.....
this missal is hereafter to be followed absolutely, without any scruple of
conscience or fear of incurring any penalty, judgment or censure, and may freely
and lawfully be used ..... Nor are
superiors, administrators, canons, chaplains, and other secular priests, or
religious, of whatever title designated, obliged to celebrate the Mass
otherwise than as enjoined by Us.
..... Accordingly, no one whatsoever is permitted to infringe or rashly
contravene this notice of Our permission, statute, ordinance, command, precept,
grant, direction, will, decree and prohibition. Should any person venture to
do so, let him understand he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the
Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.
Pope
St. Pius V, Papal Bull, QUO PRIMUM,
Tridentine
Codification of the “received and approved” traditional Roman Rite of the Mass.
Third Sunday after the
Epiphany
Conversion of St. Paul,
Apostle
St. Peter, Apostle
January 25, 2026
The
third, fourth, fifth and sixth Sundays after Epiphany have the same Introit,
Gradual, Offertory and Communion which testify to our Lord’s divinity, to the
fact that He worked miracles, and to the worship which we owe Him. In fact, throughout this time after Epiphany,
the Church does not cease to manifest our Lord’s divinity and therefore His
kingship over men. He is King over Jew
and Gentile alike; and thus, from St. Matthew, the Church chooses a Gospel
which records two miracles worked by our Lord to prove His divine Sonship to both. The
first of these as on behalf of a leper, the second of a centurion. The one, as a member of the chosen race was
bound by the law of Moses; the other, as our Lord Himself implies, was not of
the house of Israel. By one word from
our Lord the leper is cleansed, and his cure is to be made known to the priest
as “a testimony unto them” of the divinity of Christ (Gospel). The centurion, himself bears witness that our
Lord is God, by his words of humility and trust, which the Church puts on our
lips daily in the Holy Mass. Moreover,
he gives the same testimony by the argument which he builds up; taking his own
office as an illustration, he affirms that our Lord has only to speak the word
and illness will obey Him; thus the faith obtains the great miracle which he
asked.
All
nations will share in the heavenly feast in which the divinity of our Lord will
be the food of their souls. And just as
in a banqueting hall all is warmth and light, so the pains of hell, the
punishment of those reject that divinity, are well described by the cold and
the night which reign outside, the “exterior darkness” which contrasts with the
dazzling brilliance of the marriage chamber.
The
two miracles mentioned in today’s Gospel are put by St. Matthew at the end of
the Sermon of the Mount, at which “the
people were in admiration,” and so they confirm the fact, that truly it was
“from the mouth of God” that that doctrine proceeded, which caused so much
wonder in the synagogue at Nazareth (Communion). Let us make acts of faith in our Lord’s
divinity, and that we may enter into His kingdom, let us by deeds of charity
“heap upon the head” of those who hate us “coals of fire” (Epistle), that is,
feelings of confusion inspired in them by our magnanimity, giving them no rest
until they have righted the wrongs which they have done. In this way we shall make the mystery of the
Epiphany a reality in our own lives; that of Christ’s kingship over all men who
unite themselves to Him by their common faith, and who must henceforth love
each other as brethren. As St. Augustine
says, “Charity is the effect of the grace of faith in Jesus Christ.”
St. Paul of Tarsus, one of our patron
saints, was a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin.
A most zealous Pharisee, he appears in the Epistle as full of hatred
“for the disciples of the Lord.” He
becomes a “vessel of election” so filled with the Holy Ghost (Epistle), “that
all nations shall drink of its fullness,” says St. Ambrose, and shall learn
through him that “Jesus is the Son of God” (Epistle).
St. Paul is, like the twelve, an apostle of
Christ (Alleluia), “he shall sit in one of the twelve seats and shall judge the
world when the Son of Man shall Himself be seated on the throne which belongs
to Him as Son of God” (Gradual and Gospel).
We owe it to today’s feast, which follows
by a few days that of the Chair of St. Peter at Rome, and which had for its
origin a translation of Epiphany represented in a picture giving us an
admirable vision of the Kingship of Jesus.
In the foreground are the two witnesses of the Divinity of Christ, St.
Peter more especially sent to the sons of Israel and St. Paul to the Gentiles
(Collect, Gradual). In the background is
Galilee with its verdant hills where we perceive Cana, the Synagogue of
Nazareth and the lake of Genesareth, where Jesus by
His miracles proved that He was the Son of God.
INTROIT:
Ps.
96. Adore
God, all you His angels: Sion heard, and was glad,
and the daughters of Juda rejoiced.
Ps. The Lord
hath reigned; let the earth rejoice; let the many islands be glad. Glory be, etc. Adore God, etc.
COLLECT:
Almighty
and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and stretch forth
the right hand of Thy Majesty to help and defend us. Through our Lord, etc.
O God,
who hast taught the whole world by the preaching of blessed Paul the Apostle,
grant, we pray, that we who today celebrate his conversion may be following his
example draw nearer to Thee. Through our
Lord, etc.
O God,
who, together with the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, didst bestow
on Thy blessed Apostle Peter the pontifical power of binding and loosing, grant
that by the aid of his intercession we may be released from the bonds of our
sins. Who livest
and reignest, etc.
EPISTLE: Rom. 12, 16-21.
Brethren,
be not wise in your own conceits. To no man rendering evil for evil: providing
good things not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of all men. If
it be possible, as much as is in you, having peace with all men; not revenging
yourselves, my dearly beloved but give place unto wrath; for it is written:
Revenge is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. But if
thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat; if he thirst, give him to drink; for
doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his
head. Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good.
When are we overcome by
evil?
When we wish to take revenge. "Revenge is no sign of courage," says St. Ambrose, "but rather of weakness and cowardice. As it is the sign of a very weak stomach to be unable to digest food, so it is the mark of a very weak mind to be unable to bear a harsh word." "Are you impatient," says the same saint, "you are overcome; are you patient, you have overcome."
What should we do if our
reputation is injured?
We
should leave its revenge, or its defense and protection to God, who has
retained that for Himself. "But as a good name," says St. Francis de
Sales, "is the main support of human society, and as without it we could
not be useful to that society, but even hurtful to it on account of scandal, we
should feel bound, for love of our neighbor, to aim after a good reputation,
and to preserve it." We should not be too sensitive about this, however,
for too great a sensitiveness makes one obstinate, eccentric, and intolerable,
and only tends to excite and increase the malice of the detractors. The silence
and contempt with which we meet a slander or an injustice, is generally a more
efficacious antidote than sensitiveness, anger, or revenge. The contempt of a
slander at once disperses it, but anger shows a weakness, and gives the
accusation an appearance of probability. If this does not suffice, and the slander
continues, let us persevere in humility and lay our honor and our soul into the
hands of God, according to the admonitions of the Apostle.
How do we "heap coals
of fire on the head of our enemy?"
When we return him good for evil, for seeing our well meaning towards him, the flush of shame reddens his face for the wrongs he has done us. St. Augustine explains these words thus: "By giving food and drink or doing other kindnesses to your enemy, you will heap coals, not of anger, but of love, upon his head, which will inflame him to return love for love." Learn therefore, from the example of Christ and His saints, not to allow yourself to be overcome by evil, but do good to those that hate and persecute you.
ASPIRATION Ah, that I might, according to the words of St. Paul, so live that I may be a child of the Heavenly Father, who lets His sunshine on the just and the unjust!
GRADUAL:
Ps.
101. The
Gentiles shall fear Thy name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth Thy
glory. For the Lord hath built up Sion, and He shall be seen in His majesty. Alleluia, alleluia.
Ps.
96. The
Lord hath reigned; let the earth rejoice; let the many islands by glad. Alleluia.
GOSPEL: Matt.
8, 1-13.
At that
time, when Jesus was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed
him; and behold, a leper came and adored him, saying: Lord, if thou wilt, thou
canst make me clean. And Jesus, stretching forth his hand, touched him,
saying: I will, be thou made clean. And forthwith his leprosy was cleansed. And
Jesus saith to him, See thou tell no man: but go,
show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses
commanded for a testimony unto them. And when he had entered into Capharnaum, there came to him a centurion, beseeching him,
and saying: Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of
the palsy, and is grievously tormented. And Jesus saith
to him: I will come and heal him. And the centurion making answer, said: Lord,
I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my
roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a
man subject to authority, having under me soldiers; and I say to this man: Go,
and he goeth; and to another: Come, and he cometh;
and to my servant: Do this, and he doeth it. And Jesus hearing this, marvelled; and said to them that followed him: Amen I say
to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel. And I say to you that many
shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be
cast into the exterior darkness: there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion: Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee; and the servant was healed at the same hour.
Why did the leper say:
“Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean"?
He believed Christ to be the promised Messiah, who as true God had the power to heal him. From this we learn to have confidence in the omnipotence of God, who is a helper in all need (Ps. 106; 6, 73, 19), and to leave all to the will of God, saying: Lord, if it be pleasing to Thee, and well for me, grant my petition.
Why did Jesus stretch
forth His hand and touch the leper?
To show that He was not subject to the law which forbade the touching of a leper through fear of infection, which could not affect Jesus; to reveal the health-giving, curative power of His flesh, which dispelled leprosy by the simple touch of His hand; to give us an example of humility and of love for the poor sick, that we may learn from Him to have no aversion to the infirm, but lovingly to assist the unfortunate sick for the sake of Jesus who took upon Himself the leprosy of our sins. The saints have faithfully imitated Him in their tender care for those suffering from the most disgusting diseases. Oh, how hard it will be for those to stand before the Tribunal of God at the Last Day, who cannot even bear to look at the poor and sick!
Why did Christ command the
leper to tell no man?
To instruct us that we should not make known our good works in order to obtain frivolous praise (Matt. 6, 1), which deprives us of our heavenly reward.
Why did Christ send the
healed leper to the Priest?
That he might observe the law which required all the healed lepers to show themselves to the priests, to offer a sacrifice, to be examined and pronounced clean: that the priest if he beheld the miracle of the sudden cure of the leper, might know Him who had wrought the cure, to be the Messiah; and finally, to teach us that we must honor the priests because of their high position, even when they do not live in a manner worthy of their dignity, as was the case with the Jewish priests.
What it taught by the
centurion's solicitude for his servant?
That masters should take care of their sick servants, see that they are attended to in their illness, and above all that they are provided with the Sacraments. It is unchristian, even cruel and barbarous, to drive from the house a poor, sick servant, or to leave him lying in his distress without assistance or care.
Why did Christ say: I will
come and heal him?
Because of His humility, by which He, although God and Lord of lords, did not hesitate to visit a sick servant. Here Christ's humility puts to shame many persons of position who think themselves too exalted to attend the wants of a poor servant.
Why did the centurion say:
Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under
my roof?
Because he recognized Christ's divinity and his own nothingness, and therefore regarded himself as unworthy to receive Christ into his house. From this we learn to humble ourselves, especially when we receive Christ into our hearts, hence the priest in giving holy Communion uses the centurion's words, exhorting those to humility who are about to receive.
Why did he add: But only
say the word, and my servant shall be healed?
By this he publicly manifested his faith in Christ's divinity and omnipotence, because he believed that Christ, though absent, could heal the servant by a word. If a Gentile centurion had such faith in Christ, and such confidence in His power, should not we Christians be ashamed that we have so little faith, and confidence in God?
What is meant by: Many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be cast into the exterior darkness?
This was said by Christ in reference to the obdurate Jews who would not believe in Him. Many pagans who receive the gospel, and live in accordance with it, will enjoy heavenly bliss with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were the most faithful friends of God, while the Jews, God's chosen people, who as such, possessed the first claim to heaven, will, because of their unbelief and other sins, be cast into outer darkness, that is, into the deepest abyss of hell, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Thus it will be with those Christians who do not live in accordance with their faith. Therefore, fear lest you, for want of cooperation with God's grace, be eternally rejected, while others who have faithfully corresponded to the divine inspirations will enter into your place in the kingdom of heaven.
ASPIRATION
O Jesus, rich in consolations! grant me the leper's faith and confidence, that
in all things I may rely upon Thy omnipotence, and may resign myself to Thy
divine will, and may ever honor Thy priests. Grant me, also, O most humble
Jesus! the centurion's humility, that for Thy sake, I may compassionately
assist my neighbor, and by doing so render myself worthy of Thy grace and
mercy.
OFFERTORY:
Ps. 117. The right hand of the Lord hath exercised power, the
right hand of the Lord hath exalted me: I shall not die, but live, and shall
declare the words of the Lord. Alleluia.
SECRET:
May this victim, O Lord, we beseech Thee, cleanse
our offenses, and sanctify the bodies and minds of Thy subjects to celebrate
this sacrifice. Through our Lord, etc.
Hallow, O
Lord, the gifts of Thy people through the prayers of Paul Thine
Apostle: that as they are pleasing to Thee as Thine
own institution, so they may become yet more pleasing through his patronage and
intercession. Through our Lord, etc.
May the prayers and offerings of Thy Church, we ask,
O Lord, find favor with Thee through the intercession of the blessed Apostle
Peter, that what we do to celebrate his glory may avail for our forgiveness.
Through our Lord, etc.
COMMUNION:
Luke 4. They all wondered at these things, which came from
the mouth of God.
POSTCOMMUNION:
As Thou dost grant us, O Lord, to deal with so great
mysteries, so vouchsafe, we beseech Thee, to make us worthy to enjoy their
fruits. Through our Lord, etc.
Sanctified by this saving mystery, we ask, O Lord,
that we may never lack the prayers of him whom Thou hast given us to be our
patron and guide. Through our Lord, etc.
May the
sacrificial offering gladden us, O Lord, that as we proclaim Thee wonderful in
Thy Apostle Peter, we may through him receive the fullness of Thy pardon. Through our Lord, etc.
And I say to you that many
shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be cast
into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
PROPER
OF THE SAINTS FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 25th:
|
25 |
Sun |
3rd. Sunday after Epiphany The Conversion of St. Paul, Ap St. Peter, Ap |
sd |
G |
|
Mass 9:00 AM; Confessions
8:00 AM; Rosary of Reparation 8:30 |
|
26 |
Mon |
St. Polycarp, BpDM |
d |
R |
|
Mass 8:30 AM; Rosary of
Reparation before Mass |
|
27 |
Tue |
St. John Chrysostom, BpCD |
d |
W |
|
Mass 8:30 AM; Rosary
of Reparation before Mass |
|
28 |
Wed |
St. Peter Nolasco,
C St.
Agnes, VM [2nd. Time] |
d |
W |
|
Mass 8:30 AM; Rosary of
Reparation before Mass |
|
29 |
Thu |
St. Francis de Sales, BpCD |
d |
W |
|
Mass 8:30 AM; Rosary of
Reparation before Mass |
|
30 |
Fri |
St. Martina, VM |
sd |
R |
A |
Mass 8:30 AM; Rosary of
Reparation before Mass |
|
31 |
Sat |
St. John Bosco,
C |
d |
W |
|
Mass 9:00 AM; Confessions 8:00 AM; Rosary of
Reparation 8:30 |
|
1 |
Sun |
Septuagesima Sunday St. Ignatius, BpM |
sd |
V |
|
Mass 9:00 AM; Confessions
8:00 AM; Rosary of Reparation 8:30 |
are the words of the dying Prophet: Benjamin,
a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall
divide the spoil. Who, says St.
Augustine, is he that in the morning of impetuous youth goes life a wolf
in pursuit of the sheep of Christ, breathing threatenings
and slaughter against them? Is it not
Saul on the road to Damascus, the bearer and doer of the high-priest’s orders,
and stained with the blood of Stephen, whom he has stoned by the hands of all
those over whose garments he kept watch? And he who in the evening, not
only does not despoil, but with a charitable and peaceful hand breaks to the
hungry the bread of life, is it not Paul, of the tribe of Benjamin, the Apostle
of Christ, burning with zeal for his brethren, making himself all to all, and
wishing even to be an anathema for their sakes?
Dom Gueranger, The
Liturgical Year, The Conversion of St. Paul
"Be firm
and immovable in the faith. Love the
brethren. Be affectionate to one
another, being bound together in the truth."
St. Polycarp
He was a disciple of
St. John the Evangelist, whom he imitated by zealously opposing the heretics,
who were then striving to corrupt the faith.
In obedience to the command of his holy Master, he refused to hold
intercourse with Marcion, the heresiarch, whom he
called the first-born of Satan.
This energetic adversary of the proud sect that denied the mystery of
the Incarnation wrote an admirable Epistle to the Philippians, in which we find
these words: Whosoever confesses not that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, is
an Antichrist. Polycarp, then, had a right to the honour
of standing near the Crib, in which the Son of God shows himself to us in all
his loveliness, and clothed in flesh like unto our own.
Dom Gueranger,
The Liturgical Year, Feast of St. Polycarp
I have his pledge, and on that I trust, not
on my own strength. I have his written
promise. That is my staff, and my
guarantee, and my tranquil port. What matters
it to me if the whole world be upset—have I not his written word? Have I not
his letters? There is my rampart. And
there my defense. What letters? I am
with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.
Christ is with me—of whom shall I be afraid? Though stormy billows should rise up against
me, though the sea should open to swallow me, though the wrath of kings should
be enkindled against me, I will heed them no more than if they were so many
spider’s webs. Had not my love for you
kept me, I would have started this very day on my exile, for this is my
constant prayer: “O Lord! Thy will be done. I will do thy will; not what such or such an one may will, but what thou willest.”
If he will me to remain here, I will give him thanks. Yea, whithersoever he wills me to go, I will
bless his holy name.
St. John
Chrysostom, his last homily before going into the exile that would take his
life
ON RESIGNATION TO THE
WILL OF GOD
Lord, if thou wilt (Matt. 8, 2).
Those who in adversity as well as in prosperity, perfectly resign
themselves to the will of God, and accept whatever He sends them with joy and
thanks, possess heaven, as St. Chrysostom says, while yet upon earth. Those who
have attained this resignation, are saddened by no adversity, because they are
satisfied with all that God, their best Father, sends them, be it honor or
disgrace, wealth or poverty, life or death. All happens as they wish, because
they know no will but God’s, they desire nothing but that which He does and
wills. God does the will of them that fear Him (Ps. 144, 10). In the lives of
the ancient Fathers we find the following: The fields and vineyards belonging
to one farmer were much more fertile and yielding than were his neighbors’.
They asked how it happened and he said: they should not wonder at it, because
he always had the weather he wished. At
this they wondered more than ever: How could that be? “I never desire other
weather,” he replied, “than God wills; and because my
desires are conformable to His, He gives me the fruits I wish.” This submission
to the divine will is also the cause of that constant peace and undimmed joy of
the saints of God, with which their hearts have overflowed here below, even in
the midst of the greatest sufferings and afflictions. Who would not aspire to
so happy a state? We will attain it if we believe that nothing in this world
can happen to us except by the will and through the direction of God, sin and
guilt excepted, for God can never be the cause of them. This the Holy Ghost inculcates
by the mouth of the wise man: Good things and evil, life and death, poverty and
riches, are from God (Eccles. 11, 14), that is, are permitted or sent by God;
all that which comes from God, is for the best, for God doeth all things well
(Mark 7, 37). Whoever keeps these two truths always in mind, will certainly be
ever contented with the will of God, and always consoled; he will taste while
yet on earth the undisturbed peace of mind and foretaste of happiness which the
saints had while here, and which they now eternally enjoy in heaven, because of
the union of their will with the divine will.
INSTRUCTION FOR MASTERS AND SERVANTS
The master of a house should be careful to have not only obedient,
faithful, willing, and industrious servants in his home, as had the centurion
in the gospel, but still more, pious and God-fearing ones, for God richly
blesses the master because of pious servants. Thus God blessed Laban on account of the pious Jacob (Gen. 30, 30), and the
house of Putiphar because of the just Joseph (Gen.
39, 5). The master should look to the morals and Christian conduct of his
servants, and not suffer irreligious subjects in his house, for he must, after
this life, give an account before the tribunal of God, and he makes himself
unworthy of the blessing of God, often liable to the most terrible punishment
by retaining such. Will not God punish those masters and mistresses who suffer
those under them to seek the dangerous occasions of sin, keep sinful company,
go about at night, and lead scandalous lives? Will not God, one day, demand the
souls of servants from their masters? The same punishment which will befall
those who deny their faith, will rest upon careless masters and mistresses, for
St. Paul the Apostle writes: But if any man have not care of his own, and
especially of those of his house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than
an infidel (I Tim. 5, 8).
Subjects should learn from the centurion’s servants who obeyed his only
word, that they also should willingly, faithfully, and quickly do every thing ordered by their masters, unless it be
something contrary to the law of God. They should recollect that whatever they
do in obedience to their superiors, is done for God Himself. Servants, obey in
all things your masters according to the flesh, not serving to the eye, as
pleasing men, but in simplicity of heart, fearing God. Whatsoever you do, do it
from the heart as to the Lord, and not to men: knowing that you shall receive
of the Lord the reward of inheritance. Serve ye the Lord Christ (Col. 3,
22-24).
Subjects should learn from the centurion’s servants who obeyed his only
word, that they also should willingly, faithfully, and quickly do every thing ordered by their masters, unless it be
something contrary to the law of God.
They should recollect that whatever they do in obedience to their
superiors, is done for God Himself.
Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not
serving to the eye, as pleasing men, but in simplicity of heart, fearing
God. Whatsoever you do, do it from the
heart as to the Lord, and not to men: knowing that you shall receive of the
Lord the reward of inheritance. Serve ye
the Lord Christ (Col 3, 22-24).
When
the Pope does not walk “uprightly unto the truth of the gospel”
But when Cephas
(Peter) was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be
blamed.
And to his dissimulation the
rest of the Jews consented, so that Barnabas also was led by them into that
dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly unto the truth of
the gospel....
Gal 2:11-14
JESUS WELCOMES
EVERYONE THIRD SUNDAY
AFTER THE EPIPHANY
PRESENCE
: OF GOD ‑ O divine Savior, I, too,
am a poor leper; receive me : " If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean! "
MEDITATION:
I. Today's Gospel (MI 8,1‑13)
places before us two miracles of Jesus, two profound lessons in humility,
faith, and charity.
Observe the humble faith of the leper : "
Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. " He is so certain that Jesus
can heal him that he feels nothing else is necessary for his cure other than
the Lord's will. Christian faith does not wander about in subtle reasonings; its logic is simple : God can do all that He wills;
therefore, His will alone is necessary. Yet the leper does not insist; one who
lives by faith knows that God always wills whatever is best for him, even if it
brings him suffering. Therefore, instead of insisting, he prefers to abandon
himself to God's good pleasure.
Next comes the centurion. The strong, proud Roman
soldier is not ashamed to personally beg Jesus, a Galilean, to help his paralyzed
servant. Our Lord is touched by this humble, charitable act, and says at once, "I
shall go and heal him! " But the centurion continues, "I am not
worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof, but
only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. " At this point humility
becomes still more profound, and faith reaches its maximum : it is not, necessary for the Lord to go; His power is so great that a word spoken
from afar suffices to perform any miracle. Jesus Himself "marveled and
said : `Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel! ' "Is
this not a complaint against those who live so close to Him, who perhaps live
in His own house, receiving constant favors from Him, while their faith remains
very weak and therefore inefficacious?
2.
According to Jewish law, lepers were kept apart from society and no one was allowed
to go near them; likewise, the pagans were to be shunned because they did not
belong to the chosen people. Jesus goes beyond the old law and in the name of
universal charity He welcomes and heals the leper, listens to the foreign
centurion and cures his pagan servant. Thus Christ teaches us to make no
distinction of persons, not to despise sinners and infidels, but to welcome all
with loving kindness. He does not wish the good to enclose themselves in a little
circle, but to open the doors to everyone, doing good to all without concerning
themselves about the traits and opinions of others. All men are children of
God; and our charity, like the mercy of our heavenly Father, should extend to
all. This is the dominant thought of today's Epistle (Rom 12, 16‑21), where
St. Paul exhorts us to practice charity, especially toward our enemies. "To
no man rendering evil for evil .... If it be possible, as much as in you, have peace
with all men. Revenge not yourselves... but if thy enemy be hungry, give him to
eat .... Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good."
Jesus conquered evil, both physical and moral
evil, by His mercy and love. This must be our strategy too. Whatever the evil around
us, whatever the suffering it may cause us, we shall never overcome it by
arguments and discussions or by taking a stand and adhering rigidly to it. This
can only be accomplished by a delicate charity which understands intuitively the
mentality, the tastes, and the needs of others, and which knows precisely when
to intervene, to condescend and to sacrifice itself for the good of another,
even if that other is unfriendly toward us‑only
such charity can triumph over evil.
COLLOQUY:
"Being what we are and having our free will,
when we do not receive what pleases us, we sometimes refuse what the Lord gives
us, even though the gift might be the best one possible .... But no, my God,
no, no more trust in anything which I can desire for myself: do You desire for
me that which You are pleased to desire; for that is my desire, since all my
good consists in pleasing You. And, if You, my God, should be pleased to please
me, by fulfilling all that my desire asks of You, I know that I should not be
lost " (T. J. Way, 30 ‑ Exc,
17) .
O my Jesus, I trust You, I abandon myself to You,
dispose of me, of my health and of all that concerns me, according to what You
know is best for my spiritual advancement. I beg but one thing: heal my poor
soul. I too, spiritually, am a poor leper, a poor paralytic. My pride and vanity
are always ready to impair and vitiate the little good I accomplish. Sloth and
inertia seek to paralyze my efforts toward perfection. Behold me at Your feet,
O Lord; I need Your help like the leper and the paralytic servant. I too, O
Lord, believe that, if You will, You can heal me.
"Miserable though I am, I firmly believe
that You can do what You will; and the greater are Your marvels that I hear spoken
of, and the more I reflect that You can work others still greater, the stronger
grows my faith and the greater is the resolution with which I believe that You
will hear my requests " (T.J. Exc, 4).
O sweet Jesus, I beg for a little of Your overflowing
charity, which is so universal, so kind. You well know the difficulties I
sometimes encounter when practicing this virtue, especially toward those whose
ways of acting and thinking are so different from mine. O Lord, fill my heart
with warm, sincere kindness toward them. Only the charity which comes from You
will give me strength to overcome all the conflicts which arise from
differences in temperament, education and ideas. Only this charity can enable
me to sacrifice myself generously for those who hurt me and to continue to act
kindly toward those whom I naturally dislike.
O Jesus, You came on earth to enkindle the fire
of charity : enkindle in me an ardent love for my neighbor.
Sent to “preach the word of God to the Calvinists of Chablais,
he brought back sixty thousand to the Catholic Faith” (Breviary). Having become the father of the Church at
Geneva and founder of the Order of the Visitation, he shed over this double
family (Communion) the rays of his apostolic zeal and of his gently holiness.
“May your light shine before men, so that seeing your works they may
glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Gospel).
It is especially God’s goodness which this saint revealed. “If we must fall into some excess,” St.
Francis would say, ”let it be on the side of gentleness.”
“I
wish to love him so much, this dear neighbour, I wish
to love him so much! It has pleased God
so to make my heart! Oh! When shall we
be impregnated with gentleness and in charity towards our neighbour?”
St.
Francis de Sales died at Lyons in 1622.
“Let us remember this saint’s two sayings:
“You can catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than with a hundred barrels
of vinegar.” “What is good makes no
noise, noise does no good.”
St. Francis de Sales
There is no fault committed by another man of which we ourselves are
not capable if we were placed in the same circumstances and surrounded by the
same evil examples from the time of our youth.
St. Augustine
Fight, therefore, with great determination. Do not let the weakness of
your nature be an excuse. If your strength fails you, ask more from God. He
will not refuse your request. Consider this ------ if the fury of your enemies
is great, and their numbers overwhelming, the love which God holds for you is
infinitely greater. The Angel who protects you and the Saints who intercede for
you are more numerous… All He asks of you is that you defend yourself
courageously, and that, despite any wounds you may receive, you never lay down
your arms or leave the battleground.
You must not shirk your duty. This war is unavoidable, and you must
either fight or die. The obstinacy of your enemies is so fierce that peace and
arbitration with them is utterly impossible.
Dom Lorenzo Scupoli, The Spiritual Combat
The Ransomer
of Captives, St. Peter Nolasco, is thus brought
before us a few days after the Feast of his master, St. Raymund
of Pennafort.
Both of them offer to the Divine Redeemer the thousands of Christians
they ransomed from slavery. It is an
appropriate homage, for it was the result of the Charity which first began in
Bethlehem, in the heart of the Infant Jesus, and was afterwards so fervently
practiced by these two Saints…. Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldst not,
neither are they pleasing to thee; but a Body thou hast fitted unto me. Then said I, Behold I come: that is, Behold,
I come to offer myself as a Sacrifice. Divine Infant has deigned to call us
his brethren, and has given himself for our salvation; it is this same spirit
of charity which made St. Peter Nolasco devoted his
life to his suffering fellow-men.
Dom Gueranger,
The Liturgical Year, Feast of St.
Peter Nolasco
God loves with
intensely tender love those of us who are happy enough to abandon ourselves
entirely to his fatherly care, letting ourselves be governed by his divine
providence without wasting time by considering if the effects of this
providence will be useful, profitable, or harmful for us. We can be assured
that from all that has been sent to us from his fatherly and lovable heart, God
will draw goodness and value, provided that we have placed all our confidence
in him and that we say willingly: "I place my spirit," -- my soul, my
body, and all that I am -- "into your blessed hands" to do with as
you wish.
I recommend to you holy
simplicity. Look straight in front of you and not at those dangers you see in
the distance. As you say, to you they look like armies, but they are only willow
branches; and while you are looking at them you may take a false step. Let us
be firmly resolved to serve God with our whole heart and life. Beyond that, let
us have no care about
tomorrow. Let us think only of living today well, and when tomorrow comes, it
also will be today and we can think about it then. In all this we must trust
and be resigned to God's providence. We must make provision for enough manna
for the day, and no more. Let us not doubt that God will provide more for us
tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and all the days of our pilgrimage.
Let's not waste time in
willing and wishing for things, but let God arrange them. We should "cast
all our care upon him, since he cares for us," as the apostle Peter says.
And note that he says: "all our care," that is, all our concern about
what comes to us from the events of life as well as what comes to us from what
we want or don't want. "He will take care" of the success of these
things and he wishes for us whatever is best.
St. Francis de Sales on
the Providence of God
We must distinguish between the
error which we may tolerate on questions not diligently examined and not yet
defined by the full authority of the Church, and the error trying to upset the
very foundations of the Church, which we cannot tolerate.
St Augustine
The Order of Mercy (Mercedarians)
for the Ransom of Captives founded by St. Peter Nolasco,
with the help of St. Raymund of Pennafort
and King James of Aragon, was a militant order. It was founded about twenty
years after St. Felix of Valois and St. John of Matha
founded the Trinitarian Order for the Ransom of Captives dedicated to Our Lady
of Good Remedy which was strictly a religious society. The original title of
St. Peter's order was: The Royal, Military and Religious Order of Our Lady of
Mercy for the Redemption of Captives. It
admitted both knights and religious. The knights were to guard the coasts against the Saracens, but
were obliged to choir when not on duty. Its
purpose was to employ whatever means necessary to rescue Catholics held as
slaves by the Moslems. St. Peter himself was never
ordained priest; and the first seven generals or commanders were chosen out of
the knights, though the friars were always more numerous. St.
Peter Nolasco was buried wearing a cuirass and
bearing a sword. It is estimated that in
our present day more than 125,000 Christians are killed annually by Moslems
worldwide while Pope Francis, along with his conciliar
predecessors, sings their praises and begs for "mutual respect." He offers the Muslims "respect for their
religion, its teachings, its symbols, its values.... its religious leaders and
its places of worship" while at the same time he held in contempt the
immemorial ecclesiastical traditions of the Roman Catholic Church and the
Catholics who are faithful in the defense of these necessary attributes of our
faith.
“..... Turning to mutual
respect in interreligious relations, especially between Christians and Muslims,
we are called to respect the religion of the other, its teachings, its symbols,
its values. Particular respect is due to religious leaders and to places of
worship. How painful are attacks on one or other of these! It is clear that,
when we show respect for the religion of our neighbours
or when we offer them our good wishes on the occasion of a religious
celebration, we simply seek to share their joy, without making reference to the
content of their religious convictions. Regarding the education of Muslim and
Christian youth, we have to bring up our young people to think and speak
respectfully of other religions and their followers, and to avoid ridiculing or
denigrating their convictions and practices. We all know that mutual respect is
fundamental in any human relationship, especially among people who profess religious
belief. In this way, sincere and lasting friendship can grow....”
Pope Francis, July 10, 2013
The Most Holy Virgin in these lasts times in which we live has given a new
efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary, to such an extent that there is
no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal, or above all,
spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the
families of the world or of religious communities, or even of the life of
peoples and nations that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter
how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Rosary! With the Holy Rosary we will save ourselves. We will sanctify ourselves. We will console our Lord and obtain the
salvation of many souls.
Sr. Lucy of Fatima on the Rosary
For these ills caused by carnal pride the Fathers (of the Church) offer
the usual triple medication, three nostrums which won’t eliminate the disease
entirely, but will at least relieve the painful symptoms: 1) Make it a practice
to always to place ourselves below others, both mentally and
actually. Even the necessary exercise of
authority is no obstacle to this, if we remember that authority is essentially
a service to those we must govern. 2) Bear
all affronts with patience, meditating the while on our Lord’s Passion and
all He endured even though He was the Son of God and supremely innocent. 3) Keep in mind at all times the shortness
of this life, which renders the solicitations of pride hardly worth the
trouble.
Solange Hertz, Sin Revisited
“St. Peter Nolosco and his knights were laymen, not priests, and yet
they considered the salvation of their neighbour
entrusted to them. We can each of us by
counsel, by prayer, but above all by holy example, assist the salvation of our
brethren, and thus secure our own.”
Fr. Henry Sebastian
Bowden, Lives of Saints
The decadence which exists in the world is without any doubt the
consequence of the lack of the spirit of prayer. Foreseeing this disorientation, the Blessed
Virgin recommended recitation of the Rosary with such insistence, and since the
Rosary is, after the Eucharistic liturgy, the prayer most apt for preserving
faith in souls, the devil has unchained his struggle against it… The Rosary is
the most powerful weapon for defending ourselves on the field of battle.
Sr. Lucy of Fatima on the Rosary
Both the habit and the act of faith are necessary both as means of
salvation and by precept. A necessary means of salvation is an absolute
condition without which it is impossible to attain to eternal life. A precept
makes something obligatory for salvation when a special command is made by a
legitimate superior who imposes something as a condition of salvation but not
in such an absolute fashion that salvation could not be obtained
otherwise. Therefore no excuse is
permissible when there is a question of a necessary means; on the other hand,
moral impossibility is usually taken to excuse from things that are necessary
from precept.
Rev. Dominic Prummer, Handbook of Moral Theology
Our Lord Jesus Christ .
. . has inspired you with this resolution (which is worthy of your zeal for the
Catholic faith), to endeavor, by delivering yourselves and your kingdom from a
woman’s passion, to restore it to its ancient obedience to this holy Roman See
. . . and if, in maintaining the Catholic faith and the authority of this Holy
See, even death should be encountered by you and your blood should be shed, it
is far better for the confession of God’s truth to pass quickly to eternal life
by the short road of a glorious death, than to live on in shame and ignominy,
to the loss of your souls, in bondage to a feeble woman’s passion. For think
not, beloved sons in Christ, that those Bishops, or other leading Catholics (principibus Catholicis) of your
country whom you mention, have made an unhappy end; who, for their refusal to
give up their confession of the Catholic faith, have been either cast into
prisons, or unjustly visited with other penalties. For their constancy, which
has been encouraged by the example (still, as we believe, effective) of the
blessed Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury, can be praised by none as much as it
deserves. Imitating this same constancy yourselves, be brave and firm in your
resolve! and abandon not your undertaking through fear or threat of any
dangers.
Pope St. Pius V, Letter
to the St. Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland and to his friend, the Earl of
Westmoreland, regarding the moral right to rebel, February 22, 1570
St. Francis de Sales to reproach the Church with this intolerance
is to reproach her with being and with believing herself necessary truth.
It belongs to truth to exclude all that is contrary to it, and consequently not
only is true religion intolerant, but so also is all science. There is nothing
more intolerant than mathematics, for the reason that it is founded on
invariable principles. The Church, by the very fact that she is certain of
possessing religious truth in its entirety, must inexorably condemn all error.
Thus Bossuet acknowledged that “the Catholic religion is the most severe and
the least tolerant of all religions;” and Jules Simon, a contemporary
naturalist philosopher, confesses that “the lawfulness of ecclesiastical intolerance
is beyond dispute.”
We readily acknowledge that, in this sense, the other religious societies are
not intolerant. J. J. Rousseau could say of Protestantism: “The Protestant
religion is tolerant in principle, it is essentially tolerant, it is as tolerant
as it is possible to be, since the only dogma it does not tolerate is that of
intolerance.” But such praise is the most crushing refutation of a religious
doctrine.
Rev. Walter Devivier, S.J., Christian
Apologetics: A Defense of the Catholic Faith
“I saw a pope
who is casting out the bad clergy, who thought to be able to act out of
themselves, without Christ and without the traditional Church manners.”
Blessed Anna
Katherine Emmerich, August 28, 1820
The
Religion of Sloth
If we are going to turn
away from spiritual joy, we are going to look for joy elsewhere. And so the
slothful man ends by putting something else in the place of the revealed
spiritual good.
For the mainstream
Catholic clergy, ecumenism is that something else. It is the substitute for the
Divinely revealed spiritual good. It has been the driving force of every papacy
since John XXIII’s; the overarching concern of most every precept and policy to
issue from Rome these past 40-some years. It is the reason there is a New Mass.
It is the reason we are identified as traditionalists. We are resisting the new
religion fashioned by sloth. We are the declared enemies of ecumenism. We are,
quite simply, Catholic.
And because we
are Catholic, we are either despised or ignored by the vast majority of the
Catholic hierarchy. We are not of their faith. We do not attend their Mass. And
we are an irritating, hateful reminder of the spiritual good from which they
have turned away.
Edwin Faust, Catholic commentator
As in the order of nature a child must have a father and a mother, so
likewise in the order of grace, a true child of the Church must have God for
his Father and Mary for his Mother; and if anyone should glory in having God
for his Father and yet has not the love of a true child for Mary, he is a
deceiver, and the only father he has is the devil.
St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary
I am the way… No man cometh to the Father but by Me (Jn. 14, 6). I have given you an example, that as I have
done to you, so you do also (Jn. 13, 15).
Learn of Me because I am meek and humble of heart (Mt. 11, 29).
First, let us have a
habitual desire to imitate Christ in everything that we do, conforming
ourselves to His life; upon which life we must meditate, so that we may know
how to imitate it and to behave in all things as Christ would behave.
St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mt. Carmel
As St. Teresa was praying
before the Blessed Sacrament, one of the Saints of the Dominican Order appeared
to her, bearing in his hand a great book written in large and easily deciphered
letters. He told her to read the writing: and this is what she saw: "In
times to come, this Order will flourish exceedingly, and will have many
martyrs." She saw also six or seven brethren of the same Order brandishing
swords in their hands, by which she was given to understand that they were to
fight bravely for the Faith. Another time when she was again in prayer she was wrapt in ecstasy; and she saw as it were a vast plain on
which great numbers of men were fighting; and warriors of the same Order of
Preachers rushing with great courage and energy on the enemy. And their
countenances were full of beauty enhanced by the zeal which lit them up.
Carrying all before them in their might, many of the enemy they laid low, many
others also did they slay; and this conflict she understood to represent the
conflict of the Church with heretics.
Fr. Finbar
Ryan, History of the Dominicans in
Ireland
Unknown
Martyrs
During the war of the Confederation,
the Fathers regained and repaired several of their ancient churches and
friaries and went about openly in the white and black habit of the Order. It is
not for us to give the name of martyrs to those who were butchered by a brutal
soldiery during that war, or hanged either after a mock trial or no trial at
all. Their Cause is before the Church, and the Church will pronounce on them in
due time. The heroic constancy of the Dominican Fathers was put to further
tests when Cromwell ruled supreme. How many were exiled on the Continent, how
many sent to Barbadoes as slaves, God alone knows.
There were no apostates in those days of supreme trial. A few men dressed and
posing as peddlers, servants, cattle-drivers, and beggars, administering the
sacraments in secret, and constantly changing their habitation for fear of
capture, were all that were left of the six hundred when Cromwell’s soldiers
were in possession of four-fifths of the country. On the restoration of Charles
II to the throne the Fathers returned to their work. There were now only two
hundred left out of the six hundred.
Fr. Finbar
Ryan, History of the Dominicans in
Ireland
I have always
something to repent for after having talked, but have never been sorry for
having been silent.
St. Arsenius, Desert Father, d. 445 at 95 years of age
The Church of Christ IS the Roman
Catholic Church
“On this the Earl, turning
towards the people, said: ‘I should have been content to meet my death in
silence, were it not that I see it is the custom for those who undergo this
kind of punishment to address some words to the bystanders as to the cause of
their being put to death. Know, therefore, that, from my earliest years down to
this present day, I have held the Faith of that Church which, throughout the
whole Christian world, is knit and bound together; and that in this same Faith
I am about to end this unhappy life. But, as for this new Church of England, I
do not acknowledge it.’
“Here Palmer, interrupting
him, cried out in a loud voice: ‘I see that you are dying an obstinate Papist;
a member, not of the Catholic, but of the Roman Church.’
“To this the Earl replied:
‘That which you call the Roman Church is the Catholic Church, which has been
founded on the teaching of the Apostles, Jesus Christ Himself being its
corner-stone, strengthened by the blood of Martyrs, honoured
by the recognition of the holy Fathers; and it continues always the same, being
the Church against which, as Christ our Saviour said,
the gates of Hell shall not prevail.’
“When Palmer tried a second
time to interrupt him, the Earl said: ‘Cease, pray, to further trouble me, for
of this truth my mind and conscience are most thoroughly convinced.’ And when
Palmer still would not be silent, the Earl, turning to the people, said:
‘Beware, beloved brothers, of these ravening wolves, who come to you in the
clothing of sheep, whilst, meantime, they are the men that devour your souls.’
At this, rushing straight down from the platform, as though he had received a
blow, Palmer left the Earl free to finish his address.
“To me it has been a grievous
sorrow,’ he continued, ‘that, in consequence of an occasion furnished in a
manner by myself, so many of the common people have been put to a violent death
for the zeal with which they strove to further God’s religion, and clung also
personally to myself. Would that by my own death I might have saved their
lives! and yet I have no fear but that their souls have obtained the glory of
Heaven.’
“‘As to other matters brought
against me, they are already fully explained in my answers to the questions set
me by the Privy Council; but I know that in them there is no room for mercy,
and therefore from them I expect none: but from Him alone, whom I know to be
the author of all mercy, who will, as I truly believe, grant mercy to me.’
“After commending to his
brother’s care his children (four daughters, the eldest but ten), his servants,
and some small debts, he begged all present to forgive him, declaring that he
on his part forgave all from his heart. Then kneeling down he finished his
prayers.
“Then, after kissing a cross,
which he traced upon the kidder of the scaffold, with his arms so folded on his
breast as to form a cross, he stretched himself upon the block; and as soon as
he had said, ‘Lord, receive my soul!’ the executioner struck off his head. At
that same instant, a great groan, which sounded like a roll of thunder, burst
from the weeping spectators, as with one voice they called on God to receive
his soul into eternal rest.
“It was thought very
wonderful that, from the moment of his laying himself upon the block, he gave
not even the smallest sign of fear, and made no movement whatsoever, either of
head or body.
Martyrdom of St. Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, August 22, 1572,
Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; Taken from, Lives of the English Martyrs by Dom Bede Camm,
O.S.B. St. Thomas’ father, also Thomas Percy, was martyred under the reign of
Henry VIII.
Why
is John Henry Cardinal Newman regarded by Modernists as their Spiritual Father?
– Because he was! So why do
“Conservative Catholics” admire Newman?
Because he explained how dogma can be discarded.
“Dr. Newman is the most
dangerous man in England. And you will see that he will make use of the laity
against your Grace. You must not be afraid of him. It will require much
prudence, but you must be firm, as the Holy father sill places his confidence
in you; but if you yield and do not fight the battle of the Holy See against
the detestable spirit growing up in England, he will begin to regret Cardinal
Wiseman, who knew how to keep the laity in order.”
Msgr. George Talbot, Papal
Chamberlain, Letter to Cardinal Henry Edward Manning, after Pope Pius IX
suppressed a plan for Dr. John Henry Newman going to Oxford to establish an
inter-faith oratory.
An English Catholicism, of
which Newman is the highest type, is the old Anglican, patristic, literary,
Oxford tone transplanted into the Church... In one word, it is a worldly
Catholicism, and it will have the worldly on its side, and will deceive many.
Cardinal Henry Edward Manning,
on Dr. John Henry Cardinal Newman
Another influential writer during the last century was Lord Acton (Sir
John Dalberg), who was famous for his critical historicism
and also renowned for his friendship with (Rev. Johann von) Dollinger
(a Munich priest and professor at the University, excommunicated for rejecting
the dogma of papal infallibility). Acton was almost excommunicated, as Dollinger was, but managed to maintain the appearance of
orthodoxy and remain in the Church. As liberal as Lord Acton was, and although
he sided with Newman in fighting the dogma of Infallibility, he came to the
same conclusion as (Cardianl Henry Edward) Manning
regarding Newman’s heterodox position. In a letter written by Acton a few weeks
before Manning’s death, after mentioning the ‘personal aversion to Manning’
displayed by Newman he said, “Many will wonder how anybody who saw much of him
(Newman) could remain a Catholic — assuming that Newman really was one.” Acton,
although an ally of Newman in editing the liberal journal The Rambler, was not
baffled by Newman’s prosaic tact. Acton went much further than Manning in his
strictures on his old ally. He described Newman as “a sophist, the manipulator
and not the servant of truth.” When men of diametrically opposed beliefs, as
Acton and Manning, agree in their judgment of another man whom they so well
knew, the assumption that they are not both in error is not unreasonable.
John Edward Courtenay Bodley, On Cardinal
John Henry Newman
There
is a fitting irony that it was on the 500th anniversary of the
Luther’s revolt that Pope Francis should embrace divorce and adultery when he
publically proclaimed his personal belief in the heretical doctrines of Martin
Luther!
By his teaching on the
impossibility of continency either in celibacy or In
marriage, he paves the way to the sanction of a bigamic
marriage, at least In the case of the Landgrave Philip von Hessen. In union
with Melanchton and Bucer,
Luther acts the spiritual adviser, with counsel pertinent to the matter in
hand. On account of the sensation caused by the bigamic
marriage, the Landgrave Is recommended to deny it, but secretly he may keep the
trull—”Metze”—as a
“conjugal concubine.” In principle, Luther had already enunciated these tenets
after his interior apostasy from the Church. They only prove his bent and
readiness with regard to lying, cunning, and deception.
Rev. Heinrich Denifle, O.P., Luther
and Lutherdom
Popes and the corruption of Dogma, of worship, and the
undermining of morals
“Although
it clearly follows from the circumstances that the Pope can err at times, and
command things which must not be done, that we are not to be simply obedient to
him in all things, that does not show that he must not be obeyed by all when
his commands are good. To know in what
cases he is to be obeyed and in what not, it is said in the Acts of the
Apostles: ‘One ought to obey God rather than man,’; therefore, were the Pope to
command anything against Holy Scripture, or the articles of faith, or the truth
of the sacraments, or the commands of the natural or divine law; he ought not
to be obeyed, but in such commands, to be passed over.”
Juan
Cardinal de Torquemada, O. P., Summa de
Ecclesia, quoted by St. Robert Bellarmine
Dogmas are not
Precepts – They are Divinely Revealed Truths
The dogmas of
the Faith are to be held only according to their practical sense; that is to
say, as preceptive norms of conduct and not as norms
of believing, Condemned Proposition. St. Pius X, Lamentabili Sane
DOGMA IS THE PROXIMATE RULE OF FAITH; DOGMA is revealed
doctrine formally defined by the Church. The pope is the necessary but
insufficient means by which DOGMA is declared.
Hence, the distinction is made betewen
the Remote and the Proximate Rule of Faith.
The remote Rule of Faith is the Objective Deposit, [Scripture and
Tradition], It contains revealed truths which - for some reason or other - were
forgotten, obscure, or not sufficiently understood. Hence, they were broght into discussion, or
denied without injury to the Faith until they became clear or werer defined by
the Church. The Proximate Rule of Faith
is the teaching of the Church sufficiently proposed and manifestly promulgated
to the Faithful, [DOGMA]. If this
Proximate Rule of Faith proclaims anything as belonging to the Remote Rule
of Faith, it can no longer be challenged
without shipwreck of the Faith. For
unity of faith is whole and entire only while there is no dissent with the
Proximate Rule of Faith. On this point
Gregory of Valentia declares: "The Church has from darkness brought to
light wth her infallible authority some doctrines which, through human
negligence or malice or perversity of mind, remained concealed. And mayhap there are some still hidden in the
Church." Msgr. George Agius, D.D.,
J.C.D., Tradition and the Church
Worth
Repeating: The SCHISM is HERE and Leo is just a dull echo of Francis/Bergoglio!
COMMENT: This
book in the article below provides an interpretation of Chapter 8 of Amoris Laetitia. It
is addressed to bishops with a “merciful heart” and offers an interpretation
that is consistent with the interpretation approved in the private letter sent
by Pope Francis to the bishops of Argentina as well as with the interpretation
of Cardinal Schornborn who Pope Francis publically
identified as its ‘official interpretor.’ These
bishops say that the proper understanding and application is that any Catholic
living in public adultery based upon their own private judgment in the internal
forum can declare themselves worthy to receive Holy Communion and absolution in
the sacrament of Penance and therefore cannot be denied these sacraments. It is given semi-official approval by its
publication in L’Osservatore Romano.
Pope
Leo XIV in a message to to the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life holding
a seminar entitled, “Evangelizing
with Families Today and Tomorrow,” endorsed Amoris
Laetitia
by directly quoting his predecessor from Amoris
Laetitia §76, writing the “Gospel of the family
also nourishes seeds that are still waiting to grow,” praising its “basis for
caring for those plants that are wilting and must not be neglected.”
Now the Novus Ordo, which may be nothing more than a memorial meal as it
was initially and officially defined by Pope Paul VI, perhaps giving the Novus Ordo communion wafer to a person in objective mortal sin is
not a real problem. But what is certainly a grave sin is that these persons can
expect to be absolved by a confessor in the sacrament of Penance without
confessing or repentance of mortal sin. This does not represent a change in the
Church’s teaching. It represents the
active effort of a Francis (and now Leo) and his minions to destroy Catholic
doctrine and morality. As St. Thomas said, “All heretics are schismatics,” the schism has long been present with every
post-conciliar pope who have repeatedly denied
Catholic dogma. It is more evident each passing day and every Catholic will
have to pick sides. God cannot let an open attack upon the sacrament of
marriage go unpunished. Their hypocrisy is oozing from every pore. Imagine if a
Catholic with “humility, discretion and love for the Church and her teaching,
in a sincere search for God’s will and a desire to make a more perfect response
to it” arrives at traditional Catholicism, what kind of response can be expect
from the local bishop and Rome? If you
want to know read our OPEN LETTERS! After all, a “merciful heart” has its
limits!
“If, as a result of the process
of discernment, undertaken with “humility, discretion and love for the Church
and her teaching, in a sincere search for God’s will and a desire to make a
more perfect response to it” (Amoris Laetitia 300), a separated or divorced person who is
living in a new relationship manages, with an informed and enlightened
conscience, to acknowledge and believe that he or she are at peace with God, he
or she cannot be precluded from participating in the sacraments of
Reconciliation and the Eucharist (see AL, notes 336 and 351).”
Bishops Charles J Scicluna and Mario Grech, Guide
for the Interpretation of Chapter 8 of Amoris Laetitia: An Invitatiion to the Bishops of Merciful Hearts. This received semi-official approbation by
being featured in the publication, L’Osservatore
Romano, 1-2017
"What
belongs to the foundation of the Faith is one thing, but it is a different
proposition when, in good faith, the most learned and the best defenders of the
Faith do not agree - with the result that one may say something better and
truer than another."
St.
Augustine
The American Novus Ordo Church has lost every cultural battle since Vatican II
to defend the moral order. Why? They
“know neither Jesus Christ & the Catholic Faith nor the enemy that seeks to
destroy it.”
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result
of a hundred battles. If you know
yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a
defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor
yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Francis/Bergoglio has disappeared into Hell!
“Those who do
not repent and cannot therefore be forgiven disappear. There is no hell, there
is the disappearance of sinful souls.”
Pope Francis
the Vanishing, quoted by Eugenio Scalfari in a
private interview
First of all, he admonished the Churches
of every city that, most of all, they should avoid heresies, which already had
begun to break out, and advised them to hold firmly to the Traditions of the Apostles.
St. Eusebius, the historian of the early
Church in the 4th cenutry, on St. Ignatius of Antioch, the first successor of
St. Peter
I firmlly admit and accept the Apostolic
and Ecclesiastical Traditinos and all the other observances and constitutions
of the Church.... I also accept and admit the received and approved rites of
the Catholic Church in the solemn administratin of all the Sacraments.
Tridentine Profession of Faith
ON THE FEWNESS OF THOSE WHO
FIND SALVATION
“Only a few will be saved; only few will go to Heaven. The greater part of mankind will be lost
forever.”
St. John Neumann
“There are a select few who are saved.”
St. Thomas Aquinas
“The number of the Elect is so small - so small - that, were we
to know how small it is, we would faint away with grief. One here and there, scattered up and down the
world!”
St. Louis Marie de Montfort
“I tremble when I see how many
souls are lost these days. They fall
into Hell like leaves from the trees at the approach of winter.”
St. John Mary Vianney
“So vast a number of miserable souls perish, and so comparatively few
are saved!”
St. Philip Neri
“How narrow is the gate and how
strait the way that leads to life, and few there are who find it.”
Jesus Christ, Mt. 7, 13-14
"We Embraced Each Other"
- What Francis Confided to Scalfari
Pope Francis gave an exclusive interview
with his favorite reporter, the atheist Eugenio Scalfari,
published in La Repubblica, on January 14, 2020. Scalfari wrote the article entitled: "Francis, Ratzinger, and the Salvation of the Earth" on January
20. Scalfari
attributes the following quotes to Pope Francis:
·
"The
Church is forced to become more modern: to be with the poor and the weak, not
with the rich and strong."
·
"The
planet is under threat, the climate must be our first concern."
·
"I
am only driven by the desire that our church survive by adapting our collective
spirit to modern civil society."
The "Church is forced to become more
modern"? By whom and for what ends? And what does being "more
modern" have to do with being with the "poor and the weak" and
less "modern" have to do with being with the "rich and
strong"? Where in the gospels does Jesus Christ give a mandate to His
Church as their "first concern" any supposed questions of
"climate"? But poor Francis was "only driven by the desire that
our church survive by adapting our collective spirit to modern civil
society." This proposition is a direct
paraphrase of a condemned proposition of the heresy of Liberalism and
Modernism:
The Roman Pontiff can, and ought to,
reconcile himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism and modern
civilization.- -Allocution “Jamdudum cernimus,” March 18, 1861, Condemned proposition #80,
Syllabus of Errors, Bl. Pope Pius IX
"You know
Gaza is interesting. It's a phenomenal location on the sea, the best
weather—you know, everything's good. It's like some beautiful things could be
done with it. It's very interesting. Some fantastic things could be done with
Gaza."
President
Donald Trump, On the rebuilding of Gaza for Israel
COMMENT:
According to the latest figures released by the Gaza Ministry of Health
on December 23, 2025, Israel had killed at least 70,937 Palestinians and
wounded 171,192; of those identified fatalities, 53% were women, children or
elderly. But the estimate is difficult to make. This estimate from the Ministry
of Health is collected from hospital records and in May of 2025 the United
Nations reported that 94% of the hospitals in Gaze had been destroyed. It is
not possible 
to know how many Palestinians are buried under the rubble, nor how many
will die from starvation and disease. There were 2.23 million Palestinians in
Gaza before the conflict and relief workers estimate the current population
requiring aid at 1.87 million. The difference is 360,000.
The picture on
the right is six bags containing the remains of children killed in the bombing
of a school. The picture on the left is northern area of Gaze with no structure
left standing. This killing and destruction was accomplished by American made
planes dropping 2,000 pound American made bombs. The specific bomb used by
Israelis on the school building was a Boeing GBU-39 designed to penetrate
warships and hardened targets. It splinters into small fast moving shrapnel
segments that can penetrate three feet of reinforced concrete. In an interview Jonathan Pollard, the Jewish
spy while working as a clerk for Naval Intelligence delivered to Israel what
Scott Ritter called the "Crown Jewels" of U.S. Intelligence Singles
and was sentenced to life in prison in 1987, said that Israel has promised
President Trump tax free concessions on anything he builds in Gaza. The picture
below is the visionary Trump plan, directed by his Jewish son-in-law Jared
Kushner, for turning Gaza everything in life Trump thinks is important. The
Blessed Virgin Mary said at Fatima, "Only the Lady of the Rosary can help
you" through devotion to her Immaculate Heart, the Rosary, and the First
Saturdays of Reparation. Whatever good President Trump may occasionally do, in
the end he cannot fix anything.
Pope Leo appoints pro-LGBT archbishop as secretary for Dicastery for Clergy
Archbishop Carlo Roberto Maria Redaelli's
pro-LGBT views were recounted in a description of his response to the same-sex
'marriage' of a Catholic scout leader.
LifeSiteNews | Jan 22, 2026 — Pope Leo XIV has
appointed a controversial and homosexualist archbishop
to a prominent role in the Vatican.
Archbishop Carlo Roberto Maria Redaelli of Gorizia was named
today as the new Secretary for the Dicastery for
Clergy.
Raedelli and his pro-LGBT views were mentioned in a 2020 book by Luciano Moia, a senior journalist
for the Italian Bishops’ Conference’s daily newspaper Avvenire.
In his book, Moia argues that the Church should look
at “chastity” within a same-sex relationship the same way in which it looks at
chastity within marriage.
As an example of how the Church should
begin to do this, the author cited Raedelli’s
response to the same-sex ‘marriage’ in 2017 of a homosexual Catholic scout
leader.
In Moia’s words, Raedelli
“threw everyone off. He refused the role of the judge, he didn’t absolve, but
neither did he condemn. He invited the community to reflect together to
understand if, even from such a divisive occurrence, one can receive aspects of
grace. An intervention in search of moderation and of that invitation to
welcome, discern and integrate that impregnates the magisterium
of Pope Francis.”
Contrary to the attitudes of Moia and Archbishop Redaelli, the
Catechism of the Catholic Church is very clear on homosexuality:
Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which
presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always
declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary
to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not
proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity.
Under no circumstances can they be approved.
Only after stating that homosexual acts
cannot be approved does the catechism move on to a discussion of chastity. In
other words, chastity for people with homosexual inclinations plainly means
absolute continence.
Redaelli has served as auxiliary bishop of Milan from 2004 to 2012, and as
Archbishop of Gorizia, in northeastern Italy, since
2012. A canon lawyer by training, he has been at the center of several
controversies over the years. For example, the archbishop has previously
attracted attention for his positions on the Traditional Latin Mass.
During the Italian Bishops’ Conference General Assembly in Rome in
November 2018, Redaelli had questioned the legal
basis of Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum.
The Pope stated that the 1962 Roman Missal had never been abrogated and
could be freely used. However, according to the Italian blog Messainlatino.it, Redaelli stated
that the Missal promulgated by Pope John XXIII had in fact been abrogated by
Pope Paul VI, rendering Summorum Pontificum juridically
ineffective. On this basis, the motu proprio was described as a “juridical non-sense,” and the
Traditional Latin Mass as not legitimately liberalized.
However, Redaelli’s
claim is juridically wrong because it rests on a
false premise. No explicit act ever abrogated the 1962 Roman Missal. Under
canon law (see canon 21), “in a case of doubt, the revocation of a pre-existing
law is not presumed.” Furthermore, Pope Benedict XVI did not grant a derogation
or indult but formally recognized a right that had never been suppressed.
As Secretary of the Dicastery
for Clergy, Archbishop Redaelli will hold a key
administrative role within one of the most influential departments of the Roman
Curia. Under articles 113–120 of Praedicate Evangelium, the dicastery
oversees matters relating to diocesan clergy, including their pastoral
ministry, discipline, ongoing formation, and material support. [.....]
COMMENT: Pope Leo's appointment meets two important
criteria: He is accepting of homosexuals, and therefore, will not be a problem
for homosexuals in the clergy that he will oversee; and, he is intent in doing
away with the Indult. It is Bishop Redaelli that
understands the legal standing Summorum Pontificum while the Indult
conservative Catholics cannot figure it out. Summorum Pontificum was abrogated
by Pope Francis' Traditionis Custodes so the argument is really moot. Be that
as it may, there was never a Roman Missal published in 1962. There were several
changes in the Missal in 1962 just as there were changes before 1962 and there
would be in the years that followed 1962. Each change in the Missal abrogated
the previous usage. The Missal that was in usage at the end of 1962, the last
change being addition of St. Joseph's name to the canon in December, was
changed in 1965, 1967, and 1969. Redaelli's claim
that the 1962 Missal usage was juridically suppressed
by Paul VI is correct. It was Benedict/Ratzinger who
was dealing from the bottom of the deck when he said that the 1962 usage had
not been abrogated or legally suppressed. Shortly after the publication of
Summorum Pontificum Benedict/Ratzinger tried to clean
up the historical record by abrogating the two documents of Paul VI that did
so. What should be recognized is that Benedict/Ratzinger
implied that the 1962 usage could be suppressed but lied in claiming that that
did not happen. What is certain is that Benedict/Ratzinger
said that those who used the 1962 Missale were
exercising the privilege of a "legal right" granted by the legislator
and not a moral and doctrinal right from God. He changed the 1962 usage from
the Indult of JPII into a grant of legal privilege. It was Francis/Bergoglio who returned it to an Indult in Traditionis
Custodes where it exists today. Those who have accepted the use of the 1962 Bugnini transitional Missal by grant of Indult and/or legal
privilege have no legal grounds to complain when the grant is taken away. Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission
refused the offer to become an Indult community for this very reason. We offer
the pre-Bugnini "received and approved"
immemorial Roman rite not by grant of legal privilege or Indult but by our
rights as baptized Catholics derived from of our duty to worship God as God Himself
has determined that He wants to be worshiped.
Remember in your charity:
Remember the welfare of our
expectant mother: Vanessa LoStrocco,
Elizabeth Allen, and Maria Castillo Gonzalez,
Mary Lou Loftus' aunt, Susan Hendricks, who is gravely
ill after emergency surgery,
Fred Holder, for his spiritual and physical welfare,
Thomas Soul, a nursing home patient who has suffered a
stroke,
Donna Kallal, a dear friend of the Schiltz family who is
dying,
Philip Thees requests our
prayers for the heath of Mary Glatz
and Lenny and Agnus Messineo,
For the welfare of Aaron, a York resident in need
of conversion,
For the spiritual welfare of Margaret Connelly is the
petition of Camilla Meiser,
Linda Boyd, for her health,
Pete Schiffbauer, a cousin of Monic Bandlow who
is gravely ill,
Joan R. Barr, the widow of F. Donald Barr who died March 7,
they were married 70 years
Cole Schneider, prayers for his welfare are
requested by Camilla Meiser,
JoAnn Niekrewicz, for her recovery from a
recent fall and shoulder injury,
The Drews ask prayers for the
spiritual and physical welfare of Robert
Carballo,
Conversion of Jack Gentry, the nephew of
Camilla Meiser,
For Sr. Maria Junipera, who took her final vows as a nun with
the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Richmond, New Hampshire April 8,
Stephen Bryan, the brother of a devout Catholic religious,
for his spiritual welfare,
Marie Kolinsky, for her health and spiritual welfare is the
petition of her family,
Gene Peters requests our
prayers for the conversion of Shirley
Young and Carl Loy
who are dying, the conversion of Dawn
Keithley and Nate Schaeffer,
Rev. Leo Carley, an eighty-nine year old priest faithful to
Catholic tradition, who is seriously ill,
For the recovery of Hayden Yanchek, the grandson of
Francis Yanchek, injured in a farming accident,
Maureen Nies, for the recovery of her health is the petition
of Camilla Meiser,
Daniel Vargs, for his health is the petition of his parents,
Art Noel, for the restoration of his health,
For the welfare of Peg Berry and her husband, Bill,
Marianne Connelly asks
prayers for Chris Foley, who
is gravely ill, and the welfare of his wife, Mary Beth,
The spiritual welfare of the Sal & Maria Messineo family
is the petition of the Drew’s,
Liz Agosta, who is seriously ill, for her spiritual and
temporal welfare,
Warren Hoffman, a long time member of our
Mission who is in failing health,
Patrick Boyle, for the recovery of his health and his
spiritual welfare,
For the spiritual welfare of
the Drew children,
Monica Bandlow request our
prayers for the welfare of Ray who
is recovering from a MVA, and his daughter, Sonya, and Tera
Jean Kopczynski, who is in failing health, and for a good death for Mr. Howald, Kathy Simons, Regina Quinn, James Mulgrew, Ruth Beaucheane, John
Kopczynski, Roger & Mandy Owen
Peg Berry requests our
prayers for her brother, William
Habekost,
For the recently widowed, Maike Hickson, and her children,
For the spiritual welfare of
the Carmelite nuns in Fairfield, PA,
Geralyn Zagorski,
recovery of her health and spiritual welfare and the conversion of Randal
Pace is the petition of Philip Thees,
For
the grandson of Joe & Liz Agusta,
Fr.
Waters requests our prayers for the health and spiritual welfare of Elvira
Donaghy,
For
the health and conversion of Stephen Henderson,
Fr.
Paul DaDamio requests our prayers for the welfare of Rob Ward,
and his sister, Debra Wagaman,
Kaitlyn McDonald, for the recovery of her
health and spiritual welfare,
Roco Sbardella, for his health and spiritual welfare,
The Vargas’ request our
prayers for the spiritual welfare of their son, Nicholas,
Family, for the welfare of Lazarus Handley, his mother, Julia, and his brother, Raphael,
with Down’s Syndrome,
Fr. Waters requests prayers
for the spiritual and physical welfare of Frank
McKee,
Nancy Bennett, for the recovery of her
health,
For the spiritual welfare of Mark Roberts, a Catholic
faithful to tradition,
Michael Brigg requests our
prayers for the health of John Romeo,
The health and welfare of Gene Peters and his sons,
Conversion of Anton Schwartzmueller, is the
prayer request of his children,
Christine Kozin, for her health and spiritual
welfare,
Teresa Gonyea, for her conversion and health, is the
petition of her grandmother, Patricia McLaughlin,
For the health of Sonya Kolinsky,
Jackie Dougherty asks our
prayers for her brother, John Lee,
who is gravely ill,
For the health and spiritual
welfare, Meg Bradley, the
granddaughter of Rose Bradley,
Timothy & Crisara, a couple from Maryland have
requested our prayers for their spiritual welfare,
Celine Pilegaard, the seven year old daughter
of Cynthia Pilegaard, for her recovery from burn injuries,
Rafaela de Saravia, for her health and welfare,
Abbe Damien Dutertre, traditional Catholic priest
arrested by Montreal police while offering Mass,
Francis (Frank) X.
McLaughlin, for the recovery of his health,
Nicholas Pell, for his health and spiritual welfare is the
petition of Camilla Meizer,
Mary Kaye Petr, her health and welfare is petitioned by
Camilla Meizer,
The welfare of Excellency Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò,
The welfare of Rev. Fr. Martin Skierka, who
produces the traditional Ordo in the U.S.,
For the health and welfare of
Katie Wess, John Gentry, Vincent
Bands, Todd Chairs, Susan Healy and James O’Gentry is the petition of
Camilia,
Marieann Reuter, recovery of her health, Kathy Kepner, for her health, Shane Cox, for his health,
requests of Philip Thees,
The Joseph Cox Family, their spiritual welfare,
For the health of Kim Cochran, the daughter-in-law
of Joseph and Brenda Cochran, the wife of their son Joshua,
Louie Verrecchio, Catholic apologist, who has
a health problem,
John Minidis, Jr. family, for
help in their spiritual trial,
Joann DeMarco, for her health and spiritual
welfare,
Regina (Manidis) Miller, her spiritual welfare and
health,
Melissa Elena Levitt, her conversion, and welfare
of her children,
For the grace of a holy death,
Nancy Marie Claycomb,
Conversion of Annette Murowski, and her son Jimmy,
Brent Keith from Indiana has
petitioned our prayers for the Keith
Family,
The welfare of the Schmedes Family, and the Mike and Mariana Donohue Family,
The spiritual welfare Robert Holmes Family,
For the spiritual and
temporal welfare of Irwin Kwiat,
Fr. Waters asks our prayers
for Elvira Donaghy,
Kimberly Ann, the daughter of John and Joann DeMarco, for
her health and spiritual welfare,
Rende and Mary Mufide, a traditional Catholics
from India ask our prayers for her welfare and he family members, living and
deceased,
Mary Glatz, her health and the welfare of her family,
Barbara Harmon, who is ill,
Jason Green, a father of ten children, his health,
For the health and welfare of
Sorace family,
Fr. Waters asks our prayers
for the health and spiritual welfare of Brian
Abramowitz,
Thomas Schiltz family, in grateful appreciation
for their contribution to the beauty of our chapel,
John Rhoad, for his health and spiritual welfare,
Kathy Boyle, requests our prayers for her welfare,
Joyce Laughman and Robert Twist, for their conversions,
Michael J. Brigg & his family, who have helped with the
needs of the Mission,
Nancy Deegan, her welfare and conversion to the Catholic
Church,
Francis Paul Diaz, who was baptized at Ss.
Peter & Paul, asks our prayers for his spiritual welfare,
The conversion of Rene
McFarland, Lori Kerr, Cary Shipman and family, David Bash, Crystal and family,
Larry Reinhart, Costanzo Family, Kathy Scullen, Marilyn Bryant, Vicki Trahern
and Time Roe are the petitions of Gene Peters,
For the conversion of Ben & Tina Boettcher family, Karin
Fraessdorf, Eckhard Ebert, and Fahnauer family,
Fr. Waters requests our
prayers for Br. Rene, SSPX,
and for Fr. Thomas Blute,
For the welfare of Fr. Paul DaDamio and Fr. William T.
Welsh,
The Drew’s ask our prayers
for the welfare of Joe & Tracey
Sentmanat family, Keith & Robert Drew, Christy Koziol & her children,
Fred Nesbit and Michael Nesbit
families, and Gene Peters Family, the John Manidis Family, the Sal Messinio
Family, Michael Proctor Family,
Ryan Boyle grandmother, Jane Boyle, who is failing
health,
Mel Gibson and his family, please remember in our
prayers,
Rev. Timothy A. Hopkins
requested our prayers for the welfare of
his friend, Fr Jean-Luc
Lafitte,
Ebert’s request our prayers
for the Andreas & Jenna Ortner
Family,
Joyce Paglia has asked
prayers for George Richard Moore Sr.
& his children, and her brother, George Panell,
Philip Thees asks our prayers
for his family, for McLaughlin Family,
the welfare of Dan & Polly Weand,
the conversion of Sophia Herman,
Tony Rosky, the welfare Nancy Erdeck, the wife of
the late Deacon Erdeck, John Calasanctis, Tony Rosky, James Parvenski, Kathleen Gorry, health of mind and body of Cathy Farrar.
Pray for the Repose of the Souls:
James Condit, Jr., traditional Catholic
activist, died December 27,
Beverly Harmon, died December 16, requested
by the Sentmanat family,
Rev. Nicholas DeProspero, a faithful Ruthenian Eastern
rite Catholic priest, died December 10,
Monica Bandlow petitions our
prayers for her friend, Patricia
Messineo, died November 28,
Guy Berthault, died November 23, a great Catholic scientist
whose work in sedimentology destrooyed Lyellian geology and the theory of
evolution,
Thomas Soul, died November 8 after receiving the last rites
of the Church,
Etta Van Der Werken, a dear friend of Barbara
Taffe, died 10-21-2025,
Gary Potter, Catholic writer and apologist and great long time
defender of Catholic doctrine and tradition, died 9-9-2025,
Elizabeth Gorska, who died September 9, a
relative of Lidia Gjec,
Camilia Meiser request our
prayers for the souls of Peggy
Cummings and Elizabeth Genter,
Thomas A. Nelson, founder of TAN Books and
Publishers, died August 16,
Juan D. Gonzalez, our former sacristan,
choir director, and dear friend, died July 23,
Sal Messineo, a faithful traditional Catholic, died Augsut
14,
Patricia Askew, a friend of Camilla Meiser,
died July 3,
Joseph Kerney, a young man whose family provided the statues
of the Sacred Heart, Mary and Joseph in our sanctuary, died May 30,
Louis Richard Ajlouny, the father of Randa Sharpe,
died May 15,
Rene Guidicessi, died April 25, an old
friend of the Drews,
F. Donald Barr, died March 7 at 94 years of
age, co-founder of Robert Francis Religious Goods, in Philadelphia,
Dr. David Allen White, a well known defender of the
Catholic faith, died February 11,
Bishop Richard Williamson, a renowned defender of the
Catholic faith and most charitable gentleman, died January 29,
Rodolfo Alberto Lacayo, a cousin of Claudia Drew,
died January 4,
Genieve Wallace, died Christmas day,
Ruth Marion Beaucheane, died
December 8, is the petition of Monica Bandlow,
Ana Maria Salcedo, the sister of
Mario Fiol, died November 26,
Fr. Johin Cardaro, a traditional Catholic priest who was found dead in
his home November 2,
Robert Carballo asks that we remember his parents, Roberto & Aida
Carballo, and his friend, David Duclos, who died April 15,
Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais who may have been responsible for preventing the SSPX's public reconciliation with Rome in 2012, died October 8,
Lorna Edwards, our dear friend and loyal supporter of this
Mission, died August 10,
Lois Petti, died July 28 two hours after receiving the
Last Sacraments from Fr. Waters,
Wolfgang Smith, a renowned Catholic scholar,
mathematician, scientist, philosopher, who helped the Kolbe Center for the
Study of Creation, died July 19,
Willaim Glatz, a good and faithful Catholic, died July 17,
Alicio Gonzalez, a Catholic who asked for the
sacrament of Extreme Unction, unfortunately did not receive, died July 9,
John Zavodny, a
faithful Catholic who died wearing the scapular of Mt Carmel on the first Saturday
of May, requested by Phyllis Virgil,
Catherine Martel, a lapsed Catholic, received
the last sacraments in a good disposition from Fr. Waters on March 25 and died
on April 4,
Father Basilio Méramo, a faithful priest, died
March 5, removed from the SSPX for opposing their accommodation with Rome,
Julia McDonald, the mother of Kyle McDonald, died March 1,
Agnus Melnick, died February 28, a long time faithful
Catholic and mother of eight children, including a traditional priest,
Kathryn (Drew) Lederhos, of
Wellesley, MA, died February 3, 2024,
Chris Foley, the brother of Mary Lou
Loftus, died February 1,
Louis Zelaya, the brother of Claudia Drew, died January
30,
Fr. James Louis Albert Campbell, a faithful priest who died
December 18 at 91 years of age, and her mother and father, Teresa and Thomas Maher,
Charles Harmon, the father of Tracey Sentmanet, died October
1, after receiving the rites of the Church,
Fr. Waters requests prayers
for Elvira Donaghy, his
friend and former secretary a for Bishop Gerado Zendejas, died September 9,
Robert Hickson, a faithful Catholic apologist who died
Septembber 2,
Monica Bandlow requests
prayers for her parents, Thomas &
Teresa Maher, her husband, William
Bandlow, her brother-in-law, Richard
Bandlow, her sister, Mary
Maher, Fr. Christopher Darby,
SSPX, who died March 17, Robert Byrne, Michelle Donofrio McDowell,
her cousin, Patricia Fabyanic,
the Prefect of Our Lady’s Sodality, March 8, for John Pfeiffer who died August 20, Theresa Hanley, died July 23, Fr. Juan-Carlos Iscara, SSPX, who died December 20, John Kinney, died December 21, Willaim Price, Jr., and Robert Arch Ward,
died January 10, and Myra,
killed in a MVA June 6,
John Sharpe, Sr., died July 20,
Maria Paulette Salazar, died June 6,
Dale Kinsey requests prayers
for his wife, Katherine Kinsey,
died May 17,
Richard Giles, who died April 29, the father of Traci
Sentmanat who converted to the Catholic faith last All Saints' Day,
Joseph Sparks, a devout and faithful Catholic to tradition
died February 25,
Joyce Paglia, died January 21, and Anthony Paglia, died January 28,
who were responsible for the beautiful statuary in our chapel,
Joe Sentmanet request prayers
for Richard Giles and Claude Harmon who converted to
the Catholic faith shortly before their deaths,
Rodolfo Zelaya, the brother of Claudia Drew,
died January 9,
Elizabeth Agosta petitions
our prayers for Joseph Napolitano,
her brother, who died January 2,
Michael Dulisse, died on December 26,
Michael Proctor, a close friend of the Drews,
died November 9,
Richard Anthony Giles, the father-in-law of Joe
Sentmanat converted to the Catholic faith on All Saints Day, died November 5,
Robert Kolinsky, the husband of Sonja, died September 18,
Gabriel Schiltz, the daughter of Thomas & Gay Schiltz,
died August 21,
Mary Dimmel, the mother –in-law of
Victoria Drew Dimmel, died July 18,
Michael Nesbit, the brother-in-law and dear friend of the
Drew's, died July 14,
Thomas Thees, the brother of Philip, died
June 19,
Carmen Ragonese,
died June 22,
Juanita Mohler, a friend of Camella Meiser,
died June 14,
Kathleen Elias, died February 14,
Hernan Ortiz, the brother of Fr. Juan
Carlos Ortiz, died February 3,
Mary Ann Boyle, the mother of a second order Dominican nun, a
first order Dominican priest, and a SSPX priest, died January 24,
John DeMarco, who attended this Mission in
the past, died January23,
Charles O’Brien, the father of Marlene Cox,
died December 30,
Mufide Rende requests our
prayers for the repose of the souls of her parents, Mehmet & Nedime,
Kathleen Donelly, died December 29 at 91
years of age, ran the CorMariae website,
Matthew O'Hare, most faithful Catholic, died at age 40 on
November 30,
Rev. Patrick J. Perez, a
Catholic priest faithful to tradition, pastor Our Lady Help of Christians,
Garden Grove, CA, November 19,
Elizabeth Benedek, died December 14, requested
by her niece, Agnes Vollkommer,
Dolores Smith and Richard Costello, faithful
Catholics, died November,
Frank D’Agustino, a friend of Philp Thees,
died November 8,
Fr. Dominique Bourmaud, of
the SSPX, Prior of St. Vincent in Kansas City, died September 4,
Pablo Daniel Silva, the brother of Elizabeth
Vargas, died August 18,
Rose Bradley, a member of Ss. Peter &
Paul, died July 14,
Patricia Ellias, died June 1, recently returned
to the Church died with the sacraments and wearing the brown scapular,
Joan Devlin, the sister-in-law of Rose Bradley, died May
18,
William Muligan, died April 29, two days after
receiving the last sacraments,
Robert Petti, died March 19, the day after receiving
the last sacraments,
Mark McDonald, the father of Kyle, who died
December 26,
Perla Otero, died December 2020, Leyla Otero, January 2021, cousins of Claudia Drew,
Mehmet Rende, died December 12, who was the
father of Mary Mufide,
Joseph Gravish, died November 26, 100 year
old WWII veteran and daily communicant,
Jerome McAdams, the father of, died November 30,
Rev. James O’Hara, died November 8, requested by
Alex Estrada,
Elizabeth Batko, the sacristan at St. John the
Baptist in Pottstown for over 40 years, died on First Saturday November 7
wearing the brown scapular,
William Cox, the father of Joseph Cox, who
died September 3,
James Larson, Catholic apologists, author
of War Against Being publication,
died July 6, 2020,
Hutton Gibson, died May 12,
Sr. Regina Cordis, Immaculate Heart of Mary
religious for sixty-five years, died May 12,
Leslie Joan Matatics, devoted
Catholic wife and mother of nine children, died March 24,
Victoria Zelaya, the sister-in-law of Claudia
Drew, died March 20,
Ricardo DeSilva, died November 16, our
prayers requested by his brother, Henry DeSilva,
Rev. Fr. Joseph F. Collins, died April 27, 2019 to whom
we are indebted for establishing our traditional pre-Bugnini Holy Week in all its beauty,
Roland H. Allard, a friend of the Drew’s, died
September 28,
Stephen Cagorski and John Bogda, who both died wearing the brown scapular,
Cecilia LeBow, a most faithful Catholic,
Rose Cuono, died Oct 23,
Patrick Rowen, died March 25, and his brother, Daniel Rowen, died May 15,
Sandra Peters, the wife of Gene Peters, who died June 10
receiving the sacraments and wearing our Lady’s scapular,
Rev. Francis Slupski, a priest who kept the
Catholic faith and its immemorial traditions, died May 14,
Martha Mochan, the sister of Philip Thees, died April 8,
George Kirsch, our good friend and supporter of this
Mission, died February 15,
For Fr. Paul J. Theisz, died October 17, is the petition of Fr.
Waters,
Fr. Mecurio Fregapane, died Jan 12, was not a
traditional priest but always charitable,
Fr. Casimir Peterson, a priest who often offered
the Mass in our chapel and provided us with sound advice, died December 4,
Fr. Constantine Bellasarius, a
faithful and always charitable Eastern Rite Catholic Melkite priest, who left
the Roman rite, died November 27,
Christian Villegas, a motor vehicle accident,
his brother, Michael, requests our prayers,
John Vennari, the former editor of Catholic Family News,
and for his family’s welfare, April 4,
Mary Butler, the aunt of Fr. Samuel Waters, died October
17,
Joseph DeMarco, the nephew of John DeMarco, died October 3,
John Fergale, died September 25 after receiving the traditional
sacramental rites of the Church wearing the brown scapular,
John Gabor, the brother of Donna Marbach, died September
9,
Fr. Eugene Dougherty, a faithful priest, fittingly
died on the Nativity of the BVM after receiving the traditional Catholic
sacraments,
Phyllis Schlafly, died September 5,
Helen Mackewicz, died August 14,
Mark A. Wonderlin, who died August 2,
Fr. Carl Cebollero, a faithful priest to
tradition who was a friend of Fr. Waters and Fr. DeMaio,
Jessica Cortes, a young mother of ten who died June 12,
Frances Toriello, a life-long Catholic faithful
to tradition, died June3, the feast of the Sacred Heart, and her husband Dan, died in 1985,
John McLaughlin, a friend of the Drew’s, died
May 22,
Angela Montesano, who died April 30, and her
husband, Salvatore, who died
in July 3, 2013,
Charles Schultz, died
April 5, left behind nine children and many grandchildren, all traditional
Catholics,
Esperanza Lopez de Callejas,
the aunt of Claudia Drew, died March 15,
Fr. Edgardo Suelo, a
faithful priest defending our traditions who was working with Fr. Francois
Chazal in the Philippines, died February 19,
Conde McGinley, a
long time laborer for the traditional faith, died February 12, at 96 years,
The
Drew family requests your prayers for Ida Fernandez and
Rita Kelley, parishioners at St. Jude,
Fr. Stephen Somerville, a traditional priest who
repented from his work with the Novus Ordo English translation, died December
12,
Fr. Arturo DeMaio, a priest that helped this
Mission with the sacraments and his invaluable advice, died December 2,
J. Paul Carswell, died October 15, 2015,
Solange Hertz, a great defender of our Catholic faith, died
October 3, the First Saturday of the month,
Paula P. Haigh, died October 22, a great defender of our
Catholic faith in philosophy and natural science,
Gabriella Whalin, the mother of Gabriella
Schiltz, who died August 25,
Mary Catherine Sick, 14 year old from a large
traditional Catholic family, died August 25,
Fr. Paul Trinchard, a traditional Catholic
priest, died August 25,
Stephen J. Melnick, Jr., died on August 21, a
long-time faithful traditional Catholic husband and father, from Philadelphia,
Patricia Estrada, died July 29, her son Alex
petitions our prayers for her soul,
Fr. Nicholas Gruner, a devoted priest &
faithful defender of Blessed Virgin Mary and her Fatima message, died April 29,
Sarah E. Shindle, the grandmother of Richard
Shindle, died April 26,
Madeline Vennari, the mother of John Vennari,
died December 19,
Salvador Baca Callejas, the uncle of Claudia Drew,
died December 13,
Robert Gomez, who died in a motor vehicle accident
November 29,
Catherine Dunn, died September 15,
Anthony Fraser, the son of Hamish Fraser, died August 28,
Jeannette Rhoad, the grandmother of Devin Rhoad, who died
August 24,
John Thees, the uncle of Philip Thees, died August 9,
Sarah Harkins, 32 year-old mother of four
children, died July 28,
Msgr. Donald Adams, who offered the Indult Mass,
died April 1996,
Anita Lopez, the aunt of Claudia Drew,
Fr. Kenneth Walker, a young traditional priest
of the FSSP who was murdered in Phoenix June 11,
Fr. Waters petitions our
prayers for Gilberte Violette,
the mother of Fr. Violette, who died May 6,
Pete Hays petitions our
prayers for his brothers, Michael,
died May 9, and James, died
October 20, his sister, Rebecca, died March17, and his mother, Lorraine Hayes who died May 4,
Philip Marbach, the father of Paul Marbach who was the
coordinator at St. Jude in Philadelphia, died April 21,
Richard Slaughtery, the elderly sacristan for
the SSPX chapel in Kansas City, died April 13,
Bernedette Marie Evans nee Toriello, the daughter of Daniel
Toriello , died March 31, a faithful Catholic who suffered many years with
MS,
Natalie Cagorski, died march 23,
Anita Lopez de Lacayo, the aunt of Claudia Drew,
who died March 21,
Mario Palmaro, Catholic lawyer, bioethicist and professor,
apologist, died March 9, welfare of his widow and children,
Daniel Boyle, the uncle of Ryan Boyle,
died March 4,
Jeanne DeRuyscher, who died on January 25,
Arthur Harmon, died January 18,
Fr. Waters petitions our
prayers for the soul of Jeanne
DeRuyscher, who died January 17,
Joseph Proctor, died January 10,
Susan Scott, a devote traditional Catholic who made the
vestments for our Infant of Prague statue, died January 8,
Brother Leonard Mary, M.I.C.M., (Fred Farrell), an early supporter and
friend of Fr. Leonard Feeney, died November 23,
John Fergale, requests our prayers for his sister Connie,
who died December 19,
Jim Capaldi, died December 15,
Brinton Creager, the son of Elizabeth Carpenter, died December
10,
Christopher Lussos, age 27, the father of one
child with an expecting wife, died November 15,
Jarett Ebeyer, 16 year old who died in his sleep, November
17, at the request of the Kolinsky’s,
Catherine Nienaber, the mother of nine children,
the youngest three years of age, killed in MVA after Mass, 10-29,
Nancy Aldera, the sister of Frances Toriello, died October
11, 2013 at 105 years of age,
Mary Rita Schiltz, the mother of Thomas
Schiltz, who died August 27,
William H. (Teddy) Kennedy, Catholic author of
Lucifer’s Lodge, died August 14, age 49, cause of death unknown,
Alfred Mercier, the father of David Mercier, who died August
12,
The Robert Kolinsky asks our
prayers for his friend, George
Curilla, who died August 23,
John Cuono, who had attended Mass at our Mission in the past,
died August 11,
Raymond Peterson, died July 28, and Paul Peterson, died February 19,
the brothers of Fr. Casimir Peterson,
Margaret Brillhart, who died July 20,
Msgr. Joseph J. McDonnell, a priest from the diocese
of Des Moines, who died June 8,
Patrick Henry Omlor, who
wrote Questioning The Validity of the
Masses using the New, All English Canon, and for a series of newsletters
which were published as The Robber Church, died May 2, the feast of St Athanasius,
Bishop Joseph McFadden, died unexpectedly May 2,
Timothy Foley, the brother-in-law of Michelle Marbach
Folley, who died in April,
William Sanders, the uncle of Don Rhoad, who died April 2,
Gene Peters ask our prayers
for the repose of the soul of Mark
Polaschek, who died March 22,
Eduardo Gomez Lopez, the uncle of Claudia Drew,
February 28,
Cecelia Thees, died February 24,
Elizabeth Marie Gerads, a nineteen year old, the
oldest of twelve children, who died February 6,
Michael Schwartz, the co-author with Fr.
Enrique Rueda of “Gays, Aids, and You,” died February 3,
Stanley W. Moore, passed away in December 16,
and Gerard (Jerry) R. Pitman, who died January 19, who attended this Mission in
the past,
Louis Fragale, who died December 25,
Fr. Luigi Villa, Th.D.
author of Vatican II About Face! detailing the heresies of Vatican II, died
November 18 at the age of 95,
Rev. Michael Jarecki, a faithful traditional
Catholic priest who died October 22,
Jennie
Salaneck,
died September 19 at 95 years of age, a devout and faithful Catholic all her
life,
Dorothy Sabo, who died September 26,
Cynthia (Cindy) Montesano Reinhert, the mother of nine
children, four who are still at home, died August 19,
Stanley Spahalski, who died October 20, and his
wife, Regina Spahalski, who
died June 24, and for the soul of Francis
Lester, her son,
Julia Atkinson, who died April 30,
Antonio P. Garcia, who died January 6, 2012
and the welfare of his teenage children, Andriana and Quentin,
Helen Crane, the aunt of David Drew who died February 27,
Fr. Timothy A. Hopkins, of the National Shrine of
St. Philomena, in Miami, November 2,
Frank Smith, who died February 7, and the welfare of his
wife, Delores,
Eduardo Cepeda, who died January 26,
Larry Young, the 47 year old father of twelve who died
December 10 and the welfare of his wife Katherine and their family,
Sister Mary Bernadette, M.I.C.M., a founding member of the
Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died December 16,
Joeseph Elias, who died on September 28,
William, the brother of Fr. Waters, who died September 7,
Donald Tonelli, died August 1,
Rev. Fr. Gregory Hesse, of Austria, a great
defender of Catholic Truth, died January 25, 2006,
Emma Colasanti, who died May 29,
Mary Dullesse, who died April 12, a Catholic convert who
died wearing our Lady’s scapular,
Ruth Jantsch, the grandmother of Andre Ebert, who died
April 7, Derrick and Denise Palengat, his godparents,
Philip D. Barr, died March 5, and the welfare of his
family,
Judith Irene Kenealy, the mother of Joyce Paglia,
who died February 23, and her son, George Richard Moore, who died May 14,
For Joe Sobran who died September 30,
Fr. Hector Bolduc, a great and faithful priest,
died, September 10, 2012,
James & Jean Rowan and their sons, Patrick & Daniel,
John Vennari asks our prayers
for Dr. Raphael Waters who
died August 26,
Stanley Bodalsky, the father of Mary Ann
Boyle who died June 25,
Mary Isabel Kilfoyle Humphreys, a former York resident and
friend of the Drew’s, who died June 6,
Rev. John Campion, who offered the traditional
Mass for us every first Friday until forbidden to do so by Bishop Dattilo, died
May 1,
Joseph Montagne, who died May 5,
For Margaret Vagedes, the aunt of Charles Zepeda, who died
January 6,
Fr. Michael Shear, a Byzantine rite Catholic
priest, died August 17, 2006,
Fr. James Francis Wathen, died November 7, 2006,
author of The Great Sacrilege and Who Shall Ascend?, a great defender of
dogma and liturgical purity,
Fr. Enrique Rueda, who died December 14, 2009,
to whom our Mission is indebted,
Fr. Peterson asks to
remember, Leonard Edward Peterson,
his cousin, Wanda, Angelica
Franquelli, and the six priests ordained with him.
Philip Thees petitions our
prayers for Beverly Romanick, Deacon
Michael Erdeck, Henry J. Phillips, Grace Prestano, Connie DiMaggio, Elizabeth
Thorhas, Elizabeth Thees, Theresa Feraker, Hellen Pestrock, and James &
Rose Gomata, and Kathleen
Heinbach,
Fr. Didier Bonneterre, the author of The
Liturgical Movement, and Fr. John Peek, both were traditional priests,
Brother Francis, MICM, the superior of the Slaves
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Richmond, NH, who died September 5,
Rodolfo Zelaya Montealegre, the father of Claudia Drew,
who died May 24,
Rev. Francis Clifford, a devout and humble
traditional priest, who died on March 7,
Benjamin Sorace, the uncle of Sonja Kolinsky.
St. Raymond of
Pennafort: Dominican Friar, Priest, Master of the Order
A renowned doctor of canon law and notable writer, Raymond of Pennafort
(1175 – 1275) joined the Dominican Order in 1222, after a distinguished
academic career in Barcelona and Bologna. His two principal works are his Summa
Casuum on penitential discipline and his compilation of the
decretals of canon law, commissioned by Pope Gregory IX. This collection of
conciliar and papal decrees became a standard work for canon lawyers for nearly
seven hundred years. St. Raymond later became the third master of the Order.
According to Dominican tradition, he once rebuked the king of Aragon for his
immoral behavior. When St. Raymond attempted to leave the island of Majorca and
return to Spain, he could not because the kind had forbidden all sailors to
give him passage. St. Raymond placed his cappa, the black mantle of the
Dominican habit, on the water, stepped on it, and sailed to the mainland.
CANON LAW and the Judgment of a
heretical pope
Comment:
The Decretals of Gratian is a collection of canonical
texts compiled in the 12th century. Pope Gregory IX in 1230 directed St. Raymond
of Pennafort, the distinguished Dominican, to organize an addendum to the
code to include legal codes adopted since the time of Gratian but the work
became a much more extensive revision. Working from the Decretals of
Gratian, St. Raymond wrote a five volume edition of
the Decretals that became
the Corpus iuris canonici which served as the legal code
for the Latin Church’s canon law from that time until the promulgation of the
Code of Canon Law in 1917.
Decretum Gratiani, which was included in the old Corpus Iuris Canonici,
affirmed that a Pope who deviates from right doctrine (i.e.: a notorious public
heretic) can be judged. The canon states that the "pope judges
all and is judged by no-one, unless he is found to have departed from the
faith":
‘Hujus culpas redarguere præsumit mortalium nullus, quia cunctos ipse judicaturus a nemine est judicandus,
nisi
deprehendatur a fide devius (dist. XL, C. 6)’.
When the revised Code of Canon Law
(Codex Iuris Canonici 1917) came into force, the Church eliminated
from the new legislation the phrase "unless he is found to have departed from the faith."
This deletion was continued in the 1983 code. Although the
phrase, "unless he is found to have departed from the
faith," was not included in the 1917 and the 1983 codes, the
canonical commentary still regards the phrase as legally binding:
‘Canon 1404 – The
First See is judged by no one.‘
COMMENTARY: "Canon 1404 is not a
statement about the personal impeccability or inerrancy of the Holy Father.
Should, indeed, the pope fall into heresy, it is understood that he would lose
his office. To fall from Peter’s faith is to fall from his chair."
New Commentary on
the Code of Canon Law, John P. Beal, James A. Coriden, and Thomas J. Green
eds. (New York: Paulist, 2000), p. 1,618.
The code is the compilation of laws governing the Church as social
institution. Most of the laws in the code are of ecclesiastical positive human
laws grounded upon human authority, however, many of the legal codes are divine
positive laws grounded upon divine authority or upon natural law. If a human
law is deleted from the code, the law ceases to bind. If a law of divine
authority is deleted from the code, the law continue in force for the human
authority of the Church cannot overturn the law of God. This self-evident
principle is stated in the code itself. Consequently, the commentary cited above is a recognition
that the pope cannot be judged "unless he is found to have departed from
the faith" is of divine origin. It is necessarily a divine law because
the papacy is a divine institution established directly by Jesus Christ and
therefore governed in its essence only by divine laws. In other words, if
it were not a divine law, the Church could not propose a human law to judge
what was established by God.
Therefore, it is of divine law that permits a heretical pope to be
judged. Importantly, although the law permits a heretical pope to be judged, it
says nothing about who and how a pope is to be judged regarding heresy and it
does not address penalties. It says nothing about removal from office. If the
law intended the removal from office the law itself would have to state the
penalty and provide a mechanism for its determination and enforcement.
So now it falls to opinions regarding the judgment of a heretical pope.
Most theologians believe that it is "understood" that the removal
from office necessarily follows from a judgment of heresy often citing the
scriptural and traditional admonition to avoid heretics:
"A man that
is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, avoid: Knowing that he,
that is such a one, is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned by his own
judgment" (Titus 3:10-11).
They argue that since the faithful cannot avoid a pope as head of the
Church therefore the heretical pope must lose his office. A serious problem
with this argument follows, that is, if the faithful cannot "avoid" a
pope, then there must necessarily be a pope who in fact cannot be
avoided. Therefore, those who would make the papacy vacant must also be
able to fill the office with a true pope.
But can a heretical pope be avoided? It really becomes a problem for
those who hold the pope as their proximate rule of faith and not, as they
should, dogma. For if dogma is not the proximate rule of faith then the pope
must be and he then can never be a heretic for whatever the pope holds the
dogma or doctrine to mean is what it then means and only those who disagree
with the pope are heretics. For a Catholic, dogma is the proximate rule of
faith and although a heretical pope can do immeasurable damage to the Church he
cannot touch individual souls of the faithful.
If we adhere to what the law says and nothing more we can say this: The
definition of heresy is the denial of dogma. The heretic denies dogma and the
faithful keep dogma. Those who can judge a heretical pope are the faithful. The
law does not distinguish or discriminate among the faithful as to the judgment.
Dogma is articulated for all the faithful. Its understanding does not require
any theological competence. It requires proper definition and correct grammar.
Any of the faithful, that is those who hold dogma as their proximate rule of
faith, can judge a manifestly heretical pope such as Pope Francis was. Any of
the faithful can know when a dogma is directly contradicted for the first
principles of the understanding, such as the principle of non-contradiction,
are innate in human nature. Thus all the faithful can judge, in fact must
judge, a heretical pope and so that they may not follow him in his heresy for
God has said that 'it
is not possible to deceive His elect' (Matt. 24:24). The law does
not specify the judge because the judgment rests with all the faithful, it is
universal. The law does not specify a penalty because none of the faithful have
the competency to impose a penalty and remove a heretical pope from office. It
is God who is the formal and final cause of the pope and the office of the
papacy. It is God who 'marries' the designated candidate to the papal office
and only God can remove him from it just as God removed the High Priest and
destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and the Levitical priesthood which
can never be reconstituted.
Those who hold dogma as their proximate rule of faith recognize Pope
Francis as a heretic because he denies dogmatic truth. He preaches a different
gospel so we "receive him not into the house nor say to him, God speed
you" (2 John 10). Since he preaches a different gospel, "Let him be
anathema" because we are first "servants of Christ" (Gal 1: 8).
For in dogma, the Church has spoken and the heretic Pope Francis "will not
hear the church, (therefore) let him be to thee as the heathen and publican
(Matt 18:17).
The job of the faithful is to keep the faith.
Dogmas
“are to give light, not to receive light from human reason”!
I answer: The obligation to
believe what God says is a natural duty, it is a natural law, dictated by the
common sense of reason which the Creator has deposited in every human soul. The
Church only enforces this law, which existed before she herself existed,
because from all eternity it was a truth that the creature is bound to believe
the word of the Creator. If the Church allows no denial, no doubt, no
alteration or misconstruction of any of her dogmas, it is because the veracity
of the Son of God, who has revealed these truths, is attacked when any of His
doctrines are denied or doubted. These dogmas are so many fixed stars in the
firmament of holy Church. They cannot be reached by the perversity and
frivolity of man. He may close his eyes against them and deny their existence;
he may misrepresent them and look at them through glasses stained the color of
every prejudice; but he cannot do away with them altogether, nor change in any
way their natural brightness and brilliancy. Like the stars that deck the vault
of heaven, they are to give light, not to receive light from human reason. They
are the word of God, and what God says is truth, that cannot be made untruth.
The mind that receives truth is enlightened thereby; the mind that denies or
misrepresents it is darkened and corrupted.
Besides, every dogma of faith is
to the Catholic cultivated mind not only a new increase of knowledge, but also
an incontrovertible principle from which it is able to draw conclusions and
derive other truths. They present an endless field for investigation so that
the beloved Apostle St. John could write at the end of his Gospel, without fear
of exaggeration: “But there are also many other things which Jesus did: which
if they were written every one, the world itself, I think, world not be able to
contain the books that should be written.”
The Catholic Church, by
enforcing firm belief in her dogmas—which are not her inventions, but were
given by Jesus Christ—places them as a bar before the human mind to prevent it
from going astray and to attach it to the truth; but it does not prevent the
mind from exercising its functions when it has secured the treasure of divine
truth, and a “scribe thus instructed in the kingdom of heaven is truly like a
man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things
and old.” …. They are new because newly enacted, declared, defined; they are
old because they contain no new revelation or any assumption of power never
granted by Christ, but simply old truths under new forms, the old power
exercised under new circumstances.
Rev. Joseph Prachensky, S.J., The
Church of the Parables and True Spouse of the Suffering Savior
When Pope Leo XIV met with cardinals and bishops residing in Rome at
Christmas, his Master of Ceremonies, Monsignor Marco Agostini, outed them by
identifying them on an open microphone as “culattoni tutti insieme” (all the
faggots together).
Anyone who questions Agostini’s statement is encouraged to read In
the Closet of the Vatican
by Frédéric Martel who estimated that around 80% of the
clergy working in the Vatican are homosexuals. The 555-page work is the
result of over 1,500 interviews with people in the Vatican and in 30 countries:
among them, 41 cardinals, 52 bishops and monsignors, 45 apostolic nuncios and
foreign ambassadors.
Some of Martel’s conclusions include:
·
The
Vatican has one of the biggest gay communities in the world….it is one huge
closet.
·
The
Church has become sociologically homosexual. It is responsible for countless
instances of sexual abuse that are undermining it from within.
·
The
priesthood is (now) the ideal escape route for young homosexuals. Homosexuality
is one of the keys to their vocation.
·
There are
more and more homosexuals as one rises through the Catholic hierarchy. In the
College of Cardinals and at the Vatican, the preferential process is said to be
perfected; homosexuality becomes the rule, heterosexuality the exception.
Gene Thomas Gomulka, is a sexual abuse victims’ advocate,
investigative reporter, author, and screenwriter. A former Navy Captain
Chaplain Corps, seminary instructor, and diocesan Respect Life Director.
Gomulka was ordained a priest for the Altoona-Johnstown diocese and later made
a Prelate of Honor (Monsignor) by JPII.
COMMENT: Apparently Msgr. Agostini did not realize that the microphone
was on when he said, "All the faggots together." For his indiscretion
he has been dismissed from his position. While not knowing anything about
Martel's book that is recommended by Rev. Gomulka, it is just another addition
to the a long list, and growing longer, of documentation of the Homosexual
Lobby's infiltration and control of the Novus Ordo Church. Traditional
Catholics have been exposing this crime for a long time. One of the priests
that help in the establishment of Saints Peter & Paul Roman Catholic
Mission was the late Rev. Enrique Rueda authored The Homosexual Network
published in 1982. Rev. Rueda inspired the work of Randy Engel who continued
his work with her book, Rite of Sodomy published in 2006. The late Rev. John
O'Connor, O.P., a traditional Dominican, exposed in detail the homosexual
takeover of the Dominican Order in the United States and the failure of Rome to
do anything about it. The Polish priest, Rev. Dariusz Oko, a theology professor at the Pontifical
University of John Paul II in Krakow, was fined in Germany in 2022 along with
his published, for "hate speech" in an article that referred to
homosexual priests as "a colony of parasites", "a cancerous growth"
and "a homosexual plague" in the Church. He also called the
"gay-affirming movement" a "homo-heresy." The book Goodbye,
Good Men by Michael S. Rose is another work that documents the homosexual
infiltration of the Church. Should we be surprised? Remember Bella Dodd, under sworn testimony before
Congress in the 1950s, claimed that she had helped place 1,500 committed
communists into Catholic seminaries. None of these homosexuals will ever give
up their sinecures in the Novus Ordo church network. Jesus Christ began and
ended His public life with the 'cleansing of the Temple' driving the profane
from the house of God. Call to mind what God did to Rome in 1527 when the
mercenary Protestant army of Charles V sacked Rome. The destruction and death
lasted about nine months. This cleansing of Rome made possible the rebuilding
and reformation accomplished by the Council of Trent. The punishment that is at
the door today will be a pitiless destruction of the entire Novus Ordo
structure and make possible the great restoration that will follow.
"All ceremonies are professions of
faith, in which the interior worship of God consists. Now man can make
profession of his inward faith, by deeds as well as by words: and in either
profession, if
he makes a false declaration, he sins mortally."
St. Thomas Aquinas, (ST, I-II, Q. 103,
Art. 4)
Queers Always
Hang Together
“Sodomy Is a Gift from God….
Those who oppose sodomy should be debarred from church seminaries.”
Rev. Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., an Oxford
scholar and international celebrity appointed by Pope Francis to the Pontifical
Council of Justice and Peace in 2015. On 6 October 2024, Pope Francis announced
that Radcliffe would be created a cardinal on December 8 but was the date was
later changed to 7 December. Pope Francis, granting him a dispensation from the
current requirement that all cardinals must be bishops, made him a cardinal
deacon and assigned him to the Chiesa dei
Santi Nomi di Gesu e Maria. He participated as a cardinal elector in the
2025 conclave that elected Pope Leo as the sole elector that was not a bishop.
Pro-LGBT Cdl. Radcliffe urges ‘openness to novelty’ in address to
extraordinary consistory
Reports from inside the Vatican suggest growing unease among the
cardinals after Pope Leo’s two-day gathering opened with tightly controlled
group sessions led by liberal voices.
LifeSiteNews | Gaetano Masciullo | Thu
Jan 8, 2026
VATICAN CITY— Pro-LGBT Cardinal Timothy
Radcliffe delivered the opening meditation at the consistory in Rome by urging 
cardinals to remain “in the boat of Peter” amid global crises and
Church divisions while suggesting “memory and openness to novelty must coexist
in the life of the Church.”
On the afternoon of January 7, Pope Leo XIV
opened a two-day extraordinary consistory at the Vatican, convening cardinals
from around the world to reflect on four major themes – the mission of the
Church in today’s world, synodality, the relationship between the Holy See and
the particular Churches, and the liturgy – though only the former two were
selected for detailed discussion, a decision that, according to off-the-record
accounts reported by the Italian blog Messainlatino, prompted discouragement
and concern among several participants.
“I
am here to listen,” Pope Leo XIV told the cardinals in his opening address,
stressing that the meeting was intended not to produce documents but “to
continue a conversation that will help me in serving the mission of the entire
Church.”
According to the blog Messainlatino,
multiple unnamed cardinals described the first session as poorly prepared and
structurally restrictive, noting in particular that there were no free
interventions scheduled for the opening day. Discussions were conducted in
small, pre-assigned working groups based on language and curial affiliation, a
format some participants reportedly said did not resemble the traditional
consistory model of the past.
The same source reported that, for reasons
of time, the theme of the liturgy was effectively excluded from substantive
group discussion, despite being listed among the four initial topics. Several
cardinals allegedly lamented what they perceived as a lack of interest in the
Church understood as “mystery,” and said that the overall approach appeared to
be in continuity with the synodal processes of recent years.
The opening meditation was delivered by
Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., a leftist prelate who has praised “gay
sexuality” in blasphemous remarks, celebrated “LGBT Masses,” supported
admitting homosexuals to the priesthood, and encouraged Catholics to watch
homosexual movies and read homosexual novels.
In his reflection on the Gospel of Mark
(6:45–52), Radcliffe urged the cardinals to “remain in the boat of Peter” amid
contemporary storms facing both the world and the Church, including war,
inequality, sexual abuse scandals, and ideological divisions.
Radcliffe warned against remaining “on the
shore” out of fear or disagreement, arguing that unity and mutual charity among
the cardinals were essential to supporting the Pope. He stated that “memory and
openness to novelty must coexist in the life of the Church,” citing Evangelii
Gaudium and Saint Augustine to argue that Tradition and renewal are
inseparable.
Messainlatino also reports that upcoming
sessions of the consistory are expected to open with reflections by pro-LGBT
Cardinal José Tolentino de
Mendonça and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, both widely regarded as
prominent liberal voices within the College of Cardinals.
COMMENT: Cardinal Radcliffe
is a notorious homosexual. Pope Leo in selecting him as the spiritual director
of the consistory is making an open declaration that the spirit of the
consistory is NOT the Holy Spirit. The Mission of the Church was established by
its founder, Jesus Christ. It was established with a specific commission to
"make disciples of all nations." Synodality is a denial of the dogma
of the universal jurisdiction of the pope. The Church's relationship with
non-Catholic churches is established by God: "There is no salvation
outside the Catholic Church." It is the relationship is between those who
can be saved and those who are not. Finally, the liturgy is the work of God Who
dogmatically established at the Council of Trent: "Those that say that the
received and approved rites customarily used in the solemn administration of
the sacraments may be changed into other new rites... by any pastor of the
churches whomsoever: anathema sit.
Pope Leo begins a new catechism series dedicated to Vatican II
Pope Leo on Wednesday praised the ‘liturgical reform’ launched by
Vatican II that laid the groundwork for the revolutionary Novus Ordo Missae,
the new Mass.
LifeSiteNews | Emily Mangiaracina | Jan
8, 2026
VATICAN CITY— Pope Leo XIV announced
Wednesday that he is beginning a catechesis series to “closely” study the
Second Vatican Council, which many priests and scholars have affirmed to be in
need of correction.
“We are beginning a new catechesis series dedicated to the Second
Vatican Council and to a fresh reading of its Documents,” Leo wrote in an X
post on January 7. “The Council’s Magisterium remains even today the North Star
guiding the Church’s journey.”
“Closely studying the Council documents
will help us to be attentive interpreters of the signs of the times, and to
proclaim the Gospel to all,” Leo said Wednesday during his general audience.
In Leo’s strong support for Vatican II, he aligns himself with Pope
Francis, who described the Council as “a visit of God to His Church,” and as
“irreversible.”
The pope has not given further details thus far on the forthcoming
“catechesis” of Vatican II. However, during his general audience on Wednesday,
he highlighted aspects of the Council that he highly esteems.
For example, Leo praised the “liturgical reform” launched by Vatican
II, which laid the groundwork for the revolutionary Novus Ordo Missae,
the new Mass. The Council “set in motion an important liturgical reform by
placing at the center the mystery of salvation and the active and conscious
participation of the entire People of God,” Leo said in his general audience.
Liturgist and author Dr. Peter Kwasniewski
has pointed out that the idea articulated in the Second Vatican Council’s Sacrosanctum Concilium that “In the
restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy, this full and active
participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else” is
backward.
“It cannot escape our notice that this text
turns things on their head,” Kwasniewski remarked in 2019. “Where Pius X had
said that what should be ‘provided for before everything else’ is the ‘sanctity
and dignity of the temple,’ Vatican II says that ‘the aim to be considered
before all else’ is ‘full and active participation by all the people.’ In doing
so, it inverts the hierarchy of goods. Now the worship of God and its right
condition becomes secondary to the people’s involvement.”
Pope Leo also on Wednesday lauded Vatican II for being responsible for
a Church committed to “seeking the truth through the way of ecumenism,
interreligious dialogue and dialogue with people of good will,” as if the
Church needs to seek truth outside of Herself. The idea that the fullness of
the truth is not found within the Catholic Church is heretical.
Leo’s description of the Second Vatican
Council during his general audience and in his social media post as the
“guiding star” of the Church’s path suggests he sees this council as surpassing
in importance every other council of the Church, which is especially
significant given that Vatican II appeared to contradict previous magisterial
councils in certain respects.
Prelates such as Bishop Athanasius Schneider and Archbishop Carlo Maria
Viganò have pointed to errors in the Second Vatican Council regarding religious
freedom and other religions, and in doing so have been supported by many
priests and scholars.
For example, Bishop Schneider has said Lumen Gentium is “wrong” and errs by suggesting that Christians and
Muslims participate together in the same act of adoration when it states that “Muslims,
who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and
merciful God.”
It errs because Muslims worship on a
natural level, at the same level of anyone who adores God with the “natural
light of reason,” whereas Christians adore God on a supernatural level as His
adopted children “in the truth of Christ and in the Holy Spirit.”
“This is a substantial difference,”
Schneider observed. He explained that the use of the phrase “with us”
represents a relativization of the act of adoration of God and also of
Christians’ “sonship.”
In addition, Muslims reject the Trinity,
which they consider to be an idolatrous idea. Christ made clear that “whoever
rejects me rejects the one who sent me” (Luke 10:16) and “no one comes to the
Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Schneider criticized texts suggesting that
Buddhists and Hindus can attain illumination on their own, without “the grace
of Christ,” as a heresy. Nostra Aetate
claims that “in Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery,” and that
Buddhism “teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be
able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own
efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination.”
The German prelate has also criticized Dignitatis Humanae for putting forth “a
theory never before taught by the constant Magisterium of the Church, i.e.,
that man has the right founded in his own nature, ‘not to be prevented from
acting in religious matters according to his own conscience, whether privately
or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due
limits.’”
Archbishop Viganò agreed with Bishop
Schneider in his criticism of the Second Vatican Council, noting that Vatican
II’s formulation of religious freedom “contradict[s] the testimony of Sacred
Scripture and the voice of Tradition, as well as the Catholic Magisterium which
is the faithful guardian of both.”
It is also noteworthy that Vatican II’s
Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis
Redintegratio, condones “prayers in common” with our “separated brethren”
in “certain special circumstances, such as the prescribed prayers “for unity,”
and during ecumenical gatherings.”
However, the Councils of the Church have
repeatedly made clear that Catholics cannot pray with heretics or schismatics,
let alone those of other religious practices:
· “One must neither pray nor sing psalms with heretics, and whoever shall
communicate with those who are cut off from the communion of the Church,
whether clergy or layman: let him be excommunicated.” — Council of Carthage
· “No one shall pray in common with heretics and schismatics.” — Council
of Laodicea
· If any ecclesiastic or layman shall go into the synagogue of the Jews
or to the meeting houses of the heretics to join in prayer with them, let them
be deposed and deprived of communion. If any bishop or priest or deacon shall
join in prayer with heretics, let him be suspended from communion. — II Council
of Constantinople
COMMENT: Pope
Leo is just another heretic embracing the heresies of Vatican II, a pastoral
council that has by every statistical analysis has proven to be an utter
pastoral failure. A pastoral approach to pastoral problem is comparable to a
business plan to the operation of the business. Now is a business plan leads to
financial ruin of a business the board of directors will immediately fire the
CEO, his staff and advisors, and seek another with a different business plan.
What can be said about the Novus Ordo popes is that the "pastoral
plan" they have adopted from Vatican II is not a failure but rather a
resounding success because the purpose of the plan is to destroy the Church of
Jesus Christ. What they are doing is what they have always intended to do. The
Church was established in Truth by Truth Itself and does not "seek"
truth from those who deny it.
In 2005 the Dover, PA electorate removed the School Board
members that permitted Intelligent Design to be considered in as a possible
explanation for the natural order found in the material universe. Scientists,
while affirming that the natural order in the universe must necessarily be the
result of mechanical chance, “listened with a vast radio telescopic network for
signals (from outer space) that resembled coded intelligence and were not
merely random” for evidence of intelligent life in the universe. If these scientists affirm that the DNA code
of biological life, which is clearly goal directed, is “merely random” and not
a sign of “intelligence” how can they be open to recognize any sign of
intelligible communication!? Is this WSJ article evidence that there is no
intelligence design in the Dover, PA electorate or in modern science?
Science
Increasingly Makes the Case for God
The odds of life existing on
another planet grow ever longer. Intelligent design, anyone?
Eric Metaxas: Dec. 25, 2014
In 1966 Time magazine ran a cover story asking: Is God Dead? Many have accepted the cultural narrative that he’s obsolete—that as science progresses, there is less need for a “God” to explain the universe. Yet it turns out that the rumors of God’s death were premature. More amazing is that the relatively recent case for his existence comes from a surprising place—science itself.
Here’s the story: The same year Time featured the now-famous headline, the astronomer Carl Sagan announced that there were two important criteria for a planet to support life: The right kind of star, and a planet the right distance from that star. Given the roughly octillion—1 followed by 27 zeros—planets in the universe, there should have been about septillion—1 followed by 24 zeros—planets capable of supporting life.
With such spectacular odds, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, a large, expensive collection of private and publicly funded projects launched in the 1960s, was sure to turn up something soon. Scientists listened with a vast radio telescopic network for signals that resembled coded intelligence and were not merely random. But as years passed, the silence from the rest of the universe was deafening. Congress defunded SETI in 1993, but the search continues with private funds. As of 2014, researches have discovered precisely bubkis—0 followed by nothing.
What happened? As our knowledge of the universe increased, it became clear that there were far more factors necessary for life than Sagan supposed. His two parameters grew to 10 and then 20 and then 50, and so the number of potentially life-supporting planets decreased accordingly. The number dropped to a few thousand planets and kept on plummeting.
Even SETI proponents acknowledged the problem. Peter Schenkel wrote in a 2006 piece for Skeptical Inquirer magazine: “In light of new findings and insights, it seems appropriate to put excessive euphoria to rest . . . . We should quietly admit that the early estimates . . . may no longer be tenable.”
As factors continued to be discovered, the number of possible planets hit zero, and kept going. In other words, the odds turned against any planet in the universe supporting life, including this one. Probability said that even we shouldn’t be here.
Today there are more than 200 known parameters necessary for a planet to support life—every single one of which must be perfectly met, or the whole thing falls apart. Without a massive planet like Jupiter nearby, whose gravity will draw away asteroids, a thousand times as many would hit Earth’s surface. The odds against life in the universe are simply astonishing.
Yet here we are, not only existing, but talking about existing. What can account for it? Can every one of those many parameters have been perfect by accident? At what point is it fair to admit that science suggests that we cannot be the result of random forces? Doesn’t assuming that an intelligence created these perfect conditions require far less faith than believing that a life-sustaining Earth just happened to beat the inconceivable odds to come into being?
There’s more. The fine-tuning necessary for life to exist on a planet is nothing compared with the fine-tuning required for the universe to exist at all. For example, astrophysicists now know that the values of the four fundamental forces—gravity, the electromagnetic force, and the “strong” and “weak” nuclear forces—were determined less than one millionth of a second after the big bang. Alter any one value and the universe could not exist. For instance, if the ratio between the nuclear strong force and the electromagnetic force had been off by the tiniest fraction of the tiniest fraction—by even one part in 100,000,000,000,000,000—then no stars could have ever formed at all. Feel free to gulp.
Multiply that single parameter by all the other necessary conditions, and the odds against the universe existing are so heart-stoppingly astronomical that the notion that it all “just happened” defies common sense. It would be like tossing a coin and having it come up heads 10 quintillion times in a row. Really?
Fred Hoyle, the astronomer who coined the term “big bang,” said that his atheism was “greatly shaken” at these developments. He later wrote that “a common-sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super-intellect has monkeyed with the physics, as well as with chemistry and biology…. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question.”
Theoretical physicist Paul Davies has said that “the appearance of design is overwhelming” and Oxford professor Dr. John Lennox has said “the more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator . . . gains in credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.”
The greatest miracle of all time, without any close seconds, is the universe. It is the miracle of all miracles, one that ineluctably points with the combined brightness of every star to something—or Someone—beyond itself.
Mr. Metaxas is the author, most recently, of “Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life” (Dutton Adult, 2014).
“Only take heed to yourself and guard your
soul diligently.” Deut 4:9
"It is a sin to believe there is
salvation outside the Catholic Church!"
Blessed Pope Pius IX
JP II the
'Grate' - if somehow he made it to Purgatory -
ask him to turn out the lights and lock the place up when he is the last
to leave.
John
Paul II was a pope under whose reign we had the most horrific scandal in the Church's
2000-year history. Thousands of children
were molested by priests and bishops he ordained. By the end of his pontificate, lawsuits were
bankrupting Catholic Churches all over the world; and between one third and one
half of the clergy (sources available upon request) were admittedly homosexual,
with a significant percentage being pederasts whom the pope didn't even admit
existed when he was told of their crimes, much less did anything to stop them,
even when stark evidence was brought before him, as in the case of Legionnaires
leader Marciel Maciel. At the same time
he hid other clerics from prosecution, as in the case of Cardinal Bernard Law
of Boston.
This
was the pope who allowed the Vatican Bank's corruption that started under Paul
VI to continue with little or no reform; and who protected its chief
perpetrator, Bishop Paul Marcinkus, from prosecution. He did nothing to investigate the suspected
murder of John Paul I, the very pope who made it known in the first days of his
reign that he was going to clean up the financial misdealings of his
curia. This was the pope who took 250
million dollars of the Vatican's money and gave it to Solidarity in Poland,
thereby making the Church a political institution instead of a spiritual
one. By the same token he condemned
Liberation theology because if its tendency to get involved in politics.
This
was the pope who went to the hut of an African witch doctor in 1985 and
afterward wrote, "the prayer meeting in the sanctuary at Lake Togo was
particularly striking. There I prayed
for the first time with animists."
In December 1984 he sent a
Vatican representative to the laying of the
foundation of the largest mosque in Europe.
In September 1989 he wrote to Muslim leaders and said: "In the name
of the same God we adore," without any qualifications whatsoever. In May 1999 he kissed the Koran in a public
ceremony; and in 2000 asked John the Baptist "to protect Islam." In February 1986 he received the red dust of
the Hindu religion on his forehead in honor of the goddess Shiva. In March 1986 in New Delhi he stated that
"collaboration between all religions is necessary for the good of
mankind... as Hindus, Buddhists, Jainists, and Christians, we unite to proclaim
the truth about man."
This
was the pope who invited all the world's non-Christian and pagan religions to
pray for world peace at Assisi in 1986 and Assisi in 2002 (with five additional
Assisi-like gatherings in the 1990s in various countries) and never once in
those 16 years did he preach the Gospel to them about conversion to Christ for
salvation. Instead he sent them all back
to their countries encouraging them to continue to pray to their false gods,
the very opposite that St. Paul did in Acts 17.
He paid no attention to any of his high-placed clerical advisors who
told him these acts were abominations.
This
was the pope who, against two millennia of Catholic tradition, told husbands to
be mutually submissive to women; dispensed with head coverings for women; and
allowed women and girls to be communion ministers, altar girls, and directors
of chanceries, thereby increasing the feminization of the Church amidst an
already feminized clergy who were by this time at least a third homosexual,
while another significant portion were receiving paternity suits.
This
was the pope who profusely apologized for the ecclesiastical policies of
previous popes; who had his Vatican envoy sign the 1998 Lutheran/Catholic Joint
declaration which, in direct contradiction to the Council of Trent, said
"man is justified by faith alone."
This was the pope who told the Lutherans they had a "profound
religiousness and spiritual heritage" and that Martin Luther was driven by
a "burning passion of the question of eternal salvation," and who
told the Lutheran bishops that Rome's excommunication of Luther had expired,
and that "There is a need for a new evaluation of the questions raised by
Luther and his teaching." This was
the pope who implied or taught universal salvation and that hell may not be
applicable to any human being. This was
the pope who at the very beginning of his pontificate in the 1979 encyclical Redemptor Hominis used the word
"church" 150 times but never once mentioned the word
"Catholic." This was the pope
who continually sided with liberals like Karl Rahner, Urs von Balthasar and
Raymond Brown but who would hardly give an ear to those, such as Archbishop
Lefebvre, who wanted to preserve the tradition and who decried the
anti-Catholic innovations being foisted on the Catholic populace. (Fortunately, Pope Benedict XVI saw John Paul
II's mistake and reversed the decision against Lefebvre). This was the pope who was criticized by his
own admirers for failing to discipline wayward clerics, both in their doctrinal
aberrations and moral laxity (Charles Curran, Edward Schillebeeckx, Hans Kung,
et al). Ironically, the only cleric that
was excommunicated was Lefebvre, yet he was one of the most doctrinally sound
and morally upright clerics the Church had ever known.
This
was the pope who in 1981, contrary to tradition, implied or taught that the
Jewish Old Covenant is not revoked and that Jews have a special relationship
with God, as does Paragraph 121 of his papally-signed 1994 Catechism. He continued to propagate confusing and
doctrinally fallacious teaching about the Jews and Judaism through his
cardinals who taught that the Jews did not need to convert to Christianity to
be saved since they have their own covenant with God (Kasper, Keeler,
Willebrands, George, Ratzinger, et al).
This was the first pope in history to visit Israel and who then placed
himself under Judaism by praying at the Jerusalem's Wailing Wall. This was the pope who, for the first time in
the history of the papacy, visited and prayed in Jewish synagogues - the
religion that denies more than any other that Jesus Christ is God.
Last
but not least, this was the pope who changed the Church's criterion for
sainthood, which now allows him and all his fellow 20th century popes to be
easily canonized in the face of the fact that there have been only three popes
canonized since 1294 (Pius X, d. 1914; Pius V, d. 1572; Celestine V, d.
1294). As such, the very popes who lived
and reigned during the Church's worst corruptions and scandals are now being
exonerated and place in heaven.
Robert Sungenis, Ph.D., Letter to Editor, Culture Wars Magazine
In pastoral letter, Charlotte's Bishop Martin ends altar rails for holy
Communion
National Catholic Reporter | Patricia L.
Guilfoyle | Charlotte, N.C. — December 23, 2025
Bishop
Michael Martin has established guidelines for the reception of holy Communion in the Diocese
of Charlotte to strengthen unity in worship, uphold the church's
liturgical norms and encourage active participation by the faithful.
Martin announced the new norms in a pastoral letter that affirms
the common posture of standing to receive holy Communion, encourages
priests to offer Communion under both bread and wine more often, and calls
for the broader use of trained laypeople to serve as Eucharistic ministers.
"The liturgy of the Church is the work
of God and the work on behalf of God in the life of the Church," Martin
wrote in the Dec. 17 letter. "These norms for our diocese move us together toward the
Church's vision for the fuller and more active participation of the
faithful."
In his pastoral letter, the bishop
emphasized that the celebration of the Eucharist is a communal act of worship,
not only an individual act of piety.
"Throughout the ages and within the context of our rich liturgical
traditions from the East to the West, our unity as believers in
Holy Communion is expressed through our postures and gestures that reflect
our mystical communion and unity as fellow believers," he said.
The new guidance does not replace the
diocese's general liturgical norms established in 2005, but builds upon
them and aligns closely with the Catholic Church's universal norms
(what is called the "General Instruction of the Roman Missal") and
directives set by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The pastoral letter follows months of
consultation with the diocese's Office for Divine Worship and the Presbyteral
Council of priests, which represents all priests of the diocese in
administrative and policy discussions.
In his pastoral letter, Martin affirmed the "normative
posture" for receiving holy Communion in the United States is
standing, after bowing the head as a sign of reverence.
The directive instructs any parishes that currently use altar rails for
distributing Communion to discontinue the practice and remove any portable
kneelers or prie-dieus by Jan. 16, noting that such practices are "a
visible contradiction" to the prescribed posture of standing.
"Instead," his pastoral letter states, the church
"emphasizes that receiving Holy Communion is to be done as the
members of the faithful go in procession, witnessing that the Church journeys
forward and receives Holy Communion as a pilgrim people on their
way."
In many churches, altar rails are architectural elements that
differentiate the sanctuary from the nave and once were used for Communion
distribution.
Over the past decade or so, a small number
of churches in the diocese reintroduced the use of rails or kneelers to
distribute Holy Communion, but most diocesan churches already follow the
practice of receiving Communion while standing, consistent with
U.S. norms.
In his pastoral letter, the bishop
reiterated that individuals may not be denied holy Communion if they
choose to kneel, yet he encouraged the faithful to "prayerfully consider
the blessing of communal witness that is realized when we share a common
posture."
Clergy and catechists, he added, "are
to instruct communicants according to the normative posture in the United
States" and "are not to teach that some other manner is better,
preferred, more efficacious, etc."
In guidance to pastors that accompanied the
bishop's pastoral letter, the diocese's Office for Divine Worship noted
that if a communicant wishes to kneel but is physically unable, the pastor
should address the situation privately.
"He is to catechize and remind the person that standing to receive
is no less reverent or worthy a way to receive Our Lord," advised Fr. Noah
Carter, diocesan liturgy director. "In both ways, the communicant
who is properly disposed to receive holy Communion gains the same graces
and gifts contained in the Eucharist, regardless of standing or kneeling."
In his letter, Martin also encouraged pastors, where and when
possible, to distribute holy Communion under the forms of both bread and
wine more often.
While affirming church teaching that Christ
is fully present — body, blood, soul and divinity — under either bread or wine,
he encouraged priests to consider the "fuller sign" of distributing
holy Communion under both kinds to foster "a deeper participation in
the Eucharistic mystery," consistent with prevailing church practice.
The bishop specifically noted that "a
significant number of parishes" did not resume distribution of the
Precious Blood in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. "To foster unity, it
is helpful that we all practice a similar way of distributing
Holy Communion," he said.
"Parishioners who travel from parish
to parish because of their own needs may otherwise rightly question why the
Precious Blood is always available in one church and never available in
another."
The pastoral letter specifically
recommends distributing the Precious Blood for at least one Mass every Sunday
and for major solemnities, including: Christmas, the Easter Vigil, Divine Mercy
Sunday, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, Christ the King Sunday, and
Holy Thursday. It also encourages distributing holy Communion under both
kinds for first holy Communion Masses, wedding Masses, parish patronal
feast days and church anniversaries.
It reaffirms that the consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or
in the hand, at the discretion of the communicant.
It explicitly prohibits the practice of
intinction — dipping the host into the Precious Blood before placing it on the
communicant's tongue — at public liturgies.
In his pastoral letter, the bishop also encouraged parishes to enlist more
laypeople to help clergy with distributing holy Communion.
Priests and deacons are the "ordinary
ministers of holy Communion," while laypeople may serve as
"extraordinary ministers of holy Communion" when needed, such as
when there are too many communicants for the clergy to
distribute Communion efficiently.
In many parishes, extraordinary ministers
also take Communion to the sick and homebound.
The diocese's existing
liturgical norms already call for extraordinary ministers in such
situations and provide for people to serve in three-year terms. The new
guidelines formalize practices that are already commonplace in the diocese and
across the U.S.
They set eligibility and formation
requirements, and direct parishes to have enough eucharistic ministers
"for roughly 75 communicants" at each Mass. Parishes are also
directed to invite people to serve as extraordinary ministers and offer
training at least once a year.
To be appointed as such, a layperson must:
be a practicing Catholic who has received the sacraments of initiation; be
at least 16 years old; "demonstrate a deep reverence for and devotion to
the holy Eucharist"; be "distinguished in their Christian life, faith
and morals"; and take part in the diocese's safe environment training.
COMMENT: The immemorial rule
of receiving Holy Communion in the Catholic Church is kneeling and on the
tongue from the hands of a Catholic priest or deacon. In the Latin Rite
communion is distributed only under the appearance of bread. The current
practice of the Novus Ordo Church is by Indult granted by the Vatican at the
petition from the Novus Ordo National Conference of Catholic Bishops in the
United States. An Indult is a permission to NOT obey the law. Bishop Martin's
Letter begins with a lie. It ends with imposing the norms of the Lutheran
church on the Novus Ordites and his determination to prevent anyone from
building a Catholic sanctuary. The Lutherans do not believe in the True
Presence in their services and neither does Bishop Martin. The Novus Ordo Mass
was initially defined as a memorial meal, and if that is all it is, then the
Lutheran norms are perfectly reasonable and there is no problem with Bishop
Martin's arguments. But Bishop Martin is liar and therefore we cannot expect
him to acknowledge this truth. A PEW poll in 2019 found that only 26% for all
Catholics under 40 years of age (and only 63% of all Novus Ordites who go to
Mass at least once each week) believe in the Catholic dogma of the True
Presence. These Catholics under 40 years of age were raised on the current
Indult and have lost the Catholic faith. What an established practice does in its signification is
what it was intended to do. The intention of Bishop Martin is to destroy
the belief in any remaining Catholics of the True Presence. The argument that
standing better symbolizes that we are a "pilgrim people" has been
used for more than fifty years. It was a stupid argument in the beginning and
remains a more stupid argument today because the result of the practice are evident.
The Novus Ordo church has yet to publically acknowledge that their church is on
a pilgrimage to hell!
"ALL
HERETICS ARE SCHISMATICS." St. Thomas Aquinas quoting St. Augustine
“It is not to be
excluded that I will enter history as the one who split the Catholic Church.”
Pope Francis,
concluding remarks attributed to him in the Der Spiegel article on the Crisis
in the Catholic Church.
COMMENT: As if that was not Pope Francis' intention and
what in fact he had long been doing throughout his pontificate? The question
remains as to what name in history will Francis be known? But let's leave that
for later. The truth is that Conservative Catholics have never gotten anything
in its right hierarchical order. They stupidly thought the “split” in the
Church began when traditional Catholics were disobedient to legitimate exercise
of authority by resisting the overthrow of our Ecclesiastical Traditions by
which alone the Faith can be known and communicated to others. Conservative
Catholics are only now turning to face the front of this conflict but they are
unarmed for the fight. Pope Francis, who professed the same doctrine as his
conciliar predecessors, only drovethe wedge far deeper into the Bark of Peter
to “split” the Church. The Conservative Catholics are at last alarmed because
the Ship is taking on massive amounts of water. Unfortunately, the poor
Conservative Catholics who are raising their voices against the corruption of
Francis and his successor Leo will surely fail. Let's call them the Dubiaists.
The Dubiaists have doubts but no real convictions. They will fail because they
turned their backs against the literal meaning of DOGMA long ago and cannot
recognize heresy. They now have nothing from which to mount their defense for
DOGMA is the one and only weapon against an abusive authority. Authority is
subject only to Truth. and DOGMA is the most perfect expression of Truth
available to all men.
Greetings from Pope Leo to
Father Franz Schmidberger, SSPX
Pope
Leo extends his heartfelt congratulations to venerable Father Franz
Schmidberger, SSPX on the occasion of his fiftieth anniversary of his priestly
ordination and extends his apostolic blessing.
Friedrichshafen,
Germany, December 14, 2025
COMMENT: We have publically
affirmed that the SSPX was formally regularized with modernist Rome no later
than 2015 and most likely in 2012 although this is not commonly shared with its
member priests or those faithful who attend their chaples for Mass. Fr.
Schmidberger was the general superior of the SSPX after the retirement of
Archbishop Lefebvre, and after his death when Bishop Fellay became the general
superior, Fr. Schmidberger was his direct assistant. It was under the guidance
of Fr. Schmidberger that the secret negotiations with modernist Rome began in
the 1990s that would eventually lead to their regularization. This
"heartfelt" greetings and congratulations from Pope Leo is in
acknowledgment of Fr. Schmidberger's untiring commitment to betray Catholic
tradition.
"There will be two worm-ridden popes".
Blessed Virgin
Mary, Our Lady of La Salette to Melanie
The idea that there would be two worm-ridden popes is an unofficial, unpublished
prophecy of Melanie, one of two children at the apparition of La Salette in
France. It pops up in one of her letters to Fr. Roubaud back on September 30,
1884, and it was brought to light by author Michel Corteville in his book, Découverte
du secret de La Salette. Some say that the phrase actually
translates to: “two shaky, servile, doubtful popes.” The original French reads:
Mais avant ce temps
(des tribulations) il y aura deux fois une paix de peu de durée, deux Papes
vermoulus, plats, douteux.*
TRANSLATION: “But
before this time (of tribulations) there will be twice a peace of short
duration, two worm-eaten, flat, and doubtful Popes.”
“Living Tradition,” synonym for Immanentism of
the Modernist
The term, “living tradition,” a novelty of modernist construction
given official standing at Vatican II, conflates the subjective understanding
with the objective truth, is part of the theological justification to replace
our received traditions with novelties grounded in fantasy.
“The root of this schismatic act can be discerned in an incomplete and
contradictory notion of Tradition. Incomplete, because it does not take
sufficiently into account the living character of Tradition, which, as
the Second Vatican Council clearly taught, “comes from the apostles and
progresses in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit. There is a growth in
insight into the realities and words that are being passed on. This comes about
in various ways. It comes through the contemplation and study of believers
who ponder these things in their hearts. It comes from the intimate sense of
spiritual realities which they experience. And it comes from the preaching
of those who have received, along with their right of succession in the
episcopate, the sure charism of truth”.
John Paul II, explaining the
problems with Archbishop Lefebvre’s consecration of four bishops from his
failure to understand the novel Vatican II definition of tradition
Hermeneutics of Continuity/Discontinuity
– Even JPII did not deny this dogma!
Pope Francis Teaches:
We hold the Jewish people in special regard
because their covenant with God has never been revoked, for “the gifts and the
call of God are irrevocable” (Rom.11:29). The Church, which shares with Jews an
important part of the Sacred Scriptures, looks upon the people of the covenant
and their faith as one of the sacred roots of her own Christian identity (cf.
Rom. 11:16-18). As Christians, we cannot consider Judaism as a foreign
religion; nor do we include the Jews among those called to turn from idols and
to serve the true God (cf. 1 Thes. 1:9). With them, we believe in the one God
who acts in history, and with them we accept his revealed word. Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium
The Church officially recognizes that the People
of Israel continue to be the Chosen People. Nowhere does it say: “You lost the
game, now it is our turn.” It is a recognition of the People of Israel.
Pope Francis, On Heaven and Earth
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Hebrews 7:18: “On the one hand, a former commandment is annulled because of its weakness and uselessness…”;
Hebrews 10:9: “Then he says, ‘Behold, I come to do your will.’ He takes away the first [covenant] to establish the second [covenant]…”;
2 Corinthians 3:14: “For to this day when they [the Jews] read the Old Covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away”;
Hebrews 8:7: “For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another”;
Colossians 2:14: “Having canceled the written code, with its decrees, that was against us and stood opposed to us; He took it away nailing it to the cross”;
Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis, para. 29: “…the New Testament took the place of the Old Law which had been abolished…but on the gibbet of His death Jesus made void the Law with its decrees fastened the handwriting of the Old Testament to the Cross”;
The Catechism of the Council of Trent: “…the people, aware of the abrogation of the Mosaic Law…”;
Council of Florence: [This council] firmly believes, professes, and teaches that the matter pertaining to the law of the Old Testament, of the Mosiac law, which are divided into ceremonies, sacred rites, sacrifices, and sacraments, because they were established to signify something in the future, although they were suited to the divine worship at that time, after our Lord’s coming had been signified by them, ceased, and the sacraments of the New Testament began; and that whoever, even after the passion, placed hope in these matters of the law and submitted himself to them as necessary for salvation, as if faith in Christ could not save without them, sinned mortally. Yet it does not deny that after the passion of Christ up to the promulgation of the Gospel they could have been observed until they were believed to be in no way necessary for salvation; but after the promulgation of the Gospel it asserts that they cannot be observed without the loss of eternal salvation. All, therefore, who after that time observe circumcision and the Sabbath and the other requirements of the law, it declares alien to the Christian faith and not in the least fit to participate in eternal salvation, unless someday they recover from these errors. Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, Cantate Domino
Council of Trent: “but not even the Jews by the very letter of the law of Moses were able to be liberated or to rise therefrom”;
Cardinal Ratzinger: “Thus the Sinai [Mosaic] Covenant is indeed superseded” (Many Religions – One Covenant, p. 70).
St. John Chrysostom: “Yet surely Paul’s object everywhere is to annul this Law….And with much reason; for it was through a fear and a horror of this that the Jews obstinately opposed grace” (Homily on Romans, 6:12); “And so while no one annuls a man’s covenant, the covenant of God after four hundred and thirty years is annulled; for if not that covenant but another instead of it bestows what is promised, then is it set aside, which is most unreasonable” (Homily on Galatians, Ch 3);
St. Augustine: “Instead of the grace of the law which has passed away, we have received the grace of the gospel which is abiding; and instead of the shadows and types of the old dispensation, the truth has come by Jesus Christ. Jeremiah also prophesied thus in God’s name: ‘Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah…’ Observe what the prophet says, not to Gentiles, who had not been partakers in any former covenant, but to the Jewish nation. He who has given them the law by Moses, promises in place of it the New Covenant of the gospel, that they might no longer live in the oldness of the letter, but in the newness of the spirit” (Letters, 74, 4);
Justin Martyr: “Now, law placed against law has abrogated that which is before it, and a covenant which comes after in like manner has put an end to the previous one; and an eternal and final law – namely, Christ – has been given to us, and the covenant is trustworthy…Have you not read…by Jeremiah, concerning this same new covenant, He thus speaks: ‘Behold, the days come,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…’” (Dialogue with Trypho, Ch 11).
John Paul II: “Christ fulfills the divine promise and supersedes the old law.” (Redemptoris Mater)
Taken from Robert Sungenis, The
Old Covenent: Revoked or Not Revoked?
Pope Leo: Don’t let tension between tradition, novelty become ‘harmful
polarizations’
EWTN | Victoria Cardiel | October 27, 2025
Pope Leo XIV said at a Mass on Sunday that
no one in the Church “should impose his or her own ideas” and asked that
tensions between tradition and novelty not become “ideological contrapositions
and harmful polarizations.”
“The supreme rule in the Church is love. No
one is called to dominate; all are called to serve,” Leo said in St. Peter’s
Basilica on Oct. 26.
“No one should impose his or her own
ideas; we must all listen to one another,” he continued. “No one is excluded;
we are all called to participate. No one possesses the whole truth; we must all
humbly seek it and seek it together.” [.....]
COMMENT: The problem
is this: the love of novelty is an ideology, Tradition along with sacred
Scripture is divine revelation. The Church always and everywhere has condemned
novelty until Vatican II and the Novus Ordo Church of Novelty embraced it. The
conflict between novelty and tradition is the conflict between God's revelation
and demonic lies; the conflict between the Church and the World. Those who are
faithful to tradition do not "impose their own ideas" but defend
God's revealed truth against the novelty of the world. The Novus Ordo Novelty
Church is "seeking truth"; the Church of Jesus Christ possesses it.
Pope Leo like his predecessor likes to characterize tradition as rigid and dead
and the novelty of modernism as mature and hopeful. This was once an intensely
debated matter but, at this time, after all the wreckage of the last 50 years
all tradition has to do is to point at the fruit of Vatican II novelty. Both
Leo and his predecessor Francis worked in South America. The total population
of South and Central America is about 600 million. Since Vatican II about 300
million have apostatized from the Catholic Church. These last two popes have
personally presided over the greatest apostasy over the shortest period of time
in the history of the Catholic Church. Anything Leo has to say, as long as he
is not sitting in the Chair of Peter, must be examined in light of this record.
Fruit of
Vatican II - Apostasy
In Honduras,
the country of the once most powerful man in the Roman Curia under
Francis/Bergoglio, Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga, a personally corrupt and
immoral man who had been a bishop in the capital since 1978, first as auxiliary then as Archbishop for 30 years,
the hierarchy led by him managed the
amazing feat of transforming that country in the first Catholic-minority nation
in Central America, a vertiginous fall from 94% to 46% in the same period -
and the same happened in Uruguay, across the Rio de la Plata from (Bergoglio's
home) Buenos Aires.
Rorate Caeli
Data Collapse of Catholic Faith in Latin America from 2014 presided
over by Pope Leo/Provost and his predecessor Francis/Begoglio
The “received and approved rites of the Catholic Church,
accustomed to be used in the solemn administration of the sacraments”:
…..Because, as we will see, Catholics must
celebrate only the “received and
approved rites” of the Church as a matter of Divine Law.
God revealed this truth in Scripture
through St. Paul. Before St. Paul teaches the Corinthians liturgical and
theological details concerning the Holy Mass (consecration formula, Real
Presence), he prefaces his teaching by affirming: “For I have received of the Lord that
which I also delivered unto you…”
(I Cor 11:23). St. Paul says again: “For I delivered unto you first of all,
which I also received” (1Cor 15:3). In these and other verses, St. Paul
emphasizes that we must believe and practice only what we have “received” from
Christ and the apostles which has been “delivered” unto us, and which includes
the liturgical rites of the Church. This is a divinely revealed truth and a
matter of Faith.
The Church has taught this divine truth
throughout her history. For example, in the Papal Oath of Coronation, which
originates at least as far back as Pope St. Agatho in 678 A.D. (and which was
set aside by Paul VI), every Pope swore to change nothing of the “received
tradition.” Pope Pius IV’s Tridentine Profession of Faith,
which is binding on the souls of all Catholics, likewise expresses this
principle by requiring adherence to the
“received and approved rites of the Catholic Church used in the solemn
administration of the sacraments.” The “received
and approved rites of the Church” originate from the Spirit of Christ and
the traditions of the apostles which have been handed down to us through the
ages.
Because the “received and approved rites” are part of the Church’s infallible
expression of the unchanging Deposit of Faith, as inspired and nurtured by the
Holy Ghost, they cannot be set aside or changed into new rites. This is why the
Ecumenical Council of Trent (1545-1563) infallibly declared:
“If anyone says
that the received and approved
rites of the Catholic Church, accustomed to be used in the
administration of the sacraments, may be despised or omitted by the ministers
without sin and at their pleasure, or
may be changed by any pastor of the churches to other new ones, let him be
anathema.”
Because the Council declares anathema (that
is, condemned, or severed from the Body of Christ) anyone who would set aside
or change into new rites the already “received
and approved rites” of the Church, proves that adherence to the “received and approved rites” is a
matter of Divine Law. The absolute necessity to preserve the substance of the
Church’s ancient liturgical rites is a requirement of the Faith because the
rites preserve and express that Faith. To hold that the Church’s rites can
change implies a belief that the Church’s doctrines can change, because the
rites preserve and express the doctrines. Hence, those who do not preserve the
Church’s rites (by omitting or changing them) are objectively anathema because they sin
against the Faith itself.
In light of the foregoing
condemnation, the Holy Council of Trent directed that the Roman Missal be
restored so that the faithful would know once and for all what is the “received and approved rite” of Mass.
To that end, Pope St. Pius V issued his papal bull Quo Primum Tempore to legally codify “the decrees of the Holy Council of Trent”
and render a definitive application of the Divine Law dogmatized by the
Council. This judgment mandated a single usage of the Roman rite for the Latin
Church, with some minor exceptions for usages greater than 200 years old, “in order that what has been handed down by
the most holy Roman Church, the Mother and Teacher of the rest of the churches
may be accepted and observed by all everywhere.” Hence, the sainted Pope
declared the oft-called “Tridentine
Mass” to be the “received and
approved rite” of the Church, and which precluded the creation of any “new
rite” of Mass in the future. Further, because Quo Primum is an infallible application of
Divine Law (that is, we must use only the “received
and approved rites”), St. Pius V rightly declared the decree to be
irreformable and valid forever.
This brings us to the inevitable and
troubling question: Is the Novus
Ordo a “new rite” of Mass that comes under the anathema of the Council of
Trent, as definitively interpreted by St. Pius V in Quo Primum? The name of the
rite itself (Novus Ordo
which means “new order” or “new ordinary” of the Mass) certainly suggests the
same. More importantly, so do the words of Pope Paul VI. In his November 19,
1969 General Audience address, Paul VI refers to the Novus Ordo as a “new rite” of
Mass several times, for example: “We wish to draw your attention to an event
about to occur in the Latin Catholic Church: the introduction of the liturgy of
the new rite of the Mass.”
He also says, “In the new rite you will find the relationship between the
Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist...”
We also consider the statements of
the members of Paul VI’s liturgical commission that created the New Mass, such
as the secretary and head of the commission, Fr. Annibale Bugnini, who said:
“It is not simply a question of restoring a valuable masterpiece, in some cases
it will be necessary to provide new
structures for entire rites…it will truly be a new creation.” Bugnini’s
assistant, Fr. Carlos Braga, also stated that the New Mass has “an entirely new foundation of
Eucharistic theology” and whose “ecumenical requirements” are “in harmony with
the Church’s new positions.”
Fr. Joseph Gelineau, one of the most influential members of the commission,
also said: “To tell you the truth, it is a different liturgy of the Mass. This
needs to be said without ambiguity: the
Roman rite as we knew it no
longer exists.” Therefore, both Paul VI and his appointed
authors of the Novus Ordo admitted that the New Mass is not the rite “received”
from tradition, but rather a rite created by innovation – an entirely
unprecedented act in the history of the Church.
But we should not rely on these
statements alone. While they may reveal the intent of the innovators, it is
still necessary to look at the substance of the Novus Ordo rite itself. As we have seen, the
Council of Trent and St. Pius V intended to preserve the substantial identity
of the Roman rite forever. If the New Mass does not preserve this identity,
then it cannot be considered the “received
and approved rite” of the Catholic Church no matter what anyone says. Even
the Second Vatican Council, which did not (and could not) mandate the creation
of a new rite of Mass, recognized this truth by directing that the rites “be revised carefully in the light of sound
tradition” with “due care being
taken to preserve their
substance.”
The Council of Trent’s condemnation
of omitting or changing the “received
and approved rites” into “new rites”
is best understood by referring to one of the oldest maxims of the Church’s
sacred theology: “legem credendi statuit lex orandi.”
This is a Latin phrase which means “the rule of prayer determines the rule of
faith” (often referred to as “lex
orandi, lex credendi”). In other words, the way we pray determines
what we believe. If a liturgical tradition which expresses a doctrine of the
Faith is altered or removed altogether, the underlying doctrine will
necessarily be compromised. This is why the “received and approved rites” must be faithfully preserved and
never transformed into “other new ones”
as declared by Trent.
…… However, the Novus Ordo Missae deviates from the Roman Missal
of St. Pius V to such an extent that it no longer retains the substantial
identity of the Roman rite. Even before the introduction of such abuses as
audible canons, vernacular and versus
populum (toward the people) celebrations, lay ministers, Communion
under both species, Communion in the hand to standing communicants and the
like, Cardinals Ottaviani and Bacci advised Paul VI that “the Novus Ordo
represents, both as a whole and in its details, a striking departure from the Catholic
theology of the Mass as it was formulated in Session XXII of the Council of
Trent.” Consequently, Cardinal Ottaviani (who, as head of the Holy Office,
was responsible for safeguarding the doctrine of the Faith), in his famous
intervention, concluded that the Novus Ordo was indeed a different rite of
Mass.
For example, Ottaviani says: “To abandon a liturgical tradition which
for four centuries stood as a sign and pledge of unity in worship, and to replace
it with another liturgy which, due to the countless liberties it
implicitly authorizes, cannot but be a sign of division – a liturgy which
teems with insinuations or manifest errors against the integrity of the
Catholic Faith – is, we feel bound in conscience to proclaim, an
incalculable error.” He also says,
“It is obvious that the New
Order of Mass has no intention of presenting the Faith taught by the
Council of Trent. But it is to this Faith that the Catholic
conscience is bound forever.” Accordingly, Ottaviani appealed to Paul VI “not to deprive us of the possibility of
continuing to have recourse to the integral
and fruitful Missal of St. Pius V, so highly praised by Your
Holiness, and so deeply venerated by the whole Catholic world.” Therefore,
both the critics and the
creators of the New Mass, including Paul VI himself, agree that the
Novus Ordo differs
in substance from
the Tridentine Missal and, hence, constitutes a “new rite” of Mass.
John Salza, J.D., The Novus Ordo Mass and Divine Law, excerpt from Catholic Family
News
He failed on two
occasions, 1942 & 1952, to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary as our Lady requested! He
contributed his share in liturgical destruction by establishing the liturgical
commission under Bugnini in 1948 and having Bea, his personal confessor,
undertake a new Latin translation of the Psalms.
“I am concerned
about the messages of the Virgin to the little Lucia of Fatima. This
persistence of the Good Lady in face of the danger that threatens the Church is
a divine warning against the suicide that the alteration of the Faith, in its
liturgy, its theology, and its soul, would represent. I hear around me
innovators who wish to dismantle the Sacred Chapel, destroy the universal flame
of the Church, reject her ornaments, and make her remorseful for her
historical past.”
Pope Pius XII,
1933
And now, addressing the “false prophets that exploit fear
and hopelessness to sell magical formulas of hate and cruelty,” Pope Francis again
insults the Catholic Faith as known and practiced by all our forefathers!
COMMENT: Pope Francis often
referenced St. Vincent of Lérins as if his understanding of Tradition is in
accord with that of the great Church Father.
It most certainly was not which is evident to anyone familiar with his
writings. This corruption can only be attributed to malice. Francis the Lutheran and St. Vincent the
Catholic did not profess the same Faith and only one of them is the Faith
without which it is impossible to please God.
Francis characterized faithfulness to the revelation of God as
“rigidity” which was itself attributed to deeper psychological and moral
failings of traditional Catholics. “Love is not rigid,” claimed Francis while
he counseled the overthrow of God’s commandments, but St. John the Apostle of
Love and devotee of the Sacred Heart reports a very different Gospel of Jesus
Christ:
· If you love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15
· If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have
kept my Father’ s commandments, and do abide in his love. John 15:10
· He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them; he it is that loveth
me. And he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father: and I will love him,
and will manifest myself to him. John 14:21
· Jesus answered, and said to him: If any one love me, he will keep my
word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our
abode with him. John 14:23
· In this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God, and
keep his commandments. 1 John 5:2
· And by this we know that we have known him, if we keep his
commandments. 1 John 2:3
Love is never lax or slothful in its pious
attention to duty. The laxism and sloth
of Pope Francis was because without Faith, he had no true love of God.
Leo the Homosexual following in the way of Francis the
Homosexual.
Pictured below is Leo and Francis both greeting
homosexual "married" couples for public photo-ops. The other pictures
are Francis and Leo both slumming around with the pervert James Martin.
The Vatican is in the hands of the Homosexual Lobby. We
must pray to God to purge His Church of this gross perversion.
Preaching to the DEAF!
You gather here today, present-day
apostles, as the Church and, therefore, the world stand perched on the edge of
a cliff. And yet you who are entrusted with the keeping of souls choose to
speak not a word of the spiritual danger which abounds. Today we stand on the cusp of all
that has been prophesied about the Church and the abominations which would come
forth in these times, a time when all of hell attacks the Church of Jesus
Christ, and a time when the fallen angels of hell no longer seek entry into her
sacred halls but instead stand inside, peeking out of her windows and unlocking
doors to welcome in more diabolical destruction.
Do you not know that Our Lord will
send forth His avenging angels to heap coals of fire upon the heads of those
who were called to be His apostles and who have not guarded what He has given
unto them?
And yet almost all of you, my
brothers, stood by silently watching as the Synod on Synodality took
place, an abomination constructed not to guard the Deposit of Faith, but to
dismantle it, and yet few were the cries heard from you – men who should be
willing to die for Christ and His Church.
The Synod’s final document has
been released, yet with the sleight of hand which is so characteristic
of the Francis-controlled Vatican. By drawing attention to the issues which
worried many, they have slipped in what was always their real goal without
anyone even noticing. What they were after in the first place was the
dismantling of Christ’s Church by replacing the structure of the Church as
Our Lord instituted it with a diabolically-inspired new structure of
“synodality” which in actuality is a new church that is in no way Catholic.
Bishop Joseph Strickland, former bishop of
Tyler, TX who was removed from his office by Pope Francis the Diabolical for
preaching Catholic truth, addressing the U.S. bishops gathered at their annual
meeting
Latae sententiae crimes in the external forum require a determination of guilt!
“A
sentence declaratory of the offence is always necessary in the forum externum,
since in this tribunal no one is presumed to be excommunicated unless convicted
of a crime that entail such a penalty.”
Pope
Benedict XIV, De syndod, X, I, 5
COMMENT: Recently
a group of young men and women missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (Mormons) were doing their required missionary work in
central city York. A friendly theological discussion took place on the steps of
our Mission chapel. The friendly exchanged ended and the climate cooled when
the question about the exact number of Joseph Smith's and Brigham Young's wives
was brought up. Mormons believe that Jesus Christ founded one Church. They
believe that that Church became corrupted and God abandoned it. God then,
centuries later, reconstituted His Church when the angel Moroni lead the
illiterate Joseph Smith to a hidden book and provided him with mystical
spectacles permitting him to read it. When you ask a Mormon how is it that
Jesus Christ promised to be with His Church until the end of time and taught
that marriage is between one man and one woman until death, why is it that they
believe Joseph Smith or Brigham Young and not believe Jesus Christ? They answer
by walking away. Jesus Christ uses the metaphor of marriage to describe His
relationship with His Church and with each of the faithful individually. Every
man-made heretical and schismatic sect eventually repudiates marriage because
they cannot abide the metaphor. Luther permitted bigamy. The Orthodox permit
divorce and remarriage three times. Joseph Smith had "up to forty
wives" and Brigham Young had "fifty-six wives, twenty-one had
never been married before; seventeen were widows; six were divorced; six had
living husbands; and the marital status of six others is unknown. Nine of his
wives had previously been plural wives of Joseph Smith, and Young was sealed to
them as a proxy for Smith" (WIKI). The first clue to the Mormons that they were being lead into a spiritual desert was
polygamy but some like the desert. Mormons claim that Brigham Young saw the
light and abandoned the practice for the Latter Day Saints but this occurred
only after the U.S. government told they to give it up or get out. Although
Mormons are no longer polygamists, they permit divorce and "temple"
remarriage which is just serial polygamy. These "missionaries" now
know that Jesus Christ did not abandon His Church and will not do so no matter
how corrupt churchmen become. The Catholic Church alone offers the possibility
of salvation.
It’s Official: Mormon Founder Had Up
to 40 Wives...
Mormon leaders have acknowledged for the first time that the church’s
founder and prophet, Joseph Smith, portrayed in church materials as a loyal
partner to his loving spouse Emma, took as many as 40 wives, some already
married and one only 14 years old.... The biggest bombshell for some in the essays is that Smith married women
who were already married, some to men who were Smith’s friends and followers.
Religious Liberty from Vatican II has its root in the
Americanist Heresy
On
every side the dread phantom of war holds sway: there is scarce room for
another thought in the minds of men. The combatants are the greatest and
wealthiest nations of the earth; what wonder, then, if, well provided with the
most awful weapons modern military science has devised, they strive to destroy
one another with refinements of horror. There is no limit to the measure of
ruin and of slaughter; day by day the earth is drenched with newly-shed blood,
and is covered with the bodies of the wounded and of the slain. Who would
imagine as we see them thus filled with hatred of one another, that they are
all of one common stock, all of the same nature, all members of the same human
society? ....We implore those in whose hands are placed the fortunes of nations
to hearken to Our voice. Surely there are other ways and means whereby violated
rights can be rectified. Let them be tried honestly and with good will, and let
arms meanwhile be laid aside.
Benedict
XV, Ad beatissimi apostolorum,
November 1, 1914
“We
consider the establishment of our country’s independence, the shaping of its
liberties and laws, as a work of special Providence, its framers ‘building
better than they knew,’ the Almighty’s hand guiding them. We believe that our
country’s heroes were the instruments of the God of nations in establishing
this home of freedom; to both the Almighty and to His instruments in the work
we look with grateful reverence. And to maintain the inheritance of freedom
which they have left us, should it ever–which God forbid—be imperiled, our
Catholic citizens will be found to stand forward as one man, ready to pledge
anew ‘their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.’”
Archbishop
(soon to be Cardinal) James Gibbons, addressing the American bishops at the
Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, 1884 attended by 14 archbishops and 61
bishops.
Moved
to the very depths of our hearts by the stirring appeal of the President of the
United States, and by the action of our national Congress, we accept
whole-heartedly and unreservedly the decree of that legislative authority
proclaiming this country to be in a state of war. Inspired neither by hate nor
fear, but by the holy sentiments of truest patriotic fervor and zeal, we stand
ready, we and all the flock committed to our keeping, to cooperate in every way
possible with our President and our national government, to the end that the
great and holy cause of liberty may triumph and that our beloved country may
emerge from this hour of test stronger and nobler than ever. Our people, as
ever, will rise as one man to serve the nation.
Pledge
of U.S. Catholic Archbishops, April 18, 1917; sent to President Woodrow Wilson
by Cardinal James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, the leading Catholic
prelate in the United States.
“The
primary duty of a citizen is loyalty to country. It is exhibited by an absolute
and unreserved obedience to his country’s call.”
Cardinal
James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore (1877-1921), April 1917 in support of
the U.S. declaration of war against Germany and Austria-Hungary. The Balfour
Declaration agreement committed the British to deliver Palestine into Jewish
hands in return for the Jews bringing the United States into WWI in support of
the British. Cardinal James Gibbons was the chief propagator of the heresy of
Americanism which became settled Novus Ordo doctrine after Vatican II (religious
liberty) primarily by the work of Fr. John Courtney Murray who greatly admired
Cardinal Gibbons. Gibbons did his best to align American Catholics with Jewish
interests to bring the United States into the Great War. In doing so Gibbons
worked directly to undermine the peace plans of Pope Benedict XV. Pope Benedict
devised a generous peace plan and contacted Cardinal Gibbons to do what he
could to influence the United States government to back his offer of a
negotiated peace. Gibbons did nothing of the sort. While giving lip service to
the Pope's peace plan six months too late, he in fact never contacted President
Wilson or any official of the government to even mention Pope Benedict's peace
plan. Gibbons was too busy building the National Catholic War Council (NCWC)
and supporting the call of universal military service. The purpose of the NCWC
as Gibbons said in a letter to all American bishops was to form “the mental and
moral preparation of our people for the war.”
To Congar's
credit, he at least told the truth about what he helped destroy!
“It cannot be denied that the Declaration on
Religious Liberty does say materially something else than the Syllabus of 1864;
it even says just about the opposite of
Propositions 15 and 77 to 79 of this document..... I collaborated on the
final paragraphs which left me less satisfied.
It involved demonstrating that the theme of religious liberty was
already contained in Scripture. Now, it isn't there.”
Cardinal
Yves Marie Joseph Congar, O.P., forbidden to teach by the Church and
whose books were suppressed in the early 1950s, made a peritus at Vatican II by
Novus Ordo St. John XXIII, and is considered by many to have been the most
influential of all the periti. He was raised to the cardinalate by Novus Ordo
St. John Paul II. He rejected the dogmatic teaching of Trent which his teacher
and mentor, Fr. Marie-Dominique
Chenu, O.P., derisively called “Baroque
theology”.
Excerpts from the Diary of Msgr. Joseph Fenton:
·
“He [Cardinal
Ottaviani] remarked that we were on the eve of the Council, and that no one
knew who the Council’s theologians were to be.” (Sept. 28, 1962)
·
“It is a
crime that we did not take the Anti-Modernist Oath. Poor O[ttaviani] must have
failed to have our own profession passed by the central commission. It
contained his condemnation of [Fr. John Courtney] Murray [the Americanist
heretic who structured the Council teaching on Religious Liberty].” (Oct. 9,
1962)
·
“I had
always thought that this council was dangerous. It was started for no
sufficient reason. There was too much talk about what it was supposed to
accomplish. Now I am afraid that real trouble is on the way.” (Oct. 13,
1962)
·
“I
started to read the material on the Liturgy, and I was shocked at the bad
theology. They actually have been stupid enough [to say] that the Church
is ‘simul humanam et divininam, visibilem et invisibilem’ [at the same
time human and divine, visible and invisible]. And they speak of the Church
working ‘quousque unum ovile fiat et unus pastor’ [until there be one fold
and one shepherd], as if that condition were not already achieved.” (Oct. 19,
1962)
·
“I do not
think that any little work on our part is going to bring good to the Church. We
should, I believe, face the facts. Since the death of [Pope] St. Pius X the
Church has been directed by weak and liberal popes, who have flooded the
hierarchy with unworthy and stupid men. This present conciliar set-up makes
this all the more apparent. [Fr.] Ed Hanahoe, the only intelligent and
faithful member of [Cardinal] Bea’s secretariat has been left off the list of
the periti. Such idiots as [Mgr. John
S.] Quinn and the sneak [Fr. Frederick] McManus have been put on. [Fr. George]
Tavard is there as an American, God help us. From surface appearance it
would seem that the Lord Christ is abandoning His Church. The thoughts of many
are being revealed. As one priest used to say, to excuse his own
liberalism, which, in the bottom of his heart he knew was wrong, ‘for the
last few decades the tendency in Rome has been to favor the
liberals.’ That is the policy now. We can only do what we can to
overt an ever more complete disloyalty to Christ.” (Oct. 19, 1962)
·
“[Fr.] Ed
Hanahoe gave me two books on Modernism. In one of them I found evidence that
the teaching in the first chapter of the new schema on the Church [that became
the Vatican II dogmatic constitution Lumen
Gentium] and the language are those of [the excommunicated Modernist Fr.
George Tyrrell [who died outside the Catholic Church and was denied
ecclesiastical burial]. May God preserve His Church from that chapter. If it
passes, it will be a great evil. I must pray and act.” (Sept. 24, 1963)
Paul VI
declared Novus Ordo Saint. So just what is a “Novus Ordo Saint”?
A Novus Ordo
Saint is a man-made saint. Contrasted with Catholic saints who are God-made
saints. In virtue of their union with God they are sanctified, and therefore,
Catholic Saints exhibit heroic virtue in their lives. God confirms their
sanctity by working miracles through their intercession and thus, a cult of
veneration (dulia) develops and spreads throughout the Church. The Church
recognizes God's evidence that they are saints and declares this fact to the
universal Church. Contrary to this, Novus Ordo Saints are man-made saints and
their elevation to the title of sainthood is for the purpose of promoting the
human ideology exemplified in their lives. There is no real cult of veneration
(dulia) among the faithful to Novus Ordo Saints. Since God does not work true
miracles through the intercession of man-made saints, only man-made miracles
are required for the beatification of man-made Novus Ordo Saints. Finally, the
Novus Ordo beatification process does have a promotor fidei, the
so-called “devil’s advocate,” although his role has been change as the promotor ideologiae. The greatest
difference between Catholic Saints and Novus Ordo Saints is that the former are
in heaven and the latter, very well may not be.
COMMENT ON THE
MODERN MIND DEVOID OF GOD’S GRACE
“But instead of a mind, universal literacy has given [the common
man] a rubber stamp, a rubber stamp inked with advertising slogans, with
editorials, with published scientific data, with the trivialities of tabloids
and the profundities of history, but quite innocent of original thought. Each
man's rubber stamp is the twin of millions of others, so that when these
millions are exposed to the same stimuli, all receive identical imprints. [...]
The amazing readiness with which large masses accept this process is probably
accounted for by the fact that no attempt is made to convince them that black
is white. Instead, their preconceived hazy ideas that a certain gray is almost
black or almost white are brought into sharper focus. Their prejudices,
notions, and convictions are used as a starting point, with the result that
they are drawn by a thread into passionate adherence to a given mental
picture.”
Edward Bernays, from his book, The Minority Rules, 1927. Bernays was a Jewish double nephew of
Sigmund Freud and a pioneer in public relations and propaganda. He was called
"the father of public relations" in his obituary. Bernays was named
one of the 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century by Life Magazine.
He was the subject of a full-length biography called The Father of Spin
(1999) and later an award-winning 2002 documentary for the BBC called The Century of the Self. (Wiki)
"Pray for the
conversion of Russia." Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima
Your must
understand. The leading Bolsheviks who took over Russia were not Russians. They
hated Russians. They hated Christians. Driven by ethnic hatred they tortured
and slaughtered millions of Russians without a shred of human remorse. The
October Revolution was not what you call in America the "Russian Revolution."
It was an invasion and conquest over the Russian people. More of my countrymen
suffered horrific crimes at their bloodstained hands than any people or nation
ever suffered in the entirety of human history. It cannot be understated.
Bolshevism was the greatest human slaughter of all time. The fact that most of
the world is ignorant of this reality is proof that the global media itself is
in the hands of the perpetrators. We cannot state that all Jews are Bolsheviks.
But: without Jews there would have been no Bolshevism. For a Jew nothing is
more insulting than the truth. The blood maddened Jewish terrorists murdered
sixty-six million in Russia from 1918 to 1957.
Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), Noble Prize winning novelist, historian and victim of
Jewish Bolshevism
American Catholic Apostasy: PEW POLE 2025
29% of U.S. Catholics say they attend
Mass weekly.
59% of Catholics say abortion should be
legal.
76% U.S. Catholics say society should be
accepting of homosexuality.
61% U.S. Catholics support legal
homosexual "marriage."
80% of Catholics view Pope Francis
favorably.
84% of U.S. Catholics say they have a favorable view of Leo although 67% say they know little about Leo, and 25% know nothing at all.
Pope Leo XIV commemorates Nostra Aetate anniversary with interfaith
celebrations
Catholic NewsAgency | Vatican City |Kridina
Millare | Oct 29, 2025
Pope Leo XIV joined faith leaders on
Tuesday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Church’s
declaration on building relationships with non-Christian religions.
Approximately 300 representatives of world
religions and cultures joined the Holy Father for an evening ecumenical prayer
service for peace organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio and held at the
Colosseum in Rome.
“Peace is a constant journey of
reconciliation,” the Holy Father said at the Oct. 28 event.
Thanking religious leaders for coming
together in Rome, he said their interfaith meeting expressed their shared
“conviction that prayer is a powerful force for reconciliation.”
“This is our witness: offering the immense treasures of ancient
spiritualities to contemporary humanity,” he said.
“We need a true and sound era of
reconciliation that puts an end to the abuse of power, displays of force, and
indifference to the rule of law,” he added. “Enough of war, with all the pain
it causes through death, destruction, and exile!”
In his remarks, the pope urged people not to be indifferent to the “cry
of the poor and the cry of the earth” in their pursuits for peace in countries
scarred by ongoing conflict and injustice.
“In the power of prayer, with hands raised
to heaven and open to others, we must ensure that this period of history,
marked by war and the arrogance of power, soon comes to an end, giving rise to
a new era,” he said.
“We
cannot allow this period to continue. It shapes the minds of people who grow
accustomed to war as a normal part of human history,” he continued.
Pope Leo and other religious leaders lit
candles to symbolize their shared prayer and renewed commitment to engage in
interfaith dialogue.
Several people waved small blue banners
with the word “peace” in different languages while Pope Leo and the other
religious leaders lit candles to symbolize their shared prayer and renewed
commitment to engage in interfaith dialogue.
After the prayer gathering at Rome’s iconic landmark, the Holy Father
returned to the Vatican to join colorful celebrations jointly organized by the
Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Dicastery for Promoting Christian
Unity.
To mark the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, several multicultural music
and dance performances were held inside the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall as
well as a presentation highlighting papal initiatives to promote the Church’s
dialogue with other religions since the pontificate of Pope Paul VI.
Pope Leo’s appearance and special address
toward the end of the two-hour gathering highlighted the Church’s reverence for
all people and its desire to collaborate with others for the common good.
“We belong to one human family, one in origin, and one also in our
final goal,” he said. “Religions everywhere try to respond to the restlessness
of the human heart.”
“Each in its own way offers teachings, ways of life, and sacred rites
that help guide their followers to peace and meaning,” he said.
Emphasizing the common mission shared among people of different
religions to “reawaken” the sense of the sacred in the world today, the Holy
Father encouraged people to “keep love alive.”
“We have come together in this place
bearing the great responsibility as religious leaders to bring hope to a
humanity that is often tempted by despair,” Leo said.
“Let us remember that prayer has the power
to transform our hearts, our words, our actions, and our world,” he said.
COMMENT: Now for the third
time in his short pontificate Leo/Provost quotes Leonard Boff's Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor. Boff
is a former Franciscan priest who was censored by the liberal Cardinal Ratzinger
when he headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under the liberal
JPII for his extreme Marxist liberation theology. Boff is famous for his
development of an integrated theology of Marxism, Gaia cult earth worship and
"social justice." He was admired by Francis/Bergoglio and he is
admired thrice as much by Leo/Provost. The picture with its Satanic imagery was
reportedly published by the Vatican. Leo/Provost, like Francis/Bergoglio, wants
to restore native American culture and religious traditions. It should be
remembered that Christopher Columbus encountered cannibalism on his second
voyage of exploration and ritual murder was widespread not only among the
Aztecs and Incas but in smaller tribes across both North and South America as reported
by Jesuit missionaries. In the interfaith celebrations at the Vatican a young
native American boy half dressed paraded an image of a snake into the assembly
before Leo/Provost. Is this the native American tradition that the Vatican
wants to recover?
Doctrinal Note on Marian titles: Mother of the faithful, not
Co-redemptrix
The document of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved
by Pope Leo XIV, offers clarifications on titles applied to the Blessed Virgin
Mary, and calls for special attention to the use of the expression, “Mediatrix
of all graces.”
Vatican News
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
on Tuesday, 4 November 2025, published Mater populi fidelis (“The Mother of the
Faithful People”), a Doctrinal Note “On Some Marian Titles Regarding Mary’s
Cooperation in the Work of Salvation.” Signed by the Prefect, Cardinal Víctor
Manuel Fernández, and the Secretary for the Dicastery’s Doctrinal Section,
Monsignor Armando Matteo, the Note was approved by the Pope on 7 October.
Mater populi fidelis (MPF) is the fruit of
a long and complex collegial effort. It is a doctrinal document on Marian
devotion, centred on the figure of Mary, who is associated with the work of
Christ as Mother of believers. The Note provides a significant biblical
foundation for devotion to Mary, as well as marshalling various contributions
from the Fathers, the Doctors of the Church, elements of Eastern tradition, and
the thought of recent Popes.
In this positive framework, the doctrinal
text analyses a number of Marian titles, encouraging the adoption of some of
those appellations and warning against the use of others. Titles such as
“Mother of Believers,” “Spiritual Mother,” “Mother of the Faithful” are noticed
with approval in the Note. Conversely,
the title of “Co-redemptrix” is deemed inappropriate and problematic. The title
of “Mediatrix” is considered unacceptable when it takes on a meaning that
excludes Jesus Christ; however, it can used appropriately so long as it
expresses an inclusive and participatory mediation that glorifies the power of
Christ. The titles “Mother of Grace” and “Mediatrix of All Graces” are
considered acceptable when used in a very precise sense, but the document also
warns of particularly broad explanations of the meaning of the terms.
Essentially, the Note reaffirms Catholic
doctrine, which has always emphasised that everything in Mary is directed
towards the centrality of Christ and His salvific work. For this reason, even
if some Marian titles admit of an orthodox interpretation through correct
exegesis, Mater populi fidelis says it is preferable to avoid them.
In his presentation of the Doctrinal Note,
Cardinal Fernández expresses appreciation for popular devotion but warns
against groups and publications that propose a certain dogmatic development and
raise doubts among the faithful, including through social media. The main
problem in interpreting these titles applied to Our Lady, he says concerns the
way of understanding Mary's association with Christ's work of redemption
(paragraph 3).
Co-redemptrix
Regarding the title “Co-redemptrix,” the Note
recalls that “some Popes have used the title “without elaborating much on its
meaning.” Generally, it continues, “they have presented the title in two
specific ways: in reference to Mary’s divine motherhood (insofar as she, as
Mother, made possible the Redemption that Christ accomplished) or in reference
to her union with Christ at the redemptive Cross. The Second Vatican Council
refrained from using the title for dogmatic, pastoral, and ecumenical reasons.
Saint John Paul II referred to Mary as ‘Co-redemptrix’ on at least seven
occasions, particularly relating this title to the salvific value of our
sufferings when they are offered together with the sufferings of Christ, to
whom Mary is united especially at the Cross” (18).
The document cites an internal discussion
within the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which in February
1996 had discussed the request to proclaim a new dogma on Mary as
“Co-redemptrix or Mediatrix of all graces.” Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was
opposed to such a definition, arguing, “the precise meaning of these titles is
not clear, and the doctrine contained in them is not mature. […] It is not
clear how the doctrine expressed in these titles is present in Scripture and
the apostolic tradition.”
Later, in 2002, the future Benedict XVI
expressed himself publicly in the same way: “The formula ‘Co-redemptrix’
departs to too great an extent from the language of Scripture and of the
Fathers and therefore gives rise to misunderstandings… Everything comes from
Him [Christ], as the Letter to the Ephesians and the Letter to the Colossians,
in particular, tell us; Mary, too, is everything that she is through Him. The
word ‘Co-redemptrix’ would obscure this origin.”
The note clarifies that Cardinal Ratzinger
did not deny the good intentions behind the proposal, nor the valuable aspects
reflected in it, but nonetheless maintained that they were “being expressed in
the wrong way” (19).
Pope Francis also expressed his clear
opposition to the use of the title Co-Redemptrix on at least three occasions.
Tuesday’s Doctrinal Note concludes: “It is
always inappropriate to use the title ‘Co-redemptrix’ to define Mary’s
cooperation. This title risks obscuring Christ’s unique salvific mediation and
can therefore create confusion and an imbalance in the harmony of the truths of
the Christian faith. […] When an expression requires many, repeated
explanations to prevent it from straying from a correct meaning, it does not
serve the faith of the People of God and becomes unhelpful” (22).
Mediatrix
The Note emphasises that “the biblical
statement about Christ’s exclusive mediation is conclusive. Christ is the only
Mediator” (24).
At the same time, MPF recognises “the fact
that the word ‘mediation’ is commonly used in many areas of everyday life, where
it is understood simply as cooperation, assistance, or intercession. As a
result, it is inevitable that the term would be applied to Mary in a
subordinate sense. Used in this way, it does not intend to add any efficacy or
power to the unique mediation of Jesus Christ, true God and true man” (25).
Further, “it is clear that Mary has a real
mediatory role in enabling the Incarnation of the Son of God in our humanity”
(26).
Mother of believers and Mediatrix of all graces
Mary’s maternal role “in no way obscures or
diminishes” the unique mediation of Christ, “but rather shows its power […]
Understood in this way, Mary’s motherhood does not seek to weaken the unique
adoration due to Christ alone but, rather, seeks to enkindle it.”
Therefore, the Note states, “one must avoid titles and expressions that
present Mary as a kind of ‘lightning rod’ before the Lord’s justice, as if she
were a necessary alternative before the insufficiency of God’s mercy” (37b).
Thus, the title “Mother of Believers”
“enables us to speak of Mary’s role in our relation to our life of grace”.
However, MPF goes on to urge caution concerning the use of expressions that may
convey “less acceptable notions” (45).
“Cardinal Ratzinger already affirmed” for example, “that the title
‘Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces’ was not clearly grounded in Revelation.” So,
the Note continues, “in line with this conviction, we can recognize the
difficulties this title poses, both in terms of theological reflection and
spirituality” (45). In fact, “no human person — not even the Apostles or the
Blessed Virgin — can act as a universal dispenser of grace. Only God can bestow
grace, and he does so through the humanity of Christ” (53).
“Some titles, such as ‘Mediatrix of All Graces,’ have limits that do
not favour a correct understanding of Mary’s unique place,” MPF explains,
adding, “In fact, she, the first redeemed, could not have been the mediatrix of
the grace that she herself received” (67).
Nonetheless, the Doctrinal Note acknowledges
that “the term ‘graces,’ when seen in reference to Mary’s maternal help at
various moments in our lives, can have an acceptable meaning. The plural form
expresses all the aids — even material — that the Lord may grant us when He
heeds His Mother’s intercession” (68).
COMMENT: Amazing to hear these apostates chirping
about the lack of "precise meaning" of theological terms while
obscurity in definition is, and has been since Vatican II, the calling card of
the Novus Ordo theologian and prelates. They like to muddle what is clear.
Let's start with the title, "Mother of Believers" and "Mother of
the Faithful." These are, in fact, worthy titles of the Mother of God and
frequently occur in St. Mary of Agreda's City of God, yet the Novus Ordo
clerics would never be found offering a precise definition and meaning for the
term "faithful" and then identify exactly who the
"faithful" are.
The term "faithful" has a precise
Catholic definition. It refers to those who have been baptized into the
Catholic Church and profess the one, holy, catholic and apostolic faith. By
virtue of this incorporation by baptism they have become "children of
God." They faithfully believe all the truths that God has revealed on the
authority of God the Revealer. Only those who have become thus members of the
Mystical Body of Christ share by participation in His divine nature and become
brothers and sister of Jesus Christ and therefore, sons of His Mother. This
definition excludes all heretics, schismatics, Jews, pagans, and any other form
of idolaters. Novus Ordo clerics heretically teach that everyone is a child of
God by virtue of the Incarnation. Everyone by nature is a creature of God
created in His image and likeness with the spiritual soul with the powers of
reason and free will, but every creature is born in original sin and cut off
from the friendship of God. He is only a "child of God" in potentia. Without the sacrament of
Baptism and the Catholic faith they can never become "children of
God." This obscurity of definition as to who is a child of God and thus a
child of the Blessed Virgin Mary ultimately obscures what is necessary as a
necessity of means to obtain salvation.
The title Mediatrix of all grace is long
established and of sound and precise theological understanding. Those that
pretend otherwise are ignorant, proud, and deceitful. They have no excuse. 'The
law of prayer determines the law of belief' is, as affirmed by St. Pius X in Pascendi, a canon of faith from the time
of Celestine I, that is, a dogma of the Catholic Church. The immemorial Roman
rite has a Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mediatrix of all grace
celebrated on May 31 established by Pope Benedict XV. Regarding this feast, Dom
Gaspar Lefebvre, O.S.B. of the Abby of St. Andrew teaches:
"The will of God is that we should
have everything through Mary," says St. Bernard. The Father has sent us
His Son, but His will was to make His coming depend upon the Fiat of the
Virgin, which He commanded to the angel Gabriel to solicit on the day of the
Annunciation.
The Father and the Son send us the Holy
Ghost, but it is through Mary that He comes down to men. On the day of
Pentecost, according to an ancient Tradition, the heavenly fire which descended
on the Cenacle first rested on Mary, and then on the apostles. This is a figure
of what happens every day in the Church where the Holy Ghost is sent invisibly
into our souls. "All the gifts of the Holy Ghost are distributed by Mary
to those whom she chooses, whenever she wishes and as much as she wishes,"
says St. Bernardine of Siena.
The graces which the Holy Ghost pours down
on us are due to the merits of Christ on Calvary; but in order that God may
bestow them on the world, it is necessary that Mary should intervene. Having
cooperated by her divine maternity and by her sufferings at the foot of the
Cross in the Incarnation and Redemption, she has deserved to co-operate when
they are continually applied to creatures by the most High. "By the
communion of sorrows and of will between Christ and Mary," says St. Pius
X, "she has deserved to become the dispenser of all the blessings which
Jesus acquired for us by His blood" (Encyclical 2-2-1904). Such is His
will, but it is essential that she should constantly intercede for each one of
us. This she does, relying on the blood of Christ by whom she was herself
saved, and who alone saves us. This actual intervention of Mary plays a
preponderating part in the salvation of the world. It is important that we
should realize this, and it is the object of the feast of Mary Mediatrix of all
Graces. A clear idea of the fact may be obtained by simple reading the texts of
the Mass and Vespers.
"Through the Virgin," says St.
Bernardine of Siena, "life-giving graces flow from Christ, who is the
head, into His mystical body." "Through her," adds St.
Antoninus, "come from heaven all the graces granted to the world."
"What all the saints united to thee may obtain for us by their
intercession," writes St. Anselm, "thy pleading alone may obtain
without the help of their prayers." The maternal solicitude of Mary for
the whole human race is therefore continual, and it is because of this that
unceasingly, through the Mass, the sacraments, the hierarchy and other channels
of grace, the merits of Calvary are applied to our souls. "We may affirm,"
declared Pope Leo XIII, "that by the will of God, nothing is given to us
without Mary's mediation, in such a way that
just as no one can approach the almighty Father but through His Son, so
no one, so to speak, can approach Christ but through His Mother" (Encyclical,
9-22-1891).
Let us therefore not consider as of small
importance the efforts made to establish this point of doctrine of Mary's
mediation, since this doctrine enables us to understand the divine plan, and
clearly manifests the mediation of the Son of God of which it is a corollary.
St.
Mary of Agreda at the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven,
writes that Jesus Christ addressed the entire heavenly assembly of angels and
saints saying:
"My
Father and eternal God, this is the Woman, that gave Me my human form in her
virginal womb, that nourished Me at her breast and sustained labors for Me,
that shared in my hardships and co-operated with Me in the works of Redemption.
This is She, who was always most faithful and fulfilled our will according to
our entire pleasure; She, pure and immaculate as my Mother, through her own
works, has reached the summit of sanctity according to the measure of the gifts
We have communicated to Her; and when She had merited her reward and could have
enjoyed it forever, She deprived Herself of it for Our glory and returned to
attend to the establishment, the government, and instruction of the Church
militant; and We, in order that She might live in it for the succor of the
faithful, deferred her eternal rest, which She has merited over and over again.
In the highest bounty and equity of our Providence it is just, that my Mother
should be remunerated for her works of love beyond all other creatures; and
toward Her the common law of the other mortals should not apply. If I have
merited for all infinite merits and boundless graces, it is proper that my
Mother should partake of them above all the others who are so inferior; for She in her conduct
corresponds to our liberality and puts no hindrance or obstacle to our infinite
power of communicating our treasures and participating them as the Queen and
Mistress of all that is created."
Sanctifying
grace is the created participation in the divine nature. The Blessed Virgin is
the "Queen and Mistress of all that is created." In this Mass the
Church prays:
"
O Lord Jesus Christ, our Mediator with the Father, who hast appointed the most
blessed Virgin, Thy mother, to be our mother also and our mediatrix before
Thee: Grant that whosoever draweth nigh to Thee to beseech any benefit, may
receive all things through her and rejoice.
Rev.
Gregory Alastruey's theological work titled, The Blessed Virgin Mary, says that, "There are five principle titles and offices due
Mary, the Mother of God, by reason of her cooperation in redemption: Mediatrix,
Co-redemptrix, Mother of Christians, Patroness or Advocate, and Queen and
Mistress of the universe. I would recommend those who deny this proper
honor to the Mother of God obtain a copy of the book and have their stupidity
erased. I do not say, ignorance erased because willful ignorance is stupidity. Fr. Alastruey affirms that
"Mary is truly mediatrix of the human race and this doctrine pertains to
the deposit of faith." He then draws from Scripture, the Fathers,
and theologians in support of this truth. He proves from the Church Fathers
that the word "mediatrix" was explicitly used by St. Ephrem, St.
Epiphanius, St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil of Seleucia, St. Andrew of Crete, St
Germanus of Constantinople, St. John Damascene, St Theodore, St. Antoninus and
Denis the Carthusian. He draws richly from the divine liturgy from both Eastern
and Roman traditions. The errors of the Protestant heretics are addressed and
exposed which are curiously the same as expressed by the Novus Ordo popes.
Lastly,
it is worth asking Why do the Novus Ordo popes hate these proper titles of the
Mother of God? The answer is simple. The Blessed Virgin asked the three
children at Fatima on June 13, 1917, "Are you willing to offer yourselves to God to bear all the sufferings
He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is
offended, and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?" To which
question all answered, "Yes, we are willing." The Mother of God said
on July 13 after the children had seen a vision of Hell, "Sacrifice
yourselves for sinners, and say many times, especially whenever you make some
sacrifice: O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and
in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of
Mary." On August 19 (the apparition did not occur on the August 13 because
the children were in prison) the Mother of God continued saying, "Pray,
pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell,
because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them." The
Blessed Virgin is asking the children to be co-redemptors and co-mediators of
grace with her in union with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the
conversion and salvation of sinners. If the title of Co-Redemtrix and Mediatrix
of all Grace can be taken away from the Mother of God then no one is
responsible to do penance for their own sins or the sins of others. This falls
back to the Protestant heresy on the dogma of justification and the very nature
of our incorporation into the divine nature in the Mystical Body of Christ.
Leo/Provost, like his predecessor Francis/Bergoglio, believes that proselytism
is "solemn nonsense." They attack the titles to excuse their own
faithless sloth. They are working to obscure the very means of salvation. As
Jesus Christ said: "But woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites;
because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men, for you yourselves do not
enter in; and those that are going in, you suffer not to enter" (Matt
23:13).
Pope
Leo is just another heretic who denies the Blessed Virgin Mary her just titles
of Mediatrix of all Grace and Co-Redemtrix. Only a few days ago, he celebrated
with heretics, schismatics, Jews, Moslems, and a variety of idolaters a shared
communion praying to their common god a united petition for peace in the world.
He continues to ignore the peace plan offered by the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mediatrix of all Grace, at Fatima. Pope Leo will soon learn that those who
insult the Mother have made an enemy of the Son.
It was the opening of the three-day
“Raising Hope for Climate Justice” conference organised by the Laudato si’
Movement in collaboration with ecclesial and institutional partners. 
If the
ice block is 20,000 years old then the Genesis creation account and the global
flood of Noe is reduced to mythology and not divine revelation. The fact is,
ancient mythology ended with the Christian revelation of Jesus Christ but the
modern scientific world is doing its best to resurrect the cult of mythology.
The world likes to talk about the scientific fables of Big Bang, primordial
soups with lightening bubbling forth proteins that congeal into cellular life
with the teleological purpose of producing the DNA of Darwinian man. These
fables are believed and shamelessly pandered by our neo-modernists popes. The
absurdity is that the neo-modernists popes have embraced the myths of
scientology when science itself has discredited their claims. Scientists have
been predicting global flooding of coastal areas for the last fifty years with
no evidence of rising sea levels. Global warming is not science. It is liberal
ideology applied to climatology that always calls for a one-world governance to
enforce its dictatorial and anti-Catholic mandates. The alleged global warming
is always without exception a man made assault on Mother Earth that requires
the ritual murder of 6.5 billion people for a world "sustainable"
population of 500 million for expiation. Never is it considered in their
calculus that the
Here's
a particularly forlorn historical date: More than 100 years ago, between the
19th and 20th of December 1917, in the midst of the Bolshevik revolution and
civil war, Lenin signed a decree calling for the establishment of The
All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and
Sabotage, also known as Cheka. 
“My
reaction was a silent cry of horror, indignation, and sorrow,” the auxiliary of
Astana, Kazakhstan, said regarding the Vatican’s approval of an LGBT-themed
“pilgrimage” on its Jubilee website, in an interview with Diane Montagna, a
journalist in Rome.
He pointed out that in doing so, Pope Leo
XIV broke with the precedent of all popes before Francis, who “neither received
officially nor posed for photographs with those who, by word or deed, openly
rejected the doctrinal and moral teaching of the Church.”
The 'Western Wall' (Wailing Wall) in
Jerusalem is held by Jews as a remnant of Herod's Temple destroyed by the
Romans in 72 A.D. Yet, Jesus prophesized not only that the Temple would be
destroyed but also that there would not remain a "stone upon a
stone." So how is it that there remains a large wall on the western side
at the south end of the 'Temple Mount'? Some Catholics claim the prophecy of
Jesus was referring only to the edifice itself and not the entire foundation
for the Temple. Jesus words must be taken in literally unless there it is
clearly manifest that the metaphorical sense is intended exclusively.
Therefore, the 'Wailing Wall' where the Jews worship is not a remnant of the
ancient Temple, and the 'Temple Mount', on which is currently situated the
Al-Aqsa mosque and the "Dome of the Rock", is not the location of the
Temple destroyed in 72 A.D. The 36 acre 'Temple Mount' is actually the location
of the Roman fortress Antonia built by Herod.
Carlo Alberto Capella was
Vatican diplomat who was convicted by a Vatican tribunal of possessing and
sharing child pornography. Capella admitted guilt to the charges. He is the
only one who has served a prison sentence in the Vatican jail for this crime or
for any sexually related crime against minors.