"Watch ye therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of Man," (Luke 21: 36).

Because we are instructed always to pray and watch, it behooves us to heed the words of Pope St. Pius X below and to sound the alarm, "lest we seem to be silent watchdogs unable to bark," (Paul IV, Cum ex Apostolatus Officio).

That We should act without delay in this matter is made imperative especially by the fact that the partisans of error are to be sought not only among the Church's open enemies; but, what is to be most dreaded and deplored, in her very bosom, and are the more mischievous the less they keep in the open. We allude, Venerable Brethren, to many who belong to the Catholic laity, and, what is much more sad, to the ranks of the priesthood itself, who, animated by a false zeal for the Church, lacking the solid safeguards of philosophy and theology, nay more, thoroughly imbued with the poisonous doctrines taught by the enemies of the Church, and lost to all sense of modesty, put themselves forward as reformers of the Church; and, forming more boldly into line of attack, assail all that is most sacred in the work of Christ... (Pascendi Dominici Gregis, paragraph 2)

Not too long ago in the Church's history, a group of writers, some of them priests and theologians, began circulating articles that presented Catholic truths in a manner not consistent with the constant teaching of the Church. Because they contained very clever deviations, these essays, at first glance, seemed Catholic to the uneducated eye. But following closer scrutiny by Vatican officials, the authors, called Modernists, were ordered to retract their statements and were forbidden to write further.

This, however, did not stop them. They continued to insist they were Catholics who simply wished to bring the Church fully into the 20th century, then newly born. They objected that they had been misunderstood and unfairly treated. Even after the formal condemnation of Modernism by Pope St. Pius X in 1907-8, they continued to represent themselves as falsely accused Catholics, singled out for punishment by a rigid and legalistic Church. In this they followed the example of the English Protestants, as demonstrated in the catholic Encyclopedia. "John Foxe the martyrologist…churchmen like Newel and Fulke insisted on the right of the Reformers to call themselves Catholics and professed to regard their own as the only true Catholic Church…The term 'Roman Catholic undoubtedly originated with the Protestant divines who shared this feeling and were unwilling to concede the name Catholic to their opponents without qualification," (see Roman).

The Modernists' passion to initiate change and bring about doctrinal relaxation continued underground for decades following the publication of St. Pius X's encyclicals on the matter. Eventually Modernism resurfaced following World War II, especially in Europe, characterized by a renewed push for greater lay involvement and liturgical reform. By proposing daring innovations under the cloak of Catholic Action, they succeeded in laying the groundwork for Vatican II and the institution of the Novus Ordo liturgy. In so doing they completely ignored the many encyclicals outlining the papal mandate for true Catholic Action and the implementation of the Lay Apostolate.

Catholics styling themselves "Traditionalists" loyal to the Tridentine Mass did not escape infection by this insidious and pervasive heresy. Principles of Catholic Action were abandoned and its purpose — to fully and systematically involve the laity in the salvific work of the hierarchy essential to the Church's very survival — were replaced by a slavish dedication to ritual and social elements of the Catholic religion. This failure to implement the program outlined by those popes bearing the name Pius was the real cause of the crisis in the Church, not Vatican II or the abrogation of the Tridentine. The entire thrust of Catholic Action and The Apostolate of the Laity was the continuation of solid Catholic teaching and practice in the face of the enemy's relentless advance. Without the compass provided by these popes, the barque of St. Peter, listing and headless, drifted aimlessly into the eye of the neo-Modernist storm.

Even those insisting on strict adherence to dogma failed to comprehend the true state of affairs. Using the guidelines laid down in papal encyclicals and set out in the works of faithful theologians, priests wishing to resolve the crisis in the Church could have inspired and led the laity to the resolution of this unprecedented era. That they failed in this task is no excuse for Catholics to fail in informing themselves of their obligation to distinguish truth from error and follow Church teaching.

With the advent of the Internet this truly has become a daunting task. To engage in Catholic Action by assisting our readers in sorting falsehood from truth, we will review the content of various "Traditional" web sites whose errors seem to be particularly offensive and expose them on this page. Those wishing to suggest a web site review are invited to contact us by clicking here:

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