SiSiNoNo: The Errors of Vatican II

[Stone]

SiSiNoNo
January 2004 No. 57

The Errors of Vatican II

PART VIII

In Parts 1-7 of this series, we have discussed the "mentality" of the Second Vatican Council, both generally and in particular. In the final installment we will conclude with the ending treatment of its doctrinal errors regarding bad pastoral policy across a broad range of issues.


16. Bad Pastoral Teaching in the Directives Given to Missionaries

• Missionary activity ought to be born of the word of God, particular autochthonous churches should be sufficiently established and should grow up all over the world, endowed with their own maturity and vital forces. Under a hierarchy of their own, together with the faithful people, and adequately fitted out with requisites for living a full Christian life, they should make their contribution to the good of the whole Church. (Ad Gentes §6)

  
  
  

• Therefore, let the missionaries, God's coworkers,... raise up congregations of the faithful such that, walking worthy of the vocation to which they have been called (cf. Eph. 4:1), they may exercise the priestly, prophetic, and royal office which God has entrusted to them. ...The ecumenical spirit should be nurtured in the neophytes [!], should take into account that the brethren who believe in Christ are Christ's disciples, reborn in baptism, sharers with the People of God in very many good things. (AG§15)

  
  
  
• Equally, in the formation of indigenous clergy, the pupils must [be]
  

  in coordination with the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity,... search out ways and means for bringing about and directing fraternal cooperation as well as harmonious living with missionary undertaking of other Christian communities [with no directive to convert them], that as far as possible the scandal of division may be removed (AG §29).
  
  [T]he common requirements of priestly training, including the pastoral and practical ones prescribed by the council. ... should be combined with an attempt to make contact with their own particular national way of thinking and acting (AG §16)

  
  
  

• Religious institutes, working to plant the Church, thoroughly imbued with mystic treasures with which the Church's religious tradition is adorned, should strive to give expression to them and to hand them on, according to the nature and the genius of each nation. Let them reflect attentively on how Christian religious life might be able to assimilate the ascetic and contemplative traditions, whose seeds were sometimes planted by God in ancient cultures already prior to the preaching of the Gospel. (AG §18)

  One would like to know what these "ascetic and contemplative traditions" "whose seeds were sometimes planted by God in ancient [pagan] cultures" are. This is the same error contained in Lumen Gentium §8, which speaks of "elements of salvation" outside the Church, not only those within the "separated brethren" but also in the pagan religions.
  
  
  

• But in order that the missionary activity of the bishops may be exercised more effectively for the good of the whole Church, it would be expedient for the episcopal conferences to take charge of those affairs which concern the orderly cooperation of their own region. In their own conference, the bishops should deliberate about..." (AG §38)

  Following this passage is a rather long list of matters reserved to the bishops' competence, carried out without any control on the part of the Holy See.
  

17. Bad Pastoral Teaching in the Directives on Lay Apostolates

• That in the "organization of lay apostolates" there ought to be instilled a "specific education, theoretical and practical" for "good use of the means of social communication" (Inter Mirifica §16).
  
  
  
• The lay faithful ought to contribute to "universal progress in human and Christian liberty" (Lumen Gentium §36). Here is another example of the lay myth of progress accepted by the Council, with its exaltation of "liberty."
  

  Let everyone consider it his sacred obligation to esteem and observe social necessities as belonging to the primary duties of modern man. For the more unified the world becomes, the more plainly do the offices of men extend beyond particular groups and spread by degrees to the whole world. But this development cannot occur unless individual men and their associations cultivate in themselves the moral and social virtues [Which? The definition is generic. -Ed.] and promote them in society; thus, with the needed help of divine grace men who are truly new and artisans of a new humanity can be forthcoming. (Gaudium et Spes §30)

  
  So, the Council invokes the help of Divine Grace in a paragraph dedicated to "surpassing or overtaking the individualistic ethic"-without being at all specific-and to the exaltation of a "social" vision of ethics, which echoes the false doctrines of Socialism and Communism!
  
  

  Christians are convinced that the triumphs of the human race are a sign of God's grace and the flowering of His own mysterious design. (GS§34)

  
  And what are these "triumphs of the human race"? -The Suez Canal? The advent of the 8-hour work day? Universal right to vote? The discovery of penicillin? A cure for AIDS? At that time of the writing of Gaudium et Spes, it was Communist propaganda that often spoke of "triumphs of the humanity on the move."
  
  

  Human activity, to be sure, takes its significance from its relationship to man. Just as it proceeds from man, so it is ordered toward man. For when a man works he not only alters things and society, he develops himself as well. He learns much, he cultivates his resources, he goes outside of himself and beyond himself. (GS§35)

  But shouldn't "human activity" be ordered to God, at least indirectly, from the moment when all that we do is always in relation to the glory of God, and to finally obtaining the Supreme Good?
  
  

  Christians should rather rejoice that, following the example of Christ who worked as an artisan, they are free to give proper exercise to all their earthly activities and to their humane, domestic, professional, social and technical enterprises by gathering them into one vital synthesis with religious values, under whose supreme direction all things are harmonized unto God's glory. (GS§43)

  
  

  In carrying out this unification, the laity will be
  acting as citizens in the world, whether individually or socially, [and] they will keep the laws proper to each discipline, and labor to equip themselves with a genuine expertise in their various fields. They will gladly work with men seeking the same goals. (Ibid)
  
  [And...]
  
  ...For whoever promotes the human community at the family level, culturally, in its economic, social and political dimensions, both nationally and internationally, such a one, according to God's design, is contributing greatly to the Church as well, to the extent that she depends on things outside herself. (GS§44)

  The reversal of the Church's mission thus reaches its zenith in the praise of the world, which converts the Church to its values.
  
  
  

• May the faithful, therefore, live in very close union with the other men of their time and may they strive to understand perfectly their way of thinking and judging, as expressed in their culture. Let them blend new sciences and theories and the understanding of the most recent discoveries with Christian morality and the teaching of Christian doctrine, so that their religious culture and morality may keep pace with scientific knowledge and with the constantly progressing technology. Thus they will be able to interpret and evaluate all things in a truly Christian spirit. (GS§62)

  Here is a form of pastoral style which proceeds in an exactly opposite sense to that of St. Paul who wrote: "Being of one mind one towards another. Not minding high things, but consenting to the humble. Be not wise in your own conceits" (Rom. 12: 16).
  
  The only response to this little "summary" of Conciliar pastoral teaching for the laity is to label it a "mystery of iniquity."
  
  
  []Today's youth have a much more important role and influence in society:
  

  Their heightened influence in society demands of them a proportionate apostolic activity, but their natural qualities also fit them for this activity.... Adults ought to engage in such friendly discussion with young people that both age groups, overcoming the age barrier, may become better acquainted and share the special benefits each generation can offer the other. (Apostolicam Actuositatem §12)

  The representation of youth's "natural qualities" has no apparent connection to reality, and neither does the type of "discussion" between adults and young people proposed here, sentimental and cloying as usual.
  
  
  

• Catholics should try to cooperate with all men and women of good will to promote whatever is true, whatever just, whatever holy, whatever lovable (cf. Phil. 4:8). They should hold discussions with them, excel them in prudence and courtesy, and initiate research on social and public practices which should be improved in line with the spirit of the Gospel. (AA§14)

  
  GS§78 states:
  

  "...all Christians are urgently summoned to do in love what the truth requires, and to join with all true peacemakers in pleading for peace and bringing it about."

  At the time, the expression "peacemakers" or "men of peace" were common buzz-phrases Communist propaganda.
  
  The collaboration of the Catholic faithful with "the separated brethren" is demanded by "the quasi-common heritage of the Gospel and the common duty of Christian witness..." [with heretics and schismatics -Ed.]. And this in turn

  "requires the cooperation of Catholics with other Christians on the part of individuals and communities within the Church, either in activities or in associations, in the national or international field...."

  
  Moreover:
  

  "Common human values not infrequently call for cooperation between Christians pursuing apostolic aims and those who do not profess Christ's name but acknowledge these values" (AA §27).
  
  Thus: "By this dynamic and prudent cooperation..., which is of special importance in temporal activities, the laity bear witness to Christ, the Savior of the world, as well as to the unity of the human family"(ibid).

  
  So, authentic Catholic Christian values are viewed as a function of human values, which are therefore superior to them: in fact, these are the human values which permit the unity of the "human family" so dear to the Council.
  

  To cultivate good human relations, truly human values must be fostered, especially the art of living fraternally and cooperating with others and of striking up friendly conversation with them. (AA §29)

18. Bad Pastoral Teaching on Education

• All men of every race, condition and age, since they enjoy the dignity of a human being, have an inalienable right to an education...that is in keeping with their ultimate goal, their ability, their sex, and the culture and tradition of their country, and also in harmony with their fraternal association with other peoples in the fostering of true unity and peace on earth. (Gravissimum Educationis §1)

  Aside from the fact that it presents nothing Catholic, the educational ideal proposed here appears both Utopian and contradictory. In fact, what should one do if the "culture" and the "tradition of their country" prove to be opposed to what is expressed in "fraternal association with other people"?
  
  
  
• Children and young people ought to
  

  "be given also, as they advance in years, a positive and prudent sexual education"(GE§1)

  No comment. Public sex education, introduced into the school system, was explicitly condemned as being immoral and corrupting by Pope Pius XI in the encyclical Divini Illius Magistri (1929; Denzinger 2214) and by Pius XII in his September 18, 1951 allocution to fathers of families. The popes required that sex education be left to parents' private assessment and prudence.
  

  The Church is bound as a mother to give to these children of hers an education by which their whole life can be imbued with the spirit of Christ and at the same time do all she can to promote for all peoples the complete perfection of the human person, the good of earthly society and the building of a world that is more human. (GE §3)

  
  The help offered by the Church to all people therefore does not in any consistent way include being imbued with "the spirit of Christ."
  

  Therefore the Church esteems highly those civil authorities and societies which, bearing in mind the pluralism of contemporary society and respecting religious freedom, assist families so that the education of their children can be imparted in all schools according to the individual moral and religious principles of the families. (GE§7)

  Isn't this just an elegant way of promoting religious and moral indifference?
  
  
  

• Theology faculties ought to make more penetrating inquiry into the various aspects of the sacred sciences so that an ever deepening understanding of sacred Revelation is obtained, the legacy of Christian wisdom handed down by our forefathers is more fully developed, the dialogue with our separated brethren and with non- Christians is fostered, and answers are given to questions arising from the development of doctrine. (GE §11)
  
  Since it is altogether necessary in scholastic matters, every means should be employed to foster suitable cooperation between Catholic schools, and between these and other schools that collaboration should be developed which the good of all mankind requires. (GE§12)

  The Council held in highest esteem and among its first principles what it ambiguously called "the good of all mankind."
  

Conclusion: Return to True Doctrine or Perish

I. It is bold to have accused a Council of the Catholic Church of so many grave doctrinal and pastoral errors. It might seem we are guilty of grave sin and suspect of heresy. However, as we have reported, heresy is "the obstinate negation, after having received Baptism, of truths which must be believed by divine and Catholic faith, or obstinately doubting them" (7983 Code of Canon Law, Canon 751).

But the Second Vatican Council did not condemn any error or define any "truth" of the "divine and Catholic" Faith. It didn't want to. It declared itself to be purely pastoral and reduced its extraordinary Magisterium to the level of what is canonically undefinable.

Finally, it called itself merely "authentic," and maybe not even that. The authentic Magisterium has a right to the believer's assent, but never with the consent given to dogmas of the Faith, the willful denial of which is a mortal sin. Inasmuch as what is "new" and good in Vatican II, it deserves the consent one owes to a "pastoral" Council. If not good, one can legitimately withhold consent. Consent granted to elements of a "pastoral" Council is founded on the rules of prudence to which the believer's healthy reason and his sensus Fidei, his "sense of the Faith," lead. Prudence, supported by sound reason, demands that we listen to the voice of the sensus fidei, which urges us to refuse our assent to the deliberations of an ambiguous Council marred by error.

The believer's prudence leads him to be constantly careful not to offend God and to save his soul. The fear of God is reflected in this caution and is one of the ways that grace acts in us. The refusal of ambiguous and erroneous doctrines promulgated by Vatican II is therefore not only licit and legitimate according to canonical form and all of Tradition, it is also imposed on us by the task of defending the deposit of Faith. Each of us is "soldier of Christ" and must fight for the Faith.


II. The rejection of the false teachings of Vatican II does not put us outside the Church. This refusal does not make us heretics-neither formally nor materially-nor does it make us schismatics, since we do not refuse our assent to the legitimate orders given by authority. Nor do we have any intention of leaving the Church in order to set up or follow another. In fact, we judge the Council in light of what the Church has always taught for 20 centuries, beginning with our Lord and the Apostles. There is no shadow of a doubt that the aggiornamento desired by Pope John XXIII introduced novelties incompatible with what has always been taught by the Church, and therefore, irreconcilable with the deposit of faith.

We have witnessed the overturning of the notions of the Catholic Church, the Mystical Body, the Holy Sacrifices of the Mass, the Priesthood, Catholic marriage, the Kingdom of God, Tradition, the Incarnation, the Redemption, the Annunciation, of true Religious Liberty, of man himself, of the just relationship between Church and State, of what objectively constitutes a heretic, schismatic, or non-Catholic.

From Pope John Paul II, we have heard praise for the modern thought condemned by his predecessors, modern thought to which the Holy Father would like to certify as a way of enunciating the eternal doctrine of the Church because the Church wants to submit itself to a "continual reform" marked more and more by the world's false values. This is intrinsically hostile to Catholicism and negates all truths. The Council should have condemned this modern thought; on the contrary, it became complicit with it. Vatican II’s documents are a dossier of the intellectual decadence of the Catholic hierarchy, which, until the end of the reign of Pope Pius XII, the Popes battled.

Those who in good faith accept these false doctrines certainly remain in the Church, but they live there like trapped animals, objectively constrained by infidelity, without realizing that they have no defense against the danger of losing or gravely corrupting their faith. To accept Vatican II with its tangle of contradictions, ambiguities, and errors, barely masked by some purely formal homage to tradition, is consequently impossible for anyone who realizes this and intends to remain in the Catholic Church. This is not the Church conceived by Vatican II, which defined itself as the Church "of Christ," the "ecumenical" or "conciliar" Church, and reduced to the minimum the use of the adjective "Catholic." We are not ashamed of being or defining ourselves as Catholics, and we are not ashamed to affirm the truth that the acceptance of Vatican II causes us to be distanced from Tradition and therefore from healthy doctrine with grave danger to our soul. Without healthy doctrine it is extremely difficult to observe the morality taught by our Lord and keep the Faith.


III. The fruit of Vatican II in the Church and Catholic nations is corrupt. If it were otherwise, why is the hierarchy still looking to discover the Council's "true meaning" 40 years later? - It is because they are convinced Vatican II was a "super-Council" and because of its "new orientation" behave as though true Catholic doctrine never existed before it. This is the refrain of those who only worry about correcting its "abuses," probably in order to dampen the reactions. The truth is that the current crisis in the Church has its origins in the Council, and not in the degenerations of the post-Conciliar era. The current hierarchy has but to re-establish authentic Catholic doctrine. One day it will have to invalidate or correct the Council in light of Tradition.

It is not for us to define how the Pope would have to intervene in relation to Vatican II. Even less is it our purview to provide a date for him doing so. But allow us to remind the hierarchy that in the visions communicated to the seers at Fatima, God showed us the chastisement His justice will inflict on us if the offenses of grave infidelity continue, perpetrated by those who ought "to guard the doctrine of the faith." If no one has the courage to change the course, God will renew the Church by "a witness of blood" (Heb. 12:14).

If no one has the courage to change course for fear of a violent reaction from the world, if no one has the courage to lead a return to the dogmas of the Faith because they fear they will foment the persecution announced at Fatima, let them ask the help of the Holy Ghost to give them the strength to vanquish their human fears:

Be not afraid of them who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you who you shall fear: fear ye him, who after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell..." (Lk. 12:4-5).


- Canonicus


[Emphasis mine- The Catacombs]



1. Quotations in Sections 15-18 are taken from the Vatican website.


This is the final installment of the serialized analysis entitled, "The Errors of Vatican II," begun in the SiSiNoNo feature of The Angelus (Jan. 2003) and continued every second month since then. Translated exclusively by Suzanne M. Rini and edited throughout by Miss Anne Stinnett and Fr. Kenneth Novak. All quotes from Vatican Council II and post-Conciliar documents are taken from Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents, Harry J. Costello and Rev. Austin Flannery, O.P. (Costello Publishing Co., Inc., 1975) or the Vatican web site. All Scripture references are from the Douay-Rheims Bible (TAN Books and Publishers).