[Maximilian]

This is really well done. And amazingly, Mario Derksen is a very young guy, possibly still in his early twenties, or not much older. Many in the younger generation are starting to wake up. A good friend of mine is a young man in his early twenties who left a New Mass seminary and moved over to traditional Catholicism. Like Mario Derksen, he was not raised in a traditional Catholic family, or even a practicing Catholic family at all. I am astounded when I realize how much they have learned in so short a time.

This article is a good short summary of the effect that false modern philosophies have had on JPII's theology. Everyone can agree that what we get from the Vatican today is "phenomenological personalism," even if some disagree whether it is good or bad. Fr. Richard Hogan, the big defender of the "theology of the body," admits the same but says that it is a good thing. I agree with Mario Derksen that it is ultimately incompatible with Catholicism. And I especially agree that the role of the supreme pontiff is NOT to propose speculative philosophical theories to the faithful, but rather to guard and protect the deposit of the Catholic faith.

[sinkspur]

And amazingly, Mario Derksen is a very young guy, possibly still in his early twenties, or not much older

LOL!! "Early twenties" = "think's he's smart but he ain't."

That is evidenced by Dirksen's open sedevacantism.

Perhaps he'll complete his education and realize that he is outside the Church, and he'll come back and work within.

[wideawake]

Mario Derksen is a sedevacantist.

Additionally, he lacks formal training in moderate realism, the perennial philosophy of the Church.

The concept that Christ, through His Incarnation, is closely united with all creation is hardly an heretical notion.

It is a Catholic one and preeminently a Franciscan one, and is articulated in similar terms by St. Bonaventure, a Doctor of the Church and the intellectual father of Franciscan Neoplatonism.

I need hardly point out that phenomenology began as Husserl's effort to return to Plato. I personally prefer the Thomistic/Aristotelian approach to moderate realism but I cannot pretend, as Derksen does, that the Augustinian/Platonist view is either illegitimate or unfruitful.

One would be more justified in arguing that Derksen's position, which implies that Christ is not united to the world he created, smells of Marcionism, Manichaeanism and Catharism.

One might also add that these heresies also rejected the authority of the Holy See and promoted schism.

[TheCrusader]

"CNS News reported the following: "Pope John Paul II issues Call for Ecological Conversion . ."

Are you listening, Ralph Nader? After you lose your next Presidential bid there's a nice cushy job in Rome waiting for you; 'Pontifical Advisor On Ecological Affairs'.

O.K., now that I vented my sarcasm I must say that this Pope spends far too much time philosophising about humanitarian and natural affairs, and expends far too little energy addressing the real problems facing the Catholic Church, such as worldwide Islamic persecution of Christians, the scandalous abuse of Catholic children by clergy, rampant clerical homosexuality, progressive theology, disregard of Vatican directives by American bishops, the sorrowful closing of Church doors, the general loss of faith in the Eucharist, sparse attendance at Mass, pro-abortion politicians, etc, etc.

It seems there's a leak in the roof of the Catholic Church, and the Holy Father is busy buying buckets to contain the water instead of calling a carpenter to fix the problem.

[Cap'n Crunch]

This article is well done? It's a screed. I didn't even make it past the first paragraph. He could have gotten his point across better without going on the attack.

[AskStPhilomena]

"I especially agree that the role of the supreme pontiff is NOT to propose speculative philosophical theories to the faithful, but rather to guard and protect the deposit of the Catholic faith."

With statements like that, it won't be long before you're labeled "schismatic" by our modernist brethren.
According to the new religion, if you don't blindly follow every innovation endorsed by the Vatican you are "disloyal" at the very least.

[Lauren BaRecall]

Thanks very much for the ping. :o)

I must admit that I don't have the time to hack through the whole article, but I'm confident that I read enough to realize that the article is full of errors and misconceptions.

Mario Dirksen does not believe in the infallibility of Vatican II, or the validity of the Mass of Paul VI. His writing is not thoroughly reasoned, and is very emotional in nature. Particularly dangerous is his use of materials from a schismatic group (Society of St. Pius X), as a source for the development of some of his positions.

By the way, I think the major problem that some people have with the "New Mass," and with Vatican II, is the liberalism that ended up surrounding them. Unfortunately, many things from Vatican II were intentionally taken out of context and misused by libs to further their own agenda. I think it's important to see that neither the Mass, nor Vatican II generally, *gave* us liberalism, but rather, that liberalism hijacked them. We English speaking people were cheated by the ICEL (International Committee for English in the Liturgy - I've been following this fight for years!) translations of the Editio Typica of the Missale Romanum. When I hear the Latin directly translated into English, the current Mass is very beautiful, and the language is sacred. We have the libs amongst the American Bishops to thank for the watered down English version, as well as for innovations such as "Communion in the hand." We've *really* been ripped off!

I support the work of groups such as Adoramus, that have labored for years to obtain an accurate translation of the Mass for liturgical use. I also support Pope John Paul's promulgation of the right of the faithful to attend the Latin Tridentine Mass. I maintain that words such as "venial" and "mortal" lets a person know where they stand, as opposed to "lesser" and "greater." And it's a CHALLICE, not a cup, for heaven's sake!

Don't get me wrong, I'm on the right wing, but it's a right that's rightly balanced.

I also think that, among other things, Mario just doesn't get the truth that everything really *is* a mystery. He also doesn't understand doctrinal development. It's not *new* doctrine, but rather an understanding of a doctrine on a deeper level, or a particular aspect of it.

On a final note, Mario likes St. Thomas Aquinas, but he needs to realize that if there was no such thing as doctrinal development, Aquinas would have been branded as a heretic, rather than proclaimed a Doctor of the Church.

So much to say, and so little time....

[Lauren BaRecall]

Surely, this must be the "new springtime" we keep hearing about. The Church has so blossomed in this "springtime" that worry about heresy can be replaced by worry about environmental issues.

This is plain darn silly. In Genesis, God places Adam as the steward of creation. The Pope is well within the scope of his job description, when he reminds us of the responsibility we have in this regard.