Posted on 10/22/2025 8:45:43 PM PDT by ebb tide
In his 1910 encyclical on the Sillon movement, Notre Charge Apostolique, St. Pius X wrote that in the midst of great turmoil in the political and spiritual realms, the real solution is to restore the Christian structures that the revolutionaries had shattered:
“However, let not these priests be misled, in the maze of current opinions, by the miracles of a false Democracy. Let them not borrow from the Rhetoric of the worst enemies of the Church and of the people, the high-flown phrases, full of promises; which are as high-sounding as unattainable. Let them be convinced that the social question and social science did not arise only yesterday; that the Church and the State, at all times and in happy concert, have raised up fruitful organizations to this end; that the Church, which has never betrayed the happiness of the people by consenting to dubious alliances, does not have to free herself from the past; that all that is needed is to take up again, with the help of the true workers for a social restoration, the organisms which the Revolution shattered, and to adapt them, in the same Christian spirit that inspired them, to the new environment arising from the material development of today’s society. Indeed, the true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators: they are traditionalists.”
The true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries nor innovators, they are traditionalists.
Today, those who clamor for married priests, women’s ordinations, and the recognition of same-sex marriage are obviously innovators, but they are treated as the true friends of Rome.
Today, those who clamor for married priests, women’s ordinations, and the recognition of same-sex marriage are obviously innovators, but they are treated as the true friends of Rome. These supposed friends of Rome seldom condemn any religious viewpoints — whether they be Protestant, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, or Jewish — other than one: these pretend friends of Rome never stop condemning Traditional Catholics.
If we were dealing with political factions, we could of course understand how innovators and traditionalists could move in and out of favor depending upon the ruling party. But in the realm of Catholicism the matter is far different because the entire religion depends upon a foundation of immutable, unadulterated truth. Pope Leo XIII’s 1896 encyclical “on the unity of the Church,” Satis Cognitum, provided the explanation for why this must be the case:
“For such is the nature of faith that nothing can be more absurd than to accept some things and reject others. Faith, as the Church teaches, is ‘that supernatural virtue by which, through the help of God and through the assistance of His grace, we believe what He has revealed to be true, not on account of the intrinsic truth perceived by the natural light of reason, but because of the authority of God Himself, the Revealer, who can neither deceive nor be deceived’ (Conc. Vat., Sess. iii., cap. 3). If then it be certain that anything is revealed by God, and this is not believed, then nothing whatever is believed by divine Faith: for what the Apostle St. James judges to be the effect of a moral deliquency, the same is to be said of an erroneous opinion in the matter of faith. ‘Whosoever shall offend in one point, is become guilty of all’ (Ep. James ii., 10). Nay, it applies with greater force to an erroneous opinion. For it can be said with less truth that every law is violated by one who commits a single sin, since it may be that he only virtually despises the majesty of God the Legislator. But he who dissents even in one point from divinely revealed truth absolutely rejects all faith, since he thereby refuses to honour God as the supreme truth and the formal motive of faith.”
If we reject even a single point of divinely revealed truth, we reject the entire religion because we refuse to honor God as the “supreme truth and the formal motive of faith.” Accordingly, the very nature of the Catholic Faith allows us to apply St. Pius X’s statement to the Church: the true friends of the Catholic Church are neither revolutionaries nor innovators, but traditionalists.
Naturally, the innovators and revolutionaries are not content to merely undermine the foundations of the Faith. Over the past sixty years, they have also succeeded in convincing the Vatican to openly persecute Traditional Catholics for refusing to accept the novelties inspired by Vatican II.
Although we could comfortably rely on St. Pius X and Pope Leo XIII as final authorities on this matter, the crisis that has unfolded since Vatican II further demonstrates that traditionalists are the true friends of Rome. This is evident through the way in which Traditional Catholics differentiate themselves from most other Catholics by: following and defending Church teaching, respecting the Church’s moral teaching, and defending the foundations of the Faith.
Following and Defending Church Teaching. Catholics are required to believe what the Catholic Church teaches. When they do not, they not only imperil their own souls but also scandalize others. Unfortunately, if we consider the following partial list of infallible Catholic teachings from Dr. Ludwig Ott’s Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, it should be evident that many Catholics (including high-ranking clergy) reject one or more essential truths:
The staggering number of Catholics who reject one or more essential truths of the Faith would be tragic enough, but the problem is even more scandalous because the Church’s hierarchy has done so little to rectify the situation. Today, the single greatest defense of these immutable truths comes from Traditional Catholics who, as a group, refuse to reject any Catholic truth. Unsurprisingly, then, those who most vehemently attack Traditional Catholics also reject one or more of these non-negotiable truths (or others).
Without the witness of Traditional Catholics, it would be far more likely that non-Catholics would conclude that the Church is populated almost exclusively by those who no longer believe Catholic moral teaching. Were this to happen, what remains of the Church’s already damaged moral authority would completely vanish.
Respecting the Church’s Moral Teaching. Apart from defending the Church’s dogmas, Traditional Catholics are far more likely than other Catholics to adhere to the Church’s teaching on divorce, contraception, abortion, and other morality issues. We have known this for decades based on plainly observable reality as well as various studies. In the eyes of most non-Catholics, the rejection of Catholic moral teaching generally speaks louder than the rejection of Catholic teaching on, for example, Transubstantiation or sanctifying grace. In other words, the world knows that Biden and Pelosi are bad Catholics for supporting abortion, but would have little basis for evaluating their positions on the points of dogma noted from Dr. Ludwig Ott’s book above.
The fact that the Church’s hierarchy ostensibly defends and even honors those who reject Catholic moral teaching magnifies the scandal. Without the witness of Traditional Catholics, it would be far more likely that non-Catholics would conclude that the Church is populated almost exclusively by those who no longer believe Catholic moral teaching. Were this to happen, what remains of the Church’s already damaged moral authority would completely vanish.
Defending the Foundations of the Faith. Beyond defending the Church’s dogmas and respecting its moral teaching, Traditional Catholics provide an even more important service to the Church by defending the foundations of the Faith. As Pope Pius XII taught in his 1950 encyclical “concerning some false opinions threatening to undermine the foundations of Catholic doctrine,” Humani Generis, certain errors could undermine the foundations of the Faith. Among these, he specifically listed historicism, which illegitimately limits the applicability of Catholic teaching to specific historical circumstances, and an improper pursuit of Christian unity (which we know today as false ecumenism).
Surely this unmistakable sign of diabolical disorientation is a sign from Heaven that Traditional Catholics are being persecuted for telling the truth, just as Jesus was. We pray that Leo XIV will have the grace to see that sign and the fortitude to respond as a Catholic who would rather die than to perpetuate one of the greatest evils in salvation history.
With these two weapons — historicism and false ecumenism — the innovators and revolutionaries have seemingly undermined the foundations of Catholic doctrine for the majority of Catholics. This reality is seldom more clear than when Traditional Catholics defend the teaching of the pre-Vatican II popes: the response from innovators and revolutionaries is typically along the lines that the teachings of the pre-Vatican II popes no longer apply today (historicism) and/or that Christian unity demands that we no longer insist on those teachings (false ecumenism). But if the truths of the pre-Vatican II popes can change in that way, then there is little real foundation for any Catholic truths other than, perhaps, those specifically mentioned in the Apostles’ Creed.
Naturally, the innovators and revolutionaries are not content to merely undermine the foundations of the Faith. Over the past sixty years, they have also succeeded in convincing the Vatican to openly persecute Traditional Catholics for refusing to accept the novelties inspired by Vatican II. The charges brought against Traditional Catholics are often along the lines that we reject religious liberty and false ecumenism, both of which essentially tell us that all souls should be able to practice their religious beliefs according to their consciences without coercion from Rome. We need to emphasize the diabolical disorientation of this: only Traditional Catholics are punished by Rome for following their consciences and practicing their religion. And the religion for which we are persecuted happens to be the same one practiced by virtually all Catholics until Vatican II.
Surely this unmistakable sign of diabolical disorientation is a sign from Heaven that Traditional Catholics are being persecuted for telling the truth, just as Jesus was. We pray that Leo XIV will have the grace to see that sign and the fortitude to respond as a Catholic who would rather die than to perpetuate one of the greatest evils in salvation history. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
Ping
I think this is an emotional issue ip high and facts only get in the way, hence facts are ignored.
We do this to choose a sin over suffering a little and honoring God....every time.
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