The Roman Forum: From Von Hildebrand to Hermeticism

How Did a Valentin Tomberg Devotee End Up Being on the Faculty of the Roman Forum?

(AI depiction of the Hellenistic Daemon of Valentin Tomberg Assisting Dr. Morello at the Roman Forum)

By all accounts, the Roman Forum’s Gardone Summer Symposium was once the high altar of traditional Catholic resistance. Founded by Dietrich von Hildebrand, a man Pius XII called “the twentieth-century Doctor of the Church,” the Forum sought to rally intellect, art, and the full Catholic tradition in defense of Christendom. It was a countercultural sanctuary in the wake of Humanae Vitae, a refuge for those scandalized by aggiornamento and the “autodemolition” of the Church.

So why was the 2025 Gardone Summer Symposium, this once-revered gathering of traditional Catholics, headlined by a man who speaks fondly of Valentin Tomberg manifesting in his garden shed?

Twelve Years in Attendance”: Morello at the Roman Forum

Dr. Sebastian Morello, faculty member and featured speaker at this year’s Roman Forum, opened his lecture with a long defense of his recent foray into Hermetic and esoteric sources. In his own words, Morello described being the target of a “slightly bizarre online controversy,” in which an “eccentric coalition” of “orthobros, sedevacantists, and postconciliar neocons” accused him of being a “dark occultist,” a “heretic,” and a “blasphemer.” He dismissed the most severe allegations, including that he advocated sorcery or called sacramentals talismans, as absurd and defamatory, while defending his method of engaging with Hermetic and non-Christian sources as part of a legitimate Christian intellectual tradition.

He noted that one critic suggested he needed an exorcist, and dismissed that judgment by citing the example of St. John’s use of Logos, the Neoplatonism of Clement of Alexandria, and Aquinas’s interest in Islamic philosophy. He failed, however, to note that none of those saints dabbled in esotericism, praised Rosicrucians, or wrote books casually referencing the Emerald Tablet, ritual magic, or Valentin Tomberg as inspired guides for spiritual renewal.

Dr. Morello assured the Roman Forum audience that these accusations were all false and then proceeded to cite the Bhagavata Purana, defend Rudolf Steiner’s cosmology, cite pagan epics of the “sacred feminine,” and present the Virgin Mary as materia prima in a dual incarnation alongside Christ. The climax of his argument was a theology of stewardship rooted not in Genesis or the Fathers, but in Darya Dugina, daughter of Alexander Dugin.

At one point in his lecture at the Roman Forum he said the following, without a trace of irony:

“We can say that revealed religion has two incarnations: the incarnation of the Creator in Jesus Christ, and the incarnation of creation in the Virgin Mary.”

Let that sink in.

Dr. Morello has not merely attended the Roman Forum for over a decade, he is now a featured member of its official faculty, listed alongside names like Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, Dr. Joseph Shaw, Dr. Brian McCall, and the Forum’s own director, Dr. John Rao.

Ahriman, AI, and Artisan Roofing: Morello’s Path Through Modernity

In his Roman Forum interview with Catholic Family News, Dr. Morello explains how to survive modernity. Spoiler: it involves quoting Rudolf Steiner, rejecting propositional truth, and encouraging trads to become thatchers. Yes, seriously.

Dr. Morello insists he doesn't literally believe Steiner's occult idea that the devil will incarnate as Ahriman¹. He just agrees with everything else. In his telling, the spiritual crisis of modernity boils down to two diabolical forces: Luciferian abstraction and Ahrimanic materialism. It’s basically a Gnostic yin-yang with a Latin Mass twist. And while he throws Aquinas into the mix for good measure, what he’s really selling is a mood board for spiritual resilience: part esoterica, part post-liberal angst, part monastic retreat center.

To fight back, we apparently need “initiation.” Not into the Faith, mind you, into experience. You don't believe truth anymore; you embody it. Dogma becomes ambiance and doctrine gives way to community dinners and curated libraries. The sacraments? They’re there, somewhere in the background, next to the craft beer and aesthetic lighting.

Morello also declares that AI might be “the devil giving himself a body through software,” which would be amusing if it weren’t the most theologically coherent thing in the whole interview. He warns we’ll all be enslaved by QR code parking apps, and his answer is to start collecting vintage books and find a skill people still need in 50 years, like thatching. He recommends roofing cottages as a path to dignity and escape from technocratic doom. Apparently tradition means returning to the Bronze Age.

What’s missing from all this? Just the actual Church and actual Traditional Catholicism. You know, the kind Von Hildebrand was interested in? No mention of Rome’s apostasy, no confrontation with doctrinal collapse, no judgment against Leo XIV’s regime. It’s survival without authority and Truth without teaching. Catholicism as moodboard. Because when the barque of Peter is capsizing, the real answer is to build a beautiful raft out of Steiner quotes and hope it floats.

The Magic Behind the Microphone

In his book Mysticism, Magic, and Monasteries, published by Os Justi, Peter Kwasniewski’s own imprint, Dr. Morello embraces Hermetic sources and explicitly describes “magic” as a necessary part of any “complete metaphysics.” In interviews and public forums, he treats the distinction between “sacred” and “profane” magic as a technical issue. In a video podcast titled The Gnostalgia Podcast, Morello describes his friend Roger Buck telling him he was guided by the spirit of Valentin Tomberg, author of Meditations on the Tarot, a text that defends reincarnation and suggests Satan will be saved.

Tomberg, described as a Hellenistic daemon from the celestial spheres, apparently guided Dr. Morello’s dissertation on Joseph de Maistre. Morello refers to Tomberg as “one of the gods walking among us.” He shares a stout in his garden studio while casually describing post-mortem divinized guidance as “cool.” Listen below:

(AI depiction of the Hellenistic Daemon of Valentin Tomberg assisting Dr. Morello writing his dissertation, inspired by the Gnostalgia Podcast.)

This Isn’t a Feud. It’s a Fault Line.

Dr. Morello claims his critics haven't read his book. But we’ve listened to his interviews. We’ve watched him blur the line between sacramental and magical, between saint and seer, between Catholic mysticism and esoteric gnosis. He refers to postmortem thinkers as guides. He defends magic as metaphysics. He relativizes Christian tradition by embedding it in a larger spiritualist framework. He refers to Tomberg’s book as a genius work of extraordinary power. This isn’t Catholic traditionalism, it’s Traditionalism™, in the René Guénon sense.

Yet despite all this, despite the articles, the podcast clips, the book, and the protests from lay Catholics, priests, and philosophers alike, Dr. Morello was not only invited to speak at Gardone this summer, he was honored. This isn’t just a matter of taste or tone. It’s about first principles.

Whatever one may think of some internal squabbles in traditionalist circles, this is something else entirely. This is not a matter of whether Summorum Pontificum was prudentially ideal or whether Leo XIV is being too soft on synodality. This is a man openly defending the metaphysical utility of Hermetic categories in theological discourse at a conference that still wraps itself in the flag of von Hildebrand.

What Would von Hildebrand Say?

Dietrich von Hildebrand warned that the post-conciliar revolution would deform the Faith by masking novelty as renewal. He would not have tolerated a single sentence of Dr. Morello’s esoteric synthesis. And yet Dr. Morello now speaks at a conference founded by a man who once wrote The Lethargy of the Guardians, blasting Catholic bishops for allowing modernism.

There is no plausible world in which von Hildebrand would have given a speaking slot, or faculty position, to someone writing glowingly about “sacred magic” or citing Dugin’s daughter as a metaphysical light. That is not the defense of Christian civilization, but spiritual theater. It is costume-tradition cloaked in incense and Arvo Pärt, punctuated by academic mystification and occult rebranding.

To platform this without rebuke is not just negligence, it is complicity.

It tells us that the Roman Forum, for all its talk of resisting modernity’s disintegration of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful, apparently finds no issue with placing an occult-sympathetic mystagogue on its faculty roster.

The question is no longer whether Dr. Morello believes that Hermeticism can rehabilitate the Church. The question is why so many traditional Catholic institutions still believe that he should be given a microphone, especially under the banner of a man who once wrote The Devastated Vineyard in defense of perennial Catholic orthodoxy.

The Counterrevolution Cannot Be Gnostic

You can’t build a counterrevolution on Gnostalgia. The entire point of the traditional Catholic movement was to reject the heresies of modernism, syncretism, and spiritual subjectivism. To take a man attempting to baptize occult currents and call him a faculty member of a forum dedicated to Truth, Beauty, and Goodness is a betrayal of that cause.

Again, this is about first principles. Either the Roman Forum returns to the clarity of its founder, or it will go the way of every other institution that tried to ride the tiger of spiritual pluralism while pretending to defend Tradition.

The next symposium shouldn’t be held in Gardone. It should be held at the tomb of Dietrich von Hildebrand after a Mass of Reparation.

You can’t fight Satan’s “smoke” with Valentin Tomberg. And you don’t honor Dietrich von Hildebrand by platforming a man who thinks Mary is the metaphysical embodiment of materia prima.

We all know what would happen if someone gave a talk at Gardone defending universalism, or arguing that the Latin Mass was outdated. And yet the man who wrote that Hermes Trismegistus might be the necessary tool to awaken the Church from her slumber? He gets a podium, a pint, and polite applause.

What has happened to our movement?

---

Disclaimer:

This article presents theological critique and religious commentary based on publicly available materials and the published writings of referenced individuals. No accusation of personal wrongdoing is made toward any author. All analysis is offered in a spirit of fidelity to Catholic teaching, pastoral concern for the salvation of souls, and in accordance with the principles of free speech, religious inquiry, and fair comment protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

This article also contains parody. All AI-generated imagery is symbolic, satirical, and not intended as literal depictions of any individual’s beliefs, actions, or affiliations.

1. In Zoroastrianism, Ahriman is a figure representing the evil spirit, the embodiment of darkness and chaos, and the source of strife and confusion. This is a footnote I never thought I’d be writing. Lucky me.