so rudely as mine were.
I am now posting a formal complaint and respectfully request that my original question be re-placed in this thread and the discussion allowed as it was in my caucus.
With due respect...and...
In Christ...Alone!
My apologies.
In Christ...Alone!
Thank you, Wiley, for posting the link to the Sunday Bible Study thread. Quoting from that thread you wrote:
With respect, this is a Sunday School Bible Study Caucus. The comments and opinion should be based on the lesson at hand which is given in the Lifeway publications and used in many Baptist churches.
Bible Study is non-denominational. This thread clearly states Catholic Caucus. In your response posted above, you indicate that your thread is a Sunday School Bible Study Caucus. The Bible is non denominational. Should you wish to limit responses to your threads, perhaps you should label them as (Baptist Caucus) or (Protestant Caucus). That would be a clear signal to Catholics not to participate. Personally, I welcome your postings to any of my threads. The Catholic Church is committed to Ecumenism. As the Holy Father reminded us in his Encyclical Ut unum sint:
Jesus himself, at the hour of his Passion, prayed "that they may all be one" (Jn 17:21)
In this season of Lent, that should be the prayer of all christians. This is not my thread, however, and the Religion Moderator is following the agreed upon guidelines previously established.
In Christ!
The caucus on this thread is "Catholic" - anyone who holds to Catholic beliefs would be part of the caucus. Sometimes the caucus welcomes polite questions from non-caucus members, but there was a complaint (an abuse report) that your question disturbed the caucus. Therefore, it was pulled and will not be restored.
However, I am sticking to my guns to this extent: P-9 had many "liberal" instincts in that he sympathized with many of the groups trying to liberate and unify Italy, that is until he found out they were not exactly religious zealots, to put it mildly. Then he cracked down on'em
OTOH, Leo XIII's encyclical, an absolutely key document in the formation of modern Europe, laid out the basis of Christian Socialism, and beyond that the modern nanny-state. It also is (or was) a foundation text in Catholic Colleges for many areas of study. It is so powerful that (IMHO)it permanently turned the heads of many students leftward, giving rise to the Catholic Worker Party and IMHO, giving the Democrats a permanent lock on a majority of Catholic intellectuals (real and soi-disant). A pity, because the Democrats who really run the show are fond of real, down and dirty gulag killer Communism and despise people of faith, especially Catholics, and particularly those of the working classes.
Enter Russert, Matthews, and O'Reilly. The first two are Holy Cross boys, where the Jesuits probably made sure Rerum novarum was served at every meal. O'Reilly got his indoctrination in Leo XIII's encyclical at Marist College, a low-SAT operation, but thorough none the less.
To reinforce my curmudgeonly theory, this "Gang of Three" are thoroughly partisan Democrats, the "Fairness" shtick just originally being a ploy to cash in on the white male audience of conservative talk radio. However, at the heart of the Democrat establishment, where they assiduously curry favor in disgusting ways, they are roundly despised. Go figure.
To undigress and return to the subject of the the thread: The Immaculate Conception. Many non-Catholics think P-9 pulled this dogma from thin air as a demo of Papal Power, which he incientally also proclaimed. Not true. The Immaculate Conception is an ancient doctrine in all the Catholic Churches from the Chaldeans throught the Armenians, Greeks, Russians, and even the Anglicans. P-9's move was spectacular, the real question is, "was it strictly speaking, necessary?"
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