Straight Into The Junk Bin

by Thomas A. Droleskey

"Junk? Junk? You call this furniture junk? Well, wait'll you see what this junk looks like in a Park Avenue Apartment!" (Ralph Kramden, "The $99,000 Answer," The Honeymooners, January 28, 1956, written by Leonard Stern and Sydney Zelinka.)

 

Junk! Junk! That's what's produced by the utter apostates who draw nice salaries and eat lovely meals in the different pasterias in the Borgo Pio during their extended lunch hours each day. Junk! Junk! And with apologies to the fictional Ralph Kramden, no, the junk issued by the Vatican can't look good anywhere as it is a deformity of the Holy Faith that is ugly in the sight of the true God of Divine Revelation, the Most Blessed Trinity, and thus harmful to the souls redeemed by the shedding of every single drop of the Most Precious Blood of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Here's some more Vatican junk that should be placed where it belongs, that is, straight into the junk bin:

July 10, 2011. (Romereports.com) The Vatican has teamed up with Evangelicals and the World Council of Churches to make guidelines for Christian missionaries.  The document “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World” says missionaries should renounce all “deception and coercive means”. It's meant to ease any religious tension over Evangelization in non-Christian societies. The Vatican's department for Inter-religious Dialogue helped create the document, thanks in part to the help of it's undersecretary, Andrew Tanya-Anan.

Msgr. Andrew Tanya-anan, Undersecretary, Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue

“The conversion is the gift from God, this is important for us. Therefore we have to witness of life, our own life, and that's the very most important and in particular that we cannot use the way as a way to hurt the people through violence, no way.”

Rome Reports:

The document also calls on individual Christian churches to create their own guidelines when dealing with the non-religious and people of other religions. However, Christian missionaries are universally told to “reject all forms of violence...and appreciate what is true and good” in other religions.

Msgr. Andrew Tanya-anan, Undersecretary, Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue

“We never compromise, that we have to at the same time, that we have to respect the Evangelization, we cannot impose on anybody to convert so we give them time to reflect.”

Rome Reports:

Religious groups describe the document as groundbreaking for the collaboration across religions as well as between different Christian denominations.

The document also denounces any proselytizing with the use of “financial incentives and rewards.”

According to the World Evangelical Alliance, these guidelines were created to address accusations of “unethical methods” being used by Christian missionaries. They hope this document will help to spread the Gospel in a peaceful manner. (Rome Reports.)

CNA STAFF, Jul 1, 2011 / 05:35 am (CNA).- Leaders representing 90 percent of all Christians worldwide issued guidelines on acceptable missionary conduct based on the witness of Christ and the early Church.

“The example and teaching of Jesus Christ and of the early church must be the guides for Christian mission,” church leaders wrote.

“Christian witness is always a sharing in his witness, which takes the form of proclamation of the kingdom, service to neighbor and the total gift of self even if that act of giving leads to the cross.”

The document “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World” was issued jointly on June 28 by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the World Council of Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance.

The three bodies include Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Evangelical, Pentecostal and independent churches. Their combined membership accounts for around two billion people or nearly 90 percent of the world’s Christians.

Organizers said the guidelines are the result of a five year process involving the consultation of over 40 experts and are intended to “serve as a set of recommendations for conduct on Christian witness” around the world.

The list includes suggestions on how to best evangelize in multifaith societies, defends the right to share the Gospel and the rights of others to change faiths, and urges missionaries to reject aggressive or coercive methods.

Leaders clarified up front that the document does “not intend to be a theological statement on mission” but rather aims to address practical issues associated with Christian witness in a multi-religious world.

They added that the guidelines came about due to their awareness “of the tensions between people and communities of different religious convictions and the varied interpretations of Christian witness.”

The document calls on Christian missionaries to share the Gospel by giving “an accounting for the hope that is within them” and to do so “with gentleness and respect.”

Christians should “reject all forms of violence ... including the violation or destruction of places of worship, sacred symbols or texts,” the document states.

Instead, they should “acknowledge and appreciate what is true and good” in other religions, and make any criticisms “in a spirit of mutual respect.”

The guidelines also encourage respect for the “full personal freedom” of individuals being ministered to by allowing them “sufficient time for adequate reflection and preparation” before converting.

“If Christians engage in inappropriate methods of exercising mission by resorting to deception and coercive means, they betray the gospel and may cause suffering to others,” the leaders wrote.

“Such departures call for repentance and remind us of our need for God’s continuing grace.”

The document also acknowledges the dangers of proselytizing in modern society and touched on “increasing interreligious tensions in the world today, including violence and the loss of human life.”

“In some contexts, living and proclaiming the gospel is difficult, hindered or even prohibited.”

However, “Christians are commissioned by Christ to continue faithfully in solidarity with one another in their witness to him,” they said.

The guidelines noted that often politics, economics and other factors play a role in these tensions and that  “Christians too are sometimes involved in these conflicts, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, either as those who are persecuted or as those participating in violence.”

They said that the issue of growing hostility will be addressed separately by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the World Council of Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance through what they called a “joint process towards producing shared recommendations for conduct on Christian witness.” (Christian leaders reach agreement on guidelines for evangelizing.)

 

Junk! Junk! This is junk no matter where you attempt to place it.

First, there is nothing new here. As is the case with a lot of the junk that is sold in antiques stores, this is just  recycled garbage. It is the rotten junk that is to be found in the documents of the "Second" Vatican Council.

Second, Catholic missionaries have always exhorted non-Catholics to convert to the Faith. The use of the emotional red herring of "coercion" is designed to make it appear, however indirectly, that coercion was the norm prior to the "Second" Vatican Council rather than the exception that occurred as a result of imprudent actions on the part of a few.

Third, the apostates in the counterfeit church of conciliarism continue to view Protestant sects as legitimate "Christian" churches that have a mission from God to serve souls and a "right" to seek convers as long as they do not use coercive tactics. Each Protestant sect a tool of the devil. Each Protestant sect is hideous in the site of the true God of Divine Revelation, Who loathes each and every false religion as an absolute and unqualified abomination in His sight.

This apostasy has its conciliar foundation in Dignitatis Humanae, December 7, 1965:

4. The freedom or immunity from coercion in matters religious which is the endowment of persons as individuals is also to be recognized as their right when they act in community. Religious communities are a requirement of the social nature both of man and of religion itself.

Provided the just demands of public order are observed, religious communities rightfully claim freedom in order that they may govern themselves according to their own norms, honor the Supreme Being in public worship, assist their members in the practice of the religious life, strengthen them by instruction, and promote institutions in which they may join together for the purpose of ordering their own lives in accordance with their religious principles.

Religious communities also have the right not to be hindered, either by legal measures or by administrative action on the part of government, in the selection, training, appointment, and transferral of their own ministers, in communicating with religious authorities and communities abroad, in erecting buildings for religious purposes, and in the acquisition and use of suitable funds or properties.

Religious communities also have the right not to be hindered in their public teaching and witness to their faith, whether by the spoken or by the written word. However, in spreading religious faith and in introducing religious practices everyone ought at all times to refrain from any manner of action which might seem to carry a hint of coercion or of a kind of persuasion that would be dishonorable or unworthy, especially when dealing with poor or uneducated people. Such a manner of action would have to be considered an abuse of one's right and a violation of the right of others.

In addition, it comes within the meaning of religious freedom that religious communities should not be prohibited from freely undertaking to show the special value of their doctrine in what concerns the organization of society and the inspiration of the whole of human activity. Finally, the social nature of man and the very nature of religion afford the foundation of the right of men freely to hold meetings and to establish educational, cultural, charitable and social organizations, under the impulse of their own religious sense. (Dignitatis Humanae, December 7, 1965.)

 

As has been noted in past articles on this site, the Catholic Church teaches us that the demands of the common temporal good may require her to tolerate the existence of false religions in order not to do violence to the consciences of their adherents and, of course, to maintain public tranquility. This is a far, far different matter than stating what the Catholic Church never taught in her history, namely, that false religions have a "right" to spread their doctrines and to teach men about their "value" for the "organization of society and the inspiration of the whole of human activity."

This is apostasy. It is also blasphemy as it makes it appear as though the spread of false doctrines is something that is pleasing to God and thus of a benefit to souls. God does NOT want His rational creatures to live in confusion, which is why He has deposited His Sacred Deposit of Faith in one exclusive place, the Catholic Church, so that His teaching can be taught to men authoritatively and infallibly until the end of time. It is tough enough because of our own sinful tendencies and our own sins to get home to Heaven as members of the Catholic Church without having to live in confusion about what God has revealed. To assert as "right" that which is the result of the Protestant Revolution and the subsequent rise of the religiously indifferentist, anti-Incarnational civil state of Modernity is blasphemous and it is heretical.

Pope Pius IX, writing in Quanta Cura, December 8, 1864, explained the "end game" that occurs when men are confused noxious voices making of religious doctrine a mere matter of opinion and/or bones of contention that can be settled by individuals on their own authority:

For you well know, venerable brethren, that at this time men are found not a few who, applying to civil society the impious and absurd principle of "naturalism," as they call it, dare to teach that "the best constitution of public society and (also) civil progress altogether require that human society be conducted and governed without regard being had to religion any more than if it did not exist; or, at least, without any distinction being made between the true religion and false ones." And, against the doctrine of Scripture, of the Church, and of the Holy Fathers, they do not hesitate to assert that "that is the best condition of civil society, in which no duty is recognized, as attached to the civil power, of restraining by enacted penalties, offenders against the Catholic religion, except so far as public peace may require." From which totally false idea of social government they do not fear to foster that erroneous opinion, most fatal in its effects on the Catholic Church and the salvation of souls, called by Our Predecessor, Gregory XVI, an "insanity," viz., that "liberty of conscience and worship is each man's personal right, which ought to be legally proclaimed and asserted in every rightly constituted society; and that a right resides in the citizens to an absolute liberty, which should be restrained by no authority whether ecclesiastical or civil, whereby they may be able openly and publicly to manifest and declare any of their ideas whatever, either by word of mouth, by the press, or in any other way." But, while they rashly affirm this, they do not think and consider that they are preaching "liberty of perdition;" and that "if human arguments are always allowed free room for discussion, there will never be wanting men who will dare to resist truth, and to trust in the flowing speech of human wisdom; whereas we know, from the very teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, how carefully Christian faith and wisdom should avoid this most injurious babbling."

And, since where religion has been removed from civil society, and the doctrine and authority of divine revelation repudiated, the genuine notion itself of justice and human right is darkened and lost, and the place of true justice and legitimate right is supplied by material force, thence it appears why it is that some, utterly neglecting and disregarding the surest principles of sound reason, dare to proclaim that "the people's will, manifested by what is called public opinion or in some other way, constitutes a supreme law, free from all divine and human control; and that in the political order accomplished facts, from the very circumstance that they are accomplished, have the force of right." But who, does not see and clearly perceive that human society, when set loose from the bonds of religion and true justice, can have, in truth, no other end than the purpose of obtaining and amassing wealth, and that (society under such circumstances) follows no other law in its actions, except the unchastened desire of ministering to its own pleasure and interests? (Pope Pius IX, Quanta Cura, December 8, 1864.)

 

The Catholic Church has entered into various treaties to assure the rights of her children in Protestant or other non-Catholic nations. She does not, however, concede the right of false religions to exist or to propagate publicly their errors. She may have to tolerate these things in pluralistic countries such as the United States of America. She does not concede that they are true or licit.

Consider, yes, once again, this passage from Pope Leo XIII's Libertas Praestantissimum, June 20, 1888

Yet, with the discernment of a true mother, the Church weighs the great burden of human weakness, and well knows the course down which the minds and actions of men are in this our age being borne. For this reason, while not conceding any right to anything save what is true and honest, she does not forbid public authority to tolerate what is at variance with truth and justice, for the sake of avoiding some greater evil, or of obtaining or preserving some greater good. God Himself in His providence, though infinitely good and powerful, permits evil to exist in the world, partly that greater good may not be impeded, and partly that greater evil may not ensue. In the government of States it is not forbidden to imitate the Ruler of the world; and, as the authority of man is powerless to prevent every evil, it has (as St. Augustine says) to overlook and leave unpunished many things which are punished, and rightly, by Divine Providence. But if, in such circumstances, for the sake of the common good (and this is the only legitimate reason), human law may or even should tolerate evil, it may not and should not approve or desire evil for its own sake; for evil of itself, being a privation of good, is opposed to the common welfare which every legislator is bound to desire and defend to the best of his ability. In this, human law must endeavor to imitate God, who, as St. Thomas teaches, in allowing evil to exist in the world, "neither wills evil to be done, nor wills it not to be done, but wills only to permit it to be done; and this is good.'' This saying of the Angelic Doctor contains briefly the whole doctrine of the permission of evil.

 

As noted earlier, the existence of false religions may be tolerated to prevent greater evils. Unlike what many, although not all, of the conciliarists believe and assert publicly, however, these false religions have no "right" from God to exist and of churches and synagogues and mosques and temples are placed place of devil worship that God Himself detests and loathes. A nation organized around Catholic principles and recognizes the authority of the Catholic Church to exercise the Social Reign of Christ the King would recognize that it is the principle of "toleration" and not that of the heresy of "religious liberty" that would permit the building of centers of false worship in discreet locations, if at all possible, that would not otherwise scandalize the citizenry and lead to the sort of unrest that we see unfolding before our very eyes in our "pluralistic" society that is the very product of the falsehoods of the Protestant Revolution and the rise of the deification of man championed by the naturalistic philosophies and ideologies that can be described as Judeo-Masonry.

Fourth, the blasphemous contentions in Dignitatis Humanae provided the foundation for the Directory for the Application of the Principles of Norms of Ecumenism, commonly referred to as the "Vatican Ecumenical Directory," that were issued by "Pontifical" Council for Promoting the Unity of All Christians and signed by Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II on March 25, 1993. It is this "Vatican Ecumenical Directory" that provided the direct foundation for the junk agreement entered into by the counterfeit church of conciliarism's "Pontifical" Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the World Council of Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance. Here are some key passages from that "ecumenical directory":

22. The ecumenical movement is a grace of God, given by the Father in answer to the prayer of Jesus 35 and the supplication of the Church inspired by the Holy Spirit.36 While it is carried out within the general mission of the Church to unite humanity in Christ, its own specific field is the restoration of unity among Christians.37 Those who are baptized in the name of Christ are, by that very fact, called to commit themselves to the search for unity.38 Baptismal communion tends towards full ecclesial communion. To live our Baptism is to be caught up in Christ's mission of making all things one.

23. Catholics are invited to respond according to the directives of their pastors, in solidarity and gratitude with the efforts that are being made in many Churches and ecclesial Communities, and in the various organizations in which they cooperate, to reestablish the unity of Christians. Where ecumenical work is not being done, or not being done effectively, Catholics will seek to promote it. Where it is being opposed or hampered by sectarian attitudes and activities that lead to even greater divisions among those who confess the name of Christ, they should be patient and persevering. At times, local Ordinaries,39 Synods of Eastern Catholic Churches 40 and Episcopal Conferences may find it necessary to take special measures to overcome the dangers of indifferentism or proselytism.41 This may especially be needed in the case of young Churches. In all their contacts with members of other Churches and ecclesial Communities, Catholics will act with honesty, prudence and knowledge of the issues. This readiness to proceed gradually and with care, not glossing over difficulties, is also a safeguard against succumbing to the temptations of indifferentism and proselytism, which would be a failure of the true ecumenical spirit. . . .

166. Councils of Churches and Christian Councils are among the more permanent structures that are set up for promoting unity and ecumenical cooperation. A Council of Churches is composed of Churches 158 and is responsible to the Churches that set it up. A Christian Council is composed of other Christian groups and organizations as well as Churches. There are also other institutions for cooperation similar to these Councils but having other titles. Generally, Councils and similar institutions seek to enable their members to work together, to engage in dialogue, to overcome divisions and misunderstandings, to engage in prayer and work for unity, and to give, as far as possible, a common Christian witness and service. They are to be evaluated according to their activities and to the self-understanding set out in their constitutions. They have only the authority accorded to them by their constituent members. As a rule, they do not have responsibility for negotiations directed to the union of Churches.

167. Since it is desirable for the Catholic Church to find the proper expression for various levels of its relation with other Churches and ecclesial Communities, and since Councils of Churches and Christian Councils are among the more important forms of ecumenical cooperation, the growing contacts which the Catholic Church is having with Councils in many parts of the world are to be welcomed. (PRINCIPLES AND NORMS ON ECUMENISM.)

 

"Christian Churches"? There is only one Christian Church, the Catholic Church. No others. None at all. Not even the possession of true sacraments based upon true apostolic succession of bishops, as is the case in Orthodoxy, constitutes a a true Christian "church" as there is no true church outside of the Catholic Church, where alone, as Pope Leo XIII noted in Satis Cognitum, June 29, 1896, one finds "agreement and union of minds":

But He, indeed, Who made this one Church, also gave it unity, that is, He made it such that all who are to belong to it must be united by the closest bonds, so as to form one society, one kingdom, one body - "one body and one spirit as you are called in one hope of your calling (Eph. iv., 4). Jesus Christ, when His death was nigh at hand, declared His will in this matter, and solemnly offered it up, thus addressing His Father: "Not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in Me...that they also may be one in Us...that they may be made perfect in one" John xvii., 20-21 23). Yea, He commanded that this unity should be so closely knit and so perfect amongst His followers that it might, in some measure, shadow forth the union between Himself and His Father: "I pray that they all may be one as Thou Father in Me and I in Thee" (Ibid. 21).

Agreement and union of minds is the necessary foundation of this perfect concord amongst men, from which concurrence of wills and similarity of action are the natural results. Wherefore, in His divine wisdom, He ordained in His Church Unity of Faith; a virtue which is the first of those bonds which unite man to God, and whence we receive the name of the faithful - "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Eph. iv., 5). That is, as there is one Lord and one baptism, so should all Christians, without exception, have but one faith. And so the Apostle St. Paul not merely begs, but entreats and implores Christians to be all of the same mind, and to avoid difference of opinions: "I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no schisms amongst you, and that you be perfect in the same mind and in the same judgment" (I Cor. i., 10). Such passages certainly need no interpreter; they speak clearly enough for themselves. Besides, all who profess Christianity allow that there can be but one faith. It is of the greatest importance and indeed of absolute necessity, as to which many are deceived, that the nature and character of this unity should be recognized. And, as We have already stated, this is not to be ascertained by conjecture, but by the certain knowledge of what was done; that is by seeking for and ascertaining what kind of unity in faith has been commanded by Jesus Christ. (Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum, June 29, 1896.)

 

Various exponents of false ecumenism, such as Walter "Cardinal" Kasper, the President of the "Pontifical Council for Promoting the Unity of Christians between 2011 and 2010, have expressed that "mission and ecumenism" go together as alliances are forged with such pro-abortion, pro-contraception, pro-perversity organizations as the World Council of Churches. This is what he said in a valedictory set of remarks last year:

This year we celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the famous missionary conference in Edinburgh. Missionaries from all over the world gathered together and asked themselves: Why are we unable to bring about a renewed Pentecost? What are the main obstacles to spreading the Good News of the Gospel? Their answer was unanimous: The main obstacle was to be seen in the division among Christians. This insight became the starting point of the ecumenical movement of the 20th century, which the Second Vatican Council called an impulse not of the spirit of liberalism but an impulse of the Holy Spirit. So ecumenism is not an end in itself; mission and ecumenism are twins. We cannot preach reconciliation and peace and at the same time be divided and not reconciled among ourselves. (Kasper's Remarks.)

 

It was to condemn the movement of "modern ecumenism" begun at Edinburgh, Scotland, with the "World Missionary Conference," which was held between June 14-23, 1910, that Pope Pius XI wrote Mortalium Animos, January 6, 1928. Yet it is that this same conference has been praised repeatedly by none other than Ratzinger/Benedict several times in the past year (See Getting Bolder In His Apostasy.)

No "impulse" of God the Holy Ghost leads anyone to conclude that "mission and ecumenism are twins." Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen gave up his very life to seek the unconditional conversion of the Calvinists. So did the Martyrs of Gorkhum. Saint Josaphat gave up his life as a price for seeking the conversion of the Orthodox. Saint Francis de Sales, the Apostle of Charity, effected the conversion of thousands of Calvinists in Switzerland by his preaching. The very Mother of God herself sought the conversion of a Calvinist in France in the year 1656 (see If You Do Not Return to the True Faith, You Will Be Cast Into Hell!; They were not interested in "unity within diversity" or "reconciled diversity" or "multiplicity in unity" or whatever other slogan is conjured up by the theological maniacs in the counterfeit church of conciliarism. They were concerned about one thing and one thing only: complete fidelity to the mission undertaken by the Saint Peter and the other Apostles on the first Pentecost Sunday, which will always be the mission of the Catholic Church: the seeking with urgency of the unconditional conversion of non-Catholics to the true Church.

Kasper, though, was bold enough and absolutely shameless enough last year to blaspheme our first pope by daring to distort and misrepresent the true missionary work that he began after receiving gifts and fruits of God the Holy Ghost on the first Pentecost Sunday, equating Saint Peter's preaching to the Jews as exact same thing as contemporary ecumenism:

So we should ask the same question the crowd asked Peter on the first Pentecost in Jerusalem: What can we do and what should we do?

Before answering this question let me say this: Much has been done in the last hundred years. We can be grateful to the Spirit who guided us, who inspired and who impelled us. We can be grateful for the work of the World Council of Churches, we can be grateful for the Second Vatican Council and all the work which has been done since. With the help of God’s Spirit, we have been able to achieve much more in the last one hundred years than in many hundred years before. There is no reason for disappointment. Today Christians are closer together than ever before. The Spirit helped us to rediscover each other not as enemies, not as strangers or competitors but as Christians, as brothers and sisters in Christ. Today we pray together, we work together, we share daily life and we share it often in mixed confessional families, in our workplaces, in leisure time events and in many other circumstances.

Today at Pentecost we give thanks that the one Spirit was bestowed upon us, on Catholics, Anglicans and Protestants, and that we are all baptised in the one Spirit, but it should be also today a Spirit of tongues of fire, a Spirit which gives us burning hearts for unity. (Kasper's Remarks.)

 

So much apostasy. So little time. Here's a brief stab at pointing out what should be completely obvious to anyone who has not lost the sensus Catholicus or who is not attempting to do now what I did for many years with Karol Wojtyla/John Paul: to project into the mind and heart of the current false "pontiff" a Catholicism that simply is not there.

First, there are all types of "spirits." Only One proceedeth from the God the Father and God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, Who is the breath of the mutual love that exists between the First and Second Persons of the Most Blessed Trinity. God the Holy Ghost never contradicts Himself. He does inspire one true pope after another to speak with but one voice on the necessity of seeking the unconditional return of non-Catholics to the true Faith and then reverse Himself in "new" "outpouring" of the "spirit" in a "new Pentecost." God is immutable.

It is the conciliarists themselves who mock Papal Infallibility and who blaspheme the witness given to the Holy Faith by countless millions of martyrs who refused to make any compromises with any false religion at any time for any reason. Catholics know that God hates--He loathes--each and every single false religion. The First Commandment means something: it means that men must worship God exclusively through the true religion, which alone has the Deposit of Faith and is authorized by God Himself to dispense the true Sacraments. Men must adhere to everything in the Deposit of Faith to save their immortal souls. God the Holy Ghost does not inspire non-Catholics to do anything other than to convert to the true Faith.

Second, "We can be grateful for the work of the World Council of Churches. . . ."? The pro-abortion, pro-contraception, pro-perversity World Council of Churches? We must be grateful for the work of these heretics?

Don't think that this is simply the babbling of the apostate mind of Walter "Cardinal" Kasper. Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, who has authorized the new "agreement" with the World Council of Churches and himself has praised the work of the World Council of Churches, doing so on, of all days, the Feast of Saint Paul the Apostle (January 25, 2008), who the conciliar revolutionaries have tried to deconstruct into yet another "witness" in behalf of false ecumenism:

I am pleased to greet all of you who are gathered for the Ninth General Assembly of the World Council of Churches being held in Porto Alegre to reflect on the theme: God in your grace, transform the world. In a special way I greet the General Secretary, Dr Samuel Kobia, Archbishop Dadeus Grings, the Bishops of the Catholic Church in Brazil and all those who have worked for the realization of this important event. To all of you I express my heartfelt good wishes in the words of Saint Paul to the Romans: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"(Rom 1:7).

Mindful of our shared baptismal faith in the Triune God, the Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches seek ways to cooperate ever more effectively in the task of witnessing to God's divine love. After forty years of fruitful collaboration, we look forward to continuing this journey of hope and promise, as we intensify our endeavours towards reaching that day when Christians are united in proclaiming the Gospel message of salvation to all. As we together make this journey, we must be open to the signs of divine Providence and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for we know that "the holy objective of reconciling all Christians in the unity of the one and the only Church of Christ transcends human powers and gifts" (Unitatis Redintegratio, 24). Our trust therefore is solely in the prayer of Christ himself: "Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one" (Jn 17: 11).

During this General Assembly thousands of Christians join in this same prayer for unity. As we ask God in his grace to transform the world, we pray that he will bless our ecumenical dialogue with the progress we so ardently desire.

Assuring you of my spiritual closeness and reaffirming the Catholic Church's intention to continue a solid partnership with the World Council of Churches in its important contribution to the ecumenical movement, I invoke God's abundant blessings of peace and joy upon all of you. (Benedict XVI's greets to Dr. Samuel Kobia .)

 

"Shared baptismal faith in the Triune God"? How can Catholics share a "faith" with those who support abortion, divorce, contraception and perversity under cover of the civil law? How can Catholics share a "faith" with those who reject Papal Primacy, Papal Infallibility, Sacred Tradition, and the indissolubility of Sacred Scripture? How?

"Solid partnership with the World Council of Churches in its important contribution to the ecumenical movement"? Come on, wake up. How can the Catholic Church enter into any kind of "partnership" with those who promote sin, the very thing that caused Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to suffer in His Sacred Humanity during His Passion and Death and that caused His Most Blessed Mother's Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart to be pierced through and through with Seven Swords of Sorrow, under cover of the civil law?

Yet it is, of course, that this is not only what Walter "Cardinal" Kasper or his successor, Kurt "Cardinal" Koch, believe. It is what Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI believes. The false "pontiff," yes, that "suffering 'pope' of tradition," went to the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome on January 25, 2008, to engage in the forbidden act of "inter-religious prayer" with Dr. Samuel Kobia. Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict is a Catholic? Only the willfully blind or the intellectually dishonest can assert that Ratzinger/Benedict and his cast of conciliar apostates are members of the Catholic Church.

What did Saint Paul have to say about "praying" with those outside of the Catholic Faith. Oh, I am so glad that you bothered to ask. Consider these words of the late Bishop George Hay (1729-1811) of over two hundred years ago now:

St. Paul also exhorts us to "give thanks to God the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His beloved Son." (Col. 1:12) Where it is manifest that as the true Faith of Jesus Christ is the only light that conducts to salvation, and that it is only in His Kingdom — that is, in His Church — where that heavenly light is to be found, so all false religions are darkness; and that to be separated from the Kingdom of Christ is to be in darkness as to the great affair of eternity. And indeed what greater or more miserable darkness can a soul be in than to be led away by seducing spirits, and "departing from the faith of Christ, give heed to the doctrine of devils". (1 Tim. 4:1) St. Paul, deploring the state of such souls, says that they "have their understandings darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance: that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts". (Eph. 4:18)

On this account the same holy apostle exhorts us in the most pressing manner to take care not to be seduced from the light of our holy Faith by the vain words and seducing speeches of false teachers, by which we would certainly incur the anger of God; and, to prevent so great a misery, He not only exhorts us to walk as children of the light in the practice of all holy virtues, but expressly commands us to avoid all communication in religion with those who walk in the darkness of error. "Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the anger of God upon the children of unbelief; be ye not, therefore, partakers with them. For ye were theretofore darkness; but now light in the Lord; walk ye as the children of the light,

. . . and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness". (Eph. 5:6)

Here, then, we have an express command, not only not to partake with the unfruitful works of darkness — that is, not to join in any false religion, or partake of its rites or sacraments — but also, not to have any fellowship with its professors, not to be present at their meetings or sermons, or any other of their religious offices, lest we be deceived by them, and incur the anger of the Almighty, provoke Him to withdraw His assistance from us, and leave us to ourselves, in punishment of our disobedience.

(3) St. Paul, full of zeal for the good of souls, and solicitous to preserve us from all danger of losing our holy Faith, the groundwork of our salvation, renews the same command in his Epistle to the Romans, by way of entreaty, beseeching us to avoid all such communication with those of a false religion. He also shows us by what sign we should discover them, and points out the source of our danger from them: "Now I beseech you, brethren, to mark them who cause dissensions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and to avoid them; for they that are such serve not Our Lord Christ, but their own belly, and by pleasing speeches and good words seduce the hearts of the innocent". (Rom. 16:17)

See here whom we are to avoid — "those that cause dissensions contrary to the ancient doctrine"; all those who, hating, left the true Faith and doctrine which they had learned, and which has been handed down to us from the beginning by the Church of Christ, follow strange doctrines, and make divisions and dissensions in the Christian world. And why are we to avoid them? Because they are not servants of Christ, but slaves to their own belly, whose hearts are placed upon the enjoyments of this world, and who, by "pleasing speeches and good words, seduce the hearts of the innocent" — that is, do not bring good reasons or solid arguments to seduce people to their evil ways, so as to convince the understanding, for that is impossible; but practice upon their hearts and passions, relaxing the laws of the gospel, granting liberties to the inclinations of flesh and blood, laying aside the sacred rules of mortification of the passions and of self-denial, promising worldly wealth, and ease, and honors, and, by pleasing speeches of this kind, seducing the heart, and engaging people to their ways.

(4) The same argument and command the apostle repeats in his epistle to his beloved disciple Timothy, where he gives a sad picture, indeed, of all false teachers, telling us that they put on an outward show of piety the better to deceive, "having an appearance, indeed, of godliness, but denying the power thereof;" then he immediately gives this command: "Now these avoid: for of this sort are they that creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, who are led away with divers desires"; and adds this sign by which they may be known, that, not having the true Faith of Christ, and being out of His holy Church — the only sure rule for knowing the truth — they are never settled, but are always altering and changing their opinions, "ever learning, and never attaining to the knowledge of the truth"; because, as he adds, "they resist the truth, being corrupted in their mind, and reprobate concerning the Faith". (2 Tim. 3:5)

Here it is to be observed that, though the apostle says that silly weak people, and especially women, are most apt to be deceived by such false teachers, yet he gives the command of avoiding all communication with them in their evil ways, to all without exception, even to Timothy himself; for the epistle is directed particularly to him, and to him he says, as well as to all others, "Now these avoid", though he was a pastor of the church, and fully instructed by the apostle himself in all the truths of religion; because, besides the danger of seduction, which none can escape who voluntarily expose themselves to it, all such communication is evil in itself, and therefore to be avoided by all, and especially by pastors, whose example would be more prejudicial to others. (The Laws of God Forbidding All Communication in Religion With Those of a False Religion.)

 

This applies as much to "praying with" Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI and Walter Kasper and Kurt Koch as it does to "praying with" Dr. Samuel Kobia and everyone else in the world of Protestantism and the world of all other false religions. Don't try to put any "space" between Ratzinger/Benedict and Walter Kasper and Kurt Koch and "Monsignor" Andrew Tanya-Anan. They breathe as one the air of conciliar apostasy and as they issue one junk statement after another.

The "new" junk agreement, therefore, is nothing new. It is just a continued rejection of Catholicism and a manifestation of apostasy. Everything that these apostates believe has been condemned by the Catholic Church.

Bishop George Hay explained over two centuries ago now, God the Holy Ghost inspired Saint John the Evangelist to write as follows about "fellowship" with those who do not believe in the Catholic Faith:

Lastly, the beloved disciple St. John renews the same command in the strongest terms, and adds another reason, which regards all without exception, and especially those who are best instructed in their duty: "Look to yourselves", says he, "that ye lose not the things that ye have wrought, but that you may receive a full reward. Whosoever revolteth, and continueth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that continueth in the doctrine the same hath both the Father and the Son. If any man come to you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, nor say to him, God speed you: for he that saith to him, God speed you, communicateth with his wicked works". (2 John, ver. 8)

Here, then, it is manifest, that all fellowship with those who have not the doctrine of Jesus Christ, which is "a communication in their evil works" — that is, in their false tenets, or worship, or in any act of religion — is strictly forbidden, under pain of losing the "things we have wrought, the reward of our labors, the salvation of our souls". And if this holy apostle declares that the very saying God speed to such people is a communication with their wicked works, what would he have said of going to their places of worship, of hearing their sermons, joining in their prayers, or the like?

From this passage the learned translators of the Rheims New Testament, in their note, justly observe, "That, in matters of religion, in praying, hearing their sermons, presence at their service, partaking of their sacraments, and all other communicating with them in spiritual things, it is a great and damnable sin to deal with them." And if this be the case with all in general, how much more with those who are well instructed and better versed in their religion than others? For their doing any of these things must be a much greater crime than in ignorant people, because they know their duty better. (Bishop George Hay, The Laws of God Forbidding All Communication in Religion With Those of a False Religion.)

The spirit of Christ, which dictated the Holy Scriptures, and the spirit which animates and guides the Church of Christ, and teaches her all truth, is the same; and therefore in all ages her conduct on this point has been uniformly the same as what the Holy Scripture teaches. She has constantly forbidden her children to hold any communication, in religious matters, with those who are separated from her communion; and this she has sometimes done under the most severe penalties. In the apostolical canons, which are of very ancient standing, and for the most part handed down from the apostolical age, it is thus decreed: "If any bishop, or priest, or deacon, shall join in prayers with heretics, let him be suspended from Communion". (Can. 44)

Also, "If any clergyman or laic shall go into the synagogue of the Jews, or the meetings of heretics, to join in prayer with them, let him be deposed, and deprived of communion". (Can. 63) (Bishop George Hay, (The Laws of God Forbidding All Communication in Religion With Those of a False Religion.)

 

What does this mean to the conciliar revolutionaries? Nothing. Nothing at all. The "spirit" has led them to "new" and "more profound" understandings. Well, you betcha that the "spirit" has led them in such a manner. Unfortunately for them--and for those who follow them--the "spirit" who leads them is none other than the fallen angel whose bidding they do almost all of the time, which is why they can ignore Pope Pius XI's reiteration of the ban on the mania of "inter-religious prayer" services as stated in Mortalium Animos, January 6, 1928, for which Kasper and Ratzinger/Benedict have such a total contempt:

So, Venerable Brethren, it is clear why this Apostolic See has never allowed its subjects to take part in the assemblies of non-Catholics: for the union of Christians can only be promoted by promoting the return to the one true Church of Christ of those who are separated from it, for in the past they have unhappily left it. To the one true Church of Christ, we say, which is visible to all, and which is to remain, according to the will of its Author, exactly the same as He instituted it. During the lapse of centuries, the mystical Spouse of Christ has never been contaminated, nor can she ever in the future be contaminated, as Cyprian bears witness: "The Bride of Christ cannot be made false to her Spouse: she is incorrupt and modest. She knows but one dwelling, she guards the sanctity of the nuptial chamber chastely and modestly."The same holy Martyr with good reason marveled exceedingly that anyone could believe that "this unity in the Church which arises from a divine foundation, and which is knit together by heavenly sacraments, could be rent and torn asunder by the force of contrary wills." For since the mystical body of Christ, in the same manner as His physical body, is one, compacted and fitly joined together, it were foolish and out of place to say that the mystical body is made up of members which are disunited and scattered abroad: whosoever therefore is not united with the body is no member of it, neither is he in communion with Christ its head. (Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos, January 6, 1928.)

 

"During the lapse of centuries, the mystical Spouse of Christ has never been contaminated, nor can she ever in the future be contaminated." In other words, it is impossible for one to represent the Catholic Church, whether in an official or unofficial capacity, and knowingly contradict her teaching and continue to remain a member in her. Just as pro-aborts such as the late Edward Moore Kennedy expelled themselves from Holy Mother Church by their support of surgical baby-killing under cover of the civil law as a "woman's right to choose" without any formal declaration of excommunication, so is it the case that those who defect from the Faith on one point by means of what they believe--not by what they attempt to "declare" as binding of the Catholic faithful--from the Faith by virtue of having violated the Divine Positive Law. It is that simple. There is no "reconciliation" between Catholicism and conciliarism.

Need proof? Here's Paragraph Nine from Pope Leo XIII's Satis Cognitum once again:

The Church, founded on these principles and mindful of her office, has done nothing with greater zeal and endeavour than she has displayed in guarding the integrity of the faith. Hence she regarded as rebels and expelled from the ranks of her children all who held beliefs on any point of doctrine different from her own. The Arians, the Montanists, the Novatians, the Quartodecimans, the Eutychians, did not certainly reject all Catholic doctrine: they abandoned only a certain portion of it. Still who does not know that they were declared heretics and banished from the bosom of the Church? In like manner were condemned all authors of heretical tenets who followed them in subsequent ages. "There can be nothing more dangerous than those heretics who admit nearly the whole cycle of doctrine, and yet by one word, as with a drop of poison, infect the real and simple faith taught by our Lord and handed down by Apostolic tradition" (Auctor Tract. de Fide Orthodoxa contra Arianos).

The practice of the Church has always been the same, as is shown by the unanimous teaching of the Fathers, who were wont to hold as outside Catholic communion, and alien to the Church, whoever would recede in the least degree from any point of doctrine proposed by her authoritative Magisterium. Epiphanius, Augustine, Theodore :, drew up a long list of the heresies of their times. St. Augustine notes that other heresies may spring up, to a single one of which, should any one give his assent, he is by the very fact cut off from Catholic unity. "No one who merely disbelieves in all (these heresies) can for that reason regard himself as a Catholic or call himself one. For there may be or may arise some other heresies, which are not set out in this work of ours, and, if any one holds to one single one of these he is not a Catholic" (S. Augustinus, De Haeresibus, n. 88).

 

All one has to do is to persist in a belief contrary to the Faith to be banished from the bosom of the Church. Belief is bad enough. Speaking about one's beliefs that are contrary to the Faith and comparing them to what had been taught by the Catholic Church "in the past" demonstrates that there is knowledge of the Church's teaching and a desire to "move on" in accord with the "movement of the spirit." The conciliarists have condemned themselves.

Now I will certainly concede that the conciliarists and Protestants share one spirit: the devil as Pope Pius XII's Mystici Corporis, June 29, 1943, condemned the view that Protestants share the "same Spirit" with Catholics:

 

 

Actually only those are to be included as members of the Church who have been baptized and profess the true faith, and who have not been so unfortunate as to separate themselves from the unity of the Body, or been excluded by legitimate authority for grave faults committed. "For in one spirit" says the Apostle, "were we all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free." As therefore in the true Christian community there is only one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one Baptism, so there can be only one faith. And therefore, if a man refuse to hear the Church, let him be considered - so the Lord commands - as a heathen and a publican. It follows that those who are divided in faith or government cannot be living in the unity of such a Body, nor can they be living the life of its one Divine Spirit. (Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis, June 29, 1943.)

 

Dom Prosper Gueranger wrote this about the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, in his reflection on Thursday in Whitsun Week in The Liturgical Year:

The divine Spirit has been sent to secure unity to the bride of Christ; and we have seen have faithfully He fulfils His mission by giving to the members of the Church to be one, as He Himself is one. But the bride of a God, who is, as He calls Himself, the truth, must be in the truth, and can have no fellowship with error. Jesus entrusted His teachings to her care, and has instructed her in the person of the apostles. He said to them: 'All things whatsoever I have heard of My Father, I have made known to you.' And yet, if left unaided, how can the Church preserve free from all change, during the long ages of her existence, that word which Jesus has not written, that truth which He came from came from heaven to teach her? Experiences proves that everything changes here below; that written documents are open to false interpretations; and that unwritten traditions are frequently so altered in the course of time, as to defy recognition.

Here again we have a proof of our Lord's watchful love. In order to realize the wish He had to see us one, as He and His Father are one, He sent us His Spirit; and in order to keep us in the truth, He sent us this same Spirit who is called the Spirit of truth. 'When the Spirit of truth is come,' said He, 'He will teach you all truth.' And what is the truth which this Spirit will teach us? 'He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you.'

So that nothing of what the divine Word spoke to men is to be lost. The beauty of His bride is to be based on truth, for 'beauty' is the splendour of truth.' Her fidelity to her Jesus shall be of the most perfect kind; for if He be the truth, how could she ever be out of the truth? Jesus had said: 'I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you for ever; and He shall be in you.' It is by the Holy Ghost, then, that the Church is ever to possess the truth, and that nothing can rob her of it; for this Spirit, who is sent by the Father and the Son, will abide unceasingly with and in her.

The magnificent theory of St. Augustine comes most appropriately here. According to his teaching--which, after all, is but the explanation of the texts just cited--the Holy Ghost is the principle of the Church's life; and He, being the Spirit of truth, preserves and directs her in the truth, so that both her teaching and her practice cannot be other than expressions of the truth. He makes Himself responsible for her words, just as our spirit is responsible for what our tongue utters. Hence it is that the Church, by her union with the Holy Ghost, is so identified with truth, that the apostle did not hesitate to call her 'the pillar and ground of the truth'. The Christian, therefore, may well rest on the Church in all that regards faith. He knows that the Church is never alone; that she is always with the holy Spirit who lives within her; that her word is not her own, but the word of the Spirit, which is the word of Jesus.

Now, this word of Jesus is preserved in the Church by the Holy Ghost, and in two ways. He guards it as contained in the four Gospels, which the evangelists wrote under His inspiration. It is by His watchful care that these holy writings have been kept free from all changes during the past ages. The same is to be said of the other books of the new Testament, which were also written under the guidance of the same Spirit. Those of the old Testament are equally the result of the inspiration of the Holy Ghost: and, although they do not give us the words spoken by our Saviour during His mortal life, yet do they speak of Him, and foretell His coming, and contain, moreover, the primitive revelations made by God to mankind. The Books of sacred Writ are replete with mysteries, the interpretation of which is communicated to the Church by the Holy Ghost.

The other channel of Jesus' word is tradition. It was impossible for everything to be written; and even before the Gospels were composed, the Church was in existence. Tradition, like the written word itself, is from God; but unless the Spirit of truth watch over and protect it, how can it remain pure and intact? He therefore fixes it in the memory of the Church, He preserves it from any change: it is His mission; and thanks to the fidelity wherewith He fulfils His mission, the Church remains in possession of the whole treasure left her by her Spouse.

But it is not enough that the Church possesses the word, written and traditional: she must also have the understanding of that word, in order that she may explain it to her children. Truth came down from heaven that it might be communicated to men; for it is their light, and without it they would be in darkness, knowing not whither they are going. The Spirit of truth could not, therefore, be satisfied if the word of Jesus were kept as a hidden treasure; no, He will have it thrown open to men, that they may thence draw life to their souls. Consequently, the Church will have to be infallible in her teaching; for how can she be deceived herself, or deceive others, seeing it is the Spirit of truth who guides her in al things and speaks by her mouth? He is her soul; and we have already had St. Augustine telling us that wen the tongue speaks, the soul is responsible.

The infallibility of our holy mother the Church is the direct and immediate result of her having the spirit of truth abiding within her. It is the promise of the presence of the holy Spirit. The man who does not acknowledge the Church to be infallible, should, if he is consistent, admit that the Son of God has not been able to fulfil His promise, and that the Spirit of truth is a Spirit of error. But he that reasons thus, has strayed fro the path of life; he thought he was denying a prerogative to the Church, whereas, in reality, he was refused to believe God Himself. It is this that constitutes the sin of heresy. Want of due reflection may hide the awful conclusion; but the conclusion is strictly implied in his principle. The heretic is at variance with the Holy Ghost, because he is at variance with the Church; he may become once more a living member, by humbly returning to the bride of Christ; but at present he is dead, for the soul is not animating him. Let us again give ear to the great St. Augustine: 'It sometimes happens,' he says, 'that a member--say a hand, or a finger, or foot--is cut from the human body; tell me, does the soul follow the member that is thus severed? As long as it was in the body, it lived; now that it is cut off, it is dead. In the same manner, a Christian is a Catholic so long as he lives in the body (of the Church); cut off, he is a heretic; the Spirit follows not a member that is cut off.

Glory, then, be to the holy Spirit, who has conferred upon the bride the 'splendour of truth!' With regard to ourselves: could we, without incurring the greatest of dangers, put limits to the docility with which we receive the teachings which come to us simultaneously from 'the Spirit and the bride,' who are so indissolubly united? Whether the Church imitates what we are to believe, by showing us her own practice, or by simply expressing her sentiments, or by solemnly pronouncing a definition on the subject, we must receive her word with submission of heart. Her practice is ever in harmony with the truth, ad it is the Holy Ghost, her life-giving principle, that keeps it so; the utterance of her sentiments is but an aspiration of the same Spirit, who never leaves her; and as to the definitions she decrees, it is not she alone that decrees them, but the Holy Ghost who decrees them in and by her. If it be the visible head of the Church who utters the definition, we know that Jesus prayed that peer's faith might never fail, that He obtained it from the Father, and that He gave the Holy Ghost the mission of perpetuating the precious prerogative granted to Peter. If it be the sovereign Pontiff and bishops, assembled in council, who proclaim what is the faith on any given subject, it is the Holy Ghost who speaks by this collective judgment, make truth triumph, and puts error to flight. It tis this divine Spirit that has given to the bride to crush all heresies beneath her feet; it is He that, in all ages, has raised up within her learned men, who have confuted error whensoever or wheresoever it was broached.

So that our beloved mother the Church is gifted with infallibility; she is true, always and in all things; and she is indebted to Him who proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son. But there is another glory which she owes to Him. The bride of the thrice holy God could not but be holy. She is so; and it is from the Spirit of holiness that receives her holiness. Truth and holiness are inseparably united in God. Hence it is hat our Saviour, who has willed us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, and, creatures as we are, would have us take the infinite good as our model, prayed that we might be sanctified in the truth. (Dom Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year, Paschal Time Book III: Volume 9, pp. 393-399.)

 

Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI and the likes of his "cardinals" do not believe that God the Holy Ghost has directed the Fathers of the Church's legitimate councils to express doctrine in exactly the terms inspired by Him. They believe that the "human language" by which doctrine is expressed at any time is necessarily conditioned by the historical circumstances of the moment, meaning that dogmatic expressions made in one century may need further "modification" or "adaptation" in later centuries. This is, as I have noted repeatedly on this site, to blaspheme God the Holy Ghost, Who cannot contradict Himself and has not chosen to "speak" in a different, "more ambiguous" language now after speaking clearly and consistently for nearly two millennia.

To wit, Ratzinger/Benedict and Walter Kasper and Kurt Koch and Andrew Tanya-Anan do not believe that God the Holy Ghost directed these words to be promulgated by Pope Eugene IV at the Council of Florence on February 4, 1442:

It [the Holy Roman Church] firmly believes, professes, and teaches that the matter pertaining to the law of the Old Testament, of the Mosaic law, which are divided into ceremonies, sacred rites, sacrifices, and sacraments, because they were established to signify something in the future, although they were suited to the divine worship at that time, after our Lord's coming had been signified by them, ceased, and the sacraments of the New Testament began; and that whoever, even after the passion, placed hope in these matters of the law and submitted himself to them as necessary for salvation, as if faith in Christ could not save without them, sinned mortally. Yet it does not deny that after the passion of Christ up to the promulgation of the Gospel they could have been observed until they were believed to be in no way necessary for salvation; but after the promulgation of the Gospel it asserts that they cannot be observed without the loss of eternal salvation. All, therefore, who after that time observe circumcision and the Sabbath and the other requirements of the law, it declares alien to the Christian faith and not in the least fit to participate in eternal salvation, unless someday they recover from these errors. Therefore, it commands all who glory in the name of Christian, at whatever time, before or after baptism, to cease entirely from circumcision, since, whether or not one places hope in it, it cannot be observed at all without the loss of eternal salvation. Regarding children, indeed, because of danger of death, which can often take place, when no help can be brought to them by another remedy than through the sacrament of baptism, through which they are snatched from the domination of the Devil and adopted among the sons of God, it advises that holy baptism ought not to be deferred for forty or eighty days, or any time according to the observance of certain people, but it should be conferred as soon as it can be done conveniently, but so ,that, when danger of death is imminent, they be baptized in the form of the Church, early without delay, even by a layman or woman, if a priest should be lacking, just as is contained more fully in the decree of the Armenians. . . .

It firmly believes, professes, and proclaims that those not living within the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics cannot become participants in eternal life, but will depart "into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels" [Matt. 25:41], unless before the end of life the same have been added to the flock; and that the unity of the ecclesiastical body is so strong that only to those remaining in it are the sacraments of the Church of benefit for salvation, and do fastings, almsgiving, and other functions of piety and exercises of Christian service produce eternal reward, and that no one, whatever almsgiving he has practiced, even if he has shed blood for the name of Christ, can be saved, unless he has remained in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church. (Pope Eugene IV, Cantate Domino, Council of Florence, February 4, 1442.)

 

If Ratzinger/Benedict believed that God the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth Who is immutable, actually inspired these words to be proclaimed in the name of the Catholic Church by a true and legitimate Successor of Saint Peter, then he would refer to them when speaking to the Protestants and the Jews and the Orthodox to exhort them to convert. That Ratzinger/Benedict does not believe this and that he does not believe that it is even his mission as "pope" to be, that is, to to seek with urgency the unconditional conversion of all non-Catholics to the true Church, is proof, whether or not readers want to accept it, that he has defected from the Catholic Faith and that he is not a Catholic. Those who are not Catholics cannot be true, legitimate "popes" no matter how many fellow apostates "elect" them. Their words and pronouncements mean nothing because they are opposed to the Spirit of Truth, God the Holy Ghost.

In the meantime, of course, we must treat statements such as the one praised by "Monsignor" Andrew Tanya-anan of the "Pontifical" Council for Interreligious Dialogue as what it is, junk that must be sent straight into the junk bin.

Let us ask Our Lady, she who is the Queen of the Apostles, the men who began the missionary work of the Church on the first Pentecost Sunday by seeking the conversion of the Jews and all others in the world by baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, a missionary work that can never be "lost" or that has any kind of "expiration" date, for the graces to remain steadfast in our defense of the honor and glory and majesty of God when he is so blasphemed and offended by the words and deeds of men who bend over backwards to please non-Catholics as they fear not to offend Him by publicly uttering propositions that have been condemned by the authority of the Catholic Church.

Saint Bonaventure, whose feast we celebrate today, July 14, 2011, was a firm defender of the Catholic Faith, a contemporary and friend and co-worker of Saint Thomas Aquinas. A son of Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Bonaventure is, along with Saint Anthony of Padua, the seraphic saint's most brilliant followers, and one of  the most profound defenders of the doctrine of the Most Holy Eucharist. Although exceptionally brilliant and one of Holy Mother Church's most gifted theologians and teachers, Saint Bonaventure was more than anything a champion of humility rooted in a deep love of the Most Blessed Trinity and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And he was a master of the Scholasticism for which Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI and his fellow "new theologians" have such profound contempt.

May we, by imitating Saint Bonaventure's profound Eucharistic piety and tender devotion to Our Lady, storm Heaven by means of our Rosaries so that the darkness of the current crisis will pass sooner rather than later, conscious always of our need to make reparation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary for our own many sins.

Isn't it time to pray a Rosary now?

Our Lady, Queen of the Apostles, pray for us.

 

Immaculate Heart of Mary, triumph soon!

Vivat Christus Rex! Viva Cristo Rey!

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.

Saint John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Gabriel the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.

Saint Bonaventure, pray for us.

See also: A Litany of Saints