The Persecution and ‘Death’ of the Church: The Testimony of Scripture and Tradition

The Pope will be Victim, Not Persecutor…

The Persecution and ‘Death’ of the Church:
The Testimony of Scripture and Tradition

pius12-vs-antichrist.jpg

Researched and Explained by
Cardinal Henry Edward Manning (1808-1892)

This is a slightly revised version of an article posted on this web site in 2015.

As we all suffer through these most distressing times in which confusion and chaos reign among all who seek to be genuine Catholics, members of the only true religion established by God, it is helpful and important to reflect on the fact that the situation we find ourselves in today — no (known) valid Pope since 1958, and no apparent Catholic bishop left with ordinary jurisdiction, while a counterfeit institution masquerades as the Catholic Church, spreading heresy, immorality, and impiety — was foretold in Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition.… READ MORE

“Rome will be without a Shepherd”: Virgin Mary to Abbess Maria Steiner in 1840s

We had been warned…

“Rome will be without a Shepherd”:
Virgin Mary to holy Abbess Maria Steiner in 1840s

It behooves Catholics to beware of private revelations — certainly of those that have not been approved by the Church, which must be avoided, but even of those that have been approved. Although the latter are judged by the Church to be free from error in Faith or morals and therefore safe to familiarize oneself with, it is important not to get attached to this kind of revelation because it is not necessary for our salvation and is given only to specific people, at a specific point in time, for a specific purpose.… READ MORE

Pre-Vatican II Theologian: Catholicity of Church “Very Restricted” during Great Apostasy

Fr. Timothy Zapelena, S.J.

Pre-Vatican II Theologian: Catholicity of Church “Very Restricted” during Great Apostasy


The dome of St. Peter’s Basilica as seen through the keyhole of the entrance portal of the Magistral Villa on the Aventine Hill in Rome (image: shutterstock.com / Simone Migliaro)

Earlier this month we published a post on St. Augustine of Hippo writing to one Bp. Hesychius regarding the Church’s visibility during the Great Apostasy before Christ returns:

The question of the visibility of the Church is a crucial one, for the Church founded by Christ is visible by her very nature and she must ever remain in her essential constitution exactly the way Christ founded her: “But since the Church is such [having both visible and invisible elements] by divine will and constitution, such it must uniformly remain to the end of time.… READ MORE

Saint Augustine: “The Church Will Not Appear” during Great Tribulation before Christ’s Return

Doctor of the Church speaks on the End Times…

Saint Augustine: “The Church Will Not Appear” during Great Tribulation before Christ’s Return

When people debate the issue of Sedevacantism, sooner or later someone who does not agree with the position will object that Sedevacantism is not reconcilable with the Catholic doctrine of the Church’s visibility.

While it is certainly true that our current situation presents some difficulties in that regard, the objection is by no means as powerful as it is often thought to be. The following articles provide some good information on the visibility issue:

If Sedevacantism were understood to mean that the Church does not, per se and by unalterable divine institution, have a visible hierarchy, then such a position would indeed be unacceptable because it would be heretical.… READ MORE

Eclipse of the Church: The Case for Sedevacantism (Fatima Conference 2021)

Dynamite lecture on the Catholic crisis!

Eclipse of the Church: The Case for Sedevacantism

During this year’s Fatima Conference hosted by the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI) in Spokane, Washington, Mr. Mario Derksen, pictured below, delivered a compelling 79-minute lecture making the case for Sedevacantism in a way you may not have heard before.

Instead of going through heaps of detailed theological arguments, the speaker presented the “big picture”:

The Catholic Church was founded by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as the indefectible Ark of Salvation that is nothing less than His very own Mystical Body. Just as Christ the Lord cannot fail to be “the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6), neither can His Mystical Body fail to be “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15).… READ MORE

The End of the World and the Antichrist

Four-Part Sermon Series

The End of the World and the Antichrist

Detail from Luca Signorelli’s Deeds of the Antichrist, ca. 1501

There has always been much talk about the Antichrist and the end of times. Some people have a virtual obsession with this topic, so much so that they neglect their own spiritual lives, forgetting that understanding and figuring out every bit of divine prophecy is neither required, nor necessarily salutary, nor even possible (cf. 2 Pet 1:20; Mk 13:31-33). As St. Paul said to the Corinthians: “And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing” (1 Cor 13:2).… READ MORE

Priest in 1955: Apocalypse indicates Satan may try to impede Papal Election to cause Long-Term Vacancy

Sound familiar?

Priest in 1955: Apocalypse indicates Satan may try to impede Papal Election to cause Long-Term Vacancy in the Apostolic See

As we noted in a recent post, Fr. Herman B. Kramer (1884-1976) was a diocesan priest in Sioux City, Iowa, who in 1955 published a work called The Book of Destiny, which is an explanation of the Apocalypse, the last book of the Holy Bible (otherwise known as Revelation).

What makes The Book of Destiny so interesting is that it is an interpretation of the Apocalypse released shortly before the death of Pope Pius XII and the Modernist takeover.… READ MORE

Priest in 1955: Apocalypse indicates False Prophet will be Fake Pope while Papal Chair is Vacant and Church Appears Destroyed

Sound familiar?

Priest in 1955: Apocalypse indicates False Prophet will be Fake Pope while Papal Chair is Vacant and Church Appears Destroyed

For this find, we are indebted to Resignationist blogger Ann Barnhardt, who published an abridged excerpt of the same passage yesterday.

In 1955, Fr. Herman Kramer (1884-1976), a diocesan priest in Sioux City, Iowa, published a work called The Book of Destiny, which is an explanation of the Apocalypse, the last book of the Holy Bible (otherwise known as Revelation).

The Book of Destiny bears a nihil obstat and imprimatur given on Jan. 26, 1956. This official diocesan approval does not guarantee that the book is free from error, only that anything proposed in it does not contradict the Catholic Faith — the book is therefore safe for a Catholic to read.… READ MORE

The Catholic Church is a Social Miracle

Hope for our difficult times…

The Catholic Church is a Social Miracle


Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Canada

There is no doubt that we live in a time of apostasy. The Gospel of Jesus Christ had been preached, accepted, and practiced, and now it has been largely abandoned. That which until the death of Pope Pius XII on Oct. 9, 1958 the entire world knew to be the Roman Catholic religion, is actually believed and practiced (regardless of good intentions) in only a handful of souls, relatively speaking.

As distressing as that is, it would be a great mistake to think that this apostasy has caught the Catholic Church by surprise.… READ MORE

What will make the Antichrist so Deceptive?

Fr. Frederick Faber’s warning…

What will make the Antichrist so Deceptive?

Fr. Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863) warned his flock

Although the person of the Antichrist is perhaps not yet in our world, it is clear that the mystery of iniquity that will culminate in his arrival has been at work ever since the fall of Lucifer, and has never been more active than in our own day.

In his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, St. Paul the Apostle warned: “For the mystery of iniquity already worketh; only that he who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way” (2 Th 2:7).… READ MORE

How we got to this point: Bishop Sanborn explains the History of Christendom

Over 3 hours of video — free!

How we got to this point:
Bp. Sanborn explains the History of Christendom

Most Rev. Donald J. Sanborn

We live in the year of our Lord 2019. Although it has been evident for a long time that this world is headed in the wrong direction, certainly the last six years of “Pope” Francis have convinced a great many who consider themselves faithful Catholics that something is terribly amiss, not just in the world but also in the institution they believe to be the Roman Catholic Church. The world is drowning in unbelief, false philosophies, immorality, and hostilities; and the religion practiced and preached in the Vatican is simply no longer the Catholic religion of Pope Pius XII and his predecessors.… READ MORE

A Prophecy from 1869: “Satan is going to wage the Fiercest Attacks to try to Annihilate the Church”

We had been warned…

A Prophecy from 1869: “Satan is going to wage the Fiercest Attacks to try to Annihilate the Church”

It behooves Catholics to beware of private revelations: certainly of those that have not been approved by the Church, which must be avoided, but even of those that have been approved. Although the latter are judged by the Church to be free from error in Faith or morals and therefore safe to familiarize oneself with, it is important not to get attached to this kind of revelation because it is not necessary for our salvation and is given only to specific people, at a specific point in time, for a specific purpose.… READ MORE

Like Sheep without a Shepherd: 60 Years of Sede Vacante

Sixty years without a Pope — how could this happen?

Like Sheep without a Shepherd:
60 Years of Sede Vacante

During last year’s Fatima Conference sponsored by the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI) in Spokane, Washington, Mr. Mario Derksen, pictured below, delivered a lecture on the subject of 60 years of sede vacante since the death of Pope Pius XII on October 9, 1958. We are happy to be able to share the 42-minute audio recording and also a written transcript in this post.

Looking at the extreme devastation of the Catholic landscape that has been wrought in the past 60 years, Mr.… READ MORE

A Conspiracy against the Catholic Church? The True Popes Speak

A papal reality check…

A Conspiracy against the Catholic Church?

The True Popes Speak

When discussing the issue of Sedevacantism with Novus Ordos, it is not uncommon that someone will dismiss it on the grounds that it involves a “conspiracy”; and of course nothing is more absurd to contemporary man than giving credence to a position that differs from what most others hold to be the obvious truth.

Two thousand years ago, our Blessed Lord taught: “…the truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:32). People who love and seek the truth ought to be concerned about, not whether something involves a conspiracy, but whether it is true.… READ MORE

Fr. Berry on the Persecution of the Church in the Last Days (Part 3): A False Pope and a Vacant Holy See

We Had Been Warned:

Father E. Sylvester Berry on the Persecution of the Church in the Last Days (Part 3):

A False Pope and a Vacant Holy See

We cannot emphasize often enough that the terrible afflictions Holy Mother Church has had to endure since the death of Pope Pius XII were predicted and prophesied in Catholic Tradition, in one way or another. We have had numerous posts on this topic in the past, and today we would like to call to mind a particular prediction made by Fr. Elwood Sylvester Berry (1879-1954), professor of apologetics at Mt. Saint Mary’s seminary in Maryland, as part of his interpretation of Chapter 13 of the book of the Apocalypse (a.k.a.… READ MORE