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SSPX Tacit Approval: "Neo-Pastoralism" vs. Pope St. Felix III |
Posted by: The☩Trumpet - 09-21-2024, 06:26 PM - Forum: The New-Conciliar SSPX
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SSPX Tacit Approval: "Neo-Pastoralism" vs. Pope St. Felix III
September 21, 2024
In their recent article," The Neo-Pastoral Work of Francis-Source: FSSPX NEWS" the SSPX neither clearly opposed nor definitively refuted the error in Pope Francis’s statement. Instead, Fr. Jean-Michel Gleize’s commentary is cautious and nuanced, avoiding an outright condemnation of the claim that “all religions are paths to God.”
On September 19, the SSPX published this article by Fr. Gleize, addressing comments made by Pope Francis during an interfaith meeting with young people in Singapore. Central to the discussion is Francis’s assertion that “all religions are a path to arrive at God.”
Yet, instead of calling this out as “Pope Francis’s Latest Heresy” or clearly labeling it for what it is—an inexplicably heretical statement from the Holy Father—the SSPX article is titled The Neo-Pastoral of Francis.
This is a blatant example of the condemned evolution of dogma—what is commonly known as the "hermeneutics of continuity"—Ratzinger's Trojan horse, which Bp. Fellay endorsed in the 2012 Doctrinal Declaration. Specifically, Bp. Fellay stated, “The entire tradition of Catholic Faith must be the criterion and guide in understanding the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, which, in turn, enlightens - in other words, deepens and subsequently makes explicit - certain aspects of the life and doctrine of the Church implicitly present within itself or not yet conceptually formulated” (Doctrinal Declaration, 2012).
Similarly, Fr. Gleize, in his article " The Neo-Pastoral Work of Francis-Source: FSSPX NEWS" states, “The teachings of Vatican II admit this salvific value, provided that it is understood in a differentiated way.” He goes on to suggest the possibility of calling this “mitigated latitudinarianism” or even “neo-latitudinarianism”. This reflects the SSPX’s new approach, as they too attempt to reconcile Vatican II’s teachings with traditional Catholic doctrine, thereby compromising the clarity of the Church's dogma—This "hermeneutics of continuity" has been condemned by Pope St. Pius X!
The SSPX, now emasculated and compromised, calls heresy Neo-Pastoral.
The root cause lies in the SSPX bishops and leadership's silence and the compromise made in 2012. Just as Francis is the logical conclusion for someone abiding by Vatican II, statements from Fr. Gleize are the logical conclusion of Bishop Fellay’s 2012 doctrinal declaration.
Louie also rightly pointed out, “The poster boy for the newly neutered version of the SSPX is Fr. Jean-Michel Gleize, a professor of apologetics, ecclesiology, and dogma at the Seminary of Saint Pius X in Écône, who – as readers may recall – authored a six-part treatment of Amoris Laetitia in 2017, the entire purpose of which was to absolve Bergoglio of heresy.”
To this, we must also add Fr. Paul Robinson, another poster boy, who has endorsed the heresy of theistic evolution—a clear divergence from the traditional Catholic faith.
What we are witnessing is the continuation of the French Revolution, now manifest in the revolution within the Church through Vatican II, and tragically even within +Archbishop Lefebvre’s Priestly Society, which once offered true counter-revolutionary Catholic resistance to the revolt. This echoes the prophecy of Our Lady of Good Success regarding the holy prelate who would stand against apostasy and impiety. Archbishop Lefebvre’s mission is being compromised by those who were meant to carry on his work.
The Clear Heresy of Pope Francis
Pope Francis’s assertion that “all religions are paths to arrive at God” is not just misleading; it is a direct affront to the truth revealed by Our Lord Jesus Christ. As Catholics, we know that Christ alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man cometh to the Father, but by Him (John 14:6, Douay-Rheims). To suggest that false religions, which deny the divinity of Christ and reject the true doctrine of the Holy Trinity, can lead souls to God is an outright heresy.
This statement is a clear departure from the immutable teachings of the Church, teachings that the Church Fathers, martyrs, and saints have defended with their very lives. For centuries, the Church has condemned the notion of religious relativism—the false belief that all religions are equal paths to salvation. Pope Pius IX, in his Syllabus of Errors, condemned the idea that “man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation.” (Syllabus of Errors, Prop. 16)
Pope Francis’s words are nothing short of a betrayal of this doctrine. By equating all religions as valid paths to God, he effectively nullifies the Church’s mission to convert souls to the one true faith. Such a statement, left unchallenged, paves the way for the destruction of missionary efforts and the denial of the Church’s role as the sole ark of salvation.
The SSPX’s Failure: Silence is Complicity
The failure of the SSPX to label this statement as heresy is not merely a tactical mistake—it is an act of complicity. +Archbishop Lefebvre always taught that the truth must be defended without compromise, especially when it is under direct attack. He himself said, “We have to speak up! We cannot remain silent. It is impossible!” (+Archbishop Lefebvre, They Have Uncrowned Him)
By softening their language and reframing this heresy as “Neo-Pastoral,” the SSPX has chosen to play the game of diplomacy rather than fulfilling their duty as defenders of the Faith. The duty of the priesthood is to guard and proclaim the truth of the Faith without ambiguity. Any failure to do so betrays the very essence of what it means to be Catholic.
As +Archbishop Lefebvre often warned, “He who has not the truth cannot sanctify, and he who does not fight for the truth abandons souls to error.” (Sermon, November 27, 1988). By refusing to call out Pope Francis’s statement for what it is—heresy—the SSPX is abandoning its mission to uphold the truth. In doing so, they allow heresy to spread unchecked, thus becoming accomplices to the error they fail to condemn.
"Not to oppose error is to approve it"
To fail to call out heresy is, in essence, to endorse it. Pope St. Felix III famously said, “Not to oppose error is to approve it; and not to defend the truth is to suppress it.” The SSPX’s reluctance to condemn this grievous error as heresy amounts to a tacit endorsement of religious relativism—the very heresy condemned by Pope Pius IX and so many of his predecessors.
+Archbishop Lefebvre made it clear that neutrality in the face of heresy is not an option. “You cannot separate the Church from the Truth. You cannot separate Our Lord Jesus Christ from the Truth,” he said. (Conference, Écône, 1984). To accept the false notion that all religions are paths to God is to sever Christ from His own mission, to render His sacrifice on Calvary meaningless, and to reject the clear mandate He gave His Church: “Going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 28:19, Douay-Rheims)
The SSPX, once the last bastion of uncompromising Catholic resistance, now finds itself in the dangerous position of soft-pedaling heresy for the sake of conciliar diplomacy. But as +Archbishop Lefebvre taught us, “The truth cannot be negotiated. To negotiate the truth is to abandon it.” (Conference, November 1979)
The Call to Action
Now is the time for true Catholics, those who hold fast to Tradition, to stand up and resist this capitulation. We must follow the example of +Archbishop Lefebvre, who refused to compromise with modernist Rome, even when it meant being cast into exile. We must not allow the legacy of his work—the restoration of the Traditional Mass, the defense of the Faith, and the formation of true Catholic priests—to be tarnished by this betrayal.
In the face of this revolution, both within the world and within the Church, let us recall the words of Our Lady of Good Success, who prophesied that a great prelate would stand firm against the apostasy of the modern age. That prelate was +Archbishop Lefebvre, and it is his mission, entrusted to us, that we must continue without compromise.
Our Lady of Quito, Pray for Us!
-The☩Trumpet
The☩TrumpetThe☩Trumpet
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Protocols of the Elders of Zion: Blueprint behind Alta Vendita |
Posted by: The☩Trumpet - 09-19-2024, 12:52 PM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
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Protocols of the Elders of Zion: Blueprint behind Alta Vendita
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In this article, we aim to unmask the calculated and deliberate attacks on the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church as outlined in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. These attacks are not merely theoretical but are part of a coordinated effort by Judeo forces working under the guise of Freemasonry, where the Freemasons serve as "goy cattle," blindly manipulated to further hidden agendas. As the Protocols reveal: "Who and what is in a position to overthrow an invisible force? And this is precisely what our force is. Gentile masonry, blindly serves as a screen for us and our objects, but the plan of action of our force, even its very abiding-place, remains for the whole people an unknown mystery... SECRET MASONRY WHICH IS NOT KNOWN TO, AND AIMS WHICH ARE NOT EVEN SO MUCH AS SUSPECTED BY, THESE GOY CATTLE, ATTRACTED BY US INTO THE 'SHOW' ARMY OF MASONIC LODGES IN ORDER TO THROW DUST IN THE EYES OF THEIR FELLOWS."
This certainly clarifies the term "Judeo-Masonic," where the hyphen represents the subversive collaboration of the second force, revealing the driving force which is ultimately the synagogue of Satan: the Masonic lodges serve as a tool, manipulated by a hidden Satanic-Judeo agenda to infiltrate and undermine the Church. These subversive plans are the very foundation of the Alta Vendita, the Masonic strategy designed to infiltrate and weaken the Church from within. As Catholics faithful to Tradition, it is crucial to recognize the forces driving this assault and the war being waged against the Bride of Christ.
Maximilian Kolbe, directly warned about these dangers in his 1926 article in Rycerz Niepokalanej (The Knight of the Immaculate). He cited the Protocols to expose the collaboration between Freemasonry and Judeo forces, stating: "These men [the Freemasons] believe that they are the ones who will rule everything, but let us hear what is written in the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion..." He went on to reference Protocol 11, which states: "We will create and put in effect the laws and the governments... What we want is that the multitudes, disoriented by the revolt, in a condition of terror and uncertainty, should understand once and for all that we are so strong, so untouchable." Fr. Kolbe boldly addressed Freemasons directly: "Freemasons, did you hear this? The Hebrews, who have secretly organized and secretly direct you, consider you as beasts, recruited into the Masonic lodges for ends that you neither know nor suspect."
-The☩Trumpet
Source: The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. (Translated from the original Russian) is included at the end of our snippet.
1. Attacks on the Catholic Church
- "The King of the Jews will be the real Pope of the Universe, the patriarch of an international Church."
- "However, it is probably all the same to the world who is its sovereign lord, whether the head of Catholicism or our despot of the blood of Zion! But to us, the Chosen People, it is very far from being a matter of indifference."
- "Our cause is great and holy, and its success is guaranteed. Catholicism, our immemorial enemy, is lying in the dust, mortally wounded in the head."
- "When the time comes finally to destroy the papal court the finger of an invisible hand will point the nations towards this court. When, however, the
nations fling themselves upon it, we shall come forward in the guise of its defenders as if to save excessive bloodshed. By this diversion we shall penetrate to its very bowels and be sure we shall never come out again until we have gnawed through the entire strength of this place."
- "In this respect the Jesuits alone might have compared with us, but we have contrived to discredit them in the eyes of the unthinking mob as an overt organization."
2. Attacks on Christianity and Christians
- "We shall force the Christians into wars by exploiting their pride and their stupidity. They will massacre each other, and clear the ground for us to put our own people into."
- "At the wished-for hour, fixed in advance, we shall let loose the Revolution, which by ruining all classes of Christianity will definitely enslave the Christians to us. Thus will be accomplished the promise of God made to His People."
- "By gold and by flattery we shall gain the proletariat which will charge itself with annihilating Christian capitalism."
- "By the ceaseless praise of DEMOCRATIC RULE we shall divide the Christians into political parties, we shall destroy the unity of their nations, we shall sow discord everywhere."
- "Let us take care not to hinder the marriage of our men with Christian girls, for through them we shall get our foot into the most closely locked circles. If our daughters marry Goyim they will be no less useful, for the children of a Jewish mother are ours. Let us foster the idea of free love, that we may destroy among Christian women attachment to the principles and practices of their religion. For ages past the sons of Israel, despised and persecuted have been working to open up a path to power. They are hitting the mark. They control the economic life of the accursed Christians; their influence preponderates over politics and over manners."
3. Attacks on Clergy and Religious Leaders
- "By our mockeries and our attacks upon them we shall make their priests ridiculous then odious, and their religion as ridiculous and as odious as their clergy. Then we shall be masters of their souls."
- "We have long past taken care to discredit the priesthood of the GOYIM, and thereby to ruin their mission on earth which in these days might still be a great hindrance to us."
4. Freemasonry and its Role
- "Who and what is in a position to overthrow an invisible force? And this is precisely what our force is. Gentile masonry, blindly serves as a screen for us and our objects, but the plan of action of our force, even its very abiding-place, remains for the whole people an unknown mystery."
- "For what purpose then have we invented this whole policy and insinuated it into the minds of the goys without giving them any chance to examine its underlying meaning? It is this which has served as the basis for our organization of SECRET MASONRY WHICH IS NOT KNOWN TO, AND AIMS WHICH ARE NOT EVEN SO MUCH AS SUSPECTED BY, THESE GOY CATTLE, ATTRACTED BY US INTO THE 'SHOW' ARMY OF MASONIC LODGES IN ORDER TO THROW DUST IN THE EYES OF THEIR FELLOWS."
- "The lodges will have their representatives who will serve to screen the above-mentioned administration of masonry and from whom will issue the watchword and programme."
- "Knowing this, even the brotherhood in its turn dare not protest. By such methods we have plucked out of the midst of masonry the very root of protest against our disposition."
5. Protestantism and Division
- "In the goy societies, in which we have planted and deeply rooted discord and protestantism, the only possible way of restoring order is to employ merciless measures that prove the direct force of authority: no regard must be paid to the victims who fall, they suffer for the well-being of the future."
6. Control Over Political and Legal Systems
- "The most secret political plots will be known to us and will fall under our guiding hands on the very day of their conception."
- "In the most important and fundamental affairs and questions judges decide as we dictate to them, see matters in the light wherewith we enfold them for the administration of the goyim."
- "Under our influence the execution of the laws of the goyim has been reduced to a minimum. The prestige of the law has been exploded by the liberal interpretations introduced into this sphere."
- "If one of our people should unhappily fall into the hands of justice amongst the Christians, we must rush to help him; find as many witnesses as he needs to save him from his judges, until we become judges ourselves."
Full text below the article on our website of the The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. (Translated from the original Russian).
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Synod on Synodality to include ceremony ‘confessing’ sins against ‘migrants,’ ‘synodality’ |
Posted by: Stone - 09-19-2024, 07:45 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
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Synod on Synodality to include ceremony ‘confessing’ sins against ‘migrants,’ ‘synodality’
In the evening of October 1 in St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis is to lead a 'penitential vigil' which will include 'confessing' sins 'against migrants,' 'synodality,' 'lack of listening' and 'participation of all.'
Pope Francis in his wheelchair, February 28, 2024
Vatican News
Sep 18, 2024
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican’s press office released details of the upcoming Synod on Synodality starting later this month, which includes a “penitential vigil” that will see the “confession” of sins against “synodality,” “migrants” and “participation of all,” among other things.
The synod will begin on Monday, September 30, with all participants taking part in a two-day retreat. Last year’s retreat was held in Sacrofano, but this year it will instead take place in the Vatican.
A new addition to the calendar this year, however, is the “penitential vigil” held in the evening of October 1 in St. Peter’s Basilica. Led by Pope Francis, the vigil will hear the testimonies of three people “who have suffered sin: the sin of abuse; the sin of war; the sin of indifference to the drama present in the growing phenomenon of migrations all over the world.”
After this, “the confession of a number of sins will take place,” the Vatican announced. It did not give precise details on how the event will unfold.
“The aim is not to denounce the sin of others but to acknowledge oneself as a member of those who, by omission or action, become the cause of suffering and responsible for the evil inflicted on the innocent and defenseless,” the Vatican wrote. “Whoever expresses the request for forgiveness will do so in the name of all the baptized.”
Sins particularly being “confessed” include:
Sin against peace
Sin against creation, against indigenous populations, against migrants
Sin of abuse
Sin against women, family, youth
Sin of using doctrine as stones to be hurled
Sin against poverty
Sin against synodality/lack of listening, communion, and participation of all (Emphases added)
After the “confession,” Francis will make a request for forgiveness to “God and to the sisters and brothers of all humanity … on behalf of all the faithful.”
The “confessing” of sins “against migrants” seems to fall in accord with Francis’ recent statement that opposing migration of any kind “when done with awareness and responsibility, is a grave sin.”
As noted by LifeSiteNews, Francis did not distinguish between legal and illegal immigration during his comments, or on the manner in which immigrants should be welcomed and acclimatize to the local culture – an aspect on which the Church has clear teaching. His words appeared to be a general invitation for increased immigration of any kind.
The Catholic Church’s teaching regarding immigration is a careful mix of charity to the citizens of a nation and those seeking entrance to that nation for just reasons. The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that “political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants’ duties toward their country of adoption.”
Furthermore, the Catechism outlines that “immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.” [...]
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Pope Francis allows devotion to Medjugorje, while claiming it's 'not authentic?' |
Posted by: Stone - 09-19-2024, 06:34 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Pope Francis allows devotion to Medjugorje, where Virgin Mary said to appear
The Bosnian village has become a major pilgrimage site, attracting hundreds of thousands each year and giving many people what they say is a renewed sense of spirituality
RTE.ie| 19 Sep 2024 10:58
Pope Francis has approved a Catholic spiritual devotion centred in Medjugorje, a town in Bosnia that has been steeped in controversy over whether the Virgin Mary appears to local people, the Vatican has said.
The Vatican's doctrinal office said that the Pope was not declaring that messages given by the alleged apparition were authentic.
Rather, it said the pontiff was recognising there were "positive fruits" for Catholics in the spiritual experience tied to the town.
The statement appears to conclude decades of Vatican investigations into the alleged visitations, which were first reported by six children in 1981, in a scenario reminiscent of famous apparitions in the French town of Lourdes in the 19th century and more than 100 years ago in Fatima in Portugal.
The Bosnian village has become a major pilgrimage site, attracting hundreds of thousands each year and giving many people what they say is a renewed sense of spirituality.
Pope Francis had previously expressed doubt about the alleged phenomenon. Referencing messages said to have been given by the Virgin Mary to local townspeople, he told reporters in 2017 that he did not think Mary was "the head of a telegraph office".
The Vatican said its new note "does not imply that the alleged supernatural events are declared authentic".
"Instead, it only highlights that the Holy Spirit is acting fruitfully for the good of the faithful 'in the midst' of this spiritual phenomenon of Medjugorje," said the text.
The Vatican said Catholic faithful "must be attentive and cautious" in interpreting the alleged messages from Mary, which largely focus on themes of peace and piety, but also have warned of alleged coming world catastrophes.
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Holy Mass in New York - September 22, 2024 |
Posted by: Stone - 09-18-2024, 01:19 PM - Forum: September 2024
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Holy Sacrifice of the Mass - Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Date:Sunday, September 22, 2024
Time: Confessions - 3:30 PM
Holy Mass - 4:00 PM
Location: 498 Louie Dickinson Rd.
Edmeston, NY 13335
Contact: Perry (212) 991-8319
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Archbishop Viganò: Homily on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross |
Posted by: Stone - 09-17-2024, 09:31 AM - Forum: Archbishop Viganò
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In hoc signo vinces
Homily on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Tum Heraclius, abjecto amplissimo vestitu detractisque calceis ac plebejo amictu indutus,
reliquum viæ facile confecit, et in eodem Calvariæ loco Crucem statuit,
unde fuerat a Persis asportata.
Itaque Exaltationis sanctæ Crucis solemnitas, quæ hac die quotannis celebrabatur,
illustrior haberi cœpit ob ejus rei memoriam,
quod ibidem fuerit reposita ab Heraclio, ubi Salvatori primum fuerat constituta.
Then Heraclius cast away his princely raiment and took off his shoes from his feet,
and in the garb of a peasant easily finished the remainder of his journey,
and set up the Cross once again in the same place of Calvary whence the Persians had carried it away.
Therefore the solemnity of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross,
which is celebrated annually on this day, became thenceforth more illustrious,
because it had been replaced by Heraclius in the same place where it had first been planted by the Savior.
Lect. VI – II Noct.
In the seventh month, during the Feast of Tabernacles, Solomon performed the rites of consecration of the ancient Temple (1 Kings 8:2, 65); on September 14, 335, on the anniversary of the same, Constantine dedicated the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, to symbolize how the place of Burial – the Martyrium – and of the Resurrection – the Anastasis – together constituted the new Temple of Jerusalem. The Roman Basilica of the Holy Cross was built by the Empress Saint Helena to house the relics of the Holy Wood after her return from her trip to the Holy Land in 325. It was there that the cult of the Cross of Christ spread throughout the Catholic world – as Dom Prosper Guéranger recalls – and has persisted to this day. In 614 the Persian king Khosrow II invaded Jerusalem, destroyed the Constantinian Basilica, took possession of the True Cross and – in a gesture of impiety that aroused the indignation of the faithful – used that blessed wood to make his own throne. In 628 the emperor Heraclius defeated and beheaded Khosrow, reconquered Jerusalem, rebuilt the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, and brought to Byzantium – abjecto amplissimo vestitu detractisque calceis ac plebejo amictu indutus, barefoot and dressed as a pilgrim – the precious relics of the Holy Cross.
The historical events – because we are talking about documented history corroborated by highly authoritative testimonies – that led to the spread of the cult of the Cross and the feast of its Exaltation that we celebrate today, must not distract us from a spiritual and supernatural aspect that is fundamental for each of us. The Cross on which Our Lord shed His Blood and died for our Redemption has been running through the history of humanity ever since. According to the Golden Legend of the Dominican bishop Jacopo da Varagine, St. Michael the Archangel ordered Seth (the son of Noah) to put three seeds of the tree of life in the mouth of the deceased Adam: from those seeds a tree was born that Solomon had cut for the construction of the Temple, but which he could not use, and which he then had buried at the bidding of the Queen of Sheba. That wood was found at the time of Christ and used to make the Cross, then recovered by Saint Helena after the Jews had hidden it to remove it from the adoration of the faithful. As proof of its authenticity compared to those on which the thieves were executed, the Holy Wood resurrected a dead man simply by being touched to him.
Our worldly mentality, infected with an incredulous rationalism that has nothing scientific about it, feels uncomfortable in the face of the narration of prodigious events that, through the millennia, unite Adam to Christ. It is difficult and almost embarrassing to believe a story transmitted through the centuries in which it speaks of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, of the humble faith of Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena. And it is always the secularized mentality that makes us feel the Cross as an unbearable yoke, as a sign incomprehensible to the world, in which the Blood of the Savior impregnates the fibers of the wood, keeping the most holy Body of the incarnate God nailed and torn apart by the Passion. Instead of the horrible torments of the Cross, the Conciliar Church prefers the tranquilizing image of a Christ who is risen and removed from the sorrows of the Passion. The world rejects the Cross because it does not recognize its sinfulness and therefore does not accept Our Lord’s redeeming Passion. Si filius Dei es, descende de cruce (Mt 27:40): it is the temptation of those who do not understand that there is no victory without combat, nor the triumph of the Resurrection without the sufferings of the Cross.
The secularized spirit, which has penetrated the Church with the complicity of a Hierarchy without Faith and without Charity, has imposed this horizontal vision which nullifies the Redemption of Christ, His Incarnation, and His Passion. If “all religions are a path to God,” as Bergoglio blasphemously stated a few days ago in Singapore, no Savior is needed; nor is there any need for a Church that is an instrument of salvation in the world; nor is there any need for a Pope, who is a bond of unity in the Faith within the Church. Yet this “pope,” for whom anyone can be saved without the Revelation of Christ, claims to be recognized and obeyed by Catholics as the head of that Church which he blasphemously considers useless; and in the name of a usurped power he even dares to excommunicate those who denounce his apostasy.
Three times each year, we kneel before the Cross in adoration: on Good Friday, on the day of its Invention or Finding [May 7], and finally today, on the feast of its Exaltation. We do it duplici genu, with both knees, as before the most august Sacrament: an external gesture of adoration invites us to contemplate those two bare pieces of wood, which have crossed history and which still represent the discrimen (the watershed) of human events, until the end of time, when it will be the Cross that will shine in the sky, as anticipated by Saint John in the Apocalypse (1:7). Before the Cross we kneel, stripping ourselves of ourselves, as Christ himself was exposed to humiliation and opprobrium like a criminal deserving of death. And before the Cross all creatures must kneel, cœlestium, terrestrium et infernorum (Phil 2:10), so that the fruit of death gathered by our First Parents in disobedience to God’s command may become the fruit of eternal life in the Sacrifice of the new Adam; a fruit that has ripened down the centuries through preparation in the Old Law, until fulfilment in the new and eternal Covenant; a fruit sprinkled with the Blood of the Immaculate Lamb, who spares us and saves us at the passage of the exterminating angel (Ex 12:13). That Tree of Life that was the cause of our death in Eden is reborn on Golgotha as an instrument of torture and death, to give us true Life, the life of Grace, of friendship with God, with the Most Holy Trinity, life restored in Christ, true God and true Man.
Let us therefore return to the Cross, dear brothers, because it is truly spes unica, as we sing in the ancient hymn Vexilla Regis. It is the only hope because in the Cross we understand the necessity of the Passion, in the plans of a God who becomes incarnate to redeem the servant, felix culpa. It is the only hope because the joys, riches, well-being, success, money, and pleasures of this world are all fallacious and deceptive. With them Satan keeps us attached to creatures, to prevent us from raising our spirit to the Creator; he binds us to fiction, so that we do not grasp reality; he deceives us with ephemeral things, while the Lord grants us the Grace to enter into eternity. Only in this way can we understand why some saints – like Saint Francis, a model of poverty and renunciation of the world – were privileged by Christ precisely in bearing the Stigmata of the Passion. Each of us must have those Holy Wounds mystically imprinted on our souls, in the self-denial that costs us so much but which alone makes us truly similar to Our Lord.
Si quis vult venire post me, abneget semetipsum, et tollat crucem suam quotidie et sequatur me (Lk 9:23). Self-denial consists in embracing our cross, and in carrying it daily, every day, following Christ to Calvary. And it is our cross, that is, the one that Providence has destined for us – whether small or large – and not the one that we want to choose for ourselves, believing ourselves capable of carrying it with our own strength. We have our own cross and also our own supernatural graces that allow us not to be crushed by it. This is the test, the certamen to be faced, if we are to attain the eternal reward and be admitted into the presence of God. Let us accept it as Heraclius, detractis calceis ac plebejo amictu indutus, so that by stripping ourselves of the garments of this world – which we are ineluctably destined to abandon – we can with Saint Paul be clothed in Christ with the new man, in justitia et sanctitate veritatis (Eph 4:24). And so may it be.
+ Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop
September 14, 2024
In Exsaltatione Sanctæ Crucis D.N.J.C.
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St. Catherine Sienna Speaks against Bad Clergy |
Posted by: Stone - 09-17-2024, 09:12 AM - Forum: The Saints
- Replies (1)
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St. Catherine Sienna Speaks against Bad Clergy – I
‘Eradicate the Wolves inside the Church’
TIA | September 16, 2024
In her Dialogue, St. Catherine of Siena often speaks of the degeneration inside the Church and the great need for reform. In fact, she speaks so strongly about bad Prelates and pastors that some of the French translations, which appeared at a time when anti-clericalism in France was at its most violent, simply omitted these chapters in St. Catherine’s book. Unfortunately, it was these censured books that were generally chosen to be translated into English.
This excerpt on St. Catherine of Siena from Fr. Sáenz’ book titled Christian Archtypes shows how the Saint railed against the bad pastors and Prelates in the Church, counseling that a true reform could only take place when they were eradicated and replaced with good shepherds.
The reader can view his Spanish sources at the end of the article.
One of the most acute sorrows of St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) was the sight of mercenary shepherds, and even wolves. There have been, no doubt, excellent shepherds. But it is no less true that the lives of many were scandalous.
She condemns priests who are mercenary shepherds and even wolves
During her stay in Avignon, Catherine became closely acquainted with the papal court and its unworthy Prelates. She had also seen them during her travels through Italy. In those times it was common for influential families to try to place their sons in high ecclesial offices, even if they were completely inept.
Several saints, such as St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Bridget, or even eminent men such as Petrarch, for example, harshly criticized such aberrations. Their message found an echo then among the people, for, as we have said, in that century the population was, despite everything, deeply religious. Then evil did not have, as it does now, a charter of citizenship, giving it an impudence and allowing it to defy the principles of the natural and supernatural order. Those who committed evil accepted the censures that were made against them in the name of Christian morality.
The situation of the Church was something that made Catherine’s heart bleed from a wound that reopened with each new spectacle. What Unamuno said about Spain can well be applied to the Saint: The Church wounded her. In her Dialogue she transcribes some very severe words that God addresses to priests:
‘I suffered My Hands to be tied to free mankind from the bonds of guilt & you use your anointed hands foolishly in dishonest acts’
“You ought to be a mirror of honesty, and you are a mirror of dishonesty. I [Christ] suffered Myself to be blindfolded in order to enlighten you, yet with lascivious eyes you thrust poisoned arrows into the hearts and souls of those upon whom you so maliciously fix your gaze. I allowed Myself to be given gall and vinegar to drink, but you, like a disordered animal, delight in your delicate foods, making a god of your belly.
“Vain and dishonest words come from your mouth, with which you are obliged to admonish your neighbor, announce my word and pray the Office. Yet I perceive from it nothing but stench...
“I suffered My hands to be tied in order to free you, and all mankind, from the bonds of guilt. Yet your hands, anointed and consecrated to administer the Most Holy Sacrament, are used foolishly in dishonest acts... All your members, like cacophonous instruments, transmit a bad sound, because the three faculties of the soul come together in the name of the Devil, when you should gather them in My name...”
Our Lord even goes so far as to compare these bad priests to devils incarnate, because they have identified themselves with the will of the Devil: “They do the same work as he does, with regard to Me...”
St. Catherine warns against the “unworthy ministers of the Blood”: “Because of their defects, the Blood is corrupted, that is, the lay people lose the due reverence they should have for them and for the Blood.”
Catherine fully agrees with these assessments of God. She knows that the holiness of the clergy is closely linked to the beauty of the Bride of Christ and the salvation of souls. “Today we see the opposite,” she affirms in one of her letters. “Not only are they not temples of God, but they have become stables and pens for pigs and other barnyard animals.”
Much of the blame lies with the Bishops who, as God Himself tells her in the Dialogue, “have been more concerned about multiplying the number of priests rather than their virtues».”
The Church persecuted by corrupt & heretical pastors
St. Catherine of Siena points to three sins that most degraded the clergy in her time: lust, avarice and pride. In her opinion, the time had come to call for a reform. What needed to be reformed was certainly not the Bride herself, who will always remain holy and is not diminished or altered by the defects of her ministers, but rather the latter. “The time has come to weep and lament because the Bride of Christ is being persecuted by her perfidious and corrupt members,” she writes in a letter.
“The mystical body of the Holy Church is surrounded by many enemies,” she writes to a monk.
“Thus do you see that those who have been placed to be the pillars and upholders of the Holy Church have become her persecutors with the darkness of heresy. This is no time to sleep, but to defeat them with vigilance, sweat and tears, and with sorrowful and loving desires and humble and continual prayer.”
But Catherine is not content with crying, praying and fasting. She will take concrete steps, addressing the Pope directly, since only he has conditions to remedy so great an evil.
In a letter to Gregory XI, she tells him, on behalf of Christ, that he must decide to use his power to remove from the garden of the Church these corrupt flowers, “the bad shepherds and leaders filled with impurity and greed and swollen with pride who poison and putrefy this garden.” He must use his power to remove these persons, putting in their place shepherds according to the heart of God.
She is not content to fast & pray, but believes it necessary to address the Pope face to face & in letters
Our Lord explained to her as she reports in the Dialogue why the Church was in this situation: It was because when choosing the pastors, the Prelates did not examine whether they were good or bad, but only had the desire to please favorites or offer families a favor; thus, those charged with informing the Holy Father about the candidates sent him positive references about ill-suited persons.
At times, she continued, these Prelates praise the bad or mediocre candidates because they share their vices and ambitions. When the Pope discovers the truth of the situation, he should remove them. If he does, he will fulfill his duty. If not, he will not go unpunished when he will have to give an account before the Lord of his sheep.
To avoid such drastic measures as the deposition of unworthy Bishops, the Holy Father should choose from the start humble priests, who out of modesty try to avoid prelatures, and not those who seek them to fuel their vainglory. By not acting in this way, we have those Bishops who, as our Saint says to Brother Raymond, “have acted like flies, which are such a base insects that they care not about the sweet and aromatic things upon which they land, but go from there to rest on repugnant and unclean things.”
To be continued
Works consulted
* Santa Catalina de Siena, El Diálogo, BAC, Madrid 1955.
* Cartas Políticas, Losada, Buenos Aires 1993.
* Johannes Jörgensen, Santa Catalina de Siena, Acción, Buenos Aires 1993.
* M. V. Bernadot O.P., Santa Catalina de Siena al servicio de la Iglesia, Studium, Madrid 1958.
* Jean Rupp, Docteurs pour nos temps: Catherine et Thérèse, Ed. P. Lethielleux, Paris 1971.
* Jacques Leclercq, Santa Catalina de Siena, Patmos, Madrid 1955.
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