Extolled

Pius XI, Pope, to a gathering of parish priests and special Lenten preachers recommended that, during this period, sane and wholesome reading be extolled in their services. Other books should not be extolled. Said the Pontiff: "Favored by marvelous gifts from God for ingenuity and creative fantasy, it is rare that he has not left in his work some traces of impiety and immorality." "He" was, all agreed, famed Italian poet and playwright Gabriele d'Annunzio.