| Devotion to Our Lady |
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AN EXAMINATION AND CRITIQUE OF THE "SYNTHESIS REPORT"
The Final Document produced at the end of the 2023 Synod on Synodality
CONTENTS THUS FAR (scroll down for the latest article)
Article 1 : Introduction to this Commentary and Critique
Article 2 : The Modernist Roots of the Final Document
The Final Document produced at the end of the 2023 Synod on Synodality
CONTENTS THUS FAR (scroll down for the latest article)
Article 1 : Introduction to this Commentary and Critique
Article 2 : The Modernist Roots of the Final Document
Article 1
INTRODUCTION TO THIS COMMENTARY AND CRITIQUE
INTRODUCTION TO THIS COMMENTARY AND CRITIQUE
The Synod ― A Knotty Problem!
Our Lady Untier of Knots, pray for us! Mary Untier of Knots or Mary Undoer of Knots, is the name of both a Marian devotion and a Baroque painting which represents that devotion. Before we get into the nitty-gritty-knotty problem of the Synod Final Document, first a little a history and a little story!
The story of the Devotion to Mary, Untier of Knots begins with the German nobleman Wolfgang Langenmantel (1568-1637). For some years, he had been married to the noblewoman Sophie Imoff, but by the year 1612 the couple was on the verge of a divorce. To save their marriage, Wolfgang decided to pay a visit to Father Jakob Rem, a Jesuit priest who lived at the monastery and university of Ingolstadt, located around 40 miles (70 kilometers) north of Augsburg in Bavaria, Germany.
Over a period of 28 days, Wolfgang visited Father Rem four times and received advice from the holy priest, who was respected for his wisdom, piety and extraordinary intelligence. In fact, Father Rem was believed to have experienced an apparition of Mary, in the course of which she appeared to him under the title of “Mother Thrice Admirable.”
During their meetings, Wolfgang and Father Rem would pray together and venerate the Virgin Mary. On the day of their last visit together, September 28th, 1615, Father Rem had been praying in the chapel of the monastery before an image of the Virgin Mary under the title of “Our Lady of the Snows.” When the two men met, Wolfgang gave his wedding ribbon to Father Rem. In the marriage ceremony of that time and place, the maid of honor joined together the arms of the bride and groom with a ribbon in order to represent their invisible union for the rest of their lives. In a solemn ritual act, Father Rem took Wolfgang’s wedding ribbon and lifted it up, while at the same time untying the knots of the ribbon one by one. As Father Rem smoothed out the ribbon, it became intensely white. Not long after this happening, Wolfgang and Sophie were able to avoid a divorce and continue their marriage.
Our Lady Untier of Knots, pray for us! Mary Untier of Knots or Mary Undoer of Knots, is the name of both a Marian devotion and a Baroque painting which represents that devotion. Before we get into the nitty-gritty-knotty problem of the Synod Final Document, first a little a history and a little story!
The story of the Devotion to Mary, Untier of Knots begins with the German nobleman Wolfgang Langenmantel (1568-1637). For some years, he had been married to the noblewoman Sophie Imoff, but by the year 1612 the couple was on the verge of a divorce. To save their marriage, Wolfgang decided to pay a visit to Father Jakob Rem, a Jesuit priest who lived at the monastery and university of Ingolstadt, located around 40 miles (70 kilometers) north of Augsburg in Bavaria, Germany.
Over a period of 28 days, Wolfgang visited Father Rem four times and received advice from the holy priest, who was respected for his wisdom, piety and extraordinary intelligence. In fact, Father Rem was believed to have experienced an apparition of Mary, in the course of which she appeared to him under the title of “Mother Thrice Admirable.”
During their meetings, Wolfgang and Father Rem would pray together and venerate the Virgin Mary. On the day of their last visit together, September 28th, 1615, Father Rem had been praying in the chapel of the monastery before an image of the Virgin Mary under the title of “Our Lady of the Snows.” When the two men met, Wolfgang gave his wedding ribbon to Father Rem. In the marriage ceremony of that time and place, the maid of honor joined together the arms of the bride and groom with a ribbon in order to represent their invisible union for the rest of their lives. In a solemn ritual act, Father Rem took Wolfgang’s wedding ribbon and lifted it up, while at the same time untying the knots of the ribbon one by one. As Father Rem smoothed out the ribbon, it became intensely white. Not long after this happening, Wolfgang and Sophie were able to avoid a divorce and continue their marriage.
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The Painting of Our Lady Untier of Knots
Some years later, Wolfgang’s grandson, Hieronymus Ambrosius Langenmantel (Canon of St. Peter's 1666-1709), who was himself a priest and canon law doctor, decided to donate a family altar to the Church of St. Peter am Perlach in Augsburg, in commemoration of the turn of the century in the year 1700. Such donations were a common tradition at the time. The altar piece was dedicated to “the Blessed Virgin of Good Counsel” and Father Hieronymus wanted it to represent the history of the Langenmantel family. Additionally, a painter, Johann Melchior Georg Schmittdner, was commissioned to provide a painting for the family altar. He decided to base his painting on the story of Wolfgang, Sophie and Father Rem. Therefore, Schmittdner depicts the Virgin Mary standing on the crescent moon while angels present her with the knots of a long ribbon representing married life. While she unties the knots, she rests her foot on the head of a “knotted” snake. The serpent represents the devil, and her treatment of him fulfills the prophecy in Genesis 3:15: “I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.” The crushing of the serpent illustrates that Mary is the Immaculate Conception, since she as the one exempt by special grace from all stain of Original Sin is the serpent’s eternal opponent. The dove, hovering above Mary’s circle of stars, is a reference to Mary as the Bride of the Holy Spirit. Underneath Mary, the worried noble Wolfgang, accompanied by the Archangel Raphael, walks towards a monastery. Angels assist the Blessed Mother; one presents the knots of our lives to her, while another angel presents the ribbon, freed from knots, to us. The concept of Mary untying knots is derived from a 2nd century work by the Doctor of the Church, St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Adversus haereses (Against Heresies). In Book III, Chapter 22, he presents a parallel between Eve and Mary, describing how “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through Faith.” Eventually, the story of the Langenmantel family disappeared from history. However, through the following centuries the painting remained as an antique in the Church of St. Peter am Perlach in Augsburg. For some years the painting was located in the Discalced Carmelite Convent of the same city of Augsburg. The painting, which has survived wars, revolutions and secular opposition, still adorns the St. Peter’s Church today. |
Francis and the Knots
Although the reference to Mary as one who unties knots goes back to St. Irenaeus in the 2nd century, the devotion to Mary Untier of Knots was not well known until recently. The devotion spread through the efforts of Brother Mario H. Ibertis Rivera, according to whom the Vatican has authorized the use of the image for Vatican publishing.
Devotion to the image had been limited to certain countries in Latin America (e.g., Argentina, Brazil), but became more known worldwide following the election of Pope Francis, who, being Argentinian, was obviously aware of the devotion. In the 1980s the devotion to Our Lady Untier of Knots was introduced to Argentina by Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J. (now Pope Francis), where it remains particularly popular. Bergoglio (Francis) promoted the devotion in Argentina after being introduced to the story behind Our Lady Untier of Knots. You could say that this is very fitting ― since Francis seems to be the tier of knots and we beg Our Lady to undo the knots that he has tied and is still tying!
Because of the spread of the devotion, thousands of followers of the Virgin Mary Untier of Knots now come to the St. Peter am Perlach Church to ask for her intercession regarding all their problems (knots). Besides marriage difficulties, these so-called knots include a range of other problems of unusual diversity. People come to Mary for assistance regarding health, work, disputes, family complications, personal problems, and conflicts both in the community and internationally. Many government officials, business people, Catholic groups and individual pilgrims have already placed themselves under the protection of the Virgin Mary Untier of Knots.
Our Lady Untier of Knots, pray for us and untie the knots that Francis is tying!
It’s Over, But Not Over!
The Synod on Synodality has closed―but it is not yet over! The focus was on “Synodality” ― but the “Synodality” was out of focus and blurred, because nobody really knows what it means! They were “walking with the Spirit”― but it seems like they were walking round in circles. Francis took pains to stress that the Western Church had lost the idea of “Synodality” which has been preserved by the Eastern Church―but the Eastern Church bishop who was invited to the Synod said that Francis’ Synod was nothing like Eastern Church synods! Francis said that the Synod was not a parliament or a democracy―but they discussed things and voted on things just like in a democracy or parliament! Francis assured everyone that there could not be women priests and deaconesses―but they went ahead and discussed the issue anyway!
The Final Document―also officially known as “The Synthesis Report”―of the 2023 Synod on Synodality, was voted upon at the end of the Synod―as to what would be included and what would be rejected or not included. Each paragraph was voted upon by the 360 (more or less) attending members of the Synod―both clergy and laity. The document is―in its original format―is around 40 pages long. Written in true Modernist style, it is full of vague clauses, mysterious words, and ambiguous statements! It is penance to read―which is the goal of all Modernist documents―so as to put off as many persons as possible from reading it (and thus preventing them from being able to critique it, expose it and denounce it). We will not be put off in this manner―especially as Pope Francis himself said that the Synthesis Report (the Final Document of the Synod), issued at the end of the month long gathering, “needs to be studied” before the next synod meeting in October 2024. So study it we will―in an ongoing series of articles―and we will not shy away from exposing the Modernist tactics and principles contained therein, hiding behind traditional Catholic statements.
Let this be an easy introduction to the many Synodal “Knots” that will have be untied in the forthcoming articles!
Although the reference to Mary as one who unties knots goes back to St. Irenaeus in the 2nd century, the devotion to Mary Untier of Knots was not well known until recently. The devotion spread through the efforts of Brother Mario H. Ibertis Rivera, according to whom the Vatican has authorized the use of the image for Vatican publishing.
Devotion to the image had been limited to certain countries in Latin America (e.g., Argentina, Brazil), but became more known worldwide following the election of Pope Francis, who, being Argentinian, was obviously aware of the devotion. In the 1980s the devotion to Our Lady Untier of Knots was introduced to Argentina by Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J. (now Pope Francis), where it remains particularly popular. Bergoglio (Francis) promoted the devotion in Argentina after being introduced to the story behind Our Lady Untier of Knots. You could say that this is very fitting ― since Francis seems to be the tier of knots and we beg Our Lady to undo the knots that he has tied and is still tying!
Because of the spread of the devotion, thousands of followers of the Virgin Mary Untier of Knots now come to the St. Peter am Perlach Church to ask for her intercession regarding all their problems (knots). Besides marriage difficulties, these so-called knots include a range of other problems of unusual diversity. People come to Mary for assistance regarding health, work, disputes, family complications, personal problems, and conflicts both in the community and internationally. Many government officials, business people, Catholic groups and individual pilgrims have already placed themselves under the protection of the Virgin Mary Untier of Knots.
Our Lady Untier of Knots, pray for us and untie the knots that Francis is tying!
It’s Over, But Not Over!
The Synod on Synodality has closed―but it is not yet over! The focus was on “Synodality” ― but the “Synodality” was out of focus and blurred, because nobody really knows what it means! They were “walking with the Spirit”― but it seems like they were walking round in circles. Francis took pains to stress that the Western Church had lost the idea of “Synodality” which has been preserved by the Eastern Church―but the Eastern Church bishop who was invited to the Synod said that Francis’ Synod was nothing like Eastern Church synods! Francis said that the Synod was not a parliament or a democracy―but they discussed things and voted on things just like in a democracy or parliament! Francis assured everyone that there could not be women priests and deaconesses―but they went ahead and discussed the issue anyway!
The Final Document―also officially known as “The Synthesis Report”―of the 2023 Synod on Synodality, was voted upon at the end of the Synod―as to what would be included and what would be rejected or not included. Each paragraph was voted upon by the 360 (more or less) attending members of the Synod―both clergy and laity. The document is―in its original format―is around 40 pages long. Written in true Modernist style, it is full of vague clauses, mysterious words, and ambiguous statements! It is penance to read―which is the goal of all Modernist documents―so as to put off as many persons as possible from reading it (and thus preventing them from being able to critique it, expose it and denounce it). We will not be put off in this manner―especially as Pope Francis himself said that the Synthesis Report (the Final Document of the Synod), issued at the end of the month long gathering, “needs to be studied” before the next synod meeting in October 2024. So study it we will―in an ongoing series of articles―and we will not shy away from exposing the Modernist tactics and principles contained therein, hiding behind traditional Catholic statements.
Let this be an easy introduction to the many Synodal “Knots” that will have be untied in the forthcoming articles!
Article 2
THE MODERNIST ROOTS OF THE FINAL DOCUMENT
THE MODERNIST ROOTS OF THE FINAL DOCUMENT
Getting Things Straight From the Start
The leaf is not more important than a tree―a leaf depends upon a tree or plant for its production; a leaf reflects what kind of tree produced it. An oak leaf comes from an oak tree; a sycamore leaf from a sycamore tree; and so on. It is the tree that gives life, shape and form to the leaf.
Similarly, a book is not more important than its author and cannot exist without an author―the book depends upon its author for its content. The book does not write itself. The book will reflect the thoughts, ideas, opinions and judgments of its author.
Likewise, a parent is more important than its child―the parent produces the child. The child cannot produce itself, nor can the child nourish itself, nor can the child learn to speak by itself, nor can it educate itself. The child depends upon the parent and reflects the parent’s physical characteristics―Chinese parents do not and cannot produce Caucasian children; nor can black African parents produce white children. Furthermore, the child initially imitates the vocabulary, mannerisms and attitudes of its parents. We have the popular proverb: “Like father, like son!” which originates from the Scriptural proverb: “As the mother was, so also is her daughter!” (Ezechiel 16:44). Any teacher―worth his or her salt―will tell you that they can know an awful lot about the parents of the children that they teach simply by observing the mannerisms, attitudes and vocabulary of their students. “Like produces like” as they say.
Thus Our Lord said: “By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them. Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven―but he that does the will of My Father, Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” He then adds: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves!” (Matthew 7:15-21).
Along these lines, let us state the obvious―but the obvious is sometimes ignored like the proverbial “elephant in the room.” The obvious thing about the Final Document of the Synod on Synodality is that it did not spontaneously produce itself―like some “Big Bang Theory” (the common consensus among scientists, astronomers and cosmologists that the Universe as we know it was created in a massive explosion that not only created the majority of matter, but the physical laws that govern our ever-expanding cosmos). The Final Document was not a spontaneous “Big Bang”, nor was it a sudden “Big Bang” of the Holy Ghost, which suddenly enlightened everyone on the path (or Synodal path) that He wanted them to walk. The Final Document―like the leaf from a tree, or page in a book―will follow the tendencies, opinions, attitudes, beliefs and desires of those who compose it. “Like produces like” as they say.
If you are moral person, then you mix with like-minded moral persons and avoid immoral persons. If you have a party, then you invite those like-minded moral persons to you party and you do not invite any immoral persons to your party. “Birds of feather flock together” as the saying goes. Pope Francis is very Liberal and Modernist “bird” as he has shown many times by his “feathers” (words and actions). When Francis “throws a party”―or calls together a Synod―then he is going to invite like minded “birds” to participate, and will avoid (as much as he can) inviting “birds” who do not “chirp” according to the mind of Francis.
Stacking the Deck
Each pope has always had favorites, or those whom he preferred to consult, trust and entrust with key positions in the Church. Traditional and Conservative popes favored Conservatives, Liberal and Modernist popes favored Liberals and Modernists―there would always be a few from the “opposite party” who would obtain positions of power from whichever pope was ruling, but, by-and-large, Conservative popes would appoint Conservative cardinals and bishops, while Liberal and Modernist popes would appoint Liberal and Modernist cardinals and bishops. Since the end of the Second Vatican Council, there has been an endless and gradual invasion of Liberals and Modernists into the cardinalates and bishoprics of the Church. Out the minority of Traditional or Conservative minded cardinal and bishops that still remain, most of them would be regarded as Liberals by the standards of Pre-Vatican II days.
Francis has done his share of stacking the cardinalates and bishoprics of the Church with his own ilk of Liberal and Modernist people. Many believe that with his appointments, Francis has tried to ensure that his vision of the Church’s future will continue after his death. Since the vast majority of voting-age cardinals (aged under 80) are Francis appointees, some commentators note that Francis has “stacked” the College with cardinals who are inclined to agree with his more liberal focus on inclusivity and social justice issues, rather than Benedict XVI’s stress on doctrinal orthodoxy and traditional values.
The Jesuit mainstream Church priest and journalist, the Liberal Fr. Thomas Reece, wrote in the Liberal and Progressive National Catholic Reporter: “Lately, Pope Francis has been busy appointing men and women who support his vision of a Synodal Church to positions where it matters. This is evident in his recent appointments to the College of Cardinals, the Synod, to the Roman Curia and to archdioceses. These appointments are important because, as every management consultant will tell you, ‘personnel is policy.’ An organization can have wonderful policies, but if the people responsible for implementing them are not on board, those policies will fail ... Francis has also been appointing some young bishops to key sees, where they will have an impact long after he is gone. These recent appointments show that Francis now understands that ‘personnel is policy.’
“Francis, however, prefers to go slowly and incrementally when it comes to changes in policy or personnel. Those of us who want change may be disappointed by this incremental way of proceeding [by these words Fr. Reese shows that he is a progressivist and Liberal] … This incremental approach to change will undoubtedly surface in the synod as well, as Francis tries to balance the impatience of progressive Catholics against the fears of conservatives …. On Sunday (July 9th, 2023), Francis appointed 21 new cardinals, 18 of whom are under 80 years of age and therefore able to vote for a new pope in a Conclave. After these new cardinals are created at a consistory on September 30th, 2023, there will be 137 cardinal electors, three more than the previous high in 2001, under John Paul II. Seventy-two percent of the [total number of] cardinal electors, who will elect the next pope, have been appointed by Francis, which makes it more likely that the next pope will continue the direction Francis has charted for the Church ... Since it takes a two-thirds vote to elect a new pope, the Francis cardinals could elect someone even if all the other cardinals voted against him. It is therefore highly likely the next pope will be in sympathy with the direction Francis has been leading the Church.
“To the synod on synodality, which will begin October 4th, 2023, Pope Francis appointed four U.S. cardinals and an archbishop who are close to him in thinking―the four U.S. cardinals are: Sean O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston; Wilton Gregory, the Archbishop of Washington, D.C.; Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago; and Robert McElroy, the bishop of San Diego. The other episcopal appointment is Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle. Also attending the synod is Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, who is a member of the Vatican council that has been planning the synod, and Cardinal Kevin Farrell, an American who works in the Vatican Curia. All these prelates are loyal supporters of Francis and his policies.
“Francis has also appointed conservative bishops to the synod, for example, the former prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who has harshly criticized the synodal process. Francis was wise enough to invite conservatives into the tent, in the hope that experiencing the synodal process will have a transformative impact. Better to have them in the synod than condemning it from the outside. If, at the conclusion of the synod on synodality, prelates like Müller support its recommendations, it will be very difficult for other conservatives to object … Among the non-episcopal delegates to the synod — priests and laymen and women — is Jesuit Fr. James Martin, editor at large for America Magazine and founder of Outreach, a ministry for LGBTQ Catholics [personally invited by Francis].” (Fr. Thomas Reece, National Catholic Reporter, July 14th, 2023).
● Francis recently appointed his long time friend, the Liberal and Modernist Archbishop, Víctor Férnandez, as the head of the most important doctrinal institution in the Roman Catholic Church―the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), formerly known as Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), which is tasked with safeguarding Church doctrine against heresy. Fernandez is the author of a book for teenagers: Heal Me with Your Mouth―The Art of Kissing, which he wrote when he was a parish priest in Argentina.
● Francis chose Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg as Relator General of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality. Hollerich has called for “fundamental revision” in Catholic teaching on homosexuality, saying: “I believe that the sociological-scientific foundation of this teaching is no longer true … I think it’s time we make a fundamental revision of the doctrine … I also believe that we are thinking ahead in terms of doctrine. The way the pope has expressed himself in the past can lead to a change in doctrine.” He also believes that it might one day be possible to revisit Pope John Paul II’s prohibition on the ordination of women to the priesthood: “I am a promoter of giving women more pastoral responsibility. And if we achieve that, then we can perhaps see if there still is a desire among women for ordination.”
● Francis also chose Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Secretariat for the Synod. The Maltese cardinal was accused by fellow Cardinal, Gerhard Müller, of leading a process intended to “undermine the Catholic Faith and the Catholic Church”. The German cardinal went on to describe the synod as a “hostile takeover” of Christ’s church. “They think that doctrine is like a program of a political party that can be changed according to their votes.” Müller had served as the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith between 2012 and 2017. The Pro-LGBT American Jesuit priest, Fr. James Martin, quoted Cardinal Grech as telling bishops that issues such as Holy Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics and the blessing of same-sex couples “are not to be understood simply in terms of doctrine, but in terms of God’s ongoing encounter with human beings. What has the Church to fear if these two groups within the faithful are given the opportunity to express their intimate selves and the spiritual realities that they experience? Might this be an opportunity for the Church to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking through them also?”
Nearly a third of the 364 voting delegates (120 delegates) were chosen directly by Pope Francis himself. Out of the 364 members who voted (which included the pope), 54 were women ― either lay or religious; the number of cardinals appointed as members also is 54. More than a quarter of all the voting members (70 members or 26.4%), were not bishops. The 70 non-bishop members were chosen by the Pope from a list of 140 persons prepared by the 7 International Reunions of Bishops’ Conferences and the Assembly of Patriarchs of Eastern Catholic Churches. Those 70 individuals included lay people, 50% of whom were women and among whom were several young people. Since the Church as a whole is very Liberal today, it stands to reason that most of the 2023 Synod participants were Liberal also to a greater or lesser degree.
Thus Our Lord said: “By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them. Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven―but he that does the will of My Father, Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” He then adds: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves!” (Matthew 7:15-21).
This reminds us of the vision God granted to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich about the false man-made church with bad bishops and clergy, that would seek to usurp the One True Church. She describes as follows: “I a long processions of bishops [The four different sessions of the Second Vatican Council, held from 1962 to 1965, had between 2,000 and 2,500 bishops in daily attendance]. Their thoughts and utterances were made known to me through images issuing from their mouths. Their faults towards religion were shown by external deformities ... I saw what I believe to be nearly all the bishops of the world [the Second Vatican Council assembled all the bishops in the world], but only a small number were perfectly sound … Many allowed themselves to be taken up with ideas that were dangerous to the Church … The Church is being so cleverly undermined … They were building a large, strange, and extravagant church there in Rome … There was nothing holy in it! … All in this church belonged to the Earth, returned to the Earth. All was dead, the work of human skill, a church of the latest style, a church of man’s invention like the new heterodox church in Rome! … There hardly remain a hundred or so priests who have not been deceived. They all work for destruction ― even the clergy! ... There was something proud, presumptuous, and violent about it, and they seemed very successful. I saw the fatal consequences of this counterfeit church … All sorts of abominations were perpetrated there … I saw how harmful would be the consequences of this false church.
“I saw it increase in size; I saw heretics of all kinds flocking to the city of Rome … Everyone was to be admitted in it in order to be united and have equal rights―Evangelicals, Catholics, sects of every description [all of which describes the current false spirit of Ecumenism that invaded the Church at the Second Vatican Council] ... The Protestant doctrine and that of the schismatic Greeks is to spread everywhere! … Then I saw that everything pertaining to Protestantism was gradually gaining the upper hand, and the Catholic religion fell into complete decadence ... I saw all sorts of people, things, doctrines, and opinions ... Then I saw darkness spreading around and people no longer seeking the true Church … The Church is in great danger! … It was as if people were splitting into two camps!” (Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich).
St. John Bosco was granted a vision along similar lines―of which he speaks of a period of chaos in the Church (the Great Apostasy), following an Ecumenical Council in the 20th century (Vatican II?): “There will be an Ecumenical Council in the next century, after which there will be chaos in the Church. Tranquility will not return until the Pope succeeds in anchoring the boat of Peter between the twin pillars of Eucharistic Devotion and Devotion to Our Lady.”
Who Wrote the Starting Document and the Final Document?
Dr. Paolo Ruffini, a journalist and the Francis appointed Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, had explained that the Synthesis Report (the Final Document for the 2023 Synod) would be written by “the experts” attending the Synod. Among those “experts” were persons who have publicly expressed strong support for controversial positions that some feared the Synod was being used to advance. These figures include:
● Father Philippe Bordeyne, president of the reoriented John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences in Rome, who advocates in favor of a form of liturgical blessings of same-sex couples.
● Thomas Söding, a major proponent of the German Synodal Way, who has hopes for women’s ordination, actively promotes the blessing of same-sex unions, and says the link between priesthood and mandatory celibacy is arbitrary.
● Australian Father Ormond Rush, who has called for a particular understanding of “inverting the pyramid” of Church governance, an ecclesiology that has been cited by others as a necessary step for the Church to take “LGBTQ+ inclusive” positions, such as approving “gender-affirming care” and adoptions by same-sex couples.
● Jesuit Father Adelson Araújo dos Santos, a Brazilian theologian who teaches at the Gregorian in Rome and advocates for the end of mandatory priestly celibacy.
● Capuchin Sister Daniela Cannavina, an Argentinian who was vocal in her support for women deacons during the 2019 Synod on the Amazon.
● Father Agenor Brighenti, a Brazilian liberation theologian who has said that ordained ministries in the Church must change “because they are in line with a very hierarchical, pyramidal conception of the Church” and has said women must have unrestricted access to ministries, including ordained ministry.
● French Sister Christina Danel, the superior general of the Congregation of Xavières, who “preached” during a Mass in 2021, a violation of liturgical norms, and has said that opening up the ministry of preaching to the laity “could respond to a strong need today to have a plurality of voices in the Church and a different view of the word of God than that of the priest.”
● And papal biographer Austen Ivereigh, the author of How to Defend the Faith Without Raising Your Voice, who in more recent years has employed a confrontational style of online engagement with other Catholics who disagree with his views, such as that the Catechism’s language that homosexual attraction is “intrinsically disordered” has been “officially junked.”
The leaf is not more important than a tree―a leaf depends upon a tree or plant for its production; a leaf reflects what kind of tree produced it. An oak leaf comes from an oak tree; a sycamore leaf from a sycamore tree; and so on. It is the tree that gives life, shape and form to the leaf.
Similarly, a book is not more important than its author and cannot exist without an author―the book depends upon its author for its content. The book does not write itself. The book will reflect the thoughts, ideas, opinions and judgments of its author.
Likewise, a parent is more important than its child―the parent produces the child. The child cannot produce itself, nor can the child nourish itself, nor can the child learn to speak by itself, nor can it educate itself. The child depends upon the parent and reflects the parent’s physical characteristics―Chinese parents do not and cannot produce Caucasian children; nor can black African parents produce white children. Furthermore, the child initially imitates the vocabulary, mannerisms and attitudes of its parents. We have the popular proverb: “Like father, like son!” which originates from the Scriptural proverb: “As the mother was, so also is her daughter!” (Ezechiel 16:44). Any teacher―worth his or her salt―will tell you that they can know an awful lot about the parents of the children that they teach simply by observing the mannerisms, attitudes and vocabulary of their students. “Like produces like” as they say.
Thus Our Lord said: “By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them. Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven―but he that does the will of My Father, Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” He then adds: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves!” (Matthew 7:15-21).
Along these lines, let us state the obvious―but the obvious is sometimes ignored like the proverbial “elephant in the room.” The obvious thing about the Final Document of the Synod on Synodality is that it did not spontaneously produce itself―like some “Big Bang Theory” (the common consensus among scientists, astronomers and cosmologists that the Universe as we know it was created in a massive explosion that not only created the majority of matter, but the physical laws that govern our ever-expanding cosmos). The Final Document was not a spontaneous “Big Bang”, nor was it a sudden “Big Bang” of the Holy Ghost, which suddenly enlightened everyone on the path (or Synodal path) that He wanted them to walk. The Final Document―like the leaf from a tree, or page in a book―will follow the tendencies, opinions, attitudes, beliefs and desires of those who compose it. “Like produces like” as they say.
If you are moral person, then you mix with like-minded moral persons and avoid immoral persons. If you have a party, then you invite those like-minded moral persons to you party and you do not invite any immoral persons to your party. “Birds of feather flock together” as the saying goes. Pope Francis is very Liberal and Modernist “bird” as he has shown many times by his “feathers” (words and actions). When Francis “throws a party”―or calls together a Synod―then he is going to invite like minded “birds” to participate, and will avoid (as much as he can) inviting “birds” who do not “chirp” according to the mind of Francis.
Stacking the Deck
Each pope has always had favorites, or those whom he preferred to consult, trust and entrust with key positions in the Church. Traditional and Conservative popes favored Conservatives, Liberal and Modernist popes favored Liberals and Modernists―there would always be a few from the “opposite party” who would obtain positions of power from whichever pope was ruling, but, by-and-large, Conservative popes would appoint Conservative cardinals and bishops, while Liberal and Modernist popes would appoint Liberal and Modernist cardinals and bishops. Since the end of the Second Vatican Council, there has been an endless and gradual invasion of Liberals and Modernists into the cardinalates and bishoprics of the Church. Out the minority of Traditional or Conservative minded cardinal and bishops that still remain, most of them would be regarded as Liberals by the standards of Pre-Vatican II days.
Francis has done his share of stacking the cardinalates and bishoprics of the Church with his own ilk of Liberal and Modernist people. Many believe that with his appointments, Francis has tried to ensure that his vision of the Church’s future will continue after his death. Since the vast majority of voting-age cardinals (aged under 80) are Francis appointees, some commentators note that Francis has “stacked” the College with cardinals who are inclined to agree with his more liberal focus on inclusivity and social justice issues, rather than Benedict XVI’s stress on doctrinal orthodoxy and traditional values.
The Jesuit mainstream Church priest and journalist, the Liberal Fr. Thomas Reece, wrote in the Liberal and Progressive National Catholic Reporter: “Lately, Pope Francis has been busy appointing men and women who support his vision of a Synodal Church to positions where it matters. This is evident in his recent appointments to the College of Cardinals, the Synod, to the Roman Curia and to archdioceses. These appointments are important because, as every management consultant will tell you, ‘personnel is policy.’ An organization can have wonderful policies, but if the people responsible for implementing them are not on board, those policies will fail ... Francis has also been appointing some young bishops to key sees, where they will have an impact long after he is gone. These recent appointments show that Francis now understands that ‘personnel is policy.’
“Francis, however, prefers to go slowly and incrementally when it comes to changes in policy or personnel. Those of us who want change may be disappointed by this incremental way of proceeding [by these words Fr. Reese shows that he is a progressivist and Liberal] … This incremental approach to change will undoubtedly surface in the synod as well, as Francis tries to balance the impatience of progressive Catholics against the fears of conservatives …. On Sunday (July 9th, 2023), Francis appointed 21 new cardinals, 18 of whom are under 80 years of age and therefore able to vote for a new pope in a Conclave. After these new cardinals are created at a consistory on September 30th, 2023, there will be 137 cardinal electors, three more than the previous high in 2001, under John Paul II. Seventy-two percent of the [total number of] cardinal electors, who will elect the next pope, have been appointed by Francis, which makes it more likely that the next pope will continue the direction Francis has charted for the Church ... Since it takes a two-thirds vote to elect a new pope, the Francis cardinals could elect someone even if all the other cardinals voted against him. It is therefore highly likely the next pope will be in sympathy with the direction Francis has been leading the Church.
“To the synod on synodality, which will begin October 4th, 2023, Pope Francis appointed four U.S. cardinals and an archbishop who are close to him in thinking―the four U.S. cardinals are: Sean O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston; Wilton Gregory, the Archbishop of Washington, D.C.; Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago; and Robert McElroy, the bishop of San Diego. The other episcopal appointment is Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle. Also attending the synod is Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, who is a member of the Vatican council that has been planning the synod, and Cardinal Kevin Farrell, an American who works in the Vatican Curia. All these prelates are loyal supporters of Francis and his policies.
“Francis has also appointed conservative bishops to the synod, for example, the former prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who has harshly criticized the synodal process. Francis was wise enough to invite conservatives into the tent, in the hope that experiencing the synodal process will have a transformative impact. Better to have them in the synod than condemning it from the outside. If, at the conclusion of the synod on synodality, prelates like Müller support its recommendations, it will be very difficult for other conservatives to object … Among the non-episcopal delegates to the synod — priests and laymen and women — is Jesuit Fr. James Martin, editor at large for America Magazine and founder of Outreach, a ministry for LGBTQ Catholics [personally invited by Francis].” (Fr. Thomas Reece, National Catholic Reporter, July 14th, 2023).
● Francis recently appointed his long time friend, the Liberal and Modernist Archbishop, Víctor Férnandez, as the head of the most important doctrinal institution in the Roman Catholic Church―the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), formerly known as Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), which is tasked with safeguarding Church doctrine against heresy. Fernandez is the author of a book for teenagers: Heal Me with Your Mouth―The Art of Kissing, which he wrote when he was a parish priest in Argentina.
● Francis chose Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg as Relator General of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality. Hollerich has called for “fundamental revision” in Catholic teaching on homosexuality, saying: “I believe that the sociological-scientific foundation of this teaching is no longer true … I think it’s time we make a fundamental revision of the doctrine … I also believe that we are thinking ahead in terms of doctrine. The way the pope has expressed himself in the past can lead to a change in doctrine.” He also believes that it might one day be possible to revisit Pope John Paul II’s prohibition on the ordination of women to the priesthood: “I am a promoter of giving women more pastoral responsibility. And if we achieve that, then we can perhaps see if there still is a desire among women for ordination.”
● Francis also chose Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Secretariat for the Synod. The Maltese cardinal was accused by fellow Cardinal, Gerhard Müller, of leading a process intended to “undermine the Catholic Faith and the Catholic Church”. The German cardinal went on to describe the synod as a “hostile takeover” of Christ’s church. “They think that doctrine is like a program of a political party that can be changed according to their votes.” Müller had served as the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith between 2012 and 2017. The Pro-LGBT American Jesuit priest, Fr. James Martin, quoted Cardinal Grech as telling bishops that issues such as Holy Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics and the blessing of same-sex couples “are not to be understood simply in terms of doctrine, but in terms of God’s ongoing encounter with human beings. What has the Church to fear if these two groups within the faithful are given the opportunity to express their intimate selves and the spiritual realities that they experience? Might this be an opportunity for the Church to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking through them also?”
Nearly a third of the 364 voting delegates (120 delegates) were chosen directly by Pope Francis himself. Out of the 364 members who voted (which included the pope), 54 were women ― either lay or religious; the number of cardinals appointed as members also is 54. More than a quarter of all the voting members (70 members or 26.4%), were not bishops. The 70 non-bishop members were chosen by the Pope from a list of 140 persons prepared by the 7 International Reunions of Bishops’ Conferences and the Assembly of Patriarchs of Eastern Catholic Churches. Those 70 individuals included lay people, 50% of whom were women and among whom were several young people. Since the Church as a whole is very Liberal today, it stands to reason that most of the 2023 Synod participants were Liberal also to a greater or lesser degree.
Thus Our Lord said: “By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them. Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven―but he that does the will of My Father, Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” He then adds: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves!” (Matthew 7:15-21).
This reminds us of the vision God granted to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich about the false man-made church with bad bishops and clergy, that would seek to usurp the One True Church. She describes as follows: “I a long processions of bishops [The four different sessions of the Second Vatican Council, held from 1962 to 1965, had between 2,000 and 2,500 bishops in daily attendance]. Their thoughts and utterances were made known to me through images issuing from their mouths. Their faults towards religion were shown by external deformities ... I saw what I believe to be nearly all the bishops of the world [the Second Vatican Council assembled all the bishops in the world], but only a small number were perfectly sound … Many allowed themselves to be taken up with ideas that were dangerous to the Church … The Church is being so cleverly undermined … They were building a large, strange, and extravagant church there in Rome … There was nothing holy in it! … All in this church belonged to the Earth, returned to the Earth. All was dead, the work of human skill, a church of the latest style, a church of man’s invention like the new heterodox church in Rome! … There hardly remain a hundred or so priests who have not been deceived. They all work for destruction ― even the clergy! ... There was something proud, presumptuous, and violent about it, and they seemed very successful. I saw the fatal consequences of this counterfeit church … All sorts of abominations were perpetrated there … I saw how harmful would be the consequences of this false church.
“I saw it increase in size; I saw heretics of all kinds flocking to the city of Rome … Everyone was to be admitted in it in order to be united and have equal rights―Evangelicals, Catholics, sects of every description [all of which describes the current false spirit of Ecumenism that invaded the Church at the Second Vatican Council] ... The Protestant doctrine and that of the schismatic Greeks is to spread everywhere! … Then I saw that everything pertaining to Protestantism was gradually gaining the upper hand, and the Catholic religion fell into complete decadence ... I saw all sorts of people, things, doctrines, and opinions ... Then I saw darkness spreading around and people no longer seeking the true Church … The Church is in great danger! … It was as if people were splitting into two camps!” (Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich).
St. John Bosco was granted a vision along similar lines―of which he speaks of a period of chaos in the Church (the Great Apostasy), following an Ecumenical Council in the 20th century (Vatican II?): “There will be an Ecumenical Council in the next century, after which there will be chaos in the Church. Tranquility will not return until the Pope succeeds in anchoring the boat of Peter between the twin pillars of Eucharistic Devotion and Devotion to Our Lady.”
Who Wrote the Starting Document and the Final Document?
Dr. Paolo Ruffini, a journalist and the Francis appointed Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, had explained that the Synthesis Report (the Final Document for the 2023 Synod) would be written by “the experts” attending the Synod. Among those “experts” were persons who have publicly expressed strong support for controversial positions that some feared the Synod was being used to advance. These figures include:
● Father Philippe Bordeyne, president of the reoriented John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences in Rome, who advocates in favor of a form of liturgical blessings of same-sex couples.
● Thomas Söding, a major proponent of the German Synodal Way, who has hopes for women’s ordination, actively promotes the blessing of same-sex unions, and says the link between priesthood and mandatory celibacy is arbitrary.
● Australian Father Ormond Rush, who has called for a particular understanding of “inverting the pyramid” of Church governance, an ecclesiology that has been cited by others as a necessary step for the Church to take “LGBTQ+ inclusive” positions, such as approving “gender-affirming care” and adoptions by same-sex couples.
● Jesuit Father Adelson Araújo dos Santos, a Brazilian theologian who teaches at the Gregorian in Rome and advocates for the end of mandatory priestly celibacy.
● Capuchin Sister Daniela Cannavina, an Argentinian who was vocal in her support for women deacons during the 2019 Synod on the Amazon.
● Father Agenor Brighenti, a Brazilian liberation theologian who has said that ordained ministries in the Church must change “because they are in line with a very hierarchical, pyramidal conception of the Church” and has said women must have unrestricted access to ministries, including ordained ministry.
● French Sister Christina Danel, the superior general of the Congregation of Xavières, who “preached” during a Mass in 2021, a violation of liturgical norms, and has said that opening up the ministry of preaching to the laity “could respond to a strong need today to have a plurality of voices in the Church and a different view of the word of God than that of the priest.”
● And papal biographer Austen Ivereigh, the author of How to Defend the Faith Without Raising Your Voice, who in more recent years has employed a confrontational style of online engagement with other Catholics who disagree with his views, such as that the Catechism’s language that homosexual attraction is “intrinsically disordered” has been “officially junked.”
Article 3
Critique of the Introduction of the Final Document
Critique of the Introduction of the Final Document
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TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTION
THE COMMENTARY WILL UPON THE TEXT THAT IS IN RED PRINT Dear Sisters, dear Brothers “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13). This is the experience, full of joy and gratitude, that we have had in this First Session of the Synodal Assembly held from October 4th to 29th, 2023, on the theme “For a Synodal Church. Communion, Participation, Mission”. Despite our diversity of backgrounds, languages and cultures, through the common grace of Baptism we have been able to live these days together with one heart and spirit. We have sought to sing like a choir, many voices as though expressing one soul. The Holy Spirit has gifted us with an experience of the harmony that He alone can generate; it is a gift and a witness in a world that is torn and divided. Our Assembly has taken place while wars both old and new have raged in the world, with dramatic consequences that are impacting upon countless victims. The cry of those who are poor resounded among us, of those forced to migrate and of those suffering violence and the devastating consequences of climate change. We heard their cry not only through the media, but also through the voices of many present, who are personally involved in these tragic events whether through their families or their people. We have all, at all times, taken this cry into our hearts and prayers, wondering how our Churches can foster paths of reconciliation, hope, justice and peace. Our meeting took place in Rome, gathered around the successor of Peter, who confirmed us in our Faith and encouraged us to be audacious in our mission. It was a grace to begin these days with an ecumenical vigil, which saw the leaders and representatives of the other Churches and Christian communities praying together with the Pope at the tomb of Peter. Unity ferments silently within the Holy Church of God; we see it with our own eyes, and we bear witness to it full of joy. “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity” (Psalm 133:1). At the behest of the Holy Father, the Assembly saw other members of the People of God gathered together and around the bishops. The bishops, united among themselves and with the Bishop of Rome, made manifest the Church as a communion of Churches. Lay people, those in consecrated life, deacons and priests were, together with the bishops, witnesses of a process that intends to involve the whole Church and everyone in the Church. Their presence reminded us that the Assembly is not an isolated event, but an integral part and a necessary step in the synodal process. The multiplicity of interventions and the plurality of positions voiced in the Assembly revealed a Church that is learning to embrace a synodal style and is seeking the most suitable ways to make this happen. It is more than two years since we began the journey that has led us to this Session. After the opening of the synodal process on October 9th, 2021, all the Churches, albeit at different paces, have engaged in a listening process at diocesan, national and continental stages, the results of which were recorded in their respective documents. This Session opened the phase in which the entire Church received the fruits of this consultation in order to discern, in prayer and dialogue, the paths that the Spirit is asking us to follow. This phase will last until October 2024, when the Second Session of the Assembly will complete its work, offering it to the Holy Father. The entire journey, rooted in the Tradition of the Church, is taking place in the light of Conciliar teaching. The Second Vatican Council was, in fact, like a seed sown in the field of the world and the Church. The soil in which it germinated and grew was the daily lives of believers, the experience of the Churches of every people and culture, the many testimonies of holiness, and the reflections of theologians. The Synod 2021-2024 continues to draw on the energy of that seed and to develop its potential. The synodal path is, in fact, implementing what the Council taught about the Church as Mystery and People of God, called to holiness. It values the contribution all the baptised make, according to their respective vocations, in helping us to understand better and practice the Gospel. In this sense, it constitutes a true act of further reception of the Council, prolonging its inspiration and reinvigorating its prophetic force for today’s world. After a month of work, the Lord is now calling us to return to our Churches to hand over to all of you the fruits of our work and to continue the journey together. Here in Rome, we were not many, but the purpose of the Synod path, called by the Holy Father, is to involve all the baptised. We ardently desire this to happen and want to commit ourselves to making it possible. In this Synthesis Report we have collected the main elements that emerged in the dialogue, prayer and discussion that characterised these days. Our personal stories will enrich this synthesis with the tenor of lived experience, which no document can adequately capture. We will thus be able to testify to the richness of our experience of listening, of silence and sharing, and of prayer. We will also share that it is not easy to listen to different ideas, without immediately giving in to the temptation to counter the views expressed; or to offer one’s contribution as a gift for others and not as something absolute or certain. However, the Lord’s grace has led us to achieve this, despite our limitations, and this has been for us a true experience of synodality. By having practised it, we understand it better and have grasped its value. We understood, in fact, that walking together as baptised persons, in the diversity of charisms, vocations, and ministries, is important not only for our communities, but also for the world. Evangelical solidarity is like a lamp, which must not be placed under a bushel, but on a lamp-stand so that it may shed light on the whole house (cf. Matthew 5:15). The world needs this testimony today more than ever. As disciples of Jesus, we cannot shirk the responsibility of demonstrating and transmitting the love and tenderness of God to a wounded humanity. The work of this Session was carried out in accordance with the ‘roadmap’ laid down in the Instrumentum Laboris, by means of which the Assembly was able to reflect on the characteristic signs of a synodal Church and the dynamics of communion, mission and participation that it contains. We were able to discuss the merits of issues, identify themes in need of in-depth study, and take forward a preliminary set of proposals. In the light of the progress made, the Synthesis Report does not repeat or reiterate all the contents of the Instrumentum Laboris; rather, it gives new impetus to the questions and themes we considered to be priorities. It is not a final document, but an instrument at the service of ongoing discernment. The Synthesis Report is structured in three parts. The first outlines “the face of the synodal Church”, presenting the practice and understanding of synodality and its theological underpinning. Here it is presented first and foremost as a spiritual experience that stems from contemplation of the Trinity and unfolds by articulating unity and variety in the Church. The second part, entitled “All disciples, all missionaries”, deals with all those involved in the life and mission of the Church and their relationships with one another. In this part, synodality is mainly presented as a joint journey of the People of God and as a fruitful dialogue between the charisms and ministries at the service of the coming of the Kingdom. The third part bears the title “Weaving bonds, building community”. Here, synodality is presented mainly as a set of processes and as a network of bodies enabling exchange between the Churches and dialogue with the world. In each of the three parts, individual chapters bring together convergences, matters for consideration and proposals that emerged from the dialogue. The convergences identify specific points that orientate reflection, akin to a map that helps us find our way. The matters for consideration summarise points about which it is necessary to continue deepening our understanding pastorally, theologically, and canonically. This is like being at a crossroads where we need to pause so we can understand better the direction we need to take. The proposals indicate possible paths that can be taken. Some are suggested, others recommended, others still requested with some strength and determination. In the coming months, Episcopal Conferences as well as the hierarchical structures of the Eastern Catholic Churches, serving as a link between the local Churches and the General Secretariat of the Synod, will play an important role in developing our reflections. Taking their starting point from the convergences already reached, they are called to focus on the questions and proposals that are considered most urgent. They are asked to encourage a deepening of the issues both pastorally and theologically, and to indicate their canonical implications. We carry in our hearts the desire, sustained by hope, that the climate of mutual listening and sincere dialogue that we experienced during the days of common work in Rome will radiate in our communities and throughout the world, at the service of the growth of the good seed of the Kingdom of God. |
CRITIQUE OF THE INTRODUCTION
► FIRST POINT―WE MUST CONVERT THE WORLD TO CATHOLICISM―BUT FRANCIS SAYS: “NO! STAY AS YOU ARE!” The opening lines of the Final Document from the Synod on Synodality are: “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13) ... Through the common grace of Baptism we have been able to live these days together with one heart and spirit. We have sought to sing like a choir, many voices as though expressing one soul ... in a world that is torn and divided.” Yes―there should be “One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism” (Ephesians 4:5)―but Francis and his followers say otherwise! Pope Francis, in his weekly general audience on Wednesday, January 18th, 2023, said that trying to convince someone to become a Christian is a “pagan” activity unworthy of followers of Christ. Francis told the crowds gathered in the Vatican: “To evangelize is not to proselytize! To proselytize is something pagan, it is neither religious nor evangelical. This is not about proselytism, as I said, so that others become ‘one of us’ ― no, this is not Christian! It is about loving so that they might be happy children of God!” Francis argues that Proselytism — which is the attempt to convert others to one’s faith — is different from evangelization. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, proselytizing means “to try to persuade someone to change their religious or political beliefs or way of living to your own.” Our Lord commanded His Apostles and disciples to “Going therefore, teach ye all nations―baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you!” (Matthew 28:19-20). He did not say: “Don’t go anywhere! Don’t teach anyone! Don’t preach the Gospel! Just live your Christian life and let the whole world see how good you are! They will then come to you and ask you about your Faith!” Furthermore, from this command of Our Lord’s, we see that He requires that the entire world be Catholic! He does not want other religions, but only the One, True, Catholic and Apostolic religion! He sent out His Apostles and disciples to teach and preach―not to show how nice and kind they were―and to teach and preach selectively and not to everyone: “These twelve Jesus sent: commanding them, saying: ‘Go ye not into the way of the Gentiles, and into the city of the Samaritans enter ye not! But go ye rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And going, preach, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand!” … And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words―then, going forth out of that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet!’” (Matthew 10:5-14). Did not Our Lord Himself go out and forcibly preach the truth? Let us take just some of His comments: “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled!” (Luke 14:23). “Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 18:3) … “No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” and then, two verses later, He again says: “No, I say to you―except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3-5) … “If you believe not that I am He, you shall die in your sin!” (John 8:24) … “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me!’” (Mark 7:6) ... “Not everyone that saith to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 7:21) … “Unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 5:20) … “Many are called, but few are chosen!” (Matthew 22:14). The record of Francis in this matter is ambiguous at best. He allegedly told his friend―the Anglican schismatic bishop, Tony Palmer―not to convert, but to stay where he was and do good work for church unity there. Francis also, apparently, advised a Lutheran woman, who was married to a Catholic man, not only not to convert, but to go ahead and receive Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. In 2019, Francis signed, along with a prominent imam (an Islamic religious leader), a document in Abu Dhabi that proclaimed: “The pluralism and the diversity of religions, color, sex, race and language are willed by God in his wisdom, through which he created human beings.” There is no regard for being “baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13). This pluralism and diversity of religions is not the will of God―as Francis claims―but it is the will of Satan, who always seeks to divide and conquer through division. Also in 2019, at a national Catholic youth conference, Francis told the young people: “You know your contemporaries, you know that many are alone, that many do not know Jesus! “Go! Go and bring the Lord! Go and fill your environments―even the digital―but not of convictions, not to convince, not to proselytize, but to witness to the tenderness and mercy of Jesus!” Yes―Jesus is tender and merciful―“The Lord is gracious and merciful, patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all and His tender mercies are over all his works!” (Psalm 144:8-9). Yet, at the same time, Jesus has no hesitation in telling sinners to stop sinning―how many times has Francis said that, especially to mortal sinners such as the LGBTQ+ and the remarried divorcees? To the woman caught in adultery, Our Lord said: “I will not condemn thee, but go and sin no more!” (John 8:11)―and to man he had healed from a 38-year-long disease Our Lord said: “Behold thou art made whole! Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!” (John 5:14). “God is not mocked! “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption! But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:7-8). Francis seems to be promising life everlasting to sinners without telling to stop sinning! A month later, the Francis told a group of Christian high school students that they should respect people of other faiths and not attempt to convert them to Christianity, insisting that “we are not living in the times of the crusades.” Asked by one of the students how a Christian should treat people of other faiths, the pope said that “we are all the same, all children of God” and that true disciples of Jesus do not proselytize. He stated that a Christian should never try to convince others of the truth of Christianity, but should simply give a testimony of consistency and wait for others to ask about the Faith, he proposed: “You must be consistent with your Faith! It never occurred to me―and nor should it―to say to a boy or a girl: ‘You are Jewish! You are Muslim! Come, be converted!’ You be consistent with your Faith and that consistency is what will make you mature. We are not living in the times of the crusades … The last thing I should do is to try to convince an unbeliever! Never! The last thing I should do is speak! I should live my Faith with consistency. And it will be my witness [to the Faith] that will awaken the curiosity of the other who may then ask: ‘But why do you do this?’ And yes, then I can speak! “But listen―the Gospel is never, ever advanced through proselytism! If someone says he is a disciple of Jesus and comes to you with proselytism, he is not a disciple of Jesus. Proselytism is not the way; the Church does not grow by proselytism. Soccer teams can do proselytism, this can be done, political parties can do it, but there should be no proselytism with the Faith. And if someone asks me: ‘But why do you do this?’ Read, read, read the Gospel, this is my Faith. But without pressure.” Bishop Américo Aguiar, the head of World Youth Day in Lisbon 2023 who was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in September, 2023, said: “We don’t want to convert the young people to Christ or to the Catholic Church or anything like that at all! We want it to be normal for a young Catholic Christian to say and bear witness to who he is; or for a young Muslim, Jew, or of another religion to also have no problem saying who he is and bearing witness to it; and for a young person who has no religion to feel welcome and to perhaps not feel strange for thinking in a different way.” ► SECOND POINT―FALSE UNITY The Final Document states: “Our meeting took place in Rome, gathered around the successor of Peter, who confirmed us in our Faith and encouraged us to be audacious in our mission. It was a grace to begin these days with an ecumenical vigil, which saw the leaders and representatives of the other Churches and Christian communities praying together with the Pope at the tomb of Peter. Unity ferments silently within the Holy Church of God; we see it with our own eyes, and we bear witness to it full of joy. ‘How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!’ (Psalm 133:1).” Francis “encouraged us to be audacious in our mission” ― and audacious they have been to a large extent, continuing along the path that Francis prefers, which is one of perpetual confusion. He is audaciously ambiguous―just like a true Modernist. He is audaciously ecumenical―accepting one and all without any true ambition to convert anyone. You could say that he is an “ecumenical ecumaniac!” Immediately after his election to the papacy in March 2013, Francis embarked on his ecumenical journey. ● In a 2013 interview with La Stampa, Francis emphasized his commitment to ecumenism, stating: “For me, ecumenism is a priority!” ● In May 2013, Francis said all who do good can be redeemed through Jesus, including atheists. Francis said God “has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! Even the atheists. Everyone!” ● Francis had a warm relationship with Israeli President Shimon Peres, who visited the pope in April 2013 and invited him to Israel. Francis would travel to Israel in May 2014 and meet with Peres at the presidential residence. ● Shortly after his election, in a meeting with ambassadors from the 180 countries accredited with the Holy See, Francis called for more interreligious dialogue – “particularly with Islam.” He also expressed gratitude that “so many civil and religious leaders from the Islamic world” had attended his installation Mass. ● In May 2013, Francis received Theodore II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, in the Vatican. ● In June 2013 Francis met for the first time the Archbishop of Canterbury, England, Justin Welby, when he visited the Vatican. A second meeting would take place at the Vatican in 2014. ● In September 2013, Francis wrote a letter to Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari, saying non-believers would be forgiven by God if they followed their consciences. ● Also in September 2013, Pope Francis met with Paulose II of the Malankara Orthodox Church. ● In 2014, Francis met for the first time with a delegation of the Old Catholic Church’s Bishops’ Conference of the Union of Utrecht. ● Also in 2014, Francis arrived in Jordan, at the start of a tour of the Middle East, “aiming to boost ties with Muslims and Jews as well as easing an age-old rift within Christianity.” ● In December 2014, Francis became the first pope to host a General of The Salvation Army, the international leader of the Evangelical Methodist denomination The Salvation Army, in a private audience in the Vatican. ● In 2015, Francis met with Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. ● Also in 2015, dialogue between Buddhist and Catholic religious and social leaders began in the Vatican. ● In 2016, Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, met in Havana, Cuba, the first such high-level meeting between the two churches since the Great Schism of 1054, issuing the Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, calling for restored Christian unity between the two churches. ● Also in 2016, Francis met with members of the World Methodist Council, the Methodist Council of Europe, and the Methodist Church in Britain, who were in Rome for the opening of the Methodist Ecumenical Office there. ● Also in 2016, during his papal visit to Armenia, Francis prayed inside Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church. During the prayer service, Francis asked for and received a blessing from Catholicos Karekin II. ● Also in 2016, Francis met with Ahmed el-Tayeb at the Vatican, the first meeting since 2000 between the Grand Imam of al-Azhar and the leader of the world’s Catholics. ● Also in 2016, Francis met with Gottfried Locher, the President of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches (Calvinists, Zwinglians, and Methodists) to speak about “Ecumenism and Protestantism in Europe.” ● Also in 2016, Francis commemorated the 499th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation with Lutherans in Sweden. This event opened the 500th year since the Reformation began with Martin Luther posting his Ninety-five Theses in Wittenberg in 1517. He visited the 950-year-old Lund Cathedral and celebrated an ecumenical liturgy together with the president of the Lutheran World Federation. ● In a 2016 survey, Francis was viewed favorably by almost two-thirds of Jews, as well as majorities of Protestants and the irreligious; minorities of Buddhists and Muslims had favorable views of him. ● In February 2017, Francis met with Coptic bishops at the Vatican. ● Also in 2017, Francis participated in an ecumenical prayer service in Cairo, Egypt, with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II. ● On April 28th, 2017, Francis participated in an ecumenical prayer service in Cairo, Egypt, with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II. This historic event appears to be the first time that the three Christian popes and the ecumenical patriarch have met together. ● In 2019, Francis met with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints President, Russell M. Nelson and Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, M. Russell Ballard―the first time in history that a pope and a president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met face-to-face. ● The recent 2023 declaration of Francis that 21 Copts who had died as ‘martyrs’ in Libya would be added to the Roman Catholic Martyrology, was seen as a demonstration of ecumenism of blood. However, the 17th Ecumenical Council of Florence (1431–1449) disagrees with Francis, for the Council explicitly defined that non-Catholics ― whether Christian or not ― cannot be classified as martyrs. The Council stated: “It [the sacrosanct Roman Church] 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’ (Matthew 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.” It is very clear from this infallible dogmatic definition that anyone who is separated from the Catholic Church by heresy or schism at the time of his death cannot be saved, “even if he has shed blood for the Name of Christ.” Francis is way off track in his Magisterial wishful thinking! There do not exist heretical or schismatic martyr-saints. There is only one true religion―the Catholic Faith instituted by Jesus Christ and just some mere man like Buddha, Muhammad, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Knox, Wycliffe, Smyth, Smith, Fox, etc. The Catholic Faith is of divine institution―all the others are man-made imitations and not the real thing―regardless of what Francis likes to think or say. There is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church―yet Francis is going around making people feel comfortable in their man-made churches. Jesus could not said it any more clearly: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father, but by Me!” (John 14:6). “I am the door! By Me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved!” (John 10:9). In the next passage, Our Lord speaks of Himself in the “third-person” singular: “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God sent not his Son into the world so that the world may be saved by Him! He that believeth in Him is not judged. But he that does not believe, is already judged―because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:16-18). Our Lord further adds: “If you believe not that I am He, then you shall die in your sin!” (John 8:24). “There is one God, and one mediator of God and men―the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5) … “Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under Heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved!” (Acts 4:12). Shocking though it may seem, Our Lord says: “I do not pray for the world!” Why? Didn’t He come to save the whole world? “God wants all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Yes―but “men loved darkness rather than the light―for their works were evil” (John 3:19). “Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12). “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them!” (Ephesians 5:11). |
► THIRD POINT―SYNODAL MULTIPLICITY AND PLURALITY
The Final Document states: “At the behest of the Holy Father, the Assembly saw other members of the People of God gathered together and around the bishops. The bishops, united among themselves and with the Bishop of Rome, made manifest the Church as a communion of Churches. Lay people, those in consecrated life, deacons and priests were, together with the bishops, witnesses of a process that intends to involve the whole Church and everyone in the Church ... The Assembly is not an isolated event, but an integral part and a necessary step in the synodal process. The multiplicity of interventions and the plurality of positions voiced in the Assembly revealed a Church that is learning to embrace a synodal style and is seeking the most suitable ways to make this happen.”
Above, we see the line: “The bishops, united among themselves and with the Bishop of Rome.” What does that mean? It can mean a lot of things. Heaven is united among themselves. Hell is united among themselves: “If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?” said Our Lord (Luke 11:18). We can be united in truth, and we can be united in error. We can be united in virtue, and we can be united in sin. Mortal sin cuts us off from unity with God. Under Francis, there are now prominent cardinals—not only in Germany—who doubt whether mortal sin even exists. We have been warned that “there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears! And will turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables!” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Francis is seeking a false unity. Sure―“the bishops [are] united among themselves and with the Bishop of Rome”―but are they united to the Truth of Christ? Currently, there is not a unity, but an increasing schismatic undercurrent within the Church, with the Traditional and Conservative elements believing that they are true Catholics while calling-out the Liberal and Modernist Catholics as being bad Catholics. That viewpoint is reciprocated by the Liberal and Modernist Catholics, who say that the Traditional and Conservative Catholics are “backwards”, “rigid”, “pharisaical”, “judgmental” and “uncharitable”. To add further confusion and division, you then have the varying degrees of each flavor―Conservative-Liberals (mainly Conservative with Liberal tendencies) or Liberal-Conservatives (mainly Liberal with some Conservative tendencies). Likewise, Traditional-Conservative or Conservative-Traditional. or Ultra-Liberals and Ultra-Conservatives. Add to the mix the 10% Liberal, 20% Liberal, 30% Liberal all the way to 100% Liberal―and the same for all the other flavors! It reminds us of Our Lord’s words: “You are the salt of the Earth. But if the salt lose its flavor, with what shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men!” (Matthew 5:13). Unfortunately, Francis prefers the flavorless or sweet salt, and he is trying to throw out the good salt that stings!
Francis is a Modernist and a Liberal―and Modernists and Liberals are a prime example of those who “will turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables” ― and the recent Synod on Synodality was largely stocked with Modernists and Liberals talking about the “fable” of “Synodality” which they have still not managed to define after several years of talking! Some participants were chosen by votes from National Bishops’ Conferences (who for the most part are Liberal and Modernist) and other participants were directly chosen by Francis (who is a Modernist and Liberal). As Our Lord said: “By their fruits you shall know them! Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit!” (Matthew 7:16-17). The Liberal/Modernist tree will produce Liberal/Modernist fruits―it cannot produce Traditional/Conservative fruits―nor does it want to do so! The Synod on Synodality “tree” was deliberately planted to be a Liberal/Modernist tree, producing Liberal/Modernist fruits.
The words of Pope St. Pius X, in his encyclical against Modernism, Pascendi, are truly applicable to Francis and his fellow Modernists: “The partisans of error are to be sought not only among the Church’s open enemies; they lie hid in her very bosom and heart … We allude to many who belong to the Catholic laity and to the ranks of the priesthood itself, who, feigning a love for the Church, lacking the firm protection of philosophy and theology, are thoroughly imbued with the poisonous doctrines taught by the enemies of the Church, and vaunt themselves as reformers of the Church [which is what the current Synodal-maniacs are trying to do] … They play the double the parts of rationalist and Catholic, and this so craftily that they easily lead the unwary into error” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical, Pascendi).
To better hide themselves and thereby confuse Catholics, the Modernists will employ a two-faced attitude. You could call it “good cop, bad cop”, or “slap and then caress”, or being truly Catholic at one moment, and then truly Modernist the next moment. All of this is done to keep the “mouse” in the “trap”―or keeping a violently beaten wife from leaving by lavishing love on her at one moment, hatefully hitting her the next moment. An external family unity remains in the eyes of the world, but it is broken and divided family behind the scenes within the walls of the home. Pope St. Pius X describes it thus: “They lie hidden … thoroughly imbued with the poisonous doctrines … None is more skillful, none more astute than they, in the employment of a thousand noxious arts … They express astonishment that We number them among the enemies of the Church … They lead a life of the greatest activity, of assiduous and ardent application to every branch of learning, and they possess, as a rule, a reputation for the strictest morality―all of which is well calculated to deceive souls ... Hence in their books you find some things which might well be expressed by a Catholic, but in the next page you find other things which might have been dictated by a Rationalist ... (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical, Pascendi).
Francis is an excellent example of speaking out of both sides of his mouth―one moment he speaks pure and clear Catholicism, then he speaks the typically vague and confusing Modernism. This is straight out of the playbook of the Modernists at the Second Vatican Council―speaking an ambiguous Catholicism that, at a pinch, can be acceptable to both the Traditional/Conservative faction and also the Liberal/Modernist faction. Pure “doublespeak.” In 1989, linguist William Lutz identified the four most common types of doublespeak—euphemism, jargon, gobbledygook or “bureaucratese,” and inflated language. That is language of Modernists.
As Pope St. Pius X said: “We must now break silence, in order to expose before the whole Church in their true colors those men who have assumed this bad disguise … Every Modernist sustains and comprises within himself many personalities; he is a philosopher, a believer, a theologian, a historian, a critic, an apologist, a reformer … The Modernists employ a very cunning trick, namely, to present their doctrines without order and systematic arrangement into one whole, that is scattered and disjointed one from another, so as to appear to be in doubt and uncertainty, while they are in reality firm and steadfast [in their error] … They continuously and openly criticize the Church because of her sheer obstinacy in refusing to submit and accommodate her dogmas to the opinions of philosophy; while they, on their side, after having blotted out the old theology, endeavor to introduce a new theology … Feeling no horror at treading in the footsteps of Luther, they like to display a certain contempt for Catholic doctrines, or the Holy Fathers, for the Ecumenical Councils, for the ecclesiastical Magisterium―and should they be rebuked for this, they complain that they are being deprived of their liberty.” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical, Pascendi).
That is exactly what the Liberals and Modernists in the present day Church are doing―Francis has shown contempt for traditional doctrines; he has pilloried and attacked Conservative leaning Catholics; he has ignored all the previous Ecumenical Councils except the Second Vatican Council; he pays no attention to perennial Magisterium of the Church, following only the Modernist Magisterium since Vatican II; he rarely quotes the Traditional and Conservative pope who ruled the Church before Vatican II. All in all, you could say that he has broken away from the perennial Apostolic Church, which he is trying to reform as he tries to build a new Church―one that is decentralized, localized, democratized, and almost laicized.
“Religious sentiment [say the Modernists] is the germ of all religion, and the explanation of everything that has been or ever will be in any religion. The sentiment, which was at first only rudimentary and almost formless, gradually matured, under the influence of that mysterious principle from which it originated, with the progress of human life, of which, as has been said, it is a form. This, then, is the origin of all religion, even supernatural religion; it is only a development of this religious sentiment. There are many Catholics, and priests too, who say these things openly―and they boast that they are going to reform the Church by these ravings!” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical, Pascendi). The Synod on Synodality is full of this sentimentality―listen to the sentiments of the people, listen to experiences of the people, listen to their stories!
Jesus prayed that we might all be one: “Father, I have manifested Thy Name to the men whom thou hast given Me out of the world! ... The words which Thou gavest Me, I have given to them! … I pray for them! I pray not for the world, but for them whom Thou hast given Me! … Holy Father, keep them so that they may be one, as We also are! … They are not of the world; as I also am not of the world! I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from evil! They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world! Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth I pray … that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us” (John 17:6-21).
► FOURTH POINT―SYNODAL PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY
The Final Document states: “Lay people, those in consecrated life, deacons and priests were, together with the bishops, witnesses of a process that intends to involve the whole Church and everyone in the Church.”
The above statement is nothing else than a desire to be democracy or a parliament. Even though Francis has repeatedly said that the Synod is not a parliament, his actions speak louder than his words. It is his decision that changed a Synod of Bishops into a “Free-For-All Synod.” You can bet your bottom dollar that this is not the end, but only the beginning. Christ commanded that ONE MAN rule His Church―which was Peter and his successors: “I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church … And I will give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon Earth, it shall be bound also in Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon Earth, it shall be loosed also in Heaven!” (Matthew 16:18-19). Even so, a pope is merely a representative or an ambassador of Christ. It is Christ Who holds full authority over His Church, not the pope―hence a pope is called “The Vicar of Christ.”
The Catholic Church is meant to be a theocracy―not a democracy, not a parliament. A theocracy is a form of government that is led by God or by a person or persons who rule by divine authority. Furthermore, the Church is―within itself―a perfect society. The Church and the State are both perfect societies. That means―they have their own legal system and all necessary resources to achieve their ends or goals. “Perfect” here does not mean that it is morally perfect, but socially perfect. Perfect comes from the Latin per factum, which means that it is a society that in fact has all the necessary means to attain its proper goal. The Church is a perfect society because Our Lord Jesus Christ founded her to bring people to know, love and serve God above all things and, doing so, to save their souls―and He also gave the Church all the means necessary to achieve those objectives. The Church also strives to fulfill God’s will on Earth, so that the life here on Earth will become as similar as possible to that of Heaven. To achieve these goals, Our Lord established the Papacy and the Hierarchy to govern and teach the Church.
Pope Pius XI, in his encyclical Divini Illius Magistri, states: “The Church is independent of any sort of earthly power … The Church as a perfect society has an independent right to the means conducive to its end, and because every form of instruction, no less than every human action, has a necessary connection with man's last end, and therefore cannot be withdrawn from the dictates of the divine law, of which the Church is guardian, interpreter and infallible mistress … Whatever a Christian does even in the order of things of Earth, he may not overlook the supernatural; indeed he must direct all things towards the supreme good [God] as to his last end; all his actions fall under the judgment and jurisdiction of the Church.”
Admittedly, Francis spoke in the same vein at the October 2015 ceremony commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops, where he explained: “The Synod always acts cum Petro et sub Petro [with Peter and under Peter]— indeed, not only cum Petro, but also sub Petro — is not a limitation of freedom, but a guarantee of unity. For the Pope is, by will of the Lord, the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful. Closely related to this is the concept of ‘hierarchica communio’ as employed by the Second Vatican Council: the Bishops are linked to the Bishop of Rome by the bond of episcopal communion (cum Petro) while, at the same time, hierarchically subject to him as head of the college (sub Petro).” Yet for Francis to say that means little―for that is the everyday ploy of Modernists: say one thing, then do the opposite. We even see that with most politicians today!
Francis is slowly and craftily trying to invert or reverse the Christ given order in the Church―rather than adhering to Christ’s principle of “power from above”, he is subtly and gradually trying to change that to “power from below” ― to Church that is ruled by the people and for the people, similar to what Abraham Lincoln said: “Democracy is a rule of the people, for the people and by the people.”
After his election in March of 2013, Francis has organized synods in 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2023 and the next one coming in 2024. He has often spoken of decentralizing the power of Church, by removing certain powers from Rome and giving them to local (national) branches of the Church. In his 2013 Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Francis expressed his desire to see a “healthy decentralization” or “sound decentralization” in the Catholic Church: “I do not believe that the papal Magisterium should be expected to offer a definitive or complete word on every question which affects the Church and the world. It is not advisable for the Pope to take the place of local Bishops in the discernment of every issue which arises in their territory. In this sense, I am conscious of the need to promote a sound ‘decentralization’.”
The Final Document states: “At the behest of the Holy Father, the Assembly saw other members of the People of God gathered together and around the bishops. The bishops, united among themselves and with the Bishop of Rome, made manifest the Church as a communion of Churches. Lay people, those in consecrated life, deacons and priests were, together with the bishops, witnesses of a process that intends to involve the whole Church and everyone in the Church ... The Assembly is not an isolated event, but an integral part and a necessary step in the synodal process. The multiplicity of interventions and the plurality of positions voiced in the Assembly revealed a Church that is learning to embrace a synodal style and is seeking the most suitable ways to make this happen.”
Above, we see the line: “The bishops, united among themselves and with the Bishop of Rome.” What does that mean? It can mean a lot of things. Heaven is united among themselves. Hell is united among themselves: “If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?” said Our Lord (Luke 11:18). We can be united in truth, and we can be united in error. We can be united in virtue, and we can be united in sin. Mortal sin cuts us off from unity with God. Under Francis, there are now prominent cardinals—not only in Germany—who doubt whether mortal sin even exists. We have been warned that “there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears! And will turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables!” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Francis is seeking a false unity. Sure―“the bishops [are] united among themselves and with the Bishop of Rome”―but are they united to the Truth of Christ? Currently, there is not a unity, but an increasing schismatic undercurrent within the Church, with the Traditional and Conservative elements believing that they are true Catholics while calling-out the Liberal and Modernist Catholics as being bad Catholics. That viewpoint is reciprocated by the Liberal and Modernist Catholics, who say that the Traditional and Conservative Catholics are “backwards”, “rigid”, “pharisaical”, “judgmental” and “uncharitable”. To add further confusion and division, you then have the varying degrees of each flavor―Conservative-Liberals (mainly Conservative with Liberal tendencies) or Liberal-Conservatives (mainly Liberal with some Conservative tendencies). Likewise, Traditional-Conservative or Conservative-Traditional. or Ultra-Liberals and Ultra-Conservatives. Add to the mix the 10% Liberal, 20% Liberal, 30% Liberal all the way to 100% Liberal―and the same for all the other flavors! It reminds us of Our Lord’s words: “You are the salt of the Earth. But if the salt lose its flavor, with what shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men!” (Matthew 5:13). Unfortunately, Francis prefers the flavorless or sweet salt, and he is trying to throw out the good salt that stings!
Francis is a Modernist and a Liberal―and Modernists and Liberals are a prime example of those who “will turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables” ― and the recent Synod on Synodality was largely stocked with Modernists and Liberals talking about the “fable” of “Synodality” which they have still not managed to define after several years of talking! Some participants were chosen by votes from National Bishops’ Conferences (who for the most part are Liberal and Modernist) and other participants were directly chosen by Francis (who is a Modernist and Liberal). As Our Lord said: “By their fruits you shall know them! Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit!” (Matthew 7:16-17). The Liberal/Modernist tree will produce Liberal/Modernist fruits―it cannot produce Traditional/Conservative fruits―nor does it want to do so! The Synod on Synodality “tree” was deliberately planted to be a Liberal/Modernist tree, producing Liberal/Modernist fruits.
The words of Pope St. Pius X, in his encyclical against Modernism, Pascendi, are truly applicable to Francis and his fellow Modernists: “The partisans of error are to be sought not only among the Church’s open enemies; they lie hid in her very bosom and heart … We allude to many who belong to the Catholic laity and to the ranks of the priesthood itself, who, feigning a love for the Church, lacking the firm protection of philosophy and theology, are thoroughly imbued with the poisonous doctrines taught by the enemies of the Church, and vaunt themselves as reformers of the Church [which is what the current Synodal-maniacs are trying to do] … They play the double the parts of rationalist and Catholic, and this so craftily that they easily lead the unwary into error” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical, Pascendi).
To better hide themselves and thereby confuse Catholics, the Modernists will employ a two-faced attitude. You could call it “good cop, bad cop”, or “slap and then caress”, or being truly Catholic at one moment, and then truly Modernist the next moment. All of this is done to keep the “mouse” in the “trap”―or keeping a violently beaten wife from leaving by lavishing love on her at one moment, hatefully hitting her the next moment. An external family unity remains in the eyes of the world, but it is broken and divided family behind the scenes within the walls of the home. Pope St. Pius X describes it thus: “They lie hidden … thoroughly imbued with the poisonous doctrines … None is more skillful, none more astute than they, in the employment of a thousand noxious arts … They express astonishment that We number them among the enemies of the Church … They lead a life of the greatest activity, of assiduous and ardent application to every branch of learning, and they possess, as a rule, a reputation for the strictest morality―all of which is well calculated to deceive souls ... Hence in their books you find some things which might well be expressed by a Catholic, but in the next page you find other things which might have been dictated by a Rationalist ... (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical, Pascendi).
Francis is an excellent example of speaking out of both sides of his mouth―one moment he speaks pure and clear Catholicism, then he speaks the typically vague and confusing Modernism. This is straight out of the playbook of the Modernists at the Second Vatican Council―speaking an ambiguous Catholicism that, at a pinch, can be acceptable to both the Traditional/Conservative faction and also the Liberal/Modernist faction. Pure “doublespeak.” In 1989, linguist William Lutz identified the four most common types of doublespeak—euphemism, jargon, gobbledygook or “bureaucratese,” and inflated language. That is language of Modernists.
As Pope St. Pius X said: “We must now break silence, in order to expose before the whole Church in their true colors those men who have assumed this bad disguise … Every Modernist sustains and comprises within himself many personalities; he is a philosopher, a believer, a theologian, a historian, a critic, an apologist, a reformer … The Modernists employ a very cunning trick, namely, to present their doctrines without order and systematic arrangement into one whole, that is scattered and disjointed one from another, so as to appear to be in doubt and uncertainty, while they are in reality firm and steadfast [in their error] … They continuously and openly criticize the Church because of her sheer obstinacy in refusing to submit and accommodate her dogmas to the opinions of philosophy; while they, on their side, after having blotted out the old theology, endeavor to introduce a new theology … Feeling no horror at treading in the footsteps of Luther, they like to display a certain contempt for Catholic doctrines, or the Holy Fathers, for the Ecumenical Councils, for the ecclesiastical Magisterium―and should they be rebuked for this, they complain that they are being deprived of their liberty.” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical, Pascendi).
That is exactly what the Liberals and Modernists in the present day Church are doing―Francis has shown contempt for traditional doctrines; he has pilloried and attacked Conservative leaning Catholics; he has ignored all the previous Ecumenical Councils except the Second Vatican Council; he pays no attention to perennial Magisterium of the Church, following only the Modernist Magisterium since Vatican II; he rarely quotes the Traditional and Conservative pope who ruled the Church before Vatican II. All in all, you could say that he has broken away from the perennial Apostolic Church, which he is trying to reform as he tries to build a new Church―one that is decentralized, localized, democratized, and almost laicized.
“Religious sentiment [say the Modernists] is the germ of all religion, and the explanation of everything that has been or ever will be in any religion. The sentiment, which was at first only rudimentary and almost formless, gradually matured, under the influence of that mysterious principle from which it originated, with the progress of human life, of which, as has been said, it is a form. This, then, is the origin of all religion, even supernatural religion; it is only a development of this religious sentiment. There are many Catholics, and priests too, who say these things openly―and they boast that they are going to reform the Church by these ravings!” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical, Pascendi). The Synod on Synodality is full of this sentimentality―listen to the sentiments of the people, listen to experiences of the people, listen to their stories!
Jesus prayed that we might all be one: “Father, I have manifested Thy Name to the men whom thou hast given Me out of the world! ... The words which Thou gavest Me, I have given to them! … I pray for them! I pray not for the world, but for them whom Thou hast given Me! … Holy Father, keep them so that they may be one, as We also are! … They are not of the world; as I also am not of the world! I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from evil! They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world! Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth I pray … that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us” (John 17:6-21).
► FOURTH POINT―SYNODAL PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY
The Final Document states: “Lay people, those in consecrated life, deacons and priests were, together with the bishops, witnesses of a process that intends to involve the whole Church and everyone in the Church.”
The above statement is nothing else than a desire to be democracy or a parliament. Even though Francis has repeatedly said that the Synod is not a parliament, his actions speak louder than his words. It is his decision that changed a Synod of Bishops into a “Free-For-All Synod.” You can bet your bottom dollar that this is not the end, but only the beginning. Christ commanded that ONE MAN rule His Church―which was Peter and his successors: “I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church … And I will give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon Earth, it shall be bound also in Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon Earth, it shall be loosed also in Heaven!” (Matthew 16:18-19). Even so, a pope is merely a representative or an ambassador of Christ. It is Christ Who holds full authority over His Church, not the pope―hence a pope is called “The Vicar of Christ.”
The Catholic Church is meant to be a theocracy―not a democracy, not a parliament. A theocracy is a form of government that is led by God or by a person or persons who rule by divine authority. Furthermore, the Church is―within itself―a perfect society. The Church and the State are both perfect societies. That means―they have their own legal system and all necessary resources to achieve their ends or goals. “Perfect” here does not mean that it is morally perfect, but socially perfect. Perfect comes from the Latin per factum, which means that it is a society that in fact has all the necessary means to attain its proper goal. The Church is a perfect society because Our Lord Jesus Christ founded her to bring people to know, love and serve God above all things and, doing so, to save their souls―and He also gave the Church all the means necessary to achieve those objectives. The Church also strives to fulfill God’s will on Earth, so that the life here on Earth will become as similar as possible to that of Heaven. To achieve these goals, Our Lord established the Papacy and the Hierarchy to govern and teach the Church.
Pope Pius XI, in his encyclical Divini Illius Magistri, states: “The Church is independent of any sort of earthly power … The Church as a perfect society has an independent right to the means conducive to its end, and because every form of instruction, no less than every human action, has a necessary connection with man's last end, and therefore cannot be withdrawn from the dictates of the divine law, of which the Church is guardian, interpreter and infallible mistress … Whatever a Christian does even in the order of things of Earth, he may not overlook the supernatural; indeed he must direct all things towards the supreme good [God] as to his last end; all his actions fall under the judgment and jurisdiction of the Church.”
Admittedly, Francis spoke in the same vein at the October 2015 ceremony commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops, where he explained: “The Synod always acts cum Petro et sub Petro [with Peter and under Peter]— indeed, not only cum Petro, but also sub Petro — is not a limitation of freedom, but a guarantee of unity. For the Pope is, by will of the Lord, the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful. Closely related to this is the concept of ‘hierarchica communio’ as employed by the Second Vatican Council: the Bishops are linked to the Bishop of Rome by the bond of episcopal communion (cum Petro) while, at the same time, hierarchically subject to him as head of the college (sub Petro).” Yet for Francis to say that means little―for that is the everyday ploy of Modernists: say one thing, then do the opposite. We even see that with most politicians today!
Francis is slowly and craftily trying to invert or reverse the Christ given order in the Church―rather than adhering to Christ’s principle of “power from above”, he is subtly and gradually trying to change that to “power from below” ― to Church that is ruled by the people and for the people, similar to what Abraham Lincoln said: “Democracy is a rule of the people, for the people and by the people.”
After his election in March of 2013, Francis has organized synods in 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2023 and the next one coming in 2024. He has often spoken of decentralizing the power of Church, by removing certain powers from Rome and giving them to local (national) branches of the Church. In his 2013 Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Francis expressed his desire to see a “healthy decentralization” or “sound decentralization” in the Catholic Church: “I do not believe that the papal Magisterium should be expected to offer a definitive or complete word on every question which affects the Church and the world. It is not advisable for the Pope to take the place of local Bishops in the discernment of every issue which arises in their territory. In this sense, I am conscious of the need to promote a sound ‘decentralization’.”