The Devastated Vineyard

by Dietrich von Hildebrand, John Crosby (Translator), Fred Teichert (Translator)

English, German (translation)

Genres: Catholic, Religion, Philosophy, Theology

Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Dietrich von Hildebrand was a German Catholic philosopher and theologian who was called (informally) by Pope Pius XII "the 20th Century Doctor of the Church."

Pope John Paul II greatly admired the work of von Hildebrand, remarking once to von Hildebrand's widow, Alice von Hildebrand, "Your husband is one of the great ethicists of the twentieth century." Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has a particular admiration and regard for Dietrich von Hildebrand, whom he already knew as a young priest in Munich. In fact, as young Fr. Ratzinger, he even served as an assistant pastor in the church of St. Georg in Munich, which von Hildebrand frequented in the 1950s and 1960s. It was also in St. Georg that Dietrich and Alice von Hildebrand were married.

The degree of Pope Benedict's esteem is expressed in one of his statements about von Hildebrand, "When the intellectual history of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century is written, the name of Dietrich von Hildebrand will be most prominent among the figures of our time." Von Hildebrand was a vocal critic of the changes in the church brought by the Second Vatican Council. He especially resented the new liturgy. Of it he said "Truly, if one of the devils in C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters had been entrusted with the ruin of the liturgy, he could not have done it better."

Von Hildebrand died in New Rochelle, New York, in 1977.

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A SEQUEL TO "TROJAN HORSE IN THE CITY OF GOD"

Dietrich von Hildebrand (1889-1977) was a German Catholic philosopher and theologian, and the author of many books (e.g., 'Trojan Horse in the City of God: The Catholic Crisis Explained,' 'The New Tower of Babel: Modern Man's Flight from God') from a conservative Catholic perspective.

He wrote in the Preface to this 1973 book, "The enemies who were hidden in the Trojan Horse have stepped out of their encampment and the active work of destruction is in high gear... The purpose of this book is... to give a short, clear presentation of the principal errors which are being presented today as a breakthrough of the 'modern' man who has 'come of age,' whom one can supposedly no longer expect to believe the teaching of the Church in the form it has taken up to now.... Secondly, we shall especially try to unmask those hidden, subtle errors ... under beautiful, apparently noble titles, and whose danger is often overlooked even by believing Catholics."

He states his theme as "the radical decline and decadence of the human, spiritual, and cultural realm, an unprecedented disintegration, a dehumanization which no rational man can call progress unless he has closed his eyes..." (Pg. 24) Concerning the post-Vatican II liturgical changes, he suggests that if one of the devils in 'The Screwtape Letters: With Screwtape Proposes a Toast' "had been entrusted with the ruin of the liturgy, he could not have done it better." (Pg. 71)

He calls "totally untrue" the charge that before Vatican II, the Church was "not interested in the earthly needs of mankind." (Pg. 135) But on the other hand, the Lord's Prayer is "the total antithesis to this-worldliness in religion." (Pg. 238) He says in summation that "our task as laymen is simply to adhere with complete loyalty to whatever our bishop says and not to pass judgment on all those things which I have referred to in this book as elements of the devastation of the vineyard of the Lord." (Pg. 246)

The frequent reprintings of von Hildebrand's books are a good indication of the continuing interest of conservative Catholics in his opinions.

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Von Hildebrand follows up his Trojan Horse in the City of God with another topical treatment of the crisis in Catholic theology following the Second Vatican Council, especially emphasizing the error of desacralization. The first part is very similar to Trojan Horse in its attacks on Tielhard de Chardin and Hegelian evolutionism as applied to Catholic theology. Von Hildebrand argues well against the notion that "progress" per se can apply to the static deposit of faith. The second part of the book though, delves into newer territory. I found his chapter on the Sacred Humanity of Jesus to be especially interesting in light of errors that one would hear frequently from the pulpit as modernist priests misinterpret Jesus as fully human to mean that he shared in our defects and weaknesses. Von Hildebrand makes it very clear in this book that by 1985 "Trojan Horse" is no longer an apt analogy, as false ideas now have free rein in the Church, hence the "devastated vineyard." He rightly lays the blame on cowardly bishops and religious superiors who, caught up in the spirit of aggiornamento, look down on the right exercise of their ecclesial authority as something of the past that does not apply to modern man. And it is this false idea that von Hildebrand principally takes aim at throughout the book, showing that for the sake of the souls of the faithful these errors must be uprooted and heretics must be reprimanded, excommunicated, and censured.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on audio as I didn’t have access to the book. I was blown away from the first words of this book. It could have been written in 2019 just was well as the 1970s. Von Hildebrand’s prescient analysis had me in amazement that someone could have foreseen the fruits of the Council so early. His wit, verging on the snarky, had me laughing out loud throughout. There were a few stretches where he took up more abstract subjects that seem at first to be long tangents, but then he ties them in at the end. He makes frequent references to his other books. I think the book is still very relevant and useful for the Catholic of 2019.

[Darrick Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written almost fifty years ago, the late Dietrich von Hildebrand's book on the changes wrought after the Second Vatican Council reads like a summary of every traditionalist critique of that council, except that he was a supporter of Vatican II. Hildebrand carefully notes the theological and moral confusions that beset Catholics in the wake of the council, and identifies the problems with many of those changes that were made in the council's name. He is refreshingly forthright about criticizing bishops and others in authority for not upholding the beliefs of the Catholic Church, and letting the most antithetical doctrines run rampant within the Church (the "devastated vineyard" of the book's title). He recommends striving for personal holiness and keeping up the fight to combat error but also to practice the Christian faith with love, which is the only real starting point in this age of confusion and fear. One wonders what von Hildebrand would have made of the horrific scandals that have been revealed since his death, which were taking place in his lifetime. His clear sighted analysis of the crisis and his hopeful conclusion based on his faith in Christ are, sadly, even more important today than they were in 1973. Highly recommended.