by T. Stanfill Benns | Oct 23, 2014
© Copyright 2014, T. Stanfill Benns (All emphasis within quotes is the author’s unless indicated otherwise.)
Introduction
Many self-styled sedevacantists, who believe today that we have no pope in Rome, have failed to carry their reasoning through to the end and conclude that those in Rome now posing as popes must indeed be the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel and our Lord in Matt. 24:15. That such a conclusion is necessary in order for all Catholic dogma to be held whole and entire should be obvious, for we know that without a true pope the juridical Church cannot exist, (see /free-content/reference-links/7-recent-articles/binding-power-of-papacy-voids-traditionalist-acts/ ) and the Church, Christ’s Mystical Body, will exist until the final consummation of the world. The only break in this link allowed is the reign of Antichrist, which cannot be gainsaid by the Church’s teaching on infallibility and indefectibility; for all Church teaching must flow as one continuous and unchangeable body of truth, beginning with Christ and ending with the last true pope.
Henry Cardinal Manning and several others set this fulfillment of prophecy outside the promises made to the Church concerning her indefectibility, with her existence on earth to be resumed after Antichrist’s reign accompanied by a glorious revival of faith, in order that the Church may continue victorious and uninterrupted in Her mission until the very end, as Christ promised. Most Traditionalists seem unaware of Manning’s teachings or those of other theologians and are quite happy to hold that Antichrist’s reign is yet in the remote future.
But this is not what the Catholic Church they falsely profess to embrace teaches. It is true that we must avoid any appearance whatsoever of holding that a true pope, legitimately elected and free of heresy prior to his election, could ever, as such a pope, BECOME a heretic, hence an antichrist, for this is the very truth the Vatican Council set out to define. No true pope can ever err in defining dogma in his official capacity, be this in his ordinary or extraordinary magisterium, but he certainly could do so if he was not pope at all, having committed heresy pre-election unbeknownst to his electors and the faithful. This is clearly spelled out in Cum ex Apostolatus Officio, for those who care to read it carefully, with the eyes of faith. (Please see Come ex… and the articles posted on Cum ex… on the Study the Faith page.) After reading these articles come back to what is presented below, which then will make far more sense.)
It must be kept in mind that Pope Paul IV was not a popular pope, having convened the Inquisition. Following his death he was hung in effigy in Rome and the very thing he warned against very nearly happened after all, as the articles mentioned above will explain. It has been entirely forgotten, if it was ever realized at all, that when Paul IV penned his bull, the Protestant Reformation was at its height and the claims that the pope was Antichrist were very much in vogue. If those going to such great lengths to demonize the bull would appreciate that fact, and properly relate it to what this pope says in its context, there would be no doubt in the minds of anyone that a true pope could never utter heresy.
The entire bull is prefaced with the reasons for its issuance, and that preface speaks directly to the Protestant heretics, “…those who, in Our time more consciously and balefully than usual, driven by malice and trusting in their own wisdom, rebel against the rule of right Faith and strive to rend the Lord’s seamless robe by corrupting the sense of the Holy Scriptures with cunning inventions. We must not allow those to continue as teachers of error who disdain to be taught.” That is the whole purpose of his bull then; to refute the idea that a true pope could ever become an antichrist and utter heresy as the Protestants claim, and also to prevent a certain cardinal Paul IV considered to be a heretic from being invalidly elected following his death.
In issuing his bull, Paul IV was drawing on the teaching of St. Bernard and others, also the Council of Florence — a tradition pre-existing in the Church — which considered all antipopes the equivalent of Antichrist. He simply defined this teaching in the face of the Protestant heresies in order to refute their errors. He defended the Catholic Tradition of St. Bernard and the others, which the Protestants were then using against the Church, as what is presented below proves. But in so doing, he does not seem to have set a time limit as to how long such an heretical usurper could reign, allowing those who recognize his heresy to depart “at any time.” We now begin a lengthy quote, taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia under the topic of Antichrist, to which we will add additional comments, in hopes of clarifying this time constraint.
“C. In the Pauline Epistles
“St. John supposes that his readers already know the doctrine concerning the coming of Antichrist; many commentators believe that it had become known in the Church through the writings of St. Paul. St. John urged against the heretics of his time that those who denied the mystery of the Incarnation were faint images of the future great Antichrist. The latter is described more fully in II Thessalonians 2:3, sqq., 7-10. In the Church of Thessalonica disturbances had occurred on account of the belief that the second coming of Jesus Christ was imminent. This impression was owing partly to a misunderstanding of I Thessalonians 4:15, sqq., partly to the machinations of deceivers.
“It was with a view of remedying these disorders that St. Paul wrote his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, inserting especially 2:3-10. “The Pauline doctrine is this: ‘the day of the Lord’ will be preceded by ‘a revolt,’ and the revelation of the ‘man of sin.’ The latter will sit in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God; he will work signs and lying wonders by the power of Satan; he will seduce those who received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved; but the Lord Jesus shall kill him with the spirit of His mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of His coming. As to the time, ‘the mystery of iniquity already worketh; only that he who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way.’
“Briefly, the ‘day of the Lord’ will be preceded by the “man of sin” known in the Johannine Epistles as Antichrist; the “man of sin” is preceded by ‘a revolt,’ or a great apostasy; this apostasy is the outcome of the “mystery of iniquity” which already ‘worketh,’ and which, according to St. John, shows itself here and there by faint types of Antichrist. The Apostle gives three stages in the evolution of evil: the leaven of iniquity, the great apostasy, and the man of sin. But he adds a clause calculated to determine the time of the main event more accurately; he describes something first as a thing (to datechon) [the papacy], then as a person (ho katechon), [the pope himself], preventing the occurrence of the main event: “Only he who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way.”
“We can here only enumerate the principal opinions as to the meaning of this clause without discussing their value: “(He who witholdeth): “The impediment is the Roman Empire; the main event impeded is the ‘man of sin’ (most Latin Fathers and later interpreters). The Apostle uttered a prophecy received through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. (Catholic interpreters have generally adhered to this opinion.”) “It may not be out of place to draw the reader’s attention to two dissertations by the late Cardinal Newman on the subject of Antichrist. The one is entitled ‘The Patristic Idea of Antichrist’; it considers successively his time, religion, city, and persecution. It formed the eighty-third number of the ‘Tracts for the Times.’ The other dissertation bears the title ‘The Protestant Idea of Antichrist.’ “In order to understand the significance of the Cardinal’s essays on the question of the Antichrist, it must be kept in mind that a variety of opinions sprang up in course of time concerning the nature of this opponent of Christianity. “
“• Koppe, Nitzsch, Storr, and Pelt contended that the Antichrist is an evil principle, not embodied either in a person or a polity; this opinion is in opposition to both St. Paul and St. John. Both Apostles describe the adversary as being distinctly concrete in form. “
“• A second view admits that the Antichrist is a person, but it maintains that he is a person of the past; Nero, Diocletian, Julian, Caligula, Titus, Simon Magus, Simon the son of Giora, the High Priest Ananias, Vitellius, the Jews, the Pharisees, and the Jewish zealots have been variously identified with the Antichrist. But there is little traditional authority for this opinion; besides, it does not appear to satisfy fully the prophetic predictions, and, in the case of some of its adherents, it is based on the supposition that the inspired writers could not transcend the limits of their experiences. “
“• A third opinion admitted that the Antichrist must indeed appear in a concrete form, but it identified this concrete form with the system of the Papacy… “
“• After this general survey of the Protestant views concerning the Antichrist, we shall be able to appreciate some of Cardinal Newman’s critical remarks on the question. If any part of the Church be proved to be antichristian, all of the Church is so, the Protestant branch inclusive. “
“• The Papal-Antichrist theory was gradually developed by three historical bodies: the Albigenses, the Waldenses, and the Fraticelli, between the eleventh and the sixteenth centuries: are these the expositors from whom the Church of Christ is to receive the true interpretation of the prophecies? “
“• The defenders of the Papal-Antichrist theory have made several signal blunders in their arguments; they cite St. Bernard as identifying the Beast of the Apocalypse with the Pope, though St. Bernard speaks in the passage of the Antipope; they appeal to the Abbot Joachim as believing that Antichrist will be elevated to the Apostolic See, while the Abbot really believes that Antichrist will overthrow the Pope and usurp his See; finally, they appeal to Pope Gregory the Great as asserting that whoever claims to be Universal Bishop is Antichrist, whereas the great Doctor really speaks of the Forerunner of Antichrist who was, in the language of his day, nothing but a token of an impending great evil.” “
“• Protestants were driven to the Papal-Antichrist theory by the necessity of opposing a popular answer to the popular and cogent arguments advanced by the Church of Rome for her Divine authority. “• Warburton, Newton, and Hurd, the advocates of the Papal-Antichrist theory, cannot be matched against the saints of the Church of Rome. “• If the Pope be Antichrist, those who receive and follow him cannot be men like St. Charles Borromeo, or Fénelon, or St. Bernard, or St. Francis de Sales. “
“• If the Church must suffer like Christ, and if Christ was called Beelzebub, the true Church must expect a similar reproach; thus, the Papal-Antichrist theory becomes an argument in favor of the Roman Church. “• The gibe, ‘If the Pope is not Antichrist, he has bad luck to be so like him”, is really another argument in favour of the claims of the Pope; since Antichrist simulates Christ, and the Pope is an image of Christ, Antichrist must have some similarity to the Pope, if the latter be the true Vicar of Christ,” (end of long Catholic Encyclopedia quote).
Comment: As demonstrated on this site, Giovanni Baptiste Montini, Paul 6, most likely was Antichrist and Angelo Roncalli, John 23, who almost immediately after his election created Montini cardinal, then ruled as pope with his “guidance” and assistance, acted as False Prophet. It was Montini who, especially during his U.N. speeches in the 1960s, styled himself as God by embracing secular humanism, the belief man himself can become God. That this is a definite mark of the Antichrist was prophesied by the Church Father, St. Irenaeus:
“And not only by the particulars already mentioned, but also by means of the events which shall occur in the time of Antichrist is it shown that he, being an apostate and a robber, is anxious to be adored as God; and that, although a mere slave, he wishes himself to be proclaimed as a king. For he (Antichrist) being endued with all the power of the devil, shall come, not as a righteous king, nor as a legitimate king, [i.e., one] in subjection to God, but an impious, unjust, and lawless one; as an apostate, iniquitous and murderous; as a robber, concentrating in himself [all] satanic apostasy, and setting aside idols to persuade [men] that he himself is God, raising up himself as the only idol, having in himself the multifarious errors of the other idols” (Adversus Haereses, Book V, Chapter 5, Verses 1).
Just as John the Baptist paved the way for the coming of our Lord, Roncalli paved the way for the coming of Antichrist. Rev. H. B. Kramer wrote: “This false prophet, possibly at the behest of Antichrist, usurps the papal supremacy…His assumed spiritual authority and supremacy over the Church would make him resemble the Bishop of Rome…He would be Pontifex Maximus, a title of pagan emperors, having spiritual and temporal authority. Assuming authority without having it makes him the False Prophet… Though he poses as a lamb, his doctrines betray him,” (The Book of Destiny, Nihil Obstat: J.S. Considine, O.P., Censor Deputatus. Imprimatur: +Joseph M. Mueller, Bishop of Sioux City, Iowa, Jan. 26, 1956.) It must be remembered that when the Roman emperors reigned under this title, Pontifex Maximus, they expected their subjects to revere them as gods. The Lateran treaty signed in the early part of the 20th Century created Vatican City as its own country or empire, making this a reality. This is the slain head returning to life; Rome returning to its pagan origins, as many biblical commentators have interpreted this verse.
Manning on “he who withholdeth”
Returning to the last part of the first paragraph of the Catholic Encyclopedia quote on Antichrist, we would like to explore the identification of “he who withholdeth.” Here is Henry Cardinal Manning’s evaluation of exactly who St. Paul meant by “he who withholdeth,” (from the work, Temporal Power of the Vicar of Christ):
“• “St. Paul…uses two expressions, “which holdeth”…and “who holdeth.”
“• “He speaks of it first as a thing, then as a person…that which hinders or he who hinders.” • [Antichrist is] “the lawless one…not subject to the will of God or of man but whose only law is his own will…In …Daniel there is a prophecy almost identical in terms [where he foretells the rise] of a king “who shall do according to his own will.” This, he says, indicates St. Paul was literally paraphrasing Daniel. This also may hint at the fact that Antichrist would be invalidly elected outside the existing laws of the Church.
“• “This…lawless person shall introduce disorder, sedition, tumult and revolution both in the temporal and spiritual order of the world.” • “Tertullian [and Lactantius] believed it [this withholding power] was pagan Rome…which gave order and peace to the nations of the world…Theodoret… [believed] it is the grace of the Holy Ghost…Other writers say it was the Apostolic power or the presence of the Apostles…Now these three interpretations, all of them, are partially true…all are in perfect harmony one with another; and we shall find that, taken together, they present a full and adequate explanation.” 1. At the time the Fathers wrote, the power of ancient Rome WAS “the great barrier against the outbreak of the spirit of lawless disorder,” much as the U. S. is (or was) today. 2. St. Thomas Aquinas [and Scotus] say the Roman Empire “has not ceased…but is changed from the temporal into the spiritual.” 3. Eventually the two powers, temporal and spiritual, “were blended and fused together; they became one great authority, the emperor ruling from his throne within the sphere of his earthly jurisdiction and the Supreme Pontiff ruling likewise from a throne of higher sovereignty over the nations of the world…”
“• This restraining power then, “is Christendom and its head; the Vicar of Jesus Christ.” In that twofold authority, temporal and spiritual, the Supreme Pontiff “is the direct antagonist to the principle of disorder.”
“• Cardinal Manning then explains that there is an analogy to this in the Passion and Death of Our Lord. For no one could lay a hand on him until the appointed time, but then when that time came, no one could impede the will of God to forestall it. “It was the will of God; it was the concession of the Father that Pilate had power over His Incarnate Son… In like manner with His Church. Until the hour has come when the barrier, by the Divine will, be taken out of the way, no one has power to lay a hand upon it. The gates of hell may war against it…but no one has the power to move Him one step until the hour will come when the Son of God shall permit, for a time, the powers of evil to prevail. That he will permit it for a time stands in the book of prophecy.”
• “Then will come the persecution of three years and a half, short, but terrible, during which the Church of God shall return to its state of suffering, as in the beginning; and the imperishable Church of God, by its inextinguishable life derived from the pierced side of Jesus, which for 300 years lived on through blood, will live on still through the times of Antichrist.” (End of Card. Manning quote.)
The three and-a-half-year period envisioned by Manning could be a period of physical persecution following Rome’s destruction, something he also teaches is predicted in the Apocalypse. But it also could correspond to another period.
A smooth-tongued Antichrist
From the last few months which saw the end of the false Vatican 2 council until the announcement concerning the institution of the Novus Ordo Missae (NOM), exactly three and one half years elapsed; this was the height and the critical mass of Antichrist Paul 6’s neo-Modernist persecution. It was no less horrific for Catholics because it lacked in physical violence, since the mental suffering it inflicted more than made up for this. During that time, nearly all the spiritual destruction predicted of the Antichrist was accomplished.
Following the end of the false council, changes in and related to the celebration of the liturgy continued to be written and approved. The number of masses were reduced, also the number of communions. The definition of the Mystical Body was expanded to include officially those outside the Church. The rites of all the Sacraments were changed, reducing Baptism into incorporation with the “people of God” community and destroying the intent to create priests and bishops in the Sacrament of Orders. Abuses of every kind arose once the council ended and the NOM was introduced. And it exploded exponentially into the 1970s, with all sorts of bestial practices abounding, including the introduction of popular music, dancing girls, Coke and hot dog buns substituted for the communion wafer and wine, predator priests and bishops, even a “Phallic” mass held in Italy, witnessed by “Cardinal” Suenens.
The faithful suffered mentally in ways that it is probably not possible to properly calculate, and that suffering continues today. Consider the description of Antichrist offered by the bishop St. Hilary of Poitiers below as one not persecuting physically, but mentally:
“Nowadays, we have to do with a disguised persecutor, a smooth-tongued enemy, a Constantius who has put on Antichrist; who scourges us not with lashes, but caresses, who instead of robbing us, which would give us spiritual life, bribes us with riches, that he may lead us to eternal death; who thrusts us not into the liberty of a prison, but into the honors of his palace, that he might enslave us: who tears not our flesh but our hearts; who beheads not with the sword but kills the soul with his gold (and) covertly enkindles the fire of hell against us. He flatters us, so that he may lord it over our souls. He confesses Christ, the better to deny Him; he tries to procure a unity which shall destroy peace; he puts down some few heretics so that he may also crush Christians; he honors bishops so that they may cease to be bishops; he builds up Churches, that he may pull down the faith…
“Thou art a precursor of Antichrist and a doer of his mystery of iniquity; thou that art a rebel to the faith art making formulas of faith; thou art intruding thy own creatures into the sees of the bishops; thou art putting out the good and putting in the bad…By a strange ingenious plan, which no one had ever yet discovered, thou hast found a way to persecute without making Martyrs…,” (Dom Gueranger’s Liturgical Year.) And John Cardinal Newman, in his “Discourse on Antichrist,” wrote: “Do you think [Satan] is so unskillful in his craft as to ask you openly and plainly to join him in the warfare against the truth? No! He offers bait to tempt you. He promises you civil liberty…trade and wealth…equality…remission of taxes reform… illumination. He scoffs at times gone by; he scoffs at every institution that reveres them. As a result of the powerful influence and persuasion of the prophet of Antichrist, universal confusions, divisions and schism will prevail. Some religions will change into heathenism, and the remnant, the faithful few who will retain their belief in the one true God, will suffer great violence…” (End of St. Hilary quote)
The time following Antichrist’s reign
What about those times following that three-and-a-half-year period which seems to constitute the height of Antichrist’s reign? While there is a definite distinction made between the reign of Antichrist proper and the system associated with him, there is no indication of when that system ceases operation. St. Thomas of Aquinas said in his supplement to the Summa, “Before those signs, [prior to the Judgment Day] begin to appear, the wicked will think themselves to be in peace and security after the death of Antichrist and before the coming of Christ, seeing that the world is not at once destroyed as they thought hitherto.”
Manning himself, agreeing with the common opinion of theologians, saints and holy people, says that there will be a revival of the Church before the end proper, following Antichrist’s reign. This would follow the course of the Israelitic church, for after Antiochus, their Antichrist, reigned, a grand new Temple was rebuilt, finished 14-16 years before Christ’s birth. The Temple only stood for a period of 84-86 years, until its destruction in 70 A. D. following the death of Christ, so if the Church is restored, this does not mean that She will last indefinitely. She may last only long enough for God to demonstrate He has fulfilled His promises to Her, only to be swallowed up in the final consummation. St. Jerome in particular teaches that everything in the Old Testament foreshadows in some way what appears in the New Testament.
Another important point concerning the three years and a half should also be addressed. Following the unanimous opinion of the Fathers of the Church, all but a few commentators insist on interpreting this time literally rather than allegorically as three and a half years proper. But one thing here is not noted; it was not until many centuries later that Pope Paul IV would define the abomination of desolation as a man pretending to be pope, but who actually was never legitimately elected and therefore reigned only as an antipope. Pope Pius XII, in his encyclical “Divini Afflante Spiritu,” (1943) teaches: “…In the immense matter contained in the Sacred Books — legislative, historical, sapiential and prophetical — there are but few texts whose sense has been defined by the authority of the Church, nor are those more numerous about which the teaching of the Holy Fathers is unanimous.”
If there are so few Scripture texts thus defined by the popes, it seems necessary to pay careful attention to those texts so defined and to accept without question their definition. We know that the Church cannot teach two things at once and that the pope is superior even to the unanimous opinion of the Fathers. So how can this teaching be reconciled? Now as we know, Pope Paul IV in his bull Cum ex Apostolatus Officio defined this text of Scripture on the abomination; also St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who some style as the last Doctor of the Church, believed that such an antipope was the abomination of desolation, i.e., Antichrist, (see the Catholic Encyclopedia under Antichrist). St. Bernard, in a letter to Hildebert, archbishop of Tours, France, wrote: “They that are of God readily adhere to [Innocent II, the Christ], whilst opposed to him stand Antichrist and his followers…We have seen the ‘abomination of desolation (Matt. 24:15) standing in the holy place,’” (Life and Teaching of St. Bernard, Ailbe J. Luddy, O. Cist., 1927). And from the Council of Florence condemning the last antipope, Felix V, reigning before those of our own time we read: “Therefore… we exhort, beg and beseech the antichrist Amadeus and the aforesaid electors, or rather profaners…May he and all the aforesaid be cast out like an antichrist and an invader and a destroyer of the whole of Christianity.”
So clearly the Church, even before Pope Paul IV’s definition concerning the abomination, believed antipopes to be the image of Antichrist himself. In defining such an antipope as the abomination, Pope Paul IV even went so far as to state in paragraph six of his work that no matter how long such a man reigned undetected, he could not be made valid “by the passage of any time in said circumstances, [nor shall the election be held as quasi-legitimate.]” Again, in paragraph seven, this pope declares that those who followed such a man as pope could, without fear of penalty, “depart with impunity at any time from obedience and allegiance to said promoted and elevated persons and to shun them as sorcerers, heathens, publicans, and heresiarchs.”
This, then, provides an alternate explanation for the three-and-half-year period. This explanation does no violence whatsoever to the literal interpretation, but rather restricts it to a time period not necessarily violent, but one that is not followed by immediate relief from the persecution, either. Below we offer another interpretation which would allow the reader to abandon the literal interpretation altogether.
The three and a half years is not a matter of faith
The answer lies in yet another papal document, Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical, Providentissimus Deus. In this work he writes: “…[The teaching of the] Holy Fathers is taken up by the Council of the Vatican, which, in renewing the decree of Trent declares its ‘mind’ to be this — that ‘in things of faith and morals, belonging to the building up of Christian doctrine, that is to be considered the true sense of Holy Scripture which has been held and is held by our Holy Mother the Church, whose place it is to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Scriptures; and therefore that it is permitted to no one to interpret Holy Scripture against such sense or also against the unanimous agreement of the Fathers… “Because the defense of Holy Scripture must be carried on vigorously, all the opinions which the individual Fathers or the recent interpreters have set forth in explaining it need not be maintained equally. For they, in interpreting passages where physical matters are concerned have made judgments according to the opinions of the age, and thus not always according to truth, so that they have made statements which today are not approved.
“Therefore, we must carefully discern what they hand down which really pertains to faith or is intimately connected with it, and what they hand down with unanimous consent; for ‘in those matters which are not under the obligation of faith, the saints were free to have different opinions, just as we are,’ [and thisaccording to the opinion of St. Thomas]. “…It seems to me to be safer that such opinions as the philosophers have expressed in common and are not repugnant to our faith should not be asserted as dogmas of the faith, even if they are introduced sometimes under the names of philosophers, nor should they thus be denied as contrary to faith, lest an opportunity be afforded to the philosophers of this world to belittle the teachings of the faith.”
Pope Leo XIII continues, explaining that those commenting on Holy Scripture, when encountering what appears to be contradictions,“must not on that account consider that it is forbidden, when just cause exists, to push inquiry and exposition beyond what the Fathers have done; provided he carefully observes the rule so wisely laid down by St. Augustine — not to depart from the literal and obvious sense, except only where reason makes it untenable or necessity requires; a rule to which it is the more necessary to adhere strictly in these times, when the thirst for novelty and unrestrained freedom of thought make the danger of error most real and proximate.”
In considering these papal teachings, it is important to remember that: 1) The definition of the true nature of the abomination of desolation by Pope Paul IV is itself a matter of faith and morals as well as a rare papal definition of the meaning of Holy Scripture. This supersedes even the unanimous opinion of the Fathers, since the Popes are superior to them as the Vatican Council (and Pope Leo XIII) teach. 2) Clearly Pope Leo XIII distinguishes between a merely unanimous opinion of the Fathers and a unanimous opinion of the Fathers on Faith and morals. It is difficult indeed to see how a unanimous opinion concerning the three and a half years, of itself, could be an opinion pertaining to faith and morals or something even intimately connected to it. Cardinal Newman says this is not the case. 3) The unanimous opinion of the Fathers concerning the three and a half years is the sort mentioned above by Pope Leo XIII as “physical matters,” and therefore is not a matter of faith or morals, but subject to opinion.
As Rev. Hugh Pope points out in his “The Catholic Students ‘Aids’ to the Bible,” (Vol. V): “The interpretation of the Apocalypse must be governed by the rules which hold good in the interpretation of all prophecy. For the original hearers or pre-Christian readers of the prophecy of Isaias or Jeremias, only one thing was certain, namely that, being divinely inspired prophecies, the things foretold would infallibly come to pass. But the time, place, and manner of their fulfillment was hidden from them, save insofar as it was to be divined from hints given in the body of the prophecy itself…The ultimate goal of the Apocalypse is the last things; full light will not be thrown on this prophetical book till those last things have received their ultimate fulfillment.” 4) No one may interpret Holy Scripture against the sense in which Holy Mother the Church Herself has interpreted it. As Pope Leo wrote:
“It seems to me to be safer that such opinions as the philosophers have expressed in common and are not repugnant to our faith should not be asserted as dogmas of the faith.” Those opining on how this three-and-a-half year period must be interpreted are philosophers who are quoting the Fathers’ unanimous opinion on this, but this opinion is NOT one pronounced on a matter of faith and morals. 5) “Just cause” exists to question the Fathers on this, since not to do so means we would be obligated to accept a false pope and his counterfeit church as true; we cannot deny reality in order to adhere to a mere opinion, even though unanimous. And we are not required to do so as long as it is not on a matter of faith or morals. Because Apocalypse is the one book that we are to interpret mystically rather than literally, it has always seemed strange the commentators would insist on interpreting the time, times and half a time literally as an exception to this rule.
Thus Rev. E. S. Berry explains in his work, The Apocalypse of St. John, (1921), commenting on Apoc. 1: 19-21: “Christ Himself explains the meaning of the candlesticks and stars. He thus shows that the prophecies of the Apocalypse are to be understood in an allegorical sense unless the text clearly indicates a different interpretation…Any other interpretation is unwarranted except where the Apostle has evidently abandoned allegory for ordinary discourse… In some few passages the meaning is explained. In most cases the interpretation must be sought in the writings of the prophets who used like symbols to express similar truths.” But even if we were required to interpret it literally, “where reason makes it untenable or necessity requires,” Pope Leo XIII allows us to “depart from the literal and obvious sense.”
Therefore we are perfectly justified in so departing, and no one can forbid us to have a contrary opinion on this topic when the Church Herself does not forbid it. As John Henry Cardinal Newman explains in his The Times of Antichrist, the primitive Fathers offer only the consensus of the early Church when teaching doctrine. He writes:
“But it is otherwise when they interpret prophecy. In this matter there seems to have been no catholic, no formal and distinct, or at least no authoritative traditions; so that when they interpret Scripture they are for the most part giving, and profess to be giving, either their own private opinions, or vague, floating, and merely general anticipations. This is what might have been expected; for it is not ordinarily the course of Divine Providence to interpret prophecy before the event. What the Apostles disclosed concerning the future, was for the most part disclosed by them in private, to individuals — not committed to writing, not intended for the edifying of the body of Christ, — and was soon lost.
“Thus, in a few verses after the passage I have quoted, St. Paul says, “Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these things?” and he writes by hints and allusions, not speaking out. And it shows how little care was taken to discriminate and authenticate his prophetical intimations, that the Thessalonians had adopted an opinion, that he had said — what in fact he had not said — that the Day of Christ was immediately at hand …
“Yet, though the Fathers do not convey to us the interpretation of prophecy with the same certainty as they convey doctrine, yet, in proportion to their agreement, their personal weight, and the prevalence, or again the authoritative character of the opinions they are stating, they are to be read with deference; for, to say the least, they are as likely to be right as commentators now; in some respects more so, because the interpretation of prophecy has become in these times a matter of controversy and party. And passion and prejudice have so interfered with soundness of judgment, that it is difficult to say who is to be trusted to interpret it, or whether a private Christian may not be as good an expositor as those by whom the office has been assumed.” (End of Newman quote)
We, however, as witnesses, are closer to the event. So also those writing in the 20th century, such as Rev. E. S. Berry, Rev. H. B. Kramer, Rev. Le Frois, Rev. Allo, Rev. Heidt and others. Yet what Cardinal Newman says is in direct accord with what Pope Leo XIII taught; for good reasons we may depart from the deference owed to the primitive Fathers in matters not concerning faith and morals. We are not strictly bound to follow the Fathers, Pope Leo XIII teaches, whenever it is contrary to reason or necessity requires. In this case, following the strict interpretation of the three and a half years would mean denying that the false Vatican 2 council and its antipopes did not precisely fit the parameters of all the prophecies concerning Antichrist and his system, as well as correspond with the time frame provided in numerous private prophecies. Since the only time the Church can appear to depart from Her earthly course minus Her Supreme Head and the hierarchy is during this time, then we would be forced to admit the gates of Hell have prevailed against Her, and this we cannot do.
The grades of certainty about the coming of Antichrist
Rev. Denis Fahey, an approved theologian, quotes Fr. A. Lemman’s L’ Antichrist in his work The Kingship of Christ and the Conversion of the Jewish Nation concerning what points on his coming are certain and what is not. The time period is relegated to a category describes as only probable. Lemann lists the following. “A. Things that are certain about Antichrist; B. Things that are probable; C. Things that are undecided; D. Things that have not a solid foundation.
Things that are CERTAIN include:
– He will be a trial for the good – He will be a human person – He will not be Satan in human form but only a man
– He will have great powers of seduction – His career beginnings will be lowly – He will increase in power and make conquests
– His rule will be worldwide – He will wage a terrible war against God and the Church
– He will claim to be God and will demand exclusive adoration – He will seek to prove he is God by false miracles
– His reign will be only temporary
Things about Antichrist that are only probable:
– The Jews will acclaim him
– His reign will last 3 and 1/2 years (And this is listed as a probability, not a certainty, because as Rev. Pope said above, prophecy cannot be fully understood until the actual event.) Things that are undecided: – His name – His nationality
– The seat of his empire (As predicted at La Salette, and strengthened by the testimony of the theologians as quoted by Cardinal Manning, we know today it is Rome.)
– The temple in which he will present himself (the Church of Jesus Christ; “the Holy Place/See itself, as Pope Leo XIII told us in his long St. Michael’s Prayer.) Things that have not a solid foundation:
– The date for Antichrist’s coming (The Church forbids anyone to set a future date for his coming, but neither can anyone deny clear signs he has come.)
Commentators favoring an undetermined period
William G. Heidt. O. P. (The Book of the Apocalypse) and Bernard Le Frois, S. V. D., (The Woman Clothed with the Sun) are not in favor of a literal interpretation of the 42 months. Heidt states that the number 42 and the figures used by Daniel and in Apocalypse are merely the standard representation of a time of great misfortune, since this was the length of time that the Jewish Antichrist Antiochus persecuted the Jews in Macccabees. Heidt also references the three years mentioned in 3 Kings, 17: 1 and 18: 1. “Because of this proverbial usage the figures in question simply denote a period of distress, a period that may actually be quite short or one that could extend from Pentecost to the Parousia. The emphasis is on misfortune, suffering, persecution, not chronological duration.”
Rev. Wilfrid Harrington, O.P. says in his Understanding the Apocalypse: “The duration of the ministry of the two witnesses (1,260 days = 42 lunar months) is the same as the duration of the time of the Gentiles (11:2), the whole time of the Church, (12: 6,14),” reiterating what his fellow Dominican, Heidt, has said. And Le Frois explains: “Oddly enough, there is no mention of the time element of three and a half years in the book of Kings where the life of Elias is recounted…but only of ‘many days’ when there was no rain. Hence it seems that the phrase three and a half years is a technical symbol, which does not wish to express so much a period of time as a period of tribulation and woe, (emph. his). This of course does not exclude the idea that it is a period of time, but it clarifies the issue that three and a half years are not to be taken in a literal sense,” (and again, the majority of commentators on this book stress the fact that the Apocalypse is to be taken allegorically, not literally).
Le Frois quotes a J. Bonsirven in support of this statement. He continues: “The peculiar detail of 1,260 days, which is intended to be the equivalent of 42 months as well as three and a half years, may refer simply to the Messianic era in its entirety, considered from various angles, (Rev. Allo).” So Rev. Allo also agrees with this interpretation of the 1,260 days or 42 months as an indefinite time period. One Father, St. Augustine, states that, “…The word day in Holy Scripture is to be understood in the sense of any length of time, (Malachias 3: 1,2),” The End of the Present World and Mysteries of the Future Life, Rev. Charles Marie Antoine Arminjon, 1881). If one could not question the other Fathers’ teachings on this topic, would they have the freedom to disagree?
Referring to the 1,260 days of Antichrist’s reign, Fr. Edward Putnam writes: “Days, in the prophetic writings, are sometime reckoned as years, but in this instance they must be taken literally in order to be consistent with Christian tradition, and the just proportion of events, [Apoc., Ch. 11…],” and yet Le Frois has just reminded us that this is not the way we should interpret the Apocalypse. But just because the days cannot be interpreted as years does not necessarily mean they are literal days, either; it could be something indeterminate that would correspond to the allegorical ordering of the book itself. Obviously there was, as we have suggested above, a difference of opinion among theologians on whether the general rule for the interpretation of the Apocalypse, which is to first be taken in the allegorical sense, should also not apply to the time period. Putnam continues: “The time or times, or that fearful period which is the most abominable of all the times of time, is the one in which ‘the continual sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination of desolation shall be set up.’” Here he makes no mention of how long that time will be, even though it is mentioned twice in the verses he is quoting. Abbe Constant Fouard, in his St. John and the Close of the Apostolic Age notes that: “These three years and a half, the half of seven, the number signifying perfection, denote an imperfect time which will not be completed.”
Theologians predict Rome will lose the faith
We read above, from the Catholic Encyclopedia: “The defenders of the Papal-Antichrist theory have made several signal blunders in their arguments; they cite St. Bernard as identifying the Beast of the Apocalypse with the Pope, though St. Bernard speaks in the passage of the Antipope; they appeal to the Abbot Joachim as believing that Antichrist will be elevated to the Apostolic See, while the Abbot really believes that Antichrist will overthrow the Pope and usurp his See; finally, they appeal to Pope Gregory the Great as asserting that whoever claims to be Universal Bishop is Antichrist, whereas the great Doctor really speaks of the Forerunner of Antichrist who was, in the language of his day, nothing but a token of an impending great evil.”
Here the writer distinguishes precisely what Pope Paul IV distinguished in Cum ex Apostolatus Officio. An antipope, a usurper only, could be Antichrist. He must be “a king who fills an interregnum,” (Ibid) or antibasileus, and these antipopes were such kings, for they reigned as kings of Vatican City, secular and spiritual rulers but never legitimately elected spiritual leaders. A usurper is one who has no legal right to the throne; he is not legitimately occupying it and hence is an antipope. As St. Gregory predicted, Roncalli and Montini were only “universal bishops,” never popes; Traditionalists also pose as universal bishops of a sort since they claim universal jurisdiction but are not even priests.
St. Bernard referred to the antipope Anacletus as the abomination of desolation and antichrist; St. John warned there would be many antichrists, and indeed there have been many usurper popes. It is possible that what we see is a preview of the very end, and that the actual three and a half years is reserved for Antichrist proper and possibly for Enoch and Elias shortly before the Second Coming, but if this is the case it seems now to be immediately upon us. We must stay with wha the popes, the Fathers and the saints say and avoid the confusion created by private prophecies, which do not even demand our assent.
The destruction of Rome
In one of his other works, The Present Crisis of the Holy See Tested by Prophecy, Cardinal Manning makes it clear that Rome eventually will be destroyed once it has apostatized, and apostatize it has. “The city of Rome, which has been the seat of the Vicar of Christ for 1800 years, if it become apostate like Jerusalem of old, will suffer a like condemnation…The writers of the Church tell us that the City of Rome has no prerogative except only that the Vicar of Christ is there; and if it become unfaithful, the same judgments which fell on Jerusalem, hallowed though it was by the presence of the Son of God, of the Master, and not the disciple only, shall fall likewise on Rome. The apostasy of the city of Rome from the Vicar of Christ, and its destruction by Antichrist, may be thoughts so new to many Catholics that I think it well to recite the text of theologians of the greatest repute.”
He then brings in as his witnesses the theologians Malvenda, Ribera, Melus, Viegas, Suarez, Bellarmine and Bosius, Lessius and Lapide. St. Bellarmine wrote: “In the time of Antichrist, Rome shall be desolated and burnt, as we learn from the 16th verse of the 17th chapter of Apocalypse.’ The Jesuit Erbermann comments as follows: ‘We all agree with Bellarmine that the Roman people, a little before the end of the world, will return to paganism and drive out the Roman Pontiff.’…Lapide sums up what may be said to be the common interpretation of theologians. Commenting on the 18th chapter of the Apocalypse, he says: ‘These things are to be understood of the city of Rome…For from Christian it shall again become heathen. It shall cast out the Christian Pontiff, and the faithful who adhere to him.’”
In his “The Local Church of Rome,” sometimes cited to refute what Manning says, Msgr. J. C. Fenton writes in the American Ecclesiastical Review: “Another highly important and sometimes overlooked prerogative of the local Roman Church is its infallibility. By reason of its peculiar place in the universal Church militant, this individual congregation has always been and will always be protected from corporate heresy by God’s providential power… Actually the infallibility of the Roman Church is much more than a mere theological opinion. The proposition that “the Church of the city of Rome can fall into error” is one of the theses of Peter de Osma, formally condemned by Pope Sixtus IV as erroneous and as containing manifest heresy.”
So how can we explain what we see and what Manning teaches, and still reconcile it with Msgr. Fenton’s statement? To begin with, Fenton is considering the heresy of the Church of Rome, pope and people, which the Vatican Council taught can never happen, so he is correct in what he says. What Bellarmine and the others above are discussing is the absence of or the driving out of the pope and the faithful of Rome as a result of the paganization of the Romans. Any argument trying to equate what Fenton says with what St. Bellarmine is saying to this effect is beside the point, so therefore is a false argument. The true Church never could and never did, as long as She lasted, lose the faith.
Conclusion
Pope Paul IV issued his bull Cum ex Apostolatus Officio only months before his death. It was soon forgotten and a great many, including the historian Philip Hughes, considered him a severe and overbearing figure whose death was not necessarily mourned by the majority. When Shulte and Hergenrother debated the infallibility of Cum ex… following the Vatican Council, Shulte, while calling the bull infallible, blatantly misinterpreted it as referring to a legitimately elected pope and Hergenrother wrote it off as a mere disciplinary law. Pope Pius IX had the last say, pointing out that disciplinary laws also are infallible, but neither of these theologians acknowledged his infallible pronouncement on this and therefore both did Cum ex… a definite disservice.
Because the entire thrust of the bull had been ignored; also because both men woefully misinterpreted it, it became a red herring and an embarrassment. It was relegated to the Vatican archives once again, not to return until the early 1900s. Why it was not used during the Vatican Council to prove that no pope could ever become a heretic (if in fact it was not consulted) is puzzling. But with so many Protestants roiling over the definition of infallibility, it is likely the Church did not want to further antagonize non-Catholics or even give them the slightest encouragement to think that a true pope, indeed, could become Antichrist. The invaluable doctrinal content of the bull would not be realized until it was enshrined in the 1917 Code as the parent law for practically every canon in the Code regarding heresy.
If we entertain the idea that the three and a half years is an interpretation of Scripture written in stone, then we cannot believe that the five men calling themselves popes for the last 56 years are antipopes, far less antichrists. There is no prophecy concerning the coming of Antichrist that was not fulfilled by Roncalli and Montin; not one. But then those who desperately wish to continue the Latin Mass/true clergy charade could never bring themselves to admit it and face reality. The Great Apostasy and the coming of Antichrist was the furthest thing from their minds. Even conservative theologians such as Msgr. Fenton, while deploring Vatican 2, could scarcely comprehend what was really going on.
It was almost as though Cum ex… had been preserved in the wings until needed, waiting for the precise opportunity to draw out its meaning and carefully distinguish between those who were heretics pre-election and therefore never became pope and those who were said to have become heretics as popes validly holding the office. The latter made the papacy appear again to be antichrist. The former upheld the teachings of the Vatican Council on infallibility. Cum ex…defined the abomination of desolation, described in the Catholic Encyclopedia article as one and the same as Antichrist, to be a king reigning during an interregnum, a usurper only appearing to possess the papal See.
The actual length of Antichrist’s reign is not a matter of faith and morals. Lemann says only that it is certain his reign will be “temporary,” and that could mean anything from a few months to many decades. If we follow the opinion of St. Jerome in evaluating the prophecies and believe the New Testament mirrors the Old, the Israelites endured captivity for 70 years. At that time they had no temple, nor did their priests or prophets offer the animal sacrifices or provide the ceremonies restricted to temple worship. They did, however, offer instruction and pray with the people. Matthew 24:22 teaches these unprecedented times will be shortened for the sake of the elect, lest no flesh be saved. St. Thomas Aquinas admits the continuation of life as usual following Antichrist’s demise, to the consternation of those who expect the world to end with his death.
Few indeed count Montini as Antichrist, or even think the antipopes are antichrists. After all, Traditionalists have the peace and security of their clergy and mass centers, and that is all they need. Forget the fact that as Pope Leo XIII teaches in Satis Cognitum, the only true indefectibility and guarantee from error granted the Church was to St. Peter, and those bishops truly loyal to him. This teaching is echoed in the works of Cardinal Manning, E. S. Berry and others. Until the actual event, the significance of Cum ex…lay hidden, as if solely intended for our times. The bull even refused to place a time limit on the reign of the abomination as though anticipating an extended interregnum exactly as we have experienced it.
Only a future canonically elected pope could officially determine if the five men following Pope Pius XII were Antichrist and his system or merely its prefigure, and there is now no way such pope could be elected. There is no doubt the Church considered all antipopes antichrists. For if the last five pretenders to the See were really popes, then, as Msgr. Fenton said so plaintively in his diaries concerning the errors of the neo-Modernists in his day: “[According to these men] The martyrs may have died in vain and St. Athanasisus may have been mistaken.” But this cannot be. Whether antichrists in small “a” or capital A, they were still false popes and as such will eventually be condemned by the Church or Christ Himself and excluded from Her papal rolls.
by T. Stanfill Benns | Apr 5, 2024 | New Blog
+St. Vincent Ferrer, Confessor+
Solar eclipse April 8: America’s last chance for repentance?
Prayer Society Intention for April, Month of the Holy Ghost
“O Holy Ghost… by Thy love and grace, renew the spirit of Thy servants whom Thus has anointed that they might glorify the Father and His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.” (Raccolta)
+First Friday and Saturday+
(The following was submitted by a reader for consideration and provides much food for thought. It will be interesting to see if anything unusual results from this event. My thanks to the author for collecting these observations.)
— Matthew 12:39: “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but THE SIGN OF JONAS THE PROPHET.”
— The eclipse begins off the coast of Mexico, on islands named Maria Madre, Maria Magdalena, and San Juan: Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and St. John at the foot of the Cross. The North American path of the eclipse ends over the island of St. Pierre (Peter) and Newfoundland’s capital, St. Johns.
https://www.google.com/maps/@21.882884,-106.59289,10z/data=!5m1!1e4?hl=en-US&entry=ttu; https://nso.edu/for-public/eclipse-map-2024/
— When it enters the United States, the eclipse passes through the city of Jonah, and then passes over all seven towns called Nineveh in the United States, and the only city called Nineveh in Canada.
— Monday, April 8, the day of the eclipse, is the Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lord.
— Jonah said that 40 days more and Nineveh would be destroyed.
— Forty days from April 8 is Saturday, May 18, the Vigil of Pentecost, when fire from Heaven descended upon man.
— When Jonah preached in 700 BC and when he came out of the whale, there was a total eclipse over the city of Nineveh.
— Some interesting aspects on the eclipse: https://www.christianforums.com/threads/eclipse-coming-with-some-interesting-aspects.8293966/
— Jonah, Nineveh, and the Solar Eclipse Over North America
Sensus Fidelium, March 16, 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvtFmWBER3c
— “A rare green ‘devil’ comet, matching wormwood in the Bible in the end times prophecy, is about to crash into the sun during a rare ‘666’ eclipse.” https://www.businessinsider.com/devil-comet-visible-during-total-solar-eclipse-how-see-2024-4
— Jews just announced the first red heifer in 2000 years has been found and will be sacrificed this month. This in preparation for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlFDFdX-zco (WARNING: THIS IS A MORMON VIDEO and while much of the information is accurate, there are inappropriate images and false interpretations of Scripture. (For a Catholic explanation of the Temple rebuild, see the article at https://www.betrayedcatholics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Final-Chapter-for-web.pdf, pg. 19)
— The San Gabriel River runs through Jonah, Texas.
— The eclipse passes through Temple, Texas.
— The eclipse of 8-21-2017 went from east to west, and the eclipse of 4-8-2024 goes from south to north. It creates a great cross over the United States. In the center of that cross is a town called Palestine.
— Also in that center area is the largest cross in North America at 198 feet tall, along with a large station of the 10 Commandments: https://crossusa.org/
— CERN is reactivating their collider on April 8. (WARNING: this site is loaded with bad images and text) https://boards.4chan.org/pol/thread/463336718
The unnamed threat almost NO ONE is talking about
T. Benns Comment on reader’s post
What may well be the real concern of states activating Homeland Security and National Guard troops for this event is not the eclipse itself but something that could be truly devastating and might possibly be activated or exacerbated by CERN. The New Madrid fault line matches almost exactly the path the eclipse will take. And it has been experiencing an unusual spate of activity since November of last year. An eclipse can trigger earthquakes as explained below, and this is a total eclipse: https://temblor.net/earthquake-insights/1417-1417/; https://sciencenotes.org/can-a-solar-eclipse-trigger-an-earthquake/#google_vignette
Since Nov. 13, 2023, there has been a significant increase in earthquake activity being reported along the New Madrid Fault. “While there is no immediate cause for alarm, the pattern of these quakes is being closely monitored. In geological terms, such swarms of small earthquakes can sometimes act as precursors to larger seismic events. However, they more frequently result in a gradual dissipation of energy along fault lines, eventually settling without leading to a major quake.” https://laketribune.com/2023/11/new-madrin-swarm-of-earthquakes-could-be-precursor-to-larger-seismic-event-seismologists-say/
In the past month, there have been 11 instances of seismic activity along the New Madrid fault, ranging from a 1.5 temblor to a 2.5 quake, reported April 2, and now a 1.9 quake, reported just today, April 5: https://earthquaketrack.com/us-mo-new-madrid/recent#google_vignette. Also, just this morning, (April 5), a 4.8 earthquake hit the New York/New Jersey/Boston area: https://apnews.com/article/east-coast-earthquake-7d03f7a44a6c1a1ea877820515808bee. This is significant if one considers that in December, 1812, when the New Madrid earthquake occurred following three months of seismic activity, “The effects of these earthquakes were felt as far away as New York City and Boston, Massachusetts, causing church bells to ring” https://iemaohs.illinois.gov/preparedness/earthquake-newmadrid.html. Four major earthquakes over 6.0 have occurred this week alone in Japan, Taiwan and near Saipan. So prospects overall are not looking good for April 8 if the ring of fire is already flaming.
See here for a summary of all the above: https://theaquariusbus.com/5-eerie-events-surrounding-the-coming-solar-eclipse-of-2024/ These events are not just a series of unrelated coincidences. This eclipse is a pointed message from God and we’d better not ignore it. But then the book of Apocalypse says in three separate places that men will blame God for these punishments and will not repent. Nevertheless, pray that America becomes another Nineveh as God obviously desires for her by sending this sign, and repents of her many sins, before it is too late. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of America, pray for us! St. Americus, pray for us! Lord save us, we perish!
Recusant site taken down, then reposted
People keep trying to reinvent the wheel by dumbing down information available in essays, books and on the web for over 50 years. We are all well aware of the various organizations and their many offshoots that have dominated the American Traditionalist scene since Vatican 2. The claims made by the pseudo-clerics belonging to these organizations — that they possessed a direct or supplied jurisdiction — remained largely unchallenged until the early 1980s, although Catholic writers such as William Strojie and Mary Lejeune did warn Catholics they were better off praying at home. Beginning in 1977-78, all the necessary information needed to determine with certitude that the Papal See was indeed vacant and these men were conferring illicit sacraments was presented.
We have demonstrated before that LibTrads KNEW that proofs existed showing these men were illicit and ignored them. This was a matter of published record all Traditionalists had access to beginning in the late 1970s. Hugo Maria Kellner first published this assessment of Traditionalists in his Letter 72, Lefebvre — the Final Unmasking. A Latin edition of Pope Paul IV’s 1559 bull Cum ex Apostolatus Officio was published in1978 by Carlos Disandro and was later translated by Prof. Benjamin Dryden into English. David Bawden released one article on LibTrads’ lack of jurisdiction in 1983, and then in 1985 issued Jurisdiction During the Great Apostasy, showing these men were all functioning illicitly outside the laws of the Catholic Church. This was followed on 1990 by the Benns-Bawden book Will the Catholic Church Survive the Twentieth Century?, sent (often gratis) to Traditionalist pseudo-clergy all over the world. The book went to great lengths explaining the invalidity of Traditionalist sacraments, citing extensive quotes from Rev. Francis Miaskiewicz’s Canon Law dissertation Supplied Jurisdiction According to Canon 209 and other related pre-Vatican 2 dissertations then generally unknown. It also went to great lengths to explain the various canons on this issue.
The book condemned the use of epikeia, quoting St. Thomas Aquinas. The need to arrive at certitude on jurisdiction matters was discussed at length. A full history of Cum ex Apostolatus Officio was given and proofs provided showing it was still in force, something disputed by LibTrads even today. (See the link HERE.) Pope Leo XIII’s vision was covered and the long St. Michael’s Prayer cited to show the incursions of the infiltrators into the Vatican. For the first time, proofs necessary to show that Angelo Roncalli could never have been validly elected and that those electing him were disqualified to hold any further election (under canon law) were presented. Because Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis was then thought to be “only an ecclesiastical law,” the actual invalidity of these pseudo-clerics was not yet realized. Further research over the years proved, however, that this constitution was indeed an infallible document treating of Divine — not ecclesiastical — law, which clearly made it impossible for anyone to function validly during an interregnum if usurping papal jurisdiction or violating Canon Law.
Nothing exists without a foundation
The material provided by certain others on jurisdiction, after the release of Will the Catholic Church Survive… was primarily based on the research provided in the book, later posted by Bawden and myself on the Internet. To the best of my knowledge, no other detailed assay of these subjects existed at that time, with the exception of an article printed by one British publication (which more clearly stated the same principles. If one examines the early works of those currently “teaching” on these topics via internet, podcasts, and videos it can be easily verified by dating the material presented on these other sites, nearly always articles or essays written and posted after 1990. These authors cite the conclusions arrived at by those who went before them without ever crediting the source, as we have noted before. And not only have they used these conclusions on which to base their own work, they have added falsehoods to them to make it appear as though Church teaching is not clear on various issues, or they pretend it can be viewed in a different way.
Citing the conclusions of others without ever crediting them and then presenting these conclusions as coming from upstanding Catholics, with years dedicated to educating and helping people find and preserve the faith, is not only dishonest — it is a lie. A true Catholic does not present material not entirely his or her own, without crediting the source. If you say that John 23 and all who followed him are not true popes, you must prove it, or point to someone who hasproven it inconclusively because it is such a serious accusation. If it is a self-evident fact now, it is only because others have exhaustively researched it for years to confirm this! The scholastic method of the Church demands that certitude must be acquired in these matters using logic, and sacred theology insists that the scholastics cite the popes and councils in determining the meaning and sources of sacred theology. The popes demand the use of the scholastic method in presenting the faith.
Although those behaving this way consider themselves true Catholics, free of any blame, they are not following the popes, even though they quote their teachings when it suits them. They do not give their readers the privilege of checking the actual facts uncovered and sources for themselves to better arrive at the necessary certitude. They don’t even inform them they NEED to arrive at certitude. They do not proceed, as is required in all scholastic disputation, in the form of defender and objector, as scholastic form requires. (And Rev. A.C. Cotter, in his ABC of Scholastic Philosophy carefully differentiates such disputation from debate, commenting: “The thesis assigned is not debatable.”)
Fallacies of logic and misquoting the popes
These latecomers are simply objectors, and the defender is never named or allowed to answer their “objections.” They simply say, “I disagree” (with the defender) and pretend that this suffices to dismiss even infallible papal commands. By not naming the defender or even at times clearly identifying the disagreements between the two parties, just simply presenting what readers will perceive as an acceptable alternative view, they are never required to prove the truth of their assertions or objections as the Church intended. In addition, they constantly resort to the “cherry-picking” fallacy (a logical fallacy that occurs when someone focuses only on evidence that supports their stance, while ignoring evidence that contradicts it). The Church forbids this type of disputation among Catholics, which entirely discredits the argument of the person resorting to this deceptive practice. We have tagged members of this same group before here for this and other fallacies.
Examples of this error in logic are the admission of papal or other teachings on a subject which is in favor of their “view”, while omitting anything from the same papal or other document that supports the defender’s position. This is a favorite ploy of LibTrads and their Liberal, later Modernist forerunners, and when seen among those claiming to hold the pray-at-home position, it can only indicate they are still contaminated by Traditionalist errors. We recently witnessed this deceptive practice regarding the discussion on modesty. We are now seeing it again in the reposted recusant site material. It states as fact, without any reference to a fully sufficient explanation or proof, that LibTrad pseudo-clerics are illicit. It also states that: “They may or may not have valid orders (but are at the least very dubious since they came from the modernists Thuc, Lefebvre, and Mendez), but they are certainly illicit since they have no jurisdiction or mission from God or His pope” (emphasis mine). This tell readers there is no way to prove they are invalidly ordained and consecrated or develop certitude regarding this fact.
So while admitting papal documents prove these fakers are schismatic and illicit, they omit the one papal document proving them invalid on all counts — Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis (VAS). And they give readers no indication this infallible constitution even exists. They do the same sort of thing in quoting Pope Pius VI’s Charitas, cited for over 15 years on this site. For they quote the part that says these men are illicit (the bishops) but fail to quote the following: “24. We therefore severely forbid the said Expilly and the other wickedly elected and illicitly consecrated men, under this punishment of suspension, to assume episcopal jurisdiction or any other authority for the guidance of souls since they have never received it. They must not grant dimissorial letters for ordinations. Nor must they appoint, depute, or confirm pastors, vicars, missionaries, helpers, functionaries, ministers, or others, whatever their title, for the care of souls and the administration of the Sacraments under any pretext of necessity whatsoever… For We declare and proclaim publicly that all their dimissorial letters and deputations or confirmations, past and future, as well as all their rash proceedings and their consequences, are utterly void and without force. Furthermore, We command those who have been or are to be elected, to behave in no way as archbishops, bishops, parish priests, or vicars nor to call themselves by the name of any cathedral or parochial church, nor to assume any jurisdiction, authority, or faculty for the care of souls under the penalty of suspension and invalidity.“
Lefebvre and Thuc, Mendez, et al all lost their jurisdiction by accepting positions under the usurpers and celebrating the Novus Ordo Missae. They not only could not assume or resume it, they simply no longer possessed it. These men in Pope Pius VI’s time were only suspended from their episcopal office as Charitas also states; they did not tacitly resigntheir office. And none of this happened during an interregnum. But the recusant site is telling you that you can consider some of these men valid if illicit when the pope, whom they refuse to quote in full, is telling us that even their dimissorial letters — far less any ordinations — are null and void! You cannot be ordained without dimissorial letters guaranteeing you are a fit candidate for the priesthood just as you cannot be validly consecrated without the papal mandate. The language is much the same as in VAS.
Could a pope and bishops still exist?
“So, do we have a pope? No, not to our knowledge” which once again, could easily be answered by Cum ex… and VAS, as could the following: “None of the faithful believe the illicit bishops have a papal mandate to do what they are doing… these illicit clergy have no right of leading God’s people astray with their illicit sacraments and orders.” Well they would have absolutely NO STANDING WHATSOEVER if it ever was once conceded that Vacantis Apostolicae Sedisdismisses them all and they are only excommunicated laity! While trying to convince one LibTrad that the validity issue had to be resolved because the moral theologians state we cannot remain in doubt about such things, I was told it was impossible to do because I could not overcome the fact that even Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis had to yield to epikeia because it was “only an ecclesiastical law.” And yet VAS is undeniably infallible and is unquestionably treating of the Divine law regarding papal jurisdiction. How, then, can it be an ecclesiastical law, particularly in its first three paragraphs, written with the pope’s Supreme Apostolic authority?!
The recusant site is frequented by those who believe there could still be true bishops and they would allow that a pope could just “pop up” from somewhere after all these years of utter chaos and be considered credible. Just as we have shown through numerous articles on VAS and the impossibility that true bishops still exist, so too these objectors must come clean and produce CREDIBLE evidence that VAS does not exclude all possibility of any certainly validly consecrated bishops still existing and hence of any election of a true pope. Yes, a layman could be elected pope, but a true bishop or bishops would need to ordain and consecrate him after determining he is fit for ordination in order for him to be Bishop of Rome. The refusal to admit the invalidity of these LibTrad pseudo-clergy is a clever way to leave open the door to a future claimant to the papacy and/or mysterious bishops who suddenly appear on the horizon.
Conclusion
Just as Lefebvre led all through the back door of Traditionalism only to remain aligned with the Novus Ordo usurpers in the end, so too this seems a clandestine way to leave the door cracked open just wide enough to admit a bishop and a priest or two eventually, possibly after some sort of catastrophic event or upheaval, to “restore all things” and “carry on.” And those who think they are working in the dark to bring this about are far more transparent than they realize; their actions have been noted and followed for many years whether they choose to believe this or not. No certainty could ever be had in this matter unless confirmed by miracles. An evil and adulterous generation has asked for a sign, and they may well soon receive it. But it will not be the “miracle” they are planning for. To write as a Catholic, to truly defend and uphold the faith one must follow ALL the rules laid down by approved theologians and in Canon Law. Therefore, the gauntlet is here thrown down on this matter:
Publicly demonstrate with the same level of proofs used to vindicate Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis HERE that this infallible constitution does not declare that, DURING AN INTERREGNUM, ALL THESE MEN MUST BE CONSIDERED INVALID, NOT JUST ILLICIT. You owe this to all faithful Catholics and to Pope Pius XII himself.
If they truly wish to make praying at home more acceptable to their readers and easier to understand, VAS is the best way to accomplish that. Once Cum ex… is fully applied and VAS is understood as infallible, there is no need to explain supplied jurisdiction, epikeia, or necessity. All we need to know is that during an interregnum, none of these things can exist. Only the canonical election of a true Roman Pontiff, now made impossible by the apostasy of all cardinals and bishops, would clarify this situation. And that the hierarchy cannot and does not exist tells us we have entered the last days of Antichrist’s reign by decree of the pope himself. All we can do is obey the Pope, who has dictated to us God’s signified will in this matter.
Unity, not diversity of belief, is what is required of all members of the Mystical Body. Only by honestly addressing the issues that arise and are posed to divide us can we ever hope to obtain as much unity as is possible today without the pope. And only by obeying all the Roman Pontiffs have commanded can we hope to achieve that unity. Prideful aloofness and refusal to acknowledge or address the truth cannot accomplish that unity. As Henry Cardinal Manning wrote: “Truth goes before unity. Where truth is divided, unity cannot be. Unity before truth is deception; unity without truth is indifference or unbelief. Truth before unity is the law and principle and safeguard of unity. Unity of communion is the effect of unity of faith” (The True Story of the Vatican Council, 1870). And as St. Paul wrote: “One body and one Spirit; as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:4).
by T. Stanfill Benns | Feb 14, 2024 | New Blog
+Ash Wednesday+
For those who may still believe that we were not warned beforehand about the evils we see all around us today, evils that we mourn especially this Lent because they crucify Our Lord anew, we offer the following observations from the Roman Pontiffs.
Gregory XVI, Mirari Vos, 1832
“4. We come to you grieving and sorrowful because We know that you are concerned for the faith in these difficult times. Now is truly the time in which the powers of darkness winnow the elect like wheat.[3] “The earth mourns and fades away….And the earth is infected by the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinances, they have broken the everlasting covenant.”[4]
“5. We speak of the things which you see with your own eyes, which We both bemoan. Depravity exults; science is impudent; liberty, dissolute. The holiness of the sacred is despised; the majesty of divine worship is not only disapproved by evil men but defiled and held up to ridicule. Hence sound doctrine is perverted and errors of all kinds spread boldly. The laws of the sacred, the rights, institutions, and discipline — none are safe from the audacity of those speaking evil. Our Roman See is harassed violently and the bonds of unity are daily loosened and severed. The divine authority of the Church is opposed and her rights shorn off. She is subjected to human reason and with the greatest injustice exposed to the hatred of the people and reduced to vile servitude. The obedience due bishops is denied and their rights are trampled underfoot.
“Furthermore, academies and schools resound with new, monstrous opinions, which openly attack the Catholic faith; this horrible and nefarious war is openly and even publicly waged. Thus, by institutions and by the example of teachers, the minds of the youth are corrupted and a tremendous blow is dealt to religion and the perversion of morals is spread. So the restraints of religion are thrown off, by which alone kingdoms stand. We see the destruction of public order, the fall of principalities, and the overturning of all legitimate power approaching. Indeed this great mass of calamities had its inception in the heretical societies and sects in which all that is sacrilegious, infamous, and blasphemous has gathered as bilge water in a ship’s hold, a congealed mass of all filth.
“6. These and many other serious things, which at present would take too long to list, but which you know well, cause Our intense grief. It is not enough for Us to deplore these innumerable evils unless We strive to uproot them. We take refuge in your faith and call upon your concern for the salvation of the Catholic flock. Your singular prudence and diligent spirit give Us courage and console Us, afflicted as We are with so many trials. We must raise Our voice and attempt all things lest a wild boar from the woods should destroy the vineyard or wolves kill the flock. It is Our duty to lead the flock only to the food which is healthful. In these evil and dangerous times, the shepherds must never neglect their duty; they must never be so overcome by fear that they abandon the sheep. Let them never neglect the flock and become sluggish from idleness and apathy. Therefore, united in spirit, let us promote our common cause, or more truly the cause of God; let our vigilance be one and our effort united against the common enemies.
“7. Indeed you will accomplish this perfectly if, as the duty of your office demands, you attend to yourselves and to doctrine and meditate on these words: “the universal Church is affected by any and every novelty”[5] and the admonition of Pope Agatho: “nothing of the things appointed ought to be diminished; nothing changed; nothing added; but they must be preserved both as regards expression and meaning.”[6] Therefore may the unity which is built upon the See of Peter as on a sure foundation stand firm. May it be for all a wall and a security, a safe port, and a treasury of countless blessings.[7] To check the audacity of those who attempt to infringe “upon the rights of this Holy See or to sever the union of the churches with the See of Peter, instill in your people a zealous confidence in the papacy and sincere veneration for it. As St. Cyprian wrote: “He who abandons the See of Peter on which the Church was founded, falsely believes himself to be a part of the Church.”[8]
“8. In this you must labor and diligently take care that the faith may be preserved amidst this great conspiracy of impious men who attempt to tear it down and destroy it. May all remember the judgment concerning sound doctrine with which the people are to be instructed. Remember also that the government and administration of the whole Church rests with the Roman Pontiff to whom, in the words of the Fathers of the Council of Florence, “the full power of nourishing, ruling, and governing the universal Church was given by Christ the Lord.”[9] It is the duty of individual bishops to cling to the See of Peter faithfully, to guard the faith piously and religiously, and to feed their flock. It behooves priests to be subject to the bishops, whom “they are to look upon as the parents of their souls,” as Jerome admonishes.[10] Nor may the priests ever forget that they are forbidden by ancient canons to undertake ministry and to assume the tasks of teaching and preaching “without the permission of their bishop to whom the people have been entrusted; an accounting for the souls of the people will be demanded from the bishop.”[11] Finally let them understand that all those who struggle against this established order disturb the position of the Church.
9. Furthermore, the discipline sanctioned by the Church must never be rejected or be branded as contrary to certain principles of natural law. It must never be called crippled, or imperfect or subject to civil authority. In this discipline the administration of sacred rites, standards of morality, and the reckoning of the rights of the Church and her ministers are embraced.
10. To use the words of the fathers of Trent, it is certain that the Church “was instructed by Jesus Christ and His Apostles and that all truth was daily taught it by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.”[12] Therefore, it is obviously absurd and injurious to propose a certain “restoration and regeneration” for her as though necessary for her safety and growth, as if she could be considered subject to defect or obscuration or other misfortune. Indeed these authors of novelties consider that a “foundation may be laid of a new human institution,” and what Cyprian detested may come to pass, that what was a divine thing “may become a human church.”[13] Let those who devise such plans be aware that, according to the testimony of St. Leo, “the right to grant dispensation from the canons is given” only to the Roman Pontiff. He alone, and no private person, can decide anything “about the rules of the Church Fathers.” As St. Gelasius writes: “It is the papal responsibility to keep the canonical decrees in their place and to evaluate the precepts of previous popes so that when the times demand relaxation in order to rejuvenate the churches, they may be adjusted after diligent consideration.”
Pope Leo XIII, Humanum Genus, 1884
“The enmity of the sectarians against the Apostolic See of the Roman Pontiff has increased its intensity… until now the evil doers have reached the aim which had for a long time that of their evil designs, namely their proclamation that the moment has come to suppress the Roman Pontiff sacred power and to completely destroy the papacy which was divinely instituted.”
Pope St. Pius X, Our Apostolic Mandate, 1910
“Jesus has loved us with an immense, infinite love, and He came on earth to suffer and die so that, gathered around Him in justice and love, motivated by the same sentiments of mutual charity, all men might live in peace and happiness. …Whilst His heart overflowed with gentleness for the souls of good-will, He could also arm Himself with holy indignation against the profaners of the House of God, against the wretched men who scandalized the little ones, against the authorities who crush the people with the weight of heavy burdens without putting out a hand to lift them. He was as strong as he was gentle. He reproved, threatened, chastised, knowing, and teaching us that fear is the beginning of wisdom, and that it is sometimes proper for a man to cut off an offending limb to save his body. Finally, He did not announce for future society the reign of an ideal happiness from which suffering would be banished; but, by His lessons and by His example, He traced the path of the happiness which is possible on earth.”
Pope Pius XI, Miserentissimus Redemptor, 1928
“How great is the necessity of this expiation or reparation [to the Sacred Heart], more especially in this our age, will be manifest to everyone who, as we said at the outset, will examine the world, “seated in wickedness” (1 John v, 19), with his eyes and with his mind. For from all sides the cry of the peoples who are mourning comes up to us, and their princes or rulers have indeed stood up and met together in one against the Lord and against His Church (Cf. Psalm ii, 2). Throughout those regions indeed, we see that all rights, both human and Divine, are confounded… Bands of boys and girls are snatched from the bosom of their mother the Church, and are induced to renounce Christ, to blaspheme and to attempt the worst crimes of lust; the whole Christian people, sadly disheartened and disrupted, are continually in danger of falling away from the faith, or of suffering the most cruel death. These things in truth are so sad that you might say that such events foreshadow and portend the “beginning of sorrows,” that is to say of those that shall be brought by the man of sin, “who is lifted up above all that is called God or is worshipped” (2 Thessalonians ii, 4).
Leo Panakal tells us that: “After the death of Pius XI, Pope Pius XII began his pontificate with still another statement which has even more significant implications. In his encyclical Summi Pontificatus, after describing his generation as one “tormented … by spiritual emptiness and deep-felt interior poverty,” he applied to it this passage of the Apocalypse: “Thou sayest: I am rich, and made wealthy , and have need of nothing: and knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Apoc 3:17). This particular passage is a description of the church at Laodicea which, in the opinion of Catholic interpreters, is a representation of the Church as a whole during the time of the Antichrist. Thus Pius XII’s application of this passage of the Apocalypse to his time would, in effect, be an indication that the age of the Antichrist had in some way already begun.https://www.cathinfo.com/crisis-in-the-church/the-antichrist-by-francis-panakal/
But we have not been warned?! As mentioned in a previous blog, Fr. Albert F. Kaiser, C.P.P.S., in a two-part article written for the American Ecclesiastical Review in December-January, 1953-54 (“The Historical Backgrounds and Theology of Mediator Dei”, it was a particular note of those advocating for liturgical renewal to shrink from suffering — to be treated gently, with kid gloves and cossetted; their desire to de-emphasize the Passion — that destroyed the Mass. Kaiser wrote that in their attempt to simplify everything, bringing the liturgy back to the bare bones of the early Christian era, the liturgical reformers emphasized all the benefits of being Catholic and participating in the liturgy versus the responsibilities of being educated Catholics. And this resulted in ignoring the pain and suffering of Christ on the Cross. As Kaiser explains, there is no way to experience properly the joy of the Resurrection except through acknowledging and participating in the pain of the Crucifixion. “It confused sentimental fear of suffering and psychotic fear of penance with the true role and purpose (both theological and psychological) of the Cross of Christ, as a redeeming principle and the redeeming factor in Christianity. It confused objective and subjective holiness or at least failed to integrate the two in any realistic or even spiritual orientation.”
Let us never be like those who banished Christ from our churches, replacing his Cross of crucifixion with the condemned crosses of the risen Christ. We were warned, and many of us ignored those warnings. Now we must offer all these things back to Him who we know as the Mas of Sorrows. Christ asks us each Lent to fill up what is wanting to His sufferings, not to shrink from them or to see them as something to flee from. Our sufferings consist in all that we have lost because of our many sins, of existing without the Church, without the Mass and Sacraments, but most especially without our Christ-appointed earthly guide the Pope. We should offer these things to Jesus with joy, knowing that in this offering we make satisfaction for our sins, and can comfort Him in his continued sufferings from the horrid evil that men do. Below are some helps to spend Lent in prayer and contemplation. May God bless all in their shared sufferings with Christ on the Cross.
https://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/St.%20Thomas%20Aquinas%20Lenten%20Meditations.html
https://anastpaul.com/category/lent/lenten-prayers-novenas/ (CAUTION: Please ignore any Novus Ordo content on this site and enjoy only the traditional prayers there.)
by T. Stanfill Benns | Jan 31, 2024 | New Blog
+St. John Bosco+
Prayer Society Intention for the Month of February, Month of the Holy Trinity and the Holy Family
“Most Holy Trinity we adore Thee, and through Mary we entreat Thee: Make all men one in faith and give them the courage to profess it faithfully.” (Raccolta)
Catholic Conformism
The first person to create a name for those praying at home was the late “Fr.” Anthony Cekada, who described us as “home alone.” I think the true psychological implications of this term, however, have been lost on those to whom it was applied. Cekada intended the term to be derogatory and to suggest that few held this position. But he also intended to appeal to the fear harbored by most LibTrads that they would more or less be outcasts or rejects, not members of any Catholic religious group or body. This fear of being isolated is a result of the herd mentality instilled into children in public schools and even private schools. They are taught that to be accepted by their peers and teachers one’s thinking and believing must coincide with the mainstream. Most LibTrads today are second and third generations issuing from the initial Vatican 2 breakaways, some of whom, at least, had attended Catholic schools, so they knew that their salvation could not be assured by conformity.
But Cekada’s characterization of those praying at home resonated with those not as well educated. They didn’t want to be excluded especially from “mass and sacraments,” to be seen as different, and so they went along to get along. But even before Vatican 2, the tendency to conformity had been chronicled by at least one Catholic theologian, Rev. Paul Furfey, who wrote: “[Certain] things are so perfectly plain and clear and obvious that no Catholic can logically hesitate for an instant to accept them. Yet some Catholics do hesitate. In defiance of all logic, they betray their hesitation not by positively denying any supernatural doctrine but by talking as though such doctrines did not exist. They can discuss the sociology of the family by the hour without ever once mentioning marriage as a sacrament They can discourse learnedly about the evils of modern war but not from the standpoint of the doctrine of the Mystical Body. They remain consistently silent about all these social doctrines which are peculiar to the Catholic Church.
“Thus they convey the impression they do not differ basically from materialists in their social thought. No one would gather from their language that there is sharp antithesis between the viewpoints of Catholics and unbelievers on social questions. Such persons may be appropriately dubbed Catholic conformists, for they are Catholics in the sense that they deny no doctrine of the Church outright and they are conformists in that they conform as closely as they dare to the viewpoint of unbelievers… This phenomenon cannot be explained by logic. It can be explained only in terms of cowardice. It requires unusual courage to break sharply with current opinion and this courage the conformist lacks. So he tries to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. He attempts to retain the respect of both Catholics and unbelievers. Of course in the long run the attempt is bound to fail but to the timid soul of the Catholic conformist it seems the easiest course.”
“…Many Catholics have lost their sense of horror and disgust at dogmatic error. Had they not done so they would not be so easily inclined to seek a common ground with heretics and infidels… A Catholic must love all heretics and infidels with the strong love of charity but he should have only an overwhelming disgust for the loathsome errors to which these heretics and infidels are a prey. The Catholic in the modern world must constantly rub shoulders with unbelievers. He should not love these men tepidly because of their errors neither should he abominate the errors the less because they are the errors of his friends… Catholics can never make their rightful contribution to social reform until they set a very high price on the dogmatic truths that are theirs. These are the truths which Christ himself brought to the world. They are the truths which countless martyrs loved so well that they died rather than abandon the smallest part of them. To overlook them, to abandon them — even in part — or to under emphasize them is to render ourselves ineffective against the mystery of iniquity. To hold them uncompromisingly without conforming to the spirit of the world to the slightest degree is they sure road to success” (The Mystery of Iniquity, 1945). And until these truths are held 100 percent in their entirety, the Mystery of Iniquity triumphs and Catholics remain divided.
The Mystery of Iniquity
How can we possibly reconcile the above with the most shining examples of our faith? Without the sacrifices of the heroic Christian martyrs of the early centuries who attended house churches and definitely were defying the religious norm, none of us would be here today! Those praying at home in these times who are constantly seeking out others of their same age group are missing the point. While it is true that in the past Catholic communities existed that functioned as such that is not the reality we face today. Rev Furfey calls his book The Mystery of Iniquity for a reason. He explains that such conformists are the very ones who will not see that that “mystery” was at work even in St. Paul’s day and was already well advanced in the 1940s. He comments further:
“The mystery of iniquity is mysterious because it is secret — the forces of evil operate in devious and hidden ways. But it is mysterious also by its very nature for it represents a degree of evil which surpasses our comprehension…He explains how the passages in Apocalypse Ch. 13 concerning the land and sea beasts “typify the use of deception. Thus the symbolism of these apocalyptic beasts makes it clear that force and deceit, all power and all wicked deception, are the characteristic weapons of the mystery of iniquity… It is aided in its machinations by an organized society called the world or synonymously the Kingdom of this world, that is the Kingdom of Satan…” Therefore, he concludes, “The mystery of iniquity [is] …the Satanic plan to bring to naught the saving work of Jesus Christ… The use of force, violence and deception [accomplish] this end.” He goes on to name Communism and fascism as examples of this system, but he clearly refers to the forces of Freemasonry when he paraphrases Pope Leo XIII, describing this Mysteryas “a group of forces which at first glance appears separate and independent but which on closer examination prove to be interlocking so that in spite of their seeming separateness they actually cooperate surprisingly well against the Kingdom of God.”
Furfey then goes on to describe Catholic conformists as inclined to materialism and not truly appreciative of the dangers posed by the existence of this evil and the eventual arrival of Antichrist. And this is what we are seeing today, only to a much greater degree, because today it is clear that the “saving work of Jesus Christ” has effectively been brought to an end. And yet this does not seem to faze those living in these times in the least. They seem not to understand that a high degree of sanctity is now required of us. Dom Chautard said over 125 years ago: “In former centuries, ordinary piety was enough to preserve souls from the contagion of evil. Nowadays, for the poison of violence multiplied a hundredfold inoculated by the allurements of the world, a much more energetic, vigorous serum is required. For want of laboratories capable of producing efficacious antidotes, our workers have been satisfied with producing sentimental fervour, tremendous outbursts no sooner ablaze than extinguished; or else they have been able to reach only a small minority.”
True meaning of sanctity
Such sanctity cannot be measured by exterior conformity to standards set by LibTrads, exterior acts of piety that extend only to the appearance of true holiness — whited sepulchres filled with dead men’s bones, outwardly beautiful but filthy inside. (Matt. 23: 27-28). One cannot be truly holy unless they are actually members of Christ’s Mystical Body, obeying the Commandments, all the popes have taught and obeying Canon Law. And sadly those who are calling themselves sedevacantists who pray at home have not only adopted LibTrad standards of exterior piety, but have also adopted their attitude toward papal teaching, refusing to obey binding decrees and daring to pick and choose for themselves what to believe. They present as holy. They believe themselves to be holy and wish others to see them as holy. They fill the Internet with lengthy and raucous outbursts that are anything but holy, because they are not faithful to the laws and teachings of the Roman Pontiffs in presenting them. And they do all this because they know nothing of true holiness as the Church has always taught it.
The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us concerning holiness: “Sanctity, says the Angelic Doctor, is the term used for all that is dedicated to the Divine service, whether persons or things. Such must be pure or separated from the world, for the mind needs to be withdrawn from the contemplation of inferior things if it is to be set upon the Supreme Truth— and this, too, with firmness or stability, since it is a question of attachment to that which is our ultimate end and primary principle, viz., God Himself — “I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels. . . nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:38-39)… In the moral order sanctity is the assertion of the paramount rights of God; its concrete manifestation is the keeping of the Commandments… Thus to keep the Commandments faithfully involves a very real though hidden separation from this world, as it also demands a great strength of character or stability in the service of God…”
Worldliness and living with oneself
But many today do not embrace this separation. They live in the world and pretend that they are not of it, because their participation in worldly things bears a religious flavor, or so they delude themselves. Those saints and theologians writing on the interior life warn that without a close personal relationship with our Lord that can be gained only in solitude — by prayer and contemplation — we cannot hope to engage in any kind of meaningful action. Dom Chautard, in his Soul of the Apostolate (one of Pope St. Pius X’s bedside books) wrote:
“Saint Gregory the Great said of Saint Benedict: “He lived with himself.” To live with oneself, in oneself; to wish to govern oneself and not be governed by the exterior; to reduce one’s imagination, feeling even ones intelligence and memory to the part of servants of the will and continually to conform this will to the will of God, is a program that is less and less accepted in this century of feverish agitation which has seen a new ideal spring up: love of action for action’s sake. To escape from this discipline of the faculties any pretext is held to be good: business, family cares, health, good reputation, love of country, the honor of one’s congregation the pretended glory of God — all these vie with one another to prevent us from living in ourselves. This sort of frenzy for exterior life even succeeds in gaining over us an irresistible attraction…” And here we must pause for a moment to note what St. Francis de Sales taught: “Obedience to the Commandments, both divine and ecclesiastical, is of obligation for all, because there is question here of THE ABSOLUTE WILL OF GOD WHO HAS MADE SUBMISSION TO THESE ORDINANCES A CONDITION OF SALVATION” (Holy Abandonment, Rt. Rev. Dom Vital Lehody O.C.R., page 9).
Dom Chautard continues: “We should ask ourselves [if] we have not an excessive confidence not only in certain noisy amusements but even in various means (pilgrimages, ostentatious festivals, congresses, speeches, publications, syndicates, political action etcetera,) lavished so abundantly in our day and very useful, without doubt, but which would be lamentable to put in the first place. Preaching by example will always be the chief lever. Lectures, good books, the Catholic press and even excellent sermons ought to revolve around this fundamental principle: to organize the apostolate for the people by the example of fervent Christians who make Christ live again by sending forth the sweet odor of His virtues… Since holiness is nothing else than the interior life developed up to the closest union of the will with that of God, the soul as a rule, unless by a miracle of grace, does not reach this end until it has gone through all the stages of the purgative and illuminative life by means of continuous and laborious efforts…”
Helps to holiness
Who today, without a spiritual director, could even come close to this? And yet we must try our best. How, though, could Catholics ever hope to achieve such union and act as an example to others where there is no obedience to Christ’s Vicar on earth, no regard for the laws of the Church and only contempt for fellow Catholics who insist on upholding these laws and teachings? In this there can be no likeness of Christ or imitation of His virtues whatsoever. In past blogs we have recommended a simple work by Rev. Robert Eiten, A Layman’s Way to Perfection, that helps Catholics begin their journey to the interior life. It is available for free download on the Internet. Some excerpts are listed below:
““For one reason or another it may at times be difficult to find a suitable spiritual director. In this case good spiritual reading will be the best substitute since in reality spiritual reading is in a certain sense written direction for achieving sanctity. It is as it were written spiritual direction. In the matter of books, we ought to aim to read only the best since there is not enough time for reading even the best. Our first aim should be to read the great modern authors since besides giving what the older authors give, they will give us the latest results of modern scholarship. This is especially true of the lives of Christ. A list of such authors will include such names as Prat, Lagrange, Goodier, Boylan, Plus, Marmion, Tanquerey, Lehodey and Leen. In an appendix of Boylan’s This Tremendous Lover, a fine selective bibliography of great modern authors on various spiritual topics is given.
“After we have finished reading most of the great modern authors, we can turn to the great spiritual writers of the last few centuries. Such names as St. Francis de Sales, St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. Paul of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross will be included here. We will also find selections from such earlier authors as St. Augustine, St. Bernard, St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas very helpful. After this field of spiritual reading has been covered, we will have rather definite ideas on what we need and like. Good solid spiritual books such as the Imitation of Christ should be read slowly, thoughtfully, and prayerfully. Other lighter books as biographies may be read more rapidly. We might even scan or skip certain parts of them. It is sometimes very helpful to re-read — even several times — certain passages which have particularly struck us.
“Finally let us never forget that the greatest of all books is the Bible, especially the New Testament. Let us make this our constant companion, be able to quote freely from it, and enjoy reading passages of it again and again.” After reading this list offered by Rev. Eiten, it is hard to see how there could be any real development of the spiritual life in watching rambling, lengthy videos or hearing DVD’s. The interior life involves communion with God in mental prayer, a development of self-realization regarding one’s own shortcomings; it is not focused on the voice and images of a facilitator. Visual or audio means of communications cannot produce the necessary reverence, devotion and union with God sought in mental prayer. And if many Catholics made excuses, they were not able to find time for mental prayer in the 1940s when Rev. Eiten wrote his work, as he notes, how could they make time for it now if they spend hourswatching videos and listening to DVD’s without neglecting their daily duties?!
A saintly author on solitude
To learn the value of such meditation, listen to the holy advice of one of the author’s Rev. Eiten recommends above:
“1. Seek a suitable time for thy meditation and think frequently of the mercies of God to thee. Leave curious questions. Study such matters as bring thee sorrow for sin rather than amusement. If thou withdraw thyself from trifling conversation and idle goings about, as well as from novelties and gossip, thou shalt find thy time sufficient and apt for good meditation. The greatest saints used to avoid as far as they could the company of men, and chose to live in secret with God.
“2. One hath said, “As oft as I have gone among men, so oft have I returned less a man.” This is what we often experience when we have been long time in conversation. For it is easier to be altogether silent than it is not to exceed in word. It is easier to remain hidden at home than to keep sufficient guard upon thyself out of doors. He, therefore, that seeketh to reach that which is hidden and spiritual, must go with Jesus “apart from the multitude.” No man safely goeth abroad who loveth not to rest at home. No man safely talketh but he who loveth to hold his peace. No man safely ruleth but he who loveth to be subject. No man safely commandeth but he who loveth to obey.
“4. …O how good a conscience should that man keep, who never sought a joy that passeth away, who never became entangled with the world! O how great peace and quiet should he possess, who would cast off all vain care, and think only of healthful and divine things, and build his whole hope upon God!
“5. No man is worthy of heavenly consolation but he who hath diligently exercised himself in holy compunction. If thou wilt feel compunction within thy heart, enter into thy chamber and shut out the tumults of the world, as it is written, ‘Commune with your own heart in your own chamber and be still’ (Psalm 4:4). In retirement thou shalt find what often thou wilt lose abroad. Retirement, if thou continue therein, groweth sweet, but if thou keep not in it, begetteth weariness…
“6. In silence and quiet the devout soul goeth forward and learneth the hidden things of the Scriptures. Therein findeth she a fountain of tears, wherein to wash and cleanse herself each night, that she may grow the more dear to her Maker as she dwelleth the further from all worldly distraction. To him who withdraweth himself from his acquaintance and friends, God with his holy angels will draw nigh. It is better to be unknown and take heed to oneself than to neglect oneself and work wonders. It is praiseworthy for a religious man to go seldom abroad, to fly from being seen, to have no desire to see men.
“7. Why wouldest thou see what thou mayest not have? The world passeth away and the lust thereof. The desires of sensuality draw thee abroad, but when an hour is past, what dost thou bring home, but a weight upon thy conscience and distraction of heart? A merry going forth bringeth often a sorrowful return, and a merry evening maketh a sad morning? So doth all carnal joy begin pleasantly, but in the end it gnaweth away and destroyeth. What canst thou see abroad which thou seest not at home? Behold the heaven and the earth and the elements, for out of these are all things made.
“8. What canst thou see anywhere which can continue long under the sun? Thou believest perchance that thou shalt be satisfied, but thou wilt never be able to attain unto this. If thou shouldest see all things before thee at once, what would it be but a vain vision? Lift up thine eyes to God on high, and pray that thy sins and negligences may be forgiven. Leave vain things to vain men, and mind thou the things which God hath commanded thee. Shut thy door upon thee, and call unto thyself Jesus thy beloved. Remain with Him in thy chamber, for thou shalt not elsewhere find so great peace. If thou hadst not gone forth nor listened to vain talk, thou hadst better kept thyself in good peace. But because it sometimes delighteth thee to hear new things, thou must therefore suffer trouble of heart“ (Thomas a’ Kempis’ Imitation of Christ, Ch. 20).
Conclusion
Modernism is a heresy with many faces. It was a system devised by men secretly selected to reform the Church and first weaken, then destroy, Her authority. This in preparation for what we later saw happen at Vatican 2. One of the errors they taught is that all things must somehow become modern to be acceptable and to attract others, especially the young — to be truly effective tools of conveying information — when this is not the case. Yet how is it that for 1900 years the Church managed to exist without radio, without television, without computers without cell phones and Her information and her teachings were nevertheless conveyed succinctly by the bishops and the priests and most especially by the Roman Pontiffs? If even the home-schooled young of a Traditional bent truly do better understand things if they are preached to them in audio and video form as they claim, then it would seem the aims of the neo-Modernists have been achieved. Because all this amounts to is the fascination with the new and how things must evolve in order to be relevant; how we must adapt ourselves to these methods and abandon the old ways.
Why are we throwing away the best parts of our faith to bow down to technology? Because that is what this is really about. Yes, it’s true that this website is taking advantage of technology to spread the truth. I dare say that Pope St. Pius X who encouraged use of the press to spread the truth would not disagree that it should be employed to spread the teachings of the popes and the saints, approved theologians and canonists. But that is the right use of things — the videos on this site are only there because people requested them and claimed that they could not understand the faith in written form as well as they could understand it through these mediums. But that does not mean that reading, study and meditation — which we have encouraged for decades — should ever be slighted or abandoned. Novelties and innovations are most dangerous when used in a manner that appears to promote the truth when instead they are actually teaching error and leading the faithful away from true spirituality. And sadly, this is what we are dealing with today.
It seems that everyone has forgotten why Vatican 2 happened and what went before it that brought about the changes in the first place. Certain left-leaning lay people calling themselves Catholic effectively lobbied for a more people friendly liturgy, greater participation in the liturgy and other Church functions, the removal of Latin because they couldn’t understand it, a more modern approach to education, a Catholic version of “fellowship,” and various other (basically Protestant) innovations. THEY WEREN’T INTERESTED IN MAKING THEMSELVES MORE PLEASING TO GOD, BUT IN MAKING GOD AND HIS CHURCH MORE PLEASING TO THEM. They welcomed John 23rd’s aggiornamento, because it made them look good to their Protestant friends. They wanted a church more in tune with the times and that is exactly what they got. And it isn’t any different with those who want an up-to-date Church today, one Traditionalist enough to suit the LibTrads and conservative enough to hopefully draw in those who pray at home: true conformism. And here we see the good old Hegelian principles at work: thesis, antithesis, synthesis.
The paragraphs above only echo what St. Paul taught in 1 Cor. 2: 12-16: “Now we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God; that we may know the things that are given us from God. Which things also we speak, not in the learned words of human wisdom; but in the doctrine of the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of God; for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because it is spiritually examined. But the spiritual man judgeth all things; and he himself is judged of no man. For whom hath known the mind of the Lord, that we may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
May God’s peace be with you; never cease to pray and watch.
by T. Stanfill Benns | Jan 6, 2024 | New Blog
+Feast of the Epiphany+
According to Merriam-Webster, an epiphany, in its modern-day definition means: 1) a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something; (2) an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking; (3) an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure. While we know that the feast of the Epiphany is celebrated to commemorate the Magi’s recognition of the Messiah, His first manifestation to the Gentiles, those among us have had our own epiphanies that have led us to where we are today. The three kings saw the star in the East and came to adore Him. They somehow knew as astronomers of sorts that the star’s appearance in the heavens was the portent of an exceptional event, even though they were pagans. What they experienced was an inspiration of the Holy Ghost on which they acted. These inspirations must not be ignored, for that amounts to a rejection of a gift sent directly by God for our spiritual benefit.
Eyes wide open
Of course most people today are unaware of this because they have no knowledge of the faith. But they do know what instinct and gut feelings mean and sometimes will heed these promptings. Without any real understanding of these inspirations of the Holy Ghost I also struggled to deal with the warnings I received as a young woman yet in my teens — and mind you I did not deserve to receive such a grace! It came one lonely night while I was watching something on television about the changes in the Church. A voice simply came to me and warned me I would live through times no one had ever seen before. From that time on I began looking over my shoulder but the chaos and immorality of the 1960s was enough proof for me that what I was hearing was true.
Three or four years later I read a book called None Dare Call it Conspiracy about the influence of the Illuminati in the various governments worldwide. In the 1980s I read Solange Hertz’s works on the Masonic origins of America’s government and this would further increase my understanding of how extensively Freemasonry had infiltrated not only governments but the Church Herself. I was beginning to see that I lived in very dangerous times. After returning briefly to the Novus Ordo to confirm my suspicions that they were no longer Catholic, I began exploring the Traditional movement and spent nearly five years with the ORCM, even writing for their publications. I also began reading books of Catholic prophecies and finally realized we were definitely living in the end times. All of this was the result of my initial inspiration but it would take many years of research to find my way out of the LibTrad and conclavist rabbit holes I fell into along the way.
The invalidity issue
When praying at home as a conclavist, I believed that LibTrad clergy were illicit and lacking jurisdiction but were not necessarily invalid. That was enough to avoid their operations as sacrilegious. But the validity question begged to be resolved because as Catholics we must not base how we act or believe on anything questionable if the question can be laid to rest; this is the teaching of the best moral theologians. After leaving conclavism, I began stating in articles that I wrote on my website that all LibTrad clergy were questionably valid on several counts. And finally I discovered that a proper understanding of Pope Pius XII’s Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis (VAS) rendered all LibTrad clergy invalid from 1958 on and also invalidated the acts of clergy validly ordained and consecrated under Pius XII who accepted the usurpers as true popes. This is because even validly consecrated bishops must act only in communion with a canonically elected Roman Pontiff and the priests which they supply jurisdiction to cannot receive it from them if these bishops no longer possess it.
I had resolved the question of who these usurpers were early on in the game following others who already believed Paul 6 was Antichrist. To the best of my knowledge, I was the only one to point out however that John the 23rd acted as the false prophet predicted in chapter 13 of the Apocalypse. I went on to write articles and books that explained how this was so and how the role he played in creating Montini a cardinal and preparing him for his future “papacy.”
Once the invalidity issue was proven and resolved it became clear that after the death of all the bishops consecrated by Pius XII, there was no possibility of electing another Pope. The minute it became clear John 23rd was working with Paul 6 to destroy the Church these bishops were obligated to call a papal election, and because they failed in this duty, they lost the right to vote under Canon Law. They also became heretics and were disqualified per VAS from voting in any election for recognizing both John 23rd and Paul 6 as true popes. So since 1978 when Paul 6 died, we have been existing in a gray area mentioned by St. Thomas Aquinas, a time that he said would exist following the death of Antichrist but before the destruction of his remaining system and Rome itself. None of this would ever have become clear to me, manifest, if I had not followed my initial inspiration and all its implications to the very end.
Our time is short
Christ tells us in Matthew 24: 21: “There then shall be great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, nor shall there be.” And this was the gist of my initial inspiration — brought home in such a way, at such a time that I felt I could not ignore it. Certainly I erred many times after receiving that revelation before finally coming to the proper conclusions. But it never left me and proof that it was clear and true is now too frighteningly obvious to deny. We spoke last week of the dangers of video debates and discussions and how the Church forbids us to engage in these. None of these videos spend much time on the perils of the end times or urge prayer and penance. But given how short our time on this earth truly is, nothing is needed more today than prayer and penance which is the very remedy urged at Fatima and prescribed for end-time Jews by Christ in Luke 11: 29. We are where we are today because not enough Catholics prayed and performed works of penance and almsgiving.
In recent social media posts (if any of these can be trusted at all) numerous individuals have reported strange happenings such as seeing hosts of angels in the skies, hearing trumpet blasts and experiencing unexplained knockings late at night. Some of the alleged trumpet blasts, if that is what these really are, are even recorded and replayed in these posts. Similar happenings occurred before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD and certain historic battles during wartime. Are we being warned? I think it is possible but then weren’t we as Catholics already warned long ago to no avail by Our Lord, the popes and our Blessed Mother? So who will take any further warnings seriously?
Warnings come even from unlikely sources
The following is taken from a work published 18 years ago by a member of the Novus Ordo sect. While I reject its basic premise — that it is neo-cons that must be watched and feared as “fascists” (since the author fails to see that both right and left work together to achieve their end-of-days Masonic goal) — the author’s warning bears repeating here because it shows how even the right observations can lead to the wrong conclusions. This book, in the end, winds up advising a la Francis’ theology (well after all he is Novus Ordo) that Americans adopt a one-world religion in order to avoid endorsing a one-world government!!! Yet it mentions what would happen once the Church and lawful governments were destroyed, even if how this was to come about or be resolved was wrongly interpreted by the author.
“The radical… cabal in the White House answers to a “world shadow government,” a private, international, rogue network that also controls most of the world’s financial and media institutions as well other governments/intelligence agencies, etc., most notably those of England, Israel, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia (Tarpley, 2006). This “secret government” rules through fear, terror, torture, secrecy, propaganda and lies. The goal of this criminal syndicate is to establish a global corporate dictatorship as well as to destroy nation states, democracies, and civil liberties. Historian Webster Tarpley (2006) identifies this “rogue network,” concluding:
We are living in the twilight of the Anglo-American world order, a system of planetary domination by the Whig financier faction since just after 1700. This system had certain positive features, but it has now become a barrier to human progress, and it is past time for it to exit the world scene.
“The corporate-controlled media provides mass propaganda that supports the official explanation, despite its inevitable absurdities, etc. This same organizational structure has been utilized again and again by governments to fabricate synthetic terrorist attacks all over the world2 (Tarpley, 2006). Any hope of dismantling the emerging global corporate dictatorship must begin by dismantling the myths and lies, such as the official 9/11 myth, that support it… This Machiavellian… cabal is part of the same “secret government” that orchestrated the Bay of Pigs, the Kennedy assassinations, the secret wars of the CIA, the Iran-Contra affair, the Vietnam War, World Wars I and II, and the Great Depression (Still, 2004, Schoenmann, 2004).
“I would speculate, along with Ruppert (2002), that immediate goal of the global “ruling elite” is to establish American domination over the entire world through the phony “war on terrorism.” However, this sequence of wars could easily lead us into an apocalyptic, and perhaps final, world war, accompanied by a total collapse of the world economy. Then, they may decide to abolish most, if not all nation states, including the U.S., in order to usher their long-sought “one world government.” They may or may not elect to utilize the structure of the U.N. as the organizational center. This long-sought “New World Order”, if it comes to pass, would be the culmination of their centuries-old dream of creating a more or less permanent “oligarchy of the wealthy”.
“My hope and belief is that once these crimes are exposed to the light of day, this cabal will be brought to justice and humankind will be able to progress toward a more peaceful and equitable future. Clearly, we are at a turning point in history… The only time that Jesus got angry in his entire ministry was when he physically threw the “money-changers” out of the Temple for practicing extortion and “usury.” Well, modern “money-changers” have now taken control not only of the Temple and the Church, but virtually all the other institutions as well (Still, 2004)…
In many ways, America has a spiritual heart, but we are now being deliberately misled by the propaganda of our religious as well as our political and cultural leaders. Many of us are now waking up to the fact that our government has declared and is fighting a war upon “we, the people.” This relentless class warfare pits the super-rich against everyone and everything else. Middle class America has a distinct disadvantage in this war, because most of us do not understand that war is being waged against us…” (9/11 was an Inside Job and a “Psy-Op”, Dr. Eric T. Karlstrom, Department of Anthropology and Geography, California State University, 2006).
Conclusion
We have no time to waste on hours-long videos that cannot point us to sufficient written proofs to support their content. Nor are we permitted by the Church to participate even passively in debates posted by so-called Catholics interviewing non-Catholics. We all need to spend this time on our knees begging for the graces necessary to save our souls and the souls of those we love. We don’t know how long we may have or exactly what will happen once Antichrist’s system is defeated and Rome is destroyed. We do know what the older, more reliable scripture commentators tell us: that once these things occur, the Second Judgment is imminent. Having ignored so many warnings and inspirations already, can anyone identifying as Catholic today hope to escape all these evils unless they face their Almighty Judge with a mournful countenance, clothed in sackcloth and ashes?!
A brief note on video gaming
Last week we warned of the dangers regarding unnecessarily lengthy videos claiming to promote praying at home which instead are devoted to rehashing Novus Ordo deviancies and challenging (only certain) LibTrad errors. We did not, however, venture into the realm of video games. The best argument offered on the use of video games for any age level, that video games should be classified under the category of what St. Francis de Sales says must be called “dangerous amusements” can be viewed here: https://thosecatholicmen.com/articles/avoid-video-games/ , but we must add an important caveat.
This apparently Novus Ordo site does not take into consideration the fact that we have no pope to decide such things. No one can render a truly educated or definitive decision on the dangers of video games in the absence of a true pope. If even Novus Ordo writers believe St. Francis de Sales would classify video games as dangerous amusements, why, as these authors advise, would we even want to limit their use to the “better” video games, with moderation, among teens? Is it logical to suggest that lesser dangers are not as harmful to older children when they could easily lead to greater ones, especially when it seems so many families today are predisposed to various addictions? Those advocating this moderation cite certain benefits to such usage, but couldn’t those benefits be better enjoyed some other way without recourse to video games?
What is puzzling here is that LibTrads, and here we include those advocating praying at home among them, will adamantly insist their women wear nothing but longer skirts to remain modest, when one pope has even stated that women wearing pants is not forbidden. Women are adults, if subject to their husbands wishes and preferences, but when it comes to those still under obedience to parents, that is something different. For the parent cannot allow or encourage the child to do something that could lead to mortal sin and would him/herself incur such sin if this was the case. Clear thinking must prevail on this matter so important to Catholic family life. Follow St. Francis de Sales then, not the opinion of some Novus Ordo or LibTrad layperson.
