lifesitenews--2020-07-15--50 priests, scholars, journalists thank Viganò, Schneider for raising Vatican II questions

July 15 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Today , more than 50 priests , scholars , and journalists published an Open Letter to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and Bishop Athanasius Schneider , thanking these two prelates for their recent statements in which they discuss some problems of the Second Vatican Council 's documents that might need a further evaluation and correction .
The signatories of this letter regard this discourse about the Council and its aftermath to be of crucial importance for the good of the Church .
Among them are prominently the Italian church historian Professor Roberto de @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Judicial Analyst and professor of law , Andrew P. Napolitano , as well as his fellow law professors Brian McCall and Paolo Pasqualucci , well-known Catholic book authors such as Dr. Peter Kwasniewski , Jose Antonio Ureta , Henry Sire , and Dr. Taylor Marshall , the retired Oxford Research Fellow Father John Hunwicke , numerous other priests , as well as journalists such as Marco Tosatti , Aldo Maria Valli , Jeanne Smits , and John-Henry Westen .
The letter ( see full text below ) is being published simultaneously in English @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and French .
The undersigned express their gratitude to Archbishop Viganò and Bishop Schneider for calling for an “ open and honest debate about the truth of what happened at Vatican II and whether the Council and its implementation contain errors or aspects that favor errors or harm the Faith.
” They notice that these two prelates also have their own disagreements about aspects of this discourse , saying that “ Archbishop Viganò has argued it would be better to altogether 'forget ' the Council , while Bishop Schneider , disagreeing with him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to correct only those parts of the Council documents that contain errors or that are ambiguous.
” But these disagreements are presented in a charitable and kindly manner .
The Open Letter thanks these two prelates for “ identifying ” some of the crucial aspects of the Second Vatican Council that deserve an examination , adding that such a discourse could provide “ a model for frank , yet courteous , debate that can involve disagreement.
” The signatories point out that they themselves might not agree with each and every point raised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Open Letter then lists the key points of criticism as raised by these two prelates in the recent weeks with regard to the Council under the following headlines : Religious Liberty for All Religions as a Natural Right Willed by God ; the Identity of the Church of Christ with the Catholic Church and the New Ecumenism ; Papal Primacy and the New Collegiality ; and The Council and Its Texts are the Cause of Many Current Scandals and Errors .
In these sections , quotations from the two prelates are presented @ @ @ @ @ @ @ objections .
For example , in the last section , both prelates are drawing parallels between some statements of the Council and documents issued by Pope Francis , thus pointing to the Council and its novel teachings as the root cause of our current crisis in the Church .
Let us recapitulate here the short history of this new discourse on the Council and its aftermath .
It started with two texts published by Bishop Schneider , in which he responded to a lengthy interpretative essay by Cardinal Gerhard Müller trying to read @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dhabi document in an orthodox light , and thereby also positively referring back to some Council documents .
Schneider stated on June 1 that the Abu Dhabi document is wrong in declaring that the “ diversity of religions ” is “ willed by God.
” In his second article , the Kazakh prelate of German origin also disagreed with the claim that Catholics and Muslims believe in the same God , a claim which is an underlying assumption of the Abu Dhabi document .
Archbishop Viganò gratefully and approvingly responded to this debate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intervention , adding a June 15 statement about some of the problematic propositions that can be found in Vatican II documents .
In this document , he also stated that it would be better if this Council were to be “ forgotten.
” He then answered interview questions from the Catholic commentator and book author Phil Lawler concerning the history and background of the turbulent Second Vatican Council and the signs that it had been manipulated by a small group of modernists , on June 26 .
In a response to LifeSite 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clarified his earlier words that he thinks this Council should better be forgotten , by saying that he considers this Council to be valid , but manipulated .
Finally , on July 6 , this Italian prelate responded to a critique by the Italian journalist Sandro Magister who claimed that he was on the “ brink of schism.
” “ I have no desire to separate myself from Mother Church , ” Viganò then wrote .
The signatories of this Open Letter to Archbishop Viganò and Bishop Schneider welcome this reflection and discourse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aftermath .
One may trust that when people of good will together consider these matters of great importance for the life of the Church – even if they disagree at times – the truth surely will be promoted , in charity .
Please see here the Open Letter , signed by 51 priests , scholars , and journalists : We the undersigned wish to express our sincere gratitude for your fortitude and care for souls during the ongoing crisis of Faith in the Catholic Church .
Your public statements calling for an honest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Council and the dramatic changes in Catholic belief and practice that followed it have been a source of hope and consolation to many faithful Catholics .
The event of the Second Vatican Council appears now more than fifty years after its completion to be unique in the history of the Church .
Never before our time has an ecumenical council been followed by such a prolonged period of confusion , corruption , loss of faith , and humiliation for the Church of Christ .
Catholicism has distinguished itself from some false religions by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ creature and that religious belief encourages rather than suppresses critical reflection by Catholics .
Many , including the current Holy Father , appear to place the Second Vatican Council—and its texts , acts , and implementation—beyond the reach of critical analysis and debate .
To concerns and objections raised by Catholics of good will , the Council has been held up by some as a “ super-council , ” ( 1 ) the invocation of which ends rather than fosters debate .
Your call to trace the current crisis in the Church to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to correct any turn taken at Vatican II that is now seen to have been a mistake exemplify the fulfillment of the episcopal office to hand on the Faith as the Church has received it .
We are grateful for your calls for an open and honest debate about the truth of what happened at Vatican II and whether the Council and its implementation contain errors or aspects that favor errors or harm the Faith .
Such a debate can not start from a conclusion that the Second Vatican Council as a whole @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in continuity with Tradition .
Such a pre-condition to a debate prevents critical analysis and argument and only permits the presentation of evidence that supports the conclusion already announced .
Whether or not Vatican II can be reconciled with Tradition is the question to be debated , not a posited premise blindly to be followed even if it turns out to be contrary to reason .
The continuity of Vatican II with Tradition is a hypothesis to be tested and debated , not an incontrovertible fact .
For too many decades the Church @ @ @ @ @ @ @ let alone encourage , such a debate .
Eleven years ago , Msgr .
Brunero Gherardini had already made a filial request to Pope Benedict XVI : “ The idea ( which I dare now to submit to Your Holiness ) has been in my mind for a long time .
It is that a grandiose and if possible final clarification of the last council be given concerning each of its aspects and contents .
Indeed , it would seem logical , and it seems urgent to me , that these aspects and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the context of all the others , with a close examination of all the sources , and from the specific viewpoint of continuity with the preceding Church ’ s Magisterium , both solemn and ordinary .
On the basis of a scientific and critical work—as vast and irreproachable as possible—in comparison with the traditional Magisterium of the Church , it will then be possible to draw matter for a sure and objective evaluation of Vatican II.
” ( 2 ) We also are grateful for your initiative in identifying some of the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in such a critical examination and for providing a model for frank , yet courteous , debate that can involve disagreement .
We have collected from your recent interventions some examples of the topics you have indicated must be addressed and , if found lacking , corrected .
This collection we hope will serve as a basis for further detailed discussion and debate .
We do not claim this list to be exclusive , perfect , or complete .
We also do not all necessarily agree with the precise nature of each of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ answer to the questions you raise , yet we are united in the belief that your questions deserve honest answers and not mere dismissals with ad hominem claims of disobedience or breaking with communion .
If what each of you claims is untrue , let interlocutors prove it ; if not , the hierarchy should give credence to your claims .
Religious Liberty for All Religions as a Natural Right Willed by God • Bishop Schneider : “ Examples include certain expressions of the Council on the topic of religious freedom ( understood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positively willed by God , to practice and spread a false religion , which may also include idolatry or even worse ) ... .
” ( 3 ) • Bishop Schneider : “ Unfortunately , just a few sentences later , the Council [ in Dignitatis Humanae ] undermines this truth by setting forth a theory never before taught by the constant Magisterium of the Church , i.e.
, that man has the right founded in his own nature , ‘ not to be prevented from acting in religious matters according to his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , whether alone or in association with others , within due limits ’ ( ut in re religiosa neque impediatur , quominus iuxta suam conscientiam agat privatim et publice , vel solus vel aliis consociatus , intra debitos limites , n. 2 ) .
According to this statement , man would have the right , based on nature itself ( and therefore positively willed by God ) not to be prevented from choosing , practicing and spreading , also collectively , the worship of an idol , and even the worship of Satan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Satan , for instance , the ‘ church of Satan.
’ Indeed , in some countries , the ‘ church of Satan ’ is recognized with the same legal value as all other religions.
” ( 4 ) The Identity of the Church of Christ with the Catholic Church and the New Ecumenism • Bishop Schneider : “ [ I ] ts [ the Council ’ s ] distinction between the Church of Christ and the Catholic Church ( the problem of “ subsistit in ” gives the impression that two realities exist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Christ , and on the other , the Catholic Church ) ; and its stance towards non-Christian religions and the contemporary world.
” ( 5 ) • Bishop Schneider : “ To state that Muslims adore together with us the one God ( “ nobiscum Deum adorant ” ) , as the II Vatican Council did in Lumen Gentium n. 16 , is theologically a highly ambiguous affirmation .
That we Catholics adore with the Muslims the one God is not true .
We do not adore with them .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Holy Trinity , we do not simply adore “ the one God ” but , rather , the Holy Trinity consciously—Father , Son , and Holy Ghost .
Islam rejects the Holy Trinity .
When the Muslims adore , they do not adore on the supernatural level of faith .
Even our act of adoration is radically different .
It is essentially different .
Precisely because we turn to God and adore Him as children who are constituted within the ineffable dignity of divine filial adoption , and we do this with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do not have supernatural faith.
” ( 6 ) • Archbishop Viganò : “ We know well that , invoking the saying in Scripture Littera enim occidit , spiritus autem vivificat [ The letter brings death , but the spirit gives life ( 2 Cor 3:6 ) ] , the progressives and modernists astutely knew how to hide equivocal expressions in the conciliar texts , which at the time appeared harmless to most but that today are revealed in their subversive value .
It is the method employed in the use of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not so much as not to offend the interlocutor ( assuming that it is licit to silence the truth of God out of respect for His creature ) , but with the intention of being able to use the half-error that would be instantly dispelled if the entire truth were proclaimed .
Thus “ Ecclesia Christi subsistit in Ecclesia Catholica ” does not specify the identity of the two , but the subsistence of one in the other and , for consistency , also in other churches : here is the opening to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the inevitable end of any need for the Church in the order of salvation , in her unicity , and in her missionary nature.
” ( 7 ) Papal Primacy and the New Collegiality • Bishop Schneider : “ For example , the very fact that a ‘ nota explicativa praevia ’ to the document Lumen Gentium was needed shows that the text of Lumen Gentium , in n. 22 , is ambiguous with regard to the topic of the relationship between papal primacy and episcopal collegiality .
Documents clarifying the Magisterium in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mysterium Fidei , Humanae Vitae , and Pope Paul VI ’ s Creed of the People of God , were of great value and help , but they did not clarify the aforementioned ambiguous statements of the Second Vatican Council.
” ( 8 ) The Council and Its Texts are the Cause of Many Current Scandals and Errors • Archbishop Viganò : “ If the pachamama could be adored in a church , we owe it to Dignitatis Humanae .
If we have a liturgy that is Protestantized and at times even paganized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ action of Msgr .
Annibale Bugnini and to the post-conciliar reforms .
If the Abu Dhabi Declaration was signed , we owe it to Nostra Aetate .
If we have come to the point of delegating decisions to the Bishops ’ Conferences – even in grave violation of the Concordat , as happened in Italy – we owe it to collegiality , and to its updated version , synodality .
Thanks to synodality , we found ourselves with Amoris Laetitia having to look for a way to prevent what was obvious to everyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prepared by an impressive organizational machine , intended to legitimize Communion for the divorced and cohabiting , just as Querida Amazonia will be used to legitimize women priests ( as in the recent case of an ‘ episcopal vicaress ’ in Freiburg ) and the abolition of Sacred Celibacy.
” ( 9 ) • Archbishop Viganò : “ But if at the time it could be difficult to think that a religious liberty condemned by Pius XI ( Mortalium Animos ) could be affirmed by Dignitatis Humanae , or that the Roman Pontiff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phantom episcopal college , today we understand that what was cleverly concealed in Vatican II is today affirmed ore rotundo in papal documents precisely in the name of the coherent application of the Council.
” ( 10 ) • Archbishop Viganò : “ We can thus affirm that the spirit of the Council is the Council itself , that the errors of the post-conciliar period were contained in nuce in the Conciliar Acts , just as it is rightly said that the Novus Ordo is the Mass of the Council , even if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Mass was celebrated that the progressives significantly call pre-conciliar.
” ( 11 ) • Bishop Schneider : “ For anyone who is intellectually honest , and is not seeking to square the circle , it is clear that the assertion made in Dignitatis Humanae , according to which every man has the right based on his own nature ( and therefore positively willed by God ) to practice and spread a religion according to his own conscience , does not differ substantially from the statement in the Abu Dhabi Declaration , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diversity of religions , color , sex , race and language are willed by God in His wisdom , through which He created human beings .
This divine wisdom is the source from which the right to freedom of belief and the freedom to be different derives.
’ ” ( 12 ) We have taken note of the differences you have highlighted between the solutions each of you has proposed for responding to the crisis precipitated at and following the Second Vatican Council .
For example , Archbishop Viganò has argued it would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Council , while Bishop Schneider , disagreeing with him on this specific point , proposes officially to correct only those parts of the Council documents that contain errors or that are ambiguous .
Your courteous and respectful exchange of opinions should serve as a model for the more robust debate that you and we desire .
Too often these past fifty years disagreements about Vatican II have been challenged by mere ad hominem attacks rather than calm argumentation .
We urge all who will join this debate to follow your example .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ St. Peter the Prince of the Apostles , St. Athanasius , and St. Thomas Aquinas protect and preserve your Excellencies .
May they reward you for your faithfulness to the Church and confirm you in your defense of the Faith and of the Church .
• Dr Taylor Marshall , author of Infiltration : The Plot to Destroy the Church from Within • Giovanni Turco , Adjunct Professor of Philosophy of Public Law at the University of Udine ( Italy ) • Dr Thomas Ward , President of the National Association of Catholic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ signing this Open Letter may contact [ email protected ] .
1 .
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger 13 July 1988 , in Santiago , Chile .
2 .
Concilio Vaticano II : Un discorso da fare ( Frigento : Casa Maria Editrice , 2009 ) , subsequently published in English as The Ecumenical Vatican Council II : A Much Needed Discussion .
The excerpt here is taken from https : //fsspx.news/en/vatican-ii-council-much-needed-discussion .
3. https : //remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/4949-55-years-later-bishop-athanasius-schneider-s-appraisal-of-vatican-ii 4. https : //www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/bishop-schneider-how-church-could-correct-erroneous-view-that-god-wills-diversity-of-religions 5. https : //remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/4949-55-years-later-bishop-athanasius-schneider-s-appraisal-of-vatican-ii 6. https : //www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/bishop-schneider-catholics-and-muslims-share-no-common-faith-in-god-no-common-adoration 7. https : //www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/abp-Viganò-on-the-roots-of-deviation-of-vatican-ii-and-how-francis-was-chosen-to-revolutionize-the-church 8. https @ @ @ @ @ @ @ https : //www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/abp-vigano-on-the-roots-of-deviation-of-vatican-ii-and-how-francis-was-chosen-to-revolutionize-the-church 11. https : //catholicfamilynews.com/blog/2020/06/26/archbishop-vigano-to-phil-lawler-council-fathers-were-the-object-of-a-sensational-deception/ 12. https : //www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/bishop-schneider-how-church-could-correct-erroneous-view-that-god-wills-diversity-of-religions

July 15, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Today, more than 50 priests, scholars, journalists, and other persons of prominence published an Open Letter to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and Bishop Athanasius Schneider, thanking these two prelates for their recent statements in which they discuss some problems of the Second Vatican Council's documents that might need a further evaluation and correction. The number of signatures has grown to about 100 since the July 15 launch, with new names being added daily.
The signatories of this letter regard this discourse about the Council and its aftermath to be of crucial importance for the good of the Church.
Among them are prominently the Italian church historian Professor Roberto de Mattei, the U.S. Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst and professor of law, Andrew P. Napolitano, as well as his fellow law professors Brian McCall and Paolo Pasqualucci, well-known Catholic book authors such as Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, Jose Antonio Ureta, Henry Sire, and Dr. Taylor Marshall, the retired Oxford Research Fellow Father John Hunwicke, numerous other priests, as well as journalists such as Marco Tosatti, Aldo Maria Valli, Jeanne Smits, and John-Henry Westen.
The letter (see full text below) is being published simultaneously in English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and French.
The undersigned express their gratitude to Archbishop Viganò and Bishop Schneider for calling for an “open and honest debate about the truth of what happened at Vatican II and whether the Council and its implementation contain errors or aspects that favor errors or harm the Faith.” They notice that these two prelates also have their own disagreements about aspects of this discourse, saying that “Archbishop Viganò has argued it would be better to altogether 'forget' the Council, while Bishop Schneider, disagreeing with him on this specific point, proposes officially to correct only those parts of the Council documents that contain errors or that are ambiguous.” But these disagreements are presented in a charitable and kindly manner.
The signatories state:
Your courteous and respectful exchange of opinions should serve as a model for the more robust debate that you and we desire. Too often these past fifty years disagreements about Vatican II have been challenged by mere ad hominem attacks rather than calm argumentation. We urge all who will join this debate to follow your example.
The Open Letter thanks these two prelates for “identifying” some of the crucial aspects of the Second Vatican Council that deserve an examination, adding that such a discourse could provide “a model for frank, yet courteous, debate that can involve disagreement.” The signatories point out that they themselves might not agree with each and every point raised by Archbishop Viganò and Bishop Schneider.
The Open Letter then lists the key points of criticism as raised by these two prelates in the recent weeks with regard to the Council under the following headlines: Religious Liberty for All Religions as a Natural Right Willed by God; the Identity of the Church of Christ with the Catholic Church and the New Ecumenism; Papal Primacy and the New Collegiality; and The Council and Its Texts are the Cause of Many Current Scandals and Errors.
In these sections, quotations from the two prelates are presented, thus summing up their arguments and objections. For example, in the last section, both prelates are drawing parallels between some statements of the Council and documents issued by Pope Francis, thus pointing to the Council and its novel teachings as the root cause of our current crisis in the Church.
Archbishop Vigano recently wrote:
If the pachamama could be adored in a church, we owe it to Dignitatis Humanae. If we have a liturgy that is Protestantized and at times even paganized, we owe it to the revolutionary action of Msgr. Annibale Bugnini and to the post-conciliar reforms. If the Abu Dhabi Declaration was signed, we owe it to Nostra Aetate. If we have come to the point of delegating decisions to the Bishops’ Conferences – even in grave violation of the Concordat, as happened in Italy – we owe it to collegiality, and to its updated version, synodality. Thanks to synodality, we found ourselves with Amoris Laetitia having to look for a way to prevent what was obvious to everyone from appearing: that this document, prepared by an impressive organizational machine, intended to legitimize Communion for the divorced and cohabiting, just as Querida Amazonia will be used to legitimize women priests (as in the recent case of an ‘episcopal vicaress’ in Freiburg) and the abolition of Sacred Celibacy.
And in a similar vein, Bishop Schneider stated:
For anyone who is intellectually honest, and is not seeking to square the circle, it is clear that the assertion made in Dignitatis Humanae, according to which every man has the right based on his own nature (and therefore positively willed by God) to practice and spread a religion according to his own conscience, does not differ substantially from the statement in the Abu Dhabi Declaration, which says: ‘The pluralism and the diversity of religions, color, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings. This divine wisdom is the source from which the right to freedom of belief and the freedom to be different derives.’
Let us recapitulate here the short history of this new discourse on the Council and its aftermath.
It started with two texts published by Bishop Schneider, in which he responded to a lengthy interpretative essay by Cardinal Gerhard Müller trying to read the controversial February 4, 2019 Abu Dhabi document in an orthodox light, and thereby also positively referring back to some Council documents.
Schneider stated on June 1 that the Abu Dhabi document is wrong in declaring that the “diversity of religions” is “willed by God.” In his second article, the Kazakh prelate of German origin also disagreed with the claim that Catholics and Muslims believe in the same God, a claim which is an underlying assumption of the Abu Dhabi document.
Archbishop Viganò gratefully and approvingly responded to this debate about Vatican II in a June 9 intervention, adding a June 15 statement about some of the problematic propositions that can be found in Vatican II documents. In this document, he also stated that it would be better if this Council were to be “forgotten.” He then answered interview questions from the Catholic commentator and book author Phil Lawler concerning the history and background of the turbulent Second Vatican Council and the signs that it had been manipulated by a small group of modernists, on June 26.
In a response to LifeSite's editor-in-chief, John-Henry Westen, Archbishop Viganò clarified his earlier words that he thinks this Council should better be forgotten, by saying that he considers this Council to be valid, but manipulated.
Finally, on July 6, this Italian prelate responded to a critique by the Italian journalist Sandro Magister who claimed that he was on the “brink of schism.” “I have no desire to separate myself from Mother Church,” Viganò then wrote.
The signatories of this Open Letter to Archbishop Viganò and Bishop Schneider welcome this reflection and discourse concerning the Second Vatican Council and its aftermath. One may trust that when people of good will together consider these matters of great importance for the life of the Church – even if they disagree at times – the truth surely will be promoted, in charity.
***
Please see here the Open Letter, signed by over 50 priests, scholars, journalists, and other persons of prominence:
Open Letter to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and Bishop Athanasius Schneider
July 9, 2020
Your Excellencies:
We the undersigned wish to express our sincere gratitude for your fortitude and care for souls during the ongoing crisis of Faith in the Catholic Church. Your public statements calling for an honest and open discussion of the Second Vatican Council and the dramatic changes in Catholic belief and practice that followed it have been a source of hope and consolation to many faithful Catholics. The event of the Second Vatican Council appears now more than fifty years after its completion to be unique in the history of the Church. Never before our time has an ecumenical council been followed by such a prolonged period of confusion, corruption, loss of faith, and humiliation for the Church of Christ.
Catholicism has distinguished itself from some false religions by its insistence that Man is a rational creature and that religious belief encourages rather than suppresses critical reflection by Catholics. Many, including the current Holy Father, appear to place the Second Vatican Council—and its texts, acts, and implementation—beyond the reach of critical analysis and debate. To concerns and objections raised by Catholics of good will, the Council has been held up by some as a “super-council,” (1) the invocation of which ends rather than fosters debate. Your call to trace the current crisis in the Church to its roots and to call for action to correct any turn taken at Vatican II that is now seen to have been a mistake exemplify the fulfillment of the episcopal office to hand on the Faith as the Church has received it.
We are grateful for your calls for an open and honest debate about the truth of what happened at Vatican II and whether the Council and its implementation contain errors or aspects that favor errors or harm the Faith. Such a debate cannot start from a conclusion that the Second Vatican Council as a whole and in its parts is per se in continuity with Tradition. Such a pre-condition to a debate prevents critical analysis and argument and only permits the presentation of evidence that supports the conclusion already announced. Whether or not Vatican II can be reconciled with Tradition is the question to be debated, not a posited premise blindly to be followed even if it turns out to be contrary to reason. The continuity of Vatican II with Tradition is a hypothesis to be tested and debated, not an incontrovertible fact. For too many decades the Church has seen too few shepherds permit, let alone encourage, such a debate.
Eleven years ago, Msgr. Brunero Gherardini had already made a filial request to Pope Benedict XVI: “The idea (which I dare now to submit to Your Holiness) has been in my mind for a long time. It is that a grandiose and if possible final clarification of the last council be given concerning each of its aspects and contents. Indeed, it would seem logical, and it seems urgent to me, that these aspects and contents be studied in themselves and in the context of all the others, with a close examination of all the sources, and from the specific viewpoint of continuity with the preceding Church’s Magisterium, both solemn and ordinary. On the basis of a scientific and critical work—as vast and irreproachable as possible—in comparison with the traditional Magisterium of the Church, it will then be possible to draw matter for a sure and objective evaluation of Vatican II.” (2)
We also are grateful for your initiative in identifying some of the most important doctrinal topics that must be addressed in such a critical examination and for providing a model for frank, yet courteous, debate that can involve disagreement. We have collected from your recent interventions some examples of the topics you have indicated must be addressed and, if found lacking, corrected. This collection we hope will serve as a basis for further detailed discussion and debate. We do not claim this list to be exclusive, perfect, or complete. We also do not all necessarily agree with the precise nature of each of the critiques quoted below nor on the answer to the questions you raise, yet we are united in the belief that your questions deserve honest answers and not mere dismissals with ad hominem claims of disobedience or breaking with communion. If what each of you claims is untrue, let interlocutors prove it; if not, the hierarchy should give credence to your claims.
Religious Liberty for All Religions as a Natural Right Willed by God
Bishop Schneider: “Examples include certain expressions of the Council on the topic of religious freedom (understood as a natural right, and therefore positively willed by God, to practice and spread a false religion, which may also include idolatry or even worse)….” (3)
Bishop Schneider: “Unfortunately, just a few sentences later, the Council [in Dignitatis Humanae] undermines this truth by setting forth a theory never before taught by the constant Magisterium of the Church, i.e., that man has the right founded in his own nature, ‘not to be prevented from acting in religious matters according to his own conscience, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits’ (ut in re religiosa neque impediatur, quominus iuxta suam conscientiam agat privatim et publice, vel solus vel aliis consociatus, intra debitos limites, n. 2). According to this statement, man would have the right, based on nature itself (and therefore positively willed by God) not to be prevented from choosing, practicing and spreading, also collectively, the worship of an idol, and even the worship of Satan, since there are religions that worship Satan, for instance, the ‘church of Satan.’ Indeed, in some countries, the ‘church of Satan’ is recognized with the same legal value as all other religions.” (4)
The Identity of the Church of Christ with the Catholic Church and the New Ecumenism
Bishop Schneider: “[I]ts [the Council’s] distinction between the Church of Christ and the Catholic Church (the problem of “subsistit in” gives the impression that two realities exist: the one side, the Church of Christ, and on the other, the Catholic Church); and its stance towards non-Christian religions and the contemporary world.” (5)
Bishop Schneider: “To state that Muslims adore together with us the one God (“nobiscum Deum adorant”), as the II Vatican Council did in Lumen Gentium n. 16, is theologically a highly ambiguous affirmation. That we Catholics adore with the Muslims the one God is not true. We do not adore with them. In the act of adoration, we always adore the Holy Trinity, we do not simply adore “the one God” but, rather, the Holy Trinity consciously—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Islam rejects the Holy Trinity. When the Muslims adore, they do not adore on the supernatural level of faith. Even our act of adoration is radically different. It is essentially different. Precisely because we turn to God and adore Him as children who are constituted within the ineffable dignity of divine filial adoption, and we do this with supernatural faith. However, the Muslims do not have supernatural faith.” (6)
Archbishop Viganò: “We know well that, invoking the saying in Scripture Littera enim occidit, spiritus autem vivificat [The letter brings death, but the spirit gives life (2 Cor 3:6)], the progressives and modernists astutely knew how to hide equivocal expressions in the conciliar texts, which at the time appeared harmless to most but that today are revealed in their subversive value. It is the method employed in the use of the phrase subsistit in: saying a half-truth not so much as not to offend the interlocutor (assuming that it is licit to silence the truth of God out of respect for His creature), but with the intention of being able to use the half-error that would be instantly dispelled if the entire truth were proclaimed. Thus“Ecclesia Christi subsistit in Ecclesia Catholica” does not specify the identity of the two, but the subsistence of one in the other and, for consistency, also in other churches: here is the opening to interconfessional celebrations, ecumenical prayers, and the inevitable end of any need for the Church in the order of salvation, in her unicity, and in her missionary nature.” (7)
Papal Primacy and the New Collegiality
Bishop Schneider: “For example, the very fact that a ‘nota explicativa praevia’ to the document Lumen Gentium was needed shows that the text of Lumen Gentium, in n. 22, is ambiguous with regard to the topic of the relationship between papal primacy and episcopal collegiality. Documents clarifying the Magisterium in post-conciliar times, such as the encyclicals Mysterium Fidei, Humanae Vitae, and Pope Paul VI’s Creed of the People of God, were of great value and help, but they did not clarify the aforementioned ambiguous statements of the Second Vatican Council.” (8)
The Council and Its Texts are the Cause of Many Current Scandals and Errors
Archbishop Viganò: “If the pachamama could be adored in a church, we owe it to Dignitatis Humanae. If we have a liturgy that is Protestantized and at times even paganized, we owe it to the revolutionary action of Msgr. Annibale Bugnini and to the post-conciliar reforms. If the Abu Dhabi Declaration was signed, we owe it to Nostra Aetate. If we have come to the point of delegating decisions to the Bishops’ Conferences – even in grave violation of the Concordat, as happened in Italy – we owe it to collegiality, and to its updated version, synodality. Thanks to synodality, we found ourselves with Amoris Laetitia having to look for a way to prevent what was obvious to everyone from appearing: that this document, prepared by an impressive organizational machine, intended to legitimize Communion for the divorced and cohabiting, just as Querida Amazonia will be used to legitimize women priests (as in the recent case of an ‘episcopal vicaress’ in Freiburg) and the abolition of Sacred Celibacy.” (9)
Archbishop Viganò: “But if at the time it could be difficult to think that a religious liberty condemned by Pius XI (Mortalium Animos) could be affirmed by Dignitatis Humanae, or that the Roman Pontiff could see his authority usurped by a phantom episcopal college, today we understand that what was cleverly concealed in Vatican II is today affirmed ore rotundo in papal documents precisely in the name of the coherent application of the Council.” (10)
Archbishop Viganò: “We can thus affirm that the spirit of the Council is the Council itself, that the errors of the post-conciliar period were contained in nuce in the Conciliar Acts, just as it is rightly said that the Novus Ordo is the Mass of the Council, even if in the presence of the Council Fathers the Mass was celebrated that the progressives significantly call pre-conciliar.” (11)
Bishop Schneider: “For anyone who is intellectually honest, and is not seeking to square the circle, it is clear that the assertion made in Dignitatis Humanae, according to which every man has the right based on his own nature (and therefore positively willed by God) to practice and spread a religion according to his own conscience, does not differ substantially from the statement in the Abu Dhabi Declaration, which says: ‘The pluralism and the diversity of religions, color, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings. This divine wisdom is the source from which the right to freedom of belief and the freedom to be different derives.’” (12)
We have taken note of the differences you have highlighted between the solutions each of you has proposed for responding to the crisis precipitated at and following the Second Vatican Council. For example, Archbishop Viganò has argued it would be better to altogether “forget” the Council, while Bishop Schneider, disagreeing with him on this specific point, proposes officially to correct only those parts of the Council documents that contain errors or that are ambiguous. Your courteous and respectful exchange of opinions should serve as a model for the more robust debate that you and we desire. Too often these past fifty years disagreements about Vatican II have been challenged by mere ad hominem attacks rather than calm argumentation. We urge all who will join this debate to follow your example.
We pray that Our Blessed Mother, St. Peter the Prince of the Apostles, St. Athanasius, and St. Thomas Aquinas protect and preserve your Excellencies. May they reward you for your faithfulness to the Church and confirm you in your defense of the Faith and of the Church.
In Christo Rege, (signed)
Donna F. Bethell, J.D.
Prof. Dr Brian McCall
Paul A. Byrne, M.D.
Edgardo J. Cruz-Ramos, President Una Voce Puerto Rico
Dr Massimo de Leonardis, Professor (ret.) of History of International Relations
Prof. Roberto de Mattei, President of the Lepanto Foundation
Fr Jerome W. Fasano
Mauro Faverzani, journalist
Timothy S. Flanders, author and founder of a lay apostolate
Matt Gaspers, Managing Editor, Catholic Family News
Corrado Gnerre, leader of the Italian movement “Il Cammino dei Tre Sentieri”
M. Virginia O. de Gristelli, Director of C. F. S.Bernardo de Claraval, Argentina
Jorge Esteban Gristelli, editor, Argentina
Dr Maria Guarini STB, editor of the website Chiesa e postconcilio
Kennedy Hall, book author
Prof. Robert Hickson, PhD, Retired Professor of Literature and of Strategic-Cultural Studies
Prof. Dr.rer.nat. Dr.rer.pol. Rudolf Hilfer, Stuttgart, Germany
Rev. John Hunwicke, Senior Research Fellow Emeritus, Pusey House, Oxford
Prof. Dr Peter Kwasniewski
Leila M. Lawler, writer
Pedro L. Llera Vázquez, school headmaster and author at InfoCatólica
James P. Lucier PhD
Massimo Magliaro, journalist, Editor of “Nova Historica”
Antonio Marcantonio, MA
Dr Taylor Marshall, author of Infiltration: The Plot to Destroy the Church from Within
The Reverend Deacon, Eugene G. McGuirk
Fr Michael McMahon Prior St. Dennis Calgary
Fr Cor Mennen
Fr Michael Menner
Dr Stéphane Mercier, Ph.D., S.T.B.
Hon. Andrew P. Napolitano, Senior Judicial Analyst, Fox News; Visiting Professor of Law, Hofstra University
Fr Dave Nix, Diocesan Hermit
Prof. Paolo Pasqualucci
Fr Dean Perri
Dr Carlo Regazzoni, Philosopher of Culture, Therwill, Switzerland
Fr Luis Eduardo Rodríguez Rodríguez
Don Tullio Rotondo
John F. Salza, Esq., Catholic Attorney and Apologist
Wolfram Schrems, Wien, Mag. theol., Mag. Phil., catechist
Henry Sire, historian and book author
Robert Siscoe, author
Jeanne Smits, journalist
Dr. sc. Zlatko Šram, Croatian Center for Applied Social Research
Fr Glen Tattersall, Parish Priest, Parish of St John Henry Newman (Melbourne, Australia)
Marco Tosatti, journalist
Giovanni Turco, Adjunct Professor of Philosophy of Public Law at the University of Udine (Italy)
Jose Antonio Ureta
Aldo Maria Valli, journalist
Dr Thomas Ward, President of the National Association of Catholic Families
John-Henry Westen, co-founder and editor-in-chief LifeSiteNews.com
Willy Wimmer, Secretary of State, Ministry of Defense (ret.)
Names added July 15
Emmanuel Allingry, professor of economics at the rectorat de Nice (France)
Andrea Asson, Capo di Gabinetto Assessore Cultura (Head of the Cabinet for Culture), Provincia Autonoma di Trento
Douglas Bersaw, President and Editor, Loreto Publications, Fitzwilliam New Hampshire
Fr José Miguel Marqués Campo, Diocesan TLM priest, Archdiocese of Oviedo (Asturias), Spain
Erick Chastain, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate, UW Madison, School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Psychiatry
Fabiano Farias de Medeiros, graduated in Human Resources, writer and scholar of the Doctrine of the Church, Brazil
Sir Raymond J de Souza, KHS, KM, Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, Knight of the Sovereign and Military Order of Malta, Executive Secretary of Tradition Family Property – New Zealand
Christopher A. Ferrara, J.D.
Fr Jay Finelli
Dr Lee Fratantuono, Professor and Chair of Classics, Ohio Wesleyan University
Fr Stanislaw C. Gibzinski, Parish priest and Catholic Chaplen to Reading University
Fr Richard Heilman
Ester Maria Ledda (co-founder of Cooperatores-Veritatis.org)
Dorotea Lancellotti (co-founder of Cooperatores-Veritatis.org)
Don Andrea Mancinella, diocesan priest of Albano and hermit
Jack P. Oostveen, acting president of the Federation Una Voce 2006-2007, emeritus assistant professor at the Delft University of Technology
Maurizio d’Orlando, doctor in Political Economics
Guadalupe Ortiz, Agricultural Engineer, Córdoba, Argentina
Abbé Guy Pagès
Don Mugurel Puia, Catholic priest, Oradea (Magnovaradinum/Nagyvárad/Großwardein/Granvaradino), Province Bihor, Romania
Renacito Refuerzo Ramos, MD, DFM, Catholic physician
Prof. David L. Sonnier
Janet E. Smith, Ph.D., Moral Theologian
Dr Roberto Vertamatti, professor, Brazil
Fr Joseph F. Wilson, Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Names added July 16-17:
Walter Eichhorn, retired teacher, Germany
Prof. Antoine Luciani, retired lecturer (Greek) at the Faculty of Letters Aix-en-Provence, France.
Fr. Albert P. Marcello, III, J.C.D. (Cand.), The Divinum Officium Project
Matthew Plese, MBA, CPA, President of CatechismClass.com
Marianna Bartold, author and founder of “Keeping It Catholic” homeschool apostolate
Gabriele Czempiel, specialist consultant (ret.) of the Ministry of Health, State of Brandenburg, Germany
Dr James Fennessy, MA, MSW, JD, LCSW
Susanne Held, translator
William R. Luckey, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Christendom College
Dr Edmund J. Mazza, PhD, VirginMostPowerfulRadio.org & edmundmazza.com
Dr Dan McGuire, Professor of Theology, University of Providence
Rev. Dcn. Joe Pasquella, Pastoral Associate
David Pietrusza, historian and author https://www.davidpietrusza.com/
Philippe Poindron, Professeur honoraire des Universités, former Vice-President of the University Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg
Diogo de Campos, translator, Portugal
Dr César Félix Sánchez Martínez, current professor of Philosophical Anthropology and History of Modern Philosophy at the Archdiocesan Seminary of Saint Jerome (Seminario Arquidiocesano de San Jerónimo) and researcher at Universidad Nacional de San Agustín (Arequipa Peru)
Fr Timothy Sauppé, S.T.L, Pastor St. Mary’s, Westville, IL and St. Isaac Jogues, Georgetown, IL
José Carlos Solimeo, Catholic lawyer, Vinhedo, SP, Brasil
Fr Rainer Treutlein, Hermit and Priest
Rev Fr Terence Mary Naughtin OFM, Conv.
Fr. Andrew M. Walter, Diocese of Bridgeport Connecticut
Dr Maike Hickson, PhD, scholar and journalist
Renaud Marlier, artist
Martin Rautenberg, President of the Michael's Association/Vorsitzender des Michaelsbundes
Conte Carlo de'Reguardati di Castelfranco
Ernesto Sánchez Cortés, Ph.D. U.Laval, Québec, Canada
Emanuel Santana Gallardo, Professor of Mathematics, Toluca, México
Monika Wild Psych.lic.phil., catechist, ocv
Names added July 18 – 19
Fr Daniel J Becker, Ph.D., Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts
Richard Belleville, Ph.D., Philosophy
Fr. Michael Dahinden, vicarius, Andeer GR, Switzerland
Abbe Vincent Damian, retired priest of the Diocese of Tulle, France
Dr Giovanni Di Guglielmo, Chieti Italy
Abbé Marc-Antoine Fontelle, Doctor of Theology, of Canon Law and of Law; author, France
Fr. Vaughn Treco
Names added July 20-21
Jacques Dhaussy, journaliste, président d'honneur de la Fédération Internationale Una Voce
Père Jacques de Saint Joseph OCarm., France
Prof. Enrico Maria Radaelli, International Science and Commonsense Association (ISCA), Department of Metaphysics of Beauty and Philosophy of Arts, Research Director and Professor of the Formal Gnoseology
Father Timothy Sick, Headmaster of Notre Dame de La Salette Academy
Names added July 22
Fr. Dylan Flanery
Fr. Daniel Chavarria
Other priests and scholars interested in signing this Open Letter may contact [email protected]. Other people interested in supporting this Open Letter can sign a petition here.
___________
1. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger 13 July 1988, in Santiago, Chile.
2. Concilio Vaticano II: Un discorso da fare (Frigento: Casa Maria Editrice, 2009), subsequently published in English as The Ecumenical Vatican Council II: A Much Needed Discussion. The excerpt here is taken from https://fsspx.news/en/vatican-ii-council-much-needed-discussion.
3. https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/4949-55-years-later-bishop-athanasius-schneider-s-appraisal-of-vatican-ii
4. https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/bishop-schneider-how-church-could-correct-erroneous-view-that-god-wills-diversity-of-religions
5. https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/4949-55-years-later-bishop-athanasius-schneider-s-appraisal-of-vatican-ii
6. https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/bishop-schneider-catholics-and-muslims-share-no-common-faith-in-god-no-common-adoration
7. https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/abp-Viganò-on-the-roots-of-deviation-of-vatican-ii-and-how-francis-was-chosen-to-revolutionize-the-church
8. https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/4949-55-years-later-bishop-athanasius-schneider-s-appraisal-of-vatican-ii
9. https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/abp-vigano-on-the-roots-of-deviation-of-vatican-ii-and-how-francis-was-chosen-to-revolutionize-the-church
10. https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/abp-vigano-on-the-roots-of-deviation-of-vatican-ii-and-how-francis-was-chosen-to-revolutionize-the-church
11. https://catholicfamilynews.com/blog/2020/06/26/archbishop-vigano-to-phil-lawler-council-fathers-were-the-object-of-a-sensational-deception/
12. https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/bishop-schneider-how-church-could-correct-erroneous-view-that-god-wills-diversity-of-religions
Follow Maike Dr. Maike Hickson was born and raised in Germany. She holds a PhD from the University of Hannover, Germany, after having written in Switzerland her doctoral dissertation on the history of Swiss intellectuals before and during World War II. She now lives in the U.S. and is married to Dr. Robert Hickson, and they have been blessed with two beautiful children. She is a happy housewife who likes to write articles when time permits. Dr. Hickson published in 2014 a Festschrift, a collection of some thirty essays written by thoughtful authors in honor of her husband upon his 70th birthday, which is entitled A Catholic Witness in Our Time. Hickson has closely followed the papacy of Pope Francis and the developments in the Catholic Church in Germany, and she has been writing articles on religion and politics for U.S. and European publications and websites such as LifeSiteNews, OnePeterFive, The Wanderer, Rorate Caeli, Catholicism.org, Catholic Family News, Christian Order, Notizie Pro-Vita, Corrispondenza Romana, Katholisches.info, Der Dreizehnte, Zeit-Fragen, and Westfalen-Blatt.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-15--Former employee blames Planned Parenthood for US abortion movement in ‘shambles’

BALTIMORE , Maryland , July 14 , 2020 , ( LifeSiteNews ) — A former Planned Parenthood employee wrote in The Guardian that the top U.S. abortion organization is the reason the country ’ s pro-abortion movement is in “ shambles.
” On July 13 , Jessa Crispin , a former Planned Parenthood employee , wrote an article blaming Planned Parenthood as the reason the pro-abortion movement is floundering .
According to Crispin , Planned Parenthood , as the largest abortion provider in the United States , is a “ political leader ” and “ its executives are whom liberal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ If Planned Parenthood is one of the leaders , if not the leader , of the pro-choice movement , ” she continued , “ perhaps it needs to take some responsibility for the movement being in a shambles.
” “ Planned Parenthood , ” Crispin said , “ seems more concerned with hobnobbing with the powerful , paying the CEOs of its regional chapters salaries in the mid-six figures , making symbolic gestures and coming up with a catchy slogan to sell on T-shirts than with providing care for the people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ condemned Planned Parenthood for not supporting free medical care in the United States ; “ the organization doesn ’ t , for example , endorse Medicaid for All.
” “ It ’ s often the national organization that makes the headlines with its celebrity supporters and its adversarial relationship with Washington , ” Crispin continued .
“ But it ’ s local Planned Parenthood clinics — often incredibly underfunded — who do the work , offering health screenings , birth control , reproductive services and abortion in often difficult environments.
” While Planned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s health services , undercover investigations ( such as here ) have shown that the vast majority of its work centers on abortion .
Crispin attributes Planned Parenthood ’ s decline to the company ’ s excessive attention to campaigning and politics .
The pro-life movement , however , has recently made tremendous progress with the support of U.S. president Donald Trump , and Planned Parenthood is feeling the pressure .
During the final presidential debate in 2016 , Trump was asked if he wanted Roe v. Wade , the supreme court decision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states , overturned .
He replied that if he was elected , it would happen because of his appointments to the Supreme Court .
In 2017 and 2018 , Trump appointed two pro-life judges , Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh , to the U.S. Supreme Court .
Trump sees the appointment of Supreme Court judges as “ one of the most profound responsibilities of the president of the United States.
” URGENT PETITION : Tell the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade !
Sign the petition here .
Shortly after taking office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order banning government funding of foreign pro-abortion groups like the International Planned Parenthood Federation .
As the first pro-life president , Donald Trump , attended and spoke at the 2020 National March for Life .
“ And today as President of the United States , I am truly proud to stand with you , ” Trump said at the March .
“ I notified Congress , ” he continued , “ that I would veto any legislation that weakens pro-life policy or that encourages the destruction of human life.
” “ And above @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we know that every human soul is divine and every human life , born and unborn , is made in the holy image of Almighty God.
” Planned Parenthood received a significant blow five years ago when undercover videos revealed the organization ’ s involvement in aborted baby body parts trafficking .
The videos caused a national outcry to defund Planned Parenthood and triggered a congressional investigation of the abortion industry .

'If Planned Parenthood is one of the leaders, if not the leader, of the pro-choice movement, perhaps it needs to take some responsibility for the movement being in a shambles.'
BALTIMORE, Maryland, July 14, 2020, (LifeSiteNews) — A former Planned Parenthood employee wrote in The Guardian that the top U.S. abortion organization is the reason the country’s pro-abortion movement is in “shambles.”
On July 13, Jessa Crispin, a former Planned Parenthood employee, wrote an article blaming Planned Parenthood as the reason the pro-abortion movement is floundering. According to Crispin, Planned Parenthood, as the largest abortion provider in the United States, is a “political leader” and “its executives are whom liberal politicians turn to for endorsement and support.”
“If Planned Parenthood is one of the leaders, if not the leader, of the pro-choice movement,” she continued, “perhaps it needs to take some responsibility for the movement being in a shambles.”
“Planned Parenthood,” Crispin said, “seems more concerned with hobnobbing with the powerful, paying the CEOs of its regional chapters salaries in the mid-six figures, making symbolic gestures and coming up with a catchy slogan to sell on T-shirts than with providing care for the people who need their services.”
She also condemned Planned Parenthood for not supporting free medical care in the United States; “the organization doesn’t, for example, endorse Medicaid for All.”
“It’s often the national organization that makes the headlines with its celebrity supporters and its adversarial relationship with Washington,” Crispin continued. “But it’s local Planned Parenthood clinics — often incredibly underfunded — who do the work, offering health screenings, birth control, reproductive services and abortion in often difficult environments.”
While Planned Parenthood offers a smattering of women’s health services, undercover investigations (such as here) have shown that the vast majority of its work centers on abortion.
Crispin attributes Planned Parenthood’s decline to the company’s excessive attention to campaigning and politics.
The pro-life movement, however, has recently made tremendous progress with the support of U.S. president Donald Trump, and Planned Parenthood is feeling the pressure.
During the final presidential debate in 2016, Trump was asked if he wanted Roe v. Wade, the supreme court decision that forced legal abortion on all the states, overturned. He replied that if he was elected, it would happen because of his appointments to the Supreme Court. In 2017 and 2018, Trump appointed two pro-life judges, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump sees the appointment of Supreme Court judges as “one of the most profound responsibilities of the president of the United States.”
URGENT PETITION: Tell the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade! Sign the petition here.
Shortly after taking office in 2017, Trump signed an executive order banning government funding of foreign pro-abortion groups like the International Planned Parenthood Federation.
As the first pro-life president, Donald Trump, attended and spoke at the 2020 National March for Life.
“And today as President of the United States, I am truly proud to stand with you,” Trump said at the March. “I notified Congress,” he continued, “that I would veto any legislation that weakens pro-life policy or that encourages the destruction of human life.”
“And above all,” Trump concluded, “we know that every human soul is divine and every human life, born and unborn, is made in the holy image of Almighty God.”
Planned Parenthood received a significant blow five years ago when undercover videos revealed the organization’s involvement in aborted baby body parts trafficking. The videos caused a national outcry to defund Planned Parenthood and triggered a congressional investigation of the abortion industry.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-15--Black Lives Matter propaganda takes over public schools across the country

July 14 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Not content to dominate the mainstream press , social media , and corporate America , the Black Lives Matter ( BLM ) movement has now set its sights on public schools , with custom lesson plans to transmit its view of the world to impressionable captive audiences .
The Federalist highlighted one such lesson plan in detail , currently being used in Wake County , North Carolina .
Wake County Public School Systems ’ Office of Equity Affairs developed a website full of “ racial equality ” resources for educators and staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suppor ( t ) efforts that oppose racism and oppression ” and “ directly engag ( e ) in advocacy work.
” “ The importance of addressing race and racism with our students can not be overstated , ” the page declares .
“ Today , it is impossible to shelter students from the collateral consequences of the well-publicized killings of Breonna Taylor , Ahmaud Arbery , George Floyd , and the many others before them .
And to be sure , students shouldn ’ t be sequestered from the realities in which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lead.
” The collection includes links to articles about how teachers can “ develop the skills to speak up about prejudice , bias , and stereotypes ” and “ help their students ﬁnd the courage to speak up too ” ; and on helping students “ work through recent civil unrest by creating opportunity and space for their students to be heard ” ; links to resources on talking to children about race ; examples of “ social movement music ” ; tips on how teachers can be “ allies ” in “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of one ’ s own “ privilege ” ; and more .
A section on terminology describes BLM as a movement “ emphasizing basic human rights and racial equality for black people and campaigning against various forms of racism , ” and invokes “ hands up , don ’ t shoot ” as a “ rallying cry and gesture that began after the August 9 , 2014 , shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson , Missouri.
” ( In fact , the Obama Justice Department ’ s report on the shooting indicated that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and that Officer Darren Wilson was acting in self-defense when he fatally shot Brown . )
A frequently-asked-questions section near the bottom of the page recommends “ explicit conversations ” about race with children as young as five to “ dramatically improve their racial outlook.
” In the very next question , however , it claims that professing color-blindness “ negates/dismisses people of color and their identities , ” in seeming contradiction with Dr. Martin Luther King ’ s famous call to judge people not “ by the color of their skin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ Splashed across the homepage of the Wake County School System ’ s website is BLM founder Patrisse Cullors , ” Federalist authors Sloan Rachmuth and Katie Jensen added , noting that Cullors is a self-professed “ trained Marxist ” and anti-Israel activist who as recently as 2018 “ boasted about receiving training from Eric Mann , former member of the Weather Underground charged with attempted murder of police officers in Boston back in 1969.
” The authors next highlighted a letter from KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools CEO Jessica Cunningham Akoto endorsing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ structural racism and persistent inequities exist not only in our education system but also in health care , law enforcement , housing , food distribution , voting rights , and so much more.
” “ ALL of our team members must constantly engage in the process of unlearning mindsets and practices rooted in anti-Blackness and learning mindsets and practices rooted in Black liberation , ” Akoto declared .
“ We prioritize robust staff development and training in a shared school vision , curriculum , theory , culturally responsive practices , and instructional leadership.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ liberation “ is a Marxist theological and social movement that emerged in the late 1960s ” that declares America and her institutions racist on a fundamental level , by design .
“ In this view , the entire construct of American culture , symbolically represented by the flag , national anthem , and even Philly ’ s own Liberty Bell , represents an insult to people of color , ” they wrote .
The article also noted that the New York City Department of Education has announced it ’ s developing BLM-themed materials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ systemic — woven deeply into the fabric of our institutions , our economy , and the systems that make up our shared community.
” Despite prevailing media narratives to the contrary , “ black lives matter ” is not a general statement of support for black equality , and BLM is not merely concerned with ending police brutality or actual instances of societal racism .
It declares among its official goals “ disrupt ( ng ) the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘ villages ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; and fostering “ a queer‐affirming network … with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking.
” It also officially supports “ reproductive justice , ” a euphemism for abortion .
An estimated 40 percent of all U.S. abortions are sought by black women , meaning that Black Lives Matter supports the annual elimination of more than 344,800 black lives every year .
As for the claims that ignited this latest wave of BLM fervor , the Minnesota killing of George Floyd was instantly and unanimously condemned , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charged with murder .
As to BLM ’ s broader claim of “ systemic racism ” in law enforcement , research actually shows that police are not disproportionately likely to use excessive lethal force against black suspects , but may in fact be less likely due to fear of racism claims .

An administrator said education must include 'unlearning mindsets and practices rooted in anti-Blackness and learning mindsets and practices rooted in Black liberation.'
July 14, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Not content to dominate the mainstream press, social media, and corporate America, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has now set its sights on public schools, with custom lesson plans to transmit its view of the world to impressionable captive audiences.
The Federalist highlighted one such lesson plan in detail, currently being used in Wake County, North Carolina. Wake County Public School Systems’ Office of Equity Affairs developed a website full of “racial equality” resources for educators and staff, which calls on teachers to “suppor(t) efforts that oppose racism and oppression” and “directly engag(e) in advocacy work.”
“The importance of addressing race and racism with our students cannot be overstated,” the page declares. “Today, it is impossible to shelter students from the collateral consequences of the well-publicized killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and the many others before them. And to be sure, students shouldn’t be sequestered from the realities in which they will live, grow, and lead.”
The collection includes links to articles about how teachers can “develop the skills to speak up about prejudice, bias, and stereotypes” and “help their students ﬁnd the courage to speak up too”; and on helping students “work through recent civil unrest by creating opportunity and space for their students to be heard”; links to resources on talking to children about race; examples of “social movement music”; tips on how teachers can be “allies” in “racial equity,” starting with recognition of one’s own “privilege”; and more.
A section on terminology describes BLM as a movement “emphasizing basic human rights and racial equality for black people and campaigning against various forms of racism,” and invokes “hands up, don’t shoot” as a “rallying cry and gesture that began after the August 9, 2014, shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.” (In fact, the Obama Justice Department’s report on the shooting indicated that Brown didn’t actually say it, and that Officer Darren Wilson was acting in self-defense when he fatally shot Brown.)
A frequently-asked-questions section near the bottom of the page recommends “explicit conversations” about race with children as young as five to “dramatically improve their racial outlook.” In the very next question, however, it claims that professing color-blindness “negates/dismisses people of color and their identities,” in seeming contradiction with Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous call to judge people not “by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
“Splashed across the homepage of the Wake County School System’s website is BLM founder Patrisse Cullors,” Federalist authors Sloan Rachmuth and Katie Jensen added, noting that Cullors is a self-professed “trained Marxist” and anti-Israel activist who as recently as 2018 “boasted about receiving training from Eric Mann, former member of the Weather Underground charged with attempted murder of police officers in Boston back in 1969.”
The authors next highlighted a letter from KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools CEO Jessica Cunningham Akoto endorsing the BLM movement and declaring that “structural racism and persistent inequities exist not only in our education system but also in health care, law enforcement, housing, food distribution, voting rights, and so much more.”
“ALL of our team members must constantly engage in the process of unlearning mindsets and practices rooted in anti-Blackness and learning mindsets and practices rooted in Black liberation,” Akoto declared. “We prioritize robust staff development and training in a shared school vision, curriculum, theory, culturally responsive practices, and instructional leadership.”
Rachmuth and Jensen noted that Black liberation “is a Marxist theological and social movement that emerged in the late 1960s” that declares America and her institutions racist on a fundamental level, by design. “In this view, the entire construct of American culture, symbolically represented by the flag, national anthem, and even Philly’s own Liberty Bell, represents an insult to people of color,” they wrote.
The article also noted that the New York City Department of Education has announced it’s developing BLM-themed materials to dismantle racism, which is “systemic — woven deeply into the fabric of our institutions, our economy, and the systems that make up our shared community.”
Despite prevailing media narratives to the contrary, “black lives matter” is not a general statement of support for black equality, and BLM is not merely concerned with ending police brutality or actual instances of societal racism.
It declares among its official goals “disrupt(ng) the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another”; and fostering “a queer‐affirming network … with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking.”
It also officially supports “reproductive justice,” a euphemism for abortion. An estimated 40 percent of all U.S. abortions are sought by black women, meaning that Black Lives Matter supports the annual elimination of more than 344,800 black lives every year.
As for the claims that ignited this latest wave of BLM fervor, the Minnesota killing of George Floyd was instantly and unanimously condemned, and the police officers involved have been charged with murder. As to BLM’s broader claim of “systemic racism” in law enforcement, research actually shows that police are not disproportionately likely to use excessive lethal force against black suspects, but may in fact be less likely due to fear of racism claims.
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lifesitenews--2020-07-16--Pro-life leader: We defend hidden unborn life, now we must defend Divine life hidden in tabernacle

July 16 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — Veteran pro-life advocate John Smeaton explained the connection between the fight to defend the rights of the unborn and reverently receiving Holy Communion on the tongue during an online webinar today broadcast on LifeSite ’ s YouTube channel .
“ We in the pro-life movement defend the reality of hidden life , ” Smeaton said .
“ We are accustomed to defending human life hidden in the womb and now we are being called upon to defend the Divine life hidden in the tabernacle.
” Smeaton , the outgoing president of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , delivered his remarks at the “ Love and reverence to Our Lord : Let ’ s always receive Holy Communion on the tongue ” conference ( scroll below to read his full comments ) .
“ The Real Presence of Jesus Christ…is being abused by many of those who should be the first to love Him , ” Smeaton remarked .
“ Communion in the hand was initially unlawfully promoted in various parts of the world before being introduced by Pope Paul VI 50 to 60 years ago albeit under certain conditions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with eyes to see , going to Sunday Mass at their local parish church , knows from bitter experience that Communion in the hand has engendered a lack of reverence which insults the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
” “ Is it merely a coincidence , ” he continued , “ that during the same period , 50 to 60 years ago , permissive abortion legislation was introduced in many western nations , legislation which affronts the dignity and even denies the existence of human life before birth ?
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : human life has lost its value in human society whilst Christ has become shamefully abused by the Christians who should know and love him the most.
” The live webinar was organized by Voice of the Family , an international coalition of pro-life organizations , and broadcast on LifeSite New ’ s YouTube channel .
To watch the conference in full , click here .
The webinar also featured LifeSite co-founder John-Henry Westen interviewing Dr. Peter Kwasniewski , Alexander Tschugguel , and Theresa Habsburg .
Fr .
Serafino Lanzetta from the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theological reasons for always receiving Holy Communion on the tongue .
Smeaton concluded his remarks by reminding Catholics that they have a “ right ” to receive Holy Communion on the tongue and that “ the desecration of the sacrament of the Eucharist is one of the most heinous of crimes for the Catholic Church.
” “ This is why , ” Smeaton added , “ we wish to mobilize our fellow lay Catholics to offer the love and reverence due to Our Lord truly present in the Holy Eucharist.
” “ To @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : offering everyone the gift of eternal life , which comes only through Jesus Christ and the saving truth He has confided to the Catholic Church .
How can we say we care deeply about an unborn child , his mother , or anyone , and not offer them the possibility of eternal life , which only comes through the Catholic Church ?
” Good-day !
I ’ m John Smeaton , the moderator of Voice of the Family ’ s international on-line conference entitled “ Love and Reverence due to Our Lord @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Communion on the Tongue ” .
Voice of the Family is an international coalition of pro-life and pro-family organisations from around the world , formed in support of Catholic teaching on the family .
We are very grateful to LifeSiteNews , the world ’ s number one pro-life news website , who have made this online conference possible .
Why on earth , people might ask , is an international pro-life coalition organizing a conference on how to receive Holy Communion ?
Voice of the Family in union with the pro-life movement worldwide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human life and proudly so .
Indeed , we consider it a privilege and honour to defend the most vulnerable human lives .
Many in the pro-life movement are prepared to lay down their own lives for the lives of those they seek to protect .
This is the strength of our commitment .
And yet there is something even more precious than the sanctity of human life , and this is the divine life truly present in the Holy Eucharist in Jesus Christ ’ s Body , Blood , Soul and Divinity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Blessed Sacrament.There is no other nation so great , the Divine Office of Corpus Christi sings , “ as to have its gods so near as our God is present to us ” .
The Eucharist is our dearest treasure and the thought of having it so near to us in our Catholic churches fills us with gratitude and indescribable awe .
We rejoice as churches around the world re-open .
Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist can be received again .
But whilst the life of a Catholic might be characterised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ love and reverence due to Our Lord , Catholics in many places in the world are now faced with a new and terrible challenge of how are we allowedto worship Our Lord .
New regulations , issued by some of the world ’ s bishops , recommend that the faithful receive Holy Communion in the hand and , in the most radical cases , including in Britain , bishops attempt to ban Holy Communion on the tongue .
These recommendations contradict divine and Church law , they obscure the reality of the Real @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , albeit , please God , in most cases unintentionally , to commit serious offences against the divine life .
And this brings us again to the role of the pro-life movement .
We could take the view that this painful development of the attempt to ban Holy Communion on the tongue troubles us as Catholics , but does not relate to our noble work of saving babies .
However , this is not the case .
We in the pro-life movement defend the reality of hidden life .
We are accustomed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and now we are being called upon to defend the Divine life hidden in the tabernacle … the Real Presence of Jesus Christ , in His Body , Blood , Soul and Divinity , Who is being abused by many of those who should be the first to love Him .
I suggest , therefore , that Catholics in the pro-life movement are uniquely well prepared to counter these offences .
Communion in the hand was initially unlawfully promoted in various parts of the world before being introduced by Pope Paul VI 50 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conditions .
Today , in 2020 , anyone with eyes to see , going to Sunday Mass at their local parish church , knows from bitter experience that Communion in the hand has engendered a lack of reverence which insults the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist – and recent opinion polls clearly show that false ideas about the Eucharist are now commonplace amongst Mass-going Catholics , who directly deny that Jesus Christ is really present on the altar after the priest ’ s words of consecration .
Is it merely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ period , 50 to 60 years ago , permissive abortion legislation was introduced in many western nations , legislation which affronts the dignity and even denies the existence of human life before birth .
Today we reap the bitter fruits : human life has lost its value in human society whilst Christ has become shamefully abused by the Christians who should know and love him the most .
And just as it is impossible to calculate the countless desecrations of the Body of Christ in the sacrilegious treatment of the Holy Eucharist brought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hand , it is also impossible to number the unborn children – made in the image and likeness of God – killed worldwide not only under permissive abortion legislation , but also those killed as a result of abortifacient contraceptive drugs and devices , and through IVF procedures .
The truth about the sanctity of human life before birth can not triumph without the recognition of the truth about Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist .
Only when we restore the understanding of the sanctity of divine life present in the Holy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recover the proper understanding of the sanctity of human life .
What are we , the laity , to do in such a situation ?
How can we defend the Eucharist and offer Our Lord the love and reverence due to Him ?
First , we must know that by insisting on receiving Holy Communion on the tongue , we are standing on solid ground , prepared by the Tradition of the Church and made fertile with the blood of her martyrs .
Tradition demands the greatest possible reverence towards the Holy Eucharist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be reserved for practices which are being recommended by some bishops today .
The faithful are being misled into believing that the responsible option is to receive Our Lord in the hand despite the very real danger of losing and desecrating fragments of our Eucharistic Lord .
And following the instructions issued in the current crisis , Catholics are being schooled , perhaps one might say brainwashed , to remember in future that this is the so-called “ safer option ” when similar problems arise .
But generations of Catholics before us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lord unchanged throughout wars , epidemics , and other disasters that have struck the world – not because they did not know the danger they were in , but because they knew Whois in the Eucharist they approached .
St. Thomas Aquinas taught : “ Out of reverence towards this Sacrament , nothing touches it , but what is consecrated ; hence the corporal and the chalice are consecrated , and likewise the priest 's hands , for touching this Sacrament .
Hence , it is not lawful for anyone else to touch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , if it were to fall upon the ground , or else in some other case of urgency.
” ( 16 ST , III , Q .
82 , Art .
13 ) It is not possible that what the Church has always taught about the Holy Eucharist does not apply following the coronavirus .
Secondly , receiving Holy Communion on the tongue remained the norm even after the practice of Communion in the hand was introduced in 1969 under certain conditions despite the opposition of the overwhelming majority of the bishops at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a practice that the Church in modern times , tragically , tolerates .
The universal law of the Church states that the faithful have the right to receive Communion on the tongue and that this right can not be denied to them .
This is the universal norm that no bishop or a bishops ’ conference can overrule .
As lay faithful , we must insist upon our right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue .
But above all , we must insist that Our Lord has the right to be received @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This is not a matter of our personal piety but justice due to Him .
Thirdly , we must remember that desecration of the sacrament of the Eucharist is one of the most heinous of crimes for the Catholic Church and that , for the most part , these crimes are not being carried by people in the world who do not know or love Him , but by Our Lord ’ s own people , Catholics , who claim to know and love Him .
This is why we have organised this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Family , uniting pro-life and pro-family groups from all around the world .
With this conference we wish to mobilise our fellow lay Catholics to offer the love and reverence due to Our Lord truly present in the Holy Eucharist .
To be fully pro-life means being fully Catholic : offering everyone the gift of eternal life , which comes only through Jesus Christ and the saving truth He has confided to the Catholic Church .
How can we say we care deeply about an unborn child , his mother , or anyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of eternal life , which only comes through the Catholic Church ?
And how can communicate Christ ’ s message of eternal life without giving witness to the sacredness of Holy Communion ?
Indeed we recall Christ ’ s words recorded in chapter 6 of the Gospel of St John : “ He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood has everlasting life : and I will raise him up on the last day ” .
This was the point in the Gospel story at which we learn in the words of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many of His disciples went back and walked no more with him .
Then Jesus said to the twelve : Will you also go away ?
And Simon Peter answered him : Lord to whom shall we go ?
Thou has the words of eternal life.
” The ultimate target of Satan ’ s attacks is the Holy Eucharist , in which Jesus Christ is really present .
Nothing makes more sense .
The devil will do everything in his power to obscure the sacred reality of the Eucharist in order to diminish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scheme aims to lead large groups of faithful to ( an unintentional or intentional ) desecration of the Eucharistic Body of Christ on an unprecedented scale .
He wants the Body of Christ to be trampled on by the feet of clergy and laity in Catholic churches around the world .
For a vast number of Catholics in the past fifty years , the practice of receiving Communion in the hand has weakened faith in the Real Presence , in transubstantiation and in the divine character of the Sacrament .
The devil would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , even our longing to be united with our Lord again in the Holy Eucharist after being deprived of assisting at Holy Mass for months .
In a recent letter , Bishop Athanasius Schneider called the obligation to give Communion in the hand an “ abuse of authority ” because it incurs the loss of consecrated fragments and a “ decrease of reverence…Bishop Schneider concluded : “ If the Church in our day does not endeavor again with the utmost zeal to increase the faith , reverence , and security measures for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for humans will be in vain ” .
I therefore appeal to everyone attending this on-line conference : Let ’ s join together in making acts of reparation for sins committed against the Holy Eucharist in His churches .
The Eucharistic fragments falling down and crushed by the feet of his priests and faithful has to be for us a tragedy that demands action .
Throughout this conference , a team of Catholics has been before the Blessed Sacrament praying for its success .
If it is in your power to organise Adoration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these sins against the Blessed Sacrament , especially those committed during the pandemic , please arrange that .
These are difficult times for everyone alive today and they are especially difficult times for faithful Catholics who love Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and who are determined to give the Lord of Lords , the King of Kings , the reverence he justly deserves .
With this conference we ’ ve endeavoured to equip you with how to insist on your right as Catholics to receive Communion on the tongue .
And if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right by our bishop or by our priest , rather than risk fragments of the Eucharist falling to the ground , for the Body and Blood , Soul and Divinity of Christ to be carelessly trampled under foot , let ’ s resolve with Dr Peter Kwasnieski to make a spiritual communion for which , he argues , we will merit special graces from Our Lord .
And if and when we can , let ’ s travel to churches , let ’ s seek out priests , who will administer to us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resist this episcopal abuse of authority and this unjust , unholy and illegal imposition of Communion in the hand .

July 16, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Veteran pro-life advocate John Smeaton explained the connection between the fight to defend the rights of the unborn and reverently receiving Holy Communion on the tongue during an online webinar today broadcast on LifeSite’s YouTube channel.
“We in the pro-life movement defend the reality of hidden life,” Smeaton said. “We are accustomed to defending human life hidden in the womb and now we are being called upon to defend the Divine life hidden in the tabernacle.”
Smeaton, the outgoing president of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, delivered his remarks at the “Love and reverence to Our Lord: Let’s always receive Holy Communion on the tongue” conference (scroll below to read his full comments).
“The Real Presence of Jesus Christ…is being abused by many of those who should be the first to love Him,” Smeaton remarked. “Communion in the hand was initially unlawfully promoted in various parts of the world before being introduced by Pope Paul VI 50 to 60 years ago albeit under certain conditions. Today, in 2020, anyone with eyes to see, going to Sunday Mass at their local parish church, knows from bitter experience that Communion in the hand has engendered a lack of reverence which insults the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.”
“Is it merely a coincidence,” he continued, “that during the same period, 50 to 60 years ago, permissive abortion legislation was introduced in many western nations, legislation which affronts the dignity and even denies the existence of human life before birth?”
“Today we reap the bitter fruits: human life has lost its value in human society whilst Christ has become shamefully abused by the Christians who should know and love him the most.”
The live webinar was organized by Voice of the Family, an international coalition of pro-life organizations, and broadcast on LifeSite New’s YouTube channel. To watch the conference in full, click here.
The webinar also featured LifeSite co-founder John-Henry Westen interviewing Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, Alexander Tschugguel, and Theresa Habsburg. Fr. Serafino Lanzetta from the United Kingdom also delivered a talk on the theological reasons for always receiving Holy Communion on the tongue.
Smeaton concluded his remarks by reminding Catholics that they have a “right” to receive Holy Communion on the tongue and that “the desecration of the sacrament of the Eucharist is one of the most heinous of crimes for the Catholic Church.”
“This is why,” Smeaton added, “we wish to mobilize our fellow lay Catholics to offer the love and reverence due to Our Lord truly present in the Holy Eucharist.”
“To be fully pro-life means being fully Catholic: offering everyone the gift of eternal life, which comes only through Jesus Christ and the saving truth He has confided to the Catholic Church. How can we say we care deeply about an unborn child, his mother, or anyone, and not offer them the possibility of eternal life, which only comes through the Catholic Church?”
Below are Smeaton’s full comments:
Good-day! I’m John Smeaton, the moderator of Voice of the Family’s international on-line conference entitled “Love and Reverence due to Our Lord: Let’s always receive Holy Communion on the Tongue”.
Voice of the Family is an international coalition of pro-life and pro-family organisations from around the world, formed in support of Catholic teaching on the family. We are very grateful to LifeSiteNews, the world’s number one pro-life news website, who have made this online conference possible.
Why on earth, people might ask, is an international pro-life coalition organizing a conference on how to receive Holy Communion?
Voice of the Family in union with the pro-life movement worldwide advocates for the inviolability and value of human life and proudly so. Indeed, we consider it a privilege and honour to defend the most vulnerable human lives. Many in the pro-life movement are prepared to lay down their own lives for the lives of those they seek to protect. This is the strength of our commitment.
And yet there is something even more precious than the sanctity of human life, and this is the divine life truly present in the Holy Eucharist in Jesus Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Our greatest treasure on earth is the Blessed Sacrament.There is no other nation so great, the Divine Office of Corpus Christi sings, “as to have its gods so near as our God is present to us”. The Eucharist is our dearest treasure and the thought of having it so near to us in our Catholic churches fills us with gratitude and indescribable awe.
We rejoice as churches around the world re-open. Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist can be received again. But whilst the life of a Catholic might be characterised as discerning how we can bestoffer the love and reverence due to Our Lord, Catholics in many places in the world are now faced with a new and terrible challenge of how are we allowedto worship Our Lord. New regulations, issued by some of the world’s bishops, recommend that the faithful receive Holy Communion in the hand and, in the most radical cases, including in Britain, bishops attempt to ban Holy Communion on the tongue. These recommendations contradict divine and Church law, they obscure the reality of the Real Presence, and they lead the faithful, albeit, please God, in most cases unintentionally, to commit serious offences against the divine life.
And this brings us again to the role of the pro-life movement. We could take the view that this painful development of the attempt to ban Holy Communion on the tongue troubles us as Catholics, but does not relate to our noble work of saving babies. However, this is not the case.
We in the pro-life movement defend the reality of hidden life. We are accustomed to defending human life hidden in the womb and now we are being called upon to defend the Divine life hidden in the tabernacle … the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, in His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, Who is being abused by many of those who should be the first to love Him. I suggest, therefore, that Catholics in the pro-life movement are uniquely well prepared to counter these offences.
Communion in the hand was initially unlawfully promoted in various parts of the world before being introduced by Pope Paul VI 50 to 60 years ago albeit under certain conditions. Today, in 2020, anyone with eyes to see, going to Sunday Mass at their local parish church, knows from bitter experience that Communion in the hand has engendered a lack of reverence which insults the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist – and recent opinion polls clearly show that false ideas about the Eucharist are now commonplace amongst Mass-going Catholics, who directly deny that Jesus Christ is really present on the altar after the priest’s words of consecration. Is it merely a coincidence, that during the same period, 50 to 60 years ago, permissive abortion legislation was introduced in many western nations, legislation which affronts the dignity and even denies the existence of human life before birth. Today we reap the bitter fruits: human life has lost its value in human society whilst Christ has become shamefully abused by the Christians who should know and love him the most.
And just as it is impossible to calculate the countless desecrations of the Body of Christ in the sacrilegious treatment of the Holy Eucharist brought about by the practice of Communion in the hand, it is also impossible to number the unborn children – made in the image and likeness of God – killed worldwide not only under permissive abortion legislation, but also those killed as a result of abortifacient contraceptive drugs and devices, and through IVF procedures.
The truth about the sanctity of human life before birth cannot triumph without the recognition of the truth about Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Only when we restore the understanding of the sanctity of divine life present in the Holy Eucharist and act accordingly, will we recover the proper understanding of the sanctity of human life.
What are we, the laity, to do in such a situation? How can we defend the Eucharist and offer Our Lord the love and reverence due to Him?
First, we must know that by insisting on receiving Holy Communion on the tongue, we are standing on solid ground, prepared by the Tradition of the Church and made fertile with the blood of her martyrs. Tradition demands the greatest possible reverence towards the Holy Eucharist. In fact, serious punishments used to be reserved for practices which are being recommended by some bishops today. The faithful are being misled into believing that the responsible option is to receive Our Lord in the hand despite the very real danger of losing and desecrating fragments of our Eucharistic Lord. And following the instructions issued in the current crisis, Catholics are being schooled, perhaps one might say brainwashed, to remember in future that this is the so-called “safer option” when similar problems arise.
But generations of Catholics before us have kept their devotion to our Eucharistic Lord unchanged throughout wars, epidemics, and other disasters that have struck the world – not because they did not know the danger they were in, but because they knew Whois in the Eucharist they approached.
St. Thomas Aquinas taught: “Out of reverence towards this Sacrament, nothing touches it, but what is consecrated; hence the corporal and the chalice are consecrated, and likewise the priest's hands, for touching this Sacrament. Hence, it is not lawful for anyone else to touch it except from necessity, for instance, if it were to fall upon the ground, or else in some other case of urgency.” (16 ST, III, Q. 82, Art. 13)
It is not possible that what the Church has always taught about the Holy Eucharist does not apply following the coronavirus.
Secondly, receiving Holy Communion on the tongue remained the norm even after the practice of Communion in the hand was introduced in 1969 under certain conditions despite the opposition of the overwhelming majority of the bishops at the time. Thus, it is a practice that the Church in modern times, tragically, tolerates.
The universal law of the Church states that the faithful have the right to receive Communion on the tongue and that this right cannot be denied to them. This is the universal norm that no bishop or a bishops’ conference can overrule. As lay faithful, we must insist upon our right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue. But above all, we must insist that Our Lord has the right to be received in the most reverent manner possible. This is not a matter of our personal piety but justice due to Him.
Thirdly, we must remember that desecration of the sacrament of the Eucharist is one of the most heinous of crimes for the Catholic Church and that, for the most part, these crimes are not being carried by people in the world who do not know or love Him, but by Our Lord’s own people, Catholics, who claim to know and love Him.
This is why we have organised this online conference, as Voice of the Family, uniting pro-life and pro-family groups from all around the world. With this conference we wish to mobilise our fellow lay Catholics to offer the love and reverence due to Our Lord truly present in the Holy Eucharist.
To be fully pro-life means being fully Catholic: offering everyone the gift of eternal life, which comes only through Jesus Christ and the saving truth He has confided to the Catholic Church. How can we say we care deeply about an unborn child, his mother, or anyone, and not offer them the possibility of eternal life, which only comes through the Catholic Church?
And how can communicate Christ’s message of eternal life without giving witness to the sacredness of Holy Communion? Indeed we recall Christ’s words recorded in chapter 6 of the Gospel of St John: “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood has everlasting life: and I will raise him up on the last day”. This was the point in the Gospel story at which we learn in the words of St John: “After this, many of His disciples went back and walked no more with him. Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away? And Simon Peter answered him: Lord to whom shall we go? Thou has the words of eternal life.”
The ultimate target of Satan’s attacks is the Holy Eucharist, in which Jesus Christ is really present. Nothing makes more sense. The devil will do everything in his power to obscure the sacred reality of the Eucharist in order to diminish reverence due to Him. Today his scheme aims to lead large groups of faithful to (an unintentional or intentional) desecration of the Eucharistic Body of Christ on an unprecedented scale. He wants the Body of Christ to be trampled on by the feet of clergy and laity in Catholic churches around the world. For a vast number of Catholics in the past fifty years, the practice of receiving Communion in the hand has weakened faith in the Real Presence, in transubstantiation and in the divine character of the Sacrament. The devil would use anything to advance his wicked plots, even our longing to be united with our Lord again in the Holy Eucharist after being deprived of assisting at Holy Mass for months.
In a recent letter, Bishop Athanasius Schneider called the obligation to give Communion in the hand an “abuse of authority” because it incurs the loss of consecrated fragments and a “decrease of reverence…Bishop Schneider concluded: “If the Church in our day does not endeavor again with the utmost zeal to increase the faith, reverence, and security measures for the Body of Christ, all security measures for humans will be in vain”.
I therefore appeal to everyone attending this on-line conference: Let’s join together in making acts of reparation for sins committed against the Holy Eucharist in His churches. The Eucharistic fragments falling down and crushed by the feet of his priests and faithful has to be for us a tragedy that demands action. Throughout this conference, a team of Catholics has been before the Blessed Sacrament praying for its success. If it is in your power to organise Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in reparation of these sins against the Blessed Sacrament, especially those committed during the pandemic, please arrange that.
These are difficult times for everyone alive today and they are especially difficult times for faithful Catholics who love Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and who are determined to give the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the reverence he justly deserves. With this conference we’ve endeavoured to equip you with how to insist on your right as Catholics to receive Communion on the tongue. And if and when we are illegally denied this right by our bishop or by our priest, rather than risk fragments of the Eucharist falling to the ground, for the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ to be carelessly trampled under foot, let’s resolve with Dr Peter Kwasnieski to make a spiritual communion for which, he argues, we will merit special graces from Our Lord. And if and when we can, let’s travel to churches, let’s seek out priests, who will administer to us Communion on the tongue. We must resist this episcopal abuse of authority and this unjust, unholy and illegal imposition of Communion in the hand.