Continuing with “Vatican II Exposed as Counterfeit Catholicism” by Frs. Francisco and Dominic Radecki, CMRI
Following the death of Pope Pius XII on October 9, 1958, Spellman and other American cardinals formed an anti-Communist bloc to prevent the election of Cardinal Roncalli (the future John XXIII). Leading KGB official Mr. Broslow listed Roncalli and Montini (Paul VI) on the Kremlin’s “papabile” list since they favored Communism and never opposed it. John XXIII personally banned Cardinal Spellman from Rome except to attend the Council.
John never forgave Spellman for the role he played in the Cold War, nor for propelling anti-Communist President Diem [brother of Archbishop Ngo Dinh Thuc] into a position of power in South Vietnam; nor indeed, for his steady expounding of an anti-Russian hard line. The ban was even more significant in that it gave clear notice to Spellman and the forces he represented that the special relationship between Washington and the Vatican, which flourished under Pius XII, was now permanently at an end.
SPELLMAN’S ROLE AT THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL
Cardinal Spellman, viewed as the leader of the Catholic Church in America, was a member of the Vatican II Coordinating Commission and a Council President. While courageously defending the Latin Mass, he accepted the New Theology as the Council progressed. His love of power may have undermined his traditional beliefs. [One wonders if Spellman might also have been blackmailed. My comment]
He gave 131 oral and written interventions during the Council. Spellman was so adamant about having John Courtney Murray, a proponent of False Religious Liberty, as his theologian during Vatican II, that he threatened not to come unless Murray came too. There are allegations that Cardinal Spellman was a homosexual.
Francis Spellman…was long rumored to be gay, according to a book by John Cooney, who said that many whom he interviewed took his homosexuality for granted. In addition, a book published in 1998 claims that in World War II Spellman was carrying on a relationship with a chorus boy in the Broadway review “One Touch of Venus.”
[I have heard more than once that his nickname around New York and environs was “Franny” LOL! My comment]