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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 01

Pope Francis and the Justification of Conscience

proselytism

(true evangelism)

is solemn nonsense,"

which

By Scott Montgomery

From

v Does the Catholic Church still hold that it is necessary to accept the Catholic Faith whole and entire to be saved? If so, what are we to make of Pope Francis's recent statement that "

"makes no sense. We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us"?

the beginning of the Apostolic age, various heresies have arisen regarding what is necessary to achieve eternal salvation. Within the nation of Israel, which was the first to hear the Gospel message, there was a longstanding belief that what was required to obtain God's favor was circumcision and strict adherence to the Mosaic Law (Justification by Works Alone). To the Pharisees, who believed in an afterlife, adherence to the Law meant finding a place among the Just in God's Kingdom when one's earthly life was through. To the Sadducees, who were convinced that life on earth was all that there was to man's existence, obedience to the Law meant meriting God's favor in the affairs of this world.

Various elements of the Jewish view of Justification would eventually be incorporated into the teaching of some Jewish converts to Christianity, who insisted upon circumcision and observance of the Mosaic Law in addition to proclaiming Jesus Christ as the Messiah. This error was refuted by St. Paul in his Letter to the Galatians where he states that, " Neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision: but faith that works by charity " (Gal 5:6). The question was ultimately put to rest at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), where Paul and Barnabas brought the ongoing dispute concerning circumcision to the attention

~ See Pope Francis/ Page 7

Pope

Francis

and

the

Justification

of

Conscience

S. Montgomery/ Continued from Page 1

of Peter and the Apostles for a definitive ruling.

Seizing upon a willful misinterpretation of St. Paul's teaching that we are justified by faith and not by the works of the Law, Martin Luther would swing to the opposite extreme in 1517 by declaring that we are Justified by Faith Alone (Sola Fide). This false teaching is most clearly opposed by St. James in his Epistle when he states that, " For even as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). St. Paul also argues in his Letter to the Romans that what is required for salvation is a circumcision of the heart (Rom 2:29)  one which will manifest itself in acts of charity. This is confirmed by Our Lord in His discourse to the Apostles on the Final Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) when he proclaims that only those who alleviate the sufferings of the least of their brethren will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who do not, even though they have faith, will be condemned to eternal punishment.

Using this discourse of Jesus and His command to love one another as an underlying framework, Pope Francis has recently planted the seeds for what could (if used indiscriminately) blossom into a third heresy concerning Justification. According to Francis, by simply following the dictates of one's conscience and performing good deeds, a person can secure his eternal salvation.

At first blush, this would appear to be an expression of the constant teaching of the Church that we are justified by Faith & Works, and by God's grace working within us. This feeling is reinforced even further when we consider that the works that are so highly prized by Francis are the Corporal Works of Mercy spoken of by Jesus in His discourse on the Final Judgment mentioned above (to feed the hungry, refresh the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned, & bury the dead).

But it is when the conversation turns to faith that the Holy Father seems to display a novel approach. Though the first (and perhaps only) encyclical issued by Pope Francis concerns the theological virtue of faith, it would appear that most of the teaching within this document belongs to Benedict XVI. In fact, beyond his oft-repeated admonition that "all are saved through Jesus", the views expressed by Francis concerning faith have been rather superficial. Nowhere is there mention of the Spiritual Works of Mercy to convert sinners, to instruct the ignorant, and to counsel the doubtful. Moreover, if one follows his recent statements to the press to their logical conclusion, it would seem that it is no longer necessary to accept the Catholic Faith whole and entire to be saved because, in the words of the Pope, " Proselytism (true evangelism) is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense. We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us." 1 In another interview, the Holy Father goes even further by suggesting that a general belief in Christ as our Lord and Savior is also not needed, as atheists who follow their conscience and perform good works will also be saved.2

All of this reveals an exaggerated emphasis by Pope Francis on a form of Naturalism over adherence to Divine Truth, and on the clergy addressing the material needs of the poor to the exclusion of nearly everything else. In its essentials, it is a manifestation of the errors of the Second Vatican Council which led to the death of the missionary activity of the Catholic Church and turned many priests into nothing more than glorified social workers; a program of Justification by Conscience & Works.

This spirit has especially infected the Jesuits (from which Francis hails) and the Franciscans, whose current focus has shifted almost exclusively to matters concerning Social Justice.

That this is not the primary role of the Catholic clergy is attested to by none other than our first Pope, St. Peter. In Chapter 6 of Acts of the Apostles, a situation is described in which the Apostles find themselves spending an inordinate amount of time distributing alms and various material goods to the widows and other disadvantaged faithful of Jerusalem. In response to this, the Twelve gather together all of the disciples and enjoin them to select seven men of good reputation and wisdom from among their number who will henceforth assume the task of caring for the needs of the poor. St. Peter and theApostles, who are the first Pope and Bishops of the Catholic Church, will then devote themselves exclusively to " prayer and the Ministry of the Word " (Acts 6:1-6).

By this command, is St. Peter minimizing the plight of the poor and our Christian duty to care for them? Not at all! But what he is saying is that the primary role of the Catholic hierarchy is to teach and defend the complete Deposit of Faith, administer the Sacraments, and convert those outside the Church to the one true Faith given to us by Christ (see Matthew 28:19-20). And while the Church is always solicitous to the needs of the poor and downtrodden, it is the duty of every Christian (both clerical and lay) to ease their suffering. Hence, in the infancy of the Church the seven deacons led by St.

Stephen were chosen for this work. In later centuries, the task would be assigned to charitable orders of monks and nuns.

Today, many lay organizations are also among those caring for the poor  always with the careful oversight of the Pope and College of Bishops, whose primary task remains "prayer and the Ministry of the Word".

That is, until the mysterious abdication of Pope Benedict XVI and the arrival of Pope Francis, who desires to create a Poor Church For the Poor in which Social Justice reigns supreme, God is Love, and everyone is saved (regardless of their religious persuasion), as long as they seek to find common ground with each other and follow the dictates of their erroneously formed conscience.

For at the end of the day, it is not the Magisterium of the Church who Francis believes has the final say in matters of faith & morals, but the individual conscience:

The conscience is autonomous and everyone must obey his conscience.

Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to

move toward what they think is good.3

Let us hope that in time the Holy Father will begin to portray the Church as the fortress of Truth established by Christ for the salvation of all men, and not merely as a mystical organ of liberation, peaceandlove. Andletusalsopraythat Our Lady will soon uproot the error of Justification by Conscience & Works and restore the teaching of Her Divine Son to the one Holy, Catholic, & Apostolic Church.

Mary, Queen of our hearts, intercede for us!

Notes:

1 La Repubblica, October 1, 2013.

2 Homily of Pope Francis, May 22, 2013. 3 La Repubblica. October 1, 2013.

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 01

Vatican Congregation Declares Novus Ordo Miracle for Canonization of Paul VI

By Christopher A. Ferrara

With

v Paul VI is to be canonized on the strength of the claim that a child with a high risk of brain damage did not develop brain damage. That is the best the Vatican could come up with thirty-six years after the death of Pope Paul?

everything else in the Church having been "reformed" or given a new meaning-not officially, of course!-over the past fifty years, it was only a matter of time before the concept of "miracle" would undergo an adaptation to post-conciliar requirements.

The problem was how to canonize Paul VI without a single clear-cut miracle to his credit, like one of the many indubitable miracles seen in the case of Saint Pius X, the last Pope to be canonized. For example, the instantaneous curing of a nun of bone cancer after a relic of Pius X was pinned to her clothing.

~ See Paul VI/ Page 6

Vatican Congregation Declares Novus Ordo Miracle for Canonization of Paul VI

C. Ferrara/ C P

But the Vatican was up to the challenge: on February 24 we read the news that the "consulting theologians of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints have approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Pope Paul VI, moving him closer to sainthood." And what is the miracle? According to news reports "in mid-1990s in California, [a] then-unborn child was found to have a serious problem with a high risk of brain damage. Physicians advised that the child be aborted, but the mother entrusted her pregnancy to Paul VI. The child was born without problems, and now that he is an adolescent and remains healthy, he is regarded as having been completely healed (my emphasis)." So, apparently, the "miracle" consists of a child in utero with an unspecified "serious problem" that carried a "high risk" of brain damage-but who exhibited no actual brain damage— being "cured" after he was entrusted to Paul VI. But cured of what, seeing that there was no brain damage in the first place?

Seriously? How can one be cured of a risk, the mere potential for the occurrence of an event that may never happen at all? Moreover, there have been many cases in which a physician warned a mother that her child would be born with one or more crippling defects only to be proven wrong when the child was born perfectly healthy.

Like this case , in which there was no putative intercession by Paul VI or anyone else in particular, but simply prayers and trust in divine providence. And what is this business about waiting until the child was an adolescent before declaring that he was "cured"? Whoever heard of a "miracle cure" that could not be verified for some fifteen years after the putative "intercession" of the candidate for sainthood? Of course, the problem here is that there was no cure of an existing condition, but merely the alleged "high risk" of it.

Evidently, the "serious problem" that conferred the "high risk" was not itself cured, for if it had been there would have been no need to monitor the child until adolescence to see whether the "serious problem" would damage his brain. For that matter, why have we been provided with no details whatsoever about the "serious problem"? What if the "serious problem" in question often does not cause brain damage? Where, then, is the "miracle"?

So there we have it: Paul VI is to be canonized on the strength of the claim that a child with a high risk of brain damage did not develop brain damage. That is the best the Vatican could come up with thirty-six years after the death of Pope Paul.

As the editor of this newspaper has queried : "Dare we hope that all men will be canonized?" With a standard for determining miracles this low, the question is barely ironic. v

I

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 01

From the Editor's Desk...

Our Generation’s

Humanae Vitae

Moment

v Are we to allow everyone from the New York Times to the most insignificant blogger in his mother’s basement to go right ahead and critique the Pope’s novel, non-infallible, non-binding chitchat however they please while faithful Catholics observe a bizarre gag order imposed by nineteenth century ultramontanism?

By Michael J. Matt

Even as Ronnie Milsap was Lost in the Fifties Tonight many Catholics feel lost in the seventies every night during the sad pontificate of Pope Francis. I guess it's felt banners and Kumbaya all over again, God help us! And it is preposterous to blame the media or bad translations or a second shooter on the grassy knoll for the shenanigans going on inside the Vatican. To wit, Bishop of Rome Francis delivered yet another papal bombshell in his interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera (March 5), wherein he suggests that the Catholic Church could "tolerate some types of nonmarital civil unions as a practical measure to guarantee property rights and health care." Whatever happened to the third Spiritual Work of Mercy called admonishing the sinner. Would the Holy Father call for the same generous allowances for cohabiting pedophiles?

If not, why not? Has the Church abandoned her teaching on the intrinsic

~ See Editor's Desk/ Page 2

From the Editor's Desk...

C P

evil of homosexual acts? Let’s be honest, if I’m a homosexual I’m going to feel a whole lot less inclined to give up my soul-damning vice when the Holy Father himself is out there defending my inalienable right to healthcare and property.

Now Francis did note that the Church would not change its teaching against artificial birth control but should take care to apply it with "much mercy". What does that mean? Has the Church failed to be merciful up until now? If not, why draw the distinction?

And how "much mercy" can come in to prohibiting intrinsically evil acts?

Are priests supposed to "suggest" that Catholics "make every effort" not to use the Pill "if at all possible"? Should we be encouraged to-oh, I don't know-give up contraception for Lent?

What would happen if the Holy Father came out tomorrow and said: "The Church is against the sexual abuse of children, but of course we must apply much mercy to those who abuse children." Would the neo-Catholics cry "pope bashing" if we were to question such bizarre papal language? So a moral distinction can now be drawn between one intrinsically evil act (contraception) and another (sexual abuse of children)?

What’s the end game to all of these "merciful and tolerant" directives? Do they not risk removing the immoral stigma formerly attached to sins that cry to heaven for vengeance? But, wait, there's more. Pope Francis also offered fulsome praise for Cardinal Walter Kasper's February 20th speech to the college of cardinals, which allowed for the possibility that "in very specific cases" the Church could "tolerate," though "not accept", a "second union" after divorce. Historian Roberto de Mattei summarized Kasper's speech as a "resounding revolution of culture and praxis", and yet Pope Francis not only praised it but waxed positively rhapsodic over Kasper's new book, Mercy: The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life wherein this same thesis is developed:

Yesterday, before falling asleep – though not in order to fall asleep!– I read I re-read Cardinal Kasper's work, and I would like to thank him, because I found profound theology, also a serene thought in theology. It is nice to read serene theology. And also, I found that, of which St. Ignatius spoke to us: that sensus Ecclesiae , no? Love for Mother Church, right there, no? It did me good and I had an idea – and excuse me if I embarrass Eminence, but the idea is: this is called doing theology while kneeling.

Thank you. Thank you.

Is this a kind of payback for the Kasper-led coup d'état that was the last conclave? In an article that appeared in Il Foglio (translated into English at Rorate Caeli) Roberto de Mattei gets right to the heart of the problem with Kasper the Friendly Modernist:

Communion to remarried divorcees is denied because matrimony is indissoluble and none of the reasons adopted by Cardinal Kasper allows for the celebration of a new matrimony or the blessing of a pseudo-matrimonial union. The Church did not allow it to Henry VIII, losing the Kingdom of England, and will never allow it, because, as Pius XII recalled to the parish priests of Rome March 16, 1946: 'The matrimony between baptized, validly contracted and consummated, cannot be dissolved by any power on earth, not even by the Supreme Church Authority.'

So what's next? We won't know until the Vatican’s Synod on the Family in October; but it doesn't look good.

One thing is certain, this is not the moment for faithful Catholics to grow silent. We are obviously facing our generation’s Humanae Vitae moment, which obligates us to do what our fathers did back in1968-make our voices of protest resound off of the dome of St.

Peter itself. Of course our neo-Catholic friends don't agree. In fact, they seem eager to return to the halcyon days of the Tradition-bashing 1970s, which is why The Remnant has come under renewed attack for "criticizing the Holy Father".

I responded to our most prominent critic in last week's The Remnant Underground: http://youtu.be/ zLN2u0PLOa8 but I wish to assure our print subscribers that The Remnant has no intention of laying off its measured critiques of this increasingly troubling pontificate, which in many ways is unprecedented in its novelties.

How many popes in the Middle Ages, for example, or in any period of history before 1965, were out there chatting up journalists, giving off-thecuff interviews, speaking casually about any number of moral, political and social issues, with the entire world hearing all about it on the evening news? We're not talking about criticizing ex-cathedra statements here, but rather papal chitchat. And so to our neo-Catholic friends we would ask: Are we to allow everyone from the New York Times to the most insignificant blogger in his mother’s basement to go right ahead and critique the Pope’s novel, non-infallible, non-binding chitchat however they please, while faithful Catholics observe a bizarre gag order imposed by nineteenth century ultramontanism?

This, it seems to me, places all constructive criticism in the hands of those who have no love for the Church and who will spin the Pope's words as negatively as they please, while faithful Catholics are left in the ridiculous position of having to endorse every papal hiccup as having been inspired by the Holy Ghost. This borders on the blasphemous and enjoys no foundation in Catholic teaching.

The reason sedevacantists tend to dislike The Remnant is because very few have done more than Remnant writers (beginning with Michael Davies) to expose the errors of that thesis, while demonstrating how and why papal novelties do not violate papal infallibility and do not constitute reason sufficient to give up on the Church or conclude the gates of hell have prevailed.

Constructive criticism is just that— constructive, and the list of constructive Catholic critics who spoke out against problematic pontificates in history is not short. (See John Rao's article on Page 14 of this issue).

We would argue that Catholic silence in the face of papal novelty is itself a novelty and can cause good people to lose heart and even despair, which is why competent Catholic commentators have a duty to speak out respectfully, as loyal sons of the Church, when the Pope's own words serve at catalyst to scandalize the faithful or delight the enemies of the Church.

Pray for the Holy Father. The Devil is at work, and there may still be time to thwart his efforts to run the human element of the Church into the ground.

Between now and October, I can think of no more urgent prayer intention than for the Holy Father—not for his "intentions", but for Peter himself that his "faith fail not" and that "being once converted, he may confirm the brethren" rather than scandalize them. (Luke 22:32) v

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 01

He Did This for Us:

A Lenten Meditation

By Rev. Winfrid W. Herbst, S.D.S.

The

Thefestival of Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ) has its counterpart in the Feast of the Precious Blood, celebrated on July the first. This feast ever calls to mind the Savior’s mighty generosity. Gladly, freely, willingly He paid the price of my ransom—His Precious Blood.

I gaze down through the dim obscurity of the ages that passed before He came to save me. There, in type and figure and prophecy, I see the Blood of the most just One shed for me—the glorious proof of His infinite love for me.

Abel, a just man and pleasing to God, was slain by his brother Cain: Christ the all-holy was cruelly put to death by His brethren. The sacrifices of Noe [sic], Abraham, and other patriarchs were acceptable to God: but they were merely foreshadowings, figures, types of the one great Sacrifice on Calvary's heights.

It was the blood of a lamb put on the door-posts of the Israelites in the days of Moses that saved their first-born from the sword of the destroying angel: it was the Blood of the Lamb of God that saved His people from their sins.

"Without the shedding of blood there is no remission" of sins. This was continually exemplified by the streams of blood that flowed in the endless sacrifices of the Old Law: those streams prefigured the Blood of the victim, Who,

~

See

Lenten Meditation/

Page 2

Caravaggio's

The Crowning With Thorns,

1602

He Did This for Us:

A Lenten Meditation

C P

dying once and shedding every drop of His Precious Blood, was to redeem all generations of men. God was not satisfied with the sacrifices of the Old Testament. He wanted that pure oblation of priceless value to which all those others pointed. "Sacrifice and oblation Thou didst not desire...Burnt offering and sin offering Thou didst not require: then said I, 'Behold I come.'" (Ps. 39:7, 8.) And He came, "to the sprinkling of Blood, which speaketh better than that of Abel." (Heb. 12:24.) Indeed, the Savior was "the Lamb which was slain from the beginning of the world." (Apoc. 13:8.) His Blood was efficacious even before it was shed on Calvary. The just, from the beginning of the world, felt its efficacy and were saved by it.

The Savior's one Sacrifice was allavailing, reality taking the place of all types and figures, surpassing them infinitely, superseding them forever. Of those figures the Lord has said, "The earth is mine and the fullness thereof.

Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks? Or shall I drink the blood of goats?" (Ps. 49:12, 13.) But of Jesus, the Lamb of God, He declared, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:17.) All this makes me thoughtful. It makes me reflect upon the words of St.

Peter, "You were not redeemed with corruptible things, as gold or silver...

But with the Precious Blood of Christ, as of a Lamb unspotted and undefiled." (1Peter 1:18, 19.) It makes me think of Christ's unbounded generosity. It makes me think of His infinite love.

His infinite love! Why, the proof of it is written large with His Precious Blood.

I see the first drops of that Blood shed in the circumcision. I see it pressed through the pores of His skin and cover His trembling body in the agony in the garden. I see it drawn out and spattered about by the hissing, burning lashes of the soldiers in the scourging at the pillar. I see it spurt from His head and slowly trickle down when the crown of thorns is driven in. I see it flow from His shoulder bruised and jagged by the heavy cross.

I see it ooze from His knees and limbs when He falls beneath that cross. I see it gush from His hands and feet when the merciless nails are driven through.

And when He is already dead I see the last drops of that Blood drawn from His Sacred Heart by the spear plunged into His side.

That some Precious Blood, shed in the Passion and afterwards mysteriously gathered up, is daily offered for me in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Daily I receive it in the sacrificial-banquet of Holy Communion. In heaven it ever pleads for me, obtaining for me countless graces and blessings I must imitate the Savior’s generosity and return His love. How can I best do it today? v

[Excerpt from THE DIVINE SAVIOR: A Pictorial Life of Christ originally published in 1932 by Benziger Brothers. It is currently out of print.]

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 02

The Remnant

Est. in 1967

A Catholic Fortnightly

Published 22 times per year

Editor/Publisher

Michael J. Matt

The Remnant (ISSN # 0274-9726. U.S.P.S.# 606840) is published semi-monthly (monthly in January and July) 22 times per year by The Remnant, Inc. Periodicals Postage paid at Forest Lake, MN and additional entry offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to The Remnant at P.O. Box 1117,ForestLake,MN55025. (Telephone: 651-433-5425)

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 03

C N P

The Remnant Speaks

Letters to the Editor: Th.e. .Re.m.n.a.n.t. .Sp.e.a.k.s. .P...O... .B.o.x. .1.1.1.7.,. .F.o.r.e.s.t. .L.a.k.e.,. . .M.N. .5.5.0.2.5.,. . Editor@RemnantNewspaper.com On Jimmy Fallon and the Need to Pray for Pope Francis

Editor, The Remnant :. .A.s. .I. .r.e.a.d. .

your article entitled, "I’m With Jimmy F.a.l.l.o.n. .O.n. .Th.i.s. .O.n.e.,.". .I. .w.a.s. .r.e.m.i.n.d.e.d. .

of comments my parents made to me i.n. .t.h.e. .1.9.8.0.s. .r.e.ga.r.d.i.n.g .t.h.e. .d.i.f.f.e.r.e.n.c.e.s. .

be.t.w.e.e.n. .t.h.e. .Tr.a.d.i.t.i.o.n.a.l. .L.a.t.i.n. .M.a.s.s. .

(TL.M.). .a.n.d. .t.h.e. .N.o.vu.s. .O.r.d.o. .M.a.s.s. .w.h.i.c.h.,. . l.i.k.e. .e.ve.r.y. .o.t.h.e.r. .p.a.r.i.s.h.,. .w.a.s. .i.n.t.r.o.d.u.c.e.d. .

i.n.t.o. .o.u.r. .c.h.u.r.c.h. .i.n. .1.9.6.9. .w.h.e.n. .I. .w.a.s. .i.n. .

fir.s.t. .gr.a.d.e...

M.y. .p.a.r.e.n.t.s.,. .w.h.o. .gr.e.w. .u.p. .i.n. .I.r.e.l.a.n.d. .

a.n.d. .e.m.i.gr.a.t.e.d. .t.o. .A.m.e.r.i.c.a. .i.n. .t.h.e. .1.9.5.0.s.,. .

t.o.l.d. .m.e. .t.h.a.t. .t.h.e. .TL.M. .w.a.s. .a. .m.o.r.e. .

"serious form of worship" than the N.o.vu.s. .O.r.d.o... . . .Th.e.y. .w.e.r.e. .p.a.r.t.i.c.u.l.a.r.l.y. .

d.i.s.m.a.y.e.d. .t.h.a.t. .t.h.e. .t.a.be.r.n.a.c.l.e. .w.a.s. .m.o.ve.d. .

from its central position to an obscure corner, that the faithful received the Blessed Sacrament standing instead of k.n.e.e.l.i.n.g .a.n.d. .t.h.a.t. .p.r.i.e.s.t.s. .w.e.r.e. .f.a.c.i.n.g .t.h.e. .

p.e.o.p.l.e... . .

I. .w.a.s. .a. .t.e.e.n.a.ge.r. .w.h.e.n. .t.h.e.s.e. .

c.o.m.m.e.n.t.s. .w.e.r.e. .m.a.d.e. .t.o. .m.e.,. .a.n.d. .f.r.a.n.k.l.y.,. . t.h.e.s.e. .w.o.r.d.s. .h.a.d. .n.o. .i.m.p.a.c.t. .o.n. .m.e. .

w.h.a.t.s.o.e.ve.r... . .Wh.i.l.e. .n.o.t. .be.i.n.g .i.n.c.l.i.n.e.d. .t.o. .

f.u.s.s. .o.ve.r. .f.o.r.m.s. .o.f. .w.o.r.s.h.i.p. .a.t. .t.h.a.t. .a.ge.,. .I. .

a.l.s.o. .h.a.d. .n.o. .m.e.m.o.r.y. .o.f. .t.h.e. .TL.M... . .

Like Jimmy Fallon, I became an altar boy and made some money serving a.t. .w.e.d.d.i.n.gs. .a.n.d. .f.u.n.e.r.a.l.s... . .I. .r.a.n.g .t.h.e. .

be.l.l.s. .i.m.m.e.d.i.a.t.e.l.y. .a.f.t.e.r. .t.h.e. .w.o.r.d.s. .o.f. .

consecration and I held the communion p.l.a.t.e. .u.n.d.e.r. .t.h.e. .c.h.i.n.s. .o.f. .c.o.m.m.u.n.i.c.a.n.t.s... . .

Yet despite the hundreds of times I performed these duties, I did not c.o.m.e. .a.w.a.y. .w.i.t.h. .a. .s.t.r.o.n.g .s.e.n.s.e. .o.f. .t.h.e. .

Re.a.l. .P.r.e.s.e.n.c.e. .o.f. .Ch.r.i.s.t... . .Th.i.s. .w.a.s. .

undoubtedly due to the disrespectful r.u.br.i.c.s. .o.f. .t.h.e. .N.o.vu.s. .O.r.d.o... . .O.n.e. .w.h.i.c.h. .

s.t.o.o.d. .o.u.t. .f.o.r. .m.e. .w.a.s. .t.h.a.t. .t.h.e. .p.r.i.e.s.t.s. .

i.n. .o.u.r. .c.h.u.r.c.h. .w.e.r.e. .r.e.q.u.i.r.e.d. .t.o. .t.a.k.e. .a. .

l.o.n.g .w.a.l.k. .t.o. .t.h.e. .s.i.d.e. .o.f. .t.h.e. .c.h.u.r.c.h.,. .

next to exit doors, to retrieve the hidden Ch.r.i.s.t... . . .Th.i.s. .p.r.a.c.t.i.c.e. .u.p.s.e.t. .m.a.n.y. .p.e.o.p.l.e. . a.n.d. .w.a.s. .f.o.r. .m.e. .t.h.e. .fir.s.t. .i.n.k.l.i.n.g .t.h.a.t. .

something about the Novus Ordo Mass w.a.s.n.'.t. .r.i.gh.t... . .Ho.w.e.ve.r.,. .l.i.k.e. .m.a.n.y. .o.t.h.e.r. .

aspects of life that gave me pause at t.h.a.t. .t.i.m.e.,. .I. .w.a.s. .t.o.o. .f.o.c.u.s.e.d. .o.n. .be.i.n.g .a. .

t.e.e.n.a.ge.r. .t.o. .w.o.r.r.y. .a.bo.u.t. .t.h.e. .q.u.a.l.i.t.y. .o.f. .

w.o.r.s.h.i.p. .a.t. .M.a.s.s...

B.y. .t.h.e. .t.i.m.e. .I. .w.a.s. .a.t.t.e.n.d.i.n.g .h.i.gh. .

s.c.h.o.o.l.,. .m.o.s.t. .o.f. .m.y. .c.l.a.s.s.m.a.t.e.s. .w.e.r.e. .n.o. .

longer altar boys and no longer attending M.a.s.s... . .To.d.a.y.,. .t.h.e.y. .a.r.e. .a.l.l. .o.ve.r. .t.h.e. .p.l.a.c.e. .

w.h.e.n. .i.t. .c.o.m.e.s. .t.o. .G.o.d... . .So.m.e. .a.t.t.e.n.d. .

Protestant churches; some don’t believe t.h.a.t. .G.o.d. .e.x.i.s.t.s. .a.t. .a.l.l... . .St.i.l.l. .o.t.h.e.r.s. .c.a.l.l. .

t.h.e.m.s.e.l.ve.s. .Ca.t.h.o.l.i.c. .a.n.d. .t.h.i.n.k. .t.h.a.t. .w.i.t.h. .

P.o.p.e. .F.r.a.n.c.i.s.,. .t.h.e. .Ch.u.r.c.h. .w.i.l.l. .fin.a.l.l.y. .

"ge.t. .w.i.t.h. .i.t.". .a.n.d. .a.d.a.p.t. .i.t.s.e.l.f. .t.o. .t.h.e. .

m.o.d.e.r.n. .w.o.r.l.d... . .I. .d.o. .n.o.t. .c.o.n.s.i.d.e.r. .t.h.e.m. .

a.s. .ba.d. .p.e.o.p.l.e... . .M.i.c.h.a.e.l.,. .t.h.e.y. .a.r.e.,. .a.s. .y.o.u. . d.e.s.c.r.i.be.,. .c.a.s.u.a.l.t.i.e.s. .o.f. .a. .w.a.t.e.r.e.d. .d.o.w.n. .

f.a.i.t.h... . . . .

Wh.e.n. .t.h.e. .M.a.s.s. .i.s. .w.a.t.e.r.e.d. .d.o.w.n.,. .

t.h.e. .s.e.r.m.o.n.s. .a.r.e. .w.a.t.e.r.e.d.-d.o.w.n. .a.n.d. .

the standards of dress and behavior at M.a.s.s. .a.r.e. .a.l.s.o. .w.a.t.e.r.e.d.-d.o.w.n... . .Wi.t.h. .t.h.e. .

N.o.vu.s. .O.r.d.o.,. .M.a.s.s. .w.a.s. .t.r.a.n.s.f.o.r.m.e.d. .

from the highest form of prayer into an e.ve.n.t. .t.h.a.t. .w.a.s. .n.o.t. .t.a.k.e.n. .s.e.r.i.o.u.s.l.y... . .M.y. .

generation rarely heard serious themes in church like those of Father D.e.n.i.s. .F.a.h.e.y. .w.h.o. .s.a.i.d.,. ."t.h.e. .w.o.r.l.d. .m.u.s.t. .

c.o.n.f.o.r.m. .t.o. .O.u.r. .L.o.r.d.,. .n.o.t. .He. .t.o. .i.t...". . .

Tw.o. .y.e.a.r.s. .a.go.,. .by. .t.h.e. .gr.a.c.e. .o.f. .

G.o.d.,. .I. .a.t.t.e.n.d.e.d. .t.h.e. .TL.M. .f.o.r. .t.h.e. .fir.s.t. .

t.i.m.e. .s.i.n.c.e. .I. .w.a.s. .a. .t.o.d.d.l.e.r... . .A.f.t.e.r. .M.a.s.s.,. .

a.s. .I. .w.a.l.k.e.d. .o.u.t. .o.f. .t.h.e. .c.h.a.p.e.l.,. .m.y. .fir.s.t. .

t.h.o.u.gh.t. .w.a.s. .t.h.a.t. .m.o.m. .a.n.d. .d.a.d. .w.e.r.e. .

r.i.gh.t... . .Th.i.s. .M.a.s.s. .i.s. .s.e.r.i.o.u.s. .w.o.r.s.h.i.p.! . .

Mass M.a.s.s... . .N.o. .h.o.l.d.i.n.g .h.a.n.d.s.,. .n.o. .

t.e.x.t.i.n.g,. .n.o. .w.a.vi.n.g.. . .Eve.r.y.o.n.e. .i.n. .

attendance is completely focused on the Blessed Sacrament situated front and c.e.n.t.e.r. .o.n. .t.h.e. .a.l.t.a.r... .Th.e. .e.m.p.h.a.s.i.s. .i.s. .o.n. .

Ch.r.i.s.t.'.s. .Re.a.l. .P.r.e.s.e.n.c.e. .a.n.d. .Hi.s. .s.a.c.r.i.fic.e... . . I. .f.e.e.l. .d.r.a.w.n. .t.o. .Ch.r.i.s.t. .o.n. .t.h.e. .a.l.t.a.r. .a.n.d. .I. .

w.a.n.t. .t.o. .p.a.y. .a.t.t.e.n.t.i.o.n... . .Th.e. .N.o.vu.s. .O.r.d.o. .

M.a.s.s.,. .a.l.l. .t.o.o. .o.f.t.e.n.,. .d.o.e.s. .t.h.e. .o.p.p.o.s.i.t.e... . .I.t. . directs people to the exits because Christ i.s. .n.o.t. .i.t.s. .c.e.n.t.r.a.l. .f.o.c.u.s... . .

M.i.c.h.a.e.l.,. .m.a.y. .I. .s.u.gge.s.t. .t.h.a.t. .w.e. .a.l.l. .

pray the Rosary and the Seven Fatima Prayers, particularly during Lent, for Pope Francis and for the cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and laity of the Ro.m.a.n. .Ca.t.h.o.l.i.c. .Ch.u.r.c.h. .w.h.o. .a.r.e. .u.n.d.e.r. .

t.h.e. .s.p.e.l.l. .o.f. .d.i.a.bo.l.i.c. .d.i.s.o.r.i.e.n.t.a.t.i.o.n... . .M.a.y. . G.o.d. .gi.ve. .t.h.e. .Ch.u.r.c.h. .s.e.r.i.o.u.s. .m.e.n. .l.i.k.e. .

F.a.t.h.e.r. .F.a.h.e.y...

Thomas Carolan N.e.w. .Yo.r.k.,. .N.Y Keep Moving & 70 Is NOT Old!

Editor, The Remnant :. .I. .w.a.s. .a.p.p.a.l.l.e.d. . by. .K.a.t.e. .L.a.r.s.o.n.'.s. .d.i.s.p.a.r.a.gi.n.g .c.o.m.m.e.n.t. .

in her article, "Eat for Yourself" about t.h.e. .7.0.-y.e.a.r.-o.l.d. .w.o.m.a.n.'.s. .a.t.t.e.m.p.t. .t.o. .t.r.a.i.n. . f.o.r. .a. .m.a.r.a.t.h.o.n.:. ."I. .f.o.u.n.d. .t.h.i.s. .w.o.m.a.n.'.s. .

attempt to cling to the physical strength of youth almost sickening in its denial of h.u.m.a.n. .m.o.r.t.a.l.i.t.y...".

I. .d.o.n.'.t. .m.e.a.n. .t.o. .be. .u.n.k.i.n.d. .t.o. .M.s... .

L.a.r.s.o.n.,. .bu.t. .p.o.n.t.i.fic.a.t.i.n.g .s.o. .s.t.r.o.n.gl.y. .

a.bo.u.t. .s.o.m.e.t.h.i.n.g .s.h.e. .k.n.o.w.s. .l.i.t.t.l.e. .a.bo.u.t. .

m.a.k.e.s. .h.e.r. .a.p.p.e.a.r. .f.o.o.l.i.s.h... .O.l.d. .p.e.o.p.l.e. .

w.h.o. .t.r.y. .t.o. ."c.l.i.n.g .t.o. .t.h.e. .p.h.y.s.i.c.a.l. .s.t.r.e.n.gt.h. . of youth" are not in denial about the time they have left, nor are they trying to o.u.t.s.m.a.r.t. .t.h.e. .G.r.i.m. .Re.a.p.e.r... .Th.e.y. .a.r.e. .j.u.s.t. .

t.r.y.i.n.g .t.o. .m.a.n.a.ge. .r.e.a.l.i.t.y...

A.ge. .7.0. .i.s. .n.o.t. ."o.l.d...". .Th.e. .l.i.f.e.s.p.a.n. .h.a.s. . increased by 30 years in the past century, giving more people "bonus years" to e.n.d.u.r.e. .o.r. .e.n.j.o.y... .I.n. .m.a.n.y. .c.a.s.e.s.,. .w.h.e.t.h.e.r. .

life in the older years is a matter of grim endurance or enjoyment is determined by personal effort, not the passage of t.i.m.e...

I.'.m. .8.5.; .I. .e.x.e.r.c.i.s.e. .d.a.i.l.y. .a.n.d. .h.a.ve. .

done so for years and the payoff is that not only am I independent, but I am able t.o. .h.e.l.p. .c.a.r.e. .f.o.r. .o.t.h.e.r.s. .w.h.o. .n.e.e.d. .h.e.l.p... .

Part of my regimen includes pumping s.o.m.e. .i.r.o.n... .I. .h.o.p.e. .t.h.a.t. .a.d.m.i.s.s.i.o.n. .d.o.e.s. .

n.o.t. .s.i.c.k.e.n. .M.s... .L.a.r.s.o.n...

What passes for "health care" w.i.l.l. .be. .s.k.e.t.c.h.y. .i.n. .t.h.e. .n.e.a.r. .f.u.t.u.r.e... .

Th.o.s.e. .m.i.d.l.i.f.e. .a.n.d. .o.l.d. .p.e.o.p.l.e. .w.h.o. .

make an effort to avoid the system by exercising and eating a nutritious diet a.s. .M.s... .L.a.r.s.o.n. .r.e.c.o.m.m.e.n.d.s.,. .a.n.d. .

educating themselves about supplements w.i.l.l. .n.o.t. .be. .w.a.i.t.i.n.g .i.n. .l.i.n.e. .f.o.r. .c.a.r.e. .a.s. .

l.o.n.g .a.s. .t.h.o.s.e. .w.h.o. .d.i.d.n.'.t. .bo.t.h.e.r. .t.o. .

t.a.k.e. .c.a.r.e. .o.f. .t.h.e.m.s.e.l.ve.s... .Ju.s.t. .a.s. .i.t.'.s. .

be.n.e.fic.i.a.l. .t.o. .o.f.f.e.r. .u.p. .p.a.i.n. .a.n.d. .s.u.f.f.e.r.i.n.g .

in reparation for our sins, enjoying good health is an opportunity to give thanks and express gratitude for having been gi.ve.n. .t.h.e. .w.i.s.d.o.m. .t.o. .va.l.u.e. .l.i.f.e. .a.n.d. .o.f.f.e.r. .

i.t. .i.n. .s.e.r.vi.c.e. .t.o. .o.t.h.e.r.s...

B.a.r.ba.r.a. .M.o.r.r.i.s.,. .R.. .P.h... . Escondido, CA

Editor’s Note: As a man in his late 40s w.h.o. .fin.i.s.h.e.d. .a. .5.0.K. .c.r.o.s.s.-c.o.u.n.t.r.y. .s.k.i. .

r.a.c.e. .l.a.s.t. .w.e.e.k.e.n.d.,. .I. .t.e.n.d. .t.o. .a.gr.e.e. .w.i.t.h. .

y.o.u... .I.f. .n.o.t.h.i.n.g .e.l.s.e.,. .I. .h.a.ve. .s.e.ve.n. .k.i.d.s. .

t.o. .r.a.i.s.e. .a.n.d. .t.h.a.t. .t.a.k.e.s. .w.o.r.k... . .O.f. .c.o.u.r.s.e. .I. .

take full responsibility for neglecting to edit Miss Larson’s youthful indiscretion, a.n.d. .I.'.m. .s.u.r.e. .s.h.e. .w.i.l.l. .s.e.e. .y.o.u.r. .p.o.i.n.t. .

r.e.a.d.i.l.y. .w.h.e.n. .s.h.e. .r.e.a.d.s. .y.o.u.r. .l.e.t.t.e.r... .I. .

do think traditional Catholics tend to overlook the importance of healthy l.i.vi.n.g .a.n.d. .s.t.a.y.i.n.g .i.n. .s.h.a.p.e... .Th.i.s. .i.s. .go.i.n.g . t.o. .be. .a. .l.o.n.g .w.a.r.,. .i.t. .s.e.e.m.s.,. .a.n.d. .w.e. .w.a.n.t. .

t.o. .be. .t.h.e.r.e. .f.o.r. .t.h.e. .vi.c.t.o.r.y. .p.a.r.a.d.e... .Ri.gh.t.?. .

Thanks for your gentle reminder, and k.e.e.p. .i.t. .u.p... . MJM To Obey or Not to Obey—That is the Question.

Editor, The Remnant :. .I.t. .i.s. .o.bvi.o.u.s. .

that the Church is divided and is a m.i.x.t.u.r.e. .o.f. .m.a.n.y. .d.i.f.f.e.r.i.n.g .vi.e.w.p.o.i.n.t.s. .

a.l.l. .c.l.a.i.m.i.n.g .t.o. .be. .a.u.t.h.e.n.t.i.c.a.l.l.y. .Ca.t.h.o.l.i.c... . Ho.w. .c.a.n. .t.h.i.s. .be. .j.u.s.t.i.fie.d. .w.h.e.n. .t.h.e. .m.a.r.k.s. . o.f. .t.h.e. .Ch.u.r.c.h. .a.r.e.:. . .O.n.e.,. .Ho.l.y.,. .Ca.t.h.o.l.i.c. .

and Apostolic? That the modern Church w.e.l.c.o.m.e.s. .d.i.ve.r.s.i.t.y. .a.n.d. .s.o.m.e.t.h.i.n.g .

for everyone (except pre-Vatican II Ca.t.h.o.l.i.c.s.).,. .s.h.o.u.l.d. .be. .a. .w.a.r.n.i.n.g .s.i.gn. .o.f. .

s.o.m.e.t.h.i.n.g .a.m.i.s.s... . .Tr.u.t.h. .i.s. .n.o.t. .s.u.bj.e.c.t. .

to, or preserved by, a variety of s.u.bj.e.c.t.i.ve. .c.h.o.i.c.e.s.,. .gu.i.d.e.d. .by. .e.m.o.t.i.o.n...

To try to combat the progressive itinerary in the modern Church, many gr.o.u.p.s. .h.a.ve. .be.e.n. .f.o.r.m.e.d... . .M.o.s.t. .

claim to be traditional – yet even they are not united, differing m.a.i.n.l.y. .o.n. .p.e.r.c.e.i.ve.d. .s.t.a.t.u.s. .a.n.d. .o.n. .w.h.o.m. .

t.o. .o.be.y... . .Wh.o. .i.s. .o.f.fic.i.a.l.l.y. .i.n. .t.h.e. .r.i.gh.t. .

p.o.s.i.t.i.o.n.,. .o.r. .w.h.o. .i.s. .o.f.fic.i.a.l.l.y. .w.r.o.n.g,. .

frequently seems to get more attention t.h.a.n. .c.o.n.c.e.r.n. .f.o.r. .s.o.u.l.s... . .I.t. .w.o.u.l.d. .s.e.e.m. .

that excessive emphasis on the rule of t.h.e. .l.a.w. .c.a.n. .o.bs.c.u.r.e. .t.h.e. .i.n.t.e.n.t. .o.f. .t.h.e. .l.a.w... . Obviously obedience is necessary, but surely it is contrary to reason to give blind obedience to a higher a.u.t.h.o.r.i.t.y. .w.i.t.h. .w.h.o.m. .t.h.e.r.e. .i.s. .

d.i.s.a.gr.e.e.m.e.n.t. .o.n. .f.u.n.d.a.m.e.n.t.a.l. .i.s.s.u.e.s... . .

Ho.w.e.ve.r.,. .t.h.a.t. .i.s. .t.h.e. .d.i.l.e.m.m.a. .o.f. .m.a.n.y. .

traditionalists in the modern Church – to obey human authority or adhere to the F.a.i.t.h... . . . . .

Truth and moral teachings have been p.r.e.s.e.r.ve.d. .by. .t.h.e. .Ch.u.r.c.h. .f.o.r. .c.e.n.t.u.r.i.e.s... . .

Ho.w.e.ve.r.,. .i.t. .i.s. .c.l.e.a.r. .t.h.a.t. .t.h.e.r.e. .a.r.e. .t.h.o.s.e. .

w.h.o. .w.i.s.h. .t.o. ."u.p.d.a.t.e.". .t.h.o.s.e. .t.e.a.c.h.i.n.gs. .by. .

means of progressive methodology in the n.a.m.e. .o.f. .t.h.e. .s.p.i.r.i.t. .o.f. .V.a.t.i.c.a.n. .I.I... . .To. .be. .

u.n.d.e.r. .o.be.d.i.e.n.c.e. .t.o. .s.u.c.h. .p.e.r.s.o.n.s. .w.h.i.l.e. .

struggling to preserve true teachings is

Letters to the Editor

C P

an unreasonable situation. It would seem that at least the Society of St. Pius X is in a favorable position to teach truths and nourish souls, in spite of unfair treatment from modern church officials. Evidence suggests that deliberate persecution takes place mainly because the Society is seen as a threat to the agenda of Modernism.

In contrast, many officials who toy with faith and morals, remain in good standing. Thegoodpriestsinthe Society are carrying the heaviest cross for the traditional Faith, including those who are struggling to function within the modern church.

It can be reasonably assumed that if the Society had not stood firm under the leadership of Archbishop Lefebvre and also today, there would be no official recognition of the traditional rites, and traditional priests would have noreliableshepherd. Itwouldbejust if this were more widely realized and appreciated.

Oh that we will once again be of one mind in Truth and one heart in Charity! Alas, both are absent in too many areas of the Church today. It is obvious that when truth is compromised and charity sidelined, humility disappears, opening the door to more and more hyphenated "Catholics" formed in the fashion of Protestantism. May God have mercy on us all!

Mary Strangward Internet

Kenny Chesney and the New Mass

Editor, The Remnant : On the drive home today my son said that he had gone to Mass and it had ruined his day. Until this year he has not had the opportunity to participate consistently in anything but the Mass promulgated by Pope St. Pius V in 1570. I told him to offer it up, and make atonement.

During the sermon, the deacon pulled out his cell phone and played a Kenny Chesney song for the congregation to make the point more effectively. This same deacon prayed at halftime of a previous soccer game that God would "open up a can of whoop-ass" so the team would be victorious. The team lost badly.

A fellow student distributed Holy Communion today, and my son did not like that either. He really wants to talk to the headmaster about allowing him to opt out on future attendance. In the last three weeks I have attended 10 deaths and have visited several others who died within 24 hours of my visit. I have spoken with patients nearly 100 years old afraid to die... Very afraid. When push comes to shove human beings want hope. Hope does not lie in a "can of whoop-ass." Nor does it lie in the lyrics of a Kenny Chesney song. The baptized deserve better.

Jim Grumblatt Hermeneutic of Continuity? Heck, Yeah!

Editor, The Remnant : Nate Metzger has given to his article "The Hermeneutic of Continuity" the subtitle "Or, Adventures in Bluffing" ( The Remnant , 2/20/14, pp. 10-11). Permit me to say that this is a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black; for his own essay strikes me as one big adventure in bluffing. Mr. Metzger attacks those who advocate a ‘hermeneutic of continuity’ for Vatican II  that is, those who follow Benedict XVI and all recent popes in holding that disputed passages in the conciliar documents can and should be interpreted in continuity, not contradiction, with traditional Catholic doctrine. Again and again your columnist claims that such defenders of the Council always merely "ritually assert" (or "cite") the existence of such continuity, but without ever explaining how it exists, or addressing arguments that it does not exist. This is what he means by their "bluff": their alleged attempt to browbeat Catholics by constantly and confidently repeating a bald assertion without backing it up by evidence and reasoned argument.

But this is exactly what Mr. Metzger himself is doing! For there is in fact a huge body of scholarly books and journal articles out there from the last 50 years that not only assert, but present detailed argumentation for, the doctrinal continuity between the tenets of Vatican II and those of the earlier magisterium.

Thus, by confidently and repeatedly assuring Remnant readers that no such explanatory literature exists, he is using exactly the same kind of bluff which he sweepingly and wrongly ascribes to his opponents. (Even your photo on p.

11 is unfair: over the caption "Blatant Discontinuity" we see female liturgical dancers performing at a Novus Ordo Mass; but readers aren’t told this is an abuse forbidden by Rome.) There is obviously no space in a letter to the editor to give a bibliography of the extensive "hermenetic-ofcontinuity" literature. Interested readers could start with the 462-page volume, Vatican II: Renewal Within Tradition,

edited by Matthew L. Lamb & Matthew Levering (Oxford University Press, 2008), which devotes at least one scholarly article to each of the sixteen conciliar documents. The French Benedictine monk Dom Basile Valuet (member of a Traditional Mass abbey) has published a massive six-volume work meticulously explaining the continuity between Dignitatis Humanae and Tradition: La liberté religieuse et la tradition catholique (Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux, 1998). I too have written a lot on that issue, my latest effort being a book debate with atheist Arnold T. Guminski, in which I argue in detail for doctrinal continuity: Religious Freedom: Did Vatican II Contradict Traditional Catholic Doctrine? A Debate (South Bend, Indiana: St. Augustine's Press, 2013). As regards the doctrinal (though not disciplinary) continuity between Pius XI's Mortalium Animos and Vatican II’s Decree on Ecumenism, see my essay, "Is Ecumenism a Heresy?" in This Rock, January 2009, pp. 26-29.

Assuming Mr. Metzger eventually gets round to studying some of this pro-continuity argumentation, it will of course be another question as to whether he personally finds it convincing or not.

But please, let’s have no more of his blustering bluff to the effect that there simply is no such argumentation out there, only bare assertion.

Fr. Brian Harrison, O.S. St. Louis, Missouri FFI and Cardinal Muller: What’s the Connection?

Editor, the Remnant : I am writing to comment on two recent events: 1) the suppression of the Franciscans of the Immaculate, and 2) Cardinal Muller’s declaration that the SSPX is "schismatic." Let me briefly recap these events for those not familiar with them.

The Franciscans of the Immaculate (F.I.) is a conservative order that introduced the TLM to its ranks under Pope Benedict’s Summorum Pontificum .

A band of malcontents within the order protested the introduction of the TLM to Rome. This past summer, Pope Francis issued an edict in response banning the TLM from the order. As disappointing as this was, it should have been the end of the affair. However, in what can only be described as a Stalinesque purge, the Holy Father, through his apparent commissar Msgr. Volpi, removed all of the F.I.'s duly elected superiors from their posts, put one of the order's founders, Fr. S.M. Manelli, under virtual house arrest, confiscated the order’s assets, closed its seminary, sent the remaining seminarians to an outside seminary for apparent "re-education," shut down the order's press Casa Mariana Editrice , and I could go on.

This is no "drill" – It really happened!

When I first read of this purge, I said to myself, "Watch for Rome to re-excommunicate the SSPX." Sure enough, on December 24, 2013 an interview with Cardinal Muller appeared in Catholic World News in which His Eminence clarified Rome's position vis-à-vis the SSPX using the "S" word: Schismatic. This is the first time Rome has used "schismatic" to describe the Society since the 2009 lifting of the excommunications, and it is an omen of things to come.

Second only to the disappointment of these events, has been recent attempts by certain Remnant commentators who should, and usually do, know better to flatter the current pontiff with kind (albeit vacuous) words in the hopes that the Bishop of Rome will reciprocate with kindness toward traditionalists and the TLM. How's that working out for you? Now, in charity, even the best analysts are wrong from time-to-time.

So, in charity, let’s just chalk up their recent miscalculations to "one of those times" and move on to a more hardnosed analysis of recent events.

First, the suppression of the F.I., with its obvious over-kill, was no random event. It was coldly calculated to send a message. It was meant to strike terror into the hearts of traditionalists inside the Church: "Govern your tongues, or else!" Though I have no contacts inside any of the canonical traditionalist societies, like the Fraternity of St. Peter, my guess is that they are right now issuing a flurry of memos to their priests saying things like, "Don't criticize the Pope/the Council/ the Novus Ordo , etc." This is precisely the chilling effect that the humble, nonjudgmental, peace-loving Pope Francis

intends to have. Second, Cardinal Muller’s recent declaration that the SSPX is in fact "schismatic" is just the beginning. It too is calculated to send a message, this time to the Society: "Our patience is up!" Sometime before, or in coordination with, the April 14 canonizations of John Paul II and John XXIII, look for Rome to issue an ultimatum to the SSPX: "Submit to Rome, or else!" The Society will refuse, and they will be re-excommunicated. It should be noted that the ultimatum is likely tocontain a condition so unreasonable that neither the SSPX, nor St. Pius X himself, could agree to. (As a former blood-sucking attorney, that's what I'd do!) You cannot understand this pope unless you understand that the last thing he wants is a rapprochement with the SSPX. This pope, like Obama, has a radical agenda to implement. In order to implement it, he needs enemies, not friends. He thinks he’s found that enemy in "crypto-Lefevbrians," aka You: Traditionalists.

This pope is likely to justify all he does as combating "crypto-Lefevbrian elements" within the Church, like Obama justifies everything he does by combating "Tea-Party Republicans." It has been the way of the left since Stalin first combated "neo-Trotskyite deviationists." Third, it should be noted that an excommunication of the SSPX will be slightly different this time. Last time only the Bishops were excommunicated.

This time the whole society will be.

This might be a distinction without a difference. Then again, we don't really know.

Finally, the suppression of the F.I.

and the declaration of "schism" against the Society are not unrelated events.

They are the coordinated spear-heads of a new wave of persecution against traditionalists and the Tridentine Mass.

The point is that this is war! The war is being prosecuted from "the top." And any attempt to excuse the prosecutor is tantamount to surrender, or worse! Let us traditionalists put away our childish thinking about this papacy, and stop deluding ourselves with lullabies about how this is just another "traditional political pontificate!" Vincent LaVigna, J.D., M.A. Austin, TX

W iti f S

With just a few weeks left before final payment is due on this year's Remnant Pilgrimage to France, we have a few young people who are still waiting to be sponsored. The young ladies are doing very well, but, alas, two of the young men, Nicholas Rao and Michael Rubinhavealongwaytogo. Young pilgrims will walk the pilgrimage in the name of their sponsors. As in years past, the names of sponsors and their special intentions will also be carried to Chartres and read aloud each day on the Pilgrimage. Tax-exempt donation are much appreciated and can be sent to the addresss below. MJM

Remnant Tours’ Youth Fund

PO Box 1117 Forest Lake, MN 55025

Alexander Kunkel, Ohio ($1500) Olivia Rao, New York (Sponsored) William Bischel, Ohio (Sponsored) Michael Rubin, Catholic University ($500) Alyssa Brandon, Indiana ($2000) Nicholas Rao, New York ($0)

Waiting for Sponsors

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 05

What We Have Lost…

Thank You, Sister Mary St. Roger

By Kenneth M. Weinig

My first grade in public school had been rather boring, but I loved the weekly Catechism classes in my parish conducted by a smiling nun who put colored stars next to every question in the Baltimore Catechism I got right, which were many, thanks to the motivation by my Catholic grandmother, who lived with us, and by my Protestant mother, too. Wouldn't it be wonderful, I had thought, to have such a wonderful teacher like this every day!

In September of 1950, my wish came true: I was overjoyed to enter the second grade at Our Lady of Loreto School in Hempstead, N.Y. My teacher was Sister Mary St. Roger, a cautious smiler. An early reader-thanks also to my mother—I expected to be placed in the Bluebirds, the highest group, but I was disappointed to be seated with the Robins. Oh, well, at least I wasn't with the dumb Canaries. Later, I learned that mom had conferred with Sister, and they had agreed to give me a conservative placement, since I had come from a public school; better to promote than demote. Soon, I proved worthy of Bluebird membership but was glad they didn't group for mathematics! As I write this, I am looking up at a shelf on which sits a small, blue ceramic lamb, given to me by Sister for winning a class spelling bee.

I even remember some of my friends’ names. Steve Colucci introduced me to Walt Disney comics, and I was especially fascinated by Uncle Scrooge.

Billy Hardwin made me a Brooklyn Dodgers fan but sometimes got into trouble because he was caught drawing during a lesson pictures of Ebbets Field with the players' names in the lineup: Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges, and, his favorite, Duke Snider.

James Lowe was easily the smartest in the class, and we became friends, too.

That year my mother also got me my first library card, and I most enjoyed the animal stories of Thornton Burgess.

But far more memorable were the Catholic customs to which I was introduced at O.L.L. My friends urged me to come early and they would really show me some fun. So, I got permission from my mother and used my public bus ticket to arrive at 7:45 to see what the "fun" was. Steve and Billy were waiting outside the convent. When they saw the door open, they raced up to the first nun that emerged, and both yelled, "Good morning, Sister, may I carry your books?" She smiled, gave her books to one, and he joyfully accompanied her to her classroom. This ritual was repeated with all the nuns and us groupies. Later in the week, I was honored to be a bookbearer, too. Of course, in those days the sisters all wore their glorious, inspiring traditional habits, that made you proud to be a Catholic and some Protestants wish they were. Today, we see-if we can recognize them at all-the few remaining nuns dressed like seedy social workers, crude wooden crosses hanging from their necks. Another custom, new for me, was the noon bell for the Angelus. On the recess yard, hundreds of students froze in place and prayed.

The older boys quickly yanked into line any first-grader who didn't get with the program.

I am almost brought to tears when I recall another ritual. During one recess, held after there had been a school-wide Mass held in the auditorium, I heard a tinkling bell, with a tone different from that of the richer Consecration bells. Everyone fell to his knees on the rough pavement, and I quickly followed the crowd without having a clue why.

Shortly, we saw an altar boy walking along ringing the bell, followed by the priest carrying the covered chalice back to the rectory! Once at Mass—and I only remember this having happened once-the priest dropped a Host.

The reaction among the congregation couldn’t have been greater had a grenade exploded. Everything came to a shocked halt until Father, on his knees, had removed and consumed from the carpet every molecule. A story that Sister read to the class as part of our First Communion preparation also is burned into my mind. Although it would be deemed too strict by today's weakened standards, the story was about a little boy who, on the eve of his scheduled first reception of the Sacrament, woke up thirsty. After going to the refrigerator and taking a sip of orange juice, he was instantly horrified as he recalled the rules of fasting then in force. Tears streamed down his face as he confessed to his mother, who also wept, because her son would have to wait another year to receive his first Host! Harsh? Perhaps, but, I submit that with ceremonies and rules like these, is it any wonder that Catholics of my generation, properly educated, have not a sliver of a doubt about the truth of the Real Presence?

And I further believe that such practices as Communion in the hand, only bowing instead of kneeling, and receiving from the hands of un-ordained laypeople only diminish this belief.

Sister Mary St. Roger once told another story, too, one that the politically correct today would have censored. In the early 1950s in China, Chang Kai Chek was about to lose his country to the Communists, led by Mao Tse Tung, an event that the class was learning in Our Weekly Reader . To illustrate the evils and cruelty of Godless Communists, Sister brought into class a pair of chopsticks. She then told us that Mao's followers would come up behind Christian children and place the objects into their earlobes, and, if they didn’t renounce their faith, the sticks would be pounded into their ears, breaking the eardrums! We were horrified, of course, I wincing even recalling my mother's cleaning my ears with q-tips.

Later, when I saw on our first television some sessions of Congress during which Senator McCarthy was questioning people, I asked my parents what was going on. They told me that he was trying to find out whether there were Communists in or own government. I then assumed the senator was a hero and couldn't understand why others were critical of him, my parents obviously not able to explain to a seven-year-old the difference between means and ends.

Note: Despite years of hearing the pejorative terms "McCarthyism" and "Witch Hunt," we now know (e.g., from such books as Ann Coulter’s Treason) that everyone McCarthy accused of being a Communist was one! Thank you, Sister, for exposing me to the truth so early.

My year in second grade was not without its lighter moments. In the boys' lavatory, there was a sink about six feet long with four drinking-water fountain heads in a row. Each head had three holes from which the water emerged before forming one stream. One day I was curious about what would happen if you put your finger over one of the holes. When I did this and turned the water on, the stream shot out about two feet into the air. Wow! I was then at fountain #1 and wondered what would happen if I put my finger over two of the holes. I quickly did this, and the water arched very high into the air, reaching fountain #4. What I didn't realize was that James Bernard was drinking from fountain #4. I can still actually hear the plopping sound of the water hitting this boy's thick black hair. I was lucky that he was very easygoing, or I would have been in a fight. I said I was sorry and returned to class. Within two minutes, Bernard came back, too, but he had not sufficiently dried his hair, causing water to drip onto his desk, and when Sister angrily asked him to return to the bathroom and dry himself properly, I had to bury my head in my hands to stifle the laughter. Dodged a bullet there.

By far, the most memorable lesson Sister taught us was the one about the purity of Mary's soul. She drew three circles on the blackboard representing souls. She pointed to the first one, obviously black, and said this was a soul in mortal sin.

Then she drew in the second one, with the chalk held sideways, causing the circle to become white. This was a soul with grace, perhaps after Communion.

Before coloring the third circle, she explained that the Mother of God was conceived (a word we didn't understand then, of course) without original sin and that her entire life was sinless. Then she proceeded, with obvious emotion, to take a full piece of new chalk and whiten the third circle. She did this with abnormal vigor, moving the chalk around and around for what seemed to be many minutes, with pieces and crumbs of white falling to the rail and onto the classroom floor, until there was nothing left of it; the circle almost glowed. I have never forgotten this, especially since Sister had always stressed frugality with classroom supplies. She had even chided one student for discarding a piece of chalk that couldn't have been much more than ¼ inch long; no waste here, she would say. To witness her using an entire piece just to illustrate the 'whiteness' of Mary's soul stunned us students, and this one never forgot that lesson.

My parents moved to another state when I was in fourth grade, and soon after, I was forced to return to public schools until my senior year, after we moved again. I have heard and seen many complaints leveled at and many parodies made of Catholic education with its allegedly cruel nuns. Perhaps I was lucky, but I never experienced any of this negativity, and I am very grateful to all these wonderful sisters for the Faith I have today. I feel very sorry for today's Catholic youth, who, except in some very traditional places, are deprived of this experience.

Before writing this little memoir, I called my old Long Island parish to inquire about Sister Mary St. Roger. We could seldom tell a nun's age then, with their beautiful, traditional habits, but, if she were still on this earth she would have to be well into her nineties. I learned that the school is no longer in operation, and the receptionist didn't even know what order of nuns once taught there. Pity.

But, Sister Mary St. Roger, please know that I shall never forget you and you’ll always be in my prayers. Thank you! v

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 06

T F W H

B D M

Christ

calls us to fast from the things of this world and to feed on the Bread of Life. Our entire religion is based on sacrifice, with the Sacrifice of Christ being the foundation and model for all we do. This same Sacrifice is reenacted during Holy Mass, of which the Eucharist is the fruit, therefore fasting before Communion is an essential part of our religion.

Fasting starves out the demon of impurity, as opposed to over eating, which fuels impurity of heart and mind, especially, our spiritual directors tell us, when this is done before bed. The Church under divine guidance has rightfully maintained the rule of fast through the ages for our preservation and so that we may worthily receive Christ in Communion.

Unfortunately the church in modern times refuses to be guided from above, and now that age-old fast has been broken. The secular currents of the world are what have generated the change, i.e. the discarding of the traditional fast, and that of Friday abstinence, liturgical discipline, modesty of dress, reverence, head coverings, holy water, sacramentals, the old Mass, the traditional prayer to St. Michael, and the whole of tradition which the Almighty in His goodness had bestowed upon us for our liberty and sanctification. The clergy today are slumbering, and it seems that very few are keeping the Faith.

Hence faithful Catholics can no longer necessarily expect to receive from the pulpit the counsel to fast, to do penance, and to make reparation to the outraged heart of Christ in order to mitigate the wrath of the Almighty. Perhaps, then, each Catholic should take this upon himself and adopt a program of penance and sacrifice in accord with tradition.

The one hour fast before Communion is a joke and an insult to our Eucharistic King.

A wholesome Lenten resolution is to fast, really fast!, and return to the rule of fast as practiced in the time of Pius XII. The 1917 Code of Canon Law was still the law at that time, which required that no food or drink be taken after midnight until the time of Communion.

And whereas the Holy Father relaxed this ruling in March 1957 by reducing the Communion fast to three hours, he nonetheless urged that the traditional fast after midnight (terminus a quo) be maintained by all. "We strongly exhort priests and faithful who are able to do so to observe the old and venerable form of the Eucharistic fast before Mass and Holy Communion. All those who will make use of these concessions must compensate for the good received by becoming shining examples of a Christian life and principally with works of penance and charity." What has happened to us? What have we become? Where have all the Catholics gone? v

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 07

A Remnant Book Review…

Saint Magnus, The Last Viking

by Susan Peek

Review by James Fitzhenry

(Author of

El Cid, God’s Own Champion

and

St. Fernando III, A Kingdom for Christ)

And

"In many chapels, reddened by the setting sun, the saints rest silently, waiting for someone to love them."

"These words, penned by an unknown priest, long dead, were the inspiration for this series on the lives of saints who have fallen deep into the shadows of obscurity. My hope is that, in reading their heroic stories, you will make the acquaintance of some of God's Forgotten Friends."  Susan Peek

Andso begins the saga of the Viking prince St. Magnus, a saint so little known in this country that most of us have never heard of him. On

April 18

th

exactly 900 years ago, on an insignificant spot in the Orkney Isles, north of Scotland, this saint gave his soul

to God.

Saint Magnus, The Last Viking,

is a new novel penned by popular Catholic author Susan Peek, whose previous works include

A Soldier Surrenders,

a story about the conversion of St. Camillus, and

Crusader King

, a novel about King Baldwin IV, the leper king of Jerusalem, published by TAN books. Both of these titles can be found in the libraries of thousands of Catholic families throughout the world. Like her previous works, this book is a fascinating story of adventure and sanctification, and is intended to be the first in a series of books about God's Forgotten Friends: Lives of Little-known Saints.

The story of Saint Magnus takes place in the Orkney Islands in the 11th century. The tale is an epic struggle between the heroic Prince Magnus, a young Viking Jarl burning with the love of God, and his cousin Hakon, who is completely self-centered and consumed with jealousy and envy. Hakon is the epitome of the spoiled child enslaved by his own passions. When faced with the judgment of the council for his malicious deeds, he refuses to take responsibility for his own actions and lays the blame for his banishment on Magnus. These faults set the course for the remainder of both Hakon's and Magnus' lives.

Battles, treachery, heroism and miracles follow, but through it all is a message of forgiveness that brings Magnus ever closer to his Divine Savior, until his final victory in which he is irrevocably united to his Crucified Lord. His official feast day is celebrated by the Church on April 16

th

.

Susan Peek’s heroes are so saintly and yet so human. We see the struggles that they face reflected to different degrees within our own lives, and for this reason it is easy to relate to her characters. Her writing style is informal and engaging, which easily captivates young adults. She takes us back in time to another place, yet successfully portrays her characters as real people living in real circumstances. Her narrative is exciting, intense, and stirring from the very beginning to the emotionally packed conclusion. The lessons we can learn from Magnus, whose name means "Great One" in Latin, are just as timely now as they were then. This is a compelling and thought-provoking tale that provides an excellent example of Catholic moral virtues for all who read it.

Entertaining and inspiring from start-to-finish, a must-read for all those who will thrill to learn the life of a saint we never knew existed! This book is primarily for young adults, especially boys, as it is written in a style that appeals to young men. v

Published in February of 2014

by Catholic Vitality Publications, this paperback book is 248 pages in length and is available online at www.roman-catholic-saints.com and at www.

amazon.com for $17.95 US (plus shipping). It is also available as an e-book online at www.

roman-catholic-saints.com for $8.95. This book is suitable for ages 15 and up.

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 08

Lives of the Saints?

The Dilemma Presented by John Paul II’s Canonization

(Taken from Dici.org)

v If Pope John Paul II is declared a saint, false ecumenism will be canonized. How then should we view saints such as Edmund Campion and Fidelis of Sigmaringen, or others— uncanonized—who have upheld the True Faith in the face of adversity?

In the January 2014 issue (no. 372) of Courrier de Rome , Fr. Jean-Michel Gleize, professor of ecclesiology at St.

Pius X Seminary in Econe, published a study entitled "John Paul II: a new saint for the Church?" After recalling that a canonization is infallible, he asked, " Are the new canonizations binding on all Catholic faithful?" and then " Can John Paul II be canonized?" quoting the Polish pope’s statements to Lutherans, Anglicans, the Orthodox, Jews and Moslems, as well as his remarks on religious liberty.

The following is Fr. Gleize's epilogue.

If John Paul II is a saint, his theology must be irreproachable, down to the smallest detail. Indeed, the virtue of faith at heroic levels implies a perfect docility to the entire spirit of the Magisterium, and not only to the letter of the teachings of infallible Magisterium and to the lowest common denominator of mandatory dogmas.

If John Paul II is truly a saint, the Catholic faithful must recognize that the Catholic Church and the Orthodox communities are sister churches, responsible together for safeguarding the one Church of God[1]. They must therefore reprove the example of Josaphat Kuncewicz, archbishop of Polotsk (15801623). Converted from Orthodoxy, he published a Defence of the unity of the Church in 1617, in which he reproached the Orthodox for breaking the unity of the Church of God, exciting the hatred of these schismatics who martyred him.

If John Paul II is truly a saint, the Catholic faithful must recognize the Anglicans as brothers and sisters in Christ and express this recognition by praying together[2]. They must also condemn the example of Edmund Campion (15401581), who refused to pray with the Anglican minister, at the time of his martyrdom.

If John Paul II is truly a saint, the Catholic faithful must hold that what divides Catholics and Protestants—that is, the reality of the holy and propitiatory Sacrifice of the Mass, the reality of the universal mediation of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, the reality of the Catholic priesthood, the reality of the primacy of jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome—is minimal in comparison to that which unites them[3]. They must therefore condemn the example of the Capuchin Fidelis of Sigmaringen (15781622) who was martyred by the Protestant reformers, to whom he had been sent as a missionary and for whom he wrote a Disputatio against Protestant ministers, on the subject of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

If John Paul II is truly a saint, the Catholic faithful must recognize the value of the religious witness of the Jewish people[4]. They must then condemn the example of Pedro de Arbues (14401485), Grand Inquisitor of Aragon, who was martyred by Jews in hatred of the Catholic faith.

If John Paul II is truly a saint, the Catholic faithful must recognize that after the final resurrection, God will be satisfied with the Moslems and they will be satisfied with Him[5]. They must then condemn the example of the Capuchin Joseph of Leonessa (15561612) who worked without counting the cost in Constantinople among Christians reduced to slavery by the followers of Islam. His zeal caused him to be dragged before the sultan for insulting the Moslem religion and he spent three days hung from a set of gallows by a chain attached to hooks in one hand and one foot. Faithful Catholics should also deplore the example of St. Peter Mavimenus, who died in 715 after being tortured for three days for having insulted Mohammed and Islam.

If John Paul II is truly a saint, faithful Catholics must recognize that heads of state may not arrogate to themselves the right to prevent the public profession of a false religion[6]. They must therefore condemn the example of the French king Louis IX, who limited the public practice of non-Christian religions as much as he could.

However, Josaphat Kuncewicz was canonized in 1867 by Pius IX, and Pius XI dedicated an encyclical to him; the Church celebrates his feast on November 14th. Edmund Campion was canonized by Paul VI in 1970 and the Church honors him on December 1st. Fidelis of Sigmaringen was canonized in 1746 and Clement XIV designated him as the "protomartyr of the Propaganda" (of the Faith); his feast in the Church calendar is April 24th. Pedro de Arbues was canonized by Pius IX in 1867. Joseph of Leonessa was canonized in 1737 by Benedict XIV and his feast is celebrated in the Church on February 4th; Pius IX proclaimed him patron of the missions of Turkey. St. Peter Mavimenus, lastly, is honored in the Church on February 21.

As for King St. Louis, his fairly wellknown example is an ideal illustration of the teachings of St. Pius X, canonized as well.

If John Paul II is truly a saint, all these saints were seriously mistaken and have given the whole Church not the example of authentic sanctity but the scandal of intolerance and fanaticism. It is impossible to avoid this dilemma.

The only way out is to draw the double conclusion that follows: Karol Wojtyla cannot be canonized and the act that would proclaim his sanctity in front of the Church could only be a false canonization. v

(Taken from DICI no. 290, 14/02/14) Footnotes 1 The Catholic Church and the Orthodox communities " recognize one another as Sister Churches, responsible together for safeguarding the one Church of God, in fidelity to the divine plan, and in an altogether special way with regard to unity ." John Paul II, Common Declaration Signed in the Vatican by Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Bartholomew I, June 29, 1995 (DC no. 2121, p. 734735) 2 The Pope and the leader of the Anglicans give thanks to God "that in many parts of the world Anglicans and Catholics, joined in one baptism, recognize one another as brothers and sisters in Christ and give expression to this through joint prayer, common action and joint witness ." Common declaration of John Paul II and the Archbishop of Canterbury representing the Anglican Communion, signed Dec. 5, 1996 (DC no. 2152, pp. 8889) 3 " The shared spiritual space overcomes many of the confessional barriers that still separate us from each other on the threshold of the third millennium. If in spite of the divisions we are able to present ourselves in an increasingly united way before Christ in prayer, we will realize more and more how small what divides us is in comparison to what unites us ." John Paul II, translated from the French version of his Address to Dr. Christian Krause, president of the World Lutheran Federation, December 9, 1999 (DC no. 2219, p. 109).

4 " Yes, with my voice, the Catholic Church (…) recognizes the value of your people’s witness ." John Paul II, translated from the French version of his Address to the Jewish community of Alsace, October 9, 1998, DC no.

1971, p. 1027.

5 " I believe that we, Christians and Moslems, we must recognize with joy the religious values that we have in common and give thanks to God . () We believe that God will be a merciful judge at the end of time and we hope that after the resurrection He will satisfied with us, and that we will be satisfied with Him ." John Paul II, translated from the French version of his Address on the occasion of meeting young people at the stadium of Casablanca, August 18, 1985, DC 1903, p. 945.

6 " The State cannot claim authority, direct or indirect, over a person’s religious convictions.

It cannot arrogate to itself the right to impose or to impede the profession or public practice of religion by a person or a community ." John Paul II, Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace 1988, Dec. 8th, 1987 (DC no. 1953, p. 2)

The secular media are eager for the canonization of John Paul II, seen here blessing his friend the late Rev. Marcial Maciel, the most heinous of the high-profile priest predators. Once this canonization is in the books they will use it to demolish the Catholic Church for years to come.

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 09

"It is what it is"-Fort Worth Diocese Clarifies Bishop Olson’s Ban on Traditional Latin Mass at Fisher More College

By Brian Mershon

President Provides College’s Perspective

Exclusive to The Remnant

Fort Worth, Texas, March 3, 2014— Today's blogosphere and Catholic news sites were lit up by the startling news that His Excellency Michael F. Olson, STD, Bishop for the Catholic diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, had forbidden Fisher More College from having Catholic priests offer the Traditional Latin Mass at the college.

This, despite the fact that the college had full diocesan approval since 2010, including a chaplain offered as a courtesy by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter from Feb. 2013 through June 2013.

Most recently, a priest from the Fathers of Mercy based in Auburn, Kentucky, known more for preaching Catholic missions than for their traditional liturgical leanings, ably served the students and faculty. In addition to offering daily access to the Traditional Latin Mass throughout the school year, the college offered substantial parts of the traditional Divine Office, often-times sung, with a fully intellectually rigorous Catholic liberal arts curriculum.

In summary, in a letter dated February 24, 2014, Bishop Olson, installed as the diocese’s fourth Ordinary less than one month prior, forbade Fisher More College from the public celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass at its chapel. Not only did he forbid its public celebration, but he informed the college that they were allowed to have the Novus Ordo liturgy with priests from the diocese, all with the threat of his withdrawing permission to have Holy Mass offered and the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the college’s chapel. "I make these norms out of my pastoral solicitude and care for students of Fisher-More (sic) College as well as for your own soul," Bishop Olson stated in his letter.

As the blogosphere and Catholic news sites engaged in wild speculation about "what really happened" from unnamed people in the know, anonymous priests from the nearby Dallas diocese and speculation that the college had really gone off the rails, The Remnant sought and received further information directly from the sources of the contention—the bishop's office of the Diocese of Fort Worth and Michael King, president of Fisher More College.

"It was a private letter and someone leaked it, and it is what it is," said Pat Svacina, director of communications for the Diocese of Fort Worth. "Bishop Olson has nothing to add to what has been out there," Svacina said.

Fisher More's King said the college received the letter from the Bishop on Wed., Feb. 26, and he read it out loud to the students and faculty to make them aware of the situation. The fact that the letter purported to be "private correspondence," but that impacted dozens of college faculty, staff, students and parents was not explained by the bishop's spokesman. As the college's mission is centered on the Church’s liturgical and spiritual tradition, King said that the board felt compelled to be transparent to those affected by the Bishop's decision.

King said he was invited to a meeting with Bishop Olson that was very short and provided no further details other than the contents of the letter. "There wasn't much discussion," he said. "There was no discussion about the college at all." Meanwhile, high traffic volume driven to Fisher More's website prevented the college from issuing clarifying statements later in the day today regarding the school’s mission, guest speakers and their corresponding topics the college has hosted since 2012 ( Pll.u edu/list-college-chaplains-since-2010/)

and a lineup of priests the college has had as chaplains with public ministry since 2010 under the watch of former Bishop Kevin Vann (See Pll.ul list-college-chaplains-since-2010/ ).

Note that every priest had faculties for confessions and diocesan approval to offer public Holy Mass at the chapel up to the bishop's edict. Michael King, president of Fisher More said that Father Nicholas Gruner, famous for his Fatima apostolate, recently spoke as a guest lecturer, but did not offer any public ministry at the college chapel. Many consider Father Gruner to be controversial because of his vocal and persistent call for the consecration of Russia by the Pope together with all of the bishops of the world as Sister Lucia repeatedly stated that our Lady of Fatima requested.

King noted that the academic curriculum at Fisher More is rigorous, and as a college in the intellectual tradition of the Church, its professors and guest lecturers often address controversial topics such as the theological speculation of Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar, scientific evolution versus intelligent design, and other similar topics.

King said that he prefers not to respond publicly to critics about his leadership style, nor those critics of the college’s faculty. Fisher More College is currently considering its canonical options regarding the Diocese of Fort Worth’s decision to ban the Traditional Latin liturgy while still allowing the Novus Ordo to be offered by diocesan priests. v

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 09

Mass Resistance at Fisher-More:

Attending the TLM

IS

a Political Act!

By Nate Metzger

TheInternet has told me that the Bishop of Fort Worth was justified in taking away the Mass of the Ages from these poor kids at Fisher More College 'for the good of [their] souls'. He then said that they could have the Novus Ordo offered at their college, using diocesan priests.

Ahem.

If I’m understanding this right, the good bishop seems to be adopting the usual, post-2007 Catholic position concerning the nature of the two Masses. To wit, while it's now ok to go the old way, please be advised that only trivial predilections (‘nostalgia’ and ‘addictive fashion’, depending on how old you are) are the officially accepted reasons for 'preferring' one over the other.

Alas, insofar as some among this college community might have held to the position that the Old Mass was in fact objectively better, and that (a fortiori) the documents of Vatican II contained deeply flawed, confusing, and sometimes even silly promulgations and ideas, then these same students and faculty were acting out of line. That is, since these Fisher More folks were celebrating the Old Mass as a way of 'protesting' the New Mass (and by extension, Vatican II), then a terrible WrongThink had crept into their little community, and it—The Old Mass!—had to be removed, to be replaced by something literally called 'ordinary'.

Since these Fisher More folks were 'using' this Old Mass as a way of drawing likeminded agitators to their school, and holding up the Mass as a ‘rallying’ point, as it were, then it's the Mass that had to go. See, you can only like the Old Mass for superficial reasons, and it is wrong to use the Old Mass to form an intentional community in defiance of the New Ways.

I don't know if I'm properly representing any one student or faculty member in wording the supposed 'political' nature of their (punishable) actions. Perhaps their daily celebration of the Old Mass was merely coincidental (say, a priest with knowledge of the Old Mass just always seemed to be availablewho knew?). I'm certainly not on the inside track here. I'm merely a sympathetic internet browser.

ButI hope that my take is correct. I hope that their celebration of the Old Mass had these more defiant aspirations. Good on them if this is so.

If they did have these motivations, they are not only justified in having them, but they are to be praised. Indeed, these students and faculty provide an example for the rest of us wayward, complacent traditionalists, who just 'want to have our Mass' and be left alone.

Why? Because it’s manifestly true, and it can never be a bad or unCatholic thing to say the truth. Quite to the contrary. The ‘traditionalist’ position loses its raison d’être the instant that these points of resistance-nay, defiance?-become forgotten or (even worse) taboo. We should protest against the New Mass, and

'He who goes about to take Ho S. M u C o v o ou v v v u universe.' - S J F C O L M

our attending of the Old Mass should be seen as a way of 'voting with our feet'. God knows, top-down solutions to our present nightmare are not coming. Any traditionalist who rightly thinks that the New Mass is deficient and thereby attends the Old Mass ‘for the good of their soul’, is ipso facto 'protesting' the New Mass and making a 'political' point in the process. And all the better.

It behooves us peasants to make it known to our diocesan uppers, in our words and actions, that the New Mass is a failed experiment, that the Old Mass is the future,

Cvv N P

After all, the Old Mass IS superior to the New Mass, in form and especially in content, and the second Vatican Council is problematic! It’s not a bad or ‘unCatholic’ thing to think this, and it’s certainly not a bad thing to say this.

Mass Resistance

C P

and that Vatican II has serious problems. Insofar as we can reasonably hope that the students and faculty of Fisher More were doing and saying things of this sort, they are to be held up as a model for all Catholics across the country.

We should hope that the sharp and eager students at Fisher More are aware of the problems of form and content in the New Mass. Moreover, we should hope that members of this school’s faculty are manifestly aware of the deficiencies of the New Mass and the Council, and have even written or lectured on these very points. In fact, what would be entirely bizarre is if the ‘traditionalism’ of Fisher More was so superficial such that no one at the school was aware of any of these real problems.

It would be strange if the school was filled with folks who just 'happened to like’ the Old Mass, and just ‘happened to prefer’ a certain ‘traditional’ habit of being, but wanted otherwise to be left alone, or were otherwise happy with the Novus Ordo status quo that surrounded their small school.

We should hope that there are no taboos among their kind. It would be equally weird if members of this selfaware community were, or were to become, ‘de facto’ neo-Catholic in their pronouncements. Again: I'm rather dim, but I’m assuming that the members of this community have the good sense to know how utterly ironic it would be to form a community committed to the traditional faith, going so far as to demand that its faculty take an incredibly defiant oath (the very one that Paul VI (of healing fame) pushed to the side), only to then insist that students and faculty don’t say a peep about what they know damn well to be the disaster introduced by the Council and the New Mass.

No. While I can't be certain of much of anything, I have good reason to hope that the laudably intentional community of Fisher More knows full well that they are celebrating the Old Mass precisely because of all of the deficiencies of the New Mass, and that they are furthermore making a rather bold statement against the insanities introduced through the Second Vatican Council, by their words and actions.

I should hope that their actions are this intentional, this self-conscious, this inspired, this rational, and this knowledgeable. It's a college, after all. Colleges are filled with people who long for authenticity and truth. Perhaps here, we might find kids who have yet been beaten down by the iconoclasm and banality of the New Ways, and teachers not content to sit passively to the side while the Novus Ordo establishment ruins their Church in their midst.

Perhaps we'd find scores of ebullient, wide-eyed, sharp and motivated students, kids who are rightly frustrated by a largely apathetic Catholic laity, but even more frustrated by a neo-Catholic contingent that would passively imbibe as pure gospel whatever sabotaging nonsense spewed from the mouths of their leaders. Perhaps here we'd find kids ready to speak truth to power.

I should hope that we could rightly describe this community as a group of

activists. I should hope that they have created an environment where kids can speak their mind regarding the disaster of the Second Vatican Council and the dystopian nightmare that it bequeathed them. Here we might find kids full of life and passion for the truth, ready to burn the midnight oil, reading up on their own glorious tradition, and not content to read of their own faith by way of the postconciliar censors.

What the bishop sees as a problematic community, the traditionalist should rightly see as Ground Zero of the resistance movement. For we should hope to find here a group of kids excited about the faith, kids thinking clearly and with conviction. Here might lie a group of professors and students who haven't devolved into meat robots ready and willing to give the gold seal to whatever unprecedented novelties are introduced, e.g., altar girls, etc. Here might be found thinking people. Here lies our hope.

Of course, if this school did take a weird neo-Catholic position on tradition, whereby it required the faculty and students to keep mum, despite what they all knew, the bishop would simply have nothing to worry about, and he would have no reason to ban the ‘politicized’ Old Mass. He'd come to the school, see the nice, docile kids celebrating their nice little Mass in the old way, and pat them all on the head. How nice for them! They seem to be behaving!

Of course, such a school wouldn't last. Why would a passionate and smart kid want to come to such an Orwellian, suffocating institution? What a boring place that'd be.

It seems to me that these students and faculty are being punished precisely because they are doing the right thing vis-à-vis the Novus Ordo Establishment of which they are tenuously a part. They are speaking their minds in defiance of the disastrous novelties in their midst. As what happens in any unjust regime, they were censored.

Par for the course.

Such is the consequence of straying from the neo-Catholic script. We can stand in solidarity with Fisher More by making our attending of the Old Mass a self-consciously political act, and utterly defying the neo-Catholic insistence that our actions be merely the result of superficial preference. v

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 11

Arizona vs. Freedom in America, Inc.

v The Church lowered her guard, obscured her teaching, foramessofpottage. Itisa false religious freedom. It is a freedom to do what the oligarchy allows. America Inc. will dictate the terms of the religious freedom the human element in the Church tried to purchase with her silence and acquiescence.

By Brian McCall

Most people believe we live in a democracy. They were probably told this myth by a very sweet fourth grade teacher. A democracy is when the laws are made by all of the citizens. At certain points in its history, ancient Athens was a democracy. The Athenian citizens (who were a small portion of the actual population) met together and made laws and voted to fill administrative offices. At the federal level our law is made by 535 Congressmen and Senators and 1 president or by 9 Supreme Court justices. At the state level, the laws are made by usually fewer than 100 state legislators and a governor and less than a dozen Supreme Court justices. With a population of over 300 million such a number is nowhere close to 'all' the citizens. Some people have slightly more knowledge of American history and government and they believe that we live in a republic. A republic is a form of government where all the citizens can select some representatives to participate in the making of the nation's laws. The Roman republic made laws through the Senate which was comprised of patrician nobles representing the patrician class. The rest of the citizens, the Plebeians, were eventually granted the right to elect a Tribune who could stand outside the Senate and prevent laws he deemed contrary to the interests of the Plebeians from being passed by the Senate. Thus, many people think we are a Republic because around half the citizens (for the past few decades) show up from time to time in order to choose among the limited options proposed by the two parties for one of the Congressmen, Senators, President, state legislator or governor positions.

But these legislators, governors and presidents have become merely instruments to rubber stamp the law on behalf of the real rulers. America is really ruled by an oligarchy which we can call American Inc. An oligarchy is a government in which the wealthy class makes the laws. The oligarchy decides what laws can exist and then the elected officials cast the ballots. Those whose wealth dwarfs even the wealthiest individual are the national and transnational corporations awash in cash. They can buy anything they want in government. As Michael Sandel's recent book, What Money Can’t Buy, points out, they can even buy a space in line to get into a Congressional hearing so they can make sure the people casting the votes see their masters.

At the end of the last century Wall Street banks were actively trading in illegal contracts. Credit Default Swaps were under the law of most states unenforceable, and in many states criminal, wagering contracts. But trading them was producing huge bonuses on Wall Street. Thus, after an intense and expensive lobbying campaign a bi-partisan Congress passed in a matter of days without debate the Commodity Futures and Modernization Act of 2000. Among other things, this law summarily repealed the antiwagering laws of every state as they applied to financial derivatives, thus erasing laws which had been on the books since before 1776. The same law exempted these derivatives from almost all federal law as well, the securities laws and the commodity futures laws which would otherwise apply. Thus, America Inc. bought a 'get out of law' free card in their real life game of Monopoly.

When these same derivatives precipitated a massive financial crisis in 2008, a few people called for a law to restrain these instruments which even Warren Buffet called 'weapons of financial mass destruction.' By the time the bill made it to the Dodd-Frank Act it became a verbose show of sound and fury signifying practically nothing. The 'get out of law free' card of the 2000 law was confirmed for the financial derivatives that brought down the house of cards, again after an expensive lobbying effort. Although a few light touch federal laws were reinstated (for show) the law affirmed the complete eradication of all state criminal and contract law that otherwise would prohibit these deadly wagers.

When America Inc.'s right to buy laws by buying candidates for office was threatened by laws which restrained a corporation's ability to give money to politicians, the Supreme Court stepped up to defend America Inc. by declaring the constitutional right of every corporation to spend its billions on buying candidates in the Citizens United case.

Most people remain blithely unaware of the oligarchical power of America Inc. The payments and influence happen in halls of Congress, country clubs, luxury resorts and corporate offices out of the public view. Yet, every now and again America Inc. comes out into the open to flex its muscle when its liberal agenda might be in the slightest way hindered. The financial oligarchs who have decided that acts contrary to nature must not only be legalized but rammed down everyone's throats until all that anyone can gurgle out is 'we love and support sexual perversity . . . ugh I mean diversity.' Arizona, most likely unwittingly, recently came close to defying the agenda of America Inc. and passed a simple law. Actually it was not even a new law. It was an amendment of a handful of words in an existing law which up until now hardly anyone opposed. The original law made clear that in a lawsuit involving the government in which the issue at stake was the action or inaction of a person, that person could defend his action or inaction on the grounds that the action was required or prohibited by a religious belief.

Arizona Senate Bill 1062merely added that such a defense could be used in any suit, not just one involving the government. Notwithstanding the propaganda run on America Inc.'s 'state media' (the television networks), the bill does not mention or refer to the new legal cover for acts against nature, homosexual 'marriage.' It was not a law that denied any public standing or benefit to any person. It did not attempt to resurrect the thousands of years of criminal laws against the acts engaged in by people in these so called 'unions.' It did not say anyone could put a sign saying 'No gays allowed' (as wrongly alleged on America Inc.'s state media).

All it said is that nobody could be sued for not doing something (like playing music during a gay 'marriage' ceremony) if doing so would violate their religious belief. The law did not say that a waiter in a restaurant could refuse to serve a person who is known to engage in such acts. As far as I know there is no religion that claims that serving food to someone to eat is against their religion. But actively participating in a public ceremony celebrating acts that are intrinsically evil as defined by Catholic dogma would violate a person's religious obligations.

Likewise, if a pagan asked a sculptor to carve an idol of Molloch to be used in pagan idolatry the sculptor could defend against a law suit for refusing to do so because making an idol for false worship would be facilitating directly the sin of idolatry. All the proposed law was meant to do was confirm that not only the government but everyone else cannot use the power of the courts to force or punish someone for acting consistently with religious doctrine. In other words, it prohibits persecution on the basis of religion. ButAmerica Inc.'s so-called freedom of religion does not include freedom from persecution for acting consistently with religious obligations.

The Arizona state legislature thus passed SB 1062, a fact which should be completely non-controversial in a nation that purports to have a Constitution that guarantees the free exercise of religion. All that was needed for the bill to be a law was the signature of the governor who was of the same party as the majority in both houses of the state legislature that passed it. But after the bill passed the legislature of Arizona, America Inc. decided to exercise its veto so as to capitalize on the event to push its agenda one more step beyond granting the legal status of marriage to two people who are not married to forcing everyone to participate in such ceremonies. For the CNN cameras a group of people held showed up to hold signs outside of the governor's mansion.

This was not the real muscle of America Inc. but only for show. Protestors holding signs are always a fixture in such places. This small group hardly moved the governor to veto a bill her party supported. What moved her was the threat of America Inc. to excommunicate Arizona from the America Inc. monopoly on the entire economy. DefyAmerica Inc. and you will pay with jobs and income. AT& T, Delta, American Airlines, Apple Computer, the NFL Super Bowl Committee, Major League Baseball, the list goes on and on, made perfectly clear to the governor with overt and not so subtle threats that Arizona would suffer economically if the bill became law. Who is the first to lose their jobs when the economy declines? Politicians do.

For example here is the threat of American Airlines oligarch:

American Airlines Group Inc. CEO Doug Parker joined that opposition late Monday. In a letter to Brewer, Parker said American Airlines’ significant presence in Arizona hinges on a strong economy and travel market. American merged with Tempe-based US Airways Group Inc.

in December. Parker said SB 1062 could undo Arizona’s post-recession economic gains and hurt the state’s business image.

America Inc. ruthlessly keeps its own house in order. Smaller members

Continued Next Page...

Freedom in America, Inc.

B MC C P

of the syndicate of oligarchs controlling America Inc. are kept in line at the price of economic exile. According to the Phoenix Business Journal, Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, 'said there are business owners who support SB 1062 who are worried about government intrusions against religious liberty, but they won't speak out because of the vocal opposition. .

. . 'What business owner wants to go through the personal and vitriolic attacks,' said Herrod, who added she's been the subject of vulgar and personal attacks from SB 1062 critics.' Such is life in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave under the rule of America Inc.

A statement by Delta bluntly threatened: 'If passed into law, these proposals would cause significant harm to many people and will result in job losses.' According to another report: 'As Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer prepared to make a career-defining decision . . . a letter arrived at her office early this week with a stern warning from some of the biggest names in the local business community. Signed by the heads of four Arizona business consortiums, with board members including officers of Bank of America, Intel and the Arizona Cardinals football franchise, the letter urged Brewer to strike down the measure. . . .' The Republican straw men leaders heard the threats loud and clear and piled on. The 'conservatives' Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and John McCain dutifully repeated the warnings of America Inc., just in case Governor Brewer didn't get the message and told the governor to veto or face dire consequences.

Clearly America Inc. is only interested in 'freedom of religion' that involves the freedom to buy things used for approved religions. But if religion requires one do more than look at the trinkets bought from America Inc., something that might slightly interfere with the agenda of America Inc., there is no freedom of religion. Sadly the human element of the Church has decided to enter into a Faustian bargain withAmerica Inc. Possibly for an understandable motive of gaining freedom of action to remain Catholic, the human element of the Church agreed to submerge its traditional doctrine on the obligations of every person and society to acknowledge Christ the King and the corollary doctrine of religious tolerance and appear to support the French Revolution's (France Inc.'s) Masonic inspired brand of religious indifferentism. The bargain: sign on to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and you will be granted a place in the big tent of religious freedom. This bargain was a sham however.

The Church lowered her guard, obscured her teaching, for a mess of pottage. What she received was on full display inArizona. It is a false religious freedom. It is a freedom to do what the oligarchy allows. Within this caged zoo, the Church is allowed to exercise her limited religious freedom. As the successful threats (Governor Brewer vetoed SB 1062) on the Arizona governor show, America Inc.

will dictate the terms of the religious freedom the human element in the Church tried to purchase with her silence and acquiescence. If the Church attempted to repudiate this fraudulent bargain, the threats made to Arizona Governor Brewer would look like child's play compared to the threats the Inc. syndicate around the world (led by America Inc.) would issue to the Vatican. The recent threats and intimidation in the U.N. report issued to the Vatican would be nice and polite in comparison. Such is freedom in the oligarchy of America Inc. Yet, our leaders should remember the consolation of the head of the Church: Blessed are you who suffer persecution for justice sake for theirsistheKingdomofHeaven! The Kingdom of Heaven is a much better place than the oligarchy of America Inc. v

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 12

The Habit of Moral Sin Must End Today

Editor’s Note: The following letter was penned by a Captain in the U.S. Army who wishes to remain anonymous, but who has identified himself to me privately. I believe his humble and contrite letter is a must read for us all, especially now in Lent. MJM

Ihave recently been listening to a wonderful collection of sermons by a priest. He belonged to a fraternal order which I shall not name because, no doubt, some would not listen, but many will probably figure it out. I cannot help but feel that this was in some way inspired, that I should happen to listen to these sermons leading up to the blessed season of Lent.

The sermons were part of a larger program called a Mission, which I had never heard of before. This Mission was given within the last 5 years. The priest delivered a simple yet powerful message that was easy to understand and covered basic topics of our faith such as heaven, hell and the judgment to come. The following paragraphs are my attempt to summarize the impact these sermons had on my life, causing me to recount some the feelings I experienced as I cried and listened, suddenly coming to realize what a terrible Catholic I had become.

I had considered myself a decent Catholic, which I now believe that I am not. I was raised Catholic by my mother, since my father is a Protestant (please pray for his conversion). I didn't have any Traditionalist friends and there were no traditionalist schools to attend. A few Novus Ordo schools were available, but I care not to imagine the extent of my fall if I had attended school there.

I was diagnosed at an early age with cancer, and, through the prayers of my mother, the small congregation to which my mother belonged, family, friends of the family and relative's, I was spared from death by the grace of God. Looking back, I wish that I had been taken then into the bosom of heaven as a baby, as opposed to leading the life of sin and sacrilege that I have lived since the time whenmycancerwentintoremission. But,Godobviouslyhasaplanforme. I cannot begin to tell you the number of times that I have been in sin, mortal sin, and went to confession thinking that I would be saved. I told partial truths (which are lies and compounded my mortal sins) in the confessional to conceal from the priest and God the true nature of my sins. How foolish! How many times I have committed a sacrilege I cannot recall.

Oh, the blackness of my soul and to attend Mass every week. What a detraction I must be from the holy Mass.

Did I bring demons with me into church, and did they leap from my shoulders onto others? I even served at the altar in a state of mortal sin. Did that cause the people that I represented to not fully gain the graces for attending Mass that they otherwise would have received? What a wretch.

I believe I am responsible for the loss of graces of others and have desecrated the altar of God and put other souls in jeopardy. ITWOULDHAVEBEEN BETTER THAT I TURNED ATHIEST AND MY FAITH BECOME COLD THAN TO DEFILE THE ALTAR OF GOD WITH MY PRESENCE! IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER THAT A MILSTONE BE HUNG ABOUT MY NECK AND I DROWNED IN THE DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN!

Oh My God how low am I. Have there been souls condemned to hell because I blocked the necessary graces for them to attain salvation? What beast can I be comparable to? A SNAKE BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE ACTIONS OF ONE SERVING THE DEVIL.

How offensive I have been and for how many years? What example have I provided for those outside the church?

That we, as Catholics, are no different from the world and that I can go to confession whenever I wish and do as I please and God will forgive me. AND I DID SO KNOWING THAT THIS IS FALSE AND MYACTIONS WERE IN DIRECT CONTRADICTION TO THE FIRST AND GREATEST COMMANDMENT.

I know that my life is not as bad as some, but God will judge us more harshly because of my knowledge of the Truth.

God is truly merciful in that I have been able to live this long and continue, willingly, my offenses against Him and His teaching, but His justice has limits.

I can feel it. I KNOW IT! I don't sleep well at night. I wake up sweating as if my soul had been descending to hell. I have had accidents in motor vehicles where I should have sustained severe injuries.

My personal life is a wreck and I still do not know my vocation in life. These are but a few indicators that I need to make amends for my sins, offenses, omissions and negligence lest I die and go to hell for all eternity.

You may be asking why I decided to write this. This is not a condemnation of others, but rather a testimony to the mercy of God, that perhaps I an open my eyes before it was too late. I write this because I know that there are more like me. Sinners at the altar of God who have received, knowingly, the sacraments while in a state of mortal sin, moved by pride or embarrassment to refuse to give a full recount of their sins, even as I have done for so many years.

Our sins will be made apparent for all to see when we are judged. That is certain.

There will be no embarrassment before God, but there must be fear of what is to come if we die in a state of mortal sin.

Death is the only certainty in this life, and judgment is guaranteed in the next. When will it happen? Today? Tomorrow? On my way home from work or on my way to the confessional? I don't know, but soon and for certain.

I consider myself lower than the lowest.

I hope that those who are like me will, especially during this season of lent, find a good book on confession, as I have been graced to find. Read it and go immediately to your priest for confession.

Let us get our souls clean so we can pray for the souls that may go to hell because there is no one to pray for them…or for us, if we do not amend our lives.

And let us pray for each other that we may obtain the graces to keep ourselves pure for a death and judgment that is certain to come, any day, at any moment, and when we least expect it.

- A SINNER v

B F I

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 13

A Remnant Book Review…

From the Holy Mountain

by William Dalrymple

v There is a feeling of fin de race amongst Christians all over the Middle East..." Then this: "Each time a Christian goes, no other Christian comes to fill his place, and that is a very bad thing for the Arab world. It is the Christian Arabs who kept the Arab world "Arab," rather than "Muslim."

Reviewed by Vincent Chiarello

Remnant Columnist

The English writer Graham Greene, a convert, was once asked the importance of his Catholic faith to his writing. He responded that he, "was a writer who happened to be Catholic." In his autobiography, Graham admitted that his conversion came about so that he could marry a devout Catholic.

Greene's later life showed just how very little that conversion meant to him. By way of contrast, Greene's contemporary, Evelyn Waugh, another convert, described himself as "a Catholic writer." One could also add the names of Hilaire Belloc and G.K. Chesterton to Waugh's. Is there, then, a separate classification for these men, or is it a distinction without a difference?

Perhaps the best way to distinguish them is to use Paul Fussell’s distinction between a tourist, such as your scribe, and a traveler such as William Dalrymple. There are tourists who write, and writers who travel, a distinction with a significant difference. In my trips to various parts of the world, I've written commentaries about the places I’ve seen, but I am not a travel writer. When touring, I am generally satisfied with the explanations provided by the Michelin Guides, or even those of Frommer’s, as earlier tourists used Karl Baedeker’s Guides , first published in Germany in 1827, in German, of course. To these tourists, "Baedekers", as these guides came to be known, were the gold standard and their maps indispensable to both tourist and traveler alike. By 1907, Baedeker published their first English language edition, and a copy of that vade-mecum accompanied many members of the English upper class, the first group of travelers who wrote as they made their "grand tour" of the continent of Europe.

Good travel writers are endowed with a tutored eye that allows them to describe in detail their experiences, later found in books about travel, but not in guides. William Dalrymple's, From the Holy Mountain, is a marvelous example of a book written by a talented writer whose travel in this particular instance has a specific purpose: to retrace the steps of John Moschos, an itinerant Byzantine monk, whose peripatetic journey took him through large swaths of the Byzantine Empire in the 6 th century. His observations about early signs of collapse on its fringes caused by a surging tide of Islamic military might in that part of the world were a harbinger of things to come. Moschos's journey and his observations were later published in a diary of his travels, The Spiritual Meadow, which served as Dalrymple's Baedeker.

Besides being a writer who travels, William Dalrymple is also a Scottish architect whose previous publications include, In Xanadu, and The City of Djinn , for which he was won several writing prizes. His degree (from Cambridge) in architecture provides him with an ability to describe the places and sites he visits, including Byzantine (Orthodox) monasteries that have existed for nearly 1500 years, in a way both informative and fascinating.

This particular expertise also allows the reader a rare glimpse of what the Byzantine world looked like just before Islamic expansion turned that Christian world upside down, for it must always be remembered that Byzantium was the seedbed of Christianity.

If a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, then both Dalrymple and Moschos, along with his acolyte, Sophronius, began their respective journeys, although separated by 1400 years, at the same place: the fabled Greek Orthodox monastery atop Mt.

Athos. But Dalrymple, unlike Moschos, had a problem: he was Roman Catholic, and a friend who had earlier visited the monastery advised him never to admit it to the monks. This friend had made that mistake and, "...had he admitted to suffering from leprosy or tertiary syphilis he could not have been more resolutely shunned..." An exaggeration? Hardly, as seen in the following conversation: Apparently, these monks never received the memo about ecumenism.

But Dalrymple’s luck held out and he is able to touch and view what he had traveled from Scotland to see: the original text, printed in purple ink on pure vellum of The Spiritual Meadow.

There is an air of hopelessness that surrounds many of the people described in this book, as if they were totally drained by their experiences of any likelihood of an improvement in their lives. It need be remembered that Dalrymple was traveling in these regions twenty years ago, and one must wonder if he were to retrace his steps today would that melancholia be even more noticeable?

In visiting Beirut, formerly known as the "Paris of the East," but now a city still in ruins after its civil war, Dalrymple meets with Kemal Salibi, a Maronite Christian, historian at the American University of Beirut, and author of A House of Many Mansions, a history of Lebanon’s civil war. Salibi and his family were unhurt and survived their apartment’s constant bombardment during the war, but were forced to flee after he received death threats from the terrorist organization, Hezbollah.

When asked about the exodus of Lebanese Christians en masse, he replied: "...the reason they are leaving is no longer because they are threatened, or because their country is going to disappear. It is because  how to put it?  they are weary. There is a feeling of fin de race amongst Christians all over the Middle East..." Then this: "Each time a Christian goes, no other Christian comes to fill his place, and that is a very bad thing for the Arab world. It is the Christian Arabs who kept the Arab world "Arab," rather than "Muslim." Allow me a personal note on Beirut. In 1974, I was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, which was then headed by Ambassador Francis E. Meloy, who two years later was tapped to represent the U.S. in Lebanon during its civil war. On the day before he left Guatemala in June, 1976, he took my wife and me aside to show photos of the Beirut sky at night, bursting with artillery shells that could have been mistaken as fireworks during a July 4th celebration. I believe that he knew it was a very dangerous assignment, but he accepted that risk and left the day after. Several weeks later, Ambassador Meloy and his driver were murdered, probably by Hezbollah, as they crossed over "the Green Line" into Moslem-controlled West Beirut. Dalrymple's visit eighteen years later showed that little had changed.

If Lebanon evoked an air of unending sadness to Dalrymple, the situation in Syria today is one of tragic proportions, for the future of the Syrian Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches is very grim.

When in 1994 Dalrymple spoke to the Metropolitan of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Aleppo, the prelate claimed, "Christians are better off in Syria than anywhere else in the Middle East.

Other than Lebanon, this is the only country where a Christian can feel equal to a Muslim – and Lebanon, of course, has many other problems." Twenty years later, those words do not hold up, for the conditions in Syria today are as bad as those of Lebanon during its civil war.

What neither Dalrymple nor the Metropolitan could have foreseen was the process by which the elimination, directly or indirectly, of Syria's Christians would become the result of Western strategy, despite the urgent warnings by both Catholic and Orthodox clergy. One of the most outspoken voices in this regard was that of the Mother Superior of the Carmelite Convent in Qara, Sister Agnes Miriam de la Croix, a Palestinian by birth. In a press conference at the Vatican in July, 2012 covered by Fides, the Vatican's news agency, Mother Superior insisted that what was being reported in the West was "a lie, manipulated by the media." "We are living in a big lie," she insisted. Her observations were confirmed by Open Doors USA, a Christian Human Rights group.

If the West has seemed indifferent to the plight of Syria’s Christians, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and Russia's Patriarch, Kirill, have not. In addition to Patriarch Kirill's providing financial assistance, he also sent a letter to President Obama urging him to listen to Syria’s religious leaders who "unanimously" opposed military intervention against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. Putin's government began the process by which fifty thousand Russian visas will be issued to Syrian Christians in the embattled Province of Homs and the city of Aleppo. While the West and the Catholic Church have remained removed from the scene, President Putin is reviving the historical role of the czars as "the Protectors of the Middle Eastern Orthodox Christians." In September, 1994 Dalrymple visited one of Syria’s oldest and most revered Orthodox holy sites: the convent of Notre Dame de Seidnaya. To his amazement, upon entering the chapel the congregation that evening appeared to consist not of Christians, but of heavily bearded Muslim men who, kneeling on their rugs, prayed as the priest circled the altar with his thurible, while Muslim women in black chador went and lit candles to the Virgin. Then this: "Eastern Christians and the Muslims have lived side by side for nearly one and one-half millennia, and have only been able to do so due to a degree of mutual tolerance and shared customs unimaginable in the solidly Christian West." One can only wonder if he would, or could, say the same today.

(Continued Next Issue)

T M A A S

Fr. Christophoros, the librarian at Mt. Athos: Forgive me, but are you Orthodox or heretic?

Wm. Dalrymple: I am Catholic.

Fr. Christophoros: My God! I’m so sorry.

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 14

Why Catholics Cannot Defend Themselves— Revisited:

An Ancient Chinese Reproach to Modern Assassins of the Past

v Only neo-Catholic legalists would have felt called upon to praise as geniuses bad reigning popes whose deaths, resignations, or depositions were greeted by saintly men and women of the day with holy whoops of Catholic joy. They alone seek to block knowledge of the essential truth that the Church has never equated the legitimacy of a pontiff with his impeccability in mind and behavior as Duce .

By John Rao, Ph.D.

Allroads lead Catholics to Rome, even if across the ancient Silk Road westwards from far away Cathay.

And my thoughts this week did turn to Rome-the Rome that was raised to a new level of supernatural significance due to the importance of the Catholic Church-precisely while preparing a lecture for a class in Chinese History at my university.

The lecture in question dealt with Shi Huangdi (221-210 B.C.), the first emperor, whose Qin Dynasty proved to be the shortest in Chinese History (221-207 B.C.), surviving its founder by a mere three years. This Dynasty was guided by the political philosophy known as legalism. Insisting upon the principle that material issues are the only things that really count in life, legalism basically taught that material might determines legal right. Therefore, whatever the physically powerful emperor "willed" was the law.

Qin legalists like Li Si (280-208 B.C.) and Han Fei Tzu (280-233 B.C.) were so committed to keeping men's minds focused perpetually upon what "the law" identified as being "practical" and preventing them from discussing the True, the Good, and the Beautiful that they worked successfully to ban the consultation of all non-utilitarian books and to punish severely those who wrote and read them. Some philosophers were even buried alive for the unpardonable crime of wasting time in rational thought and praising those who bravely put its conclusions into practice in the past.

The all-encompassing character of the pragmatic, materialist, a-moral Qin legalist vision was "holistically" represented by Shi Huangdi's tomb: a massive city recreating the entire cosmos as a parallel universe allowing the emperor to orient himself properly at his entry into the next life. Its macabre interior was populated by everything from the bodies of slaughtered concubines to the famous army of 10,000 terracotta military figures to painted depictions of the very geography of the cosmos as a whole.

Sima Qian (c. 145-c. 86 B.C.), whose massive Shiji, or Records of the Grand Historian , written down in all their "impractical" glory on slips of bamboo, cover the entirety of Chinese History from its beginnings to his own day. We interpret the Qin through him.

Ravage the present and the past as much as the first Chinese dynasty did, it was 1)

We possess our own vast Records of the Grand Historian in the documentation provided by the fullness of the Catholic Tradition. These Records come down to us in a myriad of forms: Sacred Scripture; the decrees of all the Councils and the whole teaching of the Papacy, with due distinction made between their unchanging doctrinal claims and their passing and potentially erroneous comments on contemporary matters, ecclesiastical and secular; the writings of the Church Fathers and Doctors that aid us mightily in making such a distinction properly; and, finally, the conglomerate of lessons offered by the successes and failures of men and women throughout the entirety of Church History. We have no right willfully to abbreviate or to shred this record entirely to fit our own pet passions-which are themselves generally pathetic reflections of the dominant, passing fashions of our own time and place. Truncating the past is an insult to Christ in His Mystical Body, as well as to the intrinsic value of each and every human person with a distinct role of eternal significance to play in the service of God.

2) Willful Neo-Catholic Assassination of the Past

Let us begin by noting that the terrible counterpoint to the splendor of the one truly different, corrective, transforming event of history—the Incarnation—is the drab, reductionist, but strangely effective character of the opposition to the full flowering of the Christian life. The contrast of the frustrating defeats regularly experienced by those promoting the brilliance of Christian civilization with the exasperating successes of the standard bearers of its drab cultural opposition, is the main theme of my recent book, Black Legends and the Light of the World .

Black Legends recounts the tale of the absolutely furious rejection of any and all attempts, rational as well as supernatural, to step back from and judge the "business as usual" approach to the life of "nature as is" that characterizes history from classical Greek times to our own day. It shows that powerful men and women who rage at any rational or faith-based criticism of immediate surface material perceptions of what is "practical" have repeatedly worked against Christians committed to deeper thought and judgment of the world around them.

They have done so in two related ways. One is by concocting "black legends" that spread lies regarding the nature and impact of the "offensive" Christian critique of the status quo.

The other, rising to the fore when it is clear that Christianity cannot be completely silenced, is to invent "nice stories" to co-opt and emasculate the corrective, transforming influence of the Incarnation. These "nice stories" are ultimately designed to ensure the victory of whatever the will of the strongest, reigning, materialist-minded power might be-and to equate that victory with the triumph of the Christian message and its "law" themselves.

Modern neo-Catholics accomplish this emasculation of the message of the Incarnation on behalf of the "business as usual" forces of sin-bound "nature as is" through their own particular "nice story". Everything begins with the "nice story" of the omnipotent lawgiving pope whose every waking thought and action is declared consubstantial with the Faith and the good of the faithful. Such a transfiguration of the sublime role of the successor of Peter into that of Il Supremo no more enhances the truth about the Papacy than making an act of faith in a divine Tetrarchy would somehow more firmly enhance the truth that God can be one and many at the same time than belief in a mere Trinity. The vision of pope as Il Supremo is false—pure and simple. And being false, it is an offense to Christ that cannot help but injure real papal authority in the process.

Yes, it is unfortunately true that a number of nineteenth century Catholics who probably would be in the Traditionalist camp today did aid in the formulation of this erroneous vision. But let us note, in their defense, that such men and women went down their false pathway precisely because they knew that they had the unqualified support of the contemporary Papacy in freeing the Church from an already dominant naturalist and secularist environment preventing transformation in Christ in its own right.

Cooler heads at the time—those of people who had read those Records of the Grand Historian that we call the full Catholic Tradition-warned strongly against the Il Supremo temptation. One of these calming spirits, Victor Auguste Cardinal Deschamps (1810-1883), Archbishop of Mâlines, a man who figured among the most important proponents of the definition of the doctrine of Papal Infallibility at First Vatican Council, provided an explanation of its import afterwards that contemporary supporters of the Il Supremo concept would have to command all Catholics to consign to the book burning flames. He was not alone.

Vatican One as a whole knew that it had to deal with the problems of a number of popes like Honorius (625-638), who frivolously dismissed orthodox warnings of the dangers of the Monothelite Heresy as "the croaking of frogs"—a "croaking" his more theologically alert successors thankfully soon enthusiastically imitated. Every historian familiar with the committee of cardinals called upon by Pope Paul III (1534-1549) to explain just how the Reformation happened knows that it blamed the entire outburst first and foremost on generations of late medieval acts of papal madness—backed by canonists who exalted Il Supremo’s will to the point that they claimed that he could abolish Sacred Scripture itself with the flick of a wrist.

The same historians are aware that Julius II (1503-1513) was so contemptuous of a predecessor, Alexander VI (1492-1503)-whom he, while Cardinal, regularly and happily disobeyed—that he could not even bring himself to sleep in the same room as the dead, simoniac pontiff. And, once again, every student of the ecclesiastical past can attest that there have been all too many popes like Benedict IX—pontiff on three separate criminal occasions in the 1000’s, and characterized by the Catholic Encyclopedia as "a disgrace to the Chair of Peter". They can confirm the fact that saints ranging from Peter Damian to Bridget of Sweden openly chastised such pontiffs while they reigned , and without feeling the slightest fear of being drummed out of the Body of Christ for daring to speak the truth.

Only neo-Catholic legalists, transported back in time, would have felt called upon to praise as geniuses bad reigning popes whose deaths, resignations, or depositions were greeted by saintly men and women of the day with holy whoops of Catholic joy. They alone, in our own era, are determined to place a gauleiter with a fiery sword before the doors of the libraries and inside the browsers of the computers of faithful eager to consult our Catholic Records of the Grand Historian to know what might be good or bad in a current papal Führer’s thought and action. They alone seek to block knowledge of the essential truth that the Church has never equated the legitimacy of a pontiff with his impeccability in mind and behavior as Duce .

The possible permutations on doctrine and practice permitted by an unquestionable, unalterable "papal will"-capable of shooting off in as many directions as a fireworks display- combined together with interpretations of what the will of such a Leader "really meant"-offered by conflicting "experts" possessing their own arbitrary but Zeitgeist- backed pipelines to the Holy Spirit—are theoretically endless.

In practice, however, all of the many permutations of "nice expert stories" regarding the Faith possess a basic unity.

They gain this basic unity by means of the general agreement reached by the main strains of modernist thinking in the Church by the time of Vatican Council that the voice of the Holy Spirit in our

C N P

Shi Huangdi

a "powerless" man with the vision of a broad moral order that judged its momentarily invincible, but ultimately meaningless and brutally inhuman message for posterity.

Our "Sima Qian material":

C

fiat

day undoubtedly passed through those forces that possessed an overwhelming "vital energy". Such forces displayed their power through success in winning converts, imposing their

, and silencing their opposition. This included the opposition coming from popes who could really only be considered omnipotent when they behaved themselves and submitted to the will of the strongest "energy".

Now the

greatest

vital energy yielding the

clearest

success in winning converts to its cause, thereby demonstrating the

deepest

understanding of the will of the Holy Spirit by means of which

papal desires

defining

unquestionable

Christian "law" could be

most perfectly

explained (whew!) came from the American Pluralist system.

The neo-Catholics who became the standard bearers of the victor "inside" the Church were obliged to teach the faithful that responding to American Pluralism's "will" mandated obedience to yet another arbitrary but infallible guide to understanding the final meaning of the Christian message: the "will" of those Founding Fathers responsible for the creation of the system in the first place. The neo-Catholic Defenders of the victorious Pluralist Faith were thereby called open to reinterpret, rewrite, or toss into the doctrine-and-practiceshredder every Christian document, every conciliar and papal statement, and every contribution of every Christian saint and civilization builder that might be questioned by the slightest whisper of a Founder Objection.

One last step and we will have reached the end of the "Follow the Will" game. The will of the Founders clearly requires obedience to that principle of religious liberty that their master, John Locke, defines as the central truth of the Christian Faith. Founders will also obviously demands a general respect for "freedom" for the expression of all "vital energies", whatever the Christian past might have said about them. But conservative neo-Catholics make reference to the right lobe of Founder Wisdom to press for slavish acceptance of "freedom" for one type of vital energy that translates into support for individual economic oppression and the need to use American military might to make the world safe for chain stores and the State of Israel.

Remember that both right wing and left wing neo-Catholic American Pluralism make reference to exactly the same commitment to religious impotence and the Founder "freedom loving" spirit. It is only willful commitment to one expression of freedom as opposed to another that prevents the lot of them from seeing that they are all in the same camp and ultimately agree. For how can the rightist oppose perversion if it is individually profitable? And how can the leftist oppose individual profit hunting, no matter how many age old cultures are destroyed in the process, when the task of freeing personal passion requires the authority-and-tradition shattering labors of the powerful individual capitalist as well?

Together, their two front war against the perennial Christian Tradition and all of its real authorities effectively corrects and transforms the teaching of the Incarnation out of existence no matter which materialist freedom is said to be backed by the unalterable Dictatus Papae .

O Christ, where is thy sting? O Catholicism, where is thy victory? Li Si's and Hang Fei Tzu's eyes would have bugged out in admiration at the achievement. And Leni Riefenstahl would have had to confess that she missed her mark with her Triumph of the Will . The "nice story" of Founders who so adore religions and freedom that they just cannot get enough of them to tolerate and to exercise, has allowed the will of neo-Catholic American Pluralists-presented as the will of the Church-to triumph in a way that makes the reach of the will of a Hitler look pathetically amateurish in contrast.

3) Our Neo-Catholic Shi Huangdi Tomb Oh there is no denying that what one sees in looking at pluralist America and its worldwide Empire is "impressive". But it is impressive in exactly the same way that Shi Huangdi's tomb is impressive: as an arrogant, "holistic" parallel universe, awesome in the unrepentant brazenness of its materialism. Despite certain centers of resistance to the worship of this parallel pluralist universe, there is no doubt that the world as a whole is and continues to be overwhelmingly impressed by its display of raw material power and the rewards and punishments coming along with it. This is true of the Papacy as well, which has shown a remarkable willingness to "behave itself" and speak in a way that certainly gives the impression that its will and the will of American Pluralism

are

indeed in union with one another. Once Pope Francis decided that "drastic" reform of the Curia mandated hiring big time American publicity firms that could themselves never be expected to conceive a thought that was not rooted in Founder principles of religious liberty, religion as Clubhouse Phenomenon, and materialist pluralist freedoms both economic and sexual, continued papal worship at the shrine of this parallel universe was confirmed anew.

More than this, however, it has become painfully clear to me over the past year that the priesthood focusing the eyes of the men and women conscripted to ensure the global worship of the cult of the parallel pluralist universe has been renewed. To paraphrase John F.

Kennedy, the "torch has been handed on to a new generation". Vocations to the consortium of neo-Catholic Defenders of the Pluralist Faith are booming. The George Weigels, Michael Novaks, Fr.

Siricos, and their compatriots further leftwards can now all go to Boca Raton, play golf, shop at the mall, hedge the Market, and leave the high minded defense of the "nice story" linking Christ, pope, the Founders and their conservative and liberal ayatollahs to a fresh wave of enthusiastic storm troopers. Happily for the Old Guard, the new generation has also well digested its guidelines for keeping the eyes of Catholics turned away from examination of the historical Catholic Records .

These new assassins of the past know the formula by heart: ignore entirely the critics of American pluralism; rehash the same arguments over and over again as though they had not been heard ad infinitum beforehand; always and everywhere associate obedience to "worldwide materialism with a religious cherry on the top" as loyalty to the will of Catholic leaders who cannot even recognize that they themselves do not know how to describe the nature of a Christian civilization; if push comes to shove, condemn anyone eager to open the entire book of the past as hopelessly "impractical" or as a "divisive" (and potentially terrorist) enemy of order and freedom. And horror of horrors, this new generation of assassins is winning further recruits among Catholic apologists in circles that I never would have imagined would fall prey to the charms of mindlessness.

4) Why the Chinese Point of Reference?

Just when I had become weary of offering yet another defense of the Catholic past against its modern gravediggers in the usual manner, Sima Qian and the Qin Dynasty came along to provide an exotic means of giving flesh to the perennial argument.

And the analogies of his task and ours ultimately do seem so apt! Moreover, the poignancy of his fate and his reasons for accepting it also seemed valuable in giving Traditionalist Catholics courage to continue our fight against the modern willful assassins of the past, whatever the cost. Sima Qian ran afoul of the "law" in his own day in a particular fight for justice for a man requesting his help in a case before the emperor. The authorities

were offended by his raising his voice and ordered him to commit suicide.

He refused to do so, and received the alternative punishment: castration. He took the path that he did, as he himself tells us, because his life's work was not yet done. The Records of the Grand Historian had to be completed. The proponents of "law" as "imposition of will power" wanted "'to make the common people ignorant and to see to it that no one in the empire used the past to criticize the present'" (Keay, p. 97).

He had to defeat them, whatever the personal cost to be paid.

Our neo-Catholic American pluralist legalists would love for us to commit religious and cultural suicide in obedience to a "papal will" which is not always in accord with the perennial will of the Church; a "papal will" which, willy-nilly, seems to work today more in line with the ideas of John Locke, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Ludwig von Mises, George F. Babbitt, and Pussy Riot. We cannot do so. Even if it means our being reduced to momentary public impotence, ecclesiastical and secular, we must struggle on for the revival of knowledge of the whole Catholic past and the defeat of the willful. And just as the first emperor's tomb failed to bedazzle posterity due its ultimate judgment at the hands of a higher order whose memory was preserved by the "impractical" work of that pagan servant of truth, Sima Qian, our dazzling parallel pluralist universe will one day be shown for what it really is---the Twilight Zone--due to our own contemporary labors in the wilderness. The Catholic Records will one day be reopened in all their fullness and the assassins of the past will be driven from the temple. v

For an expanded version of this article, as well as many other important works by Dr. Rao, please visit his website at: jcrao.freeshell.org/

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Fri, 7 Mar 2014 | Cover | Page 16

The Last Word…

Fomenting Another Formosus

v As much as the enemies of Pope Formosus wanted to defame his name and annul his acts, many of the enemies of Benedict have sought the same with regard to the Pope Emeritus.

By Father Celatus

Anniversaries

are occasions to be celebrated or mourned, depending upon the event that they mark. Among those that we celebrate annually are weddings and ordinations; among those we mourn are deaths and destruction.

February twenty-eighth marks the first anniversary of the abdication of Pope Benedict XVI. On the day of his abdication many pastors were unsure what to say or do within their parishes.

After all, while we have experienced the death of multiple pontiffs in our own lifetime, one would have to be the ripe age of Methuselah to have lived through a previous abdication of a pope.

I chose to toll the church bells on the day of the abdication of the Pope.

While not a traditionalist himself, Pope Benedict had done more for tradition than his recent papal predecessors by reiterating the right of priests and the faithful to have access to the Mass and Sacraments in their traditional forms. For that we should remain ever grateful to this pontiff. But the act of abdication itself seemed so inconceivable and incongruent with tradition that it warranted the tolling of church bells in sorrow and with foreboding as to what such an extraordinary change in the papal office portends for the Church. But not everyone was mourning the abdication of Pope Benedict. Enemies of tradition and proponents of modernism were thrilled.

Finally, after decades serving as a cardinal and then pope, Ratzinger the Rat had "resigned." In my own parish, on the day of his abdication, a picture of Pope Benedict mysteriously disappeared from the church narthex. After much searching my staff found poor Benedict buried in the bowels of the boiler room. We rescued the image of the Pope and restored it to its rightful place. After all, at the time there was no papal successor on the throne. Soon after, however, we received a mandate from the chancery to remove all public pictures of the former pope.

Benedict XVI had been expunged.

If truth be told, the mad rush of maniacs to cast Pope Benedict into the abyss reminds me of a poor pope from centuries past. Pope Formosus had a brief but troubled reign as pontiff in the latter ninth century during a turbulent period in the Church. The political and ecclesiastical intrigues of this medieval period are fascinating but for purposes of comparison between these two popes we will confine ourselves to what happened to the hapless Pope Formosus following his death.

Without doubt Vatican II has been one the most disastrous general councils of the Church in her entire history but perhaps the most bizarre synod of all time was the Synodus Horrenda , or Cadaver Synod.

This is the name commonly given to the posthumous trial of Pope Formosus, which took place in the Basilica of Saint John in Rome in the year 897. The trial was convened and conducted by a successor of Formosus, Pope Stephen.

The rotted papal corpse of Formosus was disinterred; it was dressed in papal vestments and propped up in a sitting position upon the papal throne in the basilica. A deacon was assigned to be defense counsel of the deceased, a jury of cardinals was appointed and Pope Stephen prosecuted the case.

Pope Stephen raged for days with accusations against Formosus which included perjury, coveting the papacy and having acceded to the papal throne illegally. Formosus-or rather his corpse—remained silent in the face of these charges. The final verdict was that Formosus had been unworthy of the office of pope. Sentence was passed and swiftly applied: all previous papal measures and acts by Formosus were annulled and all his ordinations declared invalid; the corpse of Formosus was stripped bare and the three fingers of the right hand used for blessing were cut off. After these outrages the putrid corpse of Formosus was cast into the depths of the Tiber River, from which it eventually washed up on its banks.

But the story does not end at the Tiber.

Rumors soon spread that miracles were attributed to the body of Formosus and a public uprising led to Stephen being deposed and imprisoned, wherein he was strangled to death. Bad karma for Stephen, Buddhists would say. The next pope nullified the Cadaver Synod, rehabilitated Formosus, had the papal corpse dressed in pontifical vestments and reinterred in Saint Peter's Basilica. The pope also prohibited any future trials of a dead person.

But the story of Formosus still had not ended. Along came another later successor to the papal throne, Pope Sergius, who once again had the much abused corpse of Formosus exhumed, put on trial and convicted, and this time beheaded. Some sources record that the headless body was once again cast into the Tiber, from which it was rescued by a godly monk. Pope Sergius overturned the rulings of his two predecessor popes, introducing more confusion than ever into the Church.

But enough history! Much of the medieval period of the Church is vociferously criticized for its ecclesiastical confusion and corruption.

Yet these same critics will not point their accusing fingers at the present Modernist period of the Church, which has more than its share of the same. Unanswered questions remain as to why Pope Benedict abdicated his office and some still wonder if his "resignation" was even valid. I continue to mention him by name at Masses in my prayer for the Pope.

As much as the enemies of Formosus wanted to defame his name and annul his acts, many of the enemies of Benedict have sought the same with regard to the Pope Emeritus. More than anything, they want to cast advances instituted by Pope Benedict on behalf of tradition into the abyss, completely ignoring or annulling his remarkable motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum . A case in point has been the tyrannical purge of sacred tradition within the ranks of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. With Rome quietly complicit in this indefensible act, traditionalists worldwide are wondering who is next.

So how should we mark the first anniversary of the abdication of Pope Benedict XVI? I shall toll the bells of my church once again. For if there was cause for sorrow and foreboding one year ago, how much more so now. But take heart!

Currents bore the body of Formosus to the banks; providence will prosper the incipient reform of Benedict in the Church. v

T T P F

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