Rorate Caeli has obtained an exclusive copy of the English version of a rare open letter from an Archbishop on the crisis of the Church.
The letter, written by His Excellency Archbishop Jan Pawel Lenga, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, hopefully will serve as a much-needed wake-up call to Catholics who have buried their heads in the sand for far too long.
Let us pray more of his brother bishops will have the faith -- and the backbone -- to stand up and be heard before there's nothing left to defend.
***
Reflections
on some current problems of the crisis of the Catholic Church
I had the experience of living with priests who were in
Stalinist prisons and camps and who nevertheless remained faithful to the
Church. During the time of persecution they fulfilled with love their priestly
duty in preaching Catholic doctrine thereby
leading a dignified life in the imitation of Christ, their heavenly
Master.
I completed my priestly studies in an underground Seminary in the Soviet Union. I was ordained a priest secretly during the night by
a pious bishop who himself suffered for the sake of the faith. In the first
year of my priesthood I had the experience of being expelled from Tadzhikistan by the KGB.
Subsequently, during
my thirty-year stay in Kazakhstan, I served 10 years as priest, caring for
faithful people in 81 localities. Then I served 20 years as bishop, initially
as bishop of five states in Central Asia with a total area of around four
million square kilometers.
In my ministry as a bishop I had contact with Pope Saint John Paul II, with many
bishops, priests and faithful in different countries and under different
circumstances. I was member of some
assemblies of the Synod of Bishops in the Vatican which covered themes such as
“Asia” and “The Eucharist”.
This experience as well as others give me the basis to express my opinion
on the current crisis of the
Catholic Church. These are my
convictions and they are
dictated by my love of the Church and by the desire for her authentic renewal in Christ. I am forced to resort to this
public means of expression because I fear that any other method
would be greeted by a brick wall
of silence and disregard.
I am aware of
possible reactions to my open letter. But at the same time the voice of my conscience will not allow me to remain
silent, while the work of God is
being slandered. Jesus Christ founded the Catholic Church and showed us in word
and deed how one should fulfill the will of God. The apostles to whom He
bestowed authority in the Church, fulfilled with zeal the duty entrusted to them, suffering for the sake of the truth
which had to be preached, since they “obeyed God rather than men”.
Unfortunately in our
days it is increasingly evident that the Vatican through the Secretariat of
State has taken the course of political correctness. Some Nuncios have become propagators of liberalism
and modernism. They have acquired
expertise in the principle “sub secreto Pontificio”, by which one manipulates and silences the mouths
of the bishops. And that what
the Nuncio tells them appears as it would be almost certainly the wish of the
Pope. With such methods one separates the bishops from one another to
the effect that the bishops of a country
can no longer speak with one voice in the spirit of Christ and His Church
in defending faith and morals. This
means that, in order not to fall into
disfavour with the Nuncio some bishops accept their recommendations,
which are sometimes based on nothing other than on their own words. Instead of zealously spreading the faith, courageously preaching the doctrine of
Christ, standing firm in the
defense of truth and of morals, the meetings of the Bishops’ Conferences often deal with issues which are
foreign to the nature of the duties of the successors of the apostles.
One can observe at all levels of the Church an obvious
decrease of the “sacrum”. The “spirit of the world” feeds the shepherds. The
sinners give the Church the
instructions for how she has to serve them. In their embarrassment the
Pastors are silent on the current problems and abandon the sheep while they are feeding themselves. The world
is tempted by the devil and opposes the doctrine of Christ. Nevertheless the
Pastors are obliged to teach the whole truth about God and men “in season and
out”.
However, during the
reign of the last holy Popes one could observe in the Church the greatest disorder concerning the purity of the doctrine and the sacredness of the
liturgy, in which Jesus Christ is not paid
the visible honour which he is due. In not a few Bishop’s Conferences
the best bishops are “persona non grata”. Where are apologists of our days, who
would announce to men in a clear and comprehensible manner the threat of the risk of loss of
faith and salvation?
In our days the voice
of the majority of the bishops rather resembles the silence of the lambs in the
face of furious wolves, the faithful are
left like defenseless sheep. Christ was recognized by men as one who
spoke and worked, as one, who had power and this power He bestowed upon His
apostles. In today’s world the bishops must liberate themselves from all
worldly bonds and – after they have done penance – convert to Christ so that
strengthened by the Holy Spirit they may announce Christ as the one and only Saviour. Ultimately one must give
account to God for all that was
done and for all what wasn't done.
In my opinion the weak voice
of many bishops is a consequence of the fact, that in the process of the
appointment of new bishops the candidates are insufficiently examined with
regard to their doubtless steadfastness and fearlessness in the defense of the
faith, with regard to their fidelity to the centuries-old traditions of the
Church and their personal piety. In the issue of the appointment of new bishops
and even cardinals it is becoming increasingly apparent that sometimes preference is given to those who share a
particular ideology or to some groupings which are alien to the Church
and which have commissioned the appointment of a particular candidate. Furthermore
it appears that sometimes consideration
is given also to the favour of the mass media which usually makes a mockery of holy candidates
painting a negative picture of them, whereas
the candidates who in a lesser degree own the spirit of Christ are praised as
open and modern. On the other
side the candidates who excel in apostolic zeal, have courage in proclaiming
the doctrine of Christ and show love for all that is holy and sacred, are
deliberately eliminated.
A Nuncio once told
me: “It’s a pity that the Pope [John Paul II] does not participate personally
in the appointment of the bishops. The Pope tried to change something in the Roman
Curia, however he has not succeeded. He becomes older and things resume their
usual former course”.
At the beginning of
the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, I wrote a letter to him in which I begged
him to appoint holy bishops. I reported to him the story of a German layman who in the face of the degradation of
the Church in his country after the Second Vatican Council, remained faithful to Christ and
gathered young people for adoration and prayer. This man had been close to death and when he learned about the election of the new
Pope he said: “When Pope Benedict will
use his pontificate solely for
the purpose to appoint worthy, good and faithful bishops, he will have fulfilled his task”.
Unfortunately, it is obvious that, Pope Benedict XVI
has often not succeeded in this issue. It is difficult to believe that Pope
Benedict XVI freely renounced
his ministry as successor of Peter. Pope Benedict XVI was the head of the
Church, his entourage however has barely translated his teachings into life,
bypassed them often in silence or has rather obstructed his initiatives for an
authentic reform of the Church, of the liturgy, of the manner to administer
Holy Communion. In view of a great secrecy in the Vatican for many bishops it
was realistically impossible to help the Pope in his duty as head and governor
of the whole Church.
It will not be superfluous to remind
my brothers in the episcopacy of
an affirmation made by an
Italian masonic lodge from the year 1820: “Our work is a work of a hundred
years. Let us leave the elder people and let us go to the youth. The
seminarians will become priests with our liberal ideas. We shall not flatter
ourselves with false hopes. We will not make the Pope a Freemason. However
liberal bishops, who will work in the entourage of the Pope, will propose to
him in the task of governing the Church such thoughts and ideas which are
advantageous for us and the Pope will implement them into life”. This
intention of the Freemasons is being implemented
more and more openly, not only
thanks to the declared enemies of the Church but with the connivance of false witnesses who
occupy some high hierarchical office in the Church. It is not without reason
that Blessed Paul VI said: “The spirit of Satan penetrated through a crack
inside the Church”. I think that this crack has become in our days quite wide and the devil uses all forces in order to subvert the Church
of Christ. To avoid this, it is necessary to return to the precise and clear
proclamation of the Gospel on all levels of ecclesiastical ministry, for the
Church possesses all power and grace which Christ gave to her: “All power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore, and teach all nations.
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and I am
with you always unto the end of the world” (Mt 28, 18-20), “the truth
will set you free” (John 8, 32) and “let your word be Yes, yes; No, no:
for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil” (Mt 5, 37). The Church cannot adapt herself to the spirit of
this world, but must transform the world to the spirit of Christ.
It is obvious that in
the Vatican there is a tendency to give in more and more to the noise of the
mass media. It is not infrequent
that in the name of an incomprehensible quiet and calm the best sons and
servants are sacrificed in order to appease
the mass media. The enemies of the Church however don’t hand over their
faithful servants even when their actions are evidently bad.
When we wish to
remain faithful to Christ in word and deed, He Himself will find the means to
transform the hearts and souls of men and the world as well will be changed at
the appropriate time.
In times of the
crisis of the Church God has often
used for her true renewal the sacrifices, the tears and the prayers of those
children and servants of the Church who in the eyes of the world and of the
ecclesiastical bureaucracy were considered insignificant or were persecuted and
marginalized because of their fidelity to Christ. I believe that in our
difficult time this law of Christ is being realized and that the Church will
renew herself thanks to the faithful inner renewal of each of us.
January 1st 2015, Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of God
+ Jan Pawel Lenga
[You may post or link to this letter: but you must credit Rorate Caeli.]
[Original posting time: Feb, 10, 2015, 1:10 AM GMT]
