Russia: Politics & Faith-The Inside Story
Blogger, Benedict Carter writes:
Apparently Russia is now a Christian country and Putin, the champion of Christian values, is in Syria solely to protect the Christian population. Putin is the Traditionalist’s friend because he has banned homosexuality. He should be supported simply by virtue of his enmity to our own godless Western leaders. Orthodoxy is a safe haven for the Traditional Catholic as the Catholic Church lurches towards apostasy in the form of liberal Protestantism, rampant Modernism and (soon) open schism. Fr. Malachi Martin said that “salvation will come from the east” so this means that Modernism in the Church and Vatican II will be swept away by Russia and then true religion will be restored. After all, according to Joanna Bogle and others, Russia has already been converted. (Funny that the period of peace doesn’t seem to have accompanied this conversion Joanna, but I suppose we can’t have everything).
Over the last eighteen months to two years these views have been heard more and more openly on some Traditionalist sites and blogs. Sadly, what these views have in common is that they are so full of factual inaccuracies, false assumptions and ignorant claims that this latest blip on the Traditionalist radar constitutes a material danger and really should be dismissed before it becomes an accepted part of the global Traditionalist mind-set.
The Remnant in the USA has on several occasions pushed the ideas in question. Although to be fair to him Michael Matt, the Remnant’s Editor, has in one or two recent articles rowed back somewhat from his earlier position (which tended to canonise Putin and ascribe to him a divine mandate of some sort), nevertheless he has led the way in promoting the trend in question, even banning posters who sought to balance his and others’ speculation and even pagan-like numerology (the 100 years meme) with a dose of Russian reality.
My objective is to show that these views about Russia are all false, resting as they do on a total lack of understanding of the current nature of Russia and of its so-called Christian revival. Suffering from a sense of helplessness and even despair at the vacuity of Western policy, and the state of the Church and society, it is my contention that those who hold these views are investing an inchoate hope in a “false Messiah” and that this hope will surely be dashed. Indeed, ultimately I hold that those who place their hope in Putin and Russia are guilty of a serious spiritual fault in that they are putting their trust in politics and in a man rather than in Jesus Christ.
My own interest in this subject comes from my own long association with Russia. Having been a student of its literature and history from my early teenage years, in the middle 1990’s I started what was to be a twelve-year plus period living in the former USSR. During that time I lived for nearly three years in Central Asia and then more than ten years in Moscow. I speak Russian, I am married to a Russian, I owned a business in Russia, I know the history of the country and of the Russian Orthodox Church. The years I spent there changed me profoundly. Russia will be part of me until I die. I therefore consider myself well-qualified, at least amongst Traditionalists, to comment on Russian affairs.
Since 1991, it’s true that around 6,000 churches have been built or rebuilt. Ancient monasteries and convents again contain many religious. It is normal for many Russian Orthodox to attend Easter and Christmas liturgies and popping into a church to light a candle is an unremarkable activity. Around 75% of Russians are now baptised. The country’s leadership appear with high prelates on TV on important feasts and all dutifully make the Sign of the Cross (albeit badly) at the appropriate moments. There is a genuine piety to be found among believers. And as everyone knows, Russia has enacted a law preventing the advertising or marketing of homosexuality. All this is of course to be applauded. But does it mean that Russia is now a Christian country? What is the state of Russian society? This should tell us how real is Russia’s Christian life.
State of Russian Society
- According to a Moscow Times survey, only 1% of the population attends the Divine Liturgy on Sunday. This is almost exclusively the old, particularly the women. The same picture is found in another study (http://tinyurl.com/q5r8xvb).
- Another Moscow Times survey from last year showed that both trust in the Moscow Patriarchate and support for the building of a new church in one’s immediate locality have plummeted. Has indeed the high-water mark of the restored Patriarchate been reached within twenty-five years of the fall of the Communist regime? It may be so: I am told by one Catholic religious in Moscow that the number of students in Russian Orthodox seminaries has drastically fallen in the last two or three years. (Source: http://tinyurl.com/hu365zo).
- While the excellent law against homosexual “propaganda” certainly exists, so do gay clubs. Homosexuality is not criminalised nor is its practice restricted in any way. (Source: http://tinyurl.com/z56lzmd).
- Abortions continue by the million. Both Ukraine and Russia have debated banning abortion in their respective parliaments but neither have done so. (Source: http://tinyurl.com/jm55enf).
- AIDS cases are now in excess of one million and are rising fast. Drug-resistant TB has broken out of the prisons where it was nurtured for decades and is now rife among the general population. (Source: http://tinyurl.com/hbqgb6u).
- Drug use is decimating the younger generations in the cities, particularly in Siberia and other places riven by poverty and is growing out of any control. (Source: http://tinyurl.com/zeq85q6).
- The moral leadership of the government is nil. Putin and those close to him are thieves, knaves, plunderers and looters on a scale beyond the imagination. The very language they use between themselves is the colourful (and utterly vile) “blatnoi yezik”, or “thieves tongue” of the “vor v zakone” (thieves-in-law, aka the mafia).
- Putin has not conducted any reform of Russia’s economy which would eventually benefit the poorest. The reason is that if he did, his entire system would be in danger of collapse and his power with it. The pigs with their snouts in the trough would get rid of Putin before they allowed other pigs to take their place. Battles between oligarchs are at the moment controlled by Putin as the top Godfather, but if too many pigs lost their place at feeding time that control might be lost. Billions upon billions of dollars are at stake. Some thoughtful Russians I know now worry about civil war conducted between rival oligarchic armies fighting for control of Russia’s natural resources.
- Crime as ever pervades Russian life. Life expectancy, particularly for men, is static at around 60 due to alcoholism, a collapsed health service and hopelessness. Corruption pervades Russian life. There is no rule of law as understood in the West. Innocence is lost at a very young age (Source: http://tinyurl.com/zgkbch9).
- Many Russians are turning to eastern sects, philosophies and religions. Buddhism, Indian “spirituality”, Siberian shamanistic paganism: all these are growing in popularity. (Source http://tinyurl.com/zdwfkjz).
State of the Orthodox Church
As ever, the Orthodox Church is the creature of the State. It has been so since even before the Church’s submission to Tsar Peter and his suppression of the Patriarchate. Imagining the Russian Orthodox Church without the crutch of the Russian State is impossible. In return for the State’s provision of tax benefits, cash, Presidential and Prime Ministerial time and constant TV exposure, the Church plays the part of chief cheerleader for the Russian regime. It has always been thus and it certainly is now. Both parties gain but one does wonder who or what the Russian Orthodox Church really worships. Is it the Holy Trinity or the Russian State?
For some, the Russian State undoubtedly comes in first place. For Father Vselovod Chaplin for example, America is Satan, Britain is his chief demon and God demands nuclear warfare against both. And, according to Chaplin, Russian women should have their reign of debauchery ended by the practice of universal female genital mutilation. This oaf has said so many mad things that the so-called philosophy of “Eurasianism”, as developed and taught by Alexander Dugin, seems almost sane in comparison. For Dugin, by the way, the SS was the perfect society and as usual for fanatics of Slav nationalism, the chief enemy for him is the Anglo-Saxon, which means Britain and America. Today’s Russia is semi-fascist and so is its national Orthodox Church.
There is much else that is deeply rotten in the Russian Orthodox Church. Apart from the very ugly nationalist ideology and greed for material reward (remember the Patriarch and his $450,000 watch?), anti-Catholic sentiment remains very high. As told directly to me by a Catholic priest in Russia (and confirmed by an Anglican), some years ago the Catholic Archdiocese in Moscow had to go through the local Anglican vicar to arrange meetings with the Patriarchate. The Catholic side would state what subjects it wished to discuss, the Patriarchate would say how many BMWs and Mercedes it wanted in return for the meeting. (Ecumenism Russian Orthodox style …).
No, the Russian Orthodox Church inspires no confidence. It is this body that is to save the West? I think not. In fact, despite its high position in State and society, it may well have already entered a period of decline only two decades after the fall of Communism.
Putin
Putin is lauded as a strongman who runs rings around Western leaders and makes them look foolish. There can be no doubt that he is a clever man. But consider: if you do not operate by the norms of international law, if you are prepared to lie and cheat your way to your objectives, it is an easy thing to surprise those who do operate by the norms of international law and those who do more or less, in their dealings with each other, tell the truth and act honestly. Thus Putin is a very strong tactician but no strategist. Russia may contain much of genius but in global terms, whatever its showing in Syria (a Russian success only possible because Obama reneged on his “red line” promise) its influence is that of a regional power.
Led by thugs and gangsters, Russia has no vision beyond its own preservation. This indeed is the real key to understanding Russian policy. Russia is an almost-failed State governed by serial liars, thieves and Secret Police operatives. I can personally confirm that FSB officers still, to this day, have a statuette of Felix Dzerzhinsky, the mass murderer who founded the CHEKA, on their desks.
Is Putin a believer? He may be, it’s truly difficult to say. I think he probably is, but that this belief does not prevent him from doing all manner of murder in the interests of his true god who is Mother Russia. God for the Orthodox is a strongly Slavic nationalist deity.
Did Putin ask the Pope to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart? I do not believe it for a moment. The Orthodox Church is extremely hostile to Fatima and Putin would not antagonise the Patriarchate unnecessarily. Nevertheless, does Russia have a role to play in the cosmic battle currently being fought? Yes, it does: Our Lady has told us so. If the Consecration does not come as Heaven wished it, then instead of being converted, Russia may well play the part of being the instrument of God’s punishment on an unfaithful, godless world which has long since been soaked in Russia’s own atheistic, Bolshevik errors. It is interesting that some pre-Revolutionary Orthodox prophecy supports a very old traditional reading of Scripture which states that Gog and Magog is Russia.
We can see I think that the real attraction of Putin to Traditionalists is that he provides clarity whereas our own leaders are mired in leftist social engineering (through mass immigration) and political correctness, and thus are imposing on us a revolutionary globalist ideology that is straining our system and very civilisation to the limit. Similarly, the attraction of the Orthodox Church to many Traditionalists is the beauty of its liturgy and music. But do either of them offer the West anything that we cannot better find by restoring what has been taken, both from our society and from the Church? I strongly believe not.
The waters have been badly muddied for the Traditionalist by those useful idiots in the modern Church who hold that Fatima is fulfilled and Russia has already converted. Aside from the asinine suggestion that Our Lady would be pleased by the conversion of Russia to a schismatic sect, the reality of Russian society today cannot but exclude the possibility of Fatima’s completion. I myself am not so hard on this question as many Traditionalists: I am quite able to accept that the 1984 Consecration might have led to the fall of Communism and a partial conversion of Russia; however, this was not what Our Lady requested, desired or promised. That there is no period of peace is self-evident. So the likes of Joanna Bogle not only fool themselves but sadly many others too and the popularity of Putin among so many Traditionalists is at least indirectly and in part due to this false Fatima propaganda.
Following Putin and trusting in Russia is a dangerous temptation and one that must be resisted. The true solution to our woes, which are real, is the restoration of a truly Catholic (= Christian) civilisation, not the adoption, out of despair, of a rotten schismatic and heretical Orthodox one.
Comments invited…
Comments (69)
Christ is Born!
Excellent post, Benedict. As the late Fr. Joaquin Alonso (the official Fatima archivist whose 14 volumes are still unpublished 30+ years after his death) wrote:
“Lucia has always thought that the *conversion* (italics in original) of Russia is not to be understood as being limited to the return of the Russian people to the Orthodox Christian religion, rejecting the Marxist atheism of the Soviets, but rather as a total and perfect conversion to the one, true Roman (sic) Catholic Church.”
Source:. Alonso, Joaquin Maria, C.M.F. The Secret of Fatima: Fact and Legend. 1976, 1979 (Eng. translation), Ravengate Press, page 84.
The late Fr. Nicholas Gruner always insisted that Russia was not converted, and gave many of the same reasons that you mentioned in your post. He also believed that until the Holy Father reveals the Third Secret of Fatima (I.e. the exact words of Our Lady which follow: “In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved…”), he would not receive the graces he needs to order and make in union with all the bishops of the world the Collegial Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
As I’ve posted elsewhere, God will give us peace on His terms, not ours. Things will get worse until the world comes to its senses like the prodigal son (Luke 15: 11-32).
Wishing you everyone at CT a blessed Nativity and Happy, Holy New Year.
Z nami Boh! God is with us!
In the Infant King,
Margaret
Great article, Benedict. The rhapsodizing about Putin and Russia cropped up in this article recently, which posits a sort of mystical nationalistic messianism (“Sobornost”) which is perhaps backstage, waiting in the wings for the demise of the Bolshevik thugs (of which Putin is one – he identifies himself as a “Chekist”) who run the country: http://wmbriggs.com/post/20523/
The role of Russia in the near future is further clouded by the fact that Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry have been trying to provoke war with Russia for most of the 8 years of the soon-to-be-ended (thank God!) Obama administration. These theaters of agitation have focused on the Ukraine and now Syria, and even the potential CIA involvement in the suspicious assassination of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey. In this war of words and escalating military actions, Russia, to those who are familiar with reality as opposed to American propaganda, has come across as the good guy because Obama and his fellow travelers (including the US Fifth Column media) are such transparent, sleazy liars. But really, Obama and his fellow professional liars are just puppets of the Council on Foreign Relations’ strategy, which is aimed at another world, or large-scale war to further the goals of world government. They have literally sold their souls to the devil.
As for the Russian Orthodox being hostile to Fatima, I vaguely recall Father Gruner speaking to that several years ago, in which he claimed, because of his Russian contacts, the opposite. But I don’t remember where or when he said that.
If I were to guess at a scenario that may transpire over the next year or two, Russia will be provoked by NATO/US into attacking Europe (perhaps even before Trump takes office, or perhaps our military-industrial complex will ignite war despite Trump’s desire to normalize relations). At some point during this attack, recalling one of Don Bosco’s dreams, the black flag of Russia turns white – i.e. they are converted because the Consecration was actually done. At that point, Russia will become the true agent of the restoration of Christendom and the period of peace.
But I think the point to keep in mind, as Benedict has explained, is that presently, Russia’s flag is still black…
Dear RCA Victor,
You make some excellent points. If I remember correctly, it was the Russians who contacted +Fr. Gruner at the Center. Due to this, VP visited PF in the fall of 2013. Obviously, someone in the Vatican influenced PF, because nothing came of the meeting.
The one point which imho needs to emphasized is the erroneous notion that the Collegial Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is an act of Vatican domination over Russia. This is so patently absurd that it makes me laugh.
If you look at the Byzantine rite of ordination, the bishop-elect is consecrated by no less than 3 (1 principal and 2 co-consecrator) bishops. The reason why a Byzantine priest had 7 crosses (1 on his neck and 3 crosses on the left and right sides) on his epitrakhilion (= Latin stole) is because he can administer 6 Mysteries (Sacraments) but cannot administer Holy Orders (symbolized by the cross on his neck).
Therefore, it makes perfect sense for the Holy Father and all the Catholic bishops to consecrate in unison Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be the salvation of Russia, Spain, Portugal, Europe and the whole world. (Given by Our Lord directly to Sister Lucia)
Z nami Boh! God is with us!
In the Infant King,
Margaret
P.S. Did you get my reply to your previous post?
Hi Margaret,
I did indeed see your previous reply, but I was waiting for Editor to tell you that I was being facetious about the surgery, despite having to play “For Unto Us a Child is Born” at quarter note (or, as they would say across the pond, quaver) = 120!
But perhaps Editor is busy trying to find out the population of Glasgow….
RCA Victor, you scared me! I should send you my copy of Belloc’s Cautionary Verses. Anyway, you know where to find me if you do need anything re nutrition.
RCA Victor,
I’ve been busy trying to get the newsletter finished as our printer will be closing for the New Year holiday on Saturday, re-opening next Wednesday; I’m, therefore, rushing to try to get it off to them before Saturday – we’re going to be late this time, folks, so please put it down to holidays and RCA Victor’s sore hand… !
Population of Glasgow remains as it did when you first asked me all those years ago… me, myself, and a few other folk!
Sir, great post as regards the situation at present about the 3 Musketeers. Obama. Clinton. Kerry. I, like you, believe there was much more to the Russian Ambassador being assassinated than the so called lone wolf and his Allahu Akbar cries. There is so much evil and back stabbing for top leadership positions these days that the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing. Most if not all of these so called politicians are to me, worked with strings,the strings of course being loads of money, for the likes of the so called Clinton Foundation or money poured into Obamas coffers by the likes of Soros.
Like you I just hope Obama and his henchmen don’t start something that Putin will definitely finish before he and Moaning Minnie (Michelle) leave The White House.
Going back to the assassination, at least for the moment we have dodged a bullet. If Clinton had been voted in, I am sure the first words that would have come out of her mouth would have been “well when I get in Power I’ll be right behind my Turkish NATO allies.” I know that Trump is no saint, but there is something intrinsically wrong with a person I E Clinton who advocates and shouts support for abortion up until birth. On the Faith side of Russia they have always used Christianity only when it suited them. We only have to look at the late, great, mass murderer Josef Stalin who when Stalingrad was on its last legs against The Nazis re-opened all the Churches when the City (pardon the pun) was on its knees.
Anyhow am just back from a lovely Traditional Latin Mass which, after it was finished, our good and Holy Priest treated us to Tea Cakes and even wine if we so wished.
God Bless.
Benedict Carter,
You present a very clear and concise article on the true Russia, which is not a Russia converted by any means to Christ Our Lord. This fallacy of Russian conversion has been bandied about by neo-Catholics since John Paul II’s 1984 act of Consecration (of the world, not Russia). It is a complete falsehood and you have admirably demonstrated the fact, as have others before you, such as Fr. Gruner (R.I.P.).
A few years ago a certain Fr. Fortunata di Noto, who runs an international association for the protection of children online (METER) wrote that 95% of websites in the world hosting child pornography have their domains in Russia. That’s quite an astonishing revelation for a country that was apparently converted in 1984 and today claims to ban the promotion of homosexuality on the basis of protecting children. Is it just Russian children that Russia aims to protect, then? It’s an interesting question that definitely suggests more a nationalist than global concern for the welfare and innocence of children.
It is also worth pointing out here that when Russia first overthrew the Tsar and established its revolutionary government, homosexuality became so rife among the elite in the Kremlin that it seriously threatened to undermine Communism’s pretended international claim to the moral high ground and was very quickly suppressed.
At any rate, t is well known that Marx and Lenin had a plan for the globalisation of their Communist revolution from day one, it was a plan that would be worked out over many decades until at last the Communist ideal, which we should always remember is primarily the uncrowning of Christ the Lord and the exultation of atheistic man in his place, through materialism. Whatever other claims Communism in its various forms asserts, the eradication of God from the hearts of men and from all national and international governance is the raison d’être for its existence.
According to research carried out by Fr. Gruner and others this plan was laid out in the stages of global wars. The First World War would establish Communism in Russia, the Second would establish it in Europe, and the Third would establish it globally. It is interesting to note that it was towards the end of WWI that the Bolsheviks rose and seized power in Russia. Likewise, it was both in the immediate and short-term aftermath of WWII that Socialism asserted itself in Britain and other European nations as a real opposing force to the old Conservative regimes, which while still paying lip service to Christ by legislating in accordance with Christian morality, were responsible for the rise of Communism by their inequitable distribution of wealth and scant concern for the poor.
And here’s another interesting set of facts. It is known that the Communists in Russia, the Bolsheviks, enjoyed great financial support for the revolution from certain international banks. It is also a fact that many Communist traitors in Britain, the U.S. and other nations, supposedly Christian at the time, were men and women of wealth, “silver spoon” graduates of prominent universities, etc. And did not Pope Pius XI write in Divini Redemptorist of his astonishment that the international press “always so eager for a good story” remained silent on the brutality and horror of millions of Christians worldwide, a conservatively estimated 50 million under Stalin alone, slaughtered for their faith in Christ?
What this all adds up to is something much greater and well planned than any simple revolt of peasants against their overlords. The poor peasants have merely been stirred up with promises of a better life by an elite force in the service of Satan that can bring to them, and has brought to them, a worse misery than anything they could ever have imagined.
It is this myth of Communism by the common people, for the common people that has completely obscured what cultural Marxism truly is, how it operates and what its ultimate aim is. Communism, as we see in China right now, has always been perfectly adaptable to the Capitalist mindset. Why? Because it uses the wealth of the world to distract man from his real objective in life, which is the sanctification of his soul and his eternal salvation. Keep people sufficiently fixated on the material side of life and you’re half way to eradicating God from their minds. Communism is not called by the Popes “atheistic materialism” for nothing!
And is it not a fact that in today’s Britain, as in the U.S. and all those other nations that were once staunchly Christian, the people are more interested in political parties that will provide for them a perceived better standard of living than in what those parties stand for morally? That’s what I mean by opposing political forces which, while offering the proletariat different ideas on how wealth should be distributed, are in fact completely unified in their goal to eradicate Christianity and Christian morality from society, to the extent today that Creationism is now banned from the curriculum of public schools. This is the real global triumph of Communism!
Evolutionism is the new fundamental block upon which our children are to construct their lives, the atheistic view that we are all descended from Neanderthals who themselves originated from a miraculous life-giving “soup” from which the first “organisms” crept. How can any rational mind accept such a ridiculous hypothesis? Yet is sadly the blindness that has descended upon mankind.
No wonder Marx was so excited by Darwin’s “Origin of the Species” and offered to dedicate his book “Das Kapital” to Darwin. Marx saw the potential for a new Gospel, a Gospel without Christ, the Gospel of man and his exultation through the deification of materialism. The demonic influence is clear.
With the world already sufficiently conditioned by 1989, Gorbachev was ready to launch “Glasnost and Perestroika (Openness and Restructuring). But it was not, as the world imagined, the opening and restructuring of Communist Russia that he meant, it was the opening and restructuring of the West to the full acceptance and implementation of Cultural Marxism through atheistic materialism.
The main obstacle which had stood in the way of this global take over was the Catholic Church. The Popes before Vatican II consistently reminded the world of the evil origin of Communism and exposed its plan for world domination. But with Vatican II, and the success of KGB operatives both within the clergy and from the Russian Orthodox sect, aggiornamento was declared and Christ was henceforth gagged.
Evolutionism also played its part in Vatican II by the infiltration of ideas that doctrine was adaptable to different times and places, which today we call “relativism”. We see this relativism at work in Cardinal Kasper’s notions, supported by Pope Francis, who is himself heavily influenced by Cultural Marxism of the kind called “liberation theology”, allowing for the divorced and remarried to receive Holy Communion. Doctrinal and moral relativism in the Church has been rampant in so many areas since the Council that there now reigns only confusion where once there was the consistent and unchangeable teaching of Christ Our Lord.
Today’s Catholicism, not officially I hasten to add, but unofficially while giving the impression of officialdom, is centred more on man than God. “The dignity of the human person”, “social justice”, “the poor and marginalised”, “dialogue, not condemnation”, these are the new ideas bandied about by prelates at every level in the Church today as if man and not Christ were the centre of all things. Yes, Communism has certainly neutralised the most potent threat to its expansionist plans, to the extent that the Pope and the prelates will not so much as consider Our Lady’s request for a public and solemn consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Well, upon their heads (and the entire world) be it! She has tried to warn them of the consequences of a failure to submit in obedience and humility to God’s greater foresight and now they are like blind guides leading the blind while the Communists rub their hands with glee. We are all now sitting ducks waiting to be picked off.
As for Putin, I don’t see him as any worse than the rest. He is a nationalist with only Russia’s interests at heart and he will do whatever it takes to win this so-called new Cold War with the West.
If I disagree with Benedict on one major point, it is this. Putin is no less dismissive of “International Law” than our own Western governments, unless of course we accept that our military incursions into the sovereign nations of Iraq, Libya and Syria, not to mention EU ambitions with regard to Russia’s neighbour, Ukraine, are justifiable by Christian standards. I do not accept such a proposition.
And note that I say “so-called” new Cold War. I say this because the old antagonisms between Russia and the West are apparently on display once again. But are they real or imagined, genuine or fabricated, antagonisms, or are they yet another ruse to bring about the ultimate goal? Is a Third global war on the agenda? Quite possibly. But let us here recall the words of Archbishop Lefebvre who spoke of Vatican II as “the Third World War”. Any material global conflict that may come, then, will simply be a chastisement on the world for its proud rejection of God, as Our Lady indicated.
The Third World War is in fact the spiritual war, the most important and tragic of the three global wars because of its death count in souls. It is a war still raging and at present running in favour of the devil. But the victory of Christianity is assured, Our Lady has promised us and Sacred Scripture confirms her promise.
What may happen in the meantime is anyone’s guess. A global conflict may indeed occur, as is likely at present, or Our Lady may intervene as she appeared to suggest at Quito for these times, at the precise moment, she said, when the forces of darkness seem to have finally subjugated the Christian family by iniquitous laws. She also promised a similar intervention at Fatima when she spoke of the Holy Father and the bishops finally making the consecration of Russia, adding “it will be late”.
So who knows what lies in the immediate future. We all sense that something is stirring in the world, people are growing tired of our liberal (read Communist) Western leaders. Trump and Brexit are but two manifestations of the disenchantment of the populations with Godless status quo, even if these movements towards a more open and saner world are not exactly Christian in origin.
God knows all things and He knows when this crisis in the Church and world will end. The devil is like a dog on a leash, when the time comes he will be reigned in and chained up again, and the restoration of all things in Christ will begin. I personally believe this event is very close now, but when and how it will proceed is uncertain to us all. One mystery is about to be blown wide open, however, and that is the mystery of iniquity in the form of that Communist darkness which has spread over the entire post-War, post-Vatican II world that has almost completely obscured the light of Christ and His Gospel.
Athanasius,
Your excellent historical sketch caused me to notice, for the first time, the identity between “aggiornamento” and “glasnost” – the very same devious idea, openness! Not surprising, I suppose, when you consider that the same diabolical termites were behind both initiatives. As for “restructuring,” well, for the Church, that remained in fine ambiguous print until the Council was over, and then it appeared on billboards everywhere….I have thought for many years that Vatican II was merely communism adapted to the Church.
“Openness” is also the idea behind such globalist buzz words as “tolerance” and “diversity.” And, in fact, also behind Pope Francis’ false concept of “mercy.”
That’s what the benevolent-appearing right hand offers, at any rate. But when one rejects these false gifts, the iron-fisted left hand comes into play. In the secular world, one becomes, for example, a “homophobe” full of “hate” and “bigotry,” and the expression of ideas resistant to “openness” becomes “hate crimes” (i.e. thought crimes).
And in the copycat world of Francis, who seems to be quite well-versed in Communist techniques of ridicule, the rejection of his false mercy means that we are rigid, cold-hearted, closed-minded, neo-Pelagian, and even emotionally disturbed.
Yes, some very interesting points in your post Athanasius.
You are right of course about the West’s hypocrisy as far as International Law is concerned, that’s a just observation; and also that the default answer to the world’s profound crisis is sought in politics whereas the nature of the crisis is moral, not political. (And unfortunately too many Traditionalists look for political answers instead of spiritual ones, just like the post-Vatican II Church. Well, no doubt we have all been infected with the virus to some extent but we must try to expel it from ourselves).
I don’t accept though the thesis that Gorbachov’s “Perestroika” was simply a stage in the subversion of the West. There was a genuine (and inevitable) crisis within Communism itself which “Gorby” tried to deal with through an attempted non-violent reform of what could only be maintained by violence and terror. It was his failure that led to the crumbling (at last) of the whole demonic but exhausted edifice. As one Soviet journalist said in 1991 or so, in the end (with Chernobyl in mind) even nature itself could no longer bear to live under the system.
JPII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart in 1984: Chernyenko then promptly died and the Politburo, desperate for a leader who wouldn’t die within six months (like Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernyenko), chose Gorbachev who promptly unwound the whole thing. I do myself see this sequence of events as linked – a swift yet partial answer from Heaven – to JPII’s ardent prayer. What remains a total mystery is what forces in Rome were saying to him so that he did not fulfill Our Lady’s requests exactly as she stipulated.
The central problem for the Church in our day – the temporary triumph of Modernism, the full-on assault on moral teaching, the devilish attack on the Mass, all the rest of it – is of course that Russia’s errors” had (by Vatican II) already seeped into the minds and lives of so many hierarchs that the Church was no longer able to confront what was the real enemy – atheistic Communism – even to the extent of refusing to condemn it during the Council.
This fact alone for me is sufficient reason for that Council to one day be declared a false Council and a pernicious evil.
Benedict Carter
I agree that there was a kind of inevitability in the material collapse of Communism. I think it was Pius XI who spoke of it’s trademarks of morally and financially bankrupting every nation in which it became the dominant ideology. Russia just before the fall of the Berlin Wall was the example par excellence of this truth, the Russian people having to queue for hours outside shops just to buy a loaf of bread.
Still, I think we misunderstand the true nature of Communism if we examine it from the material point of view. Of course it will sooner or later perish in this respect but it leaves a spiritual and moral devastation in its wake that can never be righted, except by a miracle of divine grace, and this is the real killer blow of Communism on society.
Hence, when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down Communism had already worked its fratricidal worst on the world. Adapting to a new Capitalist world now Godless in every respect was, therefore, a very straightforard transition. I don’t personally see this morph of Communism as in any way a result of John Paul II’s 1984 Consecration.
The fact remains that nothing of a supernatural nature happened after that Act of the Pope. There were no conversions to the true religion, there has been no world peace and the Church continues in crisis to the point of almost universal apostasy of millions from the Faith. That the world appeared for a while to be more at peace, less threatened by the Communist iron fist than before was all smoke and mirrors.
Is there world peace now? No, the world is more at war today than it was back in 1989, with the addition of the new global threat of Islamic terrorism, which others behind the scenes have helped orchestrate and expand. And the world is certainly more hostile to God than it was back then. So you see, matters have in fact become much worse. I do not believe that Russia is any more Christian in its soul today than it was when Gorbachev pulled off the biggest con in human history.
The Old Guard Communists in the Kremlin knew exactly who they were placing in power when they chose Gorbachev. Is it conceivable that they would have sat back and allowed this man to then unravel their little kingdom, taking away their source of power and riches, for they were all very wealthy men, in favour of Mother Russia and her people? I don’t beleive so. I think he was the man chosen for a specific time to take Communism to a designated new level on the international stage in preparation for absolute global dominance, which Communism has now established, built on two pillars, the two wealthiest and most powerful superpowers in the Eastern hemisphere, Russia and China. The U.S, aside, and even its strength is debateable, there is no power on this earth that has the remotest chance of success should Russia and China forge an alliance against the rest. And let’s face it, America is a spiritually and morally bankrupted as all the other, now weakened, former Christian nations of the West.
Besides this, I am not so sure that heaven would have accepted have measures from Pope John Paul II. Our Lady asked for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Is it really possible that she would reward a cowardly, weak in faith have measure that was constructed to please both God and His enemies? I have my doubts that heaven would hear and reward such a healf-hearted effort. The devil may hhave made it look that way, however, by making things appear materially better for a time while continuing to subvert the spiritual and moral. That’s my take on it anyway. I’m looking for a supernatural improvement in the world’s outlook before I consider heaven to be intervening in any positive way. Remember, the devil loves smoke and mirrors.
Benedict and Athanasius,
I have not read either of Anatoly Golitsyn’s books (“New Lies for Old” and “The Perestroike Deception”), but I have seen them quoted numerous times in support of the argument that the so-called collapse of Communism was engineered for the purposes of “convergence” with the West, and to lull the West into a false sense of security.
What is your take on these claims? Was there a true crisis in the Communist world that was also used to create a strategy of deception, or was the crisis itself engineered from the start?
RCA Victor
I haven’t read those books either but I know enough from others who have read them to confirm what we both suspect. I am completely convinced that the fall of Communism was engineered by its masters. I’m not so sure that the financial meltdown in Russia that precipitated it was planned, though I suspect it was. It would have been very difficult to convince well-off comfortable Russians to go along with Glasnost and Perestroika. There had to be a carrot and the carrot was a better financial future, the same ruse they pulled on the poor peasants who originally fell for the promises of Communism in 1917.
RCA Victor
You highlight correctly “the identity between “aggiornamento” and “glasnost” – the very same devious idea, openness!”
That’s what it’s all about, a pretended burying of the hatchet on old antagonisms in favour of a NWO based on Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
Sound familiar? Cardinal Suenens had very good reason to assert that Vatican II was the French Revolution in the Church. And as we know only too well, the same architects were behind the French as the Russian Revolutions. Both did violence to God and all that is called holy. Today the method has altered somewhat in that the assassins have smiling faces and pretend to the friends of all humanity.
Just read my posted comment above and must apologise to readers for a number of errors in grammar and paragraph format. That’s what happens when writing too quickly and then cutting and pasting from Word without doing the rudimentary checks.
Oh well, at least readers will get the gist of what I’ve said. I promise to slow down in future and check my comments before pressing that button of no return!! Now I have to dash off and get other things done!!
The goal is to overcome the problem of the fraudulent sale of Russian territory in America, by pretending to be Catholics-Orthodox. Both the Louisiana Purchase and the Seward purchase of Alaska were actually theft, and the only way to reconcile this issue is to locate the true owners. This is where identify theft plays in, and so control of Russia is key. The true identity of Jaasa Singh Ram Garhiah will reveal the identity of the actual owners of those territories. Meanwhile, no one has clear title to any property in the U.S.A. except whoever can prove to be a legal descendant of the legal owners.
Sir as far as Joanna Bogle ( whoever she is and am not in the least interested) comments or views on Russian society and their leaders I think that you yourself underestimate the common man. Anyone who thinks Putin is the new Messiah and that Russia is now downed the Hammer and Sickle would be very stupid to say the least . What we were of course sick of was the Wests descent into complete Moral Decay culminating in Ireland voting for the Homosexual Thingy . Putin of course knew this especially after his first meeting with Obama who was really only interested in talking about Homosexual and Transgender rights in Russia.Americans then , at least the ones with some moral decency left, looked to someone who would literally put the boot into the LGBTQIXYZ alphabet squad. This did of course happen when without any permission the Alphabet Squad decided to have a Homosexual Pride march in Moscow. This resulted in chaos with one of the ringleaders Peter Tachell receiving a blow to the head I E a right hook which decked him much to the delight of myself and millions of others around the Globe . This right hook of course did not go unnoticed by Putin and of the hope it gave to many that at last here was a man who was going to take on The Alphabet Squad along with all its powerful celebrities and not Kow Tow to it . The propaganda in this for him was immense and he Was Going to Judge. This to me was what gave him credence among lots of people in the West . Now as far as his real Politics and social morals are concerned I dare say that if I phoned him up right now and made him a good offer for one of his latest tanks he’d sell without batting an eyelid.
FOOF,
You must have missed the part where Benedict Carter wrote of the gay bars in Moscow.
No I did not miss the part about The Homosexual venues let’s say . I know Putin is a Liar and a thug a bit like our own mob ( well especially the Lying bit ) . What am getting at obviously is he jumped on Barring the Homosexual scene and Jailing such Reprobates as the so called Pu–y Riot mob and made it into big news . When the P. Riot mob stormed the Alter of a Cathedral and committed horrible moral abuse in same. he made sure that they were going to be locked up,and also made sure that The World media would know about it. As you probably know they were given 3 years each.and one was let go so she could keep the story alive for his propaganda. This of course wouldn’t have happened here as P. Riot would probably have been given the O.B.E. or God forbid been made Dames.
FOOF
Oh yes, I remember that case. Good on Putin for that one. If ever some weirdo’s deserved a few years in jail, it was that shower of drop outs. Blaspheming in a church won’t happen again in Russia, that’s for sure. Putin read what we might call the P. Riot Act on them!!
FOOF, funnily enough I was in my office around 400 metres from the scene when someone landed a peach of a right cross on Tatchell.
That’s all well and good. But a culturally conservative people (whose actions belie that conservatism in ways you could hardly even imagine) does not a Christian people make. We must not mix a political stance with religion – it is easy, but fatal to understanding, to conflate one for the other.
Benedict Carter,
I agree entirely with your distinction between religious and political action.
Well Benedict am most certainly not as Educated as yourself and am not trying to be condescending saying that . But a Political System that brings in The Homosexual Thingy is ( to me ) Certainly taking a strong stance against our Catholic Faith.
I’m just a Norfolk village boy FOOF. The older I get the more I realise I know nothing or next to nothing.
Hibernating Russian Bear
I used to correspond with a traditional Catholic chap who said that the Orthodox were on the right track, and that the Orthodox women – unlike the westerners – retained their virtue. He’d found an Orthodox girl to marry, and to prove that he was putting his money where his mouth was, he’d given her complete control over all his bank accounts. I never heard from him again.
I’m not making that up.
I studied Russian in high school and college, when I met Russian-speaking people from Russia, Poland, Sweden, and Macedonia; this experience helped me form my opinions of the Russian bear (they also had instructive things to say about Muslims). Since becoming a traditional Catholic – and discussing the influence of Russia further with my Lithuanian godmother and her husband – my opinions have consistently been confirmed; like Benedict, I’m on the view that trads who see great hope in the current Russian government or church are indulging in copious wishful thinking.
History: Russia has a well-developed and readily recognized predilection for subjecting its small near-neighbors to the vicissitudes of expansionist aggression. The means have been varied, in a macabre sort of way: there’s been creative violence (e.g. Ivan the Terrible, 16th century), modernizing imperialism (e.g. Peter the Great, 17th–18th centuries), enlightened despotism (e.g. Catherine the Great, 18th century), and Bolshevizing atheism (e.g. Vladimir I. Lenin, 20th century). The folks to ask about this are the victimized people of Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, East Germany, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Hungary, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Tajikstan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, among others.
Agitprop: Far from being subjected by the U.S. and NATO to a post-Cold War Versailles Treaty treatment, post-Soviet Russia was largely just left to sort out its copious self-induced problems; meanwhile, assistance and protection were extended to the numerous surrounding countries that Russia had crushed the life out of for the better part of a century. A few years back Russia seized on this aid rendered to the brutalized peoples to justify its military expansion; this justification included a healthy dose of pretense.
Reform: Recall that 25 years ago the Soviet machine collapsed following a coup attempt, it did not willingly give up its empire. Gorbachev and Yeltsin were not Boy Scouts trying to clean house, they were hardened pragmatists scrambling to keep erect what could be salvaged of the collapsing Communist house of cards. Putin is cut from the same cloth.
Today Russia – like China, who is also experiencing incredible domestic turmoil – is trying to solve its problems in part by nationalizing all issues; this tactic takes the focus off the fact that the people in charge are the ones chiefly responsible for the worst domestic problems.
Our Lady at Fatima said she loves the Russian people. Let’s echo that love by helping to cure the ignorance of the nationalistic Russians and the Orthodox, not confirming them in their errors with saccharine platitudes.
Going to cause controversy but here goes. Sir any man who gives any woman, no matter where she’s from, free reign over his finances is an idiot and deserves all they got. As someone from here would say, You don’t have to be Married to a Russian to be Taken to the Cleaners.
Sometimes people surrender their judgment out of laziness.
Anyway, I haven’t been reading the Remnant articles on this subject, so I’m not commenting on them. I mentioned the example of the trad groom and his Russian bride as an example I’ve dealt with of someone who romanticizes the East.
Wurdesmythe,
I think FOOF is poking fun – not sure if FOOF is a Scot but I can say, without fear of contraception, that every Scotsman in the land would agree with his sentiments! Takes them all their time to hand over the housekeeping money, never mind giving their wives full control of the finances!
I think your being a bit hard on Scotsmen there ED . Personally myself, and I can only speak for myself that I always believed in being fair come finance in the home . A -70%–30% split always seemed to work well. After all there never has been a female Chancellor of The Exchequer for a reason. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and didn’t go over your Budget. God Bless.
There is indeed a tendency by ignorant Westerners to romanticise Russia and all things eastern WurdeSmythe. Perhaps there is a tinge of reason to do so: Russians can be most patient, hospitable and kind – in fact I have experienced all three at different times.
However, there is a cruelty, a pitilessness and a readiness to lie too, none of which are far from the surface. One has to step carefully with Russians.
“Brutal” is the word I’ve used. When I moved into my present townhouse in 2004, I discovered that my neighbors to either side were twin sisters from Russia – they were Olympic gymnasts who’d immigrated to the U.S., and their Russian husbands were trainers. I thought to make them feel more welcome by addressing them in my schoolboy Russian. My efforts had the opposite effect, however: it put them on their guard; no doubt it baffled and bothered them that an American spoke their native tongue. Poor souls.
They would immediately be thinking “We are being spied on”. The paranoia is extreme. But then – I would be too, if I was from a country as arbitrary as Russia; a country where imprisonment, death or exile could come at you in a moment from any direction. Memories are very strong (at one level at least).
Да, товарищ.
“In America…you can always find a party. In Russia, Party always finds you.”
– Yakov Smirnoff, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbP1DVeJCT0
Just a quick “hello” folks, with apologies for my absence. I’m racing to finish the January newsletter, pushed for space and fighting for every corner, as usual. Once it’s gone to the printers, I’ll put in my tuppence worth, although there’s not a lot left to say, after a quick skim, except, great posts from everyone, all very educational. I hope Joanna Bogle is paying attention!
This presentation is quite clear; there is nothing to add.
I think in the same way as Benedict Carter.
I place my hope only in Our Lady of Fatima.
To all those who believe in and want to gain heaven, I wish them a merry Christmas and a happy Epiphany.
This is a really interesting thread. I don’t know that much about Russia, apart from what’s here, so I went Googling and found this video from Russia Today. I’d love to have bloggers’ thoughts on it. I’ve sometimes watched that channel and it is so NOT mainstream that I am never sure what’s true and what’s not. I’d be glad to hear what you all think. This is just the current video on their site.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyaO5Id-Yxo&w=520&h=293%5D
Michaela, RT is a propaganda arm of the Kremlin and has been threatened with the loss of its operating license in various countries for the sheer untruthfulness of its coverage.
My take is this. As the BBC, CNN and other Western media also push a propaganda line that has little or nothing to do with the truth, one should either watch both the Western media and RT together, or (even better) watch none of them at all.
I’ll second that: I used to look at RT to take the lay of the land, but I was cured of curiosity soon enough. At best you can learn what the official Russian propaganda is without it being filtered by the western propagandists.
Benedict Carter,
Thank you for that warning. I’m disappointed! I thought I’d found an objective news outlet. Is there any that you can recommend, that are not mainstream but not extremist either? I’m not keen on the Alex Jones infowars stuff – is there any other site or news channel that you’d recommend?
France 24 is about the best of a very bad lot.
I agree with Benedict Carter that the 1984 Consecration had a partial effect. After the March 25th 1984 Consecration, on May 13th of the same year, on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, a fire started in Severomorsk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severomorsk_Disaster which culminated in a series of explosions that seriously crippled the Russian Navy:- http://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/11/world/soviet-naval-blast-called-crippling.html Coincidence?
Westminsterfly,
I take a different view entirely. The suggestion that the world somehow improved supernaturally because of a political shift in Russia post-1984 is precisely the trap Benedict Carter urges all Catholics to avoid. The world has become much more atheistic since 1984, and quite aggressively so. Are we really to consider that a sign of God’s pleasure with John Paul II’s failed attempt to consecrate Russia? I can’t accept that.
Athanasius – God actually IS infinitely merciful (despite a certain Argentinian bringing that word into disrepute). I do indeed link the 1984 Consecration to a PARTIAL amelioration as far as the specific question of the Soviet Union is concerned. But this is God’s mercy at work, not the fulfillment of the promises of Fatima. Yes, I do agree that the general trend of the whole world is to a worse situation (in all ways) than even in 1991.
The reason I mentioned the Severomorsk event was because of what Sister Lucia said to Fr Fuentes in a meeting they had on Dec 26th 1957:- “Tell them, Father, that many times the Most Holy Virgin told my cousins Francisco and Jacinta, as well as myself, that many nations will disappear from the face of the earth. She said that Russia will be the instrument of chastisement chosen by Heaven to punish the whole world if we do not beforehand obtain the conversion of that poor nation.” I don’t think that the world improved supernaturally because of the political shift in Russia post-1984 – far from it – but I do think that the 1984 Consecration might have bought us just a little more time before the annihilation of nations which Our Lady warned about. Time to repent and carry out the Fatima message. Sadly, apart from the wonderful efforts of groups like the Fatima Network, that time has largely been squandered, so I fear that we are now rapidly heading towards the annihilation of several nations.
Westminsterfly,
That is a highly speculative connection! But, on the other hand, according to this Fr. Gruner video, Pope Pius XII’s Consecration of the World in 1942 resulted, according to Sr. Lucy, in a shortening of WWII, so who knows…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox6ZOOHJ82o&w=854&h=480%5D
Athanasius
No. Me neither.
The whole “Russian hacking/USA election” business is regarded by The Remnant as “top priority” news – I’ve just skimmed it and honestly can’t make up my mind if this is serious news or a spoof, given the alleged quote from Obama about “the machinations of my party” (being off limits, or words to that effect. Would he really say that?) RCA Victor and Benedict – help!
http://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2960:obama-sanctions-russia-for-revealing-the-truth
It’s just a mickey-take by Chris Ferrara. The Remnant in recent months has become little more than a cheerleader for gun ownership, Trumpian policies and a virulent anti-Clinton campaign. There’s little wrong of course with that, but there are other things for a Catholic newspaper to worry about I would have thought.
One thing I have never really understood: Michael Matt claims (no doubt truthfully) that the Remnant has always supported Archbishop Lefebvre and the SSPX, yet an SSPX priest tells me that during the 1970s-80s Matt refused to have anything to do with the local SSPX clergy but treated them virtually like lepers. I wonder what the truth of the matter is.
Benedict,
I wish people wouldn’t do that – a spoof should always be identified as such in some way. I say that, having (only once!) been guilty of it myself, when I put a spoof report in our newsletter (I think elevating Extraordinary Ministers to an ever higher ecclesial status with episcopal responsibilities thrown in, something like that) but vowed I would never do it again, given the number of phone calls it generated.
The first call came through from a reader in England, when I was in a shop queue, place was full, and I had to stop the irate gentleman in mid-paragraph, insisting that this time we MUST act blah blah. I told him it was a spoof, which certainly calmed him down pronto, but I couldn’t blame him if he felt annoyed – he was too courteous to say anything. When I wrote it up I thought I was making it really obvious that it couldn’t be true but I wasn’t reckoning on the fact that really, even at that time, some years ago, things were so bad that nothing could be ruled out.
So, I now find spoofs irritating, to say the least. I never go near the Onion site, for example.
About The Remnant and SSPX – I think they were not popular with the SSPX because they’ve always supported any priest or any group which provides the TLM. Never been exclusively supportive of the SSPX. I don’t know about their early attitude, but I expect they played safe until things got so bad that they had to re-assess the situation. I say that partly because I was singularly unimpressed with the position The Remnant took on the election of Pope Francis.
They played safe for a year before the penny dropped that here we have a very worrying, to say the least, pontiff. Eventually they had to agree with those of us who had been quite public about our “worry” since we saw him step on to the balcony minus the papal stole (?mozzetta?) stressing that he was the Bishop of Rome rather than pope, and asking for the crowd in St Peter’s Square to “bless” him.
I remember when the “Francis shocks” were coming so fast and furious that I posted a “Pope Francis Latest” thread, rather than have to keep posting new topics day after day. When The Remnant eventually spoke out, I recall their announcement (I think it was Christopher Ferrara) highlighting that they had taken their time to be sure before speaking out, not wanting to be like those publications/blogs which had a “Pope Francis Latest” – as in gossip – thread. Words to that effect – it seemed pretty obvious that they meant Catholic Truth! It was precisely because I couldn’t keep up with the other blogs and their almost daily new postings about the utterances and behaviour of Papa Francis that I thought it simpler just to keep an ongoing thread to report “the latest”. Eventually, “the latest” became too much and we have returned to reporting the major news, as and when.
Now, of course, The Remnant is out there, all guns blazing, so no complaints from us!
Athanasius might know more about the early attitude of The Remnant to the Society, so don’t take my thoughts as the final word on the matter. On everything else, sure, but not on this 😀
Thanks Editor for that explanation. It makes sense. Many good Traditionalists bade their time with regard to the SSPX post the episcopal consecrations.
As I’ve said before, I too strongly felt something was badly wrong when the current Holy Father stepped onto the loggia. To say that it was a sense of dread which was felt physically as well as psychologically isn’t too strong a statement. It was as if something alien and even evil was overlooking the crowd in St. Peters. I think many people had the same feeling.
Benedict Carter
I don’t think you do justice to Chris Ferrara. He is an American, after all, and entitled to comment on American politics. He is, as far as I can judge, an authentic Catholic, who does great work to enlighten Catholics to the truth of the Faith. Who cares if the Remnant, and Michael Matt, were suspicious of the SSPX back in the day? That’s in the past. There’s been so much confusion and obfuscation, no wonder. What matters is that they seem now to be on course. Thank God for them.
Therese,
I don’t think Benedict meant any harm to Chris Ferrara. It’s interesting to see how they (at The Remnant) have moved on in a number of ways – all very welcome. I don’t think it’s a criticism to recognise that. I say the same about myself. I went along with the new Mass, for example, for a very long time before returning to the TLM.
I do agree about Chris Ferrara doing great work – I often include his articles in the newsletter (there’s one in the forthcoming January edition for example) so I think maybe you’ve misunderstood Benedict about this. I don’t think he meant to be unkind.
How over-sensitive some people are.
To criticise someone for something is not to condemn him and all his works entirely and forever, is it? Ferrara has indeed done some marvellous work and is a man I highly respect. But that does not mean that I will pass over every failing of the online Remnant in silence. The editing of sloppily-written articles is often non-existent; it repeats one or two writers’ articles (re-written to appear new) every six months and is generally short of quality contributors. Hilary White is an exception but even she has grown rather frantic in recent months. I don’t see why this should be taken so badly: we all want the little Traditionalist press that we do have to be as good as possible, don’t we?
No, I don’t like the Remnant’s overwhelming American tone. That might have been fine in pre-internet days, but now there is an international audience and the American focus is frankly an obstacle.
Hilary White? A “quality contributor”? You have just gotta be kidding. Because of HER sloppy writing and my own stupidity in trusting her, we had to fork out for an erratum slip to include with the November edition. So, we’ll have to agree to disagree there. And she is one of those who for years now, throughout this crisis, would not say a word about any of the modernist popes until Papa Francis came along.
So, sorry, Benedict, but if you think Hilary White is a “quality contributor”, with her sometimes very crude way of expressing herself for one thing, then I will have to revise my opinion about Putin 😀
Editor,
I think your description of Hilary White’s dishonest rants as “sloppy” is quite generous….and since you’re in a generous mood, how about a few more zeros added to my pay check???
RCA Victor,
No problem. You’re pay has now risen from six to seven figures = £000.000.0p which, I think you will find, despite the currency levels at the moment, stands at about almost the exact same amount in dollars.
I am just trying to break Benedict in gently to the “real” Hilary White, so don’t be fooled. I know I wrote “sloppy” but that’s not what I was a-thinking… Believe me!
Now, my new year’s resolution is to work harder on my (lack of) charity. So, let’s drop Mzzzz White (into the Clyde – kidding!) as I really do NOT want to be unkind in 2017. Hence, I’m making the most of the remaining hours of 2016!
: – ) This made me laugh – she’s the only one on the Remnant I’ve sometimes been able to read.
Benedict,
That “sometimes” is the only redeeming feature of your latest post… I won’t revise my opinion of Putin just yet, then… 😀
Editor,
It’s a spoof. though the opening story is quite real (about the sanctioned Russian diplomats, etc.). It seems obvious that the leftist slime-balls in Washington (and their Republican useful idiots) have decided to make optimum use of the fake news they’ve generated in order to ratchet up provocations of Russia. Given that Trump wants to normalize relations with Russia, I’d say Obama’s puppet-masters have decided to see if they can start a war before Trump takes office. The same war, that is, they’ve been trying to start ever since Obama first soiled the White House 8 years ago.
RCA Victor,
Yes, I knew about the sanctions and the expulsion of the diplomats, but the rest raised one’s eyebrows… 😀
I do agree that Obama is making a last effort to further sour relations with Russia. And maybe they harbour hopes – even now – of overturning Trump’s election. One does wonder, one really does… !
Meanwhile, Putin’s response to Obama’s cynical warmongering fantasies is not only quite amazing, but he makes Obama look like a fool. Not that I’m admiring Putin, you understand. I’m sure he has prepared some more pointed response behind the scenes….
RCA Victor,
I agree. I think Trump was right to say that Putin was “very smart” in his response to Obama. I bet Obama was biting his knuckles in fury at his own stupidity! Talk about an own goal – 35 of them!
Praise the Lord, by Sergei Rachmaninov
Many thanks to Benedict Carter for this excellent article.
I admit to having been previously impressed by Putin and the Russian Orthodox, but I am better informed now thanks to this great read.
Thanks again to Benedict and also Athanasius for developing the thread with some excellent discussion points.
Brian,
In his article on Russia, Benedict Carter provided various links in support of his statements. You may not agree with his position, but I would prefer you stick to addressing the facts at issue, not indulge in personal remarks, since that is an affront to our stated policy – see our House Rules.
Benedict, I would ask you to merely address Brian’s statements of fact. If I find that this has turned into a slanging match, all offending posts will be deleted.
I, for one, am no expert on Russia, and so depend on the knowledge of others to educate me. If you can pinpoint errors of fact in Benedict’s article or subsequent posts, I will be very interested to study them, objectively. What I’m not interested in, is your personal opinion of Mr Carter.
Please and thank you!
Dear Ed, Mr Carter’s links almost all come from fairly bogus Western funded outlets particularly the Moscow Times. I have had enough experiences of this individual on various blogs/com boxes in the past to know of his personal enmity and bitterness towards Russians. As a returning Catholic I find his opinions alienating and un-Christian. He is entitled to his opinion of course but I am only defending mine and getting it out there. Anti Russian feeling is unhelpful in this dangerous age especially among Christians.
I’d refer you to this older link ( you may have already seen it) which probably sums up the alternative view. As I want to refrain from anger I have no wish to discuss anything with Benedict Carter.
http://buchanan.org/blog/whose-side-god-now-6337
Brian,
I didn’t read Benedict’s article as being “anti-Russian” – just a reminder that Russia is NOT converted, as in the sense meant by Our Lady at Fatima.
To highlight one example – if it is true that Putin’s public disapproval of homosexuality doesn’t prevent the “gay” bars industry, then it’s hardly being “anti-Russian” to point that out. And I’ve read plenty of independent articles, seen plenty of news reports, that point to the gangster in Putin. Put it this, way, I wouldn’t write that last sentence, were I living in Russia! That’s got nothing to do with Benedict’s article, that’s, I believe, fairly common knowledge out there in the big bad world. Doesn’t make us anti-Russian, any more than being agin Hillary Clinton makes us anti-American.
I’m going to remove the final part of your latest post which is likely to draw a response from Benedict, since you really cannot make such remarks and expect him NOT to respond.
Let that be an end to it now – you have made your point. I’ve left your posts up there, so Benedict will read them in due course. I am not going to allow this blog to be used as a platform for personal feuds, so anything that remotely smacks of such from now on will be deleted. No more Msssss Nice Gal…
Dear Ed, remove the whole thing if you want. Mr Carter’s mind I can’t change I just wanted to highlight to people his very biased point of view. I know Russia myself as my wife is Russian and I visit regularly. Geopolitics is not my strong point but I can smell scape-goating and racism a mile off. I see it in the media concerning Russia everyday to the point I now fear for my wife and son when they are in public. My son although having a very Newton Mearns accent speaks Russian with his mum. Among Catholics when I see people being fed this stuff and believing it , it is heartbreaking for me and has me very concerned as the volume is being increased on this hatred constantly.
Russia at present despite the corruption and criminality born from the squalor of the Soviet demise and aided by the West is now very pro family and moving toward Pro-life although gradually. This will take time but they are more pro life than any other Western country except for the time being Ireland. Putin is a moderate and and held the country together for a long time now, he is stable and predictable. He is often criticized at home politically without response so your fear of reprisals is more Western nonsense. There are many in Russian politics who are more dangerous (Dugin the Philosopher as he calls himself could be one) as BC says , but he isn’t going to be the next Russian President though so why bring him up as a example. I have no interest in any flare ups with BC so go ahead and remove if you want to. I’ve got it off my chest. I just wanted to present the other side.
thanks
Brian
Brian,
I do not allow myself to be brainwashed by the western media.
I have a relative-by-marriage from the Ukraine, so I know that it’s not just here that Putin is distrusted.
Anyway, let’s leave it there – you have presented “the other side” so let’s allow the readers to make up their own minds.
God bless
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