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Traditionalist Issues
Has the Pope Forgotten What Communism Is?
Lyle J. Arnold, Jr.
On May 27, 2007 Benedict XVI signed a letter (made public June 30, 2007) to the 10 million Chinese Catholics. This happened in the wake of his June 27, 2007 motu proprio to his Princes, notifying them that the "indult" Mass was being made universal. On July 7, 2007 the Motu proprio was released.
Open worship at the National Patriotic Church in Beijing, controlled by the Communists.
Now, underground Catholics, below, are told to join the Patriotic Church
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The letter to Chinese Catholics has already been removed from the Chinese websites by the Communist government (1). The highlights of the letter make it appear as mere variations on the theme of dialogue, dripping with New Church sentiment. The Holy Father has "deep spiritual affection of all Catholics in China, and cordial esteem for the Chinese people" (2). Benedict XVI declares himself "fully available and open to a serene and constructive dialogue with the civic authorities," that the underground and persecuted Catholic Church might become united with the Communist Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) (3).
After putting all the weight of his authority pressuring Catholics to unite with CPA, the Pope says that the underground Bishops should decide by themselves whether they should seek approval from the Communists (4).
According to one source, Benedict XVI is applying "a principle of subsidiarity" in this move, letting the underground Church decide "how to balance" Catholic aims with those of the Communists, while remaining "in union with the Bishops"(5). I don’t understand how this can be sincere. According to the principle of subsidiarity, the superior and strong one (the Pope) leaves the inferior and weak ones (the Bishops) all the liberty they need to do whatever they can accomplish by themselves. What “liberty” do the Bishops have in this action of uniting with the CPA when the Pope has already given the order to do it? His subsidiarity is just another black use of collegiality to make Communists out of Catholics. It is one of the most ironical applications of the principle of subsidiarity I have ever seen.
Has the Pope forgotten what Communism is? By their own tally they have murdered a 100 million people (6). Does the Pope really think the Communists will play ball and enter a serious dialogue? This shabby maneuver by the Pope to try and reconcile the Church with Communism is only the latest in a long line. Vatican II was silent about Communism for a reason. The progressivist strategy is not hard to unmask. As Cardinals Ratzinger and Suenens have clearly stated, the aim of Progressivism is to marry the New Church to the ideals of 1789, and therefore ipso facto Communism (8).
When Communist China decides to incorporate Taiwan into its prison, will the Pope take a hard-line position against it? Communist China has 700 missiles aimed at the island (9). Has the Pope ever complained about this?
Employing the “dirty war” strategy
There exists in war strategies one called "dirty war"(10). It rests on the ability to weave a seamless blend of fact and fiction. Most people's perceptions are tangled up with their emotions. They have a tendency to make interpretations based on what they want to hear. The best deceptions, therefore, are based on mixing fact with fiction. This translates into ambiguities, and the progressivists have become masters of this strategy.
This "passive aggression" (11) is insidious, and seems to be embodied in Benedict's letter to Chinese Catholics. How many Chinese Catholics will fall for this? How many will see that it is an evil bid, to induce them to sell their birthright for the pottage of lentils of Communism? I see in Pope Ratzinger’s maneuver only a more difficult road for Chinese Catholics who remain true to their Faith, a betrayal that will increase their sufferings exponentially.
One of the principles of war is simplicity (12). Viewing the big picture of today's New Church, one can see its simple strategy to unite itself to Communism is the great evidence of the age. When Our Lady spoke about Russia spreading its errors throughout the world, she also gave the antidote, the Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart, lest the error spread into the Church herself. The Pope's letter to the Chinese Church is just one more piece that demonstrates this internal infiltration is the exact problem that the counter-revolutionary remnant must face.
Beware the friendly enemy
With the motu proprio releasing the Mass, a Latin phrase comes to mind: Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes [I fear the Greeks even when they give gifts]. When an enemy appears friendly, watch out. The release of the 1962 Mass has brought jubilation to many Catholics. However, likely it will take years to discern the effects this will have on the Catholic world. Because the Mass of Trent was de facto forbidden in the first phase of the implementation of Vatican II, a virtually ubiquitous Progressivism has created a New Church resembling a Procrustean bed (13). Will the return of the Mass subdue this curse?
In some respects, the motu propio seems like a sarcasm. Previously the Pope put in writing his opinion about the Tridentine Mass, to wit: because of its "archeologization" (i.e. the fact that it is ancient), it is "condemned to an internal death" (14). Has he changed his mind?
It was foreseen in the last century that a great crisis would occur in the Church.
"On October 13th, 1884, Pope Leo XIII had a vision while standing at the foot of the altar in his private chapel at the Vatican. The cardinals who were present thought he had lapsed into a coma. When Pope Leo regained his senses, he said that he had seen the demons of Hell and heard the guttural voice of Satan issuing his challenge to God: Give me the liberty for 75 or 100 years and I will show you that I can destroy your Church. Afterwards, Pope Leo said that in the vision Satan was granted the liberty to prove his boast. Pope Leo then composed the Leonine prayers for the protection of the Church" (15).
The Leonine prayers consisted of three Hail Marys, the Hail Holy Queen (Salve Regina), a prayer for sinners and for the liberty of the Church. A fourth prayer to St. Michael was added in 1886. Pius X in 1904 urged that the triple invocation, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us, be added. On June 30th, 1930, Pius XI ordered that henceforth these prayers should be said for the conversion of Russia.
This important and powerful ritual was, of course, eliminated after the Council, along with the Mass of Trent. It was replaced with the Bugnini liturgy, about which was written, "Truly, if one of the devils in C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters had been entrusted with the ruin of the liturgy, he could not have done it better" (16).
It is hard to resist speculation that the "75 or 100 years" may well include the time it takes to overcome the heresy of Progressivism.
Footnotes:
1. Catholic News Agency, News from Beijing, July 2, 2007.
2. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
3. Ibid.
4. FT.com, July 1, 2007
5. Catholic Online Forum, Fr. John Zuhlsdorf.
6. S. Courtois, N. Werth, J.-L. Panne, A. Paczkowski, K. Bartosek, J.—L. Margolin, The Black Book of Communism, Harvard Un. Press, 1999.
7. Fr. Paul Kramer, The Devil's Final Battle, Terryville, CT, The Missionary Assn, 2002, pp. 64-5.
8. Cf. "Vatican II Syllogism," by this author, posted on TIA December 5, 2006
9. BBC News, June 6, 2007.
10. Robert Green, The 33 Strategies of War, Viking, NY: Joost Elffers Production, 2006, Part V "Unconventional (dirty) War."
11. Ibid.
12 The West Point Military History Series: Definitions and Doctrine of the Military Art, Wayne, NJ: Avery Pub. Co, 1985, p. 11.
13 Procrustes was a Greek bandit. He owned an iron bed, and would invite passersby to lie in it. To make them fit the bed, he would either amputate or stretch their bodies. This bed has come to be known as an arbitrary standard to which exact conformity is forced.
14. "Fr. Ratzinger: The Tridentine Mass is a dead liturgy," Posted on TIA October 14, 2006.
15. C. A. Ferrara, "Viruses in the Body of Christ," The Latin Mass, Fall 1998, pp. 28-40.
16 Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Devastated Vineyard, Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1973, p. 71.
Related Topics of Interest
The Motu Proprio, After the Emotions
Benedict Delivers Chinese Underground Catholics to Communism
Reactions to Benedict’s Letter to China
Inadmissible Concessions, Once Again
Liberals, Modernists and Progressivists
Conservatives, Traditionalists, and Counter-Revolutionaries
Revolution and Counter-Revolution - Overview
Related Works of Interest
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