Facing Hard Questions
by Father Lawrence C. Smith
I am not saying that Father Cekada is wrong. I am not saying that Pope Paul IV can not be applied in the current situation. I am saying that I will not reach a final conclusion until the following concerns are addressed by those who agree with Father Cekada and insist that "Cum Ex Apostolatus Officio" now applies:
Discerning the Spirits
Implications of Pope Paul IV’s “Cum Ex Apostolatus Officio” and Father Cekada’s “Absolutely Null and Utterly Void”
For the Church
1) Endorsement of the errors of “religious liberty”, the modernist notion of “ecumenism”, the separation of the secular state from the true Church, the imposition of all-new Sacramental rites including the Mass, and participation in a putative Ecumenical Council laying the foundation for all of said errors by Roncalli, Montini, Wojtyla, and Ratzinger has resulted in each and all of them deviating from Catholic truth.
2) That deviation brings about the consequences delineated by Pope Paul IV, namely, that each has forfeited the rights, power, and respect due to an authentic Pope.
3) The Magisterium of the Holy, Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Church has been bereft of a legitimate Pope since at least 1962, has had no validly consecrated bishops since 1968, and has been without any valid Cardinals since the mid-1990’s.
4) None of the sacerdotal ordinations, Confirmations, or juridical acts attempted by the invalidly consecrated imposters is valid.
5) Bishops and priests consecrated and ordained by Bishops whose consecrations occurred prior to the deviations remain valid in terms of their Sacramental power, but possess no juridical authority, do not constitute the Magisterium, and have no competence to re-establish a universal hierarchy for the Church.
6) There is no holder of an Office within the remnant of the Church capable of commanding universal obedience, or of signifying the unity inherent in the Church, or possessing the official charism of infallibility, or to whom appeal can be made as an arbiter about the grave errors, confusion, and dissenting opinions present in the Church and the world.
7) This state of affairs must somehow be reconciled with the doctrine infallibly declared at the Ecumenical Council of the Vatican in 1871 regarding the perpetual existence of the Petrine Office; with the moral, doctrinal, and liturgical obligation of Catholics to express communion with the Successor of Peter as a condition of salvation; and with the solemn promises made by the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, the Incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ: Behold! I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world …I will not leave you orphans: I will come to you…Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
For the Episcopate
8) There is no episcopate. There remains a small handful of valid Bishops scattered throughout the world, but, as well, quite a few of dubious authenticity. There is no authoritative voice to declare which of the putative hierarchs are valid and which are invalid.
9) Men who would be Bishops must be re-consecrated. Prior to this, a means to establish valid consecrators and co-consecrators must be found. Again, there is no authoritative voice competent to bind anyone regarding the validity of existing Bishops’ consecrations.
10) Men who have served as Bishops under the regime of deviation must abjure their former errors, repent the sins committed as a result, confess, and do public penance befitting the public nature of their crimes. There exists at present no authoritative entity to judge these men and to impose appropriate sanctions.
11) Unless and until provision is made to accomplish the tasks of adjudging the validity, worthiness, and guilt of Bishops, all men whose episcopal consecrations are in doubt must cease from presenting themselves and acting as Bishops.
12) All of the Sacramental actions of the doubtful Bishops pertaining to Ordaining Priests and Confirming laymen must be repeated, at least conditionally.
For the Presbyterate
13) There is no presbyterate. There remains a small handful of valid Priests ordained by valid Bishops scattered throughout the world, but, as well, quite a few of dubious authenticity. There is no authoritative voice to declare which of the putative Priests are valid and which are invalid.
14) Men who would be Priests must be re-ordained. Prior to this, a means to establish valid prelates to ordain them must be found. Again, there is no authoritative voice competent to bind anyone regarding the validity of existing Bishops’ consecrations.
15) Men who have served as Priests under the regime of deviation must abjure their former errors, repent the sins committed as a result, confess, and do public penance befitting the public nature of their crimes. There exists at present no authoritative entity to judge these men and to impose appropriate sanctions.
16) Unless and until provision is made to accomplish the tasks of adjudging the validity, worthiness, and guilt of Priests, all men whose sacerdotal ordinations are in doubt must cease from presenting themselves and acting as Priests.
17) Other than Baptisms, all of the Sacramental actions of the doubtful Priests are likely invalid.
For Men and Women Religious
18) Any religious houses founded by juridical acts executed by invalid Bishops must be re-established under authentic prelates.
19) Religious whose vows were made to invalid Bishops must make new professions under authentic prelates.
20) The common life of religious orders may go on by mutual consent, but Priors, Abbots, Provincials, and Superiors whose jurisdiction was established by invalid juridical acts cease to have power and authority over their members.
21) Religious who do not wish to renew their vows under these circumstances are free to re-enter the world, to possess property, and to seek Holy Matrimony.
22) Confirmations and Absolutions received by religious from invalid clerics are invalid; Confirmations must be at least conditionally conferred, and the religious in question must make a general Confession and receive absolution from authentic clerics; how those clerics will be established as valid requires an authority whose competence at present can not be found within the Church.
For Married Couples
23) Annulments declared by tribunals under invalid Bishops are null and void.
24) Couples whose marriages were witnessed by doubtful clerics still retain the natural bond of their union, divorce being perpetually forbidden by the Church; those persons are not free to remarry with new spouses.
25) Sacramental bonds must be established for all couples whose marriages were witnessed by doubtful clerics; valid clerics must be approached in order to have an authentic witness of the Church to the Sacramental validity of the bonds; how those clerics will be established as valid requires an authority whose competence at present can not be found within the Church.
26) Prudence suggests that these couples, particularly those raising children, live as “brother and sister” until such time as Sacramental bonds can be verified.
27) Confirmations and Absolutions received by the laity from invalid clerics are invalid; Confirmations must be at least conditionally conferred, and the laity in question must make a general Confession and receive absolution from authentic clerics; how those clerics will be established as valid requires an authority whose competence at present can not be found within the Church.
For the Secular Society
[Editor's Note: Three questions have been edited here. They have been posed by Father Smith in the version he sent out to his e-mail list)
31) Persons in jurisdictions mandating usurious fees for car, health, or life insurance are free to refrain from submitting themselves to those sinful structures.
32) Executives, legislators, and judges who enforce, enact, or uphold immoral laws forfeit their rights and powers of office and are due no obedience from the citizenry.
33) Citizens blameworthy for the installment in office of immoral and unjust rulers and the enactment of abominable laws must repent, confess, do penance, and replace the unjust rulers and the immoral structures of their governments.
34) Non-Catholic citizens must abjure their errors, seek Baptism, acknowledge the primacy of St. Peter and his Successors, and enter into the one true Faith, the Body of Christ, the Catholic Church.
35) Members of the Body of Christ, the Catholic Church, must act immediately and energetically to address the stumbling blocks now present in the human elements of the Church which make conversion by non-Catholics absurd, distasteful, and/or morally perilous.
For Salvation
36) It is asserted by some that there is no recognized authority present in the Church to accomplish these tasks.
37) Lacking a Pope, the Church is reduced, on the one hand, to a protestant conglomeration of egoists asserting their own wills at cross purposes with one another; and, on the other hand, a photian – i.e., eastern schismatic – monster: headless, bereft of integrity, and without the capacity for unity expressed in doctrine, morality, evangelism, administration, and liturgy.
38) The question for the faithful is what is the Church, where is she in our day, and how does one receive and obey her teachings? Is there a Church without Sacraments – are protestants and secularists right? Is there a Church without a Pope – are the eastern schismatics and the sedevacantists right? Is there a Church without a binding doctrine, a missionary mandate, and inviolable rituals – is the postconciliar Church right? Is the Church just a delusion to pacify the masses with the Mass – are the atheists right, after all?
39) The conclusion reached, the decision made, the act of the will asserted that there is no reigning Pope at present, nor has there been one for forty-eight years and counting, calls into question the legitimacy of all priests, all bishops, all the Sacraments attempted by them, the claims of infallibility of the Church herself, the honesty of her Divine Spouse Jesus Christ, and, thus, the very existence of God. If there is no Pope now, whence will he come and how? What is to be done in the meantime? Says who and on whose authority?
40) There is no such thing as a Church without absolute Truth, valid Sacraments, real priests, a reigning Pope, and an obligation by the faithful to assent thereto. Faith – salvation – is an all or nothing thing. We are to love the Lord God with whole heart, whole mind, whole soul, and whole strength, placing the whole of our faith in Him through the Church by which He communicates His will, His saving grace, and His love. The Bride of Christ lives in the Sacraments given her by her Groom, hence, the Mass has not ceased to be celebrated at any time, nor will it until the end of time. And by necessity, then, there is a valid clergy capable of confecting the Sacrifice of the Mass, and a hierarchy competent to regulate its legitimate observance and preserve it in Truth. That is the conclusion which must be reached in the resolution of the many travails that beset the Church in these confusing times. Care must be taken that any effort to arrive at that conclusion maintains all of the elements of the Faith without sacrificing any of them to error or expediency, without placing an inordinate emphasis on one aspect or a school of thought, and without allying the Church in her essence with anything that is bound solely to a specific time or set of circumstances. It is imperative that all interested parties, all the loyal children of our Holy Mother, reaffirm their assent to the fullness of the Faith as it is embodied by, taught through, and received from the Mystical Body of Christ, the Catholic Church, and the Vicar of Christ, the Pope.
Father Smith
20 April 2006
Easter Thursday
Holy Family House, Silver Cliff, Wisconsin
The Longer Version of the Saint Michael the Archangel Prayer, composed by Pope Leo XIII, 1888
O glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare which we carry on against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, spirits of evil. Come to the aid of man, whom God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Fight this day the battle of our Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in heaven. That cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the Name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay, and cast into eternal perdition, souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. That wicked dragon pours out. as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity. These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on Her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck the sheep may be scattered. Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious powers of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.
Verse: Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.
Response: The Lion of the Tribe of Juda has conquered the root of David.
Verse: Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.
Response: As we have hoped in Thee.
Verse: O Lord hear my prayer.
Response: And let my cry come unto Thee.
Verse: Let us pray. O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as suppliants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin, immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all other unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of our souls.
Response: Amen.
