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ASSISI: The Peace
Of God Or The Peace Of The Freemasonery?
I-The
Facts
Most representative
interreligious meeting in History.
Assisi, Italy, Jan. 24, 2002 (Zenit
News Agency, Via della Stazione di Ottavia, 95, 00165 Rome; www.zenit.org)
(Underlining by Communicantes)
At what was possibly the most
representative interreligious meeting in history, leaders at the Day
of Prayer for Peace voiced support for a common theme: "violence
never again".
More than 200 leaders of the world's
religions united to declare: "Violence never again! War never
again! Terrorism never again! In the name of God, may every religion
bring upon the earth justice and peace, forgiveness and life, love!"
The gathering was convoked by
John Paul II in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and fallout.
Never until today had Christian leaders of all denominations participated
in the same meeting.
Even the Orthodox Patriarchate
of Moscow was represented, which in the past rejected all papal invitations
of this kind.
The Day of Prayer ended by uniting
Sikhs, Confucians, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, animists, Christians of all
denominations, and believers of other creeds in a "Joint Commitment
to Peace". Passages of the declaration, subscribed to by all,
were read by different religious leaders.
Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople
began the declaration by recalling the golden rule present in religions:
"Do to others what you would have them do to you".
(...) Muslim representative Sheikh
Abdel Salam Abushukhadaem read in Arabic of the need to respect people's
differences and to foment "greater reciprocal understanding".
Bishop Vasilios of the Cypriot
Orthodox Church expressed in Greek the commitment to forgive "one
another for past and present errors and prejudices".
French Rabbi Samuel Sirat urged
"leaders of nations" in Hebrew to create "a world of solidarity
and peace based on justice".
John Paul II ended the joint declaration,
saying: "Violence never again! War never again! Terrorism never again!
In the name of God, may every religion bring upon the earth justice and
peace, forgiveness and life, love!"
During the declaration, the religious
leaders held a lamp in their hands, the "light of hope", designed
for the occasion by an artist nun.
At the conclusion of the solemn
commitment, the Pope and the representatives placed their lamps on a tripod,
which will remain in St. Francis' Basilica in memory of this historic
event.
The Holy Father then broke with
the organizers' program, and took time to greet the religious leaders.
This caused a delay in the return of the "peace train", which
brought the 250 representatives of various religions to Assisi from the
Vatican.
During the first interreligious
meeting in Assisi in 1986, 160 religious leaders gathered in the town
of St Francis, honoring the Pope's invitation. Today, the dream of John
Paul II to organize a pan-Christian meeting, which he could not realize
during the great Jubilee of the year 2000, was fulfilled.
II
- Statement - From Bishop Bernard Fellay Concerning The Interdenominational
Day Of Prayer In Assisi On 24™ Of January 2002
Pope John Paul II is inviting all
the major religions of the world, the muslims in particular, to a great
prayer meeting in Assisi, in the same spirit of the first meeting for
peace that took place there in 1986. We are deeply distressed by this
event and condemn it totally.
Because it offends God in
His first commandment.
Because it denies the unity
of the Church and Her mission of saving souls.
Because it can only lead the
faithful into confusion and indifferentism.
Because it deceives the unfortunate
unfaithful and members of other religions.
The problem does not lie in the
object of the prayers -peace. To pray for peace and to seek to establish
and strengthen peace between peoples and nations is a good thing in itself.
The Catholic liturgy is full of beautiful prayers for peace. We pray these
prayers with all our hearts. Moreover, given the fact that the angels
announced, on the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, peace on earth to men
of good will, it is totally fitting to ask the faithful to implore the
One True God to grant us a gift of such great value at this stage in the
year.
The reason for our indignation
lies in the confusion, scandal and blasphemy that result from an invitation
from the Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, sole mediator between God and
man, to other religions to come to Assisi to pray for peace.
It has been stated that to avoid
any syncretism, those attending will not be praying «together », but that
each religion will pray in separate rooms in the Franciscan convent at
Assisi. Cardinal Kasper went so far - and rightly so - to affirm that
« Christians cannot pray with members of other religions. » (Osservatore
Romano, 5 Jan 2002). However, this affirmation is not enough to dissipate
the dreadful uneasiness and confusion caused by the event; it cannot be
denied that all kinds of religions will be praying « each in their own
camp » to obtain from these prayers said at the same time, but in different
locations, the same result: peace. The fact that all have been invited
to pray, at the same time and in the same town, for the same intention
is clear proof of the desire for unity. On the other hand, the fact that
the prayers will be offered in separate locations betrays the contradictory
and impossible nature of the project. In reality, the distinction is false,
even though, thanks be to God, it avoids a direct communicatio in sacris.
However, the syncretic nature of the operation is obvious to all.
Recourse to deceitful words has made it possible to deny the painfully
obvious reality. But words do
not mean anything any more: we will be going to Assisi, not to pray together,
we are going there together to pray ... no syncretism etc.
The establishment of civil (political)
peace between nations by congresses, discussions, diplomacy, with the
intervention of influential persons of different nations and religions,
is one thing. It is another to claim to obtain the gift of peace from
God by the prayer of all (false) religions. Such an initiative is completely
inconsistent with the Catholic faith and goes against the first commandment.
This is not a question of individual
prayer, that of one man, in his own particular relationship with God,
whether as creator or sanctifier, but the prayer of different religions,
as such, with their own particular rite addressed to their own particular
divinity. Holy Scripture, (both the Old and the New Testaments) teach
us that the only prayer pleasing to God is that of He, Whom He established
as sole mediator between Himself and men, and that this prayer can only
be found in the one true religion. God considers an abomination all other
religions, especially idolatry, the summum of all superstitions.
Moreover, how can one hope to claim
that religions that fail to recognise the one true God can possibly obtain
anything from Him? Saint Paul assures us that these false gods are fallen
angels and demons. "But the things which the heathens sacrifice,
they sacrifice to devils and not to God. And I would not that you should
be made partakers with devils. You cannot drink the chalice of the Lord,
and the chalice of devils: you cannot be partakers of the table of the
Lord, and of the table of devils. " (1 Cor. 10: 20-21)
Inviting these religions to pray
is inviting them to make an act that God reproves, that he condemns in
the first commandment, one sole God shall you adore. It is leading the
members of such religions into error and condoning their ignorance and
misfortune.
Worse still: this invitation implies
that their prayers might be useful, or even necessary, in order to obtain
peace. Almighty God made it perfectly clear what He thinks of this, via
the words of his apostle Saint Paul : "Bear not the yoke with
unbelievers. For what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what
fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with
Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement
hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living
God; as God saith: 7 will dwell in them, and walk among them; and
I will be their God, and they shall be my people'. "(IICor. 6:
14-16)
"We will never fully understand
the struggle between the good and the wicked throughout history, as long
as we do not see it as the personal and unyielding battle for all time
between Satan and Jesus Christ" wrote Archbishop Lefebvre in all
his wisdom. (Spiritual Journey The Angelus Press, 1991, page 37)
This fundamental truth, as far as war and peace are concerned, would appear
to have been totally forgotten in the thinking behind the initiative in
Assisi.
At one point during the day, everyone
will be gathered together. When, then, will the participants hear the
cry of the first Pope, St. Peter, "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) The same Jesus Christ, sole Saviour,
is also the sole author of peace. But will anyone dare point out these
elementary truths to guests who are strangers to Christianity? Fear of
hurting their feelings will mean that this absolutely essential condition
for true peace will be overlooked or reduced to a purely subjective belief
("for us Christians, Jesus Christ is God" etc.)
As we have just pointed out: Not
only is there only one true God and "They are inexcusable (those
who ignore Him)" (Romans 1:20), but there is also only one mediator
(I Tim 2: 5), one sole ambassador authorised by God, who intercedes ceaselessly
on our behalf (Heb 7: 25). Religions which refuse to recognise His divinity
explicitly, such as Judaism and Islam, have no chance of having their
prayers answered, because of so fundamental an error. "Who is a liar,
but he who denieth that Jesus is the Christ? This is Antichrist, who denieth
the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the son, the same hath not the
Father. He that confesseth the Son, hath the father also." (John
2:22-23)
Despite monotheistic appearances,
we do not have the same God, we do not have the same mediator. Only the
mystical bride of Christ (Eph 5: 32) has the prerogative of obtaining
from God, in the name of, and through, Our Lord Jesus Christ, any favours,
in particular that of peace. Such is the faith that the Church has taught
and believed constantly, throughout the ages and from time immemorial.
This is, by no means, a question of intolerance or of disdain for one's
neighbour, it is a question of an unchangeable truth. "No one comes
to the Father but through me." (John 14:6)
To make gestures, or to get others
to make them, that are not in keeping with this truth, is to deceive oneself.
It offends God, He in whom He has placed all His satisfaction (Me 9: 7),
Our Lord Jesus Christ, and His Holy Church (Mt 16: 18).
How can those who refuse this mediation
- as do the Jews and Muslims explicitly, in refusing to recognise His
divinity - possibly hope to have their prayers answered? The same goes
for those who refuse to accept the Church's role as mediator.
John Paul II has attempted to justify
the prayer meetings in Assisi on several occasions.
In fact, one of his arguments is
founded on the definition of prayer. "All authentic prayer comes
from the Holy Ghost who dwells mysteriously in every soul". Inasmuch
as one attributes the correct meaning to the word "authentic",
one could accept the first part of the sentence. But it is obvious that
one cannot say that the prayer of a Buddhist, before an idol of Buddha,
or that of a witchdoctor smoking the peace-pipe, or that of an animist,
is authentic.
The only authentic prayer is true
prayer addressed to the true God. It is totally wrong to qualify a prayer
addressed to the devil as authentic. Can the prayer of a fanatical terrorist,
before crashing into the Manhattan tower, « Allah is great » be called
authentic?
Wasn't he convinced that he was
doing the right thing, doesn't that make him sincere ? It is clear that
a purely subjective way of looking at things is not sufficient to make
a prayer authentic.
The second part of the sentence
: "the Holy Ghost dwells mysteriously in every soul", or in
every man, is certainly false. The word "mysteriously" can be
misleading: in Catholic theology, as in Holy Scripture, the dwelling of
the Holy Ghost is directly linked to the presence of sanctifying grace.
One of the first formulae used in baptism consists of commanding the devil
to leave the soul in order to let the Holy Ghost enter it. This demonstrates
quite clearly that the Holy Ghost did not dwell in the soul before
baptism.
And so, the justification for the
interdenominational day of prayer at Assisi is based on a false premice.
Those wishing to promote dialogue,
which requires considering the other party in a highly positive light,
argue that there is much good in other religions, and, given that God
is the sole source of good, God is at work in other religions. This is
pure sophistry, based on the lack of distinction between natural order
and supernatural order. It goes without saying that, when one speaks of
the action of God in a religion, one implies a work of salvation. This
means God who saves by His grace. His supernatural grace. On the other
hand, the good referred to in other religions, (non-Christian ones at
any rate) is merely natural; in such cases, God is acting as creator,
Who gives being to all things, and not as saviour. The determination of
the Vatican II Council to dispense with the distinction between the order
of grace and natural order bears, in this respect, its most poisonous
fruits. The result is the worst sort of confusion, that which leads people
to think that any religion can finally obtain the greatest favours from
God. This is a huge fraud, a ridiculous error.
It is in keeping with the masonic
plot to establish a grand temple of universal brotherhood above all religions
and beliefs, « Unity in diversity » a concept so dear to the New
Age and to globalisation. "We were excommunicated by Clement XI in
1738 because of our interdenominational principles. But the Church was
definitely in error, if it is true that, on 27th October 1986, the present
Pope gathered together men of all religious confessions in Assisi to pray
for peace. What else are our brothers looking for when they gather together
in temples, than love between men, tolerance, solidarity, defence of the
dignity of the human-being, considering themselves equal, above political
and religious beliefs and the colour of their skin?" (Grand Master
Armando Corona, of the Grand lodge of the Spring Equinox, Hiram - voice
of the Grand Orient of Italy-April 1987)
One thing is certain : there is
no better way to provoke the anger of God.
This is why, despite our strong
desire for the peace of God, we will have absolutely nothing to do with
this day of prayer on 24th January, in Assisi. Nullam partem.
+ Bishop Bernard Fellay, 21st
January 2002
III
- Two
discourses of the Pope
A
- Pope's Greeting To Religious Leaders
(excerpts)
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2002 (ZENIT.org).-
Late this morning John Paul II gave this greeting to the religious leaders
who gathered in the Piazza San Francesco in Assisi, for the Day
of Prayer for Peace.
1. I greet you all with great joy
and I extend a cordial welcome to all present. Thank you for accepting
my invitation to take part in this gathering of prayer for
peace in Assisi. It brings to mind the meeting here in 1986, and is
in a sense an important continuation of that event. It shares the
same goal: to pray for peace, which is above all a gift to be implored
from God with fervent and trusting insistence. In times of greater anxiety
about the fate of the world, we sense more clearly than ever the duty
to commit ourselves personally to the defence and promotion of the fundamental
good which is peace.
3. I also wish to greet most cordially
the followers of the various religions: the Representatives of Islam who
have come from Albania, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Jerusalem,
Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Senegal, the United States
of America, Sudan and Turkey; the Buddhist Representatives, from
Taiwan and Great Britain; the Hindu Representatives from India;
the Representatives of African Traditional Religion who have come
from Ghana and Benin; and also the Japanese Delegates representing various
religions and movements; the Sikh Representatives from India, Singapore
and Great Britain; and the Confucian, Zoroastrian and Jain Delegates.
I cannot mention everyone by name, but I do wish my welcome to include
all of you, dearly cherished Guests, whom I thank once again for having
agreed to take part in this important Day.
[Original text: Italian; translation
distributed by Vatican Press Office; underlining by Communicantes.]
B
- Pope's Discourse After Testimonies For Peace (excerpts)
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2002 (ZENIT.org).-
At the Day of Prayer for Peace, held in Assisi, 10 representatives of
churches, ecclesial communities and other religions offered testimonies
in favor of peace. Then the Pope gave this discourse.
1. We have come to Assisi on a
pilgrimage of peace. We are here, as representatives of different religions,
to examine ourselves before God concerning our commitment to peace, to
ask him for this gift, to bear witness to our shared longing for a
world of greater justice and solidarity.
2. We are meeting in Assisi, where
everything speaks of a singular prophet of peace known as Francis. He
is loved not only by Christians, but by many other believers and
by people who, though far-removed from religion, identify with his ideals
of justice, reconciliation and peace.
Here, the "poor man of Assisi"
invites us first of all to raise a song of gratitude to God for his gifts.
We praise God for the beauty of the cosmos and of the earth, the marvellous
"garden" that he entrusted to men and women in order that they
might cultivate it and tend it (cf. Gen
2:15). It is good that people remember
that they find themselves in a "flowerbed" of the immense universe,
created for them by God. It is important for people to realize that neither
they nor the matters which they so frantically pursue are "everything".
Only God is "everything", and in the end everyone will have
to give an accounting of themselves to him.
God himself has placed in the human
heart an instinctive tendency to live in peace and harmony. This desire
is more deeply-rooted and determined than any impulse to violence; it
is a desire that we have come together to reaffirm here, in Assisi. We
do so in the awareness that we are representing the deepest sentiment
of every human being.
History has always known men and
women who, precisely because they are believers, have distinguished
themselves as witnesses to peace. By their example they teach us that
it is possible to build between individuals and peoples bridges that lead
us to come together and walk with one another on the paths of peace. We
look to them in order to draw inspiration for our commitment in the
service of humanity. They encourage us to hope that, also in this
new millennium just begun, there will be no lack of men and women of
peace, capable of irradiating in the world the light of love and hope.
3. Peace! Humanity is always in
need of peace, but now more than ever, after the tragic events which have
undermined its confidence and in the face of persistent flashpoints of
cruel conflict which create anxiety throughout the world. In my Message
for 1st of January, I stressed the two "pillars"
upon which peace rests: commitment to justice and readiness to forgive.
Humility and courage are required
if we are to take this path. Our gathering today, in a context of dialogue
with God, offers us a chance to reaffirm that in God we find pre-eminently
the union of justice and mercy. He is supremely faithful to himself and
to man, even when people wander far from him. That is why religions
are at the service of peace. It is the duty of religions, and of their
leaders above all, to foster in the people of our time a renewed sense
of the urgency of building peace.
It is essential, therefore, that
religious people and communities should in the clearest and most radical
way repudiate violence, all violence, starting with the violence that
seeks to clothe itself in religion, appealing even to the most holy name
of God in order to offend man. To offend against man is, most certainly,
to offend against God. There is no religious goal which can possibly
justify the use of violence by man against man.
5. I turn now in a special way
to you, my Christian Brothers and Sisters. Our Lord and Master Jesus
Christ calls us to be apostles of peace. He made his own the Golden Rule
well known to ancient wisdom: "Whatever you wish that men would do
to you, do so to them" (Mt 7:12; cf. Lk 6:31), and God's commandment
to Moses: "Love your neighbour as yourself (cf. Lev 19:18; Mt 22:39
and parallels). He brought these laws to fulfilment in the new commandment:
"Love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34).
In his death on Golgotha, Jesus
bore in his flesh the wounds of God's passion for humanity. Bearing
witness to the heavenly Father's loving plan, he became "our peace,
who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility"
(Eph 2:14).
With Francis, the saint who breathed
the air of these hills and walked the streets of this town, let us fix
our gaze on the mystery of the Cross, the tree of salvation sprinkled
with the redeeming blood of Christ. The lives of Saint Francis, Saint
Clare and countless other Christian saints and martyrs were marked by
the mystery of the Cross. Their secret was precisely this sign of the
triumph of love over hatred, of forgiveness over retaliation, of good
over evil. We are called to go forward in their footsteps, so that
the world will never cease to long for the peace of Christ.
6. If peace is God's gift and has
its source in him, where are we to seek it and how can we build it, if
not in a deep and intimate relationship with God? To build the peace of
order, justice and freedom requires, therefore, a priority commitment
to prayer, which is openness, listening, dialogue and finally union with
God, the prime wellspring of true peace.
7. Brothers and Sisters gathered
here from different parts of the world! Shortly we shall go to the
arranged places in order to beg from God the gift of peace for all humanity.
Let us ask that we be given the gift of recognizing the path of peace,
of right relationship with God and among ourselves. Let us ask God
to open people's hearts to the truth about himself and the truth about
man. We have a single goal and a shared intention, but we will
pray in different ways, respecting one another's religious traditions.
In this too, deep down, there is a message: we wish to show the world
that the genuine impulse to prayer does not lead to opposition and
still less to disdain of others, but rather to constructive dialogue,
a dialogue in which each one, without relativism or syncretism of any
kind, becomes more deeply aware of the duty to bear witness and to proclaim.
Now is the time to overcome decisively
those temptations to hostility which have not been lacking in the religious
history of humanity. In fact, when these temptations appeal to religion,
they show a profoundly immature face of religion. True religious feeling
leads rather to a perception in one way or another of the mystery of God,
the source of goodness, and that is a wellspring of respect and harmony
between peoples: indeed religion is the chief antidote to violence
and conflict (cf. Message for the World Day of Peace 2002, #14).
May peace dwell especially in the
soul of the rising generations. Young people of the Third Millennium,
young Christians, young people of every religion, I ask you to
be, like Francis of Assisi, gentle and courageous "guardians"
of true peace, based on justice and forgiveness, truth and mercy!
[Original text: Italian; translation
distributed by Vatican Press Office; underlining by Communicantes.]
IV
- Our Remarks
A - Let us summarise
the most significant points of these two discourses of the Pope.
1. It is definitely the Pope who
invites these religious men to pray to God at Assisi for the gift of peace.
The Pope invites them insofar as being representatives of different
religions, and not just as individuals who may or may not be of good
faith and eventually have the grace of God. This means also that these
false cults, as such, with all their superstitions and errors, have been
welcomed by the Pope.
2. The intention is the same for
all, but each one is invited to pray to God according to "diverse
forms", "respecting the religions of each". Each one will
pray in the (diverse) "places provided" (in the convent of St
Francis), but at the same time.
3. The Pope does not mention "Our
Master and Lord Jesus Christ" except when addressing himself "in
a particular manner" to the Christians. Is not Jesus Christ the Only
Mediator established by God between Him and all men? And furthermore,
no distinction was made in these discourses between the Catholics and
the heretical Protestant sects, who reject the Church and most of the
Sacraments, and therefore, in fact, reject a whole part of Jesus Christ.
4. Moreover, the central truth
of the divinity of Jesus Christ is not affirmed in a clear and precise
fashion. The expression "he imprinted in his flesh the stigmata of
the divine passion" allows for no offence to be taken even by those
who do not believe that Jesus Christ is, substantially, God.
5. The Pope exhorts his guests
to ask God "to open their hearts to the truth about Him and about
man". But God wishes to teach this truth precisely through His Church:
it is the Church, and especially the Pope, St Peter's successor, who has
the mission, the essential and grave duty to "go and teach all nations,
baptising them... teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you" (Matth 28: 16). It is the Church who has this serious
duty to communicate everywhere the truth revealed by Our Lord Jesus Christ.
And yet, apart from the three paragraphs he addresses to the Christians,
the Pope nowhere mentions Jesus Christ. Is He not our Creator and Only
Saviour, the One mediator between God and man? The Pope keeps it at the
natural level: God the Creator. Will the truth of Christ be facultative?
6. The Pope explains that "the
sincere fervour of prayer does not arouse opposition but rather a constructive
dialogue where each one, without lapsing in any way into relativism or
syncretism, becomes more strongly aware of the duty of witnessing and
of announcing". These are nothing but words, contradicted by the
reality, "deceitful words", as Bishop Fellay said of them.
For on the one hand, the Pope precisely
refuses to announce clearly to all his guests, on this occasion, the most
necessary truths, the truths which he has received the mission to announce
to all men.
And moreover, even if it is true
that the Pope did not participate directly in the ceremonies of the false
cults, he nevertheless let it be clearly understood, either that the differences
between the religions all boil down to differences of "diverse forms",
therefore not affecting the essence of our relationships with God, or
else, that the doctrinal differences, if they are theoretically fundamental,
do not hinder God from accepting the false religions benevolently, provided
that they manifest "a sincere fervour of prayer". Here lies
a deadly ambiguity, as we shall see below.
As for the denial of syncretism,
the dictionary tells us that this term refers to a not very logical attempt
to reconcile, to combine doctrines and religions which oppose each other.
This can be done in two ways: be it through a positive approbation of
all the doctrines, even those which are contradictory, through the principle
of subjectivism or of relativism: the truth depends on the subject or
is relative to the varying circumstances; or be it through a negative
approbation of all the doctrines, even contradictory ones, through the
refusal to denounce the errors opposed to the truth: in which case they
intend to achieve a unity through a common action, putting aside
all that which divides. We cannot deny that this is what has taken place
at Assisi: the Pope invites those to prayer at the same time and even
with the same object in view, each one keeping his own beliefs and rites.
7. The Pope declares that "in
the natural religious sentiment resides the principal antidote against
violence and conflicts".
8. Lastly, the Pope acts as spokesman
for everyone in rejecting violence, "in the most clear and the
most radical manner". "There is no religious purpose that
can justify the practice of violence of man upon man".
B - Several
Catholic principles to help us dispel the confusion
a) The truth is objective, it is
not the subject thinking that creates it. It is one and the same for all,
precisely because it is objective.
b) The religious truths of the
natural order are entirely insufficient for the salvation of man. Salvation
and the grace of God are of the supernatural order. They depend on supernatural
Faith, a gift of God, "without which it is impossible to please God"
(Heb 11:6).
c) Furthermore, because of original
sin, our human nature has been and remains wounded. It has forfeited its
integrity, especially through the wound of ignorance in the intelligence,
which explains why man is so easily fooled by error, and through the wound
of malice in the will, which explains why man is so easily attracted to
evil. Without the help of medicinal supernatural grace (gratia sanans)
the natural religious sentiment is easily perverted, even to the point
of losing the notion of the One transcendent God.
d) Among the supernatural religious
truths which are the most essential, the most necessary for salvation,
there are those concerning Our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man,
only Mediator and only Saviour of all men. Through the Holy Mass, He has
left to His Church, the Catholic Church, His Sacrifice as the only true
form of worship that can please God and obtain His pardon and His favours.
e) God wants "adorers in spirit
and in truth". He detests false religions, which are "inspired
by the devil" (I Cor 10: 20-21). He cannot approve of any religion,
which in one way or another contradicts the Truth, for He is the Truth.
f) That is why it is never permitted
for a Catholic to participate actively in a false worship: it is the sin
of communicatio in sacris, a sin against the 1st commandment
of God: "One only God thou shalt adore and thou shalt perfectly love".
It is not even permitted to participate passively, if there is a proximate
danger of scandal. Any word or action that can be interpreted as an approbation
of a false religion is a grave scandal.
g) Objection: but if a pagan is
of good faith, loyal to what he understands of the commandments of God,
but has an invincible ignorance of this or that revealed truth, is his
prayer necessarily rejected by God?
Reply: The Church admits the possibility
that a soul living in a false religion may have the supernatural Faith,
and adhere not only to the natural law, but also to certain truths of
the supernatural order, communicated for example by an angel or an interior
light of the Holy Ghost, even if this soul ignores, in good faith, one
or another revealed truth. But on the one hand, most if not all of the
pagan religions are incompatible with the natural law, in particular with
the first Commandment of God, a fortiori they are incompatible
with the supernatural truth. On the other hand, even offered in good
faith, a false worship remains a false worship: it is obiectivelv
an abomination in the eyes of God. It is one thing to ask whether God
can accept the prayer of a pagan "of good faith", as an individual,
and it is another thing to ask whether a Catholic can, even tacitly, by
his silence, give his approbation to a false cult, and let it be understood
by this pagan that God accepts prayer in no matter what religion. Through
his positive invitation to pagans and to heretics, insofar as being representatives
of false religions, to pray at the same time with a common intention,
the Pope gravely scandalises the Catholics and these pagans and, in fact,
favours indifferentism.
h) Peace, even the temporal peace
in this world, cannot be obtained through purely natural means: it is
dependent upon the supernatural order. Only Jesus Christ can give us true
peace: "My peace I give to you, My peace I leave with you, not as
the world giveth peace" (Jn 14: 27).
One of the reasons for this is
that peace requires supernatural grace to heal the wounds of our nature,
which has fallen by sin. This grace, of the supernatural order, cannot
be obtained except through and in Jesus Christ. The "natural religious
sentiment" is therefore absolutely incapable, of itself, to procure
true peace.
i) Lastly, "the most clear
and the most radical" rejection of all violence may satisfy a wayward
sentimentalism, but certainly will
not satisfy reason, nor Faith, nor the true requirements for peace in
this world.
The authentic love for the good
must prompt us to combat the evil, precisely to prevent it from progressing,
from triumphing, and from suppressing the good. Violence is therefore
sometimes reasonable and just; everyone accepts it in the case of legitimate
defence. If this applies to the good of one individual, a fortiori
it is true for the common good, and more a fortiori for the
common spiritual good of the Faith: from which came the Crusades, for
example, which was fundamentally a just war on the part of the Christians
to defend themselves against the invading Islam. From this also came the
holy Inquisition which, in punishing the notorious and pertinacious heretics,
aimed at protecting the common good of the faith in a Catholic nation,
and therefore also the true peace.
The liberal error that wants, as
a matter of principle, and universally, to allow truth and error to have
equal freedom, is an error that really destroys true peace. So, has the
11th of September of 2001 taught us nothing?
Conclusion: Bishop Fellay was absolutely
right in affirming that this fair at Assisi:
- offends God in His first commandment;
- denies the unicity of the Church
and its saving mission;
- leads the faithful straight into
the error of indifferentism;
- deceives the unfortunate infidels
and the followers of other religions.
Father Dominique De Vriendt
V
- Some Quotes From Tradition
I - "This being so, it is
clear that the Apostolic See can by no means take part in these assemblies,
nor is it in any way lawful for Catholics to give to such enterprises
their encouragement or support. If they did so, they would be giving countenance
to a false Christianity quite alien to the one Church of Christ. Shall
we commit the iniquity of suffering the truth, the truth revealed by God,
to be made a subject for compromise?"
"These pan-Christians who
strive for the union of the churches would appear to pursue the noblest
of ideals in promoting charity among all Christians. But how should charity
tend to the detriment of faith ? Everyone knows that John himself, the
Apostle of love, who seems in his Gospel to have revealed the secrets
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and who never ceased to impress upon the
memory of his disciples the new commandment "to love one another",
nevertheless strictly forbade any intercourse with those who professed
a mutilated and corrupt form of Christ's teaching: 'If any man come to
you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into the house, nor
say to him God speed you' (II John 10)." - Pius XI in Mortaliwn
Animos, January 6, 1928.
II - "But stranger still,
alarming and saddening at the same time, are the audacity and frivolity
of men who call themselves Catholics and dream of re-shaping society under
such conditions, and of establishing on earth, over and beyond the pale
of the Catholic Church, 'the reign of love and justice' with workers coming
from everywhere, of all religions and of no religion, with or without
beliefs, so long as they forego what might divide them - their religious
and philosophical convictions - and so long as they share what unites
them - a 'generous idealism and moral forces drawn from whence they can'.
When we consider the forces, knowledge and supernatural virtues which
were necessary to establish the Christian City, and the sufferings of
millions of martyrs, and the light given by the Fathers and Doctors of
the Church, and of the self-sacrifice of all the heroes of charity, and
a powerful hierarchy ordained in heaven, and the streams of Divine Grace
- the whole having been built up, bound together, and impregnated by the
life and spirit of Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God, the Word made man
- when we think, I say, of all this, it is frightening to behold new apostles
eagerly attempting to do better by a common interchange of vague idealism
and civic virtues. What are they going to produce ? What is to come out
of this collaboration ? A mere verbal and chimerical construction in which
we see, glowing in a jumble, and in seductive confusion, the words of
Liberty, Justice, Fraternity, Love, Equality and human exlatation, all
resting upon an ill-understood human dignity." - Saint Pius X, Our
Apostolic Mandate, letter on the "Sillon", August 25, 1910.
"Only the Catholic Church
keeps the genuine worship. She is the source of truth, the dwelling of
faith, the temple of God; whoever does not enter in it or leaves it forgoes
any hope of life and salvation. Let nobody indulge in stubborn arguments.
It is a question of life and of salvation; if one does not care attentively
and prudently, it will be loss and death". - Lactance, Divinae
Institutions IV, 30. Quoted by Pius XI.
"As well, when Jesus Christ
speaks about this mystical construction, He mentions only one Church,
which He calls His : « I will built my Church ». Any other we would want
to imagine besides that one, is not founded by Jesus Christ and cannot
be the true Church of Jesus Christ". - Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum,
1896.
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