Roberto de Mattei


Roberto de Mattei is an Italian traditionalist Catholic historian and author from Rome. He is the son of Michela Tarquin and Baron Rodolfo de Mattei, a professor emeritus at the University of Rome.
His work focuses on the history of religious and political ideas in early modern Europe with a specific interest in traditionalist Catholic critiques of post–Second Vatican Council developments, contemporary relativism, and evolutionary theory.

Biography

De Mattei studied at Sapienza University of Rome and graduated in 1972 with a degree in contemporary history.
During his studies, he was a student and later an assistant to the philosopher Augusto Del Noce and the historian Armando Saitta at the Faculty of Political Sciences. He covered various teaching positions.
Between 1985 and 2005, de Mattei served as professor of modern history at the University of Cassino.
From 2005 until his retirement in 2015, he served as professor of modern history and history of Christianity at the European University of Rome, where he also coordinated the degree program in history.
For four years beginning February 2002, de Mattei served as Advisor for International Affairs to the Italian government.
De Mattei is a member of the board of directors of the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family. He is editor-in-chief of the monthly journal Radici Cristiane, and the weekly publication Corrispondenza Romana.

Works

Reception and scholarly criticism

His book The Second Vatican Council: An Unwritten Story included "archival discoveries from the ultra-traditionalist Lefebvrians" and information concerning the role of the traditionalist Coetus Internationalis Patrum at the council. Catholic theologians Jared Wicks and Massimo Faggioli criticized the book, describing it as seriously flawed and arguing that it portrays the council and its leading figures in a polemical manner, and that it adopts an interpretation of Vatican II close to that of traditionalist critics. Archbishop Agostino Marchetto characterized the book as an ideological work that stands in sharp opposition to the School of Bologna, yet similarly presents Vatican II as a break with tradition, while the sociologist of religion Massimo Introvigne argued that it endorses a critical approach that, in his view, diminishes the importance of the council’s official documents.

COVID-19–related publications

During the COVID-19 pandemic, de Mattei published Le misteriose origini del Coronavirus, a 2021 book released by Edizioni Fiducia that advances the hypothesis of a laboratory origin for the virus. He also authored On the Moral Liceity of the Vaccination, a work discussing the moral permissibility of receiving vaccines in light of Catholic ethical teaching.

Views and controversies

Religious views and affiliations

De Mattei describes himself as "above all a disciple of Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira". De Mattei has been described by progressive theologian Massimo Faggioli as "a renowned apologist for ultra-traditional Catholicism".

Criticism of Pope Francis

De Mattei was publicly critical of aspects of the pontificate of Pope Francis.
In August 2017, he was among the signatories of the Correctio filialis de haeresibus propagatis, a letter sent to Pope Francis expressing concern that parts of the Church document Amoris laetitia, which deals with marriage and family life, were unclear. The signatories argued that this lack of clarity could lead Catholics to believe that long-standing Church teachings on marriage and the reception of Communion were being weakened.
In February 2014, de Mattei’s monthly radio program Radici Cristiane on Radio Maria was cancelled, reportedly because of his increasingly critical stance toward Pope Francis.

Russia–Ukraine war

De Mattei has publicly opposed the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and has criticized traditionalist Catholic figures who expressed support for Russia, including Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò. He has linked his interpretation of the conflict to the Marian apparitions at Fátima, arguing that their message offers a framework for understanding the war and its implications. In this regard, de Mattei considered valid the Consecration, made by Pope Francis on 25 March 2022, of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary according to the dictates of Our Lady in the 1917 apparitions in Fatima.

National Research Council of Italy

Between 2003 and 2011, de Mattei served as vice president of the National Research Council of Italy, with particular responsibility for the humanities sector. In that role, he attracted criticism from members of the Italian scientific community for organizing and funding, through the Council, a conference that promoted positions critical of evolutionary theory. Some researchers and scientific associations subsequently called for his resignation from the Council’s vice presidency. In 2011 de Mattei was subject to criticism after stating, in a radio broadcast, that the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan were a divine punishment, and after arguing that what he called the 'contagion of homosexuality' contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire.

Publications

  • 1900–2000 – Due sogni si succedono: la costruzione la distruzione, Rome, Edizioni Fiducia, 1988, ISBN 9788886387002.
  • Il crociato del secolo XX. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, Milan, Piemme, 1996, ISBN 9788838426438. Translated in 1997 in Portuguese, I edition: Civilização, ISBN 972-26-1433-9, II edition: Artpress Editora, 2015, ISBN 978-85-7206-240-4; in French, L'Age d'Homme, ISBN 9782825110225; in Spanish, Encuentro Ediciones, ISBN 9788474904574; in English, Gracewings, 1998, ISBN 0-85244-473-7; in German, TFP, 2004, ISBN 3-9501846-0-0; in polish, Piotra Skargi, 2004, ISBN 83-89591-06-5.
  • Alta Ruet Babylon. L'Europa settaria del Cinquecento. Lineamenti storici e problemi ecclesiologici, Milano, Istituto di Propaganda Libraria, 1997, ISBN 88-7836-429-0. Second edition A sinistra di Lutero. Sette e movimenti religiosi nell'Europa del '500, Roma, Città Nuova, 1999, ISBN 88-311-0326-1. Third edition, Solfanelli, Chieti, 2017, ISBN 978-88-7497-667-6.
  • Pio IX, Milano, Piemme, 2000, ISBN 88-384-4893-0. Translated in Portuguese, Civilização, 2000, ISBN 972-26-1910-1 and in English, Gracewing, 2003, ISBN 0-85244-605-5.
  • La souveraineté nécessaire. Réflexions sur la déconstruction de l’Etat et ses conséquences pour la société, Paris, Editions François-Xavier de Guibert, 2000. Translated in Italian, il Minotauro, 2001, ISBN 978-88-8073-060-6 and in Portuguese, Civilização, 2002, ISBN 972-26-2077-0. Second edition, I libri del Borghese, 2019, ISBN 978-88-7557-611-0.
  • Quale papa dopo il papa, Milano, Piemme, 2002, ISBN 883846524X.
  • Guerra santa guerra giusta. Islam e Cristianesimo in guerra, Milan, Piemme, 2002, ISBN 88-384-6980-6. Translated in Portuguese, Civilização, 2002, ISBN 972-26-1686-2 and in English, Chronicles Press/The Rockford Institute, 2007, ISBN 978-0972061650.
  • L'identità culturale come progetto di ricerca, Rome, Liberal Edizioni, 2004.
  • La "Biblioteca dell’amicizia". Repertorio critico della cultura cattolica nell'epoca della Rivoluzione 1770–1830, Naples, Bibliopolis, 2005, ISBN 88-7088-487-2.
  • De Europa. Tra radici cristiane e sogni postmoderni, Florence, Le Lettere, 2006, ISBN 88-6087-002-X.
  • La dittatura del relativismo, Chieti, Solfanelli, 2007, ISBN 88-89756-26-8. Translated in Portuguese, Civilização, 2008, ISBN 978-972-26-2738-2; in polish, Warszawa, 2009, ISBN 978-83-61344-06-3 and in French, Muller Edition, 2011, ISBN 978-2-904255-92-2.
  • Il CNR e le Scienze Umane. Una strategia di rilancio, Rome, National Research Council, 2008, ISBN 88-89756-26-8.
  • La liturgia della chiesa nell'epoca della secolarizzazione, Rome, Solfanelli, 2009, ISBN 978-88-89-75659-1.
  • Turchia in Europa. Beneficio o catastrofe?, Milan, SugarCo, 2009, ISBN 978-88-71-98573-2. Translated in English, Gracewing, 2009, ISBN 978-0-85244-732-1; in German, Resch Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-935197-95-3 and in polish, Piotra Skargi, 2010, ISBN 978-83-88739-26-2.
  • Il Concilio Vaticano II. Una storia mai scritta, Torino, Lindau, 2010, ISBN 88-7180-894-0. Translated in German, Sarto Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-96406-011-2; in Portuguese, Ambientes & Costumes, 2012, ISBN 978-85-61749-36-1; in polish, Centrum Kultury i Tradycji, 2012, ISBN 978-83-935242-1-1; in English, Loreto Publications, ISBN 9781622920020; in French, Muller Editions, 2013, ISBN 9791090947122; in Spanish, Homo Legens, 2018, ISBN 9788417407124; in slovak, Nadácia Slovakia Christiana, 2019, ISBN 9788097259761. Prize Acqui-Storia 2013.
  • Il mistero del male e i castighi di Dio, Verona, Fede & Cultura, 2011, ISBN 978-88-64-09110-5.
  • Apologia della tradizione, Torino, Lindau, 2011, ISBN 978-88-7180-950-2. Translated in Brazilian, Ambientes & Costumes, 2013, ISBN 978-85-61749-37-8; in French, Editions de Chiré, 2017, ISBN 9782851901880; in German, Grignon Verlag, 2018, ISBN 978-3-932085-67-3; in Spanish, Dufourq y Viano, 2018, ISBN 978-987-42-6940-9 and in English, Angelus Press, 2019, ISBN 9781949124033.
  • L'Euro contro l'Europa. Vent'anni dopo il Trattato di Maastricht , Rome, Solfanelli, 2012, ISBN 978-88-74-97752-9.
  • Pio IX e la rivoluzione italiana, Siena, Cantagalli, 2012, ISBN 978-88-82-72763-5.
  • La Chiesa fra le tempeste. Il primo millennio di storia della Chiesa nelle conversazioni a Radio Maria, Milan, Sugarco Edizioni, 2012, ISBN 978-88-7198-643-2. Translated in French, Le Drapeau blanc, 2017, ISBN 979-10-93228-09-9 and in English, Calx Mariae Publishing, 2022, ISBN 978-1-8384785-3-7.
  • Vicario di Cristo. Il primato di Pietro tra normalità ed eccezione, Verona, Fede e Cultura, 2013, ISBN 978-88-64-09199-0.
  • Il Ralliement di Leone XIII. Il fallimento di un progetto pastorale, Florence, Le Lettere, 2014, ISBN 978-88-6087-865-6. Translated in French, Les Editions du Cerf, 2016, ISBN 978-2-204-10555-2.
  • Motus in fine velocior. On Eve of 2015 Synod, Rome, Edizioni Fiducia, 2015, ISBN 978-88-86387-12-5.
  • Europa cristiana risvegliati, Rome, Lepanto, 2015.
  • Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. Apostolo di Fatima. Profeta del Regno di Maria, Rome, Fiducia, 2017, ISBN 978-88-86-38713-2.
  • La Chiesa fra le tempeste. Vol. 2: Dal Medioevo alla Rivoluzione francese, Milan, Sugarco, 2018, ISBN 978-88-71-98736-1.
  • Trilogia romana, Rome, Solfanelli, 2018, ISBN 978-88-33-05079-9.
  • La critica alla rivoluzione nel pensiero di Augusto Del Noce, Florence, Le Lettere, 2019, ISBN 978-88-9366-1157.
  • Love for the Papacy and Filial Resistance to the Pope in the History of the Church, Brooklyn, NY, Angelico Press, 2019, ISBN 978-1-62138-455-7.
  • L’Isola misteriosa, Chieti, Solfanelli, 2020, ISBN 978-88-3305-220-5.
  • Pio V. Storia di un papa santo, Turin, Lindau, 2021, ISBN 978-88-3353-567-8.
  • Sulla liceità morale della vaccinazione, Rome, Edizioni Fiducia, 2021, ISBN 978-1-8384785-0-6. Translated with the same publisher and in the same year in English, ISBN 978-88-86387-27-9; in Portuguese ISBN 978-88-86387-26-2; in German, ISBN 978-88-86387-30-9 and in French, ISBN 978-88-86387-29-3.
  • Punishment or Mercy? The divine hand in the age of the coronavirus, London, Calx Mariae Publishing, 2021, ISBN 978-1-8384785-0-6.
  • Le misteriose origini del coronavirus, Rome, Edizioni Fiducia, 2021, ISBN 978-88-86387-323. Translated in French, Editions David Reinharc, ISBN 9782493575180.
  • I sentieri del male. Congiure, cospirazioni, complotti, Milan, Sugarco Edizioni, 2022, ISBN 978-88-7198-799-6.
  • Breve Trattato sulla Divina Provvidenza, Rome, Edizioni Fiducia, 2022, ISBN 978-88-86387-36-1.
  • I padrini dell'Italia rossa, Chieti, Solfanelli, 2022, ISBN 978-88-3305-408-7.
  • Dio castiga il mondo? La fede di fronte al mistero del male, Verona, Fede & Cultura, 2022, ISBN 9791254780329.