LibTrad pseudo-clergy and the perennialist heresy

by T. Stanfill Benns | Mar 17, 2025 | New Blog

+St. Patrick, Bishop Confessor+

Fr. Doyle’s Reflections on the Passion, Pt. 2

“We should,” writes Father Degnam, S.J., “go through the different circumstances of the Passion, and compare them with the occasions of sufferings we meet with in life. They are the drops of the chalice which our Lord asks us to drink with Him. His sufferings of the scourging, our physical pain; He is treated as a fool by Herod; He was rejected for Barabbas; are we not sometimes rejected for another – set aside for someone who is certainly more worthy than ourselves? Is not the gall they gave Him to drink like the bitterness we receive when we are longing for consolation? As we look at the dead body of our Lord hanging on the Cross, we see that His Passion was one long act of submission.”

Gratitude should fill our hearts at the thought of God’s goodness in giving us His own adorable Son as a model to imitate, so that we have only to look at Him to know what we have to do. Hear Christ Himself say: “I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you also should do” (Jn. 13:15). Christ is the only way we must follow, especially in the practice of virtue, and it was during the Passion that His practice of the virtues was strikingly sublime and heroic. In the most trying circumstances our Lord gave us during the Passion examples of those virtues we somehow seem to lack – meekness, mercy, charity, silence, patience, abandonment, and obedience to His Father’s will – even to death.

Well did St. Bonaventure say: “He who desires to go on advancing from virtue to virtue, from grace to grace should constantly meditate on the Passion of Jesus Christ.” …

Try to see the virtue practiced by the Master and resolve to imitate that virtue. Strive to find some lesson in each of these daily considerations and resolve to put it in practice during the day. In your examination of conscience at night, examine yourself on how you kept the resolution taken that morning. Little good will result from the study of the Passion unless such a study results in our imitation of Christ. “O foolish Galatians!” cried out St. Paul, “who has bewitched you [that you should not obey the truth], before whose eyes Jesus has been depicted crucified?” (Ga. 3:1)

At the Last Supper, Christ gathered the Apostles around Him and they set out together for Gethesemani, the Garden of the Agony. The name “Gethsemani” is interesting in that it means “oilpress”; in other words, it was a place where the fresh olives were pressed and the oil extracted. What a symbolic spot chosen by the Sacred Redeemer of Mankind for the initial and awful beginning of the Passion! Here He was to take upon Himself the sins of the world and be so crushed under their terrible weight that his precious blood flowed from every pore of His body.

With reverence, then, and with contrite hearts let us begin our contemplation of the passion of our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemani and pray that your heart and soul will be inflamed with love and aroused to imitate all the virtues practiced by the Savior in His Passion. Decide now on one positive act of mortification to be practiced this very day, recalling these words of the Imitation of Christ: “The more thou dost violence to thyself, the greater thy progress will be.” Tomorrow we shall see our Lord separating Peter, James, and John from the other apostles and taking them with Him into the midst of the garden. Thus shall we begin our study of the Passion” (end of Fr. Doyle quotes).

Introduction

We often feel we are crushed under the weight of the betrayal we must witness among those who should be Christ’s greatest supporters, and if we further continue to expose this betrayal here it is only to fulfill our obligation to defend the faith. In a past blog, I had mentioned how certain recognize and resist sects and other entities — some who claim to pray at home — were somehow connected with the In the Spirit of Chartres Committee (ISOC), a non-profit organization promoting “traditional” Catholicism. Featured on the ISOC interviews list is one Dr. E. Michael Jones, who will be discussed below. Jones is listed on this site along with Siri pope fantasizer Gary Giuffre, also Jim Condit, Robert Sungenesis, Cornelia Ferreira (all major contributors) as well as Gerry Matatics, (one known DVD; some are not tagged). To discover what they are saying, one must purchase and listen to numerous DVD’s.  As  pointed out in the past, this is not only expensive but a waste of time. A six  or seven-page  article requires a little over 20 minutes for the average person to read, while some of these DVDs can last for hours.

The 2020 link provided here on Dr. E. Michael Jones from the Fitzpatrick Informer does not need to be read in its entirety; a quick scan will confirm what is said there. Mr. Fitzpatrick has bought into the Fatima/aliens hoax, presenting “proofs” of a so-called connection from a “Catholic” author, but no good Catholic could state categorically, with any degree of certitude, that Fatima was indeed a hoax. This I also have addressed in previous blogs at length. So this is definitely NOT a recommended site.

Fitzpatrick’s site also focuses primarily on the Jews (and Russia) as the enemies of the Church and all humanity, something I have described as both dangerous and unCatholic in the past where the Jews are concerned. This because the popes condemn any persecution of the Jews and such emphasis only excites ideas of such persecution in certain individuals. Nor does the Church officially name the Jews as the head and common denominator of Freemasonry. It was Pope Pius IX who actually called Freemasonry the Synagogue of Satan, although certainly this does not exclude the Jews from inclusion as contributing members, even leading members.

This brings us to Andy Sloan’s and Timothy Fitzpatrick’s ’s expose on E. Michael Jones as a KGB agent HERE and HERE. According to Jones own comments in this article, Jones also is a Communist collaborator and denier of Catholic dogma, something far more serious than being a secret agent. The reasons we are addressing the E. Michael Jones issue is because most of those surfing the net out there, like the reader who wisely alerted us to this long blog on Jones, may well run across Fitzpatrick. If those who frequent ISOC and see Jones’ articles there, then read what Sloan and Fitzpatrick have revealed about him, they might rightly wonder why anyone would recommend his works to those believing themselves to be Catholic. Sloan’s article explains it well, and other articles on Fitzpatrick’s site are critical of some traditionalists.

Why would ISOC sell Jones’ DVD’s? There is a good explanation for this, one that most have not fully put together but which needs to be comprehended if one is to prepare for what may well materialize in the future. Fitzpatrick’s and Sloan’s vision is not too far removed from what I posted HERE a few years ago. In this essay I noted: “In her review of Craig Heimbichner’s work, Blood on the Altar, often quoted by this author, Cornelia Ferreira writes: ‘Freemasonic leaders hope to finally fulfill their THIRD-DEGREE RITUAL by rebuilding Solomon’s Temple so that blood may again flow upon Jerusalem’s altar, defiantly reversing and nullifying, in the Talmudic and occult mind, the blood of Christ.’” My question here is, seeing that Ferreira is a registered member of ISOC, why would anyone cooperate with someone like Jones, who himself collaborates with communists (Dugin and associates) who praise Satan?

Jones has stated (see Sloan/Fitzpatrick article) that: “Russia is not a problem in the world, the US is the main problem in the world. Russia is officially Christian, in the way the United States is not… There is no Soviet Union anymore, communism has gone.” And yet research polls show that very few Russians report Russian Orthodox church attendance and many profess to be atheists. Jones even endorses Nostra Aetate, the false Vatican 2 document that denied any collective blame for the Jews in Christ’s death and called for an end to the evangelization of the Jews. The consequences of what Jones’ and others endorse are discussed below.

ISOC and its imaginary church

Canon Law considers those professing Communism, collaborating with Communism or sympathizing with Communists as apostates. True “Catholics” who associate with those who (a) are Novus Ordo recognize and resist types (b) run of the mill LibTrads and (c) types such as Jones who veer far from anything Catholic yet present are denying infallible Church teaching by their manner of acting (Can. 1325). For the Church infallibly teaches: “We deplore and condemn the pernicious error of those who dream of an imaginary Church, a kind of society that finds its origin and growth in charity, to which, somewhat contemptuously, they oppose another, which they call juridical” (Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi).  In this same encyclical, we read that Pius XII defines Church membership as “…the cooperation of all its members… [made] externally manifest through their profession of the same faith and their sharing the same sacred rites, through participation in the same Sacrifice, and the practical observance of the same laws.”

So we have this imaginary church, where both a Latin Mass in a Novus Ordo church and a Latin Mass in a LibTrad church are adjudged equally “Catholic,” (along with Uniate masses either Novus Ordo in character or those celebrated by Uniate clergy who operate independently); or one can refrain from “mass” altogether and pray at home, as long as one accepts LibTrad clergy as valid. It is a church where one can accept all Vatican 2 popes (but Francis, perhaps), reject all but John  23, or accept none after the death of Pope Pius XII. How wonderfully democratic! We are frequently criticized for measuring the Church by juridical means, (Canon Law), particularly when it involves the matter of heresy. And LibTrad pseudo-clergy and their minions generally are quite contemptuous when any proofs from canon law are produced showing they are operating invalidly and deceiving their followers. We are constantly chastised for failing to practice charity by those insisting that, contrary to Catholic teaching, all are in “good faith,” or invincibly ignorant, and must be given the benefit of the doubt.

But the “charity” extended by ISOC and others to those who yet regard the current Roman usurpers as true (if evil) popes and participate in services clearly shown to be idolatrous — worshipping mere bread as Christ’s true Body and Blood — is liberal, not Catholic charity, as demonstrated here countless times. The stated aims of ISOC, as pointed out before, is to “unite the clans” and organize a papal election to regulate everything. This in violation of infallible papal teaching, and we have written enough on this for readers to know such an election is now impossible given the invalidity of LibTrad clergy per Pope Pius XII’s Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis.

It is the insistence on this validity, and the absurd propagation of the material-formal heresy, that ties all the groups under the ISOC umbrella together. Because the key to uniting seems to be the endorsement of a “compromise” candidate for the papacy, someone from the conservative Novus Ordo sector who would “renounce” any previous heresy and return the Church to is pre-1958-status. That is the gist of the material-formal insanity, which contradicts both Pope Paul IV’s Cum ex Apostolatus Officio and Pope St. Pius V’s motu proprio, Inter Multiplices, where, in the first year of his pontificate, Pope St. Pius V confirmed everything in Pope Paul IV’s bull.

The heresy of Traditionalism — again

The teachings of both popes forbid the admittance of public heretics, apostates or schismatics to any future office in the Church. After the death of Pope Pius XII any attempting ordination or consecration were automatically invalidated and incapacitated for obtaining any offices under Canon Law and Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis. Only by their continuing contempt for Canon Law and papal teaching throughout the centuries — TRUE tradition as defined by the Church Herself — can these pseudo-clergy and their followers continue to pursue this “papal election” course and realize the establishment of their condemned imaginary church, which is really only the creation of a “traditional” version of the Novus Ordo church! It is interesting to note that in the Jones article, tradition is defined differently than it is understood by most LibTrads. It is ”perennialism” that actually reduces to the condemned heresy of Traditionalism, as mentioned in footnotes 13 and 14 to the Jones article.

In other Jones article footnotes we also find:

(170) Dugin – satanist Aleister Crowley is a traditionalist (2nd paragraph: https://arcto.ru/article/384

(171) Jones propaganda – “Western civilisation will not survive and we need to return to tradition.”

The Catholic Encyclopedia explains the heresy of traditionalism (DZ 1649-1652) as follows: “According to traditionalism, human reason is of itself radically unable to know with certainty any truth or, at least, the fundamental truths of the metaphysical, moral, and religious order. Hence our first act of knowledge must be an act of faith, based on the authority of revelation. This revelation is transmitted to us through society, and its truth is guaranteed by tradition or the general consent of mankind.” Perennialism is the belief that this “general consent of mankind” can be found in “Catholicism, Hinduism, Judaism (including the Kabbalah), Orthodox Christianity and Islam,”  which the Novus Ordo also teaches by its concessions to these rother religions. Perennialism is best explained by the link below, but beware: this is a site associated with the very individuals found at ISOC — a decidedly LibTrad sedevacantist site quoting Cekada and Sanborn — and is definitely NOT recommended by this author (https://truerestoration.org/what-is-perennialism-and-why-should-we-know-about-it/).

Three things should be noted here. One, traditionalism is the type pf perennialism peculiar to  “Latin Mass Catholics” because Perennialists consider only the orthodox” or more ancient expression of the Catholic faith as true; they reject modernism, scientism, secularism and syncretism so their beliefs appear to be Catholic when in reality they are in line with Novus Ordo teaching and practice. Secondly, the same can be said of the truerestoration site that is said about ISOC. Peel back the layers of the onion and you will find the very things they are allegedly advocating for and promoting are secretly contaminated with what they also profess to condemn! And these are contaminated in such a way that only those who know or uncover the true background of LibTrad pseudo-clergy can pick up on this fact. The truerestoration link explains the perennialism of Rama Coomeraswamy, but it fails to track this heresy back to those who imbibed it in the very seminary training they received under Marcel Lefebvre.

A tainted pool

LibTrad pseudo-cleric Rama Coomeraswamy, was the “converted” son of Hindu philosopher Ananda Coomeraswamy, who also professed perennialism. Ananda was a personal friend of Aleister Crowley’s, and the two men even “shared” Ananda’s wife. This is a known fact published in certain books as well as online. Rama’s father also mixed with many other leading occultists of the 20th century. Why a person with this familial background would be found among “catholic traditionalists” can only be explained by the meaning of tradition and traditionalism itself as stated above — it is not the Latin Mass tradition, or tradition as taught and understood by the Church. No, it is that tradition explained by John 23^rd’s biographer, Meriol Trevor, as follows: “[Roncalli] thought of himself as representing a different tradition” (Pope John, p. 206). In his Blood on the Altar, Craig Heimbichner warned that Crowley and his OTO had infiltrated the Church in ways Catholics could not comprehend. The two Coomeraswamys can be linked to that Satanic pathway into the remnant Church via LibTrad pseudo-clergy. The following on Cekada, Dolan, Sanborn and McKenna from Wikibin and Wikipedia explains why truerestoration is actually a part of the very problem this link addresses.

“Prior to his declaration as a Sedevacantist, Coomaraswamy had become close to Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The former was appointed a Professor of Church History at the New England seminary of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). It was in that capacity that he successfully influenced a significant number of students to subscribe to Sedevacantism, resulting in the separation of nine SSPX priests, among them Clarence Kelly, Daniel Dolan, Donald Sanborn, [William] Jenkins, Anthony Cekada. The group then formed the Society of St. Pius V (SSPV). When Dolan, Sanborn, Cekada and most of the other priests of the SSPV began to dissent from the rigorist leadership of Kelly, Coomaraswamy again joined them in departing from the SSPV. They then united in a loose manner as the Instauratio Catholica. Over time, even this loose confederation frayed and ceased to exist” (https://www.wikibin.org/articles/rama-p.-coomaraswamy.html). “[“Bishop”] Robert F. McKenna participated in a number of exorcisms and worked for many years with demonologist Dave Considine and Rama Coomaraswamy, M.D.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McKenna). Need we say more?

Masonic origin of the term ‘traditionalist’

The term traditionalist came into use in 1965 when Rev. Gommar DePauw founded the Catholic Traditionalist Movement (CTM) in New York. This was done under the auspices of a Masonic organization, The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, (OSJ), also known as the Shickshinny Knights. (This group is not to be confused with the “Catholic “ order, the Knights of Malta, (SMOM), investigated under Pope Pius XII for Masonic infiltration and its status as a Catholic knighthood indefinitely suppressed. Pius XII died before the investigation was concluded, but Roncalli reinstated the order.) On its official letterhead, the OSJ itself claims regarding CTM: “During the Second Vatican Council, our members attending the council as Cardinals, Bishops, with their ‘periti’ priests realized there was going to be a great deal of confusion and disturbance afterwards. So under the brilliant and cogent leadership of our Grand Prelate Bishop Blaise S. Kurz and with the support of Francis Cardinal Spellman of New York, WE started the Catholic Traditionalist Movement” (document available on request).

As always maintained here, this proves that an alternative organization to sweep up those exiting Vatican 2 was deliberately created beforehand to deceive the elect. The ambiguous use of the word traditionalist or tradition, misapplied to the liturgy only and not used as the Church Herself defines it, was unquestionably accepted and adopted by Catholics who did not even know, far less understand, its origins and connection to an actual heresy condemned by the Church. In a 1981 article for The Roman Catholic publication, entitled “Light on the OSJ,” sedecvacantist Anthony Cekada wrote:

“In the mid-1960’s, the head of the Catholic Traditionalist Movement (CTM) in Westbury, New York, Father Gommar De Pauw, became involved with the OSJ. In a telegram to Mr. Pichel [OSJ co-founder] dated June 23, 1968, Father De Pauw (a Doctor of Canon Law and former seminary professor) said that: “I have today informed His Holiness Pope Paul VI that, in virtue of the perpetual privileges granted by his predecessors to the Sovereign Order, we have today offered the first public traditional Latin Mass in the Ave Maria Chapel of the Greater New York Priory located in the Catholic Traditionalist Center in Westbury… The red and white flag of our Order once again waves in American skies. Father De Pauw signed himself as “Knight-Commander of Justice, Prior, Chaplain.”

“OSJ literature published in 1968 noted that Father De Pauw was “Coordinator and Dean of the Roman Catholic Section” of the OSJ’s “Ecclesiastical Tribunal” and that the Westbury Chapel was the “Roman Catholic Church of the Order for the Official Investiture of Knights in the Greater New York Priory.” (The Coordinator of the “Old Roman Catholic Section of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal” was listed as “The Rev. Dr. Gerard G. Shelley.”) Other OSJ literature published that same year notes that: “From the very beginning, all the speeches and writings of the Rev. Dr. Gommar A. De Pauw established his eagerness and true feeling of the spirit of sane Ecumenism [???-Ed.] as opposed to insane ecumania in the following words: “The time is overdue when Traditionalist Roman Catholics and conservative Protestants join hands and forces to save whatever is left of Christianity.” Father De Pauw later left the OSJ and continued to celebrate the traditional Mass for the CTM.” (End of Cekada quotes). Cekada ends his article by advising Traditionalists not to join the OSJ.

In the article HERE, it is explained how Marcel Lefebvre was later identified with the OSJ and even acted as its Grand Master. Since Coomeraswamy was an avid Lefebvrist at one point and Cekada, Sanborn and others mentioned above were his admiring students, it is not a far leap to conclude Coomeraswamy was at least a sympathizer if not an actual OSJ member. Certainly the type of ecumenism professed by the OSJ tallies with his accursed perennialism. And what is practiced by associations such as ISOC and other LibTrad organizations is simply a “catholic” variety of ecumenism — uniting the fractured LibTrad clans claiming the name Catholic with no common doctrinal basis whatsoever for their beliefs. The Church is ONE in belief; apostolicity of DOCTRINE is superior to that of mission, for without teaching the true doctrines Christ taught His apostles, there could be no mission. True belief must precede practice, or nothing can be Catholic.

Yet further proofs Trad pseudo-clergy are invalid

Although there should be no need for additional proofs that LibTrad pseudo-clergy are indeed invalid, the above information should be added to the list. And here we also wish to add the following statement by the then Archbishop of Nicaea, Raphael Merry del Val, later to become Pope St. Pius X’s Secretary of State. In his 1902 refutation of the Protestant Dr. Oxenham, The Truth of Papal Claims, Abp. del Val proves that the idea that the juridic Church cannot exist without the Pope is not novel at all but was well understood in the early part of the 20th century, having already been taught by Pope Pius IX. Abp. del Val wrote:

“The Church is built upon the Apostles but upon the Apostles as Christ ranked them with their Prince at their head, who was endowed by Him with special prerogatives… Accordingly, St. Paul speaks of the Apostles collectively and he couples them with the Prophets as authorized teachers of divine truth. In doing so, Paul does not exclude but includes Peter with whatever powers Christ gave him. That special office must last as long as the Church herself remains, namely to the end of time… The Apostolic Office, therefore, remains in the Church in the person of St. Peter’s successor and in the Catholic episcopate when united to its divinely constituted head, the rock of the whole edifice. FOR WITHOUT HIM THERE CAN BE NO CATHOLIC EPISCOPATE AND NO SUCCESSION FROM THE APOSTLES ACCORDING TO THE MIND OF CHRIST. And thus it is not correct to say, as Dr. Oxenham says, that ‘All bishops alike are successors of St. Peter as an apostle.’

“Bishops have power and jurisdiction in their own right, for the Holy Ghost hath placed them to rule or feed the Church of God and accordingly the Pope, the chief Bishop, addresses them as his ‘venerable brethren’. But the actual exercise of that power and jurisdiction which the bishops hold from God is BY THE WILL OF GOD united with and DEPENDENT UPON the Apostolic Office centered and living in the Rock, the chief Ruler, the Chief Shepherd of the whole flock. Unlike the individual apostles, the individual Bishop has not received from God a universal mission in the world.”  And Abp. del Val is not alone. Rev. J. Tixeront, in his Holy Orders and Ordination: A Study in the History of Dogma,(1928), quotes medieval canonists as far back as 1125 to the effect that for orders to be considered valid, they must be conveyed with the accompanying (papal) approval necessary to jurisdiction (i.e., papal mandate for episcopal consecration).

As Pope Pius IX, Abp. del Val and Pope Pius XII, (in his Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis) — all teach such presumed jurisdiction cannot exist without the pope. Rev. Tixeront insists that if there is any doubt regarding ordination or consecration, it must be conditionally repeated. And as the most recent practice of the Church shows: “(Nov. 18, 1931 Holy Office decision): “A Catholic who lapses from the Church and receives orders from a schismatic bishop can be received back into the Church only on the understanding that such ordinations, even if valid, will be completely disregarded,” (Dr. Leslie Rumble, Homiletic and Pastoral Review: “Are Liberal Catholic Orders Valid?” 1958).

Conclusion

Much more could be said on this topic and may be explored later, but the themes above only reinforce what I have tried to expose for over three decades. The neo-Modernist LibTrads are working in plain sight, if one only points out their covert affiliations, to bring about a LibTrad ecumenical version of the Novus Ordo church headed by yet another false pope. Their proponents may present as valid clergy, or even as laypeople praying at home. But their aim is the same — hide their true affiliations and beliefs in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Henry Edward Cardinal Manning warned us in his work The Vatican Decrees in Their Bearing on Civil Allegiance (p. 111, 115-116) that the Old Catholics were planning a coup to topple the Church; one of the reasons that the Vatican Council was convened. And as Cekada quotes from an OSJ circular: “In a long program designed for the unity of all the Christian Churches, the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem recognizes and accepts both the Old Roman Catholic Church and the papal Roman Catholic Church as one and the same Universal Church.”

The more things change, the more they remain the same. In his encyclical Quartus Supra, Pope Pius IX wrote:

“Long ago Christ warned that many would come in His name, stating that they were the Christ, and as a result, seduce many; this has proved true. For by means of the new schism which arose three years ago among the Armenians in Constantinople, the common enemy of the human race is wholly engaged in undermining faith, destroying truth and disrupting unity by worldly wisdom, heretical discussion, subtle, clever deceit, and even, where possible, by the use of force. While exposing the pretenses and plots of this enemy, St. Cyprian lamented that ‘he snatches human beings out of the very church and while they think they have already drawn near to the light and escaped from the night of the world, he brings darkness over them once more in ways of which they are unaware. Thus, although they do not observe Christ’s gospel and His law, they call themselves Christians and judge that they possess the light while they walk in darkness, attracted and deceived by the adversary. For he transfigures himself like an angel of light, as the Apostle says (2 Cor 11.14) and disguises his ministers as ministers of justice who present night as day, ruin as salvation, hopelessness in the guise of hope, faithlessness under the pretext of faith, the antichrist with the title of “Christ.” Thus while telling lies which resemble truths, they make vain the truth by their subtlety… (para. 5)

“The chief deceit used to conceal the new schism is the name of “Catholic.” The originators and adherents of the schism presumptuously lay claim to this name despite their condemnation by Our authority and judgment. It has always been the custom of heretics and schismatics to call themselves Catholics and to proclaim their many excellences in order to lead peoples and princes into error… For the Catholic Church has always regarded as schismatic those who obstinately oppose the lawful prelates of the Church and in particular, the chief shepherd of all. Schismatics avoid carrying out their orders and even deny their very rank… They are schismatics even if they had not yet been condemned as such by Apostolic authority” (paras. 6 and 12).

We have quoted this many times before; it never grows old. And as many times as we discover that it is necessary, we will no doubt quote it again. This blog is written for the further education of those who already believe and understand, as well as for those laboring to understand. But FIRST AND FOREMOST, it is written to defend the truths of Faith and promote God’s honor and glory. So even if no one reads it at all, it will be printed here as God wills and for as long as He wills.

Why JBS failed to finger Commie “popes” in 1960s

by T. Stanfill Benns | Feb 18, 2025 | New Blog

+St. Bernadette Soubirous+

Introduction

A few months ago, in the blog article HERE, I mentioned the exposure of upper-level John Birch Society (JBS) members and their associates as high-degree Freemasons. Recently, a reader brought my attention to Francis’ picture on the January cover of the JBS magazine New American asking the question: “Is the Pope a Communist?” by William F. Jasper. Jasper has been writing for in the affirmative. While this will be received by those in the Novus Ordo sect opposing Francis as a confirmation of their claims that he’s not a true pope, the very fact that the article is belatedly trumpeting this fact should sound alarm bells. Why? Because the Birch Society, established in 1960, certainly did not call out the Communist sympathizers Roncalli (John 23) and Montini (Paul 6) whose conduct in the 1950s (and later their concessions to Communist leaders and governments) made their intentions clear long ago. Even though the idea of a sede vacante had been raised, they never seriously addressed the issue at a time when it was most crucial that it be addressed. And as mentioned in the Francis article, they knew full well that the Church had been infiltrated.

This because those espousing sede vacante then were considered the lunatic fringe, and no one picks up paid members by appearing to consider such theories. Had Traditionalists themselves made the papacy their primary concern and cried foul, this might not have been the case. They had the tools at hand — papal pronouncements, Canon Law, Church history and much more — but they refused to study the matter and arrive at certitude regarding the validity of the 1958 election. The Siri fanatics clouded the matter by insisting their boy was the real pope — another failed attempt to “preserve” the papal line, as demonstrated HERE. Practicing heretical exclusivism, LibTrads championed the liturgy above papal supremacy, as if the liturgy could exist without valid clergy in communion with a certainly canonically elected pope to celebrate it. As we wrote in our last blog, they called themselves Traditionalists because they believe, as the Traditionalists condemned by the  Church believed, that: “Human reason is of itself radically unable to know with certainty any truth or, at least, the fundamental truths of the metaphysical, moral, and religious order” (Catholic Encyclopedia).

Catholics ignorant of their faith and desperate for clergy were oblivious. As stated last week, their Modernist-leaning clergy had already eroded the authority of the papacy to such an extent they scarcely paid attention to the discrepancy. They viewed Traditionalists as the new heads of their Church and the JBS offered them an alternative world view that seemed to agree with the Church’s stand against Communism. This view, however, was Americanist-leaning and skewed. Russia, Russia, Russia was the real terror — no mention of the erosion of morals, the destruction of the Church and her absence as a guiding force on the world stage, or the dangers of Freemasonry and the Illuminati. Instead Catholics were offered the conspiracy of the Bilderbergers, the CFR, the Federal Reserve and world bankers, etc. Any weaving in of the Freemasons and the Modernists, or the real cause of Russia’s errors — schism — was left out of the equation. But then what can one expect with Freemasons running the show?

And this diversion and reorientation successfully distracted Catholics exiting the Novus Ordo from focusing on the purely spiritual nature of the problems in the world. Because their “priests” actively supported and promoted the JBS, they followed right along. But over time, Birch influence seemed to wane with Traditionalists. The Internet was born and more interesting conservative talking heads popped up everywhere. Trad sects abounded in every shape and form imaginable. Now Birchers sense a new opportunity, perhaps — a new exodus from the Novus Ordo they can cash in on. Novus Ordo sect members are calling out Francis as pope, unlike those leaving in the 1960s-1970s, and the JBS is siding with them. So what has changed, and why are they now deciding, after all the damage is done, that the man they are still calling “Pope” is a Communist? Readers can probably guess the answer, but let’s hit the high points.

The Birch Society’s Masonic agenda

Jasper asks, toward the end of his article, “Were American intelligence agencies used to coerce and blackmail “regime change” in the Roman Catholic Church? Is this a key part of the Deep State’s plan to create a Deep Church?  It certainly looks that way, as we have reported here in the past.” Here Jasper is referring to his comments on Bp. Vigano’s letter to Pres. Trump in June of 2020: “There are faithful Shepherds who care for the flock of Christ, but there are also mercenary infidels who seek to scatter the flock and hand the sheep over to be devoured by ravenous wolves. Just as there is a deep state, there is also a deep church that betrays its duties and forswears its proper commitments before God.” Vigano, the new Lefebvre, was ordained in 1968. His consecrator, Bishop Carlo Allorio, is listed as a Council Father for all four sessions of the false Vatican 2 council. Needless to say, as a member of the Novus Ordo sect Allorio was incapacitated to validly ordain or consecrate anyone, per Pope Pius XII’s Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis and the 1917 Code of Canon Law, then in effect. So Vigano, an avid supporter of Benedict 16, is no cleric.

What is the purpose of the JBS in ignoring the blatant Communist affiliations of John 23 and Paul 6 and suddenly recognizing those of Francis now? Well it is quite simple, if one follows the stated intent of the Masonic game plan. The secret societies do not want to wipe out the idea of the papacy. Instead, as they state in the Alta Vendita: “What we must ask for, what we should look for and wait for, as the Jews wait for the Messiah, is a Pope according to our needs… To assure ourselves a Pope of the required dimensions, it is a question first of shaping for this Pope a generation worthy of the reign we are dreaming of. Leave old people and those of a mature age aside. Go to the youth and if it is possible, even to the children. You will contrive for yourselves at little cost a reputation as good Catholics and PURE PATRIOTS…”

That generation raised at least partially in the reign of Pope Pius XII, who fled the Novus Ordo sect in the 1960s and 1970s, will soon be gone. Their children and grandchildren, born following Vatican 2, the advent of the Internet and all modern perversions, will then be all that is left of those who at least identify as Catholic. Scarcely any of them have been imbued with any true Catholic sense, only that false sense conveyed to them by Traditionalists and the false church in Rome. They follow only what their misguided “clergy” tell them, those pretending to retain their titles of cardinals, bishops and priests. They are incapable of independent thought or investigation, unless it tends to the Modernist bent of their leaders. They have no idea of what really happened following the death of Pope Pius XII and seem to have never heard of the Catholic rule of law, the observance of the Sacred Canons contained in the 1917 Code. If they follow any law at all, it is only that of the desecrated 1983 code instituted by John Paul 2.

Most of them are good little patriots; some of them are Americanists. The Birchers saw to that, presenting as “pure patriots.” This is why many conservatives in the Novus Ordo sect and some LibTrads will welcome the endorsement of the John Birch Society, and because of their parents’ and grandparents’ involvement it will be familiar to them and will even pass for “tradition.” The new-churchers enjoy the freedoms granted them by the false Vatican 2 council and have no desire to relinquish them. It normalizes their relationship with their non-Catholic peers and the false charity it exudes makes socializing with them so much easier. They have been rigorously brainwashed into believing that the papacy will exist “unto the consummation,” when this was never taught by the Church. In fact the absence of the papacy and the Mass in the end times has been anticipated by the Fathers and revered Catholic theologians and commentators, who base their teaching on Divine revelation. But of course this does not concur with the Masonic ideal; Masons have no desire to destroy the idea of the papacy, only to pervert and manipulate it.

JBS identified as Masons decades ago

We have often quoted Mary Lejeune, a Catholic writer who passed away in the 1980s, on the JBS. There was some realization of the unCatholic position of the JBS even then, as Lejeune reports in her Sept.-Oct. 1976 newsletter: “The favorable response to my May-June issue re the connection between The John Birch Society and The Orthodox Roman Catholic Movement [founded by Fathers Saenz-Arriaga and Francis Fenton] was absolutely overwhelming!  Many, many of the letters and long-distance telephone calls came from Catholic ex-Birchers (I had no idea that there were so many on my mailing list) who related to me the many sad experiences that they had suffered through — once they found out the truth about the JBS and decided to expose said organization. Quite a few had given up in frustration after they found that their sincere efforts to help out were thwarted by certain “cliques” within the Society.  One lady asked me if I was aware of the “Zionist infiltration” within the JBS.  I am completely aware of this situation (readers have sent me much documentation to this effect) — a situation which causes me great concern since the safety of Catholics, who refuse to leave the Society, is at stake!”

“I am concerned about them because the ORCM organization is run (with few exceptions) by priests and laity who are what can only be referred to as “super-Birchers.”  These super-Birchers are thwarting the efforts of people, such as myself, to expose the Masonic and Zionist influence within the JBS (and other “anti-communist outfits like them) in order to protect the Catholic members of the “remnant” who sincerely believe that they cannot live without the Mass and who will go anywhere to attend it… Mr. Welch believes in evolution (some Christian!) As anyone turning to page 140 of his “Blue Book” can clearly see. On page 155 of the same book we find that the Society is both a religion (?) and a revolution. I can believe this since the Birchers tried to “pump” me (however subtly) regarding the so-called “changes in the Catholic Church” since Vatican II.

“As I said previously, I have known about the Masonic nature of the JBS for a long time, but within the last six months or so I have learned a lot more about the deception and hypocrisy which is going on within said Society… Some will claim that these are days of emergency (against a Communist takeover which has already occurred), and that we should ignore our different religious beliefs and fight the battle together.  The Novus Ordo “hierarchy” keeps telling the new “People of God” the same thing.  Anyone who suggests such a thing to Catholics is putting said Catholics in a position wherein they can quickly become weakened in their faith.  Once the faith is weakened, there is a great danger of losing it entirely… Today, dear readers, we are in a spiritual battle, a death-struggle between the real Catholic Church and Satan himself and there isn’t a political organization in existence today which can save the world — especially this country.

“The morals in this country today are so decadent that only the great chastisement from the hand of God can purify it.  And let the Birchers not tell me that they write against immorality — indeed they do! But let them clean up their own “closets” in the “upper echelons” before they start preaching to others… The JBS gives hope to the people when there is no hope. The JBS, like some other “anti-communist” preachers around today, have to give people hope, otherwise they would go out of business, and the JBS is a very commercial organization! …America is doomed — not because good people didn’t fight to save her.  America is doomed because the Catholic hierarchy (made up of enemies and cowards) robbed the American people (both Catholics and Protestants) of a strong, spiritual leadership.” (End of Lejeune quotes.)

So true Catholics were warned, and some listened even then. But their children and grandchildren certainly have not been warned and are more vulnerable today by far than their parents ever were.

A new “conservatism” is the real goal

Once everything is put into perspective, the JBS’s motives become clear. They deliberately ignored the ”soft” takeover of the papal See in Rome because John 23 and Paul 6 were “normalizing” church relations with Freemasons. Later John Paul 2 walked some of the more egregious abuses of his predecessors back, just enough that it appeared he was anti-Communist, given his Polish origins and work with the underground during World War II. Then Benedict 16 continued this course, appearing even more “traditional,” and the Latin Mass groupies were encouraged. So this is where they picked up, citing their previous articles on Vigano’s “Deep Church.” It doesn’t matter that a much more comprehensive volume (John Courtenay Murray, Time/Life and the American Proposition, David Wemhoff, 2015), superior documentation-wise by far to Taylor Marshall’s Novus Ordo work, proves that the election of Roncalli was invalid, owing to lay interference (and the 1917 Code of Canon Law).

Like the LibTrad pseudo-clerics themselves, the JBS wishes to keep the idea of a papal “line” alive at all costs. Sacrificing dogma on the altars of their greed and lust for power, they are happy to violate the laws and teachings of the Church if it advances their own agenda. Nor is there any regard for Catholic teaching, for the Vatican 2  documents on ecumenism only echo the JBS’ own credo — liberty, equality and fraternity.  Proof of this can be found on page 11 of The Neutralizers, written by JBS founder Robert Welch: “All we are interested in here is opposing the advance of Communism so that Jews and Christians alike, and Mohammedans and Buddhists, can again have a decent world to live in.”  Lejeune nailed it when she wrote that the JBS teaches: “…we should ignore our different religious beliefs and fight the battle together.”  This fits right in with the American Proposition — that Catholics have no right to claim the Catholic Church is the one true Church of Christ or evangelize to this effect.

Toward the end of his article, Jasper writes: “The papal throne does seem to be occupied by an individual who fits the description of an apostate socialist/communist. How has this come about? The answer to that burning question would require much more space than is available here. However, it is important to note that the subversion we are now witnessing in the Bergoglian papacy was made possible by more than a century of patient infiltration.” It is how the results of this infiltration are interpreted and who is interpreting them that matters, and the JBS surely knows this. It is why they have waited all this time to address this matter head on, when it is too in-your-face to ignore. They quote Pope Pius XI’s Divini Redemptoris, but they do not cite Pope Pius XII’s 1948 and 1949 condemnations of Communism, which declare those either sympathizing with it or openly advancing it, particularly public officials, as apostates. It is the pope’s judgment, not theirs, that must be the determining factor here.

Francis and all his predecessors back to John 23rd were either Communist sympathizers or active supporters of Communism and therefore are considered apostates. As non-Catholics, none could validly be elected pope, given their affiliations. And yet the JBS fails to acknowledge this, pretending that 100 years (and more) of active infiltration would not contaminate and place into question the entire clerical pool. No, they leave it in the hands of those accepting these men as valid popes, with the exception of Francis. And this because the endgame rules call for a usurper pope who appears to be valid and conservative (by today’s standards only), working with world governments to realize the Masonic dream of a one-world religion. Once the Catholic Church was stripped of every vestige of possible efficacy and sacramental validity, there was no objection to this proposition. In fact it could eventually work hand in hand with a plan that would appear to endorse conservatism and reject the New World Order, purging the existing church in Rome and returning to the “old Church,” under the auspices of a charismatic leader restoring the world to a more conservative state.

This would satisfy both the “Catholic” expectations of restoration and a period of peace, foretold in Catholic prophecy and at Fatima, as well as usher in peace in Israel and the advent of the Jewish Messiah. A new “pope” could even rule from Jerusalem. And this would satisfy the goals of both the secret societies and their JBS satellites.

The JBS and British Israel

The Protestant writer Helen M. Peters states that “[Robert Welch’s] definition of Christianity is British Israel and is not based on the Deity of Jesus Christ at all…” The British-Israel hypothesis is that “Anglo-Saxons are the lineal descendants of the ten tribes of Israel and inherit the wonderful promises made to them. These promises the Anglo-Saxons possess nationally” (Protestant theologian William Hoste). “It thus provides for the world another gospel, which captivates and hypnotizes them with the thought of capturing great earthly blessings for themselves and the British Empire, apart from repentance and faith in Christ, as though He had never died and risen to procure us blessings…” British Israel can be found on the second level of the Masonic pyramid appearing in the original edition of Lady Queenborough’s work, Occult Theocrasy. Concerning the end times, British Israel advocates believe that:

• Before the Second Coming, the Jerusalem temple will be rebuilt.
• The Jerusalem temple, not the Church, is where Antichrist will show himself as God.
• Following the Second Coming, this same temple will exist in Jerusalem, or possibly a new or reconsecrated one.
• During an earthly millennium, animal sacrifices offered at this temple will commemorate Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.

As I have explained before, it is primarily the British Israel adherents, among them Traditionalists, who expect a millennium and the restoration of Christ’s Church on earth. Traditionalists believe they will be the beneficiaries of this restoration and Fundamentalists believe it will be a Jewish operation that will somehow include Christians, but they are not in agreement on the extent or timing of this involvement. Millenarianism, even in its mildest, spiritual sense, has been condemned by the Holy Office and is entered into the Acta Apostolica Sedis (ASS 36, 1944, 212). The condemnation reads: “The Holy Office issued a decree on July 11, 1941 (in the session held on July 9) which reached the same conclusion in a letter sent to Archbishop Jose M. Caro-Rodriguez in Santiago, Chile: “It is not possible to safely teach systematic millenarianism even if moderated — namely that it is Catholic revelation that Christ, at the resurrection of the just, will return to reign bodily on this earth.”

In an Internet article, B. E. Strauss, identifying as a Catholic layman, observes that: “The consummation of the ages denotes the last of all ages of the world, the age of the Church. This last age consummates the ages that came before, and it is itself consummated by the consummatio saeculi, by the consummation of the (last) age” or actual consummation by fire/end of the world. Strauss points out that the most common interpretation is consummation of the world, not consummation of the ages or centuries, as it should be. He notes that the Church has not said much on this discrepancy.  But as noted in previous blogs, there are other indications from magisterial documents that the hierarchical Church is not guaranteed to last “unto the consummation” of the world by fire as previously thought. In order to avoid even mitigated Millenarianism, it is important to not associate the “end of the age or centuries” translation with the meaning that such an age will be succeeded by a 1,000-year period of peace.

Strauss continues: “…The Vatican Council solemnly teaches that the Lord promised shepherds and teachers until the consummation of the age – usque ad consummatio saeculi — which, according to Catholic commentary, BEGINS WITH THE REVELATION OF ANTICHRIST, who is announced to reign before the return of the Lord. Hence, apostolic succession seems to have come to an end already, and we deal with shepherds of vengeance.” The thousand-year reign probably began after the papacy was firmly established in Rome once the major persecutions of Christians subsided. In 445, Emperor Valentinian pronounced that the Bishop of Rome was the law for all. Pope Gelasius I was the first pope to be called Vicar of Christ (492-496). A little over 1,000 years later, Luther tacked his heresies to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral, followed by Henry VIII’s defection around 1532. Freemasonry was established in England 200 years after Luther’s revolt but existed secretly from the late 1400s on.

Conclusion

A new world order might mean something different than people are expecting. It could mean that a majority of countries together decide to roll back the clock so to speak, peacefully co-exist, appear to return to a more spiritual existence and more or less live by democratic principles — for a time. But we must remember that “The day of the Lord shall so come, as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, peace and security; then shall sudden destruction come upon them, as the pains upon her that is with child, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. For all of you are the children of light, and children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do; but let us watch, and be sober” (1Thess. 5: 1-6). Any reconstruction of the Church or pretended peace — all will be an illusion. For there is no reconstructing the Church once she has lost Her apostolicity. And there can be no peace without Christ’s true vicar. As Msgr. Van Noort wrote in his Christ’s Church, 1959:

“Just for the sake of argument — even though it cannot actually happen — let us conjure up some church which would bear a merely specific likeness to Christ’s Church; a church which would be like it in all respects except numerical identity. Imagine, now, that the Church planted by the apostles has perished utterly. Imagine whether you make it the year 600, 1500, or 3000-that all its members have deserted. Imagine, furthermore, that out of this totally crumpled society a fresh and vigorous society springs up and then, after a time, is remodeled perfectly to meet the blueprints of the ancient but now perished apostolic structure. Such a process would never yield a church that was genuinely apostolic, that is, numerically one and the same society which actually existed under the apostles’ personal rule. There would be a brand-new society, studiously copied from a model long since extinct. The new church might be a decent imitation. IT MIGHT BE A CARICATURE. ONE THING IT DEFINITELY WOULD NOT BE IS APOSTOLIC.”

Strauss, quoted above, obviously believes Antichrist has already arrived for he says the end of the Church’s age on earth, “BEGINS WITH THE REVELATION OF ANTICHRIST, who is announced to reign before the return of the Lord. Hence, apostolic succession seems to have come to an end already, and we deal with shepherds of vengeance.” That Antichrist will be an identifiable individual is taught by the Church as certain. That he will be accompanied by those who will support and continue his persecution is confirmed by St. John, who teaches there will be “many” antichrists. Only Antichrist could cause the cessation of the Continual Sacrifice, and if this did not indeed happen in 1969, how can anyone explain why nearly all true Catholics who exited the Novus Ordo sect insisted on a return to the Latin Mass?

What Birchers and others advocating for a papal election are doing is supporting the creation of a straw man.  A “straw man” is a logical fallacy opposed to the Scholastic method of St. Thomas that occurs when a person rebuts an argument by misconstruing it. The concept itself is taken from the appearance of a scarecrow, which some at first mistake for a real man but is not a real man — it is only a contrived imitation of one. Similarly, in the strawman fallacy, those depicting Francis as a Communist are ignoring the real facts in the case, that John 23 was a Communist, his election was invalid, and Francis is one of a long line of antipopes under Canon Law. An example of a straw man argument is: “I prefer wine to whiskey,” and the straw man promoter falsely concludes: “Then you must hate whiskey.” Likewise the LibTrads, who, when one says the age of the Church and with it, apostolic succession, ended with the invalid election of Roncalli, reply, “Then you are denying indefectibility, because the Church, just as Christ constituted it, will last ‘until the consummation.’”

But as Strauss and others point out, this refers to the consummation of the ages, as stated in the 1869 Vatican Council, not the final conflagration, and the Church did indeed last unspotted until Pius XII’s death. It is quite telling that LibTrads fail to be able to explain how their argument could possibly hold up, given that Christ constituted the Church with St. Peter as its head, and their pseudo-clergy have operated as the true Church without that head since Pope Pius XII’s death. A new conservative “pope,” even if he cleaned house from top to bottom, would be yet another antipope/antichrist, meant to deepen the deception and create yet more confusion.  Francis may be breathing his last as we write this: Beware what comes after him. No matter how amazing his successor may appear to be in rivaling Pres. Trump’s swamp clean-up, regardless of whether he is hailed as Trump’s right-hand man on a spiritual level, the con is on. The next straw man can never resurrect the one, true Church, only Her caricature — the lying wonders foretold by St. Paul.

Proofs Pius XII’s VAS is infallible; Rad Trads targeted by FBI

by T. Stanfill Benns | Feb 10, 2023 | New Blog

+ St. Scholastica, Virgin +

In our last blog, and in the article HERE, we explained why Pope Pius XII’s infallible constitution Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis (VAS) must be taken exactly as it stands without any further interpretation. We also presented proofs from Pope Pius IX, the Vatican Council and Henry Cardinal Manning which condemn the arguments of those who dismiss VAS as a non-binding disciplinary decree, the object of “secondary or indirect” infallibility. But as Msgr. Joseph C. Fenton explains below in his American Ecclesiastical Review article “Infallibility in the Encyclicals,” the encyclical Humani Generis made it unquestionably clear what absolutely binds Catholics and what does not. Pope Pius IX likewise made the Church’s position on disciplinary decrees beyond dispute, calling those who refuse to accept such decrees as authoritative and binding “schismatics.”

Now it appears that the actual wording of VAS must be addressed since some have insisted that no papal document can invalidate orders received, only the exercise of jurisdiction. But this is a strawman, (a non sequitur or irrelevant counterargument or conclusion, dismissed by scholastics as an invalid argument) as will be seen below.

As can be seen from Msgr. Fenton’s article, and coursing through the conditions he lists for infallibility, (A-E) — especially regarding a papal constitution — VAS qualifies as infallible on all counts. In VAS, Pope Pius XII:

(A) Speaks to ALL Christians as a ruler and teacher, (for in para. 98 of his constitution he orders the prelates and bishops to instruct the faithful to “perform repeatedly intercessory petitions of suppliant prayers for the swift and happy outcome of so great a matter.” The pope must also:

(B) Use his supreme apostolic authority. In paragraph 1, Pius XII states: “We declare invalid and void any power or jurisdiction pertaining to the Roman Pontiff in his lifetime, which the assembly of Cardinals might decide to exercise (while the Church is without a Pope)”, and in paragraph 3, he declares: “The laws issued by Roman Pontiffs in no way can be corrected or changed by the assembly of Cardinals of the Roman Church while it is without a Pope, nor can anything be subtracted from them or added or dispensed in any way whatsoever with respect to said laws or any part of them. This prohibition is especially applicable in the case of Pontifical Constitutions issued to regulate the business of the election of the Roman Pontiff. In truth, if anything adverse to this command should by chance happen to come about or be attempted, We declare it, by Our Supreme Authority, to be null and void.”

And in para. 108, he states: “We therefore ordain and prescribe these things, decreeing that this present document and whatever is contained in it can by no means be challenged… These same documents are manifestly and will be always and perpetually true, valid, and effective… If anyone should happen to try otherwise relative to these things, by whatever authority, knowingly or unknowingly, the attempt is null and void.” Clearly the will of Pope Pius XII, in virtue of his supreme authority, is that nothing can be changed in this constitution without utterly voiding all the effects of such an act. It is important to note that in the usurpation of papal authority addressed in para. 1, the pope specifically mentions: “We declare invalid and void ANY POWER OR JURISDICTION pertaining to the Roman Pontiff in his lifetime… which the assembly of Cardinals might decide to exercise.” 

An attempt to usurp papal jurisdiction is a violation of VAS, this very papal election law which in para. 3 Pius XII forbids to be violated. Does it require papal jurisdiction and power to approve bishops prior to their consecration? It does. And such an attempt also violates canon law, which is proscribed in para. 3. Is it a usurpation of papal jurisdiction to erect a seminary? Canon Law reserves such erection to the pope, and para. 3 nullifies and voids any such erection. So if the consecration ATTEMPT of a bishop occurs without the papal mandate, it never happens; that man is invalidly consecrated and never becomes a bishop. And if such a bishop presumes to erect a seminary and ordain priests, that never happens either; since those men never became bishops and that seminary was never erected, those presenting themselves for ordination never become priests. All of this has been proven in various website treatises.

(C) The doctrine on which he is speaking has to do with faith and morals. Nothing is more essential to Catholic faith than the election of a Roman Pontiff in obedience to Christ’s establishment of the papacy which He intended to be perpetual, since this is the very act of perpetuating it. The definition of a papal constitution is: A papal document that deals with serious doctrinal matters regarding the definition of dogma, changes in canon law or other ecclesiastical matters. Apostolic constitutions are issued as papal bulls because of their solemn, public form. The Catholic Encyclopedia states: “The binding force of pontifical constitutions, even without the acceptance of the Church, is beyond question. The primacy of jurisdiction possessed by the successor of Peter comes immediately and directly from Christ.” This condition seems to be a no-brainer.

(D) A definitive judgment is issued (in this case on interregnums and papal elections). Use of Pope Pius XII’s supreme authority and command that this law can never be challenged or changed should be indisputable proof that this is a definitive judgment.

(E)  He wills that this definitive judgment be accepted by the universal Church. The very fact that Pope Pius XII uses his supreme authority to seal this document, and that it is entered into the Acta Apostolica Sedis (38-65) should be enough, given all the above, for any rational creature to see that this constitution is indeed infallible, at least in the first three paragraphs governing interregnums.

I think what is stated above is more than sufficient to prove the uncontestable infallibility of VAS. Now the question is: who among those wishing to remain truly Catholic stand ready to obey this infallible decree?

As in Holy Scripture, Fr. Felix Sarda states in his Liberalism is a Sin, so it is also with papal documents; THEY ARE TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY unless indicated otherwise by the very sense of the statement. Paragraph 4 of VAS declares that: “If any doubts should arise concerning the sense of the regulations that are contained in this Our Constitution, or even concerning the means according to which these things should be set forth in practice, or about any other chapter at all of this our Constitution, We ordain and declare that the power of imposing an authoritative decision about these things is only in the hands of the Sacred College of Cardinals.” Therefore NO ONE may even attempt to interpret it, and if they do so, it is null and void. We may only judge this document by those norms provided by Msgr. Fenton and other orthodox and approved theologians, existing when the Church was yet the Church.

Additional papal proofs Traditionalist Orders not valid

As far as orders actually received goes, I think it is quite clear from the above that Pope Pius XII, in all his many pronouncements on the papal oversight of bishops and the excommunications levied for consecration without the papal mandate for ALL rites, has sufficiently established his mind and intent in these matters. He states in VAS that should the cardinals or anyone else  (para. 2) even attempt to violate any of the provisions of his constitution, that attempt is null and void. And by his specific referral in paragraph one to the invalidity of any “power or jurisdiction” which some might attempt to exercise in the pontiff’s absence, he does not, as some claim, refer only to jurisdictional matters, but to the very power — and how can this reference refer to any other power? — granted to those who possess Orders.  For already in 1943 he had defined as “certain” in his encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi, that the bishops are dependent on the Roman Pontiff and subordinate to his authority, an authority plainly exercised to its fullest in VAS.

This too is an infallible definition since it clarifies matters under discussion for many centuries that are related to the infallibility of the Roman Pontiff, and this we have explained at length in previous blogs. Grammatically the word “or” indicates a distinction or separation, and the only alternate to that distinction is the exercise of Orders or some other power specifically granted to an individual by the Pope himself as VAS indicates. Now in any doubt that Orders have been received — and certainly there is grave doubt regarding all Traditionalist ordinations and consecrations — a pope may determine, as did Pope Leo XIII in Apostolica Curae in the case of the Anglicans, that they indeed have not received Orders. In VAS Pope Pius XII prohibits the exercise, during an interregnum, of Orders unquestionably received; but we are talking here of putative Orders no pope has never determined as valid in the case of Traditionalists, and that is an entirely different matter.

It is no secret that the Orders received by Lefebvre would need to be determined as valid by a true pope, and those conveyed by Thuc have even been questioned by certain Traditionalists who admit a papal decision would be necessary to judge their validity. If even validly consecrated and ordained men have no power or jurisdiction  and cannot usurp papal jurisdiction during an interregnum or change Church laws, how much more so those whose validity has not even yet been officially determined!! Even so, VAS is sufficiently precise in its wording to be absolutely certain that such men never become priests or bishops. Yet another document kindly forwarded to us by our Spanish readers confirms what Pope Pius VI already taught infallibly in his Charitas: priests ordained by schismatic bishops cannot and do not receive Holy Orders.

This ancient decree issued by Pope St. Leo I, the Great, proves that from the earliest times, the Church refused to recognize those ordained by bishops who were ordained without the approval of a bishop in communion with the Roman Pontiff. The Catholic Encyclopedia says of Pope  St. Leo I: “[Pope St. Leo I, the Great] died 10 November, 461. Leo’s pontificate, next to that of St. Gregory I, is the most significant and important in Christian antiquity.” Pope St. Leo the Great is quoted below, and the author quoting him notes that other popes, not just Pope St. Leo I, taught as he did.

“To Anastasius of Thessalonica, apostolic vicar in Illyria, the pontiff Saint Leo the Great told him: «Let no bishop be ordained in those churches without your approval: in this way he will take care, to make the choice with maturity, knowing that they have to pass your examination. The metropolitan who, disregarding our mandates, will be ordained without your notice, let him know that WE WILL NOT CONSIDER HIS ORDINATION AS VALID;  and he will be responsible before us for the USURPATION HE PRESUMED TO MAKE OF THE HOLY MINISTRY. If each metropolitan is entrusted with the power to ordain the bishops of his province, only to you do we reserve the ordination of metropolitans, provided, however, that a mature and thoughtful examination precede this; for although no bishop should be consecrated who is not tested and pleasing to the Lord, we want the one who is to preside over the others to excel all (73)». Pope Saint Zosimus explained himself in almost the same terms when he created Protoclus of Arles his vicar in France: Similar were the phrases with which Gregory II delegated the power to institute archbishops and bishops to the evangelical workers he sent to Bavaria, France and Germany (74)”.

1. (73 . S. Leo M. Ep. 1. ad Anast. Thessalon).
2. (74 . En Tomasin part. 1 , lib . 1 , c . 42 , n . 3 y 5).
3. (S. Leo M. Ep. 1 ad metropol. Illyriæ ap . Labbé)

The balance between the two powers: that is, The rights of the Church vindicated against the attacks of Dr. D.F. de P.G. Vigil. by Reverend Fray Pedro Gual, Vol.3, p. 202 https://books.google.es/books?id=tcOjv14YMKQC&pg=PA488&dq=equilibrio+2+potestades+tomo+tercero&hl=es&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwij5cWv9of9AhUITcAKHVd0D9gQ6wF6BAgEEAE#v=snippet&q=202&f=false 

It has taken 64 years to realize the full import of VAS, and certainly now there is nothing that can be done to rectify the situation in the Church unless and until a true pope declares Traditionalist Orders certainly valid, and that we shall ever see such a true pope now is highly unlikely. This is primarily due to the anti-Catholic teachings, distractions and disinformation peddled by Traditionalists for nearly six decades which prevented the See from ever being occupied again — a conspiracy against the papacy. Although it was God’s express will that this should happen, that fact excuses no one for their failure to act. Next, we shall see what happens when Catholics fail to obey the popes.What in the World…

What in the World…

In a Fox News report HERE, whistleblowers have revealed from a leaked document that the FBI considers “radical” Latin Mass Traditionalist Catholics as at least suspected domestic terrorists/white supremacists. (see also the articles in Newsweek and the Catholic News Agency.)  The FBI later said it will remove the document from the Bureau’s system because it is not consistent with its standards. Warnings against affiliating with these white supremacy/Christian Identity (British Israel) sects have existed on this site for over a decade. Particularly emphasized in these articles have been the dangers of reading and promoting the book written by Maurice Pinay (pseudonym for Anacleto Gonzales-Flores), The Plot Against the Church. Pinay’s work blames the Jews for destroying Tradition, the infiltration of the clergy and the Vatican 2 changes.

Concerns regarding these sects did not originate with the FBI but came from more conservative Traditionalist groups and newChurch organizations, including Fidelity magazine, decades ago. The anti-Semitic orientation of many Traditionalist sects can be traced back to the founding of so-called “Catholic Freemasonry” (Knights of St. John Jerusalem, or OSJ aka the Shickshinny Knights, other sects) in the 1950s-1960s. These sported ties to Marcel Lefebvre and other shady actors. (See the article HERE for a full explanation).

The Catholic News Agency reports that “The organizations identified in the document as adhering to “radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology” include Tradition in Action, The Remnant, Culture Wars Magazine, and the Fatima Crusader…  Both the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) and the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) are listed as potential points of contact for outreach.”

While several news commentators have denounced the investigation of the radical segment of the Traditional movement as a violation of the First Amendment, Traditionalists have left themselves wide open for these allegations by frequenting these extremist groups, which often have been charged by law enforcement and the FBI as openly plotting anarchy. Sadly, many who are innocent of such charges will be pulled in behind those who are/were involved in these activities. We by no means believe that the majority of Traditionalists are/were members of this or any other secret society or white supremacy group promoting racial hatred and anti-Semitism. But unfortunately some of them were, especially in the 1970s-1990s. And as Americans discovered with those involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol protest, the ones who were arrested or who are now under suspicion are not just those who entered the Capitol building or were on the Capitol grounds. Guilt by association was once a rejected basis for arrest, but apparently no more.

Yet the danger of being apprehended and punished is not the reason why Catholics must oppose anti-Semitism; they must oppose anti-Semitism because it is intrinsically wrong and because the Church forbids us to engage in it.  We explain this in the articles HERE and HERE.

Just as our parents so often warned us as children not to do certain things or frequent certain places without explaining in any great detail why, so the Church warns her children in the same way. Membership in Traditionalist sects is forbidden because they are schismatic, and schismatic sects are dangerous for many reasons, not just reasons dealing directly with the Mass and Sacraments. They are dangerous because they lack a pope who can rule without error in doctrinal matters, and direct the faithful. The popes have been consistent over the centuries in their teaching regarding how we are to treat the Jews, and especially Pope Pius XI and XII, given the Nazi persecution, were adamant that no one injure them or their property and that Catholics were to help them and protect them when the need arose.

We have explained over and over again how destructive of the faith disobedience to the popes and implicit denial of their infallibility, through membership in these schismatic Traditionalist sects, has been all these years. Yet all falls on deaf ears. So since Traditionalists appear to esteem Louis Cardinal Billot, perhaps they will hearken to what he says below if not our own words. Speaking of schismatic sects he writes:

“Hence, if perchance true sacraments be found in the sects, they are not in them except as goods belonging to another, which cannot profit to the salvation of anyone who receives them in full awareness of the facts as long as the error of separation or schism remains uncorrected. Moreover, the sects as such are called THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN [Apoc. 3: 9], whose heads are ANTICHRISTS, as is stated in I John 2, 18 et seq. So it is impossible that they should legitimately hold goods entrusted by Christ to the Church” (On Sacraments and Mission, De Membris Ecclesiae, Fr. Fraghi).

Why, why do these people cling to these fraudulent pseudo-clerics and groups when they can keep their faith at home without fear of offending our Lord? Are they really willing to give up their families and perhaps even their lives for them?!

Cult expert Thomas Case with Fidelity magazine wrote the following articles referencing the anti-Semitism rife among the SSPX; also the dangers to the faith posed by the OSJ and various Traditional groups:

• https://culturewars.com/news/the-society-of-st-pius-x-gets-sick
• https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=4082
• https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?RecNum=4083

Anthony Cekada wrote an article warning Traditionalists against the OSJ in 1981, but failed to mention several prominent Traditional clergy as known members of the organization: (https://www.traditionalmass.org/articles/article.php?id=56&catname=1).