“The French philosopher and writer Jean Guitton was the closest lay friend and key confidant of Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini). Their intellectual and spiritual relationship lasted for decades, allowing him to capture the pontiff's intimate thoughts in fundamental works of 20th-century Catholic literature that today are left in oblivion, hidden due to the revealing nature of their content.
“Paul VI and Guitton met in the 1930s; it was a very close and public friendship. They maintained deep correspondence and constant meetings for more than 27 years. Thanks to his great closeness with the Pope, Jean Guitton was the first layperson invited to actively participate in the sessions of the Second Vatican Council.
“In 1967 Guitton wrote a book titled Dialogues with Paul VI: It was a revolutionary work, marking the first time in history that a Pope openly dialogued with a layperson for a book. In 1979 he wrote another book; Paul VI Secret after the Pope's death, this book compiles Guitton's personal notes on the pontiff's confidences, doubts, and sufferings.
“Jean Guitton's statements about the history of the Novus Ordo Missae (the New Mass promulgated by Paul VI in 1969) are rarely mentioned, rather concealed, and this is because, as the Pope's closest and most intimate lay friend, they carry particular and immense importance.
“During an interview broadcast on French radio on December 19, 1993, Guitton stated the following about the liturgical revolution with the creation of the Novus Ordo Missae and the reasons for its creation, which his friend, Pope Paul VI, had confided in him:
"’...Paul VI's intention was to make the Mass as similar as possible to the Calvinist worship, making Protestants feel comfortable with the new Mass.
“‘It was designed with the intention of eliminating everything that identified the Mass as unequivocally Catholic, everything that gave it a character of Sacrifice, everything that harmed Protestants.
“‘To make the Mass seem more like a fraternal gathering, a dinner among brothers...’”
“Jean Guitton also acted directly as a mediator and messenger for Pope Paul VI with Monsignor Marcel Lefebvre. Both Paul VI and, later, John Paul II entrusted him with the mission of interceding with Monsignor Lefebvre to try to stop and close the seminary in Écône, Switzerland.
“Guitton goes so far as to admit in his book that, deep down, Lefebvre was right in defending that the truth of the Church cannot change.
“On another occasion, Guitton asked Paul VI why he did not grant an exception or concession to maintain the Traditional Apostolic Mass in Latin for those who requested it; Pope Paul VI responded sharply:
"’ That, never! (...). The so-called Mass of Saint Pius V has become—as can be seen in Écône—the symbol of condemnation of the Council. This is something I will never accept, under any circumstances. If I consented to this exception, the entire Council would be called into question. And, consequently, its apostolic authority.’
“Paul VI's sharp response appears in the work "Paul VI Secret" (Paul VI secret, originally published in French in 1979). In this text, Jean Guitton meticulously compiled the detailed notes, diaries, and correspondences from his private meetings with the Pope over 27 years of deep friendship.”
N.B. In fear of the fragility of the Council, and its legitimacy, the organic traditional and apostolic liturgy must be replaced by an on-the-spot product ecpressly designed to avoid offending heretics. Not Catholic.
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