NAZARENO TADDEI, A JESUIT «AHEAD» - 4° Cinema and TV
di ANDREA FAGIOLI
(….) The other chapters: THE MOUNTAIN, MUSIC,
, FELLINI, THE OTHER DIRECTORS, THE METHOD, THE MISSION, MENTAL ECOLOGY, HYPNOSIS, THE INTERNET
Andrea Fagioli, Nazareno Taddei un gesuita avanti, ed. Edav, Roma, 2000
Was it some kind of conspiracy?
Not really. The point is, as I said, that things used to work like that. I just read the book by Ettore Bernabei "The trusty man", through some things he says, I was able to understand the situations that I had heard about and that I was not able to identify. They were a mystery for me. Everything falls into a reality that I now see from an Ignatian point of view: on the battlefield there are two sides, the formation of Christ (Jerusalem) and the formation of Satan (Babylon), the world of communication is the land on which the battle takes place. I believe there are the ones who sincerely try to follow Christ and those who, in the name of Christ, follow the opposite side. Even today I see something like that happening almost every day. However it is not always "devils." They don’t even realize of being on Satan’s side. Take for example mental confusion. My studies led me to formulate a methodology that forces you to pursuit the truth. Mental confusion is against the pursuit of the truth and today's refusal to seek the truth has become an issue. That's why many say that my theory is outdated, because it tries to get closer to the truth.
Are you trying to tell me that things have always been smooth for you?
Not at all! When I was at the Lateran University, after four years of teaching, to send me away without attracting attention, they closed my course and they reopened it after two years with another title and, of course, with another teacher. But some students also wanted to graduate with me. Similar things have happened to me before. I think that, apart from my personal limitations and imperfections, the two "Discourses on the ideal film" of Pius XII have been forgotten.
Is that all?
Actually, I think it is a bit 'more complex.One day I decided that after Mass (that during my stay in Milan I was celebrating every day at the Sisters of Maria Bambina in Via S. Sofia) I was going to get some satisfaction. God obviously didn’t like it and during the Mass he made me realize that I didn’t have to. I insisted and he made me realize that I would have always been thwarted in my activity but that he would have helped me. When I asked if this would have also compromised the outcome of the pastoral care of souls and of my priestly action, I had the impression of being reassured that it was not the case, because He would have helped; and that something towards the end of my life would have changed in my favour. I obviously prayed hard and then I went where I wanted, but I didn’t manage to have that satisfaction.
This to say that things didn’t always go smoothly, but the Lord always helped me to hold on. And above all I realized that the Almighty does things seriously and keeps his word. The important thing is that we try to be faithful.
You made over 200 television directions. Do you feel like the ‘father’ of Mass on TV?
It doesn’t really matter if I feel like that or not. The point is that in the last months there was a national conference on Mass on TV and nobody called nor invited me. Actually there was someone who had to prepare an essay and called me to have some information, but then they didn’t mention my name. Usually this is what happens to those who come after: reinventing the wheel without realizing it has already been invented not even asking what can be done to improve it.
For how long did you direct religious broadcasting for RAI?
For about eight years, until 1960. Suddenly one day while I entered Rai in Corso Sempione going to work as everyday, the doorman stopped me and asked me “Who are you?” even if he knew me well. I immediately understood that my exclusion was due to the ‘Dolce Vita “issue and I left.
You won the first two awards that Rai managed to win. The two prizes are among the things you keep in your studio.
In 1958 I won the Unda prize for the category “Religious reportage” with the documentary “Among the gypsies” broadcasted the 15th of January 1957. In 1959 I won again that prize for the documentary “He said: stand up and walk” about the maimed of Don Gnocchi. Those two prizes caused me many problems.
What do you mean?
Well, apart from envy, when I won he first prize I had eight TV programmes a month: four masses and four religious features. Rai was providing me with the technical equipment and gave me, if I’m not wrong, 100 thousand lira for each programme that I could use for all the organizational costs, including my subsistence. After I won the prize Pugliese called me, he was director at the time, and told me “This is the first prize that Rai wins in the world. You are great; you deserve to be helped to move forward in this field. Starting from now instead of eight you will have four TV programmes.” Consequently, my remuneration was cut in half. The following year, after another prize, Pugliese gave me the same speech and broadcasting became two per month. My fee suffered the loss of a further half.
Moreover, after the first prize, someone from the Rai cultural area, I can’t mention his name because it would be unbelievable, came to me and told me: “See Taddei, you won the prize with a programme that cost Rai 100 thousand lire, while a certain director - who wanted to do a programme about gypsies - was not allowed to because he needed two millions and a half. You made it with only a hundred thousand lire. You have to be careful to make good programmes with a low budget because you take away jobs from other people.” I replied, “Listen, I am here because my superiors put me here, especially Cardinal Schuster. I have to do my best because I am here to do my mission”. I also remember once, we were about to go live and the technician told me, “Father we don’t have the «pg» and we can’t broadcast”; his name was Rosa; he was a communist but very good at his job. They were trying to boycott my programmes. I didn’t panic and told him, “We have an extra «pg» in the drawer, you have five minutes to fix this if we are more than two minutes late I sue you.” We were perfectly on time.
Were you again under pressure after that?
Another executive Rai, a friend of mine, who still has a prominent place in the Catholic world, while talking about the difficulties I was encountering, he said, "Taddei, you have to realize that either you say what others want you to say or it will be difficult for you to continue. Your problem is that you don’t have the "melting point". "What is the melting point?" I asked. I learned that is the figure at which a person agrees to say what others want. I did not even know this "melting point" existed and until the Lord helps me I will never have one. So far, thank God, it went well.
So you had issues with Catholics since the beginning of your first TV programmes?
I had issues with them at the time and even later on. Regarding the early days of my religious programs, I remember an episode with Monsignor Pisoni, who was director of the Catholic newspaper "Italy", the predecessor of “Avvenire”. Together with the representative of Cardinal Schuster I asked him to announce on the newspaper our religious programs, which were completely neglected by the “Radiocorriere”. Pisoni was contrary to public television, he was an advocate “ante litteram” of free televisions. "You see?”, he said,“We are the Catholics of the billions." and asked me to do a bad job in my programs, stating that public television was hiding behind them to say that it was not secularist, but in reality was run by Freemasons and Communists. Pisoni clearly told me, "The Freemasons and communists shoot you on your chest, from now on bare in mind that Catholics will shoot in the back."
This is a serious statement.
It is. But other than that the two events explain how things used to work and still work; and they also explain why in the Catholic circle my proposals have never been accepted.
