A timely restatement of the True Faith

If you ask a practising Catholic -- never mind about the millions who have left the Church -- what they believe and what the Church believes, he or she might be hard-pressed to tell you. That's because their religious education has been sadly neglected, even in the so-called "Catholic schools". Not only that, the leaders of the Church (Hello, Holy Father!) are themselves unclear in their teaching, constantly contradicting themselves and confusing the faithful. Who knows what the Pope believes?

Faced with the great confusion which weakens the Faith and weakens Holy Mother Church, one courageous prelate, Gerhard Cardinal Müller, has apparently grown tired of waiting for a "Vatican III" to correct the manifest errors of Vatican II, and has this week issued a "Manifesto of Faith", in which he restates the core elements of the Faith of our fathers.

Cardinal Müller was the Prefect (= head) of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2012 until the summer of 2017, when he was fired by Pope Francis for having the temerity to suggest that the Holy Father might be leading the Church into error on such things as the necessity of being Catholic to be saved from eternal damnation. See "Battle between modernism and tradition heats up as Pope fires 3IC", WWW 3/7/17.

Cardinal Müller's manifesto echos another restatement of the Faith, "Credo of the People of God", proclaimed in 1968 by Paul VI. That was a rather late-in-the-day attempt by the Pope to pour some oil on the troubled waters which he himself had stirred up. In the wake of Vatican II, the Church was in turmoil, and many Catholics were no longer sure what to believe. So, having opened the window through which "the smoke of Satan...entered the Church" (his own words!), Pope Montini felt it his duty to reaffirm the pillars of Church doctrine, taking as a starting point the Credo of the Council of Nicaea, aka the Nicene Creed, still recited by the faithful at traditional Catholic masses.

Instead of the Nicene Creed, Cardinal Müller has taken as the guideline for his "Manifesto of Faith", the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), adopted following Vatican II. His manifesto is thus not open to challenge as being an attempt to turn back the clock to a statement of the Faith as it was prior to the great "reform" of the Council. But even though it quotes the CCC, the manifesto accurately reflects and restates the stone truths of the Catholic Faith -- the Faith of our Fathers -- that the Church has always believed.

Saint Paul wrote to Saint Timothy, "there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears: And will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables. But be thou vigilant, labour in all things, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry." (II Timothy 4:3-5, DRV) That is what Cardinal Müller has done. Lack of space keeps us from posting his "Manifesto of Faith", but you can click here to read the complete text. This what Catholics believe. This is the True Faith.

Footnote: LifeSite News (which Walt reads regularly and recommends highly) has started a petition of support for Cardinal Müller in his efforts to correct at least some of the errors of Pope Francis' pontificate. Click here to find out more and add your signature!

Battle between modernism and tradition heats up as Pope fires 3IC

Full in the panting heart of Rome (as went the old hymn) there is a civil war going on. Make that a religious war. The Roman Catholic Church, which we used to think of as universal (which is what "catholic" means) and monolithic, is divided as it has not been since the Great Schism of the Middle Ages. The conflict is not between Catholic Tradition and modernism, or conservatives and liberals, but between the liberals who slavishly follow the false teachings of Vatican II and the ultra-liberals who want to finish what Martin Luther started and lead the Church into heresies from which She can never recover.

The champion of the "progressive" faction, the modernizing deniers of Catholic dogma, is none other than Pope Francis himself. In the opposite corner, so to speak, is Gerhard Cardinal Müller, who was named head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, precisely to halt the descent into syncretism, relativism and other heresies which had thrown the Church into a crisis of faith.

On Saturday, while Canadians (or some of them) were celebrating their country's 150th anniversary, the Pope ordered Cardinal Müller (also third in command at the Vatican after the Pope and the Secretary of State) into retirement. Thus, Francis neutralized one of the few princes of the church whose job it was to call out the pope for his seemingly endless appetite for doctrinal change.

The prelate represented the conservative -- read "less liberal" -- wing of the Church that has looked askance at the pontiff’s disregard for centuries-old tradition and restrictions. Ever since Francis assumed the Throne of Peter in 2013, he and the cardinal seemed to be on a collision course. Cardinal Müller was not at all pleased when Francis, answering a question about his feelings toward gay Catholics, shrugged and said, "Who am I to judge?". When Francis announced that he wanted to create a commission to discuss allowing women to become deacons, the prelate effectively quashed the idea.

The excrement really interfaced with the air-conditioning device when Francis ignored Cardinal Müller's suggested alterations to his "apostolic exhortation", Amoris Laetitia. The prelate opposed Pope Bergoglio's attempt to allow divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion -- an act of rejecting Christ's teaching that traditionally carries with it the penalty of excommunication. The anti-Catholic teachings of Amoris Laetitia have been openly resisted by many, including four cardinals who, last September, published their dubia (an expression of confusion or doubt), which the Poope has yet to answer.

By refusing to extend Cardinal Müller's tenure as head of the CDF, Francis has effectively fired the prelate, and scored a huge win in his battle to impose his ultra-liberal, anti-Catholic views on Holy Mother Church. To make matters even worse, His Humbleness replaced Cardinal Müller with Archbishop Luis Ladaria -- a liberal Jesuit like the Pope -- thus virtually eliminating any chance of opposition from the one office in the Church with the duty to interpret Catholic magisterium –- that is, spreading doctrinal teaching to the Church's billion plus adherents.

When Pope Ratzinger appointed Archbishop Ladaria Secretary of the CDF in 2008, his appointment was openly criticized because of the prelate's heterodox (read: heretical) teachings on Original Sin and Grace. Cardinal Müller was bad enough, but Abp Ladaria promises to be worse. There is no truly Catholic prelate left in the Roman Catholic Church. No, not one.

Dear Catholic readers, let us pray to Saint Michael the Archangel and to the sainted Popes Pius V and Pius X to defend us as the battle to preserve the Faith of our fathers nears its climax, and to confound and defeat those within the highest echelons of the Church who would lead us into heresy and damnation. Amen.

Vaticanistas contradict each other on Medjugorje

When it comes to controversies about and within the Roman Catholic Church, it's often hard to know who to believe. What's going on inside the Vatican? One "Vaticanista" tells you one thing. Another tells you another. So it has been, this week, with the alleged apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Medjugorje.

The authenticity of the "seers" claims that Our Lady visits them regularly was cast into doubt by the bishops of what was then Yugoslavia in 1991, and has been investigated by a special commission of the Vatican ever since. On Thursday, Walt passed on a report by Vatican journalist Gianluca Batile, who averred that a meeting of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith held on June 24th had found that the Medjugorje sitings were not of supernatural origin, and had made a negative report to the Pope.

Now, noted Vaticanista Andrea Tornielli -- quoted here as an authority more than once in the past -- has, in his Vatican Insider blog, denied that the CDF has issued its report, or even met to discuss the findings of the special commission chaired by Camillo Cardinal Ruini.

Citing "authoritative Congregation sources", Sig. Tornielli reports that the Medjugorje issue was not discussed at the most recent feria quarta meeting of the prelates who are members of the CDF. He goes on to say that their next meeting will not be scheduled until the fall, possibly after the meeting of the Synod of Bishops coming up in October.

The timing of the feria quarta has been a subject of confusing reports. Earlier this month, Pope Francis had seemed to indicate that the meeting may already have taken place, although, in his usual vague manner, said that he was not sure of the timing. Then Fr. Federico Lombardi -- director of the Vatican press office and chief flak-catcher for the Pope -- told reporters that he did not expect a decision from the CDF for "a few months".

So who knows? If I were a betting man, I'd go with Sig. Tornielli's account, and I'll tell you why. There are so many Catholics who believe fervently in the authenticity of Medjugorje that for the Vatican to deny it now would cause yet more Catholics to become disaffected with the mainstream Church and join the ranks of the traditionalist dissidents. QED.

Medjugorje not authentic, says Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith

Gianluca Barile, in his blog, Diario di un Vaticanista, reports that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) has reached a negative conclusion regarding the authenticity of the reported Marian apparitions at Medjugorje.

Walt has never mentioned the supposed visitations of the Blessed Virgin to half a dozen Bosnian "visionaries" because their claims were rejected way back in 1991 by the bishops of what was then Yugoslavia. However, a special papal commission continued to investigate the matter. The commission's findings were reportedly discussed at a meeting of the CDF held yesterday in Rome. According to Sig. Barile, the CDF agreed with that commission’s conclusion that there is no evidence of supernatural activity at Medjugorje.

The CDF is said to have essentially supported the stance taken by the bishops in 1991. They will reportedly recommend that pastors should not sponsor or support events that presume the reality of the visions claimed by the Medjugorje "seers". However, they will likely urge recognition of Medjugorje as a special "place of prayer", in light of numerous reports of intense spiritual experiences enjoyed by visitors there. Pilgrimages to Medjugorje will not be forbidden, provided that they do not centre on the alleged apparitions.

So this extremely hot potato -- many thousands of Catholics believe in Medjugorje -- will be tossed to Pope Francis, who will make the final judgment on the subject.

Meanwhile, faithful Catholics await the Holy Father's action on the authenticated and approved apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima. As explained in "Fatima Essentials", the general Message of Fatima is not complicated. Its requests are for prayer, reparation, repentance, and sacrifice, and the abandonment of sin.

In each of Her apparitions, Our Lady stressed the importance of praying the Rosary. She asked the seers, and through them all of the faithful, to pray the Rosary every day for peace. Another principal part of the Message of Fatima is devotion to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart, which is terribly outraged and offended by the sins of humanity. We are lovingly urged to console Her by making reparation.

Our Lady of Fatima said that if people did not stop offending God, He would punish the world severely by means of war, famine, persecution of the Church, and persecution of the Holy Father. To prevent these chastisements, Our Lady offered a remedy: the Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the Five First Saturdays. If Her requests were heeded, she told the seers, there would be peace. If not, Russia's errors would spread throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church, the Holy Father to suffer much, martyrdom of the good and the annihilation of various nations.

But there was more. On 13 July 1917, Our Lady confided a Secret to the three shepherd children who saw Her. This Secret was meant for all Catholics, but was to be revealed later -- in 1960, at the latest -- when (she told Sister Lucy later) it would be better understood. Many Fatima scholars, including the late Father Nicholas Gruner+, believe that the Third Secret, which remains concealed by the Vatican, foretells the loss of faith and great apostasy which the Church now suffers.

The Fatima Message -- the full Message, including the Third Secret -- is the most important warning and call to repentance sent to us from Heaven in the last century. The apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima have been authenticated by the Church and declared worthy of belief. Here is The Third Secret of Fatima is Still Silenced, produced by the Fatima Center.