+St. Anne+
I constantly field the accusation that what is presented on this site is only my opinion on what has happened to the Church. But facts, and especially the laws and teachings of the Church, are not opinions, and I try my best to base everything here on those laws and teachings. I have an OBLIGATION to do this work to the best of my ability; it is not an option. I am creating a record that will be archived and will stand as the presentation of truths taught by the Church Herself, right up to the end, so that the Deposit of Faith will be defended on this earth for as long as I live. That is what I believe my mission to be and what God requires from me. It is not the business of others to tell me how to conduct my spiritual life or fulfill what I perceive to be my mission and vocation.
On exposes and treatises
As one dear friend summed it up, I am only a presenter and facilitator of the teachings of the Church as they existed before the death of Pope Pius XII. I make available the teachings of the Roman Pontiffs, the Holy Office and Sacred Congregations, the ecumenical councils, the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, also the teachings of approved theologians and Canon Law, which itself is negatively infallible. These are not opinions. They constitute, in varying degrees, truths of faith Catholics must believe to be saved. Once these truths have been presented, I then proceed to facilitate, meaning I try to make it possible or easier for those reading what I present to relate what they are reading to what exists today. I bridge this gap using the Church’s own methods and laws to try to explain how the Church views the situation we find ourselves in today, and what we must do to remain members of Christ’s Mystical Body and preserve the faith.
Since I began writing for the Church in 1979, various Traditionalists have tried to steer me into the field of devotional articles only, or into a more neutral field where all is presented as potentially true, and readers would be allowed to sort things out for themselves, (modern-day journalism). Some would like people to stop reading what I write altogether, because it is “too hard to understand” or “too lengthy to devote any time to.” Guess it depends on what your priorities are. How much time do you spend on the Internet browsing Trad and other websites, or watching videos on various topics? But you don’t have time to read something about the faith that would at most take up an hour of your time?
All I have tried to do is provide what answers I know here, taken from the pre-1959 works I possess. No one has to read what I write; I don’t collect followers and since what I try to present are usually truths of faith they are not up for debate. I don’t know everything, I am not the last word or even a degreed professional, but it does not take a degreed professional to accurately quote the teachings of others. I can tell you I have devoted my life to studying the truths of faith, but I leave it to God to determine the value of that study.
Am I here to convert people? As St. Bernadette of Soubirous said: “My job is to inform, not to convince.” Nearly all of what I have written has been to defend the faith against the errors of Traditionalists and other enemies of the faith, because that is what the Church orders me to do. I can try to do my best, but God alone can provide the graces necessary for true conversion. Owing to the strength of the delusions predominating in these times and the knowledge that the remnant will be a scant few and Christ will scarcely find faith on earth when He returns, few will probably save their souls in these days; the Bible clearly teaches that people will not repent. Rev. Leo Haydock tells us that those remaining faithful in the end times will be so diminished that they will be able to fill only one church or temple (Apoc. 11: 1 commentary). I can only hope that I will be one of those few in that church and that others will join me there.
Pride and correction
Several have accused me of pride, of not knowing my place, of overstepping my bounds. Anyone can fall into this sin, and I am no exception. But those writing on the spiritual life explain that it is false humility to hide one’s light under a bushel, and not pleasing to God. We are commanded by God to shine our light and to use our talents, whatever those talents may be. To give undue consideration to what others think of us for doing this is to fall victim to human respect. We must obey God and serve Him, not bow before the criticism and disapproval of men. As far as accepting correction from others goes, regarding the immediate jurisdiction business and the pride issue, the following is recommended by theologians:
“One should not attempt to correct a fault, unless one is morally sure that a fault has been committed… Slight sins or transgressions of rules should… be corrected, when they are the occasion of grave scandal or disorder in a community. Slight sins or transgressions should not be corrected in ordinary cases, for these faults are so numerous that, if one had to correct them, an intolerable burden would be laid on everyone, Persons who scold and lecture over every trifling misdeed are regarded as pests and do more harm than good… One should enlist the services of one or two others to assist in making the brotherly correction… [This] should arouse the culprit to the need of correcting himself, before his case is brought before the superior [in this case the public] for correction. Since fraternal correction is given for the purpose of converting a sinner from the evil of his ways, it is not called for when one’s neighbor is not a sinner, strictly speaking, or has already reformed.” (McHugh and Callan’s Moral Theology; it obviously takes more than the catechism to figure this one out.)
- Stating a known and provable fact is not a fault, far less a sin. Stating it without sufficient explanation would be a fault if not corrected.
- If a fault is slight, and the only ones objecting to it are those in the Traditionalist camp or harboring Traditionalist sympathies, these do not count as objectors but only as instigators. It is scandal taken, not given.
- No one else objected to the supposed sin; only one person claimed it existed.
- An attempt was made on this site to clarify the statement in question but was rejected by some as insufficient.
Catholic self defense
Some believe the basic catechism is an adequate defense against what we are battling today. But to maintain it is all that is needed to save our souls and that someone else supporting and promoting higher studies is expecting too much and is overstepping their bounds is unreasonable. Yet this is something I have heard from the more hateful type of Traditionalists for years. I am criticized for citing Canon Law and theology but all I do is take it from those well-trained in it prior to 1958 and apply it to what we are experiencing today. Why is that objectionable? If we draw out all the consequences of such a stance, we surrender any rights to defend ourselves. Are we really supposed to let the enemy teach error and not fight back? Is that what saving our souls is really all about?? Rev. Sarda wrote in his book on Liberalism that we are allowed to ridicule the enemies of Christ, discredit their person, drag their names into the mire, poke fun at them and even wound or kill them, if they threaten our own person. And it is all considered to be charity, because it is done in defense of the faith.
Even a civilian who is not properly “trained” in combat techniques can defend himself from an enemy when attacked or jump into action when other citizens are being maimed or gunned down. Armed citizens often patrol their own neighborhoods, especially in these times, but I guess because they aren’t trained, they should go home and let the thugs attack their families and their neighbors. It is the liberals who advise you to curl up in a ball and not defend yourself, as they once did my nephew who was being bullied at a public school. And certainly one may defend oneself in court versus hiring an attorney, and special concessions must be given to such defendants by the judge, even to the extent, sometimes, of detriment to the plaintiff. As a reporter I sat in on several of these court cases. But we should not use common sense when it comes to defending the faith?
Traditionalist pseudo-clerics today only think they are trained in theology and Canon Law; no one authorized by the continual magisterium has ever taught them, no one with any kind of jurisdiction necessary for their validity even approved them as candidates for the priesthood. They are the perfect example of false authority, and no one owes them any respect or obedience whatsoever. They are/were taught by men who deny the necessity of the papacy and either ignore Canon Law, or twist it to suit their own purposes; God only knows what they do with theology. Canon Law is quoted whole and entire here, as are the theologians and the Roman Pontiffs. The necessity of the papacy, papal jurisdiction and the full weight of papal decisions all are upheld here. Given the heresies taught by Traditionalists, if a true pope ever reigned again he would most likely either reduce these men to the laity or totally disregard their putative orders. This was the practice of the Holy See prior to the death of Pope Pius XII in similar cases; these decisions are presented in articles on this site.
So no one is supposed to point out the fact that these men are pretending to possess authority in the Church they do not possess? No one is justified in providing detailed information based on Church teaching, proving they are imposters and not the true pastors Christ sent to guide the flock, but hirelings who will starve and mislead the sheep? They are to be allowed to spread error unchecked and crucify Christ anew? To desecrate the Sacraments, tear apart families, scandalize the little ones, drive those caught in their snares to despair, all while living high on the hog and passing themselves off as celebrities? Most of the people who come to this site are tired of their lies and being treated like dirt; they are in great spiritual pain and only want the truth. They may not know exactly how to explain what has happened to their Church, but they want answers, and they want peace. This is something that can never be found in Traditionalist sects because they deliberately suppress the truth and silence those who dare to question them.
Praying at home helps them find that peace; knowing the truth sets them free. Telling them that the catechism will provide the answers to the many questions they feel they must resolve is an insult to their intelligence, as one reader recently noted. Moreover, it is the equivalent to dismissing all that they have learned from hard experience about the lack of true Catholicity in these sects and the sufferings they have endured. Many of those exiting from cults experience the same angst — fear, sense of loss, depression, alienation, scrupulosity, confusion, anger, guilt and much more. It takes a long time to heal from these wounds, and re-education is key to helping make sense of it all. That is why there is information on this site about cults. I have had my own experiences with them; I was in the thick of the Traditionalist movement and its many grotesque manifestations in the 1980s, early 1990s. I know how that pain feels and the damage done by these sects. That is why I am trying to alleviate it.
Final thoughts
If people would like to study upper grades catechisms, by all means do so; they are fairly self-explanatory. But this cannot replace the obligation to advise oneself of papal teaching and obey papal directives. I think we know why this site is so objectionable to others — somewhere out there a nerve has been struck and they are trying their best to do damage control by discrediting what is written here. Maybe more people are beginning to ask questions and are not satisfied with the answers. One can only hope. But whatever it is, the attacks on this site that began many years ago have not stopped and will not stop. These latest attacks are not the first and certainly won’t be the last. We weather them as best we can, knowing that God often withdraws those from us that are not of good will, then allows them to attack us so that we may suffer for His honor and glory. As He wills, for as long as He wills.
A heartfelt thanks to all of you who have supported me through this and allowed me to explain myself. May God reward you with many blessings.
Addendum
Some of the statements made in the initial post above have been expanded upon and rephrased. I am posting nothing more on this topic as the answers to most of the accusations made by my opponents can be found on my website. I will be happy to direct readers to specific articles if they have any questions.
To assure readers that papal teaching and documents are indeed intended for the faithful, I offer the excerpt below from Msgr. Joseph C. Fenton (Infallibility in the Encyclicals, AER, March 1953). Msgr. Fenton and his colleague Rev. Francis J. Connell received commendations from Pope Pius XII for defending the papacy in the American Ecclesiastical Review. Msgr. Fenton received the papal medal, Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice in 1954, was appointed a papal chamberlain, and also belonged to the Pontifical Roman Theological Academy. Msgr. Fenton and Rev. Connell openly opposed Vatican 2 until their respective deaths in 1969 and 1967. I am privileged to quote them often in my writings.
In his last will and testament, Pope Pius XII left all the writings generated during his pontificate, without exception, “…to all who wish to become acquainted with them” (His Humble Servant, Sr. Pasqualina Lehnert). Sadly, there are few who value this inestimable legacy.
