Present at the Demolition<br> An interview with Dr. Alice von Hildebrand

The Latin Mass ^ | Summer 2001 | Dr. Alice von Hildebrand

[Siobhan]

Let me add my ping to this. Her husband was a saint, and she is spot on in her critique.

With regard to Domestic Church's statement about the generational pain in the unfolding of the Novus Ordo, I know that my father and mother died a thousand deaths as the Church was twisted about by hierarchs, clergy, and religious whose loyalties were somewhere outside of the Church. What a cross so many have had to bear!

[redhead]

"The traditionalists are growing by leaps and bounds--and they are mostly comprised of the young. They have no vocation shortage and the men entering their priesthood are in the prime of life. It is the liberal Amchurch that is dying. It simply cannot reproduce itself and is comprised of a rapidly aging clergy."

I agree. The liberal bishops have empty seminaries, while those who are strict and faithful to the Magisterium have seminaries that are bulging at the seams. I can hardly wait...

[Askel5]

both Freemasons and Communists

Sisters ... Sisters ... there were never such devoted sisters.

[narses]

A reminder that sara's concerns regarding infiltration are not unfounded. Since they are not, shouldn't Pat B's "Index" article be re-examined in the light of reason rather than simple personal attacks?

[Catholicguy]

TLM: Dr. von Hildebrand, at the time that Pope John XXIII summoned the Second Vatican Council, did you perceive a need for a reform within the Church?

AVH: Most of the insights about this come from my husband. He always said that the members of the Church, due to the effects of original sin and actual sin, are always in need of reform. The Church’s teaching, however, is from God. Not one iota is to be changed or considered in need of reform.

<> I remember reading this in TLM when it first came out. I thought the question impertinent and the answer a tragic example of Pride

I cannot think of a single reason why this intelligent woman's personal opinion or the personal opinion of her intelligent husband ought to be considered revelant when opposed to the equally intelligent, but also Saintly, and orthodox, Pope John 23rd.

He, after all, occupied the seat of authority that is Divinely-Constituted<>

[Catholicguy]

Modernism itself was the fruit of the calamity of the Renaissance and the Protestant Revolt, and it took a long historical process to unfold. If you were to ask a typical Catholic in the Middle Ages to name a hero or heroine, he would answer with the name of a saint. The Renaissance began to change that. Instead of a saint, people would think of geniuses as persons to emulate, and with the oncoming of the industrial age, they would answer with the name of a great scientist.

<> With all due respect, Ma'am, TLM is trading on your reputation as an intellecttual to label an Ecuemnical Council a demolition. You happen to be correct that many, including especially TLM editors and subscribers, adhere to the influence and advice of intellectuals to oppose an Ecumenical Council but you do not appear to realise the trap into which you have walked<>

[Catholicguy]

<> Pope Pual has been described by some as one with great strength and patience. I recall some saying Jesus was weak....<>

[narses]

What did you perceive as in error in the following?

Most of the insights about this come from my husband. He always said that the members of the Church, due to the effects of original sin and actual sin, are always in need of reform. The Church’s teaching, however, is from God. Not one iota is to be changed or considered in need of reform.

Do you deny that enemies of the Church existed before, during and after V2? That they tried (and in some cases succeeded) in creating and using ambiguity to attack the True Church?

[Catholicguy]

<> All Ecumenical Councils are, similarly, from God. So are their decisions.

Call me a KJPL, but I value the thoughts and decisions of a Saintly Pope and the decisions of an Ecumenical Council over the personal opinions of lay intellectuals when it comes to this matter.

IMO, TLM used her as a hammer to beat upon the Divinely-Consituted authority and I think she, naively,allowed herself to be used (even while calling us Americans naive)

The error consists in thinking the Teaching of the Church is untouchable. Doctrine develops and the First Vatican Council finished with its work uncompleted.

The "not one iota is to be changed..." in relation to the Church's Teaching, sounds, to me at least, like the complaints of the Orthodox in re "changing" the Creed.

Doctrine develops and our ever-deeping understandimg of the Original Deposit of Faith is infallibly guided by the Holy Spirit and nobodyincluding intellectuals, can contend against an Ecumenical Council. Period.<>

[Catholicguy]

<> All Ecumenical Councils are, similarly, from God. So are their decisions.

Call me a KJPL, but I value the thoughts and decisions of a Saintly Pope and the decisions of an Ecumenical Council over the personal opinions of lay intellectuals when it comes to this matter.

IMO, TLM used her as a hammer to beat upon the Divinely-Consituted authority and I think she, naively,allowed herself to be used (even while calling us Americans naive)

The error consists in thinking the Teaching of the Church is untouchable. Doctrine develops and the First Vatican Council finished with its work uncompleted.

The "not one iota is to be changed..." in relation to the Church's Teaching, sounds, to me at least, like the complaints of the Orthodox in re "changing" the Creed.

Doctrine develops and our ever-deeping understandimg of the Original Deposit of Faith is infallibly guided by the Holy Spirit and nobodyincluding intellectuals, can contend against an Ecumenical Council. Period.<>

[redhead]

"“Gaudete, iterum dico vobis, Gaudete.”"

"Rejoice! Again I say, Rejoice!"

[redhead]

"With the loss of a sense of the supernatural, there is a loss of the sense of a need for sacrifice today. The closer one comes to God, the greater should be one’s sense of sinfulness. The further one gets from God, as today, the more we hear the philosophy of the new age: “I’m OK, You’re OK.” This loss of the inclination to sacrifice has led to the obscuring of the Church’s redemptive mission. Where the Cross is downplayed, our need for redemption is given hardly a thought."

Just thought this bore repeating...

[RobbyS]

I was surprised that you overlooked this:

It is one of the fears I have about traditional Catholics. Some flirt with fanaticism. A fanatic is one who considers truth to be his personal possession instead of God’s gift. We are servants of the truth, and it is as servants that we seek to share it.

I am very concerned that there are “fanatical” Catholics who use the Faith and the truth it proclaims as an intellectual toy. An authentic appropriation of the truth always leads to a striving for holiness. The Faith, in this present crisis, is not an intellectual chess game. For anyone not striving for holiness, that’s all it will ever be. Such people do more harm to the Faith, particularly if they are proponents of the traditional Mass.

[narses]

You never did answer:

Do you deny that enemies of the Church existed before, during and after V2? That they tried (and in some cases succeeded) in creating and using ambiguity to attack the True Church?

[Catholicguy]

Do you deny that enemies of the Church existed before, during and after V2?

<> I assumed this part was rhetorical<>

That they tried (and in some cases succeeded) in creating and using ambiguity to attack the True Church

<> I am not sure what you are getting at. I htink I do, but, could you elaborate a bit?<>

[Catholicguy]

<> LOL, I didn't. I was just focusing on another aspect of the piece<>

[narses]

Ping.

[narses]

Ping Two.

[narses]

Here you go "deacon".

[american colleen]

The Faith, in this present crisis, is not an intellectual chess game. For anyone not striving for holiness, that’s all it will ever be. Such people do more harm to the Faith, particularly if they are proponents of the traditional Mass.

I love Alice Von Hildebrand. I have a couple of books by her husband Dietrich... he's brilliant as well.