Tag Archives: Vatican II

Catholicism, Feminism, Radicalism, Religion

Woke Pope to feminize the Church

The ordinary Catholic faithful is left stunned by what this present pope is perpetrating in Holy Mother the Church. Among other things, he is imposing participatory democracy on the Church, a form of government totally incompatible with the hierarchical government of the last two thousand years. He ruthlessly banned the traditional Mass that goes back centuries, showing an appalling lack of charity. He condemns those adhering to the traditional Church as sinful and schismatic. Now he recognises a new sin: masculinity.

He declares there is too much sinful masculinity in the Church and calls upon theologians, particularly feminist theologians, to ‘demasculinize’ the Church. It’s hard to believe these words and actions emanate from the Vicar of Christ.

To demonstrate the need to rid the Church of sinful masculinity he reminds people that “The church is woman. And if we do not understand who women are, what the theology of a woman is, we will never understand what the church is.”

One assumes that Bergoglio is referring to Ephesians 5:22-33 in which St Paul calls the Church the Bride of Christ. Is this symbolic depiction the same as claiming the ‘Church is woman.’ I suppose it is if you’re an agitating feminist theologian. For the rest of us, it shows the pope is sadly confused.

In the same feminist mode of explanation, Bergoglio goes on to refer to two principles in the Church: a “Petrine principle” and a “Marian principle” . He then asserts these two principles ‘describe the important but different roles women and men play in the Catholic Church.’ What?

Don’t the two principles rather refer to two different ways men and woman live out their Catholic faith – one based on Christ the redeemer and the other on the Blessed Virgin Mary, the way of charity and humility?

May I remind His Holiness that Mary declared in the sublime Magnificat that ‘my spirit doth rejoice in God my Savior for He has regarded the humility of his handmaid …’ Mary is a model of humility and compassion for men and women

To claim that the Petrine Principle and the Marian Principle describe roles, one exclusive to men, and one exclusive to women, is, it seems to me, to proclaim a new teaching.

But then again feminists are all about flipping things on their head. Our feminist pope is merely following their theological fantasies.

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Pope asks theologians to help ‘de-masculinize’ the church

Meeting members of the International Theological Commission, a body appointed by the pope and that works with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Francis noted how few members are women.

Cindy Wooden, USCCB, November 30, 2023

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Asking pardon for speaking plainly, Pope Francis told members of the International Theological Commission that “one of the great sins we have had is ‘masculinizing’ the church,” which also can be seen by the fact that only five of the commission members are women.

The pope, who appoints the 28 members of the commission, said the church needs to make more progress in balancing such bodies because “women have a capacity for theological reflection that is different from what we men have.”

Pope Francis met members of the commission at the Vatican Nov. 30. He handed them a prepared text, which he described as a “beautiful speech with theological things,” but said that because of his ongoing respiratory problems due to bronchitis, “it’s better that I don’t read it.”

But greeting members of the group, the pope said that perhaps his conviction about the importance of women theologians comes from the fact that “I’ve studied a lot the theology of a woman,” Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz, and her work on Father Romano Guardini, a German priest, philosopher and theologian, who died in 1968.

Coincidently, Gerl-Falkovitz is one of four German women who wrote to Pope Francis about their concerns regarding the German Catholic Church’s Synodal Path. In a letter published by a German newspaper Nov. 21, Pope Francis responded to the women saying, “I, too, share this concern about the numerous concrete steps that are now being taken by large parts of this local church that threaten to move further and further away from the common path of the universal church.”

Pope Francis told members of the commission that at the next meeting of his international Council of Cardinals, “we will have a reflection on the feminine dimension of the church.”

Providing no other details, he repeated what he has said in the past: “The church is woman. And if we do not understand who women are, what the theology of a woman is, we will never understand what the church is.”

The problem “is not solved in a ministerial way, that’s another thing,” he said, repeating his belief in the concept that in the church there is a “Petrine principle” and a “Marian principle” that describe the important but different roles women and men play in the Catholic Church.

“You can debate this, but the two principles are there,” the pope said. “It is more important to have the Marian (dimension) than the Petrine,” because the church is the bride of Christ.

Read the rest here …

Catholic Church, Radicalism, Religion

The New Mass And Vatican II

In his latest commentary on the Novus Ordo and the Second Vatican Council, Dr Kwasnieski makes some unanswerable points.

Daringly Balanced on One Point: The New Papal Letter on Liturgy

Peter Kwasniewski PhD, 29 June 2022

Like a piece of upside-down modernist architecture, the new papal apostolic letter Desiderio Desideravi: On the Liturgical Formation of the People of God is daringly balanced on one point: that the new liturgy of Paul VI is the fulfillment of the Second Vatican Council’s demand for liturgical reform in Sacrosanctum Concilium. On the truth or falsehood of this one point stands or falls the document’s entire argument. Let us quote Francis first:

‘It would be trivial to read the tensions, unfortunately present around the celebration, as a simple divergence between different tastes concerning a particular ritual form. The problematic is primarily ecclesiological. I do not see how it is possible to say that one recognizes the validity of the Council—though it amazes me that a Catholic might presume not to do so—and at the same time not accept the liturgical reform born out of Sacrosanctum Concilium, a document that expresses the reality of the Liturgy intimately joined to the vision of Church so admirably described in Lumen gentium. For this reason, as I already expressed in my letter to all the bishops, I have felt it my duty to affirm that “The liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, are the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite” (Motu Proprio Traditionis custodes, art 1) (n. 31).’

‘We are called continually to rediscover the richness of the general principles exposed in the first numbers of Sacrosanctum Concilium, grasping the intimate bond between this first of the Council’s constitutions and all the others. For this reason we cannot go back to that ritual form which the Council fathers, cum Petro et sub Petro, felt the need to reform, approving, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and following their conscience as pastors, the principles from which was born the reform. The holy pontiffs St. Paul VI and St. John Paul II, approving the reformed liturgical books ex decreto Sacrosancti Œcumenici Concilii Vaticani II, have guaranteed the fidelity of the reform to the Council.[1] For this reason I wrote Traditionis custodes, so that the Church may lift up, in the variety of so many languages, one and the same prayer capable of expressing her unity. As I have written, I intend that this unity be re-established in the whole Church of the Roman Rite (n. 61).’

It seems, in keeping with the old saying “a bishop never has a bad meal and never hears the truth,” that some well-meaning servitors in the Vatican have been hiding from the pope and his entourage a truth that is known to millions of others: this belief in the Novus Ordo as the fruit of Vatican II is simply false and can be easily known to be false. Universal literacy and the internet have tidily seen to that.

Read the rest here …

Catholic Church, Culture, Feminism, Media, Religion

Vatican II’s wake of destruction

In 1968, the American television network NBC produced a two-hour documentary on the rapidly changing Catholic Church: The New American Catholic. The changes followed the Second Vatican Council, which had wrapped up three years earlier.

The documentary gives a stunning picture of how precipitous and wide-ranging the changes were and how they led to the collapse of many religious orders and the loss of faith among many Catholics. Perhaps the greatest collapse was in the female religious orders. We hear the proponents of change speaking with great enthusiasm and optimism.

Of course, we now know what happened. What seems to be left over from many of the long-established orders is a rump of feminist activists preoccupied with either a total restructuring of the Church or making the way open for a female pope. A total restructure of the Church is aimed at doing away with the power of the male clergy, that is, separating the power structures from the ordained male clergy, as per the ideas of pretend-nun Sr. Nathalie Becquart whose vision I described in a previous comment.

Catholic Church, Catholicism, Culture, Feminism, Politics, Religion

‘Sister’ Nathalie Becquart – symbol of the Church’s future?

Nathalie Becquart is a member of the French order Xavière Sisters. estasblished in 1921, thus one hundred years old. The order is (to quote) ‘achored in the St Ignatius of Loyola’s Spirituality and rooted in his spiritual exercises’ (my translation.) I have had a look at their website.

From the description, you would think it a traditional female religious order. But the description of a traditional religious order is in stark contrast with the many photos of a joyous group of women in full colourful mufti – all smartly coordinated. Hardly a reflection of Ignatian spirituality, if your mind works according to usual associations, and if you have a traditional conception of the Ignatian exercises. But the person of Ms Becquart raises for me a far more chilling contrast than aspects of clothing.

Sr. Nathalie Becquart, a member of the Xavière Sisters in France, is one of the two new undersecretaries for the Vatican's office of the Synod of Bishops, appointed Feb. 6 by Pope Francis.

Sr Becquart has recently been in Australia to talk about – or rather give a pep talk to followers of her very particular vision of the Church. Bergoglio appointed Becquart as one of two new undersecretaries for the Vatican’s office of the Synod of Bishops. This is a powerful position in Begoglio’s ecclesial vision, so it’s useful to know Sister’s thoughts on the Church, synodality, and all that.

Well, we get an unambiguous view inside sister’s head in an interview she gave to Global Sisters Report: a Project of National Catholic Reporter. The interview is titled: Q & A with Sr. Nathalie Becquart: Upcoming synod could ‘turn a clerical church into a synodal church’.

Continue reading ‘Sister’ Nathalie Becquart – symbol of the Church’s future? →
Catholic Church, Culture, My books, Religion

Feelings die not in silence

DUE JULY 2021

THE STORY

It is January 1957. Without warning, Virginia Pearson breaks her engagement to academic Philip Stevenson to enter the convent of the Suffering Saviour. She says she has an irresistible calling. Philip is devastated. Though living up to the responsibilities of his academic position, he slides into depression, too much drink, and a series of short-term relationships.

Virginia makes friends with the beautiful self-effacing Aine O’Riordan who enters the convent at the same time. Strange inexplicable happenings torment the sensitive and withdrawn Aine. Virginia tries to comfort her, but Aine’s anxiety forces her out of the convent. She leaves Virginia behind to deal with an atmosphere of foreboding that seems to infect the life of the convent. (Descent into Hades: A Spiritual Journey, Book 3 of the Conciliar series relates what happens to Aine.)

Virginia, now Sister Agnes, is suspicious of fellow postulant Margaret McGuigan, now Sister Catherine, and her manipulative ways. She wonders about her role in the communal infection. Agnes barely suppresses her suspicion and antagonism toward Catherine through their religious training to their university course in 1962.

But the privilege of attending university brings fresh problems for Sister Agnes. Philosophy lecturer Phil Stevenson leads her tutorial group. It does not take long for them to realize their relationship has not ended, despite Agnes’s supreme efforts to keep Philip at bay.

The dark events in the convent, the leftist bullying on campus, the conflict with furtive, manipulative Sister Catherine, and her love for Philip have her rushing toward a crisis in which she acts out of character.

FEELINGS DIE NOT IN SILENCE is Book 2 of the Conciliar Series.

The themes of the ‘Goddess’, neo-paganism, the occult and Gnosticism are a thread through the story.  The Second Vatican Council and the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s (1965-1975) are the background to the Conciliar series.

Series title: The Conciliar Series.

Catholic Church, Culture, Radicalism, Religion, Western Civilization

Who emptied the Church after Vatican II?

This is an interesting review of an interesting book. The key proposition in the book is that powerful factors outside the Second Vatican Council were the efficient cause of the Church’s collapse and not the council documents themselves, despite the shameless leftist political agitation in the council’s session. Fr Jennings writes that historian of religion Callum Brown observed:

For organised Christianity, the sixties constituted the most concentrated period of crisis since the Reformation; but what was at stake became perceived as the very survival of Christian society and values. In this respect certainly, the sixties may turn out to have been more important than even the Renaissance and Reformation. (p. 135)

I lived through the 1960s as a young adult and I can well believe it. The cultural revolution turned everything on its head. I look closely at the student radical activity at Sydney University in my book TONY ABBOTT AND THE TIMES OF REVOLUTION.

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Why have all the Catholics gone?

A masterful examination of historical, moral and theological factors in the diminution of the Catholic Church in the UK and US after Vatican II.

by Fr Gavan JenningsMar 11, 2021

Mass Exodus: Catholic disaffiliation in Britain and America since Vatican II
by Stephen Bullivant, Oxford University Press, 2019, 309 pp

Stephen Bullivant is Professor of Theology and the Sociology of Religion, and Director of the Benedict XVI Centre for Religion and Society. He holds doctorates in Theology (Oxford, 2009) and Sociology (Warwick, 2019). He has written several books on the Catholic faith, the loss of faith, and atheism.

The book is essentially a dispassionate, intensely scholarly examination of the question whether the unprecedented “mass exodus” of Catholics from the Church since the 1960s is a direct consequence, as many believe, of the reforms inaugurated by Vatican Council II (1962-’65).

Bullivant begins his investigation by looking at one of the great aims of the Council: to stir the lay faithful of the Church from passivity and insularity and to waken in them their baptismal call to holiness and apostolate. Instead, the Council appears to have succeeded only in having the faithful disaffiliate as never before in Church history.

From this unprecedented falling away in the years following the Council, it is tempting to draw the inference: post concilium, ergo propter concilium (after the Council, therefore because of the Council). And so “One of the primary purposes of this monograph is to investigate whether, how, and to what extent that implication is true — at least, in Britain and the USA” ( p. 12).

Read the rest here…

Catholic Church, Catholicism, Politics, Religion

Fr Joseph Ratzinger and the Second Vatican Council

The debate about the Second Vatican Council has not ceased. If anything, the scrutiny of the course of the Council, its participants, and its documents is a strong as ever. Below is an article on a book that has recently been released.

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RORATE EXCLUSIVE—New biography describes great influence of Fr. Joseph Ratzinger in Vatican II

Rorate is pleased to publish the following article by Dr. Maike Hickson, in which she summarizes the information on (then Father and peritus) Joseph Ratzinger’s involvement in the Council as detailed in Seewald’s magisterial biography, the first volume of which will be released in English on December 15. While some of these facts are already well-known, they have never been presented with as much detail and coherence as Seewald offers. Hickson worked from both the original German edition and the forthcoming English translation. In publishing this critique, we acknowledge at the same time how indebted we are to Ratzinger/Benedict XVI for taking crucial and countercultural steps on behalf of the restoration of the authentic Roman liturgy.

RORATE CÆLI: RORATE EXCLUSIVE—New biography describes great influence of Fr. Joseph Ratzinger in Vatican II (rorate-caeli.blogspot.com)

Catholic Church, Catholicism, Conservatism, Culture, Politics, Radicalism, The Left

The Crisis in the Church

Archbishop Vigano, Pope Francis’s most outspoken critic, recently raised serious questions about the Second Vatican Council. He has joined a long line of critics over the years, with Archbishop Lefebvre of the Society of St Pius X at the forefront. Archbishop Vigano has followed Archbishop Lefebvre in demanding the documents of the Council be jettisoned and the Church start again, with Traditional belief the starting point.

I follow St John Paul II and Benedict XVI in their interpretation of the Council documents. The documents should be read in the light of Tradition – according to the ‘hermeneutic of continuity’. Any apparent ambiguities are resolved by placing them in the teaching of what went before Vatican II. There have been a number of crucial documents following the Council that have corrected the alleged ambiguities.

The collapse of the Church after the Council was due to the adoption of the ‘Spirit of Vatican II’, which ignored the documents and created a whole new church, which was the stated aim of its promoters. The so-called ‘spirit’ prevailed politically, not doctrinally. The overthrow of the Traditional Church was a political victory.

The political forces for the new church were tightly organised before the start of the Council. On the 11th of October 1962, the opening of the Council, they went into operation. Their political manoeuvring and manipulation steamrolled the thoroughly unprepared Traditionalists, those defending the centuries-old Church. Several years’ work in the preparatory documents were tossed out and a new start made, at the head of which were some of the most notorious dissenters in the years following the Council. Indeed, it was only the intervention of Pope St Paul VI at critical points that stopped the Council tipping over the edge into heresy.

My thesis that the Second Vatican Council was primarily a political contest is grounded largely on Fr Ralph Wiltgen’s THE RHINE FLOWs INTO THE TIBER, reissued in 1978 as THE INSIDE STORY OF VATICAN II, and Roberto de Mattei’s magisterial THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL (AN UNWRITTEN STORY). There is also my experience of the Council and its aftermath. I was sixteen in 1962 and nineteen when the 1960s cultural revolution and the student rebellion exploded on the West in 1965. The Council wrapped up in December 1965.

In a very informative discussion of the Council, Patrick Coffin interviews Dr Ralph Martin about his new book A CHURCH IN CRISIS: PATHWAYS FORWARD. The discussion gives depth to my views. Highly recommended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S6VX1acem8

Raph Martin’s new book is available on Amazon.