Pope John XXIII turns over in his grave

"Silvio, Silvio; my pontificate has been a failure!"

Contrary to prevailing popular opinion, Pope John XXIII would likely be appalled by the state of the post-Vatican II Church that he would find today were he alive to see it. In the July/August 2004 issue of the New Oxford Review, Alice von Hildebrand writes that Pope John XXIII's hopes for the Second Vatican Council were dashed, as revealed by a remark he made in confidence to his close friend, Silvio Cardinal Oddi, shortly before John XXIII's death. Von Hildebrand writes that she was privileged to have a two-hour interview with Cardinal Oddi in March of 1985, in which the Cardinal told her: "Knowing that his death was close, John XXIII called me and told me:

'Silvio, Silvio; my pontificate has been a failure. All the things I wanted to accomplish have not been done; what I did not want to take place is being realized.'"

[Alice von Hildebrand, "The Second Vatican Council: Why Pope John XXIII Would Weep," New Oxford Review, (July/August 2004), p. 34; reproduced and posted by Catherine Siena at FreeRepublic.com]