Jewish Journalist Converts to Catholicism — and
the Old Mass
by Alberto Carosa
From Inside the Vatican News Service
The church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte, normally referred to by Roman faithful as "Madonna del Miracolo", is one of the most celebrated Marian sanctuaries in Rome. Here on January 20, 1842, Mary appeared to the Alsatian Jew Alfons Ratisbonne, who fell on his knees and was instantly converted.
Though in a slightly different way, this story was repeated on August 26, 2001, when a young Jewish-born journalist, Joseph D'Agostino, was baptized and officially welcomed into the Catholic Church. (According to Orthodox Jewish law, D'Agostino was not Jewish because his mother's conversion was invalid. Ethnically, he says, he has little Jewish blood.)
The baptism took place in the afternoon in the Church of San Gregorio dei Muratori (St. Gregory of the Bricklayers), where the journalist attended Mass, receiving his confirmation and first holy communion. Joseph D'Agostino is the assistant editor of America's oldest political weekly "Human Events", based in Washington DC.
All the ceremonies were performed by Vatican canon Archbishop Alvim Custodio Pereira, assisted by Father Vittorio Mazzucchelli of the Christ the King Institute of Grecigliano near Florence, according to the old, traditional pre-1962 Roman Ritual.
After the religious services, a deeply moved Archbishop Pereira noted that in his decades-long ecclesiastical career he was never blessed by Providence with the privilege to baptize and accept into the Church a Jewish-born convert.
On another front, each Jew coming back "to the fold" may be considered the best answer to the smear campaigns against the alleged anti-Semitism of those Popes who, more than anybody else, toiled in favor of the Jews.
ITV Online recently contacted Joseph D'Agostino to learn more about his decision to join the Catholic Church.
ITV Online: What put you on the path toward Catholicism and the Traditional movement in particular?
D'Agostino: I have had an attraction to the Catholic faith all my life. In college, I remember attending my first Mass and was disappointed that instead of Latin and chant, there was inelegant English and guitar. A fellow student took me to St. John Cantius in Chicago, where I experienced my first Tridentine Mass.
ITV Online: How you came to the decision to become Catholic? Was it prompted by any special motivation?
D'Agostino: I cannot properly explain it at this time. I can say that I always had an attraction to the Faith and many of its doctrines that are opposed to modern dogmas. I never really doubted that it is the most beautiful religion. More recently, I began to analyze my personal experience, both of myself and of others, and saw that it conformed to the model of reality posited by the Catholic Faith much more than to other worldviews. Members of the TFP -- Tradition, Family, and Property -- were instrumental in deepening my understanding of the Faith and of history. In addition, Our Lady answered certain prayers that I made to her. This is a partial explanation. The glorious glimpses of the Beatific Vision I have been privileged to have, in a normal way, here on Earth may be the most important factor.
ITV Online: Why did you decide to use pre-Vatican II books and rites? Are you perhaps attached to any particular traditionalist religious congregation in the US?
D'Agostino: The Tridentine Mass is a highly Catholic Mass, a beautiful service that nurtured saints for over 1,000 years. The Novus Ordo is an inelegant, Protestantized innovation that departs from the organic tradition of the Church. They promote different ideologies and have differing aesthetics. I attend St. Mary's in Chinatown, Washington, D.C., where an indult Mass is said.
ITV Online: I presume you chose the Church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte due to the precedent of Alfonse Ratisbonne. Can you elaborate on that?
D'Agostino: I began wearing the Miraculous Medal some time before my conversion. I was raised as a Reform Jew, and given Alfonse Ratisbonne's Jewish background and the connection to Rome, the greatest of cities and always a seat of tremendous attraction for me, the church of the Miracle seemed a logical choice.
ITV Online: You are aware of the charges of anti-Semitism against the Catholic Church, especially Blessed Pius IX and Pius XII. What is your opinion?
D'Agostino: The Church does not have a racist animus toward Jews. I personally know several ethnically Jewish converts to the Faith, and the Church welcomes them. The Church has an animus toward false religions and philosophies, which encompasses all religions but her own, since the Catholic Faith is the one true Faith. In addition, since the Jewish people rejected Our Lord even though He was Jewish and they were the Chosen People, they have a certain guilt that goes beyond that of other peoples. I am not aware of any truly anti-Semitic actions or statements by Blessed Pius IX.
ITV Online: Did you experience any particular reaction from your family members or other people, for example from the Jewish community?
D'Agostino: My conversion did not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me well and was accepted with resignation by those who may have disliked it. I became detached from the Jewish community long ago. My friends were largely pleased by my conversion, since almost all of them are Catholics or Catholic sympathizers.
ITV Online: Would you like to add any final thoughts?
D'Agostino: I would ask that all Catholics pray for the restoration and advancement of Christian civilization, and to ask Our Lady to bring about her Reign. And, if I might ask for prayers that my soul grow closer to Our Lady and through her to Our Lord.
Posted 09 November 2001/sl