Now Fully Transcribed and Searchable: The Explosive Vatican II Diaries of Monsignor Joseph Clifford Fenton

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Now Fully Transcribed and Searchable: The Explosive Vatican II Diaries of Mgr. Joseph Clifford Fenton

Long-time readers of this blog may recall that we have promoted the Mgr. Fenton diaries before. This time, however, there is a major difference: The diaries have now been transcribed electronically and can be downloaded as typewritten, searchable PDF files. If interested, please read on.

It’s been 57 years since the passing of one of America’s finest Catholic theologians: Monsignor Joseph Clifford Fenton (1906-1969). Some of his many works have been reprinted and/or are available online:

• The Catholic Church and Salvation (1958)
• The Theology of Prayer (1939)
• Laying the Foundation (original title: We Stand with Christ, 1943)
• The Church of Christ (Collection of Theological Articles, 1944-59)

Mgr. Fenton was a priest of the diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, ordained in 1930. He taught at the Catholic University of America and served as editor of the American Ecclesiastical Review from 1943-1963. In 1931, he received his doctorate degree in Sacred Theology from the Angelicum in Rome. His dissertation was written under the direction of the saintly Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. (d. 1964) and was published in expanded form ten years later as The Concept of Sacred Theology (Bruce Publishing).

He wrote numerous books and countless articles, distinguishing himself as a gifted, competent, and orthodox Catholic theologian strictly loyal to the Magisterium of the Church. Over the years, Fenton battled many Neo-Modernist errors and engaged in heated polemics with their proponents. In particular, he forcefully refuted the error of religious liberty promoted by the American Jesuit Fr. John Courtney Murray, which later became Novus Ordo doctrine.

In 1954, under Pope Pius XII (r. 1939-1958), Fenton was named monsignor and received the papal medal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (‘For the Church and the Pope’) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Catholic theology. Early on in his pseudo-pontificate, the false pope Paul VI (r. 1963-1978) awarded him special recognition, perhaps to ingratiate himself with the anti-Modernist, no-nonsense theologian.

In the 1960s, Fenton attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and also served as theological expert (peritus) for Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani (1890-1979), who was then the Secretary of the Holy Office.

On Dec. 9, 1963, Fenton was appointed pastor of St. Patrick’s Church in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, a change of roles he had asked for but later regretted (see diary entry of Nov. 16, 1964).

A total of eleven of Mgr. Fenton’s personal diaries have been preserved in an archive of the Catholic University of America. Years ago the university had scanned them and released them to the public online for worldwide perusal. At this point they are available for free download via the JSTOR platform.

Going through these diaries was always a chore because Fenton’s handwriting is rather difficult to decipher. For this reason, Novus Ordo Watch took the initiative of generating automatic transcriptions of the publicly-available diary scans, using a so-called ‘artificial intelligence’ (AI) tool. We also ran a verification process to ensure that the transcriptions are as accurate as they can reasonably be. This obviously leaves some room for error, but then, manual transcriptions by humans aren’t infallible either.

In this post, further below, we are pleased to share download links and more information on each of the diaries in an effort to further a greater and more accurate understanding of the true history of Vatican II and the theological struggles that occurred between Catholics and Neo-Modernists before, during, and after the council, in accordance with our stated non-profit purpose of educating the public concerning the differences between the Roman Catholic religion and the counterfeit ‘Catholicism’ that has appeared on the scene since roughly the 1960s.

These journals, which provide unique insight into the mind of the competent and zealous anti-Modernist Fenton and make known interesting details about other theologians, are sometimes quoted and cited in various scholarly publications, such as the multi-volume History of Vatican II by Giuseppe Alberigo or David Wemhoff’s John Courtney Murray, Time/Life, and the American Proposition (full disclosure: we make a small commission on purchases made through these links).

Of greatest interest to most, of course, will be what Fenton wrote about his struggles against the Neo-Modernists and other innovators during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII, when a lot of errors — especially those of the ‘New Theology’ — were being fought that later resurfaced at Vatican II, and about the council itself and the theological discussions that took place behind the scenes. Since Fenton had a direct connection with Cardinal Ottaviani at the Vatican, he enjoyed greater influence than other theologians had, and was also privy to more inside information.

For example, Fenton knew that the Holy Office under Pope Pius XII was preparing to condemn Fr. John Courtney Murray, S.J., and also Jacques Maritain for various doctrinal errors — a condemnation which, however, came to an abrupt halt when Pius XII died on October 9, 1958 (see “The Censuring of John Courtney Murray”, Part II, by Robert Nugent in The Catholic World [Mar/Apr 2008]) and didn’t materialize after Cardinal Angelo Roncalli usurped the papal throne (as ‘Pope John XXIII’) later that same month. In fact, Roncalli made Murray a theological expert at the council, and his successor, Abp. Giovanni Battista Montini (as ‘Pope Paul VI’), later elevated Murray’s error on religious liberty to the level of official conciliar teaching.

Though Fenton assisted Ottaviani with drafting various preliminary documents (schemata) for the council to be debated on the floor, at the order of John XXIII all of them were discarded after the council began, and entirely new texts were drawn up in which the doctrinally unsound ‘New Theologians’ had the greatest influence (names like Rahner, Ratzinger, von Balthasar, Congar, Chenu, Murray, and de Lubac come to mind). Good Mgr. Fenton was hospitalized several times during the council on account of cardiac problems, so he was not able to participate in all of the pre-conciliar and conciliar discussions and sessions.

Fr. Joseph Clifford Fenton becomes Monsignor

Article from Aug 6, 1951 The Morning Union (Springfield, Massachusetts)

The Fenton diaries are of great import also because they give a glimpse into how this great American theologian tried to cope afterwards with the doctrinal, pastoral, and liturgical disorder the council had produced. Although, from all we have been able to ascertain, there is no evidence that Fenton was ever a sedevacantist, he knew that the novel ‘recognize-and-resist’ position, so popular among traditionalists today (especially the Lefebvrist Society of St. Pius X), was not an option. The idea of each individual believer sifting Church teaching and then ‘resisting’ conciliar errors, while still recognizing the council and the hierarchy as legitimate, was certainly foreign to him. In one of his articles about the council, Fenton wrote just before its solemn opening: “It is absolutely beyond the bounds of possibility that the ecumenical council should proclaim, and that the Roman Pontiff should confirm and promulgate as the teaching of an ecumenical council, any doctrine at variance with the teaching of God which has been given to us through Jesus Christ our Lord. There never will be a time when the doctrinal decrees of the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican will have to be corrected, either negatively or positively.”

From what can be gleaned from his diaries, Fenton attempted — as did most priests at the time, of course — to reconcile the teachings of Vatican II with the prior, Catholic magisterium. We must keep in mind, however, that documents and other information back then were not as readily available as they are to us now, and certainly Fenton did not have the benefit of 60 years’ hindsight as we do today with regard to the Novus Ordo Church’s magisterial explanations, clarifications, and developments after the council, which have clearly resolved any ambiguity contained in the conciliar documents themselves in favor of error, not orthodoxy (religious liberty being a case in point).

In any case, Fenton’s journals are an incredibly valuable resource for the historical study of Vatican II, the Neo-Modernist errors, and the usurpation of the papal throne in 1958. We share the links to these diaries (further below) in order to allow the objective historical record to speak for itself, not to spin the post-Vatican II Fenton in any particular direction.

The Fenton Diaries Online: Original Scans and Electronic Transcripts
A chronological list of all eleven Fenton diaries. Titles are Fenton’s own. Summaries are AI-generated.

Please note: The ‘Original Scan’ links lead to an external page from which you can download the scanned diary as a PDF file; these files are large (anywhere from 20 to 150 MB each), so keep this in mind when you try to download or open them. The ‘Transcript’ links lead directly to PDF files with only the transcribed text; they are very small.

Diary 01: The Journal of a Trip to Rome (1948)

Download: Original Scan | Transcript

Summary: Monsignor Joseph C. Fenton’s first diary volume opens with his 1948 journey from the United States to Rome, beginning with preparations in New York, his transatlantic flight via Gander, Santa Maria, and Lisbon, and his first days in the Eternal City. The opening pages provide detailed personal observations about travel, clergy contacts, Roman churches, Vatican surroundings, and daily life in postwar Rome. Later sections shift from travel narrative to theological working notes, outlines, names, and draft material dealing with the nature of the Catholic Church, dogma, ecclesiastical authority, Modernism, the Church’s relation to the world, and related questions of Catholic doctrine. The diary thus offers both a personal record of Fenton’s Roman visit and a glimpse into the theological concerns that occupied one of the twentieth century’s important American anti-Modernist theologians.

Diary 02: The Journal of a Pilgrimage [Europe] (1950)

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Summary: In this Holy Year volume, Mgr. Joseph Fenton records his 1950 pilgrimage to Rome, beginning with his departure from New York and transatlantic flight with Fr. Neary via Gander, Shannon, Paris, Geneva, and Rome. He gives detailed observations of travel, Mass arrangements, visits with clergy, and daily life at the Villa San Francesco. A major highlight is his attendance at the canonization of St. Joan de Valois in St. Peter’s, where he records being especially impressed by the solemn papal ceremony and the words of definition pronounced by Pope Pius XII. The diary also recounts visits to Roman churches, the Vatican, the American College, the catacombs, Tivoli, and other pilgrimage sites, as well as meetings with Msgr. Ottaviani, Fr. Kervan, Fr. Paschini, John Sullivan, and others. Later entries shift from diary narrative to research notes from Paris, Louvain, Douai, and related ecclesiastical sites, including references to theologians, rare books, and materials on De Ecclesia [ecclesiology]. The final pages contain working notes for articles on Church and State, the rights of the Church, the duties of Catholic civil authority, and the “Church of the Promise,” showing Msgr. Fenton’s continuing interest in ecclesiology and anti-Modernist Catholic doctrine.

Diary 03: Ninth Trip to Rome (May 1954-June 1955)

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Summary: Here Msgr. Joseph Fenton chronicles his 1954 trip to Rome, beginning with his voyage aboard the United States, arrival via Le Havre and Paris, and residence at the Villa San Francesco. The entries record meetings with Roman clergy and officials, including Msgr. Joseph Sullivan, Hugh O’Flaherty, Cardinal Ottaviani, and others, as well as his participation in events surrounding the canonization of St. Pius X. A major portion of the diary preserves his Vatican Radio address, “The Catholic Church as the way to Christ,” in which he reflects on St. Pius X, Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis, the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ, and the necessity of the Catholic Church for union with Our Lord. Later pages contain extensive working material on Church-State doctrine, religious liberty, papal teaching, Modernist and liberal Catholic errors, and internal ecclesiastical controversies, together with travel notes from Rome, Lazio, Paris, and the return voyage. The diary offers a vivid record of Msgr. Fenton’s Roman contacts and daily movements, while also preserving important evidence of his theological work during the pre-Vatican II period, especially his defense of traditional Catholic ecclesiology and papal magisterial authority.

Diary 04: My Tenth Trip to Rome, also the Eleventh, Twelth, and Thirteenth Trips (August 1955-September 1958)

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Summary: Spanning four Roman journeys, this volume follows Mgr. Fenton through his tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and partial thirteenth trips to Rome, covering the years 1955, 1956, 1957, and 1958. The diary traces his travels by ship, plane, and train through Le Havre, Paris, Milan, Rapallo, Florence, Assisi, and Rome, while giving especially rich detail about his stays in Rapallo and his repeated meetings with Cardinal Ottaviani, Archbishop Vagnozzi, and other Roman ecclesiastics. Alongside the travel narrative, the diary records behind-the-scenes discussions of American Church affairs, Catholic University, episcopal appointments, theological controversies, and Msgr. Fenton’s role in pre-Vatican II Roman theological circles. A significant portion concerns the reactivated Pontifical Roman Theological Academy, to which he had been named one of the original ordinary members and the only American. Later entries preserve his reflections on Modernism, liberal Catholicism, indifferentism, Church-State doctrine, the Anti-Modernist Oath, papal teaching, and possible future articles for the American Ecclesiastical Review. This diary is therefore especially valuable for documenting Msgr. Fenton’s Roman connections in the late 1950s and his continuing defense of traditional Catholic doctrine on the eve of the Second Vatican Council.

Diary 05: My 1958 Trip to Rome and Lourdes (continuation of my previous journal); My 1960 Trip to Rome (1958-1960)

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Summary: Marked by confidential pre-conciliar material, this volume preserves Mgr. Joseph Clifford Fenton’s continuation of his 1958 trip to Rome and his later 1960 Rome diary, with his note that the material from page 74 onward was not to be divulged until twenty years after his death. The 1958 section records his stay in Rapallo and Rome, his work for Cardinal Ottaviani, and his preparation of reports on religious indifferentism, Church-State doctrine, religious liberty, and the dangers facing Catholic doctrine in the United States. It also includes meetings with Roman figures such as Msgr. Domigi, Cardinal Pizzardo, Cardinal Confalonieri, Msgr. Romeo, and officials of the Holy Office, along with Msgr. Fenton’s sharp observations on liberal Catholicism, the American Catholic press, Scripture scholarship, and theological currents before the Council. The 1960 section is especially important for the pre-Vatican II period, as it records his participation in Roman theological work, his review of preparatory vota and schemas, and his comments on proposed conciliar treatments of the Church, the episcopate, the Mystical Body, Church-State relations, indifferentism, and Modernist tendencies. This diary is therefore one of the most valuable volumes for understanding Fenton’s role in the Roman anti-Modernist network and his concerns about the direction of Catholic theology immediately before Vatican II.

Diary 06: Notes of my previous fourteenth Trip to Rome continued from the previous volume 11/18/1960 (November 18, 1960-December 12, 1960)

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Summary: Centered in the Palace of the Holy Office, this diary continues Msgr. Fenton’s 1960 Roman journal and records his work during the preparatory period before the Second Vatican Council. Much of the volume concerns his study of the conciliar vota submitted by bishops and Roman congregations, especially on the nature of the Church, the ordinary magisterium, episcopal authority and responsibility, religious liberty, Church-State doctrine, ecumenism, Modernism, and the necessity of the Catholic Church for salvation. The entries show Msgr. Fenton pressing for a strong doctrinal treatment of the Church and warning against the ambiguities of liberal Catholic and ‘progressive’ theology. The diary also includes references to the Father [Leonard] Feeney case, John Courtney Murray, the American hierarchy, Cardinal Ottaviani, and Fenton’s own efforts to shape material for the conciliar schema on the Church. It is a particularly important volume for understanding his role in the Roman preparatory work for Vatican II and his concern that the Council clearly reaffirm traditional Catholic doctrine against indifferentism, false ecumenism, and modern theological errors.

Diary 07: The Continuation of the Chronicle of my Fourteenth Trip to Rome (December 13, 1960-January 28, 1961)

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Summary: Written amid intense preparatory work, this diary follows Msgr. Joseph Fenton’s seventeenth trip to Rome and centers on his work at the Palace of the Holy Office before the Second Vatican Council. He records his drafting and submission of theses for the subcommission preparing the schema De Ecclesia, including material on the nature of the Church, the Mystical Body, the magisterium, episcopal authority, and the need to condemn liberal errors on religious liberty and the confessional Catholic state. The volume also documents his close collaboration with Cardinal Ottaviani, his criticism of Fr. John Courtney Murray, and other liberal Catholic influences, and his concern that the council clearly reaffirm traditional doctrine rather than yield to ambiguity or Modernist tendencies. Notable entries include his account of an Academy session on Our Lady as Co-Redemptrix/Mediatrix, Ottaviani’s warning that theologians must follow the magisterium, and a reported rumor that Vatican II would become a ‘Fenton-Ottaviani Council’. Alongside the theological material, Fenton records daily Roman life, correspondence, meals, ordinations, Christmas and New Year’s events, and plans for future work, including a possible book outlining Catholic doctrine on the Church.

Diary 08: The Continuation of the Journal of my Fourteenth Trip to Rome; Beginning of the Journal of my fifteenth trip to Rome (October 1960-September 1961)

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Summary: Bridging two Roman periods in 1961, this diary continues Mgr. Joseph C. Fenton’s fourteenth stay in Rome from January-February and then begins his fifteenth trip in September. The first part centers on his work in the Palace of the Holy Office for the preparatory Theological Commission of Vatican II, especially the schema De Ecclesia. Msgr. Fenton records his efforts to have traditional doctrine on the Catholic Church, membership in the Church, the necessity of the Church for salvation, the Catholic confessional state, and a rejection of errors on religious liberty incorporated into the conciliar text. The volume includes his comments on Ottaviani, Tromp, Lattanzi, Salaverri, De Lubac, Congar, and other commission figures, as well as his private audience with the Pope, during which he presented copies of his theological works. The later September 1961 section records renewed commission meetings on revelation and the Church, his criticism of the draft De Ecclesia, his continuing conflict with progressive biblical and theological trends, and his defense of the Holy Office’s warnings against modern Scripture scholarship. This diary is especially valuable for documenting Fenton’s direct involvement in the drafting struggles before Vatican II and his conviction that the Council had to reaffirm, without ambiguity, traditional Catholic doctrine against Modernism, indifferentism, false ecumenism, and liberal Catholic theories of Church-State relations.

Diary 09: Journal of the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Trips to Rome(March 1962-February 1963)

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Summary: At the threshold of Vatican II, this journal follows Msgr. Joseph Clifford Fenton’s 1962 trips to Rome during the final preparatory work for the council and the opening weeks of the council itself. The March section records his participation in meetings of the Theological Commission, especially discussions of the schema De Ecclesia, Church-State doctrine, tolerance, the laity, the magisterium, and Our Lady. Fenton repeatedly notes his efforts to correct ambiguous language, defend traditional teaching on membership in the Church, and resist theological compromises he believed would weaken Catholic doctrine. The later section begins with his September 1962 return to Rome for the council, his long-awaited appointment as a council theologian or adjunct, and his close contact with Cardinal Ottaviani, Cardinal Ruffini, Msgr. Romeo, and other Roman figures. The diary then follows the opening of Vatican II, including his observations from the council hall, the early battles over schemata, his growing concern over the influence of progressive theologians, and Ottaviani’s defense of doctrine against the ‘New Theology’. It is a major volume for understanding Fenton’s first-hand view of the beginning of Vatican II and his conviction that the council was already becoming a struggle between traditional Catholic theology and liberalizing forces within the Church.

Diary 10: Journal of a Trip to Rome (1963-1965)

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Summary: Covering the crucial middle and later years of Vatican II, this volume traces Mgr. Joseph C. Fenton’s work at Catholic University and in Rome from 1963 to 1965. It begins with his 1963 notes at Catholic University, especially his writing for the American Ecclesiastical Review in defense of Cardinal Ottaviani and the Roman Curia, and then follows his return trips to Rome for conciliar and doctrinal commission work. Fenton records the continuing battles over Scripture and Tradition, the schema on the Church, religious liberty, ecumenism, the laity, and the authority of the Roman Curia, repeatedly contrasting Ottaviani’s defense of doctrine with the influence of Bea, Philips, Rahner, De Smedt, Suenens, and other progressive figures. Later sections cover his 20th-24th trips to Rome, including the 1963 and 1964 council sessions, meetings of the doctrinal and mixed commissions, his reactions to the death of John XXIII and the direction of Paul VI’s council, and his observations on the weakening of the Holy Office and the humiliation of Ottaviani. The diary also includes extensive personal material: Mgr. Fenton’s heart trouble, travels through Europe and the Dominican Republic, the death of his father [Michael], and his plans for future writing, including work on the priesthood. This volume is especially valuable for tracing his increasingly somber view of Vatican II as he witnessed the traditional Roman theological position losing ground to the new conciliar majority.

Diary 11: Journals of the 23rd, 25th, 26th and 27th Trips to Rome (1966) [and Notes from 1968-69]

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Summary: In these post-conciliar entries, Mgr. Joseph Clifford Fenton records later visits to Rome, especially his 25th, 26th, and 27th trips, along with notes from 1968-1969. The diary shows him returning to Rome after the council for theological congresses, meetings with old Roman contacts, and visits with Cardinal Ottaviani, Msgr. Romeo, Msgr. De Bonis, and other friends. Fenton is deeply discouraged by the post-conciliar situation, noting Romeo’s dismay, the proposed replacement for the Anti-Modernist Oath, and Ottaviani’s increasingly weakened position under Paul VI. A major highlight is his account of a personal audience with Pope Paul VI, who publicly greeted him as an old friend; shortly afterward Msgr. Fenton suffered a serious heart attack in Rome and spent weeks in the Salvator Mundi hospital. Later entries reflect on his recovery and plans for a new book on the Church after Vatican II, in which he intended to argue that Catholic doctrine on the Church had been clarified but not changed by the Council. The volume is especially valuable for showing Fenton’s post-conciliar assessment of Vatican II, his loyalty to Ottaviani, and his determination to defend traditional ecclesiology amid the confusion and doctrinal instability that followed the council.

Here is a selection of some of Fenton’s most explosive and revealing quotes found in his journals.

Highlights from the Fenton Diaries: Before, During, and After Vatican II

“If I did not believe God, I would be convinced that the Catholic Church was about to end.” —Mgr. Joseph C. Fenton on Vatican II, Nov. 23, 1962

1960

• “Our Maltese friend (who was born in Alexandria) told us that he saw Spelly [Cardinal Francis Spellman] coming out of the [1958] conclave looking white and shaken.” (Nov. 2, 1960)
• “To me the condition here in Rome is an evidence of the existence of the Church as a miracle of the social order.  In general it is being run by men who have no concern whatsoever for the purity or the integrity of the Catholic doctrine. And yet, when the chips are down, the doctrine of Christ always comes through.” (Nov. 5, 1960)
• “The council will not be allowed to fail. This trip has taught me one thing: I definitely am a believer. It has also shown me that some of the leaders in the Church appear not to believe.” (Nov. 5, 1960)

1962

• “These are four propositions handed to me under the SHO by the then Laodicea in Phrygia 11/28/54. They were also delivered to [Fr.] Frank Connell… There has never been anything less effective in the Church than a secret condemnation of an error.” (Mar. 16, 1962)
• “He [Cardinal Ottaviani] remarked that we were on the eve of the Council, and that no one knew who the Council’s theologians were to be.” (Sept. 28, 1962)
• “It is a crime that we did not take the Anti-Modernist Oath. Poor O[ttaviani] must have failed to have our own profession passed by the central commission. It contained his condemnation of [Fr. John Courtney] Murray.” (Oct. 9, 1962)
• “I had always thought that this council was dangerous. It was started for no sufficient reason. There was too much talk about what it was supposed to accomplish. Now I am afraid that real trouble is on the way.” (Oct. 13, 1962)
• “I started to read the material on the Liturgy, and I was shocked at the bad theology. They actually have been stupid enough [to say] that the Church is ‘simul humanam et divininam, visibilem et invisibilem’ [at the same time human and divine, visible and invisible]. And they speak of the Church working ‘quousque unum ovile fiat et unus pastor’ [until there be one fold and one shepherd], as if that condition were not already achieved.” (Oct. 19, 1962)
• “I do not think that any little work on our part is going to bring good to the Church. We should, I believe, face the facts. Since the death of [Pope] St. Pius X the Church has been directed by weak and liberal popes, who have flooded the hierarchy with unworthy and stupid men. This present conciliar set-up makes this all the more apparent. [Fr.] Ed Hanahoe, the only intelligent and faithful member of [Cardinal] Bea’s secretariat has been left off the list of the periti. Such idiots as [Mgr. John S.] Quinn and the sneak [Fr. Frederick] McManus have been put on. [Fr. George] Tavard is there as an American, God help us. From surface appearance it would seem that the Lord Christ is abandoning His Church. The thoughts of many are being revealed. As one priest used to say, to excuse his own liberalism, which, in the bottom of his heart he knew was wrong, ‘for the last few decades the tendency in Rome has been to favor the liberals.’ That is the policy now. We can only do what we can to avert an ever more complete disloyalty to Christ.” (Oct. 19, 1962)
• “As far as I can see the Church is going to be very badly hurt by this council. The opposition between the liberals and the loyal Catholics has been brought out into the open. Yesterday a Dutch (Holland) bishop gave a nasty talk in which he claimed to be speaking for all of his countrymen. He charged that the claims (really statements of fact) about theological imperfection in the schema were ‘exaggerated.’ The poor fellow seemed to imagine that a little lack of precision is all right in a conciliar document. I am disgusted with talk of this kind.” (Oct. 27, 1962)
• “The sense or feeling of this gathering seems to be entirely liberal. I am anxious to get home. I am afraid that there is nothing at all that I can do here. Being in the council is, of course, the great experience of my life. But, at the same time, it has been a frightful disappointment. I never thought that the episcopate was so liberal. This is going to mark the end of the Catholic religion as we have known it. There will be vernacular Masses, and, worse still, there will be some wretched theology in the constitutions.” (Oct. 31, 1962)
• “[Fr. Sebastiaan] Tromp has just pointed out that a pastoral council should not be non-doctrinal. Tromp is being very good. He is defending the schemata. He definitely is not giving a break to the opposition. We are hearing history. What is the theological note of what is contained in the theological or doctrinal constitution? Absolutely certain — at least.” (Nov. 13, 1962)
• “At the Pope’s own order the rules were changed and the schema was thrown out. A new commission was set up including Cardinal Meyer, Alfrink, and Lienart.” (Nov. 23, 1962)
• “They plan to leave off this television nonsense in a day or two, and then take up the Church Unity then. That will be a disaster. If I did not believe God, I would be convinced that the Catholic Church was about to end.” (Nov. 23, 1962)
• “…some other people believe what I have thought for several months, namely, that John XXIII is definitely a lefty. This nonsense to the effect that he is ‘deceived’ or ‘mal servite’ is disgraceful. He is the boss.” (Nov. 25, 1962)
• “The articles in the Milan Corriere della Sera tell of the Pope’s connection with [the excommunicated Modernist priest Fr. Ernesto] Buonaiuti, and they make him look like a real Modernist, at heart. He probably is.” (Nov. 26, 1962)

1963

• “I am afraid that they are going to foist a lot of nonsense on the poor Catholic people.” (Mar. 6, 1963)
• “Liberal Catholicism as understood by these men was and is the system of thought by which the teaching of the Catholic Church were represented as compatible with the maxim that guided the French Revolution.” (May 11, 1963)
• “The statement of the Council is not a theological text book. At the same time, however, a declaration by a council can cause confusion or finally can actually be harmful when even though there is no error about faith or morals in it, the statement passes over Truths which are, and which have long been generally been recognized as, assertions of Catholic doctrine.” (May 11, 1963)
• “[Fr.] Ed Hanahoe gave me two books on Modernism. In one of them I found evidence that the teaching in the first chapter of the new schema on the Church [the one that became the Vatican II dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium] and the language are those of [the excommunicated Modernist Fr. George] Tyrrell. May God preserve His Church from that chapter. If it passes, it will be a great evil. I must pray and act.” (Sept. 24, 1963)

1964

• “There is nothing erroneous in the material [in the schema on divine revelation] we have passed. But there is a great deal that is incomplete and misleading.” (June 4, 1964)
• “M [Fr. John Courtney Murray] has just come in to see the triumph of his false doctrine [of religious liberty].” (Sept. 21, 1964)
• “[Cardinal] Lienart is speaking. He is insisting that all Christians have the Jews as a common source. He ignores the fact that the religion of Israel and Juda before the public life [of Christ] was one thing, and past. Christian Judaism is quite another. The center of Jewish religion after Christ is and has been the denial of Christ.” (Sept. 28, 1964)
• “The more I hear of the speeches and of the progressiveness, the more I am aware of the fact that this council is one of the most important events in all the history of the Church.” (Oct. 9, 1964)
• “[Fr.] Charles Davis has inherited [Fr. Hans] Kung’s position as king of the nuts.” (Nov. 16, 1964)
• “Of course I realize that I did a stupid thing in asking for the parish and that Chris [Bp. Christopher Weldon] did a stupid and mean thing in giving me [St. Patrick’s church in] Chicopee Falls.” (Nov. 16, 1964)
• “[Mgr.] Joseph Quinn just told me that the H.O. [Holy Office] is being abolished and that Card. Ottaviani will not be the head of the new, non-supreme, congregation which will take its place. The old man is being humiliated. He is a saint.” (Nov. 21, 1964)

1965

• “Since coming here I have been obsessed with the idea of writing a book ‘To Be a Priest.’ Then, the night before last (during which I did not sleep at all) I had the inspiration to write what would really be ‘To be a Priest in the Church after Vat. II.’ I think I have something. It will give me the chance to comment on some of the schemata.” (Oct. 26, 1965)
• “The part on ecumenism [in the text of the commission] is a joke. It reads like a 19th century text, or a second-rate article in a leftist magazine.” (Oct. 28, 1965)
• “The day before yesterday I had dinner with O [Cardinal Ottaviani]. On the way back I found that the Pope had written to O about [schema no.] 13. I saw the letter. It was a great mistake to let that one, the one on religious liberty [which became Dignitatis Humanae], and the one on non-Christian religions [which became Nostra Aetate] get by the council.” (Nov. 26, 1965)

1966-69

• “This afternoon John McCarthy called. He is a believer, and he has some confidence in Montini [Paul VI]. He told me that O[ttaviani] has written some articles entirely revising his old position. It must have been under pressure from Montini.” (Sept. 24, 1966)
• “The Pope [Paul VI] was extremely kind to me. He said over and over again ‘This man is my friend.’ He told those around him to give me anything I wanted. He spoke of our friendship as going back 30 years. Actually it dates back to 1948.” (Nov. 22, 1968, referring to an occurrence on Oct. 16, 1968)
• “I have just about made up my mind to start a new book. I shall write on the notion of the Church. Nothing like this has appeared since the Council. Within the book I hope to have quite a bit to say about the Council. I must be very careful. If a sincere Catholic writes a book it’s either ignored or brutally attacked. I must make no mistakes. My main thesis will have to be that the Catholic theology on the Church has been improved but in no way changed by the Council. I must start with the basic notion of the Church, which is that of a people ‘transferred’ from the kingdom of darkness into the realm of light. The Council left out the background of the Church. It minimized or glossed over the fact that the Church faces opposition, not just from hostile individuals, but from the ‘world.’” (Nov. 23, 1968)
• “Thoughts for writing: 1) The ‘for all men’ [as an English translation of pro multis in the canon of the Mass]; 2) Perjury & the Anti-Modernist Oath; 3) Only the historian can judge heresy – a statement by a pretender in the field of theology.” (Mar. 27, 1969)

These select quotes from the Fenton journals paint a petrifying picture of the false Vatican II council.

Mgr. Joseph Fenton died of a heart attack in his sleep on July 7, 1969, in Chicopee Falls, less than five months before ‘Pope’ Paul VI’s imposition of the Novus Ordo Missae (‘New Mass’) as the liturgical norm of the Roman rite would take effect. Fenton’s last diary entry is dated March 27, 1969. He is buried at St. Thomas Cemetery in Palmer, Massachusetts. May he rest in peace.

Please share this information with anyone you know who loves the holy Catholic Church and is concerned about what has happened since the death of Pope Pius XII and the Second Vatican Council.

See Also: The Papacy and the Passion of the Church (Lecture)

Image sources: Fenton Diaries via Catholic University of America / Wikimedia Commons / Fenton Diaries
Licenses: Fair use / CC BY 3.0 / fair use