Iota Unum: A Study of Changes in the Catholic Church in the Xxth Century

I always thought Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre was something of a pompous ass, but that was more because of his triumphal Frenchness than what many regard as his peculiar reactionary and un-progressive religious beliefs. This book was frequently recommended by him as setting forth the fact of the post Conciliar crisis in detail. And that it does. Virtually all of my friends were born, and for sure educated, long after Vatican II was concluded. At best they were raised up in the developing "Sprit of the Council." I, however, have one advantage: I was raised in and still warmly recall and cherish the old Faith, and have seen Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani's predictions regatding Paul VI's New Mass come true. Lex Orandi really does end up being Lex Credendi. The majority of Catholics largely no longer believe in the Real Presence. Reverence for the Eucharist and the sacred (both persons and places) is at an all time low. Sunday Mass attendance seems to have dropped by 2/3's locally. Latin is no longer the language of the Church, and Gregorian Chant has virtually disappeared. (I have a few ideas as to how Latin could be restored among both clergy and laity, and the same technology might work for Chant, but I doubt either the Vatican or the clergy are interested in my ideas.)Bodily mortification is largely out the window. For all practical purposes both laity and clergy have fully invested themselves into the consumer economy, and there is no end to the "necessary" gadgets we manage to acquire, from electronics to new cars to other "toys." Statistics show we divorce, "shack up," contracept and abort at about the same rate as our non-Catholic neighbors. Many Catholics are not buried with a Catholic Funeral Mass, or even grave side services. It's almost like for most of us the Faith does not matter any more. Amerio's comments regarding changes in the Catholic way of death and dying are most touching, especially to one who is probably closer to death, by reason of age at least, than many of you, and who does not look forward to spending his last days or hours in a hospital or convalescent home, away from family, friends, and the rites of the Church.Lets face it, the changes of the past four plus decades have been a total disaster. Romano Amerio details these changes, some ecclesiastically approved, others tolerated, and many of which I, at least, only suspected (like tampering with Scriptural readings to change their meaning, like watering things down, so to speak). But when one lists all the changes, approved and tolerated, one cannot help but wonder if it really is the same Church founded by Christ, or something new and, frankly, an alien thing. God, no doubt, will bring us, or at least some of us back in due course, but a future generation may well regard Lefebvre as another Athanasias, truly Catholic when virtually the rest of the Church went Arian.Do not discard but read this book, even jumping back and forth from chapter to chapter. It is hard cover, so should last in your library. (My own soft cover version had been on a shelf for a couple years before I finally began delving into it. It has gotten a bit dog eared over the last month or two.)This book helps explain my affection for the Old Mass, and my intention to fund education in it for as many priests as possible, if only as a way of preserving some semblance of belief in traditionally taught Catholic Doctrine. The reading of it may not be enjoyable, but it will be enlightening.

This is a VERY insightful book. I will give this caveat however: it is clear that the author was a great mind and technical academic. As such, this is not "leisure" reading. This is the type of book you have to want to sit down and read (and often, re-read). It does not read like a dry academic paper however; it is perhaps more like an enthralling technical lecture. I will also add that the author makes the assumption that you have a certain level of knowledge of the Church and the changes in question. For instance, he discusses Pope Pius IX's Syllabus of Errors. He does not quote each condemnation he discusses, but simply analyses the ramifications and importance of "No.29". If you do not know of the Syllabus or have not read it, you will benefit from familiarizing yourself with it prior to delving into that section. At the bare minimum, a reader may benefit from cursory internet searches of terms and documents with which they are not familiar as they read the book.I am glad to be parsing through this book, however, as I have shown, you have to concentrate to read it (I have a master's degree so I've done my fair share of technical reading and am comfortable doing so). This caveat aside, the payoff is wonderful. He is absolutely on point and will open your eyes. He clearly enunciates church teaching and brings very interesting insight into various events and teachings of the Church. I will say that there is a tacit philosophy lesson throughout the tome as well, since he brings a certain methodological process of deep thinking to his analysis which, as far as I have currently read, is consistent & very well grounded. He will define his terms exactingly before using them, adding great weight and precision to his arguments.I will lastly say that this book is highly acclaimed by many influential clerics, not least of whom was Marcel Lefebvre. Mr. Amerio published his work independently of Lefebvre so for those of you who are scared of the SSPX, do not fear. I simply mention this link for those of you who find trust in the dear Bishop. My impression of the work, however, is that while it may ultimately back up much of Lefebvre's assertions about the church, it does so simply because the facts stand by themselves, as clearly articulated by Mr. Amerio.At the end of the day, if you are looking to have your eyes opened by very well reasoned and cited analysis of the Church pre- & post-V2, this is a great place to start, as long as you're ready to dig in your heels. If you are looking for truly easy (light) reading on the topic, I would search elsewhere.

This book is not for the faint of faith because it places Truth ahead of Charity, as it should be, and therefore casts a critical eye on the watered-down implementation of the changes of Vatican II.Romano Amerio's book has been ignored for many years, so it's so exhilarating to rediscover it in English in this era of Benedict XVI. Not only does the book chronicle from many printed and oral sources where Vatican II's application fails, Iota Unum is also a veritable catechism, moral theology and apologetics tool for those who want to know Catholic Truth from the spurious "love" feel-good post-Vatican II culture that holds the Church captive until now.I love it that Amerio never left the Church despite the heartbreaks. This book, the English edition of which is published by Sarto House, a publication of the SSPX, should help pave the way toward reconciliation between the LeFevbrists (the "independents," "integrists," "conciliarists," etc.) and the Vatican. I also think the chapter on the Liturgy should have been placed up front, since it's the most important for lay readers, but a book like this should be thoroughly read and studied and not just skimmed.An earlier review of Iota Unum says that Amerio didn't have much of a sense of humor, but I guess that's all right considering the serious topic of his tome. But I did find a few places where I just could not help but laugh out loud - In the footnotes, where at times the English translator had to set the author straight in correctly interpreting the quotes and putting them in context.So the translator, too, shares in the five-star rating for making the English edition technically superior to the Italian original.

Essential reading for all Catholics, Christians and any human being. Quite specialist. Non Catholics would struggle.