My Statement towards the current crisis in the Church
Introduction
Firstly, I wish to state that I am obedient to both the
ordinary and extraordinary magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church, as dictated
through the centuries by Sacred Scripture, Papal encyclicals and letters, and
Ecumenical Councils.
The Holy Father
I consider the current Holy Father, Pope John Paul II,
the existing valid Pope and I am obedient to him in his authority as the
successor of St. Peter. I consider him to be very holy man, and condone in the
strongest terms his teaching in upholding morality and the doctrine of Christ in
this decadent society of ours. I am not in any way a sedevacantist, who believe
the Holy See to be vacant, something I consider to contradict our Lord's very
words in which He said He would always be with his Church, to the end of the
age.
What crisis?
However, I consider the Holy Father should use his God
given authority in disciplining the sons and daughters of the Church more
effectively. For instance, Hans Kung is still a Roman Catholic priest, even
though he is considered a heretic and a schismatic by orthodox Roman Catholics.
People like Hans Kung teach error and poison, leading God's flock astray into
the hands of the Father of lies himself, Satan, and should removed. The Church
of Christ is a Church of sinners, but sinners striving for perfection, set apart
from the world in union with Christ, our Lord. Dissenters are no longer
Catholics, they are colluding with the world against the bride of Christ and
should be charitably put aside to protect the rest of the children of God.
Parents would object to poison being fed to their children and would confront
those planting it; why can't the Vicar of Christ, our Holy Father do the
same?
Moreover, the current state of liturgy in the Church is deeply
distressing. The reforms following the Second Vatican Council have contradicted
the Council itself in many ways, such as the suppression of Latin and the
traditional liturgy as a whole, and gone far beyond it as well - the smashing of
sanctuaries, Communion in the hand to standing communicants, lay "Eucharistic
Ministers", banal music, etc. The average Sunday Mass has more to do with the
reforms of Luther and Cranmer than the genuine liturgical movement of the last
century.
The great upheaval in the liturgy, together with a catechetical
revolution and the rise of modernism and relativism, has almost emptied churches
of the faithful. The "right" have seemingly stayed at home, too disturbed to
attend Mass in fear of the sacrileges that are performed there, or stray into
schism. The "left" drift off into sects, Protestant communities or loose the
faith altogether. Those remaining have little of the faith left: a recent survey
in America said that only 30% of American Catholic believed in
transubstantiation (that the bread and wine are truly and substantially changed
into the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ at the consecration) - which
means, of course, that 70% of church-goers have lost the faith! We are, I'm
afraid, in the midst of a terrible heresy, modernism, the "synthesis of all
heresies" as St. Pius X terms it in Pascendi Gregis. Even Pope Paul VI,
champion of the Second Vatican Council, has stated that the "smoke of Satan" has
entered the Church which has switched from "self-criticism to self-destruction".
Maybe some hard facts are in order:
Statistics in England and
Wales:
|
1944 |
1954 |
1964 |
1974 |
1984 |
1996 |
| Catholic Population |
2,372,074 |
2,939,900 |
3,827,000 |
4,162,942 |
4,220,262 |
4,134,000 |
| Mass Attendance |
No figure |
1,886,600
(1959) |
2,114,219
(1966) |
1,752,730 |
1,512,553 |
1,111,077 |
| Baptisms |
71,604 |
92,380 |
137,673 |
80,587 |
71,698 |
67,412 |
| Conversions |
8,722 |
11,920 |
12,348 |
5,253 |
5,146 |
5,180 |
| Marriages |
30,946 |
37,921 |
45,592 |
36,566 |
28,061 |
15,522 |
| Priests |
6,030 |
6,800 |
7,714 |
7,453 |
6,816 |
5,712 |
| Ordinations |
178 |
219 |
230 |
146 |
92 |
72
(1994) |
| First Communions |
No figure |
No figure |
90,776
(1969) |
87,592 |
53,873 |
No figure |
| Confirmations |
No figure |
No figure |
89,984 |
69,884 |
47,084 |
No figure |
(Diocesan figures submitted to
the National Statistics Centre).
And this is against a background of
rising figures in the mid-sixties! Moreover, towards other countries (e.g.
France, Holland, Italy) these figures are relatively good in comparison. The
decline of the Church since the liturgical reforms is truly devastating: every
year 55,000 Catholics stop attending Mass in England & Wales alone.
I am a Lefebvrist?
No, I am not. Although I commend Mgr. Lefebvre's
efforts in preserving tradition and fighting the neo-modernist forces since
Vatican II, I do however deplore the illicit consecrations of 1988 that he
performed in ordaining four Bishops without Papal approval. Although I
disapprove of their current status, I do sincerely pray for a reconciliation
between Mgr. Lefebvre's Society of St. Pius X and the Holy See.
So, what's the solution?
In order to pull out of this heresy, we must:
- deepen our faith and love for our Lord Jesus Christ, especially in His
Real Presence in the Eucharist. Take up Eucharistic adoration, praying in
front of the tabernacle and especially when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed
for exposition.
- pray every day to God, and ask our Lady and all the saints for their most
gracious intercession and prayers. Pray the rosary, if you find it fruitful,
or other similar prayers, and be mindful of the ever living presence of
God.
- deepen our love for Christ's Mystical Body, the Church, her sacraments and
her glorious traditional liturgy. Learn the lessons of history, of heresies
coming and going, and stand up for the faith of the Church as the very
doctrines of Christ Himself.
- read the sacred scriptures, lives and writings of the saints and other
spiritual material to deepen our own spiritual awareness and inner sanctity,
as St. Paul says: "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil
2:12). To think we can avoid being infected by the heresy of modernism when
people around us have fallen by the wayside is an expression of pride, not
faith.
- remain in communion with and obedient to the Holy Father, the Pope. If
anything he does distresses you, then appeal to him, write letters and pray
for him and for all the clergy. If God spares the world for another 1000
years, then Christ has promised us that the Catholic Church will too be there,
teaching and saving souls, built on the rock of Peter. Where those who have
broke communion with the Holy Father will be, God only knows.
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Last modified 10th January 1999, by David Joyce.