Papal Scandal in Singapore: The Error of the Equality of Religions -- and the Faith of St. Francis Xavier (De Mattei)

 Pope Francis and the Act of Faith of St. Francis Xavier

 by Roberto de Mattei

Among the most serious errors prevalent today, even in Catholic circles, is the one according to which all religions are equivalent because they all worship one God. This error is most serious because it denies, at its root, the intrinsic truth of the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, Pope Francis' statements at the Catholic Junior College in Singapore last September 13, 2024, are along these lines and, with all due respect to the Pope, are objectively scandalous.

The official Vatican account quotes verbatim these phrases from Francis: "All religions are a path to get to God. They are - I make a comparison - like different languages, different idioms, to get there. But God is God for all. And because God is God for everyone, we are all God's children. "But my God is more important than yours!" Is this true? There is only one God, and we, our religions are languages, paths to get to God. Some Sikh, some Muslim, some Hindu, some Christian, but they are different paths. Understood?" Understood? 

Our answer is immediate: no, Holy Father, we have not understood and cannot understand it. Our religion and also the history of the Society of Jesus, to which you belong, teach us otherwise.

Arlington Carmel Saga: the Texas Carmelites become a permanent TLM-celebrating community - by coming under the auspices of the SSPX

 It seems there may be a pause in the sinuous saga of the Discalced Carmelite sisters of Arlington, Texas. After years of strange events and the relentless pursuit of their convent (coincidentally, a huge piece of property right in the middle of one of the fastest growing regions in the US) by the local bishop (Fort Worth) including Vatican intervention in their favor, they seem to have a reasonably stable moment — by becoming the newest community friendly to the Society of Saint Pius X in America.

From the note published by the SSPX US district:

Statement from the Arlington Carmel on Its Association with the SSPX 

 SEPTEMBER 14, 2024

 

"The motto of Pope St. Pius X was: To Restore All Things in Christ. Such is the case for our Community as well, which has prayerfully, over a period of many years, sought to return to Tradition."

Bishop Slattery, RIP

 The Diocese of Tulsa announced His Excellency Edward J. Slattery died yesterday at the age of 84.

Bishop Slattery was the celebrant of the solemn pontifical Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 2010. He graciously stepped in after a media firestorm concerning the originally scheduled celebrant, Dario Cardinal Hoyos. The day turned out to be an absolutely glorious one -- standing room only in the largest church in North America. The dozens of clergy, the numerous choirs, the magnificent pipe organ, the beautiful vestments, the joy in all who attended in-person or watched live on EWTN -- it was a traditional Latin Mass that defined the liturgical restoration of its era.

'Surprise' Novus Ordo Masses in Arlington Diocese

 

The decision by Pope Francis and the Dicastery for Divine Worship (DDW) to reignite the liturgical wars by abrogating Summorum Pontificum will be remembered as a monumental, embarrassing blunder by a papacy marked by corruption and scandal. 

Francis in Asia: "All Religions Lead to God." - Pius XI: That is a "false opinion"

Francis speaking in Singapore earlier today:

Every religion is a way to arrive at God. There are different languages to arrive at God but God is God for all. 

But my God is more important than your God, is that true?

There is only one God and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, they are different paths.

 pic.twitter.com/TMHRDjEuJ9

— Michael Haynes 🇻🇦 (@MLJHaynes) September 13, 2024

*** 

 On the other hand, Pius XI in Mortalium animos (1928): 

 Never perhaps in the past have we seen, as we see in these our own times, the minds of men so occupied by the desire both of strengthening and of extending to the common welfare of human society that fraternal relationship which binds and unites us together, and which is a consequence of our common origin and nature. For since the nations do not yet fully enjoy the fruits of peace - indeed rather do old and new disagreements in various places break forth into sedition and civic strife - and since on the other hand many disputes which concern the tranquillity and prosperity of nations cannot be settled without the active concurrence and help of those who rule the States and promote their interests, it is easily understood, and the more so because none now dispute the unity of the human race, why many desire that the various nations, inspired by this universal kinship, should daily be more closely united one to another.

 

A similar object is aimed at by some, in those matters which concern the New Law promulgated by Christ our Lord. For since they hold it for certain that men destitute of all religious sense are very rarely to be found, they seem to have founded on that belief a hope that the nations, although they differ among themselves in certain religious matters, will without much difficulty come to agree as brethren in professing certain doctrines, which form as it were a common basis of the spiritual life. For which reason conventions, meetings and addresses are frequently arranged by these persons, at which a large number of listeners are present, and at which all without distinction are invited to join in the discussion, both infidels of every kind, and Christians, even those who have unhappily fallen away from Christ or who with obstinacy and pertinacity deny His divine nature and mission. Certainly such attempts can nowise be approved by Catholics, founded as they are on that false opinion which considers all religions to be more or less good and praiseworthy, since they all in different ways manifest and signify that sense which is inborn in us all, and by which we are led to God and to the obedient acknowledgment of His rule. Not only are those who hold this opinion in error and deceived, but also in distorting the idea of true religion they reject it, and little by little. turn aside to naturalism and atheism, as it is called; from which it clearly follows that one who supports those who hold these theories and attempt to realize them, is altogether abandoning the divinely revealed religion.

Event: 54-Day Rosary Novena in Saint Louis to Defeat Abortion Amendment

Event organized by Catholics in Saint Louis, Missouri:

Dear Fellow Missouri Catholics & People of Good Will:

As you may have heard, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled yesterday [Sep. 10] that Amendment 3 will be on the November 5 ballot.

Amendment 3 would enshrine abortion in the state Constitution. Learn more at Missouri Right to Life PAC.

To ask the Blessed Virgin to defeat 3 and keep abortion out of Missouri, join us at the statue of St. Louis in Forest Park to pray the Rosary for the next 54 days:

Defending the Traditional Mass with Just Arguments -- Theological and Legal - by Father Claude Barthe

Those who devote themselves to the defense of traditional things (liturgy, catechism, resistance to deleterious doctrines) often hesitate to say that we are currently faced with an atypical ecclesial situation. Especially when it comes to the liturgy. Even if they assert that it is not for reasons of sensitivity but of faith that they attend the old liturgy, they feel they can effectively defend their position against the proponents of the new liturgy as a legitimate free choice. It is true that arguments of this kind can work quite well with Catholic opinion in general, for whom liberalism has become an unsurpassable horizon; but the fact that it is permissible to take tactical advantage of this state of mind does not mean it is justifiable.

Paradoxically, they even sometimes twist traditional doctrine to defend it. One example is the extreme reduction of the doctrine of obedience to ecclesiastical authorities and their teachings. Since, in many respects, submission to the authorities is untenable in conscience today, they practically come to affirm that free examination was the common doctrine of the Church, with each person deciding what is Catholic in the name of the “tradition” of which each is ultimately the custodian. Or they proceed to disembowel the doctrine of Roman infallibility by asserting that the First See has frequently issued heterodox doctrines. In other words, the abnormality of what is happening now is transferred to the Church of old.[1] And the anti-modernists become modernists.

We will deal here only with arguments in defense of the traditional Mass. In particular, we would like to consider two that are often used to justify the free option in favor of the traditional missal:

(1) The invocation of the bull Quo primum of 1570, insofar as it states that the missal it promulgates may be used “in perpetuity”. And 

(2) the fact that the Church has always recognized the legitimacy of a diversity of rites.

Pontifical Mass in Montes Claros, Brazil

 

From a reader:

"Our Lady as New Eve": International Theological Conference in Dundee Scotland (and Online), September 12-14

The Marian Franciscans in the UK have organized a magnificent conference on Our Lady, coming up quite soon. For those who cannot attend in person, an online option is available. Details in posters below.