Traditional-Leaning Priests Mentally Ill… Mgr Loftus (Echoing Papa Francis)
It’s been a while since we’ve reported on the dreadful writings of Monsignor Basil Loftus, whom we dubbed “Mgr Leftus” because he has, without doubt, abandoned the Catholic Faith of 2,000 years for the newer, if manifestly fewer, modernist version. I haven’t read his column for ages, but this morning, Sunday, 22nd January, a reader insisted that I take a copy of his latest offering, because it really is, literally, a very nasty piece of work. Having read today’s claptrap, I thought I’d post some extracts for discussion, knowing full well that there’s no point in writing to his bishop (Diocese of Aberdeen and Diocese of Leeds – as if we don’t have enough heretics of our own up here, they brought him up from England) because both bishops totally ignored the Open Letter we sent to them, some years ago. True to type, they have allowed him to continue, unchallenged, to attack Catholic Faith and Morals, to the great scandal of many of the faithful. Shame on them.
You’d think, wouldn’t you, that at a time when society is emphasising that we must de-stigmatise mental illness, the Pope and Mgr Leftus would think twice about using it as a term of abuse. Wouldn’t you? But no. Far from it.
The good Monsignor spends most of today’s column citing, with obvious approval, Pope Francis’ assertion that young men who apply for seminary “with the intention of adhering to a pre-Vatican II liturgy” (i.e. the traditional Mass) are undesirables (if not deplorables!)
Stretching back to 2015, Mgr quotes the Pope addressing a meeting of priests in the Diocese of Rome: “to ordain these types of seminarians is like placing a mortgage on the Church” and cites the Pope’s warning to bishops a short time later that they must “think twice” when a young man is ‘too confident, rigid and fundamentalist’ telling them to beware when admitting candidates to the seminary, because ‘there are mentally ill boys who seek strong structures that can protect them, such as the police, the army and the clergy.’ [All quotes taken from Francis’ concern over liturgical young fogeys, The Catholic Times, 20 January, 2017]
Speaking to bishops, says Mgr L, Pope Francis opined that “Tridentine-rite liturgies celebrated by priests who had never known the Church under the old rite were ‘a manifestation of moral and psychological imbalances.’ And, a delighted Mgr L goes on, the Pope warned newly appointed bishops in 2015: “Be careful when a seminarian seeks refuge in rigidity – because underneath this there is always something bad.”
The traditional Mass is described as “its own shop window” in today’s savage attack, not to be”reinforced” in seminaries “or by the use of outdated episcopal carnival-costumes” (that is this terrible priest’s standard way of describing the sacred vestments).
The entire article exudes evil. As one American bishop said (and I quoted him, with source, in our newsletter at the time) “To be indifferent to the old rite is one thing; to hate it comes straight from Hell”.
Now, there’s a thought for the good Monsignor. Instead of blethering on about “rigid fundamentalism” he ought to try it sometime. Would make much more interesting reading that the baloney he churns out week after week in the Anything-But-Catholic Times.
Comments invited…
Comments (93)
It looks as if we were living at the Reformation time!!!
And these modernists speak on unity all the time, a very selective unity, although they have divided the Church for half a century and they continue!…
So, Baz is at it again! He is an anachronism and anything he says should be dismissed at once. I am far more concerned with other things. Sister Lucy (of Fatima) tells us that Our Lady told her that the final battle beween God and Satan will be on the Family and Marriage. I see that battle taking place right now. Amoris Laetitia is but one instance of this battle. I find this far more worrying than Baz’s blether.
John R,
Mgr Loftus is obviously in favour of Amoris Laetitia – that’s been blogged here loads of times. He has been exposed in Catholic Truth for his gay rights articles and wanting the divorced and remarried to receive Communion, I’m surprised you don’t know that, but If you don’t think it’s important that the GB Bishops are allowing him to call seminarians “mental” just because they are interested in the old Mass, and you think that is only blether then you leave me speechless.
I think the article in today’s so called Catholic Times is a disgrace, and it’s good to keep reminding everyone that he is a heretic. He doesn’t just blether, he spouts heresy. That’s about as serious as it gets.
Lily,
hear, hear. I agree totally. Mgr Loftus is a menace and I’m just astounded that he still has that Catholic Times column, a paper I never buy now. I think the Scottish Catholic Observer sacked him, but don’t take my word, it would need verifying.
The quotes about seminarians being mentally ill for wanting to say the old Mass are a complete disgrace. If anybody’s got mental health issues, it’s Loftus. He never used to allow anyone to criticise him, I remember that if any letter got published criticising his column, he always had an answer published alongside. I think he’s probably paranoid, LOL!
Michaela,
You may have a point there…
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/8f/87/f8/8f87f8b3097fa82b6ca51dcfb9c83464.jpg
To follow Editor’s lead:
Here is the coffee table book in the lobby of that office:
The Pop-Up Book of Phobias
https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Up-Book-Phobias-Gary-Greenberg/dp/0688171958
Wurdesmythe,
Priceless – if the reviews are to be trusted.
“Paranoia therapy Clinic” –
LOL! That’s a great cartoon!
I liked the second cartoon in the post about hearing voices. That made me chuckle, especially after reading this:
http://eponymousflower.blogspot.com/2017/01/sacrilegious-theft-of-hosts-in-ferrara.html?m=1
This is diabolical.
The Bishop is asking every priest to offer one Mass this coming weekend in reparation for this sacrilege and everyone in his diocese to attend the reparation Mass.
If everyone who blogs on CT would attend Mass and offer their Holy Communion in reparation, it would greatly console Our Lord and Our Lady, as well as being in solidarity with the people of Ferrara.
It seems the Modernist/Marxist revolutionaries have adopted the tactic of projecting their own illnesses, vices and faults on others – esp. others who dare to contradict their illuminated selves. For example, Modernism was accurately described by Dom Gueranger as an intellectual disorder – and so Modernists accuse orthodox Catholics of same. Example two, from the secular world: resistance to the “Alphabet” agenda (thank you, FOOF) is labeled “homophobia,” and “hate,” yet it is those people who are doing the hating. They hate Truth, they hate God, they hate the Church, they hate Western Civilization – and they hate themselves for what they have chosen to become.
Moreover, in the inverted world of satan, of which Msgr. L is clearly a representative, surrender to the world is sacred and is even the same as surrender to God. Whereas, real surrender to God, which is the real Catholic Faith, is dismissed as “rigid” (to which, add the usual string of Bergoglian insults).
This inversion began with John XXIII and Paul VI, both of whom placed the Church on this slippery slope to dissolution.
RCA Victor,
“Alphabet agenda” – LOL!
You are so right about John XXIII and Paul VI starting this “slippery slop to dissolution” – I couldn’t agree more.
Somehow you do not see Lilly that I am certainly not in favour of anything that Baz Loftus writes or says. I know him well. I was at school with him! I simply disregard anything coming from him. He is not worth bothering about. He is a non-entity. When he was ordained it was in Rome and his ordination was entirely in Latin! His first Mass was in Latin. He has said many Masses in Latin!!!
Just ignore him. I do!
He is a DANGEROUS non-entity….I wonder what his views on abortion are,given that the Vatican these days are trivialising this viz Zika virus caper,Belgian Congo nuns “excuses” and just go to any priest for absolution..no big deal…These miserable blowhard and pumped up examples for clergy are constantly given platforms to air their views and leading thousands astray with their seditious clap trap.
In any sane Church, Herr (etic) Loftwaffe would have been laicised many years ago.
It is precisely this “oh he’s mad, just ignore him” that drives me crazy, enables the Modernists to spread their poison unchallenged, and always reminds me of Pope Saint Pius X’s observation that (I paraphrase slightly) we are where we are thanks to the “easy going lukewarmness of Catholics”. So much for defending the Faith under (ongoing and persistent) attack.
Would that be your attitude if you had a family member diagnosed with a dreaded disease? Oh well, nothing can be done about it… Or would you do everything in your power to find a cure?
Those of you who think it is best to ignore a priest who has influence in a Catholic newspaper sold in churches across the UK, when he uses that influence to deny key dogmas, mock the traditional Mass and sacred vestments, are just as much a part of the problem as he is, if not more so.
Now, there’s a flavour of what I’ll be saying at our Conference in May. Don’t come if you want “soft Catholic Truth” – it’ll be “hard Catholic Truth” – In fact, I would add to what Pope St Pius X said as quoted above by adding “those Catholics who refuse to let Modernists like Mgr Loftus enjoy free rein, are regarded as extremists, when they are doing nothing more than their Catholic duty as Confirmed Soldiers of Christ.” Sadly, it is because the majority of Catholics ARE easy going and lukewarm that we at Catholic Truth are accused of being “extremists” a minority of nuts. Isn’t that how Mgr Loftus describes “traditional” (i.e. authentic) Catholics? He’s not ignoring us. He never will. Bet on it.
Look, if you really believe it better to leave Mgr Loftus to his rantings, unchallenged, that’s your free will decision. No need to participate in this discussion. But if you do participate, it would be better NOT to deter someone who may be moved to write to the Bishops of Aberdeen and Leeds respectively, to write to complain to the Catholic Times, or who would now be alerted to warn fellow Catholics not to buy the Catholic Times. That’s always our purpose in publishing the manifestations of the crisis in the Church – to encourage positive action as a contribution to restoring the traditional Faith.
By attacking Catholic dogma and liturgy, this dreadful priest is attacking Christ: “Oh! if I might ask the Divine Redeemer, as the prophet Zachary did in spirit: What are those wounds in the midst of Thy hands? The answer would not be doubtful: With these was I wounded in the house of them that loved Me. I was wounded by My friends, who did nothing to defend Me, and who, on every occasion, made themselves the accomplices of My adversaries. And this reproach can be levelled at the weak and timid Catholics of all countries.”—Pope St. Pius X, Discourse at the Beatification of St. Joan of Arc, 1908 (found in Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. I, pp. 142-145)
Tell me about it.
Editor,
I would rather say with someone I do not remember: “Lord, protect me from my friends, from my enemies I take care of them”…
“Seigneur, protégez-moi de mes amis, de mes ennemis je m’en occupe”.
It comes to my mind, I heard it from Mgr. Ducaud-Bourget
Lionel,
We have a similar saying over here: Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
That’s why I keep in daily contact with my CT team! 😀
Excellent!
I’d like to suggest that it’s not enough for parishioners in Loftus’ diocese to write to their bishops complaining about this. They need to make specific monetary threats. For example: “As a result of your diocesan newspaper repeatedly publishing the manifestly heretical views of Msgr. Loftus, I will no longer be contributing to your coffers through my parish collection. Instead, I will be giving all moneys previously earmarked for you to the UK District of the SSPX.”
Loftus knows he is on safe ground and this shows how Rome thinks these days. So “Who am I to judge” Bergoglio obviously despises Trads and that means the SSPX are in the cross-hairs, now and forever. I cannot fathom why the SSPX can ever continue any dialogue with this mob.The new Synod for 2018 uses a maxim :- “Rigidity must be abandoned” and they are only interested in the views of 16-29 year olds…..who are all so wordly wise compared to the old duffers post 30 years of age.It is obvious that New Church ain’t going to encompass any Fundamental extremists (SSPX included) as they are ALL mentally ill !!!
Lupine,
The alternative strategy to “dialogue” (as you put it) with “this mob” is for the SSPX simply to wait until the crisis is over and then come racing to the front line. In other words, wait until they’re no longer needed, till the war is won, and then come rushing in all guns blazing.
Stick to your day job – military planning ain’t for thee!
RCA Victor,
You are so right, hit the collection plate; however, the number of Catholics who would bother to buy an envelope and a stamp and write such a letter are few and far between. The sheer laziness is incredible.
Editor,
I’d be happy to write the letter myself, and you can post it somewhere here! You’d have to edit it, of course, since I don’t know the full history of this enemy of the Church…
RCA Victor,
You put the home “team” to shame. I think an email would be perfectly in order – not likely to be published anyway, but making the point is what matters.
The email address I have for the Editor of The Catholic Times is
kevin.flaherty@thecatholicuniverse.com
I’m not sure if Kevin Flaherty is still the editor, though – I don’t have the paper, just the couple of articles which the parishioner handed me on Sunday. I suspect he’s still the editor but just in case, you could also copy your letter to the email given on the Universe website (the Catholic Times doesn’t have its own site, can you believe? In this day and age?)
http://www.thecatholicuniverse.com/contact
Feel free, also, to publish your letter to the editor, here, RCA Victor, although no obligation to do so. And after all, what do a few zeros deducted from your pay matter at this stage? The end of the world is nigh, we’re told, so do you really care? 😀
Let it be remembered always that Pope Francis and Mgr. Loftus are of the left.
Since the left’s core reasons are intrinsically much weaker than those of the right, it often has to resort more often to violence in order to maintain itself. This has been exhibited throughout this pontificate.
As for the various psychological insights which Francis from time to time bestows on the Church, they are nothing more than expressions of blind prejudice.
Prognosticum
I’m not so keen on the political language of left and right. I prefer the plain old fashioned descriptions of those who hold to divine and Catholic Faith and those who do not.
Pope Francis and Mgr Loftus possess about as much divine and Catholic Faith between them, as the rest of us possess winning lottery tickets.
Prognosticum
I agree with Editor re your analogy. To be on the left is to be a Communist and Pius XII said that one cannot be at the same time Catholic and Communist. So it really does come down to those who have the faith and those who have lost the faith.
I also agree with Editor’s response to Lupine22. It has never been the way of the Church to just ignore heretic clerics, no matter how insignifcant they are. The Church cannot tolerate assaults on her teaching and practice because they are of divine origin and therefore represent an attack on the Almighty Himself. We are all bound in duty to challenge heretical priests and do our utmost to ensure that the Church’s authorities silence and censure them with urgency.
Mgr. Loftus is a non-entity in himself, a worn out old hippie that most pay no attention to, but that does not lessen our duty before God, especially given the hatred for Tradition that he demonstrates week in and week out in that terrible Catholic Times newspaper, a rag that has absolutely no right to bear the name Catholic. It’s about as Catholic as Pravda.
I beg to differ. Strongly. Without reference to the paradigm of Left/Right (which, of course, has its limitations), it is impossible to understand not only this pontificate, but what has been taking place in the Church and Western society at large over two generations. And the two are very much inter-twined.
To see the Bergoglio phenomenon as purely ecclesial is to perilously underestimate it. It is rather part of a wider politico-cultural movement which has hitherto swept all before it in its attempt to level society down to its lowest common denominator.
Prognosticum,
I didn’t mean that the Pope’s political leanings have no significance (although in the UK it is virtually impossible to see any real difference between the parties, whether “right” or “left” – there’s NO difference at all when it comes to the immoral laws – abortion, LGBT “rights” etc. They’re all as bad as one another on that front.)
What I meant was that I avoid using those “right and left” labels to describe Pope Francis and other “liberals” because it cloaks the reality behind the camouflage of political terminology. I prefer to keep focused on the Faith or lack of it, albeit acknowledging, of course, his contributing political ideology.
I hope you don’t disagree with any of this, but if so, go ahead; no need to “beg” – it’s a free country 😀
Prognosticum,
I think this article at The Remnant website proves your point – it’s terrible to think that a “left-leaning” pope could be in cahoots with an evil government such as the Obama/Clinton regimes. If the claims in here are true, then it is really shocking.
http://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/3001-did-vatican-attempt-to-influence-u-s-election-catholics-ask-trump-administration-to-investigate
It’s ‘trickle down’ pernicious poison ! Very scary ! The False Prophet I think. “The man of sin” is now at the top, is he not? Is he not seen hob nobbing with world leaders, writing encyclicals with a political color, rather than tending to souls?
Marysong
We are in no position, neither do we have the authority, to judge the Pope’s disposition of soul. All we can do as subordinates is point out the Pope’s deadly failings and leave the validity of his Pontificate to God. We have to be careful not to let bitter zeal enter into our own souls in these tragic times.
Thank you, Athanasius. I realize that all you have written is true. I am in no position to judge. I think I have a right to an opinion however after studying the ‘Book of Destiny’ by Rev. Herman Bernard Kramer. Father was ordained in 1914, knew seven languages, studied the Apocalypse for years and his book took thirty years to complete.
I ‘fit’ Pope Francis into the False Prophet description in Father Bernard Kramers’ book.
I believe Pope Francis to be the valid Pope.
Marysong
Thank you for your response.
I don’t think I would put too much trust in books written on the Apocalypse but individual Church scholars, no matter how well educated they may be or how much time they put into their project.
I’m quite sure that Fr. Kramer has written very honestly on his personal interpretations of Apocalypse, his findings no doubt reflecting what other Church scholars have concluded in centuries past. The problem with Apocalypse, however, is that it is so obscure and complex that it’s very difficult for any scholar to write deciively on its detail. The greatest scholars in the Church have racked their brains over Apocalypse since the beginning and have not been able to intepret its passages with conclusive certainty.
But if you think about it, Our Lord said that not even the angels in heaven know the time of the end. So I think Apocalypse is there as a guide for the signs of the times more than as a calendar by which we may securely fix the end of the world. God alone knows when that will come.
As for the false prophet mentioned in Apocalypse, it is clear from the text itself that this individual will be in the service of Satan from the start. Given his falsehood he could not be a valid Pope, as he would have to ascend the Papal Throne by deception. So you see, we cannot advocate our recognition of Francis’ Pontificate as valid while at the same time declaring a belief that he may be the false prophet mentioned in Apocalypse. It’s very dangerous ground and I would advise a step back from it.
We are certainly living through Apocalyptic times, “the last timesof the world”, as Our Lady made known to Sister Lucy. How long those times are, however, we cannot say. Sacred Scripture says that with God a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day, so we cannot possibly determine how long the last times may last before the final judgment.
What we do know for certain is that Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart will triumph at the end of this present crisis and that a period of holy peace will be granted to the world before Anti-christ arises and final stage of Apocalypse concludes.
Sister Lucy said that the chastisement of the Third Secret of Fatima is contained in Apocalypse chapters 8-13. My tak on this is that crisis we are presently enduring in the Church and in the world, this universal apostasy from God, is but a fore-runner of a much worse time to come at the end of the period of peace when Anti-christ will arise and reveal himself in all his wickedness. But, as I say, we can only draw reasonable conclusions from interpretations of Apocalypse, not positively identifiable dates, times and individuals.
I would ask anyone on this thread if they have ever carried out Jury Service. Of course we can judge this man. Just look at the overwhelming evidence presented week after week coming from this Pope. I will say again that this Pope has crossed the line so many times.If we were members of a Jury and presented with such evidence we (using our common sense) would be delivering a Guilty verdict. What is it going to take for the penny to drop?
Lupine22,
The next step is for the “dubia Cardinals” to issue their first public correction. Francis is “allowed” two of those, according to our theologians, and if he refuses to respond/recant, then a Council must be called to try him for heresy. At that trial, the hierarchy will become judge and jury.
RCA Victor, it seems to be slipping away (the Dubia that is). In any case the hierarchy will probably be too supine to issue a guilty verdict.For a Pope to blather on and ENDORSE about contraception (abortifacients) with regard to the already forgotten Zika virus using the Belgian nuns in the Congo in the 60’s as an example (execption issued by Paul VI,which was also ratified by Fr Lombardi, is beyond the pale. That is but one example and we now get the Rad Trad script again that Trads (obviously that includes the SSPX) are mentally ill and NO young man can enter a seminary if he harbours a hankering for the old Mass.Now Bishop Malloy of Illinois will NOT allow his priests to celebrate the Mass of All Time and ignores Summorum Pontificum. I have been in business all my life and I can tell you that in a board room such impudence would be rewarded by firing on the spot..Again my point is that how could the Society ever turn this around as this behaviour is so entrenched now and in such numbers that any contenders can and will easily be marginalised.
Lupine22,
Hang in there my friend! Cardinal Burke said that he would wait until the holiday season is over – and we still have a couple of weeks of Epiphany to go…
OK will do !
Lupine22,
What do you suggest we do on this blog? As far as I’m aware, all we can do is discuss the issues but I don’t think we have any authority over the pope. Calling him names isn’t exactly a great help, although it might help let off steam, LOL! It isn’t this blog that says we can’t judge souls, that was Christ!
I’ve done jury service and I did look at the evidence but I wasn’t allowed to pronounce the sentence – unfortunately! I’d have given him 20 years, LOL!
Exactly Josephine and there is an old Glasgow expression “we did not come up the Clyde in a banana boat”! He is destroying 2,000 years of Tradition and making out that everything I was taught and believe is nonsense.It really is that straightforward. As I have said in the past, Rome is now so corrupt that the Trads do not have a snowball’s chance in hell of converting that lot.
Lupine22
With respect, secualr courts are empowered by God to sit in judgment of those accused of crimes under the civil law. Catholics are empowered by God to sit in judgment only of actions, not of men, and especially not the Successor of St. Peter. We may all have our thoughts, that’s only human, but we have no authority to reach conclusions and declare judgment. This is the consistent teaching of the saints and Doctors of the Church.
We know Pope Francis is causing great harm to the Faith and we have a duty to state the fact clearly and resist his errors. But that’s are far as we go. We do not overstep the mark by making judgments on his cupability, or disposition of soul. I hope that is clear.
Making judgements on HIS culpability? Are you kidding? Are you saying all the things he has been culpable for, so far, we cannot judge? That is the mindset of the populations of certain European and Eastern blocs of yesteryear.
Lupine22
I was referring to judging the Pope’s soul and deciding that his erroneous words and actions are a product of deliberate malice. His errors we may, and indeed should, oppose. His disposition of soul we dare not presume to know. Only God knows what drives this Pope to say and do what he does.
Well I think you are way off beam with that one Athanasius! I believe we CAN judge him. So we just sit tight and watch the destruction….an old saying “It;s like asking a fireman to dialogue with the fire. Invincible naivety comes to mind.How much more deadly failings are we to stomach…and it looks like the 4 cardinals are in judgement mode as there would be no Dubia if they weren’t judging AL which is a total travesty….I was taught that adultery was a mortal sin and that going to communion in a state of mortal sin was sacrilege….so what is there NOT to judge.
Lupine22,
We can obviously judge his words and actions and obviously AL, which is a total scandal, but we cannot judge whether or not he should be pope – he is the pope and we have to live with it until God intervenes. It’s not up to the SSPX to turn it around, but God. All the rest of us can do is follow the example of St Paul and resist the false teaching of Francis. I think there’s a strong feeling around right now that this situation won’t go on for much longer. We can certainly hope not, LOL!
Michaela ,here is a guy who openly endorses sacrilegious communion, downgrades abortion in it’s seriousness and endorses the use of abortifacients. Uses expressions like “Catholics breeding like rabbits”,praises Emma Bonnino (La Bicyclette, worth a Google) as an Italian Great, ~ that is enough for me…further Cardinal Schonborne gives a recent interview and reckons he (of the St Galen mob) will be the next Pope (God help us).Pope Francis is the CEO of the business and given such a track record would be handed his jacket in the real world. I cannot understand why the people on this blog put up with his shenanigans (how long would a football manager last with such an appalling track record) and bang on about NOT judging him..I will judge him as he is unfit for purpose and hides behind the “we can’t judge his soul” nonsense…if that were the case we cannot judge non – repentant arch criminals and serial killers as only God knows what is in their souls. My simple view is for us to use our own common sense and judge him.Why would God give us a Pope that is destroying the Faith.
Lupine22
“Why would God give us a Pope that is destroying the Faith?”
Maybe because the Church deserves such a Pope. Our Lady of Fatima indicated such a chastisement in the Third Secret of Fatima. We shouldn’t be surprised, then, and we shouldn’t question God’s providence or allow his correction to turn us bitter.
Does that mean that an all merciful and loving God would punish millions of innocent souls by giving us a Pope who would destroy our faith? Do the souls lost over the past 50 years deserve punishment because their spiritual life was quashed by a Pope sent by God to destroy THEIR faith..surely this is an absurdity !
Lupine22
Everyone is given sufficient grace by God to save his soul, and especially more so during a time of crisis. Our Lady of Fatima has promised to guide and protect those who keep a devotion to her, so I’m a bit perplexed by your view of things.
Those who know their faith and want to save their souls will not be lost. The innocent who pray with good will and a fervent heart will not be lost. The indifferent and the wilfully blind, sadly, however, are in the majority today. Don’t blame God for people’s lukewarmness to their faith.
Yes, but what of the ones who did not get a chance to know their faith as my generation knew, all due to lazy teachers and modernist priests.
Lupine22
What about the children of Muslims, Hindus and Protestants who also have never had a chance to know the true Church and Faith? These things are left to God’s infinite mercy and the good will of individual souls. The Commandments are written by God in every heart and there is no absence of the grace of God for those who seek it.
What about No salvation outwith the Catholic church?
Lupine22
You’ll note that the 4 Cardinals in their Dubia are questioning the errors, asking respectfully for Papal clarification. Nowhere in their document do they judge or accuse the Pope. That’s the example we have to follow, only a little more forcefully than the 4 Cardinals.
As far as I’m concerned the hierarchy is far too mute in the face of Pope Francis’ radical agenda. But that doesn’t mean I want them to burn the Pope at the stake. Firm, respectful resistance to Francis’s errors in the public domain is what we want to see from the hierarchy. Something akin to the position Archbishop Lefebvre took.
Yes and the position the Archbishop took was to get as far away from them as possible…!
Lupine22
Different time, different set of circumstances. The Archbishop’s original demand was that the SSPX be given back the official status that had been unjustly taken from it under Paul VI and then be allowed to continue with its apostolate without episcopal interference. He couldn’t even get Rome to accord a fraction of that modest request at the time. Now it is at last on offer under a Personal Prelature.
If Pope Francis had offered Archbishop Lefebvre a protected Personal Prelature, he would have accepted without question because he loved the Church and understood well the limitations of what he could do to combat internal errors without formal recognition.
Given the culture shock that many lesser liberals in the hierarchy have suffered since the election of Pope Francis, now is the most propitious time to accept a Personal Prelature. A sizeable number of those “conservative” prelates and clerics who used to criticise the SSPX have recently come around to understanding why the Archbishop did what he did and how important a work his institution has actually been in preserving of Sacred Tradition.
Lupine22
“What about No salvation outwith the Catholic church?”
Continues to stand as the general rule. My reference was to invincible ignorance and the disposition of individual souls in respect to the Commandments of God “written in every heart” and their general exposure to the truth.
Prognosticum
I agree with the left/right politico-cultural angle on this. Yes, Communism is at the root of the crisis today both in the world and in the Church. But, and this is the really important part, Communism is a symptom of lost faith. The loss of faith comes before the adoption of error, not the other way around. The present crisis in the Church, then, is fundamentally linked to a loss of faith, as Our Lady of Fatima predicted, “from the top down”. Hence the “diabolical disorientation, the shift from light to darkness, which they call “a New Pentecost”, or, as some put it, “a New World Order” which is a world built on pure naturalism.
The newsletter is not on line, so I’ve subscribed – ugh! – so that I may read the whole rubbish, when it arrives. I just hope my blood pressure can stand the strain.
Therese,
What newsletter are you talking about? I can’t see any mention of a newsletter on this blog.
Yes, what newsletter, Therese?
Margaret Mary/Helen
What good questions! I misread Editor’s comments, but I’ve been onto the Catholic Times website and cannot see the article in question, so assumed (what do we do when we assume?) that the offending article was in the newsletter.
Signed:
An ass.
Regarding Communism and the left/right distinctions posted above, I’ve always thought Communism was one of the political manifestations (disguises, actually) of Freemasonry – in fact, its prime manifestation. For example, Karl Marx’s Ten Points in the Communist Manifesto are essentially a re-statement of the agenda of the Illuminati under Adam Weishaupt. http://www.mrrives.com/Technology/?p=195
Also, the Bolshevik Revolution, if I recall correctly, was engineered from behind the scenes by Masonic agents, working through the offices of the Red Cross. Finally, the prominent Communist goal of the persecution and destruction of the Catholic Church is simply the goal of Freemasonry.
So while it is accurate, on a certain level, to state that the left/right paradigm is the source of the great leveling of civilization and of the Church, I think it would be more telling, given the identity of the god of Freemasonry, to describe this universal destruction as a mark and final phase of that ancient battle: Satan and his minions vs. Our Lord and Lady and the Heavenly Host. And whatever successes are achieved by the dark forces in this battle are indeed achieved through the loss of faith…and the cultivation of pride.
(Regarding this final phase, who was it, or was it one of the prophecies, that said that the gates of Hell were opened somewhat in the mid-19th century, unleashing new hordes of demons upon the world?)
I believe it was Pope Leo X111 who had a vision and that is why he introduced the St Michael prayer……the prayer that fell in to dis-use post VAT 2.
Some of us had the priveledge of being enrolled into the Militia Immaculatae by Fr. Brucciani on Sunday at Edinburgh. We only have to say this short ejaculation daily,
‘Immaculate Heart of Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us, who have recourse to Thee, and for all those who do not have recourse to thee, especially for the Freemasons and for all those commended to thy care.’
Fr. Brucciani preached a very rousing sermon in which he left us in no doubt about the state of the church.( He may have been in Glasgow.) God bless him.
Clotilde,
I sorely wish the US District were as on the ball as Fr. Brucciani. I’ve been trying get enrolled in the M.I. since early 2015, without success, and I’m getting extremely weary of the non-responsiveness of SSPX clergy regarding such things as this and the Third Order (in which it took me over three years to get enrolled, and then only because our Prior volunteered to be the Chaplain of the US District!). Obviously, “spread too thin” is not an acceptable excuse – who could be spread thinner than Fr. Brucciani?
RCA Victor
You may be right as regards the M.I. but the UK District has it’s own failings. We have to remember that the SSPX is only a lifeboat during this present crisis. The ideal will be a restoration of Tradition to the Church very soon and a re-establishement of a proper ecclesiastical structure for the faithful, something more akin to the old parish priest system we used to enjoy.Those old parish priests had years of pastoral expertise that I greatly miss.
Athanasius,
Thank you for that very helpful reminder – though I must say, even a lifeboat requires a certain amount of order to stay afloat! It just seems that the areas of parish life in which I am most active frequently operate on an ad hoc basis, and it gets very frustrating and tiresome.
RCA Victor
Yes, I think many of us could identify with your frustration. Still, parish life aside, we have the Traditional Mass and Sacraments and they are priceless.
I think this is the most appropriate thread for this piece of hilarity given the way both Pope and Mgr Loftus push Amoris Laetitia… Enjoy…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3r9lmhZf08&w=675&h=405%5D
Thanks to the reader from Leeds who emailed the link. It’s priceless!
I laughed and laughed at that video clip. It really is so spot on, so clever and so sad too.
The following report is exactly what Mgr Loftus wants to happen across the world.
Bishop of Rockford repeals Summorum Pontificum
Bishop Malloy of Rockford, which is in Illinois in the USA, has sent a rather remarkable letter to his priests. Rorate Caeli received a copy on 16th January, and it is reproduced in full here.
The letter reads, in part, as follows:
As you will recall, at our Presbytery Day in September, I spoke to you about some of the challenges confronting us as priests and as a diocese. I highlighted the particular need for us to have unity in the celebration of the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. Our unity during the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy is a continuing fulfillment of the prayer of Jesus on Holy Thursday night. On a practical level, the unity of our sacramental celebration strengthens our shared faith and limits confusion among the faithful throughout the Diocese.
Following that talk, I write now to ask for your cooperation on several matters that have since been referred to me in connection with my comments last September:
First, as I noted at that time, we are all aware of the on-going discussion surrounding the celebration of the Mass “ad orientem“. However, for the reasons I discussed at that time, and in order to underscore our unity in prayer and to avoid differences between and even within parishes on this point, I ask that no Masses be celebrated “ad orientem” without my permission.
Second, for similar reasons, in keeping with Art. 5 §1 of Summorum Pontificum, and with due regard to Art. 2 of that same document, Masses are not to be celebrated using the Extraordinary Form without my permission.
The last quoted paragraph is truly astonishing: rather than ignore what Summorum Pontificum says, it refers to sections which state that, to celebrate the Traditional Mass, ‘a priest does not need permission, neither from the Apostolic See nor from his Ordinary.’ (Art. 2), and that priests should ‘willingly’ (libenter) accept requests from groups to celebrate the Traditional Mass (Art 5 §1). Having referred to these sections, Bishop Malloy then contradicts them: priests do need his permission, and they should not willingly receive requests to celebrate the ancient Mass.
Perhaps Bishop Malloy would point to another part of Art. 5 §1:
Let him [sc. the priest] see to it that the good of these faithful be harmoniously brought into accord with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the governance of the Bishop according to canon 392, by avoiding discord and by fostering the unity of the whole Church.
However, it is obvious that this is not intended to contradict the earlier statement that priests don’t need permission to celebrate the Traditional Mass; rather, it is intended to govern the way that they go about doing so. Parish priests should set up celebrations of the Old Mass in a way which harmonises with the parish’s pastoral care, avoids discord and fosters unity with the Bishop. The whole point of Summorum Pontificum is that there is no need to imagine that there should be any problems of discord, if priests are both generous and sensible. Pope Benedict makes this point with particular force in the Letter to Bishops which accompanied the Motu Proprio: addressing this ‘fear’, he remarks: ‘This fear also strikes me as quite unfounded. ‘
Bishop Malloy, however, appears to be arguing that there is a danger to the unity of the diocese not from any unreasonable behaviour from priests who support the Traditional Mass, but merely from the fact that it is different from the Novus Ordo. The idea that disunity derives inevitably from liturgical differences also lies behind the ban on celebration of Mass ad orientem. This is not just contrary to the entire purpose of Summorum Pontificum, but to the clear teaching of the Second Vatican Council:
in faithful obedience to tradition, the sacred Council declares that holy Mother Church holds all lawfully acknowledged rites to be of equal right and dignity; that she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way. (Sacrosanctum Concilium 4)
Even in the liturgy, the Church has no wish to impose a rigid uniformity in matters which do not implicate the faith or the good of the whole community. (Sacrosanctum Concilium 37)
It is also contrary to the whole tenor of the 1970 Missal, which, as has often been pointed out, is a Missal of options. I wonder if any two celebrations of the Novus Ordo in the Diocese of Rockford on a given Sunday use exactly the same texts and ceremonies. There are, after all, multiple options for the Eucharstic Prayer, the acclamations, and sometimes for the readings. Parts or all can be celebrated in Latin, or indeed Spanish, Polish, or any other of scores of languages. The Penitential Rite can be replaced by the Asperges. The Sign of Peace and the Offertory Procession can be included or omitted. The Offertory prayers can be said silently or aloud. The proper chants can be replaced with banal and perhaps heretical ‘any suitable’ vernacular hymn. In a number of places the priest is invited to ex temporise. Examples could be multiplied indefinitely.
If all the priests of Rockford do all use the same options, if they all stick to the same tried and tested texts and hymns, this is not a sign of unity: it is a sign of laziness, of a failure to explore the richness of the Pauline Missal. At least, that is what liberal liturgical theorists will tell us, and it must be admitted that all those options must have been included for some reason. Did all those trees die in vain?
It does not appear that Bishop Malloy is concerned, at present, to stop his priests celebrating the Mass in a variety of languages, using a variety of Eucharistic Prayers and however many other options. Perhaps he is picking his battles and intends to write another letter insisting on the use of EP II and Acclamation IV. The canonical advice I have received indicates that his power to forbid celebration ad orientem is ‘arguable’, though it should be noted that Catholic churches are not guaranteed to have sanctuaries set up for celebration versus populum. The idea that Bishop Malloy has the right to repeal Summorum Pontificum for his diocese is simply wrong. There is no way a bishop can reverse the solemn legislation of the Supreme Pontiff.
To cheer up Bishop Malloy’s flock, however, he has very kindly uploaded a video of himself taking part in ‘car pool kareoke’. Party on!
For more on the Church’s teaching on liturgical diversity, see the FIUV Position Paper on Liturgical Pluralism.
For more on the legal and theological status of celebration ad orientem, see the FIUV Position Paper on Liturgical Orientation
Postscript: A reader in the USA has pointed out to me that Bishop Malloy is not entirely unfriendly to the Traditional Mass. The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest has an apostolate in his diocese, and their website shows him visiting them, and assisting at the Traditional Mass in choro, on 9th August 2015 (scroll down). This does not solve the problems in his letter, of course, but may put them into a little more context. Source – Rorate Caeli
Thanks to Prognosticum for alerting us to this report (on GD thread)
The SSPX has just published a very poignant column on the real victims of AL: priests.
http://sspx.org/en/news-events/news/priests-victims-amoris-laetitia
Read it and it only makes me think that if ever the society were to take on Rome, what a fight they would have. Could a local SSPX priest be suspended a divinis by a local ordinary (who might just be itching to pull such a stunt)…Just a thought that popped in to my head there.
Lupine22
Not if the SSPX was protected from episcopal interference by a Personal Prelature.
Yes but a Personal Prelature from Francis would be worth what ? Given the recent crass statements from this Pontiff “I do not need to explain my self to anyone, I am Pope blah blah”…just look at how he treats his lackeys like Gerhard Muller….there’s the door my son! So how would he treat Bishop Fellay…pretty badly I would reckon,given his current modus operandi. And what about post Francis a new guy emboldened by his predecessor’s daring ? I just cannot see how the society can work with a Pope who openly despises Tradition and who calls Trads mentally ill. Why would he tolerate the SSPX…a Personal Prelature would be a Trojan Horse without any stretch of the imagination.
Lupine22
Bishop Fellay is no fool so if he thinks a Personal Prelature is a secure way ahead for the SSPX, I’ll trust his judgment in the matter. Our opinions are not worth much because we don’t have the same insight as he does.
OK, but it would have to be totally watertight with no ambiguity and in perpetuity. Cast iron and unable to be revoked.
Lupine22
The ancient liturgy of the Church was codified by St. Pius V in perpetuity, it didn’t stop the Modernists from finding a way to suppress it. Nothing is watertight and in perpetuity these days, there has to be a certain trust and a certain testing of the waters. Nothing is absolutely free from risk. The business of the SSPX is to minimize that risk to the greatest extent possible and then place everything in God’s hands while remaining forever vigilant.
Agreed and in the business world that I worked in that business risk would be subject to Due Diligence.
Lupine,
I note your analogy with the world of business and to a point, it works. Where it fails, however, is that the Devil is not working day, night, and through eternity to destroy businesses. (With the likes of Philip Green, former BHS boss, right enough, he really doesn’t have to go to the bother!)
All that we are living through has been foretold – even as far back as the 17th century at Quito, where, by the way, Wurdesmythe is pilgrimaging as we speak/write. I’ve asked him to remember us all in his prayers there.
So, be at peace, this trial will end. Or else!
Also assuming a Personal Prelature the SSPX would be on a permanent daily collision course with Rome,akin to trying to stop the QE2 at 30 knots in the middle of the Atlantic…no easy task.
Lupine22
A difficult task only if have leave out trust in divine providence.
It seems our pastors are leading us all to hell and this is not going to go away when we hear guidance or lack of it from those who are supposed to believe and practice the faith.
Comments welcome on this scenario…
A young person A wants to attend the ‘marriage’ of a sibling who is cohabiting with his fiance and they are about to marry in a hotel with a civil ceremony. The young man has been taught his faith and has not been practising for some time.
A near friend who is a traditional Catholic has been asked for their view about attending and has told A that it is acceptable. The young man B is also going against the wishes of the parents ,and ignoring advice from the clergy.
Is this friend who is giving the nod to A also culpable and therefore endangering their own soul by causing A to believe that which is not only wrong but a mortal sin?
And the friend is not a friend if they are encouraging A also to commit a sin and begin to doubt her faith.
Surely this wishy washy approach to the sacredness of marriage is the cause of most of the sins against the 6th Commandment?
We have a Pope who also intimates that adultery is no longer an obstacle to communion…ergo a mortal sin and extending to sacrilege is now OK. What next?Pro abort politicians are given communion etc…comes back to using our common sense….simply the reason that they are going down this road is that the do NOT believe in the Blessed Sacrament….this New Church are on the road to debunking the Blessed Sacrament!
Lupine22,
I seem to be out of room for more replies, so this should go above in your discussion with Athanasius.
Regarding “chastisement,” you may recall Fr. Gruner relating what Fr. Gabriel Amorth told him, not too long before he, Fr. Gruner, passed. Fr. Amorth said that the chastisement was about to begin – I believe this was early in 2015. So what happened in the fall of 2015? The Synod Against the Family concluded and paved the pre-arranged road for Francis to issue the despicable AL (most of which was written before the Synod).
My point is this: we can now see that God has wrought our chastisement primarily through the Passion of the Church, just as He wrought our salvation through her. Said Passion has been proceeding incrementally for the past 50 years, but now it seems to have reached its denouement, with a Pope apparently playing the role of Judas. We are all, of course, horrified and disgusted by this accelerated turn of events, but what is playing out before us is actually the logical conclusion of the past 50 years. Call it the organic development of apostasy, if you will.
As for innocence, all the martyrs were innocent as well, and gave their blood and their lives willingly and joyfully for Our Lord’s sake. May I suggest that you meditate on the “fruit of suffering,” which happens to be one the readings in Prime this morning?
Thank you RCA Victor,what you say makes sense! Also Arnaud de Lassus RIP + died yesterday aged 95, now there was a man ! If you can read French (I am bilingual) you will find a treasure trove of his exposure on world Freemasonry and infiltration in the Vatican.
Lupine22,
I had never heard of him, but I just found a PDF of his work called “A Century of Modernism.” Excellent!
We can all learn from each other on this blog.The Judas complex was mentioned by Malachi Martin in his writings. The next synod in 2018 will have been scripted in advance.We are without a doubt living in the End Times and we are but a remnant.
RCA Victor, have a look at the current thread on the blog with regard to Knights..and check out the Knights of Malta latest. This gives a snapshot of what Bergoglio can really pull if riled. Shocking stuff.
For the record, the column spewed out by Mgr Loftus this week in the Anything-But-Catholic-Times is about the Knights of Malta, whom he insults as “filly old diehards”. To rub salt into his nasty piece, he goes on to name Cardinal Burke as another “frilly old diehard”. What a nasty man. A really nasty and very small man, is Mgr Loftus. As usual his nastiness is cloaked as a partial, at least, quote from someone else (not always easy to see where the quote ends and Mgr Loftus begins) but – in any case – that’s only camouflage for the more naïve among us. What he quotes, he believes. Note: for all his blether about Francis and his love for the poor and how the Knights are too “frilly” to count as caring about the poor (whilst acknowledging their good work for the poor!) he hangs on to his title of Monsignor and I doubt very much if he’s living in a council house in some down-market part of Sutherland. Talk about “don’t do as I do, do as I say…”
I was handed a photocopy of his article by a reader this morning (I NEVER buy the paper – actually I’ve never seen it on sale in any city centre church in Glasgow, so goodness knows where it hangs out) Anyway, the title of the article shows that the editor has taken on board (and agrees with) Mgr Loftus’ assessment of both the Knights and Cardinal Burke: The demise of ‘frilly old diehards’ in the Church.” Anything-But-Catholic-Times, 3 February, 2017.
Again for the record, here’s the “filly” quote in full…
[…now described by the President of the Knights’ German Association, Erich Lobknowicz] as “a tiny clique of ultraconservative frilly old diehards in the Church – diehards that [sic] have missed the train in every conceivable respect”, because they are opposed to all that Pope Francis stands for”. Another ‘frilly old diehard’, literally ‘frilly’ whenever he dons robes or vestments, and ‘diehard’ whenever he cites canon law, the American, Cardinal Raymond Burke, appointed in November 2014 by Pope Francis as the Papal Representative (Patronus) to the Grand Master, must now be considering his position. Pope Francis has announced that he is shortly to appoint a Papal Delegate Delegato Pontificio: to run the order in place of a Grand Master. Such an official will hardly require the assistance of a ‘Papal Representative’.
The insufferable Mgr Loftus is really and truly insufferable. The arrogance of his every word just screams out at any discerning reader with a smidgeon of Catholicity in his/her soul. Remember, his recurring poisonous remarks about the old Mass (“frilly” vestments/”clown costumes” etc) reveal a hatred of the Mass which always reminds me to the words of Bishop Olmstead in the USA: “to be indifferent to the old Mass is one thing; to hate it comes straight from Hell.”
Mgr Loftus – hatred of the old Mass – Hell….
Go figure, folks, as our American cousins would say…
Editor,
I NEVER buy the paper – actually I’ve never seen it on sale in any city centre church in Glasgow, so goodness knows where it hangs out
The only time I’ve ever seen the “Catholic” Times was in – wait for it – WH Smith on Sauchiehall Street!
It was some time ago, so I don’t know if they still stock it, but I always remembered it because (i) its the only time I’ve ever seen it and (ii) a Catholic paper (even one Catholic in name only) seemed so incongruous among the rest of their stock.
Comments are closed.