Almighty GOD did not abandon us during the current crisis either. He gave us Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre to ensure that loyal Catholics still had access to The True Mass and Sacraments. The Archbishop established the Priestly Order of The Society of St. Pius X to form True Priests for the world. He also gave us Good Bishops that the world so desperately needed. He is often called the St. Athanasius of our day. He was later joined by Bishop de Castro Mayer of Brazil.

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The Traditional Catholics are the “Moderates” neither far left nor far right!!

During this Crisis within The Church, those claiming to be “Catholic” can be divided into five general groups:^[2]

1. LIBERAL CATHOLICS (Error):

Far left of Center are the liberal “Catholics” (the Modernists). In general they feel that:

a. The New Mass in English is a great improvement over the Traditional Mass in Latin.

(This is false. The New Mass can vary between being valid or invalid, depending on the matter, form, minister and intention used. The New Mass if valid is then a Sacrilege! Which is much worse!)

b. The Church must constantly move with the times.

(The Church must “hold fast to Tradition”)

c. The Church needed a complete renewal.

(The changes were not a “renewal” but a revolution!)

d. Vatican II ushered in this renewal. It was inspired by the Holy Ghost.

(Pope Paul said It allowed the “Smoke of Satan to enter The Church”)

e. Pope John-Paul II is too conservative and is holding the renewal back.

(Pope John-Paul II acts very Liberal. Pray for him.)

f. Obedience to Church superiors imposing the renewal is an absolute necessity to be a Catholic.

(Obey all that is not sinful. When they tell us to worship like Protestants, to obey would be sinful.)

g. Archbishop Lefebvre was fixed with an antiquated mentality.

(Archbishop Lefebvre is GOD’s gift to all Catholics who have a right to unquestionable Mass and Sacraments.)

2. CONSERVATIVE CATHOLICS (Compromise):

A little to the left of center are the conservative Catholics (e.g. Society of St. Peter, Indult Mass, Una Voce, etc.). In general they feel that:

a. The New Mass is not as good as the Old Mass, but priests can say it, or at least the laity can attend it.

(An invalid new “Mass” is not a Mass at all. They worship only bread and wine. A Valid new Mass is a Sacrilege and a grave Sin.)

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b. If only The Church could go back to the 1950's!

(It was during the ‘50s that we started to become too lax in the practice of the Faith.)

c. Excessive renewal has caused a crisis, but one must always stay within its official structures.

(Not when they tell us to commit a sin - to accept a Protestant form of worship that denies Doctrine.)

d. Vatican II documents contain no error. They have been misinterpreted.

(The document on Ecumenism is an error.)

e. Pope John-Paul II is a Traditionalist who is appointing conservative bishops and restoring the Church.

(Pope John-Paul II actions are Liberal. Pray for him.)

f. Superiors imposing the liberal renewal are not good, but Catholic obedience requires that one stay with Rome.

(Not when they tell us to commit a sin - to worship like Protestants who deny Catholic Doctrine. The Indult Mass requires acceptance of Modernists’ errors and may use hosts from a New Mass. We don’t need an Indult Mass, which gives permission for the Traditional Mass. We already have “Permission”. St. Pius V gave it to us in his Decree Quo Primum, which is good “in perpetuity”.)

g. Archbishop Lefebvre could have done so much good if only he had stayed in the Church by being obedient.

(Archbishop Lefebvre has stayed in The Church by being obedient to the teachings of Popes down through the Centuries and by being disobedient to orders that go against what The Church has always taught.)

3. TRADITIONAL CATHOLICS (Truth):

In the center are the Traditional Catholics (e.g. Society of St. Pius X, many kindred spirits). Prior to the Church’s infiltration by Modernists, all Catholics were Traditional Catholics. In general they feel that:

a. The New Mass can be valid, but it is so harmful to the Faith that priests should never say it, nor should laity ever attend it.

b. The modern world as such is built on anti-Catholic principles which had already far undermined the Church of the 1950's.

c. The crisis of “renewal” has become so grave in the Church that to stay Catholic one may have to be “excommunicated” (from the liberal Church).

(“What does it mean to be excommunicated by the excommunicated?”)

d. Vatican II was a legitimately convened Council, but its deliberately ambiguous documents opened doors wide to error.

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e. Despite conservative appearances, Pope John-Paul II is in fact by his liberalism destroying the Church. But he is still Pope.

(Pray for him.)

f. Liberal Church superiors must be respected as superiors, but as liberals, when they destroy the Faith, they must not be obeyed.

g. Archbishop Lefebvre was a heroic defender of the Faith, the most truly Catholic bishop since Vatican II.

(Deo Gratias!)

4. Moderate SEDEVACANTISTS (Exaggerated reaction to error):

To the right of center are the moderate Sedevancatists (The Chair of Peter is Vacant, there is no Pope) They include various fragments of the Society of St. Pius V and other small groups. In general they feel that:

a. The New Mass is so bad that one may doubt whether it can ever be validly celebrated.

b. The Modern world is not always truly moving forwards. If only we and the Church could go back to the 1950's.

c. The official Church and its leaders have gone so far in their false “renewal” that they may be ignored by Catholics.

d. The documents of Vatican II are openly heretical. There is nothing worth salvaging from that Council.

e. Pope John-Paul II is so far from being Catholic that one may seriously doubt whether he is Pope at all. (This is beyond our competency to judge.)

f. Present Church superiors have virtually forfeited their right to be respected even as superiors by Catholics.

(The Offices they hold deserve our respect.)

g. Archbishop Lefebvre was a little soft on Modernism, for instance when he signed most documents of Vatican II.

(Not all Documents were heretical. He demanded that they be interpreted in a Traditional way.)

5. Extreme SEDEVACANTISTS (Exaggerated reaction to error.):

To the far right of center are the extreme Sedevacantists. They include various fragments of the Society of St. Pius V and other small groups. In general they feel that:

a. The New Mass is so bad that beyond question it can never be a valid Mass.

(It’s valid when it has the correct Matter, Form, Minister, and Intention. Hopefully this will be rare because if valid then it’s a Sacrilege!)

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b. The modern world is not always truly moving forwards. If only we could go back to the Church of the 1950's or 1850's!

c. Today’s seeming Catholic Church is in no way still Catholic. True Catholics must somehow elect their own Pope.

(We already have a Pope. Pray for him. If every Traditional group started to elect their own Pope, then we would be flooded with Popes. This would be a Scandal and the confusion would drive many souls away from the True Mass and back to the New Mass.)

d. Vatican II was illegitimate from the beginning. It was not a Catholic Council in any way at all.

(Vatican II was a legitimate Council. Unlike other Councils it was “Pastoral” and not “Doctrinal”. Since it did not concern Doctrine, it was not infallible.)

e. Pope John-Paul II is such a heretic that there is no way he can be Pope. The See of Peter is vacant.

(We are all incompetent to make this judgment. A future Pope will have to judge this. Of course GOD knows. Pray for the Pope.)

f. Present Church superiors have so betrayed the Faith that they can in no way be considered the real churchmen.

g. Archbishop Lefebvre was Catholic Tradition’s worst enemy, because his false resistance paralyzed the real resistance to Vatican II.

(Archbishop Lefebvre gave us The Society of St. Pius X. This is the largest and most effective “resistance to Vatican II”.)

[1] See “The Rhine flows into the Tiber” by Ralph M. Wiltgen, S.V.D., “Liturgical Revolution Vol. II, Pope John’s Council” by Michael Davies; “They Have Uncrowned Him” by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

^[2]. Pamphlet: “TRADITIONALISTS, CONSERVATIVES, SEDEVACANTISTS - Which are the true CATHOLICS” by The Society of St. Pius X.

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QUESTIONS

Apologetics: Chapter VIII - THE CRISIS IN THE CHURCH

(10 points each)

1. Write your name so I can read it.

2. Fill in the blanks:

In his Decrees Pascendi and Lamentabili, St. Pius X condemned the heresy of “Modernism” and described it as _____ ____________ __ ___ ___________.

3. What are some of the goals of the Modernists’ changes in The Church?

4. What are some of the reasons Almighty GOD may have to allow this Crisis to occur?

5. How did the liberal Modernists gain control of The Church?

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6. How does Christ help His Church when He allows a Crises to enter Her? Can you give some examples?

7. A Novus Ordo (N.O.) Catholic says that the New Mass is a great improvement over the Traditional Mass in Latin. How would you answer him?

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8. A N.O. Catholic and his conservative friend says that we must be obedient to Church superiors if we are to be True Catholics. How would you answer them?

9. What is meant by the term “SEDEVACANTIST”?

10. Someone tells you that since John-Paul II is a heretic, he can’t be a valid Pope. Since the Chair of Peter was vacant, a new Pope has been elected and his name is Pope Pius XIII. How would you answer him?

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Letter of St. Athanasius To His Flock

Saint Athanasius lived in the fourth century and was the Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt for 46 years. Banned from his diocese at least five times, he spent a total of 17 years in exile. The famous convert to the Church, John Henry Cardinal Newman, described him as a “principal instrument after the Apostles by which the sacred truths of Christianity have been conveyed and secured to the world.” Often referred to as the Champion of Orthodoxy, Saint Athanasius was undoubtedly one of the most courageous defenders of the faith in the entire history of the Church. If anyone can be singled out as a saint for our times, surely it is Saint Athanasius. The following letter of his could, almost word for word, have been written yesterday:

May God console you! . . . What saddens you . . .Is the fact that others have occupied the Churches by violence, while during this time you are on the outside. It is a fact that they have the premises---but you have the Apostolic Faith. They can occupy our Churches, but they are outside The True Faith. You remain outside the places of worship, but the Faith dwells within you. Let us consider: What is more important, the place or The Faith? The True Faith, obviously. Who has lost and who has won in this struggle---the one who keeps the premises or the one who keeps The Faith?

True, the premises are good when the Apostolic Faith si preached there; they are Holy if everything takes place there in Holy Way . . .

You are the ones who are happy: You who remain within The Church by your Faith, who hold firmly to the Foundations of the Faith which has come down to you from Apostolic Tradition. And if an execrable jealousy has tried to shake It on a number of occasions, it has not succeeded. They are the ones who have broken away from It in the present crisis.

No one, ever, will prevail against your Faith, beloved brothers. And we believe that God will give us our Churches back some day.

Thus, the more violently they try to occupy the places of worship, the more they separate themselves from The Church. They claim that they represent The Church; but in reality, they are the ones who are expelling themselves from It and going astray.

Even if Catholics faithful to Tradition are reduced to a handful, they are the ones who are The True Church of Jesus Christ. (Emphasis added)

(Coll. Selecta SS. Eccl. Patrum, Caillau and Guillou Vol. 32, PP. 411-412)

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Some Thoughts on TRADITION

(The Church Teaches)

You are fortunate, you have remained in the Church through your faith. You hold fast to the foundations of the faith which has come down to you from apostolic Tradition . . . In the present crisis, it is they who have broken away from it.

Saint Athanasius, died 373 a.d.

Let them innovate in nothing, but keep the traditions.

Pope Saint Stephen I, Third Century.

If anyone rejects all ecclesiastical tradition , whether written or unwritten, let him be anathema.

Second Council of Nicea, Second Century.

The true Church is also to be known from her origin, which she derives under the law of grace from the Apostles; for her doctrines are neither novel nor of recent origin, but were delivered of old by the Apostles and disseminated throughout the world.

Catechism of the Council of Trent, Sixteenth Century.

No one, my beloved brethren, will ever prevail against your Faith . And we are confident that God will one day return our churches to us.

Saint Athanasius.

What then shall the Catholic do if some portion of the Church detaches itself from communion of the universal Faith? What other choice can he make—and if some new contagion attempts to poison, no longer a small part of the Church, but the whole Church at once, then his great concern will be to attach himself to antiquity which can no longer be led astray by any lying novelty.

Saint Vincent de Lerina, died ca 445 a.d.

The road of the ancient centuries is strewn with dead moderns.

G. K. Chesterton, Twentieth Century.

When Christianity come to terms with the world – it will be the end of Christianity.

G. K. Chesterton.

The best advice I can give you is this. Church traditions –especially when they do not run counter to the Faith—are to be observed in the form in which previous generations have handed them down. . .

Saint Jerome, Letters, 4^th Century.

Hold firmly that our Faith is identical with that of the Ancients. Deny this and you dissolve the unity of the Church.

Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Undoubtedly, were anyone to attempt the task of collecting together all the errors that have been broached against the Faith and to concentrate into one sap and substance of them all, he could not succeed in doing so better than the Modernists have done. Nay, they have gone farther than this, for . . . their system means the destruction not of the Catholic religion alone, but of all religion.

Pope Saint Pius X, Pascendi Dominici Gregis (8 September 1907)

Therefore, heresy is from the Greek word meaning “choice” . . . . but we are not permitted to believe whatever we choose, nor to choose whatever someone else gas believed. We have the Apostles of God as authorities who did not chose what they would believe but faithfully transmitted the teachings of Christ. So, even if an angel from heaven should preach otherwise, he shall be called anathema.

St. Isidore, Etymoloies, (7^th Century).

The day the Church abandons Her universal tongue will be the day before She returns to the Catacombs.

Pope Pius XII, a few days before his death.

The Church of Christ, zealous and cautious guardian of the dogmas deposited with it, never changes any phase of them. It does not diminish them or add to them; it neither trims what seems necessary nor grafts things superfluous . . . but it devotes all its diligence to one aim: to treat Tradition faithfully and wisely; to consolidate and to strengthen what already was clear, and to guard what already was confirmed and defined.

Saint Vincent de Lerins, Commonltoria (5^th Century)

And now, through the love which he had for all the saints, having come to our most important topic we turn to the subject of the tradition which is proper for the churches, in order that those who have been rightly instructed may hold fast to the tradition which has continued until now, and fully understand it . . . may stand the more firmly therein..

Saint Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition, (3^rd Century)

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MISCELLANEOUS POEMS ON THE CRISES IN THE CHURCH

Our beloved Mass was taken from us in about 1968. Our family found it again, Thanksgiving Day weekend in 1978. This stupendous event filled us with various emotions of joy, gratitude, concern and love for Souls that they would also join in our good fortune. One result was the writing of various poems concerning “The Crises In The Church”.

HERE’S SOME STUFF

By Bruno, May 1979

(A poem attached to Catholic Literature sent to friends) J

Here is some stuff for you to read,

About our Church and Her Great Need.

I tried to think of an appropriate rhyme,

To Lessen tension – but did not have time.

For it may make you think, or mad, or yawn;

Never-the-less, when you’re finished, will you please pass it on?

CHRIST’S CHURCH IS LIKE A BIG OL’ TREE

By Bruno, May 1980

Christ’s Church is like a big Ol’ Tree,

Once lush – then infected by Apathy.

Its weakened branches succumbed to the Modernist’s Lie,

Some broke from the trunk of Tradition, only to wither and die!

Some partially hang on – some not very tight.

Oh! This poor Ol’ Tree is a sorrowful sight!

But look! Right there – we still have a Branch!

Firmly on that Ol” Trunk – An Archbishop from France!

From this Limb there are many Branches springing,

Free from The Disease, full of Fervor, and singing:

“Glory To God in The Highest” – These plucky new Shoots,

Are spreading the Teachings of Christ as Its found in Their Roots!

To nourish Laity Leaves, to enrich our Souls,

To bring us THE MASS, are some of Their Goals.

God’s Grace still flows in His Big Ol’ Tree.

The Life is still there for those that will see!

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WHERE ARE OUR SHEPHERDS!

By Bruno, May 1979

(The month that the SSPX brought the True Mass to Mid-Missouri)

Where have all our Shepherds gone?

Have they all fallen? . . . Every one?!!

Who will protect us from Kung and Nietzche!

Who will say THE MASS? Who?? We beseech Thee!

Seems like yesterday, many hours were spent,

By our Shepherds, teaching the wisdom of the Council of Trent.

Fulfilling an Oath they took when anointed.

Defending TRADITION wherever appointed.

But now we are told,

By Clerics so bold,

That our Scriptures are fables!

Change the Altars to tables!

Dissatisfied with all in the Temple of GOD,

The most radical of changes are given a nod.

Even the words Jesus used for the Consecration,

Have been changed, and changed all over the Nation!

To receive Holy Communion, we need not kneel!

No matter, no matter how the Parishioners feel.

We also will have Communion in hand,

Some even replaced Holy Water with sand!

My GOD! My GOD! How could this happen!

Where is our Mass? Where is our Latin?

Where are our Shepherds, so brave and so True,

To help us, and guide us, to Heaven and YOU?

Oh joy! I have found them! In my eye there’s a tear.

The Shepherds are coming, and THE MASS will be HERE!

Find an Altar, buy linen, we must not tarry.

Hang the Crucifix, bring out the statues of Jesus and Mary!

Say a prayer for those who are scared and confused.

Those secularized “Christians”, who are just being used.

Open their eyes Dear Lord, leave them no in a lurch.

Bring them back, one and all, back to Your Church!

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In 1983 we “Catholics in the pews” were exposed to much bickering between our Priests, whom we love so much. Archbishop LeFebvre had to bravely dismiss nine of our Priests (whom we needed so much) because he found out that they were Sedevacantists. Among these nine were Priests that were bringing us THE MASS! What were we to think? Who should we follow? For us the choice was easy - we will stick with our “St. Athanatius” - our beloved Archbishop. Others however went with the “Dissident Nine”. Many of these simple Souls just wanted THE TRUE MASS AND SACRAMENTS, they were not scholars and did not understand the various points made by both sides of an issue. We who just want to be CATHOLIC, must make similar choices today as Satan tries to split up TRADITION into various camps.

OUR SHEPHERDS ARE FIGHTING! WHAT ARE WE TO DO!

By Bruno, May 1983

(About the time nine Priests left the SSPX)

We care about our Priests, and Pray often for them too.

When they disagree, what are we to do?

We ponder day and night, these questions of the Day.

Using up the time, when better that we Pray.

All these weighty issues, are not for us to decide.

To even think to do so, would be an act of Pride!

Questions on The Sacraments, and on the Liturgy,

My mind is numb and I am dumb! Where’s my Rosary!

How would the Saints react, amid all of this ado?

They would probably be Humble, and Obedient too.

Obedient to all, that is not an outright sin,

Let the Archbishop choose the path, upon which we’ll win.

Particularly in areas Theologically gray,

Would they insist that they have their way?

For I believe with all my heart,

That GOD is on our side.

And if our plans fall all apart,

At least He’ll know that we tried.

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