The Only-Begotten Son of the Eternal Father, be cause of the exceeding charity wherewith He hath loved us, and in order that in the fulness of time He might deliver the whole human race from the yoke of sin, from slavery to the devil, and from the darkness of error, by which through the fault of our first parent it had long been miserably oppressed, came down from His heavenly throne, and, without parting from His Father’s glory, was clothed in human nature from the Immaculate and Most Holy Virgin Mary.… READ MORE
Pope Pius IX’s Encyclical Quartus Supra:
The ‘Missing’ Passages
Recently, a reader of this blog made us aware that the English translation of the encyclical letter Quartus Supra of Pope Pius IX (r. 1846-1878), to which we often link, found at the immensely useful site PapalEncyclicals.Net, is missing a number of paragraphs:
Indeed, the numbered paragraphs jump from 44 to 50, with no explanation. In addition, paragraph 44 contains this very odd sentence: “Our Constitution ensures that safer and more effective measures [***] children, We have decided in the present crisis to write all this to you to arouse your pure mind to the duty We have laid upon you.”… READ MORE
Pope Pius IX’s Syllabus of LEFEBVRIST Errors (1873)
On January 6, 1873, the magnificent Pope Pius IX published the encyclical letter Quartus Supra. It is addressed to “Our Venerable Brothers Anthony Peter IX, Patriarch of Cilicia, and the Archbishops, Bishops, Clergy and Laity, Our Beloved Children of the Armenian Rite Who are in Loving Communion with the Apostolic See.”
This beautiful magisterial text concerns the threat of an emerging schism in the Armenian church and refutes the specious argumentation brought forward by those trying to justify their disobedience while still claiming to be loyal subjects of the Pope.… READ MORE
“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
In PART ONE of this article, we saw how Dr. Peter Kwasniewski discusses Ultramontanism and the Papacy using a strangely un-Catholic approach to the topic. His use of a secular encyclopedia rather than a Catholic theological reference work for his starting point was a telling and, surely, a totally calculated move on his part to help him discredit Ultramontanism. The real traditional Catholic position is at direct odds with his imaginary renderings of theology and Church history.… READ MORE
In PART ONE of this article, we explored how Dr. Peter Kwasniewski dared to use a secular, decidedly non-theological source to discuss the singularly Catholic and thoroughly theological subject of Ultramontanism, when he could have utilized a reference at his very fingertips that would have provided an authoritative article about it: The Catholic Encyclopedia.
Compound that with the fact that by using the secular source he was able to conceal important information to his audience that would have shown the fraudulent nature of the title of his own article, “My Journey from Ultramontanism to Catholicism”, with its unscrupulous innuendo that Ultramontanism is a heresy that stands in opposition to Catholic truth.… READ MORE
Pope Pius IX condemns Anti-Christian Civilization: Exclusive English Translation of Allocution Iamdudum Cernimus (1861)
The Supreme Pontiff Pius IX (reigned 1846-1878)
Virtually everyone who considers himself a traditional Roman Catholic has heard of Pope Pius IX’s famous Syllabus of Errors. It is a list of some of the chief philosophical, theological, and socio-political errors of the 19th century. A total of 80 condemned theses, the list was appended to the encyclical Quanta Cura and released together with it on Dec. 8, 1864.
The commission [for the creation of the Syllabus] took the wording of the errors to be condemned from the official declarations of Pius IX and appended to each of the eighty theses a reference indicating its content, so as to determine the true meaning and the theological value of the subjects treated.
1. Now after a long time We see, Venerable Brothers, by what a truly lamentable conflict civil society is being continually disturbed, especially in this our most unfortunate age, on account of principles alternatively contending between truth and error, between virtue and vice, between light and darkness. For instance, on the one hand, some uphold certain beliefs of, as they term it, “modern civilization.”… READ MORE
Gueranger’s vindication of what was then called “Ultramontanism” (the orthodox Catholic position on papal authority) and his refutation of Gallicanism (the alternative view definitively condemned at the council) were so brilliant that the Pope himself — Pius IX at the time — wrote him a letter of approbation and appreciation.… READ MORE
Confused Viganò: Bizarre Theology in former Vatican Nuncio’s Open Letter to Confused Priests
“And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit.” (Mt 15:14b)
On Jan. 31, 2021, the well-known former Vatican nuncio to the United States, “Archbishop” Carlo Maria Viganò, penned an “Open Letter to Confused Priests”, which was eagerly published in full by the American recognize-and-resist flagship The Remnant. It can be read here:
Not surprisingly, Vigano’s lengthy missive is filled with grave distortions of Catholic theology regarding the Papacy, distortions to which he needs to resort in order to avoid the undesired conclusion of Sedevacantism.… READ MORE
In 1884, Pope Leo XIII addressed the threat of Freemasonry against Holy Mother Church:
At every period of time each [the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan] has been in conflict with the other, with a variety and multiplicity of weapons and of warfare, although not always with equal ardor and assault. At this period, however, the partisans of evil seem to be combining together, and to be struggling with united vehemence, led on or assisted by that strongly organized and widespread association called the Freemasons.
The Francis Papacy Test:
Find out if Jorge Bergoglio is what he claims to be
These days a lot of people are cranking out articles, blog posts, tweets, and videos telling us how certain it is the apostate Argentinian Jesuit Jorge Bergoglio is the Pope of the Catholic Church.
One of the more popular arguments of late has been that universal acceptance of him by “the Church” provides an infallible guarantee that he’s the Vicar of Christ, since they all agree that he is the Pope. But who is the “they” that constitute “the Church” in their minds?… READ MORE
Would God permit a Non-Catholic Pope?
Response to Peter Kwasniewski
As we’ve pointed out before, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, a former college theology professor now working as a freelance writer and lecturer, has become one of the preferred go-to guys for the semi-trads and conservative Novus Ordos when it comes to making the case for accepting Francis as Pope but refusing to accept practically anything he believes or teaches. Never mind supplying evidence for such a silly and absurd position — what counts is only the reiteration of the desired pre-conceived conclusion that it be so.… READ MORE
Dissecting a Misleading Expression:
The Catholic Church and the “Fullness of Truth”
You’ve heard it numerous times: “The Catholic Church has the fullness of truth.” It is a very popular slogan among “conservative” Novus Ordo adherents, and even many Traditional Catholics unwittingly use it. Yet, this adage, though not incorrect if interpreted strictly, is actually favorable to heresy, specifically the heresy of Modernism. This explains why it is an expression that only began to be used with the advent of the Modernist Vatican II religion and was virtually unknown among Catholics before the 1960s.
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
When someone argues that Francis is valid and simply "the Pope we deserve", respond by saying that God doesn't give us what we deserve but what is in agreement with His promises and helpful to our salvation. #AntipopeFrancis #popefrancis #sedevacante
Francis enjoys the appearance of being über-merciful. There is a reason, though, why Christ only forgave the Good Thief, not the bad one. Only the Good Thief was contrite.
Apparently Michael Voris thinks that throwing out a lot of (rhetorical) questions in quick succession, mixed with a lot of blustering, is a good defense of Francis' claim to being the Pope: No real substance there. Just a big, "Oh my gosh, are you crazy!?"
One can imagine 'Pope' Francis protesting our Lord when He said: "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained" (Jn 20:23). Francis would say: "No, no retaining! Everything's forgiven, all the time!" #PopeInMarseille
In Marseille today, #PopeFrancis again directed his priests: "In the Sacrament of Penance always forgive, forgive! Be generous as God is generous with us. Forgive!" Regardless of contrition or purpose of amendment. That's his false-mercy doctrine. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/speeches/2023/september/documents/20230922-marsiglia-preghieramariana.html
Even more serious is the situation of those who have recently suffered shipwreck concerning their faith (1 Timothy 1,19) in the face of so much scandal and blasphemy.
In his address at the interreligious 'moment of reflection' in Marseille today, Francis once again studiously avoided mentioning the name of Jesus Christ, instead only speaking of "Heaven", "God", "monotheisms", "believers"... https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/speeches/2023/september/documents/20230922-marsiglia-leaderreligiosi.html (Italian) #PopeInMarseille
Francis says shipwrecked migrants are not just numbers but "names and surnames, they are faces and stories, they are broken lives and shattered dreams". Fair enough, but notice what he NEVER says: They are souls redeemed by Christ in need of eternal salvation. #popefrancis
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