On February 2, Bishop Fellay gave a press conference in Rome with about 45 journalists present. At a time when rumours of secret negotiations between the SSPX and the Vatican, what they got was not what they expected. Instead of the expected announcement of a deal, Bishop Fellay released a letter to Cardinals and a long study on ecumenism entitled “From Ecumenism to Silent Apostasy – 25 Years of Pontificate”. You can obtain this study by writing to me or by going to our web site www.sspx.ca.

The term “silent apostasy” is one used by Pope John Paul II to describe the state of Catholicism in Europe and the world today. This study clearly demonstrates that one of the main reason for this silent apostasy is ecumenism as practiced today by the Vatican, from the Pope on down. Bishop Fellay shows clearly and simply by quoting Pope John Paul II that ecumenism emanates from the conciliar “magna carta” Lumen Gentium and is the main object of his pontificate. Vatican II and John Paul II are therefore responsible for this silent apostasy. I’ll try to summarize the whole thing. If this doesn’t make sense it is a good sign. It’s not supposed to make sense. It is logical but nonsensical. It’s not Catholic.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, in a recent conference, ‘A Vision of Christian Unity for the Next Generation’, admits that there is a pre-Vatican II and a post-Vatican II ecumenism. The pre-Vatican II ecumenism consisted in the conversion, the return of those who had left the one true Church. The post-Vatican II ecumenism is very different. It consists in “the common path”, “reconciled diversity”, as a means of arriving at some kind of unity with other “Churches”. So there is no idea of return, of coming back.

If in the past, the Church worked for the conversion of non-Catholics it was for heir salvation. Now there is no need to work for the salvation of souls anymore. Why? Because for the Pope, everyone is saved because “Jesus Christ ‘has united himself in a certain way to all men’ (Gaudium et Spes nº 22), even if these men are not aware of it.” (JP II 22/12/86) So being freed from the need to help all men attain their salvation, the Church can now devote Herself to promoting the lost unity of mankind!

This entirely new non-Catholic concept of ecumenism comes from a new idea found in the document of Vatican II Lumen Gentium (# 7&8), which speaks separately of the “Church body of Christ” and the visibility of the Catholic Church as if they are two different realities. The Pope, following Vatican II, makes a distinction between the “Church of Christ” which is a divine reality and the different Churches which spring from human divisions. For Vatican II and John Paul II, the Church of Christ is a larger reality than the visible Catholic Church. It includes all the baptized, considered disciples of Christ, despite all the divisions. This Church of Christ is an interior reality. This explains the affirmation found in Lumen Gentium that the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church. For them the Catholic Church is not the Church of Christ, contrary to what Pius XII and all Popes expressly taught, but it is part of the Church of Christ, which includes all “Christian” churches. This is why the Orthodox churches are seen as “sister churches”, and all religions are instruments which the Holy Ghost makes use of in bringing men to God. This is why there is no more need for non-Catholics to convert because as, John Paul II often says following Lumen Gentium, the baptized regardless of which church he belongs to, remains united to Christ and incorporated to Him (LG #15). The conclusion is that if the order of unity “is one that goes back to creation and redemption and is in some way ‘divine’ then all the differences even religious are man made.” (JP II 22/12/86)

From this it follows that for John Paul II, “The ultimate goal of the ecumenical movement is to re-establish full visible unity among all the baptized” (JP II Ut Unum Sint #77) and therefore, it is necessary to tear down all the man made barriers to visible unity. Here you have the reasons for the papal apologies of the year 2000 and all other concessions made to non-Catholic religions.

How Will This Visible Unity Be Realized?

Through the traditional visible signs of unity: the Profession of Faith, the Sacraments and the Hierarchy. But remember, it is not a matter of returning to the one true Fold but of finding some common ground around which we can all be united. This is what explains the demolition of our Church in the name of ecumenism.

 

Profession of Faith

Cardinal Ratzinger

When it comes to the Faith, John Paul II considers that often “intolerant polemics and controversies have made incompatible assertions out of what was really the result of two different ways of looking at the same reality. Nowadays we need to find the formula which, by capturing the reality in its entirety, will enable us to move beyond partial readings and eliminate false interpretations.” (JP II Ut Unum Sint #38) This will be done by historical relativism to make the dogmatic formula depend on the time they were drawn up. Different times need different formulas; it is as simple as that. This is exactly what Cardinal Ratzinger told Archbishop Lefebvre. When asked if the Syllabus of errors of Pius IX was still true today he replied: The Syllabus was for the 19^th century, it doesn’t apply anymore today. Then there is no definite truth anymore.

All the quarrels on the faith were in a large measure a misunderstanding of terminology and there were faults on both sides. So the Faith is thrown out the large open window of Vatican II in the name of ecumenism; to witness the Common Christological declaration between the Catholic and Assyrian Churches of 1994 and the Joint Declaration on Justification between the Lutheran Federation and the Catholic Church of 1999.

The Sacraments

Remember that according to Father Bugnini, in the new Mass “the Church has been guided […] by the desire to do everything to help our separated brethren on the way to union, taking away the stones that could be even the shadow of a risk of stumbling block or displeasure.” This of course was done by taking away what was expressly and properly Catholic from the new Mass. The entire liturgical reform was made with the same desire in mind.

But it goes even farther. The Catholic liturgy having been sufficiently watered down to be acceptable to non-Catholics, it remained to accept the liturgies of the separated brethren. In a document expressly approved by John Paul II, Cardinal Ratzinger has declared valid the anaphora “Addaï and Mari”, of the Assyrian Church which broke away after the 3^rd Council of Ephesus (381), a “Mass” in which the words of consecration are not said (no form). This represents the end of the theology of the sacraments since matter and form are no longer deemed necessary. What then is the problem with the Last Supper of the Protestants?

But the main obstacle to unity remains the hierarchy and especially the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. But have no fear it has all been taken care of.

The Hierarchy

But first there is the necessity of recognizing the orders of all the different churches. So they must remove the obstacle of the invalidity of Anglican orders decreed by Leo XIII, in order that the Archlayman of Canterbury can bless the cardinals with the Pope. To legitimatize the Orthodox, they must redefine the meaning of apostolic succession, which is no longer understood “in the sense of an historical chain of laying on of hands running back through the centuries to one of the apostles” since “this would be a very mechanical and individualistic vision…” (Cardinal Kasper)

But the main stumbling block remains the Pope, the Primacy of the Roman Pontiff. Again Pope John Paul II has taken the lead: in No. 95 of his encyclical "Ut Unum Sint," he proposed to pastors and theologians that they “find a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation.” And voilà; “in the future the Petrine ministry has to be exercised in line with the changing needs of the Church… Because “in our globalized world situation the biblical testimonies on Peter and the Petrine tradition of Rome are read with new eyes because in this new context the question of a ministry of universal unity, a common reference point and a common voice of the universal church, becomes urgent.” (Cardinal Kasper) This is the end of the papacy in the name of ecumenism. And we are the ones who are against the Pope!

Unbelievable! I wish I were making this up. But these are quotes from John Paul II and his right hand man in the field of ecumenism Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Dear faithful Lent has started. With St Paul “we do exhort you, that you receive not the grace of God in vain. Behold now is the acceptable time; behold now is the day of salvation.” Be generous! There is much to expiate: our own sins but also the many public scandals committed around us. As usual the monthly Mass for all our friends and benefactors will be offered on the last Sunday of the month. Be assured of our prayers.