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THE
NEW CATECHISM - A MOUTHPIECE FOR VATICAN II
Nobody
ever believed that we would ever have to write on the subject
of the new Catechism, as it was so blatantly unacceptable.
Yet we are obliged to do so, since it has met with a certain
approval on the part of those who want to be faithful to the
Church.
Let
it be said right now that this approval shows these people
to have barely glanced at this new Catechism obviously
stopping at the first good thing they read.
Isn't
it just true that the sons of darkness are more cunning
than the sons of light - and aren't we
ready to believe what we wish was true?
It
is true that in the new Catechism, just as in
Vatican II, there are good things to be found. Yet it is also
true of both the Catechism and the Council, that these
good things, not altogether new, are mixed in with new things,
not altogether good! We see this with their false sense
of collegiality, their erroneous policy of religious
liberty and the ruin brought about by a heretical notion
of ecumenism.
On
these three points, the new Catechism slavishly imitates
Vatican II. Consequently, both Council and Catechism are
unacceptable, because of these erroneous and heretical ideas.
They contradict what the Faith has taught throughout all ages
and all places - a Faith which Rome has a grave obligation
to protect, a Faith that nobody can alter or dispute: "For
we can do nothing against the truth; but for the truth. (II
Cor. 13:8)"
To
dispel all illusions, it suffices to quote Pope John Paul
II, who confirmed his fidelity to Vatican II in unveiling
the new Catechism:
"For
me - having had the special grace of participating and actively
playing a part in its progress - Vatican II always has been
and still is, in a special way, a constant point of
reference in all my pastoral work; whereby I have made a conscious
effort to carry out its directives by faithfully and
concretely applying them to each church and all the Church.
(From Acts of the Holy See 78, 1986, pp. 1273:
Speech of May 30, 1986; also quoted in the new Catechism
of the Catholic Church, p. 6)"
In
his address to the bishops of Wales, during an ad limina
visit, he said:
"Together
with the liturgical reform and the New Code of Canon Law,
the new Catechism gives a solid foundation to the ecclesiastical
reform started by the Council.
(L
'Osservatore Romano, December 18, 1992)"
Actually,
the voluminous text of the Catechism (almost 700 pages)
is nothing but a copy of the rarely read, verbose passages
of Vatican II. It has the same errors, the same ambiguities,
permitting everyone to do their own thing, mixed together
with the usual batch of good and true elements that can also
be found in the Conciliar texts.
Therefore,
acceptance of the new Catechism is equivalent to accepting
Vatican II. Why, then, did the immutable Faith of the Church
resist change for all these years; but yet to let in by the
window today those things which it rejected at the door yesterday?
THE
NEW "CATECHISM" - THE MOUTHPIECE FOR A FALSE RESTORATION
It
is quite true that the press, cleverly orchestrated, has spoken
of a change of direction. Yet, two things must be stressed.
Firstly, this change of direction is purely on the
theoretical level. Secondly, it changes only the most striking
excesses or abuses of the post-Conciliar period, referred
to by Cardinal Ratzinger. His slogan for this change of
direction is certainly not "Return to Tradition, "
but rather "Return to the authentic texts of Vatican II
"
He
explains himself further in Discussion on the Faith with
Vittorio Messori (p. 32). Therein, he says:
"Today,
to defend the true Tradition of the Church is to defend the
Council (Vatican II). Also, it is our fault if at times
we have given both the 'right' and the 'left' an excuse to
say that Vatican II has created a rupture or abandoned
Tradition. On the contrary, there is a continuity, which neither
permits turning back, racing ahead, nor living nostalgically
in the past or being unjustifiably impatient. We must be faithful
to the today of the Church –not its yesterday,
nor its future. This today of the Church
is found in the documents of Vatican II in all their
authenticity - without reserve, since that dismembers them;
and without abusing them) for that disfigures them. "
Thus,
it is not a case of returning to the unchangeable Catholic
Faith or the universal and constant Tradition of the Church,
which has infallibly handed down to us Divine Apostolic Tradition;
but rather a return to the Council with its "aggiornamento,
" which now calls itself the "true" Tradition, and places
itself in opposition to the perennial Tradition of "yesteryear."
It claims to be the "true" Tradition because it is "living"
and evolving [along modernist lines], whereas the ever-present
Tradition is seen to be false, simply because it is unchangeable.
THE
FAITH - "EITHER WE PROFESS IT IN ITS ENTIRETY, OR
NOT AT ALL. (BENEDICT XV)"
Faced
with this new danger, it is necessary to remind ourselves
that "Such is the nature of faith, that it is impossible
to believe one thing and reject another," because "He
who refuses to accept even one divinely revealed
truth, in reality totally abandons the Faith -since he refuses
to submit himself to God, who is Sovereign Truth itself and
the motive for our act of Faith" ... "The Arians and
Montanists most certainly did not abandon Catholic doctrine
in all its entirety, but only some part of it - and we all
know that as a result they were declared to be heretics and
so excluded from the bosom of the Church. (Leo XIII, Satis
Cognitum)"
The
same pope quotes St. Augustine on this subject:
"On
many points they agree with me. They disagree with me on only
a few points. Yet, since they stand apart from me on these
few points, it is pointless for them to stand with me on all
the rest. (Ennarat on Ps. 54:19)"
Pope
Leo continues: "It is only fair [that they be declared
heretics and excluded from the Church), for those
who take from Christian doctrine only those things which they
want, rely upon their own judgment rather than relying upon
Faith. Thus, by this refusal of 'bringing into captivity every
understanding unto the obedience of Christ,’ they are
really more obedient to themselves than they are to God. "
St.
Augustine wrote: "If you only believe those parts of the
Gospel that please and reject those parts that displease you,
then you believe more in yourselves than you do in the Gospel.
(Book 17: Contra Faustum Manich. ch. 3)"
Consequently,
our attitude to the Catholic Faith should be one of - "either
we profess it in its entirety, or not at all. (Benedict
XV, Ad Beatorum Apostolorum Principio)" Only one error,
in the tiniest detail of the Faith, suffices to make any Catechism
unacceptable.
What
then are we to think of this new Catechism, which pretends
to be Catholic, while it propagates the same errors as Vatican
II? Errors that are in no way insignificant, since they touch
upon the very origins and structure of the Church; the Social
Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ; the unity and universality
of His mediation, and in effect, His Divinity!
In
future issues we will publish a detailed examination of the
new Catechism by two of our learned colleagues. For
the time being, we will simply say that in order to accept
the new Catechism, it would be necessary to prove that
there never was any reason whatsoever in resisting the "aggiornamento"
of Vatican II.
A
SUBTLY PERNICIOUS ILLUSION
To
all that has been said, we must add that the most significant
post-Vatican II abuses are simply the logical consequences
of Conciliar deviation. As Cardinal Ratzinger himself admits,
the ultra-progressives cannot understand why some things can
be changed, whereas oth Poncannot. They see certain teachings
of pre-Vatican II popes changed, and they ask themselves:
"Why can't we change the rest?" This is more
understandable (in the logic of their error) than the attitude
of Cardinal Ratzinger and all the other moderate neo-modernists
(cf. "Cardinal Ratzinger and the doctrinal changes in the
Church," Courrier de Rome July, 1986).
It
is clear that the post-conciliar Rome of "collegiality" and
democracy has no intention of taking any measures against
the most serious abuses. Furthermore, Rome still grants
bishops the greatest possible freedom in their methods of
catechizing - a freedom, which has been, used until now, for
the general destruction of catechetics.
"This
Catechism is not meant to replace those local catechisms that
have been duly approved by the ecclesiastical authorities,
diocesan bishops and Episcopal Conferences, especially if
they have received approval from the Apostolic See. Its purpose
is to encourage and be of help in the compilation of new local
catechisms, which take into account local situations and cultures,
while still preserving with care, the unity of the Faith and
fidelity to Catholic doctrine. (Quoted from the new Catechism,
p.9)"
What
changes, then, does the new Catechism bring about?
None at all!
In
order to put an end to this doctrinal and disciplinary crisis,
the Roman Authorities must do two things:
Firstly,
they must profess and present "the Faith in its integrity,
free of all traces of error" (Benedict XV, Ad Beatorum
Apostolorum Principis), for as Leo XIII said of the Faith:
"Either we Profess it in its entirety, or not at all!"
..."Whoever sins against one sole point [of the Faith],
thereby sins against Faith as a whole" (Leo XIII, Satis
Cognitum).
Secondly,
the Roman authorities must exercise all the powers that Our
Lord Jesus Christ has conferred upon His Church - that includes
judicial and coercive powers - in order to defend the "deposit
of Faith."
As
long as this is not done, then it is merely a subtle and pernicious
illusion to expect a change of direction from Rome!
Maurus
Translated
from Courrier de Rome February 1993
Courtesy of the Angelus
Press, Kansas City, MO 64109
translated from the Italian
Fr. Du Chalard
Via Madonna degli Angeli, 14
Italia 00049 Velletri (Roma) |
