`
My Saviour Jesus Christ, by the merits of your Sacred Passion and your
most holy Death, give me the grace of perfect contrition for my sins, so that I
may never offend or displease you again.
St. Francis de Sales
When anyone perceives a dirty spot on his hand, he washes it away at
once; after washing, however, not only has the spot disappeared, but the whole
hand is clean. Thus it happens that if a
person commits a slight offence, but makes an act of contrition, he thus, by
humility, becomes more pleasing to Me.
Greater humility, more interior attachment to God: this is the only
conclusion you should draw from you failings.
Our Lord to St. Gertrude the Great
If we are guilty of pride let us try and amend and not flatter
ourselves that we possess the smallest degree of humility, until by our good
resolutions carefully carried out we have mortified our evil tendency to speak
ill of our neighbor. Let us hearken to the Holy Ghost: "Where pride is
there also shall be reproach, but where humility is there also is wisdom"
(Prov. 11, 2).
Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo, Humility of Heart
History must be judged in the light of heaven. While thou and thine reign there eternally,
judging nations and ruling over peoples; the dynasties of thy successors on
earth, ever jealous of the Church, and long wandering in schism and heresy,
have become extinct one after another, sterilized by God’s wrath, and having
none but that vain renown we hereof no trace is found in the book of life. How much more noble and more durable, O
Edward, were the fruits of thy holy virginity!
Teach us to look upon this present life as a preparation for another, an
everlasting world; and to value human events by their eternal results.
Dom Gueranger, The Liturgical Year, St. Edward the Confessor, King of
England
The holy king, St.
Edward, had a great devotion to building
and enriching churches. Westminster
Abbey was his latest and noblest work.
It occupied his last sixteen years, during which he spent on it the
tithe of his revenues. He fell ill in
the midst of the last preparations for its dedication, and even on his deathbed
would make ready the sacred vessels and ornaments, and write the deeds for its
endowment. He just lived to see the
completion of his work of love. God
rewarded him by making the glorious church he had raised the shrine of his
relics; and, amid all the destruction of sacred things in England, the saintly
body has remained undisturbed within it to this day.
Rev. Henry S. Bowden,
Lives of Saints
INSTRUCTION ON INDULGENCES
Be of good heart,
son, thy sins are forgiven thee (Matt. 9, 2).
The same that Christ
says to the man sick of the palsy, the priest says to every contrite sinner in
the confessional, and thus remits the crime or the guilt of his sins, and the
eternal punishment, by virtue of the authority given him by God. But since sins
not only bring with them guilt and eternal punishment, but also temporal and
indeed spiritual or supernatural punishment, such as, painful conditions of the
soul, as well in this world as in purgatory, and natural ones, as: poverty,
disease, all sorts of adversities and accidents, we should endeavor to liberate
ourselves from them by means of indulgences.
What is an indulgence?
It is a total or
partial remission of the temporal punishment which man would have to suffer
either in this or the next life, after the sins have been remitted.
How do we know that
after the remission of the sins there still remains temporal punishment?
From holy Scripture;
for our first parents after the forgiveness of their sin, were still afflicted
with temporal punishment (Gen. 3). God likewise forgave the sins of the
children of Israel, who murmured so often against Him in the desert, but not
their punishment, for He excluded them from the Promised Land, and caused them
to die in the desert (Num. 14). Moses and Aaron experienced the same, on
account of a slight want of confidence in God (Num. 20, 12, Deut. 32, 51-52).
David, indeed, received pardon from God through the Prophet Nathan for adultery
and murder (II Kings 12), still he had to endure heavy temporal punishment.
Finally, faith teaches us, that we are tortured in purgatory for our sins,
until we have paid the last farthing (Matt. 5, 26).
Did the Church always
agree with this doctrine of Scripture?
Yes; for she always
taught, that by the Sacrament of Penance the guilt and eternal punishment, due
to sin, are indeed forgiven for the sake of the infinite merits of Jesus, but
that temporal punishment still remains, for which the sinner must do penance.
Even in the earliest ages she imposed great penances upon sinners for their
sins which were already forgiven. For instance, murder or adultery was punished
by a penance of twenty years; perjury, eleven; fornication, denial of faith or
fortune-telling, by seven years of severe penance with fasting, etc. During
this time it was not allowed to travel, except on foot, to be present at the holy
Sacrifice of the Mass, or to receive the holy Eucharist. If the penitents
showed a great zeal for penance and sincere amendment, or if distinguished
members of the Church, particularly martyrs, interceded for them, the bishops
granted them an indulgence, that is, they remitted the remaining punishment
either totally or partially. In our days, on account of the weakness of the
faithful, the Church is lenient. Besides the ecclesiastical, the spiritual
punishments which would have to be suffered either here or in purgatory for the
taking away of sins, are shortened and mitigated by indulgences through he
treasure of the communion of saints.
Has the Church the
power to remit temporal punishments, or to grant indulgences?
The Council of Trent
expressly states, that the Church has power to grant indulgences (Sess. 25),
and this statement it supports by the words of Christ. For as Christ protests:
Amen, I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also
in heaven; so He also promised, that whatever the Church looses upon earth, is
ratified and loosed in heaven. Whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be
loosed also in heaven (Matt. 18, 18). Even an apostle granted an indulgence. In
the person and by the power of Christ, that his spirit might be saved in the
day of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Cor. 2, 10; I Cor. 5, 4-5), St. Paul forgave
the incestuous Corinthian, upon whom he had imposed a heavy punishment.
What is meant by
saying, indulgences are granted out of the treasury of the saints or of the
Church?
By this is meant that
God, by the Church, remits the temporal punishment due to sin for the sake of
the merits of Christ and the saints, and supplies, as it were, by these merits
what is still wanting in our satisfaction.
What kinds of indulgences
are there?
Two; plenary and
partial indulgences. A plenary indulgence, if rightly gained, remits all
ecclesiastical and temporal punishment, which we would otherwise have to
expiate by penance. A partial indulgence, however, remits only so many days or
years of the temporal punishment, as, according to the penitential code of the
primitive ages of the Church; the sinner would have been obliged to spend in
severe penance. Hence the name forty day's indulgence, etc.
What is a Jubilee?
It is a plenary indulgence,
which the pope grants to the faithful of the entire world, whereby all the
temporal punishments of sin, even in cases reserved to the pope or the bishops,
are remitted, and forgiven in the name of God, if the sinner confesses
contritely and receives the holy Eucharist and has a firm purpose of doing
penance.
What is required to
gain an indulgence?
First, that we should
be in the state of grace, and have already obtained, by true repentance,
forgiveness of those sins, the temporal punishment of which is to be remitted
by the indulgence; and secondly, that we should exactly perform the good works
prescribed for the gaining of the indulgence.
Do indulgences free
us from performing works of penance?
By no means: for
there are few in the proper state to receive a plenary indulgence in its
fullness, since not only purity of soul is necessary but also the inclination
to sin must be rooted out, it therefore cannot be the intention of the Church
to free us from all works of penance by granting us indulgences. She cannot act
contrary to the word of Jesus: Unless you do penance, you shall all likewise
perish Luke 13, 3). She rather wishes to assist our weakness, to supply our
inability to do the required penance, and to contribute what is wanting in our
penance, by applying the satisfaction of Christ and the saints to us by
indulgences. If we, therefore, do not wish to do penance for our own sins, we
shall have no part in the merits of others by indulgences.
Can indulgences be
gained for the souls of the faithful departed?
Yes, by way of
suffrage, so far as we comply with the required conditions, and thus beg of
God, for the merits of His Son and the saints, to release the souls in
purgatory. Whether God receive this petition or not, remains with Him, He will
act only according to the condition of the deceased. We must, therefore, not
depend upon the indulgences and good works which may be performed for us after
death, but rather endeavor, during our life-time, to secure our salvation by
leading a pious life; by our own good works and by the gaining of indulgences.
What follows from the
doctrine of the Church concerning indulgences?
That an indulgence is
no grant or license to commit sin, as the enemies of the Church falsely assert;
that an indulgence grants no forgiveness of sins past or future, much less is
permission given to commit sin; that no Catholic can believe that by gaming
indulgences he is released from penance, or other good works, free from the
fight with his evil inclinations, passions and habits, from compensating for
injuries, repairing scandals, from retrieving neglected good, and glorifying
God by works and sufferings; but that indulgences give nothing else than
partial or total remission of temporal punishment; that they remind us of our
weakness and lukewarmness which is great when compared with the zeal and fervor
of the early Christians; that they impel us to satisfy the justice of God
according to our ability. Finally, they remind us to thank God continually that
He gave the Church a means in the inexhaustible treasure of the merits of
Christ and His saints, to help our weakness and to supply what is wanting in
our penance.
Early in the third century Callistus, then a deacon, was entrusted by
Pope St. Zephyrinus with the rule of the clergy, and set by him over the
cemeteries of the Christians at Rome.
The charge was no light one. He
who undertook it became, in a sense, the guardian and judge of his brethren,
with an authority only second to that of the bishop; and, at the death of
Zephyrinus, Callistus, according to the
Roman usage, succeeded to the Apostolic See.
A decree is ascribed to him appointing the four fasts of the Ember
seasons, but his name is best known in connection with the old cemetery on the
Appian Way, which was enlarged and adorned by him, and is called to this day
the Catacomb of St. Callistus. In it
were laid Ss. Sebastian, Cornelius, Damasus, and, as the legend over the
entrance tells us, 170,000 martyrs and 46 Popes, "whose bodies are buried
in peace; who came out of great tribulation, having endured for the name of
Christ the pains of death, that they might obtain an inheritance in the house
of the Lord." Callistus added
another name to the list of those grand silent Pontiffs who fed and governed
the flock of Christ, and at last, after the example of the Good Shepherd, whose
worthy vicars they were, gave their lives for the sheep. He was martyred October 14, 223.
Rev. Henry S. Bowden, Lives of Saints
O Jesus, the duty of souls admitted to Your intimacy is to suffer with
You, to raise the Cross on high, not to allow it to leave their hands, whatever
the perils in which they find themselves, and not to let themselves be found
wanting in suffering. Now that You have
shown me what a single blessing it is to suffer trials and persecutions for
Your sake, I find I cannot cease from desiring trials; for those who follow You
must take the way which You took, unless they want to be lost. Blessed are their labors which, even here in
this life, have such abundant recompense!
O Jesus, what greater proof of Your love could You give me than to
choose for me all that You willed for Yourself?
To die or to suffer: this is what I should desire.”
St. Teresa of Jesus
"Remember, the Lord
seeks not only flowers but fruits, that is, not only good desires and
resolutions but also holy works."
St. Bernard
Obedience
is governed by the virtue of Religion, which is itself perfected by the Gift of
Piety
Incited by that profound cry of “Father!” (Gal. 4, 6) which the Holy
Ghost repeats within us, we rise toward heaven, longing to win God’s heart and
to behave in all things as His true children…. This is how the gift of piety
helps virtue of justice as well as the virtue of religion…..If we aspire to
live in close union with God, it is right for us to desire and pray for the
gift of piety. Under its influence our
prayer will become more affectionate, more filial, and we shall attend with
greater facility to all that concerns divine worship. Let us ask for this gift, especially when we
seem to be very dry and cold, so that in time of trial and interior suffering
by its help we shall go to God as a child to its Father. Furthermore, our diligent, constant
application to prayer, notwithstanding the lack of sensible devotion, is one of
the best dispositions for bringing us the life-giving breath of the gift of
piety.
Rev. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., Divine Intimacy
"His Majesty desires and loves courageous souls if they have no
confidence in themselves but walk in humility."
St. Teresa of Jesus
O humility, humility! It is the lack of this which prevents us from
making progress, for the foundation of the whole spiritual edifice is humility,
and, if you have not true humility, the Lord will not raise it very high for it
lacks solidity.
St. Teresa of Avila
The Mongols were already inundating Silesia, when, in the plains of
Liegnitz, they found themselves confronted by an army of thirty thousand
warriors, headed by the duke of Silesia, Henry the pious, the son of St.
Hedwig. The encounter was terrible, the
victory remained long undecided, until at length, by the odious treason of some
Ruthenium princes, it turned in favor of the barbarians. Duke Henry and the flower of the Polish
knighthood were left upon the battlefield… It is Poland’s happy lot, that at
each decisive epoch in its history a saint appears to point out the road to the
attainment of its glorious destiny. Over
the battlefield of Liegnitz shines the gentle figure of St. Hedwig, mother of
duke Henry the pious. She had retired,
in her widowhood, into the Cistercian monastery of Trebnitz founded by
herself. Three years before the coming
of the barbarians, she had had a revelation touching the future fate of her
son. She offered her sacrifice in
silence; and far from discouraging the young duke, she was the first to animate
him to resistance…. “It is the will of God,” said St. Hedwig; “what God wills,
and what pleases Him, must please us also.”
Dom Gueranger, The Liturgical Year, Feast of St. Hedwig
St. Luke, according to tradition, was an artist, as well as a man of
letters; and with a soul alive to all the most delicate inspirations, he
consecrated his pencil to the holiest use, and handed down to us the features
of the Mother of God. It was an
illustration worthy of the Gospel which relates the divine Infancy; and it won
for the artist a new title to the gratitude of those who never saw Jesus and
Mary in the flesh. Hence St. Luke is the
patron of Christian art; and also of the medical profession, for in the Holy
Scripture itself he is said to have been a physician, as we shall see from the
breviary lessons. He had studied all the
sciences in the native city of Antioch; and the brilliant capital of the east
had reason to be proud of its illustrious son.
Dom Gueranger, The Liturgical Year, Feast of St. Luke
"Behold the Heart that has loved humanity, and has spared nothing
for them, even to consuming itself to give them pledges of Its love, but which
receives from the majority of people, no other return but ingratitude, and
insults toward the Sacrament of Love."
Jesus Christ to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
O my only love, I will endeavor to hold in subjection and submission to
Thee all that is within me, doing what I believe to be most perfect or most
glorious to Thy Sacred Heart, from which I promise to withhold nothing in my
power, and not to refuse to do or suffer anything in order to make it known,
loved, and glorified.
St. Margaret Mary, her vow to the Sacred Heart
We shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavoring to know
God; for, beholding His greatness, we realize our own littleness; His purity
shows us our foulness; and by meditating upon His humility we find how very far
we are from being humble.
St. Teresa of Avila
Usury
: Oppression of the poor; a sin that cries to heaven for vengeance!
In the first place, it is obvious that not only is wealth concentrated
in our times but an immense power and despotic economic dictatorship is
consolidated in the hands of a few… This dictatorship is being most forcibly
exercised by those who, since they hold the money and completely control it,
control credit also and rule the lending of money. Hence they regulate the flow, so to speak, of
the life-blood whereby the entire economic system lives, and have so firmly in
their grasp the soul, as it were, of economic life that no one can breathe
against their will.
Pope Pius XI, Quadragessimo Anno, 1931
The world is on fire. Men try to
condemn Christ once again, as it were, for they bring a thousand false
witnesses against Him. They would raze
His Church to the ground… It breaks my heart to see so many souls traveling to perdition. I would the evil were not so great… I felt
that I would have laid down a thousand lives to save a single one of all the
souls that were being lost.
St. Teresa of Jesus
On one occasion St. Margaret Mary saw in a vision the Heart of Jesus,
with these words upon it: "My love reigns in suffering, triumphs in
humility, and rejoices in unity."
At another time the Sacred Heart appeared to her radiant with an
effulgence far more dazzling than the sun; then she saw her own heart, like a
shapeless atom, trying to approach that abyss of light: it was unable to reach
it until the Sacred Heart drew it into itself, and she heard these words:
"Lose thyself in My greatness, and see that thou never come forth from it;
for if thou dost leave it, thou shalt never enter it again."
Rev. Henry S. Bowden
His
Presupposition is that it can be "juridically abrogated," so that is
what Pope Francis, in fact, DID. This constitutes proof that the 1962 Bugnini
transitional Missal is not the "received and approved" immemorial
Roman Rite of Mass which cannot ever be reduced to an INDULT or grant of legal
privilige!
…I would like to draw attention to the fact that this (referring to the
1962 Missal of John XXIII) was never juridically abrogated and, consequently,
in principle, was always permitted…
Pope Benedict XVI, explanatory letter to Motu Proprio, Summorum
Pontificum
The Church, throughout her history, has never abolished nor forbidden
orthodox liturgical forms, which would be quite alien to the Spirit of the
Church.
Pope Benedict XVI as Cardinal Ratzinger, address delivered in Rome,
October 24, 1998
"The ancient Mass has never been abolished nor forbidden."
Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, interview with Il Giornale, 7-8-2007
Hermeneutics
of Continuity/Discontinuity
Pope Benedict XVI – The novelty of “Religious Liberty” is elevated to a
“Church…Demand”
“The Catholic Church firmly advocates that due recognition be given to
the public dimension of religious adherence. In an overwhelmingly pluralist
society, this demand is not unimportant. Care must be taken to guarantee that
others are always treated with respect. Mutual respect grows only on the basis
of agreement on certain inalienable values that are proper to human nature, in
particular the inviolable dignity of every single person. Such agreement does
not limit the expression of individual religions; on the contrary, it allows
each person to bear witness explicitly to what he believes, not avoiding
comparison with others.”
Pope Benedict XVI to the Muslims
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre – Called for a “Wholesale” Revision of the
Texts of Vatican II and said that the text on Religious Liberty is “Contrary to
the Magisterium of the Church.”
The necessity of judging the Second Vatican Council in the light of
Tradition and the unchanging Magisterium of the Church, so as to correct the
texts that are either incompatible with Tradition or equivocal.
Archbishop Lefebvre to Cardinal Ratzinger, CDF, July 21, 1982
“Considering that the Declaration of Religious Liberty is contrary to
the Magisterium of the Church, we ask for a wholesale revision of the text.“We
consider likewise indispensable noteworthy revisions of documents like ‘The
Church in the Modern World’, ‘Non-Christian Religions’, ‘Ecumenism’, and
clarifications of numerous texts presently tending toward confusion.
“Similarly on several points of prime importance, the new Code of Canon Law is
unacceptable by its opposition to the definitive Magisterium of the Church.”
Archbishop Lefebvre to Cardinal Ratzinger, CDF, April 17, 1985
Dogma
- The Formal Object of Divine and Catholic Faith
In theology some want to reduce to a minimum the meaning of dogmas; and
to free dogma itself from terminology long established in the Church and from
philosophical concepts held by Catholic teachers, to bring about a return in
the explanation of Catholic doctrine to the way of speaking used in Holy
Scripture and by the Fathers of the Church. They cherish the hope that when
dogma is stripped of the elements which they hold to be extrinsic to divine
revelation, it will compare advantageously with the dogmatic opinions of those
who are separated from the unity of the Church and that in this way they will
gradually arrive at a mutual assimilation of Catholic dogma with the tenets of
the dissidents. … Some say they are not bound by the doctrine, explained in Our
Encyclical Letter of a few years ago, and based on the Sources of Revelation,
which teaches that the Mystical Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church
are one and the same thing. Some reduce to a meaningless formula the necessity
of belonging to the true Church in order to gain eternal salvation. Others
finally belittle the reasonable character of the credibility of Christian
faith.
These and like errors, it is clear, have crept in among certain of Our sons who
are deceived by imprudent zeal for souls or by false science. To them We are
compelled with grief to repeat once again truths already well known, and to
point out with solicitude clear errors and dangers of error. Pope Pius XII, Humani Generis
Without a “just cause” there is no fortitude. The decisive element is not the wound but the
cause. “A man does not expose his life
to the danger of death except in order to secure justice. Therefore praise for bravery is contingent
upon justice,” says St. Thomas Aquinas.
And in his book On Duties, St. Ambrose says, “Courage without justice is
a lever of evil.”
Josef Pieper
The highest perfection consists not in interior favors, or in great
raptures, or in visions, or in the spirit of prophesy, but in the bringing of
our wills so closely into conformity with the will of God, that as soon as we
realize He wills anything, we desire it with all our might, and take the bitter
with the sweet.
St. Teresa of Avila
The sole concern of him who has but entered into the way of prayer . .
. must be to strive courageously to conform his will to that of God . . .
Herein lies, whole and entire, the highest perfection to which we can attain.
The more perfect the accord is, the more do we receive from the Lord and the
greater is our progress.
St. Teresa of Avila
It is God Who has created me and to Him only I must return.... Oh, dear
Jesus, enable me to grow increasingly in Thy love, to advance in it with firm
and steady steps: so that my heart may be inebriated and inundated by it. Ah! far from fearing to be submerged in it, I
long for it with all my might, and my one wish is to be engulfed in the depths
of the abyss.
Blessed Osanna of Mantua, O. P.
The Pew poll affirms that 95% of Jewish leaders support the crime of
abortion. Similar numbers support same
sex marriages. Just who is this
"one god" that Pope Benedict, Pope Francis and the Jews, in
"mutual esteem and friendship," adore?
Jews and Christians, growing in mutual esteem and friendship will be
able to witness in the world the values that spring from adoration of the One
God.
Pope Benedict XVI
After 40 Years
of Dialogue, Rabbi identifies papal “conundrum.”
The real conundrum that faces Benedict XVI on his visit to Israel… is
should he be loyal to the Gospels which claim that only acceptance of Christ
can bring the messianic age, or should he endorse Vatican II which acknowledges
that Jews… can find the kingdom of God via a different route? Should he look inwards, backwards or
forwards?
Rabbi Jonathan Romain, The Pope’s Jewish Dilemma, The Guardian
EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER
PENTECOST THE POWER AND LOVE OF
JESUS
PRESENCE OF GOD ‑
O Jesus, grant me the grace to correspond always with the gifts of Your love.
MEDITATION:
I. A poor paralytic is presented to Our
Lord; he probably had himself brought there to ask for bodily health, but in
the presence of the purity and holiness which emanates from the Person of
Jesus, he realizes that he is a sinner and remains confused and humiliated
before Our Lord. Jesus has already read his heart, and seeing his faith and
humility, He does not even wait for him to speak, but suddenly says to him with
infinite kindness: “Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee” (Gosp :
Mt 9, I‑8). The first and the greatest miracle has taken place: the man
is no longer a slave of Satan; he is a child of God. Jesus, who came to save
souls, rightfully healed the soul before the body.
This miracle, however, does not please the
scribes who, not believing in the divinity of Jesus, begin immediately in the
secret of their hearts to accuse Him of blasphemy. But the Master, who had read
the soul of the paralytic, also reads theirs. “Why do you think evil in your
hearts?” If Jesus had seen there even a little humility and faith, He would
have been as ready to heal them as He was to heal the heart of the paralytic;
but unfortunately, He found nothing but pride and obstinacy. However, He wishes
to use every means to soften them, so He gives them the strongest proof of His
divinity. “But that you may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to
forgive sins then He said to the man sick of the palsy – ‘Arise, take up thy
bed, and go into thy house.’ And he arose and went into his house.” The miracle
was striking and instantaneous. The word of Jesus effected immediately what it
expressed. The words of God alone could have such power. But the scribes will
not admit that they are defeated when the heart is proud and obstinate not even
factual evidence is capable of moving it.
Let us never say our faith is weak because
we do not see or touch with our hand the truth which is proposed for our
belief; let us rather admit that it is weak because our heart is not
sufficiently docile to grace, nor entirely free from pride. If we want to have
strong faith, let us be as humble and simple as children; if we wish to share
in the grace of sanctification which was given to the paralytic, let us offer
ourselves to Our Lord with contrite, humble hearts, thoroughly convinced that
we need His help and forgiveness.
2. The Gospel presents Jesus to us in all
the splendor of His divine personality, possessing all the powers proper to
God. The Epistle (I Cor 1, 4‑8) shows Him in the act of putting His
divinity at our service, as it were, to sanctify us and make us divine. Jesus
continues to do for our souls what He did for the soul of the paralytic, and
today’s Epistle is a beautiful synthesis of His action in us, an action far
reaching and complete, embracing our whole being. Contemplating this action,
St. Paul bursts forth in a hymn of gratitude: “I give thanks to my God always
for you, for the grace of God that is given you in Christ Jesus, that in all
things you are made rich in Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge ...so
that nothing is wanting to you in any grace.” Yes, every grace, every gift
comes to us from Jesus, and through them our person and our life are
sanctified. By means of sanctifying grace, He sanctifies our soul; through the
infused virtues, He sanctifies our faculties; and by actual grace, He
sanctifies our activity, enabling us to act supernaturally. Yet even this does
not satisfy His liberality: He is not content with setting us on the road to God,
supernaturalized by grace and the virtues, but He wishes to substitute His
divine way of acting for our human way; therefore, He enriches us with the
gifts of the Holy Spirit, which make us capable of being moved by God Himself.
All this is the gift of Jesus to us, the fruit of His Passion. The Holy Spirit
is also His gift, the Gift par excellence, which He merited for us by His death
on the Cross, the Gift which He and the Father are continually sending to us
from heaven to enlighten and direct our souls.
It seems as if Jesus, the true Son of God,
is not jealous of His divinity or His prerogatives, but seeks every possible
means to make us share by grace what He possesses by nature. How true it is that the characteristic of
love is to give oneself and to place those one loves on a plane of equality
with oneself!
Let our hearts be filled with gratitude;
let us correspond to the infinite love of Jesus and always keep ourselves under
its influence, for He wills to “confirm us unto the end without crime, in the
day of His coming” (cf. I Cor 1, 8).
COLLOQUY:
“O Jesus, You have taken away my death by
giving me Your life; You have taken my flesh to give me Your Spirit; You have
charged Yourself with my sins to bestow grace on me.
“Thus, O my Redeemer, all Your pains are my
treasure, and my wealth. You clothe me with Your purple, You honor me with Your
crown, Your sorrows are a gift to me, Your grief sustains me, Your wounds heal
me, Your Blood enriches me, Your love inebriates me.
“You are the repose, the fire, and the
desire of my soul. You are the Shepherd, and the Lamb who takes away the sins
of the world. You are the eternal Pontiff, powerful to appease the wrath of the
supreme Father. Who would not praise You, O Lord? Who would not love You with
all his heart? O benign Jesus, inflame my soul with this love, show me Your
beautiful countenance, make my eyes happy because they see Yours, and refuse
not the kiss of peace to one who loves You. You are the Spouse of my soul; it
seeks You and calls You tearfully. You, O Holy One, have delivered it from
death by Your death, and, wounding it with Your love, You have not despised it.
Why does my misery not feel the sweetness of Your presence? Listen, my God and
Savior, give me a heart that will love You, for there is nothing sweeter than
to burn always with Your love.” (Ven. Louis of Granada).
Tropologically; by the sick man’s taking up, and carrying his bed is meant,
that by the just judgment of God it cometh to pass that the sinner who
aforetime willingly consented to temptation, after he has repented, feels
temptation against his will. For repentance truly takes away sin, but not
sinful habits and depraved inclinations, which the sinner of his own will
contracted and put on. Thus S. Alary of Egypt, after her conversion, felt for
seventeen years the sharp goads of lust, because for so many years she had
shamefully lived in lust.
But when the multitudes saw it they marvelled, &c. Instead of
marvelled, the Latin Vulgate has, they feared. S. Mark adds, that the multitude
said, We never saw it after this fashion. S. Luke, We have seen strange things
to-day. For this man’s whole body was paralyzed. S. Mark says that, he was
borne of four, which shows that the palsy had affected every limb. He was a
different paralytic from the one of whom S. John makes mention (5:2), who was
healed in the Sheep-market at Jerusalem. That man had no one carrying him:
neither did he believe, as this one did, to whom it was said, Son, be of good
cheer.
Tropologically; paralysis is any disease of the soul whatsoever, but
especially of fleshly lust, and the carelessness and indifference to spiritual
things which it generates. For it so entirely prostrates the soul, that it is
without power to lift itself up to virtue, to heaven, to God. Wherefore the man
that labours under this disease must be carried by bearers, that is, by
pastors, preachers, confessors, up upon the housetop, that is, to the desire of
salvation and heavenly things; and then must be let down through the roof to the
feet of Christ; and they must ask of Him by earnest prayer to heal him by His
grace, and restore to him the power of motion, and the sense of spiritual
things. Then when he is healed, let him give thanks to Christ his Saviour, and
let him not be slothful, but let him go away to the house of his mind and
conscience, and sweep it clean of vices, and adorn it with all virtuous
actions. Thus ought the soul to trust in the Lord, because He alone is able to
supply all her wants. She ought to arise from the sleep of sin, and the bed of
depraved habits, by calling to mind into what a state she has fallen, which she
doth by confession; for as he who arises, so also does he who confesses, come
forth: she ought to take up her bed, which pertains to satisfaction, for when
that is enjoined in confession, it is a sort of burden to be borne, for the
flesh which, as a bed, gave pleasure, and as it were carried the dead soul,
ought, after remission and satisfaction, to be a burden to a man, as it was to
him who cried out, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the
body of this death?” So Salermon, Jansen, Toletus, and others, expound this
passage.
Rev. Cornelius a Lapide, The Great Commentary, Matthew 9
St. Joseph’s
forgotten role in Fatima’s ‘Miracle of the Sun’
Voice of the Family | 10-5-2017 – The 13 October 2017 will be the
centenary of the Miracle of Sun and the final apparition of Our Lady of Fatima.
Despite being essential for understanding the period of history that we are now
living through, the details of these remarkable events are far too little
known, including amongst Catholics. In this article, we wish to draw attention
to the much-neglected role of St Joseph during that momentous event.
Following the Miracle
of Sun, and at the culmination of Our Lady’s final apparition, St Joseph also
appeared to the three young seers. Father John de Marchi, in his book The True
Story of Fatima, describes it as follows:
To the left of the
sun, Saint Joseph appeared holding in his left arm the Child Jesus. Saint
Joseph emerged from the bright clouds only to his chest, sufficient to allow
him to raise his right hand and make, together with the Child Jesus, the Sign
of the Cross three times over the world. As Saint Joseph did this, Our Lady
stood in all Her brilliancy to the right of the sun, dressed in the blue and
white robes of Our Lady of the Rosary. Meanwhile, Francisco and Jacinta were
bathed in the marvelous colors and signs of the sun, and Lucia was privileged
to gaze upon Our Lord dressed in red as the Divine Redeemer, blessing the
world, as Our Lady had foretold. Like Saint Joseph, He was seen only from His
chest up. Beside Him stood Our Lady, dressed now in the purple robes of
Our Lady of Sorrows, but without the sword. Finally, the Blessed Virgin appeared
again to Lucia in all Her ethereal brightness, clothed in the simple brown
robes of Mount Carmel.
This final apparition
at Fatima points us towards three particular forms of devotion towards Our Lady
that we are called to practice during this “final battle” against Satan. These
are devotion to:
· her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart
· the Holy Rosary
· the Brown Scapular.
However, it is of the
greatest importance to note that the final apparition of Fatima also directs us
towards the intercession of St Joseph, whom Our Lord intimately associated with
Himself in his blessing of the world.
Father de Marchi
wrote:
Our Lord, already
so much offended by the sins of mankind and particularly by the mistreatment of
the children by the officials of the county, could easily have destroyed the
world on that eventful day. However, Our Lord did not come to destroy, but to
save. He saved the world that day through the blessing of good Saint Joseph and
the love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for Her children on earth. Our Lord
would have stopped the great World War then raging and given peace to the world
through Saint Joseph, Jacinta later declared, if the children had not been
arrested and taken to Ourem.
On the Feast of the
Immaculate Conception, 8 December 1870, Blessed Pope Pius IX, following
appeals received from bishops worldwide, had declared St Joseph to be Patron of
the Universal Church, “in this most sorrowful time” when “the Church herself is
beset by enemies on every side and oppressed by heavy calamities, so that
impious men imagine that the gates of Hell are at length prevailing against
her.”
Pope Leo XIII, to
whom it was revealed in 1884 that Satan would be given, for a time, increased
power to work for the destruction the Church, instituted a new devotion to St
Joseph in his encyclical letter Quamquan pluries, promulgated on the Feast of
the Assumption, 15 August 1889. The Supreme Pontiff wrote:
During periods of
stress and trial – chiefly when every lawlessness of act seems permitted to the
powers of darkness – it has been the custom in the Church to plead with special
fervour and perseverance to God, her author and protector, by recourse to the
intercession of the saints – and chiefly of the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God –
whose patronage has ever been the most efficacious.
He further explained:
We see faith, the
root of all the Christian virtues, lessening in many souls; we see charity
growing cold; the young generation daily growing in depravity of morals and
views; the Church of Jesus Christ attacked on every side by open force or by
craft; a relentless war waged against the Sovereign Pontiff; and the very
foundations of religion undermined with a boldness which waxes daily in
intensity. These things are, indeed, so much a matter of notoriety that it is
needless for Us to expatiate on the depths to which society has sunk in these
days, or on the designs which now agitate the minds of men. In circumstances so
unhappy and troublous, human remedies are insufficient, and it becomes
necessary, as a sole resource, to beg for assistance from the Divine power.
More than a century
after the promulgation of this encyclical the evils identified by Pope Leo XIII
have intensified to a degree that would have been inconceivable to most people
in 1889. Thousands of innocent children are slaughtered every day with the
approval of the governments that ought to be defending them, the sanctity of
marriage is defiled by divorce, adultery and contraception, and the bonds
between parents and their children are being deliberately targeted for
destruction by the most powerful states and institutions in the world. Worst of
all, the Pope himself is responsible for the spread of heresies which are
leading the flock away from Christ and towards eternal damnation.
Pope Leo XIII urged
the faithful, just as Our Lady would do twenty-eight years later at
Fatima, to combat these evils through the prayer of the Holy Rosary:
At this proximity
of the month of October, which We have already consecrated to the Virgin Mary,
under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary, We earnestly exhort the faithful to
perform the exercises of this month with, if possible, even more piety and
constancy than heretofore. We know that there is sure help in the maternal
goodness of the Virgin, and We are very certain that We shall never vainly
place Our trust in her. If, on innumerable occasions, she has displayed her
power in aid of the Christian world, why should We doubt that she will now
renew the assistance of her power and favour, if humble and constant prayers
are offered up on all sides to her? Nay, We rather believe that her
intervention will be the more marvellous as she has permitted Us to pray to
her, for so long a time, with special appeals.
But then, once more
anticipating Fatima, he directed the faithful also towards St Joseph:
But We entertain
another object, which, according to your wont, Venerable Brethren, you will
advance with fervour. That God may be more favourable to Our prayers, and that
He may come with bounty and promptitude to the aid of His Church, We judge it
of deep utility for the Christian people, continually to invoke with great
piety and trust, together with the Virgin-Mother of God, her chaste Spouse, the
Blessed Joseph; and We regard it as most certain that this will be most
pleasing to the Virgin herself.
He further explained:
The divine house
which Joseph ruled with the authority of a father, contained within its limits
the scarce-born Church. From the same fact that the most holy Virgin is the
mother of Jesus Christ is she the mother of all Christians whom she bore on
Mount Calvary amid the supreme throes of the Redemption; Jesus Christ is, in a
manner, the first-born of Christians, who by the adoption and Redemption are
his brothers. And for such reasons the Blessed Patriarch looks upon the
multitude of Christians who make up the Church as confided specially to his
trust – this limitless family spread over the earth, over which, because he is
the spouse of Mary and the Father of Jesus Christ he holds, as it were, a
paternal authority. It is, then, natural and worthy that as the Blessed Joseph
ministered to all the needs of the family at Nazareth and girt it about with
his protection, he should now cover with the cloak of his heavenly patronage
and defend the Church of Jesus Christ.
Therefore the Holy
Father instituted a new prayer to said after the Holy Rosary throughout the
month of October. He intended this prayer to be said, not just in October 1889,
but in October every year. As we prepare for the centenary of the Miracle of
Sun, let us learn the lesson of St Joseph’s apparition at Fatima, and turn to
him for help and protection.
St Joseph, terror of demons,
pray for us!
It must be observed, however, that if the faith were endangered, a
subject ought to rebuke his prelate even publicly. Hence Paul, who was Peter’s
subject, rebuked him in public, on account of the imminent danger of scandal
concerning faith, and, as the gloss of Augustine says on Galatians 2:11, “Peter
gave an example to superiors, that if at any time they should happen to stray
from the straight path, they should not disdain to be reproved by their
subjects.”
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 33, a. 4, ad 2
CATHOLIC
HISTORY
“And what is most
remarkable is that the enemies of the Church—the movements that rend and
crucify her—are in a sense her own offspring and derive their dynamic force
from her.” This includes her current enemies who attack from within the
household. In the crucible of conflict, saints are forged and crowns won.
Actually, however,
Christianity has never accepted these postulates, and the Christian ought to be
the last person in the world to lose hope in the presence of the failure of the
right and the apparent triumph of evil. For all this forms part of the
Christian view of life, and the Christian discipline is expressly designed to
prepare us to face such a situation.
Christianity, to a
far greater degree than any other religion, is a historical religion and it is
knit up inseparably with the living process of history. Christianity teaches
the existence of a divine progress in history which will be realized through
the Church in the Kingdom of God. But at the same time it recognizes the
essential duality of the historical process—the co-existence of two opposing
principles, each of which works and finds concrete social expression in
history. Thus we have no right to expect that Christian principles will work in
practice in the simple way that a political system may work. The Christian order
is a supernatural order. It has its own principles and its own laws which are
not those of the visible world and which may often seem to contradict them. Its
victories may be found in apparent defeat and its defeats in material success.
We see the whole
thing manifested clearly and perfectly once and once only, i.e. in the life of
Jesus, which is the pattern of the Christian life and the model of Christian
action. The life of Jesus is profoundly historical; it is the culminating point
of thousands of years of living historical tradition. It is the fulfillment of
a historical purpose, towards which priests and prophets and even politicians
had worked, and in which the hope of a nation and a race was embodied. Yet,
from the worldly point of view, from the standpoint of a contemporary secular
historian, it was not only unimportant, but actually invisible. Here was a
Galilean peasant who for thirty years lived a life so obscure as to be unknown
even to the disciples who accepted his mission. Then there followed a brief
period of public action, which did not lead to any kind of historical
achievement but moved swiftly and irresistibly towards its catastrophic end, an
end that was foreseen and deliberately accepted.
And out of the heart
of this catastrophe there arose something completely new, which even in its
success was a deception to the very people and the very race that had staked
their hopes on it. For after Pentecost—after the outpouring of the Spirit and
the birth of the infant Church—there was an event as unforeseen and
inexplicable as the Incarnation itself, the conversion of a Cilician Jew, who
turned away from his traditions and from his own people so that he seemed a
traitor to his race and his religion. So that ultimately the fulfillment of the
hope of Israel meant the rejection of Israel and the creation of a new
community which was eventually to become the State religion of the Roman Empire
which bad been the enemy of Jew and Christian alike.
If you look on all
this without faith, from the rationalist point of view, it becomes no easier to
understand. On the contrary it becomes even more inexplicable; credo quia
incredibile.
Now the life of
Christ is the life of the Christian and the life of the Church. It is absurd
for a Christian who is a weak human vehicle of this world changing force to
expect a quiet life. A Christian is like a red rag to a bull—to the force of
evil that seeks to be master of the world and which, in a limited sense, but in
a very real sense, is, as St. John says, the Lord of this world. And not only
the individual but the Church as an historic community follows the same pattern
and finds its success and failure not where the politician finds them, but
where Christ found them.
The Church lives
again the life of Christ. It has its period of obscurity and growth and its
period of manifestation, and this is followed by the catastrophe of the Cross
and the new birth that springs from failure. And what is most remarkable is
that the enemies of the Church—the movements that rend and crucify her—are in a
sense her own offspring and derive their dynamic force from her. Islam, the
Protestant Reformation, the liberal Revolution, none of them would have existed
apart from Christianity—they are abortive or partial manifestations of the
spiritual power which Christianity has brought into history. “I have come to
cast fire on the earth and what will I, but that it be kindled.” Christopher Dawson, Dynamics of World History
But the wicked shall
be punished according to their own devices: who have neglected the just, and
have revolted from the Lord. For he that rejecteth wisdom, and discipline, is
unhappy: and their hope is vain, and their labors without fruit, and their
works unprofitable. Their wives are foolish, and their children wicked. Their offspring
is cursed….. Give ear, you that rule the
people, and that please yourselves in multitudes of nations: for power is given
you by the Lord, and strength by the most High, who will examine your works,
and search out your thoughts: because being ministers of his kingdom, you have
not judged rightly, nor kept the law of justice, not walked according to the
will of God. Horribly and speedily will he appear to you: for a most severe
judgment shall be for them that bear rule. For to him that is little, mercy is
granted: but the mighty shall be mightily tormented.
Wisdom 3:10-13; 6:3-7
Kindness is for fools. They want them to be treated with oil, soap, and
caresses but they ought to be beaten with fists! In a duel you don’t count or
measure the blows, you strike as you can. War is not made with charity, it is a
struggle, a duel. If Our Lord were not terrible he would not have given an
example in this too. See how he treated the Philistines, the sowers of error,
the wolves in sheep’s clothing, the traitors in the temple. He scourged them
with whips!
St. Pius X, how Modernists should be treated
Explicit
Supernatural Faith in God’s Revealed Truth is Necessary as a Necessity of Means
for Salvation.
If you do not
believe this, you do not possess Supernatural Faith!
Responses of the Holy Office under Pope Clement XI, 1703:
Q. Whether a minister
is bound, before baptism is conferred on an adult, to explain to him all the
mysteries of our faith, especially if he is at the point of death, because this
might disturb his mind. Or, whether it is sufficient, if the one at the point
of death will promise that when he recovers from the illness, he will take care
to be instructed, so that he may put into practice what has been commanded him.
Resp. A promise is not
sufficient, but a missionary is bound to explain to an adult, even a dying one
who is not entirely incapacitated, the mysteries of faith which are necessary by a necessity of means, as
are especially the mysteries of the Trinity and the Incarnation.
Q. Whether it is
possible for a crude and uneducated adult, as it might be with a barbarian, to
be baptized, if there were given to him only an understanding of God and some
of His attributes, especially His justice in rewarding and in
punishing, according to this passage of the Apostle "He that
cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder' [Heb . 11:23],
from which it is inferred that a barbarian adult, in a certain case of urgent
necessity, can be baptized although he does not believe explicitly in Jesus
Christ.
Resp. A missionary should not baptize
one who does not believe explicitly in the Lord Jesus Christ, but is bound to
instruct him about all those matters which are necessary, by a necessity of
means, according to the capacity of the one to be baptized.”
COMMENT: The infamous 1949 Holy Office Letter, sent privately to
Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston for the purpose of censoring Fr. Lenard
Feeney for his belief in the Dogma that there is no salvation outside the
Catholic Church, affirmed the novel doctrine of 'salvation by implicit desire'.
The "implicit desire" was to be a "member of the Church"
and the evidence of this "implicit desire" was an explicit belief in
a 'god who rewards and punishes'. The Letter teaches that the only requirement
for salvation is found in St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 11:13. No longer
were the belief in any revealed truth, the reception of any sacrament, or being
a subject of the Roman Pontiff necessary as necessities of means for salvation.
This Letter teaches that any "good-willed" Jew as a Jew, Hindu as a
Hindu, Mohammedan as a Mohammedan, Protestant as a Protestant, etc., etc. can
be members of the Church and can obtain salvation because they believe in a
'god who rewards and punishes'. The Holy Office response of 1703 makes it clear
that the belief in a God who rewards and punishes is only the natural
philosophical prerequisite for receiving the gospel good-news of salvation and
of itself is insufficient grounds for receiving the sacrament of Baptism.
It is proper to grace to strive against nature. Therefore, we must
expect that it will frequently, or rather continually, demand of us such things
as are contrary to our vicious or imperfect tendencies, and that consequently nature will offer a
violent resistance, and will not yield until the last moment. The will,
however, must always be on the side of grace. By the word 'will', I do not mean
certain ineffective desires, certain repugnances or aversions which are not
free, but a firm and determined resolution - not I would, but I will,
triumphant equally over likes and dislikes. .... There is a great difference,
said a holy man who spoke from experience, between sacrificing one's life to
God in a transport of fervour, and doing the same thing at the foot of the
gallows. the true disposition of the will is to be judged at the actual moment
of the sacrifice, when the temporary effect of the heavenly warmth is
withdrawn, and the soul has cooled down and returned to a state of ordinary
grace. Therefore we ought not lightly to imagine that we have this good will:
rather we should always fear that we have it not. We are not, indeed, to be
pusillanimous, but we are bound to mistrust ourselves always and rely solely on
help from heaven, confident that it will never fail us in time of need.
Rev. John Nicholas Gou, S.J., Spiritual Maxims
After
40 Years of Dialogue, Rabbi identifies papal “conundrum.”
The real conundrum that faces Benedict XVI on his visit to Israel… is
should he be loyal to the Gospels which claim that only acceptance of Christ
can bring the messianic age, or should he endorse Vatican II which acknowledges
that Jews… can find the kingdom of God via a different route? Should he look inwards, backwards or forwards?
Rabbi Jonathan Romain, The Pope’s Jewish Dilemma, The Guardian
Baptism
– the gate to heaven
“This fountain is life; it flows of Christ, and purifies the world.
Dive, O sinner, into this holy stream; it will wash away your sins and
transform old into new. O! if thou seekest innocence thou shalt find it in this
bath, even shouldest thou be burdened with Adam’s sin or thine own. No distance
can afterwards separate those who have been regenerated; henceforth they become
one through the action of one source, one spirit, one faith. Let not the number
and character of thy crimes alarm thee. He who seeks life in this stream shall
be made more holy.
Inscription on the marble architrave to the baptistery at St. John
Lateran placed by Pope Sixtus III in 434 AD
This is the argument made by every criminal to cover
his crime. It has been the modus
operandi for the HomoLobby since Vatican II.
It is Satan who “counsels” and “commands” “silence” so that the
homosexual perverts may continue “partaking” and “concealing” the sins of
Sodomy to which they have given their “consent” by claiming, “Who am I to
judge.” These are nine ways of being an accessory to another's sin and this is
a sin that “cries to heaven for vengeance”:
By counsel.
By command.
By consent.
By provocation.
By praise or flattery.
By concealment.
By partaking.
By silence.
By defense of the ill done.
There is yet a time of stillness and indifference. Liberalism is a
twilight state in which all errors are softened, in which no persecution for
religion will be countenanced. It is the stillness before the storm. There is a
time coming when nothing will be persecuted but truth, and if you possess the
truth, you will share the trial.
Cardinal Henry Edward Manning, Archbishop of Westminster
The Great Commentary
on Matthew 1:1-8
And, behold, certain
of the scribes, &c. Within themselves. Syr., in their soul; because He
takes away God’s special prerogative of pardoning sin, and claims it for
Himself, which would be a grave dishonour done to God, and therefore blasphemy.
Thus they thought, supposing Christ was not God, but a mere man. This was their
perpetual and obstinate error, which led them perpetually to persecute Him,
even unto the death of the Cross. Wherefore S. Mark adds, that they said, “Who
can forgive sins but God alone?” For sin is an offence against God, a violation
of the Divine Majesty, so that no one can pardon it, except God Himself.
And Jesus knowing
their thoughts, &c. S. Mark adds that Jesus knew in His Spirit. This was
not because another revealed to Him the thoughts and blasphemies of the
Scribes, as the prophets knew such things, but by Himself and His own Spirit,
pervading and penetrating all things. From this the Fathers rightly prove the
Divinity of Christ against the Arians. For He searches the hearts, a thing
which God alone can do. Thus S. Jerome, who adds, “Even when keeping silence,
He speaks. As though He said, ‘By the same power and majesty by which I behold
your thoughts, I am able also to forgive men their sins.’” So too S. Chrysostom
and others. Whence Chrysologus says, “Receive the tokens of Christ’s Divinity:
behold Him come to the secret hiding-places of thy thoughts.”
You may say, the
Scribes might have raised the following objection:—“Thou, O Jesus, indeed
knowest and revealest our secret thoughts, but not by Thine own Spirit, for
that Thou in no way makest plain to us, but by the Spirit of God. Therefore
Thou art a prophet and not God, that thou shouldst remit sins.” I reply, if the
Scribes acknowledged Jesus to be a prophet, then surely they ought to have
believed that He was speaking the truth when He said that He had, of Himself,
power to forgive sins, and therefore that He was God. Again, in the Old
Testament, the power of remitting sins was given to none of the prophets, but
it was promised to Messiah alone by the prophets. Therefore, they ought to have
acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah, and consequently God, as is plain from
many passages of Scripture.
Lastly, Christ by His
command alone, and proper authority, both healed the paralytic, and forgave him
his sins, and so in this, as in all His other miracles, He had this end in
view, that He might convince them He was the Messiah—that is, the Son of God,
who had come in the flesh, the Saviour of the world, the Redeemer of sinners,
who had been foretold by Moses and the prophets.
Whether is easier,
&c. You may ask, whether of these two is absolutely the more difficult? I
answer—
1. It is, per se,
more difficult to forgive sins than to heal a paralytic person, yea, than to
create heaven and earth. And there is à priori reason for this: first, because
sin, as an enemy of God, is far further away from God than a paralytic, yea,
than any created thing, forasmuch as these are in themselves good: yea, further
than nothingness, out of which all things were made, itself, for nothingness is
only negatively and privatively opposed to entity and God; but sin is
diametrically opposed and repugnant to God. For there are no contraries which
are so mutually opposed as supreme goodness and supreme badness—that is to say,
God and sin.
2. Because remission
of sins is something of a higher order than the natural order. It has to do
with the supernatural order of grace. Grace is the highest communion with the
Divine Nature: for by grace “we are made partakers of the divine nature,” as S.
Peter says (2 Pet. i. 4).
I observe, however,
secondly: on the contrary, Christ here seems to speak of remission of sins as
being easier than the healing of the paralytic. This was so, because the latter
was more difficult in respect of the Jews, and it was a more perilous thing
besides. For he who saith, I forgive thee thy sins, cannot be convicted of
falsehood, whether he remits them or not. For neither sin, nor its remission,
are things that can be seen. But he who saith to a paralytic, Arise and walk,
exposes both himself and his good name to great peril, if the sick man does not
arise. Such a one will be convicted by all of imposture and falsehood. Just as
we are accustomed to say, It is easier to write a history of Tartary than a
history of Italy: because here a man might be convicted of falsehood by
multitudes; but there by no one.
Lastly, the healing
of paralysis is a physical operation, and, physically speaking, more difficult
than the remission of sins, which is, per se, a moral act, of like nature with
sin itself.
Jansen adds, With
respect to God, both are equally easy and divine, for both are miraculous, and
both require exercise of omnipotent power.
Moreover, although of
itself the healing of the paralytic was a less work than the remission of sins,
yet Christ conclusively proves by it that He had the power of forgiving sins.
Ver. 6.—But that ye
may know, &c. Observe the expression, Son of Man, for Christ forgave sins,
not only as He was God, but in that He was man, authoritatively and
meritoriously. Because His Humanity was hypostatically united to His Divinity,
and subsisted in the Divine Person of the Son of God, therefore He was able to
make full satisfaction for the sins of the whole world.
Rev. Cornelius a
Lapide, The Great Commentary, Matthew 9:1-8
Remember
, O man, that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return.
"An excessive desire for liberty at the expense of everything else
is what undermines democracy and leads to the demand for
tyranny." Plato
In a 2022 lecture at Notre Dame, Alasdair MacIntyre argued that the
claims and conceptions of universal and inalienable human dignity as reflected
in documents such as the 1948 United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and in various post-war European constitutions are puzzling, since this
dignity requires a duty of respect to everyone just for being human, no matter
their behavior or character, so Stalin the mass murderer has as much dignity
and deserves as much respect as Mother Teresa. Aquinas’ view
of dignitas as interpreted by Charles De Koninick is a challenge to
this view, for it assigns human dignity, not to the mere fact of being human,
but to the end to which we are called, which is supernatural, union with God,
which might not be attained due to one’s choices on earth against those common
goods which enable our attainment of the supernatural end, and so human
dignitas could be lost. According to this view, the 20th-century concept of
human dignity is much too individualistic, and because it is not based in
justice and the common good, can only provide negative prescriptions against
the undignified treatment of humans. It is unable to provide positive
prescriptions that enable persons to obtain the common goods and the virtues
they need to attain their supernatural end. For MacIntyre, we need to speak of
human dignity in terms of justice, what we owe to each other for the sake of
enabling persons to attain their personal and common goods and final end, which
is the knowledge and love of God in this life and the next.
Thaddeus Kozinski, PhD, Introduction to Article entitled, From Liberal
Democracy to Global Totalitarianism, September 26, 2023
If
the shoe fits, where it!
The Saint Prophesies great Schisms and Tribulations in the Church
A short time before the holy Father’s death, he called together his
Children and warned them of the coming troubles, saying: ‘Act bravely, my
Brethren; take courage, and trust in the Lord. The time is fast approaching in
which there will be great trials and afflictions; perplexities and dissensions,
both spiritual and temporal, will abound; the charity of many will grow cold,
and the malice of the wicked will increase. The devils will have unusual power,
the immaculate purity of our Order, and of others, will be so much obscured
that there will be very few Christians who will obey the true Sovereign Pontiff
and the Roman Church with loyal hearts and perfect charity. At the time of this
tribulation a man, not canonically elected, will be raised to the Pontificate,
who, by his cunning, will endeavour to draw many into error and death. Then
scandals will be multiplied, our Order will be divided, and many others will be
entirely destroyed, because they will consent to error instead of opposing it.
There will be such diversity of opinions and schisms among the people, the
religious and the clergy, that, except those days were shortened, according to
the words of the Gospel, even the elect would be led into error, were they not
specially guided, amid such great confusion, by the immense mercy of God. Then
our Rule and manner of life will be violently opposed by some, and terrible
trials will come upon us. Those who are found faithful will receive the crown
of life; but woe to those who, trusting solely in their Order, shall fall into
tepidity, for they will not be able to support the temptations permitted for
the proving of the elect. Those who preserve their fervour and adhere to virtue
with love and zeal for the truth, will suffer injuries and persecutions as
rebels and schismatics; for their persecutors, urged on by the evil spirits,
will say they are rendering a great service to God by destroying such pestilent
men from the face of the earth. But the Lord will be the refuge of the
afflicted, and will save all who trust in Him. And in order to be like their
Head, these, the elect, will act with confidence, and by their death will
purchase for themselves eternal life; choosing to obey God rather than man,
they will fear nothing, and they will prefer to perish rather than consent to
falsehood and perfidy. Some preachers will keep silence about the truth, and
others will trample it under foot and deny it. Sanctity of life will be held in
derision even by those who outwardly profess it, for in those days Our Lord
Jesus Christ will send them not a true Pastor, but a destroyer.
The Works of the Seraphic Father - St. Francis of Assisi
Can. 87 §1. A
diocesan bishop, whenever he judges that it contributes to their
spiritual good, is
able to dispense the faithful from universal and particular disciplinary laws
issued for his territory or his subjects by the supreme authority of the
Church. He is not able to dispense, however, from procedural or penal laws nor
from those whose dispensation is specially reserved to the Apostolic See or
some other authority.
QUESTION: Why have none of the previous five bishops of Harrisburg
granted permission for Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission to do what
they have done for more than 24 years?
ANSWER: Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission professes that what
it is doing is not now nor has ever been a matter of the "particular
disciplinary laws" of the Church, but rather, we hold that our immemorial
traditions are necessary attributes of the faith by which alone it can be know
and communicated to others. Therefore, we have refused to become an Indult
community because an Indult is permission to do an act that is held to be
illegal. The "received and approved" immemorial rite of Mass, the
most important of our ecclesiastical traditions, cannot be reduced to the
status of an Indult or grant of legal privilege and it is a corruption of
Catholic faith and worship to believe otherwise.
Pope Leo calls for unity in
climate action on 10-year anniversary of Laudato si’
Pope Leo XIV appealed to all
of humanity to unite, overcome differences, and work together to respond to
climate change and ecological destruction
The Tablet | Aili
Winstanley Channer | 02 October 2025
He was speaking to
climate activists and religious leaders commemorating the ten-year anniversary
of the encyclical Laudato
si’ at Castel Gandolfo yesterday.
It was the opening of the three-day
“Raising Hope for Climate Justice” conference organised by the Laudato si’
Movement in collaboration with ecclesial and institutional partners. Pope Leo reiterated Pope
Francis’ concern about “those who deride climate change” in the 2023
Apostolic Exhortation Laudate
Deum, and asserted, “there
is no room for indifference”.
He asked, “What must be done now
to ensure that caring for our common home and listening to the cry of the earth
and the poor do not appear as mere passing trends or, worse still, that they
be seen and felt as divisive issues?”
Attendees at the
conference include Christine Allen of Cafod. Bishop John Arnold, the lead
bishop for the environment for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and
Wales, said, “Pope Leo
reminded us that Pope Francis had emphasised that ‘the most effective solutions
will not come from individual efforts alone, but above all from major political
decisions on the national and international levels’. More than ever, we need to
work together, to think of future generations, and take urgent action if we are
to truly respond to the scale of this climate crisis: a crisis which affects
those who are poorest and most vulnerable and have done least to cause it.”
This view reflects Pope Leo’s
call for ecological conversion at all levels of society, including by
strengthening democracy: “Citizens need to take an active role in political
decision-making at national, regional and local levels. Only then will it be
possible to mitigate the damage done to the environment.”
Pope Leo was joined
by Marina Silva, Brazil’s minister of the environment and climate change and
the head of the United Nations Global Ethical Stocktake, an initiative to
foster societal reflection on ethical responsibility for climate change ahead
of the 2025 UN Conference of Parties (COP30), which will be held in Belem,
Brazil, in November. Pope Leo expressed his hope that COP30 and other upcoming
international summits “will
listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, families, indigenous
peoples, involuntary migrants and believers throughout the world”.
But Pope Leo also emphasised that
although these challenges are “of a social and political nature”, they are
“first and foremost of a spiritual nature: they call for conversion”. He
reaffirmed the spiritual importance of caring for the Earth as God’s creation
and its inseparability from our responsibility towards the poor and vulnerable:
“We cannot love God, whom
we cannot see, while despising his creatures. Nor can we call ourselves
disciples of Jesus Christ without participating in his outlook on creation and
his care for all that is fragile and wounded.”
The film star Arnold
Schwarzenegger, known for his roles in high-profile action films as well as his
climate activism as Governor of California and head of the Schwarzenegger
Climate Initiative, spoke alongside Pope Leo and called him an “action hero”
for his message on the environment. Pope Leo smiled as he began his
address. He affirmed the crucial and diverse contributions made to mitigating
the crisis by every individual at the conference: “There is indeed an action hero with us this afternoon:
it is all of you, who are working together to make a difference.”
As he closed, he said: “God will
ask us if we have cultivated and cared for the world that he created, for the
benefit of all and for future generations, and if we have taken care of our
brothers and sisters. What will be our answer?”
Pope Leo XIV Blesses Huge
20,000-Year-Old Chunk Of Greenland Ice
Forbes | Leslie Katz | Oct 06, 2025
Pope Leo XIV stood on
stage at a climate conference in Rome last week and laid his right hand on a
massive chunk of ice, blessing it.
This wasn’t just any
ice. It had broken off the vast Greenland Ice Sheet, a key regulator of global
climate that’s shrinking quickly as it melts due to climate change. The
resulting rise in global sea levels could flood many tens of millions of homes,
scientists warn.
Danish-Icelandic
artist Olafur Eliasson transported the ice to the Raising Hope Conference with
the help of Danish geologist Minik Rosing to serve as a stark symbol of how
quickly the world’s glaciers are disappearing.
“Lord of life, bless
this water,” the pope said after touching the dripping ice. “May it awaken our
hearts, cleanse our indifference, soothe our grief and renew our hope through
Christ our lord.”
Eliasson
is known for his installation art using light, water, and air. Eliasson
called it “striking” to witness the pope bless the 20,000-year-old piece of
Greenlandic glacial ice. “We felt the presence of the fragile ice underscored
the importance of recognizing that nature is not separate from humanity,” the
artist wrote on Instagram.
COMMENT: Pope Leo celebrating the 10th anniversary of Laudato si', the
earth worshiping encyclical of Pope Francis, blessed a block of Ice to
counteract the diabolical forces of global warming striking a grave and focused
posture that was in marked contrast to the stupidity of the gesture. The act
says a lot more about Leo than it does about climatology. Leo, like Francis, is
believer in the pagan Gaia cult of mother earth worship. Leo refers twice in
his sermon to the "Cry of the Earth." Leo took this phrase from
Francis' Laudato si' and Francis took
the quote without attribution from Leonard Boff's Cry of the Earth, Cry of the
Poor. Boff is a former Franciscan priest who was censored by Cardinal Ratzinger
when he headed the CDF under JPII for his Marxist liberation theology. Boff is
famous for his development of an integrated theology of Marxism, Gaia cult
earth worship and "social justice." He was admired by Francis and he
is admired twice as much by Leo.
If
the ice block is 20,000 years old then the Genesis creation account and the
global flood of Noe is reduced to mythology and not divine revelation. The fact
is, ancient mythology ended with the Christian revelation of Jesus Christ but
the modern scientific world is doing its best to resurrect it. The world likes
to talk about the scientific fables of Big Bang, primordial soups with lightening
bubbling forth proteins that congeal into cellular life with the teleological
purpose of producing the DNA of Darwinian man. These fables are believed and
shamelessly pandered by our neo-modernists popes. The absurdity is that the
neo-modernists popes have embraced the myths of scientology when science itself
has discredited their claims. Scientists have been predicting global flooding
of coastal areas for the last fifty years with no evidence of rising sea
levels. Global warming is not science. It is liberal ideology applied to
climatology that always calls for a one-world governance to enforce its
dictatorial and anti-Catholic mandates. The alleged global warming is always a
man made assault on Mother Earth that requires the ritual murder of 6.5 billion
people for a world "sustainable" population of 500 million. Never is
it considered in their calculus that the
increase of global temperature would make available millions of more
acres of arable land and lengthen the growing season in millions of additional
acres creating a massive increase in the food supply and areas of habitable
land. Scientists have no idea whatsoever if global warming, if it is in fact
happening at all, would have overall beneficial or harmful effects. While Pope
Leo is a resident in Rome he might ask what became of Rome's ancient Port City
of Ostia which was at the time of Jesus Christ located directly on the sea at
the mouth of the Tiber River. It is today three kilometers from the coast.
Citizens of Ostia may have lost their beach front property but they are not
under water.
What was once "self-evident" now must be painstakingly
explained!
God has constituted an eternal and immutable law, which is indispensably
obligatory upon all mankind, prior to any human institution whatever. This is what is called the law of
nature.
Alexander Hamilton
Remember in your charity:
Remember the welfare of our expectant mother: Cecilia Zepeda, Victoria Dimmel, and
Vanessa LoStrocco,
Donna Kallal, a dear friend of the
Schiltz family who is dying,
Philip Thees requests our prayers for the heath of Mary Glatz and Lenny and Agnus Messineo,
For the welfare of Aaron, a York resident in need of conversion,
For the spiritual welfare of Margaret Connelly is the petition of Camilla Meiser,
Linda Boyd, for her health,
Pete
Schiffbauer, a cousin of Monic Bandlow who is gravely ill,
Joan R.
Barr,
the widow of F. Donald Barr who died March 7, they were married 70 years
Cole
Schneider, prayers for his welfare are requested by Camilla Meiser,
JoAnn
Niekrewicz,
for her recovery from a recent fall and shoulder injury,
The Drews ask prayers for the spiritual and physical
welfare of Robert Carballo,
Conversion of Jack
Gentry, the nephew of Camilla Meiser,
For Sr.
Maria Junipera, who took her final vows as a nun with the Slaves of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary in Richmond, New Hampshire April 8,
Stephen
Bryan,
the brother of a devout Catholic religious, for his spiritual welfare,
Marie
Kolinsky,
for her health and spiritual welfare is the petition of her family,
Gene Peters requests our prayers for the conversion
of Shirley Young and Carl Loy who are dying, and the
conversion of Dawn Keithley,
Rev. Leo Carley, an eighty-nine year old
priest faithful to Catholic tradition, who is seriously ill,
For the recovery of Hayden Yanchek, the grandson of Francis Yanchek, injured in
a farming accident,
Maureen
Nies, for
the recovery of her health is the petition of Camilla Meiser,
Daniel
Vargs, for
his health is the petition of his parents,
Art Noel, for the restoration of his
health,
For the welfare of Peg Berry and her husband, Bill,
Marianne Connelly asks prayers for Chris Foley, who is gravely ill,
and the welfare of his wife, Mary
Beth,
The spiritual welfare of the Sal & Maria Messineo family is the petition of the
Drew’s,
Liz Agosta, who is seriously ill, for her
spiritual and temporal welfare,
Warren
Hoffman, a
long time member of our Mission who is in failing health,
Patrick
Boyle,
for the recovery of his health and his spiritual welfare,
For the spiritual welfare of the Drew children,
Monica Bandlow request our prayers for the welfare of
Ray who is recovering from a
MVA, and his daughter, Sonya,
and Tera Jean Kopczynski, who
is in failing health, and for a good death for Mr. Howald, Kathy
Simons, Regina Quinn, James Mulgrew, Ruth Beaucheane, John Kopczynski, Roger
& Mandy Owen
The health and spiritual welfare of Nate Schaeffer is the petition
of Gene Peters,
Peg Berry requests our prayers for her brother, William Habekost,
For the recently widowed, Maike Hickson, and her children,
For the spiritual welfare of the Carmelite nuns in Fairfield, PA,
Geralyn
Zagorski, recovery of her health and spiritual welfare and
the conversion of Randal Pace is the petition of Philip Thees,
For the grandson of
Joe & Liz Agusta,
Fr. Waters requests our
prayers for the health and spiritual welfare of Elvira Donaghy,
For the health and
conversion of Stephen Henderson,
Fr. Paul DaDamio requests
our prayers for the welfare of Rob Ward, and his sister, Debra
Wagaman,
For the health and
spiritual welfare of Peggy Cummings, the neice of Camila Meiser,
who is gravely ill,
Kaitlyn McDonald, for the recovery of her health and spiritual
welfare,
Roco
Sbardella,
for his health and spiritual welfare,
The Vargas’ request our prayers for the spiritual
welfare of their son, Nicholas,
Family, for the welfare of Lazarus Handley, his mother, Julia, and his brother, Raphael, with Down’s Syndrome,
Fr. Waters requests prayers for the spiritual and
physical welfare of Frank McKee,
Nancy
Bennett, for the recovery of her
health,
For the spiritual welfare of Mark Roberts, a Catholic faithful to tradition,
Joe Sentmanet request prayers for Scott Nettles (who is in need of
conversion), who is gravely ill,
Michael Brigg requests our prayers for the health of John Romeo,
The health and welfare of Gene Peters and his sons,
Conversion of Anton
Schwartzmueller, is the paryer request of his children,
Christine
Kozin, for
her health and spiritual welfare,
Teresa
Gonyea,
for her conversion and health, is the petition of her grandmother, Patricia
McLaughlin,
For the health of Sonya Kolinsky,
Jackie Dougherty asks our prayers for her brother, John Lee, who is gravely ill,
For the health and spiritual welfare, Meg Bradley, the granddaughter
of Rose Bradley,
Timothy
& Crisara, a couple from Maryland have requested our prayers for their spiritual
welfare,
Celine
Pilegaard, the seven year old daughter of Cynthia Pilegaard, for her recovery from
burn injuries,
Rafaela de
Saravia, for
her health and welfare,
Mary Mufide,
requests our prayers for her family,
Abbe Damien
Dutertre,
traditional Catholic priest arrested by Montreal police while offering Mass,
Francis
(Frank) X. McLaughlin, for the recovery of his
health,
Nicholas
Pell,
for his health and spiritual welfare is the petition of Camilla Meizer,
Mary Kaye
Petr,
her health and welfare is petitioned by Camilla Meizer,
The welfare of Excellency Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò,
The welfare of Rev.
Fr. Martin Skierka, who produces the traditional Ordo in the U.S.,
For the health and welfare of Katie Wess, John Gentry, Vincent Bands, Todd Chairs, Susan Healy and
James O’Gentry is the petition of Camilia,
Marieann
Reuter, recovery of her health, Kathy Kepner, for her health, Shane Cox, for his health,
requests of Philip Thees,
The Joseph
Cox Family, their spiritual welfare,
Luis Rafael
Zelaya,
the brother of Claudia Drew, spiritual welfare,
For the health of Kim Cochran, the daughter-in-law of Joseph and Brenda
Cochran, the wife of their son Joshua,
Louie
Verrecchio,
Catholic apologist, who has a health problem,
John
Minidis, Jr. family, for help in their spiritual
trial,
Joann
DeMarco, for her health and spiritual
welfare,
Regina
(Manidis) Miller, her spiritual welfare and health,
Melissa
Elena Levitt, her conversion, and welfare of her children,
For the grace of a holy death, Nancy Marie Claycomb,
Conversion of Annette
Murowski, and her son Jimmy,
Brent Keith from Indiana has petitioned our prayers
for the Keith Family,
The welfare of the Schmedes Family, and the Mike and Mariana Donohue Family,
The spiritual welfare Robert Holmes Family,
For the spiritual and temporal welfare of Irwin Kwiat,
Fr. Waters asks our prayers for Elvira Donaghy,
Kimberly Ann, the daughter of John and
Joann DeMarco, for her health and spiritual welfare,
Mufide Rende, a traditional Catholic from
India has asked our prayers for her welfare and he family members, living and
deceased,
Mary Glatz, her health and the welfare
of her family,
Barbara
Harmon,
who is ill, and still cares for her
ailing parents,
Jason Green, a father of ten children,
recovery of his health,
For the health and welfare of Sorace family,
Fr. Waters asks our prayers for the health and
spiritual welfare of Brian Abramowitz,
Thomas
Schiltz family, in grateful appreciation for their contribution to the beauty of our
chapel,
Welfare of Bishop
Richard Williamson, for strength and courage in the greater battles to
come,
John Rhoad, for his health and
spiritual welfare,
Kathy Boyle, requests our prayers for
her welfare,
Joyce
Laughman and Robert Twist, for their conversions,
Michael J.
Brigg & his family, who have helped with the needs of the Mission,
Nancy Deegan, her welfare and conversion
to the Catholic Church,
Francis Paul
Diaz,
who was baptized at Ss. Peter & Paul, asks our prayers for his spiritual
welfare,
The conversion of Rene McFarland, Lori Kerr, Cary Shipman
and family, David Bash, Crystal and family, Larry Reinhart, Costanzo Family,
Kathy Scullen, Marilyn Bryant, Vicki Trahern and Time Roe are
the petitions of Gene Peters,
For the conversion of Ben & Tina Boettcher family, Karin Fraessdorf, Eckhard Ebert,
and Fahnauer family,
Fr. Waters requests our prayers for Br. Rene, SSPX who has been ill,
and for Fr. Thomas Blute,
For the health and conversion of Kathryn Lederhos, the aunt of David Drew,
For the welfare of Fr. Paul DaDamio and Fr. William T. Welsh,
The Drew’s ask our prayers for the welfare of Joe & Tracey Sentmanat family, Keith
& Robert Drew, Christy Koziol & her children, Fred Nesbit and Michael
Nesbit families, and Gene Peters Family,
the John Manidis Family, the Sal Messinio Family, Michael Proctor Family,
Ryan Boyle grandmother, Jane Boyle, who is failing health,
Mel Gibson
and his family, please remember in our prayers,
Rev. Timothy A. Hopkins requested our prayers for the
welfare of his Fr Jean-Luc Lafitte,
Ebert’s request our prayers for the Andreas & Jenna Ortner Family,
Joyce Paglia has asked prayers for George Richard Moore Sr. & his
children, and her brother, George
Panell,
Philip Thees asks our prayers for his family, for McLaughlin Family, the welfare
of Dan & Polly Weand, the
conversion of Sophia Herman,
Tony Rosky, the welfare Nancy Erdeck, the wife of
the late Deacon Erdeck, John Calasanctis, Tony Rosky, James Parvenski, Kathleen Gorry, health of mind and body of Cathy Farrar.
Pray for the
Repose of the Souls:
Gary Potter, Catholic writer and
apologist and great long time defender of Catholic doctrine and tradition, died
9-9-2025,
Elizabeth
Gorska,
who died September 9, a relative of Lidia Gjec,
Camilia Meiser request our prayers for the souls of Peggy Cummings and Elizabeth Genter,
Thomas A.
Nelson, founder of TAN Books and
Publishers, died August 16,
Sal Messineo, a faithful traditional
Catholic, died Augsut 14,
Patricia
Askew, a
friend of Camilla Meiser, died July 3,
Joseph
Kerney, a
young man whose family provided the statues of the Sacred Heart, Mary and
Joseph in our sanctuary, died May 30,
Louis
Richard Ajlouny, the father of Randa Sharpe, died May 15,
Rene Guidicessi, died April 25, an old
friend of the Drews,
F. Donald
Barr, died
March 7 at 94 years of age, co-founder of Robert Francis Religious Goods, in
Philadelphia,
Dr. David
Allen White, a well known defender of the Catholic faith, died February 11,
Bishop
Richard Williamson, a renowned defender of the Catholic faith and most charitable gentleman,
died January 29,
Rodolfo
Alberto Lacayo, a cousin of Claudia Drew, died January 4,
Genieve
Wallace, died
Christmas day,
Ruth Marion
Beaucheane, died December 8, is the
petition of Monica Bandlow,
Ana Maria Salcedo, the sister of Mario Fiol, died November 26,
Fr. Johin Cardaro, a
traditional Catholic priest who was found dead in his home November 2,
Robert Carballo asks that we
remember his parents, Roberto & Aida Carballo, and his friend, David
Duclos, who died April 15,
Bishop Bernard Tissier de
Mallerais who may have been responsible for preventing the SSPX's public
reconciliation with Rome in 2012, died October 8,
Lorna
Edwards, our
dear friend and loyal supporter of this Mission, died August 10,
Lois Petti, died July 28 two hours after
receiving the Last Sacraments from Fr. Waters,
Wolfgang
Smith, a
renowned Catholic scholar, mathematician, scientist, philosopher, who helped
the Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation, died July 19,
Willaim
Glatz, a
good and faithful Catholic, died July 17,
Alicio
Gonzalez, a
Catholic who asked for the sacrament of Extreme Unction, unfortunately did not
receive, died July 9,
John
Zavodny, a faithful Catholic who died wearing the
scapular of Mt Carmel on the first Saturday of May, requested by Phyllis Virgil,
Catherine
Martel, a lapsed Catholic, received
the last sacraments in a good disposition from Fr. Waters on March 25 and died
on April 4,
Father
Basilio Méramo, a faithful priest, died March 5, removed from the SSPX for opposing
their accommodation with Rome,
Julia
McDonald,
the mother of Kyle McDonald, died March 1,
Agnus
Melnick,
died February 28, a long time faithful Catholic and mother of eight children,
including a traditional priest,
Kathryn
(Drew) Lederhos, of Wellesley, MA, died
February 3, 2024,
Chris Foley, the
brother of Mary Lou Loftus, died February 1,
Louis Zelaya, the brother of Claudia
Drew, died January 30,
Fr. James
Louis Albert Campbell, a faithful priest who died December 18 at 91 years of age, and her
mother and father, Teresa and Thomas Maher,
Charles
Harmon,
the father of Tracey Sentmanet, died October 1, after receiving the rites of
the Church,
Fr. Waters requests prayers for Elvira Donaghy, his friend and former secretary a for Bishop
Gerado Zendejas, died September 9,
Robert
Hickson,
a faithful Catholic apologist who died Septembber 2,
Monica Bandlow requests prayers for her parents, Thomas & Teresa Maher, her
husband, William Bandlow, her
brother-in-law, Richard Bandlow,
her sister, Mary Maher, Fr. Christopher Darby, SSPX, who died March 17, Robert Byrne, Michelle Donofrio McDowell, her cousin, Patricia Fabyanic, the Prefect
of Our Lady’s Sodality, March 8, for
John Pfeiffer who died August 20, Theresa
Hanley, died July 23, Fr.
Juan-Carlos Iscara, SSPX, who died December 20, John Kinney, died December 21, Willaim Price, Jr., and Robert Arch Ward, died January 10,
and Myra, killed in a MVA
June 6,
John Sharpe,
Sr.,
died July 20,
Maria
Paulette Salazar, died June 6,
Dale Kinsey requests prayers for his wife, Katherine Kinsey, died May 17,
Richard
Giles,
who died April 29, the father of Traci Sentmanat who converted to the Catholic
faith last All Saints' Day,
Joseph
Sparks,
a devout and faithful Catholic to tradition died February 25,
Joyce Paglia, died
January 21, and Anthony Paglia,
died January 28, who were responsible for the beautiful statuary in our chapel,
Joe Sentmanet request prayers for Richard Giles and Claude Harmon who converted to
the Catholic faith shortly before their deaths,
Rodolfo
Zelaya, the brother of Claudia Drew,
died January 9,
Elizabeth Agosta petitions our prayers for Joseph Napolitano, her brother,
who died January 2,
Michael
Dulisse,
died on December 26,
Michael
Proctor, a close friend of the Drews,
died November 9,
Richard
Anthony Giles, the father-in-law of Joe Sentmanat converted to the Catholic faith on
All Saints Day, died November 5,
Robert
Kolinsky,
the husband of Sonja, died September 18,
Gabriel
Schiltz,
the daughter of Thomas & Gay Schiltz, died August 21,
Mary Dimmel, the
mother –in-law of Victoria Drew Dimmel, died July 18,
Michael
Nesbit,
the brother-in-law and dear friend of the Drew's, died July 14,
Thomas
Thees, the brother of Philip, died
June 19,
Carmen Ragonese,
died June 22,
Juanita
Mohler, a friend of Camella Meiser,
died June 14,
Kathleen
Elias, died February 14,
Hernan Ortiz, the
brother of Fr. Juan Carlos Ortiz, died February 3,
Mary Ann
Boyle,
the mother of a second order Dominican nun, a first order Dominican priest, and
a SSPX priest, died January 24,
John DeMarco, who
attended this Mission in the past, died January23,
Charles
O’Brien, the father of Marlene Cox,
died December 30,
Mufide Rende requests our prayers for the repose of
the souls of her parents, Mehmet
& Nedime,
Kathleen
Donelly,
died December 29 at 91 years of age, ran the CorMariae website,
Matthew
O'Hare,
most faithful Catholic, died at age 40 on November 30,
Rev. Patrick
J. Perez, a Catholic priest faithful to
tradition, pastor Our Lady Help of Christians, Garden Grove, CA, November 19,
Elizabeth
Benedek,
died December 14, requested by her niece, Agnes Vollkommer,
Dolores
Smith and Richard Costello, faithful Catholics, died
November,
Frank
D’Agustino,
a friend of Philp Thees, died November 8,
Fr.
Dominique Bourmaud, of the SSPX, Prior of St.
Vincent in Kansas City, died September 4,
Pablo Daniel
Silva, the brother of Elizabeth
Vargas, died August 18,
Rose Bradley, a
member of Ss. Peter & Paul, died July 14,
Patricia
Ellias, died June 1, recently
returned to the Church died with the sacraments and wearing the brown scapular,
Joan Devlin, the sister-in-law of Rose
Bradley, died May 18,
William
Muligan, died April 29, two days after
receiving the last sacraments,
Robert Petti, died
March 19, the day after receiving the last sacraments,
Mark
McDonald, the father of Kyle, who died
December 26,
Perla Otero, died December 2020, Leyla Otero, January 2021,
cousins of Claudia Drew,
Mehmet Rende, died
December 12, who was the father of Mary Mufide,
Joseph
Gravish, died November 26, 100 year
old WWII veteran and daily communicant,
Jerome
McAdams,
the father of, died November 30,
Rev. James
O’Hara, died November 8, requested by
Alex Estrada,
Elizabeth
Batko, the sacristan at St. John the
Baptist in Pottstown for over 40 years, died on First Saturday November 7
wearing the brown scapular,
William Cox, the
father of Joseph Cox, who died September 3,
James Larson, Catholic
apologists, author of War Against Being
publication, died July 6, 2020,
Hutton
Gibson, died May 12,
Sr. Regina
Cordis,
Immaculate Heart of Mary religious for sixty-five years, died May 12,
Leslie Joan
Matatics, devoted Catholic wife and
mother of nine children, died March 24,
Victoria
Zelaya, the sister-in-law of Claudia
Drew, died March 20,
Ricardo
DeSilva,
died November 16, our prayers requested by his brother, Henry DeSilva,
Rev. Fr.
Joseph F. Collins, died April 27, 2019 to whom we are indebted for establishing our
traditional pre-Bugnini Holy Week in all
its beauty,
Roland H.
Allard,
a friend of the Drew’s, died September 28,
Stephen
Cagorski
and John Bogda, who
both died wearing the brown
scapular,
Cecilia
LeBow, a most faithful Catholic,
Rose Cuono, died Oct 23,
Patrick
Rowen,
died March 25, and his brother, Daniel
Rowen, died May 15,
Sandra
Peters, the
wife of Gene Peters, who died June 10 receiving the sacraments and wearing our
Lady’s scapular,
Rev. Francis
Slupski, a
priest who kept the Catholic faith and its immemorial traditions, died May 14,
Martha
Mochan, the
sister of Philip Thees, died April 8,
George
Kirsch,
our good friend and supporter of this Mission, died February 15,
For Fr.
Paul J. Theisz, died October 17, is the petition of Fr. Waters,
Fr. Mecurio
Fregapane,
died Jan 12, was not a traditional priest but always charitable,
Fr. Casimir
Peterson,
a priest who often offered the Mass in our chapel and provided us with sound
advice, died December 4,
Fr.
Constantine Bellasarius, a faithful and always
charitable Eastern Rite Catholic Melkite priest, who left the Roman rite, died
November 27,
Christian
Villegas,
a motor vehicle accident, his brother, Michael, requests our prayers,
John Vennari, the former editor of
Catholic Family News, and for his family’s welfare, April 4,
Mary Butler, the aunt of Fr. Samuel
Waters, died October 17,
Joseph
DeMarco,
the nephew of John DeMarco, died October 3,
John Fergale, died September 25 after
receiving the traditional sacramental rites of the Church wearing the brown
scapular,
John Gabor, the brother of Donna
Marbach, died September 9,
Fr. Eugene
Dougherty,
a faithful priest, fittingly died on the Nativity of the BVM after receiving
the traditional Catholic sacraments,
Phyllis
Schlafly,
died September 5,
Helen
Mackewicz,
died August 14,
Mark A.
Wonderlin,
who died August 2,
Fr. Carl
Cebollero,
a faithful priest to tradition who was a friend of Fr. Waters and Fr. DeMaio,
Jessica
Cortes,
a young mother of ten who died June 12,
Frances
Toriello, a
life-long Catholic faithful to tradition, died June3, the feast of the Sacred
Heart, and her husband Dan,
died in 1985,
John
McLaughlin, a friend of the Drew’s, died May 22,
Angela
Montesano,
who died April 30, and her husband, Salvatore,
who died in July 3, 2013,
Charles Schultz, died
April 5, left behind nine children and many grandchildren, all traditional
Catholics,
Esperanza Lopez de Callejas,
the aunt of Claudia Drew, died March 15,
Fr. Edgardo Suelo, a
faithful priest defending our traditions who was working with Fr. Francois
Chazal in the Philippines, died February 19,
Conde McGinley, a long time
laborer for the traditional faith, died February 12, at 96 years,
The Drew family requests
your prayers for Ida Fernandez and Rita Kelley,
parishioners at St. Jude,
Fr. Stephen
Somerville,
a traditional priest who repented from his work with the Novus Ordo English
translation, died December 12,
Fr. Arturo
DeMaio,
a priest that helped this Mission with the sacraments and his invaluable
advice, died December 2,
J. Paul
Carswell,
died October 15, 2015,
Solange
Hertz, a
great defender of our Catholic faith, died October 3, the First Saturday of the
month,
Paula P.
Haigh,
died October 22, a great defender of our Catholic faith in philosophy and
natural science,
Gabriella
Whalin,
the mother of Gabriella Schiltz, who died August 25,
Mary
Catherine Sick, 14 year old from a large traditional Catholic family, died August 25,
Fr. Paul
Trinchard,
a traditional Catholic priest, died August 25,
Stephen J.
Melnick, Jr., died on August 21, a long-time faithful traditional Catholic husband
and father, from Philadelphia,
Patricia
Estrada,
died July 29, her son Alex petitions our prayers for her soul,
Fr. Nicholas
Gruner,
a devoted priest & faithful defender of Blessed Virgin Mary and her Fatima
message, died April 29,
Sarah E.
Shindle,
the grandmother of Richard Shindle, died April 26,
Madeline
Vennari,
the mother of John Vennari, died December 19,
Salvador
Baca Callejas, the uncle of Claudia Drew, died December 13,
Robert Gomez, who died in a motor vehicle
accident November 29,
Catherine
Dunn,
died September 15,
Anthony
Fraser,
the son of Hamish Fraser, died August 28,
Jeannette
Rhoad,
the grandmother of Devin Rhoad, who died August 24,
John Thees, the uncle of Philip Thees,
died August 9,
Sarah
Harkins, 32 year-old mother of four
children, died July 28,
Msgr. Donald
Adams, who
offered the Indult Mass, died April 1996,
Anita Lopez, the aunt of Claudia Drew,
Fr. Kenneth
Walker,
a young traditional priest of the FSSP who was murdered in Phoenix June 11,
Fr. Waters petitions our prayers for Gilberte Violette, the mother of
Fr. Violette, who died May 6,
Pete Hays petitions our prayers for his brothers, Michael, died May 9, and James, died October 20, his
sister, Rebecca, died March17, and his mother, Lorraine Hayes who died May 4,
Philip
Marbach,
the father of Paul Marbach who was the coordinator at St. Jude in Philadelphia,
died April 21,
Richard
Slaughtery,
the elderly sacristan for the SSPX chapel in Kansas City, died April 13,
Bernedette
Marie Evans nee Toriello, the daughter of Daniel Toriello , died March 31, a
faithful Catholic who suffered many years with MS,
Natalie
Cagorski,
died march 23,
Anita Lopez
de Lacayo,
the aunt of Claudia Drew, who died March 21,
Mario
Palmaro,
Catholic lawyer, bioethicist and professor, apologist, died March 9, welfare of
his widow and children,
Daniel Boyle, the
uncle of Ryan Boyle, died March 4,
Jeanne
DeRuyscher,
who died on January 25,
Arthur
Harmon,
died January 18,
Fr. Waters petitions our prayers for the soul of Jeanne DeRuyscher, who died
January 17,
Joseph
Proctor,
died January 10,
Susan Scott, a devote traditional
Catholic who made the vestments for our Infant of Prague statue, died January
8,
Brother
Leonard Mary, M.I.C.M., (Fred Farrell), an early supporter and friend of Fr. Leonard
Feeney, died November 23,
John Fergale, requests our prayers for
his sister Connie, who died December 19,
Jim Capaldi, died December 15,
Brinton
Creager,
the son of Elizabeth Carpenter, died December 10,
Christopher
Lussos,
age 27, the father of one child with an expecting wife, died November 15,
Jarett
Ebeyer,
16 year old who died in his sleep, November 17, at the request of the
Kolinsky’s,
Catherine
Nienaber,
the mother of nine children, the youngest three years of age, killed in MVA
after Mass, 10-29,
Nancy Aldera, the sister of Frances
Toriello, died October 11, 2013 at 105 years of age,
Mary Rita
Schiltz,
the mother of Thomas Schiltz, who died August 27,
William H.
(Teddy) Kennedy, Catholic author of Lucifer’s Lodge, died August 14, age 49, cause of
death unknown,
Alfred
Mercier,
the father of David Mercier, who died August 12,
The Robert Kolinsky asks our prayers for his friend, George Curilla, who died August
23,
John Cuono, who had attended Mass at
our Mission in the past, died August 11,
Raymond
Peterson,
died July 28, and Paul Peterson,
died February 19, the brothers of Fr. Casimir Peterson,
Margaret
Brillhart,
who died July 20,
Msgr. Joseph
J. McDonnell, a priest from the diocese of Des Moines, who died June 8,
Patrick
Henry Omlor, who wrote Questioning The Validity of the Masses using
the New, All English Canon, and for a series of newsletters which were
published as The Robber Church, died May 2, the feast of St Athanasius,
Bishop
Joseph McFadden, died unexpectedly May 2,
Timothy
Foley,
the brother-in-law of Michelle Marbach Folley, who died in April,
William
Sanders,
the uncle of Don Rhoad, who died April 2,
Gene Peters ask our prayers for the repose of the
soul of Mark Polaschek, who
died March 22,
Eduardo
Gomez Lopez, the uncle of Claudia Drew, February 28,
Cecelia
Thees,
died February 24,
Elizabeth
Marie
Gerads, a
nineteen year old, the oldest of twelve children, who died February 6,
Michael
Schwartz,
the co-author with Fr. Enrique Rueda of “Gays, Aids, and You,” died February 3,
Stanley W.
Moore,
passed away in December 16, and Gerard (Jerry) R. Pitman, who died January 19,
who attended this Mission in the past,
Louis
Fragale,
who died December 25,
Fr. Luigi
Villa, Th.D. author of Vatican II About
Face! detailing the heresies of Vatican II, died November 18 at the age of 95,
Rev. Michael
Jarecki,
a faithful traditional Catholic priest who died October 22,
Jennie Salaneck, died September 19 at 95
years of age, a devout and faithful Catholic all her life,
Dorothy Sabo, who died September 26,
Cynthia (Cindy)
Montesano Reinhert, the mother of nine children, four who are still at home, died August
19,
Stanley
Spahalski, who died October 20, and his wife, Regina
Spahalski, who died June 24, and for the soul of Francis Lester, her son,
Julia
Atkinson,
who died April 30,
Antonio P.
Garcia,
who died January 6, 2012 and the welfare of his teenage children, Andriana and
Quentin,
Helen Crane, the aunt of David Drew who
died February 27,
Fr. Timothy
A. Hopkins,
of the National Shrine of St. Philomena, in Miami, November 2,
Frank Smith, who died February 7, and
the welfare of his wife, Delores,
Eduardo
Cepeda,
who died January 26,
Larry Young, the 47 year old father of
twelve who died December 10 and the welfare of his wife Katherine and their
family,
Sister Mary
Bernadette, M.I.C.M., a founding member of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died
December 16,
Joeseph
Elias,
who died on September 28,
William, the brother of Fr. Waters,
who died September 7,
Donald
Tonelli,
died August 1,
Rev. Fr.
Gregory Hesse, of Austria, a great defender of Catholic Truth, died January 25, 2006,
Emma
Colasanti, who died May 29,
Mary
Dullesse,
who died April 12, a Catholic convert who died wearing our Lady’s scapular,
Ruth Jantsch, the grandmother of Andre
Ebert, who died April 7, Derrick and Denise Palengat, his godparents,
Philip D.
Barr,
died March 5, and the welfare of his family,
Judith Irene
Kenealy,
the mother of Joyce Paglia, who died February 23, and her son, George Richard
Moore, who died May 14,
For Joe Sobran
who died September 30,
Fr. Hector
Bolduc,
a great and faithful priest, died, September 10, 2012,
James &
Jean Rowan
and their sons, Patrick & Daniel,
John Vennari asks our prayers for Dr. Raphael Waters who died
August 26,
Stanley
Bodalsky,
the father of Mary Ann Boyle who died June 25,
Mary Isabel
Kilfoyle Humphreys, a former York resident and friend of the Drew’s, who died June 6,
Rev. John
Campion,
who offered the traditional Mass for us every first Friday until forbidden to
do so by Bishop Dattilo, died May 1,
Joseph
Montagne, who
died May 5,
For Margaret
Vagedes, the aunt of Charles Zepeda, who died January 6,
Fr. Michael
Shear, a
Byzantine rite Catholic priest, died August 17, 2006,
Fr. James
Francis Wathen, died November 7, 2006, author of The
Great Sacrilege and Who Shall
Ascend?, a great defender of dogma and liturgical purity,
Fr. Enrique
Rueda,
who died December 14, 2009, to whom our Mission is indebted,
Fr. Peterson asks to remember, Leonard Edward Peterson, his cousin, Wanda, Angelica Franquelli, and the six
priests ordained with him.
Philip Thees petitions our prayers for Beverly Romanick, Deacon Michael Erdeck,
Henry J. Phillips, Grace Prestano, Connie DiMaggio, Elizabeth Thorhas,
Elizabeth Thees, Theresa Feraker, Hellen Pestrock, and James & Rose Gomata,
and Kathleen Heinbach,
Fr. Didier
Bonneterre,
the author of The Liturgical Movement, and Fr. John Peek, both were traditional
priests,
Brother
Francis, MICM, the superior of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in
Richmond, NH, who died September 5,
Rodolfo
Zelaya Montealegre, the father of Claudia Drew, who died May 24,
Rev. Francis
Clifford,
a devout and humble traditional priest, who died on March 7,
Benjamin
Sorace,
the uncle of Sonja Kolinsky.
“Only take heed to yourself and guard your soul diligently.” Deut 4:9
"It is a sin to believe there is salvation outside the Catholic
Church!"
Blessed Pope Pius IX
Exsurge Domine - USA; Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò
The Association Exsurge Domine is committed to provide assistance, support and material aid for
clerics, religious and consecrated persons who are victims of the Bergoglian
Regime. It is of highest importance to act, to defend the immutable Tradition
of the Catholic Faith, to preserve and promote the Apostolic Mass, and to save
Christendom. In this decisive moment, we must choose to counter evil, or be
swallowed up by its most pestilent breath. Only those who fight as the
Maccabee’s did shall merit victory.
DEFENDE
ECCLESIAM TUAM
In many nations that are no longer
Catholic-such as England, Germany or the Netherlands, for example-you can still
see small chapels carved out of attics and cellars, or home altars hidden in
invisible closets or niches: they were used for the clandestine celebration of
Mass in times of persecution, when it was a crime to be faithful to the Church
of Rome and priests had to hide to avoid imprisonment or the death sentence.
Without going back to Diocletian, even in the 16th and 17th centuries “papists”
were considered a threat, and were barely tolerated as long as they had no
churches, convents, seminaries, or schools.
These
persecutions are recurring today, in perhaps a less bloody form, and the
perpetrators are not Lutherans or the thugs of Olivier Cromwell, but Cardinals,
Bishops and Prelates of the Conciliar sect, infiltrated into the Vatican and
well determined to wipe out all traces of the “old religion” and the “old Mass”
that they have replaced with the religion of ecology, of welcome, of
inclusiveness, of the New World Order.
The
apostasy we are experiencing is not very different from that of the bishops who
swore allegiance to Henry VIII in order not to lose rents and benefits: the
difference is that today the act of obedience is required toward Bergoglio, the
Second Vatican Council, the Novus Ordo, the “synodal church,” Pachamama.
Those
who do not yield, those who remain faithful to the Priesthood or Religious Vows
are ostracized, mocked, vilified, persecuted and above all deprived of
ministry, a dwelling place and means of livelihood. Without mercy, without
charity, without humanity.
Exsurge Domine is the response of those who do not
surrender to this betrayal of the modernist Hierarchy: it joins us to our
brothers of past ages, to the faithful who gave hospitality to the monk wanted
by the soldiers of Elizabeth I, a hot meal to the nun with no convent left in
revolutionary France, a hiding place to the Mexican priest pursued by the
soldiers of the Masonic government. We can help those persecuted priests,
religious men and women who in anonymity, silence, and humble acceptance of trials
show us the suffering face of Christ ascending Golgotha.
Let
us therefore prove that we know how to accompany the Faith we profess with good
works, with prayer, with charity and almsgiving. For these priests, these
friars, these nuns can stop the arm of divine Justice and give hope for the
future in our children.
“Exsurge Domine – USA”
Address: PO Box 121, Rice Lake, WI 54868
Email: info@exsurgedomineusa.org
501(c)3 approved Tax Code: 93-3884604
EXCERPT: The Vatican has been covering-up the crimes of homosexual pederasts
since 1922 but the practice became actively enforced policy since 1962!!!
The total payouts by the
Catholic Church for sex abuse claims in the United States have exceeded $5
billion over the past two decades with almost all of this for homosexual
crimes.
FROM FORGIVENESS, TO
SILENCE... TO BETRAYAL, By Michael Kenny
THE FEAR OF
SCANDAL: A DEEPENING MOTIF
As the Church gained public visibility and institutional structure, the
fear of scandal – that is, anything that could bring shame or doubt upon the
Church – grew proportionally. This concern is not without biblical foundation.
Apparently Christ Himself warned that:
“Scandals must come, but woe to the one through whom they come.”
In a world where the Church was often maligned, the temptation to
protect its reputation – even at the cost of truth – grew strong.
This approach reached its most formal expression in the
20th century.
CRIMEN
SOLICITATIONIS: CODIFYING SECRECY
In 1962, the Vatican issued a secret instruction titled CRIMEN
SOLICITATIONIS. Which laid out procedures for dealing with priests accused
of using the confessional to solicit sexual acts (an update of canon 904 in
1741). While its original focus was on confessional abuse – a particularly
grievous offense – it extended its protocols to cover ALL sexual misconduct by
clergy, including child abuse.
This document mandated
strict secrecy:
“Cases of this nature
are subject to the strictest pontifical secret – under pain of
excommunication.”
This meant the victims, witnesses, and Church authorities were all
bound by silence, ostensibly to protect the sacrament and the dignity of the
Church. But in practice, this secrecy protected the perpetrators and silenced
the victims.
The same theological instinct that once prompted Origen to counsel
forgiveness now found its legal expression in institutional concealment.
The Church fathers were not wrong to value forgiveness. But forgiveness
without justice is not sanctity – it is surrender. And the Church must never
surrender the innocent to the sins of the powerful.
THE COST OF
MISAPPLIED MERCY
What unites the early Christian response to personal violation with the
institutional culture of silence centuries later is a tragic misapplication
mercy – a prioritizing of the Church's image, or of the offender's soul, over
the immediate demands of justice and the protection of the innocent.
In the name of forgiveness, the Church failed to act.
In the name of avoiding scandal, it created a greater one.
In the name of unity, it tolerates wolves among the sheep.
The very teachings of Christ – meant to uphold truth, protect the weak,
and heal the broken – were twisted into realizations for secrecy and inaction.
TOWARD A NEW ETHOS
OF ACCOUNTABILITY
The path forward must involve more than policy reform. It requires
a re-examination of the Church's spiritual instincts – a return to the full
Gospel, where mercy and justice walk hand in hand.
Forgiveness does not mean the abandonment of truth.
Compassion does not mean the protection of the predator.
The Church must rediscover the moral courage to expose evil, even when
it dwells in its own house.
EPILOGUE: A WAR ON
INNOCENCE
There is a deeper layer to this crisis. Darker than secrecy. Worse than
betrayal. It is diabolical.
Satan hates God. This hatred is total, consuming and unrelenting. But
Satan can't hurt God directly – God is beyond his reach. So he strikes where it
hurts most: at what God loves – CHILDREN.
Jesus told us to let the children come to Him. Jesus warned about the
millstone. So, what then is a perfect way for Satan's followers to do his
bidding and please him, and hate God at the same time...
VIOLATE A CHILD,
and do it wearing the robes of Christ
In this perverse inversion of the priesthood, the altar becomes a
hunting ground, and the confessional, a trap. [....]
COMMENT: The problem was magnified in the 1983 Code of Canon Law
protecting homosexual predators. Their hypocrisy is evident when compared to
the treatment given to Fr. Samuel Waters. Homosexual predators are given the
full canonical rights of due process while Fr. Waters was denied canonical due
process for the "crime" of offering the "received and
approved" immemorial Roman rite of Mass.
COMMENT: From the 1917 Code of Canon Law, clerical homosexual predators
and other sex offenders who were found
guilty were laicized and turned over to the state for suffer criminal
penalties. Such a response was necessary to restore justice, protect the
faithful, and begin the hard work of rebuilding. Everything changed in 1922
with a new canon law which required all bishops of the world to violate
mandatory reporting laws of the state by concealing child abuse and
homosexuality by clerics from criminal state law enforcement. This document, Crimens
Sollicitationis, was included in the 1983 Code of Canon Law and remained
in force until 2001.
Abp. Vigano the former apostolic nuncio to the United States was
required first by Crimens Sollicitationis and then by Sacramentum Sanctitatis Tutela of
2001 and then by Graviora Delicta of 2010 to conceal any knowledge of
sexual crimes by clergy from public disclosure. The “Spotlight” investigation
of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in 2002 revealed that many clerics found
guilty of child sexual abuse were repeatedly returned to Catholic ministry
where they repeated their crimes on new children. Following this investigation,
the United States was the only country that received an exemption from the
Vatican policy to conceal sexual abuse from state criminal law enforcement.
Canon 1341 of the current 1983 Code of Canon Law, requires bishops
whenever possible to ask priests to stop committing crimes, instead of
punishing them for their actions. What is perhaps worse, Canon 1324 in the 1983
Code is used to decrease punishment for pedophiles on the grounds that
pedophiles have less freedom than non-pedophiles to control their perverse
passions. Thus, a diagnosis of pedophilia lessens culpability and imputability
of the crime of pedophilia. As a result, bishops have concluded pedophiles
should receive a lesser punishment for pedophilia than other sex offenders.
The SSPX follows the 1983 Code and has used it cover up sexual
offenders within the SSPX. This includes the former district superios in the
United States for the SSPX, Fr. Arnaud Rostand who was sentenced to a French
prison after conviction of homosexual pederasty in France, Spain and
Switzerland against seven boys on scouting trips between 2002 and 2018. The
purpose of this is not detraction of the SSPX but to point out an ugly fact
that every faithful Catholic should be aware of when receiving their
sacraments, attending their schools or participating in their supervised camps
and other summer activities. They as an organization follow the Vatican policy
to cover up any crimes of sexual abuse of children.
"Only the Prudent man can be brave."
Josef Pieper
Pro-abortion Sen. Durbin
says he’s ‘overwhelmed’ by Pope Leo’s apparent defense of his award
‘It is amazing to me. It’s
quite a moment,’ Durbin said about Pope Leo appearing to support the
pro-abortion and pro-LGBT senator’s ‘lifetime achievement award’ from Cdl.
Blase Cupich.
LifeSiteNews | Emily Mangiaracina | Oct
2, 2025 — Pro-abortion Senator Dick Durbin said he is “overwhelmed” by
Pope Leo XIV’s apparent support for his “lifetime achievement award” from
Cardinal Blase Cupich.
Leo
on Tuesday appeared to imply that he was not opposed to Cupich’s decision to
give the award to the radically pro-abortion and pro-LGBT Durbin, when asked
about the matter by a journalist.
“I
think that it is very important to look at the overall work that a senator has
done during … 40 years of service in the United States Senate,” he stated. “I
understand the difficulty and the tensions but I think, as I myself have spoken
to in the past, it is important to look at many issues that are related to what
is the teaching of the Church.”
“Someone
who says I’m against abortion but says I’m in favor of the death penalty is not
really pro-life. Someone who says I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement
with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if
that’s pro-life,” Leo then said. He went on to conclude, “So, they are very
complex issues, I don’t know if anyone has all the truth on them.”
On
the same day Leo appeared to defend Sen. Durbin receiving the lifetime award
from Cupich, the pro-abortion politician announced that he will decline the
award from the Archdiocese of Chicago after facing a strong backlash, including
criticism from several U.S. bishops.
Durbin
told NBC News he was surprised by “the level of controversy” over the award,
and that he declined it “because the reaction has been so controversial against
the cardinal who proposed it, and I see no point in going forward with that.”
Commenting
on the pope’s defense of his award, Durbin said, “It is amazing to me. It’s
quite a moment. I didn’t expect it. I didn’t know it was gonna happen.”
As
the Lepanto Institute has pointed out on X, Durbin’s award violates the very
laws of Cupich’s archdiocese. Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield has
affirmed, “The U.S. bishops have clearly taught that support for abortion
disqualifies individuals from receiving honors from Catholic institutions.”
Durbin’s
award, and Leo’s failure to denounce his award, is even more shocking
considering that since his election to the U.S. Senate in 1997, Durbin has
supported every possible brutal method of abortion, as well as even
post-abortion infanticide: He voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act,
the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and the Born-Alive Abortion
Survivors Protection Act.
He
also supported legislation aimed at codifying and expanding Roe v. Wade – the
“Women’s Health Protection Act” – despite the Supreme Court’s ruling that it
was unconstitutional.
COMMENT: Pope Leo is defending the pro-abortion Sen. Durbin while at the same
time slandering faithful Catholics. His appeal to the 'seamless garment,'
subsequently called the "consistent ethic of life," is grounded on
the Vatican II novelty that the dignity of the human person is so great that he
is not obligated to believe the truths that God has revealed or obey the
commandments God. The novelty was developed by his Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of
Chicago in 1984 who was a notorious and clever homosexual who did as much
damage to the Church as the notorious Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. To say as
Leo has that Catholics who oppose abortion are not really pro-life if they do
not oppose the death penalty for convicted murderers is to claim that a
murderer has a greater right to life than his victim. As for opposing unjust
wars the homosexual crowd and their liberal Catholic supporters have done
precious little over the last 35 years.
Vatican
Council I listing the beneficial Fruits of the Council of Trent which are in
every detail exactly the opposite which we have seen from Vatican Council II
Now this redemptive
providence appears very clearly in unnumbered benefits, but most especially is
it manifested in the advantages which have been secured for the Christian world
by ecumenical councils, among which the council
of Trent requires special mention, celebrated though it was in evil
days.
Thence came:
1. a closer definition and more fruitful
exposition of the holy dogmas of religion and
2. the condemnation and repression of errors;
thence too,
3. the restoration and vigorous strengthening
of ecclesiastical discipline,
4. the advancement of the clergy in zeal for
·
learning and
·
piety,
5. the founding of colleges for the training
of the young for the service of religion; and finally
6. the renewal of the moral life of the
Christian people by
· a more accurate instruction of the faithful, and
· a more frequent reception of the sacraments. What is more, thence also
came
7. a closer union of the members with the
visible head, and an increased vigour in the whole Mystical Body of Christ.
Thence came:
1. the multiplication of religious orders and
other organisations of Christian piety; thence too
2. that determined and constant ardour for the
spreading of Christ’s kingdom abroad in the world, even at the cost of shedding
one’s blood.
While we recall with grateful hearts, as is
only fitting, these and other outstanding gains, which the divine mercy has
bestowed on the church especially by means of the last ecumenical synod, we
cannot subdue the bitter grief that we feel at most serious evils, which have
largely arisen either because
o the authority of the sacred synod was held in contempt by all too many,
or because
o its wise decrees were neglected.
First Vatican Council, Dogmatic
Constitution on the Faith, listing some of the manifold beneficial fruits from
the Council of Trent!
Regarding the Sin of Schism
and Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò
There are no manifest acts of schism with one
and only one important exception which will be identified below. This means
there are no acts that are necessarily always and everywhere evidence of a
schismatic motive in the internal forum excepting one. Contrasted, for example,
with abortion and blasphemy which are acts that are manifest sins because they
can never be done with a morally right intention; the act itself reveals the
intent of the internal forum as being vicious. These are always and everywhere
necessarily mortal sins. As St. Paul says, "Some
men's sins are manifest, going before to judgment: and some men they follow after"
(1Tim 5:24). St. Paul gives specific examples of "manifest sins": "Nor
the effeminate, nor liers with mankind (sodomites), nor thieves, nor covetous,
nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of
God" (1 Cor 6:10). What exactly is the schismatic motive that a
contentious canonical process must discover for conviction and attribution of
imputability of the crime?
The canonical definition for both heresy and
schism are taken directly almost verbatim from St. Thomas Aquinas: "Schismatics
are those who refuse to submit to the Sovereign Pontiff, and to hold communion
with those members of the Church who acknowledge his supremacy." Schism is
the repudiation of the universal jurisdiction of Sovereign Pontiff and
communion with those who accept it. It is the burden of the canonical trial to
prove the schismatic intention for all schismatics are disobedient to the
Sovereign Pontiff but not all who are disobedient to the Sovereign Pontiff are
schismatics. St. Thomas' in his examination identifies schism as a specific species of sin. St. Thomas says,
"Hence the sin of schism is, properly speaking, a special sin, for the
reason that the schismatic
intends to sever himself from that unity which is the effect of charity:
because charity unites not only one person to another with the bond of
spiritual love, but also the whole Church in unity of spirit." The genus to which schism belongs is acts
opposed to peace which is the fruit of "that unity which is the effect of charity."
Regarding peace, St. Thomas continues: "Peace implies a twofold union...
The first is the result of one's own appetites being directed to one object;
while the other results from one's own appetite being united with the appetite
of another: and each of these unions is effected by charity." All acts
that disturb the fruit of peace are directed against the cause of peace which
is charity."
Acts of disobedience against properly
constituted authority are only acts of schism when the intention is to overturn
the peace of unity caused by charity. This intention constitutes the species difference of schism from other
acts opposed to peace, as St. Thomas says, the schismatic "intends to separate
himself from the unity that charity makes" (Q.39, a.1.) among the faithful. St.
Thomas is offering an essential
definition of schism which is the best of all definitions because it is the
most intelligible because it identifies the essence.
Schism, just as other acts opposed to peace enumerated by St. Thomas, which
include discord, contention,
war, strife and sedition, requires contextualization. Specifically for the case
of Archbishop Viganò, St. Thomas says that morality of contention, which is the opposition to
another in speech, is determined by the intention: "As to the intention,
we must consider whether he contends against the truth, and then he is to be
blamed, or against falsehood, and then he should be praised." Archbishop
Carlo Maria Viganò's "contention" against Pope Francis is the
contention of truth against falsehood and is therefore praiseworthy and not
schismatic. This is why a canonical trial is called "contentious" for
it is intended to reveal who is contending for truth.
The poles of contention are truth-falsehood
which is the same for dogmas of faith. As St. Jude admonishes: "I was
under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend earnestly for
the faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3). Schism is the
rejection of the divinely revealed truth of papal universal jurisdiction, a
dogma of faith since Vatican I. Schism is manifested by disobedience but all
disobedience is not schism. Obedience to God is unqualified. All other acts of
obedience are morally good only to the degree that they are properly regulated
by the virtue of Religion which is the primary subsidiary virtue under Justice.
Any act of obedience that violates the virtue of Religion is a sin. The virtue
of Religion above all requires that we "give unto God the things that are
God's." This first and necessary act of obedience is to believe all that
God has revealed and to keep his commandments. Without this first necessary
condition, it is impossible to keep the greatest commandment to love God above
all things and it is impossible to have "the unity that charity
makes."
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò was
administratively "excommunicated" for "schism" because the
administrative process avoided the canonical requirement to prove that his
intent was to "separate himself from the unity that charity makes"
among the faithful. They denied the right of Archbishop Viganò to defend
himself in a contentions
forum against the charge which would obviously have included discussing the
heretical acts of Pope Francis which are manifest. The ultimate purpose of the
canonical process is to determine truth and bring those who have deviated from
truth back from error. But for many the contention itself irrespective of truth
or falsehood is the manifest evidence of schism. The reason for this will
become clearer after discussing the relationship in the context of faith and
charity, and heresy and schism.
Schismatics "refuse to submit to the
Sovereign Pontiff" because they deny that the pope possesses universal
jurisdiction conferred by God for the
legitimate exercise of the papal office which produces unity and peace.
Universal jurisdiction of the pope is a divinely revealed truth that was
dogmatized at Vatican I Council. St. Thomas says:
"Heresy and schism are distinguished in
respect of those things to which each is opposed essentially and directly. For
heresy is essentially opposed to faith, while schism is essentially opposed to
the unity of ecclesiastical charity. Wherefore just as faith and charity are different virtues, although
whoever lacks faith lacks charity, so too schism and heresy are different
vices, although whoever is a heretic is also a schismatic, but not
conversely."
Since the universal jurisdiction of the pope
has become a dogma at Vatican Council I, a schismatic is now also conversely
always a heretic. Importantly, faith precedes charity. "Without faith, it
is impossible to please God" (Heb 11-6) because "whoever lacks faith lacks charity."
The keys of universal jurisdiction were promised to St. Peter after his
profession of faith which is its proximate material cause. Many Church Fathers,
such as St. Augustine and St. John Chrysostom, describe an analogical identity
of the rock (petra) with divine faith, with St. Peter, with Jesus Christ the
"cornerstone," and the Church itself. The faith proceeds and is the proximate cause of the
universal jurisdiction conferred by Jesus Christ because faith is indispensible
to the bond of unity which is charity.
Cardinal Henry Edward Manning wrote:
“The
interpretation by the Fathers of the words ‘On this rock; etc. is fourfold, but
all four interpretations are not more than four aspects of one and the same
truth, and all are necessary to complete its full meaning. They all implicitly
or explicitly contain the perpetual stability of Peter’s faith...:’
“In
these two promises [i.e. Lk 22:32, Mt 16:18] a divine assistance is pledged to
Peter and to his successors, and that divine assistance is promised to secure
the stability and indefectibiity of the Faith in the supreme Doctor and Head of
the Church, for the general good of the Church itself.”
Cardinal
Henry Edward Manning, “The Vatican Council and Its Definitions: A Pastoral
Letter to the Clergy”, p. 83-84, 1870
All
this is nicely summed up by St. Paul who admonishes "that you walk worthy
of the vocation in which you are called; With all humility and mildness, with
patience, supporting one another in charity. Careful to
keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One body and one
Spirit; as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one
baptism" (Eph. 4:1-5). The primary
and essential cause and sign of the unity in the Church is the faith. The pope
is only secondarily and accidentally the sign and cause of unity in the Church.
If the pope falls from the faith he is to be confronted as St. Paul did to St.
Peter when he "walked not uprightly unto the truth of the gospel" and
accommodated the Judaizers leading others into "dissimulation" (Gal.
2:11). If the pope is a heretic he "lacks faith (and) lacks charity".
Without charity he breaks the bond of unity in the Church and necessarily becomes
schismatic. Manifest Heresy is the one and only sin that identifies a
schismatic because it manifests a schismatic intent.
Tikkun olam (Hebrew תיקון
עולם, literally, 'repair of the world') is
a concept in Judaism, often interpreted as aspiration to behave and act
constructively and beneficially. Documented use of the term dates back to the
Mishnaic period (ca. 10-220 AD), (that is, the time when the oral traditions of
the Jews were committed to the written form in the Mishna, also called the Oral
Torah). Since medieval times, kabbalistic literature has broadened use of the
term. In the modern era, among the post-Haskalah (Jewish enlightenment,
1770-1880) movements, tikkun olam is the idea that Jews bear responsibility not
only for their own moral, spiritual, and material welfare, but also for the
welfare of society at large. For many contemporary pluralistic rabbis, the term
refers to "Jewish social justice" or "the establishment of Godly
qualities throughout the world". Wikipedia
COMMENT: Jews
repeatedly since the time of Jesus Christ are the passionate creators and
principle instigators of ideological movements conceived as necessary for the
moral and material improvement of political and social order. When one after
the other proves to be a political and social failure, it is simply dropped and
they move on to another. They recognize a ‘fall from grace’ because they
recognize the ‘world needs to be repaired.’ Since they have rejected Jesus
Christ, the incarnate Logos, the eternal Wisdom of the Father, they have
rejected His divine plan for the ‘repair of the world’ and in its place offer
what Fr. Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp. described as “Organized Naturalism” in opposition
to the Supernatural Order of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the truth of the
matter is that whoever is not working for God is working for the Devil. There
is no middle ground. As Jesus said, “He that is not with me, is against me: and
he that gathereth not with me, scattereth” (Matthew 12:30).
Where
Tikkun Olam can lead
OPINION:
Stalin’s Jews
We mustn't forget that some of greatest murderers of modern times were
Jewish
Israel News |
ynetnews | Sever Plocker
Here's
a particularly forlorn historical date: More than 100 years ago, between the
19th and 20th of December 1917, in the midst of the Bolshevik revolution and
civil war, Lenin signed a decree calling for the establishment of The
All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and
Sabotage, also known as Cheka.
Within a short period of time, Cheka became the largest and cruelest
state security organization. Its organizational structure was changed every few
years, as were its names: From Cheka to GPU, later to NKVD, and later to
KGB.
We cannot know with certainty the number of deaths Cheka was
responsible for in its various manifestations, but the number is surely at
least 20 million, including victims of the forced collectivization, the hunger,
large purges, expulsions, banishments, executions, and mass death at
Gulags.
Whole population strata were eliminated: Independent farmers, ethnic
minorities, members of the bourgeoisie, senior officers, intellectuals,
artists, labor movement activists, "opposition members" who were
defined completely randomly, and countless members of the Communist party
itself.
In his new, highly praised book "The War of the World,"
Historian Niall Ferguson writes that no revolution in the history of mankind
devoured its children with the same unrestrained appetite as did the Soviet
revolution. In his book on the Stalinist purges, Tel Aviv University's Dr. Igal
Halfin writes that Stalinist violence was unique in that it was directed
internally.
Lenin, Stalin, and their successors could not have carried out their
deeds without wide-scale cooperation of disciplined "terror
officials," cruel interrogators, snitches, executioners, guards, judges,
perverts, and many bleeding hearts who were members of the progressive Western
Left and were deceived by the Soviet regime of horror and even provided it with
a kosher certificate.
All these things are well-known to some extent or another, even though
the former Soviet Union's archives have not yet been fully opened to the
public. But who knows about this? Within Russia itself, very few people have
been brought to justice for their crimes in the NKVD's and KGB's service. The
Russian public discourse today completely ignores the question of "How
could it have happened to us?" As opposed to Eastern European nations, the
Russians did not settle the score with their Stalinist past.
And us, the Jews? An Israeli student finishes high school without ever
hearing the name "Genrikh Yagoda," the greatest Jewish murderer of
the 20th Century, the GPU's deputy commander and the founder and commander of
the NKVD. Yagoda diligently implemented Stalin's collectivization orders and is
responsible for the deaths of at least 10 million people. His Jewish deputies
established and managed the Gulag system. After Stalin no longer viewed him
favorably, Yagoda was demoted and executed, and was replaced as chief hangman
in 1936 by Yezhov, the "bloodthirsty dwarf."
Yezhov was not Jewish but was blessed with an active Jewish wife. In
his Book "Stalin: Court of the Red Star", Jewish historian Sebag
Montefiore writes that during the darkest period of terror, when the Communist
killing machine worked in full force, Stalin was surrounded by beautiful, young
Jewish women.
Stalin's close associates and loyalists included member of the Central
Committee and Politburo Lazar Kaganovich. Montefiore characterizes him as the
"first Stalinist" and adds that those starving to death in Ukraine,
an unparalleled tragedy in the history of human kind aside from the Nazi
horrors and Mao's terror in China, did not move Kaganovich.
Many Jews sold their soul to the devil of the
Communist revolution and have blood on their hands for eternity. We'll mention
just one more: Leonid Reichman, head of the NKVD's special department and the
organization's chief interrogator, who was a particularly cruel sadist.
In
1934, according to published statistics, 38.5 percent of those holding the most
senior posts in the Soviet security apparatuses were of Jewish origin. They
too, of course, were gradually eliminated in the next purges. In a fascinating
lecture at a Tel Aviv University convention this week, Dr. Halfin described the
waves of soviet terror as a "carnival of mass murder," "fantasy
of purges", and "essianism of evil." Turns out that Jews too,
when they become captivated by messianic ideology, can become great murderers,
among the greatest known by modern history.
The
Jews active in official communist terror apparatuses (In the Soviet Union and
abroad) and who at times led them, did not do this, obviously, as Jews, but
rather, as Stalinists, communists, and "Soviet people." Therefore, we
find it easy to ignore their origin and "play dumb": What do we have
to do with them? But let's not forget them. My own view is different. I find it
unacceptable that a person will be considered a member of the Jewish people
when he does great things, but not considered part of our people when he does
amazingly despicable things.
Even
if we deny it, we cannot escape the Jewishness of "our hangmen," who
served the Red Terror with loyalty and dedication from its establishment. After
all, others will always remind us of their origin.
“Don’t Jews still believe in a Messias to come?” asks
the credulous Christian. “And don’t they believe in the same Biblical Heaven
and Hell that we do?”
The answer to both these
questions is — no. And it is an emphatic “No!” as the subsequent Jewish
testimony will verify.
Concerning the Messias: The Jews of today reject the notion of a
personal redeemer who will be born of them and lead them to the fulfillment of
the Old Testament prophecies. The Jews believe that the whole Jewish race is to
be elevated to a position of prosperity and overlordship and that, when this
happy day arrives (the Messianic Age), they will have achieved all that is
coming to them by way of savior and salvation. In his recent book, The Messianic Idea in Israel, Jewish
theologian Dr. Joseph Klausner explains: “Thus the whole people Israel in the
form of the elect of the nations gradually became the Messiah of the world, the redeemer of
mankind.”
Concerning Heaven and Hell: A succinct summary of Jewish
teaching on “life after death” was given in the May, 1958 issue of B’nai
B’rith’s National Jewish Monthly. Under the caption, “What Can A Modern Jew Believe?” there
appeared: “Judaism insists that ‘heaven’ must be established on this earth. The
reward of the pious is life and happiness in this world, while the punishment
of the wicked is misery on earth and premature death … By hitching its star to
the Messianic future on this earth, Israel became the eternal people.” The
article goes on: “The best Jewish minds have always held that a physical
hereafter is a detraction from mature belief.” And the conclusion: “There is
neither hell nor paradise, God merely sends out the sun in its full strength;
the wicked are consumed by its heat, while the pious find delight and healing
in its rays.”
Fr. Leonard Feeney, MICM, The
Point, October 1958
Mons. Carlo
Maria Viganò: Replies to the claim that obedience is unqualified even when the
faith itself is in question!!
NON SEQUITUR
Further Clarifications in Response to the Reply of
Prof. Daniele Trabucco
I can only agree with almost everything that Professor Trabucco has stated in
response to my comment [1]. As he writes at the Duc in Altum blog [2]:
A saint who obeys
a disciplinary measure that is unjust but not contrary to faith (as in the case
of Padre Pio) performs an act of heroic self-denial, because he recognizes that
even in harshness and iniquity, a command does not break the bond with the
revealed deposit of faith. The situation, however, is different when an
ecclesiastical authority commands something that contradicts faith: in that
case, the order is no longer authentically disciplinary but is transformed into
a deviation that strikes at the very rationale of the authority. Here, refusal
is not rebellion, but fidelity.
Given that this principle is valid – and which I agree with sine glossa
– I find it difficult to accept as valid the exception that Trabucco adds
immediately afterwards:
However […] such
refusal can never translate into schismatic acts, nor into attitudes that cause
public scandal. For if it is true that discipline and faith complement each
other, it is equally true that discipline, as a visible order, also serves to
preserve the unity of the Church. And unity is part of the supernatural common
good of the Mystical Body. Therefore, the truth of faith cannot be defended at
the cost of tearing apart ecclesial communion.
It is true that “discipline, as a visible order, also serves to
safeguard the unity of the Church. And unity is part of the supernatural common
good of the Mystical Body.” But the unity achieved through obedience is the
effect, not the cause, of the profession of the same Faith: the faithful are
united in the Church under the authority of the Roman Pontiff because they
believe the same doctrine, not the other way around. And this is the error that
undermines Professor Trabucco’s argument on obedience. The refusal to obey an
ecclesiastical authority, when that authority commands something that
contradicts the Faith, cannot constitute an attack on unity, because it is the
illegitimate order of the Superior that is schismatic and scandalous in nature,
not the disobedience of the subject who remains faithful to God.
If the refusal to obey an illegitimate authority or order “is not rebellion,
but fidelity”; if the Regula Fidei is the supreme principle that finds its
rationale in the Truth coessential and consubstantial with God [3]; if
obedience itself, as a moral virtue, is ordered toward the good and therefore
toward the Truth – because Faith and discipline, as Professor Trabucco states,
“though different in object, are united in purpose: the glory of God and the salvation
of souls” – how can the Professor affirm: “Therefore, one cannot defend the
truth of faith at the cost of tearing apart ecclesial communion”? Given an
absolute principle, how is it possible to derogate from it with an exception
that makes unity in obedience absolute while the Truth becomes relative and
secondary to obedience?
In fact, just the opposite is true: ecclesial communion cannot be defended at
the cost of tearing apart the Truth of the Faith, because it is obedience that
is ordered to the Faith, and not vice versa [4].
I would add that anyone who contradicts, adulterates, or silences the Faith is
the first to cause scandal, especially if he finds himself in the position of
exercising coercive force as an ecclesiastical Superior over a priest or
religious. It is the duty of every baptized person to defend and proclaim sound
doctrine and to denounce anyone in authority who abuses it, causing grave
scandal to the common people. They are rightly accustomed to
obeying—instinctively, I would almost say—the authority of the Hierarchy and
consider its deviation unthinkable under normal circuмstances. This is
especially true for the priest subject to the jurisdiction of his Superiors and
the sanctions they can impose: dutiful disobedience to an abusive and illicit
order entails canonical sanctions for anyone who dutifully resists, as Trabucco
hopes. This punishment of the disobedient is the scandal – not the act of
denouncing the corruption of ecclesiastical authority. Just as it is a scandal
that heretics, schismatics, corrupt individuals, and notorious fornicators are
not prosecuted but rather encouraged, while anyone who denounces the crisis,
identifies its causes, and identifies those responsible, who have fraudulently
held power for sixty years and can abuse it at will, is declared schismatic and
excommunicated.
The Communion of Saints—which is the archetype and model of ecclesial
communion—is founded in God, who is Truth, not obedience. God is not obedient,
because that would presuppose an authority superior to Him. The obedience of
the Son—factus obœdiens usque ad mortem (Phil 2:8)—is a unity of will (idem
velle) between the Three Divine Persons, without an internal hierarchical
relationship between Them [5]. At the same time, God is the primary recipient
of all obedience, because by obeying the Superiors to whom He has granted
authority, we also obey God. But obedience cannot exist if the Superior who
asks to be obeyed does not in turn recognize God’s authority over himself. Such
obedience would accept the premise, even if only theoretical, of being able to
disobey God in order to obey men, contravening the precept of Saint Peter (Acts
5:29) and making earthly authority self-referential and therefore potentially
tyrannical. In this, the concept of synodality is shown to be absolutely
subversive of the order willed by God, in that it tampers with the monarchical
structure of the Church—on the model of Christ the King and Pontiff who is her
Head—by placing sovereignty in the hands of “the people” (even if in reality,
power, as in civil republics, is in the hands of an elite) and by affirming
“that Christ wanted His Church to be governed in the manner of a republic.” [6]
Only universal submission to a true and good God makes obedience a sure means
of sanctity for those who obey their Superiors. And this is why we have both
reason and the Sensus Fidei: to discern when obedience is a virtuous act and
when instead “it transforms into a deviation that strikes at the very rationale
of authority.”
If Professor Trabucco recognizes the possibility that ecclesiastical superiors
may issue orders contrary to Faith or Morals (a possibility confirmed by daily
abuses of authority against traditional Catholics and the equally daily
tolerance of unprecedented scandals), he must also acknowledge the possibility
that subordinates may reject the illegitimate orders of their superiors. The
Church’s hierarchical ladder allows for appeal to a higher authority when one
finds oneself in conflict with another authority subordinate to it. But if the
highest echelons of the hierarchical ladder—in this case, the Roman Pontiff and
the Roman Dicasteries—are themselves implicated in a general subversion of the
Faith (beginning with Leo’s recent declaration that “we must change attitudes”
before we can change doctrine [7]), it is clear that hierarchical recourse is
impracticable and that no earthly authority can remedy the disobedience of
those who are Superiors.
In a nutshell: amidst the obvious general disobedience of Church Authority to
God’s law at all levels, how can a priest or a simple believer subjected to
this Authority remain obedient to it, if one is still bound to continue to obey
God rather than men?
The true h0Ɩ0cαųst of the will that the mystics speak of is
this: knowing how to be obedient unto death, even death on a cross, in
obedience to God. But never, under any circuмstances, can one even
imagine sycophantically obeying heretical and schismatic Superiors, for fear of
shattering “with acts of a schismatic nature” the apparent unity of their
church. Because the unity they claim is a simulacrum, a fiction, a grotesque
imposture hiding the indifferentism of the synodal pantheon, which includes
both the conservatives of Summorum Pontificuм as well as the LGBTQ+
progressives of James Martin, both Our Lady of Fatima as well as the Pachamama,
the Mass of the ages along with the Novus Ordo. The only inalienable dogma is
that everyone must recognize the Second Vatican Council: its ecclesiology, its
morality, its liturgy, its saints and martyrs, and above all its excommunicated
people and its heretics—that is, the “radical traditionalists” who refuse to be
tamed by the new synodal demands. As for the rest of what we believe, Leo has
explicitly said that one can safely gloss over it in the name of
ecuмenical and synodal unity, including the Filioque of the Creed. But
not Vatican II: it is the founding act of a church born in 1962 which claims
the authority of the True Church, from whose Magisterium, however, it distances
itself and opposes it.
We therefore find ourselves before an Authority—the supreme authority—that is
clearly disobedient to Christ, the Head of the Mystical Body, but which,
usurping Christ’s authority, claims to decide in what respects those subject to
it must obey it, disobeying God’s commands.
Can we even imagine recognizing this authority as legitimate and owing it
obedience, lest we tear apart the “unity” that the Hierarchy has already
shattered with its own disobedience to God? How could we possibly ratify its
abuses, making ourselves accomplices of those who are betraying the Truth?
+ Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop, 23 September 2025
NOTE
1 – Cfr. https://exsurgedomine.it/250917-trabucco-ita/
2 – Cfr. https://www.aldomariavalli.it/2025/09/21/a-proposito-di-obbedienza-note-sulle-osservazioni-di-monsignor-vigano/
3 – Saint Augustine, De Trinitate, VIII, 2: God is truth itself – ipsa veritas
–, and everything that is true comes from Him, because He is the origin of all
truth.
4 – The decree of the Holy Office of 20 December 1949 condemning the
ecuмenical movement also recalls this: This unity cannot be achieved
except in the recognition of Catholic truth.
5 – Saint Augustine, In Joannis Evangelium tractatus, 51, 8: Christ’s obedience
is not a diminution of His divinity, but an expression of His perfect union with
the Father, for the will of the Son is one with that of the Father.
6 – Pius VI, Brief Super Soliditate of 28 November 1786 condemning
Febronianism. This doctrine fits into the context of the Enlightenment and the
tensions between the temporal power of states and the authority of the Catholic
Church, promoting a vision that limited the primacy of the Pope and
strengthened the autonomy of national Churches and local bishops. Febronius
(the pseudonym of Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, Bishop of Trier) argued that
the authority of the Pope was not absolute, but derived from the universal
Church, understood as the community of the faithful and bishops. Febronianism
also influenced the Council of Pistoia (1786), in which there appeared
heretical demands that are substantially identical to those that would
re-appear in Vatican II.
7 – Cfr. https://chiesaepostconcilio.blogspot.com/2025/09/papa-leone-parla-con-elise-ann-allen-di.html
8 – Cfr. https://youtube.com/watch?v=IkPJn2L9BBs&si=oGcPhGwR5nxQ6jva
TO KNOW THE
FAITH, YOU MUST KNOW THE RULE
The Rule of Faith was given to the Church in the very act of Revelation
and its promulgation by the Apostles. But for this Rule to have an actual and
permanently efficient character, it must be continually promulgated and
enforced by the living Apostolate, which must exact from all members of the
Church a docile Faith in the truths of Revelation authoritatively proposed, and
thus unite the whole body of the Church, teachers and taught, in perfect unity
of Faith. Hence the original promulgation is the remote Rule of Faith, and the
continuous promulgation by the Teaching Body, (i.e.: DOGMA) is the proximate
Rule.
Rev. Scheeben’s Manual of Catholic Theology
“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding the profane novelties
of words, and oppositions of knowledge falsely so called. Which some promising, have erred concerning the faith.
Grace be with thee. Amen.” St. Paul, letter to his disciple, Bishop St. Timothy
(1 Timothy 6:20-21)
... We wish to make our own the important words employed by the
Council; those words which define its spirit, and, in a dynamical synthesis,
form the spirit of all those who refer to it, be they within or without the
Church. The word “NOVELTY”, simple, very dear to today’s men, is much
utilized; it is theirs... That word... it was given to us as an order, as a
program... It comes to us directly from the pages of the Holy Scripture: “For,
behold (says the Lord), I create new heavens and a new earth”. St. Paul echoes
these words of the prophet Isaiah (II Corinthians 5, 17); then, the Apocalypse:
“I am making everything new” (II Corinthians 21, 5). And Jesus, our Master, was
not He, himself, an innovator? “You have heard that people were told in the
past ... but now I tell you...” (Matthew 5) – Repeated in the
“Sermon on the Mount”.
It is precisely thus that the
Council has come to us. Two terms characterize it: “RENOVATION” and “REVISION”.
We are particularly keen that this “spirit of renovation” – according to the
expression of the Council – be understood and experienced by everyone. It
responds to the characteristic of our time, wholly engaged in an enormous and
rapid transformation, and generating novelties in every sector of modern life.
In fact, one cannot shy away from this spontaneous reflection: if the whole
world is changing, will not religion change as well? Between the reality of
life and Christianity, Catholicism especially, is not there reciprocal
disagreement, indifference, misunderstanding, and hostility? The former is
leaping forward; the latter would not move. How could they go along? How could
Christianity claim to have, today, any influence upon life?
And it is for this reason that
the Church has undertaken some reforms, especially after the Council. The
Episcopate is about to promote the “renovation” that corresponds to our present
needs; Religious Orders are reforming their Statutes; Catholic laity is
qualified and found its role within the life of the Church; Liturgy is
proceeding with a reform in which anyone knows the extension and importance;
Christian education reviews the methods of its pedagogy; all the canonical
legislations are about to be revised. And how many other consoling and
promising novelties we shall see appearing in the Church! They attest to Her
new vitality, which shows that the Holy Spirit animates Her continually, even
in these years so crucial to religion. The development of ecumenism, guided by
Faith and Charity, itself says what progress, almost unforeseeable, has been
achieved during the course and life of the Church. The Church looks at the
future with Her heart brimming with hope, brimming with fresh expectation in
love... We can say... of the Council: It marks the onset of a new era, of which
no one can deny the new aspects that We have indicated to you.
Pope Paul VI, General Audience
of July 2, 1969
And Then, Only Three Years Later:
Through some cracks the smoke of Satan has
entered the temple of God: there is doubt, uncertainty, problematic, anxiety,
confrontation. One does not trust the Church anymore; one trusts the first
prophet that comes to talk to us from some newspapers or some social movement,
and then rush after him and ask him if he held the formula of real life. And we
fail to perceive, instead, that we are the masters of life already. Doubt has entered
our conscience, and it has entered through windows that were supposed to be
opened to the light instead....
Even in the Church this state of uncertainty
rules. One thought that after the Council there would come a shiny day for the
history of the Church. A cloudy day came instead, a day of tempest, gloom,
quest, and uncertainty. We preach ecumenism and drift farther and farther from
the others. We attempt to dig abysses instead of filling them.
How has all this come about? We confide to
you our thought: there has been the intervention of a hostile power. His name
is the Devil; this mysterious being who is alluded to even in the letter of St.
Peter. So many times, on the other hand, in the Gospel, on the very lips of
Christ, there recurs the mention of this enemy of man. We believe in something
supernatural (post-correction: “preternatural”!), coming into the world
precisely to disturb, to suffocate anything of the Ecumenical Council, and to
prevent that the Church would explode into the hymn of joy for having regained
full consciousness of Herself (!!).
Pope Paul VI, June 29, 1972
Pope Leo on
LGBTQ: ‘We have to change attitudes before we ever change doctrine’
In this first
extended interview he’s just done with Crux Now, Leo XIV has basically said that
the Church’s teaching on sexual morality could change.
LifeSiteNews
| Sep 18, 2025
Friends, you are not going to
believe this.
In this first extended
interview he’s just done with Crux Now, Leo XIV has basically said that
the Church’s teaching on sexual morality could change. He actually even went
there and implied that he could – in his words – “change the Church’s teaching”
on women’s ordination.
Take a listen to what he said
first on sexual morality. This is what he says after having been talking about
LGBT issues for a while:
People want the Church doctrine to change, want attitudes to change. I
think we have to change attitudes before we ever change doctrine.
That’s right,
he’s strongly implying – well, he’s saying – that Church
teaching could shift, if attitudes change first.
Might that be why we’ve had so
much LGBT stuff in Rome lately, from Fr. James Martin to the LGBT pilgrimage?
Are they trying to get our “attitudes to change”?
And what do you think the
so-called “LGBT Catholics” are hearing when they hear Leo saying such a thing? It’s a very clear
invitation and instruction: work to change attitudes, then we can change the
teaching. Wow.
And rather than stating such
changes were impossible, Leo said he thought it was unlikely that it would
happen soon:
I find it highly unlikely, certainly in the immediate future, that the
Church’s doctrine in terms of what the Church teaches about sexuality, what the
Church teaches about marriage [will change].
Later, instead of stating that
the Church’s teaching could not change, he merely said that
he thought that it would remain the same:
I think that the Church’s teaching will continue as it is, and that’s
what I have to say about that for right now.
You think it’s going to
continue as it is? Aren’t you supposed to be the Pope – the one responsible for
making sure that it continues as it is?
Look friends, this is just
stunning. Catholic teaching on sexual morality – including the sinfulness of
homosexual acts, as well as fornication, adultery and others – aren’t matters
of probabilities or personal conjecture, or contingent and waiting to be
changed.
They’re definitive, grounded in
both the natural law and divine revelation – and so
they’re incapable of being changed.
Reason alone tells us that
sexual activity outside marriage – and thus, obviously, all sexual activity
between two same sex couples – is contrary to the natural law.
This is also and separately
a dogma – divinely revealed in Scripture and proposed by the universal
ordinary magisterium of the Church.
Vatican I taught that such
truths which are to be believed with divine and Catholic faith.
Female ordination
Leo also talked about the
possibility of the ordination of women to the diaconate in similar terms:
What the synod had spoken about specifically was the ordination,
perhaps, of women deacons, which has been a question that’s been studied for
many years now. There’ve been different commissions appointed by different
popes to say, what can we do about this? I think that will continue to be an
issue.
Ok, so in the early Church,
there was indeed an office of “deaconess” – but everyone knows that these women
were not ordained to any sacramental holy order of the diaconate.
But Leo calls even this into
question by equating the female diaconate with that of the permanent diaconate
established after the Second Vatican Council. He gives a long anecdote about
meeting deacons and their wives in Rome before concluding:
[T]here are parts of the world that never really promoted the permanent
deaconate, and that itself became a question: Why would we talk about ordaining
women to the diaconate if the diaconate itself is not yet properly understood
and properly developed and promoted within the church?
He also expressed his willingness
for study and debate on the matter to continue, saying he was “certainly willing to continue
to listen to people,” and pointing to the study groups in Rome on the
subject. “We’ll walk with
that and see what comes,” he said.
But do you know what’s even
more shocking? Leo said this:
I at the moment don’t have an intention of changing the teaching of the
Church on the topic.
Friends, if you say a thing
like that, it’s clear what you think. You’re saying you do have the
power to “change the teaching of the Church.”
The immutability of dogma
But the teaching of the Church
says that this isn’t possible. Can that be changed too?
Vatican I denied that
the Pope could change the Church’s teaching or introduce new dogmas. It taught:
For the holy Spirit was promised to the successors of Peter not so that
they might, by his revelation, make known some new doctrine.
It
goes on to say that the purpose of the papacy is to safeguard and preserve the
deposit of faith. Not to consider whether the time is right to change it.
Oh, some will say, we’re not
talking about changes. This is just a development of dogma.
Come on. That’s what they
always say to justify this stuff. And anyway, Leo was pretty clear: he’s the
one who was talking about changing Church teaching.
And anyway, that defense is
excluded too. There’s a legitimate sense of the development of doctrine, but
changing the meanings of dogmas to something totally different isn’t it.
Such an idea has been condemned
time and again by the Church.
Pope Pius IX condemned, in the Syllabus
of Errors, the idea that divine revelation is “subject to a continual and
indefinite progress.”
Vatican I declared that the “meaning of the sacred dogmas is ever to
be maintained” and that “there must never be any abandonment of this sense
under the pretext or in the name of a more profound understanding.”
That same Council anathematized anyone who says dogma can be
assigned “a sense different from that which the Church has understood and
understands.”
Pope St Pius X cited all these teachings in his encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis against
Modernism.
In his Oath Against Modernism,
he also required clergy to profess that dogma is handed down “in exactly the
same meaning and always in the same purport.”
This oath also states that the idea “that dogmas evolve and change from
one meaning to another different from the one which the Church held previously”
is a – get this – “heretical misrepresentation.”
Grave implications
“Heretical” is a big word. But
the truth is clear: homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered, marriage is
between one man and one woman, and these teachings cannot change.
As I said above, both the
Church’s teaching on sexual morality, and the immutability of dogma are the
sorts of truths we have to believe with divine and Catholic faith.
The censure attached to the
obstinate denial or doubt of such truths is indeed heresy. (Can. 751 of
1983 CIC, Can. 1325 of 1917 CIC)
So, where does that leave us?
The hugely problematic
situation of Leo XIV raising hopes for an impossible change in the future.
And claiming the power to
change Church teaching, which he certainly does not have.
And… publicly doubting (or even
denying) these two sets of truths in a video interview – which, as I said, is
heresy.
You know what St. Paul said
about those who try to introduce new dogmas, doctrines or Gospels:
If I, or an angel from heaven, preach to you a Gospel different to that
which we have preached to you, which you have received: let him be anathema.
COMMENT: The very essence of the
Modernist heresy is the denial of immutability of dogma because they deny that
dogma is divine revelation of an immutabile truth from an immutable God. The
Modernist believe that dogma is not a truth revealed by God but rather a human
expression of the subjective religious sentiment and therefore dogma must
change over time as the human sentiment changes. Leo the Heretic professes that
the "attitudes" of Catholics will change only gradually. therefore,
when there is a sufficient number expressing the new attitude then the dogmas
will change to express the new religious attitude. It is absolutely impossible
to hold this belief and be a faithful Catholic at the same time. Leo is just
another Bergoglian who will bring ruin to himself and others.
Pope Leo is
now the CEO of the same HomoLobby his predecessor chaired! It is impossible to
be a defender of homosexuality and a Catholic at the same time.
Bishop Schneider: Vatican
‘LGBTQ pilgrimage’ an ‘abomination,’ Pope Leo must make ‘public reparation’
Pope Leo must ‘urgently’
make reparation after the Vatican endorsed an LGBT Jubilee ‘pilgrimage’ and
allowed unrepentant homosexuals to pass the Holy Doors at St. Peter’s, Bishop
Schneider said.
LifeSiteNews
| Sept 10, 2025— Bishop Athanasius Schneider expressed “horror” at the
Vatican’s endorsement of the “LGBTQ Jubilee pilgrimage,” rebuking priests who
support homosexuality as “spiritual criminals” and “murderers of souls.”
“My
reaction was a silent cry of horror, indignation, and sorrow,” the auxiliary of
Astana, Kazakhstan, said regarding the Vatican’s approval of an LGBT-themed
“pilgrimage” on its Jubilee website, in an interview with Diane Montagna, a
journalist in Rome.
Montagna
had highlighted the fact that photos captured an array of rainbow paraphernalia
in St. Peter’s Basilica, as well homosexual male couple “brazenly holding hands
there, one with a backpack saying F*** the Rules,” at the conclusion of their
“pilgrimage.”
What
took place there could be described as an “abomination of desolation standing
in the holy place,” in the words of Christ (cf. Mt. 24:15), said Bishop
Schneider.
He
pointed out that the embrace of homosexuality by these “pilgrims” contradicted
one of the very key meanings of the Jubilee Year and the Holy Door: “Leading
man to conversion and penance,” as Pope John Paul II explained in the Bull of
Indiction of the Holy Year 2000.
“There
were no signs of repentance and renunciation of objectively grave homosexual
sins … on the part of the organizers and participants in this pilgrimage,”
noted Schneider. “To pass through the Holy Door and participate in the Jubilee
without repentance, while promoting an ideology that openly rejects God’s Sixth
Commandment, constitutes a kind of desecration of the Holy Door and a mockery
of God and the gift of an indulgence.”
The
bishop had strong words for the Vatican authorities who “collaborated de facto”
in this open rejection of God’s commandment, expressed aptly in the “f*** the
rules” message.
“They
stood by and allowed God to be mocked and His commandments to be scornfully
cast aside,” said Schneider.
When
asked to compare it to the Pachamama scandal, he noted that while direct
transgression of the First Commandment is even more grave, the endorsement of
sodomy – a sin that cries to Heaven for vengeance – “amounts to a form of
indirect idolatry.”
“Both
events must be publicly repaired by the Pope himself. This is urgently needed,
before it is too late, for God will not be mocked,” said the bishop.
Bishop
Francesco Savino, vice president of the Italian Bishops Conference, welcomed
“everyone” to receive Holy Communion at a Mass for the “pilgrims,” Montagna
then pointed out. Schneider affirmed that assent to “all of the Church’s
teaching” is a precondition for receiving Christ in the Eucharist, as was
expressed by St. Paul: “Anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body
eats and drinks judgment on himself. (1 Cor. 11:29).
He
added that this has been clearly stated by the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Anyone aware of having
sinned mortally must not receive Communion without having received absolution
in the sacrament of penance” (n.1415).
Furthermore,
it notes, “Sacred Scripture ‘presents homosexual acts as acts of grave
depravity, [and] tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are
intrinsically disordered.… Under no circumstances can they be approved’ (n.
2357).”
Thus,
by granting these LGBT groups passage through the Holy Door and approving their
“pilgrimage,” Vatican authorities in effect rejected “the very doctrine they
are bound to uphold.”
Schneider
said his message for participants in the LGBT “pilgrimage” is one of
compassion, and he called for all Christians to show compassion towards not
just those living homosexual lifestyles, but those who support its legitimization
and “persist in it unrepentant and even proudly.”
“For
when a person consciously rejects God’s explicit commandment prohibiting any
sexual activity outside a valid marriage, he places himself in the gravest
danger – that of losing eternal life and being eternally condemned to Hell,”
said the prelate.
“True
love for such persons consists in calling them, gently yet persistently, to
genuine conversion to God’s revealed will,” he continued, adding that such
people are “ultimately unhappy” even when they have suppressed their
conscience.
“We
must be filled with great zeal to save these souls, to free them from poisonous
deceits. Those priests who confirm them in their homosexual activity or in a
homosexual lifestyle are spiritual criminals, murderers of souls, and God will
demand a strict account from them,” Schneider declared.
To
those who defend Pope Leo XIV amid the Vatican’s approval of the LGBT
scandalous “pilgrimage” because he did not receive a delegation from them or
send them a message, Schneider said that “one cannot reasonably presume naivety
on his part,” because it was “entirely foreseeable” that an LGBT activist group
would take advantage of the Holy Door to promote their sinful lifestyle.
Furthermore,
by meeting with Father James Martin, S.J., a heretical pro-LGBT priest, as well
as pro-homosexual “marriage” Sister Lucia Caram, Pope Leo XIV has expressed
that he is not opposed to their “heterodox and scandalous teaching and behavior
– particularly since the Holy See offered no clarification afterward and did
not correct Fr. James Martin’s triumphant messages circulated on social media,”
noted Schneider.
He pointed out that in doing so, Pope Leo
XIV broke with the precedent of all popes before Francis, who “neither received
officially nor posed for photographs with those who, by word or deed, openly
rejected the doctrinal and moral teaching of the Church.”
“There
is a common saying that goes: ‘Qui tacet consentire videtur’ – ’He who is
silent is taken to agree,’” Schneider added.
The
prelate called upon all Catholics to “make a collective act of reparation for
the outrage committed against the sanctity of God’s house and the holiness of
His commandments,” and implored Pope Leo XIV to follow in the footsteps of Pope
John Paul II, who Montagna noted had denounced the first “World Pride” event in
Rome during the Great Jubilee of 2000.
“Should
Pope Leo XIV make public acts of regret and even reparation, he will lose
nothing; should he fail to do so, he will forfeit something before the eyes of
God – and God alone matters,” said Schneider.
“May
Our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV take to heart the following words of Our Lord
which He once spoke through St. Bridget of Sweden to one of his predecessors
(Pope Gregory XI)”:
Uproot, pluck out and destroy
all the vices of your court! Separate yourself from the counsel of
carnal-minded and worldly friends and follow humbly the spiritual counsel of My
friends. Get up like a man and clothe yourself confidently in strength! Start
to reform the Church that I purchased with My Own Blood in order that it may be
reformed and led back spiritually to its pristine state of holiness, for
nowadays more veneration is shown to a brothel than to My Holy Church. My son,
heed My counsel. If you obey Me in what I told you, I will welcome you
mercifully like a loving father. Bravely approach the way of justice and you
shall prosper. Do not despise the One Who loves you. If you obey, I will show
you mercy and bless and dress you and adorn you with the precious pontifical
regalia of a holy pope. I shall clothe you with Myself in such a way that you
will be in Me and I in you, and you shall be glorified in eternity (The Book of
Revelations, Book IV, chap. 149).
Argumentum ex
concessis
Notes in the Margin of an Article by Abbé Claude Barthe
For
if you live according to the flesh, you will die;
but if by the Spirit
you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live.
Rom
8: 13
The
essay by Abbé Claude Barthe’s, recently published in an Italian translation at
Aldo Maria Valli’s blog Duc in altum [1], deserves some attention.
What is most interesting in it is not so much his assessment of the newly
elected Leo XIV, nor the pragmatic realism with which he recognizes Prevost’s
continuity with his predecessor or calls for a loosening of restrictions on the
traditional liturgy.
Abbé
Barthe writes:
There
is a paradox, even a risk, for those who invoke freedom for the traditional
liturgy and catechism: that of being granted a sort of “authorization” for
liturgical and doctrinal Catholicism. We have already cited as an example the
paradoxical situation that arose in the 19th-century French political system,
when the most staunch supporters of the monarchical Restoration, enemies in
principle of the modern freedoms introduced by the Revolution, continually
fought to be granted a space for life and expression, freedom of the press, and
freedom of teaching. All things being equal, in the ecclesiastical system of
the 21st century, at least in the immediate future, a relaxation of the
ideological despotism of the Reformation could be beneficial. But while it may
be advantageous in the short and medium term, it could ultimately prove
radically unsatisfactory.
What
I believe should be highlighted is the not-so-veiled warning that Abbé Barthe
addresses to those who resort to the adversary’s arguments to gain legitimacy
in the ecclesial world, applying the argumentum ex concessis [2]. In this
case, “those who invoke freedom for the traditional liturgy and catechism” –
and who condemn Bergoglian synodality – appeal to that same synodality so that
the “Summorum Pontificum communities” may be recognized as one among the
many expressions of the composite ecclesial polyhedron.
Abbé
Barthe’s denunciation reveals not a paradox,
but the paradox, the contradiction that fundamentally undermines any
claim to orthodoxy on the part of self-styled conservatives: the acceptance of
the revolutionary principles of the so-called “synodal church” as the
(incomplete, moreover) counterpart to being tolerated by it. In reality, this
exchange is far from equal. The “synodal church” merely applies to
conservatives the same legitimacy of existence it grants to any other
“movement” or “charisma” present in the multifaceted ecclesial fabric, but it
carefully avoids acknowledging that their demands might go beyond a mere
aesthetic and ceremonial concession. The unwritten contract between
conservatives and the post-Bergoglian Hierarchy stipulates that the “liturgical
preferences” of a group of clerics and faithful can be tolerated if and
only if they refrain from highlighting the heterogeneity, incompatibility,
and alienation between the ecclesiology and the entire doctrinal framework
underlying the Vetus Ordo and those expressed in the reformed
Montinian rite.
Abbé
Barthe does not ignore the critical issues: referring to Leo XIV’s Electors, he
calls them “all of the conciliar menagerie,” demonstrating a certain courage,
especially considering his public role and his dependence
on those Prelates. Nor does he ignore the deception embraced by those
who exploit religious liberty to invoke for themselves a tolerance
that is not denied even to the worshippers of Amazonian idols.
The
deception is twofold: not only because of the paradox that Abbé Barthe has
rightly highlighted; but also and above all because of a much worse trap,
consisting of accepting at least implicitly the forced, unnatural, and
impossible separation between the ceremonial form of the rite and its doctrinal
substance.
This
is an operation of de-signification of the Liturgy, which consists in
being recognized with the right to celebrate in the Tridentine Rite on the
condition that the celebrant does not also accept the doctrinal and moral
implications of that rite. But if that “Summorum priest” accepts this
principle, he must also accept its inverse application. Indeed, the moment one
admits that the Liturgy can be celebrated without regard for the traditional
doctrine it expresses – a doctrine the “synodal church” does not recognize and
considers to be other than itself – one ends up accepting that even
the reformed liturgy can ignore the errors and heresies it insinuates, errors
which no Catholic worthy of the name can absolutely ratify. In doing so,
however, one plays into the hands of the adversary, under the illusion of being
more cunning than the devil. It all comes down to a question of dress and
choreography, of aesthetics and sentiment that satisfies or does not satisfy
personal taste, as Cardinal Burke’s recent words confirmed: “You don’t
take something so rich in beauty and begin to strip away the beautiful elements
without having a negative effect.” [3] Nothing could be more alien to the
mindset of the Roman Liturgy, according to which the beauty of ceremonies is
such because it is a necessary expression of the Truth it teaches and the Good
it practices.
The
“synodal church” includes conservatives in its coveted pantheon not
only because it gives them what they want – solemn pontifical liturgies
celebrated by influential prelates, without doctrinal implications – but also
because none of the Holy See’s interlocutors has the slightest intention of
demanding more; and even if someone were to dare ask for more,
the gatekeeper on duty – literally, the ostiarius –would
promptly intervene, calling for “prudence” and “moderation,” more concerned
with preserving his own prestige than with the fate of the Catholic resistance.
This is accompanied by the “Zip it” [4] policy advocated by Trad Inc. [5],
according to which the possible concessions the moderates hope to obtain from
Leo suggest they should not criticize him openly so as not to alienate him.
The
path of being persecuted, ostracized, and excommunicated do not seem to be
among the options for my brothers: it seems they are already resigned to a fate
of tolerance, in which they can neither be truly Catholic nor fully synodal;
neither friends of those who fight the enemy infiltrated into the Church, nor
of those who seek to replace her with a human surrogate of Masonic inspiration.
The Lord will hold these lukewarm priests accountable with greater severity
than He will many poor parish priests who have other, more pressing pastoral
priorities. Let us hope that Abbé Barthe’s warning does not fall on deaf ears,
for the hour of battle approaches, and to be found defenseless and unprepared,
in these circumstances, would be irresponsible.
And
it is precisely in times of persecution that we must rediscover the relevance
and validity of the words of Saint Vincent of Lérins:
In
ipsa item catholica ecclesia magnopere curandum est ut id teneamus quod semper,
quod ubique, quod ab omnibus creditum est; hoc est etenim vere proprieque
catholicum. [6]
If
anything does not meet these three criteria – semper, ubique, et ab
omnibus – it must be rejected as heretical. This norm protects us from the
errors spread by false pastors, in the serene certainty of acting in accordance
with Tradition and thus being able to compensate, due to the present state of
emergency, for the absence of ecclesiastical authority.
+
Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop
3
September MMXXV
S.cti
Pii X Papæ, Conf.
FOOTNOTES
1
– Abbé Claude
Barthe, Leone, il pompiere nella Chiesa divorata dal fuoco della
divisione. Ma quale unità ricerca?, published at Duc in Altum on
August 9, 2025 – https://www.aldomariavalli.it/2025/08/09/analisi-leone-il-pompiere-nella-chiesa-divorata-dal-fuoco-della-divisione-ma-quale-unita-ricerca/ – English translation: https://www.resnovae.fr/the-pontificate-of-leo-xiv-a-transitional-stage/
2
– Argumentum ex
concessis is a rhetorical and logical technique in which an interlocutor
uses the premises, arguments, or claims accepted by an opponent to construct
their own argument, often to refute them or demonstrate the inconsistency of
their position. This strategy is based on the idea of temporarily accepting the
opponent’s claims (the “concessions”) and using them to draw conclusions that
either challenge them or support their own thesis.
3
– Cfr. https://x.com/mljhaynes/status/1954919906492747838
4
– Cfr. https://www.radiospada.org/2025/09/leone-xiv-lipotesi-zip-e-la-contropartita-per-i-conservatori-una-strategia-gia-tentata-e-che-lascia-perplessi-in-7-punti/
5
– “Trad Inc.” is the
American expression which refers to conservative believers and blogs organized
like companies, which operate according to market logic and are dependent on
their shareholders.
6
– Commonitorium, 2. “In
this same Catholic Church, we must take the greatest care to maintain what has
always been believed, everywhere and by all; this is in fact truly and properly
Catholic.”
COMMENT: It is encouraging for us who have refused the compromises of
faith that conservative Catholics have made in return for their privileged
Indult to have a man of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò's stature agree and defend what we have been
doing at Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission for the last 25 years. We
hope and pray that he may have a greater influence on other resistance bishops
and priests.
The
proper understanding of this dogma from the Council of Trent:
Canon 4 on the sacraments in general: If anyone says that the sacraments
of the New Law are not necessary for salvation but are superfluous, and that without
them or without the desire of them men obtain from God through faith alone
the grace of justification, though all are not necessary for each one, let him
be anathema.
The Dogma
defines two revealed doctrinal truths:
1.
If anyone says: that the sacraments of the
New Law are not necessary for salvation but are superfluous, let him be
anathema.
2.
If anyone says: that without the
sacraments or (if anyone says) without the desire of the sacraments
men obtain from God through faith alone the grace of justification, let him be
anathema.
Both
the Sacrament of Baptism and the will to receive the Sacrament
are necessary for salvation!
“But God desired that his
confession should avail for his salvation, since he preserved him in this life until the time of his holy
regeneration.” St. Fulgentius
“If anyone is not baptized, not only in
ignorance, but even knowingly, he can in no way be saved. For his path to salvation was through the confession,
and salvation itself was in baptism.
At his age, not only was confession
without baptism of no avail: Baptism
itself would be of no avail for salvation if he neither believed nor
confessed.” St. Fulgentius
Notice, both the CONFESSION AND
THE BAPTISM are necessary for salvation, harkening back to Trent's teaching
that both the laver AND the “votum” are required for justification, and
harkening back to Our Lord's teaching that we must be born again of water AND
the Holy Spirit.
In fact, you see the language of St. Fulgentius reflected in the Council of
Trent. Trent describes the votum (so-called “desire”) as the PATH
TO SALVATION, the disposition to Baptism, and then says that “JUSTIFICATION
ITSELF” (St. Fulgentius says “SALVATION ITSELF”) follows the dispositions in
the Sacrament of Baptism.
Yet another solid argument for why Trent is teaching that BOTH the votum
AND the Sacrament are required for justification.
“Hold most firmly and never
doubt in the least that not only all pagans but also all Jews and all heretics
and schismatics who end this present life outside the Catholic Church are about
to go into the eternal fire that was prepared for the Devil and his angels.”
St. Fulgentius
“The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes,
professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church,
not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share
in life eternal; but that they will go into the ‘eternal fire which was
prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
St. Eugene IV, Cantate Domino
Ladislaus,
CathInfo
John Cardinal Newman,
another Novus Ordo "saint" soon to be declared a "Doctor"
of the Novus Ordo Church, comments following the dogmatic declaration of papal
infallibility.
“But we must hope, for one is obliged to hope
it, that the Pope (Pius IX) will be driven from Rome, and will not continue the
Council (Vatican I), or that there will be another Pope. It is sad he should
force us to such wishes.”
John H. Newman, Letter to his companion, Fr.
Ambrose St. John, 22 August, 1870
“We have come to a climax of tyranny. It is
not good for a Pope to live 20 years. It is anomaly and bears no good fruit; he
becomes a god, has no one to contradict him, does not know facts, and does cruel
things without meaning it.”
John H. Newman, The Letters and Diaries of
John Henry Newman, v. XXVI by Charles Stephen Dessain
"This
(Divine) law, as apprehended in the minds of individual men, is called
"conscience;" and though it may suffer refraction in passing into the
intellectual medium of each, it is not therefore so affected as to lose its
character of being the Divine Law, but still has, as such, the prerogative of
commanding obedience."
John
Henry Cardinal Newman
"It seems, then, that there are extreme cases in which Conscience
may come into collision with the word of a Pope, and is to be followed in spite
of that word."
John Henry Cardinal Newman
COMMENT: Pope Gregory XVI said, "This shameful font of
indifferentism gives rise to that absurd and erroneous proposition which claims
that liberty of conscience must be maintained for everyone." Conscience is
not the Divine Law. St. Thomas says that, "Conscience is nothing else than
the application of knowledge to some action." He is referring to the
knowledge of the Law of God. The Law of God, whether the eternal law or the
positive revealed law of God, is the objective criteria by which the conscience
is obligated to use as the standard by which any judgment regarding the moral
goodness or evil of any particular act is made.
All men are obligated to obey their conscience because they are
obligated to apprehend the objective Divine Law as the proper criteria. They
are not free to invent their personal subjective criteria in determining what
is the right or the wrong thing to do.
Liberalism claims the exact opposite. It is a fundamental axiom of
liberalism that the conscience is free to establish its own moral criteria.
This has been condemned by popes Gregory XVI, PiusIX and Pius X. John Henry Cardinal
Newman can be identified as the "Spirit of Vatican II."
Hermeneutics of Continuity/Discontinuity
The woman saith to him: Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our
fathers adored on this mountain, and you say, that at Jerusalem is the place where
men must adore. Jesus saith to her: Woman, believe me, that the hour cometh,
when you shall neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, adore the Father.
You adore that which you know not: we adore that which we know; for salvation
is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true adorers shall
adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to
adore him. God is a spirit; and they that adore him, must adore him in spirit
and in truth.
John 4:19-24
Novus Ordo Doctrine: Moslems and Novus Ordo Catholics
Worship the same God!
CCC 841, quoting the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,
Lumen Gentium 16, from Vatican II, declared:
"The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator,
in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the
faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God,
mankind’s judge on the last day."
CCC 841 also references Vatican II’s Declaration on the Relation of the Church
to Non-Christian Religions, Nostra Aetate,
3, that makes the teaching of the Council perhaps even clearer:
"The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the
one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all-powerful, the
Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit
wholeheartedly to even his inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the
faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to
God."
Catholic Church Doctrine: Catholics and Moslems DO
NOT worship the same God.
“Now
the Samaritans had a false idea of God in two ways. First of all, because they
thought He was corporeal, so that they believed that He should be adored in
only one definite corporeal place. Further, because they did not believe that
He transcended all things, but was equal to certain creatures, they adored
along with Him certain idols, as if they were equal to Him. Consequently, they
did not know Him, because they did not attain to a true knowledge of Him. So
the Lord says, you adore that which you do not know [John 4:22], that is, you do not adore God
because you do not know Him, but rather your imagination, by which you
apprehend something as God, just as the Gentiles also walk in the foolishness
of their mind (Eph 4:17).” St.
Thomas Aquinas, Commentary On John 4:22
“How
then did the Samaritans know not what they worshipped? Because they thought
that God was local and partial; so at least they served Him, and so they sent
to the Persians, and reported that the God of this place is angry with us [2
Kings 26], in this respect
forming no higher opinion of Him than of their idols. Wherefore they continued
to serve both Him and devils, joining things which ought not to be joined.” St. John Chrysostom, Homily 33 On The Gospel
of John
COMMENT: When
Jesus said to the Samaritan Woman, " You adore that which you know
not," He is not saying that they adore the One True God that they are
ignorant of. He is saying, that in their ignorance they do not know who they
are adoring meaning that they are adoring in ignorance a devil, for "all
the gods of the gentiles are devils" (Psalm 95:5). Jesus then says, that
"true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth..... they that
adore him, must adore him in spirit and in truth." To adore in
"spirit" means that to adore God you must be baptized and made sons
of God for as Jesus said: "Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born
again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God That
which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is
spirit" (John 3:5-7). And to adore in "truth" means who must
believe what has been revealed by God. Without the true faith it is
"impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). As such, right knowledge
of God is essential to true worship. This is the great sin of Modernism and
Neo-modernism: They make a right knowledge of God impossible!
Hermeneutics
of Continuity/Discontinuity
Catholic
Faith:
Physical substances come into being through the union of substantial
form and primary matter. The Soul is the Substantial Form of the Human Body; it
is immortal and will be judged after the death of the person and directed to
Heaven or Hell for all eternity awaiting to be joined again to its Body at the
Resurrection of the Dead for the Last Judgment.
“In order that all may know the truth of the faith in its purity and
all error may be excluded, we define that anyone who presumes henceforth to
assert defend or hold stubbornly that the rational or intellectual soul is not
the form of the human body of itself and essentially, is to be considered a
heretic.”
Council of Vienne
Neo-Modernists
Ideology: [Ratzinger quotes provided by James Larson, War Against Being]
“The medieval concept of substance has long since become inaccessible
to us.”
Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, Faith and the Future
“The proper Christian thing, therefore, is to speak, not of the soul’s
immortality, but of the resurrection of the complete human being [at the Final
Judgment] and of that alone… The idea that to speak of the soul is unbiblical
was accepted to such an extent that even the new Roman Missal (i.e.: the Novus
Ordo) suppressed the term anima in its liturgy for the dead. It also disappeared
from the ritual for burial.”
Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, Eschatology:
Death and Eternal Life
“‘The soul’ is our term for that
in us which offers a foothold for this relation [with the eternal]. Soul is
nothing other than man’s capacity for relatedness with truth, with love
eternal.”
Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, Eschatology:
Death and Eternal Life
“The challenge to traditional theology today lies in the negation of an
autonomous, ‘substantial’ soul with a built-in immortality in favor of that
positive view which regards God’s decision and activity as the real foundation
of a continuing human existence.”
Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, Eschatology:
Death and Eternal Life
And
those who have denied the reality of substantial
being are those who are responsible for the “dictatorship of relativism.”
“Every day new sects are created and what Saint
Paul says about human trickery comes true, with cunning which tries to draw
those into error (Eph 4, 14). Having a clear faith, based on the Creed
of the Church, is often labelled today as a fundamentalism. Whereas,
relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and ‘swept along by every wind
of teaching,’ looks like the only attitude (acceptable) to today’s standards.
We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognise
anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and
one’s own desires.”
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Homily of the
Dean of the College of Cardinals, 2005
Sacrament of Baptism:
Significance of the Baptismal Character and why it is absolutely necessary for
salvation. Explains why St. Ambrose said regarding catechumens who die before
receiving the sacrament of Baptism, they are “forgiven but not crowned”.
To be baptized is to become one with the Church, and one with Christ. Thus the ritual can say: “enter
into the temple of God, that you may have part with Christ, unto life
everlasting.” The two ideas are correlative: to be baptized into the
Church and to be baptized into Christ; they are the visible and invisible
aspects of the same real effect. [….]
The effecting this incorporation into Christ, Baptism marks the soul as
permanently His; it stamps upon the soul a spiritual “character”, or, as
antiquity more commonly called it, a “seal”.
For this reason, and putting the cause for the effect, the rite of
Baptism was itself called “the seal”, or “the seal of faith”, or “the seal of
water”, or “the seal of the Trinity” (which last appellation endures still in
the liturgical prayers for the dying, wherein God is asked to remember His
promises to the soul that in its lifetime was “stamped with the seal of the
Most Holy Trinity”).
The word “seal” derives from a group of texts in St. Paul, which
suggest this stamping of the soul at Baptism: “And in Him (Christ), you too,
when you had heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and
believed in it, were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise” (Eph. 1:13);
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in Whom you were sealed for the day
of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). However, nowadays we are accustomed to speak rather
of the baptismal “character”, a term that suggests the text wherein Christ is
called “the brightness of His (the Father’s) glory and the image (in Greek, character)
of His substance” (Hebr. 1:3).
Basically, two words give the same meaning: a seal imprints an image,
and a “character”, in the original sense of the word, means image. Baptism,
therefore, stamps the soul with the image of Christ, Who is Himself the image
of the Father. And in the Scripture, this stamping is attributed to the Holy
Spirit, Who is the Spirit of Christ. The fact that we are stamped with such a
character is clearly defined by the Council of Trent:
“If anyone says
that by the three Sacraments, to wit, Baptism, Confirmation and Orders, there
is not imprinted in the soul a Character, that is a certain spiritual and
indelible sign on account of which they cannot be repeated; let him be
anathem.” (Denz. 852).
The Council of Trent teaches that this seal, once stamped on the soul,
is indelible. Just as Baptism irrevocable makes one a member of the Church, so
also it irrevocably makes one a member of Christ. Not the gravest sin, nor even
final impenitence and self-condemnation to eternal separation from Christ in
Hell, can avail to erase this baptismal seal. And the indelibility of the seal
is the immediate reason why Baptism can never be repeated, once it has been
validly received. [….]
The sense in which Baptism stamps us with the image of Christ is
suggested in the rite itself, by the anointing which follows the ablution. It
is done with Sacred Chrism, a mixed unguent of oil and balm, specially
consecrated by the bishop on Holy Thursday. Kings and priests in antiquity (and
even today) were anointed with chrism in token of their royal and priestly
dignity. And the baptism anointing signifies, therefore, that the new Christian
has entered into the “royal priesthood” of the Christian people, and shares in
the royal Priesthood of Christ Himself. He bears the image of Christ, inasmuch
as Christ was the Priest of all humanity, Who offered Himself in sacrifice on
the Cross.
The baptismal seal or character, therefore, endows the Christian with a
priestly function, and a priestly power. It is not that special power and
function given by the Sacrament of Holy Orders to certain selected members of
the Church, who are made her official ministers, and authorized to offer her
sacrifice and dispense her Sacraments. But it is the priestly function and
power which is common to all the members of the Body of Christ. As He was born
as Priest, His whole life orientated toward the Passion and Death which was His
priestly Sacrifice, so too, they are priests from their birth into the
Christian life at Baptism; and their lives are essentially orientated toward
sacrifice, in a double sense.
First of all, they receive a function and a power with respect to the
ritual Sacrifice of the Church, which is the Mass. [….] They are empowered to
assist actively in the offering of the Mass, as members of the Church, in whose
name her specially qualified members, priests and bishops, offer the Mass,
which is the sacrifice of the whole Church through her official ministers. In
union with the Priest, the Christian offers up Christ as a Victim Who belongs
to him and to Whom he belongs. An unbaptized person cannot do this….
Secondly, the baptismal character consecrates the Christian to
sacrifice in a wider sense: it gives him the function, the duty, the power to
lead a life of sacrifice, since He is in the image of Christ whose life was one
long sacrifice – a life of complete obedience to the will of His Father: “I
seek not My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me” (Jn. 3:50).The will of
the Father is the supreme law of the Christian’s life; it is all embracing and
all pervasive; and constant and total obedience to it necessarily gives a
sacrificial quality to the whole of life, since it demands the renunciation of
many ideas, and a steady refusal to be led by one’s own emotions or to seek one’s
own pleasure and profit – in a word, it demands the sacrifice of selfishness in
all its forms. St. Peter, therefore, was thinking of Baptism when he wrote:
“Lay aside
therefore all malice and all deceit, and pretense, and envy, and all slander….
Be you yourselves as living stones, built thereon (i.e., on Christ) into a
spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices to God
through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:1,5).
Rev. John J. Fernan, S.J., Theology, Christ Our High Priest, Baptismal
Seal
Pius XII - the man responsible for planting the seed of
liturgical destruction!
Fr. Annibale Bugnini had been making clandestine visits to the Centre
de Pastorale Liturgique (CPL), a progressivist conference centre for liturgical
reform which organized national weeks for priests.
Inaugurated in Paris in 1943 on the private initiative of two Dominican priests
under the presidency of Fr. Lambert Beauduin, it was a magnet for all who
considered themselves in the vanguard of the Liturgical Movement. It would play
host to some of the most famous names who influenced the direction of Vatican
II: Frs. Beauduin, Guardini, Congar, Chenu, Daniélou, Gy, von Balthasar, de
Lubac, Boyer, Gelineau etc.
It could, therefore, be considered as the confluence of all the forces
of Progressivism, which saved and re-established Modernism condemned by Pope
Pius X in Pascendi.
According to its
co-founder and director, Fr. Pie Duployé, OP, Bugnini had requested a
“discreet” invitation to attend a CPL study week held near Chartres in
September 1946.
Much more was
involved here than the issue of secrecy. The person whose heart beat as one
with the interests of the reformers would return to Rome to be placed by an
unsuspecting (?) Pope (Pius XII) in charge of his Commission for the General
Reform of the Liturgy.
But someone in the Roman Curia did know about the CPL – Msgr. Giovanni Battista Montini, the acting
Secretary of State and future Paul VI – who sent a telegram to the CPL dated
January 3, 1947. It purported to come from the Pope with an apostolic blessing.
If, in Bugnini’s estimation, the Roman authorities were to be kept in the dark
about the CPL so as not to compromise its activities, a mystery remains. Was
the telegram issued under false pretences, or did Pius XII really know and
approve of the CPL? [.....]
This agenda (for liturgical reform) was set out as early as 1949 in the
Ephemerides Liturgicae, a leading
Roman review on liturgical studies of which Fr. Annabale Bugnini was Editor
from 1944 to 1965.
First, Bugnini denigrated
the traditional liturgy as a dilapidated building (“un vecchio edificio”),
which should be condemned because it was in danger of falling to pieces
(“sgretolarsi”) and, therefore, beyond repair. Then, he criticized it for its alleged
“deficiencies, incongruities and difficulties,” which rendered it spiritually
“sterile” and would prevent it appealing to modern sensibilities.
It is difficult to understand how, in the same year that he published this
anti-Catholic diatribe, he was made a Professor of Liturgy in Rome’s Propaganda
Fide (Propagation of the Faith) University. His solution was to return to the
simplicity of early Christian liturgies and jettison all subsequent
developments, especially traditional devotions.
These ideas expressed in 1949 would form the foundational principles of Vatican
II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium. For all practical purposes, the Roman Rite was
dead in the water many years before it was officially buried by Paul VI.
Dr.
Carol Byrne, How Bugnini Grew Up under
Pius XII
Wisdom
is only possible for those who hold DOGMA as the Rule of Faith!
Besides, every dogma of faith
is to the Catholic cultivated mind not only a new increase of knowledge, but
also an incontrovertible principle from which it is able to draw conclusions
and derive other truths. They present an endless field for investigation so
that the beloved Apostle St. John could write at the end of his Gospel, without
fear of exaggeration: “But there are also many other things which Jesus did:
which if they were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be
able to contain the books that should be written.”
The Catholic Church, by
enforcing firm belief in her dogmas—which are not her inventions, but were
given by Jesus Christ—places them as a bar before the human mind to prevent it
from going astray and to attach it to the truth; but it does not prevent the
mind from exercising its functions when it has secured the treasure of divine
truth, and a “scribe thus instructed in the kingdom of heaven is truly like a
man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things
and old.” He may bring forth new illustrations, new arguments and proofs; he
may show now applications of the same truths, according to times and circumstances;
he may show new links which connect the mysteries of religion with each other
or with the natural sciences as there can be no discord between the true faith
and true science; God, being the author of both, cannot contradict Himself and
teach something by revelation as true which He teaches by the true light of
reason as false. In all these cases the householder “brings forth from his
treasure new things and old.” They are new inasmuch as they are the result of
new investigations; and old because they are contained in the old articles of
faith and doctrine as legitimate deductions from their old principles.
Fr. Joseph Prachensky, S.J.,
The Church of Parables and True Spouse of the Suffering Saviour, on the Parable
of the Scribe
Baptism imprints
in your soul a spiritual character, which no sin can efface. This character is
a proof that from this time you do not belong to yourself, but that you are the
property of Jesus Christ, who has purchased you by the infinite price of his
blood and of his death. You are not of yourself, but you are of Christ;
wherefore, St. Paul concludes, “that the Christian should no longer live for
himself, but for Him who died and rose again for him;” that is to say, that the
Christian should live a life of grace, and that he should consecrate to his
Redeemer his spirit, his heart, and all his actions. […..]
First, is true penance; for, as the holy Council of Trent teaches,
penance is no less necessary for those who have sinned after Baptism, than
Baptism is necessary for those who have not received it. The Holy Scripture
informs us, that there are two gates by which we are to enter into
heaven—baptismal innocence, and penance. When a Christian has shut against
himself the gate of innocence, in violating the holy promises of Baptism, it is
necessary that he should strive to enter by that of penance; otherwise there is
no salvation for him. On this account, Jesus Christ, speaking of persons who
have lost innocence, says to them: “Unless you do penance, you shall all
perish.”
But in order that penance may prevent us from perishing—it must be true
Penance. Confessors may be deceived by the false appearance of conversion, and
it is too often the case; but God is never deceived. If, therefore, those who
receive absolution are not truly penitent and worthy of pardon, their sins are
not forgiven before God. In order to do true penance, it is not sufficient to
confess all our sins and to fulfill what is enjoined on us by the priest. There
are two other things which are necessary: First; to renounce sin with all your
heart, and for all your life… and second; to fly the occasions of sin, and to
use the means to avoid it.
St. John Eudes, Man’s Contract
with God in Baptism
Again, in the Office
for the feasts of our Lady, the Church applies the words of Sirach to
the Blessed Virgin and thus gives us to understand that in her we find all
hope: In me is all hope of life and of virtue. In Mary is every
grace: In me is all grace of the way and of the truth. In Mary we
shall find life and eternal salvation: Those who serve me shall never
fail. Those who explain me shall have life everlasting (Sir. 24:25,
30, 31--- Vulgate). And in the Book of Proverbs: Those who find me find life
and win favor from the Lord (8:35). Surely such expressions are enough to
prove that we require the intercession of Mary.
St. Alphonsus de
Liguori, The Glories of Mary
THE NOVUS ORDO CHURCH OF SLOTH
AND ENVY
The first effect of
charity is joy in the goodness of God. But this joy can only live through the
union of man’s will with God in charity. And charity demands that man keep all
the commandments. Charity demands a fellowship in good between God and man.
When the effort to live in this fellowship in good begins to appear too
difficult to man he begins to be sorrowful about the infinite goodness of God.
This sorrow weighs down the spirit of man and leads him to neglect good. This
sorrow is the sin of sloth, sorrow about the goodness of God. Sloth is a
capital sin. It leads men into other sins. To avoid the sorrow or weariness of
spirit which is sloth men will turn from God to the sinful pleasures of the
world.
When a man falls victim
to sloth and is sorrowful because of the goodness of God it is only natural
that he will begin to be grieved also at the manifestation of the goodness of
God in other men. He will resent good men simply because they are good. This
resentment is envy, hatred of someone else’s good. Since the love of our
neighbor flows from our love of God, it is natural that when we cease to love
God’s goodness, we will also begin to hate the goodness of men. Envy, like
sloth, is a capital sin. It will lead men to commit other sins to destroy the
goodness of their neighbors.
When a man’s heart is
filled with sloth and envy the interior peace of his soul which was the effect
of charity is destroyed. The loss of the interior peace leads to the
destruction of the peace of society. When a man’s heart is no longer centered
in God, then his life loses all proper direction. When the love of God is gone
he has nothing left but the love of himself. When a man loves himself without
loving God then he can brook no opposition to his own judgment or arbitrary
will. He can tolerate goodness in no one else. He will even, by the sin of
scandal, by his own words and example, lead other men into sin. He must
disagree with all men. He must dispute with them, separate himself from them,
quarrel with them, go to war with them, set the whole of the community at war
with itself.
Wherever the goodness
of God is most manifest, there will the heart of the man who no longer loves
God be most energetic in sowing the seeds of discord, contentiousness, strife
and war. That is why religion and the true Church of God are so viciously
attacked in the world today. Those who do not love God are driven by sloth and
envy to attack God’s tabernacle on earth.
Fr. Walter Farrell and
Fr. Martin Healy, My Way of Life, Pocket
Edition of St. Thomas
Amoris Laetitia was published in 2016. No answer or corrective action to
this "appeal" was ever made. That is because no clarification was
ever needed. Why? That is because the "numerous propositions in Amoris
Laetitia (that) can be construed as heretical upon the natural reading of the
text" is exactly what the author intended! So in 2016 these
"academics and pastors" did "not accusing the pope of
heresy", but what about now?
“Amoris
Laetitia.... scandalous, erroneous in faith, and ambiguous...”
Catholic academics and
pastors appeal to the College of Cardinals over Amoris Laetitia
A
group of Catholic academics and pastors has submitted an appeal to Cardinal
Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals in Rome, requesting that the
Cardinals and Eastern Catholic Patriarchs petition His Holiness, Pope Francis,
to repudiate a list of erroneous propositions that can be drawn from a natural
reading of the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia. During the coming weeks this submission will be
sent in various languages to every one of the Cardinals and Patriarchs, of whom
there are 218 living at present.
Describing the exhortation as containing
“a number of statements that can be understood in a sense that is contrary to
Catholic faith and morals,” the signatories submitted, along with their appeal,
a documented list of applicable theological censures specifying “the nature and
degree of the errors that could be attributed to Amoris laetitia.”
Among
the 45 signatories are Catholic prelates, scholars, professors, authors, and
clergy from various pontifical universities, seminaries, colleges, theological
institutes, religious orders, and dioceses around the world. They have asked
the College of Cardinals, in their capacity as the Pope’s official advisers, to
approach the Holy Father with a request that he repudiate “the errors listed in
the document in a definitive and final manner, and to authoritatively state
that Amoris laetitia does not require
any of them to be believed or considered as possibly true.”
“We
are not accusing the pope of heresy,” said a spokesman for the authors, “but we
consider that numerous propositions in Amoris
laetitia can be construed as heretical upon a natural reading of the text.
Additional statements would fall under other established theological censures, such
as scandalous, erroneous in faith, and ambiguous, among others.” [......]
Atheists are really
anti-theists. They oppose the God who is God with an idol of their own making.
No atheist chooses
merely to deny God. For the atheist’s spiritual posture against God is at the
same time his posture in preference for some other Being above God. As he
dismisses the true God he is welcoming his New God. Why must this be so?
Because every personal commitment of man presupposes, deep in the metaphysical
core of his being, a hunger for being as truth and goodness. Man is
intrinsically burdened with an incurable hunger for transcendence. If being
abhors a vacuum, the vacuum it most violently shrinks from is the total absence
of Infinite Being. And history demonstrates that man is inconsolable without
the True God.
Fr. Vincent Miceli,
S.J., The Gods of Atheism
‘When
men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing,
they believe in anything.’
There are men who will
ruin themselves and ruin their civilization if they may ruin also this old
fantastic tale (of the Catholic faith). This is the last and most astounding
fact about this faith; that its enemies will use any weapon against it, the
sword that cuts their own fingers, and the firebrands that burn their own
homes. … (The atheist fanatic) sacrifices the very existence of humanity to the
non-existence of God. He offers his victims not to the altar, but merely to
assert the idleness of the altar and the emptiness of the throne. He is ready
to ruin even that primary ethic by which all things live, for his strange and
eternal vengeance upon some one who (he affirms) never lived at all.
G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
“Cultivate a great
desire to be firmly rooted in the sublime virtue of confidence. Do not fear, but be courageous in
serving and loving our Most Adorable and Amiable Jesus, with great perfection
and holiness. Undertake courageously great tasks for His glory, in proportion
to the power and grace He will give you for this end. Even though you can do
nothing of yourself, you can do all things in Him and His help will never fail
you, if you have confidence
in His goodness. Place your entire physical and spiritual welfare in His
hands. Abandon to the paternal solicitude of His Divine Providence every care
for your health, reputation, property and business, for those near to you, for
your past sins, for your soul’s progress in virtue and love of Him, for your
life, death, and especially for your salvation and eternity, in a word, all
your cares. Rest in the
assurance that, in His pure goodness, He will watch with particular
tenderness over all your responsibilities and cares and dispose all things for
the greatest good.”
St. John Eudes, The Life and Kingdom of Jesus in Christian
Souls
Cardinal Burke
offers the correction for two mistranslations in the English publication of the
Motu proprio of Pope Francis, “TRADITIONIS CUSTODES”
Art. 1. The liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI (sic) and
Saint John Paul II (sic), in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II,
are the unique only expression of
the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.
Art. 4. Priests ordained after the publication of the present Motu
Proprio, who wish to celebrate using the Missale Romanum of 1962, should must submit a formal
request to the diocesan Bishop who shall consult the Apostolic See before
granting this authorization.
"Not a
stone upon a stone" - 9th Sunday after Pentecost
The 'Western Wall' (Wailing Wall) in
Jerusalem is held by Jews as a remnant of Herod's Temple destroyed by the
Romans in 72 A.D. Yet, Jesus prophesized not only that the Temple would be
destroyed but also that there would not remain a "stone upon a
stone." So how is it that there remains a large wall on the western side
at the south end of the 'Temple Mount'? Some Catholics claim the prophecy of
Jesus was referring only to the edifice itself and not the entire foundation
for the Temple. Jesus words must be taken in literally unless there it is
clearly manifest that the metaphorical sense is intended exclusively. Therefore,
the 'Wailing Wall' where the Jews worship is not a remnant of the ancient
Temple, and the 'Temple Mount', on which is currently situated the Al-Aqsa
mosque and the "Dome of the Rock", is not the location of the Temple
destroyed in 72 A.D. The 36 acre 'Temple Mount' is actually the location of the
Roman fortress Antonia built by Herod.
What
is the evidence for this? The current popular claim is the fortress Antonia was
located on a five-acre section on the north-west side of the 'Temple Mount'
while the Temple occupied the remaining 30 acres. Five acres is far too small
to accommodate a Roman legion (6,000 soldiers plus auxiliary staff) which we
know from the writings of Flavius Josephus that the fortress Antonia did in
fact hold. Many Roman fortresses have been examined by archeologists and they
typically are between 45 and 55 acres but some are as small as 36 acres. As far
as the area needed for the Temple of Herod itself, consider this, the ancient
pagan temple complex at Baalek in Lebanon built by the Romans is less than six
acres in total area and encloses the largest temple to Jupiter in the Roman
Empire as well as a smaller temple dedicated to Bacchus and another to Venus.
The Temple built by Herod was a single temple and much smaller in overall dimensions.
Furthermore,
when Solomon was designated by King David to succeed him (3 Kings 1), King
David directed the prophet Nathan and the high priest Sadoc to take Solomon on
the king's mule to be anointed king at the "Gihon spring" with oil
taken from the tabernacle. The Gihon spring is located in the City of David
directly south and adjacent to the present-day 'Temple Mount'. There Solomon
was anointed with oil taken from the Tabernacle, proclaimed king and celebrated
by the populace with great jubilation and the sounding of trumpets that could
be heard outside the city. The Temple built by Solomon was in the same location
as the Tabernacle established by King David on the threshing floor of the land
he purchased Areuna the Jebusite as God had commanded by the mouth of Gad (2
Kings 24 and 2 Paralipomenon 3:1).
The
water from the Gihon spring was essential for the sacrificial offerings of the
Temple. There is no living water source on the 'Temple Mount' which was
required in the washing of the priests and the sacrifices offered. The water
source for the Antonia fortress was provided by large cisterns located just
north of the Antonia fortress and under the 'Temple Mount' that are still
present today.
There
is a Catholic tradition the there was a church called the Church of the
Judgment that was built over and enclosed the Rock that is now enclosed under
the Dome of the Rock built by the Moslems in 692 A.D. The Dome of the Rock is
located directly north of the Al-Aqsa mosque on the 'Temple Mount'. The Church
of the Judgment was destroyed either by the Persians who conquered Jerusalem in
614 A.D. with the help of 26,000 Jewish allies during the Byzantine-Sasanian
War 602-628 A.D. (during which many churches were destroyed including the
Church of the Ascension on Mount Olivet), or the church was destroyed by the
Moslems who conquered Jerusalem in 637 A.D. No living Jew at the time would
have knowledge of the exact location of Herod's Temple because the Jews were
forbidden to enter Jerusalem by the Romans since the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135
A.D. on the pain of death. Two hundred years later, the Catholic emperor
Constantine permitted the Jews to enter Jerusalem once a year on the feast of
Tisha B'Av (the ninth of Av) which is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish
calendar because it is the anniversary of the destruction of both the Temple of
Solomon and the Temple of Herod! Be that as it may, many of the pillars used in
the construction of the interior of the Dome of the Rock have Christian
markings indicating that they were salvaged from a destroyed Catholic church.
The
Rock itself is regarded (WIKI) as The Foundation Stone (Hebrew אֶבֶן
הַשְּׁתִיָּה, romanized: ʾEḇen
haŠeṯīyyā, lit. 'Foundation Stone'), or the Noble
Rock (Arabic:الصخرة
المشرفة, romanized: al-Saḵrah al-Mušarrafah, lit. 'The
Noble Stone') is the rock enclosed by the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. It is
also known as the Pierced Stone, because it has a small hole on the
southeastern corner that enters a cavern beneath the rock, known as the Well of
Souls. Traditional Jewish sources mention the stone as the place from
which the creation of the world began. Jewish sources also identify its
location with that of the Holy of Holies. Yet, it is not possible for a
threshing floor to be around a large rock or stone.
Before
the Muslim conquest, the Rock was enclosed in the Catholic church known as the
Church of the Judgment (destroyed by the Persians) because it is believed to
have been the place where the condemned stood to hear the judgment against them
by the Roman authorities. The Rock is held to be where Jesus stood when His
official condemnation was decreed by Pontius Pilate and thus, if it is the
stone where the "creation of the world began," it is the stone from
which the creation of the world began anew. John 19:13 says: "Now when
Pilate had heard these words, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the
judgment seat, in the place that is called Lithostrotos, and in Hebrew
Gabbatha." Lithostrotos in Greek refers to a stone and Gabbatha in Hebrew
an elevated place. According to St. Mary Agreda after Jesus was condemned by
Pilate the decree of condemnation, which she quotes in its entirety, was then
formally read to the Jewish mob assembled outside the north entrance to
Fortress Antonia where Jesus was taken to bear His cross.
Of
the Temple of Herod destroyed in 72 A.D. there does not remain a "stone
upon a stone".
Leo XIV Reinstates Convicted
Child-Porn Priest who was protected by Francis
Carlo Alberto Capella was
Vatican diplomat who was convicted by a Vatican tribunal of possessing and
sharing child pornography. Capella admitted guilt to the charges. He is the
only one who has served a prison sentence in the Vatican jail for this crime or
for any sexually related crime against minors.
Monsignor
Capella was ordained a priest in 1993 for the Archdiocese of Milan. After
studies of canon law he entered the Vatican diplomatic corps. He was
assigned to the papal nunciature in India in 2003 and to the nunciature in Hong
Kong in 2007. In 2008 he was created Chaplain of His Holiness, which entitled him to the title
of Monsignor. In 2011 he was transferred to the Vatican to serve in
the Secretariat of State. In 2016 he was assigned to the papal nunciature to
the United States.
In
2017, Capella was recalled to the Vatican by Pope Francis after United
States officials informed the Vatican that he was under investigation for
possession and sharing of child pornography. The government of Canada has
issued a warrant for his arrest, alleging that during his time in Canada in
December, 2016 he had possessed and shared child pornography. He was returned
to the Vatican which claimed diplomatic immunity for Capella protecting him
from prosecution in the United State or Canada.
In
2018, he was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison, which he served
in the Vatican jail. As of 2021, he was allowed out during the day to work in
an office that sells papal blessings. In 2023, following the end of his prison
sentence, Capella was permitted to return to work in the Vatican Secretariat of
State. Now Pope Leo XIV has reinstated
Msgr. Capella to a senior diplomatic position in the Vatican Secretariat of
State.
COMMENT: Pope Leo is protégé of Francis to whom he owns his promotions
to bishop and cardinal. It was Francis who protected this pervert from criminal
charges in the United States and in Canada and now it is Francis' protégé who
has restored him the a high level position in the Vatican. This does not
portend well for any serious reform of the Novus Ordo Church which has become a
sinecure for homosexuals and others perverts.
From Tradition
In Action:
You don't have
to be a liturgical EXPERT to see that there is no essential difference in the act!
The question
is: Is there any essential difference
in the actors?
Top: St. Patrick Catholic Church, Chatham, New Jersey, August 22, 2021
Bottom:
First Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 6, 2025
PREVIOUS
BULLETIN POSTS THAT ARE NOT OUTDATED
HOME
| About Us
| Open Letters
| Make a Contribution | Directions | Contact Us
|
Pearl of York | Mass Schedule | List of Closed Parishes in the
Diocese of Harrisburg |
| Announcements |
Why Move to Central Pennsylvania? | Canned Answers to Stale Objections
