Separating the wheat from the chaff

Could it be that every 500 years or so, we have witnessed GOD at work, busily cleaning the human side of His Church, pulling out the weeds, blowing away the chaff, and pruning fruitless branches?

Have you ever heard of winnowing? It is an ancient and simple process by which the wheat (good) is separated from the chaff (undesirable) by means of the wind.

A dictionary says regarding ‘winnow’: “To separate the wheat from the chaff by means of the wind. To get rid of undesirable components. To blow chaff off and away”.

The cut wheat with the chaff together, are tossed to the wind which blows away the lighter chaff, and allows the heavier wheat to fall to the ground, thus separating the good from the bad. Note that the goodness of the wheat, harder to see when commingled with the chaff, is now pure and stands out.

In like manner, GOD allows a “wind” to blow through His Church every now and then in order to separate the faithful from the unfaithful, the good fruit from the rotten fruit, the good fish from the bad fish, and the wheat from the chaff. The goodness of the faithful, now is much more apparent.

In the Old Testament the temple was cleansed of undesirables, 2Chron 29:16, as was the temple in the New Testament twice, and by Jesus Christ Himself, (2nd time) Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-48, (1st time) John 2:14-16.

Read more at The Catholic Treasure Chest

The Church and the Development of Doctrine

Jesus Christ, who we all know to be, the Son of GOD, and therefore a divine person, began His humble life in His human form, His human nature, as a little helpless baby, just like the rest of us. He needed his mother and his foster father, St. Joseph, just like we needed our mother and father, to feed us and tend to our needs. Jesus grew and advanced in wisdom and age (Luke 2:52) just like we all do. It is said that the ‘Creator of the Universe’ was taught how to make furniture by St. Joseph, as Jesus became a carpenter too. Jesus later became the ‘Bridegroom’ (Matt 9:15) and the Church which He founded in Matt 16:18 became His ‘Bride’. Jesus had shown us the humble, infant beginning of the Bridegroom, the facts that He matured in growth, learned, and gained in wisdom. But what about the Bride?

---

Now, some try to show that the ‘Bride’ started as an adult from birth. They look at the Catholic Church of today and try to equate it to the ‘infant’ Church which Jesus Christ founded, by looking at the ‘Bride’ as fully grown and matured from the very beginning. I actually received an inquiry as to why Peter cannot be found in the book of Revelation, named as the first Pope. Another asked me to show him the Immaculate Conception (defined in 1854) in Scripture (the last book of Scripture was written about 95-100 A.D.). Questions like this abound and few fundamentalists can accept the fact that the Church actually had an infancy.

---

By the way, who or what is the Church? The Church is all of us. We are the body, and Jesus Christ is the head (Eph 1:22-23, Col 1:24). Like any body we grow and increase in wisdom, and must be fed, both bodily and spiritually.

---

A newborn baby, being not ready for solid food as of yet, has to be fed with milk. So too, the infant ‘Bride’ Church, had to be fed with milk…”I fed you with milk, not with solid food, for you were not yet ready for it (1Cor 3:2).” It takes awhile for the mind and the body to become accustomed to this new Christian environment. The Bride had to advance in age and wisdom by taking one step at a time, just like the Bridegroom, or like a little baby learning to walk.

Read more at the Catholic Treasure Chest

Carol Marin spotlights WTTW’s advocacy of homosexual marriage in Illinois

Carol Marin introduced two lesbian lovers to all of us in Chicagoland…trumpeted for them the announcement of their forthcoming marriage…had them show their rings for the camera…and initiated a not-so-subtle lobbying campaign for Illinois to pass same-sex marriage.

One of the lesbians, State Rep. Debbie Mell, who seemed always on verge of lip-biting to prevent tears, is the daughter of the ebullient wart-hog-sensitive Alderman Dick Mell who runs major northwest side tentacles of The Squid. Chances are great that if it had not been for Ms. Marin, the announcement would not have been made under the auspices of the public television station, a portion of whose budget has been, and…they pray to the secular gods of liberaldom…may it always continue…paid with taxpayer money. Marin wrote her Sun-Pravda column for Wednesday promoting it as well. She embodies the word enthusiast. With that flaccid management, her persuasiveness is great indeed, combining as it does the high intellectual octane of Jane Fonda and the resoluteness of Mother Bloor [1862-1951].

Read more at Tom Roeser’s site

Feminist Betty Friedan (nee: Betty Naomi Goldstein) had been a Communist propagandist since her college days

Betty Friedan, the “founder of modern feminism” pretended to be a typical 1950’s American mother who had a “revelation” that women like her were exploited and should seek independence and self-fulfillment in career.

What Friedan (nee: Betty Naomi Goldstein) didn’t say is that she had been a Communist propagandist since her student days at Smith College (1938-1942) and that the destruction of the family has always been central to the Communist plan for world government. See “The Communist Manifesto” (1848).

Friedan dropped out of grad school to become a reporter for a Communist news service. From 1946 -1952 she worked for the newspaper of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, (UE) “the largest Communist-led institution of any kind in the United States.” In 1947, Congress targeted the UE as a Communist front and its membership began a steady decline.

Daniel Horowitz, a History Professor at Smith with impeccable Liberal and Feminist credentials documents all this in his book, Betty Friedan and the Making of the Feminine Mystique: The American Left, the Cold War and Modern Feminism (University of Massachusetts Press 1999). Horowitz cites a union member who described how a Communist minority “seized control of the UE national office, the executive board, the paid-staff, the union newspaper and some district councils and locals.”

Betty Frieden doesn’t want anyone to know her radical antecedents. Throughout her career, she said she had no interest in the condition of women before her “revelation.” She refused to cooperate with Professor Horowitz and accused him of “Red-baiting.”

Why? Because her book “The Feminist Mystique” (1963) would not have sold over five million copies if her subversive background were known. Communists operate by subterfuge — pretending to be just like us. This is the “Popular Front” strategy that consisted of starting idealistic movements in order to ensnare well-meaning people, usually students, workers, women, artists or intellectuals. The membership was ignorant that their organization was funded and controlled by people with a totally different agenda. This is also the principle behind freemasonry, Zionism and Communism itself. Essentially the adherents are dupes.

Read more

News Media Applies “Saul Alinsky Rules” To Catholic Priestly Abuse Sacandal

Alinsky Rules:

Moral people
are to be held
to moral standards.

Immoral people
are free to do
whatever they please.

(Pretty much explains
things, doesn’t it?)

All About Angels

Visit the site

St Padre Pio’s Prayer after Communion

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life and without You I am without fervor.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light and without You I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much and always be in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.

Stay with me, Lord, as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of Love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close and life passes, death, judgment and eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You. It is getting late and death approaches, I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers, I need You.

Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You, if not by Communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.

With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity. Amen.

More about St Padre Pio

British Foreign Office scandal surounding Pope’s visit continues to unfold

Last night critics said the choice of non-Catholic staff highlighted the “appalling lack of respect” shown to the Pope.

Catherine Pepinster, editor of the Catholic newspaper The Tablet, said: “In politically correct Britain people are normally careful not to offend – and rightly so.

“Yet being offensive about the Pope is OK. Catholics are the minority that it is acceptable to treat as the whipping boys. Sometimes this cultural contempt emerges from the shadows – a contempt you’ll never see allowed to be shown to a chief rabbi or a grand mufti.”

A source within the Catholic Church of England and Wales said: “At its best this shows a disgraceful lack of know­ledge and understanding of the church among middle-ranking civil servants.

“A more alarming interpretation is that there are elements of anti-Catholic views and a deep-seated contempt of Christianity within the Foreign Office.

“There is no way a memo like this would have been written, let alone widely circulated, had it related to a visit by an important Muslim leader. There is clearly an alarming lack of judgment within Government departments.”

Link

Illinois law enumerating special protections for homosexuals in school passes. Governor expected to sign.

Well, it’s happened again. Another state legislature has marched lock-step to the tune of the homosexual activist agenda—and once again, it will have a direct impact on local schools.

This time, the Illinois Legislature has passed a so-called school anti-bullying bill that spells out special protections for things like “sexual orientation,” “gender-related identity or expression,” etc. It passed through the state House unanimously. The measure is now sitting on the Governor’s desk and he is expected to sign it (SB 3266).

Groups like GLSEN, PFLAG and the ACLU have been industriously winding out press releases celebrating the victory.  “If signed, Illinois will become the ninth state to enact an enumerated anti-bullying” law, proclaimed GLSEN.

Why are the advocacy groups so excited? As we have previously explained, the problem with these laws—enumerating special protections for homosexual categories–is that activist groups are using them as the leverage they need to get things like homosexuality teaching into public school classrooms.  For detailed examples, click here.

Focus on the Family believes that every student—no matter who they are or what they believe—should be protected from harm. But at the same time, laws should not be passed that can used as tools to sexualize and politicize the entire school environment. There are good alternatives that provide protection to kids, but avoid entrapment in identity politics—such as the fair and objective model anti-bullying policy language drafted by the Alliance Defense Fund.

Link

Shroud of Turin Image and Ancient Christ Pantocrator Icon Appear To Be A Match

In 1207, Nicholas d’Orrante, the abbot of Casole and the Papal legate in Athens, wrote about relics taken from Constantinople by French knights and referred to a cloth that was seen “with our own eyes” in Athens.

At this time the historical trail of the Image of Edessa disappears.

Then, in 1356, Geoffrey de Charny, a French knight and descendent of a famous knight of the Fourth Crusade, displayed a burial shroud that he claimed to be the burial cloth of Christ. That shroud is now called the Shroud of Turin.

Another interesting historical fact – images/paintings of Christ in full frontal view didn’t appear until after the discovery of the Shroud found in Edessa. The painting Christ Pantocrator Icon painted on the walls of St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai. Photographs of the painting and the Shroud facial image were taken, and then grid lines were added in order to compare the facial features. Then without the gridlines, the photos were superimposed as shown to the left. It was found that they matched.

Link

Seen on the web: “Torah” – “Tanakh” – “Word of God” – What’s the difference?

“I would not use the word “Torah” for the entire Word of God because that could cause some confusion.

The Bible itself refers to the first five books as the “Torah of Moses” and the whole Jewish Old Testament is called Tanakh meaning Torah (Law), Nevaiim (Prophets) and Kethuvim (Writings).

This then is reflected by Christ in the New Testament when He said “These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses (Torah), and in the prophets (Nevaiim), and in the psalms (Kethuvim), concerning me.” (Luke 24:44).”

-Comment by Richard (Link)

The Official National Anthem of Hell

“The national anthem of hell is, ‘I Did It My Way’ ”
— attributed to Peter Kreeft, Catholic philosopher and author

Link

The Shifting Sands of Modernism in the Catholic Church

It is enlightening to contrast the weak and false justifications of Modernism presented by its supporters, against the strong and solid foundation on which the teaching of the Catholic Church is based.

Consider the slippery and sliding foundations and constantly shifting justifications given to support the Modernist edifice, as follows:

1. APPEALS TO THE DECREES OF VATICAN II — Initially Modernists based their arguments on the 16 formal documents of the Second Vatican Council. However, when these decrees proved conservative and restated the traditional Catholic doctrine, they shifted their arguments to:

2. APPEALS TO THE “SPIRIT OF VATICAN II” — which did not get embodied in any of the decrees and has been repeatedly declared and proven to be a total myth. So they shifted their arguments to:

3. APPEALS TO THE “SPIRIT OF POPE JOHN XXIII” — which they claimed was his purpose in calling the Council. However, when faced with the demonstrated traditionalism of this Pope on many questions, the Modernists shifted their arguments to:

4. APPEALS TO SCRIPTURE — whose authority they claim exceeds that of all the popes and councils. Unfortunately for them when inconvenient passages about sin, homosexuality and hell were brought forward, they then shifted their attempted proof to:

5. APPEALS TO THE NEEDS OF MODERN MAN — based on his presumed nature, feelings and emotions. When it was pointed out to them that the Roman Catholic Church has always taught that modern man is in a flawed state of nature, resulting from original sin, so that his needs, feelings and emotions cannot be used to justify their cause, Modernists shifted their ground again to:

6. APPEALS TO SELFISH DESIRE — This is their final appeal which obviously has no objective basis whatsoever. Like churlish children, it merely results in a political power play to attempt to get their own way. What nonsense!

On the other hand, our Church has always objectively and consistently developed its doctrine and teachings directly from REVELATION AND THE DEPOSIT OF FAITH, bequeathed to it by Christ Himself, who clearly is  “The Way, the Truth, and the Life”.

Let us reject “Modernism” for what it truly is: nothing ‘modern’ at all, but a very old appeal to our baser instincts.

Link

Oklahoma legislators overide governor’s veto to pass two pro-life bills

Oklahoma City, OK (LifeNews.com) — The Oklahoma Senate today joined the state House in overriding vetoes by Governor Brad Henry of two pro-life bills that would help limit abortions. One measure allows women a chance to see a pre-abortion ultrasound of their unborn child while the other prevents wrongful death lawsuits.

The Republican-controlled Senate voted 36-12 Tuesday to override the Henry veto of a bill allowing women to see an ultrasound before having an abortion — which helps as many as 80 percent of women choose life.

The Senate voted on the same bipartisan margin to override Henry on a second bill that respects babies with disabilities by disallowing wrongful-life lawsuits that claim a baby would have been better off being aborted and that a physician should have suggested an abortion.

Both override votes received just enough votes, 36, to obtain the supermajority threshold necessary to overcome the governor’s vetoes. As a result of the votes, both pieces of legislation will now become law.

Read more

Christians, does it embarrass you more to say that the universe formed in 6 days or that it’s 6,000 years old?

Q: Christians, does it embarrass you more to say that the universe formed in 6 days or that it’s 6,000 years old?

A: Try this:

1) Take an ordinary rubber band.

2) Measure it’s length.

3) Stretch the rubber band as far as you can, without breaking it.

4) Measure it’s length, once more.

5) From this exercise it is absolutely clear that the same rubber band can be both long and short. It’s just a matter of how you work it.

6) In the same way it’s possible for God to create all things in six short days, and then stretch out that creation (the very “fabric” of time and space) to whatever size, length (or perceived age) he ultimately desires.

In fact, we know that today, the universe IS still expanding.

So what’s the problem?

Explorers claim to have found Noah’s Ark. Watch video of the interior.

THE remains of Noah’s Ark have been discovered 13,000ft up a Turkish mountain, it has been claimed.

A group of Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers say they have found wooden remains on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey.

Read more (plus video)

Slide show

Submitted by Bob Stanley

Clarifying the Confusion on Confirmation

The Biblical roots of the Sacrament – Jesus had promised to send the Holy Spirit. For example He said,

Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you….I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (John 16:7ff).

He also told them, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8) And yet again, Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high. (Lk 24:49)

Within days, while they were gathered in prayer, the Holy Spirit descended on them like tongues of fire (See Acts 2:1-4 recounted earlier). The Apostles began to boldly proclaim the gospel from that day on.

Those who believed in the apostolic preaching were baptized. But in addition to baptism these apostles also laid hands on the faithful that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Sometimes this was done at the time of baptism and sometimes it was done later. Consider for example these two texts.

When the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down to these people and prayed that they might receive the Holy Spirit. It had not as yet come down upon them any of them since they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. The pair, upon arriving imposed hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 8:15-19)

This text shows some separation between the time of baptism and the time of confirmation (the “receiving of the Spirit). The text also explains our Catholic tradition of generally reserving the sacrament for the bishop to celebrate since, in the early Church, the Apostles made it part of their mission to impose hands for the outpouring of the Spirit. Phillip the Deacon had performed the baptisms in Samaria but he waited for the apostles to confirm them in the Spirit.

This next text shows the Apostle Paul baptizing. Because he, an apostle is present, there is no delay in confirming the newly baptized in the Spirit

“When they heard this, [Paul’s preaching] they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. As Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came down upon them and they began to speak in tongues and utter prophecies.” (Acts 19:5-6)

Thus we see the Biblical roots of the Sacrament of Confirmation. Jesus promised the Spirit and did in fact send Him on the day of Pentecost. The Apostles understood that they were not to keep this experience to themselves. So, as the catechism teaches, From that time on the apostles, in fulfillment of Christ’s will, imparted to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism….The imposition of hands is rightly recognized by the Catholic tradition as the origin of the sacrament of Confirmation, which in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church. (CCC # 1288)

Read more

ND 88 attorney may subpoena Notre Dame officials, judge rules

South Bend, Ind., Apr 27, 2010 / 06:08 am (CNA).- The legal defense team for the 88 pro-life protesters arrested at the University of Notre Dame may now seek testimony from university officials after a judge’s ruling lifted a stay.

The protesters, called the ND88, were arrested for trespassing during their demonstrations against the May 2009 commencement speech of President Barack Obama, who was granted an honorary degree by the university.

St. Joseph County, Indiana Superior Court Chief Judge Michael P. Scopelitis lifted a stay order on defense lawyers. They may now seek testimony under oath from key decision makers in the arrest of the protesters. The lawyers may also subpoena documents revealing apparent inconsistencies in the treatment of the pro-life protesters compared with other protesting groups.

Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society, said the lifting of the stay was “very significant.”

“A Notre Dame alumni group, Sycamore Trust, recently reported that homosexual rights and anti-ROTC protesters received, at worst, mere slaps on the wrist for leading unauthorized protests on campus. We believe that through discovery we may well uncover evidence that the Notre Dame police engaged in ‘viewpoint discrimination:’ that the university singled out the ND88 for especially harsh treatment.”

Judge Scopelitis also ruled that once the discovery process is completed, he may convene an evidentiary hearing to review the defendants’ “global” legal defenses before any individual trials.

About the Latin Mass recently celebrated in Washington, DC

For those who are unfamiliar or unappreciative with the splendor of  the Latin Liturgy in this form some questions often arise.

1. Why pray in Latin or any language unfamiliar to the language of the people who attend?

Simply put, praying in Latin is to pray in what has been a sacred language for the Church. It is a common feature of cultures down through human history that they often prayed in a language other than the language of the home and streets. To pray liturgically is to enter heaven, a world apart from the every day world. To use another and more ancient language is a common way many cultures have underscored this.

At the time of Jesus, the synagogue services and the Temple liturgy used ancient Hebrew. Jesus and his contemporaries did not speak Hebrew at home or in the streets any longer. They spoke Aramaic. But when they prayed they instinctively used the ancient prayers which were Hebrew.

In the early Church it appears that the earliest years saw the use of the Greek language for the Liturgy. It seems to have been used even though many people spoke Latin throughout the empire. But many did not think Latin was suited for the Liturgy which required a more elevated language than what most people spoke. By the 5th Century however Latin came to be introduced in the Western Empire as it became an older and more venerable language to them. Eventually Latin wholly replaced Greek in the liturgy of the Church in the Western empire (except a few remnants such as the Kyrie). It remained the language of worship until about 1965 when the local languages were allowed. However, it was not the intent of the Church that Latin should wholly disappear as it has largely done. Latin remains for the Church the official language of her worship.

So, why pray in Latin? Why not? It is for us a sacred language of worship and there is an instinct in human culture that liturgy is  world apart where we enter heaven. It is not wrong to pray in the local language but, truth be told, it is not the usual practice in human history.

2. Why does the celebrant face away, or “have his back to us?”

It is really a wrongful description to say the celebrant has his back to us. What is really happening is that the celebrant and the people are all facing the same direction. They are looking toward God. On the center of every older altar was a crucifix. The priest faced it to say Mass and all the people faced it with him. He and they are turned toward the Lord.

In the ancient Church, they not only faced the cross, they also faced to the east to pray. An ancient text called the Didiscalia written about 250 AD says,  Now, you ought to face to east to pray for, as you know, scripture has it, Give praise to God who ascends above the highest heavens to the east . In later centuries it was not always possible to orient the Church so that everyone could face east. But the Crucifix above the altar represented the east and the Lord. Hence everyone  faced the Lord to pray.

The idea of facing each other to pray is wholly modern and was never known in the Church prior to 1965.  Hence the answer is that the celebrant is facing the Lord to pray and so are we.

3. Why is so much of the Mass whispered quietly?

Not everything is whispered but the much of the Eucharistic prayer is. Historically the whispered Eucharistic prayer (or Canon) developed in monastic settings where it was not uncommon for more than one liturgy to be celebrated at the same time at various side altars. In those days priests did not concelebrate masses as they do frequently today. Each priest had to celebrate his own mass. In monasteries where numerous priest might be in residence, numerous liturgies might be celebrated at similar times. In order not to interrupt each other, the priests conducted these liturgies with a server quietly. This practice continued into modern times.

Over time this monastic silence came to be regarded as a sacred silence. The whispering of the prayers was considered a sign of the sacredness of the words which “should not” be loudly proclaimed. (There are other more complicated theological trends that swept the liturgy too complicated to go into here that also influenced the move to a more silent liturgy) At any rate, the practice of a sacred silence came to be the norm eventually even in parish churches. Hence the hushed tones were not an attempt to ignore the faithful who attended or make their participation difficult but it was associated with a holy silence. People knelt, praying as the priest prayed on their behalf.

Read more

Christopher Ferraro gives us a modern world history lesson – Free Masonry vs. The Catholic Church

Coming on September 1 is Liberty: the God that Failed, which examines “the long chain of frauds and usurpations” by which the common man was subjected to the power of secularized central governments founded on the very principles radical libertarians defend (even as they complain about the resulting abuses of state power and call for an “anarcho-capitalist” utopia).

One cannot understand the perilous situation in which our Pope finds himself today without recognizing that he is struggling against a social order whose anti-Catholic and Masonic foundations have long since been forgotten. In the following excerpt from Liberty: the God that Failed, Mr. Ferrara provides a sketch of Pope Leo XIII’s own struggle against the forces that were constructing political modernity during his pontificate by the violent overthrow of Catholic social order in country after country. By reviewing this history we can learn not only how the Church arrived at her present state of crisis but also what we can expect in the future if she is not completely reformed according to her own sacred Tradition. MJM

Pope Leo XIII and the New Zeitgeist

The pontificate of Leo XIII (1878-1903) spanned the historical transition between the Church’s militant opposition to emerging political modernity, as summed up in the Syllabus, and a conditional truce with the new order of Liberty for lack of any practical possibility of overturning it, especially in France. Leo’s pontificate also spanned the Progressive Era in America (1890 to the early 1900s) and the rise of what has been called “the Americanist heresy” among liberal American Catholics who, like their European counterparts, opposed the “ultramontanes,” slighted the Syllabus, and sought not merely a prudential accommodation to the new order, but the Church’s embrace of Liberty as a positive good and indeed the divinely ordained future of the human race. Leo charted a course through these developments that left the Church’s opposition to the new order intact in principle and rejected “Americanism,” but recognized the insuperable practical realities that had come into play after a century of revolution and social upheaval had all but destroyed Christendom.

By the time Pope Leo ascended to the papacy in 1878, the post-Christian state was already a reality in America, France, and Italy, where the Pope’s temporal sovereignty now extended no further than a Vatican city state surrounded by a republic that Masonic heroes had imposed by the usual means: force of arms, followed by token plebiscites and the passive popular acceptance of a fait accompli. As the turn of the century approached no one was more aware than Leo that, as the mid-20th century liberal Catholic luminary, John Courtney Murray, S.J. put it, “a new Zeitgeist was on its conquering march, [and] a new climate of opinion and feeling had rolled in from many quarters upon the world, especially upon the European world which was closest to him.” ^[i]

In his inaugural encyclical, Inscrutabili (1878), on “the evils of society,” Leo offered this withering assessment of what the new Zeitgeist had produced after a century of violent revolution, war and devastation:

… widespread subversion of the primary truths on which, as on its foundations, human society is based;… obstinacy of mind that will not brook any authority however lawful;… endless sources of disagreement… civil strife, and ruthless war and bloodshed;… contempt of law which molds characters and is the shield of righteousness;… insatiable craving for things perishable, with complete forgetfulness of things eternal, leading up to the desperate madness whereby so many wretched beings [] scruple not to lay violent hands upon themselves;… the shamelessness of those who, full of treachery, make semblance of being champions of country, of freedom, and every kind of right; in fine, the deadly kind of plague which infects in its inmost recesses, allowing it no respite and foreboding ever fresh disturbances and final disaster.^[ii]

In his next encyclical, Quod apostolici, issued in the same year, Leo repeated the theme of a “deadly plague that is creeping into the very fibres of human society and leading it on to the verge of destruction…”^[iii] A line of subsequent Popes, including Pope Pius XII, would track the progress of the “plague” in their own pronouncements, offering a series of increasingly grim prognoses culminating in Pius XII’s observations after World War II that “We are overwhelmed with sadness and anguish, seeing that the wickedness of perverse men has reached a degree of impiety that is unbelievable and absolutely unknown in other times,”^[iv] and that “[t]he human race is involved today in a supreme crisis, which will issue in its salvation by Christ, or in its destruction.” ^[v]

Read more