Turdus Maximus 1475-1521
Pope Leo X died 500 years ago today, December 1, 1521. This is the same Leo, who awarded Henry VIII for writing against the pesky Martin Luther by conferring on him the title: Defender of the Faith, and under whose watch Luther and his followers left the Catholic Church to follow the Bible. Born Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici of the wealthy Florentine family, Leo wrote a letter that was found in the Vatican archives in 1961 under the pseudonym "Turdus Maximus," Latin for “big bird of the thrush family.” There is no way of knowing its authenticity with certainty, but it purports to be written by Leo to the German reformer Martin Luther shortly before the pope died. Luther never referred to it, causing some to think that it was never delivered - the Italian postal system is notoriously unreliable! This was kept in strict secrecy, of course, until the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation ordered its release in 2019. Since it was handwritten in Italian on a spaghetti-stained napkin by a sick man, I have taken the liberty of translating a portion of it into English.
My dear Martin,
Now that eternity is right outside my window I see how terribly misguided I have been, and how intransigent [Latin transigere] the Church has become to reform itself in the light of Holy Scripture. I really should have encouraged modern-day translations of the Bible instead of pretending to be the doorkeeper of truth. As the darkness of death is creeping ever so close, I see how the Bible alone [Italian sola Scriptura] is God's uniquely inspired word, and how the church, its councils and papal bulls, have many times erred in self-saving ways. Sheesh [Italian sheesh], it has taken me a lifetime to figure this out! I was wrong to promote indulgences (It really is an evil, manipulative system to use guilt and shame to raise money to keep lamb chops on my table and for my glorious basilica). I was wrong to exclude you and your followers from conversations about the endemic corruption of priests and bishops. Last night, in the light of the candle beside my bed, I read a transcript of your sermon "Two Kinds of Righteousness" (1519) that Cardinal Giuseppe smuggled in with the newspapers. I now see that our salvation is not dependent on our own righteousness (which is as "filthy rags") but on God's own righteousness declared to be ours by a loving, gracious God. Martin, you were right in your understanding of Galatians that we are saved by grace through faith alone, and I should never have excommunicated you. In this season of my life, I wonder how things might have been different if we had worked together to seek God for the cleansing and renewal of his Church. . .
The letter goes on to extend his best wishes to Luther's dear wife, Katharina, and to their five children. He signed it: "Your brother in Christ” [Latin frater tuus in Christo].
This letter was on display in the Vatican Museum for one day only in 2019 before it was whisked away by five red-robed officials who looked angry, and declared that they would find out whether or not this napkin is a forgery.